Interstate 405 freeway traffic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interstate 405 freeway traffic - Essay Example will discuss how the selected part of the 405 freeway affects the urban experience, the current state of the 405 freeway and what steps should be taken to make the freeway both traffic free and environment friendly. The selection of the interstate 405 as the subject is significant simply because it is a heavily travelled thoroughfare by both freight haulers and commuters over its whole length. Additionally, the subject is of great importance because the 405 interstate freeways is the most congested and busiest freeway in the whole of the United States of America. The 405 freeway affects the urban experience by having an impact even on people who are outside California. Moreover, it has led to the development of a number of suburbs and cities along its path via the Los Angeles area. The 405 interstate is part of the express way and California freeway system. At 21 and 22 exits, the annual average daily traffic in 2008 reached 374000. This count was the highest in America (Santini, 2009). The 405 interstate commences at El Toro Y interchange in south eastern Irvine. Afterwards, it meanders northwest via Orange County to Los Angeles County’s Long Beach. It then follows the pacific coastâ₠¬â„¢ outline before it crosses the Santa Monica Mountains. Next, it goes north via San Fernando Valley, then ends with interstate 5 in Los Angeles’s mission district. The congestion problems of the interstate 405 are often legendary (Lomax, Pg.78). This has led to people joking that it was given number 405 simply because the traffic on it slows down to five or four miles per hour, or basically because the interstate 405 drivers need five or four hours to reach their destinations. 5mph average speeds are commonly recorded in the morning or afternoon commutes. Also, the interchanges associated with Santa Monica Freeway and Ventura Freeway rank among the most congested interchanges in America. Consequently, it takes a lot longer to manoeuvre through the whole of the Los Angeles area

International Business Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Business Policy - Essay Example Added to that the purchasing power dazzled one and all and Multinationals of all hues went headlong to get a piece of the action. It has been ascertained that both India and China are quite similar and are perusing similar liberalization policies. Culturally too there is affinity and therefore investing in China will be a wise move. As a growing garment exporter to the world with an annul turnover of over Rs 5000 crores, equivalent to $ 1.25 billion the House of Pearl Fashions Ltd (HPF) are faced with a dilemma of competition from China. With the onset of a quota free regime US and European countries are free to buy their requirements from any country of the world and China as a source of cheap labour as well as due to its effective control on the Yuan has emerged as a strong contender against export of Indian garments. HPF is actively considering converting this threat into an opportunity. They already have a trading presence in China through a wholly owned subsidiary Northwest Trading, the next logical step should be to set up a manufacturing unit in one of their special economic zones and make it another exporting hub taking advantage of their labour and currency factors. (House of Pearl). Prior to reforms the Chinese maintained an overvalued currency but with expansion in foreign trade IMF estimates that the Chinese currency lost about 70 percent of its value against the dollar in real terms over the period from 1980 and 1995, substantially enhancing the international competitiveness of China-based export operations. (International Monetary Fund 1996, 50a) China has a free currency system and conversions are allowed freely. But the currency of the land the Yuan is frozen against foreign currencies of the world. As against this there is no free conversion of currencies in India but the Indian Rupee is kept on a floating basis viz-a-viz foreign currencies and this is the reason of our competitiveness being challenged by

Management and Leadership

Management and Leadership Effective Management and Leadership The most powerful and successful business organizations have understood the importance of a key attribute in their achievements and accomplishments. This is the importance and significance of efficient management and leadership. Empirical and theoretical studies have found evidence that the prevailing notion about leadership and management was masked in air of secrecy (Mulec, 2006: Pg 67). Such an attitude has persisted until recently when research has found that a set of competencies and skills are essential for effective management and leadership. Leadership requires the maximum utilization of innate and intrinsic potential. Business leaders must be dynamic and proactive with their ability to inspire confidence in their followers. They must have a clear vision and mission statement in order to achieve business and organizational goals. They should make everyone part of the organizational process. Leaders focus on the broad aspects of acquiring operational excellence. The democratic system of leadership calls for respecting the initiative and feedback of employees. The ability to enhance the productivity and output of the business organization has been identified as a major competency of leadership. The advantages of such an approach are that the leaders can distribute and allocate tasks to different team members. Each team member will work towards the