Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Essay 1. Summarize the seven (7) components of the framework for coaching and performances management, and identify which ones you require development in and why. The seven components of the frame work for coaching and performance management are the coaching relationship\, insight, motivation, capabilities, real-world practice, accountability, and organizational context. The first and most important step in the performance management process is to communicate what is expected. The should also be identifications of any job related learning needs and possible ways to address these needs. There also needs to be a performance review periodically to make sure that job expectations are relevant and appropriate and revise them if needed. Managers are encouraged to do this jointly with their employees which observing and documenting their performance. Throughout the performance management cycle, you should observe your employees’ performance and identify instances of both good and poor performance. Specific events and details are important for employees to clearly understand the impact, results, and consequences of their performance. Thorough documentation will enable you to recognize good performance and help you to correct poor performance. Provide feedback you should provide frequent feedback and coaching to your employees regarding performance throughout the year. This is especially important for the employee who is performing poorly. To be effective, feedback needs to be immediate, specific, and expressed in relation to a particular outcome and expectation. Deal With Performance That Does Not Meet Expectations. You may wish to enlist the support of your manager. He/she can give you the benefit of his or her experience and provide input and support before proceeding. Also, you can use the services of your Human Resources or Labor Relations Components especially if you are contemplating disciplinary action. They will provide the procedural and regulatory guidance as well as assistance in looking at alternatives and providing resources, intervention strategies, and other support.† (Public service commission) 2. Evaluate the validity of each of the reasons provided for failure in performance management. The reasons provided for failure in performance management versus performance appraisal discipline gap, accountability, measurement scarcity or overload, lack of balance and failure to assess impact. â€Å"There are two primary purposes of performance appraisal: evaluative and developmental. The evaluative purpose is intended to inform people of their performance standing. The collected performance data are frequently used to reward high performance and to punish poor performance.† (Smither, 2009) The developmental purpose is intended to identify problems in employees performing the assigned task. The collected performance data are used to provide necessary skill training or professional development. â€Å"The purpose of performance appraisal must be clearly communicated both to raters and rates, because their reactions to the appraisal process are significantly different depending on the intended purpose. Failure to inform about the purpose or misleading information about the purpose may result in inaccurate and biased appraisal reports.† (Cascio, 1998) 3. Identify two (2) of the barriers of success that are evident in preventing successful execution of performance management in a company you know well and recommend a solution to the problems. If you have not worked with or for a company that evaluates employee performance through performance management, imagine what the problems would be based on your knowledge of the company. Be sure to provide your rationale. Future scenarios allow organizations to explore multiple potential futures and generate robust strategies and early warning signs to understand how the future is unfolding. Where a vision articulates a â€Å"preferred future,† future scenarios describe how an organization might achieve its mission in different circumstances or environments. Organizations identify a focal issue or major decision the organization faces and the critical uncertainties in the macro environment, such as social, economic, political, environmental, and technical forces. Scenarios are developed based on combinations of these forces and robust strategies are identified to address multiple futures. Finally, indicators are identified to help understand how the future is affecting the organization’s decisions. In-order to fully understand the rationale past, present, and future analysis would have to be done on different work environments in-order to generally process the full computation of how and HR performance management society would work to stay in constant communication with the employee’s skill set.

Role of Women in Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Role of Women in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello, the wife of the protagonist, Desdemona, is the main female character. Secondly, there is the ancient’s wife, Emilia, who is morally ambivalent. Thirdly, there is the girlfriend of Michael Cassio, Bianca, who makes her appearance later in the drama. This essay will analyze the roles of these three women.    At the outset of the play Iago persuades the rejected suitor of Desdemona, Roderigo, to accompany him to the home of Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, in the middle of the night. Once there the two awaken the senator with loud shouts about his daughter’s elopement with Othello. This is the initial reference to the role of women in the play – the role of wife. In response to the noise and Iago’s vulgar descriptions of Desdemona’s involvement with the general, Brabantio arises from bed. Iago’s bawdy references to the senator’s daughter present a second role of women – that of illicit lover. With Roderigo’s help, he gathers a search party to go and find Desdemona and bring her home. The father’s attitude is that life without his Desdemona will be much worse than before:    It is too true an evil: gone she is;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And what's to come of my despised time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is nought but bitterness. (1.1)    Here is seen another role or function of women in the drama – that of comforter for the aged. Brabantio is the old father, and he hates to lose the comforting services of his Desdemona. The daughter’s husband Othello expresses his sentiments to Iago regarding his relationship with the senator’s daughter, saying    that I love the gentle Desdemona,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I would not my unhoused free condition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Put into circumscriptio... ...y true!† and accuses him of lying:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   You told a lie, an odious, damned lie;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She false with Cassio! (5.2)    Then she accuses him of causing murder: â€Å"And your reports have set the murder on.† Emilia’s stunning interrogation and conviction of her own husband as the evil mastermind behind the crime results in Iago’s killing her. Despondent Othello, grief-stricken by remorse for the tragic mistake he has made, stabs himself and dies on the bed next to his wife.    Thus it is seen that the roles of women are many and varied – and are key to the successful development of the story.    WORKS CITED    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.         

