The Origin of Robots Essays -- Asimov I Robot Essays

The Origin of Robots Over the years mankind has advanced greatly in the field of technology and day by day we continue to advance. The future holds many possibilities, one of which is living in a world with robots. Isaac Asimov shared his view of this possible future in his novel I, Robot. His view portrays robots as machines superior to humans mentally and physically. If robots are superior to humans, how do humans control the robots? Humans create the three Laws of Robotics, which are instilled into the positronic brains of every robot created. These laws state that no robot can harm or allow harm to come to a human, they must obey humans (unless it conflicts with the first law), and no robot can harm itself (unless it conflicts with the first two laws). In Isaac Asimov's novel I, Robot, Asimov uses independent short stories as told by robo-psychologist Dr. Susan Calvin, to show the evolution of robots and how they relate to the Laws of Robotics. Robbie is the first robot portrayed in Asimov's novel. This robot doesn't talk and is used as a nursemaid. Robots at this time are socially unacceptable which is important to acknowledge when considering their evolution. The story of Robbie mostly introduces robots, but it also touches on the first rule of robotics. Gloria, the little girl Robbie took care of, was almost killed and Robbie saved her instantly because of the first Law of Robotics and the humans involved delayed their reaction. This is also an example of how robots were superior to humans. Unlike "Robbie," the next story, "Runaround," goes into more detail of the Laws of Robotics. "Runaround," shows a robot's conflict with the second and third laws. Speedy, the robot with the conflict, is casually ordered to do ... ...ship. The machines exist because of humans and humans cannot exist without the machines. In Isaac Asimov's novel, I, Robot, robots have come a long way starting with the inaudible Robbie all the way to the machines that control the world. The irony of the society is that in the first story robots were not socially acceptable but in the final story, society depends on robots for survival. Not only have the robots and the Laws evolved in Asimov's novel, but his society has as well. Asimov shows this evolution with his use of short stories. Separately, each of the stories are just tales about particular robots and how they relate to the Laws of Robotics. When these stories are merged into one novel, they create an entirely new theme that cannot be shown when separated. Works Cited Asimov, Isaac. I, Robot. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Publications, Inc. 1950

Essay examples --

my enjoyment of Business Studies at AS level. For me, Business Studies has proven to be an extremely interesting subject, one that offers many opportunities. I would like to study this course to broaden my knowledge about all aspects of running, managing and marketing a successful business. I believe that the business profession requires individuals with good interpersonal skills, who are committed and quick thinking, all of which are attributes that I have identified within myself. Whilst at university, I will be looking forward to participating for a year in a business to gain first-hand experience, which I believe, will give me an edge over other business graduates. Academically, I have always been a very committed and determined student, willing to go beyond the basic requirements. This is demonstrated through the enthusiasm that I have shown towards my Physical Education A-level, not only have I completed what was expected of me, I have also stayed behind after school, attended sessions on days off and given up lunch hours to ensure that I achieve the best result possible. My Ps...

