Eschatology In The Pentecostal Church

Eschatology In The Pentecostal Church The doctrine of eschatology like other Christian doctrines is usually understood in various ways by various scholars because of its various implications. Some scholars consider it as a matter of historical phenomenon of Christs own days of humanity. While others suggest it as a fulfilment of prophecies of Jewish messianic Lordship of the Son of Man as was prophesised by Old Testament prophets .Most of them opine it as a matter related to end days of this age. But I am to focus on the returning of Jesus Christs in the light of Christs own teaching and the implications of his teachings for the doctrine of eschatology in the Pentecostal church. These implications may be: 1:- Undetermined time of his return. 2:- Signs of his return. 3:- Coming of Son of Man on clouds OR rapture. 4:- A thousand years reign of Christ with his saints. 5:- Persecution and tribulations of the believers 6:- Battle between Jesus army and devils army. 7:- Final judgment of all the nations and tribes of the world. DEFINITION OF PAROUSIA:- Doctrine of eschatology is often substituted with word Parousia. The word Parousia can be defined as: The expected return or the second coming of Jesus Christ in which he will announce the last days and the final judgment by God of humanity. DEFFERNT VIEWS OF SCHOLARS REGARDING THE RETURN OF CHRIST:- It is noticeable that some scholars consider the second coming of Christ as an interim phenomenon between Christs death, resurrection and his second coming. But according to Rudolf Boltzmanns view point, in Jesus mind there was to be no interval between his death and his second coming. He further argued that Jesus eschatology is essential to grasp the right knowledge of his life. Albert Schweitzer like Rudolf emphasised that it was supposed by Christ during his own life. He insisted: This is also true with respect to his view that, in Jesus mind, his death and the parousia of the Son of Man were simultaneous. Similarly, C.H.Dodd opposed the idea of interim between Christs death, resurrection and second coming on the clouds. Moreover He highlighted that it is evident from the Acts and Pauline letters that kingdom of God is already very much in power. He reiterated that it is clear from Christs own teachings that his kingdom is already with them. He said: Jesus brought the kingdom and was the kingdom; the whole complex of events comprising Jesus ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection themselves constitute the coming of the kingdom. The comprehensive picture of eschatology is clearly visible in the synoptic gospels in Mathew: 24, Mark: 13 and Luke: 21. Synoptic Gospels presents Jesus as the Son of Man who will return soon to take the believers and judge the world as is also written in (1thess 4:16-17).But these passages of gospels have been wrongly interpreted as is usually said that these passages of gospels describe those events that had occurred in Jesus own life. But the reference to some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Mathew10:28) must not be understood as related to the coming of Christ rather this passage clarify the time span of forty years between the time of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem and temple. Furthermore Mathew 10:23 cannot be considered as concerning the final returning of Jesus Christ; the indications to the second coming of the Son of Man and the final judgment of the world are always emphasized and re-emphasized with the note of delay. This note of delay is again and again highlighted in the parables of my master is delayed, the bridegroom was delayed. According to some scholars, although the signs of Jesus second coming have even already come true in his resurrection, yet his resurrection cannot be taken for his second coming. As a great theologian as well a reformer asserted that Christ will come again. Calvin affirmed that Christ would come again, and the renovation of the world had, in a manner already begun, in Christs glorified humanity. Second coming of Christ like his first coming was prophesied by the Old Testament prophets, especially by Daniel and Isaiah. Daniel prophesized: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like son of man, coming with clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.