Employer Strategies for Responding to an Aging Workforce - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4122 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/09/21 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Table of Contents Executive Summary1 Introduction2 Part A2 Demographics2 Impact and challenges in service industry for assigned HR trend (aging workforce). 4 Challenges of an aging workforce:5 Solutions to Challenges of an Aging workforce7 Part B Fairprice Xtra @ Ang Mo Kio HUB8 Challenges Faced9 Relevant Solutions10 Feedback12 Referencing14 Appendices15 Executive Summary This report is commissioned to provide our readers with more information on aging workforce. Firstly in Part A of our report, we will be discussing about the demographic changes in Singapore. These include life expectancy; income distribution and how household sizes have evolved throughout the years for instance. This will in turn give us more insights as to why Singapore is currently facing with the challenge of an aging workforce. Next, impact and challenges of aging workforce in the service industry will be further elaborated. Some of the impact of an aging workforce will be lower labour productivity rate and greater healthcare services for the elderly. One challenge face by HR companies will be how they can retain the knowledge and skills of these older workers. Solutions for HR companies on how to overcome such challenges are also suggested. One such solution is to implement a flexible retirement age program for the older workers. Moving on to Part B of this report, our group visited the Fairprice located at Ang Mo Kio and made an evident observation. Observations of the workers were made. We have identified a few problems associated with having too many aging staff further explained below. This is followed by our recommended solutions with one of the problems illustrated through a skit which can be found under Appendices. Introduction Singapore faces the problem of an ageing workforce which brings about new opportunities and challenges faced by employers and government and how they respond to an aging population. Today, Singaporeans have a longer life expectancy and wil l need to work longer, so that we lead healthy and productive lives and  have sufficient reserves for retirement. For employers, it means that there will be less young people entering the workforce each year in the future. Singapore’s workforce is aging rapidly and companies and the government faces the challenge to positively shape the mindsets of employers and employees towards employing older workers and to facilitate the re-design of jobs to make them more suited for older workers. Part A Demographics Age is one of the major demographic changes in Singapore. People are living much longer than they used to. Compared to year 2000, life expectancy has increased from 78 years to 79. 9 years in year 2006. The population has also increased from 4,027,900 to 4,483,900 in the same period. Life expectancy at birth has increased from 71 males and 76 females to 77 males and 81 females. Life expectancy at retirement age 62 is now over 20 years for both males and females. From year 2000 to 2006, the number of males per 1000 females is falling from 998 to 982. If this continues, there is bound to have more females than males. In year 2007 alone, the statistics has fallen to 979. Income distribution has improved tremendously from $3,458 to $4,867 from year 1993 to 2003 per household. There is an annual growth of 6. 9% sales in services industry. Services ranges from health services, food and beverage services, transport and storage services, retail trade, information and communication services, wholesale trade, education services and all other services. The services sector comprised 138,700 establishments and employed a total of 1,047,400 workers in 2005, or an average of 8 workers per establishment. The biggest employment size in the services industry though falls to accommodation and food and beverage services with average of 20 workers per establishment. This is followed by transport and storage with an average of 12 workers per establishment. Emp loyment rate for those aged 25 to 64 edged up to a new record of 76. 5% from 75. 5% a year ago. Supported by efforts to improve employability of older workers, the employment rate of older residents aged 55 to 64 rose by 2. 5% over the year to 56. 2% in June 2007. Most of the new jobs taken up by residents were in occupations paying more than the median income. Nine out of ten jobs gained by residents from 1997 to 2007 went to Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET), mostly in the services sector. Over the past three years, the gains were more spread out across the occupational groups, with more residents employed in sales services jobs than before. Nevertheless, the majority of 71% of the jobs created for residents from 2004 to 2007 still went to PMETs. Consequently, PMETs now form 49% of the resident workforce, up from 40% a decade ago, while the share of production related workers correspondingly declined from 31% to 26% and clerical, sales service worker s from 29% to 25%. The workforce is also rapidly aging with slightly over half, 53%, of the economically active residents aged 40 years or older, including 25% aged at least 50 years, up from 33% and 13% respectively in 1991. While the strong labour market performance in 2007 has lifted prospects even for the older and less educated, these workers nevertheless remain more vulnerable to losing their jobs and less likely to be re-employed during a downturn. The challenge remains in enhancing their long term employability amid a volatile economic environment. Household size had become smaller due mainly to the increasing proportion of one person households. 9. 4% males and 15. 5% females aged 35 to 39 years remained single compared to less than 11% in the 1970s. Family life cycle has declined also by other factors such as lower fertility rate and delay in child bearing. Impact and challenges in service industry for assigned HR trend (aging workforce). Impact of an aging workforce: 1 ) Lower Labour Productivity Rate The impact that resulted from an aging workforce would be lower productivity and efficiency rate when it comes to the accomplishment of a certain task. Their movements and mobility will be slower than the younger staff. As compared to a teenager, an elderly will definitely take a longer time complete his job and hence, affecting the productivity of the work performance which might in turn slow down the business process. 