Performance Management Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Performance Management Systems - Essay Example The tools to help manage and track performance management across organizations have been in place for considerably less time. In fact, most of the oldest of those in use today have only been on the market a little longer than five years. Systematizing the performance management systems has its benefits. Taking into account the case of Saba's Enterprise Performance solutions, it offers the following advantages: First, it focuses people on strategic initiatives, such as responding to new competitors, launching a product, or investing in a new line of business. The identification of strategic initiatives and making it visible across the organization shapes the goals and the competencies required for each individual in the organization. Beneath these are operational objectives that focus on what you need to do to achieve strategic aims. Prioritizing these will identify key areas of activity and areas where additional effort or resource will be directed to deliver improvement. Operational priorities will influence the decisions that managers make on a yearly, monthly and even daily basis. Second, it helps organizations execute on their business strategy by focusing people on strategic initiatives resulting to goal alignment of individual activities and organizational goals. One of the biggest challenges that organizations face in developing their personnel for maximum business gains is aligning development efforts with the organization's goals. In a recent survey by Bersin & Associates, 60% of training managers indicated that their biggest challenge was to be sure their efforts were aligned with the company's business strategy. In fact, the idea of performance management is to combine the viewpoints of the organization, the individual, and the environment. Third, it offers performance assessment capabilities designed to increase the productivity of individuals and the overall organization. Top performing organizations combine performance and improvement in a single agenda, often establishing a senior management group with responsibility for both. These groups, sometimes including executive portfolio holders, take responsibility for: regularly monitoring and acting on key performance indicators that reflect corporate priorities, setting standards for performance and expectations of when action needs to be taken identifying tolerances for performance , asking challenging questions about performance , ensuring that there are robust action plans to address under-performance, redirecting resources where necessary , following up planned actions, ensuring they have led to improvement , and sending out a clear signal that performance and improvement are being taken seriously at the highest level. Lastly, it focuses learning resources on organizational and competitive goals. To be successful today, organizations must focus on understanding who they are and where they want to go (the vision and mission), setting clear expectations of the outcomes to be achieved by the organization (goals and objectives) and describing how people should perform their roles to deliver the vision, mission and goals (the competency system). Having a clear direction and defined outcomes doesn't seem to be sufficient to drive

Symbolism of Movie The Matrix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Symbolism of Movie The Matrix - Essay Example Symbolism in this movie is portrayed specifically by the characters and its plot. The movie focuses on how a small group of humans waged war against Artificial Intelligent Machines which seemed to have overtaken humanity (Roz Kaveney 34). In the movie, the machines take part in destruction and simulation of the world. The name of the movie refers to the simulated world, that is, a faked world. Matrix believers, as the movie depicts, agree with everything they do, feel, touch, do or anything that comes in their sight as real. In the movie, Zion City, which is located underground remains as the only human city where the machines have not conquered. Those who are not believers of Matrix together with those who have pulled out, reside in this city. However, just like extentialists like Kierkegaard, who do doubt the existence of God who can help us can be compared to those who believed in the Matrix. They did not believe that there was existence of a better place than where they were at t he moment. The symbolism used in the movie comes directly from the scriptures. It is however not concerned or related with any particular claims of a given religion. In Philosophy, this can be termed as Philosophy of Religion. For instance, the hidden city called Zion in the movie is what, according to the scriptures, called the wilderness. Just like in the scriptures, the wilderness is a truth that not many people know about. The same applies to Zion, which is actually hidden. In addition to this, according to the scriptures, the wilderness is a place God has created to protect his people against the evil when satan knocks at the door. Just like the children of Israel entered the wilderness as a place where they could find refuge, Zion served as a place where those people who did not believe in the Matrix ran to hide against the wicked Artificial Intelligent Machines. Just as an addition, Zion, the name used for the city in the movie, was one of the names given to the Children of I srael. Another area where symbolism is used in the movie, just like in the scriptures, when satan waged war against the children of Israel, not all children ran to the wilderness for hiding. The same applies in the movie where it is seen that all people run to the hidden city for refuge. Most of the key characters taking up various roles in the movie are Hebrews (blacks). This makes one to arrive at a conclusion that the person who did the writing of the movie, most likely was a black person. It is actually true, Sophia Steward, also referred to as the Mother of the Matrix who is a Hebrew Sister is the original author of the movie. The simulation used in the movie portrays the deceptive nature of the satanic world. According to Revelations 12:9, it is said that the great dragon, which is an old serpent also referred to as the Devil or Satan, has his main mission to deceive the world. This simulation, as used in the movie, makes those who believe in the Matrix not to have any questio n marks in their actions, whatever they see and feel. They take everything as real. According to From Alien to the Matrix, it is obvious that some roles were to be played no other group but the Hebrews. It is clear that none of the Hebrews did take up any role associated with the evil. The agents, on the side of characters and characterization, were allocated the most diabolical roles. In essence, they were used to