(Daniel 7:13)The second coming of Jesus as a an event of future is also evident from the signs of his second coming. UNDETERMINED TIME OF SECOND COMING OF CHRIST:- Time of second coming of Jesus is unknown to Humanity because Jesus did not mention exactly when he would return to take his people. It is only known to God the Father because of his unlimited knowledge, sovereignty and omnipotence. Jesus said: No one knows about the day or hour ,not even the angels in the heaven , nor the Son but only the Father.(Math.24:36) Suddenness of Christs return is explained in the synoptic gospels in line with the days of Noah , an unexpected time when people were doing normal activities of life like now-a-days. SIGNS OF CHRIST S SECOND COMING:- Many religio-political , socio-economic and natural signs can be taken into account as for as second coming of Christ is concerned. The prophecy of future catastrophes like famines, earthquakes, pestilences, rising of one nation against another nation, kingdom against another kingdom, economic depressions, particularly the destruction of the Holy city of Jerusalem is stressed upon in the synoptic gospels. Pentecostal churches attach much importance to these signs as the eschatological signs of end days. It is evident from the daily happenings of the world: natural disasters in one part or another part of the world. Economic depression and recession throughout the world is another major factor which is significant to the second coming of Christ. Famines are visible in the world today. In the world Press Report, Michael Ignatieff wrote: Famine has come to Africa. Again, twenty-six million people are at risk in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Malawi, Angola, and Mozambique. In all these place s .civil war conspires with drought in wiping out the human race. World religions and human values are preferred to Christian and spiritual values because false prophets and false Christ, as was prophesized by Christ, are dominant in this world. Nations and kingdoms are seen at daggers drawn in todays world as western nations are fighting against Eastern nations to establish peace in the world. Nuclear race has started which may lead to third world war. Rapture is also considered essential in the Pentecostal church as being a sign of Jesus coming. Rapture is the term commonly used to designate the catching up of Christians at the second coming. SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND ITS PENTECOSTAL IMPLICATIONS:- Firstly, Living believers will be taken up by Christ to receive him. Secondly, the Devil will be trapped for a thousand years and those who died in Christ will be raised to rule over the world with Christ for a thousand years. It is very significant here that some Premillenials are not agreed with the Pentecostals along with Seventh Day Adventists as well as Millenarians on the issue of a thousand years reign of Christ. Thirdly, Satan will be released after a thousand years rule of Christ and he will rebel against the dominion of Christ to deceive the nations and persuade them to war against God. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released. Persecution of the church must be occurred and borne by the believers before the consummation of the world. The tribulations will be a time of unparalleled horror for all those left behind to live through the final seven years of this age. But Satans rebellion will be destroyed and the dead will be raised to face the final judgment of God, established through Christ who will defeat the Devil along with his armies. Finally, there will be final judgment in which Christ will separate believers from the non-believers as sheep from the goats. Those who had been martyred for His name will be privileged to share the throne with Christ. They will rule over the other nations and God will rule over them forever. Every individual from all the nations is to be judged by God in accordance with their treatment with His disciples as well as their works. As Gray notes: the main point of the parables about his kingdom is the acceptance or the rejection of the Christian faith.Saints will also get a varied degree reward in return of their service for God and His kingdom. CONCLUSION:- It can be said that although the claims of some scholars as well as sings regarding the second coming of Christ has provisionally been proved during and after the life of Christ, yet stances taken by giants of theology cannot be ignored that second coming of Jesus is a phenomenon of future which is evident from its various eschatological implications. Signs of return of Christ which occur at present days are leading this world to its consummation as well as to the restoration of the original orders of the earth and heaven which are called new earth and new heaven.

