Fame and Glory in Dantes Divine Comedy Essay -- Divine Comedy Inferno

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "What is fame? Fame is but a slow decay   Even this shall pass away."   Theodore Tilton  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is a poem laden with such Christian themes as love, the search for happiness, and the desire to see God. Among these Christian themes, however, is Dante's obsession with and desire for fame, which seems to be a surprising departure from conventional medieval Christian morality. Indeed, as the poem progresses, a striking contradiction emerges. Dante the writer, in keeping with Christian doctrine, presents the desire for fame and glory among the souls of Inferno in order to replace it with humility among the souls of Purgatorio. Yet this purification of desire is not entirely embraced by Dante, who seems preoccupied with his own personal fame and glory. Therefore, how do we reconcile the seemingly hypocritical stance that the souls must strip themselves of pride and become humble, yet Dante can continue in h is quest for fame and glory and still be saved? This contradiction is developed as the reader and the character Dante travel through Inferno and Purgatorio and is resolved in the second sphere of Paradise. It is this sphere, which allows for fame and glory for honorable reasons, that permits us, as readers, to resolve this tension. It is in this sphere that Dante elucidates that fame is not always bad, but only becomes so when one's motives are impure.    The power of fame and glory is nowhere more powerful than among the souls of Inferno. The importance of earthly fame is particularly apparent in the figures of the several shades who have asked Dante to recall their names and stories on Earth. In fact, it is this promise of fame that induces most of the souls to ... ... of Paradise when we find that fame can have a place in paradise if it is sought for righteous reasons.    Works Cited Ciardi, John, trans. The Divine Comedy. In The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Expanded Edition. Vol. I. Ed. Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995. Works Consulted Bergin, Thomas Goddard. Dante. New York: Orion P, 1965. ---. Dante's Divine Comedy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 1971. Niven, Larry and Pournelle, Jerry. Inferno. New York: Pocket Books,1976. MacAllister, Archibald T. Introduction. Inferno. By Dante. New York: Mentor, 1954. Pinsky, Robert. The Inferno of Dante. New York: Harper Collins, 1994. Shippey, T.A. "Into Hell and Out Again". Times Literary Supplement, 8 July 1977, .820. Spinrad, Norman. Introduction to Inferno, by Niven and Pournelle. Boston: Gregg Press, 1979.   

Free College Essays - Influence of War in Knowles Separate Peace :: Separate Peace Essays

Influence of War as Shown in A Separate Peace Historical events can play an important role in a person’s life. In A Separate Peace, the whole atmosphere at the Devon School changed as World War II progressed. The boys either eagerly awaited draft, enlisted in the area of war they wanted, or did not want to go at all. The students at the school created new activities for enjoyment since the customary past times could not be played due to a lack of materials. When a friend â€Å"returns† from the war, the boys at Devon got a real sense of what the war was like. The boys learned that going to war was not all fun and games like they had anticipated. The influence World War II had on the characters in A Separate Peace and life at the Devon School, was clearly depicted through their actions and activities. The beginning of the novel allows the reader to get a feel of what the Devon School was like during that time period. Students of â€Å"war age† were constantly leaving Devon to go to the war, either by choice or by draft. Whether kids wanted to go or not, the anticipation was always present. As winter approached the Devon school, so was the encroaching shadow of the war. The boys were called out to help shovel free a troop train trapped by snow-blocked tracks. The experience "brings the war home" for all of them, and they realized they would have to face a crucial decision very soon. Maturity leaps upon them, whether they're ready for it or not, at the tender age of seventeen. The excitement of the war had gotten to everybody at the school, including the staff, and made it a chaotic place. The boys were able to get away with disobeying the rules. Many students cut class, and left school grounds often and were not penalized. When Leper â€Å"returned† from the war the boys realized that participating in the war wasn’t all fun and games, and that a lot of bad things happened. When Leper told Gene how he had been discharged on charges of insanity, Gene blew up at Leper. Gene had thought the war was a good place, and the notion of a Section Eight Discharge was not what he wanted to hear. It completely ruined Gene’s thoughts and his hopes.

