William Shakespeare Essays (909 words) - Counties Of England

William Shakespeare The history of William Shakespeare, poet and playwright, is anything but one free of controversy. There are several arguments challenging his very existence. Over the years, every aspect of his life has been studied and researched comprehensively. One of the most intriguing aspects of his life undoubtedly is his relationship with his wife and his various love affairs. This essay aims to highlight and analyze the environment surrounding his marriage and attempt to compare it with information presented in the screenplay. The various scholars who have involved themselves in bringing to life his past have come up with stirring evidence about his marriage. What is for certain is the fact that Shakespeare did marry a certain Anne Hathaway. "On November 28, 1582 the Bishop of Worcester issued the marriage bond for 'William Shagspere' and 'Ann Hathwey of Stratford' This was almost beyond doubt, Anne Hathaway, daughter of Richard Hathaway of Shottery" (1582 Marriage). This quote not only confirms this fact, but also gives us the most accurate known date of Shakespeare's wedding. However, some records have changed the whole story surrounding Shakespeare's marriage. Ivor Brown, in his book Shakespeare, traces the circumstances that led up to the marriage. William Shakespeare may not have married Anne Hathaway out of choice. "On November 27, 1582, an entry was made in the Episcopal register at Worcester. This set down the issue of a marriage license to William Shakespeare and Anne Whatley of Temple Grafton. On the next day, two yeomen of Stratford, Fulk Sandells and John Richardson, agreed to pay forty pounds should any legal consideration arise to prevent the marriage of William Shagspere and Anne Hathway of Worcester." (Brown 45) The first theory that can be proposed after reading the excerpt is that an error occurred in the recording of the wedding and was promptly taken care of the next day. But, what if Anne Whatley really did exist? After all, the excerpt does claim that the two Annes were from different towns. It isn't hard to tribute an affair to Shakespeare at all. Shakespeare didn't need looks to captivate a lady's heart. Over the years, he has captured the hearts of millions worldwide with his penmanship. Arguably, such a man could, at that young an age, have easily seduced several women with the magic of his words. And, even though he is some ten years older in the screenplay, Norman and Stoppard have done a brilliant job of portraying Will as an individual brimming with passion and lust in the screenplay. Though a mix up in names was commonplace of that time, it is unlikely that it took place in this instance. Hathaway and Whatley are wholly different names and Temple Grafton could certainly not have been penned down as Stratford. "Now however sleepy a clerk may have become during the course of his day's penmanship and its refreshment intervals, it is extremely unlikely that he would transliterate Temple Grafton into Stratford" (Brown 48). This bit of evidence may be the clue that suggests the possibility of Anne Whatley's existence. Had there been an Anne Whatley from Temple Grafton and an Anne Hathaway, from Stratford, it would give a juicy twist to the story of William Shakespeare, the lover! But, we can only speculate as to what the truth actually was. Perhaps, Shakespeare had intended to marry Whatley all the way and an irresistible Hathaway had suddenly walked into his life. Another possibility could be that the playwright was having an affair with both women at the same time and had made false promises to both. And, the reason he ended up marrying Hathaway was that she was three months pregnant. " . . . because the bride was some three months pregnant and there was reason for haste in concluding the marriage" (1582 Marriage). This corresponds with what Will tells Dr. Moth in the screenplay. So, we arrive at the conclusion that Shakespeare did not marry Anne Hathaway by choice. This would obviously imply that the relationship would not be a happy one and would in fact be short-lived. Hence, we return to Will's statement in the screenplay about the detached relationship between him and his wife. "WILL: Four years and a hundred miles away in Stratford. A cold bed too, since the twins were born. Banishment was a blessing" (12). This statement not only describes the emptiness between the couple, but also runs parallel with the possibility that Will indeed never wanted Hathaway as his wife. Another strong pillar supporting this theory is a statement from Shakespeare's will.

