Inception Function Enhances the Effectiveness of Organizations

The research examines the role of Inception function (i.e. Strategic human resource planning, Recruitment & Selection and Orientation) of human resource model in Pakistan Tobacco Company. It focuses on effectiveness of Inception function of PTC which helps in efficient utilization of available human resources. The hypothesis examines whether the role of inception function of PTC is highly effective in achieving organizational objectives. The study uses the information provided by the human resource department of the organization and takes the opinion of sample of 40 managers of the organization belonging to middle and lower middle level of different departments through questionnaires to examine the effectiveness of procedure more neutrally. The Chi Square test and Pearson's coefficient of mean-square contingency is used to analyze data. The results indicate that the inception function of PTC is highly effective thus enabling more qualified, skilled and efficient people to enter the organization for further development. Keywords: Strategic human resource planning, recruitment, selection organization development, Pakistan Tobacco Company

What Makes an Image Memorable? Effects of Encoding on the Mechanism of Recognition

Memory is undoubtedly one of the most important processes of human cognition. A long line of research suggests that recognition relies on the assessment of two explicit memory phenomena: familiarity and recollection. Researchers who support the Dual Process Signal Detection (DPSD) model of recognition memory link the FN400 component (a negative ERP deflection peaking around 400 ms at frontal electrodes) with familiarity; however, it is currently unclear whether the FN400 reflects familiarity or implicit memory. Three event-related potentials (ERP) studies were conducted to determine whether implicit memory plays a role in setting up encoding strategies, and how these encoding strategies influence recognition. Experiment 1 consisted of two phases; an encoding/study phase and recognition/test phase. During the encoding phase, participants viewed pictures of common objects and later during a recognition test phase they made remembered/not-remembered judgments about previously seen (old) pictures and new pictures. ERP analysis of the encoding phase compared subsequently-remembered and subsequently-not-remembered stimuli and revealed marginally significant subsequent memory effects for the FN400 and LPC components. Because participants first saw the pictures during the encoding phase, the FN400 effect during this phase suggested that it was driven by conceptual fluency. Additionally, the fluency ERP (a positive ERP deflection during the time window ~200 - 400 ms) during the encoding phase significantly distinguished subsequently-remembered stimuli from subsequently-not-remembered stimuli, indicating that processing during encoding determined the stimuli to-be-remembered during the recognition test. During the recognition test, the FN400 component correlated with the behavioral indicators of recollection and appeared to benefit from repetition. Experiment 2 was similar to Experiment 1 except that participants saw meaningless novel stimuli (fractals). ERP results from recognition indicate that the FN400 effect did not capture repetition-based familiarity, however, the fluency ERP appeared to gain from the repetition of the stimuli. These results suggest that the FN400 potentials were driven by conceptual implicit memory during encoding, whereas during recognition, the behavioural indicators of recognition linked with the perceptual implicit memory, suggesting that explicit memory is not the only source of familiarity and the neural correlates of perceptual (fluency ERP) and conceptual (the FN400 component) implicit memory can influence decisions made by explicit memory. Experiment 3 manipulated perceptual fluency, conceptual fluency, and repetition-driven familiarity. Participants viewed primed and unprimed, blurred and clear images of common objects that were presented once, twice or three times. Based on recognition performance, ERPs were back-sorted into their corresponding conditions. Fluency and FN400 components correlated with the behavioral indicators of recognition. Additionally, a conceptual implicit priming effect was significant over anterior and right frontal electrodes and perceptual implicit priming was significant at the occipital electrodes. Conclusion: Collectively, the behavioural and ERP results add support the idea that the FN400 is “multiply determined” and may reflect familiarity (explicit memory driven) or conceptual fluency (implicit memory) depending on the task and stimulus, revealing that performance on recognition is not explicit memory driven. The Discrepancy Attribution Hypothesis may provide a better understanding of the heuristics of familiarity, however, further research is needed to better examine the processes that underlie recognition

The role of TQM and BPR in executing quality improvement: a comparative study

In order to sustain a competitive edge in this global manufacturing era, enterprises need to adopt appropriate improvement schemes. This article examines a detailed study of quality improvement tools mostly used in the organizations. As this is the conceptual paper, the paper focuses on two important quality improvement techniques, BPR (Business Process Reengineering) and TQM (Total quality management). Both the approaches clinch the same thoughts and objectives for organizational enhancement but the difference lies in terms of means used by each technique, the risk, time frame and the magnitude of change expected from each of these programs. In order to attain this comparison, the article first defines and explains each of the approaches for the in depth understanding of the difference as well as similarities between these two. The articles (related to the comparison of these two improvement tools) of almost last 15 years are gathered and studied in detail and then conclusion is drawn based on the findings of different previous articles. The methodology used primarily is literature review as well as the case study method also helps in gathering the data. The study concludes that even though both the approaches intend to enhance organizational competence, they are relatively different both theoretically as well as practically and each of the approach is suitable for different situation depending upon the needs and requirements of the organization. Keywords: Competitive edge, TQM, BP

