The Role of Strategic Groups in Understanding Strategic Human Resource Management

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/0048-3486. htm The role of strategic groups in understanding strategic human resource management Judie M. Gannon Oxford School of Hospitality Management, Faculty of Business, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK The role of strategic groups 513 Liz Doherty Business School, Shef? eld Hallam University, Shef? eld, UK, and Angela Roper School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK AbstractPurpose – This article aims to explore how understanding the challenges faced by companies’ attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry, this study identi? es how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on ? rm and industry level analyses.Design/methodology/approach – Senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews. Findings – The ? ndings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international hotel industry. The value of understanding industry structures and dynamics and intermediary levels of analysis are apparent where speci? industries place occupational constraints on their managerial resources and limit the range of strategies and expansion modes companies can adopt. Research limitations/implications – This study indicates that further research on strategic groups will enhance the theoretical underst anding of strategic human resource management and speci? cally the forces that act to constrain the achievement of competitive advantage through human resources. A limitation of this study is the dependence on the human resource divisions’ perspectives on realising international expansion ambitions in the hotel industry.Practical implications – This study has implications for companies’ engagement with their executives’ perceptions of opportunities and threats, and suggests companies will struggle to achieve competitive advantage where such perceptions are consistent with their competitors. Originality/value – Developments in strategic human resource management have relied on the conceptual and theoretical developments in strategic management, however, an understanding of the impact of strategic groups and their shaping of SHRM has not been previously explored.Keywords Strategic groups, Strategic human resources, Strategic human resource management , International human resource management, Hotel and catering industry, International business Paper type Research paper The authors would like to express their thanks to the organisations who participated in the research and the reviewers and Editors who provided insightful and excellent feedback on early drafts. Personnel Review Vol. 41 No. 4, 2012 pp. 513-546 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0048-3486 DOI 10. 1108/00483481211229401 PR 41,4 14 Introduction Most developments in strategic human resource management (SHRM) and international human resource management (IHRM) have drawn heavily on the strategic management literature (Becker and Huselid, 2006; Schuler and Jackson, 2007). Some of the earliest models associated with SHRM (such as Fombrun et al. , 1984; Beer et al. , 1984; Hendry and Pettigrew, 1986 and Guest’s (1989) model) provide insights into how leading HRM thinkers have approached the strategic dimensions of HRM. Such insights have focused on the links or ? be tween strategy and HRM, environmental analyses as the basis for strategic management informing (and in some cases informed by) HRM, and borrowing concepts and theories with their origins in the strategic management literature, such as organisational and product life cycles, and competitive strategies (Schuler and Jackson, 1987; Sanz-Valle et al. , 1999; Miles and Snow, 1984). Despite the advances made in both areas there has been minimal consideration of the ways that strategic groups, not only industries and ? rms, in? ence HRM strategies and practices in the pursuit of competitive advantage (Boxall, 2003). Strategic group research identi? es how groups of ? rms engage in similar strategies in order to compete effectively within industries and shape industry structure and competition. Panagiotou (2006 p. 440) de? nes strategic groups as: [. . . ] those groups of ? rms within an industry, which are characterised by similarities in their structure and competitive beliefs as well as t heir tendency to follow similar strategies along key strategic dimensions in a speci? operating environment. The performance differences between strategic groups are the focus for much of this research, but mobility between groups and the structural dimensions of industries have also received attention (Ferguson et al. , 2000; Leask and Parker, 2006; Porter, 1980; Reger and Huff, 1993). As such strategic group research has developed as a central research theme in strategic management. One of the most notable aspects of strategic groups research is that it highlights and reinforces the importance of particular industry contexts.This is an important consideration for the development of SHRM research as there is now growing recognition of the value of industry and sector speci? c SHRM research where the nuances and structural dimensions of industries are emphasized (Boselie et al. , 2009; Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008; Tyson and Parry, 2008). The aim of this study is to explor e how the strategic group concept can inform SHRM approaches. Speci? cally it sets out to identify how strategic groups can help us understand why companies struggle to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.This aim is achieved by initially investigating the strategic group literature and evaluating where it adds insight and value to the SHRM approaches literature. Thereafter the ? ndings from an in-depth empirical study of the HRM practices and strategies deployed across a global industry are used to highlight the role of strategic groups in constraining companies’ capacities to differentiate their SHRM approaches and practices. Accordingly this article also satis? s the demand for more sector led SHRM research (Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008; Tyson and Parry, 2008). This article unfolds as follows. Initially an evaluation of the strategic group literature is provided followed by an analysis of the contemporary debates in SHRM (Boxall and Purcell, 2000, 2003, 200 8; Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003). The limitations of the SHRM literature are re? ected on in light of the strategic group literature and the potential contribution this ? eld towards a more nuanced understanding of SIHRM approaches and practices.The research design for the study is subsequently outlined alongside an overview of the context of the research, the global hotel sector. The qualitative data analysis is then considered with the HRM practices and approaches which are found to be common across the whole industry, similar across particular strategic groups and distinctive to speci? c companies explored sequentially. The implications of these various layers of HRM practices and strategies, and speci? cally the strategic group dimension, are then discussed in relation to the extant research. Of speci? c note is the way such ? dings reinforce the challenges companies face when pursuing competitive advantage through human resources and how the national, industry and strategic grou p pressures for assimilation limit opportunities to develop idiosyncratic and integrated HRM interventions and strategic human resources. Literature review: building bridges between strategic groups and SHRM approaches Strategic groups The strategic group concept emerged within strategic management as an attempt to better understand the competitive backdrop and demands faced by companies operating in an industry (McGee et al. 1995; Porter, 1980; Short et al. , 2007). Strategic management analysis has typically taken place at the level of the ? rm and the industry, and has omitted the interface of ? rm and industry competitor behaviour. Originating from the broader ? eld of industrial organization economics in the 1970s, strategic groups were identi? ed as clusters of companies within industries (Porter, 1980). Such divisions arise because industries are not collections of heterogeneous companies but subsets of ? ms separated by mobility barriers limiting movement between groups (Fer guson et al. , 2000; McGee et al. , 1995). Strategic group research has facilitated a better understanding of how group structure can shape rivalry and ultimately performance, as well as group identities and reputations. It has also illustrated how strategic group reputations serve to reinforce mobility barriers to other industry competitors (Dranove et al. , 1998; Ferguson et al. , 2000; Leask and Parker, 2006; Peteraf and Shanley, 1997).The analysis of the business environment as an objective reality, achieved classically through cluster or factor analysis of company data (Reger and Huff, 1993), drives most investigations in this area. However, Panagiotou (2006, p. 441) summarises the problems of this prescriptive approach as leading to: [. . . ] a preoccupation by managers that strategic management is all about prescribing strategies for positioning a business in a particular industry structure, having ? rst carried out a thorough economic analysis based on the implicit notion th at industry structures are relatively stable and easily identi? ble. The role of strategic groups 515 More recently a cognitive approach to strategic group research has emerged based on the argument that managers’ simpli? cation of their complex competitive environments and perceptions of similarities and differences among their rivals will shape strategic decision-making (Panagiotou, 2006, 2007; Reger and Huff, 1993). Such managerial insights into competitive groupings offer clearer conceptions of the way decision-makers perceive their own organisations and their rivals and therefore how these determine and implement strategies.These arguments suggest that strategists’ PR 41,4 516 understand (and approach) their competitive environments in similar ways, and are related to the ideas of institutional assimilation and isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991). Therefore, the capacity of ? rms to pursue distinctive practices for competitive advant age may be limited by constraints, such as organisational inertia and forms of isomorphism (Reger and Huff, 1993; Boon et al. , 2009). Strategic groups are then another important aspect of the structural dimensions which foster this organisational sluggishness.These are critical insights where the pursuit of competitive advantage through human resources, HRM practices and strategies has gained substantial support in recent years (Becker and Huselid, 2006; Boxall, 2003). However, this quest for distinctive or idiosyncratic HRM practices and strategies to attain competitive advantage needs to be resolved against the pressures to conform and achieve social legitimacy within sectors. The next section evaluates the contemporary SHRM approaches and highlights where the strategic group literature contributes to their enhanced understanding.The strategic HRM approaches Three main SHRM approaches have emerged as the keystone for understanding and achieving sustained corporate success through human resources (Purcell, 1999, 2001; Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). While the opportunities for simultaneously enacting these approaches are now well-rehearsed it is useful to revisit them brie? y as part of developing the theoretical connection with the strategic group literature. The best practice SHRM approach encourages companies to adopt sophisticated or â€Å"high performance† practices across their human resources in order to achieve competitive advantage (Pfeffer, 1998; Huselid, 1995).Considerable criticism of the best practice SHRM approach occurs in relation to what actually represents â€Å"sophisticated† HRM practices and the empirical basis on which these practices are suggested (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000; Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Furthermore, the conventional best practice SHRM approach suggests that these superior HRM practices should be adopted regardless of different industrial and national boundaries (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000; B oxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008).Recent evaluations of the â€Å"best practice† SHRM approach have emerged recognising that within industries there may be certain HRM practices and approaches which are obligatory (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). The â€Å"table stake† concept suggests there are established (HRM) practices adopted by all businesses in an industry which serve to legitimise their position in that industry. This concept has thus been recognised as an adaptation of the â€Å"best practice† SHRM approach (Boon et al. , 2009; Bjorkman, 2006; Boxall and Purcell, 2003; Paauwe and Boselie, 2003).The â€Å"table stake† version of best practice SHRM approach is based on the institutional assimilation literature where organisations struggle to distinguish themselves from their industry associates while simultaneously achieving legitimacy (institutional ? t) in their sector (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983; Powell and DiMaggio, 1991; Oliver, 1997). Isomorphis m is the process