Wednesday, July 31, 2019

“Father Returning Home” by Dilip Chitre Essay

Dilip Purushottam Chitre was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics of the post Independence India. Apart from a being a writer, he was also a painter and a filmmaker. Father Returning Home is a short and appealing poem about an old man in a cosmopolitan city where his own sons and daughters treat him as an alien. He himself is estranged from the man-made world. Through this poem, Chitre has denounced the urban rootlessness and alienation. The first stanza of Father Returning Home describes the train journey of his father while returning home one evening. The father stands among commuters in the yellow light of a local compartment. The poet describes his father’s reaction against the sights of the suburbs that pass by. His father remains unmoved by the sights because they are too familiar to him. That is quite normal, isn’t it? We hardly pay attention to those places where we travel every day, unless the place has something interesting to offer. Same was with the poet’s father. The poet then describes his father’s pathetic condition, as he travels during the rainy season. His clothes become damp and dirty. The black raincoat that he wears becomes stained with mud. His bag crumbles with the heavy load of the books. Due to old age, the poet’s father’s eyesight has become poor and therefore he finds difficulty to move about in the dark. The poet says that he can see his father getting down the train ‘like a word dropped from a long sentence.’ The sentence is highly unique and it provides an evocative image of an old man who gets down from the train as if he is no longer relevant to it. The poet then sees his father hurrying through the long, grey platform. The man seems to be as old as the platform, who has been using it as a part of his routine. He crosses the railway tracks and hurries home through muddy lanes on a rainy day. This is indicated by his chappals which are sticky with mud. This stanza portrays the monotonousness of the old man, who sustains the vagaries of weather as well as the estrangement from the man-made. The second stanza, the poet represents the alienation of his father that he experiences in his own dwelling.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Deception Point Page 72

The President looked around the room for Tench. He had not seen her since before his press conference, and she was not here now. Odd, he thought. This is her celebration as much as it is mine. The news report on television was wrapping up, outlining yet again the White House's quantum political leap forward and Senator Sexton's disastrous slide. What a difference a day makes, the President thought. In politics, your world can change in an instant. By dawn he would realize just how true those words could be. 85 Pickering could be a problem, Tench had said. Administrator Ekstrom was too preoccupied with this new information to notice that the storm outside the habisphere was raging harder now. The howling cables had increased in pitch, and the NASA staff was nervously milling and chatting rather than going to sleep. Ekstrom's thoughts were lost in a different storm-an explosive tempest brewing back in Washington. The last few hours had brought many problems, all of which Ekstrom was trying to deal with. And yet one problem now loomed larger than all the others combined. Pickering could be a problem. Ekstrom could think of no one on earth against whom he'd less rather match wits than William Pickering. Pickering had ridden Ekstrom and NASA for years now, trying to control privacy policy, lobbying for different mission priorities, and railing against NASA's escalating failure ratio. Pickering's disgust with NASA, Ekstrom knew, went far deeper than the recent loss of his billion-dollar NRO SIGINT satellite in a NASA launchpad explosion, or the NASA security leaks, or the battle over recruiting key aerospace personnel. Pickering's grievances against NASA were an ongoing drama of disillusionment and resentment. NASA's X-33 space plane, which was supposed to be the shuttle replacement, had run five years overdue, meaning dozens of NRO satellite maintenance and launch programs were scrapped or put on hold. Recently, Pickering's rage over the X-33 reached a fever pitch when he discovered NASA had canceled the project entirely, swallowing an estimated $900 million loss. Ekstrom arrived at his office, pulled the curtain aside, and entered. Sitting down at his desk he put his head in his hands. He had some decisions to make. What had started as a wonderful day was becoming a nightmare unraveling around him. He tried to put himself in the mindset of William Pickering. What would the man do next? Someone as intelligent as Pickering had to see the importance of this NASA discovery. He had to forgive certain choices made in desperation. He had to see the irreversible damage that would be done by polluting this moment of triumph. What would Pickering do with the information he had? Would he let it ride, or would he make NASA pay for their shortcomings? Ekstrom scowled, having little doubt which it would be. After all, William Pickering had deeper issues with NASA†¦ an ancient personal bitterness that went far deeper than politics. 86 Rachel was quiet now, staring blankly at the cabin of the G4 as the plane headed south along the Canadian coastline of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Tolland sat nearby, talking to Corky. Despite the majority of evidence suggesting the meteorite was authentic, Corky's admission that the nickel content was â€Å"outside the preestablished midrange values† had served to rekindle Rachel's initial suspicion. Secretly planting a meteorite beneath the ice only made sense as part of a brilliantly conceived fraud. Nonetheless, the remaining scientific evidence pointed toward the meteorite's validity. Rachel turned from the window, glancing down at the disk-shaped meteorite sample in her hand. The tiny chondrules shimmered. Tolland and Corky had been discussing these metallic chondrules for some time now, talking in scientific terms well over Rachel's head-equilibrated olivine levels, metastable glass matrices, and metamorphic rehomogenation. Nonetheless, the upshot was clear: Corky and Tolland were in agreement that the chondrules were decidedly meteoric. No fudging of that data. Rachel rotated the disk-shaped specimen in her hand, running a finger over the rim where part of the fusion crust was visible. The charring looked relatively fresh-certainly not three hundred years old-although Corky had explained that the meteorite had been hermetically sealed in ice and avoided atmospheric erosion. This seemed logical. Rachel had seen programs on television where human remains were dug from the ice after four thousand years and the person's skin looked almost perfect. As she studied the fusion crust, an odd thought occurred to her-an obvious piece of data had been omitted. Rachel wondered if it had simply been an oversight in all the data that was thrown at her or did someone simply forget to mention it. She turned suddenly to Corky. â€Å"Did anyone date the fusion crust?† Corky glanced over, looking confused. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Did anyone date the burn. That is, do we know for a fact that the burn on the rock occurred at exactly the time of the Jungersol Fall?† â€Å"Sorry,† Corky said, â€Å"that's impossible to date. Oxidation resets all the necessary isotopic markers. Besides, radioisotope decay rates are too slow to measure anything under five hundred years.† Rachel considered that a moment, understanding now why the burn date was not part of the data. â€Å"So, as far as we know, this rock could have been burned in the Middle Ages or last weekend, right?† Tolland chuckled. â€Å"Nobody said science had all the answers.† Rachel let her mind wander aloud. â€Å"A fusion crust is essentially just a severe burn. Technically speaking, the burn on this rock could have happened at any time in the past half century, in any number of different ways.† â€Å"Wrong,† Corky said. â€Å"Burned in any number of different ways? No. Burned in one way. Falling through the atmosphere.† â€Å"There's no other possibility? How about in a furnace?† â€Å"A furnace?† Corky said. â€Å"These samples were examined under an electron microscope. Even the cleanest furnace on earth would have left fuel residue all over the stone-nuclear, chemical, fossil fuel. Forget it. And how about the striations from streaking through the atmosphere? You wouldn't get those in a furnace.† Rachel had forgotten about the orientation striations on the meteorite. It did indeed appear to have fallen through the air. â€Å"How about a volcano?† she ventured. â€Å"Ejecta thrown violently from an eruption?† Corky shook his head. â€Å"The burn is far too clean.† Rachel glanced at Tolland. The oceanographer nodded. â€Å"Sorry, I've had some experience with volcanoes, both above and below water. Corky's right. Volcanic ejecta is penetrated by dozens of toxins-carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid-all of which would have been detected in our electronic scans. That fusion crust, whether we like it or not, is the result of a clean atmospheric friction burn.† Rachel sighed, looking back out the window. A clean burn. The phrase stuck with her. She turned back to Tolland. â€Å"What do you mean by a clean burn?† He shrugged. â€Å"Simply that under an electron microscope, we see no remnants of fuel elements, so we know heating was caused by kinetic energy and friction, rather than chemical or nuclear ingredients.† â€Å"If you didn't find any foreign fuel elements, what did you find? Specifically, what was the composition of the fusion crust?† â€Å"We found,† Corky said, â€Å"exactly what we expected to find. Pure atmospheric elements. Nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen. No petroleums. No sulfurs. No volcanic acids. Nothing peculiar. All the stuff we see when meteorites fall through the atmosphere.† Rachel leaned back in her seat, her thoughts focusing now.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Managing in HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managing in HR - Essay Example Training is the second most significant element of human resource at Starbucks' that provides the company with a competitive advantage in the retail business. The company has a team of experts for the training sessions, whose main job is to nurture the business and improve the customer service by providing the employees with the knowledge and skills they would need at the job for performing it effectively. Raymond, A.Noe (1999, pp.3-4) suggests that, 'The goal of training is for employees to master the knowledge, skill and behaviors emphasized in training program and to apply them to their day-to-day activities.' The company trains the new employees from so many different aspects but the most important amongst them are the three basic interpersonal skills which involve maintaining and enhancing self-esteem, listen and acknowledge and ask for help. Armstrong (1992) views that, 'HRD as focused training and development for all employees which responds to individual and organizational re quirements by improving performance and understanding.' The managers and other non-frontline employees are trained for a longer period with different type because effective leadership is quite critical for building good quality teams and stronger organization. 'Effective managers not only perform the basic management functions (planning, organizing, leading and controlling), but also good communicators help employees development and work collaboratively with employees.' Raymond, A.Noe (1999, p.10). John Adair presented the functional model of leadership, which has three areas, where leadership function occurs, those areas are: task, team and individual. Generally, leadership skills are mostly used in these areas In most organizations, the formal leader meets some of the needs in these three areas.Another strong element of Starbucks, which makes the company outstands in the market of retail business, is the benefit