Robinson Crusoe Critique

Filippo Volodin Robinson Crusoe And The New Middle Class Before analyzing Robinson Crusoe it is important to give a short background of the author of such an incredible novel. Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 and died in 1731 after a life of adventures and incredible experiences. He was raised to be very religious and his parents were strongly attached to the puritanism tendency that was spreading around Europe. These aspects and the strong education imposed by his parents will strongly influence Robinson Crusoe’s psychology.Furthermore, Defoe worked as a Merchant, Insurer and during his entire live he has been sent in prison several times for either small or serious issues. Having such an experience, Defoe strongly felt to be part of the New Middle class that was flourishing due to the new colonies and the economic boom of that period. In this way we can say that his personal experience, family education and the influence of the growing Middle class strongly gave to Defoe the im pulse to create a character such as Robinson Crusoe, who represents the typical New Middle Class person who can, using his brain and his talent, always succeed in life.Robinson Crusoe represents the prototype of the typical English Merchant, heartless and unceasingly looking for a profitable business to lead. This new type of figure continuously changes because of the unsatisfactory position it has in the society and always strives to find new ways to make profit. In fact, Robinson Crusoe reveals these characteristics, and his strong attachment to the religion, when he sells Xury to the Captain. He offer'd me also 60 Pieces of Eight more for my Boy Xury, which I was loath to take, not that I was not willing to let the Captain have him, but I was very loath to sell the poor Boy's Liberty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own. However when I let him know my Reason, he own’d it to be just, and offer’d me this Medium, that he would give the Boy an Obligati on to set him free in ten Years, if he turn’s Christian; upon this, and Xury saying he was willing to go to him, I let the Captain have him. † From this quotation powerfully comes out the strong education gave to Robinson Crusoe.Crusoe does not really care about Xury, even though he has served him loyally. This passage highlights the new situation of the Middle Class represented by Robinson Crusoe that championed individualism, seizing every single opportunity to have a personal profit, relying just on own powers and talents. Furthermore, agreeing on converting Xury into a Christian let us explicitly understand the importance of the Puritan education imposed to Defoe by his family with the consequent reflection of this approach on Robinson Crusoe, who just agrees after making sure that the Captain have to turn Xury into a â€Å"Good Christian†.Robinson Crusoe demonstrates to be the â€Å"new bourgeois-man† during his long stay at the isle. The island becom es the perfect field to completely release his middle class attitudes and the opportunity to show that he deserves to be saved by God’s providence. It is important to interpret properly the significant of the Island. Crusoe’s stay at the island has to be seen as the chance for Robinson Crusoe to prove his qualities controlling, manipulating and exploiting the Nature. Consequently, Crusoe starts to â€Å"recreate† the English society of the 18th Century, sticking to the Middle Class uses of efficiency and individuality.For instance, when Crusoe meets Friday he decides to impose him his way of living showing once again his necessity to impose the â€Å"English life style†. In fact, further on in the novel Robinson Crusoe teaches to Friday how to speak English and how to interpret the holy Bible. In the island comes out even the typical attachment to the Puritanism of the Middle Class represented by Robinson Crusoe who believed in the God’s Providence . Crusoe is convinced that God is the first cause of everything but he can change his destiny by acting following his brain and using his talents.To conclude, Defoe shows us a perfect hero who, following the Middle Class education and mentality, can face every problem and solving it using his brain and his talents. It is incredible how Defoe could impress in an unbelievable way the main aspects of the growing Middle Class. Like Robinson Crusoe demonstrates, and Defoe in first person firmly thinks, a person using his own skill and being always self aware of his possibility can emerge and always find a way to survive and succeed in life if he really wants and strives for that.

