American Ethnic Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American Ethnic Literature - Essay Example The relationship between the ethnic and the mainstream is not a static one. Especially in a multiethnic nation like the US, this relationship is continually changing. The relationship between the mainstream and ethnic communities, as well as their literary utterances, always goes through a process of mutual commentary and refashioning. We can apply Trivedi's formulation in defining the phenomenon as a 'transactionas an interactive, dialogic, two-way process rather than a simple active-passive one; as a process involving complex negotiation and exchange'. (Trivedi,1993 p.125) The question of language and literary production is integrally linked to the issue of power and political control and domination. Noted Spanish American author Richard Rodriguez' 'Hunger of Memory' foregrounds this association of language with the centralization of power structure. For Rodriguez, language is a conduit of social power, and the notion of 'public identity' is largely dependant on one's mastery of academic English. Similarly with literature, political domination is closely connected with canon formation. As a result, literature produced by the 'mainstream', following codes of European aesthetics, comes to be accepted as the 'mainstream' literature, or simply 'literature' of America. On the other hand, literary works produced outside the scope of this central literary corpus is designated as 'ethnic literature': the 'margin' to the American 'center'. Long relegated only to the second ranks of literary practice, ethnic literature at present takes a much appreciable position vis--vis what is usually considered to be mainstream literature. An interest towards an understanding of 'ethnic' voices in literature and relocating them within the range of mainstream academic practice has also been observed in the present times. However, this attempt has attracted a certain degree of hostility: a kind of academic hostility that is not an uncommon reaction to the center's attention towards ethnography and ethnic literature. The Chicana/o communities have been prominent in their conflictual engagement with the role and function of 'ethnic' intellectual/ academic identities, as defined by the 'academic' center. Angie Chabran has been particular suspicious of this whole enterprise of 'Chicana/o' studies - stating that it uncritically assists in the anthropoligation of the Chicana/o people. (Chabran 228-47) This attitude is now gaining currency, that ethnic study, in the form of literature or sociology, or within any other academic discipline, is basically a kind of re-instatement of categories rather than an attempt to obliteration. However, on the flip side of hostility, there have also been attempts towards reaching a cultural middle point, towards 'hybridization'. This hybridization has also been brought about by a dynamic relationship between the mainstream and the ethnic literary practices. The aesthetic and the consequent economic dictates of mainstream literary practice has influenced the narrative style and aesthetic stylizations of the ethnic forms. They have retained some of the literary forms that have ethnic roots, but have been adopted to fit the more linear and accepted forms of mainstream li

28 Days Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

28 Days Final - Essay Example ound availability of more vegetarian options, fresh produce, as well as the growing culinary influence of lifestyles and cultures with plant-based diets, vegetarianism has become more accessible and appealing. Available data indicate that about eight million United States adults eat no poultry, fish, or meat. In addition, several million more have gotten rid of red meat but they are still consuming fish or chicken. Besides, close to two million people have become vegans; they have forgone animal flesh and animal-based products such as gelatin. Cheese, milk, and eggs (Davis 33). In today’s world, vegetarianism does not focus only on the potential nutritional deficiencies, but also entails consideration of a wide range of health, economic, and environmental benefits that relates to it. It is for this reason that I would like to be in the community of vegetarian and influence the society and my own life in positive ways. Before trying to become a vegetarian, I was fully aware that it might be a difficult endeavor. Nonetheless, I was determined to succeed in it and achieve the personal goals that I had set for myself. I adopted a number of strategies and followed a list of steps in trying to become a vegetarian. The first thing that I did was informing others about my intention to become a vegetarian. I particularly informed those close to me including my parents, siblings and friends. It is important to make those people around me aware of commitment of becoming a vegetarian. This is because they are the people who eat with me regularly and therefore they should be aware of my diet preferences and my commitment (Rice 26). While those close to me did not fully approve my attempt of becoming a vegetarian, they were supportive of my decision. I informed them of my decision to become a vegetarian was largely due to health, economical, and environmental reasons. However, I did not have any intention what soever to convert any of them towards my endeavor of becoming a