achievement and accomplishment of the major business goal. Empirical and theoretical studies have identified transformational leadership as being effective and efficient as opposed to other leadership styles (Trevino, Hartman Brown, 2000: Pg 129). Transformational leadership seeks to apply innovation and creativity in order to achieve business and organizational goals. It also seeks to provide an honest and simple appraisal and performance of the employees. Management is another important skill which must be present in order to achieve business and organizational goals. The basic competency of managers is their ability to engage in systematic and methodical planning. This involves identifying barriers to progress and setting targets. A target oriented approach helps management to achieve business and organizational goals. Another important competency for managers is that of organization (Watson, 2001: Pg 386). They must systematically understand the various work processes and requirements. Each task should be divided and distributed to the work force. Further managers are successful by their ability to delegate and receive reports from employees. This is a multi level approach which seeks to achieve business and organizational goals. Management must be able to use strategic management in order to create vision and direction for the guidance of the organization. They must be able to understand the external and internal factors that affect the performance and success of business organizations. They must be able to apply innovation and creativity in order to resolve problems. Effective manag ement also requires a system of checks and controls to monitor the work process (Watson, 2001: Pg 386). This provides the managers with real time information about the success or failure of any business process. From the list of skills that you have generated, select three personal skills and three professional skills a manager needs to be effective in their role (support with personal examples where you can). Explain how these skills contribute to meeting both organisational and personal goals. Discuss what methods you can use to improve both your personal as well as professional skills. Personal and Professional Skills Managers need to have different personal and professional skills in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of the business organization. They must be able to successfully implement these skills for resolving business problems (Wilson Holton, 2003: Pg 123). Further managers should seek to integrate and coordinate various skills to produce optimum solutions. At the basic level, management should have clear idea and vision about the organizational goals. This is necessary because it identifies and recognizes the external and internal factors affecting the business organization. As a manager, I sought to improve our market access to China. This was done through a systematic audit and analysis of the business environment. Managers should also be able to inspire confidence and trust amongst their employees. This is done by directly linking employee growth with the organizational growth. The ability to motivate and inspire team members is now considered a vital component of effective management (Wilson Holton, 2003: Pg 124). At the professional level, managers should be able to work with teams. They should apply intuition and critical thinking skills in order to achieve business and organizational goals. Finally the management must have superior levels of planning, organization, and coordination (Wilson Holton, 2003: Pg 126). Accomplishing Organizational and Personal Goals Managers must seek to work with teams by motivating and inspiring them. Such a process helps to create an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation. It also can resolve potential conflicts in the work place. It also leads to exchange of information. Further the tasks are divided in order to prevent some employees from being overburdened. Advice and initiative from employees should be appreciated in order to promote efficiency and effectiveness (Wilson, Lenssen, Hind, 2006: Pg 134). Management must also empower employees to apply innovation and creativity in resolving business and organizational problems. A multi level approach in management helps to resolve business problems. It also assists in maintaining the competitive edge of the business organization. Improvement of Personal and Professional Skills Management development is a crucial and significant element of the entire business process. This is because managers are the agents of change and dynamism in the business organization. The improvement of personal and professional skills requires the constant application of intuition and critical problem solving skills. Managers should frequently use a number of techniques like brainstorming, analogizing, and discussions in order to improve their skills (Wilson, Lenssen, Hind, 2006: Pg 135). Analogizing refers to the use of personal experiences in solving business problems. A practical and scenario based approach will assist the management in boosting and upgrading their skills. This is a multi level approach that seeks to optimize the various competencies of business managers. Personal Skills Audit Rating Your Management and Leadership Skills Skill Very Good Satisfactory Needs Improvement Poor Not Tested Teamwork Requires some enhancement Resolving Problems Needs to be proactive and dynamic Motivate and inspire others This is the core competency Planning and preparation Knowledge of key planning concepts required Organizing Unable to effectively and efficiently organize