Arguments of the death penalty Essay

Is death the justification of a murder or are we merely subduing ourselves by performing the same heinous act? This argument had been debated for many decades and although some feel that death is the answer to a murder, there are others that find it completely barbaric. Through a careful analysis between Edward Koch’s â€Å"Death and Justice† and David Bruck’s â€Å"The Death Penalty†, I believe Koch had the better argument in claiming that death is the justification of a murder. I feel that if someone were to kill another person, we have all rights to sentence them to a death penalty to guarantee such a horrific crime would not happen again. If someone had the courage to take the life of another then he/she should have the courage to face the consequences. Although many believed that the death penalty is barbaric, I believe if it is not done, it would hinder America’s goal in working toward a country that possesses the least crime rates. In Koch’s essay he compared cancer with the death penalty. â€Å"Today we are faced with the choice of letting the cancer spread with†¦methods that considered barbaric†¦But to give up†¦would certainly delay the discovery of an eventual cure.† (Koch, paragraph 6) What Koch tried to convey to us is that certain methods of reducing cancer symptoms may be found barbaric but it is because of these methods we will find an eventual cure. This applies to the death penalty as well. Although someone may believe the death penalty is barbaric, they can still support it because if we create a society that does not tolerate the injustice of murder, incidents of murd er will decrease. In Bruck’s argument he attacked back by stating that the death penalty was applied in a discriminatory manner through a man by the name of â€Å"Ernest Knighton†. â€Å"Knighton had killed a gas station owner during a robbery†¦Why was Knighton electrocuted when almost everyone else who committed the same offense was not? Was it because he was black? Was it because his victim and all 12 members of the jury†¦were right?† (Bruck, paragraph 10) He’s stating the jury was racist to Knighton because he was black and the death penalty does not serve justice. I believe that his isn’t so because the appeals for each murderer are long and accurate. Our courts are made so that each case is handled effectively and thoroughly to bring forth justice in the case. Koch stated â€Å"It is not justice to exclude everyone from the penalty of the  law if a few are found to be so favored. Justice requires that the law be applied equally to all.† (Koch, paragraph 11). It is not a racial matter because the appeals process is long and elaborate for every individual and a person will not be given any less attention due to their race. The death penalty served justice to people who had abused it. It will ensure a safer society because potential murderers would be afraid to kill because if they did, they would be executed as well. If we do not continue to practice this then murder rates would steadily increase. It is also not a racial issue because each case is observed with the full extent of the law. I believe the death penalty should continue to be instated because it will provide for a quicker progression to a murder-free America.

Performance Appraisal of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited

1. 0 Introduction Every company has its own vision and mission. Achieving of its vision and mission is primarily depends on the performance of the employees. If the employees are not dedicated to their works, they will not achieve company’s mission as well as its vision. It is the duty of the Human Resource department in a company to measure the performance of the employees and based on their performance appraisal report and considering the need of the organization assigning employees with different training and development programs so that the employees can develop their skills as well as contribute in the development of the organization.As a result, the organization can achieve its goal from their employees. This performance appraisal and training program has great impact on financial institution to achieve its targeted profit and competitive advantage. As a part of our BBA Program, our Human Resource Management Course Instructor Mr. Faisol Chowdhury assigned us to prepare a report on the employee performance measurement in an organization, the training and development program offered in an organization and the benefit the organization gets from these training and development programs.We have selected our report topic as, â€Å"Performance appraisal, training and development programs and its benefits in AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD†. 1. 2 Background of the Company: Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited is a scheduled commercial bank. With the objective of achieving success here & hereafter by pursuing the way directed by Allah and the path shown by His Rasul (SM), Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd was established under the Bank Companies Act 1991 and incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1994 in Bangladesh with the primary objective to carry on all kinds of banking business in Bangladesh.The Bank is listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited and Chittagong Stock Exchange Limited in 1998. For the purpose of maintaining boost modern manageme nt, advanced technology, good profitability and steady growth transparency Al-Arafah Islami Bank started its journey in 1995 with the said principles in mind and to introduce a modern banking system based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. A group of established, dedicated and pious personalities of Bangladesh are the architects and directors of the Bank. Among them a noted Islamic scholar, economist, writer and ex-bureau craft of Bangladesh government Mr.A. Z. M. Shamsul Alam is the founder Chairman of the bank. His progressive leadership and continuous inspiration provided a boost for the bank in getting a foothold in the financial market of Bangladesh. A group of 26 dedicated and noted Islamic personalities of Bangladesh are the member of executive committee of the bank. MR. Badiur Rahman and MR. Ekramul Hoque are the existing chairman and the managing director of the bank. Now AIBL is one of the top ranked banks in Bangladesh. Recently it has introduced its 100th branch milestone by openin g its 100th branch in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. AIBL annual Report, 2011) Vision: †¢ To be a pioneer in Islamic Banking in Bangladesh and contribute significantly to the growth of the national economy. Mission: †¢ Achieving the satisfaction of Almighty Allah both here & hereafter. †¢ Proliferation of Shariah Based Banking Practices. †¢ Fast and efficient customer service. †¢ Quality financial services adopting the latest technology. †¢ Maintaining high standard of business ethics and competitive return on shareholders' equity. †¢ Firm commitment to the growth of national economy. †¢ Innovative banking at a competitive price. Attract and retain quality human resources. †¢ Balance growth. 