Thursday, October 31, 2019

Equality in Access to Health Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equality in Access to Health Services - Essay Example Therefore having much available health services is not a factor in itself to improve the quality of healthcare but the utilization of such services by all of the people. It will depend on affordability and general accessibility of the service. According to Healthy People 2020 (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012), it is important to have access to quality health care service in order to achieve equity in health and eventually improve the general health status of all Americans. This I think is one of the most important move that the state should make in order to achieve the vision of having healthy Americans, including all migrants, ethnic and minority groups, by the year 2020. Though free service is not always the key to have access to quality healthcare the state can definitely find ways such as moving funds to have an affordable medical insurance to cover all Americans so that everyone in America can avail of healthcare services as the need arises to have better chance s of improving health by making it available and accessible to ever individual at once. Poor access to healthcare also means poor health chance for the population, taking for example Texas, which according to a survey has the most number of uninsured in the United States and has a significant shortage of health care professionals making access to healthcare services difficult for them thus having poor overall health conditions (Code Red Texas, 2012). Total equality of access to healthcare may incur a long way of processes but the government should start eventually to come up big in realizing the vision of healthy people 2020. Government funding should focus first on having affordable health insurances that even the poorest of Americans will be able to avail. This may seem impossible for it may have an impression of wasting money and giving away insurance even a person cannot avail but with proper planning this step will actually decrease total national health expenditures for no one will actually be left behind in terms of being healthy and accessing healthcare. #1 References: Code Red Texas (2012) Code Red; the critical condition of health in Texas 2012. Retrieved from http://www.coderedtexas.org/files/Code-Red-2012.pdf Gulliford M., Figueroa-Munoz J., Morgan M., Hughes D., Gibson B., Beech R. & Hudson M. (2002) What does ‘access to healthcare’ mean? Journal of Health Services & Research Policy, 1 July 2002 vol. 7 no. 3 186-188, Doi: 10.1258/135581902760082517 US Department of Health and Human Services (2012) Healthy People 2020 retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx #2 The Determinants of Health: factors that affect population health The differences of health status in population is greatly affected by many factors such as personal, social and environmental factors that are deemed to be determinants of health for these factors that influences the health conditions of individuals or group of people in a given population (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Of all the determinants of health, social factors play the most important role in influencing the health status of a population. In a personal point of view, comparing social against environmental factors, even though people in a population lives in a community that pose potential health dangers, the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Supply & demand & elasticity issues. Theories of the firm Essay

Supply & demand & elasticity issues. Theories of the firm. Macroeconomic issues - Essay Example The governmental actions include labor reforms which are discussed under a separate head. Supply & Demand and Elasticity Issues, Theories of the firm, Macroeconomic issues Table of contents PART ONE: Supply & Demand and Elasticity Issues 4 1. Supply and demand 4 2. Elasticity of demand 5 PART TWO: Theories of the Firm 7 1. Premises which underline the classical firm 7 Competitive markets 7 Perfect information 8 Full employment 8 Pricing of the products 9 2. Environmental changes 9 Role of the governments 9 Legal system 10 Globalization and liberalization 10 Corporate social responsibility 10 3. Theories of the firm 11 The Neoclassical Theory 11 The Transactions Cost Theory 12 The Principal–Agent Theory 12 Evolutionary theory 12 Behavioural theory 13 PART THREE: Macroeconomic Issues 15 i) GDP and Budget deficit 15 ii) Governmental actions and economy 16 Cuts in spending    16 Tax hikes 17 Borrowing money 18    Multiplier effect 18 Aggregate Demand 19 Aggregate Supply 20 Spe cific actions 20 iii) Supply side reform of the labour market 21 Conclusion 22 References 23 PART ONE: Supply & Demand and Elasticity Issues 1. Supply and Demand - Analysis of Statements â€Å"Both factors of demand depend on the market price. When the market price for a product is high, the demand will be low. When price is low, demand is high.† (Whelan & Msefer, 1996, p. 6) a) The price of a good falls, causing the demand for another good to rise. Hence, the two goods are substitutes. In fact in the case of substitutes, the demand for the substitute will fall leading to the price of the substitute to fall. Example: If the price of mutton falls, demand for mutton will increase, and not the demand for chicken which is a substitute for mutton. Conclusion: The statement is not correct. b)... This essay presents a modern comprehensive analysis of the relevance of the fundamental principles of supply and demand and elasticity concept in the today`s world. Also various microeconomic theories of the firm are discussed in the paper, such as neoclassical theory, transactions cost theory, principal agent theory, evolutionary theory and behavioral theories. The impacts of macro-economic factors on the firms are analyzed. The relevance of GDP and budget deficit to the operations of the firm in terms of its impact on their business is discussed with particular reference to Spain’s economy. The micro and macro economic theories have been evolving over the period time in tune with the changes that have taken place. What is relevant during a particular period of time loses its validity under the changed circumstances. However, the understanding of these concepts is very important for charting out the new course of actions and formulate future strategy Since 1945, many of the premises which underpin profit maximisation have been questioned, in particular whether firms operating in the real world actually behave like the â€Å"classical† firm. There are changes which have taken place in the structure and/or conduct of industry that provide evidence to reject the â€Å"classical firm hypothesis†. Maintaining flexibility in production and supplies is essential for responding quickly to the changes in the external environment which may be caused due to competition, governmental actions or state of the economy.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay

The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay Human resource has become a source of core competence a unique capability in the organization that creates high value and that differentiates the organization from its competition. Therefore it is paramount to add a strategic touch in sourcing, selecting and managing this unique capability to gain competitive advantage. Linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility bring about the strategic touch, otherwise known as Strategic Human Resource Management. Strengths Based approach in SHRM terms and Models Critically analysing BAE Systems scenario, it is possible analyse its operations which reveals SHRM terms and models that helps in understanding the context in which the strength based approach has been used. SHRM Terms BAE has been recruiting and hiring personnel to match their competence with the organizations goal. Its tradition model, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.clients going to the businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ has since changed to a more customer-oriented approach. In the process it has meant designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of the firm contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler MacMillan 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Jackson Schuler 1995) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organization that does maintenance and support. This change is in response to BAE external business environment that demands a customer-orientated approach and as such the need for better deployment of human resource an emphasis of SHRM à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦We are putting significant numbers of people into RAF bases, working alongside the RAF our people managing RAF people in the process (pg 2, paragraph 3) Since a firms strategy (BAE strategy rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients) is a reflection of its response to the external changes, human-capital, with a broad array of skills compatible with the corporate strategy, is a catalyst for fulfilling the strategic goals. This calls for melding of HR function (selection and hiring) with a firms strategy congruence between HR practice and business strategy (Miles Snow 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Wright McMahan 1992), a practice known as best-fit an approach on the idea that human resource strategy flow from business strategy; matching the human strength (talent, Skills, knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc) toward the achievement of the organisation goal. In modern competitive times success is achieved by adapting enlightened, progressive, people first, high performance or high commitment employment practices. This seems to the same idea BAE is banking on, otherwise known as best practice a bundle of HR policies that lead to highly motivated and committed employees who are the key to an organizations competitive advantage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) Further, the above statement highlights one aspect BAE is focusing on, the people to achieve it strategic goals. So as to achieve high performance and / or high commitment, it is worldly accepted that people work better while doing what they are best at doing (Huselid, 1995; Becker and Gerhart, 1996; Guest, 1997.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they had been givenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦things they would have naturally been drawn to, that they enjoyed and found energising (pg 4, paragraph 2) Change indeed is inevitable at BAE. The business model it has been relying on is changing, calling for a more customer-orientated approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients The mere fact of implement a strength base approach, in itself is change. It can be concluded that the change is fostered towards remaining competitive in the changing environment, thus BAE is seeking to match its human resource with business strategy, a concept in SHRM known as contingency approach which brings about two orientations, the internal labour orientation that seeks a long-term relationship with its employees and external labour orientation that seeks flexibility and does not make long-term commitments employees. SHRM Model From BAEs case, certain key features emerge that helps in identifying the SHRM model it is using to recruit and select its personnel. BAE business goal is to change its earlier approach of customer going to the business, to BAE going in such of the client. Adams à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦what were trying to move to is much more customer-oriented organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The strength based approach as used in BAE scenario can be referred to as the Human Resource Strategy (HRS) and is being mended with BAE Business Strategy (BS) rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients to achieve a fit to achieve its goal, in response to its changing business environment. This leads to a conclusion that the relationship between BS and HRS is that of Fit. Environment Analysis, another SHRM model feature, emerges; business transformation led to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦working with an industrial artist to produce a poster that illustrated for staff and leaders alike the challenges ahead. (pg 3, paragraph 3) This analysis helps BAE understand the environment which it operates in and be able to adopt as it evolves. Also the analysis prompt BAE to carry out a situation analysis to determine it current status, especially in terms of human resource to ascertain its capability to achieve its in response to the change in the business environment. This goal, I can say by analysis of BAE case, has been occasioned by BAE customers seeking value-add service on top of just the designing and build of aircraft services, an issue of stakeholder interest the customer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a much more customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support (pg 3, paragraph 2) From the case, strength-base approach has resulted in high performance by employees doing more than they used to do even though nothing had change in terms of the job roles an issue to do with work systems and HR flow, key attributes of a HR policy. Also, for BAE employees to do things they would have been drawn to and found energising is a catalyst for achieving competence and commitment among the employees, the desired result (outcomes) of the HR policy being used by an organisation, in this case BAE. The above paints a picture of the kind of SHRM model BAE that is skewed toward the Harvard Model; an approach seen to enhance high level of trust and mutuality. A representation of the model in light of the BAE case is as follows. HR Outcomes: High performance Commitment Competence Stakeholder Interests: Employee job satisfaction Organisation/Mgt Performance and competitiveness Customer quality, value for money HR Policies Long-term Consequences: Organisational Effectiveness Situation Analysis: Skill Availability 1.2) From a Human Resource Development (HRD) perspective the value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Introduction The Link between HRD, Learning, Development and change HRD refers to activities geared to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual perspective (in terms of skills and knowledge) and from an organisation perspective (in terms of business performance through the people) resulting in an organisation gaining competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future. HRD has therefore become critical (reason for a strategic approach to human resource) in nurturing human-capital talent, bringing to the fore the need for organisations to provide opportunities to attract, retain and offer growth opportunity to individual, especially in todays knowledge economy, thus the recognition of the criticality of learning and development in the context of human-capital the development and organisation capability. An organisations business environment keeps changing hence the needs to have the capacity to embrace and manage changes as they evolve. Through people organisation achieve their goals. Likewise through people an organisation is able to adapt / change to the new way of doing business. The value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Learning and Strength-based approach Learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦has acquired visibility and saliency because it sits at the juncture of new thinking concerning the nature of learning about new forms of knowledge, the transformation of the nature of work and the modern enterprise in a globalized economy (Stern and Sommerlad, 1999). From BAE perspective, the implementation of the strength-based approach can be construed to be a learning experience for the organization. Also the strength-based approach can be