Cray SuperComputer :: essays research papers

The Cray X-MP/22 manufactured by Cray Research Incorporated (CRI) of Minneapolis, Minnesota was delivered and installed at the U of Toronto this September. The Cray is a well respected computer - mainly for its extremely fast rate of mathematical floating-point calculation. As the university states in its July/August computer magazine "ComputerNews", the Cray's "level of performance should enable researchers with large computational requirements at the university of Toronto and other Ontario universities to compete effectively against the best in the world in their respective fields." The Cray X-MP/22 has two Central Processing Units (CPUs) - the first '2' in the '22'. The Cray operates at a clock rate of 105 MHz (the regular, run-of-the-mill IBMPC has a clock rate of 4.77 MHz). By quick calculations, you would be led to believe the Cray is only about 20 times faster that the PC. Obviously, this is not the case. The Cray handles data considerably differently than the PC. The Cray's circuits permit an array of data (known as a 'vector') to be processes as a SINGLE entity. So, where the IBMPC may require several clock cycles to multiply two numbers, the Cray performs everything in one clock cycle. This power is measured in Millions of Floating Point Operations Per Second (MFLOPS) - which is to say the rate at which floating-point operations can be performed. The Cray MFLOPS vary as it does many activities, but a rate of up to 210 MFLOPS (per CPU) can be achieved. The second '2' in the X-MP/22 title refers to the two million 64-bit words (16Mb) of shared central memory. This can be expanded to four million words in the future if the need arises. But it doesn't stop there! The Cray can pipe information back and forth between the CPU memory and the Input/Output Subsystem (IOS). The IOS then takes it upon itself the store the information in any of the four storage devices: i) one of the four 1200 Mb disk drives (at a rate of 5.9Mb every second), ii) one of two standard 200ips 6250bpi tape drives, iii) a Solid State Storage Device (SSD) (which is much like a 128Mb RAM Disk!), or iv) through to a front-end computer (the U of T uses both the IBM4381 and a DEC VAX). These computers would be programmed (usually in FORTRAN) and the information passed onto the Cray. The results would then be transfered back to the front end computers.

Dissolved Gas Analysis Method

FINAL YEAR PROJECT 1 PROGRESS REPORT 1 AUTHOR’S NAME:Ruban s/o Paramasivam STUDENT ID:EP083765 REPORTING PERIOD:18TH JUNE 2012 – 15TH JULY 2012 SUPERVISOR’S:Mr. John Steven NAME PROJECT TITLE:Dissolved Gas Analysis in determining Transformer Faults SUBMISSION DATE:16TH JULY 2012 1. 0 Background of Studies Oil sampling analysis is a useful, predictive, maintenance tool for determining transformer health. DGA is identified as one of the sufficient method of oil sampling in evaluating transformer health. The breakdown of electrical insulating material inside the transformer generates gases within the transformer.The identity of gases being generated is useful in any preventive method maintenance program. DGA method involves oil sampling method and testing the sample to measure the concentration of the dissolved gases. The two typical principal cause of gas formation within an operating transformer are electrical disturbance and thermal decomposition. All transformer s generate gasses to some extent at normal operating temperature. Insulating mineral oils for transformer are mixtures of many different hydrocarbons and the decomposition process for these hydrocarbons are complex.During this process, active hydrogen atoms and hydrocarbons fragments are formed. These fragments can combine with each other to form gasses such as Hydrogen (H2), Methane (CH4), Acetylene (C2H2), Ethylene (C2H4), Ethane (C2H6) and many more. The gasses listed are considered combustible. The rate at which each gas are produced depends on the temperature. Therefore, the concentration of the individual dissolved gasses found in transformer insulating oil may be used directly to evaluate the transformer and suggest any faults within the transformer.After samples have been taken and analysed, the first step in evaluating DGA result is to consider the concentration level of each gasses. Basically, any sharp increase of the key gasses stated above indicates potential problem wi thin the transformer. The type of faults which the key gasses can produce will be further discussed in the study. Literature Review 2. 