1. 3 Objective of this report: We have prepared this repost based on two purposes: Primary Objective †¢ To provide detailed information about the performance appraisal process of AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD †¢ To provide detailed information on t raining and development †¢ To figure out the benefits of the training and development program Secondary Objectives †¢ It is an assessment criteria for our MGT-351 (Introduction to Human Resource Management Course) †¢ It is a practical implementation of our theoretical knowledge 1. 4 Scope of the StudyAs we have an assigned topic we have covered only that certain topics in this report. For covering that certain topics we talked to the Human Resource Division head and the training institute principal of AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD. As a result we got some valuable information about the performance appraisal method of bank and their training programs which helped us to justify our theoretical concept of performance appraisal, training method and its real life benefit. As AIBL is a Shariah based Islamic bank we have also gathered some valuable information about Islamic banking system. 1. Methodology For making any report we have to collect primary and secondary information which reflect the actual situation of the company. We have collected both primary and secondary data for making our report. I. Primary data: The data we have collected from Mr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Managing Director of AIBL, Mr. Mazharul Islam, Vice President & the Head of HRD, AIBL, Mr. Zahid Hasan, Assistant Vice President & Principal of the AIBTRA through interview are considering as primary data. II. Secondary data: The data we have collected from their AIBL website (http://www. al-arafahbank. om), Annual Report, periodicals, various books, articles etc regarding banking activities, different literature and official records ) are considered as secondary data. 2. 0 Literature Review 2. 1. 0 Performance Appraisal: What is Performance Appraisal? Performance Appraisal (PA) means evaluating an employee’s current and previous performance relative to his or her performance standards. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 318) Performance = f (A, M, O) A = ability, M = motivation, O = opportunity It is not a process that happens once a year or every six months, but one that happens every day.It should focus solely on employee performance improvement. It is an element of the Performance Management system. Performance appraisal always involves 1) Setting work standard 2) Assessing employees actual performance relative to those standard 3) Providing feedback to their employee with the aim of motivating him or her to eliminate performance deficiencies Potential Benefits of Performance Appraisals There are a number of potential benefits of organizational performance management conducting formal performance appraisals (PAs).There has been a general consensus in the belief that PAs lead to positive implications of organizations. Furthermore, PAs can benefit an organization’s effectiveness. One way is PAs can often lead to giving individual workers feedback about their job performance. From this may spawn several potential benefits such as the individual workers becoming more productive. Other potential benefits include: †¢ Facilitation of communication: communication in organizations is considered an essential function of worker motivation. It has been proposed that feedback from PAs aid in minimizing employees’ perceptions of uncertainty.Fundamentally, feedback and management-employee communication can serve as a guide in job performance. †¢ Enhancement of employee focus through promoting trust: Behaviours, thoughts, and/or issues may distract employees from their work, and trust issues may be among these distracting factors. Such factors that consume psychological energy can lower job performance and cause workers to lose sight of organizational goals. Properly constructed and utilized PAs have the ability to lower distracting factors and encourage trust within the organization. Goal setting and desired performance reinforcement: Organizations find it efficient to match individual worker’s goals and performance wi th organizational goals. PAs provide room for discussion in the collaboration of these individual and organizational goals. Collaboration can also be advantageous by resulting in employee acceptance and satisfaction of appraisal results. †¢ Performance improvement: Well-constructed PAs can be valuable tools for communication with employees as pertaining to how their job performance stands with organizational expectations. At the organizational level, numerous studies have reported positive relationships between human resource management (HRM) practices† and performance improvement at both the individual and organizational levels. †¢ Determination of training needs: â€Å"Employee training and development are crucial components in helping an organization achieve strategic initiatives†. It has been argued that for PAs to truly be effective, post-appraisal opportunities for training and development in problem areas, as determined by the appraisal, must be offered . PAs can especially be instrumental for identifying training needs of new employees.Finally, PAs can help in the establishment and supervision of employees’ career goals. 2. 1. 1 Performance Appraisal Methods: Many organisations have eliminated formal appraisal programs, preferring a structured hiring, training and organisational culture centric employee performance. Most organisations still practice some sort of appraisal methods to evaluate employee performance. A mixture of different appraisal methods is always recommended for a better and meaningful result. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 324) GRAPHIC RATING SCALE: The graphical rating scale is the simplest and most popular method for appraising performance.A graphical rating scale list traits (such as â€Å"communication or teamwork†) and a range of performance values (from â€Å"uncertainty† to â€Å"outstanding† or â€Å"below expectation† to â€Å"role model†) for each trait. The superv isor rates each subordinate by circling or checking the score that best describes the subordinate’s performance for each trait. [pic] Alternation ranking Method: Ranking employees from best to worst on a particular trait, choosing highest, then lowest until all are ranked [pic] Paired Comparison method: Paired comparison method helps to make the ranking method more precise.For every trait (quantity of work, quality of work, and so on), you pair and compare every subordinate with every other subordinate. Forced Distribution Method: The forced distribution method is similar to grading on a curve. With this method, anyone can place predetermined percentages of rates into several performance categories. The proportions in each category need not to be symmetrical. Critical Incident method: Keeping a record of uncommonly good or undesirable examples of an employee’s work related behaviour and reviewing it with the employee.Manager then uses the record to assess the employees ’ performance when it is time for PA. Not helpful for comparing employees and making salary decisions. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): A behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) is an appraisal tool that anchors a numerical rating scale with specific examples of good or poor performance. Essay Description: A written statement describes employee’s strengths, weaknesses, past performance and future development. Managers write the descriptions of the employees. So, good writing skill is the pre-requisite for this method.Management by Objectives: MBO is a comprehensive and formal organization-wide goal setting and appraisal programme, used sometimes as a primary appraisal method or a supplementary method. Electronic Performance Monitoring: Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) systems use computer network technology to allow managers access to their employees computers and telephone. So managers can monitor employees rate, accuracy and time spent working o utline. 2. 1. 2 Performance Appraisal Problems (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 333) †¢ Unclear Standard – Most of the appraisal scales are unclear.Standards and traits are interpreted differently by different people. †¢ Halo Effect – When a supervisor’s rating of a subordinate on one trait biases the rating of all other traits. E. g. an unfriendly employee will often be rated ‘unsatisfactory’ for all traits rather than just for that specific trait. †¢ Central Tendency – Tendency to rate all employees the same way – the middle of the rating scale; which is usually rating an average rating. †¢ Leniency or Strictness – Tendency to rate all subordinates either ‘high’ or ‘low’. Biasness – Tendency to rate employees based on their differences on age, race, sex, background and other characteristics. 2. 2. 0 Definition of training and development: Training means giving new or current empl oyees the skills they need to perform their jobs. It is the process of providing employees with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to successfully perform their current job. It usually involves teaching operational or technical employees how to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 274)Development is the process that provides employees knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to perform jobs at present and jobs they aspire to in future. It is generally aimed at helping top level executives better understand and solve problems, make decisions, and capitalize on opportunities. The cost and budget of development program is higher than training. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 295) 2. 2. 2 Training Programs There are several training programs- (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 283) †¢ On the job training: It having a person learns a job by actually doing the tasks by him. Apprenticeship: It is a process by which people become skilled wor kers, usually through a combination of formal learning and long-term on the job training. †¢ Job instruction: listing each job’s basic tasks, along with key points, to provide step-by-step training for employees. Sometimes position description (PD) can be used as job instruction. †¢ Coaching: Under an official appointed teacher employee learn the basic tactics of the job. †¢ Mentoring: linking an experienced employee with less experienced employee to share experience, knowledge and skills. Helping someone to change his attitude, not his skills. Lectures/Seminar/Workshop: Lecture is a quick and simple way of providing knowledge to large groups of trainees. †¢ Audiovisual/Multimedia: Audiovisual based training techniques like DVDs, films, PowerPoint, and audiotapes are widely used. †¢ Vestibule: Vestibule training is a method in which trainers learn on the actual or simulated equipment they will use on the job, but are trained off the job(perhaps in a s eparate room or vestibule). †¢ Computer Based Training (CBT): With computer based training, trainers use interactive computer-based and DVD system to increase knowledge and skills. Role Play: Role playing is to create a realistic situation and then have the trainees assumes the part (or roles) specific person in that situation. †¢ Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. †¢ Assessment centres (in-house / off the job) : centre that assesses participants performance, benchmark this against established standards, and consider remedial resources. E. g. Ernst & Young. Simulated training: provides trainees with the opportunity to learn on the actual or simulated equipment while off the job in a risk free environment. E. g. driving, medical examinations, pilots. †¢ E-learning: learning delivered, enabled and mediated by electronic technology. E. g. compute r / internet web based training sessions on cost effective, OH&S issues. †¢ Vestibule Training: training that takes place away from the production area on equipment that closely resembles the actual equipment used on the job. 2. 3. 0 Development methods (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 296) There are several development methods-Job Rotation: Job rotation means moving managers from department to department to broaden their understanding of the business to test their abilities. Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. Case study: giving employees a written description of an organisational problem to diagnose and solve. Management games: computerised management game where trainees are divided into five or six person companies, each of which has to compete with the other in a simulated marketplace.Outside seminars: attending seminars arranged by outside organisations. E. g . AHRI. University programs: continuous education programs in leadership, supervision etc. Role Play: Role playing is to create a realistic situation and then have the trainees assumes the part (or roles) specific person in that situation. In house Development centers/Corporate University: In house development center typically offer a catalogue of courses and programs aimed at supporting the employers’ management needs.Executive Coaches: Executive coaches is an outside consultant who questions the executive’s boss, peers, subordinates, and (sometimes) family in order to identify executive’s strengths and weakness and how they can capitalize their strength and overcome the weakness. 3. 1. 