the metamorphosis Essays (852 words) - Absurdist Fiction

Theme of Change in being Alienated Society can often be a harsh and terrible place to live in. Some desire separation from society to a certain level, while for others, alienation in any form is their greatest fear. In Franz Kafka?s The Metamorphosis, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, experiences several levels of alienation, which are pre-metamorphosis, physical, and psychological. Gregor?s pre-metamorphosis alienation is a result of his feelings toward his surroundings. As given in the information provided by the text, the reader relates to Gregor?s life as being lonely, boring, and unrealistic. His mother mentions that ?he never goes out at nights; he?s been in the town for a week now, but stayed home every evening (Kafka10). This indicates that Gregor is very antisocial and most likely does not have friends to spend time with. However, a picture of a woman from a magazine that Gregor framed and hung on his wall may express his desire to have a social life and perhaps love a woman. He also dislikes but is committed to his job, which he needs to support his mother, father, and sister. He states, ? If I didn?t have my parents to think about I?d have given my notice a long time ago, I?d have gone up to the boss and told him just how I feel (Kafka 3). Gregor was not happy with his life and false expectations from the people who he was surrounded by, which grew i nside of him till the time his family have reached their limits and finally destroyed him. Occurring in the beginning of the text, Gregor is transformed into an insect, which physically alienates him from society. This type of alienation is probably the most obvious throughout the book which mainly takes place in Gregor?s bedroom, where it is difficult for him to open the doors, let alone get out of bed. He is separated from his family and the chief clerk by the walls in the rooms. Gregor?s new change has given him several tiny legs, making it difficult for him to get around, which was evident when his father began chasing him around the house. Gregor had to admit that he would not be able to keep up with this running for long, for whenever his father took one step. Gregor had to make countless movements. Perhaps even more restrictive than his limited mobility, Gregor physically could not communicate with others. He was also psychologically alienated as a result of his lack of communication. Though he has become an insect, he is still experiencing human emotions. For example, ?whenever the conversation turned to the importance of earning money, Gregor would let go of the door and throw his self down on the leather sofa which stood beside it, for he felt shame and grief.? He feels these emotions because he has lost the role as the sole provider of the family, however, his inability to do anything for others isolates him. Another example is when his sister, Grete, wants to move furniture out of his room with the presumably good intention of giving him more space. Though he would indeed have been more comfortable and had more space, he did not want his furniture moved out, probably because he didn?t want to completely separate himself from his previous human existence. Gregor also f elt alienated when no one would visit him in his room. Even when Grete came to into his room she thought that he had flown away, but she soon realized he did not. She slammed the door but later regretted that she had done that to her brother. She didn?t even want to hold the milk container with her hands; she used a cloth (Kafka 27-28). In a way, Gregor Samsa was alienated from society before his change even took place. I think most people have been in a situation in which they want to be exiled from society, whether that feelings is from embarrassment, depression, fear or other emotions. The difference in Gregor?s case is that he was removed from society on extreme levels. Rather than simply disappearing from people for a period of time, he was isolated from them while also coexisting. His complete alienation was primarily a

This essay discribes the roman bathing system.

This essay discribes the roman bathing system. Many Romans visited the Thermae or the public baths, as we know them. Bathing was a very important in Italy, as there were over 900 baths by 300 AD.The baths were huge buildings built by emperors or by the public. On the inside, they looked luxurious. An average bathhouse would have mirrors on the wall, ceiling covered in glass, rich marble lining the pools and complicated mosaics decorated the floor.Here is a picture of a small privet bath. All baths consisted of mainly the same things, and would be visited in this order. First, they went to the Apodytarium. This is were you would get undressed and oils would be rubbed on your body. Then after bathing you would scrape it of with an instrument called a strigil. Next, you would enter the Tepidarium. This was a warm room with a warm pool. It would prepare you for the hotter rooms.English: The tepidarium (lukewarm bath) of the Old...After this, you would proceed to the Caldarium. When your body temperature got used to the Tepidarium her e is where you'd come. This room was very hot and as well as steamy. It consisted of hot water bathes and some even had a Laconium (a steam bath) which was extremely hot and very dry. Finally, you would go to the Frigidarium. This was a cold room with a cold pool. The main function of the Frigdarium was to cool you off after sweating in the hot rooms.To keep the baths and rooms hot the Romans used a system called the Hypocaust system. This was an underground heating system, which heated hot air from basement fires. The hot air flows through the wall ducts into the rooms and baths heating them quickly. In some bathes, the floors would be so hot that bathers had to wear wooden...