0 Dissolved Gas Analysis Power Transformers are filled with oil which acts as a dielectric medium and also as a heat transfer agent besides being an insulator to the transformer. The insulated oil is made up of saturated hydrocarbons.These molecules are connected together to form a chain liked manner by carbon and hydrogen. [1] Table 1: Chemical structure of insulating oil and fault gases During normal use, there is a slow degradation of mineral oil which produces gases that dissolve in the oil, but when there is a electrical fault, the oil starts to degrade and temperature rises. Different patterns of gases are generated due to different intensities of energy dissipated according to the type of faults. This happens because of the broken chain of the chemical structure of the insulating oil.Therefore, the broken chain will form its own chemical struc ture which is known as hydrocarbon gases or also known as fault gases. It can be divided into 3 categories which is Thermal heating, Corona and Arching, The most severe intensity of energy dissipation occurs with arching, followed by thermal heating and the least severe is Corona. Figure 1 illustrates the process of breaking chain within the insulating oil chemical structure of the fault arcing, thermal heating, and corona. Figure 1: Breaking chain process of fault arcing, corona, thermal heating and pyrolysis of celluloseGases which are produced by the degradation of oil because of the increase of temperature may be caused by several factors: [2] * severe overloading * lighting * switching transients * mechanical flaws * chemical decomposition of oil or insulation * overheated areas of the windings * bad connections which have a high contact resistance The type of gases present in an oil sample makes it possible to find the type of fault that occurs in the transformer. This is done by evaluating the concentration of gases present in the oil during maintenance.The type of fault and its characteristics are as below [3]: * Arcing Arcing is the most severe of all fault processes. Large amount of hydrogen and acetylene are produced, with minor quantities of methane and ethylene. Arcing occurs in high current and high temperature conditions. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide may also be formed if the fault involved cellulose. In some instances, the oil may become carbonized. * Thermal heating Decomposition products include ethylene and methane, together with smaller quantities of hydrogen and ethane.Traces of acetylene may be formed if the fault is severe or involves electrical contacts. * Corona Corona is a low-energy electrical fault. Low-energy electrical discharges produce hydrogen and methane, with small quantities of ethane and ethylene. Comparable amounts of carbon monoxide and dioxide may result from discharge in cellulose. 2. 1 How DGA Works DGA method in cludes sampling of oil inside the transformer at different locations. Chromatographic analysis will be done on the oil sample to find the concentration of dissolved gas.The gases are then separated, identified and quantitatively determined such that the DGA method can then be applied in order to obtain reliable diagnosis [6]. The extracted gases meant for analysis purpose are Hydrogen (H2), Methane (CH4), Ethane (CH6), Ethylene (C2H4), Acetylene (C2H2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrogen (N2) and Oxygen (O2). These fault gases can be classified into 3 groups which are shown in Table 2. Group| Hydrocarbons & Hydrogen| Carbon Oxides| Non-fault gases| Gases| CH4,H2,CH6, C2H4,C2H2| CO, CO2| N2, O2| Table 2 :Fault Gases GroupDepending on the concentration of the dissolved gases, condition of the transformer can be evaluated. This is achievable because each type of fault burns the oil in a different way where it generates different type of gases. Therefore, it is easy to examine the fault base on the gas released and its concentration level. Table 3 : Relation between Fault type and Fault gases 2. 2 DGA Diagnostic Methods Insulating oil breakdowns to small quantity of gases due to over electrical or thermal stress. Thus, the composition of these gases plays a role in determining type of fault.Through DGA diagnostic methods, it is possible to find faults as discussed earlier. There are many methods in DGA and 5 methods will be studied in this literature review part. 2. 2. 1 Rogers Ratio Method The Roger’s method utilizes four gases ratios: CH4/H2, C2H6/CH4, C2H4/C2H6 and C2H2/C2H6. Diagnosis if faults are accomplished via a simple coding scheme based on ranges of the ratio as shown in tables below [4]. Table 4: Gas Ratio Codes [4] Table 5: Roger’s Ratio Code [4] The combination of the coding gives 12 different types of transformer faults. The type of faults based on the code is shown in table 6 below: [4]Table 6 : Classification based on Roger’s Ratio Codes 2. 2. 2 IEC Ratio Method This method originated from the Roger’s Ratio method, except that the ratio C2H6 /CH4 was dropped since it only indicated a limited temperature range of decomposition [3]. Here, the remaining three gas ratios have different ranges of code as compared to the Roger’s ratio method and they are shown in table 7. The faults are divided into nine different types as listed in table 8. [4] Table 7: IEC Ratio Codes [4] Table 8: Classification based on IEC Ratio Codes 2. 