Middle Eastern Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Middle Eastern Studies - Essay Example The Constantinople Agreement of 1915 was struck in light of the collapse of the Concert and in fear of the fall out by either France or Russia from the entente powers at the eve of World War 1. To this end, the entente powers were given right to compensation for fighting their enemies (in this case the central powers) which was primarily to be curved out of the Middle East (Gelvin). Subsequent dealings further strengthened this offer stipulating compensation to be in form of direct European control over territories under the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War 1. They included the Treaty of London and Saint-Jean de Maurienne. However, the exact genesis of Middle Eastern predicaments is the secret dealings that accompanied these treaties. Territories so formed had significant ethnic and religious differences-and therein communities-become too rigid in the 19th century that affiliations formed the basis for claiming shares in the political landscape. The present Iraq and Iran are evidence to this geo-social annexation. The US initiated the formation of the League of Nations in order to end this scramble for partitioning of the Levant and Mesopotamia which ironically have survived almost a century and still throbs at the helm of current politics and economics in the Middle East (Gelvin). European investors subsequently shunned these mandated territories and as a result industrial development languished. The United States and other western states suffer high criticisms from the pan-Arabists who view these divisions as both unnatural and deliberate. These calls stretch into voiced support against Israeli occupation of Palestine and perceived US foreign aggression on Iraq. The rallying cry for better education and health is based on two principle ideals (Richards and Waterbury): Furthermore, there seems to be congruence in economic thought of both neoclassical and Marxist economists. The former postulating

Lesson plane(cave) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lesson plane(cave) - Assignment Example 2. Show some graphics / images of caves while explaining its formation and characteristics. Encourage students to justify whether historical accounts about cave dwellers and its practice, i.e. cannibalism were truth or just hearsays. 3. Tell the class some interesting facts on caves like the Russell Cave in Alabama, USA which yielded a sequence of human habitation dating back almost 9,000 years (â€Å"Cave,† 1995) and used to be a place for cannibalism and religious activities. 1. There will be flashcard posted on the board containing 2 – 3 types of caves discussed (i.e. primary cave, fracture cave, glacier cave). Each student will be given a flashcard containing a word, term or an adjective that relates to the types of caves posted on the board. 2. As per instruction, each student should post his or her own flashcard to its corresponding cave in the board (i.e. a student was given a flashcard containing the word â€Å"LIMESTONE† and this should be posted under SOLUTIONAL CAVE. The entire class must accomplish the task in 2 minutes. 3. If there are incongruent terms or there is/are mismatch, the teacher will perform a draw lots and will pick 3 names to re-arrange or organize the terms / description of his assigned cave type. Each has its assigned cave 2. As an instruction, they have to illustrate how we, humans could help to preserve cave structure and its ecosystem, either by drawing or by creating a collage (students must be informed ahead of time that they must bring used magazine, news papers, scratch papers). Each group must have 2 representatives to briefly summarize and discuss the

Effects of Social Class Identification on Government

Effects of Social Class Identification on Government Walsh, K. C., Jennings, M., Stoker, L. (2004). The Effects of Social Class Identification on Participatory Orientations Towards Government.  British Journal of Political Science,Vol.34, No.03, pp.469-495. Brief Summary There is common claim that class identity does not matter for American political behaviour. The researchers tried to find out the influence of social class identification on participatory orientations towards government. The researchers focus on class identity perspective which people use to interpret and interact with the political world. The researchers used panel-study data spanning thirty-two years and two generations. Research Description This study’s independent variable is social class identification. There are two approaches, the first respondents subjectively identified themselves, and the second one is objective assessment. The researchers distinguish two classes (working-class and middle-class) by levels of income, education, union membership, and occupation. This study’s dependent variable is participatory orientations towards government. The researchers employed four measures. All of these measures concern political involvement and engagement (political interest, political efficacy, conception of good citizen, and political participation). Because there were many variables in this research, the researchers used multivariate analysis. Two variables are control variables, they are gender and race. â€Å"In a multivariate analysis, a variable is said to controlled when its influence is removed. We control variable by holding its value constant† (Agresti, 1999, p.305). The methodology in that research was a quantitative approach. Creswell (2003, p.18) explained quantitative as â€Å"an approach which the investigator primarily uses post positivist claims for developing knowledge, employs strategies of inquiry such as experiments and survey, and collects data