which constrains organisations’ attempts to differentiate themselves within the same institutional context (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983).Isomorphism emerges in two broad variations; competitive isomorphism where market pressures and performance targets are emphasised and institutional isomorphism where institutional factors associated with socio-cultural, technological and economic parameters are highlighted. The adoption of best practice SHRM approach across an international setting has also been roundly critiqued (Brewster, 1999, 2006; Sparrow et al. , 2004) due to the ingrained national institutional and cultural conventions, which are seen to regulate the value of various high performance HRM practices in other countries (Brewster, 1991, 2006; Sorge, 2004).However, this does not mean that across a country all industries have the same HRM practices. Much of the IHRM literature could be seen as disproportionately focused on the parent and host country culture s and systems in light of the evidence on SHRM approaches and practices in hospitals, local government and hotels (Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003). Such studies indicate that institutional and competitive isomorphisms differ across industry contexts creating distinct table stake HRM practices in different industries within the same country (Boon et al. , 2009; DiMaggio and Powell, 1983).Furthermore, such evidence recognizes that national institutional dimensions may have less of an impact than competitive institutional dimensions on some industries and their resulting people management practices. This level of industry interplay on the best practice approach is valuable but in light of the strategic group insights it is clear that companies do not compete directly with every other company in their industry. Instead they are likely to have particularly close rivals whose practices, products, managers, innovations and initiatives will be of speci? interest to them (Panagiotou, 2006; Pete raf and Shanley, 1997). As such there may be another layer of consistency and similarity in HRM practices due to the close rivalry of strategic groups, in addition to those identi? ed by the â€Å"table stake† version of the best practice SHRM approach across an industry. The â€Å"best-? t† SHRM approach suggests a ? rm’s market position and strategies drive and shape its HRM policies and practices. Within the â€Å"best ? t† SHRM approach a range of theories have emerged from those that more simplistically link speci? strategy choices to HRM practices and policies (Delery and Doty, 1996; Miles and Snow, 1984; Schuler and Jackson, 1987) to more complex models (Fombrun et al. , 1984; Hendry and Pettigrew, 1986) which envision a range of corporate characteristics (strategies, positions, portfolio characteristics) determining people management practices. Within the IHRM area, much of the research has also focused on the in? uential nature of national differ ences as well as strategic models (Perlmutter, 1969; Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989, 2000; Edwards et al. , 1996).For example: the models of international orientation (Perlmutter, 1969; Heenan and Perlmutter, 1979); product life-cycle phases (Adler and Ghadar, 1990); and international responsiveness versus integration (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989, 2000; Edwards et al. , 1996) are all based on strategic choice arguments derived from the strategic management ? eld. The main thrust of the strategic dimension to IHRM has revolved around the question of whether HRM practices are determined by corporate or business strategies and customised or standardised across national boundaries with many authors providing detailed analyses of the contingency of speci? factors (Boselie et al. , 2002, 2003; Coller and Marginson, 1998; Easterby-Smith et al. , 1995; Ferner, 1994, 1997; Ferner and Quintanilla, 1998; Hannon et al. , 1995; Newman and Nollen, 1996; Rosenzweig and Nohria, 1994; Rosenzweig, 2006; T hompson et al. , 1998). The weaknesses of the â€Å"best ? t† SHRM approach are its distorted attention on the external context as determining strategies and practices based on market positioning, cultural and institutional factors; and its inability to secure competitive advantage where several companies within the same sector pursue similar strategies and marketThe role of strategic groups 517 PR 41,4 518 positions (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008; Kamoche, 2001; Wright and Snell, 1998). Such criticisms are similar to those voiced by contemporary strategic management researchers on the objective and prescriptive versions of strategic management being the primary in? uence on strategic thinking and decision-making at the expense of managers’ and executives perceptions of positions and rivalries (Reger and Huff, 1993).Indeed Panagiotou’s (2006, 2007) research on executives’ perceptions, as opposed to the economic analysis of the competitive terrains, compe titor strategies and industry dynamics shaping strategic groups, highlights that executives whose ? rms belong to the same strategic groups react to events and market factors in similar ways. This suggests, that not only are companies constrained by the suggested strategies and market positions they develop, but that there are limitations to the options they can take to distinguish themselves because of the added level of similarity strategic groups create.Finally, the resource based view (RBV) SHRM approach has been proffered as an alternative to the best practice and best-? t approaches due its internal focus based on creating competitive advantage through the leverage of valuable, rare, inimitable, non-substitutable and rent achieving (human) resources (Morris et al. , 2006; Wright et al. , 1994, 2004). The empirical research supporting the RBV SHRM approach (Boxall and Steeneveld, 1999; Leonard-Barton, 1995; Marchington et al. , 2003) clearly highlights that human resources can ful? l the criteria of resources which deliver competitive advantage.The most valuable human resources are those identi? ed as the â€Å"strategic human resources† or â€Å"rainmakers† who ful? l the RBV criteria of adding exponential supplementary value to companies. By developing HRM practices, which are idiosyncratic and interdependent, the RBV approach argues that companies can capitalise on their proprietary knowledge and transfer it creatively and effectively across its workforce. Several authors (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Harvey et al. , 1999, 2000; Taylor et al. , 1996) have adopted this approach and identi? d that capitalising on internal resources to achieve competitive advantage is quite different from the best-? t SHRM approach because it surmounts the external views of the best-? t approach. This view is neatly outlined in the frustrations of Cappelli and Singh (1992 in Wright et al. , 2004 p. 11): [. . . ] many within strategy have implicitly assumed t hat it is easier to rearrange complementary assets/resources given a choice of strategy than it is to rearrange strategy given a set of assets/resources, even though the empirical research seems to imply the opposite.The RBV SHRM approach offers speci? c insights into the value of internal resources in securing successful international operations (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Harvey et al. , 2000). Speci? cally particular groups of human resources are seen to have an honoured position within companies where they transfer tacit knowledge to new markets and provide sustainable competitive advantage (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Scullion and Starkey, 2000). Taylor et al. ’s (1996) study used the RBV approach to identify the critical role of HRM competence within international ? ms, the part senior management play in identifying the company’s potential to develop HRM competence and the different groups of human resources who constitute ? rm strategic human resources. However, the weaknesses of this SHRM approach are its omission to clearly depict the interplay between internal resources and environmental factors, and the recurring evidence that ? rms struggle with the challenges of their competitive sector to achieve distinctiveness and success through their human resources and HRM practices (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Once again the strategic groups literature provides speci? insights here in querying whether the pursuit of competitive advantage through the leveraging of the ? rm’s distinctive resources is restrained by the in? uence of their closest strategic group (Panagiotou, 2006, 2007). Clearly each of the SHRM approaches (table stake best practice, best-? t and RBV) have some resonance and these perspectives are summarised in Table I in terms of their initial focus and the levels of context where their attention is directed. There is an overall tendency across the SHRM literature for tensions, contradictions and imbalance (Boselie et al. 2009) as evidenced in the overly prescriptive best practice approach, the highly contingent best ? t approach (focusing on speci? c market or national context factors) and the RBV’s spotlight on the internal resources of the organisation. Individual adoption of these approaches is unlikely to provide a meaningful depiction of how companies might pursue competitive advantage via their human resources or HRM practices. Instead it is argued that companies can use a combined and simultaneous version of the three SHRM approaches in an attempt to balance the external and internal perspectives adopted by the best-? and RBV approaches, while also recognising the important in? uence industry isomorphism (table stakes) has on the creation of a set of HRM practices (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008). Even where such a combined and simultaneous model of SHRM has been advocated (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008) there appears insuf? cient understanding of, and insight into, the industry or sectoral level of analysis (Boselie et al. , 2009; Boxall, 2003; Paauwe, 2008; Paauwe and Boselie, 2008). By exploring SHRM practices and approaches across an industry, rather than across speci? national or company contexts, a better understanding of the internal and external challenges faced by competing organisations to achieving distinctive HRM strategies and practices becomes manifest. Alongside this evaluation of the SHRM approaches, the strategic groups literature highlights that these clusters of close rivals may compound the SIHRM approaches Primary focus Level Company/? rm The role of strategic groups 519 Resource based view (RBV) Competitive advantage achieved through developing resources Internal which are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Non-substitutable and Rent achieving Best ? Based on crafting HRM practices tied to strategic management External models – typically through strategic analyses tools of market position Based on aligning HRM practices to different in ternational and domestic cultural and institutional contexts and company demand for standardisation Best practice Originally identi? ed as sophisticated practices capable of External achieving competitive advantage Now associated with HRM practices which are â€Å"table stakes† essential for operating with social legitimacy within an industry Competitive market National contexts and competitive market Industry Table I.The initial focus of SIHRM approaches PR 41,4 challenges ? rms already face in realising differentiation through their human resources and HRM practices. Indeed where industry analyses highlight the importance of conformance of industry members, to particular HRM practices and systems, strategic groups suggest another layer of orthodoxy among closest rivals which limit the pursuit of distinctive competitive advantage by ? rms. Research design Analysis of strategic groups requires an industry focus and this research was undertaken within the context of the intern ational hotel sector.This sector has been identi? ed as international by nature (Litteljohn, 2003; Litteljohn et al. , 2007) with companies achieving growth through a range of market entry modes, typically engaging with different equity partners (Whitla et al. , 2007). Managing portfolios of hotels with diverse ownership arrangements (such as the asset light options of management contracts, franchises and part equity agreements) has created challenges for international hotel companies (IHCs) (Beals, 2006; Eyster, 1997; Gannon et al. , 2010; Guilding, 2006).Traditionally hotel general managers (HGMs) have been seen as strategic human resources (Boxall and Steeneveld, 1999; Marchington et al. , 2003) responsible for creating pro? table hotel units through their leadership and operational expertise in the hotel industry (Forte, 1986; Kriegl, 2000; Ladkin and Juwaheer, 2000). However, the asset light market entry modes developed more recently as a result of IHC portfolio expansion have resulted in managers and executives experiencing different challenges and requiring enhanced skills sets.At the heart of this study was the aim to explore how IHCs have developed IHRM strategies and practices to manage their international managerial resources within the broader context of the sector’s competitive forces, growing industry concentration and in the presence of strategic groups (Curry et al. , 2001; Litteljohn, 