Free Essays on Sex Pre-Selection

Danae Williams Sociology Mondays and Wednesdays Research Paper I approached this paper in a much different way then any other paper I have ever written. The topic that I have chosen is sex selection and since this topic is so new I felt that every resource was very unique and had a lot to offer. That is why I have chosen to write this paper in order of the resources I have found. I hope that you do not mind. Technology nowadays is phenomenal. There is so much that technology is now able to do, and there is also a lot of competition out there concerning technology. With the technology today there truly is no limit to what someone can do. Technology has become so advanced that couples can now even decide what sex they want their child to be. Sex selection is an unbelievably expensive and quite silly process. I would think that as long as a couple has a healthy baby that they would be happy, but not any more. Couples want it all and now they are capable of doing just that. Sex selection has always been around but not the way it is today. Accurately selecting the sex of ones child has been a goal of many cultures since man has been on earth. Some superstition has created many outrageous practices for the reproduction of a child of a desired sex at the time of conception. Recommendations for having males include, having sex in dry weather when the moon is full, the nut harvest is plentiful, and there is a north wind. Many parents throughout history have resorted to selective abortion and infanticide, to guarantee them the sex of their children. With more recent advances in technology couple have more assistance with an accurate method of selecting the sex of their child before conception. At this time there are two methods that provide the best results for sex selection, they are pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos and sperm-sorting through flow cytometry. The ethical ... Free Essays on Sex Pre-Selection Free Essays on Sex Pre-Selection Danae Williams Sociology Mondays and Wednesdays Research Paper I approached this paper in a much different way then any other paper I have ever written. The topic that I have chosen is sex selection and since this topic is so new I felt that every resource was very unique and had a lot to offer. That is why I have chosen to write this paper in order of the resources I have found. I hope that you do not mind. Technology nowadays is phenomenal. There is so much that technology is now able to do, and there is also a lot of competition out there concerning technology. With the technology today there truly is no limit to what someone can do. Technology has become so advanced that couples can now even decide what sex they want their child to be. Sex selection is an unbelievably expensive and quite silly process. I would think that as long as a couple has a healthy baby that they would be happy, but not any more. Couples want it all and now they are capable of doing just that. Sex selection has always been around but not the way it is today. Accurately selecting the sex of ones child has been a goal of many cultures since man has been on earth. Some superstition has created many outrageous practices for the reproduction of a child of a desired sex at the time of conception. Recommendations for having males include, having sex in dry weather when the moon is full, the nut harvest is plentiful, and there is a north wind. Many parents throughout history have resorted to selective abortion and infanticide, to guarantee them the sex of their children. With more recent advances in technology couple have more assistance with an accurate method of selecting the sex of their child before conception. At this time there are two methods that provide the best results for sex selection, they are pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos and sperm-sorting through flow cytometry. The ethical ...

Employee Privacy Rights at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employee Privacy Rights at Work - Essay Example 897). The rights of the company have been upheld time and again. However, the real issue the company must address is finding the proper balance between the two. As Bupp (2001) pointed out, although the company has a wide range of monitoring open to it, studies have found that too much monitoring can also cause undo stress and be demoralizing for employees. Finding the balance that protects the company's interests while ensuring employees are afforded an adequate measure of perceived respect and privacy becomes the aim of modern business in today's technologically advanced work environment. How that balance may be achieved is the focus of this research. As upheld in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USCA 2510 of 1986 (ECPA), employers, as owners of the premises and communications equipment, have many rights of which employees may be unaware. According to Volkert (2005) employers may "search company-owned computers, monitor Internet use, use video surveillance and listen to voice mail" (p. 1). As early as 2001 Bupp found when reviewing an American Management Association survey report that as of 2001 73.5% of all major companies in the U.S. "record and review employee communications and activities on the job, including their phone calls, e-mail, Internet connections, and computer files" (p. 74). An additional 5% monitor phone logs and/or use video surveillance cameras. In 88% of the cases where the company electronically monitors employees' working habits, the employee is informed of the methodology the company uses to monitor their behavior. The need for monitoring of employees has stemmed from documented cases of employee theft of proprietary information from their employer as well as theft of company time by employees who instead of working at the job for which they were hired to be perform, spend an inordinate amount of company time on personal business thereby reducing the productivity of the company. Lichtash (2004) points out that use or misuse of company time by employees in