On Becoming a Strategic Partner: The Role of Human Resources in Gaining Competitive Advantage

Although managers cite human resources as a firm\u27s most important asset, many organizational decisions do not reflect this belief. This paper uses the VRIO (value, rareness, imitability, and organization) framework to examine the role that the Human Resource (HR) function plays in developing a sustainable competitive advantage. We discuss why some popularly cited sources of sustainable competitive advantage are not, and what aspects of a firm\u27s human resources can provide a source of sustainable competitive advantage. We also examine the role of the HR executive as a strategic partner in developing and maintaining competitive advantage within the firm

Agrarian Impressions

The images and words assembled in this thesis describe and relate experiences from my past that seem necessary to understanding my current body of ceramic and mixed media sculptures. As the title Agrarian Impressions implies, the stoneware sculptures are based upon memories from growing up on a self-sufficent farm. In addition to my functional work, my sculptures reference tools and machines used to aid the production and harvest of crops and troughs and animal feeders. Problem solving abilities learned long ago and which sometime appear as humorous make-do solutions, reflect the confidence farming has given me to take chances. In this thesis, I discuss artistic influences on functional and sculptural pieces, my methodology, and I overview the presentation of works to be viewed in my MFA thesis show, Agraian Impressions

Environmental regulation: applicant behavior as a factor in obtaining permits

July 1984.Submitted to the Water Resources Planning Fellowship Steering Committee, Colorado State University, in fulfillment of requirements for AE 695V Special Study.Also presented as the author's thesis (Ph.D.), Colorado State University, 1984.Includes bibliographical references.Regulation by the Federal Government has long been a part of natural resources development and utilization in the United States. Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, environmental regulation has evolved as a major governmental tool in preserving environmental quality. Environmental regulation can result in substantial costs to those being regulated, their customers, and to the general public. These costs result from both lost investment if permits are denied and costs incurred due to the regulatory process. Because of a lack of understanding by applicants and because of a widespread mistrust of the process, applicants who have failed to obtain authorization sometimes lay the blame for their loss on the regulatory agencies, implying that they (the applicants) have been powerless to influence the process. This dissertation examines a somewhat different explanation. The primary hypothesis of the dissertation is that the applicant can have a high degree of control over the regulatory process and the final outcome, which is the issuance or the denial of the authorization. The "control" over the process is derived from early (pre-application) coordination with the authorizing agency and with the commenting agencies that represent specific environmental and public interests. It involves the use of technical and administrative expertise by the applicant as well as knowledge of the regulatory process. The applicant uses the same aggressive, yet compromising, management procedures that are appropriate in other elements of managing a business. A sample of project applications submitted by six hundred and fifty businesses, individuals, agencies, and others to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for which final action had been taken, provided information on how applicants had dealt with the regulatory process. Based on this and other information describing each project, its environmental impact, and other characteristics, a series of models and other correlations were developed to describe the effect of alternate applicant process management techniques in terms of their success or failure in the regulatory process

Inoperative Art Education

Increasingly, assessment has encroached on art education, inextricably linking visual arts learning to standardized performances wherein, art educators are becoming technicians accountable to the neoliberal state of education. Under these circumstances, the authors’ hearts and minds are understandably heavy for a postponement of art education as usual, proposing the question: Given the permission to escape art education’s current workings, what might art educators abandon, and how might they undertake this? IN order to delve into this provocation, the authors propose a limbo space of deferral in relation to art education that might inspire any predetermined usages inoperable. From this paradoxical zone, the final destination of art education under economic rationales may be suspended so that art educators might studiously play with its norms. The authors offer poetic and sculptural forms that misuse aspects of art education to explore its possible im-potentialities going against the grain of neoliberal logics

Death-Related Grief and Disenfranchised Identity: A Communication Approach

The death of a significant person in one’s life forces individuals to engage in a number of grief-related tasks, including reconstructing a narrative about the relationship, resituating their relationship with the deceased individual, and developing a new sense of self post-loss. The dominant narrative of grief, however, generally assumes that the experience is a finite, linear process of detachment. Given past research challenging the reality of that experience, we draw upon Doka’s (2002) theory of disenfranchised grief to propose that grief is not only a possible temporary state of disenfranchisement, but rather a perpetual, ongoing state of being disenfranchised. This condition is primarily maintained by the need to constantly navigate the lines between the dominant narrative of grief upheld in a given culture and one’s personal experience and performance of it. We propose a narrative approach to the concept of grief as a potential solution to this problem, and outline several new potential avenues for research on grief

Global Climate Niche Estimates for Bioenergy Crops and Invasive Species of Agronomic Origin: Potential Problems and Opportunities

The global push towards a more biomass-based energy sector is ramping up efforts to adopt regionally appropriate high-yielding crops. As potential bioenergy crops are being moved around the world an assessment of the climatic suitability would be a prudent first step in identifying suitable areas of productivity and risk. Additionally, this assessment also provides a necessary step in evaluating the invasive potential of bioenergy crops, which present a possible negative externality to the bioeconomy. Therefore, we provide the first global climate niche assessment for the major graminaceous (9), herbaceous (3), and woody (4) bioenergy crops. Additionally, we contrast these with climate niche assessments for North American invasive species that were originally introduced for agronomic purposes as examples of well-intentioned introductions gone awry. With few exceptions (e.g., Saccharum officinarum, Pennisetum purpureum), the bioenergy crops exhibit broad climatic tolerance, which allows tremendous flexibility in choosing crops, especially in areas with high summer rainfall and long growing seasons (e.g., southeastern US, Amazon Basin, eastern Australia). Unsurprisingly, the invasive species of agronomic origin have very similar global climate niche profiles as the proposed bioenergy crops, also demonstrating broad climatic tolerance. The ecoregional evaluation of bioenergy crops and known invasive species demonstrates tremendous overlap at both high (EI≥30) and moderate (EI≥20) climate suitability. The southern and western US ecoregions support the greatest number of invasive species of agronomic origin, especially the Southeastern USA Plains, Mixed Woods Plains, and Mediterranean California. Many regions of the world have a suitable climate for several bioenergy crops allowing selection of agro-ecoregionally appropriate crops. This model knowingly ignores the complex biotic interactions and edaphic conditions, but provides a robust assessment of the climate niche, which is valuable for agronomists, crop developers, and regulators seeking to choose agro-ecoregionally appropriate crops while minimizing the risk of invasive species

Health needs of clients as reported by medical practitioners from two districts of Sindh

Objective: To identify the major health and reproductive health problems for which people consult local medical practitioners.METHODOLOGY: Forty-one practitioners completed a self-administered questionnaire. A startified purposive sample of practitioners was selected by asking the community members from various towns and rural areas to identify practitioners who have most busy practices and are perceived as providing quality care.Results: Nine of the forty-one practitioners were females. Twenty-two were consulted mainly by women and another seventeen by an equal number of women and men. Practitioners pointed to malnutrition, malaria, gastrointestinal and respiratory tract problems as being the most common ailments. They identified menstrual problems, malnutrition among pregnant women, burning micturition and vaginal discharge as the most common reproductive health problems of their clients. Only 16 medical practitioners said that they diagnosed someone in the last one-month as suffering from sexually transmitted infections.CONCLUSION: The survey helped in developing an understanding of health issues from provider perspective. Findings indicate a concordance between what has been revealed by previous population based studies in similar situations and to what health problems practitioners pointed as common. While a comprehensive needs-assessment requires surveys and qualitative interviews with communities, consultations with relatively fewer medical practitioners could also provide a quick and fair approximation of priority health problems in the area