Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Free Essays on Earning Ones Rights

The Concept of Earning One’s Citizenship Citizenship is defined as a being a citizen or a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state. Citizen preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people. The concept of which in one of its earliest was given to us by the Romans, who had just began to understand the importance of a populace contributing to the decisions of its own fate. Modern American citizenship as we know it today was defined for us in the constitution of this nation by the founding fathers. Citizenship as they had envisioned it even back then was not free, but came with a price. A citizen was expected to carry out certain civic duties and responsibilities such as the defense of the republic, participating in state and local government, and voting on affairs of the nation as a whole. Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunc h. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!† Given all the communication technology; receiving and sending information has never been easier, however civic involvement is at one if its lowest points in the past 100 years. Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote of her husband, that Theodore Roosevelt taught by precept and example that men owed something at all times, whether in peace or in war, for the privilege of citizenship and that the burden rest equally on rich and poor. He said that, no matter what conditions existed, the blame lay no more heavily on the politician and his machine controlling city, state, or nation, than on the shoulders of the average citizen who concerned himself so little with his government that he allowed men to stay in power in spite of his dissatisfaction because he was too indifferent to exert himself to get better men in office. In order to maintain such a jewel of democracy, a new s... Free Essays on Earning Ones Rights Free Essays on Earning Ones Rights The Concept of Earning One’s Citizenship Citizenship is defined as a being a citizen or a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state. Citizen preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people. The concept of which in one of its earliest was given to us by the Romans, who had just began to understand the importance of a populace contributing to the decisions of its own fate. Modern American citizenship as we know it today was defined for us in the constitution of this nation by the founding fathers. Citizenship as they had envisioned it even back then was not free, but came with a price. A citizen was expected to carry out certain civic duties and responsibilities such as the defense of the republic, participating in state and local government, and voting on affairs of the nation as a whole. Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunc h. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!† Given all the communication technology; receiving and sending information has never been easier, however civic involvement is at one if its lowest points in the past 100 years. Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote of her husband, that Theodore Roosevelt taught by precept and example that men owed something at all times, whether in peace or in war, for the privilege of citizenship and that the burden rest equally on rich and poor. He said that, no matter what conditions existed, the blame lay no more heavily on the politician and his machine controlling city, state, or nation, than on the shoulders of the average citizen who concerned himself so little with his government that he allowed men to stay in power in spite of his dissatisfaction because he was too indifferent to exert himself to get better men in office. In order to maintain such a jewel of democracy, a new s...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

5 Ways to Use Rest and Reflection to Make Learning Stick

5 Ways to Use Rest and Reflection to Make Learning Stick Memory is sticky. Rest is good for learning. These are two of the most recent findings about learning from the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (October 2014) by Margaret Schlichting, a graduate student researcher, and Alison Preston, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience. The study Memory Reactivation during Rest Supports Upcoming Learning of Related Content describes how the researchers gave participants given two learning tasks that required them to memorize different series of associated photo pairs. Between the tasks, participants could rest for several minutes and could think about anything they chose. Brain scans on participants who used that time to reflect on what they had learned earlier in the day did better on tests later. These participants also performed better with additional   information, even if the overlap pertaining to what they learned later was small. Weve shown for the first time that how the brain processes information during rest can improve future learning, said Preston, explaining that letting the brain wander to previous experiences helped solidify new learning. So how might educators use the information from this study? Educators who provide students the time to develop a secure grasp of content through rest and reflection give student brains an opportunity to increase synaptic transmission along the neural pathways that are tasked with a particular form of learning. Rest and reflection makes those transmissions connect to other background knowledge, and those connections become stronger, which means learning is more likely to stick.   For teachers wanting to take advantage of these findings in how brains work,   there are several different strategies to try that allow for reflections when new content is introduced: 1.Think-jot-pair-share: Give students several minutes to think about new learning beginning with the simplest question, â€Å"What do I already know about this new content and how can that help me better understand?† This is the â€Å"rest† period, so give students time to think first without writing.Give students time to reflect and jot down their responses   (doodle, map, outline, notes). This is the reflection period.Have students pair or group and share their responses with each other.Have each pair or group share out what they already know and how this knowledge might help them. 2. Reflective journaling: Reflective journaling is a practice where students are provided time to think deeply and write about a learning experience. This involves the student writing about: What happened (positive and negative);Why it happened, what it means, how successful it was;What the student (personally) learned from the experience. 