Relationship between commedia Dell'Arte and business Essay

Relationship between commedia Dell'Arte and business - Essay Example Italian terminology movies scientists, such as Ferdinando Taviani, Luciano Pinto and Roberto Tessari, believe commedia was a reaction to the government and cost-effective issues of the 16th millennium and, as an effect, made them the first entirely professional way of movies. The performers performed on outside, short-term stages, and reliable various products (robbe) in place of extensive scenery. Some of the organizations conducted in the excellent homes of the time, but for the most aspect, the itinerant gamers came from city to city, establishing up their trestle levels in the marketplace rectangle, where they would execute in competitors with all the providers screaming their products. This obviously provided increase to a very wide, over-the-top design of performing, but it is obvious that the commedia become a huge hit to the whole population, from the biggest to the smallest, with something for everyone in its wit, and actual expertise - the inventory figures becoming engaged in justifications, confusions, uncertainty and loving interests. When they arrive at a new website, the level administrator would pin up the situation, and the stars would improvise the performance in a mixture of terminology and activity, (often including satirical opinion on regional events) and whenever they sensed the activity was dropping a bit, they would sketch on their collection of set presentations and set business (lazzi) to raise it and get it going again. The better troupes were preferred by upper class, and during festival period and were funded by the various places or locations, in which they performed. Extra sources were acquired by efforts (essentially going the hat) so anyone could viewpoint the performance definitely no price. Performers ability to trip to achieve reputation and cost-effective success was the key to achievement of the commedia. The most beneficial troupes performed before management and upper class allowing individual celebrities, such as Accogl iente swan Andreini with his colleague, Dionisio Martinelli, were well known. The numbers of the commedia usually represent set community kinds, stock numbers, such as absurd devious servants, old men, or military government bodies finish of wrong bravado. Figures such as Pantalone, the tightfisted merchant from Venice; Dottore Gratiano, the Bologna pedant; or Arlecchino, the sexy Bergamo servant, began as satires on France terminology "types" and grew to archetypes of many of the super heroes of 17th- 18th century European movies. The commedia's start may be appropriate to festival in Venice, where by 1570 Andrea Calmo had developed the character Il Magnifico. In the Flaminio Scala scenari Il Magnifico carries on and is changeable with Pantalone, into the 17th millennium. While Calmo's numbers (which also engaged the Language Capitano and an example of dottore type) were not invisible, it is not known at what aspect the numbers wearing the protect up. However, the connection to fes tival (the period found between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday) would be suggesting addressing as a conference of festival and was used at some aspect. The customization in Northern Tuscany is centred in Mantua, Florencia, and Venice, where the

This paper will be both an analysis of Freires educational theory as Essay - 1

This paper will be both an analysis of Freires educational theory as well as a critical - Essay Example A dialogue was a concept that remained alien to me throughout. What kept me the sane throughout that I was a part of the football team, as a left defender, I found myself becoming one with the green turf. (Freire 20) Every time I returned home, I would watch my brothers having a completely different perspective about their school. Deep inside I hated mine, I felt like a caged bird who is considered lucky because it gets fed there, the same was the case with me, I was told that I go to one of the best schools in town with the best teachers. I always wondered how they were good, when I hardly knew a thing about them except their names. Freire, in his theory involves the same idea with an example of the banking system, where the entire operating system is pre-defined, and you need to follow the sequence to get your things done or fill up your account. Alexander Cameron, My schooling was no different, a defined syllabus and handing over good notes followed by above average scores in examinations meant that you’re a good student with good personality. I missed the times of my early schooling that was just a next door daycare center in town, and I must admit that more than an apple’s spelling; I remember it by its shape. The connection between the two was made when my teacher handed over an apple to me and asked me to spell its name, I am quite sure that if she had just asked me to memorize the spellings at that time, I would not remember it so well. (Freire & Matthew 30) My brothers always had different activities on campus, like when they were taught about vegetables and plants, their teachers actually took them out for gardening. And they remembered every single name with the entire procedure in a far better way than I did. One of them would just not study harder during the exams because he remembered the day to day things so well already. I personally think that learning is a two-way process and defining one

What Causes Wars?

