HRM in the London Olympic games

HRM in the London Olympic games The London 2012 Games is organized by two main bodies The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The Olympic Delivery Authority is funded by government and authority to develop and build new venues and infrastructures for Olympic Games and long term after 2012. LOCOG is funded by private sector which is responsible for preparing and performing 2012 Games. In this report examines different types of HR issues in ODA and LOCOG. Here discuss about the traditional view of personal management and new approach of Human Resources Management and discuss the effectiveness of principles and procedures for monitoring employees. This report thoroughly examined how LOCOG, a privately funded body and ODA as a public body, handle certain HR issues comparative to the best practice. Background The LOCOG (London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games) is funded by private sector. It is responsible for performing the games. They are planning to employ around 100,000 people on the Games with 3,000 staff, 70,000 volunteers and many of contractors by 2012 Opening Ceremony. It is mainly responsible for performing Memorable Games in 2012. And it is also responsible for recruiting, selecting and training staff and volunteers and supervision of the four year Cultural Olympiad leading up to the Games. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is funded by government and it is mainly responsible to build and develop locations and infrastructure for the Olympic Games and using for long-term. Currently more than 10,000 workers work in Olympic park and Athletes village. The employees of the ODA cover a wide area of skills such as planning and project management, transport management and community liaison. CLM Consortium is the Delivery partner of the Olympic Delivery Authority. It is owned by CH2M Hill, Laing ORourke and Mace. CLM Consortium is working on behalf of the ODA by managing programmes of the constructing of places and infrastructures for 2012 Games. Mainly it performs project management for the ODA. Tasks 1.1 Because of the competitive environment in the open economy, Human Resource Management has become the most important factor for the efficiency of organization. Human Resources management arise from the Personal management. The difference between personal management and HR management can be discussed as theoretical. Personnel Management has more administrative environment background. Personal Management deal with Payroll, comply with law of employment, supervise related administration tasks. But Human resource management is managing workforce in the organization to achieve main objectives of the organization. When recognised the difference between the Human Resource Management and the personal Management, HRM can describe broadly in scope than Personal Management. Human Resource Management is supposed to incorporate and develop the personal Management, while focusing on creation and development of team works to achieve organizational goals. The personal management uses a unitary method while HRM uses Pluralist method. The Personnel Management deals with the selection, recruitment, job description and work load of the employees. When notice the relationship between employees and the management, can recognize Personnel Management involve for monitoring, supervising and controlling while HRM focus on nurturing and facilitating with relationship. 1.2 The role of the HR director of ODA must parallel with the changing needs of ODA. ODA is more adaptive, strong, easy change with trend and customer-oriented. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is the government body which is building places and infrastructures for the Games. As the Human Resource Director of ODA, HR Director needs to guide and manage the human resource services, policies and procedures and programmes for the whole organization. The key areas have to be directed by the HR director can discuss as follows. Recruiting new staff for the ODA Performance management and improvement systems Growth of the organization Employment and obedience with regulatory bodies Training and Development Documentation Development of Policies Facilitation of company-wide committee Administration of compensation and benefits Employee safety, Health and welfare The Human Resources Director initiates HR Practices which provide high performance culture, quality, efficiency and Values, achievement of goals and the recruitment and continuing development of a greater workforce in The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The HR director directs implementation of services, policies and programmes over his staff. HR Director has to report to the CEO of Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and assists and instructs the company managers regarding Human Resource issues in the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). 1.3 Responsibility for Human Resource Functions rests with every manager in an organization (Weather et al, 1985; Weather and Davis, 1989). HRM is a responsibility of every manager in an organization. Even when a Human Resource department is created within the organization, a dual responsibility exists among operating managers and human resource experts. Individual managers involve in planning, selection, orientation, training, development, compensation and other personnel activities. Line managers find implementation of HR Practices at the operative level difficult and show lack of enthusiasm with their responsibilities. Though, line managers have become accountable for the implementation of HRM and therefore, their performance is serious for effectiveness of HRM of the Olympic Delivery Authority. The Line managers are highly skilled people. Now they are involving with needs of employees which create the better working environment in the organization. They have capabilities to support to the employees with many challenging circumstances they have to go through, as an example if an employee couldnt meet his targets at that time line manager would have regular intervals to decide what they have to do and fix a new target to achieve. Front line manager have to set clear prospects with his employees in terms of what they have to be delivered and how they are going to be delivered estimated products. Then front line manager has to be involved with leading the performance appraisals and approved personal development plans. After agreeing with personnel development plans, line managers must observe the weaknesses of their subordinates and identify the way of bridging the gap via training. The line managers should be able to identify the range of learning and development involvements which existing to them. The Line managers also responsible for effective provision of coaching and guidance and increase the satisfaction of employees, motivation and employees commitment, if the front line manager wants to be a really effective line manager; he has to identify his responsibility as a sponsor of his employees learning and development. 