1999; Roper, 1995). Any attempt to capture people management strategies and practices across an industry, as well as at the ? rm level, involves the adoption of a comprehensive sample of organisations. This study used an industry de? nition of global operations based on companies operating hotels across ? e out of the six economically viable continents, as a purposive sample technique (Saunders et al. , 2000). This research stage comprised substantial secondary data collection on the broader international hotel industry with information on service levels, ownership modes, brands, portfolios and geographical penetration and the information is captured in Table II. Only nine companies met these global criteria and eight of these nine companies granted access to their senior human resource executives (typically Vice Presidents of Human Resources) and administrative teams, and HR systems and materials.The ? eldwork interviews took place at the European corporate headquarters, regional of? ces and in hotel units for the eight companies. Interviews with the senior HR executives for each of the eight companies form the main part of the data. These interviews lasted around four hours on average. In addition, time was also spent with administrative teams, reading documentation and observing meetings. A checklist was developed to complement the interview questions and data, and to systemise the collection of company documentation, observations and interactions with the administrative teams (Robson, 2002).Documentation included HRM policies, pe rformance appraisal forms, training manuals, organisational charts, company communications, job descriptions, succession plans and demonstrations and hard copies of HR databases. The interview 520 International hotel companies Suggested strategy and methods of growth Differentiation strategies – based on the power of the company’s hotel brand name. Expansion in prime city centre and resort locations and the development of hotel clusters in countries or regions achieved through management contracts and joint ventures Various strategies deployed at the different market levels.Budget brands operate on a no frills strategy. International luxury properties follow a differentiation (premium price) strategy. One third of properties are owned and two-thirds are management contract arrangements. Growth through management contracting, franchising or marketing agreements and some ownership Focused differentiation strategy based on distinctive design and architectural features ass ociated with properties and attention to detail service style. Grows solely by securing management contract agreements with select investors Differentiation strategy based on developing modern and ef? ient ? rst class hotels. Growth achieved through management contracting, rather than ownership, and a global partnership with one of America’s largest international hotel corporations Operates at different market levels – particularly concerned with distinctiveness and value for money and therefore a broad hybrid strategy is identi? ed Mixed type of operation is used across portfolio; approximately 46 per cent owned, 21 per cent leased, 22. 5 per cent management contracts and 10. 5 per cent franchised (continued) 150 ? Prestige international brand National UK mid-market brand 48 Number of hotelsBrands Number of countries Anglo-American Premium Britbuyer 900 Nine brands at international and domestic levels: Upscale Mid market Budget 50 Contractman International 200 Four lu xury or upscale brands 35 Euroalliance One upscale brand 16 50 * Euromultigrow 2,500 ? Seventeen brands split into: Upscale and midscale Economy and budget Leisure hotels 73 521 The role of strategic groups Table II. Pro? les of global hotel companies in sample PR 41,4 522 International hotel companies 2,300 ? Five brands: two at mid market Prestige brand Budget brand Holiday resorts 63 FranchiseKing GlobalallianceUSBonusbranda 700 Seven brands Two at both mid market and budget levels Prestige brand Suites Holiday resorts Prestige brand Mid-market brand – North America 63 35 USmixedeconomy Note: a This company did not participate in the ? nal stages of the research Table II. Number of hotels Brands Number of countries Suggested strategy and methods of growth Hybrid strategy based on presence across a range of market sectors but competitively priced in each sector. Company documentation states the aim as â€Å"To be the preferred hotel system, hotel management company, and lo dging franchise in the world.To build on the strength of the FranchiseKing name utilising quality and consistency as the vehicle to enhance it’s perceived ‘value for money’ position in the middle market. † Focused differentiation strategy based on international exposure and expertise in the luxury hotel market. Growth through management contracting, franchising or marketing agreements and some ownership Deploys several strategies including a hybrid strategy for its domestic units and a differentiation (with premium price) strategy for most of its international properties at the prestige level.Growth through management contracting and franchising, with limited ownership Adopts a variety of strategies including a hybrid strategy for its domestic units and a differentiation (with premium price) strategy for most of its international properties. Growth through management contracting some ownership and franchising 190 Prestige brand Mid-market brand – Nor th America 70 460 transcripts, ? eldwork notes and documentation allowed cases to be written for each company which were sense-checked by industry informants and against the research team’s notes and observations.Access was granted to the eight companies on the basis of offering con? dentiality to participants and organisations. Each company was protected through the allocation of pseudonyms and all data and notes collected removed company names and trademarks to provide con? dentiality. This is in keeping with the widely acknowledged dif? culties of gaining access within this industry (Litteljohn et al. , 2007; Ropeter and Kleiner, 1997). The cases built on the interview transcripts, observations and company documentation data meant that ualitative analysis was achieved through the tools and computer aided techniques recommended by key authors (Miles and Huberman, 1994; Silverman, 1997, 1999). The process of initial coding identi? ed HRM practices, management criteria and co mpany strategies and characteristics. Descriptive coding was then used to highlight speci? c activities and relationships between HRM practices and approaches, and company characteristics. Further interpretive coding and analytic coding were highlighted through the themes presented by the respondents and the theoretical relationships arising from the data and initial coding (Silverman, 1997, 1999).Of particular importance were the themes of similar and distinctive HRM practices deployed by the companies, strategic groups and across the sample. Results Across the sample of eight IHCs evidence of common HRM interventions deployed included: a reliance on strong internal labour markets for unit management positions; training programmes with universal components; the use of performance appraisal as a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating human resources talent, the deployment of speci? c contractual agreements and conventions; the recurrent use of corporate communications channels; and speci? HRM responses to cultural and international challenges. The shared aims of these practices indicated that the IHCs were adopting the table stake version of the best practice SHRM approach across their international portfolios (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 2008; Boselie et al. , 2003, 2009). The next stage of data examination involved the identi? cation of company speci? c HRM practices based on the best ? t and RBV SHRM approaches. However, subsequent analysis of the qualitative data began to identify another layer of similar HRM interventions centred on the appearance of strategic groups within the sample.There appeared to be similarities between the companies based on strategic variables such as parent company ownership, the scope of the hotels organisations’ activities (levels of internationalisation, geographical coverage, and market segments); resource commitments (including size, brands and market entry modes); and centric and transnational orientations. As a resul t the sample was demarcated into three strategic groups. These are labelled the Multi-branders, Mixed Portfolio Purchasers and Prestige Operators.Table III summarises the strategic similarities and differences between the three groups and their IHC members. Patterns of HRM interventions across the three strategic groups are apparent from the data supplied by the executives, their teams and the documentation. These patterns focus around six areas: The role of strategic groups 523 PR 41,4 Similarities Differences 524 Table III. International hotel company strategic groups Strategic Group 1 – The Multi-branders (two companies) National cultural origins FranchiseKing and Parent companies – related horizontally Euromultigrow diversi? d Mid-market brand dominates in Large size – 2,000 ? hotels one company while distinct High levels of internationalisation but brands used for different market strong domestic base (French and USA) segments by other Multiple brands (luxu ry to budget) Dif? culties aligning parent company, brand One company uses more names and operations franchising Hybrid strategies Range of market entry modes Ethnocentric orientation Global organisation Strategic Group 2 – The Mixed Portfolio Purchasers (two companies) Britbuyer and Similar size (between 400 and 1,000 hotels) Diversi? ation of parent companies is different USmixedeconomy Mid-position in internationalisation index Strong domestic presence and distinctive One company has more international operations ownership/partial ownership of Range of market entry modes hotels Acquisitive growth of European prestige brands One company has much smaller Brands offered at similar market levels Challenges of aligning disparate domestic budget brand domestic interests and international portfolios, corporate strategies and new acquisitions Ethnocentric orientation but with some geocentric aspirations Multinational rganisation Strategic Group 3 – The Prestige Operators (f our companies) Two companies have separate Parent companies – related diversi? ed Anglo-American domestic operations Similar size (between 50 and 202 hotels) Premium Similar levels of low internationalisation Contractman Two companies have grown Focus on luxury, ? st class hotel market International through strategic partnerships (resort and business) Euroalliance Strategies broadly differentiation and Globalalliance One company uses a broader focused differentiation range of market entry modes Growth primarily through management contracting Broadly geocentric but with some aspects of ethnocentrism Transnational organisation (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) the levels where HRM is focused; different views about management skills and transferability across brands; how international and domestic operations function; extent of owner in? ence and cultural differences; how and where managerial talent is found; and where speci? c career interventions emerge. Table IV captures some of the co mments from interviews across these six levels and the three strategic groups. The HRM interventions and features developed by the three strategic groups are outlined in Table V along with the strategic variables which distinguish the groups. Strategic group 1: Multi-branders The sheer size and scale of their multi-branded operations indicated parallels between the HRM approaches taken by the Multi-branders (see comments in Tables IV and V).Both companies boasted a critical mass of hotels in key countries or regions of the world resulting in more localised recruitment and development approaches. For example, they operated â€Å"UK only† management training schemes and then speci? c recruitment initiatives tailored to educational systems, notably the French training and German apprenticeship schemes. The size of these two companies also meant they allowed their distinct brands to develop individually which had apparently resulted in some speci? brand HRM practices. Both compan ies recognised there were few opportunities for managers to transfer between the different brands leading to bottlenecks in internal labour markets, where some brands grew more quickly and offered extensive transfer and promotion possibilities. The Multi-branders had attempted to deal with these issues in slightly different ways, though both now had structures, enabling moves between managerial levels across brands to achieve some overall parity across their company.In one company (Euromultigrow) there was a guide to the different positions within each brand to encourage internal brand transfers of human resources. This guide was based on extensive negotiations with managers across the company’s brands, although parent country nationals (PCNs) dominated among these managers and the company’s University was responsible for the roll-out training for this guide. Franchiseking had developed a competency-based HRM system designed to identify common areas of expertise across its brands and as one HR executive identi? d all managers with line responsibilities had to