on predetermined instruments that yield statistical data†. Because the purpose of this research is to make predictions about relation or effects of social class on political world, researchers used inferential statistics. â€Å"Inferential statistical analysis can predict characteristics of entire populations quite well by selecting samples that are small relative to the population size. In the past quarter-century, social scientists have increasingly recognized the power of inferential statistical methods†, (Agresti, 1999, p.5). This research used longitudinal research, from 1965-1997 with panel-study type. The sampling technique is proportionate stratified random sampling. The sample is 1,669 seniors from 97 secondary high schools in America in 1965 and also their parents. Furthermore, the instrument which researchers used is a questionnaire. Research Critique Clarity This research methods use inferential statistics to predict population characteristics by using sample, so the concept of population and sample must be clear. According to Babbie (1990, p.72), researchers must begin with a careful specification of population and should not mislead or deceive the readers. He gave example â€Å"Adult New Yorkers† is clearer than â€Å"American† because there is specification of the age and boundaries. In this study, the population all senior high school students in USA, and the unit analysis is an individual senior high school student in 1965. The sample is 1,669 students in 1965 and their parents. The researchers describe the different attitude between two generations. Besides that, the researchers also show the trend or the changing of respondents attitude using four wave panels for student generation in 1965 (G2) and three waves panel for their parents (G1). This article published in July 2004 and at the beginning of the article (p.469) clearly stated that it is about American political behavior. In addition, the brief result or answer for research question is â€Å"class may be particularly important in the present political context†. However the researchers used data survey in 1965, 1973, 1982, and 1997. The focus of research is one of issues here. Longitudinal research usually compares the changing of the subject time after time. One of types of longitudinal research is panel-study. â€Å"Panel studies involve the collection of data over time from the same sample respondents. The sample for such a study is called the panel†(Babbie, 1990, p.58). Researchers make claim the result particularly important for present political context instead of stated trend of last five decades or comparison of two generations. 2.2 Theory and Hypotheses â€Å"Theory has an important role in research and is an essential ally for the researcher. Researchers interweave a story about the operation of the social world (the theory) with what they observe when examine it systematically† (Neuman, 2007, p.24). Dennis Gilbert (2010, p.11) define social classes as â€Å"groups of families, more or less equal in rank and differentiated from other families above or below them with regard to characteristics such as occupation, income, wealth, and prestige†. Furthermore he figure out American social class structure become six parts: underclass (12%), working poor (13%), working class (30%), middle class (30%), upper-middle class (14%), and capitalist class (1%). Each of class has characteristics in terms of typical occupation and education. In this research, researchers just use two social classes. Justification to do that because based on previous research by Jackman and Jackman in 1975, the vast majority respondents identified as working-class (37 %) or middle-class (44 %). In subjective social class identification, respondents have to choose two options. As a result there are several respondents did not give answer. Instead of beginning with theories and concepts related to engagement in governmental affairs such as political participation and civic engagement, the researchers directly gave their measurement. They used four measurements to measure participatory orientations toward government (political interest, active citizen, political efficacy, and political participation). Based on the purpose of research to get to know relationship social class identification toward participatory orientations toward government, the simply hypothesis would be: H0 = There is no significant correlation/effects between social class identification and participatory orientations towards government. Ha= There is significant correlation/effects between social class identification and participatory orientations towards government. In analytical surveys usually are driven by theoretical questions. The purpose is to collect evidence which supports or contradict some hypothesis about the cause of people’s behavior. Buckingham and Saunders (2004, p.14) define hypotheses as â€Å"statements about what our theoretical propositions lead us to expect to find. They enable theories to be tested by predicting patterns of observations that should occur. Hypotheses therefore predict patterns of association in observed data as a means for testing causal theories†. 