2) High Turnover Rate As the workforce ages, more and more baby-boomers will become eligible to retire, creating a competition for the experience and skill of mature workers and turnover is expected to accelerate. With a huge turnover rate, companies will face problems in replacing those who retire thus, resulting in low unemployment rate thereafter. In addition, just because they cannot replace the elderly who retired adequately, economic growth will be slowed down, affecting the business outlook. 3) Greater Health Care needs f or older workers Due to an aging workforce, more health care centers for elderly workers have to be set up in ensuring the health of these workers as elderly will have a tendency to fall sick more easily. In addition, generally speaking, elderly are more prone to injuries such as backaches and leg pains for instance. Only with good health then will they be able to perform their job well. Furthermore, companies will have to anticipate the labour shortages frequently since there are more elderly staff working these days. 4) A competitive economy Singapore’s aging workforce has crucial implications for its economy as we are one that experience rapid structural changes. In such an economy, the depreciation rate of human capital in terms of technology specified skills is expected to be high as new jobs created may require skills that are different from those that have been lost. This will be vividly reflected in older people as they will experience difficulties in acquiring new skills. Therefore, the decrease in the rate of depreciation of the technology specified human capital of older workers could dampen overall economic growth. Challenges of an aging workforce: 1) Communication Barriers Elderly workers’ education qualifications are low as majority of them do not have the privilege to go through formal education back then. Due to the lack of education, they might not be able to understand English as effectively in their respective workplace. In addition, there is a high probability that these elderly workers are not able to converse properly in English much less, fluently. Hence, there is a tendency that their English will be misunderstood by customers and maybe amongst colleagues as well. This in turn creates a communication barrier between the older staff and the younger ones. 2) Unable to catch up with advanced technology The older staff might not be able to understand how various latest machineries work within the company due to its co mplexity which is difficult for them to comprehend and apply thereafter. In addition, often or not, the instructions of machineries are written in English which might be a problem to them as well for they might not be able to understand the instructions completely. Furthermore, older staff will take a longer time to pick up new skills as compared to the younger staff. 3) Resilience to changes The aging workforce will be accustomed to how their company functions and operates as they could have been working at their various companies for a long time. It will be difficult to make them accept and learn new skills as effectively as compared the younger workforce who will be more adaptable to changes. Thus, they will be resilience to the upcoming changes involving the advancement in technology, job rotations and maybe even the changing in business operations as well. ) Retaining knowledge or experience of the older worker The older workers are normally the ones who possess most knowled ge on their job scopes as they have been doing and repeating the same processes almost everyday other day. In addition, the experiences they have gained throughout the years of working at the company are invaluable and these experiences are an asset to the company. Thus, the company will now face with the challenge of whether or not the experiences that the aging workforce possess can in turn to applicable or even transferred to the upcoming younger workers. ) Flexible Retirement Age Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew recently made some comments on the need to work longer. In 1999, the retirement age was raised from 60 to 62. There are 3 reasons for the implementation of the extended retirement age. Firstly, Singaporeans now live longer. The average life expectancy is about 80 years old. This has risen due to advances in medical science and also better living conditions. This also means that if one were to retire at age of 62, there is another 18 to 20 more years of living. Secondly, n ot every worker will be as fortunate. Some will have to work because they lack sufficient funds for retirement, furthermore, people will live longer these days hence, they will require a bigger sum of savings. Therefore, if savings are insufficient to these workers, companies will expect many more people to work after the age of 62. Lastly, there is a trend of shrinking family size going on nowadays. Shrinking family size means that there are now fewer young people to support the elderly. In addition, values have changed over the years, elderly are now increasingly expected to be self-sufficient after retirement. In conclusion for this challenge, companies have to anticipate such a change in which the older staff will still want to work after their retirement and come out with a flexible retirement age plan for the aging workforce. An important point apart from just blind employment, companies have to ensure that these workers stay relevant and employable by equipping with the necessary skills or even arrange them to work at places that are less strenuous. Solutions to Challenges of an Aging workforce 1) Communication Barriers In order to overcome communication barriers, it is possible that the company provides subsidized language classes for elderly workers. In addition, perhaps incentives can be given for workers who get pass each level. Further rewards like an extra day off can be given to motivate fast learners who are spotted making good use of their English learnt from classes at work. 2) Unable to catch up with advanced technology For the elderly workers to keep up with the changing trends in technology, one particular staff can be assigned to oversee the workers who are using the machineries daily. They can then explain to those who are not aware of the proper usage of