Intercultural communications Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intercultural communications - Term Paper Example As it is almost impossible to describe or explain any culture in a few words, but picking the most important facts, Thai culture could be said to be dynamic. One cannot describe Thai culture well without, first of all, mentioning the royal family. Everything in this South East Asian country rallies around the Thai King, who is both the official and constitutional head of Thai Kingdom (Baker & Phongpaichit 35). There are countless festivals, seasonal celebrations and rituals to mark the King’s birthday, the royal history and the history of Thailand. A short insight into the history of Thailand revealed that past Thai Kings had fought many battles to keep Thai people alive. Till today, Thailand is one of the countries in the world that has never been colonized by any foreign powers. So, Thai culture is almost unaffected by any strange culture unlike in case of many former colonist countries, where the colonialist cultures, be it British, French or Portuguese have changed the way people in such countries behave. Thai culture remains traditionally Thai, though modernity is changing the people’s lifestyles, but it doesn’t forcefully erase Thai traditional ways of life. Starting with fashion, the traditional Thai fashion is made from the shining Thai silk that has several colors. Shirts could be made for men using the silk, and Thai women often adore themselves with tight skirts, wrappers and blouse sewed from the Thai silk. A typical festival in Thailand would reveal how colorful this Thai silk is, and how fitting they look on Thai people. In the area of food and dishes, there are traditional but delicious Thai cuisines: prominent among them are the Tom Yum Kung and rice and noodles. Like most Asian dishes, Thai foods are salty, peppery, spicy, sweet or n\bitter. Rice appears to be the staple food for Thai people, but they eat it with varieties of soups and other side

Analysis of Early Roman civilization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis of Early Roman civilization - Assignment Example For instance, the practicality of the Roman civilization is evident from the many roads they built as well as their strong belief in faith and patriotism(Forsythe, 30). Besides, early Roman civilization stressed on morals and characters and held women in high regards unlike other civilizations like the Greek. Education was still information with the focus on teaching children about Roman religion and ideas. Early forms of education included memorization of the Roman’s Twelve Tables (Forsythe, 32). Home education would also account for civilization of early Rome as the emperor built schools because it was expanding. Education during early Roman civilization was practical based, and this explains the Romans tremendous contribution in engineering and law. Conversely, early civilization ideologies planted a bad culture of spectatorship among the Romans as they focused more on professionalism. The civilization bred a materialistic culture where Romans focused more on wealth acquisition and luxury living. However, it is the luxurious nature of the civilization that would mark the decline of the emperor because barbaric groups gathered with intention of getting the rich life of the emperor without fighting invaders (Forsythe,

Constructions of childhood can affect intervention

Constructions of childhood can affect intervention Improving Childrens Lives In this assignment I will endeavour to compare three major approaches of intervention in childrens lives and the way in which adults constructions of childhood can affect intervention. I will initially describe the three major approaches to intervention and examine the different beliefs that were instrumental in the development of these approaches. I will also discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each of these three approaches in regards to intervention. To conclude, I will discuss my opinion regarding the question; is a rights based approach, especially one which promotes child participation, the best way of improving childrens lives? Why do adults feel the need to intervene in childrens lives? Childhood is a status which is recognised world-wide and by many, if not all, of the worlds religions. These religions have through-out history called for adults to protect children from harm, for example ‘Christianity, Islamic teaching and Buddhism (The Open University, Ch5, Pg.188) There are three major reasons why adults feel it is in the childs best interest for adults to intervene in childrens lives and these reasons have transpired through the different ways adults have constructed childhood. Some adults view childhood as a vulnerable period during which children need protecting, others view childhood as an investment, that by investing in childrens lives adults are in fact investing in future society as a whole, and some view children as citizens who have rights and a claim on resources. Some of the earliest interventions in childrens lives stemmed from the construction of children as vulnerable and in need of adult rescue. The romantic discourse, a belief that children are innocent, vulnerable, powerless and in need of adult protection was instrumental in the implementation of early childrens charities such as Barnardos (founded in 1866) and Save the Children (founded in 1919.) These charities portrayed children as ‘poor victims of circumstance in need of rescue. (The Open University, Ch5, Pg.195) There humanitarian response was concerned with their lack of basic necessities such as food and shelter; they were much less interested in wider political issues of poverty. Although this type of intervention does work in the short-term, for example, hungry children are fed and homeless children are given shelter, unfortunately it does not actually deal with the real issues, the underlying cause of poverty and suffering. The Open University states that by ‘conc eptualising the child as a victim in need of rescue can decontexualize the social, economic, and political circumstances of child-suffering and does nothing to bring about greater social equality or to tackle the root cause of poverty.