viewed from Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle that focuses on an integrated and planned approach based on experience Fig 2: Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle Reflection on experience involve looking back on experience and assessing the results. In relation to BAE, this is highlighted by the change in the way it used to do business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the traditional centralised business model.was changing rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients. (Paragraph 2, page 3) Conceptualise involves seek to understand why things turned out as they did, draw conclusions and make some hypotheses. The strength based approach from the case is defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ you should focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (Paragraph 3, page 2) Implementing the approach at the board level was hypothetical in the sense that the approach had been around for a while without much success any surety it would work. Apply -testing the hypotheses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The board was allocated several key business tasksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ allocated according to strengths. (Paragraph 1, page 4) Act Do something. In BAEs case à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The extent to which a strength-based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review. (Paragraph 6, page 4) The fact that BAE board à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦want to take this forward underscore the nature of learning, that of a continuous process. The value of Strength-based approach is that, employees are able to identify their strengths helping individuals understand their talents and how they can consciously apply these at work through developing knowledge and skills (which can be learned) to turn natural talents into world-class strengths. This approach has contributed to a high-performance work environment. (Organisational) Development and Strength-based approach As defined by Richard Beckhard (1969), Organization development (OD) is a planned, top-down, organization-wide effort to increase the organizations effectiveness and health. OD is undertaken to achieve a flexible (not only enabling organizations to embrace change, but exploit change in the external environment to organizational advantage) and creative organization that constantly seeks to improve and reinvent the way it carries out its business, and serves its customers. How rapidly an organization adapts to changing business circumstance is what delivers competitive advantage in todays global marketplace. Example, today, customers can be located anywhere in the world, customers demand near-instantaneous responsiveness and solutions. Such factors have impinged on organizational development. As a resulted there is a growing trend around the world to introduce skill-specific forms of training, as well as the growing recognition of individual learning contribution to organisation learning, both of which emphasise the link between competitive advantage and, training and development specifically around role and tasks. This seems to be the perspective BAE is borrowing by implementing a strength-based approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Rather than being shared out according to job functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦tasks were now allocated according to strengths (skills) (paragraph 1, pg 4) A broader approach could be placed on identifying the skills and experience (BAE: through strength-based approach), which broad business direction (BAE: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support) suggests will be required in the future together with planning around developing talent at different levels in the organisation (BAE: The extent to which a strength based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review). Change and Strength-based Approach An organisation can only perform effectively through interaction with the broader external environment of which it is part. Therefore the structure and functioning of the organisation must reflect the nature of the environment in which it is operation. For its survival and future success the organisation must be readily adaptable to the external demands upon it it must be responsive to change. From BAE perspective The traditionally centralised business modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was changingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 2, page 3) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦much more customer-orientated organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 3, page 4) The above reflects a change and BAE needs to adapt to the new way of doing business. Implementing the Strength-based approach comes in handy in identify the set of skills required to undertake such a move. 1.3 From an organisational and employee perspective the weakness ofstrength based approach The direction an organisation takes is always governed by goals that it wants to achieve and the strategies thereof applied to achieve them. Since the only way to achieve such goals is through people, there has to be a link between the strategies and the people. From BAEs perspective, the strength-based approach may be viewed as a best-practise approach a bundle of HR policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) According to Purcell (1999, p. 27) the best practice model does not discuss on company strategy. The underlying premise of this view is that organizations adopting a set of best practices attract super human resources, talent and competencies. These superior human resources will, in turn, influence the strategy the organization adopts and is the source of its competitive advantage. (Milkovich Newman, 2002, p. 30) .Therefore, for this approach, policy precedes strategy. This brings out the first weakness of the strength-based approach there is no direct link with the overall organization strategy. The strength-based approach primary focus is the skills of a person thereby limiting people to their area of interest. This leads to specialization and in as much as it make an organization / individual competent in the area of interest, to an extent this may prove very expensive to the organization since specialized skills are scarce and may come at a cost and should an organization be pursuing a cost leadership strategy this may undermine its intended goal cost reduction, which indeed is a competitive advantage virtue. This by analysis can be presumed true of the BAE scenario. Furthermore, it is prudent to focus also on the weakest points. For example a manager, using the WH Smith competence model used to underpin graduate recruitment and development, needs the following competencies: written communication ( communicate on paper) Oral communication (clearly speak and with ease) leadership (directing, command authority) team membership (team player) Planning and organizing Decision Making Motivation Personal Strength Analytical It may not be possible to be good at all the above competencies, albeit those being key requirements from a managerial focus, hence their weakness. But due to performance demands this may be sacrificed for performance. Watts agrees: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦its all about business performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if someone was the greatest strategist in the world but terrible at people management, we wouldnt be able to tolerate that, no matter how strong they were in the other areas. So its playing to people strength where possibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Human Resource development (HRD) emphasizes the need to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual skills and knowledge perspective, and from an organisation performance through the people perspective. As a result an organisation gains competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future From the above nature of HRD, the strength-based approach lucks a clear way of improving skills in the sense that it is impossible to pinpoint areas of improvement from a skilled resource perspective performing tasks he/she is attracted to and good at doing. ..How do you help someone who has risen to the top by being strong in most areas? (Paragraph 6, page 3) Complacency, egoism could result if a strength-based approach was implemented. An employee would feel superior since his skills is unmatched and as such would take things for granted while not putting enough effort and thereby affecting performance. Linleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦people often take things they are good at for granted, because it feels natural and doesnt require a lot of effortà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 7, page 3) SECTION B Question 2: 2.1: The main features of a performance management system Driven by market imperatives to develop more efficient organizational structures and practices, within an organization, there is an increasing emphasis on behavioural competitive strategies that rely on core competencies and capabilities among employees, not only because they provide the most effective response to market demands, but also because they are not easily copied by competitors. Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Its the identification, evaluation and developing the work performance of employees so that an organizations goals and objectives are more effectively achieved. Ensuring a productive and successful performance management system (PMS) is hard work and requires rigor and discipline to which an organization must be willing to commit. Key features of PMS include: Making the business case the objective The path (strategy) an organization will take goals to be achieved and role of each employee need to be communicated to achieve oneness, coherence and understanding throughout the organization. A PMS, likewise, need to be communicated pre-launch, (re)launch and post launch. There is need to cultivate enthusiasm, understanding and commitment through continual explanation of using the system to the entire organization In itself, PMS is an accountability system, showing the business results everyone (from senior managers to front-line employees) is accountable for and setting expectations for achieving the desire results. There should be a continual review of the objective in with the organization strategy. This is especially so taking into account the market dynamics keep changing and the organization need to align itself to be able to coup with change. Skill development It is critical to develop confidence and the competence of all employees around fulfilling their roles when implementing a process intended to change behavior. Actively involving the employees throughout the performance cycle will result in the effectiveness of the PMS. Both the leaders and employees need to know their responsibilities in the process; how to create measurable objectives and observable competencies; how to track; how to seek, give, and receive feedback; how to evaluate performance; and how to conduct effective performance discussions. All this require skills development in the form of training to be provided for both the leaders and employees. Aligned systems and Processes The alignment process begins with the PMS supporting the business strategic priorities and goals. It is critical to determine the relationship between other systems (for example team working) and the performance management system and how data from it will be used to support other HR systems, such as training and development, succession planning, selection and promotion, rewards and recognition, and compensation. For success in a specific position, competencies need to be identified and incorporate into the selection process for hiring people into the position which late be included into performance plans to track and evaluate. This provides an immediate link between the competencies used for selection and the competencies used to evaluate performance in the new job. The two systems are aligned and reinforce each other. Providing clear measures What are the outcomes envisaged from the system (PMS) and how do we measure? Before implementation, it is paramount to decide upon the criteria for evaluating the systems effectiveness. Landmarks for evaluation would include compliance ( for example, are performance plans, interim reviews, and final reviews, being completed on time?) and quality and effectiveness of the system (quality audits of performance plans and reviews, questions on employee satisfaction surveys and exit interviews, and so on) 2.2: Critical evaluation of the relationship and contribution of performance management systems with strategic human resource management principles Concept of Human Resource Today, all organizations (private business, academics and governments) throughout the world appreciate that the human resources can be a source of competitive advantage, provided that the policies for managing people are integrated with strategic business planning and organizational culture (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quinn, Mills, Walton, 1985) an important emphasis of congruence between human resource policies and organization objectives. This brings about the aspect of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility. SHRM can be seen as a three-dimensional model (Gratton and Truss, 2003): it is based on vertical alignment between people strategy and operational strategy; on horizontal alignment between individual HRM functions; and on an action and implementation dimension. Further in HRM, there are two strands of thinking: hard approach to HRM that focuses on cost reduction and containment, links with strategy and the role of HRM in furthering the competitive advantage of the organization and; the soft HRM that builds on human relations traditions and stresses the importance of the subjects as a means of furthering employee satisfaction and a range of related humane objectives that are achievable from the insights of systematic studies within HRM. Strategic human resource management and performance In the 21st century, organizations are so keen and are striving to achieve competitive advantage and profits through effective knowledge management (generating knowledge through collective learning). When human resource strategies are based on competence (ability requiring skills and knowledge which are acquired), the competency point of view is relevant to all functions. The key functions of HRM include personnel recruitment, development, and career planning and performance evaluation. In an organization there is a combination of material and immaterial resources that are expected to provide competitive edge to the organization (Kamoche, 1999). Resources and capabilities can be defined as skills, collective learning (core capabilities embedded in the organizations structures and processes) or as core competence. The capabilities include human capital (Individual competence is a good example), Structural capital (consists of intellectual property and infrastructure; systems of performance evaluation and management). The relationship capital refers to those distinct features that mark the organizations relationship with customers, personnel and interest groups. From this viewpoint, HRM is seen as a promoter of strategic capability, as a driver or as the organizations core competence. The latter consider that HRM functions of an organization can create unique competence that makes the organization stand out from the rest. This in turn increases its competitive advanta ge. Competence can be viewed from two levels: organizations core competence that incorporates collective learning and individual competence is usually based on the relationship between individual skills and work demands. The latter is often linked to good work performance. The