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Failure of the Launch in Thiokol and NASA Term Paper

The Failure of the Launch in Thiokol and NASA - Term Paper Example The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA)’s flight, which was using the Challenger spaceship, under the mission, STS 51-L burst into flames within the first 72 seconds after takeoff, on January 28, 1986 (Kizza 170). The flight was scheduled to occur in July 1985, but it was postponed for three times until the day this flight took off resulting into a fatal accident. This accident destroyed the established reputation of NASA, as well as the prestige attached to the space program. Globally, millions of people were shocked by the event, which unfolded.          According to (Kizza), the loss of the Challenger emerged due to a joint failure at the lower segments, which are located at the solid rocket motor found on the right side of the Challenger (170). This joint failure was attributed to destruction of seals, which are aimed at preventing leakage of hot gases. As such, a combustion leakage of a gas, which is found at the right solid rocket motor adjacent to the joint initiated shortly or at the ignition. This resulted in the initiation of the vehicle structural breakup, as well as the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in the STS 51-L Mission.          Further investigations indicated that sabotage and pay-load or elements of the STS 51-L Shuttle did not contribute towards the joint failure. Moreover, the design specifications of the Shuttle were not altered. This was a conclusion was arrived at after the establishment of the investigations on non-conformance, quality control, assembly, manufacturing, and materials for the Space Shuttle were conducted. The launch activities of the Space Shuttle, including preparation and assembly were in accordance with procedures, which are established. This indicates that the launch activities were not factors of considerations as the main sources or contributors towards the occurrence of the accident.              In the manufacturing process of a vehicle or any machine, design is a critical step, which engineers focus on in order to ensure that the designed machine, vehicle, or equipment has the ability to attain the desired objectives.

CRJS310 U5IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CRJS310 U5IP - Research Paper Example Recognising the signs of stalking is important in the following ways (Sheridan & Blaauw, 2004). It helps the victim to be aware and avoid falling prey to the attacker by taking caution early enough. Since stalking may range from the usually less discernible signs, being aware of such plans may help greatly in seeking help from the right channels quite early enough. It aids in making the office personnel entrusted in such issues of handling victims not to give a chance of loopholes to the advantage of the villain. Such loops may be created by ignorance information or underestimation by the personnel (Pathe, Mullen, & Purcell, 1999). ‘A stalking victim may be in the category of; ex-intimates, casual acquaintances and friends, professional contacts, work contacts, strangers and the famous’ (Kennedy, 2010, p. 33). Identifying the category of stalkers you are dealing with helps you greatly to attend to a stalking victim. It is of importance to listen to the concerns of the stalking victim and readily show concern to the grievances. This helps such a victim to feel comfortable in expressing their concerns (Lemon, 2012). Immediate and competent actions should be taken to curb additional harm to the victim. Every evidence put forward should in no way underestimated. The stalker should be warned and apprehended once they’ve been identified. This ensures the security of the victim from further harassment. Once a concern has been levelled by a victim, it is of great concern to provide security for such victims. This helps them to gather courage to report potential stalkers without fear of retaliatory attacks from them (Sheridan D. B., 2001). It is also important to note that some of the victims may not be genuine. This category may include stalkers who claim to be victims, some with delusions of being stalked, the previously stalked, the fictitious disorder and malingerer. This calls for extensive

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Personal Philosophy of Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Philosophy of Nursing - Assignment Example The author’s personal philosophy of nursing is grounded in the theory of Virginia Henderson and her definition of nursing. Adapted from the book of Daniels (2004), Henderson’s definition of nursing is stated as: â€Å"The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will, or knowledge. The author wants to become a nurse because of the calling to serve and care for other people. She wanted to make a difference by creating a significant impact on patients’ lives and be remembered as a nurse who cared for them with passion. The author believes that this significant impact can be achieved through a holistic, patient-centered and passionate care. The author reflects and would like to live up to her personal and societal life values including human dignity, integrity, autonomy, altruism, and social justice. The author would like to be remembered as a nurse with a commitment to patients and community, a nurse who follows the footsteps of Virginia Henderson. Above all, the author values social justice or the fair and equitable allocation of resources. The author highly feels that this should be the most lived up values because quality care must be provided to all needing population regardless of who they are and what are their status in life and nurses are fully responsible for doing all the efforts to lead the patient to recovery and independence.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Ethics Paper (Intrapreneurship) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics Paper (Intrapreneurship) - Essay Example Ethics and Business As per the chapter under consideration that is Chapter One in Making Innovations Work, the authors, nowhere appear to be visibly, directly and discernibly identifying ethics as a driving force in business innovation. In the context of innovation, the authors in the chapter under consideration have amply touched on varied precursors of innovation like leadership, business strategy and mentality, pragmatism, change management, networking and incentives. However, the authors have visibly failed to touch on the ethical dilemmas and problems associated with these aspects of business. The authors have approached the issue of innovation in a format that seems to be mechanically systematic, without delving deeper into the problems that may arise while taking decisions that may seem to challenge the established ethics and morals. The authors have also failed to extend a set of viable and reasonable principles that an organization needs to hold sacrosanct, while opting for innovation and change. Innovation, by its very nature is a process that is bound to challenge the established ethics in a plethora of ways. Ethics and Innovation Strategy There is no denying the fact that ethics should play a major role in the innovation strategy of a company or organization. Businesses constitute a part of the society, and hence must stick to ethical norms and values while pursuing innovation to maintain trustworthiness both within and in a larger social context (Oden, 1997, p. 4). Any business is a sub-system within a larger system called society. A viable business responds to this responsibility in a variety of ways like vying to protect the interests of the shareholders, by being transparent, by being sensitive to the expectations and aspirations of its employees, by being committed to enhancing efficiency, by being responsible towards environmental concerns, and the like. Besides, business ethics play a pivotal role in the context of decisional freedom associat ed with any innovation strategy (Oden, 1997, p. 7). Hence, it is the business ethics that extend a viable framework for balancing the varied interests and values tagged to any innovation strategy. Rewriting the Rules of Innovation â€Å"The Rules of Innovation† presented in Chapter one could be rewritten to bring in an ethical dimension into the overall innovation strategy of a business: 1. Exert strong leadership on the innovation strategy and compliance with the agreed upon ethics and moral constraints within an organization. 2. Integrate innovation and ethical compliance as unexceptional constituents of the company’s business mentality. 3. Aligning the amount and type of innovation with a distinct regard for ethical conduct and behavior. 4. Well managing the natural tension that exists between creativity, profitability and ethical conduct 5. Retaining a strong ethical sense of direction, while doing away with the superfluous routines and cultural norms. 6. Forging a n innovation oriented network both within and without, based on the respect for the values and aspirations of all the stakeholders associated with this network. 7. Giving way to apt rewards and incentives to encourage innovation, without relying on the negative stimuli like fear, power politics and threats. Ethical Impact Inculcation of an ethical component within each of â€Å"

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Investigation and previous work on optical and thermal measurements in Dissertation

Investigation and previous work on optical and thermal measurements in transparent materials - Dissertation Example The optical and thermal measurements of Aluminum are also discussed because a part of this dissertation involves the analysis of Aluminum metal as a reflector for heat dissipation. When light rays hit the boundary of a refractive material, they are split into subrays according to the solid angle caused by the dispersion and the distance traveled by the split rays until they hit the next surface of the material (Wilkie, Tobler, & Purgathofer, 2000). Ray tracing is based on this principle and is used to study optical materials. When radiation falls on the surface of a material, some part of it is reflected, some is absorbed, and some of it is transmitted. These three are the most important optical features of a material and are characterized as the reflectivity (?) of the surface of the material, absorbance (?) of the material, and transmissivity (?) of the material (Bartl & Baranek, 2004). These three optical features of a substance are related to each other as per the equation: ? +? +? = 1. The refractive index of a material is given by the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of an electromagnetic wave in the material. The refractive index is an important optical property. ... transitions, multiphoton processes, scattering and defect and impurity absorption, density variations, etc are important loss mechanisms that greatly influence the optical properties of the substance (Tropf, Thomas, & Harris, 1995). Lattice vibrations or atomic motion in the material are responsible for its optical properties, dielectric properties, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and other important thermo-optic properties (Tropf, Thomas, & Harris). The refractive index, an important optical property, is influenced by a number of factors including temperature, stress, and applied field. The study of temperature effects on the refractive index of a material, called thermo-optic properties of the material, is especially important in case of solar concentrators because they are continuously exposed to heat and high temperatures due to exposure to sunlight. Thermal measurements such as measurements of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity of optical materials are thus important for predicting its behaviour. The coefficient of linear thermal expansion, given by ?, is the fractional change in the length with respect to change in temperature (Tropf, Thomas, & Harris, 1995). It is thus defined by the equation: ? (T) = 1/L dL/dT The thermal conductivity of a material, given by ?, is the â€Å"rate of heat flow† through the substance within a specific â€Å"thermal gradient† (Tropf, Thomas, & Harris). Figure 3.1 shows the thermal conductivity of several common optical materials. Fig. 3.1: Thermal conductivity of optical materials (Tropf, Thomas, & Harris, 1995, p. 33.37). Studying the optical and thermal behaviour of optical materials is an important prerequisite in order to utilize them in solar applications. Several methods for carrying out optical and thermal