What Causes Wars? When one looks back in history war seems to have always been there as a means of conquering territory, desired resources or simply of demonstrating dominance over another nation. Most people would answer the question â€Å"what causes wars?† the same way. Greed, hate, religion. However, in order to understand the causes of wars one has to observe many other factors that play into the development of international conflict. Nations may regard each other with dislike over religious conflict or different values but this is hardly going to cause them to go to war. In International Relations, a disturbance in the balance of power (Brown, 2005: 99) is often named as the main cause of war. This disruption could be seen as the trigger of international conflict. For the cause of this paper, war shall stand for international war rather than civil war or inner state conflict. In this essay, the causes of wars shall be discussed on different levels. On an individual level, on the level of society but most importantly on an international level. For this purpose, it shall be elaborated on the importance of the balance of power in this context as well as on other theories that seem to be relevant. To observe the causes of war at an individual level requires observing human nature. According to Brown (2005: 104), â€Å"wars occur because of some aspect of human nature†. Man in his nature seems to be violent and bound to inflict harm on his own race. Greed appears to be an essential characteristic of human nature and therefore seems to determine the actions that are taken in order to gain more power than the rival. This all seems to be rather primitive and may sound like caveman behavior. However, in its essential form this behavior is still and will always be part of human nature. The critique that arises when discussing the nature of human beings as a cause of war is the following: can the nature of the individual really reflect accurately on the nature of the group, in this case society? Waltz (as cited in Brown, 2005: 104) called this way of thinking â€Å"reductionist†. One cannot explain â€Å"social phenomena by reference to the nature of individuals† (Brown, 2005: 104). Another aspect to be looked at in this context is that of determ inism. The concept of determinism is The theory that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes that prelude free will and the possibility that humans could have acted otherwise This theory implies that war is out of man’s control and therefore he cannot be held responsible for it. Determinism implies that every action is predetermined by the causes of nature. Man is simply a play ball controlled by the forces of nature. However, who if not humankind can be held responsible for the occurrence of war? It appears that determinism in connection with war does not seem to be a very appropriate theory. Another aspect that should be looked when considering the causes of wars is that of the nature of societies, economies, and governments. According to Cashman (1993: 124), certain states possess characteristics that make them more likely to go to war than others. Naturally, here too we can find several theories. From a liberal point of view, war is caused by autocratic states, where â€Å"one person possesses unlimited power†( Merriam- Webster’s Online Dictionary). According to autocratic views, wars are caused by democracies. Leninists blame capitalist societies while capitalists see communist societies as the root cause of war. It is a popular belief that democracies do not tend to go to war with other democracies but regularly fight other non-democratic societies (Brown 2003: 104). Liberal theory states that humankind as such is a peace-loving race. Therefore, the behavior of states should follow this characteristic. Democracies, being elected by the citizens of the s tate, act for their nonviolent civilians and for that reason are likely to prevent violent conflicts with other states. This however, does not protect them from being attacked by other non-democratic states. According to this theory, all democratic states are good while all autocratic states are evil and therefore jeopardize world peace. The logical conclusion to this dilemma would be that in order for world peace to prevail, all nations have to be democratic. The solution is provided by isolationists and interventionists in two different ways. While isolationists believe that a reformation of autocratic states into democratic states should be achieved by being a good example to follow, interventionists feel that democratic states have to be actively involved in the process by attacking them if necessary instead of standing by and waiting for the other force to strike. The underlying idea for interventionists would therefore be that war is necessary to create peace (Cashman 1993: 12 6). From an outsiders point of view this theory may seem rather hypocritical. It will however become clearer when one considers the theory of the balance of power, which shall be taken up later on in this essay. So why is it that democracies should be less prone to go to war? Their governments need to â€Å"maintain public support† (Cashman 1993:127). They depend on the voting choices of their citizens and out of fear not to be re-elected, will try to pursue policies, which will satisfy the public. Still, if one actively engages in the study of history and world politics one might find that many democracies actively participate in wars and for this reason, the state system seems to have little effect on the likeliness of the war involvement of a state. Russet and Monsen (as cited in Cashman 1993: 127) claim that size matters. The bigger a state is the more likely it is for this state to conduct war. In R. J. Rummel’s opinion, war involvement depends on the degree of freedom of a state. This is to say that the freer a state is the less likely it is for this state to engage in war, while less libertarian states tend to be more violent (Rummel as quoted in Cashman 1993: 128). However, if one considers the example of the United States, â€Å"The Land of the Free†, Rummel’s theory proofs to be inconsistent. The USA have actively engaged in several wars over the past