prerequisites for competency depend on circumstances and are related to the facilitators of and barriers to reaching organizational goals, created by the organization and by social relations. Individual competency potential and the characteristics of the organization influence work competency i.e. effective response to work demands. Here, it is a question of reconciling desired behaviors and outcomes with actual behaviors and outcomes. Performance evaluation at the level of an organization and performance evaluation at the level of an individual constitute the basic functions of SHRM and can be used to co-ordinate strategies and personnel strategies and HRM functions. This mechanism is expected to establish a link between HRM and performance by increasing the motivation and building performance capability of personnel However, Panayotopoulou, Bourantas and Papalexandris (2003, p. 682) state research has failed to consistently support the efficacy of fit and its link to performance. Key citation is that most research on HRM and performance are based on the assumption that an organization pursues an integrated set of objectives and human resource that is in contrast with three recent developments: move towards more flexible internal structures associated with different forms of cooperation and collaboration among organizations and some of these include strategic alliances, business networks, joint ventures and linkages Outsourcing and inter-organizational contracting trend. These approaches do not consider the influence of multi employers and customers in the shaping of the employment relationship (Rubery, Earnshaw, Marchington, Cooke and Vincent 2002.) Much of organizational performance discussion is as though organizations are homogenous entities with clearly defined boundaries and similar contexts and characteristics. Recent developments suggest the need to understand the boundaries and how these might impact on organizations and the employment relationship. Hutchinson, Kinnie and Purcell (2001) report, in relation to the notions of people management and performance a number of aspects demonstrating the difficulty of evaluating performance impact are identified. The relationship between HR practices and business performance can be identified at different levels ranging from the plant/establishment level through to the corporation level. Lack of consensus on what constitutes a HR package and no agreement on the level of specificity or HR practices. There is a different way of measuring HR practices and a limited use of performance measures. in some cases sophisticated measurement techniques are used and these are hard to understand Few studies take account of the reaction of employees so that it is difficult to understand how the HR practices feed through to improved levels of performance and thus causality is an issue. Guest (1997) concur that there is a need for a basis of comparison and also a need to understand the relationship between types of performance data. 5 The main features of Human Resource Development (HRD) strategies and how they influence organisation change Definition of HRD By definition, HRD strategies are plans defining how human resources would be utilized through the use of an integrated array of training, organisational development and career development efforts to achieve individual, organisational objectives. The increasingly competitive business environment organization have become increasingly interested in and appreciate their employees who are seen as key players contributing to the core competencies of the organization (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). As a result, it has become paramount for the organization (the management) to harness and nurture the talents and capabilities of the employees for good performance and competitive edge. This has given rise to the need of human resource development. Features and their influences: Skill Gap People are our greatest asset, is on the lips of many senior managers. During selection and hiring of an employee, at that time the employees competencies (ability- requiring skills and knowledge) were deemed as fitting with the organisation objectives. As a result of changes taking place in the business environment (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) most like the organisation will have changed in the way it used to work so as to encompass/embraces these changes resulting in skills deficit. In response to the need to meet the skill gaps and increase productivity, organisations are keen to encourage a series of initiatives, and which recognise the importance of developing the skills, for example multi-skilling and learning to achieve flexibility. However, in as much as people are our greatest asset philosophy goes, there is poor investment in training and development in most of the organisation (Redman and Wilkinson, 2001; Harrison, 2002). Furthermore the development budget is often the first target when economies are needed. Creating learning Environments Changes in the business environment are leading to flexible and creative organisations that are constantly seeking to improve and reinvent the way business is carried out and how customers are severed an organisation development (OD) perspective. French and Bell (1999) describes OD as a long-term effort to improve the organisations visioning, empowerment, learning and problem-solving processes through collaborative management of organisation culture this description high-lights a key aspect, learning. The organisation is not the only arena for people to learn. There is need for organisations and its employees, and to a greater extent the community within which the organisation is operating to understand the importance of life-long-learning the need to have high quality. This calls for a cross-sector partnership to provide opportunities for organisation (public, private and non-profit) to work together to enhance the skill base in the labour market which will in turn increase in human and social capital. Developing a learning organisation is not easy since it necessitates culture change. To successfully implement a learning culture, there is need to align performance evaluation and reward processes with organisational learning goals, a means of fostering a common corporate learning culture. Encouraging a greater uptake of learning an

Friday, October 25, 2019

Stereotyping :: Psychology Stereotyping Stereotype Essays

Stereotyping Stereotyping is a form of pre judgement that is as prevalent in today's society as it was 2000 years ago. It is a social attitude that has stood the test of time and received much attention by social psychologists and philosophers alike. Many approaches to, or theories of stereotyping have thus been raised. This essay evaluates the cognitive approach that categorisation is an essential cognitive process that inevitably leads to stereotyping. Hamilton (1979) calls this a 'depressing dilemma'. Brown's (1995) definition of stereotyping through prejudice is the 'holding of derogatory social attitudes or cognitive beliefs, the expression of negative affect, or the display of hostile or discriminatory behaviour towards members of a group on account of their membership to that group'. This definition implies that stereotyping is primarily a group process, through the individuals psyche's within that group. A further idea of stereotyping, defined by Allport (1954) as 'thinking ill of others without warrant', is that people 'make their mind up' without any personal experience. This pre judgement about a whole group is then transferred to the stigmatisation of any individuals in that group. It is these ideas that the essay aims to evaluate, through the cognitive process of categorisation and the above definitions that bring about three distinct features of stereotyping, that our cognition can be demonstrated through. The first characteristic of stereotyping is over-generalisation. A number of studies conducted found that different combinations of traits were associated with groups of different ethnic and national origin (Katz and Braly, 1933). However, stereotyping does not imply that all members of a group are judged in these ways, just that a typical member of a group can be categorised in such judgements, that they possess the characteristics of the group. Still, when we talk of a group, we do so by imagining a member of that group. The second feature and characteristic of stereotyping is the exaggeration of the difference between ones own group (the in-group) and the 'other' group (the out-group). This can be traced back to the work of Tajfel during the 1950's - 'the accentuation principle' (Tajfel, 1981). Tajfel's work was specifically on physical stimuli, and concluded that judgements on such stimuli are not made in isolation, but in the context of other factors. Applied socially - a judgement about an out-group relies upon other factors surrounding the judgement in question, as well as making a statement about the in-group and the relationship between the two groups.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Battle Ground Descriptive

