Examples Of Organization Activities Groupware Support Information Technology Essay

Examples Of Organization Activities Groupware Support Information Technology Essay With the changes of society and technologies, collaboration is becoming an increasingly integral part of the workplace environment. Three primary influencing factors have revolutionized the common workplace, of which perhaps the most prevalent being technology which has become imperative for being at the forefront of any market. As advancements have occurred in information and communication technologies the business environment has become more flexible, changing the way in which organizations operate. With the enhancements of technology it has become increasingly feasible for organizations to easily span across a global market, resulting in dispersion of organizational assets across a large geographical area. Social transformations such as an increase in the academic achievements of individuals have changed the depth of knowledge between peers allowing them to collaborate to achieve common goals within a working environment. The term Organization is broad and incorporates a collection of institutions ranging from government sectors through to universities. The way in which people operate within organizations has changed throughout recent decades due to the work that is required of them. With the advancements in technology, many tasks are easily achievable using computers and software packages, much of the trivial and time consuming tasks have been removed from the user workload and instead carried out via a machine. Workers within organizations have continued to change with the change in work with many people becoming knowledge workers, who supply their specialist know-how to contribute towards organizational goals. People within organizations are now often required to complete large activities with very specific goals. A growing trend of positions within these environments requires people to operate as a member within a team, to distribute complicated organizational goals. Working in these situations provides an increase in efficiency and productivity in carrying out organizational activities. There are many advantages to working within a team, one of these being teams have a collective knowledge much greater than that of an individual, allowing them to understand a problem by sharing knowledge. Team members will often have their own ideas they want to be included into a solution and so forth will be more so committed to the work. Whilst one individual may find it hard to see flaws within their own work, teams can often identify errors much faster, with a more objective standpoint. Creative solutions can be derived from a group with multiple viewpoints, often providing an abstract view of a problem. Within the business world, companies have been targeting growing markets, this has caused a dispersion in company assets. Activities require interactions from a range of assets including personal situated in different locations this is why technology has become fundamental to team collaborations within a business environment. Collaboration between workers has become more vital in completing organizational goals, technology and software developments have advanced supporting collaboration between individuals whom are not co-located. A type of software which has grown due to the requirement of organizations is groupware. Groupware, collaborative software or group support systems are all a type of software with the main objective to make the interaction between people that work together easier and helping them to become more effective and efficient.( Sarmento, Lousa, Machado,1999) The software is used to support groups of people engaged in a common task that provides an interface to a shared environment. (Borko Furht,2008) Groupware can take place between people whom are co-located or remotely segregated. It can either be synchronous where people are collaborating in real-time or asynchronous with communication at different times (not real-time). Many early groupware systems were brought to live to eliminate the need to be co-located. Groupware has now grown to a state where it is an industry of its own, with so many organizations using various types of collaborative software. Groupware has been around for many years, incorporating technologies such as email. More recently groupware is becoming associated with technologies that support collaboration and communication, with many software solutions providing support for communication, collaboration and cooperative work, for example LMS systems employed by many universities, to support student collaboration. Many factors have lead to the need of software solutions that promote collaboration between individuals. Group work is a regular experience for many people within an organization, in most organizations most complex decisions are made by a team. As this become more frequent the necessity to share documents and work together is central to success. As media becomes more available through IP (internet protocol) through factors such as faster networking connections, the range and quantity of data we can send has improved allowing for better groupware systems (such as video conferencing). Additional the rise of groupware has been influenced by the global spread of employees with 87 percent of employees around the world work[ing] in remote offices.