2.3 Research Design and Methodology â€Å"Research design is a strategy for collecting and analyzing data. It must be appropriate for answering the questions which the project is seeking to address, and it must take into account the practical constraints which the project is likely to encounter† (Buckingham and Saunders, 2004, p.294). The strategy which researchers used to collect data here is a survey. Sampling In order to get the view and attitude of population, the researchers used random sampling. This is the selection of a sample that should be representative of the population. The researchers choose from sampling frame available, and each individual has same opportunity. In this study, type of probability sampling which researchers used is proportionate stratified random sampling. The researchers said (p.473) â€Å"the students were distributed across a stratified sample of ninety-seven secondary schools, with the probability of schools selection being proportionate to size†. As described above, the sample took in 1965 from 97 schools with target subjects 1,669 students and one of their parents as well. We can ask questions, why the researchers used stratified random sampling? Why make a senior high school student as a unit analysis? Why there are four wave panels? Actually it is a series of data survey about political attitudes and behaviors by obtaining data on the same individuals as they aged from approximately 18 years of age in 1965 to 50 years of age in 1997. Based on that series of data survey, in 2004 the researchers make study about the effects of social identification on participatory towards government affairs. According to this information, we can assume the stratum here is the generation (G1 and G2). These four wave panels yielded 935 respondents for G2 (students) and 898 respondents for three wave panels G1 (parents). However, the surveys in 1973 and 1982 did not include social class questions. Because of geographical problem to make personal interview, the base panel survey in 1973 and 1982 are 728 for G1 and 659 for G2. One problem here, can we compare every wave panel, if the sample compositions are different? Instrumentation â€Å"A research instrument is a survey questionnaire or interview schedule that researcher uses to measure variables† (Neuman, 2007, p.168). The researchers used a questionnaire which conducted by several ways (face-to-face interview, computer-assisted personal interview, computer-assisted telephone interview, and self-enumerated questionnaire). This research used Logistic regression model for binary response variables which only has two possible outcomes. Education level: This index was scaled from 0 (less than high school) to 1 (PhD). Union Member: 0 = no; 1 = yes. Income: all of responses about household income were coded to the midpoint of the category and then rescaled within each wave and each generation from 0 (least) to 1 (highest). Occupation Skill Level Self-Employment and Homemaker For the better education level, income, and participate in union member would take into account in middle class status. However, for occupation indicators, the researchers just gave information about the consideration without description where those characteristics were placed. There are several questions in the questionnaire which measure political attitudes of American people. Researchers employed four measures, and it is categorized as a dichotomous dependent dummy variable. The value is most often a representation for a measured variable (Hagle, 2004). Political interest, 0 = hardly at all, 1 = most of the time Being an active citizen, 0 = if they did not volunteer such a response, 1 = respondents volunteered a response of this nature in any one of the responses. Political Efficacy, 0 = least efficacy, 1 = most efficacy Political participation, 0 = least active, 1 = most active The measurement scale which researchers used is an ordinal scale. Neuman (2007, p.375) defines ordinal level measurement as â€Å"a level of measurement that identifies a difference among categories of a variable and allows the categories to be rank order†. Even though just there are two categories (0 and 1), we can order it, which is 1 is more active than 0 in terms of political participation variable for example. Ordinal scale can have more than two options, for example (very interested, interested, uninterested, very uninterested). 2.4. Analysis of Data and Findings The researchers provide regression tables to describe their research result. In this study, researchers stated (p.479) that they used bivariate (type I) and multivariate regression models (type II). Bivariate analysis is an analysis of association between two variables. On the other hand, â€Å"multivariate analysis is statistical procedures which attempt to distinguish and measure the relative strength or significance of association between several independent variables and a dependent variables† (Buckingham and Sunders, p.292). The regression model formula: y= a + b1x1 + b2x2 + †¦ + e. Relationship between Class Identity and Political Interest The positive and significant coefficients on class identity in the bivariate models (I) indicate that middle-class identifiers display higher levels of interest. Generally, the stable middle-class identifiers are consistently and statistically significantly more interested in politics than are the stable working-class identifiers with p-value Relationship between Class Identity and Conception of Good Citizen as an Active Political Participant Middle-class identifiers are significantly more likely to emphasize the importance of being an active player in politics. In generation 2, the working-class mean drops from 0.53 to 0.41, whereas middle-class mean stays at 0.62. In model II, stable middle-class always more likely to mention active engagement than were stable working-class, 0.10 more in 1965 and 0.20 more in 1997. Relationship between Class Identity and Political Efficacy The bivariate models show the gaps between middle-class and working-class identifiers range from 0.14 to 0.21 for G1, and from 0.16 to 0.23 for G2 on the 0-1 efficacy scale. The dramatic decline of political efficacy happened from 1973 to 1992 (0.61 to 0.49) for G1 middle-class. On the other hand, for G2 slightly increase from 0.65 in 1982 become 0.67 in 1997. Relationship between Class Identity and Political Participation