Araby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Araby - Essay Example The first words spoken by the girl of his dream was also about â€Å"Araby†, giving the reader the assumption that it will be a mythological place that he can escape from reality and his harsh environment. The story of â€Å"Araby† highlights the contradiction between reality and illusion through illustration of the transformation of innocence to the path of realization and disillusionment as a phenomenon that occurs in a child’s boyhood. The protagonist of the story is the matured boy who had once been the innocent boy depicted in the story. The story opens with the lines â€Å"North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free† (Joyce, 538). Paradoxically, even though they were free from school, even their play did not give them the desired pleasure, for it was an equally dull world, where not even play brought any stimulant for the children. All these descriptions of dullness a ctually create the backdrop against which the boy takes resort to an imagination larger than life and hence encounters a surprising disillusionment.

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

Na - Essay Example When the stories begin, the general impression a reader receives is that the women were devoted to their husbands. For instance, in the Yellow Wallpaper, the protagonist in referring to her husband states, â€Å"He is very careful and loving and hardly lets me stir without special direction.†(Gilman) In the case of â€Å"The Hour†, Mrs. Maillard initially appears heart broken at the news of her husband’s death – â€Å"she wept at once, with sudden wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.† (Chopin). However, as the stories progress, this general impression is belied. The protagonist in â€Å"The Yellow Wall Paper† exhibits a subtle discontent with her husband John; he laughs at her and the author satirically remarks â€Å"one expects that in marriage.†(Gilman). Moreover, despite being a physician, he does not believe she is sick, he has not let her take the room downstairs with roses; rather he has confined her in a room with horrible yellow wall paper. It is also apparent that the author feels guilty about these subtle, underlying feelings of anger and resentment against her husband and would not be inclined to voice them aloud to anyone. She blames him for the fact that she is sick and feels helpless because despite being a physician, he has characterized her illness as a mere nervous depression and his word is law. She admits, â€Å"I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes I’m sure I never used to be so sensitive.† This reveals that she is aware of underlying feelings of resentment, but tries to mask it as an u npleasant side effect of her illness. As a woman, she is expected to be submissive and relegate herself to home and hearth, living in obedience to her husband’s will and as the story progresses, her anger against her husband becomes more and more apparent. In â€Å"the Hour† the protagonist has been living for so long in the state of captivity to her husband’s dominion that she automatically

Storytelling Marketing Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Storytelling Marketing Approach - Essay Example To be remembered is the aim and the story telling method is gaining strong grounds in today's dynamic global horizon. The customer gets the opportunity to perceive the story to match his own mind set and thereby accepting the story and the product underlying in the story. Imagine a child, being told a creative bed time story. The child adds his imagination to the story and if it fascinates him enough he communicates his thoughts across to many of his play group friends the next day. Every person still holds the same child like ability to appreciate and spread an interesting story. Here lies the key to the story telling method. An image is created in the mind of the customer which he further copulates and spreads across to acquaintances, friends, family. Thereby the word of mouth spreads. However as every marketing strategy, the story telling method also requires to be supported by attributes of the product to retain the buzz created.1 The aim of weaving a story is what would guide the key success factors for the strategy. Most stories are built to help people learn, absorb, remember and share information and ideas 2 stories can bring forth the strengths of a company, the vision the company has or even the past experiences of others to provide an assurance. Stories can be incorporated to market products and brands, demonstrate leadership, build affinity or many varied reasons. Few factors should be kept in mind to make sure the story telling method reaps adequate advantage for the company.3 These factors would be maintaining the timeliness of the story- communicating the story in a timely manner is crucial for its success. The other factors to be kept in mind are that the story should meet the objectives of the company. The mission and vision of the company will help ascertain the primary objective of a marketing strategy. There should also be orientation towards the detail as to what information is to be passed on to the customer and in what manner. Innovation and creativity form the key to a good story. A creative way of presenting a simple thought can help grab the attention of the customers. Personal affinity towards the story should exist for all the employees as the commitment should be visible in the