(Turban, Leindner, Mclean, Wetherbe,2008) Individuals daily routines have become more dependent on electronic devices, keeping them in constant connection to e-mail collaborative calendars and other groupware system. Exposing individual to this te chnology makes it easier to introduce such software into their work life. The benefits of groupware have lead to huge numbers of organizations up taking e-collaboration, the telecommunication Industry (TIA)(Tiaonline.org) indicates that global revenues from collaboration will show a 66.5 percent compound annual growth reaching $11.4 billion in 2007 (Turban, Leindner, Mclean, Wetherbe,2008). One of the issues slowing the uptake of groupware is the range of requirements from the different users of collaborative software. Because cooperative work is carried out through such a huge number of industries the number of different activities is massive, often general solutions cannot provide the functionality needed so bespoke software is required. This factor has slowed the uptake of groupware in smaller organizations. Another issue with groupware is the integrity of data being operated upon. When cooperative working it is often the case that the users will be working on an artifact, with multiple users accessing and modifying the artifact it can often cause multiple different copies. Groupware systems tend to employ a centralized data store to attempt to reduce this occurring, including other techniques (e.g. locking the data until the modifications have been finalized). Authentication has also been an issue related with groupware systems as often organizational documents are sensitive. Classification and types of groupware Groupware is a term which incorporates a large quantity of different technologies involved with communication, collaboration and cooperative work. Because the term is so hard to define it has lead to many people being unsure of what constitutes as groupware. The best way to view them is to group them in a logical way, numerous different classification frameworks have been produced to describe characteristics of groupware. In this section I will try and describe some classification techniques to outline the various types of groupware which are available. The time/space matrix classification framework used to group types of groupware. This technique uses the location and the times in groupware to describe it. On the x-axis is the location, which describes if users are co-located or geographically divided. The y-axis on the other hand describes if the users interactions are synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous (not in real-time). Tools used which are synchronous and co-located tend not to be computerized, for instance a classroom. Although this framework does group collaborative tools it does have examples which can cause confusion, such as e-mail. Though it is classified as an asynchronous technology it can be used to send messages back and forth between users.   Network delays might not make it real-time interaction, but it is used for synchronous communication.(Brusic  ,2004) Other examples are present. The ambiguity present in this framework has caused others to be formed. The second framework this essay will introduce is the people/artefact framework. It is heavily based upon cooperative work. Cooperative work involves two or more participants using a shared artefact. (Brusic  ,2004) This framework identifies 3 main operations groupware can offer; Computer meditated communication, meeting and decision support systems and shared applications and artefacts. The first category computer-meditated communication describes technologies which support direct communication between users, allowing cooperate about their work. An example of this are e-mail, bulletin boards and video conferencing. To collaborate workers need to be able to gain an understanding of the task and generate ideas, this is the concept encapsulated by the second category meeting and decision support systems. Examples of meeting and decision support systems are; argumentation tools, services that offer shared drawing tools and brainstorming activities. The final category is shared applica tions and artefacts, this classification includes systems for sharing; computers, applications and documents. This classification often requires special collaborative aware software to be used, an example of these systems are shared editors, allowing multiple users to edit a document. The two classification frameworks discussed are not the only two available, another example is Esther Dysons model that focuses on the benefiting party of the groupware. Describing these frameworks makes it apparent that there are many various collaborative tools, the ideal solution would be one which includes all tools although we are still quite far from developing the grand groupware system that encompasses every type of communication, and we will probably never get there since the possibilities are constantly evolving with changes in both our patterns of social interaction and the technology we have available.(Anonymous,2010) Examples of organization activities groupware support Organisations are more than often using electronic systems to carry out a large magnitude of their internal and external processes. The adoption of e-enterprise has brought forward the need for collaboration between organisations to meet their goals and flourish in the current market. The increasing need for collaboration between non co-located organisations and individuals has caused the groupware market to expand and become a fundamental tool. Groupware has influenced the expansion of enterprises by improving the effectiveness of a range of tools such as the ability to communicate over long distances. I will now discuss the use of groupware and how it can be used to support organisations and their processes. Since the introduction of computers the ability to collect, analyse and share data has greatly increased in efficiency. Today many business and other organisations thrive upon the data they utilize. A key aspect of any organisation is the way in which data is managed and shared between different organisational resources, for example different tiers of staff. Groupware is enabling organisations to work effectively with the quantity of data they currently possess. The sharing of information internally and to external stakeholders has been benefitted by a variety of tools. Many industries rely on sharing information to external organisations and example where this can be seen is with supply and demand. Companies with a required