0 Performance Measurement in AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD. AIBL has its own Human resource department. Personal data and the records of service and performance are recorded and maintained separately for each employee by HRD. HR executive and HRD head regularly measure their employe e’s performance.For measuring performance HRD of AIBL use APR (Annual Performance Report). Annual Performance Report (APR): (AIBL employee’s service rule p. 27) A system of annual report on the work and conduct of the employees will be laid down by the Board and such report will be called Annual Performance report(APR) and the bank may also call for special performance reports on any employees as and when considered necessary in the interest of the bank. AIBL has two specific format of APR (annual performance report): I.Operational post: It includes 27 traits. Operational employee’s (CEO, DMD, EVP, SVP and etc. ) performance is measured based on this 27 traits. II. Micro Finance & Logistics Posts: It includes 18 traits. This APR format is applicable for non-officer grade employee like filed supervisor, field assistant, Driver, Armed force, MCG(Messenger cum Guard) Operational post (APR format) Annual Performance Report (APR) (AIBL employee’s service rule p. 74) Personal Traits of the Officer under reporting (To be filled in by the reporting officer) |SL. No. Traits | Mark Secured | | | |Excellent | | | |Excellent |Very Good | |1 |Foundation course on Banking(Batch-I/2011) |1 |45 | |2 |Foundation course on Banking(Batch-II/2011) |1 |39 | |3 |Laws & Regulations in Bangladesh for Foreign Exchange Transaction & International Trade |1 |42 | |4 |Investment Operation & SME |1 |49 | |5 |Audit of Foreign & Exchange Trade Operation |1 |29 | |6 |Orientation Course on Banking |1 |45 | |7 |Orientation Course on Banking |1 |36 | |8 |Audit of Investment Operation |1 |27 | Development Programs that are offered by â€Å"Al-Arafah Islami bank† †¢ Job Rotation: For developing employee HRD of AIBL rotate the job and responsibility of each employee on a regular basi †¢ Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. †¢ Case study: During the probation period, a written description of an organizational problem given to employees to diagnose and solve †¢ Workshop: workshops are organized by AIBL on a regular interval. Workshops organized by AIBL in 2011 (AIBRTA training & workshops 2011) S/L |Subject |Number |Participants | |1 |Capacity Development in ICC & Internal Audit |1 |21 | |2 |AML Compliance: Independent Testing Procedure |1 |27 | |3 |UCP-600 and its Application |1 |50 | |4 |Implementation of Web Based EXP from matching Through Online System |1 |23 | |5 |Al-Arafah Solar Energy Investment Scheme Management |1 |40 | |6 |Al-Arafah Solar Energy Investment Scheme Operation |1 |29 | |7 |Prevention of Money laundering and Fraud-Forgery in Banking |1 |41 | |8 |Security measures in handing Cash, Cheques and Instrument |1 |42 | |9 |BACH, MICR Cheque & Instrument and Security measure |1 |48 | |10 |Automation In Banking Operation in Bangladesh |1 52 | |11 |Green banking & Environment Risk Management |1 |44 | |12 |AML & CFT Issues(Batch-I/2011) |1 |49 | |13 |AML & CFT Issues(Batch-II/2011) |1 |44 | |14 |Operation Risk Associated with manual payment |1 |40 | |15 |UCP-600 |1 |48 | |16 |Asset Liability Management & Profit Maximization |1 |48 | |17 |General Insurance: bankers issues |1 |44 | |18 |Legal Process of Investment Recovery |1 |38 | |19 |Salesmanship in handling Foreign Remittance |1 |41 | |20 |Supervisory Review Process |1 |30 | |21. |Environment Risk Management & Investment Risk Management |1 |30 | |22. |Asset Liability Management & Profit Maximization |1 |40 | |23. |Renewable Solar Energy Management |1 |42 | |24. |Renewable Solar Energy Operation |1 |51 | |25. Readymade Garments Industry finance in AIBL |1 |48 | |26. |Implementation of Web Based EXP from matching Through Online System |1 |56 | |27. |Green Banking & Environment Risk Management |1 |21 | |28 |Functions of Internal Control & Compliance Division |1 |46 | |29 |Shariah Implementation in Aibl (batch-I) |1 |28 | |30 |ShariahImplementation in Aibl (batch-II) |1 |23 | |31 |AML & CFT Issues |1 |45 | |32 |Control of Primary Securities against Investment |1 |51 | |33 |UCP-950 |1 |23 | | | | | | Outreach Workshop: Outreach workshops are very helpful for providing development programs outside the Dhaka city. (AIBRTA training & workshops 2011) 2011 following outreach workshops are organized by AIBL S/L |Subject |Number |particepents | |1 |Sariah Implementation in Aibl(Veneue Agrabad, Khulna, Zindabazar, |1 |90 | | |Bogra branch) | | | |2 |Money Laundering prevention 2011(lead bank AIBL, Venue: Jhalakathi |1 |33 | | |branch) | | | Executive Workshop: AIBL organizes executive workshop for top level executive. 2011 following executive workshops are organized by AIBL |S/L |Subject |Number |Participants | |1 |Stress Training 1 |42 | |2 |Core Risk management |1 |42 | |3 |CAMEKS Rating & Banks health |1 |35 | |4 |Preparedness for BASEL II |1 |40 | |5 |Internal Control & Compliance |1 |42 | |6 |Corporate Gove rnance |1 |35 | †¢ Role Play: After completing each topic in the training institute, each trainee is sent to the nearest branch of the bank to implement his learning into the real life †¢ In house Development centers/Corporate University: AIBTRA typically offer a catalogue of courses and programs aimed at supporting the employers’ management needs. 3. 3. Organizational Benefits of Training & Development program Productivity: (M. Islam 2012, pers. Comm. , 26 November) Training is a process of learning as well as the function of acquired knowledge aiming at better performance of the employees, while development involves not only the related process but also helps the employees in building up their personalities, at the same time as, improving their progress towards the actualization of their full potentials. In order that the total performance may be improved, organizations need to have trained and experienced people. AIBL practices training and development for their employees with the thinking that their efficiency will increase.They think that these programs are very important for the preparation of the employees with the necessary skills that are required for particular jobs. Besides, failing to reach an expected level of performance of the employees or declines in the productivity also require training and development programs to be administered in the organizations. Team Spirit: Building team Spirit is very important for any organization because everyone in the organization work as a team and most of the time they are dependant with each other. So if they have no team spirit and team coordination then they will be failed to reach the goal and more value to the company. The complexities of various jobs emerge the importance of training and development programs.So AIBL train their employees for building the team spirit among the employees because they know when they practice the team spirit among the employees then the production level ultima tely increase. Organization Climate: This bank is one of the most disciplined Banks with a distinctive corporate culture. Here they  believe in shared meaning, shared understanding and shared sense making. Their people can see and understand events, activities, objects and situation in a distinctive way. They mould their  