Medical Marijuana Essays (1081 words) - , Term Papers

Medical Marijuana Politics of Marijuana Legalization Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analyses marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care. (Young). -Francis L. Young; DEA Administrative Law September 6, 1988. For a DEA official to want to take marijuana out of scheduled I and put it into scheduled II or lower class in the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 is without reproach. Over the years marijuana has become more socially acceptable, but is America ready for the legalization and legal repercussions that come with this major change? This paper will examine the long history of marijuana in America, prohibition of marijuana, law reforms, civil liberties, and unjust and spotty enforcement of marijuana laws. Marijuana was first documented in America when settlers from England in the 17th century brought the plant to Jamestown, Virginia (Medical Marijuana Policy in the United States). The plant was used for medicinal purposes along with creating fabrics, ropes, sails and clothing. In 1619 the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring that every farmer produce hemp. This allowed the colonist to use the plant as a legal tender. In the 1930s due to the Great Depression, mass unemployment was attributed with the escalating number of Mexican immigrants, in return led to outlandish claims linking the use of marijuana to criminal behaviors primarily in racially inferior or underclass communities due to the fact that the Mexican immigrants introduced the recreational use of marijuana to the American public. Thus Reefer Madness was born and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was passed by congress indefinitely criminalizing the plant in medicinal and personal uses along with industrial (Marijuana Time Line). During the 1940s in WWII the government coined the phrase Hemp for Victory to get as many farmers they could to grow hemp for clothing, marine cordage and military necessities, even going far as offering draft deferments to the farmers who could grow hemp. In the 1960s and 1970s the counterculture was embracing marijuana and going against the mold of the country. The Controlled Substance Act was passed in 1970 that is Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. This Act created 5 classifications, although congress passed the Act they had the FDA and DEA decide what should be added and removed from this classification scale. Therefore, removing or changing a scheduled substance to another, or removing a substance all together does not require the passage of the law, instead in the case of marijuana a rescheduling hearing can be called upon to review any previous laws such as an appellant court would. In 1989 President George Sr. Bush televised his War on Drugs speech, where he is asking congress for a 2.2 billion dollar increase on the Drug Budget (Bush). During the Ronald Regan administration he enacted the mandatory sentencing act and three strikes to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 creating the sentencing commission. The Anti-Drug Abuse act of 1986 reinstated all mandatory sentences including large-scale cannabis distribution. Later an amendment was added to introduce the three strikes law meaning 25 years for consecutive crimes. In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 215 which legalized medical marijuana 55% for it and 44% against. In November of 2012 legalization was a big topic in Colorado and Washington State. The polls that night showed how ready Americans are for the ratification of our marijuana laws. Amendment 64 was passed with 55% and 44% against (Amendment 64). Washington States Initiative 502 was passed with 55% of the voters for the legalization and 44% of them opposed. In American society today we shouldnt have to ask why marijuana should be legal but that burden is on the government to show why it shouldnt and none of the explanations are especially convincing with little to zero scientific facts aiding their stance. Civil liberties is a big issue within the legalization of marijuana, many people feel that it is our fundamental civil right, something mature adults can consume at their leisure or for medicinal purposes. Even conservative republicans such as Pat Robertson, and libertarians like Ron Paul notice that marijuana prohibition is an

Free Essays on Sumerian

By: jason E-mail: jason211@hotmail.com Sumerian vs Egyptian Deities The Sumerian and Egyptian cultures developed a rich and detailed mythology over the thousands of years of their existence. Each culture developed its own complex, polytheistic system of deities and worship. There are many aspects of both of these two culture's gods that are similar, but for one to truly understand the relationship between these two cultures one must delve deeper and look at the differences. The Sumerians had four leading deities known as creating gods. These gods were An, the god of heaven; Ki (Kiki), the goddess of earth; Enlil, the god of air; and Enki (who later became Ea), the god of water. Like these "creator gods", most Sumerian gods are the personification of local elements and natural forces. (Kramer) The Sumerian gods were grouped into three levels indicating their importance and power. The highest level was that of the primary deities or creator gods who were created for creating all life on earth life. The next level of gods we re known as "The Seven Who Decreed Fate". This group not only consisted of the four primary deities but also included Nanna, his son Utu, the sun god and a god of justice, and Nanna's daughter, Inanna, goddess of love and war. Most of the gods were in the next level that was known as the fifty "great gods" or the Anunna. The bottom level consisted of lower gods, demigods, and in some cases heros. Sumerians believed humans were created as labor saving devises for the gods. Each family and town had a patron god that might interven in troubled times to help the people. Most towns also had a ziggurat in which they worshiped that city's god. The ziggurat also served as the home of the high priest. The high priest was considered divine and it was his job to tell the people the other gods' will. This was usually done by reading sheep or goat entrails.(Siren) One myth known as the "creation myth" sums up a lot about how t... Free Essays on Sumerian Free Essays on Sumerian By: jason E-mail: jason211@hotmail.com Sumerian vs Egyptian Deities The Sumerian and Egyptian cultures developed a rich and detailed mythology over the thousands of years of their existence. Each culture developed its own complex, polytheistic system of deities and worship. There are many aspects of both of these two culture's gods that are similar, but for one to truly understand the relationship between these two cultures one must delve deeper and look at the differences. The Sumerians had four leading deities known as creating gods. These gods were An, the god of heaven; Ki (Kiki), the goddess of earth; Enlil, the god of air; and Enki (who later became Ea), the god of water. Like these "creator gods", most Sumerian gods are the personification of local elements and natural forces. (Kramer) The Sumerian gods were grouped into three levels indicating their importance and power. The highest level was that of the primary deities or creator gods who were created for creating all life on earth life. The next level of gods we re known as "The Seven Who Decreed Fate". This group not only consisted of the four primary deities but also included Nanna, his son Utu, the sun god and a god of justice, and Nanna's daughter, Inanna, goddess of love and war. Most of the gods were in the next level that was known as the fifty "great gods" or the Anunna. The bottom level consisted of lower gods, demigods, and in some cases heros. Sumerians believed humans were created as labor saving devises for the gods. Each family and town had a patron god that might interven in troubled times to help the people. Most towns also had a ziggurat in which they worshiped that city's god. The ziggurat also served as the home of the high priest. The high priest was considered divine and it was his job to tell the people the other gods' will. This was usually done by reading sheep or goat entrails.(Siren) One myth known as the "creation myth" sums up a lot about how t...

Political Profile of President Barack Obama

Political Profile of President Barack Obama On November 4, 2008, 47-year-old Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States, after a hard-fought two-year presidential campaign. He was sworn in as president on January 20, 2009. Fast Facts: Barack Obama Full Name: Barack Hussein Obama, IIKnown For: 44th President of the United States, in office January 20, 2009- January 20, 2017Born: August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, HawaiiParents: Barack Obama Sr. and Ann DunhamSpouse: Married on October 18, 1992 to Michelle Robinson, an attorney and Chicago nativeChildren: Malia and SashaEducation: B.A. in international relations, 1983, Columbia University. J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the first black Editor of the Harvard Law ReviewMajor Accomplishments: First African American president, Nobel Peace Price (2009), Profile in Courage Award (2017), best-selling authorFun Fact: Obama is a Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears fan, and an avid basketball player Early Life Born Barack Hussein Obama, Jr, his father was a Kenya-born Harvard-educated economist and his mother was Ann Dunham, a caucasian anthropologist. He was 2 years old when his father left the family. His father (deceased in 1982) returned to Kenya, and only saw his son once more. His mother remarried, and moved Barack to Indonesia. He returned to Hawaii at age 10 to live with his maternal grandparents. He graduated from the respected Punahou School with honors. As a teenager, he scooped ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and has admitted to dabbling in marijuana and cocaine. His mother died of cancer in 1995. Political Timeline Before entering politics, Obama worked as a community organizer and a civil rights attorney. In addition, Obama was a Senior Lecturer in Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School. In the early 90s, he aggressively organized one of the largest voter registration drives in Chicago history to help Bill Clintons 1992 election. Obama (D-IL) was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2004, after serving 7 years as an Illinois state senator. In 2004, Sen. Obama also signed a $1.9 million deal to author 3 books. The first, The Audacity of Hope, discusses his political convictions. His 1995 autobiography was a bestseller. Barack Obamas voting record and stances as US Senator and Illinois State Senator reflect a practical, common sense progressive thinker who emphasizes increased support for teachers, college affordability, and restoration of meaningful federal support of veterans. As a Senator, Obamas areas of special legislative interest were in support for working families, public education, health care, economic growth and jobs creation, and ending the Iraq War. As an Illinois state senator, he worked passionately for ethics reforms and criminal justice reform. Obama first rose to national prominence when he delivered an inspiring keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency. On June 3, 2008, Obama accumulated enough Democratic convention delegates votes to become the presumptive party nominee for the presidential race. On October 9, 2009, the Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Obama Persona Barack Obama is a independent-minded leader with an even-keel temperament, charismatic speaking skills and a knack for consensus-building. Hes also a talented, introspective writer. His values are strongly shaped by his expertise as a Constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney, and by Christianity. While private by nature, Obama mingles easily with others, but is most comfortable addressing large crowds. He is known for being unafraid to speak and hear hard truths when necessary. Obama was named by Time magazine in 2005, 2007 and 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Memorable Quotes You cant have No Child Left Behind if you leave the money behind. I do agree that the Democrats have been intellectually lazy in failing to take the core ideals of the Democratic Party and adapting them to circumstances.... Its not just a matter of sticking in a quote from the Bible into a stock speech. There has yet to be a serious conversation about health care on the floor of the United States Senate. ...as parents, we need to find the time and the energy to step in and find ways to help our kids love reading. We can read to them, talk to them about what theyre reading and make time for this by turning off the TV ourselves. Libraries can help parents with this. Knowing the constraints we face from busy schedules and a TV culture, we need to think outside the box here - to dream big like we always have in America. Right now, children come home from their first doctors appointment with an extra bottle of formula. But imagine if they came home with their first library card or their first copy of Goodnight Moon? What if it was as easy to get a book as it is to rent a DVD or pick up McDonalds? What if instead of a toy in every Happy Meal, there was a book? What if there were portable libraries that rolled through parks and playgrounds like ice cream trucks? Or kiosks in stores where you could borrow books? What if during the summer, when kids often lose much of the reading progress theyve made during the year, every child had a list of books they had to read and talk about and an invitation to a summer reading club at the local library? Libraries have a special role to play in our knowledge economy. - June 27, 2005 Speech to the American Library Association

