Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 10

Reflection paper - Essay Example Each one of us is familiar with the experience of having to drive several times around city blocks looking for parking space. In this article, Donald Shoup says that various studies have shown that on average 36% of cars in congested downtown traffic were cruising, looking for curb parking. The article cites a 2008 study for a 15-block area of Upper West side of Manhattan where the average cruising time was only 3.1 minutes and the average cruising distance only 0.37 miles. Even for such small time and distance, the high traffic density causes 366,000 miles of excess travel that puts out 325 tons of carbon dioxide every year into the atmosphere in the area. As we know from our own experience, cruising times and distances in most large cities is several times larger than the Manhattan area numbers cited above. Urban planners have sought to remedy urban parking problems by legislation requiring any new redevelopment plans in downtown areas to provide space for off-street parking. The high prices for land in such areas or the simple fact of non-availability of sufficient land have prevented much needed redevelopment in crowded downtown areas. The second solution attempted has been to install parking meters and charge high prices for parking and time limits such as 30 minutes or one hour for parking. These time limits are often impractical. For example someone going for a meal in a restaurant or for a show in a theater would need much longer parking time. High parking rates are also opposed by retailers and businesses in the area that fear that these rates would drive their customers away to other streets where parking may be easier. Donald Shoup advocates a deceptively simple solution for the urban parking problem. He recommends that parking prices be set to achieve an optimum 85% occupancy rate which translates to 1 or 2 open slots in a city

Understanding HR concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understanding HR concepts - Essay Example Evidently, human resource managers use training as a performance appraisal tool, which they conduct either after selection of the employees or during a specific time of the year. Organizations such as Ubisoft initiate a yearly program of performance appraisal as part of their talent development strategy. The value of employee training is an issue that has drawn a lot of controversy within the field of research. Research shows that employee training is a complex and expensive process that demands both time and resources from the organization. Therefore, training increases an organization’s expenses within a year, a feature that has become undesirable for many organizations. During a century of intensive business competition, organizations are experiencing financial constraints and their priority is to minimise any expenses. Some organizations have eliminated their training programs as one way of cutting the costs of production. However, there is evidence that employee training may have a wide range of benefits for an organization. First, training keeps the employees motivated and gives them the zeal to work confidently within their department. Secondly, there is evidence that trained employees have a higher work output and this contributes to an increase in the profit generate d within a year. In addition, employee training helps to develop employee’s talents to help them grow as the organization grows (Bratton & Gold, 2001). This explains why large companies have elaborate training programs that seek to improve the employee performance. However, there are obstacles to employee training programs that the human resource managers must anticipate while implementing performance appraisal. Training may become ineffective when employee have acquired optimal performance and feel that they cannot learn more. In this case, investing in employee training does not improve worker performance. In other cases, the employees may feel