attend and use this framework. The competencies were developed in accordance with a HRM consultant ? rm and used existing and future â€Å"high potential† managers across the company’s portfolio to identify appropriate behaviours of successful managers. Competencies were heavily in? uenced by the company’s existing management team comprising mainly PCNs. The company then ran a series of training sessions for its senior managers so the competencies formed the basis for all selection, performance appraisal, promotion and training decisions and activities.These attempts to closely manage their large portfolios of standardised brands across geographically disparate locations meant the Multi-branders adopted an ethnocentric orientation to internationalisation with PCNs dominant in subsidiary management positions, which runs somewhat counter to their critical mass of units and attempts to localise too. The Multi-branders commented less extensively, compared with the members of the other two strategic groups, on the level of interference from property owners where management contracts were used.They argued this was probably because their highly standardised brands, even at full-service levels, meant owners knew what to expect, and they did not attempt to interfere in the day-to-day management of hotels. The selection of managers for managed properties was also less troublesome for the Multi-branders. In most cases executives could appoint whomever they wanted and The role of strategic groups 525 PR 41,4 526 The levels of focus for HRM Table IV.Responses from HR executives from the strategic groups Multibranders â€Å"Our area, regional human resource executives run national versions of our company University training and recruitment programmes to ? t with national vocational education. † Assistant HR director for Euromultigrow EAME â€Å"We have a critical mass of hotels in certain countries and have built real presence so we need to adopt some of their practices as long as they ? t now with our competences. † Corporate Training and Development Director FranchiseKing â€Å"In France, Germany, the UK and the Benelux and Scandinavian countries, where we have critical mass, they have some ? xibility for recruitment and training. It has been a bit of a struggle with our acquisition of M to get this right, though. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"Some areas, with more hotels, have a little bit more autonomy than others and we have them do their own management recruitment and training, based on our head-of? ce materials. † Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"We run a graduate management programme to ensure we have our next crop of managers waiting in the wings. We also have an executive management programme which includes an MBA – both are designed to g et us the GMs of the future. Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"Our graduate management programme is being revitalised for next year and we’ll be targeting the brightest from the hotel schools in Holland and Switzerland for EAME. All our graduates must have language skills and meet speci? c knowledge requirements. † Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs â€Å"I don’t think graduate management schemes per se work. Instead we recruit graduates, mainly from Switzerland and the Dutch schools, into real jobs and although they’re a hotel resource, we (headquarters) monitor their progress and target them with speci? courses to try and bring them on. † HR Vice President Euroalliance (continued) Multibranders â€Å"We had to respect what was there. The predominant national culture of the newly acquired company) meant that we had a lot of communicating and educating to do within our company and within theirs. We moved managers within (names the acquired company) between units to give them a fresh start and many of them are still with us. It worked out well really. † Regional HR director USmixedeconomy Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Views about management skills â€Å"No, not so many people transferred.It was and transferability across brands quite common between one brand and also quite common between (names two other company brands at the same market level) but not at all between the others. It was dif? cult, not good. Now we will have a stronger parent company from this new structure. † HR Vice President for Euromultigrow GMs skills needs â€Å"fall into four skill sets which†¦ one is managing myself based on the premise that if I can’t manage myself then I can’t really manage anybody else. Then managing others and then the third one is problem solving and decision making and the fourth one is pro-active achievement.Very dif? cult to measure, but the actu al achievement levels and the go for it and taking that extra risk, the entrepreneurial part. And then there is the languages and â€Å"We have been training them in the use of behavioural event interviewing to help them, â€Å"When we acquired company [M] there was cultural bit. † HR Vice President Euroalliance . . . to spot the competencies. This allows us a bit of a standoff basically because they to see where in the portfolio of brands they wanted to be acquired by somebody else†¦ It â€Å"It feels it is dif? ult to see where a young manager’s next move is in an international can move to† Corporate Training and didn’t help that the CEO of our company company without the right language skills Development Director FranchiseKing went ‘round their hotels saying ‘get rid of this’ or ‘do that’. Things have changed now, to allow widening of transfer options. †Anglo-American Premium Vice again. There’s more a ppreciation of what President of HRs [acquired company] does right on the international scene and we’re a lot more â€Å"There are core or critical parts to our open to learning from them.It’s now twobusiness; marketing and sales, managing way. † Britbuyer HR EAME director human resources, ? nancial management, creative decision –making and leadership. These need to be displayed across cultures across properties to make it as a GM. † Vice President HR Contractman International (continued) The role of strategic groups 527 Table IV. PR 41,4 528 How international and domestic operations function â€Å"For an international GM you need languages and international experience – that is why some managers from brands back home don’t make it. Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Table IV. Multibranders â€Å"Most of these potential GMs do tend still to be the same nationality as the company, but I don’t know why. We don’t necessarily want that, at all. † HR Vice President for Euromultigrow â€Å"All GMs are informed that the best way to read and become familiar with the (competency) guide is to read the English version ? rst – this is the authoritative version. † Corporate Training and Development Director FranchiseKing Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"Why the four different parts of the world?Well each one has some strengths. I mean that States you take marketing and very different human resources. Asia you still have the luxury of being able to have a lot of employees and a far bigger budget because costs are lower. Japan because the way, the mentality of the Japanese market and customer is different, and Europe to do same thing but with a very tight budget because costs are so high. † Vice President HR EAME Contractman International â€Å"Our domestic brand managers aren’t our international mangers. There is no transfer, well ok I can think of one or two. You need international experience which creates a bit of a catch 22 – because it is the old thing of ‘you can’t get the job without the experience and you can’t get the experience without the job’. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"A future GM must have worked outside his or her home country before they can be promoted to this level. It is important for managers to have language skills not only to help them operate in particular locations but also because there are far more career opportunities for those individuals who can demonstrate language pro? ciency. Transfers are then an important aspect of developing a career. Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs (continued) Multibranders â€Å"Well most of the time, it depends on the case of course, most of the time, the shareholder of the hotel will be an investor but he will not be an operational actor. He is interested in the bottom line, not what goes on inside the hotel. † HR Vi ce President for Euromultigrow Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"Usually owners interview the three candidates we put forward for each GM position and invariably, well they select the candidate preferred by the company, though Vice Presidents often have to use some powers of persuasion. Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs â€Å"We have to know our owners really well to give them the GMs they want and need. That’s a tough call when you’re growing so much. † Vice President HR Contractman International â€Å"Some owners are really dif? cult and have to be managed carefully. That’s where our Regional guys come in. Others are great and they are our business partners, with us for the long haul. â€Å" HR Vice President Euroalliance â€Å"Owners do have a lot of in? uence because if we give them somebody and they say ‘we don’t think this guy’s any good’, well!Although we could force them on them it isnâ⠂¬â„¢t a very sensible thing to do. So the owning company does have a big bearing on the GM slot. † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance (continued) Extent of owner in? uence and cultural differences â€Å"We have owners, for example, . . . but we have owners who are very, very clear about the people who we are likely, or more often than not, we can’t employ. Usually it’s in terms of nationalities and colours, race and sexual preferences they don’t like.It is their hotel and if they say ‘I don’t want somebody with red hair’ then you don’t put somebody â€Å"Owner interference depends on our brands, with red hair in, it’s as simple as that. † Britbuyer HR EAME director the more exclusive the brand the more in? uence but mainly we propose people ‘this candidate has our ? rm support’. â€Å"The frequency of moves our managers Obviously the quality of the relationship make are also driven by how tightly an with the owner is very important and you owner wants to hang on to them.So we’re must respect their wishes pertaining to GMs constrained by hardship factors, and but it doesn’t cause us much trouble really. † owner’s predilections and preferences. † Vice President for HR FranchiseKing Regional HR director USmixedeconomy The role of strategic groups 529 Table IV. PR 41,4 530 How and where managerial talent is found Table IV. Multibranders â€Å"We have our area, regional human resource people help our GMs identify their managers who might one day make it, who have the potential to be GMs too. The area human resource people then run some courses and do the training we have developed through our company university. HR Vice President for Euromultigrow Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators â€Å"How do we manage our GMs? Well we include all managers here – well it’s a very integrated approach to career development , or management development and the annual appraisal and it all comes together with succession planning and the work we coordinate here (gestures to the corporate head-of? ce). † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"We’re [the executive team] in the hotels a lot, and the President was really great, yesterday he was saying ‘You know everybody whether you’re ? ance or business development or marketing, when you’re in the hotels and you spot people who are really good, notice it, you know get a note of the name, make sure that we’re also all talent spotting our own people. † HR Vice President Euroalliance â€Å"We must therefore nurture excellence in every one of our employees, especially our local nationals – the people who live in the countries where we operate hotels. † Vice President HR EAME Contractman International â€Å"At the Vice President and divisional director levels we’re always trav elling, listening to what are people are saying and telling them about what’s happening across the company.And spotting talent too. † Anglo-American Premium Vice President of HRs (continued) â€Å"I mean I am very conscious from this conversation we are not doing all we could to develop the next generation of GMs. It is partly because the number two position in some units has disappeared. So there aren’t enough opportunities for heads of departments to move on and develop their experience. We haven’t had a problem so far but as we increase (grow) we might be struggling for the right calibre of GMs in a â€Å"Some of our approach to identifying GM few years time. Britbuyer HR EAME potential is systematic, some is opportunistic. We’re trying to become more director systematic, through the new competencies process. We’ve recognised we have to have â€Å"You must realise that traditionally we have more local nationals and fewer expatriates. â €  consciously developed very good resident managers/EAMs (Executive Assistant Corporate Training and Development Managers) so when these individuals took Director FranchiseKing over their own units there was a very low risk of failure.Since our purchases and down-sizing, however, there are now some properties that no longer have a number 2 