EED323 5 Authentic Assessment Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EED323 5 Authentic Assessment Paper - Essay Example It is, after all, not sufficient for most uses for the student to have memorized information but have no idea how to apply it. This is especially important in most sciences, since information is useless until it is applies to a real world problem. Therefore, in order to fulfill the need for authentic assessment in science teaching, students must demonstrate that they have identified and retained correct information and be able to use correct procedures to apply that information to the resolution of real world problems. Authentic assessment is a form of assessment in which students perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills. Or, as Grant Wiggins (1993) describes it, authentic measures are â€Å"engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. (Mueller, Jon 2005) Students must â€Å"interact with the physical world – drop objects, observe butterfly larvae, measure length and speed, plant seeds and watch the seedlings sprout, build electric circuits and test them – and they must participate in the world of ideas – design experiments, test theories, hypothesize, predict, discuss, and argue† (Hein & Price, 1994, p. 12). Step three is where the actual method of assessment is created. For example, the teacher might assess students by having them participate in a group discussion of a problem, either in front of the class or just of the teacher. A rubric to identify the various components for solving the problem could be used to grade each participant. For example: This is a very simple example. The teacher can expand upon this as needed. An example of how this could be used would be to ask the students to resolve this problem: How do you measure quarts of liquid using only one five quart bottle and one three quart bottle. (Any interesting combination of measures could be used for this.) They need to

The fair debt collection practices act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The fair debt collection practices act - Essay Example First is hours for phone contact, contacting consumers by telephone outside of the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time is prohibited in respect to private time of the person to be collected. Next is failure to cease communication upon request, communicating with consumers in any way after receiving written notice that said consumer wishes no further communication or refuses to pay the alleged debt, with certain exceptions, including advising that collection efforts are being terminated or that the collector intends to file a lawsuit or pursue other remedies where permitted. This is in accordance to what has been stated in the written notice which is therefore considered as a mutual understanding between two parties. Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously: with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number. Such act is indeed an act that goes beyond the realms of the collection process as it br eaks through the rules of decency and formality. Communicating with consumers at their place of employment after having been advised that this is unacceptable or prohibited by the employer. All company duly uphold certain rules and regulations among their employees and anyone who still insist of getting through these companies in order to collect is highly prohibited by this law.