demand need to communicate their requirements to the suppliers in order to meet the demands. An example industry where this is present is within supermarket chains. Asda a leading supermarket uses electronic data interchange systems to communicate to its supplier s with great effect, send[ing] real time data in multiple formats securely over the internet (Turban, Leindner, Mclean, Wetherbe,2008). Using its current stock levels to request necessary products. This software supports the collaboration between organisations improving efficiency. This groupware system offers many benefits over its manual equivalent (such as telephone ordering). Most of the system is automated removing the need for human resources, but it also often much more effective with a decrease in the time required, error rates (human error removed) and often cost. Information sharing has become a large section of groupware due to the increasing use of e-enterprise and need for multiple stakeholders to share information. It can often be seen internally in organisations with one example being the sharing of documents through systems such as email attachments and drop box systems. Knowledge creation tools are a collection of groupware tools that can be used to support the learning and sharing of knowledge throughout an organisation. Knowledge can be classified as tacit (Knowledge that is difficult to transfer by verbalising it or writing it down) or as explicit. Groupware systems support both through collaboration using a variety of structured and non-structured methods. Tools which offer this include; white-boarding, chat, discussion groups and other tools. Knowledge creation and sharing is important throughout organisations. The need of cooperation between geographically dispersed workgroups is a critical issue to global organizations: the best specialists to solve a problem do not usually work on the same floor. (Carvalho, Rodrigo Baroni de Ferreira, Marta Araujo Tavares, 2001). As this statement suggest groupware to help creation of knowledge is now fundamental because of the needs of organisations to span a much larger (often global) market. Closely coupled to knowledge creation tools are the groupware tool classified as knowledge management systems. The systems main objective is to manage the creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information.(Maier,2007) Because of the diversity of organizations many varying systems are currently available. Learning management systems such as Blackboard are ideal examples of groupware facilitating learning. Blackboard is a well known product used in over 2200 educational institutions, its primary goal is manage course content but also provides tools for learning and collaboration between users. Through my own experience of blackboard it vastly improves the ability to find relevant information to apply towards projects and examinations, using the online discussion boards it is possible to carry out peer to peer knowledge sharing to aid my personal development. Assessment and interactive learning content is another feature present helping to increase individuals knowledge throug hout universities. There are many other organizations using a variety of software packages. Lotus notes (IBM) is an example of collaborative software which incorporates knowledge management, this system is typically used throughout businesses and offers a range of collaborative tools such as email and calendaring. A collaborative project management tool is an application that facilitates a project throughout its lifecycle. Many groupware tools can be used to support a range of projects. Projects have a much higher rate of success if they are managed effectively. The ability for multiple team members to carry out work on a project from different geographical locations is greatly improved with the use of collaborative project management tools. As the internet has become a more powerful resource it has lead to the growth of tools such as sub-versioning. Throughout the software industry it is often feasible for programmers to operate from different locations all carrying out modifications on a globally stored project. Collaborative project management tools do bring issue. When projects are carried out by non co-located groups they often work on the same data this can lead to data inconsistency throughout a project. Data inconsistency can often lead to inaccuracy and loss of integrity through information. Groupware commonly uses the approach of having a central single data store. This can still lead to loss of integrity with multiple people modifying the same information. Techniques such as locking can be applied and is used in packages such as repository programming where files are locked until they are updated by the person modifying them. This does remove the issue of data inconsistency but reduces productivity, communication is vital to avoid such issues. The future of Groupware All disciplines of technology continue to advance at incredible rates, I believe that groupware will become critical to large organisations. Enterprises are continuing to become more and more popular fulfilling a huge magnitude of services. As the rates of communication through computer continue to increase (i.e. internet speeds) the ability to collaborate with organisations in multiple countries using more personal media will become available. Furthermore the collaboration achievable will improve, bringing down the limitations of geographical dispersion and providing media much more similar to a face to face conversation. Large organisations such as Microsoft and IBM are continuing to focus development towards overall groupware solutions such as Lotus notes. As these organisations continue to develop reliable secure systems I believe the use of collaborative systems will grow throughout small to large work environments. The term groupware is hard to quantify, including small systems such as e-mail through to large software packages, I believe solutions that incorporate