employees. Finally as every marketing tool, the cost factor should be considered in the story telling method as well. Although there is an advantage in this method as it leads to buzz marketing however the cost aspect and budget analysis should be done before the planning is started. The key elements of success for story telling method of marketing can be summarized in the following manner: 1. Create a simple, credible and compelling Story The business journey and the vision that has been conceptualized should be visible in the story told to the customers. The simplicity of a story is crucial though. The people of every level in the business enterprise should be capable of believing the story. Only then can organization make the customers believe in the story. The story can be a simple narratrion about a personal achievement or an act of excellence been demonstrated at some time frame by the company. The achievement can also be about a particular division or employee of the company as employees are representatives of the larger

Persuasive Speech about Lowering the drinking age Essay

Persuasive Speech about Lowering the drinking age - Essay Example This is because, despite the fact that it is illegal for young adults below drinking age to drink alcohol, most people always start drinking before they reach the legal drinking age Credibility Statement: I have researched on the issue at lowering the drinking age in USA on the pros and cons, as well as their implications for over 30 years. As a result, I present this argument calling for the lowering of the age due to its benefits to society despite strong opposition from the public and other members of the society. The controversy on lowering the minimum legal drinking age has been raging for a long time and has attracted the attention of many. Many have been arguing that lowering the drinking age will encourage promiscuousness and irresponsibility, which is a mistaken stand since there is no direct relation between drinking and behaviors, as we will come to realize. A. The drinking age should be lowered because; in the early days, anyone was allowed to drink regardless of their age. The drinking age should be lowered because; in the early days, anyone was allowed to drink regardless of their age. 3. In the early times, consumption of alcohol was an event or act for anyone, why can we not let the memories of our ancestors come back to life by allowing all those with the ability to handle their liquor participate in the consumption. 2. This excludes the information that as long as one is over the age of eighteen years, one can be forced to join the Selective Service for possible drafting into the military and participating in war should one occur. 3. The implication of the above is that the government and the law recognizes the ability of eighteen year olds to make appropriate decisions regarding the welfare of the country at large, but not those that determine their own wellbeing.. 2. It also put one in the state of questioning the sincerity of the government, in giving

Classical to the Post-Modern Eras Essay Example for Free

Classical to the Post-Modern Eras Essay In this essay, I’m going to trace the development of Classical Music from the late 1750s to the Post-Modern era in the 2000s and provide a brief history of music, and how they link together to form what we have today. There are many preconceptions of what the history of music is. Some people think it is mainly a biography of composer’s lives, but they are wrong. The history of music is primarily the history of musical style. In order to appreciate this, it is essential to become acquainted with the different sounds and to hear them in their contexts. Fashions in history change with the generations, like fashions in musical tastes. Lets first start with the classical music, Classical is an era; it is from about 1730 to just after 1800. A few people who contributed to the music in the Classical era are: Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Classical period focused on the opposite types of sounds- music during that period was orderly, uncluttered, well planned and precise. Music was expected to be technically pleasing and grounded in certain traditions and styles that had been approved by the public, often quite formal. Composers were seen as workers who were hired to write music that would please their employer (Sagebiel). The classical period of music combined harmony, melody, rhythm, and orchestration more effectively than earlier periods of music. The classical period is best known for the symphony, a form of a large orchestral ensemble. The symphonic pieces generally had three movements, the sonata, the minuet and the finale. Building of the achievements of earlier composers, Haydn, and Mozart brought the symphony to its peak in the last twenty years of the 18th century. Haydn excelled in rhythmic drive and development of theme-based music (Bishop 325). Mozart also added to the symphony by contrasting memorable lyric themes in full sounding orchestral settings. There are many styles of music within classical music, including symphony, opera, choral works, chamber music, Gregorian chant, the madrigal, and the Mass. A Classical composition will fluctuate in mood. Not only there are contrasting themes within a movement, but there also may be striking contrasts even within (Vardy). In Classical music, there is a flexibility of rhythm. A classical composition has a wealth of rhythmic patterns. Classical