Project on Product Solar Lamp Essay Example for Free

Project on Product Solar Lamp Essay Abstract of the Project Given India’s size and the sheer number of its farflung or remote villages, rural marketing is always a challenge. And when the product is relatively new, like solar lighting devices, the challenge gets even bigger. Yet the Jaipur-based Frontier Markets, or FM, founded by Ms. Ajaita Shah, has taken up the task and despite the odds to reach out to villages in state of Rajasthan, and seems to be succeeding with their strategy of marketing the new product. * Frontier Market conducted marketing sessions to build demand for products in BOP (Base of Pyramids) households. * Frontier Markets developed a peer-to-peer marketing strategy that is a creative, below-the-line marketing technique that are most likely to succeed among peri-urban and rural consumers. * Frontier Markets gauged the potential of the products through market assessments, and feedback to determine whether market entry for the new product like Solar lamps is viable to enter in the rural areas. Based on the market survey, FM targeted the mass people of the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) which includes 732 million people living on less than Rs. 150,000/year in villages and urban slums throughout India where majority of the people live in darkness without having any light in their house. In order to reach out to people with clean energy products , FM introduced the product SOLAR LAMPS with a concept called â€Å" Spreading Light† with a slogan â€Å" lets light our home this diwali† Later on FM came up with a brand name â€Å" Saral Jeevan† where in they source the solar product in bulk from different manufacture and selling in the brand name of â€Å"Saral Jeevan† . FM also used their trump card for selling the product in villages by Village-level c ommunity workers. The Company has sold already 700 solar lighting lamps in 350 odd villages in Chomu district in Rajasthan. In the detailed case study, it would cover how FM selected the product based on the segments in specific to the BOP population (Base of Pyramid) and target market area and acceptance level of the product in the remote villages and the challenges faced with the following tough nuts : a) Solar lamp are relatively new and explaining their use to Rural Folks is a challenge b) Village dwellers have fickle cash flows dependent as they are on an agri-based economy c) They are extremely price and value conscious d) They have very low brand affinity Introduction * Market Survey The Base of the Pyramid (BOP) includes 732 million people living on less than Rs.150,000/year in villages and urban slums throughout India. The great majority of men and women work in agriculture, animal husbandry, factories or own rural shops.* * Rural consumers total 45% of the country’s total GDP. * Approximately 72% of the total India population live in 600,000 villages; and, about 8% of the total population live in 4,738 semi-urban towns * The median age group is is 27.5. * Average household size is 4.8. * An average of 2.72 children are born to every adult woman. * At 61%, the overall literacy level in India is well below Unesco’s target threshold of 75%. Literacy among women is just over 50%. * There are over 112 â€Å"mother tongues† with more than 10,000 speakers; and, 33 languages spoken by one million or more persons. * Indicators of human poverty suggest that 16.8% will not survive past the age of 40; and, 47% of children between the ages of 0-5 are underweight for their age. * Ernst and Young, The Retailer, October 2009 The BOP customer refers to the estimated 4 billion people around the world who are poor by any measure and have limited or no access to essential products and services such as energy, clean water, and communications. Globally, people in this socioeconomic group earn Rs. 50 to Rs.400 in purchasing power parity (PPP) per day. Yet these households often pay higher prices than wealthier consumers do for lower-quality goods and services because of uncompetitive markets. The rural Indian BoP market as households spend less than INR 3,453 Indian rupees on goods and services per month. This definition represents a market of 114 million households, or 76 percent of the rural population. (CDF/IFMR â€Å"Power to the People† Study). Marketing * Frontier Markets’ marketing field staff conduct marketing sessions to build demand for products in BOP households. * Frontier Markets developed a peer-to-peer marketing strategy that is a creative, below-the-line marketing technique that are most likely to succeed among peri-urban and rural consumers. Market Entry and Product Feedback * FM collects data about its consumers to understand their product demands as well as understand which products to introduce into the market. * FM collects consumer data to provide feedback on products like Solar lamp and its usages. * Frontier Markets also gauge the potential of their products through market assessments, and feedback to determine whether market entry for certain product is viable in urban and rural consumers. Product Concept FM with their market survey and feedback, came up with selling and distributing the Solar lamps in the segment i.e. BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) segments where there is a need of clean energy in the rural villages. They targeted the base of Pyramid segments which as geographically wise spread in the remote village areas where there is need of the product. Market Segment FM CEO Ms. Shah, said â€Å"Reaching out to rural markets requires a bottom-up approach,† she says. â€Å"they had to identify what rural people need, the price points they are comfortable with, demonstrate the use of the product they are selling, and show them why it is relevant to their lives.† Having earlier worked with microfinance institutions, Ujjivan Financial Services and SKS Microfinance, Shah reveals her expertise that there are many products for which there is latent demand in rural areas, but they do not sell there simply because of distribution problems. With solar lamps, she saw the opportunity to fill a vital gap. FM sources solar products in bulk from different manufacturers and retails them under the brand name ‘Saral Jeevan’. FM’s trump card is the profile of its agents, whom it pays a commission. These are village-level community workers, who are already familiar faces in the region, since they also provide some other service. â€Å"People trust these village representatives as they are known to them,† says Shah. In order to create the demand and to reach out to people in villages, FM worked on the people which include krishi mitras (farmers’ friends) who are employed by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras, an Indian Council of Agricultural Research project, to keep farmers informed about latest agricultural technologies; workers in government-run anganwadis (creches); as well as employees of a privately-owned dairy, which sells milk in rural areas. FM’s current network is confined to Chomu district of Rajasthan, adjoining Jaipur, but it hopes to expand much further in the coming years. Bhagwan Sahai Yadav is one such krishi mitra, who also sells Saral Jeevan products. In a testimonial to the product he sells, he bought one himself. â€Å"I bought a solar lantern from Frontier Markets so that my granddaughter could study in the evening,† he says. The company has 30 such agents and has sold 700 solar lighting products in 214 of Chomu’s 350-odd villages. FM now chasing a target of selling 500 products a month,† says Shah. The plan is to reach out to two other districts, Alwar and Bassi, and all of Rajasthan by the end of 2013. They have also tie-ups with companies making clean energy products such as D.light and Duron Energy in Bangalore, Intelizon in Hyderabad and Greenlight Planet in Mumbai. â€Å" FM CEO Ms Shah wants to replicate the model across three to five other states in the next five years. No clean energy company has yet been able to establish a pan-India presence. Some have tried to rope in microfinance companies to help with the distribution, but the effort has usually failed. And while distributing through village-level community workers seems a viable method, bottlenecks remain. While FM was busy in developing the concept for selling Solar Lamps, following feedback were also gathered: 1) does a customer in a far-off village go if the battery of his solar lamp turns out to be faulty or the switch malfunctions ? 2) One such is product servicing. â€Å"Where does a customer in a far-off village go if the battery of his solar lamp turns out to be faulty or the switch malfunctions. 3) Community workers do not have the specialised knowledge to repair lamps if they stop working. But at least they can, and do, provide corrective feedback to FM and, through it, to the manufacturers. Duron Energy, for instance, stopped production of one of its solar lamps called Duron Pro following reports from FM that its light, though very bright, was too focused and did not cover an entire room. In order to overcome the above issues and FM after 6 months of operations in Rajasthan, Frontier Markets, Saral Jeevan opened up their first retail store as a part of Frontier Market’s channel in Chomu Rajasthan. This retail point will be a concept store providing sales and service for local consumers in and around the Chomu area. Frontier Markets is an exclusive partner to Saral Jeevan, or â€Å"Easy Life,† an Indian branded retail channel created to better relate to low-income households in rural areas near Chomu. After months of understanding villages, and areas, Frontier Markets helped Saral Jeevan build market presence and chose Chomu as a central location for a retail point to ensure accessibility and accountability in service for households. â€Å"Though the model is very scalable, given the huge market at the bottom of the pyramid, execution remains a major challenge,† Case Study 1) FM came up with selling of Solar Lamp targeting the huge market at the bottom of the pyramid. 2) Product selection / Concept : Solar Lamp – need of the people in the remote villages as A clean energy. 3) Market Segment : Rural areas / Villages 4) Strategy and Market Concept : FM launched the product with a different brand name â€Å"Saral Jeevan† or â€Å"Easy Life† as the people in Rural Areas look for local brand as they are not so Brand Consensus. 5) FM also used the local channels such as krishi mitras (farmers’ friends), Angan-wadis for distribution of their product. 6) FM also opened up Branch office concept store providing sales and service for local consumers Prepared by J.K.Nanda Yogi Ballani Suraj Gaikwad Exhibit – I Study on Indian Energy Market India’s growth story is astounding, and has spread into the interior at a rapid pace. Current estimates put the rural market collectively at $425B USD in 2010-2011 (CII-Technopak, November 2009). This estimate doubles the 2004-05 market size of $220 USD. These are collective figures. % Growth in 2006 over 5 years: National Readership Studies Council (NRS) Color TV: rural = 235%, semi urban = 91% Motorcycle rural = 113%, semi urban = 90% Refrigerator: rural = 52%, semi urban= 20% Air cooler: rural = 86%, semi urban =29% The energy market is additionally astounding: US $75 on goods and services per month (known as ‘Base of the Pyramid.’) About 40 percent of India’s rural households do not have access to electricity, and more than 85 percent must depend on â€Å"dirty† kerosene for lighting and firewood for cooking. * Estimates vary, but about 500m poor entrepreneurs need access to finance; while only just over 150m have access (Source: State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2009) * Less than 500k clients of MFIs have access to energy loans (Source: Using Microfinance to Expand Access to Energy Services, 2007) * 1.7 billion people globally have no access to electricity and 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating, producing millions of tons of CO2 (Source: The Next 4 Billion, 2008) A recent study conducted by the Center for Development Finance (CDF) at the Institute for Microfinance Research (IFMR) examined the market size of the social durable market for solar lights and fuel-efficient stoves. The purpose of the study was to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the market. CDF’s initial finding suggest a more conservative estimation for the solar light and fuel-efficient stove market than other previous studies. * The present solar lantern market is estimated to be around $18.5Milion USD (annually, nationally). * The fuel-efficient stove market, $24Million USD (annually, nationally). These numbers were based on the following equation: (Price of least expensive product available in the market) (Number of Households) (Adoption rate) / (Average product lifespan) Previous market sizing estimates may be larger due to errors / differences in calculating and methodology such as ignoring the adoption rate and product longevity variables. Additionally, as adoption rates increase due to lower product cost, customer education, and consumer financing options, the market will naturally become more mature.

Deterrence, Rational and Restorative Justice Theories Essay -- Legal I

This paper will illustrate three theories; deterrence theory, rational choice theory, and restorative justice theory. It will outline in detail the policies, and the connections between theory, research, and policy. Deterrence theory can be outlined as â€Å"principles of certainty, severity, and celerity of punishment, proportionality, specific and general deterrence† (Burke, 2009). In order for the punishment to be effective it has to be certain, swift, severe. Certainty is more important than the severity in deterring crime. Deterrence theory confirms that if the punishment contains these three elements people will rationally calculate that there is more to be lost than there is to be gained from crime (Gordon, 2010). Deterrence functions in two ways. General deterrence is the punishment of the offender to be set as an example for others in the society and specific deterrence focuses on repeat offenders to refraining them from the act (Burke, 2009). The purpose of general deterrence is to abstain others considering committing the crime. It was argued that when the certainty, severity, and celerity of criminal sanctions are high in a population, criminal behaviour will be low. Studies suggest that capital punishment has been ineffective, other studies show that more homicides occurred when the death penalty was publicized (Pacotti, 2005). Then a comparative research shows that 5 countries with the highest homicide rate do impose the death penalty average 41.6% murders for every 100, 000 people, whereas the five countries that don’t impose death penalty is 21.6% for every 100, 000 (Gordon, 2010). Deterrence also has little affect on domestic cases, drunk driving, and shoplifting. Deterrence is well said in a theory but in reality ... ...ender in certain circumstances of a situation. Restorative justice has been used widely, and has some success rate, for those to be held accountable without being sanctioned; by repairing the harm or paying restitution will restore harmony within the victim and community to some extent. The program is inconsistent that it will repair harm done to the victim, but many victims are being left emotionally, psychological, and physical strained which will lead to another conflict during victim-offender mediation. Overall, it concludes the idea that some programs can effective and has ties to its theory; others can ineffective in deterring, repairing, and restoring crime, as well as low success rate. Furthermore, offenders in many cases don’t think rationally before committing the act and crime can’t be deterred it doesn’t matter if the punishment is harsh or lenient.