a framework and many tools will become more readily available. These sophisticated solutions will offer flexibility so that the processes they operate and projects they manage can change and still be supported, in the same way which humans are flexible to change. With flexibility will need to come scalability of a system, organisations are constantly changing to stay relevant with in their market, groupware will need to be able to support the need for growth. Organisations often consist of technically skilled IT employees capable of managing the internal and external systems but workers do not always have strong technical abilities. If groupware is to become a necessity for all organisations, the technical skills needed to work with the software will need to be basic, this is something I believe will become more present within current tools. Todays world is becoming heavily encircled around mobile devices with millions of people using smart phones and other hand held devices to access the Internet and carry out many daily activities. With the movement away from desk workers to people whom travel in their daily work life the demand for groupware systems that can be supported through a mobile platform to allow communication and collaboration whilst on the move. Groupware tools such as email can already be accessed via mobile device but I believe more multifunctional solutions such as lotus notes will become more available via mobile devices. As with the move to mobile platforms cross platform will also be needed. I believe that this will be accomplished with an increase in web-based solutions running on hosted systems similar to groupware such as Google groups. The inevitable move towards cloud computing will continue to bring an increase in web-based tools with less need for local storage and an increase in hosted data wa rehouses. Groupware will continue to grow but this brings the cost needed to secure systems. Large organisations with top-secret information or organisation secret information will no doubt like the rest of the Internet become a victim to cyber-crime. If security is not kept at the forefront of developers minds when producing groupware tools it could become an easy target for cyber criminals exploiting the software for their own benefit. Tools like Sms and E-mail have already fallen victim with numerous scandals, the increase of overall groupware systems which incorporate the majority of business processes will become a target, an example being the attack of a payroll system. Conclusion Groupware as discussed within this essay is hard to describe with a broad range of technologies being incorporated under the term. Although groupware is hard to define the software tend to have common goals such as improved communication. The majority of collaborative tools can be described as one of the following four; Knowledge management tools, Knowledge creation tools, Information sharing tools and collaborative project management tools. Throughout the essay I have identified some techniques used to classify different groupware tools, in my opinion I believe for an organisation to take full advantage of computer systems a range of tools should be used. In an environment where learning is expected a range of tools would be beneficial because of the way in which people learn differently. The goal for all types of groupware is to improve collaboration and increase organisational efficiency. The growth of e-enterprises has increased the need for groupware systems. I believe that with the continued need for collaboration internally and externally for organisations to prosper, the use of groupware systems will follow such growth. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/freesrchabstract.jsp?tp=arnumber=807823queryText%3Dwith+the+main+objective+to+make+the+interaction+between+people+that+work+together+easier+and+helping+them+to+become+more+effective+and+efficient.%E2%80%9D%26openedRefinements%3D*%26searchField%3DSearch+All http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ipk5x-c_xNICdq=support+groups+of+people+engaged+in+a+common+task+that+provides+an+interface+to+a+shared+environment.source=gbs_navlinks_s http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~zives/03s/cis650/groupware.pdf http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_fall/projects/abowd_team/ivan/final.html http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/nist-icv/documents/node6.html http://www.skyrme.com/insights/7gw.htm http://www.hcibook.com/e3-docs/slides/notes-pdf/e3-chap-19-6up.pdf http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_fall/projects/spin/groupware/index.html#classify http://www.usabilityfirst.com/about-usability/web-application-design/collaborative-software-groupware/typical-collaborative-software-applications/ http://computernetworksit.com.au/blog/business-groupware-%E2%80%93-software-for-complete-office-collaboration/ http://www.bynari.net/blog/bynari-collaboration-suite/bynari-collaboration-and-groupware-technology-enhances-workflow-and-business-operations/ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gray/WICS_99_TP/21_domino_Mohan.pdf http://www.helium.com/items/1647396-business-collaboration-tools-groupware-knowledge-management?page=2 http://informationr.net/ir/7-1/paper118.html http://en.enage.com/prod/prod05.asp?menu=6 http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~i385tkms/blog/archives/patrick/groupwarepaper.html#4 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_n11_v42/ai_20161847/pg_3/?tag=content;col (Carvalho, Rodrigo Baroni de Ferreira, Marta Araujo Tavares, 2001) Carvalho, Rodrigo Baroni de Ferreira, Marta Araà ºjo Tavares   (2001) Using information technology to support knowledge conversion processes   Ã‚  Information Research,  7(1) [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/7-1/paper118.html]   Maier, R (2007): Knowledge Management Systems: Information And Communication Technologies for Knowledge Management. 3rd edition, Berlin: Springer.