music is basically homophonic. However, texture is treated as flexibly as rhythm. Classical melodies are among the most tuneful and easy to remember. The Classical composers interest in expressing shades of emotion led to the widespread use of gradual dynamic change crescendo (gradually getting louder) and diminuendo ( gradually getting softer). By varying the finger pressure on the keys, a pianist can play more loudly or softly. Classical works show a great deal of musical sophistication and use development, key changes, variation, musical phrases of varying lengths, counterpoint, polyphony and advanced harmony development. It uses very specific instruments, most markedly those invented before mid-10th century and adopted in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as instruments like violin, cello, viola, woodwind instruments, brass instruments and other instruments in the orchestra and solo instruments such as piano, harpsichord, organ and guitar. The classical period had a musical style that was consistent, which means that if you were a composer in this time period; you knew what was expected of you. Haydn had a huge influence on the development if Classical music and so did Beethoven but he chose to focus on a more romantic style which had a simple chord structure. This brings us to the Romantic era; The Romantic music period began in 1825 and ran until 1900. Several historical themes were at work during this period, including the increasing role of science as a worldview, the rise of nationalism in Europe, and a growing appreciation for the arts. The style of the Romantic music period is generally characterized by a wider range of dynamics, a greater variety of instruments, more dramatic melodies, more extreme tempos, fuller harmonies, and expanded formal structures within the compositions. Some of the most famous composers of all time lived and worked during the Romantic music era. Schubert, Chopin, Wagner, Brahms, and Mahler are among the most recognizable names. The transition from nineteenth-century Romanticism to twentieth-century Modernism is perhaps one of the big points in music history. Because the speed of twentieth-century innovation in all areas has been so accelerated, music has also moved from one new idea to another with such speed that no previous era can be compared to. Technology and scientific discovery are probably the basic influences on musical creativity and production. Dissonance became very important and in fact most of the pieces are made up of dissonant chords (Palisca). During the Modern era, many new musical techniques emerged. They were seen in melody , harmony , rhythm, meter, texture, tonality, and sonority . It is important to note that during the twentieth century not all changes in music were a revolution or a return to old ideals. Contrapuntal textures in music dominate the Modern era. While, homophonic textures are present, it is to a lesser degree and with less importance. During the 20th century, tone color has become a more important element of music then it was ever before. It has a major role which is creating variety, continuity and mood. Consonance is no longer in use in the 20th century. 20th century music sound fantasy like, distant and mystifying. Chords are never as fundamental as it is in previous centuries. Poly chords are created by placing one traditional chord over another. The rhythmic vocabulary of the 20th century was expanded with increased emphasis on irregularity and unpredictability. The Melody was very elusive.

World Religions Report HUM-130 Essay Example for Free

World Religions Report HUM-130 Essay The religion that I have chosen to discuss is the Jewish religion, or Judaism. In seeking information about Judaism, I conducted an interview at the Beth Israel Congregation near downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina. The synagogue is located at 2204 Morganton Rd., only a few miles from downtown Fayetteville and only a few miles from a major shopping mall in the area. Upon arriving at the synagogue in the afternoon heat of nearly 90 degrees, I was surprised to see the plush gardens to one side of the building. There is a beautiful walking path through a well-manicured lawn. The concrete path leads to a rectangular gazebo overgrown with vine. The small to medium trees and bushes on the property are perfectly maintained and are arrayed in vibrant colors. As I made my way to the front entrance, I noted the light colored brickwork and matching stonework on the front of the building. The building itself gives the appearance of a two story structure with its abstract sculpture, but upon further investigation, the highest part of the building is simple a raised inner ceiling. When I entered the building, I was greeted by Rabbi Yosef Levanon and conducted to his office for my interview after a brief look around the synagogue, which did not include . The Rabbi seems to be a pleasant man who showed a great deal of patients in setting up and carrying out the interview. Through conducting the interview, I found that the Fayetteville, NC Beth Israel congregation had originally been given a charter as an Orthodox Jewish Faith. The Beth Israel Congregation was established in May of 1917. The first brick of foundation was not laid until 1922. This original Beth Israel Synagogue was at a location on Cool Spring Street in Fayetteville, NC. The building that is now the Beth Israel Congregation worship center was constructed on Morganton Rd. in 1950, and dedicated in December of that year. Growth through the years prompted expansion with the addition of classrooms and a sanctuary. In October of 1972, the congregation changed its by-laws and became a Conservative Congregation. In approximately 1995 or 1996, they began to include women in the aliyahs. This is the Law of Return in which any Jew may claim the legal right to assisted migration and settlement in Israel. This includes automatic citizenship (Wikipedia, 2008). In 1998, the congregation began including women in the minyan (a quorum of 10 men required for certain prayers) (Y.  