Fast Food Nation Essay

One thing that most people don’t seem to understand about fast food restaurants is the harmful and unethical practice that comes with an order of a double cheeseburger with a side order of medium fries and a drink. Eric Schlosser, the author of â€Å"Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,† had made several negative interpretation about the functionality of fast food corporation. Such interpretation can be in relations of what a typical Marxist would complain about, such as the fact that fast food corporation tends to do whatever means possible to reach the end of making a substantial amount of profit. In â€Å"Fast Food Nations: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,† Schlosser targeted on the unethical practices of producing profit which includes the fabrication of sediment phrases, the systematic of mass production, and the management of poor quality with emphasis of large quantity. Some of the claims that Schlosser made can be viewed similarly to the aspects of Karl Marx and his believers, the Marxists. Many Marxists can strongly support Schlosser’s claim with a Marxist interpretation of an accusation of Capitalism. Marxist is known as a group of socialist and they believes that the government’s economy should be equally shared amongst all working classes. Without a doubt, Schlosser had exposed the fact that corporations like McDonalds, Carl’s Jr, Burger King, and so forth had made great profits from exploiting the nation’s vulnerable workers who are willing to work at any cost. These vulnerable workers can be just about anyone from teenagers to first generation immigrants. All in all, Schlosser had made a strong argument to persuade the nation from supporting profit-hungry Corporation by revealing of its unethical practices that may be a convincing factor for the nation to think twice before entering another fast food restaurant. One of the many reasons why fast food restaurants are successful is because they know how to market themselves properly with small sentimental message that appeals to the community. Sentimental message might not mean much, but when families of the community are convinced that the restaurant cares about them, they will be inclined to support their business. It’s a shame that the community does not see the irony in their sentimental messages. Example of the irony would be Mcdonalds creating the Ronald McDonald House of Charity to ask customers for additional donations, in which all proceeds of that donation will help other counties hospital. The irony of this all is that fast food is also the reason why kids are unhealthy. It is also common knowledge that fast food is the leading cause of obesity and obesity can lead to various amount of health-related problem. Another reason why fast food restaurants are successful is because fast food industries target a younger audience such as children. Their techniques on children are simple, because children love collecting toys and items that relates to cartoon figures that they are familiar with. Therefore, these corporations would purchase patents and the rights to use their cartoon figure or icon on their product, which typically sells efficiently with kids. These items are not just popular amongst the children’s age group, but â€Å"many adult collectors have also bought Teenie Beanie Baby Happy Meals, kept the dolls, and threw away the food† (Schlosser 48). These cross promotions between brands has done two things; strengthens ties between fast food industries and companies and also create an irresistible addiction between collectors and the industries. Another marketing strategy that these fast food industries utilize is to slightly modify the collectible’s colors or parts to attract customers to spend a fortunate collecting a whole set of the same kind of toys. The surface of the fast food industries may be deceiving to the general public, but it certainly is not easily deceitful to the workers who dealt with jobs within a fast food industry. While the economy continues to look like steep slide, workers are becoming more willing to work at any jobs in order to financially support their family and themselves. These very same workers that work for fast food industries, are typically teenagers or first generation immigrants because fast food industries knows that these two candidates are perfect for exploitation. Also, because they are less likely to form unions, complain about conditions, and complain about long hours. Fast food industries, like most Marxist-invaded counties, know how to exploit their workers at their fullest potential. They hire the uneducated youth with the least potential to start a union. They view workers as cheap objects that they can be hired and fired at the will of their employers. Unlike a business firm, these fast food industries rarely give raises to their employees, but instead they ould motivate their workers with encouragements or compliments. Since these workers are uneducated and don’t know their rights enough to argue, they would simply respond to their employer’s encouragement or compliment with better performances. Aside from the wages, these jobs are more than often dangerous. It is not certain whether these companies have spent enough money to properly train workers to diligently use the restaurants equipment which would prevent health inc idents and work injuries. Reasons being that these companies are profit-focused. They will try to minimize their spending as much as possible to make sure that they maximize the