2.1 Human Resource Planning (HRP) is the process of determining future employee needs and deciding steps or strategies to achieve those needs for the purpose of accomplishing organizational goals and objectives. The institute of personnel management (UK currently known as Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) has defined HRP as HRP is a process which more systematic and continuous to analyze and organize the necessities of the human resource that need to be changed conditions and developed rules and regulations suitable for long term effectiveness of the organization. Because of HR costs and forecasts both affected by long term cooperate plans, HRP is an important part of cooperate planning and budgeting procedures. (Armstrong, 1992, p. 289) Information required in HRP process are information regarding future demand for HR and information regarding future HR supply. Information regarding future HR demand is; Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is considering about talented, enthusiastic and dedicated employees work within a greater range of job roles. Therefore, there is a high demand for skilled and unskilled people for those from the five London boroughs nearest the Olympic Park. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is accountable for building and developing places and infrastructures Olympic Games and use after 2012. Therefore, their strategic plan also decides future HR need for this project. Expected number of retirement, resignations, deaths and terminations from this project. Information regarding external factors such as economic, social and political forces prevailing in London. ODA has developed a strategy to outline how it will create new jobs. Information regarding HR supply is; Information of current HR in ODA There are more job opportunities to support for building of Olympic Park. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has Varity of job opportunities in Professional, Admin, Management, Technical, Information Technology and trades/operation level available in the Olympic Park. II Information required for possible replacements. The Olympic Delivery Authoritys Jobs Skills Stocks has obtained thousands of people for different types of jobs in Olympic Park. The aim of the ODA is offering more jobs up to 7% of the on-site labor force in construction for people who are unemployed previously. There are five steps involved in HRP process. Forecast future demand for HR. ODA has forecasted that the three major Stratford-based projects alone the Olympic Park, Olympic Village and Stratford City development will create around 30,000 jobs over the course of the construction period. Estimate future HR supply of ODA It can be anticipated by observing building and construction industry. Compare forecasted demand with estimated supply. Decide strategies to be taken to bridge the gap between future HR supply and demand. Assess the HRP effort of ODA. 2.2 Structured process for recruitment in LOCOG The London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG) is planning to employ around 100,000 people on the Games with 3,000 staff, 70,000 volunteers and many of contractors by 2012 Opening Ceremony. As the biggest post-war campaign in the UK, LOCOG is waiting for self-motivated, talented and dedicated people who represent the diversity of London and UK to spread on greater range of volunteer roles. A person who selected to volunteer at the event will be known as Games Maker. LOCOG recruit employees in various ways. They allow applying apprentices, people with disabilities, school leavers and via a LOCOG technology internship program. Structure for Recruitment Process in ODA The Olympic Delivery Authority is planning to provide job opportunities for more than 10,000 people in a hard time for construction Industry while seeking to meet commitments to safety, employing, training and developing local people and trainees. A Job agent service, in cooperation with five Host Boroughs and Job Centre plus which match the job opportunities in Olympic Park with candidates who are living local areas and elsewhere in the UK, The National Skills Academy for Construction is funded by The Skills Funding Agency and the London Development Agency. This organizes training programmes within range of suppliers which is including Thames House Training Centre other than a Plant Training Centre for people to grow their skills that need to be success on the Olympic Park and endure their career development while they are working. A guarantee to another 250 traineeships to be created in the Olympic Park and Athletes Village including the specific necessities to take on trainees in future contracts. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) collects and publishes figures on the Olympic Park workforce which is collect through the enrolment process to ensure transparency regarding the workforce. The workers in Olympic Park and Village have to be spent at least five days over the period of measurement applied. They are counting local workers only in the Olympic Park and Village who are giving permanent address in one of the five Host Boroughs. Before a person categorized as a resident there The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) doesnt have a minimum time period for the residency. Many of public authorities such as Her Majestys Revenue and Customs, Local Taxation and Valuation using this agreement, London 2012 is a Game for everyone, so they encourage to employment opportunities regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. Recruitment methods that can be used Simple word of mouth Job posting and bidding Skill inventories and management inventories Intranet Succession plan Employee referral (internal