Postmodern Characteristics Works Of Young British Artists Cultural Studies Essay

Postmodern Characteristics Works Of Young British Artists Cultural Studies Essay Got their fame in the early 1990s, the Young British Artists (YBAs) is known as a group of highly publicized British avant-garde artists active from the late 1980s (Chilvers, 1999). In this research essay, the works of two leading artists of the YBAs, Marcus Harvey and Damien Hirst, will be mentioned and analyzed within the context of postmodern theories. The evident postmodern characteristics being discussed in the four art pieces is pluralism. Marcus Harvey (1963-now) is an English artist and painter and a leading member of YBAs; his pieces cited and analyzed in this essay are Myra (Fig. 1) and Toilet Roll (Fig. 2). Both of the two paintings are the representation of an object with blurred lines and pieces, seemingly as if the macro images are composed by tiny units and sections. The composition of the paintings and the fuzzy impressions has largely corresponded to the meaning of pluralism in postmodern theories. Damien Hirst (1965-now) is a close friend of Marcus Harvey, he is the most prominent member of YBAs and most of his works focus on the theme of Death (National Galleries of Scotland n.d.). In this essay, two of his works being analyzed are the painting LSD (Fig. 3) and the sculpture For the Love of God (Fig.4). In these two art pieces, LSD is constructed using a grid of dots of different colors while For the Love of God is consisted of human skull, platinum, and diamond. These pieces illustrate how single elements can produce new meanings when being composed together or re-arranged, similar as Harveys works, these art pieces are also a reflection of pluralism in postmodern viewpoint. In postmodernism, the word pluralism is generally used to describe the multiplicity of meaning and the status of a mixture and disorder (Bohman 1999) of culture, identities, ideologies, worldviews, religions etc. in postmodern era, it embraces the idea of fragmentation or incoherence in contemporary world. Body Pluralism is literally defined as the quality or state of being plural (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2010), which is in contrary of dualism. As we learned from the course, pluralism within postmodern practice is not only apparent within its political content but also in the strategies, processes and the styles within the works themselves. Looking back to all the theories and argumentations on postmodernism, it is easily observed that the common ground among all the discourses is to admit the chaos, disorder, fragmentation, and even meaningless of any subject from my perspective, the balance of disorder and order is a representation of what we called pluralism. Doubtlessly, pluralism has become a dominant tendency in every aspect of modern life in the backdrop of globalization and commercialization tide. According to Milbrandt (2003), the characteristics of postmodern world have directly triggered the emergence of popular culture and postmodern art forms such as visual art, on the other hand, conceptual barriers between so-called high and low culture have broken down due to the evolution of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). In one word, to study todays artistic creations in turns of different postmodern characteristics, such as pluralism, will provide us a comprehensive understanding of postmodernism theories as well as postmodern lives/practices. Speaking of the arena of art, more specifically, the YBAs, those conceptual artists, painters, sculptors and installation artists are noted for their shocking and creative tactics in making art; and as reported by The Guardian (14 June 2000), they dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. By analyzing the four works I cited in this essay, I hold the viewpoint that as typical Young British Artists works, those art pieces from Marcus Harvey and Damien Hirst have notably demonstrated and reflected the qualities of pluralism. Myra (Fig. 1) is one of the most famous and disputed works by Marcus Harvey, it is the portrait of a child killer Myra Hindley recreated from multiple copies of childrens handprints. In this artwork, numerous childrens handprints seem to cover and claw at Hindleys face and shape a unique situation: on the one hand, the image of her face is composed by those handprints; while on the other hand, those tiny palms also obliterate her features. It is commended by The Guardian Weekend (Burn, 1997) that this artwork brings the chill of horror we feel but can rarely express and suggests the coolness that is, the affectless-ness; the loss of sensation; the stray; the cold stoniness in the work itself. Connecting it with postmodern