Coordination Can coordinate and integrate various work processes Critical problem solving Ability to identify problems in a proactive and dynamic manner Communication skills Requires knowledge of basic communication skills Present an analysis of the various personal and professional skills of which you have carried out a self-assessment in the class including an assessment of your learning style. Based on the rating and the results of the self-assessments write a brief overview of your leadership and management skills in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Analysis of Personal and Professional Skills My personal skills as a manager involve the use of teamwork and resolving problems in an efficient and effective manner. It also involves the use of smart and prudent strategies that can analyze and audit the business environment. Managers need to have strategies which can assist the organization in achieving its targets (Hickman, 2006: Pg 67). This involves the application of robust and energetic strategies. It also seeks to identify the appropriate actions and thoughts that enable managers to have high levels of perception and awareness about the dynamics of the business organization. Further there should be a management model in the organization that identifies and recognizes the skills required. My personal and professional skills seek to accomplish high levels of transparency and fairness in the business organization. Personal and professional skills should be enhanced and boosted in order to produce superior business outcomes. Managers should be able to generate motivation and stimulus in the work force instead of attempting to discipline and intimidate them. This is the management style of twenty first century that seeks to produce flexible, open, and dynamic business models. This should be the context in which personal and professional skills should be developed and enhanced. Strengths and Weaknesses Motivating and inspiring the work force is my core competency in the field of management. This involves providing adequate and competent instructions to the work force regarding the targets and goals. It also seeks to address employee concerns and take feedback from them. Motivation and inspiration are the main attributes that are identified in empirical and theoretical studies about modern management styles (Jung, 2001: Pg 21). It helps to transform rigid and inflexible hierarchies within organizations into dynamic and robust business models. Another core competency is coordination which seeks to interrelate and interlink the various business processes. It seeks to achieve business goals in a prudent and smart manner. Organization of work processes and communication skills need to be boosted and augmented. This is a major weakness of my management skills which needs to be effectively and efficiently remedied. Organization of the work processes is identified as a major competency whi ch seeks to distribute and allocate the work processes. There is a need to upgrade and augment various business and organizational skills in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. Personal Development Plan Establish your career goals and objectives and the skills required to meet these objectives. Put together a realistic Personal Development Plan to demonstrate how you intend to address the learning and development needs that you have identified. Consider your preferred learning style when establishing learning actions. Establishment of Career Goals and Objectives My career goals and objectives are to improve and augment my management and leadership skills. Management should seek to improve productivity and output while reducing the administrative and structural costs (Bass, 2005: Pg 26). It also seeks to identify and recognize the changes in the business and market environment. Developing and boosting skills requires the use of innovative and creative learning methods. Problems and scenarios should be used in order to augment and develop management skills. Further there needs to be significant improvement in communication and organization skills. Managers need to have efficient and effective planning, organization, coordination, and preparation skills. These objectives and goals can be achieved through a systematic and methodical appraisal and audit of the various factors. This calls for the development of team work, interpersonal, monitoring, checking, and evaluation skills. A comprehensive and broad system of checks and balances should exis t which would provide managers with real time information. It helps to them to modify or change strategies that are not achieving their targets. Further career goals and objectives should be implemented in a systematic and methodical manner in order to produce superior outcomes. This will also increase the chances of producing better business outcomes. Such a strategy adopts a multi level approach towards the resolution of business problems. Personal Development Plan Given the rapidly evolving business landscape, it is essential that any personal development plan take into account the new variables and factors affecting management. The personal development plan involves transforming management into a role model that can be successfully emulated by subordinates. It should seek to empower employees by making them owners of the work process. Further management should implement a system of appraisal and evaluation which would assist in streamlining and automating the work process. A personal development plan can be achieved if assessment instruments are used to test and gauge the levels of efficiency and