Private And Public University Teachers Job Education Essay

Abstraction: This paper explores the difference in occupation satisfaction between private and public sector universities instructors of Karachi, Pakistan. Based on elaborate literature reappraisal, following hypothesis had formulated ; Private University instructors are more satisfied with their occupations as compared to Public University instructors. The sample of the survey comprises of 160 participants, 80 populace ( 40 males ; 40 females ) university instructors and 80 private ( 40 males ; 40 females ) university instructors of Karachi, Pakistan. Age scope was from 24 to 65 and mean age was 38.92 ( SD 8.353 ) . A Job Satisfaction Survey ( Spector, 1997 ) was administered to mensurate occupation satisfaction. For statistical analysis, independent â€Å" T † trial was performed to obtain the difference between private and public university instructors on occupation satisfaction. A consequence suggests important difference between Private and Public University instructors. Furthermore, private university instructors were more satisfied with their occupation as compared to public university instructors.1 IntroductionJob satisfaction is an of import facet of employees ‘ work life. Different researches have been conducted on employees involved in assorted businesss, ensuing in raised consciousness about issues refering employees and factors that influence employees ‘ occupation satisfaction. Therefore, a better penetration of direction of factors associated with occupation satisfaction can better the quality of worker public presentation. Harmonizing to the findings of Bowran and Todd ( 1999 ) , â€Å" occupation satisfaction and occupation public presentation are positively correlated † . Job satisfaction does non merely better public presentation of the workers, it besides affects other countries of a individual ‘s life. Hackman & A ; Oldman ( 1980 ) found that a higher occupation satisfaction is associated with increased produ ctiveness, lower absenteeism and lower employee turnover. Education is one of the cardinal demands of societies ; it non merely gives a feeling of achievement and fulfilment to the 1s leaving instruction but besides lays foundation for a new coevals to happen its right values and academic expertness for the hereafter. Therefore, instruction is a profession that needs particular attending and attention by society.The educationalists, therefore, are the people who need to be satisfied with their occupations for other sectors to have future employees. Higher instruction, in fact, is the genteelness land for the professional of highest quality in a society. It channelizes immature ; peoples ‘ aspirations and aspirations and turns them into effectual workers for diverse employment sectors. For these educationalists, occupation satisfaction in the signifier of good wage bundle, healthy work environment that is positive and larning oriented can take to maximization of their possible as leaders, visionaries and function theoretical accounts. Robins ( 2005 ) defined occupation satisfaction as a aggregation of feelings that an single holds towards his or her occupation. In other words, â€Å" Job satisfaction can be defined as the grade to which persons feel positively or negatively about their occupations ( Schermerhorn. Jr, et al. , 2005 ) † There is an imperative function of higher instruction in the success of any state. In higher instruction, its module plays a critical function. Merely when the module members are satisfied with their occupation, they can heighten the rational and academic potency of pupils. Job satisfaction of module members is based on a assortment of factors like personal factors, societal support systems, and wellness or fittingness of module and decision makers moderate the negative relationships between occupation strain, wellness, life satisfaction, and occupation satisfaction ( Blackbum, Horowitz, Edington, and Klos, 1986 ) . A survey by Sorcinelli and Near ( 1989 ) found that the occupation satisfaction of university module is independent of gender and positively correlated with academic rank. They besides suggest that occupation satisfaction is positively related to module ‘s life satisfaction and their non-work satisfaction. Another of import component that affects occupation satisfaction of module members is the sector from which they belong i.e. public or private university. The authorities or populace sector has some encouraging inducements like class based wages and occupation security. Private sector instructors have other optimistic wagess, which include, higher wages, good work status, disputing work undertakings etc. There are different factors in Private and Public University that can act upon the public presentation of the module for illustration, occupation security, wage, working status, contingent wages, relationship with colleagues, publicity, supervising, periphery benefits, communicating with other co-workers, and nature of work. Pay overall effects the grade of occupation satisfaction. A survey of university academic staff by Pearson and Seiler ( 1983 ) found, â€Å" faculty members have high degrees of dissatisfaction with compensation-related elements of the occupation ( e.g. , fringe benefits, wage, and public presentation standards ) † . Assorted researches findings show that pay degree of public and private sector employees is one of the beginnings of dissatisfaction. A survey of Voydanoff, ( 1980 ) findings shown that, â€Å" pecuniary compensation is one of the most important variables in explicating occupation satisfaction † . In their survey of public sector directors, Taylor and West ( 1992 ) found that wage degrees affect occupation satisfaction, describing that those public employees that compared their wages with those of private sector employees experienced lower degrees of occupation satisfaction. Another research behavior by Boone and Kuntz ( 1992 ) suggest that, offering employ ees just and sensible compensation, which relates to the input the employee offers the organisation, should be the chief aim of any compensation system. Included in the class of compensation are such points as medical assistance strategies, pension strategies, fillips, paid leave and travel allowances. A publicity chance improves motive of employees. Harmonizing to the research, â€Å" An employee ‘s chances for publicity are besides likely to exercise an influence on occupation satisfaction ( Landy, 1989 ; Larwood, 1984 ; Moorhead & A ; Griffen, 1992 ; Vecchio, 1988 ) † . In add-on, Robbins ( 1998 ) maintains that, â€Å" publicities provide chances for personal growing, increased duty, and increased societal position. † Not merely publicity chances but besides merit-base publicity gives satisfaction to its employees. Witt and Nye found that ( 1992 ) , â€Å" Persons who perceive that publicity determinations are made in a just and merely mode are likely to see satisfaction from their occupations † . A survey by Moses conducted on academic staff ( 1986 ) supports the position that, â€Å" module was dissatisfied with the undervaluing of learning excellence in publicity determinations. † She concluded, â€Å" aˆÂ ¦ tenured and well-paid emplo yment provides satisfaction of the lower-order demands, whereas esteemed and independent work enables academic staff to fulfill to a greater degree higher-order demands than is possible for the general population ( e.g. , esteem need the demand for self-actualization ) † . Employees are likely to hold high degrees of occupation satisfaction if supervisors provide them with support and co-operation in finishing their undertakings ( Tinging, 1997 ) . Consequences of other survey show that the, â€Å" quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship will hold a important, positive influence on the employee ‘s overall degree of occupation satisfaction ( Aamodt, 1999 ) † . Employees besides feels more satisfaction if the supervisors take sentiment from them in their determinations. Furthermore, as described by Chieffo ( 1991 ) , â€Å" supervisors who allow their employees to take part in determinations that affect their ain occupations will, in making so, excite higher degrees of employee satisfaction † . The Relationship with colleagues in any organisation plays a important function on the worker ‘s satisfaction. Kalleberg found that ( 1977 ) , â€Å" good work dealingss with colleagues can raise occupation satisfaction † . A survey conducted by Manger and Eikeland ( 1990 ) found that, â€Å" dealingss with co-workers were the largest forecaster of purpose to go forth the university † . Communication is an of import vehicle at workplace and high-quality interaction between colleagues increase occupation satisfaction. Harmonizing to Avtgis ( 2000 ) , â€Å" people who reported increased communicating and high wages in communicating besides reported greater relational satisfaction and greater perceived organisational influence † . Working status is another important characteristic of occupation that motivates employees to remain in their occupation. Harmonizing to Flowers & A ; Hughes ( 1973 ) , â€Å" the relationship between occupation satisfaction and environmental factors, peculiarly in accounting for grounds that employees stay in their occupations † . Harmonizing to Luthans ( 1998 ) , if people work in a clean, friendly environment they will happen it easier to come to work. If the opposite happens, they will happen it hard to carry through undertakings. Vorster ( 1992 ) maintains that working conditions are merely likely to hold a important impact on occupation satisfaction when, for illustration, the on the job conditions are either highly good or highly hapless. Furthermore, employee ailments sing working conditions are often related to manifestations of underlying jobs ( Luthans, 1992 ; Visser, 1990 ; Vorster, 1992 ) . Nature of work is besides one ground, which can fulfill or dissatisfy emplo yees. Harmonizing to Ninomiya and Okato ( 1990 ; cited in Mwamwenda, 1995 ) , â€Å" occupation satisfaction among instructors was associated with freedom to make their work as they saw tantrum, a sufficient supply of larning stuff and equipment, a good wage, a sensible category size every bit good as the support and cooperation of co-workers † . The reappraisal of literature showed there are different elements, which contribute to occupation satisfaction of the employees