theories, one can easily catch the smell of pluralism in Myra. As Hughes (2004) and Knoper (2008) summarized (though the idea is originated from Lyotard), postmodern art represents the death of so-called meta-narratives maintained in modern society and adopts plur alism to replace dualism, thus create a sense of chaos and disorder in meanings. Such is what we read from the controversial artwork Myra, in which the tiny units are both creating and destroying the whole iconic image, based on this, varied and more in-depth meanings are conveyed. Toilet Roll (Fig. 2) is another artwork by Marcus Harvey and from which we can also find evidence of pluralism. Ang (2006) points out that, the status of pluralism and the imitation of an existed style lead to things like pastiche (an empty copy), which is an idea that suggests little of the implied depth. Toilet Roll the painting is a reflection of such death of depth I personally dont think the image in this artwork conveys much aesthetic delight, nor it is as meaningful and thought provoking as Myra. However, when we look at the fuzzy images and small blocks in the picture, a sense of meaningless and confusion is generated in readers mind. In other words, from my perspective, no/little value or meaning is the meaning of this work. LSD (Fig. 3) by Damien Hirst might be the one among the four artworks that represents pluralism most apparently and directly: a grid of dots of different colors, a simple mixture of plural elements. Similar to many postmodern paintings, one cannot easily grasp what the artist wants to express in this painting. Villeneuve Erickson (2008) point out that contemporary art cannot be judged simply by whether they are representational or attractive, and contemporary artists tend to use unconventional materials and touch difficult topics (such as sexuality, patriotism, and religion), which all present obstacles in understanding. So as to LSD, readers can have numerous interpretations to the grid of dots from varied perspectives. Those perceptions express the complex and different cultural backgrounds and social identities of the appreciators as well create the multi-dimensionality in interpretation (Song, 2009), which reveals a broader pluralism beyond the painting format itself. Besides, t he interdisciplinary mediations and analysis (Trafà ­-Prats, 2009) of contemporary art also reflects the spirit of pluralism (i.e. the interpretation of LSD may touch upon the field of music, political science, cultural studies, religious studies, etc.). For the Love of God (Fig.4) is a sculpture by Damien Hirst produced in 2007, it consists of human skull, platinum cast, and 8,601 diamonds (Hirst unveils  £50m diamond skull, 2007). Besides the value of the material itself, the artistic value of this sculpture is also precious. George Steiner (2001) claimed in his book Grammars of Creation, the age such as ours is an age of ugliness the violence, oppression, economic enslavement and social irrationality. And this artwork For the Love of God shows a hope for beauty in this age of ugliness and death and is a restoration of respect for God (Moore, 2004). The materials used in this sculpture are shock, contrasting and creative, and when Hirst constitutes the skull, the platinum, and the diamonds together, they successfully create new meanings with sharp impacts such is an aspect of pluralism, that the single distinct elements can produce an organic whole. Conclusion In conclusion, all these four art pieces analyzed in this essay is a good demonstration of pluralism in postmodern context. As artistic works created by British avant-garde artists in the post-1990s era, they successfully used some tactics and gimmicks to produce and convey what I would call a sense of nonsense and a sense of confusion and shock to the audience. It is not surprising that all the works can easily find a niche in postmodern interpretations, not only because they were produced in the context and with the idea of postmodern thoughts, but also because we are trying to read them from a postmodern perspective. Nonetheless, although it is hard to elaborate in details what aesthetic feelings or experiences they create to audience, because each individual has his/her own judgment on artistic (especially postmodern artistic) works and also because postmodern fine art is often anti-aesthetic, it is still possible to reach a better understanding of them besides the sense of nonsense, confusion and shock. From my perspective, those works in general expressed the artists concern on the spurt of modern technology, industrialization and commercialization, as well as the loss of meaning and depth in postmodern way of life, which are the eternal focuses of all forms of postmodern fine art.

