Understanding organizations and the role of HR Essay Example for Free

Understanding organizations and the role of HR Essay YTL Cement’s purpose in beginning this business is to supply quality cement to local construction companies for a competitive price especially in the eastern corridor of peninsular Malaysia. There were no cement plants in the eastern side of peninsular Malaysia. So, cost of purchasing cement was high due to logistics. Our plant in Pahang solved all issues as we could now provide cement with a much cheaper price. YTL Cement is currently the second largest cement producer in Malaysia. Our goal is to be the largest cement producer in Malaysia and also southeast Asia. From one cement plant, we have rapidly expanded to four plant now. The goal to be the largest cement producer in Malaysia might come to past earlier than expected. PRODUCTS SERVICES We have 5 brands of bagged product and 4 types of bulk product. The 5 brands in the bagged products are Castle, Orang Kuat, Wallcem, Marinecem and Dragon. Each bag weighs 50 kilogrammes. Each brand is different in terms of  uses, strength and suitability. Cement has many uses during the construction process such as brick making, brick laying, concreting, plastering and tiling. So, each brand has its own suitability. For instance, when it comes to tiling, the brands Castle and Dragon are the most suitable. We have 4 kinds of bulk products. They are MASCEM, SLAGCEM, OPC and CLAGCEM GGBS. Bulk products are usually dispatched in tankers. The weight of each tanker varies from 28 tonnes to 40 tonnes. We supply bulk cement to all parts of Malaysia via tankers and rail. CUSTOMERS CLIENTS YTL Cement has customers and clients both locally and internationally. The bagged products targets small contractors, hardware stores and individual purchasers. These target use cement for small scale renovations and other personal use. Bulk cement is usually bought by large contractors who are employed by the government or the private sector to build housing estates, buildings, bridges and more. The cement quantity needed in these projects is huge so purchases are made in bulks. 4 EXTERNAL FACTORS Economy The cement industry depends on the economy situation. If the economy is stable, then development and construction is on-going. The government and private organizations will initiate projects which include housing and other infrastructure project which requires cement. Hence, the demand for cement will increase. But if there is an economy downturn, it will have a bad impact on the construction industry. And when the construction industry is down, then the demand for cement will decrease which will directly affect the cement industry. Technology Technology plays a very important role in the process of making cement. Technology has grown and new machinery is constantly being introduced to maximize output and minimize the usage of power. The advances in technology, has also allowed cement plants to increase production on a daily basis. This directly contributes to the profit of the organization. One of the biggest issues in cement plants are the breakdowns. Metal fatigue and corrosion cause machinery to break down which effects production. Technology today allows machinery to run longer with minimal maintenance procedures. Legal Legal implications always surround heavy industries that effect the environment. New acts and new policies enforced by governments will affect the cement industry. A growing population with growing concerns about the environment will push the government to impose new laws which will directly or indirectly affect the cement industry. Environment The most important raw material to used to make cement is limestone. Limestone is a sedimentary rock. Limestone can be mined in two ways which are from hills which contain limestone and two, from limestone deposits deep underground. Aggressive mining can deplete the limestone and when that happens, we will not be able to produce cement. As most natural resources, limestone is not renewable hence making it a limited resource. Coal is used in cement plants to heat up the kiln. A kiln is something like an oven where raw materials are transformed at high temperatures. The temperature in a cement kiln can reach up to 1400 degree Celsius. So, huge amounts of coal are used everyday to heat up the kilns. Like limestone, coal is also a limited resource. The depletion of coal will impact the cement industry. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE YTL Cement has a top down organizational structure. It is a family owned business. As such, all decisions are made by the Executive Director which is Dato’ Sri Michael Yeoh who is a member of the Yeoh family. Authority is vested at the top and flows down through directors, managers and executives before finally reaching those who make the product. The four functions in this organization which are vital are operations, human resources, finance and purchasing. Operations The operations team are in charge of the day to day operations of the cement plant and all its machinery. Achieving daily production output is the end result of this team. Human Resources The human resources team are in charge of daily employee related activities such as recruitment, training and development, attendance, disciplinary and much more. Finance The finance team are in charge of financial aspects of the plant in the daily  matters such receiving payments, making payments, processing invoices and much more. Purchasing The purchasing team handles all purchases made by all the other departments in the plant. OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE All the functions in the organization work hand in hand to optimize performance. Operations Operations is the money maker in the organization. The wages, profit of the organization depends on the capability of operation in achieving its targets. The more money the organization makes, the better it is for the stakeholder and the employees. The extra funds can be used in various ways such as upgrading infrastructure and machinery, giving more incentives and benefits to employees, increased increments, better bonuses and much more. Upgrading infrastructure and machinery will directly increase performance. Increased performance leads to increased production which leads to increased profits. Providing better benefits, increments and bonuses, increases the employees’ morale and motivation. A motivated workforce raises productivity. This will directly lead to optimizing the performance of the department which will then optimize the performance of the organization. Human Resources Human resources work together with the rest of the departments in the organization in many ways. Recruitment of employees based on the forecast, manpower planning and attrition is an ongoing process. Selecting the right candidate at the right time is vital to insure that performance is not affected. A pool of suitable candidates for key positions must always be available incase of unforeseen emergency. Retention of employees is also important. Each employee carries knowledge, skill and experience of the designated role he or she works in. Losing an employee can affect performance of a department. Resources such as time, energy and money need to be used to re-train a new employee. As such, human resources must always be aware of the current market salary, current compensation and benefits packages, training and development requirements as to keep turnover as low as possible. Finance The finance department’s activities range from bookkeeping to providing information to managers and directors in making strategic decisions.   