(The Open University, Ch5, Pg.205)Therefore a new approach to childhood intervention was required. During the 1960s and 70s there was a move away from constructing children as passive victims, to a new approach which constructed children as an investment for the future society or human capital. It was now believed that by providing children with the ‘right resources during the early years would enable children to become productive citizens in the future. (The Open University, Ch5, Pg.206) Head Start, one of the first early childhood development projects was implemented in 1965 in the US as part of President Lyndon Johnsons ‘war on poverty. The Head Start programmes aim was to ‘give poorer children an educational boost in the early years, so that they would be able to compete with middle class children when they arrivedatschool.'(The Open University, Ch5, Pg.209) To this day many early years intervention programmes are fundamentally about providing all children with the chance to enter society with a fair chance to succeed. There is no doubt that investing in the early years benefits many children by providing children with stronger foundations in the areas of health and education, but it does have limitations. Unfortunately this type of intervention does not benefit all children, for example, the programmes only target children below the age of five, funding is controlled by governments and is only allocated to areas considered in need. Therefore assistance is not available for all children. Recently there has been a move towards a rights based approach, constructing children as valuable contributors to society, citizens with rights. A rights based approach is one which recognizes all children regardless of age as right bearing citizens. The first specific childrens rights document was the 1994 Geneva Declaration which was followed by the 1994 Declaration of Human Rights and, the 1959 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. These documents constructed children as weak and dependent on adults and they did not have the power to actually protect children, although they were instrumental in bringing to the attention of the world childrens needs and their value to society. In 1989 an international human rights treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was introduced. This treaty applies to all children and young people aged 17 and under and was the first to take a childrens rights based approach. The UNCRC is separated into 54 ‘articles which provides children and young people with a set of comprehensive rights. These ‘articles give children social, economic, cultural and political rights; while others set out how governments must implement the UNCRC. The UNCRC states in article 12 that, ‘all children and young people must be listened to, and have their opinions taken seriously in all decision-making that affects them. (Article 12, UNCRC) This leads us to participation. Participation is a way through which children are recognised in an adult society as right-bearing citizans. Gerison Lansdown defined participation as ‘children taking part in and influencing process, decisions, and activities that affect them, in order to achieve greater respect for their rights. (The Open University, Reading, Pg.273) In brief, participation is about adults really listening to children and young adults and taking their views into account when dealing with issues that effect them. The UNCRC does not clearly express that children have a right to participate, although when read together with other ‘articles there is a strong indication towards participation. For example, Article 12 grants every person aged 17 and under the right to express their views, and to have these views given due weight in all matters affecting them. Article 17 gives children and young people the right to receive, seek and give information. Article 13 gives every child the right to freedom of expression, using words, writing, art and any other media so long as they respect the rights of others. Article 23 gives disabled children and young people the right to active participation in their community. And Article 2 requires all the rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child to be implemented for every child, without discrimination. (UNCRC, http.unicef.org/crc/cc.htm, accessed 3/9/05) For participation to work, children and young adults in many cases have to work together with adults and organisations. Children and young people need access to services that will provide them with information and support enabling them to become knowledgable and confident of their rights. In many countries adults provide support in the form of childrens rights commissioners. Gerison Lansdown stated in Audio 8, Band 5 that it is ‘very important that we establish childrens rights commissioners. Children as a constituency have no vote, very limited access to the courts, very limited access to the media, and therefore theyre not able to exercise the kind of democratic rights that adults are able to exercise.'