manners and etiquette, character individually to suit the purpose of the Bank and the needs of the customers who are of paramount importance to us. The people in the Bank see themselves as a tight knit team / family that believe in working together for growth. Health Work Environment:The offices of the Bank situated in the heart of city, generally in commercial surroundings. Offices are centrally air conditioned and well decorated with modern furniture and sophisticated technical Banking equipment. With the advancement of  Technology, offices of the Bank’s are now become paperless; most of the banking tasks are recorded and accomplished here with stron g banking software. They are continuously training employees for getting used to it and employees are learning and implementing very well. Inter and intra office communications are generally held by telephone, fax, internet and cell phones. The interior decorations of the office look gorgeous.Employees do their task in a safe and healthy environment Image: For the image of the company they give training and development to employees because as a big company they have some reputation to other companies and if they want to make them as a strong competitor they should maintain a good image both in the whole industry and to the customer. Profitability: The main agenda of any business is to make profit. For making profit they have to maintain quality products and services and to produce product efficiently. AIBL has different companies and every business’s main purpose is to make profit. So they think about the other factors behind this success so they arrange training and developm ent.Communications: The increasing diversity of today's workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. For being successful, it is also important to maintain communications among the employees and the other clients. So it is very important how to communicate with them and in which way it will be more effective. For this reason AIBL arranges some training and development program for their employees. They mainly do this for mid level and top level employees. Ethics: Today's society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, today's diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace.So for maintaining ethics they arrange some training and development program and practice this in their organization. Employee Benefits By providing training and development employee also get benefitted from it. Some of the benefit is given below: Training Improves Job Satisfaction: The training program improves the job satisfaction of the employee because when any employee get training then he/she become more efficient about his/her job. He/ she will be rewarded for his/her performance or can get recognition from senior employees which will motivate them. Training gives them knowledge which they share with others and they come out with so many ideas which involve them into work more.So, when his/her efficient level goes up and does the job more efficiently, then the salary of the employee goes up and overall the satisfaction level improves. Increased Employee Motivation: AIBL arranges some orientation program about their new technologies. So when the employees get some information about it and know how it works, then they are more motivated to do the job. But sometimes it’s not about a ‘new’ way of doing things, and simply about reminding each other about the ‘best’ way of doing things. Like any relationship, your employee relationships can get stale unless you consistently invest tim e and effort to remind them how important they are to you, how valued their contributions are, and critically that they are all part of one team—the same team Reduced employee turnover:Training and development increases employee’s motivation so that they eager to do his/her job with the company. So the employee turnovers become low and they tend to stay in the organization for long period of time. 4. 0 Findings ? We have found that all the employee of Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited has got training and thus the employee performance shows great potentiality and skill. The analysis also shows the respondents have got variety of experiences which is taking banks performance upward. ? A respondent as employee of Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited seems in young age and all of the employee educational level exceeds masters which are providing banks performance a great rhythm. Most of employees got 60 days entry level training which is known as Foundation Course and 5 to 10 days m id level training because here number of employees is higher than advance or other level. The bank provides advance and other level training according to their succession plan or situation. ? In Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited the respondents as employees got both on the job training and off the job training from the bank but unfortunately the employees did not international training from the abroad. ? Respondents show that training and development program provided by the bank is well organized and equipped. It also considered that training and development programs are directed and controlled by skilful trainer and these programs are based on banks working activities. Respondents as employees of Al Arafah Islami Bank agreed that training provided bank is beneficial for their working performance. So we can see training and development program provided by Al Arafah Islami Bank has positive effect on employee performance. 5. 0 Recommendations †¢ Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd is arrangin g initial training employees but in mid level and advanced level they are not arranging well length programs. Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd must be arranged training program and increase length of these types of training before sending employee which types of training will necessary for the trainees in future and one of the advantages s that no hindrance with regular activities. For these reasons, customer service of the bank will be increased and customer satisfaction will increase. †¢ TNA is essential for every bank to carry out the banking activities and to reach its goal. We know that TNA is the difference between standard performance and the actual performance. The bank should measure TNA before sending for training. Higher authority will take appropriate decisions for each employee to measure TNA and must be fair in their work. †¢ Though the trainers are very much skilful and knowledgeable persons sometimes they are not understand the trainee’s needs or their lack ing. So they must make know the need of trainees. The training and development department of Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd provides the training to their employees try to improve the training and maintain international standard which helps the bank to reach its mission and vision. 6. 