among instructors of Public and Private Universities. Among these factors are wage, publicity, contingent wages, nature of work, working status, nature of work, fringe benefits, supervising, and communicating. Therefore, in planing a survey to research difference in occupation satisfaction between Private and Public University instructors, it is important to reflect on these factors. The aim of this survey is to happen out difference in occupation satisfaction between Private and Public University instructors in add-on to what are the different factors that affect the satisfaction degree of the instructors towards his/her occupation. The undermentioned hypothesis was formulated based on old literature: Private Sector University instructors are more satisfied with their occupations as compared to Public Se ctor University instructors.2. Methods2.1 SampleA sample comprises of 160 instructors, 80 populace ( 40 males ; 40 females ) university instructors, and 80 ( 40 males ; 40 females ) private university instructors of Karachi, Pakistan. Age scope was from 24 to 65 and mean age was 38.92 ( SD 8.353 ) . Education degree was Masters 80.5 % , MPhil 9.5 % , and PhD 3.8 % . Duration of the service ranged from1 to 32 old ages, and the mean continuance was 8.76 old ages ( SD 7.049 ) . The occupation places of the participants were lectors ( 32.5 % ) , adjunct professors ( 41.25 % ) , associate professors ( 18.75 % ) , and professors ( 7.5 % ) . All respondents were lasting module members who worked in public and private universities.2.2 MeasureA demographic signifier was used, dwelling of several inquiries about gender, age, academic making, occupation position, matrimonial position, organisation type, and length of service. The Job Satisfaction Survey ( JSS ; Spector, 1997 ) JSS is a nine-subscale step of employee occupation satisfaction. The nine aspects are 1 ) wage, 2 ) publicity, 3 ) supervising, 4 ) periphery benefits, 5 ) contingent wagess, 6 ) operating conditions, 7 ) colleagues, 8 ) nature of work, and 9 ) communicating. The JSS consists of 36 points to be rated by participants on a 6-point likert format response graduated table ( i.e. , disagrees really much, disagree reasonably, disagree somewhat, agree somewhat, agree reasonably, and hold really much ) . In the present survey, JSS found to be internally consistent at the degree of = .822. The universities instructors were approached from different sections such as module sections, than the, intent of present research was explained to them, and they were requested to take part in the present survey ( written consent was taken ) . Many of them rejected to take part, and those who agreed to take part were farther preceded in the survey. The resonance was established by presenting ego and than by stating about the aim of the survey. They were ensured about confidentiality that their provided information would be used merely for research intent and their named will non mentioned in this survey, they were besides informed that their engagement will be on voluntary footing and they can go forth the survey at any phase. After set uping resonance and trust, participants were provided with demographic signifier to obtain their personal information. After taking demographic information, Job Satisfaction Survey ( JSS ; Paul E Spector, 1994 ) was administered in order to measure J ob satisfaction of the ( employees ) participants. After completion of steps, participants were thanked for being engagement in this research and for their cherished clip. After completion of informations, demographic signifier was analyzed and Job Satisfaction Survey was scored harmonizing to the instructions given in the manual.3. ConsequencesIn order to analyse informations in footings of statistics foremost, informations was tabulated on Microsoft excel sheet. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ( SPSS ) , version 16.0 was used for all statistical analyses. Descriptive statistics for demographic information and t-test was performed in order to happen out difference on occupation satisfaction between private university instructors and public universities instructors. The consequence of the survey suggests that important difference was found between Public and Private University instructors on the variable of Pay ( t=-3.138, p & lt ; .05 ) ; Promotion ( t=-2.174, p & lt ; .05 ) ; Fringe Benefit ( t=-2.554, p & lt ; .05 ) ; Contingent Rewards ( t= 3.823, P & lt ; .05 ) ; Operating Conditions ( t= -2.247, P & lt ; .05 ) ; and Nature of Work ( t=-2.482, p & lt ; .05 ) . However, no difference was found on the variable of Communication ( t=.315, P & gt ; .05 ) ; Co- Workers ( t= -.878, P & gt ; .05 ) ; and Supervision ( t=-.595, p & gt ; .05 ) .4. DiscussionThe consequence of the survey shows that there is important difference in occupation satisfaction between Private and Public university instructors. Harmonizing to the findings of the survey on the variable of wage, publicity, periphery benefit, contingent wages, and working status there is a important difference in occupation satisfaction of private and public university instructors. Additionally, undistinguished difference was found between private and public university instructors on the variable of communicating, supervising, and colleagues. A bivariate analysis of the consequences depicts that there is difference in occupation satisatfaction between public and private university instructors. Literature besides suggests that differences between public and private sector employees exist ( Goulet & A ; Frank, 2002 ; Perry, 2000 ; Perry & A ; Rainey, 1988 ; Wright, 2001 ) . Furthermore, employees choose to work for public sector organisations based on other outlooks and promises and therefore they support the thought that public sector employees are motivated by different facets than public sector employees ( Borzaga & A ; Tortia, 2006 ; Burgess & A ; Ratto, 2003 ; Perry & A ; Wise, 1990 ) . As private university provides assorted installations to their instructors for illustration, competitory wage bundles, satisfactory working environment, publicities, as compare public universities. The consequences of the survey shows that private university instructors are more satisfied with their wage as comparison to public university instructors. Harmonizing to Volkwein & A ; Parmley, ( 2004 ) Public sector organisations are financially honoring their employees slightly less than private sector organisations and are offering less careear development chances. In add-on, on the variable of contingent wages and frienge benfits important difference was foud between private and public university instructors. Literature besides suggests that Burgess and Ratto ( 2003 ) wage is non the best inducement for public sector workers because public sector employees are motivated by other inducements than private sector workers. The possible account of this determination is that fringe benefits include wellness insurance, retirement benefits, pension program, life insurance, and wellness insurance, and private universities in Pakistan offereing high-quality programs to their instructor as campare to public sector universities. Harmonizing to the consequences of the survey on the variable of nature of work private university instructors were more satisfied than public university instructors. Aryee ( 1992 ) studies that public sector employees perceive a lower quality of occupation content and are less motivated. A recent survey of Lyons, Duxbury and Higgins ( 2006 ) reveals differences in work-related values, particularly in the values: part of the occupation to society, chances for promotion, disputing work and esteemed work. Along with nature work runing status is besides lending a cardinal function in occupation satisfaction. Private universities in Pakistan supplying well-equiped work environment which includes computing machines, cyberspace installations, digital librararies with latest books, suites for modules that will actuate employees and increase their occupation satisfaction. However, the consequences on the variable of colleagues and communicating suggest no difference in private and public university instructor. In both sector instructor ‘s communicating and relationship with worker is non changing because its human demand to be affiliated with each other no affair from which civilization or sector they belong. This determination is in line with Gabris & A ; Simo ( 1995 ) that public sector and private sector employees do non differ on the demand for association. In the visible radiation of the findings of this survey no difference was found between public and private university instructors on the variable of supervising. Both sector university instructors are satisfied with their supervising. The findings support the difference in occupation satisfaction between private and public University instructors. The consequences have deductions for the policy shapers and the authorities that dissatisfied instructors in the univerersity can non satisfied pupils need. Furthermore, it will give rise to turnover, absenteesim and low motive in their work. Deriving a thorough apprehension of occupation satisfaction has deductions for bettering the working life of module members via supplying penetrations to decision makers responsible for planing and implementing staff development schemes and intercessions within the higher instruction context. There are some restrictions of the present survey. First, the survey depended on self-reported informations. There is ever a hazard of being biased and selective callback when utilizing such informations ( Smith & A ; Glass, 1987 ) . Second, the afore-mentioned findings derived from an aimed convenience trying procedure ; hence, the generalizability of the findings is limited. Finally, this survey coversPublic and private university instructors from Karachi. Expansion on the present survey would let greater cognition into the forecasters of occupation satisfaction in the instruction profession.5. DecisionTo reason, findings of the survey illustrates that occupation satisfaction improves public presentation of the instructors. These findings suggest that when instructors are satisfied with ther occupation they can enhace the academic potency of the students.In add-on ; there is difference in occupation satisfaction between public and private university instructors in occupation satisf action.

