Premium Essay

C Wright Mills Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 146
Pages 1
C. Wright Mills is the sociologist that coined the term sociological imagination, which is used to describe the interconnectedness of history and biography to one’s personal milieu. Everyone experiences conflict in life, termed private troubles; however, it is only when these troubles are linked to the larger historical scene that they can be deemed public issues. Mills emphasizes that you cannot understand one without understanding both (Mills 1959: 3). By using the sociological imagination and viewing the differing perspectives as intertwined, individuals will come up with new ways and ideas to understand how history and the public’s issues can address their own personal hardship and milieu troubles (Mills 1959: 226). Your milieu, combined

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

References

...W., Jr., Edens, P. S., & Bell, S. T. 2003. Effectiveness of Training in Organizations: A Meta-Analysis of Design and Evaluation Features. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88: 234-245. * Bartel, A. P. 1994. Productivity Gains from the Implementation of Employee Training Programs. Industrial Relations, 33: 411–425. * Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P. R., Mills, D.Q., Walton, R. E. (1984), A Conceptual View of HRM. in Managing Human Assets. Free Press, New York Chap.2 * Bernolak, I. (1997), Effective Measurement and Successful Elements of Company Productivity: The Basis of Competitiveness and World Prosperity, International Journal of Production Economics, 52, 1 - 2, pp. 203-213. * Bishop, J. 1991. On-the-job Training of New Hires, in Market Failure in Training? ed. David Stern and Jozef M. M. Ritzen, New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 61–98. * Borman, WC (1991) Job Behavior, Performance, and Effectiveness, In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 271-326), Palo Alto, CA, Consulting Psychologists Press * Brewster, C., & Bournois, E. 1991. Human Resource Management: a European Perspective". Personnel Review, 20(6): 4–14. * Cole, G. A. (2002), Personnel and Human Resource Management, 5th ed. Continuum London: York Publishers * Dedrick, J., Gurbaxani, V., Kraemer, K....

Words: 1090 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Hr Assignment

...Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat, India. Email: manjari@iimahd.ernet.in Tel: ++91-79-26324914 Fax: ++91-79-26306896 1 Abstract: A three-stage model for the process of strategic human resource management is developed in this paper. The three stages cover strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. The inter-linkages in this dynamic model have been explored. The organisational factors that have enabling or deterring influence on the success of each of these three stages have been discussed. The paper highlights the key role played by HR professionals in these three stages. 2 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: THREE-STAGE PROCESS AND INFLUENCING ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS Organisations are increasingly looking at human resources as a unique asset that can provide sustained competitive advantage. The changes in the business environment with increasing globalisation, changing demographics of the workforce, increased focus on profitability through growth, technological changes, intellectual capital and the never-ending changes that organisations are undergoing have led to increased importance of managing human resources (Devanna, Fombrum, & Tichy, 1981; Wright, 1998). In this scenario, a human resource (HR) department that is highly administrative and lacks strategic integration fails to provide the competitive advantage needed for survival, thus losing its relevance. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there were noticeable...

Words: 9211 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Human Resource

...Indian Institute of Management, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat, India. Email: manjari@iimahd.ernet.in Tel: ++91-79-26324914 Fax: ++91-79-26306896 1 Abstract: A three-stage model for the process of strategic human resource management is developed in this paper. The three stages cover strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. The inter-linkages in this dynamic model have been explored. The organisational factors that have enabling or deterring influence on the success of each of these three stages have been discussed. The paper highlights the key role played by HR professionals in these three stages. 2 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: THREE-STAGE PROCESS AND INFLUENCING ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS Organisations are increasingly looking at human resources as a unique asset that can provide sustained competitive advantage. The changes in the business environment with increasing globalisation, changing demographics of the workforce, increased focus on profitability through growth, technological changes, intellectual capital and the never-ending changes that organisations are undergoing have led to increased importance of managing human resources (Devanna, Fombrum, & Tichy, 1981; Wright, 1998). In this scenario, a human resource (HR) department that is highly administrative and lacks strategic integration fails to provide the competitive advantage needed for survival, thus losing its relevance. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there were noticeable...