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Value Alignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Value Alignment - Essay Example 1). As such, organizational values are seen to be all encompassing for various stakeholders. As an individual, traditional values include being accorded with opportunities for personal and professional growth; being treated equally, fairly, and justly – without discrimination or prejudice; being able to balance family life with work; and being able to adhere to ethical, moral and legal standards. The origin of individual values stem from the value system inculcated by one’s parents (family) and that which is traditionally handed and manifested in one’s culture. From the value statements, of the individual and that of the organization, it could be deduced that when these values are congruent; meaning, they are aligned or identical, the relationship between employer and employee is perceived to be harmonious, smooth, and effective. It was emphasized that â€Å"values and ethics are important in the workplace to help keep order, ensuring that a company runs smoothly and remains profitable† (Amico, 2013, p. 1). As such, both the individual and the organization could work hand in hand towards the accomplishment of identified goals: whether it be personal, professional, or organizational

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Film review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Film review - Essay Example In 2012 the film won prize in the nomination for best director in Sundance and was nominated for â€Å"Oscar† as best feature-length documentary. The documentary film starts with acquaintance with the narrator Emad Burnat, who experienced many events in his life, which he could name a â€Å"hot flame†. His life once became a mix of hope and pain. He made this film to â€Å"hold onto the memories† (â€Å"Five Broken Cameras†). For these purpose he had five cameras of different size. Each camera was filming one episode of Emad`s life. He was born in Bil`in – a village surrounded by hills - and spent all his life there. In childhood he used to work the land with his strict father and, like all urchins, he was not in delight of such activity. He wanted to walk with friend in the open valleys. Once he saw the Israeli survivors, which came to build a protecting wall in the middle of his family land, and his life changed. The first days after bulldozers arrival seemed hard for him. However, Emad has happy memories from this time too – his fourth son was born. The narrator bought his first camera for this occasion. We see the episode, how Emad is filming his family, his elder sons. Emad says that each of his boys was â€Å"a phase† in his and his wife`s lives and â€Å"each boy experienced a different childhood† (â€Å"Five Broken Cameras†). He notices his first son was born in 1995 â€Å"in the time of hope after The Oslo Peace Accords†. The urbanization came closer and closer during the childhood of Emad and the birth of Gibreel, his fourth son. This process was taken more and more territory for the purpose of movement of Israeli settlers. The newest settlement rapidly doubled its population, it took only five years for this and the barrier was finished to separate the settlers. The following minute we hear the sound of gun. â€Å"Soldiers are in the village†, says Emad`s wife (â€Å"Five Broken

Monday, July 22, 2019

Native Americans in the United States and Pocahontas Life Essay Example for Free

Native Americans in the United States and Pocahontas Life Essay This book was the bases and the most informative piece I have seen on a review of Pocahontas life in my perspective. Pocahontas life is a difficult piece of history to analysis for the fact that her life is only denoted by other persons of history writings. She has no known piece of writing of her own so all knowledge is personal based of outside parties. This makes it for sometimes difficult to truly believe everything for many of the views were from white men during a time period where they had not seen many females weren’t around. I believe the author thesis of the book for the Pocahontas part was her involvement with the English and her growth throughout her life. The other thesis of the book from the Powhatan side was there involvement with the English as well and there plan to use the culture but at the same time push them away. Within the first five chapter of Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma it gives you a base review of history. This first part of the book it explains the culture of the Powhatan and how they are laid out. At this point in the book within the first chapter we find out that Pocahontas is only 9 years of age and her mother is nowhere to be found, but her father is Powhatan the chief of many native people and villages. It talks about the arrival of English in 1603 and we learn that many ships have come before us truly being to talk about John Smith and Jamestown. It also mention the arrival of Don Luis and the Spanish, but doesn’t get into much detail he just seems to pop up with the first few chapters her and there. We learn that Pocahontas name means â€Å"mischief† or the â€Å"little playful one. † The author tells us that the native were not completely different from the Europeans just simply behind the times. We also learn that within the native culture of the Powhatan that there chiefs do not come from the next up son, but from marriage of the daughters. We also learn that the Europeans felt that the women of the tribes need to be saved due to their work in the fields and other jobs around the village. It speaks of the native’s religion of their belief in spirits within everything. John Smith comes into play in 1606 when the English begin to prepare for the Virginia campaign. What I learn from John Smith was that he was a captain that has been captured a lot and has numerous stories of being saved by women that fall lustful in love with. As kids watching films and stories we are told of Pocahontas is her and John Smith fall in love, but at the time of them meeting Pocahontas would’ve been ten years of age. The plans of the English and John Smith was to: improve native culture, use the land properly, get there before the Spanish, and bring English enlighten, and a place to send the unemployed English. One of the main fears that I read about in the reading was the fear of the English to become like the Indians. The term we learned in class for this is recolonization. After the landing John Smith gets taken by the Powhatan and convince them not to kill him by way of trade. He promises them weapons which out of smarts gives them a cannon which cannot be moved. Both the native and the English realize the need of each. Without one another the English could not survive without food and the natives want weapons or easier put there technology. Over time many English were sent to live with natives to learn their culture and a native would be sent with the English. The most notable was Pocahontas herself was sent with the English to learn their language and lifestyle. The book talks of Pocahontas marriage first to a native warrior, but it fails to mention what happens to him. She later marries John Rolfe an English man who experience much of the reverse colonization. Before her marriage though Pocahontas was kidnapped one of the main characters they looked over her kidnapping was Sir Thomas Dale who was the first Marshall of Virginia. Pocahontas would declare herself a Christian in 1616 and then start her life with John. They would build a log on the land John was granted from the Virginia Company. They would have two children together in their lifetime. Shortly after being settled in there Pocahontas would go to London and experience true English culture. Pocahontas would become very ill around the time the Rolfe family was ready to head back to Virginia. Pocahontas died on March 21, 1617 in the Rolfe inn. What I learned from this book that for someone of her time period and of native culture Pocahontas got to see much more than any Native American of her time period for sure. I learned that much of what we were taught or told of her in are childhood was wrong. I learned that john smith stories could not be trusted. The feeling I receive as well is Pocahontas rejected her culture and tribe, but in return was probably rejected in a way due to her mother situation. Though she might have be royal in a way just from some of the information I read. The book was good though and I enjoyed the insist of Pocahontas life.