Work life conflict impact on Female’s Job performance. A study of primary level female school teachers in Pakistan

The study is focused on impact of work life conflict on job performance of female school teachers while keeping organization policy as a moderating variable. Data was collected from 200 female school teachers of different schools using questionnaires. Result showed that Work life conflict has a negative impact on job performance of female employees and Organization policies do not moderate this relationship. The results are analysed using Regression and other statistical tests to check that whether organization policies contribute to reduce work life pressure and stress or not. The research proved that improvement is desired in improving organization policies to enhance female teachers’ performance and increase their motivation reducing work life pressure and strain. Keywords: Work Life conflict, Job performance, Organization Policy, Education sector, Pakistan, female teachers, private school

Role of Human Resources Management in the Effectiveness of Business Process Reengineering

The main idea of the paper to presents a model with the discussion of Human resources management role with line extent of Management competency, team working, effective communication, IT and Organizational structure and there impact on the effectiveness of Business Process Reengineering. The article suggest that the use of HRM with the implementation of the BPR find the better results and support the organizational better performance Keywords: human Resources Management, business process Reengineering, Organizational performanc

Integration of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility with Other Key Anchors of Success

Corporate Social Responsibility is a firm’s moral obligation towards its customers. Usually CSR is seen in the context of buyers, customers and society outside the organization scenario. The present study examines strategic corporate social responsibility from employees’ perspective mediated by human resource development in relation to employee engagement and emotional intelligence. A structured questionnaire is used to collect the data from the employees serving private and foreign banks. Findings reveal a positive and significant impact of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource Development on Employee Engagement and Emotional Intelligence. Keywords: Strategic corporate social responsibility, emotional intelligence, employee engagement, human resource development, banking sector, Pakista

The contribution of theta and delta to feedback processing in children with developmental language disorder

Abstract Purpose The study aimed at evaluating feedback processing at the electrophysiological level and its relation to learning in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) to further advance our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of feedback-based learning in children with this disorder. Method A feedback-based probabilistic learning task required children to classify novel cartoon animals into two categories that differ on five binary features, the probabilistic combination of which determined classification. The learning outcomes’ variance in relation to time- and time–frequency measures of feedback processing were examined and compared between 20 children with developmental language disorder and 25 age-matched children with typical language development. Results Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) performed poorer on the task when compared with their age-matched peers with typical language development (TD). The electrophysiological data in the time domain indicated no differences in the processing of positive and negative feedback among children with DLD. However, the time–frequency analysis revealed a strong theta activity in response to negative feedback in this group, suggesting an initial distinction between positive and negative feedback that was not captured by the ERP data. In the TD group, delta activity played a major role in shaping the FRN and P3a and was found to predict test performance. Delta did not contribute to the FRN and P3a in the DLD group. Additionally, theta and delta activities were not associated with the learning outcomes of children with DLD. Conclusion Theta activity, which is associated with the initial processing of feedback at the level of the anterior cingulate cortex, was detected in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) but was not associated with their learning outcomes. Delta activity, which is assumed to be generated by the striatum and to be linked to elaborate processing of outcomes and adjustment of future actions, contributed to processing and learning outcomes of children with typical language development but not of children with DLD. The results provide evidence for atypical striatum-based feedback processing in children with DLD

With or without Feedback?—How the Presence of Feedback Affects Processing in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Language acquisition depends on the ability to process and learn probabilistic information, often through the integration of performance feedback. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have demonstrated weaknesses in both probabilistic learning and feedback processing, but the individual effects of each skill are poorly understood in this population. This study examined school-aged children with DLD (n = 29) and age- and gender-matched children with typical development (TD; n = 44) on a visual probabilistic classification learning task presented with and without feedback. In the feedback-based version of the task, children received performance feedback on a trial-by-trial basis during the training phase of the task. In the feedback-free version, children responded after seeing the correct choice marked with a green border and were not presented with feedback. Children with TD achieved higher accuracy than children with DLD following feedback-based training, while the two groups achieved similar levels of accuracy following feedback-free training. Analyses of event-related potentials (ERPs) provided insight into stimulus encoding processes. The feedback-free task was dominated by a frontal slow wave (FSW) and a late parietal component (LPC) which were not different between the two groups. The feedback-based task was dominated by a parietal slow wave (PSW) and an LPC, both of which were found to be larger in the TD than in the DLD group. In combination, results suggest that engagement with feedback boosts learning in children with TD, but not in children with DLD. When the need to process feedback is eliminated, children with DLD demonstrate behavioral and neurophysiological responses similar to their peers with TD