Constructions of Nationalism and Race

Constructions of Nationalism and Race Making Others/Making Us: Constructions of Nationalism and Race The essay presents a critique of various articles based on concepts of space and identity. The different articles analyzed discuss how individuals from different races interact in a given space as well as geographical location. The article Latino immigrants and the regeneration of place and belonging in small town America by Lise Nelson and Nancy Hiemstra offer a comparison of the politics of place and belonging within two communities namely Woodburn (Oregon) and Leadville in Colorado. As explained in the article, the two communities have experienced a considerable rise in the number of Latino immigrants in the last two decades; hence the members of the society face the issue of belonging. The article authors present detailed explanation regarding the demographic information of the members of the two communities, as well as the impacts of the immigration on place identity and social belonging. The article is informative since it brings out a significant negative impact on the increased number of immigrants. As explained by the authors, the individuals who currently immigrate to America hold different perspectives as compared to their counterparts who settled in the country a century ago. The new and post-modern immigrants are barely interested in assimilating into the American culture since they have adopted a rather parasitic approach to the US. Therefore, the issue of belonging and place identity sets in since the current immigrants only want to attach themselves to their American host and later feed off it, and at the same time, maintain their native cultures and identity. However, the authors fail to appreciate the positive impacts of immigrants in the United States. According to the authors, the immigrants only benefit from the communities, in which they finally settle, hence referring to the individuals as parasites. The authors have ignored the numerous benefits bro ught about by the immigrants. Such benefits include the availability of new skills and expertise in US companies, the rich culture which ultimately leads to acculturation, as well as work efficiency particularly due to the presence of millions of undocumented workers in the country. Nonetheless, the authors further ventures into assessing the concept of immigrant incorporation which has been debated on multiple instances of assimilation, transnationalism, and multiculturalism. The issues about immigrants have been well reviewed using concepts of place and belonging. Even though individuals moving to new places adapt to the new culture, it is quite difficult to shed previous identities and cultural or political affiliations. In that light, the authors appreciate the fact that immigrants are expected to maintain active social networks as well as conduct essential life activities across national boundaries, form trans-local spaces of community, political action and affiliation. The article further ventures into appreciating the concept of space and identity in regard to the immigrants to the two communities in the US. The authors describe the concepts of place and identity pertaining to the socially recognized membership of immigrants. The literature in the article is considerably adequate in elaborating the concept of belonging, as the authors describe belonging as the desire for some attachment, either of other places, people, ways in which people and groups are involved in attempting to long or wanting to become. Furthermore, the authors have provided an excellent description of the concept of place and the community. As explained in the article, structures of class, race, as well as illegality in migration shape whether the immigrants are viewed (or view themselves) as full members of a given community or geographical place. The authors have concluded that there are shortcomings in treating immigrants as an undifferentiated mass, particularly in homogeneous circumstances. In that light, the analysis of the immigrants into the two communities in the US is pertinent to identifying the underlying principles of the concept of place and identity. As elaborated by the authors, the Mexican immigrants who settled in Woodburn and Leadville positioned themselves as per the hierarchies of class, race, and illegality. Therefore, it would be quite difficult to attain nationalism in those two communities since the immigrants still had strong ties with their original cultures despite being assimilated into the American culture. A similar concept of the legality of migration has been discussed in McClintocks article on Nationalism, Gender, and Race. As explained by McClintock, all nationalisms are gendered, and in most instances, it is dangerous since it represents relations to political power as well as various constructs of violence. The article provides a detailed explanation of the negative impacts of nationalism as it attempts to demean immigrants and their original way of life. As the article states, nationalism invents nations where they do not exist and also tries to construct most modern countries regardless of their appeal to an honored and immemorial past, but the nations are all of the recent invention. McClintock further notes that nationalism ends up being constitutive of individuals identities through social competitions that are usually violent as well as gendered. The article has successfully assessed the concept of gender difference in terms of provision of access to resources and rights in the country.   