An Analysis of the Poetry of Yeats :: Biography Biographies Essays

An Analysis of Down by the Salley Gardens One of Yeats' poems, Down by the Salley Gardens is a typical story of inexperienced youth in the realm of love. The final two lines hold the key to the theme of the poem: She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. The poem is evidently about the relationship between the narrator and the woman with the "little snow-white feet†¢ and the narrator's failure to be able to cope with that relationship. Whilst she wanted to enjoy herself and "take life easy†¢, he was too "young and foolish†¢ to understand her needs, resulting in them going their separate ways, hence the ?nal line. Down by the Salley Gardens has a number of problems, probably due to it being written at an early point in Yeats' writing career. It lacks the subtlety of his later poems; there really is very little to analyze in terms of the themes and issues raised within. The language is also far simpler - there are no very memorable lines in this poem, whereas his later works contained lines that would eventually enter most people's collective unconscious, such as some of the first few lines of The Second Coming: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The repetition used in the last two lines of each stanza is obvious and overstated, and the bouncy, cheerful rhyme scheme does not seem to compliment the rather downbeat and morose tone of the poem. Down by the Salley Gardens simply lacks the power and depth with which he later infused his poems. The Lake Isle of Innisfree Written only four years after Down by the Salley Gardens, The Lake Isle of Innisfree is a remarkable advance. This poem is far more sophisticated in all respects. An immediately noticeable difference between it and the previous poem is its maturity; the themes explored and the techniques used to do so are far more complex and detailed than those used in Down by the Salley Gardens. The central theme is that of exile, and it is portrayed in a somewhat curious way. The narrator longs to live on the island of Innisfree and be closer to nature, hence the lines:

paganbeo Pagan Aspect of Beowulf Essay -- Epic Beowulf essays

The Pagan Aspect of Beowulf      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Beowulf the pagan aspect is revealed through many passages and many heathen rites or customs in which the form of expression or the thought suggests pagan usage or beliefs.    â€Å"The poet’s heroic age is full of men both ‘emphatically pagan and exceptionally good,’ men who believe in a God whom they thank at every imaginable opportunity. Yet they perform all the pagan rites known to Tacitua, and are not Christian† (Frank 52). Certainly the pagan element seems to be too deeply interwoven in the text for us to suppose that it is due to additions made by scribes at a time when the poem had come to be written down. The pagan element had to be included by the original poet. Another scholar considers the paganism of the poem:    Both the poet and his audience knew well that sixth-century Scandinavians were heathens. And lest it be thought that Anglo-Saxons tended to forget the heathenism of the Scandinavians as time wore on, we should recall that, in the Chronicle, charters, poems, and saints’ lives, Old English haethen (as well as Latin paganus) was virtually a synonym for Dene (i.e. â€Å"Scandinavian†). Indeed, the association between heathenism and Scandinavians became ever so stronger in Anglo-Saxon England as the centuries passed. The vaguely pious heroes of Beowulf, then, would not have been mistaken for christians by an Anglo-Saxon audience (Robinson 82).    The extent to which the pagan element is present varies in different parts of the poem, but is present throughout from beginning to end. The pagan element is unequally distributed between the speeches and the narrative, favoring the narrative.    Catholic missionaries to Britain in the early ce... ...by Lewis E. Nicholson. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.    Bloom, Harold. â€Å"Introduction.† In Modern Critical Interpretations: Beowulf, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Chadwick, H. Munro. â€Å"The Heroic Age.† In An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism, edited by Lewis E. Nicholson. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.    Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977.    Frank, Roberta. â€Å"The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.† In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.    Robinson, Fred C. â€Å"Apposed Word Meanings and Religious Perspectives.† In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

ter :: essays research papers

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An attacker police suspected was a Palestinian woman detonated explosives in Jerusalem's main shopping street on Sunday, killing herself and an elderly Israeli and wounding dozens, Israeli police said. The blast on Jaffa Road was the third attack on an Israeli city center in less than a week and raised the specter of fresh Israeli retaliation. It was also likely to increase Israeli and U.S. pressure on Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) to do more to rein in militants behind the mounting wave of bloodshed. Israeli police said the bomber and an 81-year-old Israeli man were killed, but the circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear. ``We are not calling her a suicide bomber, just a bomber. She is not an innocent bystander. There is a host of possibilities regarding how the bomb went off,'' police spokesman Gil Kleiman said. He said they suspected she was a Palestinian. It was the first time a female bomber has carried out a fatal bomb attack in Israel during the 16-month old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. ``We've had intelligence warnings on woman suicide attackers, albeit not recently,'' Deputy Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra told Reuters. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. CYCLE OF RETRIBUTION The Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) condemned the attack. In a statement, it called on the United States, which last week postponed a truce mission by its envoy Anthony Zinni, to send him back to the region without delay. Two days ago a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and wounded 25 people in Tel Aviv. Last Tuesday, a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli women on Jaffa Road, near the scene of Sunday's bombing. Police shot him dead. Voicing criticism of Arafat after Friday's blast, President Bush (news - web sites) told reporters: ``I am disappointed in Yasser Arafat. He must make a full effort to rout out terror in the Middle East.'' Sunday's explosion occurred near the Sbarro pizzeria where a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 16 in August. Photos Reuters Photo Asked about Israeli retaliation, Dore Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), said: ``The military will bring its recommendations for the approval of the political echelon.'' Israeli jets fired missiles on Friday at Palestinian security targets in the West Bank and Gaza, wounding two Palestinians in retaliation for Friday's suicide bombing attack. And an Israeli missile strike on Thursday followed the shooting attack that killed the two Israeli women.

