Impact of Human Resources Management

Impact of Human Resources Management Robert Proctor Introduction The purpose of this paper is to answer questions about the Human Resource Managers impact during organizational changes or challenges and two questions about my experience with change and challenge with the support of the Human Resource Management of my organization the Navy Personnel Support Detachment (PSD). What are the competencies of a Human Resource Manager? One writer defines Human Resources competencies skills sets as intrinsic characteristics which exhibit themselves through ones personal traits, habits, motives, social roles, and self-image. All these attributes enable a person to deliver excellence in performance in any given job, role, or situation (Darvish, Moogali, Moosavi, Panahi, 2012). Snell and Bohlander categorizes these competencies into mastery sets called: business mastery, human mastery and personal credibility (Snell Bohlander, 2012). In my opinion, I see the position of the Human Resources Manager as being that of a middleman in any organization who is tasked with providing the human touch within the organization. As the writer states above, they are the branch of any organization that must operate at the highest level of proficiency in all areas. The Human Resources Management department of my organization (Department of the Air Force) in my experience is a group of people who one can rely on to have answers to a sundry array of issues personally and professionally. I have heard from others of their experiences with HR departments, in their organization, which resulted in less than the standard manner of excellence that one would expect. How a change/challenged was introduced in my organization? The scope of operations for the unit I am assigned to which is the San Antonio Navy Personnel Detachment is to provide administrative and financial services for staff and student military personnel stationed at Joint-Base San Antonio (Fort Sam, Lackland AFB, and Randolph AFB) and the surrounding reserve unit and recruiting commands that are in and around San Antonio and as far north as Austin, Texas. The Department of the Navy Human Resources branch recently conducted a work survey of various personnel support detachment. My unit was involved in that survey. Because of that survey, there was a worldwide operational reconfiguration plan implemented for the realignment of all Navy Personnel Support Detachments. The purpose of this reconfiguration was to consolidate the detachments due to an implementation of an e-resource which took away many of their tasks when it allowed sailor level self-service for many of their administrative and personnel services. This resulted in a need for reduction and an overhaul the current support detachments configuration. This reduction in support detachments was accomplished through consolidation by realignment of support detachments. Because of that change, our unit became the command center for two outlining units (Houston and Corpus Christi). What this meant to us is the demographics of our customer base not only increased in sizes but the complexities of administrative action we would conduct changed as well. Typically, our standard client is enlisted initial entry and retiring Navy personnel. What is the appropriate HR Manager response to for this change/challenge? The HR Department has approached this change from a proactive perspective. We were provided numerous briefings at least 12 months prior to the changed in the configuration that kept everyone informed of the event and provided enough space to answer any concerns as the project moved forward. Once the change began and during the hand-off phase, we were kept in the loop at the leave where the change would affect us the most. Due to the proximity of the units, we inherited the leadership team at the local level began to operate in a flexible fashion that is partly reactive and partly proactive. This flexibility allows the leadership team the opportunity to identify any faults in their operating process to help them better integrate with the command. If they have not accomplished this step yet, I believe Navy HR Department and the local Leadership staff should have an action plan in place that outlines appropriate training requirements that ensure everyone is operating from the same stand ards. Was the involvement of the Human Resources Management beneficial with this change? Overall, the change has progressed fairly smoothly. Though there have been a few miscues along the way, I see the process going forth as efficiently and professionally as it can be done. The leadership has visited the outlining units frequently. And as we receive work from these units, many of the clerks at the command level are noticing a decrease in errors and issues. I believe much of the success in this transition is due in part to the oversight of the Department of the Navy HR department who continue to facilitate the change to ensure the changeover results in a seamless and disruption-free transition. Conclusion The purpose of this paper was to answer questions about the Human Resource Managers impact during organizational changes or challenges and two questions about my experience with change and challenge with the support of the Human Resource Management of my organization the Navy Personnel Support Detachment (PSD). References Darvish, H., Moogali, A., Moosavi , M., Panahi, B. (2012, September 30). Survey relationship between human resources roles and human resources competencies. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(9), 8. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com.uiwtx.idm.oclc.org/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=srcsi=400870sr=HEADLINE(Survey+Relationship+between+Human+Resources+Roles+and+Human+Resources+Competencies)%2BAND%2BDATE%2BIS%2B2012 Snell, S. A., Bohlander, G. W. (2012). Managing human resources (29th ed.). [VitalSource Books]. Retrieved from https://www.vitalsource.com/