Levanon, personal communication, August 6, 2008). My interview with Rabbi Levanon covered a number of other issues. When asked what the important holidays and traditions of Judaism are, the rabbi responded that the Sukkot, Purim, Passover, Sabbath, Shavot, Rosh Hashanah, and the Day of Atonement were all important to the Jewish faith. I then asked which he felt were the most important of these. He responded that the Passover and Day of Atonement were probably the most important. The rabbi maintains the position that Judaism has shaped his life in that it guides the way that he behaves, his thoughts, and how he relates to other people in everyday life. The biggest challenge that he or other Jews face is maintaining their own identity. The rabbi states, Like any other minority in a bigger culture, it is not easy for the minority to maintain their identity apart from the bigger culture. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that even though they struggle to maintain their distinct identities in a nation surrounded by other religions and influences, neither the rabbi nor and his family have experienced discrimination because of their religious preferences or practices. Rabbi Levanon seemed a little confused as to the specific identity of the Jewish people. When asked if he considers Judaism to be a religion, a race, a nationality, or a Jewish state, the rabbi stated that Judaism is a religion and a nationality. I again asked him if he considered Judaism to be a race, to which he replied, No. I then asked what race he would consider himself to be. He stated that he considers himself a Jewish Caucasian, meaning that he views Jewish is a race as well. In determining that the rabbi considers Judaism to be a race, I asked what his thoughts are on religious pluralism and if it has influenced members of the Jewish community. Considering that Jews are exposed to people of many different religious backgrounds all throughout the world, rabbi Levanon believe that such exposure may lead to some Jewish people being assimilated into the societies and religions to which they are exposed. Assimilation is something that the rabbi endeavors to avoid in order to main tain his own identity as a Jew. In order for the Jewish people to maintain their identity in the modern world, they must remain steadfast in their faith and practices. Another challenge to this is the interfaith movement. The rabbi supports the interfaith movement because it is a †¦good idea to have a dialog among people of different races to remove prejudice, to remove indifference, to remove misunderstandings. He does not believe that the interfaith movement requires that people of different faiths find a common religious ground, however. The rabbi states that, If you are a good person, you should be tolerant of other opinions (and) religious faiths. The interfaith movement provides for people of different faiths to come together in discussion to promote understanding, not commonality. Rabbi Levanon believes that there are many paths to the Divine, not a single path found by following any particular religion. The effect that the interfaith movement has on Jewish teachings deny the icons of other religious faiths, such as Jesus Christ or Muhammad, is to encourage members to be respectful of all religious beliefs and maintain open-mindedness about the opinions of others. They also teach that the Jewish people should respect the opinions carried by other faiths. As a testament to this open-mindedness, the Beth Israel Synagogue encourages interfaith marriage and has many such unions within its congregation. The congregation and leadership of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Fayetteville, NC feel a very close connection to Israel. In addition, they fully support the nation of Israel and believe strongly that the political climate in the United States can directly affect the national security of Israel. This is because Israel needs the international political support of the United States in order to maintain a positive image and protect itself from unprovoked attacks by its enemies. This is a true analysis considering that Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab or Islamic nations (Brumfield, n.d.), many of them hostile towards Israel. The tiny country of only 8,000 square miles is in a very precarious position. Clearly, Israel could not survive without strong Western allies. Since some of the most radical Islamic organizations and countries surround the nation of Israel, it seems fitting that Islam be the subject of comparison to Judaism. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, is an Abrahamic  religion (Brumfield, n.d.). This means that all three religions can trace their roots to Abraham. Islam teaches that Allah (the God of Islam) revealed His word to certain prophets. These prophets were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, with Muhammad being the last prophet of Allah. Muslims also believe that the Quran is flawless, indisputable, and the final revelation of Allah. Brumfield also states that Muslim teaching includes the belief that parts of the Gospels, the Torah, and the Jewish prophetic books have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers. Therefore, the original message has been corrupted over time, making the Quran a correction of Jewish and Christian Scriptures.Islam and Judaism are similar in many of their basic tenants. Bo th religions teach that there is only one God. In addition, both teach that God is strictly monotheistic being only one divinity and not plural. Both religions have similar teachings that God is all-powerful and non-corporeal, non-physical, and eternal. The Muslim faith states eternal as He never begot, nor was begotten. (Brumfield, n.d.). In addition, Islam and Judaism share the teachings that none is worthy of the offering of prayer except God. Both Judaism and Islam believe that there can be no intermediary to communication with God. Both religions teach that the word of the prophets are true, though they disagree on whom Gods final prophet was. Judaism holds the belief that Moses was the last prophet and the five books of Moses, known as the Torah, is the primary book guiding their faith, along with the written Talmud. Islam teaches that after Moses, Jesus Christ was a prophet, followed by the final prophet, Muhammad. Islam also teaches that the Quran is the final word of God, which they use to guide their faith. The Muslim and Jewish faiths have more differences in teachings than which book to follow, or what prophet(s) to believe in. Muslims also pray five times per day, as compared to the Jewish tradition of praying three times per day. The Muslim faith teaches that they are the chosen people of God. The Jewish faith teaches that they are the chosen people of God and there will come a Jewish Messiah (moshiach) to Earth, possibly to initiate a messianic era. The Jewish faith also teaches that each persons soul is pure at birth, but humanity is born with the propensity to do both good and evil. In contrast, Islam seeks to forbid what is evil (Nahi-anil-Munkar). Both  religions believe in a resurrection and pursuing the approval of God. While Judaism allows conversion to other religions, Islamic law forbids this and is punishable by death in many Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Pakistan, and Mauritania. Another major point of contrast between Judaism and Islam is the multiple times the Jewish people have been subjugated multiple times by other nations. After the reign of King Solomon ended in 927 BC (Schoenberg, 2008), Israel split into two separate kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. At separate times after this split, outside forces conquered both kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in the eighth century BC, and the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylonia in the sixth century BC. 70 years after this occurred, some Jews returned to Jerusalem following the downfall of Babylonia. The Romans later conquered them. During this time, the Roman Empire defeated two revolt attempts by the Jewish people. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD (Trueman, 2008), the Jews were again able to retake Jerusalem. In all, ownership of Jerusalem changed 17 times throughout the citys history. The nation of Israel itself was not established until three years after the end of World War 2. Before and during World War 2, the Jewish people were being imprisoned, tortured, then slaughtered by the millions by the Nazis of Germany as they sought to cleanse their territories of the so called non-Aryans who they believed to be lesser human beings than true Germans (Aryans) (Bankier, 2008). Repeated subjugation and near extermination. By the end of World War 2, German forces had killed an estimated 5.6 million to 5.9 million Jews, 1.2 million of which were children. The followers of Islam have not suffered anything remotely similar to this near genocide or the multiple conquerors that the Jewish people have endured. Another difference between Islam and Judaism is the radical factions within Islam that sponsor and conduct terrorist actions, bombing and rocket attacks on Israeli soil, and the goal of destroying Judaism altogether. Islamic nations such as Iran and Syria have dedicated resources towards the destruction of Israel. Despite the thousands of years of subjugation of the  Jewish people throughout history, and the near extermination of the Jewish race, Judaism has grown into one of the three largest religions in the world. The nation of Israel has become one of the strongest countries in the Middle East. Judaism is one of the most peaceful of the major world religions, only using military force to defend itself. In addition, much of the Jewish leadership has embraced the practice of working to foster understanding and respect between their religion and other religions throughout the world. Though Islam and Judaism share several common beliefs and a common root founder in Abraham, the religions are very different in terms of suffering by its people and levels of aggression by radical factions and governments alike. References Aliyah, (2008). Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 6, 2008, from Wikipediawebsite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AliyahBankier, D. (2008). Holocaust. In MSN Encarta [Web]. Retrieved August 6, 2008, fromhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559508/holocaust.htmlBrumfield, B. (n.d.). Islam. Retrieved August 6, 2008 from Israels Messiah website:http://israelsmessiah.com/religions/islam/beliefs.htmBrumfield, B. (n.d.). Palestinians: Israel, politically and geographically. Retrieved August 6,2008 from Israels Messiah website:http://www.israelsmessiah.com/palestinian_refugees/israel_vs_arabs.htmSchoenberg, S. (2008). Jewish virtual library: Solomon. Retrieved August 7, 2008 from theJewish virtual library website:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Solomon.htmlTrueman, C. (2008). History Learning Site, A History of Ancient Rome: The fall of AncientRome. Retrieved from the History learning site website:http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fall_of_ancient_rom e.htm

Importance Role Of Human Resource Management Business Essay

Importance Role Of Human Resource Management Business Essay A study on the importance role of human resource management (HRM) and its practices in multinational companies (MNCs) operation. This research proposal is to investigate on the roles of human resource management in operating a multinational business and how it is practicing in multinational companies. The roles and the practices of human resource management are the independent variables that determine the success of operation a multinational company. 1.0 Objectives: To investigate on the roles of human resource management in operating multinational companies. To investigate on the how human resource management is practicing in multinational companies. To investigate on whether there is significant influences between the practicing of human resource management and the operation of multinational companies. 2.0 Research Question: What are the roles of human resource management in managing multinational companies? How human resource management is practicing in multinational companies? How the practicing of human resource management influences the operation of multinational companies? 3.0 Introduction: There are four main elements needed to conduct a business, which are capital, land, labor and entrepreneur. A business cannot run smoothly with the absent of either one of the elements. Undisputedly, labor is the most important asset in conducting a business. The reason is the success or failure of a company is determined by the employees of the company, because the employee is the one create and undermine a companys reputation (Cliffs Notes, n.d.). Besides, according to human capital theory that developed by American economist Gary Becker, focus on the skills and performance of employees is important and it is one source of way to increase companys competitive advantage (Highbeam.com, 2007; Economy Professor, n.d.). Nowadays, companies foresee the important of employees well-being and interaction with companies, so, human resource management is being extremely important in dealing and interacts with representatives of all source of production (Buzzle.com, n.d.). Microsoft is the example company that realized the value and effectiveness of their employees. It is one of the richest and successful companies in the world that is employee-oriented companies (News and Technology, 2010). Human resource management (HRM) is the utilization of people within an organization is a function of broad range of dynamic factors (Gerald, R. Sherman, D. and Darold, T., 1995). It involves in employing people, designing and developing those related resource and fully utilise them to maximize the companys profit (Buzzle.com, n.d.). It also complement with the sole goal to motivate their employee to prove their ability and to add value to the company (Buzzle.com, n.d.). HRM is playing the central role of balancing the local and global force (Informaworld, n.d.). While helping in settle local differences, it also helping the multinational companies (MNCs) in implementing critical global strategies (Informaworld, n.d.). It provides significant support and advice to line management and carrying the important position in develop calibre employee to increase the competitive advantage of a company in multinational market (Management-Hub, 2010). 4.0 Significance of Study: This proposal is to study out the roles of human resource management and how it can be practicing in operating multinational companies. This information is helpful for the multinational companies to understand the important of human resource management and its influences on the operation of multinational companies. 5.0 Literature Review: There are more and more companies went into globalisation due to the benefits of the greater trade and competition, higher economic growth and etc. (Economics Helps, n.d.). However, there are high rate of failure when a company is dealing with the international firm or operating a business in multinational scale (All business, 2002). The reasons are mainly due to the different national and corporate culture and the difficulty of one control and deal with resources especially workforce in several firm and is in multinational scale (All business, 2002). The strategy of managing different workforce in different nation is varying. HRM in international is carrying more and complexity roles. However, the main and important function of HRM is still the managing of people but across national boundaries other than just the home country headquarters (HQ) (Highbeam.com, 2007; Economy Professor, n.d.). 