manager. Thus we have effectively stopped developing this ‘almost’ risk free human resource – it may cause us problems in the long term. † Vice President HR USmixedeconomy Multibranders â€Å"Our restructuring of brands and growth in franchising means we have to be clear about what managers do to make the hotels successful. Our company university is critical for training to our brands so all our managers know. † Assistant HR director for Euromultigrow EAME Potential GMs . . â€Å"It’s very intensive (the assessment centre) with personal counselling, tests to see where their stresses and strains are, and management skills across the board, running from 8 in the morning to 10 at night. It’s really very intensive and we have people â€Å"When we go outside, well we steal from the from across the world, with different â€Å"Performance of our business is crucial and competition and just rely on the grapevine or languages and cultures, the mix of people is seen to be the best element of these maybe on-spec applications.There’s some that is why so much investment and events. †Anglo-American Premium Vice development had been made in this area of use of executive search but that’s very President of HRs expensive. † Regional HR director competencies and performance management. There’s been a clear growth in USmixedeconomy â€Å"For the assessment centre a report is pro? ts since the competencies were ? rst written on them based on what we feel they developed. † Vice President for HR demonstrated, in the way they acted during FranchiseKing th e course.What is okay and the right way, what’s to be demonstrated and what’s to be discussed, where they feel they need development in, and from that we can more or less determine the time span its going to take so that they’ll be ready to be a GM, and what has to happen in-between so the individual development is planned. † Corporate Director of Human Resources Globalalliance â€Å"In fact it is incredibly incestuous and people just seem to appear or materialise. We wouldn’t directly poach someone, well . . . , but if someone made it clear to us they’d be interested then we’d feel ? e about calling them up. † Britbuyer HR EAME director â€Å"They all go on a leadership development programme and I design and I teach those with a co-trainer, I like to see that I’m there with them for a full week and we run an assessment process with the leadership development programme. So they’re booked for tests and exercises ba sed on the four management skills areas and they have individual feedback during the brief to let them know how they’re doing. This sets them with an individual plan for the future. † HR Vice President EuroallianceMixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Where speci? c career interventions emerge The role of strategic groups 531 Table IV. PR 41,4 Strategic groups Strategic group variables HRM outcomes Brands and market segmentation Multi-branders Hard brands, serving several different market levels 532 Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Allows more localisation of management talent due to standardisation and clear criteria for operating brands Movement within and between brands facilitated to prevent career bottlenecks Some soft (international) and some Dif? ult to facilitate movement hard (domestic) brands between international brands due to recent purchases, no transfer between domestic and international brands due to skills mismatch Importance of comm unication to assimilate new acquisitions Softer brands Emphasis on transfers to develop managerial experience of different countries/markets, and types of hotels Encourages and facilitates employees at all levels to gain international experience Large diverse organisations, structured on the basis of brands and some geographical factors Critical mass of units in some locations Organised on International and domestic divisions.Slow assimilation of newly purchased international brand Some critical mass of units Companies have developed guides to articulate management positions and skills across brands Critical mass allows multi-unit UGMs and more local recruitment and selection activities Some local recruitment and selection, less development through strong internal labour market and more acquisition of management talent Critical mass allows more localisation of management talent but not co-ordinated effectively throughout the companies Regional of? es co-ordinate transfers and HRM pr actices but also learn from subsidiaries to pass experience, knowledge and expertise on across other regions. IT plays an important role here Across company recruitment and development schemes rather than localised versions. Provides single ports of entry at (sub) department management level to locals (continued) Structure and organisation Multi-branders Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige OperatorsSmaller portfolios organised on regional lines Limited critical mass of units Table V. The IHC strategic groups, their strategic variables and the HRM outcomes Strategic groups Centric orientation Multi-branders Strategic group variables Primarily ethnocentric HRM outcomes The role of strategic groups Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators Highly standardised services seem to facilitate low reliance on PCNs at subsidiary level though they are prevalent at executive level Dif? ult to discern – bypassing of PCNs still mainly in place for acquired companies, some stages through acquisitions locations with HCNs (critical (McKiernan, 1992) mass) but dominated by Western nationals Aspiring geocentric Attempts to harness managerial talent from around the world regardless of nationality through co-ordinated and integrated HRM activities UGMs still primarily from Western (European and American) backgrounds, executives in particular 533 Methods of growth and market entry expertise Multi-branders Growth through hard brands and the development of suitable investors (master franchisees and owners)Mixed Portfolio Purchasers Prestige Operators UGMs have speci? c knowledge and skills in operating highly standardised hotel services and passing knowledge onto others (franchisees) HRM mechanisms de? ne performance and selection criteria for managers and employees Acquisition used alongside mixed UGMs are likely to have expertise methods of market entry (mainly in exploiting value from purchased properties management contracts) De-layering of organisational hierarchies (d isappearance of deputy UGM position) and local recruitment initiatives were seen to help realise returns on their acquisitions Managers demonstrate speci? Growth primarily through pro? ciency in managing more management contracting, some marketing agreements, and equity luxurious and culturally adapted hotels and their owners investment. Global but local More extensive and integrated outlook HRM interventions, which support extensive transfers and development opportunities, throughout human resources, not just managers Table V. PR 41,4 534 only in a few hotels or in speci? c countries and with speci? c types of owners (for example, governments) were there two or three managers presented to owners in a â€Å"beauty parade†.The Multi-branders were more concerned about the co-ordination of franchise operators and training and communication were seen to be vital mechanisms for managing these issues. These were the only companies who identi? ed mandatory training courses for manag ers and held speci? c courses that their franchise partners were obliged to attend. Constant travelling by corporate executives was seen to further reinforce company values and assist in harmonization between geographically disparate franchised, managed and owned units.Both companies showed evidence of strong similarities associated with managing their multi-branded, and multi-market entry strategies and large, diverse portfolios. Dividing their HRM interventions into areas or countries where there was a critical mass of units was appropriate given the scale of their operations. Strong values, often based on the origins of the company, ? were communicated through frequent communiques and training opportunities further reinforced the brand standards and achieved appropriate levels of corporate synergy in the face of competition from their smaller but potentially more nimble competitors.Strategic group 2: Mixed Portfolio Purchasers The Mixed Portfolio Purchasers had been through consi derable periods of change and growth prior to the researchers’ ? eldwork. In addition to acquiring smaller European hotel chains they had substantially expanded their domestic and international portfolios through other acquisitions and mixed market entry methods. Both had international and larger domestic sections which were managed almost completely separately, although

ÂFreedom of Speech Means the Freedom to Offend. - 1372 Words

George Orwell once famously said ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. This sentence sums up the very essence of free speech; it is, as Orwell believed, the mother of all civil rights. Without the unconditional freedom to offend it cannot exist. Ideas are, more often than not, dangerous things. There is little point in having freedom of speech if it only defends the most popular and innocuous of opinions. The freedom to offend can perpetrate racial, social or religious intolerance; however, conversely, it is also the only means available to fight against such bigotry. Free speech is not something to work towards when the world is ‘better; it is, rather, the vital tool through†¦show more content†¦Again, it should be noted that by use of the word ‘promote, it is implicit that the material on which the promotion is based exists. Censoring intolerance, or forcibly punishing it by imprisonment, is not an e ffective tactic. Without the freedom to offend, we cannot recognise these social problems, nor fight them with any real conviction. Relating back to this line of debate is of course the overseas publication of the controversial Danish cartoons. Cultural tensions within the European Muslim communities have been building up for decades; the Danish Cartoon Armageddon of early this year has only proven if anything, that social tolerance cannot be won through silence or apathy. Rather, it can only be gained through the implementation of free speech. To claim however that the caricatures championed some great ‘in defence of free speech movement is wrong; they were, in themselves, badly drawn, inarticulate, and obscenely unfunny. The Danish cartoons were deliberately provocative, and as such blur the reasonable confines of expression. To lampoon the free speech cause by using them to argue for censorship is ridiculous. One does not go around punching people in the face to test their c ommitment to non-violence; similarly, the cartoons should not be used to test the attendant dangers of absolute freeShow MoreRelatedLimits Of Freedom Of Speech1210 Words   |  5 Pagesfirst amendment, and the first amendment is the right to freedom of speech. And the ongoing question is whether we should place limitations of the said amendment. My dad used to say â€Å"Without the freedom to offend we cannot fully and entirely have Freedom of speech.† Freedom of speech should be limited due to the array of dangerous ways it can be used. Anything can be seen as offensive. If a song is deemed as offensive by one person, does that mean the song is offensive and not protected by the bill ofRead MoreThe Is A First Amendment Right For Newspapers?969 Words   |  4 Pagespopulation. What is not acceptable is the way it is handled by society. Things have been taken way out of proportion. It is unjust and goes against the Constitution of the United States if anyone has to suppress their opinions just because it might offend a community. In the event of the terrorist attack on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, instead of protesting or taking legal action some decided to kill innocent people to get revenge. It was religion based and when they started killing all those peopleRead MoreFlag Burning In America Persuasive Essa Essay example1314 Words   |  6 Pagespublic places. You see it in schools, government building, stores and hanging in our homes. Those stars and strips are a symbol of freedom to many people across the nation. But is also represents civil liberties that became the pillars this country was founded upon. Flag Burning should be legalized because it allows those who feel disenfranchised the freedom of speech, the Constitutional right to protest and in many important instances it holds no Anti –American sentiments. The desecration of theRead MoreThe First Amendment Of Our Constitution1511 Words   |  7 Pagesharmful hate speech that needs to be censored. Although a large amount of things that people find offensive are completely unnecessary we can’t go censoring it to make the problem go away. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can say anything you want to say but it does mean that you have the right to say most things, and most times speech cannot be censored no matter how appalling it is. Sometimes speech needs to be censored, but there is a big difference between illegal and legal speech that we needRead MoreFree Speech Policy Should Be Freedom Of Speech1029 Words   |  5 PagesStudents on many campuses are concerned with debate of ideas and therefore also with free speech issues. So I ll ease the students of a diverse college with an appropriate free-speech policy. The policy should be freedom of speech no matter the topic. Since in the text, â€Å"The importance of prot ecting even the thoughts we hate.