Friday, September 20, 2019
High Performance Working
High Performance Working Executive Summary         Change is always a challenge as well as an opportunity. Todays Human resource managers face great challenge to accustom with the changing business and workplace contexts and thus they try to convert their organizations in to High Performance Working systems with the right combination of people, process, technology and organizational structure.         The High Performance Working has recently gained growing attention from the Human Resource managers and organizations. Becoming a high performance working organization is considered to be a difficult task because all the relevant and necessary elements must fit with others so that the system can function smoothly. The High Performance working system is a corrective measure because many other tools and measures of management like just-in-time manufacturing, customizing, total quality management and flexible manufacturing technology can be better functioned only when there people who fit the specific requirements. No process can work out when right people are no there. High Performance Working system looks not only at technology or process, but it seeks to find talented and qualified people who can meet the specific requirements. Organizations with High Performance Working have been found to be successful as they have experienced increase in productivity and very static long term profitability. This research work identifies IBM as an organization that has effectively used Organizational learning as a method to become High Performance Working organization. This piece of research work examines the fundamental principles and theories of High Performance working and it analyses how an effective high performance working can help an organization achieve its goals. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of various elements of High Performance working and it draws an example from IBM which has brought tremendous changes in its business with the help Organizational Learning. Introduction         When compared with momentous changes that occurred over the recent years in technology, lifestyles, workplace environment and business contexts, the Human Resource Management seems to have accustomed with the changes and it has evolved major developments by implementing various strategies and methods that help organizations face the challenges and achieve its goals. The changes in the technology and in the business contexts cause changes in the workplace. High Performance Working is thus a new interdisciplinary model of Human Resource Management that comprises of people, technology, and process.         Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert (2003) stated that Human Resource Management has been playing its vital role helping organizations gain the competitive advantages over their competitors by becoming high performance working organization.         This report analyses the features and underlying principles of high performance working and it examines the impacts of high performance working on the levels of management systems within IBM which has recently achieved high performance working with help of organizational learning. This research work presents an in-depth analysis of high performance working and its advantages to the organization in which it is implemented. High Performance Working         Pfeffer (1994) argued that the success in dynamic and highly competitive market environment depends less on advantages associated with economies of scale, technology, patent, access to capital, but, it depends more on innovation, speed and adaptability. Pfeffer (1994) argued that innovation, speed and adaptability are derived from the employees within an organization and from the way they are managed. Organizations seek to adapt to the changes by adopting a number of managerial practices that are called high performance or high involvement human resource system (Guthrie, Flood and Liu, 2009).         Dessler and Varkkey (2009) argued that research evidences show that the best-performing companies in a wide range of industries perform well because of their high performance working. High performance working is an integrated set of human resource management practices and tools that together produce superior employee performance. Many qualitative and quantitative researches have proved that high performance working is directly influencing the overall performance of the employees by increasing their productivity. The specific objective of this system is to attain superior employee performance.         According to Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert (2003), high performance working is a system in which an organization has best possible fit between their social system (people and their interaction) and technical system (equipment and processes). Pfeffer (2001) stated that implementing high performance working requires major up-front investments including training, more selective recruiting, higher wages and so forth. The technology, the structure of the organization, people and processes all work together to gain an advantage in the competitive market. When technology changes and the functional areas of the business like transportation, communication and manufacturing are being changed, the Human Resource Management must ensure that the organization has right and talented people who are able to meet the challenges of changes. While an organization implements and maintain high performance working system, it may have to develop effective training programs, recruiting people for specific skills and encouraging organizational learning and teamwork (Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert, 2003).         Several organizational outcomes including higher productivity, increased profitability, lower costs, better responsiveness to customer and greater flexibility are the results of high performance working. Implementing high performance working has become a difficult task because it cannot easily be copied from other organizations and there must be good deal of better partnering among executives, line managers, HR professionals, union representatives and employees (Bohlander and Snell, 2009).         