Staff Development and Performance Appraisal in a Brazilian Research Centre

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/1460-1060. htm Staff development and performance appraisal in a Brazilian research centre Cristina Lourenco Ubeda and Fernando Cesar Almada Santos ? Staff development and appraisal 109 ? ? University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Abstract Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyse the staff development and performance appraisal in a Brazilian research centre.Design/methodology/approach – The key issues of this case study are: the main organisational changes which have taken place over the last decades; the aspects of the organisational structure that have either contributed to or hindered competence-based management; the development of necessary researchers’ competences related to main projects and processes and the way of appraising the development of their competences.The analysis of this paper was carried out considering the following phases: strategic plannin g, speci? cations of projects and processes, competence-based management and performance appraisal of researchers. Findings – Although integration was found between the performance measurement and strategic plans de? ned by the research centre, competence-based management is still centred on individuals and based on their tasks. The link between researchers’ competences and their social context is not considered.Originality/value – Feedback from the results of research projects and recycling of organisational processes would allow the studied organisation not only to identify the individual competences necessary for each activity, but also to improve the relationship between professional growth and innovation brought about by competitive strategies of companies. Keywords Competences, Innovation, Human resource management, Performance appraisal, Research organizations, Brazil Paper type Case study IntroductionCurrent competitive markets are highly in? uenced by t he markets being globalised, technological innovation and stiff competition. Competence-based management appears in this scenario as an approach to human resource management which provides interaction between human resource systems and a company’s strategy (Santos, 2000; Schuler and Jackson, 1995; Meshoulam and Baird, 1987). Technological changes require companies to develop human competences as an important factor to achieve success and have competitive advantage (Drejer and Riis, 1999).The main objective of developing competences is to enable people to assimilate the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for their jobs (Sandberg, 2000). Strategic human resource management has attempted to link its practices to innovation strategies of companies which deal with changing, unpredictable and demanding markets (Hagan, 1996; Huselid et al. , 1997; Mills et al. , 1998; Jayaram et al. , 1999; Drejer, 2000a; Ray et al. , 2004). Human resource management consists of systems such as selection, staff’s performance appraisal, career management, compensation and motivation practices.European Journal of Innovation Management Vol. 10 No. 1, 2007 pp. 109-125 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1460-1060 DOI 10. 1108/14601060710720573 EJIM 10,1 110 All these systems may favour or hinder the development of competences which are necessary for a company’s strategy (Sandberg, 2000). The systems in human resources may help a company to increase its competitiveness by implementing competence-based management. Models for competence-based management have been widely used in order to align individual abilities with core competences of a company.A structure of competences is basically understood as a link between people’s development and a company’s strategy. Competence-based management uses a structure of competences to align its strategic objectives with its key processes in human resource management (Le Deist and Winterton, 2005). The aim of thi s paper is to analyse a Brazilian research centre by reinforcing the main challenges of implementing competence-based management in this centre which deals with innovation.Its mission is to develop solutions for sustainable development of Brazilian agribusinesses by creating, adapting and transferring knowledge and technology to bene? t society (Ubeda, 2003, p. 50). This research is relevant because: . it highlights the production and transfer of technology as a distinct factor in terms of innovation which allows companies to achieve a leading position in international markets (Fleury and Fleury, 2004); and . the development of competences which is directly linked to market demands is analysed (Mans? ld, 2004; Schroeder et al. , 2002; Hagan, 1996; Drejer, 2000a; Drejer and Riis, 1999). As a consequence, this analysis is based on a theoretical proposal concerning the development of individual competences which reinforces performance appraisal as a tool to identify and monitor staffâ €™s competences, as well as taking into account a company’s core competence and external demands. The paper is based on three relevant topics: (1) Working competitively involves placing high value on people, considering their experiences, ideas and preferences.Their participation in organisations is necessary because employees and managers have to discuss a company’s objectives together. (2) Encouraging employees’ participation means creating opportunities to offer people a collective perspective concerning the signi? cance of their professional practice and a way of being part of the future. (3) It is fundamental to consider not only the staff’s speci? c quali? cations needed for the positions in the organisational structure, but also their knowledge, experiences, skills and results for future innovations. Individual competences which are identi? d by performance appraisal in all the hierarchical levels of an organisation are important aspects concer ning the success of a company’s competitive strategy. Once the company is aware of the individual competences needed for each process, it can identify new ways of developing its human resources by changing the focus of its human resource systems. An integrated model for human resource management with a business-oriented strategy uses individual competences as a reference for the systems in human resource management, such as selection, training and development, compensation and career management.Taking this into account, Dutra (2001, p. 27) says that: . . . organisations and people, side by side, create a continuous process of competence exchange. A company transfers its assets to the people, enriching and preparing them to face new professional and personal situations, inside or outside of the organisation. Its staff, in turn, while developing their individual abilities, transfer their learning to the organisation, providing it conditions to cope with new challenges. Competen ce-based management Competence-based management has a direct effect on the future performance of its human resources (employees, managers and directors).It also considers attitudes, values, personal characteristics and relationships in teams which are necessary for innovation and not only the knowledge and skills required for completing their jobs (Conde, 2001). Therefore, competence-based management is a strategic practice which aims at increasing the global performance of a corporation by increasing the individual performance of its employees (Hagan, 1996). It is necessary to identify factors which produce differences between individuals according to the results of their jobs and experiences (Moore et al. , 2002; Drejer, 2000b).For this reason, every company which strives for competitiveness in its market recognises that competence-based management and performance appraisal are strategic functions, as this has brought about innovation by recycling companies’ processes and i ndividuals’ activities (Bitencourt, 2004; Drejer and Riis, 1999; Houtzagers, 1999; Baker et al. , 1997). Competence-based management creates opportunities for effective strategic human resource management. However, without performance appraisals, both for individuals and teams, a company can neither monitor its own development nor the progress of its staff’s performance.As a consequence, it cannot develop or manage its individual competences (Ritter et al. , 2002; Robotham and Jubb, 1996). Therefore, the main objectives of competence-based management are: . to guide managerial decisions related to providing employees with the resources necessary for them to carry out their work satisfactorily, as well as to meet their training needs; . to plan staff’s activities and identify the work conditions that in? uence their performance; . to guide the company’s human resource policies and guidelines; and . to reward, promote and even punish, warn or ? e employees. Development of individual competences When considering social interaction between people and objectives, competitive strategy makes use of a formal structure to exchange information and human resource management that provides guidelines for selection, job design and evaluation, performance appraisal and rewards (Devanna et al. , 1984). A competitive strategy formulation must be based on the strongest competences of a company. Constant progress of competences creates opportunities for systematic Staff development and appraisal 111 EJIM 10,1 112 re? ement and reformulation of competitive strategy and, by doing so, new ways can be identi? ed to develop competences (Fleury and Fleury, 2004). Developing individual competences is cyclical. According to environmental demands, companies de? ne their competitive strategy and core competences in order to channel their energy into their speci? c characteristics and, consequently, to adopt human resource systems that support the identi? cation and management of their individual competences. In this paper, development of individual competences is considered as a way of supplying information to other systems and processes.First of all, the company must: . establish what the strategy and organisational competences are; . de? ne the speci? cations of products and processes; . study the perspectives of necessary individual competences for each speci? c process; and . plan and carry out performance appraisal (Figure 1). When competence-based management is integrated into a company’s strategy, one can observe the relationship between identifying personal competences and main human resource systems: selection, training and development, compensation and career management.Companies which integrate competence-based management into strategic planning become able to make use of some tools, such as a balanced scorecard in order to measure the organisational performance in four balanced perspectives: ? nance, customers, internal processes and staff’s learning and growth. Kaplan and Norton (1997) highlight the importance of creating a strategic feedback system to test, validate and modify the hypotheses which are incorporated into strategic business units. When cause and effect relations are incorporated into the balanced scorecard, they allow executives to establish short term goals which re? ct their best expectations in de? ciencies and impacts and consequently affect performance measurements. From the feedback obtained by performance appraisal, supervisors and employees can identify what the necessary skills and knowledge are for activities to be developed, and what type of training is necessary to improve project management. Competence and human performance Individual competence associates explicit knowledge, personal skills and experiences with individuals’ results and judgement of organisational values which are obtained in ? their social context (Hipolito, 2001, p. 1; Fleury and Fleury , 2000; Zari? an, 2001; Sveiby, 1998). It considers the production and handing in of results which are linked to employees’ mobilisation, that is to say, it incorporates the value added by them to business, as shown in Figure 2. Ubeda (2003) emphasises that competence involves the individuals working closely in a team by doing practical activities, as well as their daily routine which results in a constant â€Å"know how to learn†. The individuals must be apt to take the initiative and assume responsibilities to cope with professional situations which they come across.This responsibility is undoubtedly the counterpart of decentralising decision making. Individuals will not give orders anymore, but they will individually assume the Staff development and appraisal INNOVATION 113 STRATEGY F F Mission Objectives E E E CORE COMPETENCES D B D SPECIFICATIONS OF PRODUCT AND PROCESSES A C E B A INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES K C K PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Figure 1. The competence developm ent process Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 50) responsibility for evaluating a situation, the required initiative and the effects that will inevitably arise from this situation.Therefore, a person or a team (when accepting responsibilities) accepts to be judged and be appraised for the achieved results in terms of performance for which they are responsible. They commit themselves to producing and handing in results of their activities. Thus, it is not possible to consider competence without presenting the logic behind human performance, as performance appraisal guides the development of individual competences according to business needs (Moore et al. , 2002; Lawler, 1995). The use of competences means rethinking the procedures of staff’s appraisal because: . . each individual becomes aware of which result must be reached and how it can be achieved. The competences form the basis of the language used to de? ne the expected behaviour which enables performance and improvement to be car ried out (Conde, 2001, p. 80). EJIM 10,1 114 INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCE SKILL Know how to do something PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY Results ATTITUDE Intend to do something POTENTIAL Knowledge Figure 2. The individual competence concept Source: Hipolito (2001, p. 81) According to Dutra (2001, p. 33), one of the most dif? ult issues concerning people management is to de? ne and appraise performance in terms of the results to be handed in by a determined person, company or business. Performance appraisal makes it possible to identify three individual aspects that interact between themselves: development, effort and behaviour (Figure 3): Each aspect must be dealt with in a different way, concerning not only the way to appraise, but also the actions which follow the appraisal. In general, companies mix these three aspects and emphasise effort and behaviour.At the current moment, staff’s professional growth is the most important aspect of performance and it is worthy of special attention (Du tra, 2001, p. 35). Dejours (1997, p. 54) highlights performance appraisal as evaluating a job that can take place in two ways: evaluating usefulness and social relationships. Evaluating the technical, social or economic usefulness of the individual is linked to the workplace and the person who does it is generally in a hierarchical position (boss, manager or organiser) to appraise the usefulness.Evaluating social relationships is related to the alignment of the job and production with standards which have been socially established by peers in the same hierarchical level which enables the individual to belong to a collective group. This evaluation is related to the job and its activities. What is appraised and evaluated is the job and not the individual. From the perspective of the human factor theory proposed by Dejours (1997, p. 55), this is an essential point because an individual’s contribution to the job effectiveness makes recognition and compensation possible.PERFORMANC E APPRAISAL BEHAVIOUR DEVELOPMENT EFFORT Figure 3. The three aspects of performance appraisal Source: Dutra (2001, p. 35) Recent studies point out models of performance appraisal based on behaviour and attitudes, but not only the ones focused on the analysis of functional features of each job (Moore et al. , 2002). They reinforce the increasing in? uence of technology, functional requisites and organisational learning in terms of developing competences (Drejer and Riis, 1999). According to Zari? an (2001, p. 121), nobody can compel individuals to be competent.A company can only create favourable conditions for their development. Thus, motivation becomes a key element in terms of developing competences. It is necessary for the employees to feel useful and be able to assume responsibilities. The individuals will be more motivated as they consider that the practice of their competences also contributes to the development of their projects and perspectives. Performance appraisal as an i nstrument to identify employees’ competences Competence-based management is supported by organisational competences that directly in? ence an individual’s competences, which are necessary for carrying out tasks and processes and, then are considered in performance appraisals. Consequently, the feedback concerning the data from these appraisals enables the whole organisation to recycle strategies and competences. Many authors highlight the dif? culty of measuring the impact of developing competences regarding a company’s performance (Mans? eld, 2004; Moore et al. , 2002; Ritter et al. , 2002; Drejer, 2000a; Sandberg, 2000; Hagan, 1996). This situation is worsened if the individual metrics of each work process are thought to be measured.Becker et al. (2001) emphasise that performance appraisal systems are incoherent in terms of what is measured and what is important. When implementing a company’s strategy, human resource managers have to be able to understa nd exactly how people contribute to a company’s results by being valuable and how to measure this contribution. This situation only takes place if these managers really participate in the development of a company’s strategy. These authors state that satisfactory performance appraisal produces two types of results: 1) it improves the decision-making processes of the sector responsible for human resource management by focusing its activities on the aspects of the organisation that contribute to the development of a company’s strategy; and (2) it provides a better allocation of resources, de? ning direct relations between human resource investments and strategic assets of a company. Developing competences in a research centre Aiming at evaluating competence-based management in practice, a case study in a research centre located in Brazil was carried out.This organisation is a unit of a Federal public research corporation which consists of 37 research centres, three national service centres and 11 central unit of? ces and is present in almost all the States of the Brazilian Federation. This corporation has invested in training and quali? cations of its staff since it was founded. In 2003, there were a total number of 8,619 employees. Out of 2,221 researchers who work in this corporation, 45 per cent have a master’s degree and 53 per cent a PhD. Staff development and appraisal 115 EJIM 10,1 16 The studied research centre is responsible for developing new technology which can facilitate the life of producers and agricultural workers in the country. The organisation was chosen because it has implemented a performance appraisal system which aligns the development of its products and processes with human resource management. Methodology An empirical study was undertaken from February to November, 2003 using the following data collection instruments: interviews with opportunities for participants’ comments and analysis of documents.Sev en professionals from this research centre were interviewed: four employees of the human resource area, the associate head of the research centre and two researchers. The participative observation of the researchers, the interviewees’ comments and the documental analysis provided a personal and close contact with the organisation identifying institutional materials, norms, routines and programs developed by the professionals. The key questions of this case study focus on: . the main organisational changes which have taken place over the last decades; . he aspects of the organisational structure that have either contributed to or hindered competence-based management; . the development of necessary researchers’ competences related to main projects and processes; and . the way of appraising the development of researchers’ competences. The case study The studied research corporation experienced some organisational changes over time that had clearly de? ned its busin ess-oriented strategy. There is a real concern about integrating this strategy with human resource management, however, the performance appraisal system shows an irregular historical background.The investigated corporation was founded in the 1970s, a period of outstanding economic growth in Brazil. Moreover, the Brazilian government supported the training of experts in research in public organs and in the agricultural sector (Ubeda, 2003). At that time, the corporation did not experience either ? nancial or human resource problems because the objective of the Federal government was to form a vanguard institution in its ? eld. The research guidelines of research were de? ned by the corporation’s headquarters and then followed by the research centres.The corporation’s concern about integrating strategies with human resource management increased from the 1990s onwards, as well as plans to implement a structured performance appraisal system (Table I). The research centres were regionally located according to product lines and were set up to solve local problems. These units followed and carried out nationwide policies, as well as guidelines de? ned by the corporation’s headquarters. At this moment, there was no concern about performance appraisal.From 1988 onwards, due to the current Federal Constitution being approved, public institutions became more concerned about the strategic management of the appraisal of processes and results, not only of the organisation but also of the individuals. Period Institution’s organisational scenario 1970s Development and consolidation of the studied corporation Employment and development of human resources Availability of ? nancial resources for project development Modernisation of management Application of strategic planning Focus on resultsAnalysis of global scenarios Rede? nition of the research centre’s mission and vision Formulation of a global policy for the organisation consisting of res earch policy, businesses’ policy, and business communication policy Focus on the customers Organisational re-structuring of processes and projects 1988-1992 1994-1998 1999-2003 Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 69) Aiming to follow these changes of organisational and technological paradigms, the studied organisation started to adopt strategic planning principles in its institutional culture and drew up its ? st corporate plan for 1988-1992. In 1991, the corporation initiated a process of organisational change, using strategic planning techniques, focusing on their operations and processes in the market, guiding research projects towards solving social problems, and not only exclusively towards the progress of pure science, attempting to ? nd an increase in ef? ciency and effectiveness to continue being competitive and to guarantee its sustainability (Nader et al. , 1998).From 1994 onwards, a new system to appraise individual job performance was created and integrated with both strategi c planning and the institutional management system of the whole corporation, as well as with the operational plan of each research centre. To remain competitive and to guarantee sustainability, the corporation adopted a process of organisational change based on a management model drawn on results and customers’ requirements, as well as having been supported by the balanced scorecard methodology (Kaplan and Norton, 1997).From 1997 to 1999, the institution started implementing a new strategic management model in order to provide guidelines which really showed what was de? ned by the corporation. Therefore, the entire organisation’s staff would work in favour of the de? ned goals (Sentanin, 2003). Within its job structure, the institution manages its human resources by linking the achievement of the proposed goals of its annual operational plan to negotiating the proposed activities for each employee in the performance appraisal system.The performance appraisal system, be sides being an instrument to recognise achieved results, is also used to identify human competences, which are important for research, and is a basis for selection, training and compensation practices in research centres. Concerned about meeting the needs of its customers, the corporation de? nes its strategic objectives and conveys them to its research centres that incorporate them into the annual operational plan. These units establish important processes to ful? the proposed goals in the performance appraisal systems of researchers, and consequently, researchers develop new practices and technology (Figure 4). Staff development and appraisal 117 Table I. Organisational scenario of the studied corporation EJIM 10,1 118 Corporate Strategic Plan Plan of Each Unit Annual Operational Plan Figure 4. Performance strategic management process in the organisation studied Performance Measurement Strategic Planning F E E D B A C K Strategic Management Model Based on Processes Performance App raisal Source: Ubeda (2003, p. 82)In each research centre, there is an internal technical committee which co-ordinates research regarding themes and developed projects. This committee analyses pre-proposals and proposals of projects and processes of its unit with technical, operational and ? nancial criteria. Thus, each new project undergoes evaluation and approval of the committee. Once a project is approved, it can be developed, and after it is concluded, it is evaluated once again to re? ect on the results, assuring both the commitment of its staff and the quality of its technical projects and processes.The units’ type of structure is ad hocratic, according to Mintzberg’s (1983) terminology, because it consists of teams which develop the approved projects, as well as them being concerned with innovation and always centred on the development of new products and processes. The head of research of each unit co-ordinates and appraises the performance of the projects whi ch are carried out. The structure of this centre is the re? ection of its strategies, since it attempts to create an integration of specialties using its project teams with the aim of competitiveness and customer satisfaction.As for the job structure, there are two functional careers: research and support for research. Data analysis, results and implication of this research Research on competence-based management was focused on performance appraisal because it is an important instrument to identify human competences based on the innovation strategy of the studied centre. In this performance appraisal system there is explicit planning of the following activities: . what the results of the jobs are expected to be; . ow the product should be presented and what the standard of performance is expected to be; . . when the deadline for the product to be presented is; and feedback of the results of the jobs. However, since 1994 when it was implemented, the performance appraisal system has u ndergone modi? cations to improve its methodology, attempting to make its participants aware of the need for periodic dialogue and monitoring the activities, as well as for