3. Mindmapping: Give students time to think (rest period) as they use the powerful cognitive strategy that combines graphics and   spatial awareness have students start in the center of a piece of paper and use a central image that is connected to new learningHave students branch out in lines and add additional images that are related to the central imageMake the lines curved and encourage the use of color to make the mind map Limit the number of words to one per line 4. Exit Slip This strategy requires students reflect on what they have learned and express what or how they are thinking about the new information by answering a   prompt given by the teacher. Providing time for students to think first,this strategy is an easy way to incorporate writing into many different content areas.    Examples of exit slip prompts: The most important thing I learned today was†¦Summarizing what I learned in 20 words:I need help with†¦I would like to learn about†¦My   understanding of today’s topic from 1-10 is a ___ because,..... 5. The 3,2,1,bridge This routine can be introduced by having students do an initial 3, 2, 1 set of reflections individually on paper.    Before new content is introduced, students are asked to  write down 3 thoughts, 2 questions, and 1 compare or contrast statement on a topic that will be taught;After the topic is introduced, students complete another 3,2,1 3 thoughts, 2 questions, and 1 compare/contrast statement or analogy;  Students then share both their initial and new thinking and draw a bridge between the before new learning and after new learning. The share the bridge with other students. Whatever strategy is selected, educators that provide time for rest and reflection when new content is introduced are educators that allow students to use their prior knowledge or memories to make new learning stick.  Spending the time for reflection with any of these strategies when new material is introduced will mean that students will need less time for reteaching later.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Study on the cost management of construction project during Essay

Study on the cost management of construction project during construction phrase - Essay Example ty of managing costs in construction projects is undeniable since all projects are limited by resources which includes the money to be spent for the project. As such, construction cost management is very significant in the construction industry. In this regard, construction costs is understood as the expense incurred by a contractor for labor, material, equipment, financing, inflation, contingency, plus overheads and contractors profit. Being such, the role of construction costs in the project in particular and in the construction industry in general is of primary significance. Thus, studies and development of theories that will enable the contractors, experts and scholars further understand the concept are continuously undertaken. In this regard, they have come up with the different types of costs namely, earned value cost, actual cost and cost budget all of which intends to guide the user as to what is the standing of the costs of the project from the beginning until the end. These different types of costs involve the following elements: labour, material, equipments, financing, contingency, overheads and others like VAT. Moreover, cost is affected by the following: project duration, project schedule change, resources consumption, price fluctuation, project quality, inflation, project scope, rework, worker injuries, delivery approach, and management practise. The numerous factors that affect construction costs make the nature of construction costs unique, dynamic and undeniably complex. As such, several theories are proffered in order to elucidate and direct the management regarding the control of costs. These are: earned value analysis, life cycle costing analysis, and value engineering. However, it should b e noted that as the concern regarding costs pervades the entire project, there is a necessity to focus only on certain aspects of costs in the project so as not to conflate the discussion. And as mentioned , the entire project zeroes in on construction

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The FMC Corporation Green River Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The FMC Corporation Green River - Coursework Example The FMC Corporation Green River specializes in chemicals while one of its sister plant at Aberdeen deals with the manufacture of guided missile canisters for the U.S. Navy. These are two far apart industries. The facility moreover possesses numerous product lines making it able to successfully satisfy its global market share. The fact that the plant's employees are members of the United Steel Workers of America is in itself a tremendous motivation. Moreover, the plant does business under FMC corporate strategies, thereby enjoying considerable flexibility in how it runs its businesses (Carter, 1999).Looking at the sister plant of FMC at Aberdeen, one notices some difference between the two FMC Corporations. The FMC Aberdeen plant is younger and smaller than The FMC Corporation Green River and quite different in that its management is at its bare minimum basically because most of the work is done by self-steered work groups as opposed to the massive, older Green River, Wyoming facility , which is operating in totally a different industry, as earlier established (Carter, 1999).Not withstanding the differences existing between the two plants, the Green River Wyoming facility plant manager is trying to evaluate whether the extraordinary management approach at Aberdeen would suit his facility and be able to emulate a few management approaches (Carter, 1999).... The intention here is to identify the type of organizational design that will best suit the Wyoming facility (Carter, 1999). In analyzing the organizational design of FMC Corporation's Green River, Wyoming facility, it is crucial to match the structure of the organization as closely as possible to the objectives of the organization. The