the machineries, and show them step by step how to use them. A set of instructions can also be printed in a suitable language for elderly workers, to read through when they a re free. Simplified instructions can be placed somewhere noticeable near the machineries as well. 3) Resilience to changes It is comprehensible that elderly people are more rigid and less adaptable to changes. However, they can be encouraged to be more flexible if we are more patient with them. What they need is the care and respect, and they are actually willing to learn as long as they have someone to guide them along the way. One suggestion would be to pair up elderly workers, so that they can help each other when learning new skills, and at the same time feel comfortable that they are not the only ones taking a longer time to learn. The younger employees should be trained as well, to motivate the older workers, and boost staff morale, should the older workers find it hard to adapt to new company policies. 4) Retaining knowledge or experience of the older worker To ensure that knowledge and experiences are retained, the company can recreate job designs, like creating adviso r positions within departments, whereby workers who have stayed for more than 10-15years in the company can train others who are less experienced. They can be given rewards like an amount of money or products, if the employee under them is promoted within a given period. Not only will they feel appreciated, they will also feel that their loyalty to the company has not gone to waste. Focus groups can also be scheduled, to find out more about how they feel about the company, and share their experiences with others. ) Flexible Retirement Age One way could be to allow corporations and unions to find ways and means to allow workers to work beyond retirement age since there will be lesser young workers filling the vacancies of the jobs. More flexible work arrangements can be made to make it easier for workers to work after retirement. Management, unions and workers can work together to create windows of opportunity for workers to continue working in the same company after a certain age, t hough not necessarily in the same department and salary. Older workers can also work on flexi-hours arrangements, or part-time and contract arrangements. Alternatively, these older workers are also free to move out of their current jobs after retirement and take up other jobs that will suit them more. Part B Fairprice Xtra @ Ang Mo Kio HUB We visited the Fairprice located at Ang Mo Kio and made an evident observation. We noticed that their employees mainly consisted of aging staff. We have identified a few problems associated with having too many aging staff further explained below. This is followed by our recommended solutions with one of the problems illustrated through a skit which can be found in our appendices. Challenges Faced 1) Aging Workforce Plenty flock the mall almost everyday and with the Fairprice at NTUC spacious with a huge floor area of 77,000 square feet. While NTUC is trying to keep up with the high traffic of patrons shopping at NTUC, they are facing an in evitable problem; aging staff. The problem of aging staff is the level of efficiency and effectiveness that will affect customer’s satisfaction. Customers are likely to be unhappy if they are made to wait long. As aging staff are unlikely to have a high level of energy and tend to be slower by nature, the high traffic may very simply cause them to suffer from periodic stress and affect their temperament. In some cases, it will affect the level of productivity and the way they relate to customers. However, while it would be unfair to say that all aged staff are liabilities and don’t perform well, there are some aged staff who perform better and that is only through experience in which accumulated from serving NTUC for a considerable period of time. In the long run, another issue that could arise is when the aging staff reaches the retired age or the decision to retire. This may cause NTUC operational problems as they may not have sufficient staff to tend the cashi er and back room operations. With increasingly high traffic from NTUC customers, manpower remains an important fundamental in the daily running of their business. Moreover, aging staff are also more prone to illness as given their age, they to have a less strong immune system and hence more medical leave can be expected to be taken which results again in decreased fficiency. 2) Employee Retention We realize that Fairprice lacks the manpower to manage the huge store with many departments to keep an eye of given their large floor space. Furthermore, we noticed that they are very few supervisors monitoring the operations within the store and this serves as a difficult task for them should a product be running low on the shelves and requires replenishing. Back room employees have the task to run these jobs and with the size of the outlet, it can be an exhausting job for them especially so if they were to experience labour shortage, Another problem we observed is the lack of younger t alents working at NTUC. The staff mainly consists of older workers. We conclude that this is probably due to their inability to retain or rather attract younger workers. As a result of this customers could expect a growing lack of efficiency in their overall NTUC shopping experience. The managers need to promote job enrichment or job re-design to motivate the employees to avoid them from engaging a similar job. This mundane activity does not allow the employees to experience new task that will give them the opportunity to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge on other areas. While this may have an impact on younger workers who are active and needs job experience, the aged staff will need other forms of motivation and benefits so as to keep them as loyal employees. The needs of the aged workers are different and they need to have better working environment and working hours for their health concern and well-being. Relevant Solutions Older people take a longer time to adapt to their surroundings. Hence one solution NTUC could adopt is to tailor a training programme to specially cater to the needs of the aging staff. This would include training them thoroughly and over an extended period of time. This is so that they are better equipped with the necessary skills to satisfy the demands of their job scope which