0 LIMITATIONS Followings are the limitations of the project work taken by us: ? One of the limitations of this project study is of the time limitation. Since the duration of our project study is of 4 weeks, it is somehow difficult to fully know any organization like AIBL in this limited time  period. ? Senior managers and others officers in AIBL are also very busy. They do not have enough time for solving our queries in details. Some respondents were conservative as they were hesitated to express their real opinion. ? Main limitation of this report was that the bank did not disclose all the data and main information for obvious reasons, which was could have been very much vital 7. 0 Conclusion Al-Arafah I slami Bank started in 1995 with the said principles in mind and to introduce a modern  banking system based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. Al-Arafah Bank is one of the markets leading bank in the banking sector and it has already proved its presence and contribution in the socioeconomic prospect. For the economic development of a country banking sector plays a vital role .In this project, we briefly discuss about organizational background, mission, vision and in topic analysis we elaborate performance appraisal, training and development program and its benefit. We can conclude that to compete with other bank Al Arafah Islami Bank needs skilful employees this is achieved by the effective training program. They have passed 16 years and  today they have established their own service and Brand with much goodwill. But still they  have problems and they are lagging behind with their competitors. Finally for the betterment of the organization, we hope that if they  take the above mentione d suggestions into account, they will definitely surpass its close  competitors in the banking service. References:Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. , 2012, Employees’ Service Rules 2009 Al-Arfah Islami Bank Training and Research Academy, 2012, AIBTRA training & workshops 2011 Dhaka AI-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. , 2012, Annual Performance Report 2011 Al-Arafah Islam Bank Ltd.. , 2012, Company Overview, [online] Retrieved December 13, 2012 , from , http:// http://www. al-arafahbank. com/ Dessler, G. & Varkkey, B. , 2012, Human resource Management, Pearson, India Wikipedia, 2012, Performance evaluation, Potential benefits of PA, [online], Retrieved December 13, 2012 , from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Performance_appraisal [pic][pic][pic] ———————– 32 – 1 –

Case Study About Southwest Airline Essay

Southwest Airlines was incorporated on June 18, 1971, serving three cities, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. It has been a successful business that has grown into a powerful force in the airline industry. The reason Southwest has remained financially viable is their commitment through point-to-point service with a quick turnaround time. The more planes in the air and the less time on the ground is a profitably business model. Although, there are some areas where Southwest struggled and could improve upon (Kruggel, 2001). In a large competitive Airline industry that has a strong entry barrier, Southwest Airline succeeded on their customer service and quality differentiation distinct any other Airline contributor. The company set them self up for any breakdown what might would happen in the future. Nevertheless, September 11, 2001 attack happened and the Airline could have been better prepared for that event (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007, p. 114). After 9/11 attack struggling airlines had changed their business strategies and offer lower pricing. Almost every aspect that differentiated Southwest airline from other companies were cut because of having to adapt to new security protocols. These strategies caused Southwest not staying in competitive advantage position, and therefore, they had to slash their pricing lower than average. Of course, loyal customers would continue using Southwest over other airline industries. Analysis: Southwest competitive advantage strategies are as follow: Southwest implemented the first and most simplistic frequent-flier program: purchase eight flights and get one free. Other are their point-to-point services, which are generally targeting the frequent business traveler. With several regular flights per day, if a passenger happens to miss their flight, they will be automatically booked onto another flight. Secondly, secured routes through secondary airports which generally had lower fixed costs for the airlines and less overcrowding of travelers ease? (Koke, 2011). Southwest focal point on fast, dependable turnaround time utilizing only one type of aircraft, make available for staff and passenger to be familiar with the effectiveness of the service. Passengers are not allocating seats, which let the passenger to be guided more efficiently. In addition, Southwest’s point to point system is more dependable because it does not depend on the time arrival of an earlier flight for departure. After Porter’s five competitive forces model, Southwest airline utilizing the differentiation from competition by allowing a friendly, warm flying experience for the travelers with low cost flights undercut the competition, which would fit under the threat of substitutes. Other aspect of preventing the threat of substitutes is the reliability of the airline (Porter, 1987, pp. 28-35). The Southwest airline is determined not only to take care of their stakeholders, but to protect our planet and its natural resources as well. Conserving fuel and water, employing green purchasing practices that meet the leadership in energy and environmental design standards for new construction and building are some of the practices they are determine to retrofit. Gary C.  Kelly Southwest president and chief executive officer said,† Looking Forward As we look to our future in building Southwest Airline, our priority is to maintain the excellence we have built over the past four decades with our brand, culture, customer service, operational excellence, and consecutive annual profits. I am enthusiastic about our 2013 plan and believe our transformation efforts will make us better, stronger, and more competitive. And, the outstanding efforts, commitment, and dedication of our people give me confidence in our ability to successfully execute our plan. We are committed to our purpose to connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. That purpose will guide us to go forward on our journey in pursuit of our vision to become the World’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline† (Movawad, 2010). The founder of the Southwest Airline Herb Kelleher in his recent interview mentioned, â€Å"We don’t know everything about everything. We know about one thing. I have seen other airlines make mistakes, buying radio stations, hotel chains, rental car businesses, and so forth and so on. And I thought, We do not want to get into thinking that we’re massive and great because we’ve done pretty well. And that is still the policy