surfing the internet or sending and receiving inappropriate email can lead to serious consequences to the employer including lost productivity and in some instances may lead to a perceived hostile work environment or charges of sexual harassment when email is used to circulate offensive contents. For those reasons alone "employers have a clear interest in restricting the use of their e-mail and Internet systems" (p. 27). Lichtash (2004) has also noted that there are varying degrees of use or misuse of company email. Firstly, many employers recognize that time restraints sometimes require employees to occasionally use company time to conduct some degree of personal business which the company generally allows or overlooks. The second type of misuse is more serious abuse of company systems that would warrant disciplinary action was the company to detect it. The last type of abuse is flagrant misuse resulting in a direct or potential substantial loss to the company which would result in immediate termination if the company was aware of the

French laundry ( marketing analysis) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

French laundry ( marketing analysis) - Essay Example With the advent of the economic recession the sales of the restaurants have also been affected because of the reduced number of the customers. The owner and chief chef Thomas Keller has framed a unique identity for the restaurant in United States of America. To understand the present state of the restaurant certain management tools were used and the analysis has been provided below: The restaurant, French laundry has a strong market position. The name of the restaurant has become synonymous for rich and exotic food which provides a memorable experience for the gourmets. Many people are of the opinion that French laundry restaurant is not just an eatery; rather it’s the place where they create moments for the life time (Fish, 2009). However after the financial recession in US, the restaurant is losing its market position. The restaurant has achieved its present market position by the combined effort of all its members, starting from the head chef to the person who serves the food. Each and every aspect is so well managed that every moment spend in the restaurant becomes an experience to be cherished (The French Laundry, 2007). The French laundry is awarded three stars; the most coveted honour, in the restaurant industry. There are however, many more restaurants in US which share the three star rating with French laundry and are its strong competitors. The economical downturn has reduced the threat from new entrants in US market, but competition among the existing restaurants have increased a lot (The New York Times-a, n.d.). The restaurant is very much concerned regarding its raw materials and takes care to ensure a smooth and effective Supply Chain. French Laundry subsidised the farmers so that they can generate healthy off-season revenue. The restaurant prefers to use fresh fruits for the recipe and the left over fruits are used for making jams, cider vinegars, wine barrels etc. The

Influences Of Spice Trade In British-India

Influences Of Spice Trade In British-India Introduction Colonisation refers strictly to migration, for example, to settler colonies, trading posts, and plantations, while colonialism deals with this as well as the ruling of new territories existing peoples. Spice Colonisation There are many reasons to start a colonisation and spice trade is one of the most influential key reason since ancient times. Spice Colonisation occurs with the value of spices, spice route, timeline of spice trade, spice influences and impacts in pre-colonisation, during colonisation and post colonisation both the coloniser and colonised. Spice colonisation happened mostly in South East Asia areas and India during the Classical period to Middle Age and until the modern colonialism, by Greece, Roman Empire and the Vikings to Western European countries. The history of spice is almost as old as human civilisation. It is a history of lands discovered, empires built and brought down, wars won and lost, treaties signed and flouted, flavours sought and offered, and the rise and fall of different religious practices and beliefs. Spices were among the most valuable items of trade in ancient and medieval times. Many of these spices (think of pepper and cinnamon) have become so ubiquitous that it is difficult to reconcile the fact that until very recently they were rare and expensive commodities. Indeed, the history of commerce and trade is the history of spices and it is no exaggeration to say that America would not have been discovered were it not for the European desire to break the Arab traders monopoly on spices.    The search for a cheaper way to obtain spices from the East led to the great Age of Exploration and the discovery of the New World. European explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama, and Bartholomeu Dias began their long sea voyages to discover a sea route to the sources of spices. Christopher Columbus went westwards from Europe in 1492 to find a sea route to the lands of spices but found the Americas. In 1497 the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route around the southern tip of Africa, eventually reaching Kozhikode on the southwest coast of India in 1498. British in India Spice Colonisation India is once the most influential country in spice trade and route. Before British colonised India in spice trade, the Arabians, Roman Empire, Portuguese and Dutch had been taking control of India for the same reason. The British Empire has formed a company called the British East India Company. The British East India Company was a joint-stock company that was originally formed to do business with the East Indies. But eventually, the company ended up doing business primarily with the Indian subcontinent and China. It is commonly said that in the history of the world there is no more wonderful story than that of the advent of the British Empire in India. East India Company was unique as it started