the impartial and speci? c appraisal of the activities planned in relation to the availability of means to carry out these activities.The planning of employees’ activities must be made according to the goals of its unit, area or sector, and to the projects under the responsibility of the studied research centre (Ubeda, 2003, p. 82). Performance appraisal must consider the employee’s individual competences and the results of the job which were de? ned in strategic planning. Competence-based management aims at guiding managerial decisions, the processes of professional development, as well as planning the human resource systems.An analysis of the development of competences in the Brazilian research centre was carried out by comparing the main theoretical issues of the literature with practices of the organisation which was studied (Figure 5). Firstly, the strategic objectives (item 1 of Figure 5) of the studied organisation were formulated according to the corporation and unit’s missions and the corporation’s objectives. A synthesis of the theoretical issues concerning organisational competences (item 2 of Figure 5) is presented as follows: . eveloping organisational competences is based on the internal abilities of companies (Wernerfelt, 1984); . these competences consist of skills, abilities and technology which enable a company to meet the speci? c needs of its customers, that is to say, to achieve a competitive advantage superior to competitors (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994); Staff development and appraisal 119 FORMULATION OF STRATEGY (1) Objectives are defined according to the corporation and unit’s missions and the corporation’s objectives PRACTICES OF THE STUDIED ORGANISATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCES (3) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ONORGANIZATIONAL C OMPETENCES (2) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ON INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES (4) ISSUES OF LITERATURE ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL (6) F E E D B A C K PRACTICES OF INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES OF THE STUDIED ORGANISATION (5) ITEMS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN THE STUDIED ORGANISATION (7) Core of this analysis: researchers Focus of the performance appraisal: researchers’university degree qualifications Figure 5. Analysis of the development of competences in the research centre EJIM 10,1 . . 120 they require an understanding of competitive advantage mechanisms which may be used over time.When competitive strategies are being developed, companies have to make the best use of their speci? c features (Grant, 1991); and a competence can be de? ned by considering four elements and their relationships: technology, people, organisational structure and organisational context (Drejer and Riis, 1999). The main features of organisational competences practised in the researched company (item 3 of Figure 5) were: . focus on the internal ability of research in agriculture and breeding; . support for competitive agribusinesses development in the global economy; . ncouraging the development of agribusinesses with the sustainability of economical activities and environmental balance; . diminishing environmental imbalanced aspects of agribusinesses; and . supplying raw materials and food which encourage the population’s health, improving the nutritional level and quality of life. Individual competence issues in the literature (item 4 of Figure 5) may be summarised as follows: . individual competence links explicit knowledge, skills and experiences of individuals to the results and judgements of value built within their social ? etwork (Hipolito, 2001; Fleury and Fleury, 2000; Zari? an, 2001; Sveiby, 1998); . individual competence can be explained altogether by the skills (to know how to do something), attitudes (to intend to do something), knowledge (to understand why to do something and sea rch for solutions) and results (to produce and come ? up with the solution) (Hipolito, 2001); and . in order to develop complex competences, complex systems involve not only many people in different areas of the organisation, but also interlocking technology.It is very dif? cult to understand and imitate them because they are very dependent on people and technology (Drejer and Riis, 1999). To develop individual competences in the research centre (item 5 of Figure 5), the following initiatives were carried out: . stimulating and rewarding creativity; . seeking effectiveness, developing actions with a focus on the achievement of results and solutions with compatible and competitive costs; . planning the company for the future by strategically positioning its resources and abilities; . eing committed to honesty and ethical posture by placing high value on human beings and dealing with all groups of society with respect; . attempting to meet the particularities of customers’ dema nds by following the principles of total quality; . stimulating leadership when creating, adapting and transferring knowledge, products, services and technology; . . . . encouraging partnerships with other organisations and individuals; developing partnerships in terms of science and technology in agribusinesses; striving for scienti? c rigour, using scienti? methods in research, caring about the exactness and precision of procedures in all the phases of the process, and not tolerating bias in results; and supporting teams which deal with problems in a systemic way in order to attain the ? nal objectives of their jobs. With regards to the issues presented in the literature on performance appraisal (item 6 of Figure 5): . the three main aspects of performance appraisal are people’s development, effort and behaviour (Dutra, 2001); . models for performance appraisal are based on behaviour and attitudes, and not only on the speci? functional analysis of each job (Moore et al. , 2 002); and . technology, functional requisites and organisational learning in? uence the development of competences (Drejer and Riis, 1999). However, the main items of performance appraisal in the studied organisation (item 7 of Figure 5) are limited to: . researchers’ ability of monitoring the projects being carried out; . researchers’ scienti? c publications, such as articles, proceedings of congresses and scienti? c journals, books and chapters of books; . production and transfer of technology; and . publicising the research centre’s image.Although there is integration between performance appraisal and strategic plans de? ned by the research centre, competence-based management is still centred on the individuals, and it is also based on their tasks and not on the individuals linked to their social context, as previously pointed out by Moore et al. (2002), Zari? an (2001), Drejer and Riis (1999) and Dejours (1997). The previous fact is also a result of the dif? culty in measuring innovation and the degree of the development of a research project. Until the moment the research project does not achieve the proposed objective, it is dif? ult to quantify how much this research has progressed over time. All the risks are assumed and the decisions are centralised by researchers who coordinate the project teams. These facts took place because of the studied organisation which did not manage to deal with complex competences in a decentralised way. Although this research centre is a reference in Brazil, the competence notion of this institution recognises only the scope of skills (to know how to do it) and knowledge (information and experiences), not considering the scope of the attitudes (to intend to do it).The organisation only recognises competences based on a university degree quali? cation, and does not include the initiative and the responsibilities necessary to cope with complex situations. It does not centre the development of individual competences either on speci? c projects or on integration and team work. Staff development and appraisal 121 EJIM 10,1 122 Project management and performance appraisal are centred on the main researchers’ skills and knowledge, minimising the importance of the competences of the other members of the research project team.However, it is important to mention that the quantitative criteria of performance appraisal do not only re? ect the concern about customers’ satisfaction, but also guide the distribution of resources and the human resource policies of the studied institution. Performance appraisal does not consider either the team aspect or the concept of feedback structured by 360 degrees appraisal in which all the staff appraise and are appraised by their superiors, subordinates and colleagues (Borman, 1997). Employees are appraised by their superiors in the studied centre.The results of the performance appraisal system contribute to strategic planning, however, the o rganisation and superiors are not appraised by the employees. In addition, an investigation into the organisational atmosphere was not made. There is not a channel for the feedback of performance appraisals which could result in both the development of researchers’ competences and the innovation process of this centre. The processes in which technology is transferred and research is carried out are not de? ned according to the guidelines and parameters of this research centre, but they are de? ed by the corporation. Regarding cultural aspects, there is a great resistance and incredulity of the performance appraisal systems and the development of competences, despite the employees being already familiar with the appraisal systems of the research projects. Considering this incredulity, the appraisers do not take the role of planning and monitoring individual jobs. â€Å"There is always something more important and more urgent to do than ‘to sit down with somebody to plan actions related to the individuals’ job and his/her respective performance† (Nader et al. 1998, p. 17). In Table II some theoretical references are compared with the investigated institution’s practice. This is an approach combining the presence of the aspects of: competence (skills, attitudes, knowledge, production and handing in), Competence-based management elements in the studied organisation Table II. Elements of competence-based management in the organisation studied Performance appraisal integrated with strategic planning Performance appraisal integrated with human resource systems Development of skillsDevelopment of knowledge Development of attitudes Consideration of the social context of project teams Development of competences according to production and delivery Performance appraisal based on results Use of balanced scorecard to establish and rede? ne goals Participation of all members of a research project team in the performance appraisal through 36 0 degrees performance appraisal Concern about employees and researchers’ professional growth considering all the elements of competenceFeedback of appraisals in terms of attitudes, opportunities of professional growth and social context to develop new strategies Source: Adapted from Ubeda (2003, p. 95) Present Absent X X X X X X X X X X X X the performance appraisal model, and the strategic integration of processes with human resource management. Conclusions When dealing with current competitive markets and needs for technological innovation, as well as stiff competition for new market niches, competence-based management is really a strategic practice adopted by companies to attain competitive advantage in order to serve the customers quickly and ef? iently. As a consequence, the alignment of human resource management practices and business strategies is of fundamental importance to company’s competitiveness, and it emphasises people as a distinct resource for success. Thus, competence and human performance help the development of projects and internal processes. Competence-based management is carried out based on identifying individual competences, using performance appraisal of results from an individual’s job.It is based not only on the competitive strategy and the organisational structure, but also on processes and projects of a company. It is also a reference for managers’ decisions concerning the selection, training and compensation policies of a company’s staff. To implement a consistent performance appraisal system which is capable of appraising the competences of each employee, it is necessary to check which knowledge, skills and attitudes should be developed in order to improve the internal processes of the organisation, without remaining focused only on jobs and tasks.In this case, the research centre is basically just concerned with its operational plans whose main reference is striving for productivity. However, it was observed in practice that the development of individual competences does not link the performance appraisal system to the collective and social approach of competence-based management, and it also does not include the scope of attitudes in order to integrate strategic planning, its monitoring, performance appraisal, the feedback of results of a research project and the improvement of processes.It is exactly this feedback, if well managed, that makes a difference, not only when identifying individual competences necessary for each activity, but also in the possibility of sharing professional growth concurrently with innovation and competitive strategy of companies. Feedback linked to the organisation’s strategy could increase the integration between all its organisational units and levels possible. 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Corresponding author Cristina Lourenco Ubeda can be contacted at: [email  protected] com. br ? To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email  protected] com Or visit our web site for further details: www. emeraldinsight. com/reprints Staff development and appraisal 125