Finance department is responsible for all the day to day transactional accounting for the organization. This includes tracking of all financial transactions that happens in the organization. The finance department is also responsible for the organization’s cash flow to ensure that funds are available to meet the day to day payments. This is important as to make sure that operations run smoothly without any problems. The finance department also contributes to the management and improvement of the operations by reporting regularly on key numbers important to the success of the organization. They also work with managers and head of departments to prepare budgets and forecasts. This information can be used to plan machinery purchases and expansions and cash needs before they become necessary. All this contribute to optimising the p erformance of the organization. Purchasing The role of the purchasing department is to procure all necessary materials needed for production or daily operation of the organization. For YTL Cement, a heavy industry company, this will include raw materials such as iron, silica, gypsum, coal or sand which will be used in producing cement. Other items procured, which are as equally important such as machinery parts, electrical parts are vital in sustaining operations of the plant. The purchasing department also needs to evaluate the prices of materials procured to maximize profitability. A purchasing department in a small business needs to locate the best vendors’ at the most reasonable prices. Purchasing department staff needs to communicate with many vendors to negotiate a better price for any material which will be ordered. CULTURE AND ITS IMPACTS The culture in YTL Cement is more of a Power Culture. All decisions are made by the Executive Director and the Director of Operations. Due to this culture, all decisions are pushed upwards from below. The impact of this culture is employees are not empowered to make decisions about their job. They will always look for higher authority to make even a simple decision. And when employees do not take decision, they do not take responsibility. And when employees do not take responsibility, they do not feel proud of their organization. This also affects the loyalty of the employee which leads to a high turnover. 3 HR ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORT THE ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGY Strategic HR Planning Strategic HR planning is links HR management directly to the strategic plan of the organization. Organizations nowadays have a strategic plan that guides them in successfully achieving their vision and mission. Based on this strategic plan, the organization can develop a strategic HR plan that will allow HR to make decisions now to support the future direction of the organization. Strategic HR planning also helps to: Ensure sufficient workforce to meet the strategic goals and operational plans of your organization Keep abreast with economic changes, technological changes, social changes and legal changes that impact HR and the cement industry Talent Management A talented workforce is essential to achieve our vision and mission. Aligning individual goals with the organizations strategy is a proven recipe for success. Goal alignment is a powerful management tool. When the organization engages employees in their work through goal alignment, a greater employee ownership in your companys ultimate success is created. Thus, the employees become more committed to your company and achieve higher levels of job performance. Compensation Benefits A good compensation and benefits package will always attract competent employees. Employing competent workers leads to better results and leads to higher productivity. A compensation and benefits plan that rewards employees for company loyalty is also vital in retaining talented employees. When this appreciation is shown to senior employees, new employees realize that the organization values employees who choose to work with the organization for the long-term. This encourages new employees to decide build a career with the organization hence retaining competent employees. 3 WAYS HR SUPPORT THE LINE MANAGERS AND STAFF Training and Development Based on the Training Needs Analysis (TNA), HR can then select the relevant  training courses and trainers to train the employees. Whether its technical training or management training, choosing the right kind of training with the right modules and trainer is vital. This to make sure that the training is relevant and effective. Training improves employee job performance. This helps reduce job performance disputes and contributes to the department achieving its KPI. Coaching Coaching can improve employee performance, increase employee engagement and reduce turnover. During coaching, the key issue will be on the employee’s performance in the workplace which includes assessment, appraisals and discussing the employee’s strength and weaknesses. Employees feel more engaged when they can discuss their achievement and plan for the future. Engaged employee will work harder, contribute more and are less likely to leave the organization. Recruitment Selection Recruitment includes screening potential candidates using tests and interviews and then selecting the right candidate. This procedure is important the candidate has to be balanced in terms of technical knowledge and also has good character and management skills. This will help department when the right person is selected and the candidate is able to fulfil their new roles effectively. Choosing the wrong candidate can lead to de-motivating and de-moralising current employees, workplace disputes, poor performance by the department and much more.