Answer All Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Answer All Questions - Essay Example 150). In a scatter plot diagram, the more two variables are highly correlated; the data points would cluster closer around an imaginary line. For perfect correlation, the data points fall on the straight line. b. A very strong correlation: The degree of relationship between two variables is measured by the correlation coefficient. The stronger the relationship between the variables, the closer the coefficient would move to either +1.00 or -1.00. When the measure of correlation moves closer to either of these two values, it is said that a very strong correlation exists between the two variables. c. Null correlation: Two variables are aid to have null correlation is there is no correlation between them. This happens in case of comparing two variables that are not at all related to one another. The correlation coefficient is 0.90 approximately. The variables under consideration are sales and advertisement. The value of correlation is 0.90 which implies that there exists a strong positive correlation between the variables. The result shows that the advertising made by the company has a positive effect on its sales. The sales are boosted owing to the advertisement. iii) a. The regression model is a multiple regression model and has four independent variables. The dependent variable is the number of copies sold. The only significant value obtained is between the number of pages and the number of copies sold, which is 0.13

PROGRAMMING AND CULTURE CLASS IN ARCHITECTURE Assignment

PROGRAMMING AND CULTURE CLASS IN ARCHITECTURE - Assignment Example There is also the sound of moving vehicles coming from the waiting lounge. Observing with the sense of hearing has the advantage getting a deeper feeling of things around through sounds. The next site is a public square which is located in the same city. There are people around and the sound of scavenge birds. There is scent of perfume from nearby and the noise of vehicles from a highway that is just next to the public square. There is also smell of exhaust fumes that is presumably from the vehicles passing nearby. Through the sense of smell and hearing, it was possible to feel the contents in the atmosphere and distinguish them from each other. The third site is at a public park. There are sound of birds and insects on the air. Beneath the feet is cold grass. The atmosphere is cool and relatively quiet. Then a piece of rock is collected and it is cold and with a very rugged texture. The piece of rock is hard and heavy. Through the senses of touch and sight one is able to have a clearer feeling of things around. The sense of sight and touch adds a better feeling to the sense of sound. The next site is at the top of a public building. The far off horizon is clearing visible and there is cold air blowing. Buildings around the city and their different shapes and designs can be seen clearly from this point. The sense of sight here is able to give a clearer feel by adding details such as

Learning Disabilities Essay Example for Free

Learning Disabilities Essay Children that are dealing with learning disabilities have a difficult road ahead of them. If the disability is neglected or overlooked for too long, the probability of the child falling behind in school as well as social aspects in their life is very high. However, properly identifying the problem and determining the best steps to assist in managing the disability will be vital in their young lives in helping them to achieve their goals. Life can be difficult and sometimes cruel for children, let alone children that are dealing with learning disabilities. A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process and respond to information. Cognitive theory and children with learning disabilities have a close relationship. When talking about children who have learning disabilities, it is safe to say that they are not always identified in its earliest stage, which then can lead to long term problems in an individual’s life. From physical, emotional, and social obstacles, all of which they will encounter at some point in their lives if the necessary measures are not taken to help these children. Not having the organizational abilities to acquire the knowledge as it may be taught, limits the ability to properly learn. From the articles I have selected, Children With and Without Learning Disabilities: A Comparison of Processes and Outcomes Following Group Counseling, Analogical Problem Solving in Children With Verbal and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: does intelligence make a difference?, The Inhibition of Exogenous Distracting Information in Children with Learning Disabilities, and Cognitive functioning as measured by the WISC-R: Do children with learning disabilities have distinctive patterns of performance?, I will provide insight on how, why, and what the resolutions  are for these children. My chosen theory is relevant to my topic because a learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process and respond to information. A child with a learning disability may not have any major sensory problems yet they may still struggle to keep up with people of their