Education Through Imagination Essay

William Butler Yeats said, â€Å"Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire.†(The Language of Composition, Yeats page 174) As a high school student aspiring to be an actress, I most certainly agree with his intelligent statement. Education to me, just as to Yeats, is not about having the maximum capacity of knowledge in every subject; it is finding that burning desire to learn about whatever it is that interests you. It is unnecessary to fill our heads with facts that will essentially be useless in our future, personal lives. Instead, we should be inspired to go and learn about the subjects that we are passionate towards, or at least what is related to those passions. For instance, as a student working in the direction of becoming a theatre major, it is not under my impression that it should be mandatory of me to participate in classes that do not involve some type of lessons that will aid my acting career. Here is an example: I’m not going to rely on my knowledge of math or science to pursue a successful profession in theatre. But as an alternative I should become well-informed about many types of literature. The subject of English will be the most helpful to me while going through life as a performer of the arts. Yeats’ description of education reminds me somewhat of another quote from the highly gifted Albert Einstein. Einstein said, â€Å"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.† (GoodReads, Einstein, www. Goodreads.com/quotes/tag/imagination). Both of them touch on the importance of the free mind, and how some knowledge is not always necessarily needed in life. Now, don’t misunderstand the meanings of these expressions. By no means should knowledge as a whole be absent from your qualities, but your main focus should not be to overflow your mind with knowledge. This topic is very controversial- most people would disagree in a heartbeat. People who disagree have a right to their opinion, but, they must also respect the opposing one too. The way that these theories are worded just provokes close-minded people to argument. But, if they were to try and un derstand the importance of what your imagination can teach you, they may change their minds. From my personal standpoint, by practicing the art of imagination, and by allowing my mind chase its dreams, I have fueled a spark in myself that has lit a fire. This fire is why I burn to be educated about the performing arts and all of the beautiful things I learn about myself while doing so. I have learned more and more about myself every day that I let my imagination educate me. My experiences at school have never come close to revealing the amount of truth in learning as my mind’s eye has. Einstein also said, â€Å"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.† (Albert Einstein, brainyquote.com) Therefore, it is what we take away from our education that shows what we have really learned. These are the things we will apply in our lives. We will prosper through the things we enjoy, and forget the useless information. Though to say what inf ormation is useless is entirely up to each individual. Also, as time passes we may change our minds as to what is useful to us or not, but that is the beauty of being able to change our minds and educate ourselves about whatever makes us happy. It is passion that drives us, and passion that will truly educate us. â€Å"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.† (Anthony J. D’Angelo, quotationsbook.com/quote) If you are to take anything away from these words let it be this: Have a desire to learn, and be passionate about your education.