† (Volokh, E. (2015, November 2). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com) proves with the sentences; â€Å"Oddly, many of these restrictions come from politicalRead MoreThe Freedom Of Speech By The Bill Of Rights1569 Words   |  7 PagesThe bill of rights was created to give people the fundamentally important individual freedoms that no law could limit or take away. The quote from In Our Defense Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press greater emphasis how vital it was to make freedom of speech the main priority for the people of this nation. However, many of the stuff the people express when using this rightRead MoreAustralia s Present Laws Regulating Human Rights1547 Words   |  7 Pagesequal to one another. Human rights are an extension of Natural Law; the idea that there exists certain natural laws’ which apply to all humanity and which maintain the basic dignity of human beings. Society has ethical beliefs of their fundamental freedoms; a Bill of Human Rights will confirm that in written proof as part of the law. Human rights have stemmed from The Magna Carta 1215, The Declaration of Rights 1698 (UK), The Declaration of Independence 1776, and The Declaration of the Rights of ManRead More Free Speech Essay809 Words   |  4 Pagesabridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievancesquot; (Funk amp; Wagnalls 162). This Amendment guarantees each person of free speech. Does this mean that a person can stand in the middle of the street and yell anything he wants? No, society, even though it cherishes freedom of speech, does give this freedom certain restrictions. Why does society find it necessary to restrict freedom of speechRead More God Should Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance Essay1145 Words   |  5 Pagesmakes him feel â€Å"Disenfranchised†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). He points out that â€Å"The Pledge, which has â€Å"liberty for all† is being used to inculcate his daughter in a religious worldview he cannot accept†. (Hamilton, Marci A. CNN Special). This means that the state is trying to educate his daughter on religion, and therefore â€Å"Under God† is unconstitutional. Michael Newdow does not have custody of his daughter; he is an atheist who feels his daughter is not being treated fairly because she is ofRead MoreEssay Communication Law Worksheet827 Words   |  4 PagesAmendment. What different types of speech can you identify that may have different protection under the first amendment? Under the First Amendment many types of speech receive the most stringent levels of protection while others receive little to no protection at all. Political or religious speech are two of the biggest and most important areas of speech that receive the most protection and seem to be at the core of the First Amendment rights. These two types of speech receive a great deal of scrutiny

William Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet - 759 Words

He Drank the Poison; She Drew the Sword; Romeo, Juliet and Others Accountable for Their End Everyone in the world has had love on at least some level. Romeo and Juliet from William Shakespeare s famous play â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† were so deeply in love they killed themselves to stay together. But who is to blame for the early death of Romeo and Juliet? Is it their ancestors fault? Their parents? Or are Romeo and Juliet the only ones to blame? The characters of Romeo and Juliet are Paris, Capulet, Lady Capulet, Juliet, The Nurse, Montague, Lady Montague, Romeo, Benvolio, Mercutio, Friar Laurence, Friar John and the Apothecary. Romeo and Juliet is a story about lovers who cannot be together because of an ancient grudge between their two families. Later in the story they get married secretly but Juliet is supposed to get married to Paris but she wants to stay faithful to Romeo. Then Friar Lawrence gives a potion to Juliet to fake her death and get her out of marrying Paris. When Romeo finds out about her â€Å"death† he goes into the Capulet tomb and kills hims elf, when Juliet wakes up she also kills herself. I believe that Romeo and Juliet are mainly at fault for their deaths. I also think it is their ancestors fault. I think this because Romeo and Juliet are the ones who actually kill themselves. Romeo kills himself by drinking poison and Juliet tries to kiss the poison off of romeos lips which doesn t work then she stabs herself. Also their ancestors are to blame for their deathsShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1287 Words   |  6 PagesLizzy Baginski English Composition 2 Mr. Spera March 10, 2015 Romeo and Juliet Research Paper The movie Romeo and Juliet is a modern classic film that took place in 1996. Overall this is a timeless story that everyone should go and watch. This movie has an intriguing plot line that tells the story of two feuding families, The Montagues and The Capulets, and how the children of these two different families fall in love. The two children overcome various obstacles such as hiding their chemistry fromRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet 966 Words   |  4 Pages Beauty Over Gold â€Å"Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.--William Shakespeare, 1623. In his book As You Like It, William Shakespeare pointed out the supremacy of love rather than the want of gold and wealth. Truly, beauty is more important to thieves than wealth. Many of the thieves in this world would rather have an elegant woman than to obtain precious rubies. After all, what good is a prosperous man if he doesn’t have a charming woman? Two famous men grab my attention who didn’t fear forRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet Essay1024 Words   |  5 PagesRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an ItalianRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1124 Words   |  5 PagesThe play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based onRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet861 Words   |  4 Pagesgreatly shown in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was love at first sight with Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Meeting at a party and falling in love to get married without even spending quality time with each other. Romeo and Juliet couldn t tell there parents because the Capulets and Montagues are long term rivals. Both Romeo and Juliet had to find different ways and excuses to make this marriage work. A big problem was developed. Romeo kills Juliet s cousin and is banishedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1770 Words   |  8 Pagesof Romeo and Juliet. The story of two destined lovers who were killed by their own doing. But what if they weren t two destined lovers who got unlucky, but doomed partners that were never going to have a good-life to begin with.William Sha kespeare gives us a view of early signs of gang conflict in the early age of Verona, Italy. He gives us a perspective of the norms and customs of Italy during the Setting of William Shakespeare s most famous story. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, givesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1616 Words   |  7 Pageslove can also cause some of life s most controversial battles. These battles could stem from lack of patience, disagreement of moral values, and in some cases, an absence of attraction overall. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the issues that drive Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet s to each of their dreadful misfortunes are inevitable. When it comes to many of Shakespeare s plays, Aristotle s theory is used to describe them as tragedies. Romeo and Juliet is known by many as a tragedyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1264 Words   |  6 Pagestheater-going public the most important dramatist in English literature, Shakespeare oc cupies a well-known position in the world of talented authors. His canon contains thirty-seven plays, written in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Additionally, throughout the years, they continue to sustain critical attention, with the majority of his works circling tragedies, one being Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet speaks to the timeless appeal of star-crossed lovers. Their loveRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet924 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that follows the so-called love of two teenagers. The two fall in love at a masked ball and have a secret marriage. Throughout the play, their actions show how ridiculous love is, and how it is a danger to anyone who become twisted in its choking grasp. However, in the death of the youth and survival of the elders, an alternative explanation for the tragic events may be found. Although Shakespeare seems to be mocking love throughout the play, itRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1279 Words   |  6 Pagesour lives. The great, classic writers teach timeless, valuable life skills. Shakespeare was the greatest writer of all time. His writings mainly consisted of dramas and sonnets. Romeo and Juliet, as well as, A MIdsummer Night’s Dream were written about the same time period. He was able to inter relate everything that wrote. For example, the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe could possibly be an advertisement for Romeo and Juliet. The basic structure of the two dramas is the same; two forbidden lovers meet

South Africa - 3003 Words

South Africa South African landscapes provide us with the lush greens of the jungle, the dry grass of the savanna, the majesty of the mountains, the eroded clay of the desert and the high-rise mortar of the city. A filmmaker can find there any background desired as the scenery for his motion picture, but variety is not the only true value of the African landscape. Here we find the lush, well tended greens that represent the wealth and control of the Europeans who have invaded the country; the dry savannas where the animals roam freely, but the native peoples are restricted; the eroded clay that somehow manages to sustain life and reminds us of the outlying township slums that somehow sustain oppressed lives; and the stifling city†¦show more content†¦But the black children of South Africa were intentionally held back. Their lessons were taught only in Afrikaans so that their world would be a narrow one that could easily be manipulated and controlled. Peter Davis, in his book In Darkest H ollywood, writes, The educational system of South Africa had been deliberately structured to deprive Africans of a sense of continuity, of a past in which they could take pride . . . (159). In Euzhan Palcy’s A Dry White Season (1989) demonstrators, mostly children, wanting a better education, a white education, converge on a crossroad from different directions and march toward the camera. Behind the action, the scenery shows a single tree, symbolic of the tree of knowledge, and African land as far as the eye can see. Some would argue that this is simply a natural South African background, but the open land and sky behind the multitude of African children seems to add emphasis to the march as it says ‘this is our land, and we have a right to the best of what is offered here.’ The subtle message adds power and emotion to this representative scene of Soweto in June of 1976 when young demonstrators were dealt a violent blow by the white government of South Africa. Wh en the struggle ended, the death toll was at 600 lives, and the rest of the world began to take notice of the situation in South Africa. Ralph Nelson, director of The Wilby Conspiracy (1975), offers anotherShow MoreRelatedSouth Africa 1004 Words   |  5 Pages South Africa is known to be successful after the Apartheid but it really wasn’t. The South African Revolution also known as the time of the Apartheid took place during 1908-1994. It was a long struggle for the Africans, which included riots, protests, segregation and physical pain. During the period of the Apartheid, blacks were not treated with equal respect to the whites. They weren’t allowed to vote, hold office and the children couldn’t go to school with whites. It was a horrific time for blacksRead MoreSouth Africa812 Words   |  4 PagesThe history of South Africa encompasses over three million years. Ape-like hominids who migrated to South Africa around three million years ago became the first human-like inhabitants of the area now known as South Africa. Representatives of homo erectus gradually replaced them around a million years ago when they also spread across Africa and into Europe and Asia. Homo erectus gave way to homo sapiens around 100,000 years ago. The first homo sapiens formed the Bushman culture of skilled hunter-gatherersRead MoreA better South Africa for the new South Africa Essay625 Words   |  3 PagesA better South Africa for the new South Africa The Apartheid struggle is not an anecdote about a few black people that lived under a suppressive government; it is a story about millions of black people who suffered tremendously under the oppressive classification system of the National Party. It is a story about bloodshed, suffering and tears. It is a story that serves as a painful reminder of the extent that a group of people would go to ensure that the purity of their race was conserved. The ApartheidRead MoreSouth Africa Essay1004 Words   |  5 PagesSouth Africa is a nation with a wonderful and varied culture. This country has been called â€Å"The Rainbow Nation†, a name that reflects the diversity of such amazing place. The different ethnic and cultural groups of the South Africa do, however, appreciate their own beliefs and customs. Many of these traditions, besides African culture, are influenced by European and Western heritage. The complex and diverse population of the country has made a strong impact to th e various cultures. There areRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa Essay788 Words   |  4 PagesSouth Africa, after experiencing the apartheid, is trying their best to overcome the apartheid. Now, the country even has its own leader. He is Jacob Zuma. It is already his second term as a president.