age in functions of learning and regular daily activities. Through our development process, we become equipped with skills in order to grow, succeed, and evolve into our adult life. When a development stage, cognitive development stage, shows that the basic listening, comprehension, writing, reading, speaking, and the ability to reason are not present, someone needs to identify and address the situation as early on as possible in order for the child to have a chance to grow in all other stages of development. â€Å"Children With and Without Learning Disabilities: A Comparison of Processes and Outcomes Following Group Counseling† article will help to shed some light on the events that occur during the counseling process. â€Å"Analogical Problem Solving in Children With Verbal and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities† will help me explain how the children struggle with problem solving when dealing with a learning disability. In the article â€Å"Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: does intelligence make a difference?† will identify the importance of having a good, functioning ability to memorize and how children that have learning disabilities usually lack this ability. Cognitive Theory and Learning Disabilities Cognitive theory and children with learning disabilities have a close relationship. When talking about children who have learning disabilities, it is safe to say that they are not always identified in its earliest stage, which then can lead to long term problems in an individual’s life. From physical, emotional, and social obstacles, all of which they will encounter at some point in their lives if the necessary measures are not taken to help these children. Not having the organizational abilities to acquire the knowledge as it may be taught, limits the ability to properly  learn. A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process and respond to information. A child with a learning disability may not have any major sensory problems yet they may still struggle to keep up with people of their age in functions of learning and regular daily activities. Through our development process, we become equipped with skills in order to grow, succeed, and evolve into our adult life. When a development stage, cognitive development stage, shows that the basic listening, comprehension, writing, reading, speaking, and the ability to reason are not present, someone needs to identify and address the situation as early on as possible in order for the child to have a chance to grow in all other stages of development. An example of the theory and condition where the two are intertwined would be when a child is in school and could be having difficulties with what other children take for granted as being simple skills that have been learned through development and interaction with parents, teachers, etc. In this child’s situation, he/she does not have the ability to understand the story that he had just read, and now has the task of answering questions about the story in writing. His cognitive development stage for some reason has not evolved the way it should have, which now has left him battling a learning disability that may have gone unnoticed by his parents. In this situation, it is now up to the teacher to be able to identify what is taking place and to make sure that the child receives the necessary attention and evaluation in order to help him/her overcome and cope with what they are struggling with. The difficult part in the whole process is identifying learning disabilities early on and being able to treat them appropriately and in a timely manner. With children, unless significant signs are present, the struggles early on could be attributed to just being a child if one isn’t familiar with the signs of a disability. Once the disability is diagnosed, many options and opportunities are present to help assist in the overcoming of the problems. However, if the disability goes undetected or ignored for too long, a life  of challenges lies ahead for the individual. Literature Review -Children With and Without Learning Disabilities: A Comparison of Processes and Outcomes Following Group Counseling. Authors name: Leichtentritt, Judith; Shechtman, Zipora. Publication date: Mar/Apr 2010 Title of publication: Journal of Learning Disabilities Summary: This study compared outcomes and processes in counseling groups of an expressive-supportive modality for children with learning disabilities (LD) and without them (NLD). Article relevance: This article provides and inside look and results into determining what the best form of counseling is for children with learning disabilities. -Analogical Problem Solving in Children With Verbal and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities. Authors name: Schiff, Rachel; Bauminger, Nirit Publication date: Jan 2009 Title of publication: Journal of Learning Disabilities Summary: In this study, they investigated the analogical problem-solving differences between children with verbal learning disabilities (VLD), nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD), or non-LD. Article relevance: This reference will help to show the struggles that LD children have in problem solving and the great disadvantage