effectiveness. Such instruments would create benchmarks that need to be modified and altered in order to produce superior outcomes. Further the personal development plan should utilize strengths in order to overcome weaknesses and limitations. It should also use appropriate strategic management skills in order to effectively assess the business probl ems. Communication skills need to be upgraded in order to reduce communication gaps. Further it should also focus on resolving conflicts in teams. Communication skills can assist in the development of competencies that seek to improve interaction and interface with upper management, colleagues, subordinates and customers. It seeks to apply proactive and dynamic approaches in order to achieve business and organizational goals. Evaluation and Review Implement your personal development plan and maintain a reflective record on ongoing basis. At the end of the term present an evaluation of the whole learning process including the effectiveness and impact of the learning on your career path as well as the impact of learning styles on personal development Implementation of Personal Development Plan The personal development plan should clearly identify and recognize objectives and goals. It should seek to break the objectives into long term, medium term, and short term. Further the goals should be realistic and accurate based upon the strengths. It should seek to utilize these strengths in overcoming limitations and hurdles. After this it is vital to conduct research into the various strategies that can help accomplish these objectives. The barriers and hurdles to progress should be highlighted in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness (Burns, 2005: Pg 154). Skills should be divided and prioritized in order to achieve maximum results. The skills that are in immediate need of improvement and augmentation should be applied in order to produce superior outcomes. Further there is also the concern that some strategies might not work. In this case, the personal development plan should have contingency plans which can respond to unforeseeable circumstances. An important componen t of personal development plans is the division of large tasks into small ones. This helps to motivate and stimulate the manager in learning new competencies and skills. Further it also seeks to facilitate and assist in the process of learning and development. The use of a multi level approach will help the manager in achieving efficiency and effectiveness (Kuhnert, 2004: Pg 649). Personal development plans should integrate and utilize creativity and innovation. This calls for the use of critical thinking skills which produce solutions to business and personal issues. Further the personal development plan should take into account the ground realities. The manager should study new literature on management and business. They must also attend short trainings, seminars, and workshops which focus on improvement of vital skills. Further the business environment provides ample ground for the manager to test and upgrade skills. Making extra efforts will enable the managers to develop their business and personal skills. The personal development plan should be smart and prudent to understand the manager limitations and weaknesses. It should seek to adopt a formal and informal method of ensuring that business goals are accomplished and achieved. It should seek to rationalize the various strategies that are used to boost and upgrade the skills and competencies. Any personal development plan can succeed only if the management has motivation and stimulus to perform at optimum levels. Managers should be able to forecast any changes in the business or work environment. They should have contingency plans which can reduce or mitigate adverse circumstances. Also it is essential that a proactive management philosophy be adopted in order to achieve organizational and business objectives. References: Mulec, K. (2006), Positive professional leaders: aspects to consider in leadership development, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 66-81. Trevino, L.K., Hartman, L.P. and Brown, M. (2000), Moral person and moral manager: how executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership, California Management Review, Vol. 42, pp. 128-42. Watson, T.J. (2001), Beyond managism: negotiated narratives and critical management education in practice, British Journal of Management, Vol. 12, pp. 385-96. Wilson, A. and Holton, V. (2003), Changing Manager Mindsets Report of the Working Group on the Development of Professional Skills for the Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility, Department of Trade and Industry/The Corporate Responsibility Group, London. Wilson, A., Lenssen, G. and Hind, P. (2006), Leadership Qualities and Management Competencies for Corporate Responsibility, Ashridge/EABIS, Berkhamsted. Hickman, Gill Robinson. â€Å"Transforming Organizations to Transform Society.† In Kellogg Leadership Studies Project, Transformational Leadership Working Papers, The James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, 2006. Jung, Dong I. â€Å"Perceptions of Transformational Leadership Among Asian Americans and Caucasian Americans: A Level of Analysis Perspective.† The Journal of Leadership Studies 8, no. 1 (2001): 3-21. Bass, B. M. (2005). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, (Winter): 19-31. Burns, J. M. (2005). Leadership. New York: Harper Row Kuhnert, Karl W. â€Å"Transactional and Transformational Leadership: A Constructive/Developmental Analysis.† Academy of Management Review 12, no. 4 (2004): 648-657.