would lead to improved efficiency. NTUC would do best by achieving a balance in the number of older and younger staff they employ. Younger staff would offset the lack of efficiency that is associated with aging staff who on the other hand make up for it through numbers by ensuring that NTUC do not face manpower shortages with more interested applicants applying for job vacancy at Fairprice compared to their younger counterparts. NTUC should also look towards recruitment in hiring and retaining younger staff. Perhaps they could outsource their HR recruitment function as NTUC would then be able to take advantage of their expertise which would the n ensure competent and qualified workers. Additionally, these 3rd party service providers possess with them a wide and comprehensive database which ensures a wider pool of talent to choose from at the same time ensuring also that there are always sufficient workers to run their operations. NTUC could also encourage a friendlier working environment by calling for employees to help one another. For instance, if a staff is not doing his work correctly or is slow, fellow staff could teach or help out. Or if you notice a colleague struggling with a customer enquiry, a fellow staff should take the initiative to step in and not wait to be approached. This would foster good relationships among staff and also create a more customer oriented environment. Another thing that is difficult to control is the taking of medical leave that can NTUC short of human labour should any of their employees suddenly call in sick. This is a common problem among the aging staff as given their age, they c an be more susceptible to falling sick. This problem can easily be remedied by having part-time staff on stand-by and by offering them slightly above market-rate wages or special benefits to entice them to be back-up staff. Below are solutions towards increasing the welfare benefits of the staff to retain them Solution: * Hold annual NTUC workfare to attract younger generations to choose NTUC as a part-time job of choice. * Increase benefit of aged staff if they work longer. * Provide monetary incentives for staff who introduced potential employee to management. * Yearly pay increment after 5 years of working with NTUC * Introduce better staff lounge to ensure that the staff’s welfare is well taken care of by the management to satisfy and delight employees. Introduce job rotation and split shifts to allow flexible timing for aged employees who needs a more relax working hours to avoid long and mundane working hours. * Allow flexible leaves for employees. During busy period s, operational hiccups may occur if any employee wishes to take emergency leave for important matters. * On-the-job training to upgrade the employees’ knowledge on other aspects of NTUC’s operations to give them opportunity to perform in other areas and discover hidden capabilities. Feedback In part A ,we learnt mainly of how the aging workforce is really a cause for concern, considering human labour is Singapore’s most powerful and only resource. We have further learnt that the maturing workforce is often seen as an issue to be dealt with instead of a great opportunity to be leveraged. Our group also gained certain insights in making a trip down to Fairprice. For one, we noticed an express queue specifically for those with 5 items of purchase or less. While it cuts down on queuing time and better facilitates the purchasing process we noticed that this condition was not observed many. We spotted many with a handful of items proceeding to the express queue and what was appalling about that was how the cashiers didn’t look at all surprised and didn’t even bother to impose the condition of 5 items or less. Another thing we noticed was how it was difficult it was to get assistance when we wanted, there was hardly a single staff in sight save for the cashiers and even they were obviously too preoccupied serving other customers. Our group were there on two separate occasions and both times we took notice of how there was almost little or no supervision of the staff. This could perhaps be attributed to the large store area which makes the governing of staff more difficult. Perhaps NTUC could do better in taking action for instance install more cameras to ensure staff are not skiving but dutifully doing their work and right for that matter. Otherwise, they could increase the number of supervisors on shift. Overall, in doing Part B, it had benefited us by letting us know the various challenges faced by the Human Resource Depa rtment in a company in the real business world. We are able to analyse the problem in depth and come out with creative solutions for this challenges. Referencing * Shandre Thangavelu. Aging and Economic growth. 1st February 2008 https://nt2. fas. nus. edu. sg/ecs/pub/wp-scape/0613. pdf * Judith L. Diversity in the workplace. 1st February 2008 https://www. streetdirectory. com/travel_guide/1322/business_and_finance/diversity_in_the_workplace. html * Deputy Secretary-General NTUC, Heng Chee How. Speech. 31st January 2008 https://www. ntuc. com. sg/ntucunions/speeches/speeches_240507. asp Ministry of Manpower, Gan Kim Yong. Committee of supply speech. 1st February 2008 https://www. mom. gov. sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/mom_speeches/2007/20070308-committee0. html * Enterprise one insights. 1st February 2008 https://www. business. gov. sg/NR/rdonlyres/22E806B0-C152-48A9-B91E-5A1E6E9BBFDF/16529/EnterpriseOneInsightsIssue0507. pdf * News release. Challenges in HR. Enterprise one insights. 2st February 2008 https://www. ntu. edu. sg/corpcomms2/releases/17%20Feb%2006%20NBS%20prof%20outlines%20challenges%20ahead%20in%20HR%20management%20NR. df * Ministry of Manpower, Gan Kim Yong. Approach to effective employment. 1st February 2008 https://www. wda. gov. sg/PressRoom/Speech/2007/20071114. htm * S. Ramesh. Helping older workers stay employed. 1st February 2008 https://www. channelnewsasia. com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/276748/1/. html * Secretary General, Lim Boon Heng. Speech. 28th January 2008 https://www. ntuc. org. sg/ntucunions/speeches/speeches_171204. asp * MOM website. 1st February 2008 www. mom. gov. sg * Statistics Singapore. 28th Febuary 2008 www. singstat. gov. sg Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Employer Strategies for Responding to an Aging Workforce" essay for you Create order