High performance working is a system of working that promises an increase of around 20 percent in the productivity if staffs are motivated, involved and offered autonomy (Research Forum, 2006). High Performance working generally includes selective hiring, extensive training, pay based on performance, workplace empowerment and sharing of organizational knowledge (Yalabik and Chen, 2008). Features of High Performance working and its specific triggers         Even though there no hard rule about what comprises of High Performance Working, most organizations and Human Resource management perceive that following are the common practices of High Performance working. Employment security and selective hiring Extensive training and knowledge sharing Self managed teams and decentralized decision making Reduced status distinction between managers, and Transformational leadership (Dessler and Varkkey, 2009) One of the main triggers of high performance working is the market problems. Fierce competition in the market and organizational disparities among counterparts play vital role in encouraging organizations to implement high performance working. During the early 1980s, when Canon and Xerox went head on head in the copier markets, Xerox introduced the practice of High Performance working to face the competition and to beat the counterpart (Ashton and Sung, 2002).         Introduction of the new technologies remains to be another trigger for the implementation of high performance working system. OECD researches have shown that foreign ownership has also linked to the use high performance working and its wide acceptability throughout the organizations worldwide and especially in the United States (Ashaton and Sung, 2002). The market fluctuations, introduction of newer technologies and economic changes are the main triggers of High Performance working. The role of employee responses         The employees play mediating role in the high performance working system. The literatures show that High Performance Working is linked to a number of employee practices and employee responses (Macky and Boxall, 2007, Boxall and Macky,2009). Employees are often placed as the central to mediating the outcomes that an organization experiences due to high performance working.         The High Performance Working is directly influencing the performance of employees as it helps increase their productivity and by developing their interpersonal skills and abilities. Employees are highly motivated in an organization that functions with system of High Performance Working and these employees are provided of greater opportunities to make use of their knowledge, experiences and skills.         In an organization that works as High Performance System employee capability is being set upper limit of performance, motivation is directly impacting the degree to which this capability is turned in to an action and opportunities are enhanced as venue for them to express their skills Macky and Boxall (2007). Basic Elements of High Performance Working         Human Resource Management plays significant role in implementing various elements of High Performance working like organizational structure, design, selection and training of people, reward system and learning organization. As there are pressures for performance in a very dynamic and competitive environment, human resource managers seem to gravitate toward improving the efficiency of existing organizations structure by implementing new strategies that help gain competitive advantages (Ashkenas and Ulrich, 2002). Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert (2003) identified the following elements of High Performance Working. Organizational Structure         The structure of an organization is the way it combines its people in to useful groups, departments and reporting relationship (Noe and Hollenbeck, 2003). A better designed organizational structure will be highly effective to promote the working of various management groups. The top management within an organization decides the total design and levels of managements like how many employees should be there under a particular supervisor. Task Design         Task design is the way the necessary activities of an organization are grouped. Task design makes the tasks to be done efficient and it encourages quality in the operation (Noe and Hollenbeck, 2003). Right People         Selecting right people is the very critical aspect of Human Resource Management. People being selected must fit the tasks to be assigned to them. Right people are the very basic and inevitable element of the High Performance System. In designing and developing a high Performance System, the Human Resource Management must put efforts to find qualified and skilled people who will fit the specific requirement of the business. Reward System         Jackson and Hitt (2003) emphasized that reward is the most powerful tool out of all available Human Resource strategies. It is a strategy that not only motivates the employees but ensures increased productivity and employee cooperation as well. Reward system is another important element of High Performance Working, because it serves dual aspects that it directs attention of employees to the most important specific requirements and also it motivates them to put their efforts. Information system         It is the final element of High Performance Working system by which managers have to take decision regarding what kinds of information to be gathered and from what sources it can be collected. The information system determines the scope of information that who can access the information and how can they retrieve organizational knowledge.         An information system of an organization is closely related to knowledge management practice which is the process of enhancing business performance by designing and implementing systems, tools, strategies, process and people so as to create knowledge, share and use it for the further benefits of the organization (Noe, 2002). Conditions that Contribute to High Performance Working         Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert (2003) identified certain factors that contribute to the high performance working in an organization. According to him, Teamwork, Knowledge share, incentives, employee empowerment and reward are the main factors that directly influence the High Performance Working. Teamwork         High Performance System will work more effectively in an organization where employees are engaged in team work, cooperation and collaboration. Teamwork is a highly important tool of organizational culture that leads to knowledge share and it thus brings better performance. The teamwork refers to the ability of staffs to work together and their expertise in cooperation by assessing team skills with trust and good communication between them (Austin and Claassen, 2008). Knowledge Share         Knowledge share and knowledge slow between workers helps an organization perform well. An organization in which knowledge is freely transferred between its employees can make better ways to achieve success through the implementation of High Performance Working. According to Rothwell and Sterns (2008), employees can be encouraged by team learning by fostering interaction among older and younger workers. This will enable each employee learn from his or her counterparts and therefore it helps foster knowledge share among the workers. Outcomes of High Performance Working         High Performance Working results higher productivity and increased efficiency and these in turn contribute to higher profits (Noe, Hollenbeck and Gerhert, 2003). An organization with the help of High Performance Working can achieve high product quality, better customer service and customer satisfaction, lower rate of employee turnover and increased employee involvement and cooperation (Luthans, 2005).         