According to McClintock, no nation has ever been bold enough to offer women and men the same access to national resources or even granted equal rights to the two genders. The article by McClintock provides an exclusive description of the concept of nationalism as he equates gender with power in any nation. According to the author, gender differences between men and women are symbolic to the limits of differences in a country as well as the governmental power among men. Women are typically viewed as the symbolic bearers of the country whereas men as regarded as the policy makers as well as rulers. In that light, nationalism is a gendered discourse that would be challenging to understand without consideration of a theory of gender power. There is an excellent examination of the different entities that tend to differ with the gendering of countries. On the other hand, white feminists have been greatly involved in the identification of the downside of the concept of nationalism. However, the feminists have been considerably slow in recognizing that nationalism is more of a feminine issue. The third article that focuses on constructions of nationalism and race is The Most German of Towns: Creating an Ideal Nazi Community in Rothenburg ob der Tauber by Joshua Hagen. The article explores the means through which Rothenburg was manipulated to further the ideologies the Nazi believed to be the major features of German and its history. According to the article, it was during the Nazi period that the Rothenburg town (which was a symbol of Germanys culture) acted to illustrate as well as model the Nazis ideas of the landscape and also how to run the country. The article offers a rich introduction that lays the foundation of the paper by explaining that such activities as tourism, anti-Semintism as well as historical preservation went through changes and also acted as key issues to further the policies of the Nazi rule. The article provides detailed insights into the issue of imagined communities in attempts to explain the impacts of the Nazi rule in the nation, particularly in Rothenburg Town. Through the examination of the concept of the imagined communities, the article has adequately provided a key to understanding how the issues of culture, identity, and relations in the society have been expressed in terms of historic places and landscapes. The author further details the perfect picture of a nation through the exploration of geographical space that is romanticized and involving a historical landscape. Through the explanation about the concepts of space and place as provided by the author, the article makes it evident that nationalizing certain historical landscapes and places are of great significance as it represents the idea of the country as well as its part. Besides, the process of nationalizing such entities becomes essential in limiting, contesting, as well as shaping the contexts through which the communities in the countries are imagined. Therefore, the Nazi capitalized on landscaping and space in efforts to frame their envisioned national community. Another article addressing a similar concept of the imagined communities is Imagined Communities Selections by Anderson. As Anderson puts it, nationality (nation-ness and nationalism) are cultural artifacts regarded to be of a particular kind. The article by Anderson presents an excellent account of the origin of the concept of nationality, a concept that is related to the idea of imagined communities. With the description of the ways through which nationality as a concept has come into being, as well as why nationalism currently commands great emotional legitimacy, the author fully paints the picture of the imagined communities. The article can also be described as informative as it provides a detailed explanation of the reasons as to why the cultural artifacts continue to arouse such deep emotions and attachments, particularly in the construction of modern societies. Anderson further proposes a way to discern between communities upon consideration of nationalism. According to Ander son, nationalism masquerades under false pretenses and therefore, there is the need to assimilate the term invention to falsity and fabrication instead of referring to it as creation or imagining. In that light, true communities exist, and they can be advantageously positioned to nations. However, despite the full description of the concepts of nationalism and imagined communities, the article does not warrant a sure way or style to imagine communities. As opposed to Joshua Hagens article that accounts how the Nazi fully designed Rothenburg Town to become a modern town, Anderson fails to give a detailed description of how individuals can imagine the new and modern communities. As Anderson claims, communities are to be discerned by the style in which they are imagined rather than by their genuineness or falsity. The major shortcoming to Andersons belief is that different societies may hold different styles or ideas of their imagined communities.