Words: 9227 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

Beurocracy

...Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy? Johan P. Olsen Working Paper No.10, March 2005 http://www.arena.uio.no 1 Abstract The paper questions the fashionable ideas, that bureaucratic organization is an obsolescent, undesirable and non-viable form of administration, and that there is an inevitable and irreversible paradigmatic shift towards market- or network organization. In contrast, the paper argues that contemporary democracies are involved in another round in a perennial debate and ideological struggle over what are desirable forms of administration and government, that is, a struggle over institutional identities and institutional balances. The argument is not that bureaucratic organization is a panacea and the answer to all challenges of public administration. Rather, bureaucratic organization is part of a repertoire of overlapping, supplementary and competing forms co-existing in contemporary democracies, and so are market-organization and network-organization. Rediscovering Weber’s analysis of bureaucratic organization, then, enriches our understanding of public administration. This is in particular true when we (a) include bureaucracy as an institution, and not only an instrument; (b) look at the empirical studies in their time and context, and not only at Weber’s ideal-types and predictions; and (c) take into account the political and normative order bureaucracy is part of, and not only the internal characteristics of “the bureau”...

Words: 13513 - Pages: 55

Premium Essay

Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Firms Success

...Rajni Devi, Jasbir Singh/International Journal of Advanced Engineering & Technological Research (IJAETR) www.abhinandanpublications.com/ijaetr Vol. 2, Issue 3, May-June 2013, pp. 407-414, ISSN: 2278-7070 (Online) Impact of Human Resource Practices on Organization Outcome Ruchi Sharma ABSTRACT Human Resource is the most important asset for any organization and it is the source of achieving competitive advantage. Managing human resources is very challenging as compared to managing technology or capital and for its effective management, organization requires effective HRM system. HRM system should be backed up by sound HRM practices. HRM practices refer to organizational activities directed at managing the pool of human resources and ensuring that the resources are employed towards the fulfillment of organizational goals. This paper has been designed to review the existing literature available on HRM Practices. The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of impact of human resource practices on hr outcomes. After reviewing the existing literature on HRM practices, the researchers have found that HR outcomes have great impact by human resource practices. HISTORY HRM in India is centuries old. The first reference of HRM was provided by Kautilya as early as 4th century B.C. in his book Arthashastra‘. The work environment had logical procedures and principles in respect of labour organization such as Shreni‘Wages were paid in terms of quantity and quality of...

Words: 5082 - Pages: 21

Free Essay

Systems Thinking Approach as a Unique Tool for Sustainabletourism Development: a Case Study in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve of Vietnam

...Australia Corresponding author (thanh.mai@uqconnect.edu.au) ABSTRACT Tourism is not simply an industry, but is an open, dynamic and complex system. The system consists of many interacting components and involves many different stakeholders. The development of tourism in a sustainable way impinges on and is subject to many factors. The limitation of traditional approaches to tourism research has become evidently in many cases. These approaches have usually looked at a particular issue or issues of the whole tourism picture. As a result, it has become difficult to manage tourism toward sustainability. This paper provides an overview of the systems thinking approach and its application in the study of the tourism system in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve of Vietnam. This study shows that systems thinking has proved to be an effective and powerful tool to explain the complexities of the tourism system. It has helped to simplify, clarify and integrate isolated problems associated with the industry, and provided a mechanism for group learning and decision making to achieve desirable outcomes. The paper proposes systems thinking be used as an appropriate tool for sustainable tourism development. Key words: complexity, dynamics, sustainability, systems thinking, sustainable tourism development 1. INTRODUCTION In recent years, systems thinking (Jackson, 2003; K. Maani, E. & Cavana, 2007) has been widely applied in the development planning process by academics, scholars, managers, planners...

Words: 5250 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

School Shootings

...To truly understand the perpetrator’s behavior, we must look beyond those individuals to the larger social contexts in which they live. According to Sociologist C. Wright Mills (2005), all individuals have agency, meaning that they are free to make their own choices. Yet he also states that the choices available to them are constrained by social, historical, cultural, political and economic factors. Regarding this view, if we are going to comprehensively examine school violence, or any specific form of it, we need to see school violence as the outcome of several causal processes. Based on this claim, he (Mills 2005) coined the phrase “sociological imagination” to describe the awareness of this relationship between personal experience and the wider society. People frequently do not even realize the extent to which their lives are affected by things that are external to them and outside their control. By using our sociological imagination to observe the behavior of bullies and rampage school shooters, it should become clear that the structures of small towns and their schools play a key role in the actions that were taken...