and external) Walk ins and write ins Educational institutes Employment agencies Professional institutes Advertising 2.3 Interview as a selection technique Selection interview is a face to face, oral and observational evaluation method of appraising an applicants acceptability with regard to a certain job. The interview creates on in-depth conversation between a prospective employer and an applicant for the purpose of deciding whether the applicant is the most appropriate person to fill the vacancy being considered. Interviewing has some distinct advantages over other alternative methods of selection. It gives the interviewer with an opportunity to assess the candidate in terms of self presentation, verbal abilities and behavioural characteristics such as way of talking, manners and sociability. Interviews can be adapted to various types of employees such as managerial, technical, clerical, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled employees. It can fill information gaps and enable to clarify questionable responses. There are some disadvantages relating to method of interview. Errors associated with interviewers use of inappropriate standards are one of the disadvantages of this method. Those errors are Halo effect, personnel prejudice, pseudo-scientific premises and over-emphasise on one criterion. There can be problems with interviewee. One major error is inability of interview to listen. Also the interviewee attempts to behave in a pretended manner which is socially desirable. Normal interviewee attending an interview is nervous and fearful resulting in that he / she is not in a position to use his/her real skills, knowledge and attitudes to face the interview successfully. Alternative selection methods that can be used are application evaluation, background investigation of prospective candidates and conducting an assessment centers to identify the best candidates 2.4 To be selected for LOCOG Technology internship program, they use some frequently asked questions. There web site shows what is expected by LOCOG team. It is a structured process of selection. As an example for the question of how do I qualify for LOCOG technology team? would expect an answer of set of qualifications specifically mentioned for each post. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is the government body which is responsible for building and developing the places and infrastructure for the Games use after 2012. Therefore, they select the most appropriate candidates for the authority via apprentice programs, construction contacts, support organizations and offering job opportunities that related to construction and direct employment for women with contractors in the Olympic Park. ODA has a relatively unstructured mode of selection rather than LOCOG. 3.1 There are five steps involved in pay management process. They are job evaluation, pay survey, job pricing, adjustment of individual pays and finally monitoring and update the pay system. Job evaluation is a subjective process. It is a systematic method to determine the comparative values of jobs which are available within an organization. This is a proper and methodical comparison of jobs to regulate the value of one job comparative to another job and ultimately grade in salaries and wages hierarchy (Dessler, 2005) The purpose of job evaluation is to ensure that base pay of a job possess a good degree of relative equity. Under job evaluation, personnel traits of employees are not taken in to consideration There are five steps in job evaluation process. Appointment of a job evaluation committee. It is better to do job evaluation through a committee, specifically set up for the purpose consisting of persons who are more knowledgeable about the jobs. Examine job analysis information To examine job analysis information, there must be distinctly prepared job description and job specification for each of the jobs available in the organization. Decide the method of job evaluation. There are four methods of job evaluation. Job ranking Job grading Factor comparison Point system However, it was identified that the best method is the point system. Otherwise factor comparison method can be decided to use as the alternative method of job evaluation. Evaluation This step involves evaluating all the jobs available within the organization Rank the jobs according to relative importance After job evaluation, it is possible to ascertain relative worth of each job. According to the relative worth, all the jobs must be put in order of importance. They must be ranked according to the importance of the job. In fact, it is possible to build a hierarchy of jobs arranged by relative importance. After this ranking, financial values should be introduced. Factors of determining the pay are, Government / Legal requirement Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is a public body which is in control to build new places permanently and temporarily, works on present sports places, planning and implementation of transport infrastructures and facilities to help the Games, renovating the Olympic Park enduring after the Games. Mainly ODA has to make sure the new standards of project for sustainable development. Therefore, ODA must structure its pay system accordance with acts and ordinances of wages and salaries imposed by the government. Trade Unions Influence of trade unions to determine wages and salaries by controlling labour supply is a frequently seen fact. Trade unions use their power in order to increase wages and salaries by engaging in collective bargaining with employers representatives. Cost of Living Increase in cost of living may affect to increase wages and salaries. Cost of living of employees is measured by basing on a price index and then wages and salaries are adjusted according to changes of the price index. Demand and supply for labor Demand for labor of a certain job and supply of labor for that job influence on determining the wage or salaries of that job. Productivity Ratio between input and output is productivity. When productivity increases, organizations may give higher pays to its employees. Financial ability Organizations financial ability to pay is a major determinant of wages and salaries. Competitive pays The ODA offers competitive market salaries complemented by a performance-related bonus. 