the trounle with sweatshops :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The controversial issue of sweatshops is one often over looked by The United States. In the Social Issues Encyclopedia, entry # 167, Matt Zwolinski tackles the issues of sweatshops. In this article Matt raises a question I have not been able to get out of my head since I have begun researching this topic, â€Å" are companies who contract with sweatshops doing anything wrong?† this article goes on to argue that the people who work in the sweatshops willingly choose to work there, despite the poor environment. Many people in third world countries depend on the sweatshops to earn what they can to have any hopes of surviving. If the sweatshops were to shut down many people would lose their jobs, and therefore have no source of income. This may lead people to steal and prostitution as well. this article is suggesting that sweatshops will better the economy by giving people a better job than what they may have had. Due to this the companies contracting with swe atshops are not acting wrong in any way. This was a deductive article it had a lot of good examples to show how sweatshops are beneficial to third world countries. Radly Balko seemed to have the same view point as Matt Zwolinski. Many people believe the richer countries should not support the sweatshops Balko believes if people stopped buying products made in sweatshops the companies will have to shut down and relocate, firing all of the present workers. Rasing the fact that again the worker will have no source of income, the workers need the sweatshop to survive. Balko also uses the argument that the workers willingly work in the current environments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the arguments against sweatshops raised by Americans is the they take jobs away from the American people. In the job force it is becoming harder to find an open position any where. Instead of keeping the factories here the companies are shipped over seas, causing millions of job opportunities for Americans to be lost. Some arguments raised by the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) are the poor working conditions, low wages, long hours, and children in the factories. The damp, dark, and cold environment can depress the workers even more than they may be, causing rates in suicide to increase. Low wages is another concern USAS have. The workers barley get enough money to survive.

Popular Culture: Effects of Big Corporations on Society Essay

The field of business plays an important role in the economies of various countries as well as the financial robustness of the world market. In this realm, big corporations have larger responsibilities in steering the direction of the economy in terms of the decisions that they make and the operations that they do. Their influence is not merely over other smaller corporations or companies because they also have a great impact in the society. These large corporations affect the society in numerous ways especially when it comes to the different means by which they approach their clients in marketing their products or services. However, the impact of these corporations still needs to be analyzed especially on how they shape the society at large. There are observable advantages and disadvantages that big corporations have over the general public that must be given due attention. It is the aim of this paper to identify and discuss the role of large corporations in the society. In line with this, the part that big corporations contribute in the field of business and in sustaining the needs and wants of the public will also be emphasized. Furthermore, the methods that most of these companies use in their business operations like commercials, advertisements, and mainstream media will also be accounted for. Lastly, the impact and effects of large corporations and the means that they use will also be assessed in terms of how it control the trends and fads in the society as well as how an individual view his or her self. Large Corporations Despite the feeling of some people with regards to the behaviour and mode of operation of large corporations, they cannot deny that this institution also have a contribution in the society. These corporations are mainly responsible in the material well-being of most people. It is through the services and products that they render that the public could be able to have their necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. Almost all corporate employees work everyday in order to cater to the needs and wants of the people. This kind of situation is very observable in the current society wherein almost everything in the lives of most individuals involves corporate business. The corporations have its faults and failures but the fact still remains that the corporation is an efficient institution that was created by human beings for the purpose of distributing resources for individual’s usage (Bishop). However, the corporations’ efficiency in doing its purpose comes with a cost. Some people are saying that in order for the corporation to function the society must give this institution the leeway when it comes to societal constraints so that they can pursue material ends. Having the freedom from political, moral, and ethical concerns has largely benefited these