2. 3 Doenenbury Ratio MethodThis method utilizes the gas concentration from ratio of CH4/H2, C2H2/CH4, C2H4/C2H6 and C2H2/ C2H4. The value of the gases at first must exceed the concentration L1 to as certain whether there is really a problem with the unit and then whether there is sufficient generation of each gas for the ratio analysis to be applicable [5]. Table 9 shows the key gases and their concentration L1 [5], and table 10 shows fault type of specific ratios. Table 9: Concentration of L1 for Doernenburg Ratio Table 10: Fault diagnosis for Doernenburg Ratio Method 2. 2. 4 Duval Triangle Method M.Duval developed this method in the 1960s. To determine whether a problem exists at least one of the hydrocarbon gases or hydrogen must be at L1 level or above and the gas generation rate is at least at G2. [6] The L1 level and the gas generation rate for this method are shown in table 11. Table 11: L1 limits and gas generation rate for Duval Triangle Methode Once a problem has been determined to exist, to obtain diagnosis, calculate the total accumulated amount of the three Duval Triangle gases (CH4, C2H2, C2H4) and divide each gas by the total to find the percentage of each gas of the total.Plot the percentages of the total on the triangle (Figure2) to arrive at the diagnosis [6] Figure 2: Duval Triangle Transformer Fault Diagnosis 2. 2. 5 Key Gas Method Figure 3 : Key Gases Diagnosis The principle of the Key Gas method is based on the q uantity of fault gases released from the insulating oil when a fault occurs which in turn increase the temperature in the power transformer. The presence of the fault gases depends on the temperature or energy that will break the link or relation of the insulating oil chemical structure.This method uses the individual gas rather than the calculation of gas ratios for detecting fault. The significant and proportion of the gases are called â€Å"key gases†. Figure 3 indicate these â€Å"key gases† and relative proportions for the four general fault types [5]. 3. 0 Scheduled Work Task| Start Date| Duration (days)| Remarks| Progress| Project Title Selection| 28. 05. 2012| 12| Proposed own project title and submitted it on 4th June 2012| Completed| Research for Project Proposal| 08. 06. 2012| 10| Journals and articles were browsed through in IEEE, Science Direct, Scopus| Completed| Project Proposal| 14. 6. 2012| 3| Project Proposal was done based on the journals and article s found. | Completed | Research for Literature Review| 19. 06. 2012| unknown| Journals and articles were searched for the literature review| Ongoing| Progress Report 1| 01. 07. 2012| 15| Each progress towards the completion of Final Year Project 1| Completed| Research / Oral Presentation Preparation| 17. 07. 2012| 24| Complete the literature review and getting prepared for the oral presentation while doing research for the project| Incomplete| Oral Presentation| 10. 08. 2012 / 29. 08. 012| -| Presentation of all the findings and research and logbook to be submitted| Incomplete| Progress Report 2| 10. 08. 2012| 3| Each progress towards the completion of Final Year Project 1| Incomplete| 4. 0 Conclusion In the end of this study, I’ll be able to determine the pros and cons of all the different types of DGA diagnostics methods and be able to determine transformer faults out of the diagnostic methods which are very essential to prevent transformer damage. Suggestions and recommend ations will be given to further improve the efficiency of those available diagnostic methods . 0 Reference 1. Church, J. O. , Haupert, T. J. and Jakob, Fredi (1987). â€Å"Analyze Incipient Faults with Dissolved-gas Nomograph. † Elecrical World. Oct. Pgs. 40-44. 2. DiGiorgio, Joseph B. (1997). â€Å"Dissolved Gas Analysis of Mineral Oil Insulating Fluids. † California: Northern Technology & Testing 3. Domun, M. K. (1996). â€Å"Condition Monitoring of Power Transformers by Oil Analysis Techniques. † Proc. of the 11th Conference on Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4. Siva Sarma, D. V. S. S. and G. N. S.Kalyani, ANN Approach for Condition Monitoring of Power Transformers using DGA. 2004 IEEE Region 10 Conference, TENCON 2004. , 2004. C: p. 444-447. 5. C57. 104. 1991, I. , IEEE Guide for Interpretation of Gases Generated in Oil-Immersed Transformer, I. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Editor. 1992, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc p. 27 6. FIST3-31, Facilities Instructions, Standards and Techniques Volume 3-31 Transformer Diagnostics. 2003, Bureu of Reclamation Hydroelectric Research and Technical Services Group Denver. p. 5-13.

Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall Essay

In this film, based upon a screenplay by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from a novel from Waterhouse (which written in 1959 influenced by the prevailing theme of the 1950s – the protest of the angry young men), director John Schlesinger creates the fantasized world of Billy Fisher (Tom Courtenay), a young man working at the Shadrack and Duxbury funeral parlor who dreams of becoming a great writer. Julie Christie provides some romance for the awkward clerk. Denys Coop’s cinematography effectively captures the drab life and imaginative world of Billy’s existence, lending further relevance to the film in real life. Billy is an original character whose fantasy life is funny throughout. Known to his officemates as Billy Liar because he is a compulsive liar, Fisher escapes his dour existence by creating a fantasy life as the military leader of the fictional, semi-fascist state of Ambrosia. This fantasy supplies the power and control lacking in his daily life where he feels trapped in his job at the funeral parlor. Though chronic lying is not admirable and his coldness towards his family and his fiancees is dislikable trait, still, overall, Billy is an attractive character, and we can pity him as his rather pathetic pretenses are exposed, while still seeing the justness of the exposure. Waterhouse has managed to mirror the basic nature of people: being dissatisfied with what we have and therefore devising all means to be what we dream to be. Billy Liar remains a pleasing counterpoint to the depressive movies Room at the Top (1958) and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). According to Gale (1996), this film that was originally a novel led some commentators to place Waterhouse in the Angry Young Men School. It is in some ways a study of provincial dissatisfaction. Our lives are very similar to Billy in many ways, the reality and fantasy of who we are sharply at odds. Most of us live with a family which is the quintessence of ordinariness; so we compensate by a rich fantasy life and, unfortunately, by dishonesty, much like Billy in the film. Reminiscent of Fisher’s character, we lie our way through life, not out of malice or even out of any conscious desire to cause mischief or to cause hurt to those around us, but purely because we cannot live with, or face up to the demands of, our real lives. The overall mood in the film is, however, disquieting – Fisher’s dreams include killing people, such as his parents, who place obstacles in his way. The film shows that the only real obstacle confronting Fisher is a lack of courage combined with no obvious talent. Much like in real life, we all have a secret vision of doing the unthinkable, murderous or otherwise, to people we extremely dislike. Our judgment is often clouded by anger for other people, which lead to ineffective use of our God-given talents, which in turn hinders the progress that we otherwise could have achieved easily. Despite its very British setting, the film has a universal dimension which is even more poignant in today’s Internet age. In a sense, Billy Liar is an adroit satire about a society caught between socio-economic classes. Billy Fisher’s character is therefore struggling against the limitations of his class, family and urban environment for a better opportunity to display his ability. This theme is relevant even today, as we all strive daily to move up the social and economic ladder of society, as a response to our natural trait to be forever dissatisfied. One cannot help but be fond of and relate to Billy Liar, a unique character that deeply depicts in what boils down to a humorous yet solemn and incontrovertibly influential movie. It is apparent that this film appealed and is still appealing to audiences precisely because Billy’s lack of courage, commitment and his flights of fancy are not so far removed from those of ourselves. Many of us live in dreams where we do spectacular things but given the chance we would not have the courage to accomplish them. Likewise, the film affirms that, ultimately, we must live with, rather than in opposition tom the real world, no matter how painful and uncertain the experience of that invariably will be. While on one level this film could be dismissed as a whimsical fantasy, there is a Billy Liar that exists in all of us. WORK CITED Gale, S. (1996). Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.