(The Open University, Audio 8 Band 5, 3:43) Norway was the first country to introduce this system in 1981 and since then other countries have followed in their footsteps. UNICEF states that the childrens rights commisioners role is to ‘seek greater justice for the childre n both by improving access to existing rights and by promoting the recognition of human rights not yet embodied in legislation, culture or day-to-day practice in childrens lives. (The Open University, Ch5, Pg.215). By encouraging participation adults do not surrender all decision-making power to children, instead they encourage children to take more responsibility in decision making. Although in many situations, adults still make the final decision based on the ‘best interests of the child or young adult, but this decision should be informed by the views of the child or young adult. The UNCRC states that children should be ‘given more responsibility according to their ‘evolving capacities (UNCRC, Article 5) meaning that as children develop adults should give them more and more responsibility regarding decisions that affect them. The role of a childrens rights commissioner is a difficult one, as they have to balance childrens rights to participation, with childrens rights of being protected. Peter Clarke, a childrens rights commissioner, discussed this issue of protection v participation and his way of dealing with these situations in Audio 8 band 5 ‘There may be situatio ns where my view of whats in the best interests of children and young people is different from that being expressed by the young people themselves who I consult with about things. (The Open University, Audio 8, Band 5, 17:54) Clarke believes that his role as a childrens rights commissioner is to go ahead and make the childrens and young peoples opinion public even if his opinion is different but then to also make public his own adult perspective on the subject alongside the childrens. As with any political regime the issue of childrens rights to participation are part of a constant ongoing debate. There are many benefits regarding the use of participation; It is believed that the values of democracy, such as respect for the rights and dignity of all people, for their diversity and their right to participate, are best learned in childhood and that by encouraging children and young adults to view their opinions and beliefs allows them to learn constructive ways of influencing the world around them, preparing them for their stake in the future. The use of participation may also help children protect themselves, children who are repressed or discouraged from expressing their views may become more at risk or vulnerable and accept situations which abuse their rights, where as children who are encouraged to discuss and express themselves may become more capable or empowered to challenge any situations which abuse their rights. In this way participation can be seen to be actively protecting children and young adults. Gerison Lansdown states in the Open University that involvement in p articipation helps to promote the well-being and development of children and young adults. She describes this as the virtuous circle effect; ‘The more opportunities for meaningful participation, the more experience and competent the child becomes which in turn enables more effective participation which then promotes improved development (The Open University, Ch 6, Pg.277) Participation also has many drawbacks; it may be difficult for adults to take childrens rights seriously due to the fact that children have been under-represented in social theory and policy for many years, many cultures did not place value on what children had to say. It may also be the case that childrens do not have equal access to participation rights and there may be a bias towards more privileged children having access to these resources, and the children who really need their rights to be heard are unable to gain access to these resources to improve their lives. Adults may also be reluctant to relinquish power to the children and young adults because they still assume they know what is best for children. They may feel that by encouraging participation rights they could produce children and young adults who lack respect towards parents and other adults and figures of authority. Some people may believe that particiption takes away a childs ‘childhood this view may stem fro m the idealistic construction of childhood as a time of innocence or a care-free period (the romantic discourse) where they believe that children should not be bothered with important decision-making and responsiblity. We can see that there are many benefits and also drawbacks regarding a rights based approach and the use of participation. It is my opinion that the benefits far out-weigh the drawbacks. I believe that a reason why participation may be difficult to implement is due to the fact that many adults of this era were not afforded the benefits of participation themselves. I believe that the new generation of adults, the ones who have received the benefits of participation during their own childhoods will, due to first hand experience, have a greater understanding regarding the importance of participation and be far more willing to empower children with the right to participate. In conclusion, we can see that throughout history there has been numerous ideological discourses surrounding children and early childhood. For example, in the Victorian era, where children were perceived as, ‘to be seen and not heard, this discourse and others which I have discussed above, demonstrate how societys constructions of childhood can, has and will continue to influence laws and legislation regarding the ways in which adults intervene into childrens lives. So, do I believe that a rights-based approach, especially one which promotes child participation, is the best way of improving childrens lives? After considering the deficits and benefits of the three main approaches to childhood intervention and after exploring the theoretical ideas and practical application in the promotion of democracy and empowerment in the lives of young children, I have come to the conclusion that I agree that rights based approach is the best way of improving childrens lives. It is my opinion that empowering children with a voice to express their opinions will help contribute to the development of a healthy democratic society. I believe that democracy empowers children to protect themselves against abuses of their rights, and that failure to consult children and young adults on how they feel about something that directly involves them, fails to promote social equality.