( News, B. (2016, August 5)) The country went over a lot of things, and the history of democratic political system is not very long for them. English and Dutch colonized South Africa in the seventeenth century. After South Africa got its independence from England, Afrikaner National Party became a majorityRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1750 Words   |  7 Pagesfirst black President of South Africa. Referred to as the living embodiment of black liberation, Mandela specifically fought against the government system of South Africa known as apartheid (Lacayo, Washington, Monroe, Simpson). Apartheid is an Afrikaan word meaning apartness and was a system of racial segregation for the South African people from 1948 until F.W. de Klerk became president in 1991. Although Nelson Mandela was both literally and metaphorically imprisoned by South Africa’s racist ideologiesRead MoreApartheid in South Africa711 Words   |  3 PagesRacial discrimination dominated South Africa in 1948, and this was further witnessed when the ruling party made the discriminatory apartheid policy into law, in the same year (Pfister, 2005). The Afrikaans word, which literally translates to racial discrimination ‘apartheid’, was legislated and it started with the Dutch and the British rulers. The initiators of apartheid applied it to all social nature of the South African people. For instance, the majority of the population who were Africans wasRead MoreApartheid in South Africa1154 Words   |  5 Pagesend to Apartheid in South Africa because he was a believer in basic human rights, leading both peaceful and violent protests against the white South African Government. His beliefs landed him in prison for twenty-seven years, almost three decades. In doing so, he became the face of the apartheid movement both in his country and around the world. When released from prison in 1990, he continued to honor his commitment to fight for justice and equality for all people in South Africa. In 1994, Nelson MandelaRead MoreThe Segregation Of South Africa846 Words   |  4 PagesAfrica is a country with many differe nt government parties, each having its own legislation. Although much of the country is of the non-white population, the government officials in South Africa were all white. This lack of diversity within the government led to the establishment of racial segregation, the term used for this segregation was apartheid. Many of the issues that led to the eventual establishment of segregation stemmed from the 1913 Land Act, â€Å"marked the beginning of territorial segregationRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1608 Words   |  7 PagesFrom 1948 to 1994, South Africa functioned under the policy of apartheid, a system of racial segregation and white supremacy in which nonwhite racial groups were deprived of their South African citizenship and forced to live separately from whites. Stripped of their rights and marginalized in a country where they were in fact the majority, nonwhites launched strikes and campaigns of passive resistance against the all-white South African government. One freedom fighter stood out amongst the rest:

Human Resource Management Wall-Mart

Question: Can employee recruitment and selection at Wall-Mart provide a sustainable competitive advantage? Answer: Application of the Technologies Used To Achieve the Competitive Advantages and Human Resources The basic speculations that are judicious to control the competitive advantages of the firm in the respective revolutionary period have confronted the structure of the economy that can avail the influence regarding the purpose of the overall significance. The companies that are regulated through these overall methods can transcend the overwhelming consequences to adapt the escape regarding the effects (Click and Duening, 2005). The business aspects of the company have been changed to obtain the respective cost along with the accurate processing techniques. Therefore, the aspects are controlling the information regarding the transmission of the different information of the business. By regulating the business aspects, the technologies used in the sectors to determine the normal approach that can prevail the activities to deliver the overall significance regarding the revolutions of the general manager. The absorbed aspect of the different capital emoluments has transcends the control regarding the invested capital of the firm. Thus the awareness regarding the overall capital investment will inculcate the technology which is outside from the different exclusive territories that reallocate the departments of the EDP and the IS. The rivalry among these companies has formulated the significance regarding the competitive advantages that can be ascertained to measure the involvement in the new technology of the management. This report has depicted the significance that allows the managers regarding the sources of the different competitive advantages of the company. The wide aspects regarding the consequences of the spectrum has elaborately depicted the overall structure they are linked with the different technologies which supports the information for the companies. The overall linkage has been ascertained to understand the knowledge that can provide the wide aspects of the process that encounters the process regarding the data equipment with proper recognition. Apart from these projections the different aspects are considered upon the automation of the factories along with the other parts of the hardware whose services are involved to fetch the circumstances regarding the competitive advantages (Esty and Winston, 2006). The strategic influences are changing the perspectives to allow the overall nine steps that can moderately approach the aspects of the different activities performed into the business. The value chains of the business have always depicted the significance3 to adapt the qualities of the business perspectives in the companies. Selection and Recruitment Aspects to Measure the Competitive Advantages There are some of the other ways that can derive the significance of the competitive advantages of the company. The company can determine the optimistic approach ascertaining the prospects to deliver the application of the recruitment along with the selection of the staffs and the employees. The aspects of the particular staffs are controlled by their productivity in the company (Chase and Jacobs, 2006). Thus the implications have been derived to control the overall purposes that can innumerate the observation of the companies. Therefore the significance has generated the influences that can support the overall persuasion of the analysis of the employees that are maintained to work in the challenging atmosphere the different situations has comprised the segmented previews to amalgamate the respective purpose of enhancing the advantages. So the circumstances of the selection procedure have evaluated the significance to challenge that control the advantages of the companies. The recrui tment or selection process basically adapted to test the competency of the different employees that will provide the support the consequences of the overall facts. The different situation and the assessment of the recruitment procedure have determined the process to deliver the overall aspects that can be formulated to control the overall structure of the projects. He projects are handled by the employees that are recruited and they are selected as per their impetus. Therefore the significance has been dealt to understand the needs for the companies to gain the advantages from the competitions in the economy. The best options of the companies are fulfilled to measure the workflow of the company very efficiently (Lawler, 2008). Therefore the significant purpose has generated the consequences to deliver the simultaneous impact which will deliver the probabilities of the companies. Thus the human resources of the companies are fulfilled to assess the capabilities that can adapt the overall techniques to enhance the productivity of the company. So, it can be said that the best fitted purpose are dealt to access the strategies of the companies that are significantly pursuing the overall factors of the different segmented results measured by performing the activities. The involvement of the different process has been delivered to signify the offered application that can help to evaluate the overall factors of the company. Therefore, it can be said that the objectives of the company has enabled the competitive advantages to deliver the formulation of the business (Barney and Hesterly, 2006). References Barney, J. and Hesterly, W. (2006). Strategic management and competitive advantage. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Chase, R. and Jacobs, F. (2006). Operations management for competitive advantage. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Click, R. and Duening, T. (2005). Business process outsourcing. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Esty, D. and Winston, A. (2006). Green to gold. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press. Fulmer, R. and Conger, J. (2004). Growing your company's leaders. New York: AMACOM. Lawler, E. (2008). Talent. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Emergency Department Overcrowding †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Emergency Department Overcrowding. Answer: Introduction Emergency department across the world follow a triage system in order to manage the overcrowding in the department. An emergency triage basically improves the emergency care and to sort out the cases on the basis of urgency. This qualitative paper provides with an observational ethnographic approach to examine the problems faced in assessing mental health patients in the triages of the emergency department. It is a moderately regarded journal having the cite score 0.15. This journal has been published in Australia. The journal provides us with an insight of the usual problems that are faced in emergency tried for accessing the mental health patient, which would help to develop the evidence based nursing interventions that has to be conducted to mitigate the problems faced by the triage nurses. The authors of this article are Marc Broadbent, who is a registered nurse and contains a PhD in nursing from the school of nursing and Midwifery, Australia. Second author is Lorna Moxham, who is a mental health nurse and holds a PhD degree and belongs to the School of nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous health, NSW and Trudy Dwyer, who is also an RN having a PhD degree and belongs to the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Central Queensland University, Australia. The key points described to give the background of this paper are that the Australian emergency departments are the main centre for the clients having mental health illness in order to access acute health care. Although the exact number of the mental health presentations in the emergency departments is not known for sure, but the patients often have to wait in the ED waiting room till the physicians arrive which becomes difficult for the triage nurse of the emergency departments. The following paper also describes the disadvantages of the architectural set up of the triage room that makes the environment extremely noisy and undisciplined (Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). Other factors that were focused upon were the lack of privacy (Fitzgerald et al., 2010). As per the interview taken by the ethnographer, the triage nurses desires for private rooms to deal with the mental health patients. The paper also focuses on the architectural design of the triage rooms that enhance the problem betwee n the client nurse communications. Thus this study was important as it would help to shed light on the difficulties faced by the triage nurses and to understand how the provision of quality care is balanced with the requirement to maintain the efficiency of the organization. This study also provides with the information that the there are certain important points that has to be enlisted for an ED triage that is accessibility, proper access to the examination areas, provision of modern equipments, control measure for infections, safety and confidentiality for the clients (Fitzgerald et al., 2010). A literature review was provided which focuses on the management of the patients in the waiting room of the triage and indicates that it is becoming an important area for evaluating the service delivery. Aims of research: The aim of this research is to provide information regarding the environments associated to the triage practice and mainly focuses on the management of the clients with mental health illness. This research study has been done in an ethnographic framework for observing the nursing practice emergency. This type of study is suitable for getting a deeper understanding regarding the emergency department. This paper also helps to draw attention on the interdisciplinary relationship between the specialist mental health nurse and the ED triage nurse. It can be seen that data depending on 8 weeks have been taken, which can be thought as enough time to understand the trend of a clinical setting. One emergency nurse was appointed to triage in the morning shift, two for the afternoon shift and one for the night shift. The sample population used in this design was well identified. Informal as well as formal interviews were taken from 28 triage nurses, who have received triage training and were entitled to work at the triage. The clients were never interviewed. 