3.2 Rewards (Compensation/remuneration) include wages salaries, incentives and welfare facilities. Pay management is the HRM function that deals with development, implementation, and maintenance of a base pay system that is fair. It is the aggregate of all the activities involved in developing, implementing and maintaining a fair base system. It needs to decide whether competency based pay instead of job based pay is applied or not. Job evaluation and other steps of pay management focus on a job based pay not a competency based pay. Competency based pay is pay given to the degree of competency the employee has when the employees competencies increase, pay given to him/her increases. Job based pay is a pay given to the value of the job done by the employee. Mathis and Jackson (2000, p.421-2) describe: paying for competencies rewards employees who are more versatile and have continued to develop their competencies. In knowledge based pay (KBP) or skilled based pay (SBP) systems, employ staff at a base level of pay and receive increases as they learn to do other jobs or gain other skills and therefore become more valuable to the employer Aswathappa (2007, p.300) defines: In the skill based pay system, an employee is paid on the basis of number of jobs he or she is capable of doing or on the depth of his or her knowledge. In traditional system, the employees are given salary or wage base on their jobs held. Traditional system means job based pay system. Skill based system has some advantages. It will motivate employees to acquire additional skills which may reduce boredom and monotony. Then increased satisfaction occurs. Increased skills become useful to the organization. It will increase employee flexibility (having employees to do different jobs and transferability). It may increase effectiveness of work teams. There are disadvantages also. It increases cost of pay as employee increases their competencies. Requests for giving promotions from employees may increase. If employees or trade unions propose a skill based pay system to be introduced in an organization that is following a job based pay system. 3.3 Motivation is one of the strategic objectives of HRM. Motivation refers to the extent to which employees are willing to exert the necessary effort to perform their jobs well. Pay management ensures that pays received by employees meet absolute equity, relative internal equity and relative external equity. Sound management of incentives ensures increasing employee motivation so as to improve job performance. ODA is using these rewards and benefits in order to motivate their employees. They provide competitive market salaries, performance related bonuses, pension, ensure employee wellbeing, season ticket loans and gym memberships. When we consider two factor theory of Fredrick Hurzburg, these incentives can be classified in to both hygiene factors and Motivators. Salaries and wages, bonuses, pensions loans can be identified as hygiene factors and ensuring employees wellbeing and gym memberships are examples for motivators. 3.4 Establish objectives for each job and compare and monitor performance based on those objectives HRM of ODA must develop proper job descriptions and job specification for each job and frequently monitor them and ensure that they are up to the standard. Continuously allocate them in to a series of training programs in order to ensure their productivity. Frequently evaluating the performance of their employees. Creating a learning culture in London 2012. Implementing open door system and consider employee ideas in decision making. 4.1 ODA is expecting a highly skilled work force for building the stage of London 2012 Games will provide workers in London and UK unprecedented access to new jobs and career opportunities. This will leave a highly skilled workforce that can not only help deliver the Games, but one that is going to have satisfying and sustainable careers in construction after 2012. One of the key responsibilities of ODA is to convert the Olympic Park for long-term use after the Games. Therefore they can absorb some of skilled staff in to permanent cadre and allow them to maintain it in the long run. After 2012, ODA wishes to absorb other skilled employees to government jobs in construction side or provide job opportunities in the private sector. The LOCOG is responsible for performing the games. It is mainly responsible for performing Memorable Games in 2012. And it is also responsible for recruiting, selecting and training staff and volunteers and supervision of the four year Cultural Olympiad leading up to the Games. 4.2 Selection criteria for declaring redundancy of employee In UK the number of redundancies rises in the course of credit Crunch, mostly in construction and finance sectors. In this project redundancies occur when finish the construction of London 2012 and when some jobs are no longer needed for Olympic delivery Authority (ODA). The effect of the economic slowdown is established by less job opportunities. The selection criteria that going to be used by the employer should be identified clearly and exactly, It is usually contain of persons who carry out same jobs in a specific department, who works at a related site or whose work is expected to do so. Selection Criteria have to be based on objectives which including, Length of service period Attendance Records of Disciplinary Qualifications Competencies and Skills Work Experience Performance Last in, First out (LIFO) is not a suitable selection method for selection criteria, because the workers with less service are to be younger employees. Tribunals happy with point system which is scoring to each employees compared with related criteria. Scoring should be performed by two or more independent managers who know all employees in the London 2012.The scores should added together and give total of them to each employee. Sometime following reasons may unfair for selection of employees for redundancy and employees can claim under Unfair Dismissal or relevant Laws. Membership of the Trade Union Reasons related to pregnancy or maternity Sexual orientation Marital status Race or Skin Color Disability When selection is completed the employees who selected for redundancy should be notified by in writing. The London 2012 offer to employees to leaving the London 2012 to maintain their self-confidence and support them to find another job,

God’s kingdom Essay