profit. Some of these jobs are even done by illegal immigrants or anyone desperate enough for a job at a later night shift, because it’s extremely dangerous and companies do not want to risk going into law suits or paying for higher life insurances for their workers with all means to maximize their profit. Schlosser had mentioned a story about Kenny Dobbin, as an example of a worker who was a victim of such unethical offense. Kenny was an uneducated man with no literacy skills, but was tall and strong. He was hired by Monfort, a meat-packing plant company, whom took advantage of Kenny’s kindness and abused him by placing him in dangerous working condition. After sixteen years of pure dedication, Kenny was fired because of his severe injuries from work, because the company does not want to pay for a higher insurance coverage for him. Kenny was â€Å"once strong and powerfully built, he now walks with difficulty, tires easily, and feels useless as though his life were over. He is forty-six years old† (Schlosser 190). Kenny, however, is still considered to be one of the fortunate one because he is able to get his story out unlike many other victims who weren’t able to get their stories out because they are still working with the injuries that they have attained from work. Some of the reasons that explain why they don’t complain about their injuries are because they don’t want to be fired and stress the difficulties of finding another job. These are just some of the examples of the inhumanely acts that fast food industries had commit to their workers. Workers might understand the cruelty that lies within their job, but they might not know what kind of quality the management has selected for the product that they are working with. Aside from managing workers and their wages, fast food industries also manages their food supplies to ensure the greatest amount of profit. By doing so, managements of fast food industries would choose the cheapest quality of meat that’s barely edible, refrozen fries that have been made with preservatives, and also wheat from a wheat field that have been sprayed with pesticides on a regular basis. Many fast food critics, including Schlosser, argued that fast food industries are more concern about the superficial image and the smell of the product rather than the natural healthy content of the product. Schlosser had mentioned that the â€Å"Food and Drug Administration does not require flavor companies to disclose the ingredients of their addictive, so long as all the chemicals are considered by the agency to be generally regarded as safe,† which means that the government had betrayed the consumers and had gave fast food industries the additional power to make substantial amount of profit. Most fast food restaurant took advantage of the governments’ lack of responsibility and would spend as little as possible on meat. This course of action might be good for business, but it is absolutely terrible for the consumers who invest their health in these fast food products. In the early years of fast food industries, many fast food restaurants have been criticized for their contaminated burgers because of the hospitalized and illness trend that consumers are recognizing prior to eating their burgers. The fast food industries did not know how to react to such immense pressure, so they attempt to shift the blame to the farmers. Eventually the government realized the decline of fast food industries and initiated the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to run a federal inspection test for all the meat packaging industries of the fast food industries. This might have been a good sign of improvement for the government, until the government decided to be secretive about their findings and had agreed with fast food industries to not reveal the details about the company’s distributed meat. Today, Fast food industries is still one of the largest marketing industries across nation, but let’s not forget about the labor policies, marketing strategies, and agricultural techniques that comes within their products. Schlosser had made enough strong argument about the business tactics that are responsible for the success of fast food industries. Such tactics that targets children and families with collectibles and sentimental values, hiring workers that are more willing to work with minimum wages, and also managing a horrible quality of food supplies. These factors might be great for the industries because they prospering a substantial amount of profit, but it are unhealthy for the consumers across the nation. Hopefully in the near future, United State’s Department of Agriculture would interfere with regulations that would prevent fast food industries from exploiting the community of its self-motivated individuals. Schlosser also believed that the government should create a federal agency that promotes â€Å"more safety laws that could also reduce the number of slaughterhouse workers who get hurt† (Schlosser 264). With the worker’s safety conditions controlled, it would also be the nation’s best interest to end obesity, by controlling the establishment of fast food restaurants allowed per community and to open up healthier restaurants. Now on a more practical basis, students and the community should raise awareness of the unethical practices of fast food industries, and promote healthier eating habits within their community. With this practical practice, fast food industries will be prone to being eliminated, and the community will live a longer and healthier life.