design process attempts to advance and facilitate the efforts of members within the organization. Therefore in connection to FMC Corporation's Green River, Wyoming facility, under the capable leadership of the establishment's site manager, Kenneth Dailey, the organizational plan should be considered as an internal change within the organization and at the same time attempt to encourage all its members to work in unity so as to define the wishes of the organization and then finally come up with structures aimed at accomplishing the said wishes most effectively (Carter, 1999). Considering the purpose of FMC Green River, in Wyoming, which is to mine and manufacture sodium carbonate soda ash, its design should be in conformity to this key function. For this reason, it will be prudent for this facility to maintain its status as the largest sodium carbonate soda ash plant in the world, since it relies on the coal and natural gas abundant in the Wyoming basin (Carter, 1999). Alternatives and Recommendations The alternatives open to FMC Green River, in Wyoming, are basically to patent with other companies in the sodium production process. The company can also utilize some of its existing infrastructure, and obtain a continuous revenue flow from the sale of the sodium. It is also well known that Green River has the world's largest reserves of trona mineral, which is mined and processed onsite. This, in addition to abundant supplies

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Environmental Pollution Essay Example for Free

Environmental Pollution Essay Los Angeles, California have been experiencing a growing population within our city. The growing population in this city has caused an increased pressure on the infrastructure and natural resources that are beginning to affect our environment. The expansion of the city has cut deeper into the rural areas that are causing problems to the environment, such as a loss in our wetlands, water pollution, biological habitats, and air pollution. The cause of the growing population has led to a high density of factories, automobiles, and commercial enterprises in Los Angeles. The population growth is beginning to create many environmental problems that are giving Los Angeles economic, and environmental consequences. Theresa Carter, an associate-level environmental scientist, has suggested four measurements of the city council for addressing the pollution management. She has suggested to Encouraging alternative transportation, walking, and bicycle use, Promoting fuel-efficient cars, Improving roads, and Encouraging carpooling. The encouragement of alternative transportation is great on the earth environment and the health of human beings. The improvement of better roads can also improve the transportation of people, reduce cars accidents, and can allow people to compost what was used. Compost helps improve soil, so it holds more water and plants grow better. Carpooling is a very effective climate change, because it allows one car to be used to carry different people to work and other places. For instance, eight people wanted to drive their car from Los Angeles to Apple valley. Los Angeles is an hour and a half drive away. Instead of using eight different cars and spending money on  eight different fossil fuels to fuel their cars, one person can use a van to carry all the co-worker to one location saving, hundreds of dollars and used of savable fossil fuels. When people use walking, bicycling, and carpooling at least twice a week it can cut the greenhouse gas emission at 1,600 pound per year. The promotion of fuel efficient vehicles allows the waste of fuel not to be used and helps protect the future cost of fossil fuels. When humans trade a car for a bicycle, it do not only improve their and the ecosystem health, It allows humans to fight obesity and rely on other ways to get around. Some persons may argue that fuel efficient cars are a great expense, but it can also be a significant improvement to get their health in order. It can do this by removing pollution from the air and gathering into their lungs. Bicycling is exercise, and many people have become obese by sitting around and driving, while not doing nothing to benefit their health. Pedestrian crashes are more than twice as likely to occur in areas without sidewalks; streets with sidewalks on both sides have the fewest crashes. Streets without safe places to walk, cross, catch a bus, or bicycle put people at risk. Over 5,000 pedestrians and bicyclists died on U.S. roads in 2008, and more than 120,000 were injured (Reynolds, C, p. 22, 2009). Improvements of new roads and fuel efficient cars can be a massive expense, but the is an excellent conservation of people lives, and deter of greenhouse gases being released. Better decision making on environmental issues, allow people to make a better decision to live life on earth for a longer existence. The way the Earth works is to create and recreate, not for human to produce and destroys nature natural habitat. The following quote â€Å"Decision-making about environmental issues necessitates the maintenance of a good balance between the effectiveness of measures and the public reaction towards them.† In Theresa opinion mean that if human makes a valid decision on the thing that he or she find necessary, meaning something they can not live without Only then will they know how to keep the earth and its environment clean, and the general will began to follow. When the public sees the response of them destroying the environment personally, they can take the appropriate measure it take to have others combined with the contribute to restoring and  maintain a clean environment. Los Angeles economic and environmental hazard can become improved by encouraging alternative transportation, walking, and bicycle use, promoting fuel-efficient cars, improving roads and encouraging carpooling. Many hazards come from the emission of fossil fuels from the engines of cars, by implementing the use of people not using their cars or making fuel efficient vehicles, it helps improve the inconvenience use of vehicles. When the growth of population becomes larger, more people require unnecessary materialistic items, like cars, technology, and material that cut into the field and push down trees from growing. Animals start to get pushed out their habitats, and the earth begin to become small on their environmental structure. If Los Angeles complete or clean up their street, it may cost a profit, but it is a reduction in car accidents, better bicycling paths for bicyclist, and a cleaner environment so humans can respect and take care. Reference: Analysis shows promoting fuel efficient cars will keep fuel costs from draining illinois economy. (2011). Entertainment Close Up, Retrieved September 14, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/864596179?accountid=458 Botkin, D.B. and Keller,E.A. 2010. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet 7th Edition. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons. Reynolds, C., et al. (2009). â€Å"The Impact of Transportation Infrastructure on Bicycling Injuries and Crashes: A Review

