Human Resources Management JC Penney Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management JC Penney Essay JC Penney is ranked number 153 in the fortune 500 company list in the United States for the year 2012. They are one of the largest companies, and have been around for one hundred and ten years. Recently, Management has embarked upon new strategies to improve the company and create a better shopping experience for their customers. To do so, some of their sales tactics, as well as employee training to ensure a successful transaction, as well as satisfaction of customers has been examined and improved greatly. JC Penny has embarked on a new sales strategy to boost sales for the Christmas season. Starting Black Friday through Christmas Eve, employees will be handing out more than 80 million small, holiday-themed, circular buttons to customers. This is a ploy used to increase sales, since behind each button is the chance for customers to win great prizes. This is believed to be a better approach than mailing out coupons, since it ensures customers visit the store; increasing sales and giving them a cut above the rest of their competitors. Apart from using this strategy, the company has recently embarked on marketing strategies to equip employees with the necessary knowledge and tools, to improve sales on an everyday basis. Some of these includes: new pricing strategies, new logo and advertising. What they have done with their sale pricing strategies is made their sale prices into everyday low prices for customers to enjoy yearly. In addition to that, there is also easy to decipher tags. JC Penny is changing the way sales are distinguished by using a new tagging system to identify different prices. A red tag shows an â€Å"Every Day† price, a white tag is a â€Å"Month-Long Value†, and a blue tag shows the â€Å"Best Price.† This provides clarity for customers and makes it easier for them. New logo and advertising also has great influence on customers mentally. According to their press release,â€Å"the new JC Penny logo, which combines the elements that have made JC Penny an enduring American brand, by evoking the nation’s flag and JC Penney’s commitment to treating customers fair and square.† This make customers feel welcomed and appreciated and causes an increase in activity among the population of the United States. However before this can be possible, there must be employees who are competent enough to handle the task. For this purpose there are strategic processes which must be adhered when hiring new workers. This is believed to help in obtaining the best suited applicants for the job. These include individuals who are willing; and also share in the vision of the company. The process by which applicants are recruited into the company is similar to that of most business places; which takes the form of an interview. The interview process is intense and helps the employer to test many different skills and attributes of the employee. This is necessary since it allows employers to meet with potential workers face to face. Therefore it helps to distinguish if they are able to represent the image of the company physically both in attire and expression. In addition it helps employers to screen potential candidates to determine the most honest and experienced candidates. Also it helps to find out the punctuality of employees, something that one has to take into consideration; since unpunctuality can lead to upsets and setbacks in a business. It will also help to give an understanding of the knowledge the prospective employer have of the company. By knowing this, one can be able to tell if potential employees know what is expected of them. After the hiring process is over, the staff must be competent enough to deal with customers. They should have the knowledge and experience to do this in such a way as to build long term relationships with customers. This is to ensure smooth transactions and to avoid the loss of customers through unfriendly habits. JC Penny often provided training for new staff to ensure that they are able to understand and display the image that they would want to portray by the company; to ensure customer satisfaction and avoid hostility and unfriendly approach. One of the training programs offered by JC Penny for new employees is the planning and merchandising trainee program. This helps to give trainees the opportunity to experience first hand how buying, planning, allocation and inventory management integrate to produce products in JC Penny stores nation wide and on jcp.com. The 17-week training program is fast-paced and high-caliber. It gives employees the opportunity to gain insight into store environment processes, visit a logistics center, attend specialized training classes, and more. It also fosters interaction among the staff since Planning and Merchandising team members work side-by-side with other trainees throughout the entire process. A host of projects, activities and hands-on training also helps to facilitate learning; making the process enjoyable for participants. Having senior managers mentoring and coaching you to success will only lead to great achievement. Apart from training of new applicants, development training is also very important in the process of continuing to acquire success. This is because as time change so too do people and therefore strategies that were effective ten years ago may not be as successful today. For this purpose companies have to continue to train their employees so they will be able to comply with the changes of society; since strategic training received over a decade ago won’t be profitable in the workplace today. JC Penny provides sales associates with the skills they need to help the company achieve their business objectives in a challenging, supportive learning environment that fosters achievement. They are given the opportunity to build their skills and improve hands on relationships with customers; as they obtain experience to promote development. Associates typically are trained for a particular department, such as home decor or women wear, but may rotate from department to department based on need; they will also complete additional training for other departments. Helping them to be well rounded individuals who will be equipped enough to fill in where ever they are needed in the company. Therefore this additional training helps employees to be better equipped than when they first entered the workplace; increasing competent performances, and improving their ability to handle situations. In addition to normal rotation training, employees also have the opportunity to participate in developmental workshops offered by the company for which they qualify. Therefore this will help to mold them into very capable young individuals, with great experience for future endeavors. Because of the sales force strategies used at JC Penny, the company is noted as one which has both the interest of employees and customers at hand. The training offered to their staff is well executed and well received; resulting in JC Penny being described as a company that turns jobs into careers. In addition, it also creates innovative ways for customers to view the shopping experience; since the sales tactic they use make the experience much more easier, straight forward and convenient than most of their competitors.