Free Essays on Engineering Processes Class

Engineering Processes – ENGR 1300 Course Objective: Engineering Processes is a course designed to allow the student a knowledge, understanding, and exposure to the most common tools, methods, and machines used in most engineering fields. Between the two available projects, a catapult or a cannon, I chose the cannon because I though it would be more exciting and challenging. Included in the course there were also small labs were we made small random projects by welding (metal and plastic) and brazing. CANNON PROJECT Barrel & Base Objective: The purpose of this section in the course was to build an aluminum model of a typical naval cannon. In this processes, we would familiarize ourselves with machines such as the vertical miller, lathe, drill press, band saw, and horizontal miller. I learned how to operate the equipment safely completed the steps with instruction when needed. Procedure: I obtained a laboratory manual which outlined the entire procedure for the production of both the cannon and the catapult. It gave me step by step procedures, and measurements needed to complete the cannon. At the beginning of the project, the professor provided us with an aluminum block for the base, and an aluminum stock for the barrel. Dykem was used to mark the dimensions indicated in the manual onto the aluminum pieces. For the barrel of the cannon, I marked a reference line on the stock to be able to measure and mark the final length of the cannon. After marking the length, the first step was to measure and mark a point for the pin that is going to hold the barrel to the base. For the second step, I inspected the lathe and after making sure that the collet chuck was installed; I set the lathe at about 300 revolutions per minute and installed the round-nose tool bit aligned with live center. I then installed the piece of stock into the collet chuck, making sure enough was sticking out of the collet chuck so t... Free Essays on Engineering Processes Class Free Essays on Engineering Processes Class Engineering Processes – ENGR 1300 Course Objective: Engineering Processes is a course designed to allow the student a knowledge, understanding, and exposure to the most common tools, methods, and machines used in most engineering fields. Between the two available projects, a catapult or a cannon, I chose the cannon because I though it would be more exciting and challenging. Included in the course there were also small labs were we made small random projects by welding (metal and plastic) and brazing. CANNON PROJECT Barrel & Base Objective: The purpose of this section in the course was to build an aluminum model of a typical naval cannon. In this processes, we would familiarize ourselves with machines such as the vertical miller, lathe, drill press, band saw, and horizontal miller. I learned how to operate the equipment safely completed the steps with instruction when needed. Procedure: I obtained a laboratory manual which outlined the entire procedure for the production of both the cannon and the catapult. It gave me step by step procedures, and measurements needed to complete the cannon. At the beginning of the project, the professor provided us with an aluminum block for the base, and an aluminum stock for the barrel. Dykem was used to mark the dimensions indicated in the manual onto the aluminum pieces. For the barrel of the cannon, I marked a reference line on the stock to be able to measure and mark the final length of the cannon. After marking the length, the first step was to measure and mark a point for the pin that is going to hold the barrel to the base. For the second step, I inspected the lathe and after making sure that the collet chuck was installed; I set the lathe at about 300 revolutions per minute and installed the round-nose tool bit aligned with live center. I then installed the piece of stock into the collet chuck, making sure enough was sticking out of the collet chuck so t...

Analysis Of John Donne s Poetry

John Donne is renowned in the world of poetry as the leading influence in metaphysical poetry. His works including sonnets, love poems, religious poems, sermons, and so forth are characterised by their strong, sensual style, which may be seen as contradictory to the stereotypes of Donne’s job; a churchman. Many of Donne’s poems contain metaphysical conceits and thoughtful reasoning to guide the readers into an in-depth understanding of the speaker’s emotional state. These conceits are elaborate,†¦ John Donne had many obstacles throughout his life that would define him as well as his poetry. The day he was born he faced one of these obstacles as he was born to a Roman Catholic family at a time when practicing Roman Catholicism was illegal. The religious conflict he faced tore him up inside. That was until, of course, he rejecting his mother and father’s religion, electing to convert to Anglicanism. As this transformation took place, there was also a revolution in the way Donne would write†¦ lies is that, in poetry, all facts and all beliefs cease to be true or false and become interesting possibilities†¦It may not, perhaps, be absolutely necessary that he believe it, but it is certainly necessary that his emotions be deeply involved, and this they can never be unless, as a man, he takes it more seriously than as a mere poetic convenience.† It is Donne’s sensibility and his personal experiences which are revealed with a vibrancy of language in his love and religious poetry that make him†¦ prominent literary figures of the early seventeenth century, John Donne has engendered widely differing views regarding the merits of his work. His reputation stands on two distinct accomplishments: the witty, sensual love poetry of his early career and the serious, devout religious writing of his later career as the Dean of St. Paul 's. Donne 's poetry was influential enough to be considered the basis of the metaphysical school of poetry, as characterized by later writers such as Richard Crashaw,†¦ John Donne’s ‘The Anniversary’ is all about the love that the narrator and his wife share together. The narrator assures his wife that although a year of marriage has passed, and everything has grown older, their love hasn’t. He says that when they both die, their bodies will decay, but their love won’t because their souls will reunite in heaven. He goes on to say that until they die, they are kings, secure in their love. It comes as no surprise that Donne has spoken of monarchs and death in his†¦ pain. A remedy to sadness. The ideal happy ending to all fairy tales. Love is the cause to the butterflies and jittery feeling inside when that special someone is near. In numerous scenarios, love is portrayed as a positive asset to life. However, in John Donne’s poemâ€Å"The Broken Heart,† love destructs and shatters a heart to an extent where restoration is incompetent. Throughout this doleful poem, Donne’s speaker uses an abundance of literary devices such as metaphors, personification, and imagery to†¦ Intro Donne expresses the need to remove the stigma around death and perceive it as inconsequential.Death is not brought up in everyday conversation and people often elude the thought of death when it does come up. Death is feared and dreaded by most people, but Donne veers away from this stigma. Death is personified in this poem and is talked down upon by Donne. He mocks death by comparing it to drugs and potions, which deal out the same fate, but drugs and potions are thought less of than death†¦ Defining and scrutinizing poetry is always difficult because of its poetic elements and chosen words. Through these elements, poems are usually difficult to comprehend. However, understanding poems can be entertaining and captivating because of the romantic structures and powerful emotions. One example is John Donne’s â€Å"Batter my heart, Three-Personed God.† This holy sonnet explores the emotions of the speaker as he talks to the three-personed God, which is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. He†¦ Sixteenth century poet John Donne author of the Holy Sonnet Fourteen; ‘Batter my Heart’ is known as the founder of the Metaphysical Poets a term used to refer to 17th-century English writers whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrical quality of their verse. Donne adopts Petrarchan sonnet form for the majority of this poem which aids the seamless fluidity of this sonnet. Donne’s Religious poetry demonstrates turning the†¦ John Keats is said to be seen as one of the most â€Å"canniest readers, interpreters, and questioners of the â€Å"modern† project in poetry, which sought to dwell in the desires and sufferings of the human heart.† His works such as Ode to Melancholy is a worthy example as to how Keats illustrates the relatable feeling of pain, and shines light on the common idea that it is to be hidden and masked with false happiness. In this work he tells us to embrace it, to take it by the hand and let it flow through†¦