today† (Reingold, 2013). One of the Southwest airline competitor’s was United airline in terms of new services and prices. It started a program called â€Å"Shuttle by United†. The disadvantage Sout hwest airline had, was how to deal to access the program at hand. The next one was to figure out how to respond to the initiatives. Specify the decision factors while approaching the circumstance, there were some unpredictable conditions that Southwest airline had to deal with (Freiberg & Freiberg, 2006, pp. 65-70). First, it was the determination of the profitability of the flights they were profiting from and losing from competitors such as United airlines. The concern was how many round trips each airline made, how many miles each flight was, and load factor of each flight. Daily profit calculation for each flight showed how much profit they made each city and finally state wide. After some calculation â€Å"Shuttle by United† program was forecasted that it would put the United airline into debt if they do not gain more profit from it. As of now the program costs more to run than it will pay off (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007, p. 115-116). Conclusion: While the airline industry in the United States has not made flourishing financial headlines, one small company has been able to fulfill its customers and gain a place in Fortune 500 companies in a short period of time. Southwest has adapted to the business traveler who is looking for reliability and less hassles. In addition, it has a fast reward system that is easy to comprehend and helps retain customer loyalty. In addition, Southwest hires the best people and rewards them accordingly, in a fun, enjoyable environment. Management-employee relation, organizational training and strong leadership are identified as the source of employee motivation. Finally, Southwest negotiates fuel prices for their airlines years in advance allowing the company to keep their pricing consistent (Lunsford, 2008).

The Business Case for Diversity Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Business for Diversity - Case Study Example Diversity is about understanding, valuing, and making the most of the individual differences found in each and every person (Clark, 2007). To allow an organization to be the best, they must use the differences found in individuals. Those differences may come from the color of skin or the language they speak. It may include how fast they learn, how they learn, whether they are introverted or extroverted, controlling, or submissive, or conservative (Clark, 2007). An organization will need dreamers, doers, strategizers, organizers and team builders just to mention a few. Organizations need diversity in ideas and therefore they need leaders who can encourage and manage under diverse situations (Kirton, 2007) but often times it is not the employee that wins but the company. The quality of any work or any team is improved by the diverse personalities on it. Leaders that understand the needs of the diverse company are able to leverage those diverse groups in a way that will improve the companies product line (Carter, 2007). This is the theory, some are successful and some are not. One example of a company that is doing this very thing and providing excellent tutelage for their leadership is Merck. Merck believes that diversity encourages the creativity and innovation for their company and they use this to remain competitive (Merck, 2007). They have believed that the use of diversity in their business will keep them ahead of the curve. They also believe that they are able to have better leadership teams if they remember the diverse needs of their employees when they hire. Merck believes that first, they must train their leadership team in diversity and what it means as well as how to manage it. They have perpetual training going on with these leadership teams. The Merck leadership model focuses on developing employee competence from the edge of their diversity allowing the company to capitalize on their difference.  

Illustration and Example Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Illustration and Example - Essay Example It has also been observed that children of divorced people normally lack confidence and they start involving in bad habits soon. However, the other side of the story is even worse. Divorce is better for America than long-term marriage because divorce 1) decreases the chances of violence, fights and mental depression, 2) saves children from the feeling of being neglected and insecure and 3) stops the bitterness for opposite sexes which may arise due to regular misunderstandings and fights between the partners. Long-term unhappy marriages cause disputes, violence, abusing and harsh behaviors. Healthy relationships always require for a flexible attitude. If both the partners remain stiff in their attitudes then it is more likely that their life would be full of mental and physical depression. And this mental and physical depression can lead to other diseases in their lives. Individuals who are unhappy in a relationship but still do not part their ways are more probable to do commit actions of insanity. For e.g. daily fights in a household between the husband and spouse may lead both of them to develop a sense of grudge in each other. And in many cases it can be seen that this feeling of grudge has lead the husband or wife to cheat on each other and further worsen the relationship. The actions of wife and husband not only do change in an unhealthy relationship but also does the relationship affect the environment of the house. Another example can be viewed here in which fights between husban d and wife can lead to lethal actions by one of them.Children are an important part of a household who need to be properly taken cared of. However if fights take place between their parents they may not get proper attention from them and this may affect their overall life standards. It would lead the children to indulge in activities which are not desirable. In cases it has been seen that children also lose their will of living in the same house in which these fights occur. For e.g. in a household in which fights occur on a daily basis, children are not paid heed properly. These children develop a sense of insecurity in the house and thus this leads them to indulge in activities such as smoking and drinking. Here the option of divorce can be considered to be better so as to save the future of the children. Furthermore another example can be considered here in which the fights which happen on a daily basis in the house affect the confidence level of the children. This leads the child ren to have a lower confidence level. Similarly if unhappy marriages continue husband and wife might also suffer from the problem of insecurity. Insecurity in a relationship can affect the lives of both the individuals in a relationship. It can ruin the whole life of the individuals as they won't ever be able to find a perfect match for themselves. They develop a sense of