decades, be it the most recent Iraq war or the war in Vietnam. It remains uncertain whether the amount of freedom a state possesses is correlated to its violent actions or whether it creates more pressure to preserve said liberty. It seems relatively certain that states that have little or nothing in common in their political and cultural attitude are very likely to face each other with aggression. It seems to be, as Cashman (1993: 129) states, â€Å"political distance† that plays an important role. John Hobson, a British economist, held the opinion that it is the economic system of a state that causes wars. The most war prone states seem to be the ones with a capitalist economic system. This is explained by the fact that due to â€Å"overproduction, unequal distribution of economic wealth and under consumption† (Cashman 1993: 130) on the side of the public, the economy is forced to expand to other countries, to invest in foreign markets. However, in a predominantly capitalist world where all foreign markets are already taken, the only way to expand one’s economy beyond one’s own borders is at the cost of other states. In order to expand, a state, democratic or not, would have to go to war. It seems also logical that war is most likely to occur at times of financial distress. Although economic crises did not immediately lead to World War II, unemployment and poverty were certainly a reason for German citizens to feel more inclined towards the notion of trust ing in an ideology that promised to improve their living standard. It is a common belief that war creates jobs, be it due to arms races and the production of other products or the improvement of infrastructure. According to Cashman (1993: 134), war may also be seen as a means of distracting the citizens of a state from internal problems. Whatever causes governments to make this fateful decision, we can be assured that it involves a careful decision-making process at all times and only if the chances of success are high will there be war. As Howard states, wars are never accidental. They always have a political purpose (Howard 1983: 12). War used to be universally accepted as a means to protect or assist allies under attack. In earlier years, it was also used to invade territory when a nation was in need for more space due to overpopulation. This concept played an important role for Germany in World War II. Hitler argued that the German people were in need of more space in order to spread the Arian race. One could argue that Darwin’s survival the fittest theory could be applied here. In order to spread out, one nation, in the case of World War II Germany, has to attack another. The strongest state will survive and impose its power upon others. Another level to be examined is that of the international sphere. Here it shall be observed in which way states as international actors interrelate. The international system is composed of â€Å"sovereign states, organizations of states, international cooperations, and even individuals† (Cashman 1993: 224). It is in a state of anarchy in the sense that an international government does not exist. This and the lack of an authoritarian force that could keep order in the international system are addressed as a problem in International Relations. Certain actions on the side of states will disrupt the equilibrium of the so-called balance of power. According to Brown, such a disruption could occur in the form of one state becoming more powerful than it used to be (Brown 2005: 99) for instance through the increase of its military power. Other states will feel threatened by this and take action to restore the balance. Due to the relative instability of the balance and international ana rchy, states are in constant fear of being attacked and are therefore prepared to defend themselves at all times. This paranoia causes constant suspicion towards every member in the international system. To reduce this fear, they are constantly looking for a possibility to gain power while reducing that of their opponents. As Brown implies, a state’s own security is of the utmost importance. Realist theory in International Relations states that the order of the international system is kept by two institutions: the balance of power and war. War is here seen as a â€Å"conflict resolving mechanism† that is an essential part of the balance of power (Brown 2005: 10). The balance of power can be seen as a system of states as a whole, which is based on sovereignty. Stability can only exist if the opposing forces are in equilibrium. The balance of power can be disturbed if one Power becomes stronger through economic or demographic growth, the increase in military power or through alliance with another state (Brown 2005: 99). If this happens, other states may feel threatened and may feel compelled to defend themselves. In order to keep one nation from gaining more and more power, action has to be taken. States also have the military power at their disposal, which might make them more inclined towards using force against an opposing power. In the international system, war is seen as a means of evening out disruptions in the balance of power. In general, a balance is not desirable for states (Brown 2005: 101) and if there were a guarantee for being successful in international conflict, war would be a very normal occurrence. Nevertheless, states cannot be sure of their success. The price that one might have to pay for such a decision could be far too high. The second best option is therefore to maintain a balance of power and with it peace. To fix one’s opinion on one specific cause of war is impossible. There seem to be many reasons that play together when nations decide to conduct war. Be it human nature, the nature of societies, or even the nature of the international system as an unstable and unpredictable institution. Greed, the hunger for power and fear seem to stretch through all three levels and determine the events in the international system. Political distance and economic problems inside a country can be named as causes as well. War has been, is, and will probably always be a means of gaining power or resources or simply of defending the sovereignty and safety of a nation.