its humble beginning as the mere trading company and later took over political interest and changed to the ruler of the entire country. In 1799, British Empire had gained its full vigor and was named the most powerful political and military force in India, after Tipu Sultan of Mysore was de feated. Architectural Influences of British in India The British Empire has brought many influences into India including cultural exchange, cuisine, technologies and most of all, architecture. Roughly from 1799, the British Empire had commenced the prolonged history of British architecture that was rule in India for the next 200 years. With this elevated status the Britons also gauged the need and responsibility to govern territories under their control and to be viewed as a powerful, civilized force by the Indians. During the colonisation, the British brought with them their architecture style and symbolism as well as  more technologically advanced building methods and materials that the Indians adapted to their own directly or modified to fit their own social and  cultural constructs. While the British held deep admiration for the ancient Indian culture and its relics, including architecture, even to the point of maintaining much of its unique traditions and aesthetics, they both introduced new philosophies, symbolisms, technologies, materials, and building methods to the Indians. These new ideas and elements that the British brought to Indian architecture fundamentally changed not only the general appearance, but also the meaning, function, and  how architecture was viewed by the Indians and British alike. Before 1947, the understanding of Indians art and architecture was still linked to how they perceived their role within British imperialism. However, after India independent they wanted to illustrate that India had a living artistic tradition, although the natives were unaware of it, and they considered it to rescue it from oblivion. In their determined effort to rescue Indias artistic past, people started to develop their own standards for judging and categorizing Indian arts and crafts. Collecting art specimens and organizing them according to scientific principles was driven by the 19th century British pre-occupation with division and classification, exaggerated in the colonial context by the desire to fathom the diversity of Indian culture. More importantly the classification of arts and architectures were tied directly to economy. However, the British intervention was necessary to set India on a better future. Language First was the language, many Indians were conversant with the English language, because the British colonialists intended to export their values and culture by teaching the Indian population their language. This has brought huge benefits for future development in India after its independence. For the economy, most of companies during post-colonization era still engaged in outsourcing business which trading with European and America. Good English skill bring them better quality work and more work opportunities. Meanwhile, more businessmen and traders were attracted to India for investment because of the economical labour, good services and communication. Lot of benefits for native people who could speak better English in trading with each and other. Law Secondly, the British annexed many princely states and formed laws and policies of their own. Slowly but rapidly the entire Indian subcontinent came under the British rule. Although this had met with dissatisfaction and resentment by most of Indians, it still made contribute to Indias future development. Law in modern India largely based on English common law because of the long period of British colonial influence, and various legislations first introduced by the British are still in effect in modified forms today especially on improving womens rights in India. Urban Development British ruled in India for almost 300 years, and in the year 1600 British came in India. Then they start to settle in India. Because of global spice trading, most of them firstly settled in the coastal city. During the settlement, British brought lots of their technologies and rules onto this land. Most of them are appeared in the port cities. One of most famous port city in India during post-colonial era was Bombay. By middle 19th century, the British introduced the railways, telegraph and postal service in Bombay. This great instruments, the railways, postal services significantly affected the developmental course of modern India. These technologies increased quality of peoples community and social life. One of great railway station building in India that still can be found nowadays is called Victoria Terminus in Bombay. Prior to the railway age, Bombay had become an important port-city and administrative centre. With additional economic and population growth happen in Bombay after Indias independent, the demand of residential and industrial lands start to increase. This made Bombays site start to extend from the coast into centre India. The footprint of the city development is followed by the railways route. Ending Trade in India in the present day involves less nationalistic qualities than it did in the past. Spice growers now export their products through their own organizations or through exporting houses. Spices are now distributed by food manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. With the advances in technology and science, too, the spices are now able to flourish in other parts of the world with similar climates as India. There is no longer the problem of having to travel halfway across the world to obtain spices. The abundance of sources and the absence of influences from profit-hungry nations make for the affordable prices we see every day in grocery stores. However, the spice route played a significant role for Indias development. Quite extraordinary in its incomparable neo-classical lordliness stood the Bombay Town Hall. The Greek Doric Order of its commanding temple-fronts undoubtedly turned eyes for its international outlook.