Gephart and Buren (2002) hold the view that all the companies with high performance may not pursue the same business strategies. Some business may go for low cost or customer services, while others rely on innovation, speed and so forth. A company with High Performance Strategy may give greater emphasis on highly skilled and knowledgeable or experienced employees, customer satisfaction and reliable products and services.         A survey conducted in 1993 by Center for Effective Organization has proved that companies that used employee involvement and High Performance Working had substantially higher levels of financial success than those companies that didnt use same strategies. Companies that increasingly used High Performance Working excelled at return on sales return assets and return on investments as well (Gephart and Buren, 2002).         According to survey conducted by Sloan Foundation, companies with high performance working in the steel industry have been found that those companies had 7 % higher productivity, 13 % increased product quality and better service quality than those companies with less High Performance Working system (Gephart and Buren, 2002). It is obvious that High Performance Working helps organizations increase the employee productivity, motivate employees, achieve high product and service quality and gain customer satisfaction and so on. Workplace Learning for High Performance Working         Ashton and Sung (2002) argued that the use of workplace as a learning experience has been transformed over recent years. There are three main reasons for this. First is the growth of Knowledge economy, second is the impact of new economy and information and communication technology and the third is the increased use of High Performance Working system. Organizational learning has become a significant part of High Performance Working system.         As stated earlier, one of the important elements of High Performance Working is Information system. It is not only the system of how information is stored or made use of it, but, it denotes the comprehensive practices involved in making the workplace a learning atmosphere as well. It can be well connected with knowledge management practices.         The spread of High Performance Working has created more opportunities within employees to learn and develop themselves, to improve their skills and not just as in the professional or craft occupations (Ashton and Sung, 2002). The case of IBM: An organizational Learning example         IBM Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that has succeeded in its business pathway through a number of marketing and Human Resource strategies. IBM remains to be an illuminating example for making its workplace a knowledge creating environment and learning experience. Being an organizational learning example, IBM has implemented a strategy for High Performance Working that makes people, process and technology more adjusted to the changing environment.         The organizational learning of IBM is basically a customer-driven strategy which has been considered to be effective as it can enable the company adapt to the environmental, cultural and other changes. From the words of Ted Hoff, the vice president of the organizational learning system, IBM has a very special heritage and commitment to learning. This culture is ingrained in all the senior executives. The IBM senior management expects always conducting learning and they are going to develop employees by developing new ideas (Sosbe, 2003).         When IBM was under the direction of Vincent Learson, he started conducting serious conversation with senior level management in order to find most effective strategies. Based on situation analysis and future market anticipation, a newly appointed committee suggested IBM to implement an organizational learning process by maintaining 360 new line computers only for the use of management and employees. It was the strategic beginning of organizational learning at IBM and it still goes on as strategic movements to achieve high performance working in the organization (Lipshitz, Popper and Friedman, 2006).         IBMs organizational learning can be viewed as a strategic approach for becoming a High Performance Working organization. As discussed by Ashton and Sung (2002), organizational learning is a step forward to become High Performance Working system in an organization. Organizational learning and its strategies enhance employee learning through various methods and tools like knowledge share, retaining older employees for knowledge transfer etc and these in turn motivate employees to learn and develop their skills. Finding right people for the fit for specific requirements is the very crucial stage in High Performance Working. But, organizational learning is an easy way to find and make use of right people for the right need. Instead of searching people from outside, organizational learning and knowledge management helps organizations get right people from within the employees.         IBM has become one of the renowned computer technology corporations with a very strong market share. IBM has achieved its success through various strategies including organizational learning that helped IBM become High performance working organization. Conclusion and Recommendations         This research work presents the theories and practices of High Performance Working and it analyses various elements of the system. This paper outlines the outcomes of High Performance Working and the case of IBM has been included to describe how organizational learning has been effectively used by IBM so as to make it a High Performance Working organization.         It is very obvious that companies with High Performance Working are found more productive, highly successful in customer satisfaction, improved product and service qualities and so forth than those companies that didnt use High Performance working. Organizations that seek further development in its core competencies and total output must turn their attention towards this growing trend of High Performance working system.