Hemingways The Sun Also Rises Essay examples -- Hemingway Sun Also Ri

Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises Hemingway sat down to write The Sun Also Rises on September 15,1925 and only six days later, the first draft was complete with the title of Fiesta. The first draft was almost a direct journalistic account of his experience in Paris and Spain, with the names of the characters corresponding to real people. After taking a break from it and writing The Torrents of Spring in order to break his contract with publisher Horace Liverwright, Hemingway returned to his first draft of The Sun Also Rises, making major changes including editing out the first two chapters and changing the order of the book to a straight chronology, and changing the names of the characters. In mid-October, 1926, his book reaached the bookstores after being published by Scribners and by Christmas, it was into its third printing. (Svoboda, 3) Because The Sun Also Rises was Hemingway’s first novel, after making a promising entrance as a new author with In Our Time, it was reviewed critically by professionals and the general public. Although critics generally praised it as a book of â€Å"remarkable stature† (Svoboda 3), the shocking nature of the subject matter was probably the most determining factor in its bad reviews at that time. Hemingway presented a world of the post-war generation full of drinking, profanity, lack of moral values, sexual promiscuity, and lack of religious faith. (Reynolds 9) The intensity of the subject matter took many by surprise and was condemned, especially by the older generation of the 1920s: â€Å"The characters are a group of English and American young people who frequent the Paris quarter. They have been too strongly dosed with the more unpleasant kinds of reality...† (qtd. in... ... The Sun Also Rises, including historical background and the different aspects of Hemingway’s writing style. He includes a wide range of outside sources, primary and secondary, in order to give a more comprehensive understanding of Hemingway’s work during the time it was published. http://www.hemingwaysociety.org/virthem.htm This website offered many useful links to articles, biographies, and websites for Ernest Hemingway. Under â€Å"virtual Hemingway,† I was able to found very useful links to articles I could use in my report. http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/07/11/specials/hemingway-main.html This website was an excellent source with a compilation of articles and critical essays from the New York Times on Ernest Hemingway. It offered the most essential reviews of Hemingway as well as accurate background information and pictures.

A Brief History of Drama Essay

The time period from about 1650 to 1920 was ever changing in the world of drama. Neo-classicism sprung up from Greek and Roman models in Europe during the Enlightenment, Romanticism struck the Globe in the 1800’s based on principles like emotion, intuition and seeking God. During and after the 1800’s naturalism and realism began to play major roles in the area of drama. Naturalists such as August Strindberg and realists such as Henrik Ibsen demonstrate an entirely different view of what drama is all about. During the time period known universally as the Enlightenment, an artistic movement came about in Europe that reflected in many ways the Greek and Roman tradition. Ancient Greeks and Romans focused their art on harmony, symmetry, and balance, while keeping an equal emphasis on logic and aesthetic. During the enlightenment there was a major importance placed upon science, reason and thought. These human, but multifaceted functions are displayed in many neo-classicism plays. Plays such as Racine’s Phaedra clearly demonstrate the notion of common sense and the idea that if you have a problem or cause a problem you will be punished. This play is very typical of the neo-classics because it is based on the ancient Greek play Hippolyths written by Euripidies in ancient Greece. Hippolyths is very closely related to its modern version Phaedra. All neo-classic era plays were in some way based on the French Academy’s rules for drama which involved a concrete moral, no monologues and truth along with few other qualifications. Most plays that possess some or all of these qualities are from the neo-classicism era. After the 1700’s a new way of thinking developed that didn’t involve as much truth or structure. Free flowing emotionally based romanticism paved the way for drama in the 19th century. The 1800’s were a time of innovation and industrial revolution. In America, thousands of people were migrating to cities to find work in large factories powered by new, innovative technologies. New thinking developed through the likes of Charles Darwin and the Origin of the Species, and Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto. Romanticism deals with three main ideas, emotion, intuition, and seeking God, while grasping the audience with thick plots and  poetic language. All of these qualities are displayed in most romantic plays of the 19th century. Throughout the late 1800’s and early 20th century, naturalist and realist took charge of the drama scene with a new outlook of what could be done on stage. With Naturalism comes plays which display daily life and street language with real settings meant to display a message or cause. With realism comes real language, strong plots, realistic settings and social critique. In