Sound in The Tempest and the New Orthodox View :: Tempest essays

Sound in The Tempest and the New Orthodox View  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critics have offered varying evaluations of the characters in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Some consider Prospero to be magnanimous for forgiving his enemies, for freeing Ariel from the confines of a tree, and for treating Caliban with great sympathy until the monster's attempted rape of Miranda. Others view Prospero as an oppressive colonizer and consider both Caliban and Ariel to be his innocent and mistreated subjects. In his article "Reading The Tempest," Russ McDonald argues that the new orthodox interpretation of The Tempest, "which exalts the colonized, is as narrow as the old, which idealizes and excuses the colonizer" (117). He argues that the actual status of the characters is considerably more ambiguous, and he supports his view by analyzing the rhetorical devices present in the play. However, a close examination of the various sounds disbursed throughout the work--including speech, silence, and music--tends to support a less ambiguous view of the characters. Indeed, it tends to lend support to the new orthodox view that Prospero is an oppressive colonizer, for he often threatens his enemies and servants with unpleasant sounds and demands silence from others, including his daughter. The play begins with a ship's crew being subject to terrifying sounds that Prospero has ordered Ariel to produce. The sounds are all loud: "whistle," "storm," "cry," "thunderclaps," "fire and cracks," and "roaring" (1.1.7, 14; 1.2.203-5; 2.1.2). The terror that these sounds and the accompanying storm inflict upon the mariners is evidenced by their cries: "All lost! To prayers! To prayers! All lost!" (1.1.52). The infliction of these sounds is also made to appear unjust when Miranda pleads with her father: "If . . . you have / Put these wild waters in this roar, allay them. / . . . O, the cry did knock / Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perished!" (2.1.1-9). Indeed, Prospero often refers to unpleasant sounds as a means of threatening others. "I will plague them all, / Even to roaring," he says of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano (4.1.188-214). When Prospero believes Ariel is not providing an eager and willful service, he threatens the spirit with imprisonment in a tree, reminding Ariel that when he was previously trapped, his "groans / Did make wolves howl" (1.2.289-90). Prospero also tells him, "Thou hast howled away twelve winters" (1.2.298). Similarly, Prospero threatens Caliban, carrying out his threats and subjecting the monster to tortures accompanied by unpleasant sounds. Sound in The Tempest and the New Orthodox View :: Tempest essays Sound in The Tempest and the New Orthodox View  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Critics have offered varying evaluations of the characters in William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Some consider Prospero to be magnanimous for forgiving his enemies, for freeing Ariel from the confines of a tree, and for treating Caliban with great sympathy until the monster's attempted rape of Miranda. Others view Prospero as an oppressive colonizer and consider both Caliban and Ariel to be his innocent and mistreated subjects. In his article "Reading The Tempest," Russ McDonald argues that the new orthodox interpretation of The Tempest, "which exalts the colonized, is as narrow as the old, which idealizes and excuses the colonizer" (117). He argues that the actual status of the characters is considerably more ambiguous, and he supports his view by analyzing the rhetorical devices present in the play. However, a close examination of the various sounds disbursed throughout the work--including speech, silence, and music--tends to support a less ambiguous view of the characters. Indeed, it tends to lend support to the new orthodox view that Prospero is an oppressive colonizer, for he often threatens his enemies and servants with unpleasant sounds and demands silence from others, including his daughter. The play begins with a ship's crew being subject to terrifying sounds that Prospero has ordered Ariel to produce. The sounds are all loud: "whistle," "storm," "cry," "thunderclaps," "fire and cracks," and "roaring" (1.1.7, 14; 1.2.203-5; 2.1.2). The terror that these sounds and the accompanying storm inflict upon the mariners is evidenced by their cries: "All lost! To prayers! To prayers! All lost!" (1.1.52). The infliction of these sounds is also made to appear unjust when Miranda pleads with her father: "If . . . you have / Put these wild waters in this roar, allay them. / . . . O, the cry did knock / Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perished!" (2.1.1-9). Indeed, Prospero often refers to unpleasant sounds as a means of threatening others. "I will plague them all, / Even to roaring," he says of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano (4.1.188-214). When Prospero believes Ariel is not providing an eager and willful service, he threatens the spirit with imprisonment in a tree, reminding Ariel that when he was previously trapped, his "groans / Did make wolves howl" (1.2.289-90). Prospero also tells him, "Thou hast howled away twelve winters" (1.2.298). Similarly, Prospero threatens Caliban, carrying out his threats and subjecting the monster to tortures accompanied by unpleasant sounds.