The Reality of Affirmative Action Essay -- affirmative action argument
In the United States justice is defined as equal treatment of all citizens under the law. When one citizen is treated unfairly, an injustice has been committed against all people. It is the duty of Americans to make sure such injustices are eliminated. Affirmative Action is one such program whose purpose is to make sure that equal citizens are treated equally under the law. In today’s society it is imperative that all people regardless of race or gender are given equal opportunity in the admissions and job applications processes. Affirmative Action was designed to create this equality. The history of Affirmative Action ultimately began two hundred years ago with the founding of our nation. The Constitution, which is the basis of all laws in society, was drawn up and signed by many men who themselves owned slaves. As time progressed, it became necessary to create a â€Å"Great Compromise,†which stated that blacks were now allowed to be counted as three-fifths of a person for voting purposes. Nearly, one hundred years later, slaves were freed. However, these newly freed slaves were now placed in a more perplexing situation than they were initially. They were now a large group of people who knew little of their newly founded rights, and for the most part uneducated. Sadly, the leaders of this country failed to realize that freeing this group of people was not enough. The result was a new class of people who were uneducated, by no fault of their own, and then were told that they were now on their own. These people navigated through a stranger’s culture a nd society. A similar effect occurred after World War II when the men who had been away at war returned to find their wives wearing their pants and doing their work in the yards an... .../~affirm.>. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey. Income, Poverty, and Valuation of Non-cash Benefits. 1993. 10 October 1998 . Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fact Sheet. 1994. 10 October 1998 . Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. Making Full Use of the nation’s Human Capital. March 1995. 10 October 1998 . Gergen, D. â€Å"Why Race-Sensitive College Admissions Policies Work.†U.S. News & World Report Vol. 125 (October 1998): 84-85. Lewis, M. Rethinking Affirmative Action. 1996. 5 October 1998 . Pasour, E. â€Å"Affirmative Action: A Counter-Productive Policy.†The Freeman (January 1989): 24-25.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Vulnerability in the Works of John Donne :: Biography Biographies Essays
Free Essay on John Donne - A Journey Through Vulnerability John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, express his feelings, and most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. Donne's poetry is a confrontation or struggle to find a place in this world, or rather, a role to play in a society from which he often finds himself detached or withdrawn. This essay will discuss Donne's states of mind, his views on love, women, religion, his relationship with God; and finally how the use of poetic form plays a part in his exploration for an identity and salvation. The speaker in Donne's poetry is a theatrical character, constantly in different situations, and using different roles to suit the action. He can take on the role of the womanizer, as in "The Indifferent," or the faithful lover from "Lover's Infiniteness," but the speaker in each of these poems is always John Donne himself. Each poem contains a strong sense of Donne's own self-interest. According to Professor J. Crofts, Donne: Throughout his life... was a man self-haunted, unable to escape from his own drama, unable to find any window that would not give him back the image of himself. Even the mistress of his most passionate love-verses, who must (one supposes) have been a real person, remains for him a mere abstraction of sex: a thing given. He does not see her --does not apparently want to see her; for it is not of her that he writes, but of his relation to her; not of love, but of himself loving. In "Elegy XIX [To His Mistress Going to Bed]," we are confronted with one of Donne's personalities. The poem begins abruptly: Come, Madam, come! All rest my powers defy;/ Until I labour, I in l abour lie. The reader is immediately thrust into the middle of a private scene in which Donne attempts to convince his lover to undress and come to bed. There is only one speaker in this poem, Donne, we do not hear the voice or a description of the feelings of another person, but she is always present. If Samuel Johnson was correct when he made the statement that "the metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show their learning was their whole endeavour.