Friday, November 15, 2019

Colonial America Essay -- essays research papers

Religious Freedom in colonial America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Religion was a very important part of everyday life in colonial America. Sometimes people were not allowed to question what they were taught, and if they did so they were punished accordingly. Before 1700 some colonies had more religious freedom then others. While others colonies only allowed religious freedom to a select group, others allowed religious freedom to all different kinds of religions. In the overall there was quite a bit of religious freedom in colonial America   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First there is the colony or Rhode Island, which was started by a man, named Roger Williams in (1636). It did not become an official colony until (1644) when it then received a charter from Parliament. Williams welcomed every one; he guaranteed religious freedom to everyone even the Catholics and the Jews. Williams also granted religious freedom to the Quakers, even though his own views were very different from those of the Quakers. This was truly the most democratic of all of the colonies. Williams did not demand mandatory attendance at services, or oaths regarding religious beliefs. Rhode Island was truly the first example of religious tolerance and freedom of opportunity. Second there is the colony or Pennsylvania (1681). Pennsylvania was founded by an English man named William Penn. At first, Pennsylvania guaranteed religious freedom to all residents of the colony. Later on however, London started givi...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

JetBlue Airways: Starting from Scratch Essay

Before David Neeleman’s non-compete agreement with Southwest Airlines expired, he envisioned the concept of starting a low-fare airline that would combine common sense, innovation, and technology and bring the humanity back into air travel (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). In 1998, JetBlue was born. In order for David to fulfill his goal of a â€Å"do-it-right† kind of airline, he needed to recruit superior industry veterans who were willing to start from scratch and place an emphasis on employees and customers. Each of these individuals, from the President, General Counsel, CFO, and the HR director, wanted to create an airline that was fun, had integrity, was safe, and cared for their employees, plus had a passion to get it right (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When JetBlue hired Ann Rhoades away from Southwest Airlines, she brought with her, her experience on how to set up the rules and regulations that JetBlue would use to manage its personnel. During JetBlueâ€⠄¢s beginning operations, they relied upon five core values that were emblematic of the main characteristics of the company (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). These values included safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion. Taking into consideration these five values, JetBlue used the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) acts to determine how, where, when, and which employees would join JetBlue as team members. In order for JetBlue to become successful, they needed to abide by the equal employment opportunity laws that formed a structured path that would enable the HR department to defend their decisions legally, if challenged. JetBlue started with high integrity standards and, to this day, continues to sustain these high standards (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When hiring or dealing with personnel issues, some of the EEO acts that JetBlue references on a daily basis include the following: the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the 1972 amendment to that act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, amended in 1978 and 1986,  the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1 990, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004, and the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, amended January 1, 2004 (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s main priority is the safety of its passengers and employees. In order for JetBlue to provide safety for all of its employees, they referenced the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA, 2001) guidelines for general duty that specifically state that the employer needs to provide a safe and healthy environment for the employees to work, free from loud noises, hazards, falling and sharp objects, and containing breathable air. These are a few areas of concern for JetBlue that relate to the well-being of their employees. In addition to the noted areas, their mechanics, ground crew and pilots have received continuous training on wearing ear protection when on the tarmac at the airport. This training also provides for the ground crew to place chocks under the wheels, florescent cones for the perimeters around the plane and information on other safety gear to prevent accidents. The ground crew needs to be able to read, write and be fluent in English in order to pr ocess all safety information regarding their jobs and other areas and peers who work for JetBlue. Mechanics also have strict safety guidelines that they need to adhere to when providing maintenance to the aircraft. The most important guideline is to ground the airplane, so no static electricity will build up and discharge, causing an explosion or damage to the electronics on the plane. Pilots also have a laptop that they do safety checks with on all the systems of the airplane before takeoff (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s HR department tailored each job and its wage and benefit structure to meet the needs of the individual who was hired for a specific job. When the HR department analyzed industry-standard for wages and benefits, they saw a â€Å"one-size-fits-all† attitude toward industry employees, which did not meet their expectations or standards (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s strategy was to listen to their employees, and by judging the reply from their employees to the questions, they set up a customized wage and benefits packag e for each employee, tailored just for him or her. By giving the  employees a choice, this allowed them to be part of the decision-making team and to fulfill a desire from the employee to be heard. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 played a significant role in JetBlue’s structuring of its wages and benefits. This act is to equalize pay between genders at the same location. There are a couple of exceptions. One exception is that different parts of the country have different wages and cost-of-living structures, which is taken into account when hiring, and the wages are adjusted accordingly. Also, within the structure of wages, JetBlue investigated all jobs within the industry and made sure that they paid above the pay grade of each job specification (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When word spread throughout the industry that JetBlue was paying better than the other airlines, most positions had hundreds and sometimes thousands of applicants. When they offered part-time call center reservation help and paid a dollar more per hour than most agencies, their only ad for reservation help provided them with a waiting list of over 2500 applicants. Many people wanted to work for JetBlue, but many would be denied because they were not a perfect fit in regards to the five core values of JetBlue, and some new hires were even let go because they didn’t live up to the values set forth by JetBlue’s management team (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Amended in 1978 and 19 86, are two acts that deal with age. The Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act deals with the retirement age of pilots who fly commercially for all American airlines (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA], 2007). As stated in the act, pilots who fly domestic flights can fly until their 65th birthday. If they are international flight pilots, only one pilot can be up to 65 while the other flight crew member must be below 60 years of age. This law was enacted because so many pilots were reaching retirement age and new pilots were becoming scarce. Congress took it upon themselves to write the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots act so that pilots who were close to the retirement age of 60 years old could continue to fly for another five years. This was backed up by medical professionals who stated that there was only a slight risk in health issues by allowing these pilots to continue to fly five more years. JetBlue has instituted a program to train new pilots, making sure that their fleet is continuously running. In the next 10 years, there will be a deficit, about  85,000 airline pilots. JetBlue’s mission for their pilots is extensive training and providing safe and caring service. This act helps JetBlue retain some of their senior pilots and allows them to be diversified over a greater period of time (FAA, 2007). The best external recruitment tool that JetBlue used was selecting pilots who had a high degree of computer knowledge and also fit the conditions of the core values of JetBlue (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). A pilot who enjoys his job will tell his other pilot friends, who work for other airlines, about the benefits he received when hired at JetBlue. One of these benefits, was the paid training to learn to fly the Airbus A320, a $30,000 investment on the part of JetBlue to attract skilled and qualified pilots. Most people will not recommend someone unless they are going to be beneficial to the company. An employee does not want someone to tarnish his reputation with the company for referring a person who will not measure up. In the first year, after the hiring of pilots, they had to release 20 from JetBlue due to lack of living the core values (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Most times it is a balancing act on who will actually be a good employee or not. On the one hand you have several pilots that conform to the mission of JetBlue and then you have a few bad apples that must be purged due to the fact they did not live up to each core value: safety, integrity, caring, fun and passion. The benefit to JetBlue are pilots who are willing to do a good job and understands that the ultimate goal is safety. Once a pilot loses his vision of the core values is when JetBlue and the pilot parts company. This could cause a few issues with keeping planes in the air if a majority of pilots were disgruntled with JetBlue (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When JetBlue started to hire their Flight Attendants, the developed three distinct categories for them. One was for college students that only lasted for a year, to gi ve them some experience, fun and travel (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Another was job-sharing, this scenario allowed two people to share a job and would allow them to balance both job and home life equally. Lastly, JetBlue offered regular full-time employment but with a twist. For Flight Attendants who worked less than 70 hours per month they would be paid a dollar more than industry standard, for those who worked more than 70 hours per month would be paid $30 per hour. JetBlue targeted colleges to recruit able bodied college students who were over 21, wanted to travel, have fun, and represented the company’s core values (Gittel &  O’Reilly, 2001). As far as the Flight Attendants, these jobs were just temporary type positions to only last between one and five years. The benefit of this position is what JetBlue would always be rotating new staff to keep the front line employees fresh but also the bad thing about this would be always constantly hiring for Flight Attendants (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). One of the best internal recruitment methods that JetBlue has available to itself is the employee