Arthur Miller Essay

An important theme in Arthur Miller’s play â€Å"All My Sons† is the responsibility a man has for another man. Miller stressed that people must be held accountable for their actions to society and they will be held accountable by the inevitable justice found in the universe: karma. This theme is expressed through action as well as characters throughout the entire play; it is subtle at first but slowly becomes more prominent until Joe Keller finally realizes exactly how his actions affected people outside of his family. To begin, Keller’s character is important to the theme because he represents the opposite of being responsible for his actions and being held accountable to society. Joe Keller seems like a simple kind of man. His greatest wishes are to obtain the American dream for his wife and to create a legacy to pass on to his son. However, he harbors a dark secret that explains how he achieved those dreams for his family- he knowingly shipped out faulty airplane parts during wartime. Up until the time of the play, Keller did not believe he did a terrible thing by shipping those parts out. As he explains, when he came home from jail he was like an expert on the â€Å"whole jail thing† and, over time, the children â€Å"got it confused and†¦ [he] ended up a detective†(29). Or, more clearly, he went from being the bad guy to being the good guy. In Keller’s mind, he was the good guy because he saved his family from being poor and having their reputations in the gutter. He says to his wife, â€Å"you wanted money, so I made money†(76). To him, he simply did what he had to do to protect and take care of his family. At that point in his life he was not able to see the big picture of things; he was only able to see one little contour, just one small piece, of what makes up the universe. Furthermore, it is evident that Keller’s small piece of the universe, his family, is what is most important to him. Throughout the play he tells Chris that everything he has done with the business , including sending out cracked gear heads, was for Chris: â€Å"it was a chance and I took it for you†(70). Keller believed that he had to send out those parts so that he would still have a business to pass on to his son. Chris replies â€Å"what is that, the world- the business?†(70). He is asking his father if the whole world is the business. And the answer in Keller’s mind is, as long as it takes care of his family, yes it is the world. Slowly, though, Keller begins to see just what his actions have caused to happen to other people. Take, for example, when he speaks to Ann about her father, Steve. He finds out that Ann and George never visit Steve in jail and that they don’t even write to him. Keller is unable to understand why the children would â€Å"crucify† their father and he pleads with Ann to not â€Å"make a murderer out of him†(32). He realizes that Steve’s life was ruined and his relationships with his children, something that Keller gives very high value to, are ruined as well. It is also easy to believe that Keller doesn’t want to see Steve crucified because if he is, that means that Keller should be too. And if Keller was punished for his actions, that means there is â€Å"something bigger† in the world than the relationship between father and son. The whole ordeal with Steve and Steve’s children gives Keller a clue that there may be bigger things in the world than familial relationships and also that there may be consequences to wrongful actions. Finally, Chris and Larry (posthumously) work to enlighten Keller that â€Å"there’s a universe of people outside and that [he’s] responsible to it†(84). Chris’ character alone serves as a guidepost to this revelation. He is the epitome of the idea of responsibility and accountability to society because he is the person that reaches for something he wants but pulls â€Å"back because other people will suffer†(16). Chris takes other people’s feelings and well-being into account before he acts. He learned to be so self-less in the war, as he watched his men kill themselves for each other. He describes it as â€Å"a kind of†¦ responsibility. Man for man†(35-36). He learned that you cannot only look out for yourself in this world, but you have to help other people out as well. And Larry, whom Keller thought shared his ideas on the way the world was made (with a â€Å"forty-foot front†), had a good sense that people must consider the good of the many before they act for the few. It is his letter to Ann, in which he states he â€Å"can’t bear to live anymore†(83) because of what his father did, that brings everything crashing down around Keller. In the same way Larry’s memorial tree came crashing down and allowed more light to shine into the arbor, his letter shined light onto the true ways of the universe. Everything that Keller stood for, everything he believed in was wrong. He finally realized that he did a terrible thing that killed not only strangers, but people who were fathers, brothers, and sons. In essence, he killed the thing he lives for; he killed family. This revelation drives home the idea that justice will inevitably be brought to the wrong-doers. Keller’s karma comes back and makes him not only set everything right in the universe again but pay the ultimate price for his actions: death by his own hand. Chris, Ann, and Kate can now move forward, not bogged down by shame and guilt, and they can â€Å"live.†

What Is Internal Energy

In chemistry and physics, internal energy (U) is defined as the total energy of a closed system.Internal energy is the sum of potential energy of the system and the systems kinetic energy. The change in internal energy (ΔU) of a reaction is equal to the heat gained or lost (enthalpy change) in a reaction when the reaction is run at constant pressure. Internal Energy of an Ideal Gas The internal energy of an ideal gas is a good approximation of a real-world system. In such as system, the particles in an ideal gas are considered to be point objects that have completely elastic collisions with each other. The real behavior of the monatomic gases (e.g., helium, argon) mirrors this model. In an ideal gas, internal energy is proportional to the number of particles of moles of a gas and its temperature: U cnT Here, U is internal energy, c is the heat capacity at constant volume, n is the number of moles, and T is the temperature. Sources Crawford, F. H. Heat, Thermodynamics, and Statistical Physics. Rupert Hart-Davis, London, Harcourt, Brace World, Inc., 1963.Lewis, Gilbert Newton, and Merle Randall. Thermodynaics, revised by Kenneth S. Pitzer and Leo Brewer, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1961.