corporations but these have been a source of frustration by most governmental and social organizations. Serious concerns have resulted in the leniency that corporations has such as: pollution, environmental degradation, product disposal, natural resource depletion, worker welfare, urban decay as well as the long-term health effects from their improper waste management. According to Bishop Rooke, these issues are indeed important and must be immediately address. However, if the corporations were not given the freedom with regards to societal constraints then this would dampen the development of the modern industrial society. The World of Marketing Baker regards marketing as a field of discipline and an endeavour which existed for a considerable amount of time in the world to date but remains to be something that still brings fascination and wonders to today’s organizations (3). The primary goal and focus of the efforts of marketing is to inform the people with regard to the products and services (Steinberg 1). For large corporations, this is used in launching the products and services that they have and introducing it to their target market with the idea that the population from the said group should be enticed to buy the product that is being presented. This serves as the connection between the companies and the society wherein the former infuses several values to the latter through the use of different forms of media such as that of the television, the radio, the internet, the newspapers, and other print and visual forms so long as it allows them to create an image for the products. In doing so, the companies are able to make their corresponding contribution to the popular culture of the society. As previously mentioned, there are certain values that are sent with the marketing efforts of the companies. In identifying the relationship between popular culture and the different forms of marketing campaigns that affect it, it is important to define what popular culture means. McGowan and Kitson defines popular culture as â€Å"entertainment that is produced by the culture industries, composed of symbolic content, mediated widely, and consumed with pleasure† (138). Popular Culture and Marketing of Large Companies The relationship between popular culture and the marketing of large companies may be seen as two-fold. Popular culture serves as the sources of ideas for the marketing efforts of the large companies. Just the same, the biases that are contained within the marketing activities, such as advertising, commercials, and mainstream media, also affect and revolve back into the popular culture of the society. The latter relationship between the two serves as the focus of the next discussion. Several forms of technological advances today has allowed the large companies to create images within their advertisements, which may or may not reflect what is real. While deception could be seen as an element of the marketing efforts and activities, people could not easily filter this easily. These images created by the large companies easily â€Å"circulate in culture† (Schroeder 7). This is because of the ease that is associated with technological advancements to reach a wider set of audience and deliver their messages with much impact. A classic example of how the media has affected the popular culture is the way the concept of beauty is reflected and perceived by people. For example, companies such as Max Factor and Ponds, large corporations which deal with products related to aesthetics, are giving much emphasis on beauty that adheres to the standards of the white Europeans and Americans (Moreno 137). It is important to note that since these large companies caters to international consumers, they are able to affect the perceptions of people from outside the European and American countries with regard to beauty. The result is a notion created that people need to be white, tall, slim, and adopt the characteristics of people from these countries in order to become beautiful. In a sense, the advertisements and the commercials launched by the large companies have limited the images of beauty and make a limited sense of the values and characteristics that people should accept. Along with this, discrimination is felt by those who are not able to follow the trends set by the marketing campaigns of the large companies. Likewise, the very nature of these companies, wherein they are capable of making big initiatives, are financially stable, and are able to establish their names and credibility, has strengthened their impact with that of the society. To a certain extent, their words are seen as something that people follow because they have created a sense of influence and are seen as leaders in the industries to which they belong. Conclusion Large companies have affected the society in several ways. First, they have made their organizations available and answerable to the different societal concerns. This is brought about by the need for them to abide by the principles of corporate social responsibility. Second, they have affected the popular culture such that their marketing efforts have led them to send messages and images that are accepted by the society. It is important for the people to filter these images. Likewise, it is necessary that a review of the ethical conducts of the companies is maintained.