Outsourcing Customer Service Essay

Outsourcing Customer Service Executive Summary The choice to outsource company’s relations with their customers is a choice many businesses are making. With the costs of labor more than a quarter of the rate an average customer service representative makes in the United States (U. S. ), large companies are making the choice to offshore some, or the entire company’s customers service departments to other countries. To many of these companies, the benefits are out weighing the issues relating to outsourcing in general. Breaches of security and customer satisfaction are some of the problems businesses are facing when making the choice to offshore. Are cutting costs more beneficial than customers losing faith in the products of the company? Outsourcing Customer Service Outsourcing is a business practice that is used around the world. This paper will describe the business case for a company to outsource some of its operations, and the risks that are weighed when choosing to outsource. What impacts those decisions have on the company and its customers will also be discussed. A Background on Outsourcing Outsourcing customer service overseas involves hiring another company abroad to take over either some or the entire customer support department. Outsourcing has become a growing trend today. Many large American, European, and British corporations are eager to cut costs by off shoring customer service jobs to foreign firms for significantly lesser wages. Why Outsourcing? Some of the objectives a company will accomplish by outsourcing jobs to foreign firms are cost savings, having 24 hour customer service, and a centralized service center. Each of these points does however come at a price, and will sometimes outweigh the benefits. Saving money has been the greatest reason companies have chosen to send the majority of their customer service departments to other countries. The thought of cheap labor is enticing to many businesses when making the choice to off shore. The average call center graduate, usually holding a bachelor’s degree (BA) earns 3,000 rupees a week, which is the equivalent of 67 U. S. dollars (Aspden, 2006). To facilitate the need to off shore, construction of office space is taking 10 months to complete instead of the normal 18 months in Bangalore, India. Each month over 40 companies make the decision to outsource Information Technology (IT), back-office and customer service departments to India, and other countries. To fight the onslaught of new business, India has setup second tier cities to handle the overflow of demand and establish call centers such as Pune, Kolkata, and Jaipur, just to name a few. These cities in India are growing quickly to accommodate the need for outsourcing, while slowly loosing the foothold on the market due to the increases in pay. With other countries such as China, Hungary, and the Philippines competing for lower wage work, India may loose almost half it’s market share by 2007 (Aspden, 2006). However, companies are finding out that there are hidden costs involved with the outsourcing of customer service. A growing trend of customer dissatisfaction is causing major corporations to reconsider the outsourcing of its services. In a recent survey of pension policy holders in the United Kingdom (U. K. ) it was found that 75% would leave their current provider if they experienced bad customer service (Pfeffer, 2006). Mega corporations such as Dell, Capitol One, and JP Morgan all made an attempt to outsource customer service and all reversed course. Evidence is mounting that good customer service is pivotal in a company’s retention of customers. A 2005 Gartner study predicted that 60% of organizations that outsource customer-facing processes will see significant numbers of frustrated customers switching to competitors (Pfeffer, 2006). Even call centers in the United Kingdom (U. K. ) have reverted calls back to their own soil due to customer complaints, with the majority of those companies vowing to keep call centers in the U. K. (Kivlehan, 2005). The corporate mentality towards outsourcing is far understated as companies see the business case for the moves, assuming that customers do not pay attention to dialect and local customs. After years of wondering what all those fiber-optic cables laid around the earth at massive expense in the late 1990s would ever be good for, we finally have an answer: They are good for enabling call-center workers in Bangalore or Delhi to sound as if they are next door to everyone. Broadband’s killer app, it turns out, is India (Fox, 2003). Risk Management

Developing yourself Essay