Words: 1811 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

High Performance Steel for Highway Bridges.Pdf

.../main/production/doc/data/journals/services.bepress.com/advanced materials/assets/editors.incV Mistry, P.E., Office of Bridge Technology, Federal Highway Administration, USA Dr. Atorod Azizinamini, Ph.D., P.E., Civil Engineering Department, University of Nebraska, USA John M. Hooks, P.E., Office of Infrastructure Research & Development, Federal Highway Administration, USA % FILE: /main/production/doc/data/journals/services.bepress.com/eci/assets/proceedings/defines.tmpl (cont) Year  Paper  High Performance Steel For Highway Bridges Vasant C. Mistry ∗ ∗ Federal Highway Administration High Performance Steel For Highway Bridges Abstract All steels possess a combination of properties that determines how well steel performs. Strength, weldability, toughness, ductility, corrosion resistance, and formability are all important to determine how well steel performs. High-performance steel (HPS) can be defined as having an optimized balance of these properties to give maximum performance in bridge structures while remaining cost-effective. http://services.bepress.com/eci/advanced materials/1 Copyright c 2005 by the author. Mistry : High Performance Steel For Highway Bridges 1 HIGH PERFORMANCE STEEL FOR HIGHWAY BRIDGES Vasant C. Mistry Federal Highway Administration 400 7th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 ABSTRACT All steels possess a combination of properties that determines how well steel performs. Strength, weldability, toughness, ductility, corrosion resistance, and formability are...

Words: 3237 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Account

...Linkage Process Ramkumar, N., PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore ram_mba_stc@yahoo.co.in Krishnaveni, R., PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore kegi_4@yahoo.com There is a growing debate in the corporate arena regarding the level of contribution of the human resource practices to the bottom line of the organization. In line with this, researchers have conducted numerous studies to demonstrate the positive association between HR and performance and provide encouragement to the HR professionals with their empirical results. The present paper makes a critical analysis of such literature and adds value to the concept. Although such strong relationship exists, the mediating or intervening variable in the process was not dealt with. This review based work identifies the intervening variable and provides a convincing evidence and explanation to the linkage process. The theoretical background for a new direction in the HR-performance linkage research is put forth to the researchers associated in this field. Keywords: Human Resource Practices, Organizational Performance, Organizational Commitment. 1. Introduction Today across the globe, it is widely accepted that organization success depends on its people. It is clear that human capital and intellect drive business growth. Over the years, the profession of HR has developed around the assumption that human resource practices directly affect organizational performance. Their role is evolving with the change in competitive market environment...

Words: 6452 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Soc 101 Course Success Begins/Tutorialrank.Com

...ASHFORD SOC 101 Entire Course For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 1 DQ 1 Sociology Theories ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 1 DQ 2 The Role of Culture ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 1 Quiz ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 2 DQ 1 Socialization ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 2 DQ 2 Family Forms ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 2 Assignment Theorist of Choice ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 2 Quiz ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 3 DQ 1 Social Problems ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 3 DQ 2 Deviant Behavior ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 3 Assignment Final Paper Outline Religious Social Institution ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 3 Quiz ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 4 DQ 1 Current Social Issues ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 4 DQ 2 Social Institutions ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 4 Quiz ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 5 DQ 1 Social Movements ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 5 DQ 2 Social Change ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 5 Assignment Research Paper Religious Social Institution ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 5 Quiz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 1 DQ 1 Sociology Theories For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com There are three primary sociological theories discussed in Chapter One of the text, Introduction to Sociology. Briefly summarize each theory and the major differences across the Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic Interaction perspectives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASHFORD SOC 101 Week 1 DQ 2 The Role of...

Words: 1971 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Historical Cost Accounting Decision Usefulness

...The Effect of ERP System Implementations on the Usefulness of Accounting Information Joseph F. Brazel Department of Accounting College of Management North Carolina State University Campus Box 8113 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 Telephone: 919-513-1772 Fax: 919-515-4446 e-mail: joe_brazel@ncsu.edu Li Dang Department of Accounting College of Business Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331 Telephone: 541-737-6049 e-mail: li.dang@bus.oregonstate.edu October 2005 The authors thank the international ERP system supplier for providing them with the ERP system implementation data and Marianne Bradford and Jeff Wong for helpful comments. Funding for this research was partially provided by an NCSU Edwin Gill Research Grant. The Effect of ERP System Implementations on the Usefulness of Accounting Information ABSTRACT: ERP systems have become the system of choice for the majority of publicly traded companies and have radically changed the way accounting information is processed, analyzed, audited, and disseminated. In this study, we examine whether ERP system implementations have impacted the decision usefulness of accounting information. We find that ERP adoptions lead to a trade-off between increased information relevancy and decreased information reliability for external users of financial statements. After implementing the system, firms concurrently experience both a decrease in reporting lag and an increase in the level of discretionary accruals. Contrary to expectations...