Employees’ Perception of Selection Systems

Introduction This paper summarises the views of two authors on how job applicants or potential employees perceive selection procedures. Both articles focus on employees’ perceptions of selection methods. Article 1: â€Å"Applicants Perceptions of Selection Procedures and Decisions: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future†. The first article is written by Ryan and Plolyhart (2000) and is titled â€Å"Applicants’ Perceptions of Selection Procedures and Decisions: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future†. This article is motivated by the fact that low unemployment rates have increased the competition for employees, which has forced organisations to review the various components used in selecting job applicants and how job applicants’ perceptions of those procedures can affect the attractiveness of the organisation to potential employees. Another motivation for this study is the fact that there is lack of better research on applicant perspectives. Thirdly, the article notes that social justice theorists are looking for ways to apply social justice theory concepts to applicants’ perceptions of selection methods. Moreover, there is an increasing diversity in the workforce as well as racial differences in perception of selection procedures which can affect the manner in which j ob applicants perceive organisations and thus the attractiveness of those organisations to potential employees. The article notes that one of the main assumptions of most research in this area is that the manner in which job applicants perceive selection procedures and processes affects the manner in which the applicant views the organisation and thus the decision on whether to apply for a job vacancy to that organisation or not. The article also suggests that differences in perceptions between minority and majority groups on certain selection procedures can account for some of the differences in job performance that is often observed between these two groups. The article begins by reviewing the works of Schimittand Gilliland (1992) and Gilliland (1993). These studies develop a model which provides a link between between applicants’ perceptions of selection systems and situational factors and their subsequent â€Å"attitudes and behaviours† towards those organisations. The model postulates that applicants’ perceptions of the procedural justice system are influenced by situational characteristics. These characteristics include the type of test administered during the selection process, the human resource policy of the organisation and the behaviour of the human resource staff of the organisation. The overall fairness of the selection system is influenced by the degree to which the applicants’ perceptions of the procedural justice of the selection system meet the expectations of applicants. The framework further stipulates that applicants’ prior experiences with a selection system would affect the evaluatio n of the system. Distributive justice rules of equity, equality, and need have an impact on the perceptions of the distributive fairness of the final decision reached through the selection system. Distributive justice rules are in turn influenced by performance expectations and the salience of discrimination. In a nutshell, the framework concludes that there should be a relationship between outcomes such as â€Å"job application decisions, test motivation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, endorsement of the company’s products, job acceptance decisions, job satisfaction, and performance among others† and applicants’ perceptions of fairness of the selection process. After reviewing the framework, the authors then move on to provide a critical review of the empirical literature and evaluating how they conform to the framework. The review focuses on four key areas including: The perceptions that have been studied; The factors that determine applicants’ perceptions; The consequences of holding more positive or negative perceptions; and The theoretical frameworks that have been presented. With respect to the applicants’ perceptions that have been studied, the article notes that the most commonly researched perceptions include applicants’ feelings regarding degree to which the selection system is related to the job, feelings about the fairness of various aspects of the selection system and its associated outcomes, as well as feelings about test taking motivation. The authors provide a critical review in this area and conclude that a major concern with most of these studies is that their constructs are imprecise with respect to the manner in which they are defined as well as the variability with which they are operationalised. As a result, the authors conclude that a better conceptualisation of research on test behaviours and on fairness is required to improve understanding. The authors however, admit that the work of Chan et al (1998) to a certain extent provides a link between test attitudes and perception of fairness although the study focused only on two concepts from each line of research. According to the authors, lack of an improved integration of studies on test attitudes on fairness and test attitudes makes understanding difficult. For example, it is difficult to determine whether potential employees who are more anxious perceive procedures are more unfair as opposed to those who are less anxious. In addition, it is difficult to deter mine whether beliefs about testing have a higher impact on perceptions of fairness of a procedure than characteristics of the procedure and selection situation itself. The author notes that notes that most test-taking attitude measures are perceptions of oneself (including motivation, anxiety, etc) while justice-related perceptions typically focus on the fairness of the