Remodeling HR at Home Depot Essay

Abstract Home Depot went through many changes as a result of new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. The culture inherited by both Executives from their predecessors went through a transformation process for the business to thrive once again. Blake and Crow justified laying off 1,200 workers as a result of their vision to enhance Home Depot’s position in the market and to go back to the organizations foundations embedded by founders Arthur Blank and Bernard Marcus. Specifically, a closer look at the Human Resources function in the organization was focused on in order to align an HR strategy with the business model. This paper will discuss the strategic initiatives taken by Blake and Crow and how they created a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot by focusing on strategic HR. Further, this paper will examine John Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the Organization and People Strategy, the â€Å"outside-in† HR approach, and Lepak and S nell’s HR Model. Organizational change became a necessity at Home Depot when the business failed to increase shareholder value and rivals were outperforming the company. Change at Home Depot started at the top with new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. Specifically, Blake and Crow transformed the way Human Resources contributed to the organizations success. Blake and Crow’s approach is comparable to a change model put forth by John Kotter—the Eight-steps Change Model. This model focuses on driving organizational changes through analysis, management, and communication. The first step in Kotter’s model is to establish a sense of urgency (Esther & Green, 2009). That is, looking at conditions within the organization to see where adjustments are needed. In Home Depot’s case, HR and its strategic role needed some attention; hence it was analyzed and modified to meet business needs. In the second step, Kotter’s suggestion is to find groups of people who can work together (Esther & Green, 2009). At Home Depot, the Store manager and HR manager were not working â€Å"together†. There seemed to be a barrier as one HR manager, overwhelmed with tasks, could not produce at the highest level. The third step in the Eight-step Change Model elaborates on creating a vision (Esther & Green, 2009). Both Blake and Crow had a vision when they took office. What is more, both Executives wanted to go  back to Home Depot’s core principles to see what changes should be made for the business to out-perform its rivals. Moving forward, the fourth and fifth steps in Kotter’s model talk about the importance of communication (fourth step) and empowering the vision onto others (fifth step) (Esther & Green, 2009). This step at Home Depot was critical—Tim Crow communicated his vision to Frank Blake and others in the company and drove them to change the way HR performed in the organization by eliminating positions that were not efficient. Step six in Kotter’s model recommends creating short-term goals (Esther & Green, 2009). Blake and Crow set realistic short-term goals and shared why taking away an HR manager from each store would be a beneficial move. That is, the Store managers gained 3 HR Generalist instead of one HR manager (Mello, 2010). Step seven in Kotter’s model rewards employees for promoting the chang e and step eight defends the organization’s position on how the new change leads to corporate success (Esther & Green, 2009). Home Depot has taken initiatives discussed later in this paper to carry out steps seven and eight. By using John Kotter’s Change Model, Home Depot went from not having an effective Human Resources presence to employing an operational HR strategy. Right now, Home Depot’s current state of HR is embedded with the company’s overall corporate strategy. The organization has HR professionals who are true business partners, something Tim Crow planned and worked towards during the Human Resources Planning (HRP) stage. Moreover, Crow has taken a strategic approach, one that compares to the Organization and People Strategy. The strategy focuses on three key areas: Reward and Recognition, Talent Management, and Organizational Effectiveness (Armstrong, 2011). Reward and Recognition programs at HD consist of the following: Success Sharing for stores that achieve sales targets (paid out $63 million in 2007), Homer Badges for employees who exemplify company values, and the Product Knowledge Recognition program to reward learning initiatives (Crow, 2008). As far as the Talent Management aspect of the strategy, Home Depot has a Master Trade Specialist program in place that hired 3,000 trade specialists who are licensed electricians and plumbers (Crow, 2008). What is more, the company has HR managers who are more involved than their predecessors with Store managers and the company has its own insourced call center to address employee concerns. To accomplish the third component of the Organization and People Strategy—Organizational Effectiveness, Home  Depot has the Aprons on the Floor program, action based training modules, and an Aware Line telephone service for individuals to call and comment on particular situations (Crow, 2008). Before Blake and Crow took over Home