Words: 9697 - Pages: 39

Premium Essay

Bureaucracy

...the definition presented by Max Weber. In short, Weber defined bureaucracy as an organizational system with a clearly defined chain of command, where employees set aside their own personal opinions in favor of neutrality and impartialness. Rules are clearly defined and followed, to ensure the elimination of nepotism and the employee is required to adhere to the orders of their superiors who in turn have to operate under the structure and rules of the organization (Weber, 1946). When looking at how bureaucracy is used and implemented across the globe, it is clear that there are huge differences in how efficiently organizations and governments are being run, despite the fact that they are all working within a bureaucratic structure. In this paper we will look at public administration and question whether or not the bureaucratic ideal of the impersonal worker is still valid today. Is the strict adherence to regulations and formalities a concept which is no longer needed in our modern society? Traditional bureaucracy To many, bureaucracy is seen as a very stringent and almost soulless system, which does not allow for personal expression and renders the bureaucrat as nothing more than a cog in the machine of an organization. One will often hear the term ‘red tape’ (referring to the tape which was once used to bind official documents) being used in context where the administration of a certain matter is handled with a perceived excess of regulations and formalities. As the foundation...

Words: 1683 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Human Resource Management

...great advantages in working in a university which has top students is that you can ask them questions you are not quite sure how to answer yourself! The best students gave clear examples of such a link and then got stuck in to the ‘should’ part of the question often noting the critical difference between competitive strategy and business strategy. Some even went further into corporate strategy, the resource based, and knowledge based view as well as ethics, culture and institutional setting. Surprisingly none of them questioned what was meant by a firm’s HR system. I will follow the same line of argument in this paper with thanks to the students, very few of whom have any intention of becoming HR professionals. We start with some of the classics in strategy and HRM, go on to look briefly at some major studies, or the ones that have influenced my thinking. Thereafter the paper notes the problems with the assumed link with competitive strategy as a dominant, or the dominant, force in determining an HR system. Once the focus is widened to cover business strategy two very interesting, and linked, phenomena can be observed. First, what we thought strategy was all about has changed hugely. Second, our definition of what constitutes HRM (or the management of employment relations) has broadened beyond recognition. This is where the definition of...

Words: 6146 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Sociology

...REVISTA DE SOCIOLOGÍA, Nº 28 (2013) pp. 31-49 Elites, political elites and social change in modern societies1 Luis Garrido Vergara* Resumen Los estudios académicos acerca de las élites políticas poseen una vibrante historia reciente. El objetivo aquí es proveer un resumen selectivo de esa historia, enfocándose en la importancia de la distinción social y en las teorías de la estructura de poder como el marco teórico para comprender la influencia de las élites políticas en el cambio social. Dado que nuevas perspectivas y preocupaciones han surgido en este campo, la organización de este artículo no es completamente cronológica. Aunque puedan haberse ignorado muchas contribuciones relevantes, la intención aquí es brindar algún sentido de la riqueza e importancia de lo que han logrado los académicos acerca de la relación entre élites y representación, los vínculos entre élites, democracia y cambio social y las teorías de la estructura de poder. En este artículo también se estudia hasta qué grado la introducción de una nueva metodología de investigación por parte de la teoría de la dominación de clase de Domhoff abrió una nueva perspectiva en los estudios sobre las élites. Finalmente, se presentan una estrategia de investigación para las élites y dos conclusiones principales. Palabras clave: Élites políticas - cambio social - estructura de poder - representación. Abstract Scholarly studies of elites and political elites have a vibrant recent history. My aim here is to provide a selective...

Words: 8596 - Pages: 35

Free Essay

Home Ec Syllabus

...Development CentreP.O. Box 50092Lusaka | ZAMBIA BASIC EDUCATION COURSE HOME ECONOMICS SYLLABUS GRADE 8 – 9 Published by the Curriculum Development Centre P.O. Box 50092 Lusaka (c) All rights Reserved. No parts of this syllabus may be produced, stored in a retrieval manner, transmitted in any means without the prior consent of the copyright owner. Phototypeset and printed by Printpak (Z) Ltd. P R E F A C E This Home Economics Syllabus is proposed in conformity with the Educational Reforms. It incorporates the following components: Food and Nutrition, Home Management, Health Education, Needlework and Crafts. Through this syllabus the learner is taught to prepare well balanced appetizing meals for the family with minimum equipment, limited time and money; to maintain and manage the available resources of the home; to provide clothing for the family; and to maintain the good physical and mental health of the members of the family. The content encourages practical experiences and creativity along with knowledge. The family is the smallest unit of the community. By improving family life, the syllabus aims at improving the community as a whole. Chairman EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA DIRECTOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT CENTRE LUSAKA I A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S The members of the Home Economics Working Committee were: Mrs. G.M. Allen Inspectorate HQ, Lusaka Ms. A. Kabwe Inspectorate HQ, Lusaka Mrs. P.M. Phiri Inspectorate...

Words: 5505 - Pages: 23