Essay about Same-Sex Marriage Should be Legal - 854 Words

So now you see the light, eh! Stand up for your rights. Come on! Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights! Lyrics form the song, Get Up, Stand Up, by Bob Marley If you listen to the TV or radio talking heads, it would be easy to think that America is permanently in the grip of some major political issue. That there is always some great political division at stake†¦show more content†¦He was quite upset about recent vote in Maine and a vote a year ago in California and was arguing for enacting some forceful decisions on the federal level. I, on the other hand, while agreeing with him on the essence of the problem, was not so sure that this is an issue to be forced or legislated. Especially when you take into account all of the difficulties the country is facing right now. However, after thinking about it a little bit more, I decided to address this problem in front of you, try to convince you that it is indeed a major issue and worth casting apathy aside. 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Business Communication and Organizational Culture

Question: Discuss about the Business Communication and Organizational Culture. Answer: Introduction The concept of the groupthink is first coined by a research psychologist Irving Janis in the tear 1972 (Bell 2016). Lee et al. (2016) explain the concept of group thinking that it occurs when overconfidence leads the common sense and problem-solving abilities. Moreover, in business, it can be explained from a scenario where a group makes faulty or ineffective decisions and it has to be supported by all the team members even though some of them think that it is not correct (Bell 2016). The primary objective of this business report is to highlight some examples of groupthink and their associated potential reason for its operational failure. Traits of Group-thinkers Some of the traits that a group possess and can be considered to be the main cause of the occurrence of the group thinks are illustrated below: In the context of an isolated group, if a group of people that only considered their group or community to be the main and do not consider the presence of other communities and individuals from other ethnic backgrounds; they can be group-thinkers. Cherry (2015) portrays that in this case, the isolated group only reinforces their moral superiority and hate another group. In the context of professional organizations, if all the members of the company manufacture products that is quickly becoming outdated and denies adopting new alternatives for the betterment of the organization; they can also be considered as group-thinkers (Janis 2015). Moreover, in common people also this insolence of group-thinking can be seen regarding politics. People follow one political idealand stop watching working approach of other political groups, which leads to hate and distrust people who disagree with them (Janis 2015). Example of groupthink In this section, some of the major examples of group thinking will be illustrated: One of the famous examples of group-thinking is that of Swissair. Brinkmann and (2014) explained that this airlines services provider once was financially so fortunate that they are known as "Flying Bank." The managing authorities also thought that they were invulnerable. This lead to a state of arrogance and delusional self-belief, and as a result, they also become a "mutual appreciation society." Consequently, they also started formulating new strategies like "Hunger strategy," where they develop acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliance agreements (Sims and Sauser 2013). This lead to the extreme failure of the concerned organization and the company was fully collapsed in 2001. In recent times, some people believe the thought of Maurice Newman can be considered as an example of group-thinking. The concerned person stated argued that the concept of the climate change is vague and there is a little reality in the concept. The news article of "The Weekend Australia," reported that, when a majority of 97% of the scientists agrees that climate change is an urgent human-made problem, then it is questionable how a non-scientist can challenge that climate change is unreal (Theaustralian.com.au 2016). Moreover, Rhodes (2013) highlights on another side of the coin by stating that scientists also reveals their opinion and to the scientific facts how much global warming is curbed by taking green initiatives throughout these years. Thus, this conflicts results in an unquestionable war among the politicians and scientists of climate science rather than taking effective steps for protecting planet earth. Another example of group-thinking in the corporate world is about Marks Spencer and British Airways." Riordan and Riordan (2013) highlighted that both these companies develop over-confidence of their profitability and released globalization expansion strategies and overlook its respective potential failure. The prime reason for this is that both these companies had an illusion of their invulnerability. Riordan and Riordan (2013) also depict that analysis of Jack Eaton's content reveals that during their adoption of globalization strategies, all eight symptoms of groupthink were there and resulted in an immense loss for both of the companies. The shares of Marks Spencer fell from 590 to less than 300 and the shares of British Airways fall from 740 to 300 (Riordan and Riordan 2013). Identification of potential reasons for its operational failure Cherry (2015) suggested some of the reason for the failure of the concept of Group-thinking: Collective rationalization is a case, where a group ignores warning from their higher authorities or oppositions and they continue to proceed on their approaches (Petrakis and Konstantakopoulou 2015). Bell (2016) mentioned that illusions of invulnerability are the major reason for the failure of business decisions in the corporate world. Petrakis and Konstantakopoulou (2015) on the other hand emphasized on a stereotyped view of the others, where an individual stops to understand the ethical concerns of others and underestimate the potential of others in contributing effective suggestions. In the case of Swissair Airlines, the decision for acquisitions of small airlines rather than collaborations with the leading airline's services was the potential reason for the collapse of the concerned organization. The