cinderella Essay -- essays research papers
Cinderella: Once Upon A Time The story of Cinderella has appealed to a number of audiences since its earliest dated version in A.D. 850. Even with the extensive selection of fairy tales in existence, "Cinderella" is undoubtedly the best known in the world, with over 700 versions of this story available. However, this popularity is not limited strictly to literature, for the Cinderella theme is also seen in many movie productions. Two movies, Walt Disney's Cinderella and Andy Tennant's Ever After: A Cinderella Story, are of particular interest. These films share many similarities, both in the screenplay and in the visual effects, but a vast difference exists between the two. Though both teach that goodness will ultimately triumph over evil and villainy, Ever After's depiction of the characters presents a better moral lesson for our society by showing that independence and intelligence are just as important as goodness. Throughout history, as evidenced by Perault and the Grimm Brothers, Cinderella has typically been portrayed as the girl who obeys without complaining. She is characterized to be a perfect woman, both in purity and in beauty. All stories are somewhat influenced by the times in which they are written, and "Cinderella" is no exception. In fact, the date in which Disney's Cinderella was released, 1950, most likely played a significant role in this particular Cinderella's success. After the years of poverty and struggle of the Great Depression and World War II, America wanted a change. Instead of being reminded of the past, this generation wanted to look toward the future as a time of happiness, success, and stability. Cinderella gave them this chance. Its ideals are simple and follow the morality themes of ordinary fairy tales: if one is pure and follows his or her conscience, one's dreams will come true. Disney adheres to the typical portrayal of Cinderella as the perfect woma n. In the Disney movie, she is young, innocent, and pure. More importantly, she plays a sweet, innocent girl with whom no one can find a fault. She accepts her circumstances, and makes the best of them, no matter how dire and unfavorable. Though she is a servant in her own home, with her stepfamily ordering her about, her only response to this abuse is, "I know it isn't easy maciej mikula, but we should at least try and get along together." Cin... ...r more than she needs him, though the outward appearance may seem otherwise. This is more evidence of the independence people in the 21st century encourage in both women and men. Walt Disney's Cinderella and Andy Tennant's Ever After are both based on the original Cinderella stories. However, because both of them were released in very different times, many differences mark the two versions, though they keep many of the key elements that appeal to such a wide audience over the centuries. In both stories, Cinderella is a beautiful, young lady with a kind heart. Ever After, however, adds intelligence and courage to these qualities. Leading into the 21st century, these additions make Cinderella a much more modern and appealing role model for both the female and male audiences. Cinderella triumphs over her evil stepfamily in Ever After by playing an active role in receiving her freedom and by demonstrating to the viewer that knowledge is just as important a trait as goodness. Even tho ugh Cinderella and her prince live "happily ever after" in both Disney and Tennant's depictions, how each girl got to the point of this ever-famous phrase has dramatically changed with the times.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Integrating Texts and Graphics into Your Writing :: Writing Education Essays
Integrating Texts and Graphics into Your Writing My advice for students about integrating texts and graphics would be to figure out how to combine them most appropriately for what you want to convey, whether it be an informational article or a creative story. In most cases, especially in technical writing, the main purpose of graphics is to explain something faster or organize the information better. Last spring in technical writing, we focused a lot on how to use our graphics in our final proposal to add to the written information, not take away from it. We used charts for comparison of statistics and diagrams to show how something is assembled. Something else to keep in mind is that graphics do not just mean photos. Graphics are everything from a plain border around a page to a colorful subheading or even a callout box to draw special attention to a quote. These things can make a document more aesthetically appealing and keep the reader’s attention. When a reader sees a full page of text and nothing else, it can be quite o verwhelming if there is nothing to break up the information. Subheadings are a great way to divide sections of text for easy reading. I don’t think a picture should be put into a document for no reason as that would take away from what the writer wants to say. If the picture is not related to anything but is just there to be cute, then don’t use it at all. For instance, I would not put a flowery border around this document right now because that would be completely irrelevant, although quite lovely I’m sure. Having said that, understand that technical writing is different from creative writing. If you are writing a poem or story and pictures could really add something significant to it, then it is wonderful to use appropriate graphics to do that. As McCloud states in â€Å"Show and Tell,†â€Å"the different ways in which words and pictures can combine is virtually unlimited.†It is good to be creative, but also remember the purpose of your graphics and the flow and readability of your pages. If it is too crowded or busy, the reader may give up trying to figure out what you want to focus on. McCloud lays out at least a dozen ways that pictures can accompany words to more completely present an idea or story.