An Inspector Calls as a Tool for the Political and Social Criticism Ess

An Inspector Calls as a Tool for the Political and Social Criticism of the Elite "An Inspector Calls", by J.B. Priestly, is in effect a method the playwright uses to convey an imperative political and social message to his readers. John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in the north of England. After finishing school, he decided to abandon education to pursue his passion for writing and literature. In 1914 at the age of twenty Priestley was called to fight in the First World War. As one may expect, the years Priestly spent on the frontline, had an immense impact on his ideas towards the social and political system in Britain, and are what fuelled his great politically charged writings. Priestly began to ponder the state of society and the way the social system worked. Perhaps most importantly, he realised that while large numbers of people were suffering, there were many egocentric individuals who were enjoying grand luxuries. "An Inspector Calls" was written in the very week that the Second World War culminated. This shows the urgency with which Priestly wanted to communicate his message. This play, like some of Priestley's earlier work, explores the concept of time, and the phenomenon of how someone's actions can affect someone else's life in the long run. The play is set in an industrial Midlands town in 1912, just before the First World War started. There are 5 main characters, other than the inspector who appears at the very end of Act 1. These are Mr. and Mrs. Birling, their children Sheila and Eric Birling and Sheila's fiancà © Gerald Croft. All of them are upper class citizens and are shown to consider themselves to be part of the social elite. Priestley uses this soci... ...of pay. In his defence, Mr. Birling says: "Well, it's my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I'd agreed to this demand for a new rate we'd have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs." (Act 1, pg 14) Again greed and egocentricity is shown among the higher class. Birling says he had to come down sharp or else they would have been asking the Earth. To this the inspector replies: "They might. But after all it's better to ask for the Earth than to take it." (Act 1, pg 15) Here Priestley is bluntly expressing his anger at the exploitation of the poor by the rich. At its simplest, "An Inspector Calls" is just another moral story, no different from Aesop's Fables. Priestley is trying to teach his audience that individualism and narcissism are one of the greatest evils. He wants us to be aware that our actions today immensely affect events tomorrow.

Comment on Shakespeare’s portrayal of Othello

In Shakespeare's time black people were classed as second-class citizens. They were often looked at as devil-like and evil. This was, however, a stereotypical view, often accepted by the people of Shakespeare's day. People looked at the Bible to show that black people were devil-like and evil. The Bible tells the story of Noah and the Ark. In the Ark it was forbidden to have children, as there would not be enough food. However, Ham, one of Noah's sons, decided to disobey these rules, as he wanted to have the son who would be ruler of the world. When Noah found out and they returned to land, Noah banished Ham to Africa. Ham had committed sin and was evil and devil-like because he had disobeyed his father for his own self-interest, risking the lives of others in the Ark. As black people were said to have originated form Africa, where Ham was banished, they could be descendants of Ham, who was evil, and therefore black people were evil and devil-like too. Black people were also said to be over-sexed, unstable, irrational, suffer from fits, and be devil-like. In the prejudiced mind, Shakespeare presents Othello to match all of these stereotypical categories that black people were said to be. People with an open mind, however, can simply see that Othello is a man in love. In Act 4, Scene 1, line 40, Othello has a fit. This matches with the stereotypical view that back people have fits. However, Othello has a fit because he was in a rage. The reason being that he had become so disturbed by the stories of his beloved wife having been unfaithful. It is possible for anyone, white or black, to have a fit if they were as distressed as Othello was. Othello may be seen as over-sexed. He talks in a very passionate manner. Shakespeare