John Ortberg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted book talks of how one can be transformed and live with Jesus inside their life. One should lead a deep spiritual life wherever they are and in all aspects of their life. A proper relationship with one’s God can transform one so that they lead a spiritual life which is very important to a Christian. When one lives with Jesus in their hearts, there are fruits of Holy spirit that they can acquire which include peace, kindness, and joy. When one leads a spiritual life, they cannot have disappointments in their life because disappointments come when they ignore to live the way God wants them to live. One should thus not disappoint the God who created them and Who guides them in everything they do every day. One should understand that they were created by God. Rather, man was made by God to subdue the earth and fill it and also to have dominion on other creatures on the earth. There is a need to know that death is not the end of our lives but that there is another life which will be eternal in heaven. One should understand that the gospel is true and is not like any other tales which are being told here in the world. Consequently, God’s kingdom is open to anyone who can accept Jesus to be their savior and lead his life as the Jesus did by not following and fulfilling earthly needs. One should understand that Jesus came in the world and died for our sins in order to have eternal or everlasting splendor. One should understand that God can transform them at any time regardless of their age. This happened to Moses at a time that he was thinking he had become a person who had been forgotten. God however transformed him and made him the person who rescued the Israelites from the powerful Pharaoh. One should also understand that God hears prayers and answers them as He did to the Israelites in the hands of pharaoh. God heard their groans and sent Moses to bring them out of Pharaoh’s slavery. One should also understand that the desire to be transformed lies in everyone’s heart. Moreover, once they are transformed, they acquire hope in their life and are assured of eternal life in the next world. One needs to understand that Christians should not conform to the world around them. Paul advocated for transformation by renewal of minds. People should also understand that we are on a morphing time and that any ordinary person can receive power anytime and have extraordinary changes. Above everything, one should not forget that Jesus died for mankind’s sins and that Christ brought joy to humanity and that we should follow His teachings. One should have patience and endurance whenever they are suffering, be attending prayer fellowships, and have solitude and meditation on the Scriptures (Ortberg, 2002). I remember one day asking myself many questions after my expectations had failed to come true. I had finished my secondary level education. Moreover, since I thought that I had done my examinations well, I was thus sure that I had excelled and that I will be able to join a higher learning institution to do my bachelors degree. When the results were announced and after hearing that in our school, around five students had passed to join university level, I knew I must have passed because I used to be number one in our class since I was in form one. When I went to pick my results, I was surprised to find that my name did not appear among the first top ten students. I was shocked to an extent that I could not even talk to anybody whom I came across as I was going home. I went home and I did not even talk to any of my family members. I could not even participate in doing any household chores no matter how easy it was. I could not even talk to my friends who used to come visiting me. I stayed indoors for more than two weeks enduring a lot of stress asking myself why God had done that for me. I used to ask myself whether it was because I was not attending morning prayers and church devotions that God had decided to discipline me. My parents, having seen how I was depressed, organized that I go to another school where I would redo my exams. When the results were out, I had passed very well. What surprises me in Ortberg’s book is how and why one gets disappointed with themselves. Another question I would like to ask is what made Moses to ask God who He (God) was as Moses was being sent to pharaoh. Further, is human transformation genuinely possible? Another question which I may ask is how people understand or view this issue of transforming or morphing? Is it that people turn to God or remember the Lord when they are faced with problems? Do people understand that there is life after this one we are living in and that Jesus died so that we can have eternal majesty? Moreover, Ortberg should have asked the old woman how she knew Jesus and how her life was in Jesus. He could also have asked her how she knew about Jesus Christ; was it because she was blind and old or did she know Him when she was still young. What steps can one take to make sure that he or she has transformed as many people as possible? Can Ortberg – the author of this book, be associated with any influence in transforming the faith of many pagan people and bring them to Christianity? At what age or state can one be transformed and accept Jesus as their personal savior? From Ortberg’ book, I have learnt that transforming people is a very important thing since one can change the life of a person completely from a bad one to a good one. I have also learnt that mankind’s wish is not the wish of God. I have also known that when one leads a spiritual life, they can always much happiness and be joyous. Another lesson I have learnt is that material things are not important for they are earthly things. Rather, what is important is God’s kingdom since in it, there is eternal splendor. I have also learnt that the life one wants to live is not always easy to live because God has plans for everyone and that we are not the determinants of our lives. Instead, God created humanity and has the plans for everybody. Another lesson I have learnt from this book is that God is the giver of life and can change one’s lifestyle at any stage or at any age. I have also learnt that God hears the prayers and cries of His children and answers them. Time is not significant in this case since God has explicit plans for everyone. References Ortberg, John. (2002). The life you’ve always wanted. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.