Harmful Algae :: Geology

Abstract The purpose of this term paper is to provide information about the different kinds of algal blooms and their effect on our environment and ourselves. There are still a lot of things that are not known about the algal bloom phenomenon, and many different hypotheses have been presented to explain these. Throughout the course of this paper those hypotheses will be presented and discussed, allowing the reader to derive their own opinion about the origin of algal blooms and what will happen in the future. table of contents Table of Contents I. Harmful Algae II. What are Algal Blooms and Red Tides? III. Why do Algal Blooms occur? IV. What are the effects of Algal Blooms? V. Where and how often do Algal Blooms occur? VI. Resources I. Harmful Algae All algal species are not harmful. Only a few out of the thousands of species are associated with the phenomenon known as an algal bloom. These algae fall into two categories. The first category of harmful algae produces toxins that are released when ingested by animals or humans. The dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense (left) and the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia australis (right) are examples of toxin producing alga. The other category of harmful algae kill without toxins. These are equipped with structures such as spines and serrated edges that allow them to lodge in fish gill tissues. When this occurs it causes irritation which leads to overproduction of mucus which eventually leads to death. This Chaetoceros species (above) is an example of an algae that kills by using specialized serrated structures. back to table of contents II. What Are Algal Blooms and Red Tides? Algal blooms are when algae grows at a fast rate and accumulate near the surface, hence the term "algal bloom". The term "Red Tide" is a misnomer because it has nothing to do with the tides. It refers to a specific type of algal bloom that occurs when certain species of phytoplankton that contain red pigments "bloom" causing the water to look red. Red Tides are usually not harmful. The California Noctiluca Bloom is an example of a Red Tide back to table of contents III. Why Do algal blooms Occur? Scientists aren't exactly sure of how or why algal blooms get started. One theory is that when temperature, salinity, and nutrients reach certain levels there is a massive increase in the amount of algae.