presents Othello to have a glorified situation of his and Desdemona's affection for each other. It is more likely; therefore, that Othello is infatuated in their love than over-sexed. The depth of his passionate language, in which you can see that his love is more than a hallucination, is shown throughout the beginning of the play. â€Å"Amen to that, sweet powers/ cannot speak enough of this content/ it stops me here: it is too much joy†(II i 188). Othello declares this after he and Desdemona are reunited after their journey to Cyprus. Othello is talking passionately to Desdemona, however, this does not immediately prove him of being over-sexed, it shows the love he is sharing with Desdemona. Othello could be seen as irrational when he kills Desdemona by smothering her, Act 5, Scene 2, and Line 85. Iago, however, is far more irrational then Othello ever could have be seen to be and Iago is white. Iago's irrationality can be seen in one of his soliloquies. † I'll have our Michael Cassio on the hip, / Abuse him to the Moor in the rank garb-/ For I fear Cassio with my night cap too-â€Å"(II i 286-288). Here Iago is saying how he believes his wife has been sleeping with Cassio, of which he has no verification. He says in effect that he wants Cassio dead. This shows Iago's irrationality because he has no reason to have Cassio dead, or to even contemplate that he has slept with his wife. Iago provokes many deaths, without remorse, which shows that he has extreme irrationality. Being devil-like was another typical view people had of blacks. Othello while he is in a rage could be seen as devil-like. † Therefore confess thee freely of thy sin;/ For to deny each article with oath/ Cannot remove nor choke the strong conception/ That I do groan withal. Thou art to die† (V ii 54-56). Othello speaks these words to Desdemona before he murders her. Othello has no prove of her infidelity, except from what Iago has told him. Othello is in a huge rage as he is about to kill her and therefore could be seen as devil-like. Iago is also very devil-like, more than Othello and he is white. This contradicts the stereotypical view of black people in Shakespeare's' time. Act 5 Scene 2 Line 235 Iago kills his wife Emilia for speaking of Desdemona's faithfulness, therefore showing Iago's deceitfulness. Shakespeare cleverly presents Othello stereotypically, but also as a normal person. He could have done this to suit the different audiences, but he may have used these contradictions as a way of making people less prejudiced. Shakespeare thought carefully about the presentation of Othello's character as it shows two sides of a black man. Othello is a great general who has also won the affections of a white woman. Shakespeare was not the first to have presented a black man on stage. But he was the first to have not presented that black character as beastly and ferocious. He presents a warrior with great passion. Othello's language throughout the play is full of great passion. â€Å"All's well now, sweeting; come away to bed†(II i 234). This is one example of Othello's passion. At this point in Othello his passion is only towards Desdemona in a loving way. As Othello develops, Othello's passion changes as he becomes wrapped in a passion of jealousy. Othello then becomes an uncontrollable, violent man. Othello never stops his passionate loving for Desdemona but feels it his duty to kill her before she breaks more men's hearts. â€Å"Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men†(V ii 6). Othello says these words to himself while Desdemona is sleeping, before he is about to smother her. At the beginning of Othello you would never have thought that anything could ever come between a couple bearing so much love for each other. However, all that was needed to break this loving couple apart was Iago, gently introducing ideas, mentioning, just little things like Cassio's quick departures from Desdemona. â€Å"Cassio, my lord; No sure I cannot think it/ That he would steal away so guilty-like, / Seeing you coming.†(III iii 38-40). Iago keeps slipping in comments about Desdemona, until Othello becomes so caught up with jealousy that he is convinced of his wife's unfaithfulness. As Othello has so much passion, his anger is brewed into a huge mental tornado, which takes time to build up, but when at full strength can destroy even what seem like the strongest things, Othello and Desdemona's marriage, and resulting in the death of Desdemona.