Human Resources Function In Pizza Express Essay

Introduction Pizza Express is a public limited company (PLC), which was established in 1965. It has 350 restaurants in the UK and between twenty to thirty international franchises in countries like France, Egypt, Spain and opening soon in the Philippines and it has also expanded by 40% in recent years. It’s a restaurant in different countries, which provides food, and drink services to the customers. The company has different range of employees, 39 in total including cleaners, chefs, waiters and waitresses, supervisors and managers. Role of human resources The organisation has two human resources namely the main HR known as the headquarters and the local HR’s. The local HR recruits the workers by advertising in the media after which they train the selected ones to very high standards so that they deliver high quality services to the customers. This creates a good repetition for the company so they receive more customers therefore increasing profits too. Training the workers on how to use the equipment also helps the company in a way that they will have fewer or no claims for damages in case of accidents. The local HR’s also carry out transfers with other restaurants of the organisation, which helps them maintain the good workers. This can also be a way of practising flexible working conditions for their staff. In case of any member of staff acting against the organisations rules, the local HR’s have to discipline him/her so that they can change and if they fail they lose the job. This helps the company dismiss bad members of staff who can cause trouble or even pass on their bad behaviours to new recruits. Lastly, the local HR’s act as the voice for the workers i.e. they raise any problems that the workforce might be experiencing so that they can be solved. This creates a good relationship between the workers and the management, which is a very important thing if they are to work as a team to deliver good services to the customers. The main HR i.e. the headquarters carries out the more complex tasks of the organisation. It reviews the labour turnover and predicts what staff the company will have to recruit and during what time they will have to. It sets the pay rates and increases in the organisation which is a very crucial thing when carrying out the company’s budget because they don’t want to pay out much or less but just the right amount to their staff. It also recruits it’s own staff and management and train them. It has to be very careful when doing this because it has to makes to sure it gets the right people who will be able to manage the local HR’s or else there will be poor management which can lead to serious problems in organisations. Lastly, it makes the rules and procedures that have to be followed in the organisation. This is very important because it lets the workers know what they can do and can not when on the company’s premises and also for any organisation to run properly and smoothly, there must be rules and regulations in place to be followed. E2 Staff labour turnover The staff /labour turnover for the Kingston branch was not known because they had just opened but for the old branch, they had 50 people leaving with an approximation of 25 staff which means the turnover was 200%. This is mainly because the workers tend to transfer with their managers when they change branches, which happened last year. From the research that I carried out, these were my findings KINGSTON LABOUR MARKET (2001-02) Aged 16 and over Economically active In employment All 124000 85000 81000 Male 63000 48000 46000 Female 61000 37000 34000 WORKING AGE (16-59/64) 2001-2002 IN KINGSTON Working age (16-59/64) Economically active In employment All 102000 83000 80000 Male 55000 48000 46000 Female 48000 36000 33000 AGE BREAKDOWN (full and part-time employment) 2001-02 All Full-time Part-time 16-19 * * * 20-24 11000 8000 * 25-49 53000 45000 8000 50+ 14000 10000 4000 Source: www.statistics.gov.uk KEY * Sample size too small for reliable estimate Pay and hours worked The chefs in the new Kingston branch get a maximum of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.50 an hour if they are of grade four and those on lower grades 1-4 get a maximum of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6. The waiters get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.20 an hour with tips as well and cleaners get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5-6 an hour. They all get double pay on bank holidays and they work a maximum of 48 hrs apart from part time workers who usually have 3-4 shifts a week with no set minimum hours of working. Productivity The businesses productivity depends on how many customers they get i.e. if they produce more if there are many customers to be served and they produce little if there are hardly any customers to be served. Generally, they measure productivity by the average times for making items. The more items they make, the more profits they get and the fewer items they make, the less profits they get. Fulltime/part time working For the particular branch in Rotunda, there are three fulltime workers and twenty part time workers. Changes in working practices The company also tries to please its workers by changing their working practices. This is carried out by exchanging staff with other restaurants since it’s a big company. This helps them get experience in working in different areas and conditions, encouraging more advanced training so that they get promoted which again makes workers feel that their effort is being appreciated by the management and lastly giving them flexible working hours so that they don’t feel that they are being over worked or exploited. Company use of the information The company might have used this information when planning its human resources in a way that when you look at the labour market, there are more people economically active and in this particular