Organizational Behavior and Design Essay

Leadership exists in both formal and informal fashion. Formal leadership is defined by Byrnes (2003, p. 160) as ‘leadership by a manager who has been granted the formal authority or right to command’. Formal authority in this sense means those elements that automatically come with leadership – perhaps a title, an office, a budget, the right to make decisions, a set of subordinates, a reporting relationship, and so on. Formal leaders are appointed or elected to lead the group by virtue of such characteristics as their position in the organization and their interest or expertise in relation to the group’s focus. A formal leader is one who possesses organizational authority to direct and control the activities of subordinates. The individual issues orders and instructions to his subordinates by virtue of his formal authority within the organization. The formal leader is responsible and accountable to those who have elected him in a formal way. At the managerial or executive level, this paper asserts that formal leadership is not always necessary; at least, the execution of formal authority by the leader must constantly depend on the situation. The main reason behind this assertion is that formal leadership strategies that carry out perceived improvements do not always generate a common vision among leadership groups. Nor does formal leadership always establish or follow guidelines for carrying out improvements. For instance, Durk Jager, former Procter & Gamble (P&G) CEO, has many traits of a good manager and may have managed P&G well during his time but he was not seen by those whom he managed as being the leader. This example just implies that formal authority is not the sole basis of leadership in part because leadership relationships are based on additional resources other than authority, like expertise and interpersonal skills. The formal leader cannot depend solely on the use of formal authority because subordinates seldom put maximum effort under the pressure of authority. Being a successful businessperson or manager does not make a person a good leader. Just because someone is assigned a formal leadership role does not guarantee that the person will be the only leader of the group, or will become effective in the said role, as evidenced in the aforementioned example. A top level manager like Jager that has considerable authority but lacked leadership qualities is likely to be less effective than a supervisor with little authority but a high degree of qualities. People in formal leadership positions may wield force or authority using only their position and the resources and power that come with it, but never get the cooperation that people who exercise both formal and informal leadership at the same time. Informal leadership can be valuable assets to an organization’s formal leadership, and they can use their influence to work with the goals of the organization. In this light, giving managers formal authority is less important than ensuring that their expertise, creativity, initiative and interpersonal skills infuse organizational improvement efforts. Further, while most open-minded formal leaders believe in their own importance, seeing themselves as central to the health of the organization, they do not always regard it as essential that they review either their role or organizational convictions. Furthermore, strictly formal organizations can seldom define all the possible variations of responsibility and personal interaction to be expected of all members in all situations. Nevertheless, organizations appear to be founded upon a basic system of stable expectations regarding differential responsibilities and relationships among the members. This is not a one-way process. That is, it is not the organization alone which sets up role expectations for its members. The members set up expectations for each other and for the organization as a whole. Moreover, while group members can agree upon which members hold the position of leader, the inconsistencies between such agreement and the attempts to evaluate leadership in terms of group productivity is evidently due to a low correlation between actually influential behavior and formal leadership status. In conclusion, it would be highly beneficial for an organization if members think of leadership as a behavior, not a formal role, as it will extend the capability for leadership behaviors to all organizational members and call for a change in how the organization approaches leadership development, which then should focus beyond managers or future managers to include all organizational members. Such a conception of leadership does not require that the functions of leadership be vested in one person. Any person who influences the group is playing a leader’s role and in this sense several individuals may be viewed as leaders at different times. In this paper, it is accepted that leadership may shift among group members depending upon the situations confronted by the group. Formal leaders, then, are office holders elected to play the most influential roles most of the time. The informal or effective leaders are the individuals who in fact do play the most influential roles most of the time. Those in formal leadership positions may have final authority, but others, within their own more constrained domains, will still need to draw on virtually the same set of leader attributes. These other’ leaders support the organizational leadership and extend the reach of those in formal leadership positions. Their leadership is manifest through their ability to work effectively with others, derive consensus, take initiative, question, and propose. These forms of participation in leadership are rarely considered as leadership per se, especially from traditional (i. . , narrow) perspectives. Rather than viewing leadership as the province of a few elites that have formal leadership role designations, an alternative perspective of this paper views leadership as an outcome of effective social structures and processes. It is the aggregate ability to create shared work that is meaningful to people and to add value to an organization. From this latter perspective, everyone can and should participate in both formal and informal leadership.

