The Impact of Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance

Introduction Human Resource Management (HRM) is a unit within an organization responsible for recruitment, hiring, induction, training, compensating and management of staff working in a firm. It is the link between the employees and the top management. Management is the process by which a corporative group directs actions towards a common goal, that is, the process of getting things done by others and through others for the purpose of achieving organization’s effectiveness and efficiency (Combs et al., 2006).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Human resource is a series of integrated decisions about employment relationships that influence the effectiveness of employee and organization. It is the function of the human resource manager to synchronize the employees’ goals and those of the firm in order t o achieve the organizations mission and objectives effectively (Boxall Purcell, 2008). Human resource refers to the policies and practices set by the firm to be closely followed by the employees in their work duties. A good company must have a clear vision, mission and objective where the mission statement describes how a firm handles and relates with its employees. HRM came into light in the early 1900’s where the human resource manager’s function was to manage the relations between the organization and labor unions, known as personnel management (Becker Gerhart, 1996). It became popular with time and got wide usage in the 1980’s. HRM has several functions in an organization which some of them can still be handled by those organizations which do not have the HR department. It is the duty of the HRM to look for well qualified personnel, offer an attractive package for them in terms of remuneration, and preserve them for the benefit of the organization. The dep artment is responsible for planning and forecasting all the relevant resources needed and used by the staff, selection and recruitment of employees that are qualified for the advertised job post, appraisal of employees whenever they deserve it, evaluation of the employee trends and behaviors within the organization and ways of motivating them in order to create a good and pleasing working environment (Fischer Mittorp, 2002). Some scholars believe that HR is the HR’s job while others argue otherwise. Human resource management has both positive and negative impacts. An organization need not have an HR department if it is growing and has less than fifty employees as a single individual can handle them and without the necessary expertise. Organizations that do not have a compensation scheme need not have HR department as the task can be handled by other another departments. Some HR functions can be carried out elsewhere in the firm. According to Ethan, 2005, describes that itâ⠂¬â„¢s the function of the accounting department to handle the payroll records and pay the employees.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More HR can be handled by both accounting department and the administration department since hiring of employees can be handled by the administration while paying them and remunerating then the accounting department. A firm with good human resource management usually has a lower labor turnover compared to one with a poor human resource management where good employees prefer to work in another company when given an offer. In firms without a HR department, labor turnover would be high as the management deals directly with the employees, thus, motivation would not be as much since the management has less focus on employees and focuses on other critical matters (Cappelli Neumark, 2001). HRM may decide to employ staff who are his/her relatives, close f riends or even of his own tribe encouraging nepotism in the organization. This affects the organization negatively since the employees will not have qualified for the task but will be assigned duty due to the relationship with the HRM, thus, the firm incurs extra costs in terms of training and low employing unqualified staff. This reduces the employees’ motivation leading to increased levels of complaints and dissatisfaction which in the long run, will be reflected to the customers who perceive it as low quality of services (Boxall Purcell, 2003). In a firm with no HRM department, the top management plays that role and chances of nepotism are less likely to be experienced since employees are selected on basis of merit and qualification (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). In some cases an organization may decide to hire employees who are overqualified. It is the duty of the HR department to know the position of the organization in terms of finances and if they will be able to afford the services for the benefit of the organization or the employee is not worth the risk or will be a liability to the firm if they can hire some else with the right qualification and still serve the same purpose. A company without a HR department may not know what to do and how to go about it and may end up hiring him/her at the expense of the organization. HR is responsible for making the employee understand his/her role with regard to the organizations mission, goals and objective and aims at achieving them (Boswell, 2006). Organizations without HR department do not carry out follow ups on employees as they assume they should know. Great stress energy resources and time is spent in the laying out of a good HR, thus, some organizations opt to do without it. This may help an organization to direct the resources that would have been used to other departments and reduces time wastage and resource wastage.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of Human Resour ce Management on Organizational Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Lack of HR may lead to mismanagement of activities. According to Becker and Gerhart (1996), HR ensures recruitment of the right number of staff at any given time and at each level in the organizational hierarchy. Using the HR, movement of staff from one department to another is made easier as the HR knows the strengths and weakness of all employees hence where to place them. This may encourage nepotism and favoring some employees which may lead to an organizational politics. It is with the help of the HR that areas with high labor turn over or most productive staff and vice versa within the organization is identified and the situation rectified accordingly. HR is important in that it may lead to other plans and may assist other departments like in the case of making budgets, planning for space and equipments among others (Becker, et al., 2001). With the futur e being unpredictable, according to Cappelli Neumark 2001, organizations need to plan and forecast a lot so as to cope with the changing times and know their position in future, thus, HR planning, which is the core pillar in HR, requires detailed records and expensive clerical staff which at times are rare and expensive to find. Employees may also create opposition and skepticism may exist among them, thus resisting changes as