realistic plays such as Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, a very common situation involving an everyday married couple is reviewed and critiqued. In the naturalistic play Miss Julie by Swedish playwright August Strindberg, a naturalistic tragedy develops as the characters find themselves trapped in an odd love triangle. Both Naturalism and Realism were monumental to drama because they explored many social issues very critically while challenging the neo-classicism view of what is allowed on stage. It seems obvious that both naturalism and realism attempted to overstep the boundaries of what was acceptable onstage and it is very apparent that it was a success because many naturalism and realism era plays are still popular today. Unlike the strict ruled neo-classicism or the emotionally based romanticism, naturalism and realism display real events, real people and real stories that can be related to by real people. Television shows today are very realistic. With the new wave of reality T.V. hitting every station, it is obvious that the realist and naturalist took a step in the right direction when they looked beyond restriction and let what is real come to life. It is obvious that very monumental changes occurred in drama from 1650-1920. All over the world new ideas and innovations were being explored and challenged on stage.

Innovative Hr Practices to Maintain Work Life Balance of Employees

INNOVATIVE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES FOR MAINTAINING WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES Author – [pic] Mr. Virendra Gadiwar, Miss Puja Shedge & Prof. Poonam Vatharkar. INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 1. 1. Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 1. 2 Defining work life balance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. 3 1. 3 meaning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 2. 1 Importance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. Advantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. 3 Techniques influencing work life balance†¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 3. 1 How the survey help?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . 8 4. 1 Method of data collection†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 4. 2 Research Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 5. 1 Tabular Representation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 5 . 2 Diagrammatic Representation. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 6. FINDINGS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 7. CONCLUSION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 1. INTRODUCTION: 1. 1 Background The role of work has changed throughout the world due to economic conditions and social demands. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival. Throughout the years, the role of â€Å"work† has evolved and the composition of the workforce has changed. Today, work still is a necessity but it should be a source of personal satisfaction as well. One of the vehicles to help provide attainment of personal and professional goals is work-life benefits and programs The issue of work-life balance has developed out of demographic and social changes that have resulted in a more diverse, declining workforce, different family and work models. Supporting work-life balance (WLB) is seen as a way of attracting and retaining the labour force needed to support economic well-being. In organizations and on the home front, the challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers’ and employees’ consciousness. In today’s fast-paced society, human resource professionals seek options to positively impact the bottom line of their companies, improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and keep pace with workplace trends. However, experience has shown that policy on flexible work practices needs to be supported by strategies to achieve effective implementation. This research provides suggestions and options for Human Resources Managers on developing and managing equitable flexible work practices. It has been designed to provide practical advice to assist organizations in achieving successful implementation of these policies which would be a key initiative for inclusion in an organizational WLB. 1. 2 Defining work-life balance: 1. †Work life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. It’s not saying that work is wrong or bad, but that work shouldn’t completely crowd out the other things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation† . â€Å"Working practices that acknowledge and aim to support the needs of staff in achieving a balance between their home and working lives† 3. â€Å"people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. † UK organization Employers for Work-Life Balance 1. 