Battle Ground Descriptive BY YE Luis Alberta urea was born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother. He grew up In San Diego and attended the university of California. After graduation and a brief career a movie extra, Urea worked with a volunteer organization that provides food, clothing, and medical supplies to the poor of Northern Mexico. In 1982 he taught writing at Harvard. His most recent novel, Into the Beautiful North, was published In 2010. Border Story In this description of the Mexican-American border from across the wire: Life andHard Times on The Mexican Border (1 993), Urea uses the device of a second person to place his reader in the scene. By making you† the â€Å"illegal†, he seeks to dramatist and humanism the plight of the poor seeking a new life in the united States. 1. At night, the Border Patrol helicopters swoop and churn In the alarm all along the line. You can sit In the Mexican hills and watch them herd humans on the dusty slopes acros s the valley. They look like science fiction crafts, focused lights raking the ground as they fly. 2.Borderlands locals are so Jaded by the sight of nightly people-hunting that It doesn't even register In their minds. But take a stranger to the border, and she will see the spectacle: monstrous Dodge trucks speeding into and out of the landscape; uniformed men patrolling with flashlights, guns and dogs; spotlights; running figures; lines of people hurried onto buses by armed guards; and the endless clatter of the helicopters with their harsh white beams. A Dutch woman once told me It seemed altogether â€Å"UN-American†. 3.But the Mexicans keep on coming- and the Guatemalan, the Salvadoran, the Panamanian, the Columbians. The seven- mile stretch of Interstate 5 nearest the Mexican border is, at times. So congested with Latin American pedestrians that it resembles a town square. 4. They stick to the center Island. Running down the length of the Island Is a cement wall. If the à ¢â‚¬Å"illegal's† ( currently â€Å"undocumented workers†: formerly' â€Å"wetback's†) are walking north and a Border Patrol vehicle happens along, they simply hop over the wall and trot south.The officer will have to drive up to the 805 interchange, or Dairy Mart Road, swing over the overpasses, then drive south. Depending on where this pursuit egging, his detour could entail five to ten miles of driving. When the officer finally reaches the group, they hop over the wall and trot north. Furthermore, because freeways arrests would endanger traffic, the Border Patrol has effectively thrown up It's hands In surrender. 5. It seems Jolly on the page. But Imagine poverty, violence, natural disasters, or political fear driving you away from everything you know.Imagine how bad things get to make you leave behind your family, your friends, your lovers; your home, as humble as it might be; your church, say. Let's take it further- eve said good-bye to the graveyard, the dog , the goat, the mountains where you first hunted, your grade school, your state, your favorite spot on the river where you fished and took time to think. 6. Then you come hundreds- or thousands- of miles across territory utterly unknown to you. ( Chances are, you have never traveled I OFF of trucks, spent part of you precious money on bus fare.There is no AAA or Travelers Aids Society available to you. Various features of your Journey north might include police corruption; violence in the forms of beatings, rape, murder, torture, road accidents; theft; incarceration. Additionally, you might experience loneliness, fear, exhaustion, sorrow, cold, heat, diarrhea, thirst, hunger. There is no medical attention available to you. There isn't even Ext. 7. Weeks or months later, you arrive in Tijuana. Along with other immigrants, you gravitate to the bad parts of town because there is nowhere for you to go in the glittery section where the gringo's flock.You stay in a rundown little hotel in the red-light district, or behind the bus terminal. Or you can find your way to the garbage dumps, where you throw together a small roadbed nest and claim a few feet of dirt for yourself. The garbage-pickers working this dump might allow you to squat, or they might come and rob you, or burn you out for breaking some local rule you cannot know beforehand. Sometimes the dump is controlled by a syndicate, and goon squads might come to you within a day. They want money, and if you can't pay, you must leave or suffer the consequences. 8.In town, you face endless factorization if you aren't streetwise. The police come after you, street thugs come after you, petty criminals come after you; strangers try your or at night as you sleep. Many shady men offer to guide you across the border, and each one wants all of your money now, and promises to meet you at a prearranged spot. Some of your fellow travelers end their Journey right here- relieved of their savings and left to wait on a dark cor ner until they realize they are going nowhere. 9. If you are not Mexican, and can't past as tastiness, a local, the tough guys find you out.Salvadoran and Guatemalan are routinely beaten up and robbed. Sometimes they are disfigured. Indians- Chicanes, Masticates, Guavas, Capote's, Mays- are insulted and pushed around; often they are lucky- they are merely ignored. They use this to their advantage. Often they don't dream of crossing into the United States: a Mexican tribal person would never be able to blend in, and they know it. To them, the garbage dumps and street vending and begging in Tijuana are a vast opportunity over their former lives. As Dona Paula, a Chicane friend of mines who lives at the Tijuana garbage dump, told me, â€Å"This is the garbage dump.Take all you need. There's plenty here for everyone! † 10. If you are a woman, the men come after you. You lock yourself in your room, and when you must leave it to use the pestilential public bathroom at the end of yo ur floor, you hurry, and you check every corner. Sometimes the lights are out in the toilet room. Sometimes men listen at the door. They call you â€Å"good- looking† and â€Å"pitch† and â€Å"impact,† and they make kissing sounds at you when you pass. 1 1 . You're in the worst part of town, but you can comfort yourself- at least there are no death squads here.There are no tortures here, or bandit land Aaron riding into your house. This is the last barrier, you think, between you and the United States- Los Humanities Estates. 12. You still face police corruption, violence, Jail. You now also have a variety of new option available to you; drugs, prostitution, white slavery, crime. Tijuana is not easy on newcomers. It is a city that has always thrived on taking advantage of a sucker. And the innocent are the ultimate suckers in the Borderlands. This passage and this question Urea had called the border a â€Å"battlefield. † How does his description illustr ate this view?