Employer †Employee Relationship Essay Example for Free

Employer – Employee Relationship Essay Little Lamb Company needs an additional programmer for a special project. The company enters into a contract with Mary to complete this project. Just as the project is nearing completion, initially an independent contractor as she had a high degree of control over how the work is accomplished, and enters into a contract with the company a new need arises for her services. She is asked to continue with the company to complete the new project. While completing the new project, the supervisor begins working more closely with Mary and requires her to use company materials and equipment while adhering to company work schedules. Mary seems to be moving toward an at-will employee position, because she appears to have less control over how the work is accomplished as she will probably have to answer to the supervisor, and using the companies materials and equipment and adhering to the company work schedules. After two years suggests at-will employee because of the length of time being 2 years, economic conditions force the company to make budget cuts. Mary is asked to leave as an employee, as she is obviously no longer working as an independent contractor, when asked to leave the company. Thirty days later, a major contract is acquired by the company, which reinstates the need for Marys services as a programmer. However, the supervisor chooses to hire his equally-qualified cousin and not offer Mary the opportunity to return. The use of word hire implied that Mary had been an employee and not an independent contractor. Is Mary an independent contractor or an employee? Describe the factors that led to your determination. There are several criteria to determine if Mary is a contractor or an employee. For example, one critical aspect to distinguish an independent contractor from an employee is the degree of control over how the work is accomplished. Initially Mary seemed to have more control than she did at the end, so it seems that she moved from being a independent contractor at the beginning to an employee over time. However, there are many factors to consider in making a determination as to whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. Some of these criteria include:†¢Whether a distinct occupation or business is  being performed; e.g. programmer, so initially Mary was contracted as an independent contractor for a specific project. †¢The amount of supervision over the means by which the work is performed; e.g. the supervisor begins working more closely with Mary and requires her to use company materials and equipment while adhering to company work schedules implies a move away from independent contractor towards an at will employee. †¢The degree of skill required to perform the work; e.g., programmer equally-qualified cousin†¢Who provides the tools used to perform the work, and, e.g., requires her to use company materials and equipment while adhering to company work schedules and therefore moving towards being an at-will employee†¢The place where the work is done; e.g. Mary is working in the office, the supervisor begins working more closely with Mary and requires her to use company materials and equipment while adhering to company work schedules suggesting an at-will employee position. Has the employer/employee relationship changed over the course of time? If so, how?As mentioned above, it did seem to change over time. It seems that initially, Mary could be considered an independent contractor because Little Lamb Company needs an additional programmer for a special project and Mary entered into a contract with the company. However, Mary was later asked to stay on and began working close to the supervisor, who expected Mary to used the company materials and equipment, to follow the company work schedule, and was terminated at will when economic conditions demanded. Thus, Mary seemed to move from an independent contractor to an at-will employee. 3) Was Marys release legal under the doctrine of employment-at-will? Why or why not?This is murky water and it depends. If Mary had moved into an at will employee, then the doctrine of employment-at-will allows her employee to let her go without reason (however, they initially had a contract, which we look at in the next part of this question below). In the scenario, it says Mary enters into a contract for the first project, however, makes no  mention of a contract when she is asked to stay on (however, sometimes contracts are implied). For example, in most states of the United States all employees are considered at will employees. That means that the employer can terminate or change the employment relationship at will, unless there is a contract with the employer. In general, an employer can fire an at will employee, or change the employees position or compensation with no notice and no reason. Likewise, the employee can terminate his employment at will without notice or reason. However, there are three possible legitimated reasons employee can challenge a wrongful termination:If not, which of the following exceptions to employment-at-will have been violated? Why?a) Breach of public policy (Perhaps) Values, principles and basic rules that the courts and legislatures consider to be in the best interest of individuals and the general public. Employer violations of specific labor and employment laws might be called violations of public policy, instead of or in addition to violations of the specific laws. That is because it is in the best interest of all workers that all employers obey such laws. Public policy may be written or implied, and varies among states and municipalities. Consequently, whether or not an employer has violated public policy is often a matter of interpretation by a court or arbitrator (i.e., hired cousin instead of having Mary return). b) Breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Probably not, because it is dealing with contracts and the question is dealing with at-will exceptions. c) Breach of implied contract (this is a possibility). Why? For example, in a contract between the employer and the employee, even in the absence of a formal written employment agreement. For example, language in an employee handbook may promise all layoffs are based on seniority or we give employees at least 2 weeks notice of all layoffs. Therefore, if Mary thins she is wrongfully terminated, as an employee; she can challenge a wrongful termination for these legitimate reasons

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Retention of Employees in Call Centres