reason for investing in these small airlines services is to get a foothold in the EU market to attain a membership of the EU that is rejected by EU resulting in a huge loss for Swissair Airlines (Louie 2013). Moreover, in the case of calling the effect of the greenhouse as a delusion, it can be said that Maurice Newman takes advantage of the designation, chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and expounded private views on climate change (Taylor 2016). The lack of meeting with government personnel and communication with the general communal, the action of the concerned person leads to the conflict between scientists and the government of Australia. Lastly, the illusion of invulnerability was the wrong move in collapsing of Marks Spencer and British Airways. Louie (2013) states that businessperson has to consider the recent demand of the market and the political stability along with a pre-mortem business-analysis before taking any business decision. However, both of these organizations only consider their business growth throughout the past years. This was the potential wrong move that results in their failures of activities. Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded that Illusions of Invulnerability, Stereotyped View of Others, Collective Rationalization and Mind Guards can be considered as symptoms of the group-thinking. This result in business failures as a group only considers their view, opinion, strengths and business stability and overlooks the negative consequences that can occur in future. Thus, every organization and individual have to analyze the environment in the surrounding the future opportunity for correct investments and taking an effective business decision. Reference List Bell, R.M., 2016, January. FIRST CENTURY GROUPTHINK: AN EXEGETICAL CASE STUDY. In Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict. Proceedings (Vol. 21, No. 1, p. 6). Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc.] Brinkmann, U. and van Weerdenburg, O., 2014. Intercultural Competences for Culturally Diverse Teams. In Intercultural Readiness (pp. 135-175). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Cherry, K., 2015. What is groupthink. About Education. Janis, I.L., 2015. Groupthink: the desperate drive for consensus at any cost. Classics of Organization Theory, p.161. Lee, S.T., Chae, J., Uyen, N.B.T., Gim, G. and Kim, J.B., 2016. A Study of Groupthink in Online Communities. Louie, J., 2013. Greed and Corporate FailureThe Lessons from Recent Disasters. Management Research News. Petrakis, P.E. and Konstantakopoulou, D.P., 2015. Strategic Scenario Thinking. In Uncertainty in Entrepreneurial Decision Making (pp. 141-153). Palgrave Macmillan US. Rhodes, R.A.W., 2013. From Prime-Ministerial Leadership to Court Politics. P. Strangio, Paul t Hart and J. Walter (Eds.), Prime Ministerial Leadership: Power, Party and Performance in Westminster System, pp.318-333. Riordan, D. and Riordan, M., 2013. Guarding against groupthink in the professional work environment: a checklist. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, 7, p.1. Sims, R.R. and Sauser, W.I., 2013. Toward a better understanding of the relationships among received wisdom, groupthink, and organizational ethical culture. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 14(4), p.75. Taylor, L., 2016. Climate sceptic Maurice Newman not reappointed as government adviser. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/28/climate-sceptic-maurice-newman-not-reappointed-government-adviser [Accessed 25 Dec. 2016]. Theaustralian.com.au., 2016. Groupthink reigns in climate research. [online] Available at: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/groupthink-reigns-in-climate-change-research/news-story/3a9bfe035ecf96a668a32c1689f4d1dc [Accessed 25 Dec. 2016].

The Korean Family Hierarchy Essay Research Paper free essay sample

The Korean Family Hierarchy Essay, Research Paper Korean temple By: intma1 Talk about sarcasm. Buddhist monastics, those shaven-headed figures in grey robes, choose to go forth this earthly universe ( that is, everyday society ) in favour of an ascetic being based on supplication and self-denial. But now their unworldly life style is going a tourer merchandise # 8230 ; with the monks # 8217 ; blessing! Cloistered life as a tourer attractive force? It # 8217 ; s portion of a planetary fad for monasticism. From the Himalayas to the Hudson River, monastics are in. Nipponese salarymen are tossing their occupations and flying to monasteries. In Taiwan last twelvemonth, monasticism become large intelligence. Hundreds of households were shocked when their promising boies and girls opted for Buddhist cloistered life alternatively of comfy callings in concern. Meanwhile, in the United States, at least one monastery finds it necessary to turn away manque novitiates. we are non beging careers, the monastery says gently The worldwide reclamation of involvement in mo nasticism has reached out to Korean Buddhists excessively. We will write a custom essay sample on The Korean Family Hierarchy Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Peoples are interested in Buddhist monastics and how they live. Many people, whether seeking enlightenment or merely fed up with the noise and flashiness of consumer society, would wish to seek the cloistered manner of life. So why non give them a gustatory sensation of it? That is exactly what monasteries in Korea are making. They offer tourists a brief but uncovering expression inside Buddhist Monasticism. Western normally think of Buddhism as a faith of vegetarians who expect to be reincarnated after go forthing this universe at decease. Buddhists aim to rectify this oversimplified image. Buddhism has a long and complex history. It originated in India some 2,600 old ages ago and was introduced to Korea in about the 4th century A.D. Since so, Buddhism has exercised a enormous influence on Korean civilization and produced many widely admired plants of art. Pulguksa Temple are Sokkuram Grotto, built in the eight century, are two of the most celebrated illustrations of Buddhist art a nd architecture. Those two attractive forces, along with the Tripitaka Koreana ( a aggregation of woodblock texts of Buddhist Bible, made in the thirteenth century ) , were added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in 1995. Today Korean Buddhism involves more than 10,000 temples and 20,000 monastics, and