that they must overcome with this disability. Working memory functioning in children with learning disabilities: does intelligence make a difference? Authors name: Maehler, C; Schuchardt, K. Publication date: Jan 2009 Title of publication: Journal of Intellectual Disability Research Summary: The present study explored several functions of working memory. A working memory battery with tasks for the phonological loop, the visual-spatial sketchpad and central executive skills was presented in individual sessions to 27 children with learning disabilities and normal IQ (ICD-10: mixed disorders of scholastic skills), 27 children with learning disabilities and low IQ (intellectual disabilities), and a control group of 27 typically  developing children with regular school achievement levels and normal IQ. Article relevance: To show a comparison on how the functions of the brain are affected when dealing with a child with a learning disability. -The Inhibition of Exogenous Distracting Information in Children with Learning Disabilities. Authors name: Censabella, Sandrine; Marie-Pascale Noà «l Publication date: Sept/Oct 2005 Title of publication: Journal of Learning Disabilities Summary: This article reports on an experiment examining the capacities of children with LD to inhibit exogenous interference, such as automatic, prepotent responses and distractor interference. Article relevance: To support the fact that children with LD have interference with there working memory and to explain the possible solutions. -Cognitive functioning as measured by the WISC-R: Do children with learning disabilities have distinctive patterns of performance? Authors name: Amedeo D Angiulli; Siegel,Linda S. Publication date: Jan/Feb 2003 Title of publication: Journal of Learning Disabilities Summary: Patterns of performance on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) have been proposed as useful tools for the identification of children with learning disabilities (LD Article relevance: Support in the findings that children with an LD show a pattern in performance that can be determined in early stages in order to counteract the disability. Conclusion The reality of the situation is that learning disabilities in children will always be around. The hope is that someday, with improving knowledge and experimentation, we will have a solution in the process of treating the disability that will allow for the children that have the issues to not feel isolated. The fear alone of a child falling behind in school and in their social life is a stressful situation for that child. Identifying the  disability early and treating it properly is the key to a life without handcuffs.

Sexual Stereotypes and Stereotyping :: Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Sexual Stereotyping: False Preconceptions and False Conclusions in Blaming Technology       In an excerpt titled "The Feminist Face of Antitechnology" from his 1981 book Blaming Technology, Samuel C. Florman explains why he thinks so few educated women in modern society are engineers.   The excerpt was written shortly after he had visited an all-female liberal arts school, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, to convince a few young women to become engineers.   His mission failed and his essay makes clear why he had such trouble.       Florman has more than one idea as to why young, educated women shy away from engineering as a career option.   First, he notes that America has inherited much of its culture from England, where engineering has not been considered a high-class occupation.   This is apparently so because engineering did not fully separate from craftsmanship until the mid-nineteenth century.   Florman claims that most young, male engineers come from lower- and lower-middle-class families.   He also claims that most young women who are educated in math and science come from middle- and upper-class families.   For this reason, Florman explains that educated women generally see engineering as being below their social class, and therefore do not pursue it as an option.   He supports his position with a story about how Herbert Hoover, after a long conversation, told a woman that he was an engineer and how she responded,   "Why, I thought you were a gentleman!"1   Florman then turns to the fem inists and asks why they haven't taken the lead in changing this situation.         Florman's main argument against the feminist movement is that it is fueled by a greed for power.   He suggests that women, especially feminists, are attracted to perceivable power, or power which is obvious to the cultural eye.   They want to become doctors, lawyers, and politicians.   The desire for power is also intimately connected with social class, according to Florman.   He sees this as one of the major reasons as to why so few women seek out engineering: they see it as a career without power.   Florman sees women as being "a lot more interested in the privileges than in the responsibilities."   According to him, the "ultimate feminist dream will never be realized as long as women would rather supervise the world than help build it."   Until women strive to understand the technology around them, and help to create it, they will always suffer.