Management and Human Resource Development Essay

1.Integration with organizational missions and goals According to Garavan (1991), integration into business planning in order to contribute to corporate goals and missions of the organization are very crucial. One of Human Resource Development’s functions is to help in formation of business strategies for the organization and it is seen as a responsive and reactive role for strategic human resource development (McCracken & Wallace, 2000). Furthermore, the role of SHRD is to shape the organization strategy instead of simply supporting role. Another role of Human Resource Development is to implement or form the corporate strategy. These tasks require them to link the corporate strategy with the organization’s missions and goals. According to Legnick-Hall and Legnick-Hall (1988) and Butler (1988), besides integrating the corporate strategy with the organizational missions and goals, strategic human resource development also plays an important role in shaping and influencing the missions and goals (as stated in McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 2.Top management support  In strategic human resource development, top management support is very important in order to implement the corporate strategy. The corporate strategy that has been formed need to be led actively by the top management people rather than just simply supported by them (Harrison, 1997). Active leadership from the top management will help the managers to adopt strategic thinking in achieving the targeted goals (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 3.Environmental scanning  In SHRD, environmental scanning is very important to develop the strategic planning. HRD professionals and others senior managers need to conduct the SWOT and PEST analysis. These analyses will help the organization to respond or react to any changes in the internal or external environment (Rainbird, 1995; Peery and Salem, 1993). However, environmental scanning alone is not enough because HRD terms and top management need to implement it (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). Level of Strategic Human Resource Development  The first level of contexts that are crucial in order to understand the contribution of strategic human resource development is global environment. By analyzing and understanding the global environment is very important for an organization in order to be more flexible. Being flexible helps an organization to control and respond quickly to its surrounding, especially the external environment. This level focuses on a multiplicity of external factors that explain the role of SHRD in crisis management and generate particular SHRD initiatives (Wang, Hutchins & Garavan, 2009). There are three sets of component that must be understood in the context of global environment which are local conditions, national conditions and multinational conditions. Local conditions basically focus on laws and protocol. For example, the organization might need to devise emergency planning processes to tackle potential crisis regarding the safety and health law (Wang, Hutchins & Garavan, 2009). Local conditions can be divided into two parts which are economic and political trends as well as industry characteristics. The organization must alert with the economic and political conditions within the country. For the industry characteristics, the organization must ensure that their products and services have its own uniqueness. They need to master the products and services very well where all information need to be in their fingertips. They also need to know the targeted audiences for every of the product and services provided. The national conditions which can be divided into four parts. The first part is technology change. The organization must provide adequate training to its employees to increase the productivity of the employees in operating the latest technology. Since technology is rapidly change, so the employees need to be trained from time to time. The second part is the characteristics of the labor market. An organization must be flexible in terms of planning about the resources of the organizations especially when it comes to human resources. The management needs to hire more expertise. The third set is national culture. The organization need to learn and understand about the culture in order to provided the right products and services. For example, the food industry in Malaysia, they need to ensure that most of the foods are halal in order to fit it with the Muslim culture. The last part is regarding the national HRD systems. Some countries use the â€Å"soft† interventions rather than the â€Å"hard† approaches such as codes and protocols (Wang, Hutchins & Garavan, 2009). It may appear as a component of partnership planning between the government, employers and trade unions. The last set of components is the multinational conditions which are cross-culture difference and international laws and regulations. Cross-cultural differences such as cultural assumptions towards planning and risk may also operate by some organizations. According to Tierney,Lindell & Perry (2001), Asian countries are slow to react to disasters and they do not understand the important of systems and processes to deal with these disasters. Meanwhile, according to Caudron (2002), global terrorist events and international criminal acts have alert the national government regarding the important of providing the security education and professional education of human resources involved in security management. Certain multinational corporations may also pose some policies on individual companies within the corporation’s (Wang, Hutchins & Garavan, 2009).