database (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). This database allows manager s to see the capabilities and also who is qualified for the desired position. The employee database tracks many aspects of an employee’s career within the company such as how many days they were sick, on-time performance, over time, knowledge of the firm and its policies and procedures. Too many promotions from within results and a lack of creativity, this is why you need a balance of 80/20 of people you would promote from within. The 80% of employees would give you exceptional talent, along with 20% who would give you new ideas and the creativity to look outside the box (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Another internal method of recruitment is a physical listing placed on a board in various areas of the company, for instance including a job advertisement on an employee break room bulletin board. One of the best external recruitment methods that JetBlue uses to hire new pilots is employee referrals. Many of the pilots who fly for JetBlue are satisfied and happy because the airline covers the extensive training to fly the A320. Most pilots who are refer red to JetBlue have extensive skills in computers and are comfortable with the laptop and are the best in the field. An employee would not want to refer somebody if they were a poor candidate and have that come back on them (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Virtual job boards (such as Indeed, Hot Jobs, Monster, Career Builder) are another strong external recruitment method used by companies, as is social media, where companies have taken to looking for employees through forms of social media like Facebook and Linkedin. When JetBlue started to hire people they took into consideration the five core values as a guide to make sure that each employee was the right fit for the company (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). These core values were used as a template to judge people’s responses for desirable and undesirable behaviors. Pilots were asked to tell of an example where they were to describe a situation where a customer request went against company policy and the way that they  had resolved that issue. When mechanics were interviewed they were asked to think back when they work for another emp loyer where â€Å"integrity† was a factor in their job. One example, was a mechanic who is prepping the plane for an international flight notice that the compliance and safety of the plane was not to standards. Management pressured him to sign off, but ultimately he refused to comply with management’s request to authorize the flight, which delayed the flight. Management fired the mechanic for noncompliance. On the other hand, JetBlue hired this individual for his unwavering integrity (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s goal was a diverse, selected and knowledgeable employee base that would ensure all applicants were the perfect fit before anyone was hired. People from all walks of life wanted to work for JetBlue, this included college students, the average Joe, housewives, professionals, and your everyday person looking for job (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s interviewing criteria was lengthy with multiple interviews. All interviewers had to approve/sign off the job offer to each candidate that passed scrutiny. The main goal in making the potential employees go through this process was to find the employees that were â€Å"not just looking for a place to work† but an employee that wanted to be a part of a company that would recognize them as a person and not just a number. A happy and content employee is an employee who will go above and beyond t he call of duty and are more likely to stay and work for the company for years (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Performance appraisal systems are to help managers/management evaluate how well work was carried out and how it measured up with regards to the corporate goals (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). These appraisals give the necessary feedback to managers in a concise way that measures the adaptability, judgment, appearance, and attitude of the employees, team members and/or groups being evaluated, this lends itself to identifying where the successes and gaps of the developed plan needs to be revised. This type of communication, if used properly, can enhance how each manager interacts with a subordinate and how the employee receives beneficial enhancement actions to better improve him/herself on how to achieve the company’s goals (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When setting up the performance appraisal system, there are external and internal factors that can affect the appraisal process. Among these are federal regulations that specifically target nondiscriminatory actions. In one such case, a  company was ruled against, by a federal judge, because there was sufficient evidence that indicated the use of age bias and age-based policies throughout their performance appraisal against a protected age group. Organizations must avoid any appraisal systems that targets a protected group (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Unions are often an external factor in performance appraisal systems. Most unions are set in tradition and stress seniority over any other basis for promotion or pay increase. Union can demand that a union member be promoted or given a pay increase just because he/she was there for so many months or years, not based on the idea that the person was doing his or her job and enhanced the company’s goals. Fortunately, JetBlue gave its employees the opportunity to voice their opinions and be heard, staving off a union formation (Mondy, 2012). Corporate culture is the greatest internal influence for a performance appraisal system. Many corporations find that if they want to attain employee engagement, they must give an employee a voice to effect change within their department or organization. JetBlue has this ability as they are constantly talking with their ground crew, flight attendants, pilots, and service personnel to get feedback on how well each employee in the company is doing to achieve its goal (Mondy, 2012). Many other factors that influence the evaluations of employees are as follows: 1. Leniency error – this is where the evaluator has his own set of values and rules that he assigns to set the standards by which the employee will be judged (Mondy, 2012). 