Human relations case study Essay

1. Chapter 7 distinguished between transformational, charismatic, and transactional leadership theories; which one of these best describes Kevin Plank? Explain and support your answer. Kevin Plank displays more of the transformational leadership theory. In each presentation that Plank presents he refers to passion, vision, and people. He had the passion to start up with a new product and to go up against a giant like Nike. He has the passion to build a great product and continue to make it better. The people, his team, are the backbone of his company. There is a trust between himself and his team members that carries over into the work that is expected to be performed. 2. What is the evidence in the case that job enrichment is a key part of the way work is done at Under Armour? At Under Armour, employees are known as teammates. They have a â€Å"get-it-done† attitude, no matter what obstacles stand in their way. Solutions to any problems are expected to be resolved with full support from the team. Under Armour has made the teammates have certain responsibilities and expectations of the work to be performed. They form natural working groups and they give the teammates more autonomy with the responsibilities that are set forth. 3. Go to the internet and look up â€Å"Good leadership traits†. In your opinion, what traits make a person a good leader? In my opinion, the traits I think of that make a person a good leader are honesty and integrity. No one can respect someone that lies and puts his or her needs first over others. It is important to have good morals and ethics. Another leadership trait that is important is communication. A leader has to know how to communicate with his or her employees. A good leader has good communication style and will recognize the need to be open to change with their style on an as need basis. It is also important to be able to listen  to others to get their insight. A positive attitude is also important. 4. Who is the best leader you know and why? The person that I consider the best leader that I personally know would be my mother. She started out at 16 with me. She has held two jobs in her lifetime and receives a great deal of respect from her supervisors, employees and peers. She worked her way up from dishwasher in the dietary department with no skills and only her GED. Now she is one of the main supervisors for Mercy Rehabilitation services. She has shown that with hard work and determination that someone can advance and move forward. She has always spoken to her employees with respect. She went to school through online courses to receive the necessary degrees to advance. She possess honest and integrity, she has her goals set and the drive and desire to attain those goals. She will work right alongside her employees scrubbing dirt off the ground if need be.