Business Partner Model Essay

The business partnering model and its impact on both the HR function and HR practice Since the concept of the business partnering model was introduced by Ulrich in 1997, the composition of the HR function has dramatically changed. As Goodge (2005) identified, â€Å"partnering is fundamentally changing almost every HR function, every HR job, and every HR career† (Pg. 32). Ulrich argued that HR needed to deliver on both a strategic and administrative level and identified four key roles through which organisations could achieve this (Torrington et al. 2007). The model has become a fixation for much of the HR community and its introduction has initiated a fundamental change to the HR function’s anatomy over the last decade (Francis & Keegan, 2008). The key themes which will be discussed within this literature review are the impact of the model on the competencies required of successful business partners, the debate of HR’s strategic focus as a result of the model and the loss of the employee champion role. However, attention must first be brought to the partnering model itself. The Model Ulrich’s business partnering model focuses on four key roles that HR need to address in order to deliver organisational excellence (Ulrich 1998). Becoming a ‘strategic partner’ in the execution of organisational strategy, increasing functional efficiency by being an ‘administrative expert’, fully engaging employees by becoming an ‘employee champion’ and finally, through facilitating and encouraging a culture of flexibility and acceptance to the evolving business environment as a ‘change agent’ (Ulrich 1998). Precursors to Ulrich’s partnering model are Tyson and Fell’s 1985 model, based upon three fundamental positions using a construction site metaphor (architect, clerk of works and contract negotiator) and Storey’s 1992 model based on the four roles required in the shift from personnel management to Human Resource Management (regulator, handmaiden, adviser and changemaker) (Torrington et al. , 2007). In 2005, Ulrich and Brockbank mused over the partnering model once more and proposed a refreshed framework. This was not a revolutionary diversion from the original model, however a reflection of the changing roles that they had been observing in organisations since the introduction of the original model (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005a). The model was upgraded with the omission of the roles ‘employee champion’, ‘change agent’ and ‘administrative expert’, with these being replaced by ‘employee advocate’ (focusing on current employee needs), ‘human capital developer’ (preparing employees to be successful for the future) and ‘functional expert’ (administrative efficiency and the development of policies) (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005a). The ‘strategic partner’ role remained within the refreshed model and they also added a fifth dimension which was that of the ‘HR Leader’, the genuine leadership role which ties all four key roles together (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005a). What is interesting from the literature, is that although this more modern model has been considered, it is the original model to which most commentators refer. Before considering the impact of this model on HR functions and practice, it is important to first consider why such a large number of organisations have found it appropriate to restructure their HR departments in this way. In 1998, Ulrich himself questioned the effectiveness of the role that HR played in organisations and recognised that his model needed to move away from HR’s traditional activities, which focused on processes, to a focus on deliverables (Ulrich, 1998). The new model was a way of ensuring that HR as a function was adding value and increasing organisational competitiveness (Ulrich, 1997) and his approach of using HR professionals as strategic business partners was being seen as a mechanism for allowing changes to be made in order for HR to make these significant competitive and strategic contributions (Goodge, 2005). Lawler & Mohrman (2003) argued that in organisations where competitive advantage was created through human and intellectual capital, the demand for HR to be a strategic partner was greater. What makes a competent business partner? Defining what the single role of a business partner involves is rather ambiguous and much of the recent literature identifies that there is no single model for HR business partnering, therefore leaving each organisation to have their own interpretation of what a business partner is (Caldwell, 2008 & 2010; Torrington et al. , 2007; Beckett, 2005). In some organisations the impact of the model has only gone as far as an upgraded ob title (Beckett, 2005; Pitcher, 2008) and it is this weak implementation in some companies that has led to various criticisms of the model (Peacock, 2008; Pitcher, 2008). This leads to the first key discussion identified within the literature, which questions the use of competency models in the selection, development and success of business partners in achieving the outcome of ‘organisational excellence’. With the business partner role seeking a more strategic mind-set, it has been seen as increasingly more difficult to find people who fit the role (Beckett, 2005). Caldwell (2010) has most recently discussed the use of competency models for the better selection and development of HR business partners, as a new way of aligning HR strategy with organisational performance. The competencies that have been argued as most essential for a successful business partner are being a strong operational executor, a cultural steward, a strategic architect, a business ally and credible activist, an experienced talent manager and organisational designer (Ulrich, 2008 cited in Caldwell, 2010). The competencies, in theory, would lead the business partner to performing a balance of the four key roles originally proposed by Ulrich, however what is clearly apparent from the literature, is that the business partner role is wide open for interpretation (Torrington et al. , 2007; Beckett, 2005). Therefore what can be argued as a benefit of using a competency framework, is that it can