2 individuals and 10 group interviews were conducted with the triage nurses. Informations were tape recorded and documented which helped to strengthen the observational field data and which reflects reflexivity in the design. Recording of the interview sessions strengthened the trust worthiness of the survey. The data collection method would have been bias-free as the interviews were organized depending upon the availability of the nurses on the shift (Fitzgerald et al., 2010). The interviews taken were sufficiently trained. Face to face interaction with the participants helped to further analyze the researches. There were sufficient amount of data to evaluate the condition of the clinical setting. The participants recruited for the study was appropriate to the aims of the research. The data was collected exactly in the way that is appropriate to address the aims of the research. The relationship amongst the participants and the researcher had been adequately considered in this study. The ethical issue like maintaining of confidentiality had been addressed in this paper (Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). This type of study can be regarded as the best possible method of sampling as it not only provided with the observational field data but also provided with the information gathered from the face to face interview taken It had helped the Ethnographer to contextualize what they are visualizing and hearing. The interview had helped the researcher to confirm the records obtained from gather observations and give a deeper understanding of the methods. The sample and the setting have been described appropriately which describes the architectural designs of the clinical setting. It helped to provide an idea regarding the different fallacies of the settings that contributed to the chaos in the ED. A systematic and comprehensive approach was taken for analyzing the data. During conducting the field study, an eclectic process was undertaken. Intuitions and ideas were documented during the field study. Extensive notes were jotted down from the taped interviews and critically analyzed to get the relevant findings. Each element of the data was analyzed and then compared with the other pieces of the data. During the conduction of the field study the ethical issues were considered. Throughout the research the four pillars of ethics have been kept in mind (Lowthian et al., 2010). All the triage nurses were imparted with prior information regarding their participation in the field study. The acknowledgement had been taken verbally and well as in fact sheets. Prior approval from the ethical committee had been obtained to continue the field study, Therefore it can be said that all the ethical perception has been addressed (Christ et al., 2010). The findings from the observational study and the interviews were relevant to the key issues. The findings were explicit and provided with a vivid description about the triage environment management. It provided with supported evidences both for and against the arguments of research. It can be known from the paper that there was a glass barrier which separated the client from the nurses and the small gap in the glass were the portals of the client- nurse communication. According to, the triage area becomes noisy and chaotic as the staffs have to raise their voices to overcome the surrounding noises. The article further focused on the requirements of the nurses for giving an appropriate care to the mental patients. Mental patients should be given special attention and should be provided with a holistic care of approach. The articles could provide how lack of confidentiality and privacy hampered the decision making process of the triage nurses. According to (Farrohknia et al., 2011) ED nurses are capable of managing to the mental health patients prior to their assessment by the doctor. According to (Christ et al., 2010) environment has immense impact on the health outcomes of the patients. Therefore the wish of the triage nurses for a private space is valid and should be addressed. According to (Christ et al., 2010) that would help to increase the safety of the mental health patients as well as the clients waiting in the waiting room. Limitations - The clients were never interviewed in the study. Interaction with the clients could have been useful for the ethnographer as that would have been an unbiased statement in part of the customer. Knowing the grievances of the customers would have enhanced the knowledge regarding the difficulties faced by the nurses in dealing with mental health patients (Lowthian et al., 2010). The perceptions of the participants reflected the social, cultural and historical context at the time of the field study. Therefore those aspects should also be considered before the analysis. Conclusion Triage nurses are usually at the first point of clinical contact with the patient and play a crucial role while dealing with a patient having a mental illness. They have to evaluate the type of illness, the vital signs and the patients explanation of emergency and the vital signs (Lowthian et al., 2010). They often face with the urgent requirements for quick decision making. Things become adverse when the client behavior changes due to the poor delivery of the care to the patients (Ganley Gloster, 2011). Recent researches have highlighted several factors that were responsible for disrupting the effective communication to the patients. This paper had rightly identified the various fallacies of the Australian triage design and the field study and the interviews has also helped to understand the possible strategies that can mitigate these problems and provides with the strategies how a mental patient can be handled with care in an emergency triage (Gorransson et al., 2008) This article indicates towards the broader scope of researches regarding the ED triage design, client and nurses experience. Relevance to nursing practice In the emergency department triage, adverse conditions are sometimes found like delay in providing the appropriate care, lack of confidentiality, failing to take decisions as whose life to save at first. These give rise to ethical challenges in the department (Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). As per the four ethical principles of the bioethics that is respect for the autonomy, non maleficience, beneficience and Justice determines that starting point and helps one to detect the ethical challenges faced by the triage of the emergency department (Ganley Gloster, 2011). For addressing the ethical issues of the emergency department, one needs to have a more comprehensive ethical view. Additional insights are required to address a more comprehensive ethical view. The goal of the nurses should be to reduce delay and overcrowding in the EDS. In order to alleviate with the problems are different solutions proposed by the researchers like input-throughput-output process of ED crowding, lean thinking, operation research, units for observing chest pain, clinical decision units, rapid assessment zone (Wolf, 2008). As per this paper which focuses about dealing with mental health patients, it is evident that the architectural design of the triage waiting room is not enough warm, cosy or confidential for patients with mental illness. It becomes very difficult for them to communicate with the clients through the glass which makes the surrounding noisy (Wolf, 2008). Specific units should be there for attending the patients with mental illness. A separate quite space should to attend these special people. As per the study, the triage is often crowded with people like staffs, wards men and ambulance officers, which compromise the confidentiality of the patients. It should be rightly said that the triage nurse often provides appropriate care to the patient before being assessed by the doctor, in order to accomplish that a calm and peaceful environment is required (Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). The architectural design of the health care setting makes it a very noisy environment which jeopardizes the rapid decision making and patient assessment. It is evident from the paper that there is only one main work space for the triage nurses. During heavy patient load, two triage nurses can create separate work space just by sitting next to each other, but there are no barriers between each clients and each can over hear each other, which can bring about adver se effects in the mental health patients. There should be sound attenuating tiles in the ceiling in order to prevent the outside noise to come inside and it becomes easy for them to communicate with the clients (Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). There can be telephone triage system in order to provide after hours care to the patient (Purc?Stephenson Thrasher, 2010). Reverse triage system can be organized for enabling safe and rapid early discharge of the inpatients to promote additional capacity of the inpatients. MH client have discussed several ways that can improve the environment conducive for the mental health patient, like improving the communication between client and the staffs, using singe rooms, regarding the term MH with Well being(Geelhoed de Klerk, 2012). References Christ, M., Grossmann, F., Winter, D., Bingisser, R., Platz, E. (2010). Modern triage in the emergency department.Deutsches rzteblatt International,107(50), 892. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2010.0892 Farrohknia, N., Castrn, M., Ehrenberg, A., Lind, L., Oredsson, S., Jonsson, H., ... Gransson, K. E. (2011). Emergency department triage scales and their components: a systematic review of the scientific evidence.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine,19(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1757-7241-19-42 FitzGerald, G., Jelinek, G. A., Scott, D., Gerdtz, M. F. (2010). Republished paper: Emergency department triage revisited.Postgraduate medical journal,86(1018), 502-508. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.2009.077081rep Ganley, L., Gloster, A. S. (2011). An overview of triage in the emergency department.Nursing Standard,26(12), 49-58. Retrieved from: https://journals.rcni.com/doi/abs/10.7748/ns.26.12.49.s55 Geelhoed, G. C., de Klerk, N. H. (2012). Emergency department overcrowding, mortality and the 4-hour rule in Western Australia.The Medical Journal of Australia,196(2), 122-126. doi: 10.5694/mja11.11159 Gransson, K. E., Ehnfors, M., Fonteyn, M. E., Ehrenberg, A. (2008). Thinking strategies used by registered nurses during emergency department triage.Journal of advanced nursing,61(2), 163-172. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04473.x Kerrison, S. A., Chapman, R. (2007). What general emergency nurses want to know about mental health patients presenting to their emergency department.Accident and emergency nursing,15(1), 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaen.2006.09.003 Lowthian, J. A., Curtis, A. J., Cameron, P. A., Stoelwinder, J. U., Cooke, M. W., McNeil, J. J. (2010). Systematic review of trends in emergency department attendances: an Australian perspective.Emergency Medicine Journal, emj-2010. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emj.2010.099226 Madison, D. S. (2011).Critical ethnography: Method, ethics, and performance. Sage. Oredsson, S., Jonsson, H., Rognes, J., Lind, L., Gransson, K. E., Ehrenberg, A., ... Farrohknia, N. (2011). A systematic review of triage-related interventions to improve patient flow in emergency departments.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine,19(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/1757-7241-19-43 Purc?Stephenson, R. J., Thrasher, C. (2010). Nurses experiences with telephone triage and advice: a meta?ethnography.Journal of advanced nursing,66(3), 482-494. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05275.x Rowe, B. H., Villa?Roel, C., Guo, X., Bullard, M. J., Ospina, M., Vandermeer, B., ... Holroyd, B. R. (2011). The role of triage nurse ordering on mitigating overcrowding in emergency departments: a systematic review.Academic Emergency Medicine,18(12), 1349-1357. DOI:10.1111/j.1553-2712.2011.01081.x Wolf, L. (2008). The use of human patient simulation in ED triage training can improve nursing confidence and patient outcomes.Journal of Emergency Nursing,34(2), 169-171. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2007.11.005