Retention of Employees in Call Centres Personal computers Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In the 21st century every child or adult have their own personal computers and ways of communication have been made easier with the help of email, mobile phones and faxes. These are adopted from Information Technology (IT) industries. The main concern of IT industries is to make life easy for the people. Information Technology can be defined as the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store transit information. (Wisegeek, N.D.) Call centres are a part of the IT industries, which is the most blooming sector and the role of these call centres is to make life easy to customers. Call centres are the upcoming field of employment for youngsters in Information Technology. Recruitment to get into a BPO (Business Process Organization) is done on the basis of qualification and good communication skills. BPOs are the fastest growing segments in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES). These BPOs are striving out a new exposure of the westernized working environment that could lead to a few problems in other countries. Although it has a good side by providing a good pay and a better life style for the individuals, on the other side there are still some diplomatic problems that could be identified. Most researches are done on stress, physical and psychological problems that are faced by the employees. An article in the journal, An Exploration of Occupational Hazards in BPO industry, states, Majority of employees were found to have physical health, socialization and stress related problems due to their job. (Vashistha, 2008) Competition is more in todays world and organizations are trying to build a competitive advantage through more employees who are often challenged. These individuals try to be the best in their respected fields and give their best for the organization. As the competition between organizations increases the competition for the individuals also increase. The IT industry is one of the leading industries in the world and every company needs an IT section that plays a vital role as it controls most of the organization. As it is this is the most wanted sector in every organization, the pay for employees is also expected to be high. In an IT sector, there are a number of employees who although start as freshers and will expect to get a better income as the years of experience increase (Employee Engagement Report 2008 Published May 2008). India has become the hub to start IT industries in the world. India is one of the developing countries and allows foreigners to commence large MNCs as it will reduce the unemployment level and would help the educated to get immediate jobs after education. Most global organizations have always preferred outsourcing Call centres in India. The reason to it would be that India has the second most English speaking population after the USA. There are various other reasons such as skilled labour, educated workforce, etc. Indias large number of educated workforce will not reduce, as there is always been an increasing number of students graduating every year. It is difficult to take the analysis of the entire country as is too broad and vast to cover. There are many IT companies in India; Chennai is a part of Southern India that consists of many call centres. New IT companies emerge every week and a few get closed too. E.g. Call centres in Chennai have become very popular within students and graduates, who have just completed their course. They are given a reasonable pay as fresh employees, in course of time only a few employees stick to the organization and most employees take it as a fill in job or they shift to another company because they are paid higher than its previous employer. The following section will outline how the dissertation will be structured. This will include the following: the research question, research objectives, scope, methodology, benefits and justification. A good dissertation will attempt to answer the research question and will provide a conclusion based on both secondary and primary information. Research purpose This dissertation will help us to find out the retention of employees in IT industry (Call centres) by considering a MNC in Chennai (India), (Sutherland). This large MNC (Multi National Companies) would be used as a case in this research. Below are a few key issues that will be addressed in the dissertation process: To find out ways to improve strategies in retaining employees in call centres. To study the various reasons and the need for jumping to different organisationis it only money or Is Hierarchal Phenomenon the cause of employees to shift? Dissertation Aim The purpose of doing a research is to answer the proposed research questions in a dissertation. The research questions will articulate the research problem giving various findings and suggestions. The following are the research questions for this dissertation; these questions will help the researcher to get valid information of the employees and the HR team in the organization. Information from the HR team would give the researcher suggestions and methods based on retention strategies. Does the organisation take any steps to retain their staff? Why is the retention of an employee, a hectic problem in an IT (Call centre) than any other sector? The aim of the dissertation is to critically assess and evaluate HR strategies used in Indian call centres, in specific to improve staff retention rates. Research Objectives: The research objectives are subjected to the purpose of the research; these objectives give an outline of a dissertation. The main objectives in this dissertation are: To carry out a critical review of the literature on staff retention To identify and assess reasons for poor retention rates in the IT industry. To identify and evaluate strategies to improve employee retention rates in the IT industry. To provide conclusions based on both secondary and primary evidence To make relevant recommendations for improving employee retention rates based on the conclusions arrived at. Benefits of the research: The benefits of the research help in giving the company a better understanding of the employee status. E.g. do employees want to quit the job and shift to other companies? This research would help the organisation to identify key issues faced by employees in terms of retention that will enable them to improve their retention rates. Employee retention is a large cost to some companies and by improving retention rates, it can be argued that costs can be controlled and which in turn will improve the effectiveness of the organisation. India is a developing country and IT is a major source for all MNCs. The research would consist of a case study on an IT company. The scope in this research is referred only with respect to the place chosen for the research (India). The scope of an organisation is dependable on geographic location and the culture of the people. Scope depends on the people and the location of the organisation, such that the scope in India for Biotechnology is less when compa red to U.S. More problems can arise due to the involvement of different cultures in one organisation. The rationale of my research will provide an analysis for human resource planning on employee retention in the IT industry. This will also help to identify the HR practices and whether these can be improved. This dissertation will consist of a detailed research and analysis on IT Company chosen (Located in Chennai, India). Background to the company Sutherland is a BPO that is operating in Chennai (India), it was first established in New York by Rochester in the year 1986. The branch in Chennai was opened in the year 2000 and was the first offshore facility to be opened in India. Many other branches were opened in course of time in different countries such as Canada, Mexico Bulgaria and Philippines. Sutherland employs 24,000 professionals offering rich services from its 24/7 delivery centres globally (Sutherland, 2009). Sutherland won the award; Employer of the year in 2009. They state that their employees are given the best of training to excel in their field, either in terms of business methodologies or technology. Sutherland offers front office and back office services that provide customers a better service. CHAPTER 2 Review of literature Employee retention: Carsen, 2005 states that employee retention refers to the possible number of employees that stay around for a given duration of time. In simple words employee retention could be defined as a process in which the employees are encouraged and motivated to stay with the organization. Employee retention is important and beneficial for the organization. This dissertation deals with call centres, which is a part of the IT industry. Call centres are defined as specialized organizational units providing telephone-based customer services (Kleemann Matuschek, 2002, p.41). Call centres are a part of the IT sector and are of two types and they are outbound and inbound call centres. They usually operate 24/7 a week i.e. 365 days a year. (Marr Neely, 2004). IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Employee retention plays a vital role in every organization. Mobley, 1982 states that employee turnover may be important to some organizations and a few individuals. From the organizational perspective employee turnover can represent a significant cost in terms of recruiting, training, socialization and disruption, as well as a variety of indirect costs. There are many reasons for an employee to leave an organization and it could be due to age, length of service, organizational sector size, occupational group and geographic location. The problems that arise of poor retention should be assessed within the norms of a given external labour market. (Evans 2001) Models and Theories on employee retention: There is a reason for companies to retain their top most employees. There are several models that are being followed in retaining the top most employees. There are few common hiring models that are being used by organizations for employee retention. Each has its own advantage and all serve the purpose to get hold of maximum employee retention. The following are the models, which are being used commonly. The classic model- Core employees. The above model works best with senior management, where one would require a persons full time work and attention. This is best suitable for core activities within the organization and proprietary activities such as trade secret within the organization. Many organizations do make the mistake by assuming that core employee model is the only retention model and the organization tries to fit in all jobs within it. It is important for an organization to understand and follow the hiring models appropriately. Flexible work This type of model usually involves in sharing a job within the family. This model best fits in call centres as in this industry continuity is not mush required. On the whole this model cannot work for short shift works; for example; an advertising team launching a new advertisement cannot offer job sharing-posts, as the continuity of the job is very much required. Job sharing is a success in certain cases such as when there is no much need of individual continuity with customers or with a third party and when the degree of interaction is low between the employee and the consumer. This type of model makes employees feel at home and have very less probability in them leaving the job, as they are comfortable with it and it usually works within families. Free agents Many educated individuals in the IT industry do not like to work full time for a particular organization as these employees enjoy working as part-timers in more than one organization, these type of employees are called free agents. This is the next step to flexible work with respect to job satisfaction. These types of free agents are not given a usual salary but they are paid on their results that they produce. This model is not business orientated but it is project orientated and it attracts the employee to do the job as it a likely interest. These employees usually stay with the organization only if they are recognized for their work. Outsourcing The above three models not only explains the different types of employees in an organization but also explains how to retain employees according to the type of sector that is best suitable for the individual, the question arises only when the organization gets an employee from outside to do the job of the organization. These kinds of employees are taken only for a specific duration by different organizations or individuals. This model best works with low value transaction, low-tech uncomplicated activities and non-critical activities. Many organizations have concluded that it is not possible to motivate and train employees for specified jobs, so they agree with outsourcing. (McKeown, 2002) Svyantek McChrystal, 2007, p.225, shows in his book, a new model of retention, which is very different from the above models. In this model he states employees retain the jobs because they are self-concept-job fit and an experienced meaningful work. Self-concept-job fit is a method in which the human relations professionals input the meaningful work in employees. Horgans Roberts, 2000 have stated that the future should focus into the concept of self-concept-job fit either in existing or after recruiting employee. The above models are different from each other and each of them fits best for different kinds of organizations. The best suitable model must be used in order to retain their employees and get high job performance from them. Though we cannot satisfy all individual needs there are certain general factors that we can get rid of so that the employees who are working, feel at home. After one executes a type of model into an organization it is important that the employees are satisfied with the type of job that an individual is doing. Job satisfaction is related to employee retention and for an employee to retain in the organization the individual must be satisfied but the job. Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction is very important to all employees and it is defined as the extent to which a person derives pleasure from a job (Muchinsky, 1993, p. 290). Locke (1969 as cited in Friday Friday, 2003, p. 429) defines job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job. Job satisfaction may be one of the most ideal characters for the employees to work in an organization. As job satisfaction is the most vital key for an employee to stay with an organization for a long-term relation. Spector (1997, p.5) comments, Job satisfaction is the degree to which people like their jobs. Attitudes towards job satisfaction differ between employees and may change in the course of time. A number of researchers have done research on job satisfaction and each researcher has given a unique definition for job satisfaction. Agho, Muller and Price (1992) stated that job satisfaction is the extent to which an employee likes the job. Ashp (2008, p. 323) states Job satisfaction is important to retention; although the relationship may be direct or indirect. With Employee satisfaction, an organization deals with employees opinions and work process such as workload distribution, schedule (work timings) schedule and flexibility and internal communications. But the frequently asked question by everyone; Are we satisfied with the job that we are doing. Most say that Job satisfaction in an organization is not a problem but a symptom within the organization. However one can describe job satisfaction can go up and down by the hour independently of the ones works performance. Mullins states, Job satisfaction is necessary in order to achieve a high level of motivation and job performance(Mullin 2007, p. 277). It is not possible for low performance employees to get high job satisfaction. A report published on May 2008 states that there is a clear correlation between employee engagement and employee retention, the writer states that 85% of engaged employees were indicating that they plan to stay with their employer through 2008. The report states that an effective employee retention strategy is based on employee engagement. (Blessing White, 2008) Theories on job satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be defined as ones attitude towards ones job. Job satisfaction pays much relation with retention as it is the attitude that the person gains with the job attained and this makes the employee decide whether to stay or not (Weiss, 2002). There are several theories on job satisfaction a few of them are listed below. Affect theory Lockes Range of Affect Theory (1976) is the famous theory of job satisfaction in which the theory gives an explanation of what one wants from the job. The theory gives views of the dissatisfaction level and satisfaction level of an employee working. The theory states the facet of work, for e.g. the degree of autonomy of position decides the employee to stay or leave. If an individual were satisfied with the job, then the individual would give his best in the job he is doing in the organization. Dispositional theory This is a basic theory that explains the nature of similar identities such as two twins are alike to think the same but in process they tend to end up with different results. Hence job satisfaction for each employee is quite different. This theory was narrowed down by Judge (1992) by his model called the Core self evaluation model, where in the theory states the higher levels of self esteem and self efficacy would result in high job satisfaction levels. Two-factor theory (Motivator hygiene theory) This theory has taken two variables (Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers) and the theory states that factors causing these two variables are different and it is these factors that are responsible for an individuals satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the job. Satisfiers or motivators are satisfied with their job in presence or absence of a working condition corresponding to the higher levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. And the dissatisfiers or hygiene factors, which correspond to the lower levels of Maslows hierarchy, are not satisfied with the job when they are adequate or in an inadequate working condition. (Ellis, 2005) Job characteristics model Hackman and Oldham introduced the Job characteristics model that is used widely to study the job characteristics and job outcomes along with job satisfaction. This model derives and states that there are five characteristics; i.e. skill, task, significance, autonomy, and finally feedback. These characteristics combine to give three physiological states; experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results that influence job satisfaction and motivation. This framework of five characteristics can be combined to form Motivation Potential Score (MPS). (Hackman Oldham 1976) Ones attitude towards ones job is defined as job satisfaction. These theories cannot change the attitude of the individual but can help the individual to get settled with the job. Evans (1998, p. 19) states, Job satisfaction increases with age, job values remain constant with age and job reward increase with age. Certain factors usually affect an individuals job and this will affect the willingness of the individual to carry on working. E.g., in call centres, high stress is a factor that affects employees performance; it is because of this factor that most employees may not be satisfied with their jobs. It is important that the organization take necessary steps to solve the problem else many employees would leave the organization. Factors affecting employee retention: There are several factors that affect the growth and development of an individuals carrier. If an employee cannot see his future ahead in the organization, there are a number of reasons for him to leave the organization. As these factors can affect the employees work profile, personal growths and dreams, training and development which consists of communication skills, technical skills, procedure improvement skills and skills from special projects. As this dissertation deals with Information Technology (IT) let us consider the factors that affect the employees working in Call-centres. An article by Krishnan Jagadeesan G. on Employee Satisfaction in Knowledge Industry shows the factors that affect employees and the cause of turnover in IT industries (Call centres). He states that surveys have revealed that 42.35% were found working at odd times which were the main causes for high turnover and stress disorders. In terms of job satisfaction and retention rates, while the future of the BPO industry appears bleak unless suitable changes like job rotation and intellectual pursuit in the job content are brought about, the lookout in the manufacturing and the IT sectors are promising. (Krishnan, 2008) The most common factors that affects retention of employees is: Age Length of service Industry sector Organization size Occupational group Geographic location Gender A survey done by CIPD (2006) on Employee attitudes and engagement of employees in UK shows the factors responsible for employees to leave the organization, such as older employees are engaged more than younger employees, women are equally engaged with men, management of the organization, leadership and communication, job satisfaction, length of service, stress and involvement. In this survey, the results show that a lot of stress is given to the employees and this is due to the absence of employees and the pressure from senior employees. This survey will be done to analyse few of the researchers findings. Employee retention strategy: Retention strategies are less effective than recruitment and training strategies. Case study agencies have also agreed with the same on an industry survey. The findings of retention activities are consistent with literature and it is identified that retention is a weak link in the employment cycle. Retention strategies that all organizations include are employee engagement, employee orientation and employee recognition (Davis, 2002, p.41). Each of these employee strategies helps the employee to connect with a goal in the organization. Researchers have done research and are doing research on how to retain employees for the company one is working for. The below are the findings from an article on the web which show the ways in retaining the employees. 60 years of research have shown that only research-based and theory-supported approaches will help in improving employee engagement, as employee engagement will improve retention strategies, by offering compliments, such as the best employee of the month, giving prizes and suggestion boxed. Short-term gifts or prizes such as the above do not help the employee to stay with the organization for long. The responsibility taken to create the change and implementing it will assure improved understanding and support from the employees in all aspects. Loyalty and commitment are significance to the employees working in an organization. Action oriented approaches will help the organization in order to move forward quickly. As this would bring an organization with best development practices to effectively build a high retention culture (Employee Retention Strategies, N.D.). Employees play an important role in every organization and are responsible for the growth of the organization; hence it is important that the employers retain their employees. The above findings describe a few strategies on how to retain employees. It is found that Employee Retention is not given much importance when comparing with recruitment and training processes. The above text states that employee engagement is related with employee retention, change in retention strategy will improve employee engagement. These findings will help the researcher in building a strong questionnaire as the previous researches have already showed good results. Keeping these results aside it would be easier to attain the research goal, as the path would be specific with no variation in between. It is only by research new strategies are found and changes are made in existing strategies to satisfy employees. These findings would give the researcher more space in finding the problems in deep, apart from the regular ones. In this dissertation, Sutherland (a call centre) is taken as the case study to find out and improve the retention strategies that are being followed with reference to the ancestral methods. Few common strategies on employee retention are Retention focused recruitment. Retention focused orientation. Job sculpting Retention focused Managing Retention focused Career support Work life balance measures Retention focused rewards Retention focused communication. The above are few strategies that are commonly used by organizations to retain employees by giving them high level of job satisfaction. As this dissertation is concerned with the IT sector let us see in detail the retention strategies that are used in IT (call centres) for retaining the employees. As this dissertation consists of a case study of a call centre, the researcher can examine what strategies could be used for retaining employee in this sector. An article published on the Internet shows a few strategies on how to retain the employees in a call centre. The job satisfaction of the employee will result in the performance of the employee which will give the employee a better working environment and henceforth which will result in customer satisfaction and productivity. A few ways of satisfying employees include: Recruit people who value work. Clarify expectations. Provide good and specific job training. Reward the employees for high performance. The above are few key elements that used to satisfy employees in the IT industry. There could be more elements that can satisfy employees and help the organization my retaining the employees. This research would help in finding more ways to satisfy employees so that they do not have to leave the organization. Interviews and questionnaires with the lower level and top-level of the organization will help attaining the research purpose and meet the research objectives. The findings from the questionnaire would be used to frame the structure of the interview. The interview will be taken with an agent, team leader and an HR team member of the organization. The Review of Literature in this dissertation helps to give an understanding of what is meant by employee retention and the existing models and concepts that being used such as strategies and techniques. Theories on job satisfaction helped the researcher in finding out the importance of job satisfaction with employee retention. Existing research-based theories on retention strategies were included so that the researcher will be able compare the primary findings with it. It would also be useful to find out, whether the existing strategies found by researchers are sufficient to maintain employee retention or changes should be made to the theories. These existing theories on employee retention, job satisfaction and retention strategies would give the researcher abundant satisfaction and confidence in moving towards the research as all the aspects of retention have been covered. Theories and models used in the review of literature gives a brief idea of the strategies that are being used in organizations and could be compared to one of the existing models. The contents in the review of literature could be compared to the case study companies to find the changes that are necessary and why does it need it. The researcher concludes by stating that the Review of Literature helps to achieve the aim of the dissertation in this research. CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology Clough and Nutbrown, 2007, p.5 states research is the investigation of an idea, subject or topic for a purpose. Research is used to investigate a topic or a theory in depth to get a better understanding in detail. The term research is a way of describing systematic investigation of a theory or area of activity. Although all research cannot be measured, a few can be scientifically measured or data collected and can be analysed to identify differences. Approach to the research Deductive and Inductive approach There are two types of approaches in doing a research, i.e. deductive and inductive methods. It depends on the researcher whether to choose a deductive approach or inductive approach. In deductive approach, the researcher develops a theory and designs a research strategy that analyses the hypothesis and in inductive approach, the researcher collects data from by various methods of research and end up with the hypothesis based on the data analysis. Deductive approach involves the improvement or development of a theory that is subjected to tests. Nwokah et al., 2009, p.4, states, Laws present the basis of explanation, allow the anticipation of phenomena, predict their occurrence and therefore fore permit them to be controlled. 5 stages in which deductive approach will progress. Deducing a hypothesis from a theory. Exposing the hypothesis in operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific concepts or variables. Testing this operational hypothesis. Examine the outcome obtained from the inquiry. If necessary modifying the theory in the light of the findings.