The constants and coefficients in the type I models demonstrate the expected life cycle: decreasing participation among parents as they become older and increasing participation among the offspring generation as they middle age. The type II models show that subjective identification becomes a less impressive predictor for G1 members as the coefficients on stable middle-class identity changed from 0.15 in 1965 to 0.09 in 1982. At confidence interval 95% and p-value (*p Limitation and Recommendation 3.1 Reliability and Outdated Neuman (2007, p.115) explain reliability as â€Å"dependability or consistency. It suggests that the same thing is repeated or recurs under the identical or very similar conditions†. This research seems like not reliable enough due to limited information given by the researchers. It may be difficult for the other researchers to conduct similar type of research in the future. The data which the researchers used derived from 1965-1997. Meanwhile, the research launched in 2004, and now 2014. Thus, this research could be less important to be used because the condition and preferences of people to participate on governmental affairs might be has been changed. 3.2 Sampling The representativeness is one of issues here. The researchers use data from their previous research. We can question, whether 1,669 students (with his parent) at 97 schools are representative? How about the distribution? Response rate from this study is just slightly more than a half of the total respondents, 935 of 1,669 or 56%. Then from 935 the researchers could only processed 728 data. Some of the reasons data not completed is because some respondents refuse to state their social class identity and geographical factor. It is easier for the researchers to focus on particular area or state. Besides that, the researchers can make shorter the range of research duration, only one decade for example. It is because not easy to keep the same and large respondents in long time period. 3.3 Data Analyzing The researchers not much explain about dependent variables in type II model, but from four those regression tables we know that, education and income are outstanding variables who make significant differences between working-class and middle-class. Research Good Practice and Contribution This study not only including subjective claim but also use objective indicator to determine of the social class of the respondents. Researchers effort to use panel study spanning two generations G1 and G2 for thirty-two years, allows the reader to check the trend of participation. The researcher concluded there is relevance of social class identification and participatory toward government affairs. It showed middle class with better income, education level, and occupation more contributive and active in political activity and civic engagement than working class. This research could be consideration for government to make strategies how to increase political participation like to vote in general election. Besides that, media, academician, and politicians could make effort to raise public awareness about how relevance and important of politics in their life. Conclusion To conclude this study, I would like to highlight back some points. Overall, it is a good research and useful in social political discipline. The researchers offered something new from previous research about social class and political participation. They used longitudinal research, compare two generations, and used objective measurement to determine social class. However, there are still few things need to be improved towards achieve a better result. Bibliography Agresti, A., Finlay, B. (1999) Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Babbie, E. (1990). Survey research methods . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Buckingham, A., Saunders, P. (2004)The survey methods workbook: From design to analysis. Cambridge: Polity Press Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design – Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Hagle, T. M. (2004) Dichotomous Variablesin The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. Ed. Michael Lewis-Beck, Alan Bryman and Tim Futing Liao. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Jackman, M. R., and Jackman R. W. (1983) Class Awareness in the United States. Barkeley: University of California Press. Neuman, W. L. (2007) Basic of Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson Education. Walsh, K. C., Jennings, M., Stoker, L. (2004). The Effects of Social Class Identification on Participatory Orientations Towards Government.British Journal of Political Science,Vol.34, No.03, pp.469-495.

Conquering Nature Essay -- Nature Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Conquering Nature "What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument." (The Abolition of Man, 420) Imagine, if you will, a basketball game in which two teams are in the midst of an intense game. Just because your team knows what it is the other team is doing and the workings of all their plays does not mean you know how to stop them, let alone that you are winning. It is the same with Nature. Just because we know how things work and are able to manipulate certain parts of it for our advantage does not even begin to imply that we have the capability of possessing it, of 'conquering' it. I don't even think we even want to pretend to have conquered it. You see, there is a stark difference between progress and possession. For if Nature is truly at our beckon call, then the latest hurricane or tornado that stole thousands of human lives and destroyed acres upon acres of natural reserves was actually within our control to stop--those disasters were then humanity's own fault. Unless we are r...