5.1 Roles of Human Resource Management (HRM) in Multinational Companies There are various types of existence of MNCs in international business. There are terms such as Ethnocentric, Polycentric, and Geocentric used to denote the differences types of MNCs (Highbeam.com, 2000). The roles of HRM are different in different nation as well as different types of MNCs. The various roles of human resource management in multinational companies can mainly being categorized in to five main areas: 5.1.1 Recruitment and selection Recruitment is one of the HRM roles that carried out by managers in all types of concerns when the business activities are carried out (Management Study Guides, 2009). Recruitment is a process to discover sources of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing schedule and stimulating them to apply for job in an organisation (Gurpreet, R., 2007). However, in MNCs, the recruiting process must be carried out under further consideration of the adaptation of the culture, international rewards system, and the types of one MNCs exist, and etc. (Stuart, W. and Bronwen, R., 2004). For example, MNCs that practice Ethnocentric will fill the key position in subsidiaries by the employees in home country, however, for MNCs that are polycentric will recruit the host country nationals to manage the subsidiary in their own country and Geocentric MNCs recruit the suitable people regardless of their nationality (Stuart, W. and Bronwen, R., 2004). It is important to suit the recruiting process with the recruitment policies of the MNCs in order to add value to a MNCs operation. 5.1.2 Training and development Human resource management in international is also responsible for training and the development of employees. The quality and the development of employees improved through training and education is factoring that determining the profitability of a company in long-term (Zero Million, 2009). Training can increase the job satisfaction of the employees, reduce the turnover, and improve the performance and skills of employees and it is also the other way of motivation given to the employees that would benefit the companies in return (Management Helps, n.d.). In different types of MNCs there are different types of training for their employees. MNCs that are Polycentric is more likely to offer training that provides cultural awareness and personal flexibilities (Patricia, H., 2002; CiteHR.com, n.d.). For example, employees are sending for cross-cultural training, language training, environmental briefing and so forth. This would help them to adapt to the cultural and perform their job well (Stuart, W. Bronwen, R., 2004; Management Helps, n.d). On the other hand, for Ethnocentric MNCs, their training is more centralized (CiteHR.com, n.d.). 5.1.3 Remuneration Employees remuneration is the compensation or rewards that given by company to employees according to their performance. Remuneration is one way to motivate employees to perform effectively and efficiently (Management Study Guides, 2009). The remuneration in multinational companies is increasing complex due to the currency fluctuation, different HR staff remuneration policies and practices as well as the different labour law in different nation. Salary is the psychological needs of employees in the Maslow hierarchy needs (Ezine Article, 2010). It reflects also the performance of employees and determines their standard of living, while planning for the remuneration, the salaries of the employees especially for those transfers from other location must be considered (CiteHR.com, n.d.) The methods and scheme of remuneration is varied in different MNCs. The cost of remuneration for Ethnocentric MNCs will be high compare to Polycentric and Geocentric as it transfer the staffs from headquar ter (HQ) to fill the key position (CiteHR.com, n.d). 5.1.4 Labour relations The HRM department in MNCs is responsible not only for recruiting and firing but also contacting job references and administering employees benefits, such as subsidy in housing (Wisegeek, n.d.). The staff in HRM department must be act as people person to understand and identify individual employees needs and career goals in order to meet the matching processes; which is matching the needs of the organization and the needs of the employees (Buzzle.com, n.d.; Cliffs Notes, n.d.). In MNCs, there is complex employees mix in term of cultural, educational, religious and etc. Different types MNCs have different ways of interaction with the employees in order to solve the conflict as well as generate overall sense of belonging of employees to company (Associated content, 2009; Buzzle.com, n.d.). For instance, Ethnocentric MNCs have to avoid cultural myopia when interact with the employees, they have to understand the cultural and the labour right in order to comfort the employees, administer ing employees benefits and not to against the laws. (Stuart,W. Bronwen,R., 2004). 