Why We Selfie -- the Sociological Perspective

In March  2014,  Pew Research Center  announced that  over a quarter of Americans have shared a selfie online. Unsurprisingly, the practice of photographing oneself and sharing that image via social media  is most common among Millennials, aged 18 to 33 at the time of the survey: more than one in two has shared  a selfie. So have nearly a quarter of those classified as Generation X (loosely defined as those born between 1960 and the early 1980s). The selfie has gone mainstream. Evidence of its mainstream nature is seen in other aspects of our culture too. In 2013 selfie was not only added to the Oxford English Dictionary  but  also  named Word of the Year. Since late January  2014, the music video for #Selfie by The Chainsmokers has been viewed on YouTube over 250 million times. Though recently canceled, a network television show focused on a fame-seeking and image conscious woman  titled Selfie debuted in the fall of 2014. And, the reigning queen of the selfie, Kim Kardashian West, debuted in 2015  a collection of selfies in book form,  Selfish. Yet, despite the ubiquity of the practice and how many of us are doing it (1 in 4 Americans!), a pretense of taboo and disdain surrounds it. An  assumption that sharing selfies is or should be embarrassing runs throughout  the  journalistic and scholarly coverage on the topic. Many  report on the practice  by noting the percentage of those who admit to sharing them. Descriptors like vain and narcissistic inevitably become a part of any conversation about selfies. Qualifiers like special occasion,  beautiful location, and ironic are used to justify them. But, over a quarter of all Americans are doing it, and more than half of those between the ages of 18 and 33 do it. Why? Commonly cited  reasons -- vanity, narcissism, fame-seeking -- are as shallow as those who critique the practice suggest it is. From  the sociological perspective,  there is always more to a mainstream cultural practice than meets the eye.  Lets use it  to dig deeper into the question of why we selfie. Technology Compels Us Simply put, physical and digital technology makes it possible, so we do it. The idea that technology structures the social world and our lives is a sociological argument as old as Marx, and one oft repeated by theorists and researchers who have tracked the evolution of communication technologies over time. The selfie is not a new form of expression. Artists have created self-portraits for millennia,  from cave to classical paintings, to early photography and modern art. Whats new about todays selfie  is its commonplace nature  and  its ubiquity. Technological advancement  liberated the self-portrait  from  the art world and gave  it to the masses. Some would say that those  physical and digital technologies  that allow  for the selfie act  upon us  as a form of technological rationality, a term coined by critical theorist Herbert Marcuse in his book  One-Dimensional Man. They exert a rationality of their own which shapes how we live our lives.  Digital photography, front-facing cameras, social media platforms, and wireless communications begat a host of expectations and norms which now infuse our culture. We can, and so we do. But also, we do because both the technology and our culture expect  us to. Identity Work Has Gone Digital We are not isolated beings living strictly individual lives.  We are social beings who  live in societies, and as such, our lives are fundamentally shaped by social relations with other people, institutions, and social structures. As photos meant to be shared, selfies are not individual acts; they are social acts. Selfies, and our presence on social media generally, is a part of what sociologists David Snow and Leon Anderson describe as identity work -- the work that we do on a daily basis to ensure that we are seen by others as we wish to be seen. Far from a strictly innate or internal process, the crafting and expressing of identity has long been understood by sociologists as a social process. The selfies we take and share are designed to present a particular image of us, and thus, to shape the impression of us held by others. Famed sociologist Erving Goffman  described the process of impression management in his book  The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This term refers to the idea that we have a notion of  what others expect of us, or what others would consider a good impression of us, and that this shapes how we present ourselves. Early American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley described the process of crafting a self based on what we imagine others will think of us as the looking-glass self, whereby society acts as a sort of mirror to which we hold ourselves up. In the  digital age, our lives are increasingly projected onto, framed by, and  filtered  and lived through social media. It makes sense, then, that identity work takes place in this sphere. We engage in identity work as we walk through our neighborhoods, schools, and places of employment. We do it in how we dress and style ourselves; in how we walk, talk, and carry our bodies.  We do it on the phone and  in written form. And now, we do it in email, via text message, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn. A self-portrait is the most obvious visual form of identity work, and its socially mediated form, the selfie, is now a common, perhaps even necessary form of that work. The Meme Compels Us In his book, The Selfish Gene,  evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins offered a definition of the meme that became deeply important to cultural studies, media studies, and sociology. Dawkins described the meme as a cultural object or entity that encourages its own replication. It can take musical form, be seen in styles of dance,  and manifest as fashion trends and art, among many other things. Memes abound on the internet today, often humorous in tone, but with increasing presence, and thus  importance, as a form of communication. In the pictorial forms that fill our Facebook and Twitter feeds, memes pack a powerful communicative punch with a combination of repetitious  imagery and phrases. They are densely laden with symbolic meaning. As such, they compel their replication;  for, if they were meaningless, if they had no cultural currency, they would never become a meme. In this sense, the selfie is very much a meme. It has become a normative thing that we do that results in a patterned and repetitious way  of representing ourselves. The exact style of representation may vary (sexy, sulky, serious, silly, ironic, drunk, epic,  etc.), but the form and general content -- an image of a person or group of people who fill the frame,  taken at arms length -- remain  the same. The cultural constructs that we have collectively created shape how we live our lives, how we express ourselves, and who we are to others. The selfie, as a meme, is a cultural construct and a form of communication now  deeply infused into our daily lives  and loaded with meaning and social significance.