Ryanair SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a study which can be undertaken in order to identify an organisation’s, product’s, or service’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and also its external Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis focuses on the micro environment of one of the above entities, i.e. â€Å"factors which the organisation has some control over†. – Business Management Course Text, AIT Ireland (2013-20134).SWOT analysis of RyanairStrengthsWeaknessesLowest Cost Base of any European AirlineStrong financial performance despite current economic climate InnovationNegative Public PerceptionOver-reliance on Seasonal trends to increase profit marginsPoor customer serviceOpportunitiesThreatsNew airline routes throughout EuropeOpportunity to increase Market ShareCurrent economic climateIncrease in fuel chargesNatural events and disastersStrengthsAccording to safaribooksonline.com/book/sales-and-marketing, operating as a low-cost enterprise can be a strength for com panies, as it may incentivise an increase in demand for a particular product or service, in relation to its competitors. Low cost providers are a popular choice for financially conscious consumers who do not have any/little loyalty towards the product/service in question, or for consumers who wish to obtain a product/service at the lowest available price. For Ryanair, being a low cost company has been hugely beneficial, as they have almost entirely built their current reputation on being a low-cost airline.At present, Ryanair  is the lowest costing airline in Europe, one third lower than its nearest rival, easyJet. Maintaining a strong financial performance is a major factor to the success of any business. According to http://www.investorwords.com, organisations base their important decisions/strategies the basis of their financial performance. Maintaining a healthy financial performance allows companies to generate revenue. In terms of Ryanair, despite the recession, the company has not only continued to make a profit, but is also Europe’s most profitable airline. In 2013, the company forecasted that they would generate â‚ ¬540 million, a 7% increase over the previous year’s figure.According to http://businesscasestudies.co.uk, Companies must innovate in order to keep ahead of their competitors. This means that companies must focus on incorporating fresh approaches and ideas to their business model in order to remain at the top of their respective field.Ryanair has excelled in being an innovative company, and has changed the outlook on the airline industry through strategies such as pushing the â€Å"low cost† slogan, removing free catering for customers on their flights, and also by moving away from travel agent bookings to internet sales. Through innovation, Ryanair has revolutionised the short-haul industry.WeaknessesNegative public perception/relations can be fatal to any enterprise, as it can lead to a loss in existing customers , whilst also acting as an obstacle in obtaining new ones. Once a company’s name has been tarnished through poor PR, it can be a struggle to regain any popularity lost. Although Ryanair are still the leading airline in Europe, Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has received heavy criticism for numerous PR campaigns, which has given the company a poor reputation amongst many individuals. Many businesses are reliant on specific time of year in order to increase their profit margins.Companies which provide winter wear, such as the Great Outdoors, will thrive during Autumn/Winter, as the demand for jackets, gloves, etc. will be at its highest during these seasons. For Ryanair, the company is heavily reliant on its’ summer performance (particularly July-September) in order to boost profit margins. Since 2008/2009 Ryanair has consistently made losses in at least one of the winter quarters, whereas  the company has made an overall profit in every year for the last 10 ye ars. â€Å"Building positive relationships with your customers isn't just good practice – it will ultimately improve your bottom line.† – James Caan, 2013.Maintaining a positive relation with its customers is a vital component in the majority of successful businesses, as, according to James Caan’s article in The Guardian, â€Å"Customers are the most important asset to your business and looking after them is essential to your success†. Welcoming feedback, (positive and negative) communication between a business and its customers, and handling customers’ complaints are all example of good customer service. However, according to a recent survey conducted by Which? Magazine in the UK, Ryanair was voted as being the â€Å"worst† in terms of the quality of customer service offered by Britain’s 100 biggest firms, with staff Knowledge, attitude, and their ability to handle complaints cited as the main issues.OpportunitiesThe opportuni ty to expand/offer a greater range of service is something which any business interested in growing in stature will be interested in. As a company grows, they have control of the industry which they are competing in, can often dictate prices, and may also benefit from economies of scale (lower unit costs by producing more). –http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/aims/sizeandorganisationrev1.shtml For Ryanair, the opportunity to operate new routes throughout Europe is something which the organisation is always improving on. According to http://www.ryanair.com, from April 2014, the airline will expand 85 new routes operating out of Dublin alone, in which the company hopes to generate 1 million new passenger fares from.Inter-linked with the above paragraph, increasing its market share/market growth is another opportunity which looks achievable for Ryanair. According to http://centreforaviation.com, the European aviation sector is still a growing industry, which alre ady suggests that Ryanair may increase its share of the market. However, as Ryanair is already Europe’s leading short haul airline and lowest cost producer, the steps are firmly in place for this opportunity to become a reality. Ryanair targets obtaining 120 million passengers by 2022. The current economic climate has had huge implications  on businesses on a global scale, with many companies, (such as Dell) having to relocate in order to cut costs.Also, as consumers are more aware of the impacts of over-spending during a Recession, many businesses have saw a fall in demand for the product/service which they are offering. However, operating as the lowest costing airline in Europe has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the company. Although Ryanair offers â€Å"no frills†, many financially conscious people have decided to opt with Ryanair over other alternatives (such as Aer Lingus) during the current economic climate, as they offer a cost effective service. Thi s is evident by the face that Ryanair has become Europe’s most profitable airline.ThreatsAccording to http://www.legalzoom.com, any costs imposed on a business (both internal and external) can have an effect on how a company have choose to allocate its budget, and higher costs may also lead to a business cutting back on certain expenses in order to remain in a healthy financial position. According to Ryanair’s Chief Financial Officer Howard Millar, Ryanair’s single largest cost is fuel costs. To combat against these rising costs, Ryanair has chosen to slow down the speed of their air-crafts, which has added an estimated two minutes onto every hourly flight.This figure may seem small, but for customers who travel with Ryanair on a frequent basis, this could lead to a fairly substantial amount of extra time consumed, with may lead to some disgruntled customers. – Siraj Datoo, 2013. According to http://www.exponent.com, Natural disasters, whether they are hu rricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, or monsoon-related flooding, are all factors that can affect the operations of businesses worldwide. The above factors can have major implications in business operations, as they can restrict trade between business, and they also may lead to products/premises being damaged.For Ryanair, natural disasters such as a volcano eruption, could lead to a huge loss in profits, as this event could lead to flights being cancelled (e.g. the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud in 2011 caused severe losses to many airlines). Also, a fatal accident, such as a plane crash, would also have a major negative on Ryanair, as consumers may feel unsafe in regards to barding a Ryanair air craft.