area there is relatively low unemployment. This means that they will find it difficult to recruit new staff and it can be very costly in a sense that to attract possible workers, they will have to advertise themselves more, they may have to pay more wages or invest more in training. They may also have to design development programmes so that potential employees see there are promotion prospects in the organisation therefore making them feel wanting to join the company. By also looking at their labour turnover which is very high, they might want to try and find out why many people are leaving. This can help them find the reasons why the workers are leaving and find solutions to them which means they will keep their staff longer. Still looking at their own labour turnover, they can also find out the skill that people who are leaving had and recruit people with the same ones which decreases the budget of training. Since their work force is in the mid 20’s and mostly part time, they can decide to recruit more people between the age of 25-49 because those between 20-24 working part time are very small size of the population. When planning its productivity, the company can decide to recruit more people and give them intensive training to become professionals which also increases efficiency. C1 Analysis of external labour market To interpret my labour market further, I compared it with that of Richmond, London, & UK with also last year’s trends and these were the results. The working-age employment rate in London, Kingston, Richmond & UK (March 2000-2001 and Feb 2001-2002) Area Percentage of population 2000-2001 2001-2002 Richmond 84.5% 80.8% London 70.2% 70.4% Kingston 76.4% 78% UK 74.1% 74.4% From the results above, we see that Richmond had the highest working age employment rate which was 80.8% followed by Kingston which was 78% then UK with 74.4% and lastly London which was 70.4%. Looking at the trends, we see that Richmond’s working age employment has gone down by 3.7%, London’s has only gone up by 0.2%, Kingston’s has gone up by 1.6% and lastly UK as a whole has just gone up by 0.3%. With this information, Pizza Express can decide to recruit workers from London since it has the least working age employment so they will find it easier to recruit people but then it will have to increase spending on transport if the workers are not willing to spend their own money and if they are willing to, Pizza Express will have to pay them high wages so that they can afford the costs. Advertising costs will also go up because they will have to advertise in the media other than on their windows because they are trying to recruit people in a totally different area. Graph showing working age employment rate in London, Kingston, Richmond and UK (2001-02) Economic activity rate by sex (working age 16-59/64) in Kingston & Richmond (March 2000-2001 & February2001- 2002) Area % No. of males % No. of females 2000-2001 2001-2002 2000-2001 2001-2002 Richmond 93.7 89.0 80.5 76.5 Kingston 87.6 87.4 70.1 75.0 From the information above we see that there were a higher number of males in economical activity in Richmond than Kingston with a difference of 1.6%. With the females, the number was still higher in Richmond than Kingston with a difference of 1.5%. Comparing the percentages with last years, Kingston had a very little difference in 2000-2001 than in 2001-2002 of males in economical activity which was only 0.2%. For the females in Kingston, the percentage number went up from 70.1% in 2000-2001 to 75.0% in 2001-2002, a difference of 4.9%. The higher the economic activity rate, the better so when you look at the figures, Richmond’s economic activity rate is high but it keeps going down within the two years so it can be risky wasting their money to advertise in the area while in Kingston, though the figures are low, they keep going up within the two years so it can be safer to carry out their advertising campaigns in the area if they are sure they will keep going up. Economic activity rate of males in Richmond and Kingston (2001-02) Internal staffing information For the Kingston branch, the company had 20 staff and three of them working part time. Most of them are mainly in their mid 20’s though they have no age restrictions at upper end of age band. Most of them are students or local people of the area they are situated in. Since the company has just opened, it has recruited all its work force but in the future as the business expands, they may need more staff. Interpretation of labour market information When we look at the labour market information, we see that Richmond is doing better than Kingston economically. There are more people working in Richmond which means that there are more jobs than in Kingston. This might affect the company in a way that they will find it more favourable to recruit people from Kingston than in Richmond because the labour force will be relatively cheaper. They will also find it hard to recruit people from Richmond because most of them have got jobs and if any, they might want high wages because there is less competition. With the fact that they are also located in Kingston, they may want to recruit the workers from there because costs such as transport and advertising will be low. E3 Recruitment and selection The main documents used when recruiting staff are the staff application form which is used to get details of applicants like their address, date of birth e.t.c. Gathering this information is very crucial because the company can always keep in touch with the applicants, know of any disabilities they have if any and also get information about their qualifications. The second document is the job advert. This is a promotional document of the company attracting the applicants to apply. It talks about the skills needed so the applicants can only apply if they got them therefore saving the company time in sorting out the people with the right skills. It’s made