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein :: essays research papers fc

Inventor Project April 1, 1996 Albert Einstein My name is Albert Einstein. I was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. I was not an inventor in the conventional sense. I was a physicist and theorist. My inventions were not tangible things, but ideas I put on paper and may later on have led to inventions. I was not a good student in school. I did not pay attention to teachers because I found their lectures and teachings boring. Often I would skip class to go study physics on my own. By the age of twelve I had taught myself Euclidean Geometry, and slowly beginning to develope my own theories in physics. My first theoretical paper was on Brownian motion. The paper discussed the significant predictions I made about particles that are randomly distributed in a fluid. My next paper was on the photoelectric effect, which contained a revolutionary hypothesis on the nature of light. I proposed that under certain circumstances light can be considered as consisting of particles, and I also hypothesized that energy carried by any light particle, called a photon, is proportional to the frequency of the radiation. The formula for this is E=hv, where E is the radiation, h is a universal constant known as Planck's constant, and v is the frequency of the radiation. This proposal, that the energy contained within a light beam is transferred by individual units, or quanta, contradicted the hundred year old tradition of considering light as a manifestation of continuous processes. My third and most impotant paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", contained what has become known as the special theory of relativity. Since the time of Sir Issac Newton, scientists had been trying to understand the nature of matter and radiation, and how they interacted in some unified world picture. The position that mechanical laws are fundamental has become known as the mechanical world view, and the position that electrical laws are fundamental has become known as the electromagnetic world view. Neither approach, however, is capable of providing a consistent explanation for the way radiation and matter interact when viewed from different inertial frames of reference, that is, an interaction viewed simultaneously by an observer at rest and an observer moving at unifrom speed. In the Spring of 1905 after considering these problems for ten years, I realized that the crux of the problem lay not in a theory of matter but in a theory of measuerment. At the heart of my special theory of relativity was the realization thet all measurements of time and space depend on judgments as to