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

American Christians Essay

On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the world saw the first and only usage of atomic weaponry in the history of the world. President Truman said that his decision to use the bomb was for the chief purpose of ending WWII, the deadliest war in human history, as quickly as possible. Multiple warnings were given to Japan about this new weapon in the hope that they would surrender. Japan did not heed these warnings before or even after the dropping of the first bomb on the city of Hiroshima. An invasion of Japan, which was planned for the spring of 1946, would cost an estimated 500,000 American lives and in the event of such an invasion, it was learned that plans dated August 1944, for the murder of more than 100,000 Allied POWs would be carried out. (Goodwin, 2003 pg. 338) However, the major scientists of the day who worked on the project as well as the chief Allied commanders in the field, believed that the use of the bomb was unnecessary as Japan was planning to surrender in the immediate future without the influence of the bomb and that further usage of atomic bombs, was not only unnecessary but immoral and constituted a war crime as it was a crime against humanity. The atomic bomb started with the Manhattan Project. This was the name given to the highly classified, top secret project in order to beat the Germans to have the first atomic bomb in the history of the world. The project was initially started by refugee European scientists, most notably, Albert Einstein, who in a letter to President Roosevelt in the spring of 1939, warned that the Germans were aggressively seeking out the use of such a bomb and that the atomic age, whether the world liked it or not, was upon us and it would behoove the United States if they were the first ones with this technology and not the Axis powers. This letter sparked what would become the largest and most costly development research project of its time. During World War II, the number of American deaths would exceed 400,000. This was nothing in comparison to the more than the seventeen million deaths that were suffered by the Soviet Union; America’s contentious ally. This resulted in the aggressive pursuit of the war in which any means necessary would be used in order to end the war as quickly as possible and decrease the number of American deaths. It was also necessary that the Manhattan Project be kept top secret. The project was so top secret that Vice President Harry Truman did not know of its plans until he secured the White House at the death of President Roosevelt in April of 1945. Only then did President Truman learn and then approve the further testing and continuation of the plan. The atomic bomb was World War II version of chemical warfare, except that it was on a much larger scale. Therefore, a greater degree of responsibility must be attached to its possible use in war. As a result, President Truman commissioned a group of prominent citizens and respected scientists to advise the President on the possible use of the atomic bomb. U. S. Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, concluded the report by saying: â€Å"Our great task is to bring this war to a prompt and successful conclusion. †(Lamplier 2006) However, there were other thoughts on the subject. Robert Oppenheimer said that the bomb could kill 20,000 people and that the target should be a military and not a civilian target. Furthermore, Dr. Arthur Compton, a scientist, argued that the bomb should be dropped in a remote area of Japan where there was known to be a sparse population so that minimal life would be lost but that Japan could see first hand, the destruction of the bomb and be prompted to surrender. This suggestion was soon dismissed as it would be disadvantageous if Japan was prompted of the attack before it happened and the plane would be shot down or if the bomb was dropped and did not detonate, this would be a major problem as future attempts to warn the Japanese would fall on unbelieving ears. Also, there was a real possibility that the bomb would not work as this was a new invention with only one test explosion under its belt. â€Å"In July of 1945, President Truman reexamined the use of the bomb and in the end, agreed that the best thing to do, in order to bring a prompt end to the war, would be to utilize the bomb’s destructive force and appeal for intimidation in order to bring the war to an end. † (McCullough, 2005 pg. 188) The stage was set for the world’s only use of this new and terrible weapon. On July 26, 1945 President Truman and other Allied leaders outlined their conditions for surrender in what would be called the Potsdam Declaration. It said: â€Å"The full application of our military power, backed by our resolve, will mean the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forced and just as inevitably, the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland†¦ We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forced, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction. † (Rhodes, 1985 pg. 129) This message would be rebroadcast over Japanese radio as well as printed on thousands of leaflets that were dropped over Japan. This did not yield the response that the Allied Forces had hoped for and it was ignored. Emperor Hirohito was yet to receive word that the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan, or were ever going to and therefore, did not feel the necessity to accept the possibility of surrender. The bombings would have to continue as planned. Upon waiting for ideal weather temperatures, a B-29 named the Enola Gay after one of the pilot’s mother, set off for their target of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Six hours after the flight began, the B-29 and its captain, Paul Tibbits, came upon their target and the bomb, nicknamed ‘Little Boy† for the shape of the bomb was dropped on the unsuspecting city. The bomb contained over 130 pounds of the highly explosive uranium-235 and even though only 1% of that would be efficiently used in the drop, the bomb performed as expected. (Meyers, 2001 pg. 77) The bomb detonated 600 meters above the ground and had a blast equal to 13 kilotons in which 90,000 people were instantly killed. It is also likely that hundreds of Allied Prisoners of War and 2,000 Japanese Americans present before the war in which they were attending school overseas and were unable to leave once the war broke out, died in the blast as well. Also, the number of deaths needs to be grouped into two main categories: those that died at the initial blast and those that lingered in agony for days or even weeks before the succumbed to the high levels of radiation that they had been exposed to as a result of the blast. 90% of the buildings in Hiroshima were leveled to the ground and fires which stretched for 11 square miles were also seen as a result of the bombing. (Nichols, 1985. 229) A new and most lethal weapon had been unleashed for the first time upon a city. The destruction was complete but was still not enough to compel Japan to surrender. Plans for a second atomic bomb had been already planned for, in the event that it would be needed. Plans were now made for the usage of this second bomb and its dropping over Nagasaki. Despite the total destruction of the bomb, a second one was needed as the first did not compel Japan to surrender. President Truman declared: â€Å"If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the likes of which has never been seen on this earth. † (McCullough, 2005 pg. 219) On August 8th, 1945, thousands of additional leaflets were dropped and warnings were given to Japan. As a result of Japan’s refusal to surrender, a second bomb was dropped over the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. This bombing included more than 14 lbs of plutonium 239 and which exploded more than 430 meters above the ground. This cased winds of more than 600 mph and had the power of 21 kilotons of TNT. The estimated heat that the bomb caused was more than 7000 F and an estimated 80,000 people were killed with another 60,000 injured; many of whom would die from their injuries in the coming weeks and months. (Lamplier, 2006) There still was no sign of Japan’s surrender and the United States planned for more bombings. The debate over America’s use of the atomic bomb has increased as the years continued. There is a great