3 Meaning : In recent years there is a dramatic change in much organization with respect to work-Life balance (WLB) which is named as flexible work time arrangements, the sensitivity of topic is reflected by its idea which is to provide personal work style preferences. This arrangement is famous for job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement of an employee. When we talk about flexibility the first thing which we relate it with is relaxation, relaxation in terms of tasks, duties, responsibility, but when we particularly talk about WLB it means that we are talking about nontraditional great schedules and working away from campus. There are a significant percentage of employees already involved in flexible time arrangements that they do not work the standard schedule of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm which is being followed by the most of the organization. Variable arrangements provide for daily, weekly, monthly, or annual fluctuations in scheduling. Flexible arrangements are a broad term we are not only talking about daily scheduling but it may vary to monthly or even annual rearrangements of time. In flexible arrangements we are not bound to an old stereotypical standards but a fair customize scheduling. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that. Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK : 2. 1 Importance: 1) Productivity : Managers can increase the productivity of employees by responding to their need to balance work and personal obligations. This positive approach by managers can: ? Inspire increased loyalty and commitment from employees. ? Retain employees and make savings on the costs of employee turnover, training and absenteeism. ? Examine how work-life balance policies affect another variable such as job satisfaction or organizational commitment, and then correlate these variables to productivity. 2) Job Satisfaction : When work extends into family time, it can create stresses which then extend into the workforce. One meta-analysis suggests that there is a consistent negative relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. As far as work-life balance policies can reduce the conflict between work and family, they can increase job satisfaction. There is no strong empirical evidence of a positive association between high employee satisfaction and high productivity, but job satisfaction does have a clear negative relationship to absence and turnover. A satisfied workforce may be valuable because employees are then less likely to be absent and consequently affect the bottom line. Other commentators suggest that work-life balance policies can increase organizational commitment. Higher levels of organizational commitment are then correlated with lower turnover and better job performance. 3) Saving Costs : The work-life balance important to reduce for the cost of an organization such as, ? Reduced staff turnover: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing a manager: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing an employee. Organizations are rest upon the assumption that work-life balance policies will improve staff retention. Reducing staff turnover leads to lower costs, as recruiting new staff is a costly process. Staff loss leads to direct costs and indirect cost. Direct cost associated with recruiting, such as advertising, interviewing. However indirect costs associated with the loss of institutional knowledge and contacts. Greater staff retention also reduces training costs. Having staff staying longer in a firm, increases the returns on investments made in their training. There is Cost savings also if work-life balance policies reduce absenteeism. 2. 2 Advantages: a. Enables extension of working hours. . Improves recruitment and retention of staff. c. Gives some scope to match peak staffing with peak demand for departments where the work pattern is unpredictable. d. A staff is able to fit domestic commitments in around the start or finish of the ordinary working day. e. Staff is able to miss the worst of the rush hour. f. Choosing to work early or late when there are fewer interruptions. g. Staff abl e to log extra hours worked and takes time back later. h. Staff able to consolidate credit hours into a half-day or day off. 2. 3 Techniques Influencing Work-Life Balance: |SR. NO. TECHNIQUES | DESCRIPTIONS | |1 |flexible work agreement |An agreement documenting specific flexible working arrangements negotiated between an individual employee | | | |and workgroup manager, signed by the employee and workgroup manager, and approved by the corporate manager| |2 |flexible working |Flexible working arrangements define the flexibility in working conditions available to specified groups | | |arrangements |of employees and the parameters within which individual agreements can be negotiated | |3 |flexi time |A flexible arrangement of working time, which allows employees to negotiate how and when hours will be | | | |worked within limits and conditions set by the corporate manager. |4 |compressed weeks |An arrangement which enables employees to exchange an agreed reduction in their salary ove r a specified | | | |period for extra periods of leave. The period or periods of purchased leave are planned in advance and | | | |funded by salary deductions spread evenly over the total period of the agreement. | |5 |job share |An arrangement where one full-time job is shared between two or more people. Each person works part-time | | | |on a regular on-going basis. | |6 |Part time |in basic terms this applies to staff who work fewer hours than full time, e. g. orking 20 hours over 3 | | | |days rather than 37 hours over 5 days | |7 |Voluntary reduced hours |a temporary reduction in working hours should be available in | | | |all forces, but may be given a different name | |8 |Annual hours |works on the basis of agreeing a fixed number of hours over a year, then calculating the hours on a | | | |monthly basis, i. e. instead of a five-week shift pattern | |9 |Career breaks |Taking an unpaid break in your career. | |10 |Home/tele working |staff working mainly from home or at a geog raphically separate site and | | | |Communicating with their HQ /base station via phone and e-mail. | 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY : The main objective of our survey is to focus on employee satisfaction with organization policies so as to control level of stress, lack of productivity, lack of moral etc. which effect employee retention and turnover. Therefore to achieve high employee satisfaction and engagement different innovative human recourse policies could be adopted. To address this issue, our survey is conducted to investigate the innovative human recourse policies to maintain work life balance of employee that aims to improve satisfaction and engagement. 