(Saunders et al., 2007, p. 117) Inductive approach is opposite to deductive approach; inductive approach starts with the collection of data that it is added to form a theory or hypothesis. The following is an inductive approach for analysis for a qualitative evaluation data is described. The reasons to use an inductive approach are (a) it compresses textual data into a summary format (b) provide links within the research objectives and findings that are derived from the data and (c) a framework can be developed of the structure of processes that are evident in the data (Thomas, 2006). The inductive approach provides an easy systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable and valid findings. The inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple and straightforward approach for deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to use the inductive approach, as it is less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data analysis (Schutt, 2006). Research philosophy The type of method used in this research Retention of Employees in Call Centres Retention of Employees in Call Centres Personal computers Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In the 21st century every child or adult have their own personal computers and ways of communication have been made easier with the help of email, mobile phones and faxes. These are adopted from Information Technology (IT) industries. The main concern of IT industries is to make life easy for the people. Information Technology can be defined as the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store transit information. (Wisegeek, N.D.) Call centres are a part of the IT industries, which is the most blooming sector and the role of these call centres is to make life easy to customers. Call centres are the upcoming field of employment for youngsters in Information Technology. Recruitment to get into a BPO (Business Process Organization) is done on the basis of qualification and good communication skills. BPOs are the fastest growing segments in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES). These BPOs are striving out a new exposure of the westernized working environment that could lead to a few problems in other countries. Although it has a good side by providing a good pay and a better life style for the individuals, on the other side there are still some diplomatic problems that could be identified. Most researches are done on stress, physical and psychological problems that are faced by the employees. An article in the journal, An Exploration of Occupational Hazards in BPO industry, states, Majority of employees were found to have physical health, socialization and stress related problems due to their job. (Vashistha, 2008) Competition is more in todays world and organizations are trying to build a competitive advantage through more employees who are often challenged. These individuals try to be the best in their respected fields and give their best for the organization. As the competition between organizations increases the competition for the individuals also increase. The IT industry is one of the leading industries in the world and every company needs an IT section that plays a vital role as it controls most of the organization. As it is this is the most wanted sector in every organization, the pay for employees is also expected to be high. In an IT sector, there are a number of employees who although start as freshers and will expect to get a better income as the years of experience increase (Employee Engagement Report 2008 Published May 2008). India has become the hub to start IT industries in the world. India is one of the developing countries and allows foreigners to commence large MNCs as it will reduce the unemployment level and would help the educated to get immediate jobs after education. Most global organizations have always preferred outsourcing Call centres in India. The reason to it would be that India has the second most English speaking population after the USA. There are various other reasons such as skilled labour, educated workforce, etc. Indias large number of educated workforce will not reduce, as there is always been an increasing number of students graduating every year. It is difficult to take the analysis of the entire country as is too broad and vast to cover. There are many IT companies in India; Chennai is a part of Southern India that consists of many call centres. New IT companies emerge every week and a few get closed too. E.g. Call centres in Chennai have become very popular within students and graduates, who have just completed their course. They are given a reasonable pay as fresh employees, in course of time only a few employees stick to the organization and most employees take it as a fill in job or they shift to another company because they are paid higher than its previous employer. The following section will outline how the dissertation will be structured. This will include the following: the research question, research objectives, scope, methodology, benefits and justification. A good dissertation will attempt to answer the research question and will provide a conclusion based on both secondary and primary information. Research purpose This dissertation will help us to find out the retention of employees in IT industry (Call centres) by considering a MNC in Chennai (India), (Sutherland). This large MNC (Multi National Companies) would be used as a case in this research. Below are a few key issues that will be addressed in the dissertation process: To find out ways to improve strategies in retaining employees in call centres. To study the various reasons and the need for jumping to different organisationis it only money or Is Hierarchal Phenomenon the cause of employees to shift? Dissertation Aim The purpose of doing a research is to answer the proposed research questions in a dissertation. The research questions will articulate the research problem giving various findings and suggestions. The following are the research questions for this dissertation; these questions will help the researcher to get valid information of the employees and the HR team in the organization. Information from the HR team would give the researcher suggestions and methods based on retention strategies. Does the organisation take any steps to retain their staff? Why is the retention of an employee, a hectic problem in an IT (Call centre) than any other sector? The aim of the dissertation is to critically assess and evaluate HR strategies used in Indian call centres, in specific to improve staff retention rates. Research Objectives: The research objectives are subjected to the purpose of the research; these objectives give an outline of a dissertation. The main objectives in this dissertation are: To carry out a critical review of the literature on staff retention To identify and assess reasons for poor retention rates in the IT industry. To identify and evaluate strategies to improve employee retention rates in the IT industry. To provide conclusions based on both secondary and primary evidence To make relevant recommendations for improving employee retention rates based on the conclusions arrived at. Benefits of the research: The benefits of the research help in giving the company a better understanding of the employee status. E.g. do employees want to quit the job and shift to other companies? This research would help the organisation to identify key issues faced by employees in terms of retention that will enable them to improve their retention rates. Employee retention is a large cost to some companies and by improving retention rates, it can be argued that costs can be controlled and which in turn will improve the effectiveness of the organisation. India is a developing country and IT is a major source for all MNCs. The research would consist of a case study on an IT company. The scope in this research is referred only with respect to the place chosen for the research (India). The scope of an organisation is dependable on geographic location and the culture of the people. Scope depends on the people and the location of the organisation, such that the scope in India for Biotechnology is less when compa red to U.S. More problems can arise due to the involvement of different cultures in one organisation. The rationale of my research will provide an analysis for human resource planning on employee retention in the IT industry. This will also help to identify the HR practices and whether these can be improved. This dissertation will consist of a detailed research and analysis on IT Company chosen (Located in Chennai, India). Background to the company Sutherland is a BPO that is operating in Chennai (India), it was first established in New York by Rochester in the year 1986. The branch in Chennai was opened in the year 2000 and was the first offshore facility to be opened in India. Many other branches were opened in course of time in different countries such as Canada, Mexico Bulgaria and Philippines. Sutherland employs 24,000 professionals offering rich services from its 24/7 delivery centres globally (Sutherland, 2009). Sutherland won the award; Employer of the year in 2009. They state that their employees are given the best of training to excel in their field, either in terms of business methodologies or technology. Sutherland offers front office and back office services that provide customers a better service. CHAPTER 2 Review of literature Employee retention: Carsen, 2005 states that employee retention refers to the possible number of employees that stay around for a given duration of time. In simple words employee retention could be defined as a process in which the employees are encouraged and motivated to stay with the organization. Employee retention is important and beneficial for the organization. This dissertation deals with call centres, which is a part of the IT industry. Call centres are defined as specialized organizational units providing telephone-based customer services (Kleemann Matuschek, 2002, p.41). Call centres are a part of the IT sector and are of two types and they are outbound and inbound call centres. They usually operate 24/7 a week i.e. 365 days a year. (Marr Neely, 2004). IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Employee retention plays a vital role in every organization. Mobley, 1982 states that employee turnover may be important to some organizations and a few individuals. From the organizational perspective employee turnover can represent a significant cost in terms of recruiting, training, socialization and disruption, as well as a variety of indirect costs. There are many reasons for an employee to leave an organization and it could be due to age, length of service, organizational sector size, occupational group and geographic location. The problems that arise of poor retention should be assessed within the norms of a given external labour market. (Evans 2001) Models and Theories on employee retention: There is a reason for companies to retain their top most employees. There are several models that are being followed in retaining the top most employees. There are few common hiring models that are being used by organizations for employee retention. Each has its own advantage and all serve the purpose to get hold of maximum employee retention. The following are the models, which are being used commonly. The classic model- Core employees. The above model works best with senior management, where one would require a persons full time work and attention. This is best suitable for core activities within the organization and proprietary activities such as trade secret within the organization. Many organizations do make the mistake by assuming that core employee model is the only retention model and the organization tries to fit in all jobs within it. It is important for an organization to understand and follow the hiring models appropriately. Flexible work This type of model usually involves in sharing a job within the family. This model best fits in call centres as in this industry continuity is not mush required. On the whole this model cannot work for short shift works; for example; an advertising team launching a new advertisement cannot offer job sharing-posts, as the continuity of the job is very much required. Job sharing is a success in certain cases such as when there is no much need of individual continuity with customers or with a third party and when the degree of interaction is low between the employee and the consumer. This type of model makes employees feel at home and have very less probability in them leaving the job, as they are comfortable with it and it usually works within families. Free agents Many educated individuals in the IT industry do not like to work full time for a particular organization as these employees enjoy working as part-timers in more than one organization, these type of employees are called free agents. This is the next step to flexible work with respect to job satisfaction. These types of free agents are not given a usual salary but they are paid on their results that they produce. This model is not business orientated but it is project orientated and it attracts the employee to do the job as it a likely interest. These employees usually stay with the organization only if they are recognized for their work. Outsourcing The above three models not only explains the different types of employees in an organization but also explains how to retain employees according to the type of sector that is best suitable for the individual, the question arises only when the organization gets an employee from outside to do the job of the organization. These kinds of employees are taken only for a specific duration by different organizations or individuals. This model best works with low value transaction, low-tech uncomplicated activities and non-critical activities. Many organizations have concluded that it is not possible to motivate and train employees for specified jobs, so they agree with outsourcing. (McKeown, 2002) Svyantek McChrystal, 2007, p.225, shows in his book, a new model of retention, which is very different from the above models. In this model he states employees retain the jobs because they are self-concept-job fit and an experienced meaningful work. Self-concept-job fit is a method in which the human relations professionals input the meaningful work in employees. Horgans Roberts, 2000 have stated that the future should focus into the concept of self-concept-job fit either in existing or after recruiting employee. The above models are different from each other and each of them fits best for different kinds of organizations. The best suitable model must be used in order to retain their employees and get high job performance from them. Though we cannot satisfy all individual needs there are certain general factors that we can get rid of so that the employees who are working, feel at home. After one executes a type of model into an organization it is important that the employees are satisfied with the type of job that an individual is doing. Job satisfaction is related to employee retention and for an employee to retain in the organization the individual must be satisfied but the job. Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction is very important to all employees and it is defined as the extent to which a person derives pleasure from a job (Muchinsky, 1993, p. 290). Locke (1969 as cited in Friday Friday, 2003, p. 429) defines job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job. Job satisfaction may be one of the most ideal characters for the employees to work in an organization. As job satisfaction is the most vital key for an employee to stay with an organization for a long-term relation. Spector (1997, p.5) comments, Job satisfaction is the degree to which people like their jobs. Attitudes towards job satisfaction differ between employees and may change in the course of time. A number of researchers have done research on job satisfaction and each researcher has given a unique definition for job satisfaction. Agho, Muller and Price (1992) stated that job satisfaction is the extent to which an employee likes the job. Ashp (2008, p. 323) states Job satisfaction is important to retention; although the relationship may be direct or indirect. With Employee satisfaction, an organization deals with employees opinions and work process such as workload distribution, schedule (work timings) schedule and flexibility and internal communications. But the frequently asked question by everyone; Are we satisfied with the job that we are doing. Most say that Job satisfaction in an organization is not a problem but a symptom within the organization. However one can describe job satisfaction can go up and down by the hour independently of the ones works performance. Mullins states, Job satisfaction is necessary in order to achieve a high level of motivation and job performance(Mullin 2007, p. 277). It is not possible for low performance employees to get high job satisfaction. A report published on May 2008 states that there is a clear correlation between employee engagement and employee retention, the writer states that 85% of engaged employees were indicating that they plan to stay with their employer through 2008. The report states that an effective employee retention strategy is based on employee engagement. (Blessing White, 2008) Theories on job satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be defined as ones attitude towards ones job. Job satisfaction pays much relation with retention as it is the attitude that the person gains with the job attained and this makes the employee decide whether to stay or not (Weiss, 2002). There are several theories on job satisfaction a few of them are listed below. Affect theory Lockes Range of Affect Theory (1976) is the famous theory of job satisfaction in which the theory gives an explanation of what one wants from the job. The theory gives views of the dissatisfaction level and satisfaction level of an employee working. The theory states the facet of work, for e.g. the degree of autonomy of position decides the employee to stay or leave. If an individual were satisfied with the job, then the individual would give his best in the job he is doing in the organization. Dispositional theory This is a basic theory that explains the nature of similar identities such as two twins are alike to think the same but in process they tend to end up with different results. Hence job satisfaction for each employee is quite different. This theory was narrowed down by Judge (1992) by his model called the Core self evaluation model, where in the theory states the higher levels of self esteem and self efficacy would result in high job satisfaction levels. Two-factor theory (Motivator hygiene theory) This theory has taken two variables (Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers) and the theory states that factors causing these two variables are different and it is these factors that are responsible for an individuals satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the job. Satisfiers or motivators are satisfied with their job in presence or absence of a working condition corresponding to the higher levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. And the dissatisfiers or hygiene factors, which correspond to the lower levels of Maslows hierarchy, are not satisfied with the job when they are adequate or in an inadequate working condition. (Ellis, 2005) Job characteristics model Hackman and Oldham introduced the Job characteristics model that is used widely to study the job characteristics and job outcomes along with job satisfaction. This model derives and states that there are five characteristics; i.e. skill, task, significance, autonomy, and finally feedback. These characteristics combine to give three physiological states; experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results that influence job satisfaction and motivation. This framework of five characteristics can be combined to form Motivation Potential Score (MPS). (Hackman Oldham 1976) Ones attitude towards ones job is defined as job satisfaction. These theories cannot change the attitude of the individual but can help the individual to get settled with the job. Evans (1998, p. 19) states, Job satisfaction increases with age, job values remain constant with age and job reward increase with age. Certain factors usually affect an individuals job and this will affect the willingness of the individual to carry on working. E.g., in call centres, high stress is a factor that affects employees performance; it is because of this factor that most employees may not be satisfied with their jobs. It is important that the organization take necessary steps to solve the problem else many employees would leave the organization. Factors affecting employee retention: There are several factors that affect the growth and development of an individuals carrier. If an employee cannot see his future ahead in the organization, there are a number of reasons for him to leave the organization. As these factors can affect the employees work profile, personal growths and dreams, training and development which consists of communication skills, technical skills, procedure improvement skills and skills from special projects. As this dissertation deals with Information Technology (IT) let us consider the factors that affect the employees working in Call-centres. An article by Krishnan Jagadeesan G. on Employee Satisfaction in Knowledge Industry shows the factors that affect employees and the cause of turnover in IT industries (Call centres). He states that surveys have revealed that 42.35% were found working at odd times which were the main causes for high turnover and stress disorders. In terms of job satisfaction and retention rates, while the future of the BPO industry appears bleak unless suitable changes like job rotation and intellectual pursuit in the job content are brought about, the lookout in the manufacturing and the IT sectors are promising. (Krishnan, 2008) The most common factors that affects retention of employees is: Age Length of service Industry sector Organization size Occupational group Geographic location Gender A survey done by CIPD (2006) on Employee attitudes and engagement of employees in UK shows the factors responsible for employees to leave the organization, such as older employees are engaged more than younger employees, women are equally engaged with men, management of the organization, leadership and communication, job satisfaction, length of service, stress and involvement. In this survey, the results show that a lot of stress is given to the employees and this is due to the absence of employees and the pressure from senior employees. This survey will be done to analyse few of the researchers findings. Employee retention strategy: Retention strategies are less effective than recruitment and training strategies. Case study agencies have also agreed with the same on an industry survey. The findings of retention activities are consistent with literature and it is identified that retention is a weak link in the employment cycle. Retention strategies that all organizations include are employee engagement, employee orientation and employee recognition (Davis, 2002, p.41). Each of these employee strategies helps the employee to connect with a goal in the organization. Researchers have done research and are doing research on how to retain employees for the company one is working for. The below are the findings from an article on the web which show the ways in retaining the employees. 60 years of research have shown that only research-based and theory-supported approaches will help in improving employee engagement, as employee engagement will improve retention strategies, by offering compliments, such as the best employee of the month, giving prizes and suggestion boxed. Short-term gifts or prizes such as the above do not help the employee to stay with the organization for long. The responsibility taken to create the change and implementing it will assure improved understanding and support from the employees in all aspects. Loyalty and commitment are significance to the employees working in an organization. Action oriented approaches will help the organization in order to move forward quickly. As this would bring an organization with best development practices to effectively build a high retention culture (Employee Retention Strategies, N.D.). Employees play an important role in every organization and are responsible for the growth of the organization; hence it is important that the employers retain their employees. The above findings describe a few strategies on how to retain employees. It is found that Employee Retention is not given much importance when comparing with recruitment and training processes. The above text states that employee engagement is related with employee retention, change in retention strategy will improve employee engagement. These findings will help the researcher in building a strong questionnaire as the previous researches have already showed good results. Keeping these results aside it would be easier to attain the research goal, as the path would be specific with no variation in between. It is only by research new strategies are found and changes are made in existing strategies to satisfy employees. These findings would give the researcher more space in finding the problems in deep, apart from the regular ones. In this dissertation, Sutherland (a call centre) is taken as the case study to find out and improve the retention strategies that are being followed with reference to the ancestral methods. Few common strategies on employee retention are Retention focused recruitment. Retention focused orientation. Job sculpting Retention focused Managing Retention focused Career support Work life balance measures Retention focused rewards Retention focused communication. The above are few strategies that are commonly used by organizations to retain employees by giving them high level of job satisfaction. As this dissertation is concerned with the IT sector let us see in detail the retention strategies that are used in IT (call centres) for retaining the employees. As this dissertation consists of a case study of a call centre, the researcher can examine what strategies could be used for retaining employee in this sector. An article published on the Internet shows a few strategies on how to retain the employees in a call centre. The job satisfaction of the employee will result in the performance of the employee which will give the employee a better working environment and henceforth which will result in customer satisfaction and productivity. A few ways of satisfying employees include: Recruit people who value work. Clarify expectations. Provide good and specific job training. Reward the employees for high performance. The above are few key elements that used to satisfy employees in the IT industry. There could be more elements that can satisfy employees and help the organization my retaining the employees. This research would help in finding more ways to satisfy employees so that they do not have to leave the organization. Interviews and questionnaires with the lower level and top-level of the organization will help attaining the research purpose and meet the research objectives. The findings from the questionnaire would be used to frame the structure of the interview. The interview will be taken with an agent, team leader and an HR team member of the organization. The Review of Literature in this dissertation helps to give an understanding of what is meant by employee retention and the existing models and concepts that being used such as strategies and techniques. Theories on job satisfaction helped the researcher in finding out the importance of job satisfaction with employee retention. Existing research-based theories on retention strategies were included so that the researcher will be able compare the primary findings with it. It would also be useful to find out, whether the existing strategies found by researchers are sufficient to maintain employee retention or changes should be made to the theories. These existing theories on employee retention, job satisfaction and retention strategies would give the researcher abundant satisfaction and confidence in moving towards the research as all the aspects of retention have been covered. Theories and models used in the review of literature gives a brief idea of the strategies that are being used in organizations and could be compared to one of the existing models. The contents in the review of literature could be compared to the case study companies to find the changes that are necessary and why does it need it. The researcher concludes by stating that the Review of Literature helps to achieve the aim of the dissertation in this research. CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology Clough and Nutbrown, 2007, p.5 states research is the investigation of an idea, subject or topic for a purpose. Research is used to investigate a topic or a theory in depth to get a better understanding in detail. The term research is a way of describing systematic investigation of a theory or area of activity. Although all research cannot be measured, a few can be scientifically measured or data collected and can be analysed to identify differences. Approach to the research Deductive and Inductive approach There are two types of approaches in doing a research, i.e. deductive and inductive methods. It depends on the researcher whether to choose a deductive approach or inductive approach. In deductive approach, the researcher develops a theory and designs a research strategy that analyses the hypothesis and in inductive approach, the researcher collects data from by various methods of research and end up with the hypothesis based on the data analysis. Deductive approach involves the improvement or development of a theory that is subjected to tests. Nwokah et al., 2009, p.4, states, Laws present the basis of explanation, allow the anticipation of phenomena, predict their occurrence and therefore fore permit them to be controlled. 5 stages in which deductive approach will progress. Deducing a hypothesis from a theory. Exposing the hypothesis in operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific concepts or variables. Testing this operational hypothesis. Examine the outcome obtained from the inquiry. If necessary modifying the theory in the light of the findings.(Saunders et al., 2007, p. 117) Inductive approach is opposite to deductive approach; inductive approach starts with the collection of data that it is added to form a theory or hypothesis. The following is an inductive approach for analysis for a qualitative evaluation data is described. The reasons to use an inductive approach are (a) it compresses textual data into a summary format (b) provide links within the research objectives and findings that are derived from the data and (c) a framework can be developed of the structure of processes that are evident in the data (Thomas, 2006). The inductive approach provides an easy systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable and valid findings. The inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple and straightforward approach for deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to use the inductive approach, as it is less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data analysis (Schutt, 2006). Research philosophy The type of method used in this research