test used in making hiring or rejection decisions. The authors argue that there should be a relationship between applicants’ motivation and anxiety and the justice-related perceptions. The authors also suggest that it is important for other perceptions to be tested. Basically most of the studies under review focus on how the motivation or perceptions of applicants influence their perceptions of fairness. This approach neglects the impact of other perceptions of fairness that may be critical for the improvement of selection systems. Article 2: â€Å"Fairness Reactions to Selection Methods: An Italian Study†. This article is written by Bertolino and Steiner (2007). Like the first article, this article begins by reviewing the works of other authors who provide different conceptual frameworks on the relationship between applicants’ perceptions of fairness of selection systems and their attitudes and behaviours towards the organisations. This article cites the work of Schuler (1993) whose framework suggests that the reaction of applicants to a selection process is a function of the key characteristics of the selection techniques employed. In addition, the article reviews the work of Anderson and Ostroff (1997) who focus on the socialisation impact of selection methods. Like the first article, the second article also reviews the work of Gilliland (1993) who employ organisational justice theory to comprehend the reaction of applicants to selection systems. Unlike the first article, which is based solely on a critical review of empirical literature on the reaction of applicants to selection systems as well as the underlying models of selection systems, the second article is based on both primary and secondary information. It begins by reviewing literature, and then conducts and exploratory study on the reaction of applicants to selection systems using a sample of 137 Italian students. The study is motivated by the fact that despite the presence of evidence on selection systems, most of the studies have been conducted in other countries with no attention given to Italy. The article notes that cultural differences may play an important role in the manner in which applicants perceive selection systems and thus their reaction to those systems as well as their attitudes towards the organisation. Based on the four dimensions of culture proposed by Hofstede (1980, 1991) (individualism vs collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs femi ninity, and power distance), the article suggests that it is possible for selection systems to be avoided by these four dimensions. For example, the article reviews the work of Ryan et al. (1999) who show that uncertainty avoidance can affect the selection practices of many countries. In addition, the study reviews the work of Triandis (1990) who argue that people from countries with high uncertainty avoidance prefer predictability, knowing what others will do, and having clear instructions and expectations. This means that employees who work in countries with high uncertainty avoidance should be more inclined towards engaging in structuring activities, including the standardisation of practices. On the contrary, those in countries with low uncertainty avoidance should be less committed to formal structures and should be prepared to accept spontaneous changes in practices. The study employed a survey questionnaire to study the reaction of Italian student to selection systems. The questionnaire used in the study is the one developed by Steiner and Gilliland (1996) which presents 10 different selection methods used in the U.S or Europe. The questionnaire asked students to think about a job they would apply for upon completion of their course Using a within-subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) the ratings of process favourability was compared across 10 selection methods. The evidence suggests that there are significant differences across the 10 selection methods. The selection method that received the most favoured rating was â€Å"work-sample test†. Resumes, written ability tests, interviews and personal preferences had the second favourable rating. Personality tests and biographical information blanks received a neutral rating while honesty tests and personal contacts received negative ratings. The authors conclude that their results are similar to those obtained from other countries. In particular, they observe that employer’s right, opportunity to perform and face validity are the procedural dimensions that had a high correlation with process favourability for all four countries that were studied. The two articles are similar in that they both begin by providing a theoretical framework on selection methods. Both articles provide the same theory which shows that there is a relationship between applicants’ perceptions and their reactions to selection systems. However, the first article differs from the second one in that it is based solely on the review of secondary literature. The article does not arrive on any conclusions with respect applicants reactions to selection systems. Rather, it identifies weaknesses in the literature and provides recommended procedures for improvement in future studies. On the contrary, the second article employs primary data to study how employees’ perceptions of selection systems affect their reactions to those systems. It compares findings to previous studies and concludes that culture has no significant impact on employees’ reaction to selection systems in Western countries. The study observes that the findings from France, I taly and other Western countries are similar to those obtained in studies from the United States. This shows that the different cultural dimensions mentioned in Hofstede (1981, 1990) do not influence the manner in which employees perceive selection systems which