3. 1 How The Survey Help? A comprehensive evolution of Work-life balance can best be seen as a â€Å"check up† on the human resources policies of your organization. Like any check-up, you learn both what is working well and where there are areas needed improvements. When conducted on regular basis, systematic method for assigning employee satisfaction will let you identify key trends and pattern among employee attitude towards the WLB, thereby enabling you and your company to anticipated and act on upcoming problems and issues. As a result, an human recourses policies study conducted this will enable you to use the information from your employee as a tools for change within your organization. We strongly believe that human resources policies studies should represent a mutual exchange of information between employee and organization. To fulfill this simple principle, there is a critical need to make employee feel that they are part of the research process. For maximum effectiveness, employee must believe that work-life balance have values to them as well as to the organization, that believes in clarity demostaticting to employees this study is an opportunity to be heard and directly influence human resources policies . This approach not only measurable impact on participation rates but also effect the degree to which employee trust the outcomes when finding are reported back to them. For these reasons, all questionnaires are carefully designed for a case of use, including straightforward wording a clean layout and simple navigation. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4. 1 Method of data collection: The survey was developed by a department team comprised of representatives from several organization, institutions, and the business farms. Evaluations provided technical assistance, and the team reviewed on human resources polices for maintain work-life balance. Following extensive discussion, the team determined the basic structure, format, questions, and methodology for administering the survey. Each workgroup member was asked to include participants from management, professionals, and support staff. The purpose of the test was to determine the following: a) Determine which technique will influence the Work life balance in human resources policies. b) Determine if the employee feels about work-life balance. c) To solicit suggestions for improvement of the human resource policies. d) To solicit information on employees willingness to participate in such a Survey. e) To solicit information on ways to encourage employee participation. 4. 2 Research Methodology: Research can be define as â€Å" process of systematic inquiry that is design to collect, analysis, interpret and use to understand, describe, predict or control an educational physiological phenomenon or to empower individuals in such contexts. This research undertaking is designed to be a descriptive study about objectives, types of data, sources of data, questionnaires, sampling and sample design. a) Collection of Data: There are two kinds of data can be taken as the survey is concern about they can be , i. Primary data ii. Secondary data From the above types of data the data can be extracted as following: Primary Data: It includes the Questionnaires taken for the survey includes ten factors with the rating options. Secondary Data: It includes the literature review as follows: ? There is clear evidence of a strong business benefits in the case studies, however these conclusions are context specific, and not necessarily general sable. There is No â€Å"one size fits all† business case for work-life balance policies. ? The larger, econometric studies are less common that the case study work but they do find a correlation between productivity and the presence of work-life balance policies. ? The evidence of the business benefits of work-life balance policies is reasonably strong, and increasing. There are many incentives for the usage of WLB policies – according to a 2002 National Development Plan Study, the level of family friendliness of the workplace (as measured in terms of number of family friendly policies available) was significantly correlated with the work satisfaction of fathers and mothers. The benefits of such policies included employee satisfaction, attracting/retaining employee productivity, reduced labour turnover, reduced absenteeism and improved business results. b) Questionnaire: Quantitative data in this study is collected through a questionnaire that was distributed to IT sector employees. The purpose of the questionnaires is to know about the employee satisfaction with organization policies which effect employee retention and turnover. The questionnaire is designed to determine the actual