Warming Up :: Personal Narrative Papers

Warming Up "Why is it always so cold in here?" I said, aiming my voice in the direction of my parents. "It's only 68," was the invariable response from one of them. "That's room temperature." I couldn't understand why they kept the house so cold in the winter, 68 degrees during the day, 66 at night. "It's more economical to keep the house at this temperature," my dad would tell me. How much money could it cost to heat the house a few degrees more? Even though I was sure our finances would not suffer if we used more heat, I never thought of my family as rich. Rather, by comparing my family with some of my friends' families, I thought we were comparatively poor. We never had many luxuries; even our house was spartan. A few years ago, my dad and stepmom bought a plot of land in a new subdivision and designed a house. After it was built, it was obvious that we had the plainest house in the cul-de-sac. It was a one-story house with conservative beige siding and absolutely nothing fancy to make it stand out. All the other houses had two stories or decorative rows of brickwork or beautiful gables on the roof. I knew that these kinds of decorations did not come cheap, and I thought that all our neighbors must be very rich to be able to build such fancy houses. If our house was not ornate, it was certainly well kept. My dad or I mowed the yard frequently so the grass wouldn't look ragged. Neat flowerbeds encircled the house, giving it the proper, orderly look that convention demanded. Most adults I knew looked down on houses that did not meet this standard. "It's too bad they couldn't fix that siding; it would be a nice house otherwise," I would hear while passing a run-down home. Or someone else would say, "Can't that family mow their lawn? Look how bad the neighborhood looks because of that one yard." My world was clean and tidy, organized and proper. I had spent all of my 16 years in the same town, raised with a standard of propriety. I knew, in an abstract sense, that there was poverty in the world. Even so, I thought my family was, if not poor, at least poorer than most families. But I rarely thought about poverty or living conditions at all.

Hydration Lab Essay

The purpose of this lab is to determine the water of hydration of a compound (CuSO4) by heating it and hence find its chemical formula. It was determined that the compound contained 4 moles of H2O for every 1 mole of CuSO4, hence had the formula CuSO4 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 4H2O and Copper [II] Sulfate Tetrahydrate. However, the literature value was 5 moles of oxygen for every 1 mole of CuSO4 (Copper [II] Sulfate Pentahydrate – CuSO4 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 5H2O). As calculated above in Data Processing, this means that the percentage deviation from the literature value was 20%. This is significantly less than the percentage uncertainty, which was 37%. This should indicate that the random error was higher than systematic error, because while there was a high level of uncertainty, the literature value still falls within that value, meaning that the measurements were close enough. In reality, though, this high level of uncertainty says more about the inaccuracy of the measuring equipment than it does about the amount of systematic error. For example, it is possible that simply not all of the water was removed from the compound. On the contrary, the lab procedure instructed to continue trials of heating the compound and weighing it until the mass values were within 0.05g of each other. Those in this lab were only 0.01g apart – a difference which would not have affected the outcome of the lab. This means it is unlikely that there was a significant amount of water remaining in the compound. Evaluation of Procedure It cannot honestly be said that this lab was executed successfully. This is for two main reasons: 1. the false result 2. the high degree of uncertainty The first of these is surely the most important: this lab did not achieve the desired result. While the compound had a water of hydration of 5, the lab results said that this value should be 4. In some circumstances, such error could be tolerated – indeed, 20% is not terrible. However, the very purpose of the lab was to determine the compound, and this goal was not achieved. The second point is how uncertain the data really was. Based on the percentage of uncertainty, the water of hydration could have been anywhere from 2.5 to 5.5. This does contain the literature value, but has a range of more than half of that value (3/5). If the water of hydration could nearly have been 2 or 6, does this lab truly reveal anything? It gives a vague estimate of how much water there is, but little more. Much of the uncertainty was caused by an imprecise scale used in the initial measurements. Only after the procedure requested precision to two decimal places was a more precise scale used, and the initial measurements were still only accurate to 0.1g. Also, if the mass of compound used had been higher, the percentage error would have been less simply because it would be a smaller portion of the measured value. Improving the Investigation This lab did not meet its goal, hence definitely should be improved. The simplest change that could be made is to use the more precise scale from the beginning of the experiment. This would reduce the percentage error down to 6.7%, a much more reasonable value. This, however, does not solve the problem of the inaccurate value determined, because it is unlikely that this scale would have been any more accurate, despite being more precise. It is hard to pinpoint, therefore, exactly where the experiment went wrong, as it seems that the scales were not at fault but that a sufficient amount of water had been removed. There was certainly some kind of systematic error. One way that this error might be reduced, even without understanding its source, is to increase the amount of substance measured. Because the lab is about obtaining a ratio, this would not affect the result at all except hopefully to decrease the effect of any systematic error. This would, however, have the disadvantage of making the lab take longer, and steps might need to be added to ensure that all of the compound has a chance to dehydrate.

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.