A New Beginning †Employment Relationships Essay

All relationships require a beginning. Employment relationships can be as challenging and rewarding as personal relationships. It is therefore important to ensure that your recruitment process analyses all elements that may affect future relationships and its adherence to employment law legislation. It is assumed that both parties enter this contract at any stage verbally, written or implied voluntarily. Employment law legislation helps employers meet the minimum standards required for a healthy relationship. Internal factors As a prospective/ new employee it is important to understand the Company Strategy. A transparent strategy allows you to promote your business as it enables new employees to see the direction the company is working towards and the potential growth and job security that this offers. It also gives potential candidates an indication of development programmes that are offered and therefore what career opportunities are available. The feeling of belonging is an important emotion of increasing loyalty. Hierarchical Structures give an insight of potential movement within a Company regardless of size. If your desire is to move your way up the company ladder, you need to know there are going to be roles available. External factors A review of your Companies Demographics will help you understand where your employees come from and then what type of workforce is available to you. From this you will understand any challenges that you will face when recruiting and what plans you will need to put in place to recruit the right person to the right job. Market Influences: An evaluation of what is happening within your area with similar business may assist you with tracking your business growth and potential issues. Do you have any new  competitors on the horizon that may attract your employees which could leave with a labour force issue? Equally a business that is struggling may go into receivership and then give you a situation where you have the opportunity to recruit some key and highly trained employees. Importance of determining Employment statuses The differences – 3 Examples Type of Employment Status Worker A contract of employment in place either written or verbal Payment is received for work. It would be agreed on what interval at the point of agreeing the contract Work has to be completed, by the agreed worker, however they would be able to provide an alternative worker if agreed in advance. There is a set period of time that the work is expected to last. Often if works overrun then penalty clauses are built in as part of agreed contract. Employee Employed under an employment contract The contract details: Rights, responsibilities and duties. Regular payments on agreed Company terms i.e. 4 weekly, Monthly. Guaranteed minimum wage protection Statutory paid holiday entitlement Working time directive on rest periods and number of hours worked per week Protection from discrimination Self Employed Is an individual who takes sole responsibility for whether their business is a success or fails They are responsible for paying on tax and NI contributions and receiving wages They do not receive paid holiday leave or sickness benefits They have no employment rights They can be both employed and self employed at the same time. Why? To ensure they know their employment rights if they are entitled to them. Such as maternity/paternity leave, sick leave, holiday leave entitlements. Ensure correct payment of tax and National Insurance. If unchecked and incorrectly paid then the employer is liable for mispayment of tax and it would be expected that the employer resolves this. Causing unnecessary expense and reduced levels of trust. Ensure that the individual is fully aware of what type of benefits they would be entitled too. During – Employment Relationship Importance of a Work Life Balance This is about how an individual combines work with the other areas of their lives, such as children, family, friends and hobbies. There is no definitive answer or formula, and this will range greatly for each individual. It may also change on a daily basis depending on impacts outside work. Just as impacts inside work can affect an individual’s home life. Is there an answer? No – not just one. As each person is individual so a flexible number of options available will suit a diverse workforce. The Working Time Directive covers Rest periods, Night working, Working hours and Holidays. Rest Periods: Workers are entitled to a rest period of 11 hours in a 24 hour period, and must receive one weekly rest period of 24 hours in a 7 day period. Shifts of 6 hours or more also entitle workers to a 20 min rest break. It is worth making note that there are different rules applied for young works and night workers. And therefore legislation will need to be adhered to if employment is undertaken in these areas. Night Work: A night workers hours should be based on the principle of an average 8 hours within 24 hours over a 17 week rolling period. For businesses that use an electronic tracking of hours for example Tesco, whereby an employee clocks in and out. A review of the night teams working hours over a 17 week period would be accurate. Manual processes would be more difficult to maintain and  analyse, but it is imperative that a secure process is built in order to manage this. Working Hours: It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that an employee or contract worker do not work more than an average of 48 hours per week over a 17 week period, unless the employee or contract worker has made the decision to opt out of the Working Time Directive. As mentioned before it is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that adequate records are kept to show adherence to this legislation. Some roles can be excluded from this measure and those are roles that are unmeasured such as executives or family workers i.e. nannies/au pairs. Holidays: Workers are entitled to a minimum of 28 days or 5.6 weeks paid annual leave per year. This entitlement must also be applied pro rata, and is not able to be rolled over into a new holiday year. Workers continue to accrue their holiday entitlement whilst on maternity leave or long term sick and this will