is the belief system of 15 million Koreans ( about tierce of the population ) . More than 900 of those 10,000 temples are greater than 50 old ages old. Buddhism histories for more than 80 per centum of Korean cultural resources designated as national hoarded wealths. Now that foreign visitants are taking an involvement in Buddhist monasticism, Korean Buddhists are get downing to market traditional Buddhist ceremonials and ascetic patterns as cultural merchandises. Already, some temples admit tourers for a close expression at what goes on inside a monastery. The Buddhists think they can promote tourers to look beyond the touchable side of Buddhism, viz. its temples and pagodas , and experience Buddhist civilization on a more intimate degree. Alone Korean Buddhist ceremonials for tourers are planed, such as traditional dining rites of Buddhist monastics. Plans besides call for the tea ceremonial to go a tourist attractive force. Many temples are opening tea houses to pull tourers. Most of these temples sell traditional teas made by monastics themselves.Actually, this gap of Buddhist monasteries to foreigners is non a new phenomenon. For some clip, major temples have admitted Koreans and foreign visitants to a summer preparation class that lets invitees withdraw from the helter-skelter earthly universe for a piece. Though physically strenuous, and really brief ( merely four darks and five yearss ) , this experience is seen as an chance for participants to reload themselves by trying the cloistered life style. Worship before the image of Buddha, sitting in speculation, talk and tea ceremonial Sokkuram Grotto is 3 kilometer off from Pulguksa Temple by a short cut along the mountain ridge and 9 kilometers off by a paved route. Based on a balance between squares and circles, consecutive lines and curves, and planes and ball-shaped forms, the grotto is structured in a perfect harmoniousness. The 38 figures carved on the wall of the chamber are all chef-doeuvres. The Sokkuram was modeled after the rock cave temples of China, but in china these were cut into the face of natural stone drops, whereas the Sokkuram is a semisynthetic rock grotto designed as a scene for the worship of a chief statue of Buddha. The Sokkuram has a rectangular ante chamber and a round interior chamber with a vaulted ceiling formed from carefully cut blocks of rock. this domed ceiling shows non merely great proficient accomplishment but besides a solidness reflecting sophisticated cognition of the mechanics of emphasis. Yet it is its sculpture that makes the Sukkuram unique. Most conspicuously the big rock statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in the centre of the interior chamber, the eleven-headed Goddess of Mercy and the assorted Bodhisattvas and Arhat ( adherent of Buddha ) carved in alleviation in a hemicycle on the environing wall, the two Inwang ( # 8221 ; benevolent male monarchs # 8221 ; ) on the walls of the anteroom, and the Four Deva Kings standing guard along the passageway-each of these adds its ain typical note to the symphonic music of beauty presented by the Sokkuram as an built-in whole. to be certain, in their rotundity of face and ampleness of organic structure there is grounds of influence from T # 8217 ; ang Buddhist sculpture, but the Sukkuram examples suggest a deeper sense of religious beauty. Sokkuram Grotto is one of UNESCO # 8217 ; s World Heritages. From Kyongju coach terminus, take the metropolis coach to Pulguksa. It runs every 10 proceedingss and takes 45 proceedingss. And 20 proceedingss by coach from Kyongju Station. Sokkuram was built by Prime Minister Kim Tae-song in 751 along with the Pulguksa Monastery. It was repaired by Priest Chongyol in 1703 and the rock stairway was added at this clip, and once more in 1758 by Priest Taegyom. The full grotto was dismantled for fix during the Nipponese business period ( 1913 # 8211 ; 15 ) and once more in 1962-64 to forestall the eroding of rock by dew condensation. This grotto was built with white granite in the signifier of a niche and enshrines a sitting Buddha at the centre surrounded on the wall by 39 Bodhisattvas, 10 adherents, and Devas and guardian male monarchs. It represents the Pure Land in which Buddha resides. This rock cave temple is the crystallisation of Shilla # 8217 ; s faith, scientific discipline and art, a monumental accomplishment of Buddhist civilization of the Unified Shilla period. The chief statue in Gupta-style enshrined in the grotto is seated cross-legged on an octangular base. Two slits for eyes, soft superciliums, the wisdom hidden between the eyes, the oral cavity as if to be opened for sermon, and the hanging long e ars all combine to stand for the empyreal province of enlightenment. This brilliant work is possibly the finest thing in all Korean sculpture. Map Live PictureDescription: Pulguksa Temple and nearby Sokkuram Grotto are located on the mid-slope of Mt. T # 8217 ; ohamsan ( 745 m ) which literally means # 8220 ; mountain that holds and lets out clouds. # 8221 ; The artistic creative activities of Unified Shilla were the merchandises of to the full matured techniques. Having outgrown the gaucherie of the Three Kingdoms preriod, art now revealed a extremely developed esthetic sense. Although the art of Unified Shilla employed the technique of realistic representation, the intent was non to portray objects merely as they appear in existent cubic decimeter ife but rather to seek to give expression to a concept of idealized beauty. Moreover, in the works produced at this time, an effort to create a world of unflawed harmony is evident. The special characteristic of the art of the Unified Shilla period, then, is its attempt to create a beauty of idealized harmony through the application of refined artistic craftsmanship. The art of the Unified Shilla period may be said to be represented at its finest by the Pulguksa temple in Kyongju and the nearby Sokkuram grotto. Pulguksa Temple and Sokkuram Grotto, the cradle of Buddhist culture during the Shilla Kingdom, were first constructed in 535 A.D., the 22nd year of King Pophung’s reign. The king followed his mother’s wish for the kingdom’s stability and peace by constructing the temple. Two hundred years later, during the reign of King Kyongdok (742-764), the temple was redesigned and rebuilt by the chief minister (Chungsi) Kim Tae-song. A large temple with original flo or space exceeding 2,000 kan(unit for the