potentially offer a more consistent approach to selection, development and success of partnering (Caldwell, 2010). Caldwell’s (2010) study considered the HR and business strategy linkage, with selection and development of business partners through the use of competency models as antecedents to this link. What was indicated in his study was that using these competency frameworks was largely effective in the selection of HR business partners, however much less effective in the development and linking between HR strategy and organisational performance (Caldwell, 2010). The relationship between HR roles and competency models is an area of significant controversy and it was not long before questions were raised as to how each key role played out within the business partner position; whether there were a holistic set of competencies for the business partner role or separate competencies for the four key roles (Caldwell, 2010). Other queries were raised in the literature regarding the weighting of importance of each of the competencies and also whether or not these competencies were generally applicable to all HR practitioners or just to those playing a business partner role (Caldwell, 2010). Ulrich and Brockbank (2005a) appreciated that not all of the key roles could be played to the same degree and depending on which HR category you specialised in, different roles may take a priority. This therefore brings the reader back to Torrington et al. (2007) and Becketts’ (2005) notion that there is no single model and that although the discussions are advancing within the literature about the role of business partners, it appears there has been no agreement of the best method of implementation. This was reflected in Caldwell’s study, where he appreciated that the creation of the competency models was beneficial, but that the problem highlighted in HR practice was the difficulty of managing the transition from possessing the competencies, to delivering the capability (Caldwell, 2010). One of the most talked about competencies within the literature is that of possessing business understanding. Lawler and Mohrman (2003) discussed in their research that for someone fulfilling the role of business partner, strong understanding of the business was essential. Beckett (2005) also advocates the need for a commercially aware candidate, however in practice, this is very difficult to recruit for within the pool of HR professionals. As a result of this limited pool of resources, there has been a rise in members within the HR function who have been parachuted in from other areas of the business, such as marketing or sales (Francis & Keegan, 2006). Lawler and Mohrman’s (2003) study noted that one quarter or senior HR professionals had side stepped into the HR function from these other business areas, with the objective of greater strategic alignment with the business. Therefore potentially increasing the impact the HR function has on organisational performance (Francis & Keegan, 2006). There are, however, various implications to HR practice by focusing business partner competencies in such a way. Although HR professionals may see this odern commercial and strategic focus as enhancing the value of their role, it is being observed that line managers and employees can often become sceptical and mistrustful that HR are focused too much on business objectives rather than on those of the people (Caldwell, 2010). Beckett (2005) also outlines concerns of appointing a HR business partner who only has commercial experience by arguing that you are open to the risk of unsafe management of the business, however on the flipside, by getting the balance wrong and isolating your business partners from the rest of the HR function, it can result in losing the HR focus. Therefore a ‘perfect’ business partner would have a balanced background of commercial and business acumen, coupled with the experience of the multiple facets of HR in order to really add strategic value and deliver ‘organisational excellence’ (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003). The shift towards a strategic focus One of the fundamental factors of the business partnering model is ensuring that the HR and business strategies are aligned, therefore enabling the HR function to deliver organisational excellence. This leads to the next key theme identified within the literature regarding the shift to a strategic HR focus which has resulted in a repositioning of the identity of the HR profession (Wright, 2008). Wright (2008) observes that moving towards strategic HRM has contributed to the occupation losing its wider social objectives and transforming into a simple agent of capital (p. 1068). These discussions are contradictory to the balanced purpose of Ulrich’s four key roles, however the literature has suggested that out of the four roles, the strategic partner has been represented with unbalanced proportion. Lawler and Mohrman (2003) argue that if HR does not play a strategic partnering role, how can the function be fully aligned with what the business needs are and then deliver the most effective activities? It is clear from the discussions within the literature that as organisations become more cost effective and streamlined, they will increasingly require fewer HR practitioners to undertake the transactional workloads as this will be transferred to shared service models or outsourcing. Therefore the argument for a partnership to be truly effective, requires the HR function to put more emphasis on the strategic activities such as organisational design and planning (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003). In practice this seems to have been the case and the impact on organisations who have adopted the partnering model have witnessed a transformation in their HR activities, shifting away from the traditional administrative functions to devoting more attention to organisational level activities such as those strategic activities discussed above (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003). Focusing competencies on this link between HR and business strategy however, could lead to the business partner role becoming unsustainable (Caldwell, 2010) and Hope Hailey et