they would focus some of the HR plans as a threat to there careers. Organizations with HR department usually encounter difficulties in implementation of the set policies, plans, procedures and practices. However, HR planning is fundamental in developing and implementing the HR strategies and ensuring that organizational objectives are met, (Boxall Purcell, 2003). In the case where an organization has surplus staff, the HR planning provides a clear solution to the problem which includes laying off workers (Gerhart et  al., 2000). This does not encourage the remaining workers as they think they will follow the suit. Instead, the HR planning should formulate a way to handle the above crisis without terminating any of the workers like re-training or probation. Anyone can do HR is another myth which prevents HR from being a profession. Initially HR was viewed as more of personnel management but that changed gradually with time and anyone can do HR regardless of his/her area of expertise, thus, carrying out the task will need him/her to consult with other experts in cases regarding employment laws. The new role of HR is changing from that of person ell to that of line management where the HR is considered as part of the top management and considered a partner, a staff sponsor and a change mentor. HR is regarded as HR generalists since they still undertake the work of employee administration and payroll payments.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ulrich recommends HR be added the roles of business and strategic partners, employee advocate and change mentor. According to Des Pullen, HR director of Allied Bakeries, explains that the ability to influence employees at the operational level does not require one to have HR expertise but it depends on ones ability to understand the staffs’ together with the organizations issues and providing relevant and effective solutions when they arise. Steve, Deloitte and Touche HR director argues that leaders who are successful are those who understood HR and non-HR dynamics of their organization, can relate with others, communicate both the issues and their solutions effectively and encourage change which brings about growth. It does not depend on the HR but with the right team with relevant qualifications, skills and knowledge anyone can be effective without any HR background. Others argue contrary that one has to have the relevant qualifications. Andrew and Alison point out that HR need to learn the skills and perfect on them and understand the development, resourcing, relations and rewards. Those with the qualifications have the knowledge of employment issues and legislations since they are exposed to them hence are able to come up with effective solutions. Gerhart, 2005 describes HR as a myth, and the department that plays the role of a policy police since it sets the ‘rules’ to be followed by the employees, and ensures that each and every staff involved in the organization is familiar with what is expected of them, and are aware of the consequences pertained to inappropriate actions in the line of duty. It plans the policies, procedures and practices by forecasting and estimating the extent to which demand and supply of labor is likely to be met (Boswell, 2006). It also analyzes each and every job position then grades it according to the level of hierarchy from the most important one i.e. top management to the least important and determining wh at each job requires for its execution. Besides job analysis, it goes further and designs the job by determining what procedures and operations are to be performed by employees in each job position (Boselie, et al., 2001). Without the help of a qualified HR, the organization may incur a lot of unnecessary costs as it may end up hiring experts to come to their rescue in times of crisis where as they could have controlled it. This is evident more in the long run than in the short run thus those organizations that do not prefer waiting for the long run so as to cut costs may prefer not to have a HR department and plan, analyze and design the relevant tasks and policies which may be difficult to design as the management may not have the expertise thus formulating weak policies (Wright Haggerty, 2005). In conclusion to the above argument, we can say that organizations with HR department are more advantageous than those which do not have one. This is because HR department simplifies most of the wok for the top management, thus enabling them to focus on better issues and growth of the organization. It is recommended that the HR of today implement the new role suggested b Ulrich in enhancing the growth of organizations. HR also helps reduce unnecessary costs that may be incurred by the organization in the long run as they help in recruiting and training employees (Goss, 1994). Further, HR is used to lias with the external environment such as the labor unions and the government through the ministry of labor in cases concerning employees and tax collection (Boswell, 2006). It is also a way to change with the changing times and technology by storing details and other necessary information regarding employees in a simplified and secure manner for easy processing and storage. Finally anyone can become a HR regardless of education background but with the right teamwork. Reference List Becker, B. Gerhart, B., 1996. The impact of human resource management on organizational performance: progress and prospects. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 779–801. Becker, B. Huselid, M. Ulrich, D., 2001. The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy and Performance. Boston: Harvard Business School. Boselie, P. Paauwe, J. Jansen, P., 2001. Human resource management and Performance: lessons from the Netherlands. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12, 1107-1125. Boswell, W., 2006. Aligning employees with the organization’s strategic objectives: out of â€Å"line of sight†, out of mind. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17: 9, 1489–1511. Boxall, P. Purcell, P., 2008. Strategy and Human Resource Management. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Cappelli, P. Neumark, D., 2001. Do â€Å"high performance† work practices improve establishment level outcomes? Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 54: 737–776 Combs, J. Liu, Y. Hall, A. Ketchen, D., 2006. How much do high-performance work prac tices matter? A meta-analysis of their effects on organizational performance. Personnel Psychology. 59: 3, 501–528 Fischer, H. Mittorp, K., 2002. How HR measures support risk management: the Deutsche Bank example. Human Resource Management, 41: 4, 477–490. Gerhart, B., 2005. Human resources and business performance: findings, unanswered questions and an alternative approach. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Goss. D, (1994). Principles of Human Resource Management. London; New York: Routledge. This essay on The Impact of Human Resource Management on Organizational Performance was written and submitted by user Bridger Lancaster to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