space enclosed by four pillars) in the combined area of its buildings, its wooden structures dating from Shilla were destroyed by fire during the late sixteenth century Japanese invasions and what we see today is a modern restoration. The beautiful â€Å"cloud bridge stairway† leading up to the entrance gate (called the Mauve Mist Gate), consisting of a lower flight known as the Bridge of White Clouds and an upper flight named the Bridge of Azure Clouds; the novel shape of the stone supports for the two front pillars of the Floating Shadow Pavilion to the right, or west, of the Mauve Mist Gate; the balanced proportions of the two pagodas, the Pagoda of Many Treasures and the Pagoda That Casts No Shadow, which form a complementary pair to the left and right of the Taeungjon (Hall of Sakyamuni, the temple proper)–all these display this same mature beauty of harmony. The stone pagoda, in particular, is widely admired as a unique e xpression of Shilla artistry –in contrast, the emphasis in China was on brick pagodas and in Japan on those of wooden construction. Of all the many remaining stone pagodas, the Pagoda That Casts No Shadow and the Pagoda of Many Treasures, together with the Lion Pagoda at the Hwaomsa temple, are regarded as the crowning glories among such monuments built in the Unified Shilla period. Sokkuram Grotto is readily accessible by paved road (9 km) or hiking paths (3 km). Within the domed rotunda is a large sculptured stone Buddha image of magnificent artistry. Representing the culmination of East Asian Buddhist art, the seated Buddha gazes toward the East Sea. Pulguksa Temple is one of UNESCO’s World Heritages. Sokkuram Grotto is 3 km away from Pulguksa Temple by a short cut along the mountain ridge and 9 km away by a paved road. Based on a balance between squares and circles, straight lines and curves, and planes and globular shapes, the grotto is structured in a perfect har mony. The 38 figures carved on the wall of the chamber are all masterpieces. The Sokkuram was modeled after the stone cave temples of china, but in china these were cut into the face of natural rock cliffs, whereas the Sokkuram is a man-made stone grotto designed as a setting for the worship of a principal statue of Buddha. The Sokkuram has a rectangular ante chamber and a circular interior chamber with a domed ceiling formed from carefully cut blocks of stone. this domed ceiling shows not only great technical skill but also a solidity reflecting sophisticated knowledge of the mechanics of stress. Yet it is its sculpture that makes the Sukkuram unique. Most prominently the large stone statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in the center of the interior chamber, the eleven-headed Goddess of Mercy and the various Bodhisattvas and Arhat (disciple of Buddha) carved in relief in a semicircle on the surrounding wall, the two Inwang (†benevolent kings†) on the walls of the antechamber, and the Four Deva Kings standing guard along the passageway-each of these adds its own distinctive note to the symphony of beauty presented by the Sokkuram as an integral whole. to be sure, in their roundness of face and ampleness of body there is evidence of influence from T’ang Buddhist sculpture, but the Sukkuram examples suggest a deeper sense of spiritual beauty. Sokkuram Grotto is one of UNESCO’s World Heritages.____________ Prime Minister Kim Tae-song is said to have built this cave temple in the 10th year of the reign of Kyongdok-wang of Unified Shilla (751). The numerous stone Buddhist figures in the grotto represent the best sculpture of the Unified Shilla dynasty and of all Korea. The main hall beyond the small antechamber is round and the ceiling is domed. Within the rotunda sits a majestic Buddha, 3.48m high. carved in granite and facing east. Surrounding the Buddha are many figures in relief. First, two Devas, one on each side, stand guard. Next are two Bodhisattvas (the saint next in importance to Buddha), also one on each side. Further guarding the Buddha are his ten disciples. The eleven-headed Avalokitesvara a Bodhisattva (the Bodhisattva of Boundless mercy) is sculptured on the wall behind the main figure. There are ten niches around the dome. They contain seven seated Bodhisattvas and one Vimalakirti (the name of a famous lay disciple of the Buddha). Two are empty. The Eight Guardian Demons, the Two Vajradharas (the guardian gods of the temple), and the Four Guardian Kings are sculptured in relief on granite salbs lining the wall of the antechamber and the passageway to protect the Buddha and the Buddhist world. To only list this grotto as National Treasure No. 24 does not give due emphasis to its importance in Oriental culture. It is without exaggeration the most remarkable and unequaled art treasure accomplished by Far Eastern civilization. Besides, it is commonly referred to as one of the three Buddhist mysteries in the Fa r East Asia. The Sokkuram was constructed during the mid-eighth century by the famed Minister Kim Daesung who is also credited with building Pulguksa in 751. Report of the 19th Session of the Committee Following is part of the â€Å"Report of the 19th Session of the Committee† regarding Sokkuram Grotto and Pulguksa Templ. Established on the slopes of Mount T’oham in the 8th century, the Sokkuram cave contains a monumental statue of Buddha looking at the sea in the bhumisparsha mudra position. With the surrounding portrayals of gods, Bodhisattvas and disciples, realistically and delicately sculpted in haut relief and bas relief, it makes up a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East. The Temple of Pulguksa, built in 752, and the cave form a body of religious architecture of exceptional significance. Established on the slopes of Mount T’oham in the 8th century, the Sokkuram cave contains a monumental statue of Buddha looking at the sea in the bhumisparsha mudra position. With the surrounding portrayals of gods, Bodhisattvas and disciples, realistically and delicately sculpted in haut relief and bas relief, it makes up a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East. The Temple of Pulguksa, built in 752, and the cave form a body of religious architecture of exceptional significance. Sokkuram Grotto On the way to the Grotto Legend Versus History Questionable Identity of the Buddha Guardian Deities in the Foyer Central Buddha Image Ten Disciples in Relief Goddess of Mercy in Relief Ten Kamsils (niche) on the walls