and perceptive view of the employee. To do this, the employees were asked to complete the questionnaire in two ways. First, they were asked close ended questions like â€Å"yes/no† according to their perception. Secondly, they were asking open ended questions in which they can write anything according to related question. c) Sampling: A process of selecting no. of units for a study in such a way that the unit represent the large group from which they are selected. The sampling can be defines as â€Å" a finite subject selected from population with the purpose of investigation of particular objective is called as sampling. The sapling method for this survey was a â€Å"simple random sampling†. The simple random sampling is the easiest from all probability sampling it assure that all the members in the population are included in the list and then randomly selected the desired no. of sample. 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA Processing and analysis of data involved open and closed ended questions related to work life balance which are performed the summarized collected data and organizing it in a manner that it gives the answer to the research question and objective. The questionnaire was as below, â€Å" This study is being undertaken for purely academic purpose on work-life balance i. e. flexible timing at the work place. The information collected will be treated as confidential and no means will be revealed in the research. Please read these questions and select appropriate option. † 1) Please specify about you- a) Gender : Male Female b) Age Group : Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65 &above 2) What is your working time? 3) Do you want any changes in your timing? Yes No 4) If the flexible working times would be offered to you, will it help in your personal life? Yes No ) Do you think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful? Yes No 6) Which of the following techniques of maintaining the work life balance are used by your Organization? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | a) Part time job b) Job sharing c) Compressed hours d) Voluntary reduce hours e) Flexi timing f) Annual hours g) Term time working h) Variable working hours i) Carrier breaks ) Over working allowance 7) Which technique /s you want your organization to introduce so as to maintain your work life balance? 8) Do you feel it will enhance your performance at work? Yes No 9) In your view does the techniques helps to increase employee commitment towards the organization? Yes No 10) Do you think that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction? Yes No 11) According to you does work-life balancing techniques help for reducing the level of stress? Yes No 5. 1 Tabular representation Srs no |Question no |response |No of response |Percentage of response | |1 |1(a) |Male |24 |57. 14 | | | |female |18. |42. 86 | |2 |1(b) |a)under 18 |0 |0 | | | |b)18-24 |10 |23. 81 | | | |c)25-34 |25 |59. 52 | | | |d)35-49 |7 |16. 7 | | | |e)50-64 |0 |0 | | | |f)60-above |0 |0 | |3 |3 |a) Yes |30 |71. 43 | | | |b) No |12 |28. 57 | |4 |4 |a) Yes |28 |66. 66 | | | |b) No |14 |33. 33 | |5 |5 |a) Yes |38 |90. 48 | | | |b) No |4 |9. 52 | |6 |8 |a) Yes |40 |95. 3 | | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | |7 |9 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |8 | 10 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |9 |11 |a) Yes |40 |95. 23 | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | 5. 2 Diagrammatic representation 6. FINDINGS – From the survey and above given tabular statements we can able to interpret the data. The survey conducted through IT employee from them 24(57. 14%) are male and 18(42. 86%) are female, under which 10(23. 81%), 25(59. 52%) and 7(16. 67%) are in 18-24, 25-34 and 35-49 age group respectively. Among the respondents 30(71. 43%) wants to change in their current timing and 12(28. 57)does not want 28(66. 66%) feels that If the flexible working times would be offered to them, then it will help in their personal life and 14(33. 33%) doesn’t feel that it would help. 38(90. 8%) think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful and 4(9. 52%) don’t think this way. 40(95. 23%) feel that if they suggested any techniques of work life balance which suitable for them, then it will enhance their performance at work and 2(4. 76%) not feel so, 41(97. 61%) feels that the suggested techniques will helps to increase their commitment towards the organization. From the respondents views 41(97. 61%) feels that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction and 1(2. 38%) don’t feel so. 40(95. 23%) views on the work-life balancing technique help for reducing the level of stress. 7. CONCLUSION On the basis of survey done on â€Å"Innovative Human Resource Policies for Maintaining Work-Life Balance of Employees† conclusion can make as follows: While performing on work life balance policies in organization the sex (male/female) should be considered priory. It is concluding from survey, as the employees’ are the major assets of an organization their satisfaction (that is 97. 61% feel) will play great role for the growth and development of organization. A committed workforce is the hallmark of a successful organization. Committed employees are more productive and work with a focus on quality to increase organization goodwill. However the employees are the organizations most important audience and they hold the keys to organizational success.