5.1.5 Initiative of workforce alignment to company objective Workforce alignment is a specific process that tying the employees goal to overall company objectives (Dresser Associate, 2006). This is important especially for MNCs that operate in different nations, the employees in different nation that shared the same goal is the main factors that push a company to next higher level of success as it accomplish the company business plan toward a much more realistic situation (Dresser Associate, 2006; Success Factors, 2010). Knowledge Infusion Research shows that, when employees know their contribution impact company success, both employees and company performance will increase (Dresser Associate, 2006). Communicating the company goals, collaboration of employee, strengthen accountability and employee engagement is important steps for workforce alignment (Success Factors, 2010). The practices of Ethnocentric MNCs are standardization, as the key position is hold by employees from HQ, it is easier for them to control and align their workforce, and h owever, polycentric that practicing localization may face problems of existence gap between HQ and subsidiaries staffs (Stuart,W. Bronwen,R., 2004).They may have to pay more efforts in aligning the workforces. Understanding and sharing the same company goals, collaboration and interaction of both HQ and subsidiary employees are important factors that bring MNCs to achieve company long-term goals (Success Factors, 2010). 5.2 The practicing of HRM in multinational companies Globalization and MNCs are two closely interlinked phenomena (Markus, P., 2007). MNCs is considered as the important key for globalization process, on the other hand, MNCs also needs to become more and more competitive in order to survive in globalized world economy (Markus, P., 2007). As the importance for MNCs to continue growing, there is central debate around management of MNCs which are to be standardization or localization (Markus, P., 2007). 5.2.1 Standardization vs Localization 5.2.1.1 Standardization Standardization is global integration of parent company policies and practices (Pawan S. Budhwar., 2004). It is also refers to the level of central coordination by the HQ to closely integrate the operation of subsidiaries in worldwide in order to achieve global efficiency through economies of scale (Markus, P., 2007). Many Japanese companies such as Canon, Toyota and Matsushita have traditionally emphasized on the standardization and efficiency (Markus, P., 2007). Another example is American MNCs IBM has a relatively standardized HRM practices for examples, in their recruitment and training process (Markus, P., 2007). According to institutional theory and perspective, there are three major factors that affect an organization to be standardization which are coercive isomorphism, mimetic isomorphism and normative isomorphism (Highbeam.com, 2007). Coercive isomorphism of MNCs is influence by a powerful constituency, such as government has imposed certain pattern on the organization that they have to follow. However, mimetic isomorphism is where the MNCs is in the situation of uncertainty adopt the pattern exhibited by the organization in their home country that is viewed as successful, and normative isomorphism is where the MNCs is affected by the professional organization that acts as the disseminators of appropriate organizational pattern in the environment (Highbeam.com, 2007). 5.2.1.2 Localization However, previous research shows that national cultural and institutional characteristic have limited the transfer of HRM practices (Harzing.com, 2007). The transfer of HRM practices to overseas subsidiaries is limited and might force the MNCs to localize their HRM practices (Harzing.com, 2007). Localization is the practices and policies of host countries is locally differentiate (IEE Explore, 2010). In other words, the subsidiary is acts and behaves as local and is different from the parent company. European companies such as Philips and Nestlà © are the proponent of localization (Markus, P., 2007). In order to survive in the nation, majority MNCs will adapt to the cultural and localize their practices. For example, the subsidiaries of American in German is practices not only the regulation but also the German concept of codetermination, if they do not adapt to the local practices, Wal-mart for example, they frequently suffer low performance (Markus, P., 2007). Another example is s ubsidiary of Canon in America tends to be more on the performance oriented in their incentives structure than the structure of parent company that emphasize on seniority (Markus, P., 2007). The opposing forces of standardization and localization are the challenge for HRM practices in MNCs operation, MNCs that able to strike the delicate balance between standardization and localization will have a good performance. 6.0 Methodology: Theoretical framework for this study: . Independent variables Dependent variable 7.0 Primary data collection: Generally, this primary data collection is going to be done to help achieve the objectives of this study. This primary data collection can be done by doing survey at multinational companies that locate in Penang, such as the world number one chipmakers Samsung Corporation, Dell Inc. and Toshiba Corporation. The reasons of choosing these three MNCs are to look into the HRM practices in MNCs that originated from three different countries based that operate in same industry. Samsung Corporation is the leader in Asia in producing LCD monitor that originated from Korea, Toshiba Corporation, is originated from Japan, a country that have inspiring management system and Dell from United State. A set of question comprising of 50 questions which involving multiple choices are given to the staffs involve in the human resources department, and managerial level of these three MNCs. The total respondents will be 100 staffs. The results that get from this survey will be analyzed by using Excel and presented in suitable form such as histogram, pie chart and etc. (2101 words)