Night before x-mas parody :: essays research papers
‘Twas the night before spring break, when all through the city Lots of young people were stirring, awake in their house; The short pants and short sleeves were hung in the closet with care, In hopes that warm weather soon would be there; The children were restless being stuck in there beds, While visions of pre-summer fun danced in there heads; And dark in the window and I on the couch, Had just woken up from a quick evening nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my resting place to see to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Turned on the light and threw up the sash. The moon on the rest of the fresh spring grass Gave the luster of morning to objects below, When what to my sleepy eyes should appear, But a kid on a razor scooter, offending my ears. With a little young rider so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be a neigbor. More anoying than anything was the grinding that came, As he rumbled and grumbled down the pavement he came; As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly, When he meets a small rock scooter and rider will fly, So down to the street corner he flew, With a frown on his face and a broken scooter too. And then, in a twinkling, i heard on the street The jumping and screaming and each muffled oof. As i drew in my hand and was turning around, Up from the pavement he came with a bound. He was dressed all in new clothing from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with dirt from a nearby tree root; A beat up scoter he had flung on his back, And he looked like he was homeless and high on crack. His eyes didn’t twinkle, his dimples not merry! His cheeks were filled with embarrassment and his face red as a cherry! His droll little mouth pulled down in a frown, And the amusement of his actions compared with a clown; The stump of a handlebar he held tight in his hand, And the thought of his misfortune circled his head, He had a broad face and a round little belly, That shook when he walked like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right sorry young elf, And i laughed when i saw him, in spite of myself;
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Intro speech Essay
Earth Hour is a worldwide movement for the planet organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Earth Hour engages a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues. It was first famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. The event is held worldwide and held towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. Earth Hour 2013 was celebrated on March 23, 2013. Earth Hour 2014 is scheduled for Saturday, March 29, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during participants’ local time. -2004: in Sydney not so famous – 2007: Become well known -2008: Earth Hour 2008 was held internationally on March 29, 2008 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, marking the first anniversary of the event. With 35 countries around the world participating as official flagship cities and over 400 cities also supporting, Earth Hour 2008 was celebrated on all seven continents. Landmarks all around the world turned off their non-essential lighting for Earth Hour, including the Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), Empire State Building (New York City, USA), (examples) 2008 participants[edit] Earth Hour 2008 included 26 major cities worldwide and 300 smaller towns shutting off their lights.[6] 2009: Earth Hour 2009 was from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time, March 28, 2009. 88 countries and 4,159 cities participated in Earth Hour 2009,[37] ten times more cities than Earth Hour 2008 had (2008 saw 400 cities participate).[38 96 countries on 6 continents participated in the event in 2009. – 2010: Earth Hour 2010 was held from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time, 27 March.[49] In Israel, the hour was held on 22 April.[50] Earth Hour 2010 was reportedly the biggest Earth Hour yet, aiming to garner more than the one billion participant goal of 2009’s Earth Hour.[51] 126 countries participated in Earth Hour 2010.[52] 2011: Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign’s five year history, reaffirming it as the largest ever voluntary action for the environment. It took place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories in all seven continents.[59] It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign’s digital footprint grew to 91 million. – 2012: Earth Hour 2012 was observed on 31 March 2012 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (participant’s local time).[66] It took place in more than 7000 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories, making it the biggest growth year for the campaign since 2009. In February, Earth Hour launched its 2012 campaign â€Å"I Will If You Will†, with the intention of engaging its growing global community to go beyond the hour and coordinate efforts publicly through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and e-mail. Using a dedicated YouTube platform,[67] IWIYW asks Earth Hour’s digital community to inspire people from all corners of the globe to take sustainability actions, and to share their commitment to the environment with their own social media networks. -2013: Earth Hour 2013 was held across the world on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time[71] to avoid taking place after European Summer Time begins, ensuring the greatest impact of the lights off ev ent. It is also to avoid coinciding with Western Christianity Holy Saturday, which falls on March 30 of that year. 2014: Earth Hour 2014 announced the date will schedule on March 29 as seen on the 2013 Earth Hour highlights >> â€Å"I will if you will†Campaign: â€Å"I Will If You Will†(IWIYW) is an Earth Hour campaign to encourage positive action for the environment. The actions required are up to the individual or group. They could be big or small and it might be a simple lifestyle change or perhaps something that leads to political change. The campaign intends for people to become the inspiration to their friends, family, colleagues and communities by sharing what they’re willing to do to protect the planet. Challenges can be created or accepted on Earth Hour’s YouTube channel. Many organization supports and celebrity endorsement – The Earth Hour Global FAQ page states: Earth Hour does not purport to be an energy/carbon reduction exercise, it is a symbolic action. Therefore, we do not engage in the measurement of energy/carbon reduction levels for the hour itself. Earth Hour is an initiative to encourage individuals, businesses and governments around the world to take accountability for their ecological footprint and engage in dialogue and resource exchange that provides real solutions to our environmental challenges. Participation in Earth Hour symbolises a commitment to change beyond the hour.[86]
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