Depot, it was led by former CEO Robert Nardelli and his regime. Nardelli and his choice of Executives turned the Home Depot culture upside down. That is, company officers were at the top, employees in the middle, and customers on the bottom of the pyramid. It took Crow’s strategic mindset to turn the pyramid back to its original position. Further, Blake played a significant role by making employee morale and career development a strategic priority (Crow, 2008). Blake and Crow did not turn the corporation around overnight. Instead, it was an ongoing process that needed commitment from everyone in the company. The reduction in force was the first step. The layoffs assisted Home Depot to take an â€Å"outside-in† approach to focus on strategic HR. This type of approach starts with analyzing the customer, competitor, and other challenges faced by the business (Armstrong, 2011). Further, the â€Å"outside-in† approach tackles ineff ective HR practices that should be revisited and aligned with corporate strategies. To integrate corporate and HR strategies, Home Depot replaced Human Resources managers from each store with additional Sales Associates (Mello, 2010). As Home Depot moves forward with strategic HR in the organization, the focus is on both the technical and managerial strategies. Technical strategies deal with the mathematical and behavioral methods of forecasting HR needs while managerial strategies consist of ways decision-makers tackle human resource issues (Reilly & Williams, 2006). Examples of technical strategies at Home Depot are the reduction of 1,200 human resource positions and establishing fresh roles for new HR teams. From a managerial standpoint, instead of having one Human Resource manager inundated with tasks, the three new Human Resources Generalist each are responsible for one function only—staffing and development, associate relations, and performance management (Mello, 2010). Both technical and managerial HR strategies are helping create a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot. When Crow decided to eliminate positio ns, resistance was inevitable. However, the cuts were an advantage to HR at Home Depot because organizational resources were not being allocated in the most efficient way. The trade-off of having a Human Resources manager in each store was the lack of manpower on the floor and that meant shifting  away from selling merchandise. By eliminating the HR manager position and creating regional HR teams, the organization went back to focusing on its core competence of providing customer service and increasing sales. Revenue growth at Home Depot suggests HR regional teams are better than one Human Resource manager in each store. Further, Home Depot’s reasoning behind changing the function of Human Resources can be examined closely by using the Lepak and Snell Model. Lepak and Snell have four quadrants in their model which classify Human Resources configurations. Right now, Home Depot appears to fall under the second quadrant. That is, the focus is on Job-based Employment and the company has Productivity Based HR (Mello, 2010). However, Home Depot is striving to reach Quadrant I: Knowledge-based Employment and Commitment-Based HR by having programs such as the Master Trade Specialist and a robust HR system in place. Overtime, Home Depot can drive their HR strategy to reach Quadrant I to get the most out of th eir business objectives. Conclusion: Home Depot is an example of how strategic HR can influence growth, productivity, and success in an organization. It starts with the willingness of the organization’s leaders to drive change. When Black and Crow eliminated 1,200 employees, the move was alarming to current workers and others in the industry. However, to revamp the HR strategy, layoffs were a necessity. By using theories similar to Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the People and Organization strategy, the HR â€Å"outside-in† approach, and Lepak and Snell’s HR Model, Blake and Crow turned around Home Depot’s culture to focus on customer service—its core business competence. Further, the company now has HR business partners who act as liaisons to Store managers to have an effective HR presence in stores. Home Depot is headed in the right direction as a result of its strategic HR focus. References Armstrong, M. (2011). Armstrong’s handbook of strategic human resource management. London: Kogan Page. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=390442&site=ehost-live&scope=site Crow, T. (2008). Home REMODEL. Workforce Management, 87(12), 1-1,24,26,28. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/docview/219795604?accountid=11091 Esther, C., & Green, M. (2009). Making Sense of change Management. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Mello, J.A. (2010). Strategic Human Resource Management, Third Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Reilly, P. A., & Williams, T. (2006). Strategic HR : Building the capability to deliver. Aldershot: Gower. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=269752&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Reasons for demanding such course and its effect