need to be taken before the end of the holiday year. Family/Parent – related legal support There are a number of pieces of legislation that support families and parents. These include the following: Maternity Leave: There is a great amount of information relating to maternity leave, and a wealth of sites and government documentation that will assist employers on how to best support members of their workforce who are pregnant. Employees are entitled to the following- Time off for antenatal care – an employer can ask for proof of appointments. A maximum of 52 weeks maternity leave. This is made up of 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave (OML) and 26 weeks additional maternity leave (AML) AML is dependent on length of service and length of leave should be discussed at regular meetings with the employee. Maternity leave can commence any time after the 11th week before her expected week of childbirth (EWC) I find it useful to use the Government website that allows employers to enter key dates supplied to guide you when the key weeks are.  (https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/entitlement) A mother is legally unable to return until two weeks after the birth of her baby. After OML a woman is entitled to return to the same job she held prior to leave with all the rights and benefits she had including any annual pay raises. After returning from AML she may only come back to the same job if reasonably practical, otherwise an alternative must be offered. Maternity pay is paid for the first 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings and then 33 weeks at  £138.18(April 2014) It is worth noting that the average weekly earnings can be increased by increasing wages in the 8 weeks leading up to the 15th week before the EWC. A woman is also now able to transfer some of her maternity leave – Please see notes on Paternity leave for further details. Throughout the duration of her pregnancy a woman must not be financially worse off, and a full understanding of the Equality and Diversity act will assist you from making any decisions which would treat a woman unfairly. Paternity: Ordinary Paternity leave allows a man to take two weeks leave. This has to be taken within 56 days of the birth. If only one week is used the second week will be lost. This period of leave cannot be extended for multiple births. Paternity pay is paid at  £138.18 (April 14) or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Additional paternity leave APL can be taken once a mother returns from Maternity leave and take up to 26 weeks leave. An employee is entitled to return to the same job they held before and any pay increases, benefits whilst they have been off. Adoption Leave: Employees will need to have 26 weeks length of service ending in the week that they are due to go on adoptive leave. A thorough recruitment process will ensure that a newly employed member of staff will have advised you of an ongoing application. They are then entitled to take up to 52 weeks leave. Within this period they may be entitled to 39 weeks statutory adoption pay. In turn a partner may also be entitled to paternity leave or additional paternity leave. Proof from an adoption agency must be provided and leave will commence from the date the child comes home to the family. Adoptive leave pay is paid at  £138.18 as with other statutory pay. (Ref: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1828) Dependents Leave: An employee is entitled to have time off to deal with a ‘family emergency’, or someone that they look after. There is no set list of what a dependant could be this something that would be discussed at a return to work. However a list within your Companies staff handbook or intranet would be a useful resource. Persons covered (this list is not exhaustive): Spouse Child Partner Grandchild Grand parent Someone that depends on you for their care. This leave covers emergencies and not for events that you have notification of, such as cover for school holidays. There is no set limit for how much time an employee can take, however an emergency is not an ongoing event and alternative policies, such as holiday, sickness or unpaid leave may need to be arranged if the situation is not easily resolved. In these situations an employer does not have to pay the employee for time off, however a fair approach should be adopted and again transparency through guidelines within staff handbooks and company intranet is advisable. A supportive and easy to access policy will underpin your Company ethos and values, and send out positive message to would be employees. Why should employees be treated fairly in relation to pay? To pay employees who: Complete similar work Through job evaluation is deemed to be of an equivalent level Produce the same amount of skill, decision making/own initiative and effort, Whilst this may morally be wrong, and be in breach of the Equality Act 2010. Allowing your business act in this manor without safe guards and checks to prevent this will allow you to be liable if found guilty. Firstly, financially this could be devastating. One claim may lead to another, and publication of findings and court cases will be damaging to your Companies reputation. This  in turn will lead to probable issues in recruiting new personnel and increasing/continuing current business. Secondly issues may arise through misguided reactions to other individual cases, which is why a periodic review of payroll is important. Any amendments in salary for an individual or team should be sense checked with a member of the HR function or with your employment law specialist. The Equality Act 2010 has been put in place to assist ‘employed’ individuals or persons classed as ‘workers’ to work in a safe and fair environment. Some parts of the legislation protect certain characteristics that would be vulnerable in the work place. Protected Characteristics Sex Race Gender reassignment Disability Sexual Orientation Marriage/Civil Partnership Pregnancy Age Religious beliefs (Ref: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4614) These protected characteristics would prevent an individual from being treated less favourably than another person would be. Direct Discrimination i.e. Turning an