The fresh sea air blew in my cold face – Creative Writing

The fresh sea air blew in my cold face. The air was bitter, and I could hear the waves bashing against the pale white cliffs. I strolled along the cliff side, listening to the waves and the seagulls up above, they echoed as they swooped down past my shoulders. A shiver went down my spine as a raindrop hit my shivery hands; I pulled up the hood, on my old grey waterproof and searched for cover. The blackening clouds gathered in the murky grey sky, and a rumble of thunder was shortly followed by a bolt of terrifying lightening. I gazed out to the horizon and in the distance I could see a large unwanted ship. The wind started to howl and the rain came down harder and harder. The ship out at sea was swaying and disappearing deep into the troughs between the waves, and as it drew closer I could see that it was a cruise liner, it looked just like the ship which I once went on†¦. As I stepped out of the taxi, the humid sticky air hit me and the wind, blew my hair on my hot flushed face. I looked around and there it was the cruise liner. The sparkling white ship dazzled on the waters surface like diamonds. I glanced at it again, and there were crowds of people gathering. The sun crept through the clouds in the sky and shadows of palm trees covered the dull concrete floor. I walked down to the beach, to feel the warm sand rub against my toes. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of yachts sailing in the salty harbour. The smell of fish lingered in the air and I could feel the shallow waves tickle against my ankles and the blazing sun shining down onto my sore burnt shoulders. I stood there for a couple of minutes, enjoying the peace, but the humidity was too much. My parents called me and I rushed up the steep mound of hot sand and rumble. My Mum handed me my tatty passport and told me to get in the queue. I could barley see what was going on up head, I stood on tiptoes and attempted to pear through the gaps. I could just about see an old man, rather large and looking rather grumpy, he was taking pictures of everybody then checking there passports. I stood in the ever lasting queue for what seemed like ages, the hot sun still shining down. Once aboard the ship, I felt cooler, but the air conditioning felt like it was choking me, my mouth had gone dry and the soggy smell made me heave. The atmosphere was lively, but empty at the same time, there were young children clutching to there parents, screeching with amazement. Every where seemed dark and compacted, the reception was dull and bland. My mum went to the desk to collect our cabin keys; she handed them over and said that our luggage would arrive shortly. This is when we got more than we had bargained for. We struggled down the endless narrow corridor, squeezing past other peoples luggage, glancing at each and every number, on each and every door. Finally, we arrived at our cabins; however there was no luggage outside either of our rooms. We turned the key in the rusty lock and entered the cabin through the thin doorway. The rooms were bland and dull; the furniture was shabby and rather worn, the room felt stuffy and full. My sister and I decided to go and hunt for our suitcases. We dawdled down thin extended corridors still struggling to get passed peoples luggage, the corridor was decorated with bright pictures which opened up the confined space. We glanced at the name tags on suitcases which looked similar to ours, and after about twenty minutes we found three bags, stacked at the end of a corridor. When we arrived back at the room my brother had found the other bags, I sat on my bunk bed and stared out to the harbour, if you looked underneath the sea's surface you could see jelly fish swaying about in between pieces of rubbish. Once we had left the harbour I went exploring round the ship and as I wandered past the restaurant my stomach rumbled and my mouth watered, at the smell of burger and chips, I glanced in to see brightly coloured fruits all laid out, and many other passengers tucking into there lunch. I left the restaurant and strolled along to the pool, Young children dancing around in the corner with kids club and parents at the bar enjoying a drink or two! The wind had calmed down now and clouds had cleared, but it still wasn't that hot so I wandered back to my cabin to get my family for lunch, I kept on imagining the watermelon melting in mouth, and the chips covered in ketchup on my plate. I stopped to look out the window, we had been out of the harbour know for about an hour, I could faintly see dolphins swaying in and out of the twirling waves they looked like silk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The rain poured down harder and harder on my shoulders as I watched the cruise liner come into the harbour, I wondered if I would ever experience a cruise again? I hope so, but maybe not quite yet, the lightening struck once more, and the wind howled, I could hear the seagulls in the distance, and the bitter air blew up inside my loose waterproof, the howling wind pushed me over and I struggled to my feet, the horizon had drawn closer and the misty sky made it hard to sea out onto the deadly ocean, and I could see no further than the fence a few meters in front of me.

The Federalist Party Vs. The United States - 904 Words

By 1800, the Federalist Party was divided, clearing the way to the presidency for the Democratic Republicans. Federalists like Washington and Adams wanted the federal government to have most of the power in the United States. The non-Federalists, Jefferson and Madison, during that time wanted a small federal government with very little power. They were very much concerned with state rights and individual freedom for the people. The political shift from Federalists, Washington and Adams, to Democratic-Republicans, Jefferson and Madison, resulted in non-Federalists coming to power and a shifting of government focus, the repealing of policies such as the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Judiciary Act of 1808, and westward expansion.†¦show more content†¦Jefferson, as a non- Federalist, believed that Hamilton’s national bank was unconstitutional and decided to abandon that policy, trim the federalist budget, and cut taxes. Jefferson, as a Democratic-Republican, did not lik e or trust the government due to its limit on the freedom of the individuals, but he acknowledged the necessity. Jefferson believed in a democracy where the people and the states had most of the power, which was a great step away from the policies the federalists had been putting in place. In order to fulfill the non -federalist’s wishes to return power to the state, it meant relinquishing powers of the central government, and this began with repealing the alien and sedition acts put in place by the federalists. One of Adam’s major flaws in his presidency was the execution of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which allowed the government to compulsorily banish foreigners and jail newspaper editors for scandalous writing. The acts were political, aimed at abolishing new settlers support for Democratic- Republicans. The Sedition Act strictly regulated anti-government speech and was a clear violation of the First Amendment. When the Federalists came into power, they repealed the Alien and Sedition acts, and Jefferson led the opposition to them. Together with Madison, he drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which claimed that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. In addition, before the federalists had left