Reasons for demanding such course and its effect in the first 10 year time frame Since my infancy, I was profoundly influenced by my father, who was engaged in the area of business.   During the years, I also noted that my passion for the business field arose from other reasons, apart the influence exercised by my father.   Such other reasons mainly comprise the vastness of the topic, which does not consist of a simple equation learned from a textbook. It requires good knowledge on the firm’s strengths and weaknesses, through which one can apply sound judgments and decisions in a highly dynamic and changing market environment.   There is also the issue of managing personnel properly in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.   Such fascination in such profession always inclined me to read relevant articles on managerial performance and accomplishments.   For instance, a particular manager that astounded me and boosted my interest was the Wal Mart founder Sam Walton, who out of a mere $6,000 investment was able to create one of the largest corporations in the world.   I also frequently noticed that several entrepreneurs like for example Nike, commenced from an MBA program. In this respect, once achieving the MBA Degree, I intend to gain some experience in management and start my own business.   I know this is a highly ambitious aim, but as Sam Walton frequently stated, one should nurture and follow a dream in a way that it enables him to grow personally in character and mind. Reasons behind succeeding in the course and career pursued My interest in higher education, especially in commerce subjects evolved over time.   Ironically in my younger days, I was not a committed student.   I occasionally turned up home workers and followed readings from textbooks, as instructed by the lecturer.   However, when I commenced working I realized the need of technical competence in business studies.   For instance, one of my great embarrassments was the inability to comprehend the financial statements of the organization I was employed in.   In addition, I noted that my colleagues technical information was far much greater than mine. Through this culture shock, I realized the need of such knowledge.   I started reading relevant textbooks and articles to increase such important know-how.   I also realize that once I am dedicated to an objective, I strive and work very hard for it.   Indeed I did such reading at night after a full day of work.   I believe that such positive feature will assist me to meet deadlines and work under pressure both during the course and at work. I am also a smart doer, who possesses good analytical skills.   Whenever a problem arises, I meticulously examine the situation at hand and consider the possible options carefully before rushing into any drastic conclusions.   If there is no easy way out to such issue, as it happens sometimes, I am frequently inclined to the best option, even though it is the hard way around.   In business administration, taking sound decisions is a critical need.   Also the ability to prioritize the ultimate objective over any hardships that will be encountered is important to reach goal congruence and avoid deviations and conflicts. Methods of communicating and interacting with team members Apart from being a fine doer, it is important that a person is a good listener.   A manager that neglects and/or pays little attention to employee requests is not a good manager.   When one is working in a team, as it frequently happens in business organizations, one should appreciate the fact that the corporate objective is achieved with the help of all the team and not management only.   Sometimes, good ideas come from staff within the team. Therefore a manager should respect the team members ideas at all levels and consider carefully suggestions proposed.   When a good recommendation is given, it should be discussed and examined and if it is a good idea, one should clearly say so even though it comes from a worker.   Indeed, a good idea of communication is the adoption of 360-degree feedbacks. Listening is one of the important characteristics that a good leader should have.   Traditionally, it was thought that a good leader is a born leader.   However nowadays, it is believed that leadership skills can be learned as denoted by Orlitzky M. and Benjamin J. on pages 128 to 138 of their textbook, published in 2003.   Yet, a person that is born with good leadership skills posses an advantage over those who lack and need to learn.   I always exercised positive influence on my friends and induced them to certain actions. For instance, my peers commonly sought my advice on certain matters.   This is thus another important characteristic that can aid in communicating properly with team members.   One last point that I wish to make is that even thought I inherently possess good leadership abilities, this does not necessarily mean that I should not learn to further enhance such skills. References: Ivy League Admissions.   MBA Essay Writing Tips and Strategies (on line).   Available from:   http://www.ivyleagueadmission.com/buswritingtutorial.html (Accessed 18th March 2007). Orlitzky M.; Benjamin J. (2003).   The effects of sea composition on small-group performance in a business school case competition, Academy of Management Learning, Vol. 2, No. 2