al. (2005) question the strategic-heavy focus. Their study demonstrated that while the HR function is becoming more notable strategically, the human side of the functionality is deteriorating (Hope Hailey et al. 2005), thus suggesting that the strategic role on its own does not necessarily enhance the organisational performance of the human capital. Ulrich’s (1997) proposal required HR professionals to be both operational and strategic in their focus through all of the four key roles, however Caldwell (2003) noted the inherent ‘role conflict’ which would naturally emerge from this performance of more than one role, due to the competing demands made upon them by employees and senior management (Hope Hailey et al. 2005). As discussed earlier, the partnering model is most effective and successful in organisations which rely on human and intellectual capital as a source of competitive advantage (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003), therefore if business partners don’t balance the needs of the people focusing roles, they will not achieve the organisational excellence Ulrich’s (1997) model was designed for. Hope Hailey et al. 2005) agree with Caldwell (2003) that ‘role conflict’ is inevitable with the performance of multiple roles and therefore question whether it will ever be possible in practice for the HR function to balance both employee and management needs through fulfilling Ulrich’s four key roles. The ‘perfect’ partner can balance these conflicting roles by having a strategic influence at a corporate level and strong expertise in operational delivery, however as noted in the literature around competencies, these qualities are not easy to find, nor to develop. What has happened to the role of ‘employee champion’? The final key discussion which has been noted from the recent literature, progresses from the fixation of the strategic focus of the partnering model and questions the shift of attention away from the employee. Wright (2008) observed that for nearly all respondents of his study, the strategic adviser role was seen as a much more attractive identity than that of the traditional image of the bureaucratic HR manager. Therefore, one can see how the profession is seen to be losing its focus on the people facing ‘employee champion’ role. Lawler and Mohrman (2003) argue that for partnership to work HR must increase their faith in line managers and transfer various transactional HR responsibilities to them (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003), therefore the answer to this lost role therefore seems to be addressed by this devolvement. The benefits which have been argued for doing this are that it creates more time for HR to become more strategically proactive (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003) and line managers can become responsible and answerable to their employees which strengthens their relationships by almost becoming an HR champion (Ulrich, 1998). In practice however, Hope Hailey et al. (2005) believe that the failure to recognise the importance of the employee champion role is a big mistake and that the devolvement of such a responsibility to line management may be flawed. They noted that empirical research had suggested that devolving various HR responsibilities to the line was being met with certain inefficiencies to deliver such responsibilities, such as lack of training and lack of time, few incentives to fulfil the additional work and the need to focus on delivering their own short term business results (McGovern, 1999 cited in Hope Hailey et al. , 2005). The devolvement is also problematic in the sense that line managers are not always capable or motivated to take on the role of employee champion (Hope Hailey et al. , 2005). Francis and Keegan (2005) were also sceptical over the benefits of devolving HR responsibilities to line management and identified three major problems associated with the delegation of such duties. Firstly, they observed a loss of employee confidence as HR focus shifted to strategic business issues; a cost to employee well-being as a result of potential inconsistent application of policies and processes; and finally a disenchantment amongst HR practitioners who were unable to perform the role that was at the fundamental heart of HR – the employee champion, advocate and counsellor. Francis and Keegan (2005) concluded that not only did this affect the relationship between HR and the workforce, but between the HR professionals themselves. They also noted the strangeness of this shift away from the employee champion role amid the HR community’s grand plans to increase employee engagement (Francis & Keegan, 2005). In essence, it therefore appears that considerable caution must be used in initiating such transfers of accountability. Conclusion It can plainly be observed that over a decade after the introduction of Ulrich’s business partnering model, the HR community are still avidly debating its practical usefulness. What can be gathered from the key discussions is that the theoretical model makes a stellar case for increasing organisational performance and raising the profile of the HR function, however it seems that the impact of the model in practice is that it is the implementation of the model that is failing its success in most organisations. The academic writers are keen to dissect the benefits and limitations of the model, however what really needs to be reported is exactly how to implement the model in practice and to identify this across a range of different organisations. Further research also needs to be undertaken in the area of business partner development, as it appears the essential competencies have been numerously defined, but the focus on training HR practitioners to think and behave in Ulrich’s business partner mind-set requires further investigation. As businesses change, HR functions are being increasingly required to demonstrate their strategic value and this model seems to have provided a platform for really adding value, however as discussed in the final section, it is imperative that the HR function retain a balanced approach to their roles and not to lose sight of the fundamental people side of the people versus processes equation.