Findings: The CIPD profession map is a tool used to support the profession as a whole to develop products and services, yet it also accelerates the professional development of individuals. The map was created and is used by individuals and organisations; it’s a vital resource if you are working or connected in the HR profession. Whatever sector and/or size of an organisation the professional map is a great help, whether you are a specialist or generalist in talent, reward, learning development, employee relations and engagement. There are three key components to the map, which are: professional areas, behaviours and bands and transitions. The core professional areas show how a HR professional should think and look at tasks, then how to influence the relevant employees to the best outcome. There are then eight further areas surrounding the professional areas and when they are all combined, create the role of a great hr employee. Each area is essential to any business. The eight areas are: service delivery and information, organisation design, organisation development, resourcing and talent planning, learning and development, performance and reward, employee engagement, employee relations and service delivery and information. Once professional HR areas are covered, behaviours are the next vital key to becoming an effective HR professional. There are eight behaviours and they require an employee to be a strong character that leads by example and is confident when advising and influencing all levels of staff from entry to high level. Each behaviour is divided into four bands of professional competence. Each behaviour also lists a number of contra indicators which illustrate negative behaviour. Comment on the activities and knowledge specified within any 1 professional area, at either band one or band two identify those you consider most essential to your own or other identified hr role. Conclusion: A HR practitioner should ensure the services they provide are timely and effective. Different customers have different needs in a HR role and you need to prioritise conflicting needs. Shown below are different customers to  a HR practioner and examples of what needs they may have. Managers look to human resources for sound business advice on how to review, analyse and address people issues. They expect the HR services to be timely and accurate. Supervisors expect human resources to be available on an as-needed basis to help solve people issues. They expect, and frequently demand, help interpreting company policies, expediting personnel matters and preparing or completing paperwork. Most importantly, supervisors expect to learn from their interactions with human resources in order for them to return to their work unit and handle personnel matters. Associates look to human resources to provide, explain or confirm information about company policies and procedures. They expect human re sources to be an empathetic ear to their concerns and to help them solve work-related problems. They expect human resources to anticipate problems and to provide sound recommendations to management. To the applicant, human resources are the company. Applicants expect accurate information about employment opportunities, fair consideration of their qualifications and courteous treatment. An example of how you would prioritise conflicting needs is shown below: When in a HR role a supervisor may need a report by the end of the day completing, a manager may need you to sort a conflict between two members of staff and a member of staff may be dealing with bereavement and is upset. You would then organise how and who or what task is the priority and arrange how it will all be dealt with or completed. In this situation I would delegate the report to another member of staff, I would then arrange a time to address the issues between the two conflicting members of staff then I would then deal with the member of staff with bereavement as I would see them as the highest priority. Then all issues and tasks should be completed/ resolved by the end of the day. This shows how you have an empathetic ear to concerns, you are helping solve work related problems and you are completing tasks under a time scale with organisation and delegation. Communication methods: Employee communication is about the HR aspects of communication from management to employees and of course employees to management. The first aspect is downward communication this is where management communicate to employees the second aspect is upward communication and this is when  employees communicate to management. Managers have to communicate with employees all the time that they are at work it is impossible not to, plentiful communication with employee’s has been shown to be linked to good company performance. Communication could be formal or informal. Smaller company’s often rely on informal methods and have few formal methods of communication with employees. In some cases they prefer to encourage social events for promoting mutual communication. Shown below are some examples of communication: Downward communication: Upward communication: Workforce briefings for all or part of the workforce on key issues Employee attitude surveys Quality circles, regular meeting with all or part of the workforce Suggestion schemes Appraisal interviews Employee forums Newsletters, electronic circular and dvds Project teams With communication you can come across issues these are: Subject What is communicated is the most important issue. HR can send a message to employees only on subjects which they choose to communicate with them. For example, certain information may not be passed on to certain employees because the organisation may not want to disclose this information. Quality You do not want to give too much