2. Halo/horn error – this is where employees are judged myopically with enhanced performance reviews and horn is just the opposite, where they are judged with a negative performance review and not on their whole work performance (Mondy, 2012). 3. Similarity error – is when in an evaluator imprints his self onto the employees, ma king those employees seem like the evaluator (Mondy, 2012). 4. Low appraiser motivation – this is when an evaluator knows that this will harm the chances for the employee to receive a promotion, so they may give a false appraisal (Mondy, 2012). 5. Central tendency – this is where the evaluator gives medium appraisal’s to all employees and fails to recognize any with exceptional skills (Mondy, 2012). 6. Appraiser discomfort- this happens when a manager has difficulty in executing the appraisal system. Often times, this makes it stressful for him and the employee, and sometimes results in negative feelings toward the  company and manager from the employee’s perspective (Mondy, 2012). 7. Objectivity error – this is where an evaluator rates an employee by personal attributes, such as attitude, appearance, and personality and disregards other performance appraisal factors (Mondy, 2012). 8. Recent behavior bias – this is when an evaluator rates an employee’s behavior in the last couple weeks rather than throughout the year (Mondy, 2012). 9. Manipulation of the evaluation – evaluators control the appraisal system which allows for manipulation of said system (Mondy, 2012). When you take into account the above list of factors on a standard method of evaluation methods, there is more than one way a supervisor, manager or management can deem the employee worthless, berate him/her, praise, and/or not promote or give a raise. JetBlue has eliminated this by setting up a 360-degree feedback evaluation method, where it is not just one person’s responsibility to dictate who or when someone gets a raise, but rather, a group of the employee’s peers, supervisors, management, and sometimes, even customers give their feedback on how to give that person a helping hand, instead of beating them down with criticism (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). This system utilizes multiple methods of evaluation such as a rating scale, collaborative, 360 – degree assessment, critical incident, essay, work standards, ranking, forced distribution, behaviorally anchor rating scale, and results-based. These are a few methods that are used to determine how the employ ee integrates with the team. After all surveys or questionnaires are tabulated, they are presented to the appropriate manager or management team. The management team will go over the survey and isolate habits that have formed and put into place systems to enhance constructive ways to bring change to an individual in a positive manner. The purpose of this is to highlight the behaviors needing correction and praise areas that the employee excels in within the team atmosphere (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Performance reviews of yesteryear were usually done by the supervisors in charge of the employees. Today, up to 90% of Fortune 500 companies use some sort of 360-degree feedback evaluation. JetBlue also uses an appraisal process called â€Å"the 320-degree process† which, reflects their fleet of A320 aircraft. JetBlue and other companies that use the 360-degree programs utilize the results for training, conventional applications, succession planning, and professional development (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Eliminating or reducing errors in  the appraisal system was the goal for the 360 ° evaluation. This app raisal system provides a more unilateral assessment of a person’s character, integrity, adaptability, and performance. Also, shifting the evaluation from a manager to a whole group of peers allows for less errors as stated above and also giving the company a better chance of fighting a claim of unfairness, discrimination or any other legal issue that should arise because of an unhappy employee (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The ultimate goal of the 360-degree evaluation method is to give the whole organization (i.e., employee, supervisor, management, customers, peers) a way to give a constructive critique for improvement (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Another advantage to a 360-degree feedback evaluation system are to evaluate employees, managers, supervisors, and administration with surveys or rating cards which are handed out to peers, customers, team members, managers, the employee, and administration. When the evaluations are complete and totaled, the management team evaluates how to help the employee and/or management towards personal or professional growth (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001) . This places the employee as the key intention of this appraisal. Actually, when both parties go over the evaluations, the employee can see that this process is not about evaluation, is for career and professional development. Bringing forth, an employee who will dedicate to improving his self-worth to the company. For management, this also proves an ideal way for managers to improve training techniques that will foster growth within the individual and organization (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Additionally, this type of feedback method also highlights the areas where the company’s training needs improving or enhancement to provide better solutions to the training for the company’s goals (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). When David Neeleman started the process to create JetBlue, he brought on several people that he thought would benefit the company. After, many strategy meetings, they came up with their five main goals: safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion. In order, for JetBlue, to maintain their five main goals they needed a system that would allow every person in the company to have a voice (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The preliminary management team was concerned about how they were going maintain the fun in the organization, while maintaining a safe and productive atmosphere, along with how to get all the necessary feedback to their questions. Also, they