means that it does not affect the manner in which the react to those systems. The foregoing suggests that other factors may be affecting employees’ perceptions rather than culture. Conclusions and Recommendations Based on the discussion of the two articles above, one can conclude that employees’ perception of selection procedures influences the manner in which they behave towards the organisation and the decision to accept or reject an offer to work for a particular company. These perceptions may even influence the applicants other interactions with the company such as deciding to buy or not to buy the company’s products. The main difference between the two articles is that one focuses on criticising research on selection systems while one focuses on understanding how employees perceive selection systems across countries and how those systems affect their reaction. Based on this conclusion, it is important for organisations to note that the manner in which they design their selection system can affect the perception of applicants and as such affect the attractiveness of vacancies to potential applicants. Selection systems can even influence the ability of a company to attract qu alified applicants. If employees have a negative perception about a particular company, they may not be motivated to apply for a vacancy in that company and this may make it difficult for the company to fill the vacancy with a qualified applicant. Consequently, employers should seek the most favourable selection systems so as to increase their ability to attract qualified applicants to their jobs. The first article shows that research on selection systems is limited. Therefore, this paper recommends that more research should be conducted on selection systems and how employees perceive those systems. By so doing one can provide better recommendations to employers to aid them in designing their selection systems. References Bertolino, M., Steiner, D. D. (2007) â€Å"Fairness Reactions to Selection Methods: An Italian study†, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15, Number 2 Ryan, A. N., Ployhart R. E. (2000) â€Å"Applicants Perceptions of Selection Procedures and Decisions: A Critical Review and Agenda for the Future†, Journal of Management, 26, 565-606

Antigone - Compositions On The Works Of Sophocles Antigone

Antigone - compositions on the works of Sophocles Antigone ANTIGONE (fr. Antigone, it. Antigone) - Alcmene Sophocles Antigone (set, apparently, was to continue in 442 BC. E.), The daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. After the death in combat of his brothers Eteocles and Polynices, every one of which was the Theban king and won with the city befitting funeral and the other wanting to challenge the machine, led to Thebes Argos army and remained apart after the death burial on orders inherited the throne of Creon, brother-Oedipus, A. decides on defying mania lord, to honor the dead brother s funeral and divided intent with his sister Ismenio. That is not in a position to violate the ban, fearing the promised punishment. (In addition, there is this contrast between the two sisters to some extent prompted eksodom Aeschylus Seven vpererez Thebes. A. and there is a refusal to ban uhoranivat brother and two sisters at odds with the two-poluhoriya of accompanying A. - trupakov Polynices and Yemen - the body of Eteocles.) Rite is perfect, and unhappy Cr eon orders the guards to find the culprit. Soon Wotan of them leads, A., and she did not deny the crime. DEBATE between the ruler (uttering a lot of fair, but I was wrong in the main) and A. - every one the most intense scenes in the Greek tragedy. On phrases Creon, confident that the feud persists after death, A. meets his famous remark: In my nature - to dismember love, not hatred., who did not want to cut the risk of A.,Show MoreRelatedMajor Works Data Sheet : Fiction2158 Words   |  9 Pages OHHS AP/Pre-AP English Name _Sara Libonati_______________________ Per. _3____ Major Works Data Sheet: Fiction (Updated 10/18/2011) Note: Cite references in MLA format, in-text, and parenthetically. Complete a Works Cited page of all references used. 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These categories were separated by working classes--workers were in the baser metal category, soldier-guardians were in the silver category, and the elite philosopher-rulers were in the goldRead MoreEssay on History Quiz - Western Civilization to Middle Ages1580 Words   |  7 Pages60 Approximately what proportion of the population of Athens and surrounding Attica were slaves? | One-third | | One-fourth | | One-half | | Three-fifths | Question 10 of 60 He was the great historian of the Persian Wars. | Sophocles | | Thucydides | | Herodotus | | Aeschylus | Question 11 of 60 Which of the following MOST accurately describes the role of women in fifth century B.C.E. 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A play is defined as â€Å"a dramatic composition† or â€Å"the stage representation of an action or story† (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This refers to drama being performed live by actors on a stage. Ancient Greece is accredited to inventing theatre and drama. In Greece during that time, at theRead MoreComedy and Tragedy According to Aristotle1912 Words   |  8 Pagescelebration of human sexuality and the triumph of eros. As a rule, tragedies occur on the battlefield or in a palace s great hall; a more likely setting for comedy is the bedroom or bathroom.   Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, it s not true that a film or literary work must involve sexual humor or even be funny in order to qualify as a comedy. A happy ending is all that s required. In fact, since at least as far back as Aristotle, the basic formula for comedy has had more to do with conventions and expectations