information as employees may have problems digesting it. You need to make sure the quality of communication is high. Depth The depth of the information must be fit for purpose for example it may be too detailed and confusing for those who it is aimed at as it may have initially been designed for a management circular, re-worked slightly and the circulated to part time workers. Receptiveness Employees should feel that they are being listened to; they may voice their  ideas but feel that they are not listened to, and this would then create a negative effect amongst them and actually demotivating them. Action on their views may or may not be considered a good idea, but employees should then receive feedback on their views. Regularity Employees learn to trust the communication if it is regular and tells them important information. Regular communication means it is less likely rumours which are incorrect circulate in workplaces. A balance must be made between giving people information so regularly that they are swamped with it, and too infrequently so that uncertainty arises. Timing Information may be released when leaked information has already reached employees as rumour and it may then be treated with contempt. Information may be released too early or too late. A good example of this is redundancy information. Employees themselves are sensitive when they read about their own redundancy in the newspaper or see it on the news. You should inform employees of this information at the relevant time so they find out from you first. In the HR role you are likely to have an important role in building managers presentational and communication skills, since operational managers are often appointed mainly for other skills that they have, they may need help in developing their interpersonal skills. HR professionals have people issues at the forefront of their minds, they may advise on where and when sensitive meetings such as appraisals or disciplinary meetings might be best held. HR professionals can act as advisors to individual operational managers on how to communicate to employees on issues such as their pension or legal rights, or alternatively communicate directly with the individual employee’s on such subjects. These matters are of vital importance to employees, for whom areas like pensions and benefits packages are central issues. Getting communication right in these areas is therefor also at the centre of HR professional jobs. HR professionals sometimes have to advise both senior and operational managers on employee’s feelings on different subjects. It is usually the HR professionals who are called on to run or at least source and oversee employee attitude surveys, forums etc. to some extent they may also try to act as employee advocates in order to maintain employee commitment and motivation. HR has a key role to play in improving  communication including by providing training and coaching for other managers and workers which can improve their informal and formal communication. Effective Service delivery is a vital key in a HR role shown below are the key points of how to achieve it to a high standard. Delivering service on time: Delivering service on a budget: Dealing with difficult customers, Handling and resolving complaints: When dealing with difficult customers that may have a complaint or issue there are certain ways to deal with the situation so that it does not escalate and gets resolved. Firstly you need to identify the complaint and get as many facts together as possible. You always need to listen and empathize whilst clarifying that you both understand. Then you would log the complaint and investigate why, who, how and what evidence. Once that is achieved I think it is best to identify an end goal so there is something to aim for and the issue should then be resolved. When trying to resolve the situation always keep the complainant updated with any progress and also make sure you are following the company’s policy and try and keep it to the smallest time frame. Once the situation is resolved I would then try to investigate why it happened and how to prevent re-occurrence. In a HR role I believe you should be committed to treating customers with courtesy and respect at all times, responding promptly to all enquiries made by telephone, email, post, fax, or in person, ensuring accuracy of administration, respecting and maintaining confidentiality, equality of opportunity in employment, updating skills through continuous professional development, regularly and systematically seeking, listening to and acting upon the views of customers. I think a HR function should obtain much more thorough feedback from its internal customers these are line managers, senior managers and employees. This should cover both what they need from HR, and their user experience of current services. Such feedback, as this study illustrates, can generate a clear overview or ‘footprint’ of the HR function in a particular organisation. It can provide fresh insights and help the HR function to focus its efforts in areas that add value to the  business. Bibliography: http://www.cipd.co.uk/cipd-hr-profession/profession-map/professional-areas/service-delivery-information.aspx