deal of evidence, both for and against the use of the atomic bomb. It was later learned by the public, that a mass invasion of Japan was scheduled in March of 1946 in a final attempt to end the war. There is no way of being able to accurately calculate the number of casualties but one estimate from Secretary of State James Byrnes, believed that 500,000 American lives would be lost as well as hundred of thousands Japanese lives as well if an invasion were to occur. (Lamplier, 2006) An initial wave of American forces, it was estimated, would yield close to 100,000 deaths and with future waves of invasion forces, three to four times that number would be seen it was generally believed. Also, there has been a political stalemate within Japan between the military and the civilian forces over the possibility of surrender. The civilian forces had been seeking a way in which to obtain a favorable and honorable surrender but this was seen as out of the question among the military generals. Also, after the war, it was learned that plans by Japanese forces to murder more than 100,000 Allied POWs, if an invasion were to occur, helped the cause of justifying the use of the atomic bomb in order to avoid an invasion and end the war as quickly as possible, thus saving hundreds of thousands of American lives as well as Japanese lives in the process. However, there has been in the decades after the war, an increasing number of detractors who have said that the usage of the atomic bomb was unnecessary and that more peaceful measures could have been used in order to bring the war to a close. One of the scientists, Leo Szilard, wrote to President Roosevelt in 1939, about the morality of the bomb. It seemed as a paradox that many of the scientists, who worked on the Manhattan project, did not advocate the usage of the bomb. In the letter, it was believed that had Germany used the bomb of the United States, the US would almost certainly decry this action as being representative of war crimes. Therefore, the same would have to be believed had America dropped such a bomb on their enemies. The letter reads as such: â€Å"Suppose Germany had dropped one bomb, say, on Rochester and the other on Buffalo, and then having run out of bombs she would have lost the war. Can anyone doubt that we would then have defined the dropping of the atomic bombs on cities as war crimes, and that we would have sentenced the Germans who were guilty of this crime to death at Nuremberg and hanged them? † (Goodwin, 2003 pg. 225) However such beliefs have now come under intense scrutiny as to date, the droppings of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki still stand as the world’s only use of atomic weaponry upon the world. There were further scientific detractors from the use of the bomb. In March 1945, scientist Dr. James Franck questioned the use of the bomb in relation to public opinion towards the United States on a world wide basis. â€Å"If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons. † (Meyers 2001 pg. 227) Further backlash against the use of the bomb was seen by the Federal Council of Churches in March 1946 in which a joint statement read: â€Å"As American Christians, we are deeply penitent for the irresponsible use already made of the atomic bomb. † However, at that time, there were no implications against President Truman concerning possible political motivations until after he had left office in 1953. Peter Kuznick, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, believed that the President was politically motivated in his use of the bombs. â€Å"He knew he was beginning the process of annihilation of the species. It was not just a war crime; it was a crime against humanity† The usage of the atomic bombs, resulted in many believing that the world, as the result of American usage of the bombs, had pushed the world to the point of no return in the usage of atomic weaponry. â€Å" (Goodwin, 2005 pg. 255) It was then implied that the United States was motivated by the desire to scare the Soviet Union with their new invention. Ever since the meting at Yalta in which President Roosevelt, Joseph Stain and Winston Churchill met in order to carve out a post war Europe and what the future of the world would represent, there had been a tremendous amount of suspicion towards the Soviet Union and their communist ideas. At the Yalta Conference, President Roosevelt erroneously believed that he and the United States could keep the Soviet Union in check. This was an assumption which proved to be incorrect to an alarming degree, the closer the Allies got to realizing victory in World War II. By the summer of 1945, it was obvious to all, that the end of WWII would only signal the beginning of a new war between the Soviet Union and the United States. At that time, nobody knew how that war would end as the Soviet Union, despite their heavy losses in WWII, was an even match with the United States. The only thing which the United States had was the atomic bomb and it could not have been seen than in only four short years after the end of the war, The Soviet Union would have an atomic bomb of their own. This further increased the number of detractors of the use of the atomic bomb and its suspected use towards intimidating the Soviet Union with its use on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Also, two of the most famous and powerful American generals during the war, Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, both disagreed with the use of the bomb. Eisenhower, in his memoir The White House Years, commented on the use of the bomb. â€Å"During the recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him (Secretary of War Stinson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that our dropping of the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking the world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. † (Eisenhower, 2003 pg 77) Eisenhower was not alone. Other generals also believed that the dropping of the bomb was unnecessary. Douglas MacArthur, who publicly hated Truman said that he thought that such an event was unnecessary and later said: â€Å"Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bomb had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated. † (Tarver, 2004) Also, by President Truman not dropping the bomb when he had the chance to, upon the American public learning of this, would have sealed Truman’s political future as well as the political future of the Democratic Party for years to come, regardless of an Allied victory soon after August 1945. The American public had endured three and a half years of a deadly war, not seen in measure since the Civil War and the American public had been largely in favor of the bombings of Dresden and Tokyo which yielded comparable numbers of deaths as it was believed that such bombings would end the war quicker. When President Truman said that his motivation for use of the bomb was to end the war as quickly as possible, he echoed the prevailing opinion of the American public. In the decades since the end of the war, there has been new information which has both led to a further belief in the correctness and the immorality of the usage of the bomb. The suggestion to drop the bomb in a desolate area of Japan would have been a proper compromise between the two prevailing schools of thought. The bomb would have been dropped and a successful display of this new invention and its destructive power would be achieved with minimal loss of life. This did not occur and only President Truman, as it was he who had the final power to drop the bomb, knew what his real motivations were in what still is, the world’s only usage of the atomic bomb upon its citizens. WORKS CITED Goodwin, D. (2003). No Ordinary Time. New York: Simon & Schuster Eisenhower, D. (1998). The White House Years. New York: Scribners Lamplier: J. (2006) FDR. Boston: PBS Productions. Manchester, W. (1987) The Last Lion: Alone . New York: Simon & Schuster. McCullough. D. (2005). Truman. New York: Scribners. Meyers, J. (2001). Fat Man & Little Boy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Murrow, E. (1991). Revisiting Los Alamos See It Now. New York: CBS Productions Nichols. H. (1985) The Manhattan Project Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1985 Rhodes, R. (1985) Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster Tarver, M. (2004) Douglas MacArthur Boston: American Experience PBS Productions