Strategies for Environmental and Resource Governance Term Paper

Strategies for Environmental and Resource Governance - Term Paper Example But it also further enriches a powerful minority, mainly the already wealthy, and this poses a major barrier to change.† Without effective interventions, we are teetering precariously near the edge of a precipice. This paper looks at the case of water as a prime example of a finite resource whose depletion, if left unarrested, will create serious problems for the world.Fresh water is a basic human necessity. We need it for drinking, sanitation and personal hygiene, irrigation, hydroelectricity, for the natural resources it contains (such as fish), to preserve ecological balance, as part of our cultural mythology and for enjoyment (as part of the scenery).Flowing river water is a common resource which confers user rights but no private ownership rights. Groundwater, on the other hand, is subject to private ownership and therefore vulnerable to excess exploitation. This also makes ground water harvesting practices more scattered and difficult to implement and monitor. As more and more parts of the world face increasing water shortages and water commoditization, the issue of water scarcity – how it is perceived, problematized and the consequences in the form of policy responses – becomes crucial. ... First and foremost, it is essential to study the concept of scarcity – its underlying assumptions and how these translate in policy terms. Scarcity is a central concept in economic theory, particularly neoclassical economic theory, which in turn has strongly influenced policy thought. This focus on scarcity as deriving from economic thought, has important implications for policy planners. Firstly, scarcity is a given in economics. Thus, policy makers need not necessarily try and understand the nature of the scarcity – whether it is absolute or relative, constructed or real (Mehta 2003 and 2006) They can simply accept it as a natural and inevitable condition, evaluating only the degree of scarcity and building responses accordingly. Secondly, under conditions of scarcity, the market is considered to be the most efficient allocator of resources. In many developing countries, the market is replaced by the state, but scarcity is still considered to be addressable external t o the situation either by the market (by privatising water for example) or by the state (through prioritising of needs and resources connected to water). Segerfeldt proposes that the problem is not the shortage of water, but the absence of or deficiency in effective policies. He states: Worldwide, 1.1 billion people, mainly in poor countries, do not have access to clean, safe water. The shortage of water helps to perpetuate poverty, disease and early death. However, there is no shortage of water, at least not globally. We use a mere 8 per cent of the water available for human consumption. Instead, bad policies are the main problem. Even Cherrapunji, India, the wettest place on earth, suffers from recurrent water shortages. In looking at the roots of the problem