The Importance of Education to an Individual

Education involves a solid student/teacher relationship, as well as both student and teacher incorporating imagination into the teaching process. Both student and teacher must work together to reach an understanding of education in the classroom; this enables students to grasp full advantage of the material being taught by the teacher. Knowledge in most cases, allows you to see yourself, and to understand what you can produce. The most important aspect of education is change. Change is basically what education is; you are becoming educated and expanding your mind or in other words changing it. The more educated you become, the more able you are to approach the world, and the better off you are to introduce new thoughts to your society. A key example in demonstrating the teacher/student relationship and education as a whole, is explained by Sheldon Solomon. In Solomon's lecture on education, he discusses critical thinking and aesthetic awareness. Both, form creativity, and creativity equals change. Change, in the sense of altering ideas or approaching concepts from different angles as you become more educated and mature. Creativity allows you to take your ideas in any direction that you wish. When you start your education in elementary school you learn very easy concepts. As you proceed, you build upon early ideas with more advanced concepts. Your intuition increases through education and you have a broader background of facts and information to use. In addition to critical thinking, aesthetic awareness includes a change of your emotions. Deep visions start forming with all the information you have gathered through the years. Visions, in the sense of what the future will bring to one's life and what can be accomplished in the years to come. With these visions, students can determine what they want to do with the rest of their life. In addition, Professor Solomon includes a â€Å"dynamic interaction between active students and active teachers† (Solomon 9/9/99), as one of the five integral parts of a solid education. Students and teachers should work together to decide what and how they will be taught. The role of the professor is to keep the students interested, while the task of the students is to do what is asked of the professor. When students and teachers work together to find an effective and interesting way to learn material, the students don't have any excuse but take full advantage of the education that is being presented to them. To ensure student interest, a re-evaluation of the teaching methods should be reviewed every so often to keep the level of enthusiasm. One of the most important aspects of a person's education is the direction in which it takes you. The course the student wants to take is up to his or her imagination. As Alfred North Whitehead states, â€Å"imagination is not to be divorced from the facts: it is a way of illuminating the facts. It works by eliciting the general principles, which apply to the facts, as they exist, and then by an intellectual survey of alternative possibilities, which are consistent with those principles. In enables men to construct an intellectual vision of a new world, and it preserves the zest of life by the suggestion of satisfying purposes† (Whitehead, 15). Many individuals in my generation have very short attention spans. They can't be fully interested in school, without the freedom to express their own ideas and imagination. I believe that capturing student's interests involves acts of incorporating imagination in the classroom and being encouraged by the teacher. If this happens, students will use their talents to their fullest potentials â€Å"illuminating the facts. † Standard curriculum in schools can incorporate imagination as the key to students understanding boring information that they think they'll never use again in their life. An example of this is teaching mathematics, word for word, right out of the textbook in elementary school. The kids do the work mostly because they are required to do so rather than the desire to learn. If math is taught with objects on tables and a group interaction of the specific lesson is incorporated, a better understanding of the material will occur. These objects are the things that get you to imagine concepts and personal ideas. From an idea, imagination can spark the brain to open up to other possibilities and renditions of their original idea. A personal concept of an idea gives forth a creative personalized understanding. An excellent example of what a teacher should not aspire to is Gradgrind. I disagree with the narrow mind of Gradgrind, in Charles Dickens, â€Å"Hard Times for These Times. Teachers' should constantly doubt the credibility of the content and teaching methods. The idea of giving students a mass quantity of facts is very appealing because it will act in a way similar to an encyclopedia. However, Gradgrind failed to link these facts in an interesting, imaginative way. He was useless to his students and the students were useless to him. The clever point of this piece is the use of satire incorporated into Dickens' writing, clearly implying that the students should be incorporated into the teaching process. In no way, should they feel inferior, or feel like prisoners to the teacher. When a teacher dictates to students, they shut their brains and they become irritated by the teaching process. The teacher must provide encouragement plus interest with his or her students. Students want to accomplish work for themselves but also need the respect from their teachers to feel positive about their learning. When the teacher works at the level of the student it makes both feel equal, and better communication occurs, a friendship develops. Both student and teacher work together to reach this understanding of knowledge. My belief is that both students and teachers absolutely must work together to reach the ideal education. It is my experience that there will always be a disagreement of opinion about what and how students should learn, but in the end, I think that it is the responsibility of the students and their teachers to find this equality. If teachers weren't viewed as the dictators of life but rather education tools, I believe that students would get a little more out of the average education. Most importantly, teachers would be able to see the enjoyment of teaching, and find their jobs more rewarding.

Increasing Faculty Resistance And General Education...

Decreasing Faculty Resistance to General Education Assessment The assessment of general education courses within the realm of higher education has been a topic of concern and some contention as external regulatory bodies, accrediting agencies, and donors have become increasingly interested in seeing quantifiable results from these courses. While universities strive to maintain effective assessment of their programs, one area that consistently falls by the wayside is the assessment of general education courses. These courses have been difficult for many universities to effectively assess due to a multitude of reasons, ranging from the large number of general education courses offered, to a lack of support and cohesion on the part of the†¦show more content†¦The anticipated outcome of the study will be a decrease in faculty resistance to assessment efforts in general education courses. Friedman Stone (2002) highlight an issue on this topic: that colleges and departments are receiving pressure, both externally, from regulatory and accrediting bodies, and internally, from board members and upper administration, to expand upon general education assessment efforts (Friedman Stone, 2002). This pressure is falling on the faculty who teach these courses. The faculty, in turn, are resistant to administrative efforts to dictate what, if any, assessments are being given in their classes. Although Friedman Stone address this resistance, more research must be done on how to effectively overcome it. In another article, Banta et Al. (1993), stated that, â€Å"there is tension between the two principle purposes of assessment: demonstrating accountability and improving curricula, instruction, and student services.† Governing and accrediting bodies are more concerned with demonstrating accountability since the stipulations of their investment in a university are measured through quantifiable program benchmarks. However, the teaching faculty value assessment in terms of curriculum improvement and as a way to refine instructional methodology. Banta et Al’s quote highlights this disconnect. According to another article published by Kramer (2006) the tension