Performance Appraisal System Essay

Performance Appraisal System Antronette S. Hancock Axia College of University of Phoenix A performance appraisal system is a very important part of any successful organization. Both employees and organizational management and leaders benefit from a well-structured performance appraisal system. These systems offer feedback and rewards to employees who perform well, while at the same time holding employees accountable for their performance. The following report will describe the purpose, benefits, and elements of a good performance appraisal system, and outline a unique performace appraisal system for a human service organization. The purpose of a performance appraisal system is to provide an evaluation and feedback on an employee’s performance. Most organizations perform appraisals yearly and may call the appraisal by other terms-such as a review. Even if appraisals are performed annually, management should have weekly consultations or meetings with staff to ensure each employee is kept up-to-date with policies and each employee knows what is expected of him or her. A manager should not wait until the end of a year to let an employee know that there has been a performance problem for the last eight months. Problems should be addressed as they arise to prevent any surprises during the appraisal process. The evaluation portion of an appraisal system is normally performed by management. During this portion, management evaluates an employee’s performance to determine if there are any areas that need improvement. Ideally, all employees should be meeting or exceeding organizational standards. If an employee is not meeting standards, or has not met standards at some point within the previous year, his or her appraisal may have suggestions for improvement or there may be other consequences as a result of poor performace. The feedback portion of an appraisal system normally takes place between management and the employee who is being appraised. According to Caruth and Humphreys, appraisals should be formalized according to organizational procedure (2008). Feedback should be conducted in a private setting to ensure that the information being passed on is confidential. The manager should thoroughly explain the employee’s appraisal and encourage the employee to ask questions. The manager should also be attentive to what the employee says so the the employee does not feel like his or her comments or concerns are not important. From an employee viewpoint, the purpose of a performace appraisal is very different than that of the organization. According to Cash, the employee wants to know four things: what do you want me to do, how well have I done it, how can I improve my performance, and reward me for doing well (1993). These are the questions and expectations an employees need to know in order to perform his or her job well. Managers should make sure employees are aware of expectations each and every day while working. From the organizational viewpoint, one of the main purposes of an employee appraisal system is accountability. Employees need to be held accountable for their performance at all times. A good appraisal system outlines each employee’s responsibilities and performance rates to show accountability. This is especially important in organizations that have areas with overlapping responsibilities. Each employee needs to know specifically what he or she is held accountable for. There are many benefits of a good performance appraisal system. One of the benefits is that the appraisal process allows managers to have one-on-one time with employees that they may not get to have on a daily basis. Another benefit is that any existing problems can be addressed and, hopefully, solutions can be made so that the problem can be corrected. Appraisals also encourage employees to perform better in the future so that the next appraisal will be positive. Consider the following unique appraisal system for a human service organization. Each employee will be evaluated yearly. The evaluation will be based on three areas: work performance, attendance, and innovation. Work performace will acquire the biggest portion of the appraisal score because there are many factors involved. Work performance will be based on organizational standards, accuracy rates, timeliness standards, and customer satisfaction. Attendance scores will be based on the employee’s attendance history for the previous year. And Innovation scores will be given based on any ideas the employee has come up with to improve organizational processes or cut organizational costs. Once the scores are determined, a final appraisal score is given to the employee. Employees can compare these scores from year to year to see if his or her performance is acceptable for the organization. Employee appraisal systems are very beneficial for both employees and the organization. Appraisals provide feedback to employees concerning their performance and also holds each employee accountable.