employee down for promotion because they were undergoing Gender reassignment. Indirect Discrimination occurs when a policy or procedure treats someone without a protected characteristic less favourably. I.e. advertising and recruiting for a Handyman, when a woman could do the job also. Harassment Occurs when a person/s treat you in a manner that makes you feel threatened, humiliated or distressed. This can be over a sustained period of time or sporadic/individual events. This is based and measured solely on the individual in receipt of the unwanted behaviour and should be investigated fully, following company guidelines. Employees should receive dignity at work training and understand your company values to prevent any behaviours being judged as the norm’ Victimisation ‘Picking on someone’ for any reason, including protected characteristics, can also come under harassment. It may be because of where they live or what colour hair they have or how large they are. It can be sustained over a period of time or on an individual occurrence such as being blamed for an error. The way this makes a person feel is equally as damaging as forms of harassment, therefore a quick and prompt resolve is important. What is a psychological contract? This an element of an employee’s contract of employment which may not actually be documented, but is what is ‘implied’ to an individual either at interview or from ways of working within your organisation. I.e. Contracted hours state 9-5 but it is expected that to finish the job, you stay until it is done. To go on time will be frowned upon. Or working Sundays is not in your contract, but you would be putting your team under pressure by not taking your turn. These are the things that actually happen on the ground. Clear statements of terms and conditions with updated and relevant staff handbook allow staff to see all the policies. Good training of managers and team leaders will demonstrate the company values. Challenging any decisions and what the snow ball effect would be is also a key way to see how policies will be interpreted. The end of an employee relationship There are three main ways an employment relationship can come to an end: Dismissal Choice Redundancy When looking at dismissing someone both the reason and the process must be fair. Dismissal is deemed fair when under the following headings: Capability – ill health or performance Conduct / Misconduct – a different process for gross misconduct Redundancy – less staff required Legality – breach of right to work Any other substantial reason – Resignation/Retirement/Death/TUPE or End of fixed term contract. As long as your process is solid and well documented. This process becomes unfair when the way in which it is handled is deemed unfair or poorly executed. If one of the 9 protected characteristics is proven to have been a contributing factor. Importance of Exit Interviews It is recommended that a member of the HR function conducts any interview with a member of staff that is leaving. The function of that representative should be at least an equal of the person being interviewed. Employee: It gives them an opportunity to discuss the real reasons for leaving. It will help you understand if there is something that can be changed. However it is worth noting that by this stage it is very difficult to change someone’s mind; however they will feel that they have a voice. Employer: Helps you to understand any key management weakness’s that you may have or issues with bullying. It will be like a puzzle, building up a picture if you have a high level of turnover from one specific area. You will be able to build a training programme and invest time through mentoring when establishing the facts. It will also allow you to prevent where possible any constructive dismissal claims. Redundancy When looking at starting redundancy an organization should first ensure that it looks at the reasons why? Is it going to benefit the business as negativity at starting a process such as this will create a high amount of negativity? Review your company’s formal policy and procedure on redundancy. Also have you a formal agreement a trade union or employee representatives? A clear plan should be evident and look at the following areas: Planning Keep your plan up to date and flexible Identify the Pool for Selection Area of the business that needs to be reduced Are the alternatives e.g. – reduction in working week / pay Consult employees Timely notification Treat people like human beings Transparent communication Criteria for Selection Length of Service Attendance records Disciplinary records Performance records Work experience Skill and qualification Competencies At the beginning of the process the business should establish how these criteria will be weighted. Documented scoring programme Appeals and Dismissals A clear process should be place to assist the appeals/dismissal process Right to be accompanied at meetings Continue with meetings if it is felt that there are more questions to be answered. Suitable alternative employment Can you replace somewhere else within organization or sister company Alternative job within same area using job matching skills Redundancy payment To receive must have worked for the company for two or more years Based on age, weekly pay and length of service Counseling and Support Assist with building a new CV Training on interview skills Use contacts within the business to identify job opportunities (Ref:http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/redundancy.aspx#link_2) The Impact on those left behind can be substantial. There is something called ‘Survivors syndrome’ where they do not feel lucky to still have a job, but guilty for those that have gone. It creates unease and lack of job security with may incur unseen increases in key skills labour turnover. It is important to keep all employees communicated too with relevant and update information on the company’s prospects. Continue to talk to them, offer reassurance where needed to continue to support morale issues. This will help those that are left feel valued and more secure. Bibliography CollinsonGrant – Employment Law for managers -5th Edition June 2014. Martin,Whiting &Jackson – Human Resources Practice – 5th Edition.