wanted to provide a convenient and  cost-effective way to satisfy their customers as they grew while maintaining the small company feel. When you look at the case study, Ann Rhodes, Executive vice president for people, was in charge of making a values-based culture to attract, develop and maintain a rapid growth achievement in personnel (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The 360-degree feedback evaluation would give the organization the needed tools to set up their training model that would express their goals and allow them to foster change quickly and decisively to achieve this scenario. Mr. Dave Barger, the COO, wanted to create a spirit within the company that was fun for both the crew and customers. His ultimate mission was to focus on the people and to keep the company union free. Ms. Rhodes agreed with Mr. Dave Barger. They set up teams that were fluid instead of having major work rules in place that hampered the communication between management and employees or vice versa (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The ability to pay is the most significant factor when it comes to financial compensation. JetBlue compensates its employees over and above the competitive rate, which attracts highly skilled individuals (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). The performance of an employee is a factor in compensation. If an employee does well and is motivated, this will be noticed by his employer. Resulting in better compensation (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Most companies are looking for experience this too is another factor in compensation. Experience gives the necessary tools to senior employees to handle difficult situations with leadership and performance. Many executives do not need tr aining and can meld into the job and hit the ground running (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Many companies hire young, ambitious employees with potential. Potential is another factor. They determine how much compensation is warranted by the perceived potential represented by the individual (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Today, most companies are looking for employees with seniority. Seniority is a key factor in financial compensation. The longer the employee is on the job, the more salary he or she receives a handsome salary and benefits package. This is due to the ability to multi-task within the organization (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Job requirements are a factor for compensation. A job that requires specific skills, that happen to be risky or hazardous and have tremendous responsibility, will heighten the wages of the job (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). As organizational strategy, JetBlue excelled at this  factor for compensation. JetBlue wanted rapid growth and also set higher wages than their competitors (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Discretionary benefits are a deemed gift from the company to the employee. One of these benefits is paid vacations. Vacations from a job, help rest and reinvigorate the crew members and employee so their production does not waiver (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). A growing number of companies have grouped sick time, vacation, and personal days together to form what is known as paid time off (PTO). This is a simpler way of keeping track and helping streamline the administration of days off and eliminates most of the excuses people give to get out of work. This benefit is highly praised by employees (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). On-site healthcare is becoming popular with many employers to help reduce healthcare costs (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). On-site healthcare provides assistance with minor illnesses, injuries, physical therapy, vaccinations, and follow-up care. When employers provide these types of clinics, they it helps to eliminate trips to the emergency room or the doctor’s office which can cost considerably higher (Gittel & Oâ€℠¢Reilly, 2001). Many companies see a great benefit with these on-site healthcare clinics because after implementation, the return on investment is approximately 2.5 to 1 on cost savings (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Dental and vision care have recently become popular as a discretionary employee benefit. Most employers pay for this benefit with maybe a deductible paid by the employee. Employers believe that if their employees have a nice smiling face and eyes they can see out of, they will be happier employees (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). JetBlue’s goal was to listen to the employees regarding what type of benefits they wanted and never to say no. JetBlue either met or exceeded the industry standard when it came to discretionary benefits (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Most full-time employees received the following benefits: medical, 401k, profit sharing, double time pay for holidays, and personal time off. Many of the flight attendants received medical coverage plus an additional $500 in pay to help compensate for living in NY. Pilots, dispatchers and technicians were provided with stock options. Pilots got paid training benefits and laptops for checking documents for the certification to fly the A320 Airbus (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). Customer Service agents and ground  crew were paid a dollar more than any other crew at their airport and shift differentials. Many part-time employees received the following benefits: medical, 401K, profit-sharing and double pay if they worked holidays. All benefits started from day one because Ms. Rhodes felt that a probationary period was demeaning to the employee (Gittel & O’Reilly, 2001). References Mondy, R.W. (2012). Human resource management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Gittell, J.H., & O’Reilly, C. (2001). JetBlue airways: starting from scratch [PDF]. Retrieved from http://people.westminstercollege.edu/faculty/mkoerner/00_courses/mba_650_spr_06/jetblue_airways_starting_from_scratch.pdf Occupation Safety and Health Administration. (2001). OSH Act of 1970. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=OSHACT&p_toc_level=0 Federal Aviation Administration. (2007). FAA Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=10072