up very carefully with pictures making it very appealing. Basically it’s a form of advertising job vacancies in the company in an easy and attractive way. Lastly, the job description is also handed out to the applicants. This describes what they are expected to do if successful in getting the job. It shows what the job is about in more detail. First, it talks about the aim of the job then the workers responsibilities, what authority is to be held and lastly the standards of performance expected. Effectiveness of documents 1. Job description The job description is effective in a way that it’s lay out is simple and easy to understand. On top is the pizza express logo and pictures to attract the reader. It clearly shows that the descriptions are for waiters/waitresses so they there is no chance of a worker in a different field mistaking it to be meant for them. It clearly outlines the aim of the job in relation to maintaining the company’s standards. Second, it talks about the responsibilities that the worker has when doing the job. Too much text is used here but there seems to be only one strange word, â€Å"Adherence†. This means that language used is quite easy to understand for the reader. Next, it also talks about the responsibilities the applicant will have to carry out if successful and less text is used here so there is less difficulty in understanding the point they are trying to bring across. Lastly, it shows the standards of performance. All the major headings are written out in bold letters and also underlined to make them stand out. 2. Application form The application form is also a very detailed document. It has got a heading on top in bold letters to show what it is, with a pizza express logo which is also a way of promoting the company and showing its loyalty. It’s designed in a simple way asking for relevant information from the applicants. It has got boxes in which they can fill in the information they are being asked. The company tries to avoid collecting irrelevant information by giving them choices in some of the questions where they can only answer yes or no e.g. have you worked for Pizza Express before: Yes ? No ?. It also helps the applicants understand the questions easily. Some questions require a lot of detail and the form provides enough space for the answers like in one question which asks if the applicant is disabled and if their answer is yes, it provides more space to give the details of their disability fully. Lastly, it is typed out on white paper with blue colourings around it to make it more attractive . Generally, no complex language has been used. Everything is simple and straight forward. 3. Job advert Like all the other documents, the job advert is also laid out in a simple way and easy to understand. It is explaining how it is like to work in pizza express by posing questions then giving all the possible answers which are of course attracting the reader to apply. It also talks about the roles and explaining some of the complex words like â€Å"remuneration†. The salaries of the assistant manager and restaurant manager are also shown. This is also done to attract people so that they apply. It has got pictures about a man who has been successful. This shows the chances of success that the applicants are likely to have if they apply. Lastly, it has got detailed information about how you can get in touch with them like telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Stages in filling a vacancy FLOW CHART There are various stages involved in filling a vacancy. First, the job vacancy is identified and then a job description is written up. This is the document describing what the job is about and what it requires the person to do. A person specification is also written out describing what the qualities and qualifications the applicant should have then an appropriate advertising medium is chosen e.g. newspaper e.t.c. The type of medium chosen depends on the size of the company, what type of job is being advertised or even the current financial status of the company. Next, you send out application forms to the people who have replied to the adverts so that they can fill them in after which they send them back and you short list them to get the right ones. There are crucial things that should be considered when carrying out the short listing process like not discriminating people on grounds of their sex, race or ethnicity. After short listing them out, you arrange interviews for the selected ones where you set the date and time to meet. This can give the interviewer time to make up the questions to be asked and the common ones are normally about the candidates work experience history, why they have applied for the job, what makes them think they will be good at, how they will travel everyday if successful e.t.c. This is a good process because you get to see and speak to the candidates and evaluate how they express themselves, test their communication skills, check how they get on with other people and also check their behaviour i.e. if they are polite e.t.c. you might want to carry out other assessments like work sampling or testing then job offer references are made up. Copies of acceptance and turn downs are sent out to the applicants and the successful ones are given a contract and after their induction they start their job with some training. This is the form of help given to them to get used to the work place and equipment they have to use, know better how the job is carried out in the company and also get used to the old staff. This helps them develop more understanding of the company’s cultures working practices which leads them to becoming professional staff and if very hard working, they can end up getting promotions. Conclusion Based on my findings, I conclude that pizza express is doing well with the fact its expanding in other countries which means that it has a big market, a very crucial part in business developments.