work or hell essays

work or hell essays 37,000 transnational or multinational corporations with their 200,000 subsidiaries control 75 percent of all world trade in commodities, manufactured goods, and services. These corporations, such as Nike, Reebok, and Levis, are cheating other small countries that manufacture their products. Michael Jordan alone makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined. An individual works 10-hour shifts, six days a week to earn a monthly wage less than the cost of a pair of Nike shoes. Their monthly wages will be around $30.00 to $40.00. Lured by cheap and abundant labor, investment capital has poured in more than 18 billion dollars in the last three years from these third world countries. Large corporations prefer not to do their own manufacturing. They put the hard work to third world countries, which will do anything for money. Not only are multinational corporations causing problems for third world countries, problems with farming are occurring in the United States. Family farms are being sold down to agribusiness and factory style farming. According to the U.S. department of Agriculture almost 90% of the total income of rancher or family style farms now come from the outside. They have to get outside jobs to even survive. Child labor in farming is another issue. Human Rights Watch stated that child farm workers in the U.S. work 12 to 14 hour days, often suffering pesticide poisoning, heat-related illness, machine and knife related injuries and life long disabilities. Many of them are forced to work without access to toilet or hand washing facilities or adequate drinking water. The majority of these workers are Latino, so there is a racial issue brought to hand. Farm work is considered the most dangerous work open to children in the United States. Human Rights Watch estimated that there are at least on e million child labor violations in the U.S. each year. These children are working t ...

Company Analysis Paper (Starwoods Hotel and Resort) Research

Company Analysis (Starwoods Hotel and Resort) - Research Paper Example As such, the company plays a major role in world economy especially in America. The company embraces diversity in the provision of services where operates under nine different brands. The renowned brands that comprise this company include Westin, Le Meridien, St. Regis, Four Points, AloftSM Sheraton, ElementSM, and The Luxury Collection (Hospitality Net Web). Starwood capital is the mother company to Starwood Hotels and Resorts initially known as Starwood Lodging. Moreover, the company owns Starwood Vacation Ownership that offers high quality vacation services. The company’s mission seeks to offer high quality, affordable, and consistent products and services to its customers around the world. More so, their services seek to satisfy the needs of its customers. . The company equally has a mandate of adhering to the environment policy, respects the privacy of the customers and their personal information. The aspect of diversity applies in the operations of the company and forms the foundation to the success of the company. The company holds frequent company meetings where all the stakeholders attend. Most assuredly, the company boasts of a well-abled board and large group of volunteers that work together to guarantee the going concern of the concern. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is a company where everybody should invest. ... Internal Revenue Service gave an after-tax refund of $107 million that enabled the company to regain financial stability and record quarterly earnings of $339 million, or $1.78 a share in the year 2011 (Berzon Web). As a result, there was a 7.5% increase in total revenue amounting to $1.34 billion. At the same time, these results remained consistent even in this year where Starwood shares gained about 14 percent in value in the third quarter as lately seen in the New York Stock Exchange. Indeed, the share value of the company raised from 51 cents a share to 52 cents a share. This manifests an accelerating recovery for the company after the global recession. Indeed, in the year 2011, the demand for hotels surpassed the supply subject to many travelling businesspersons. Notably, last year the company reduced the price of the hotels due to the economic downturn that had lowered the demand. Nevertheless, now that the demand for the hotel rooms is rising tremendously, the company plans to increase the price and thus its high turnover. Indeed, it targets to record a 7% to 9% increase in total revenue per room this year. However, these statistics fall below the gains made before 2009. Actually, the company revenue declined with 20.7% because of the recession in 2009 (Berzon Web). Most significantly, the company has a better marketing strategy where it collaborates with credit companies like American Express to suit the financial needs of its customers. In addition, the company partners with 32 affiliated airlines all over the world to enable its customers redeem their points for flights. This creates a great competitive advantage over its rivals. The company has a corporate governance structure that seeks to maintain the highest standards of business conduct and corporate

The Standards of Care of a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis Essay

The Standards of Care of a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis - Essay Example Proliferation of the synovial membrane and uncontrolled persistent inflammation are the characteristic features of RA which manifest as a symmetric arthritis affecting several small and large joints. Other symptoms include fatigue, articular stiffness, anorexia and fever. Complaint of pain and limited lifestyle are the characteristic features of the onset of the disease. If left untreated, the inflammation will result in serious life threatening conditions during its progression. Morbidity, progressive disability and hastened mortality feature the untreated disease conditions. As a result, it entails serious economic implications for both the patients and their families as well as society as the affected people are unable to continue in their employment with the same efficiency as before with their normal functioning of their palms, feet and gait seriously affected and progressively disfigured and disabled (Cush, Weinblatt, & Kavanaugh, 2010). According to National Audit Office, ther e are around 580,000 people afflicted with RA with additional 26,000 new cases every year. The disease affects people of age between 40 to 60 years with women who are three times more likely to be affected than men. The patient referred herein for treatment also happens to be a woman aged 40. This being an auto-immune disease, affects small joints of the hand and feet. If severe, it reduces life expectancy by 6-10 years as a result of co-morbidity through cardio-vascular diseases or side effects from treatment (Home & Carr, n.d.) The disease reduces the affected person’s work life by five years. Its annual cost to the U.K. economy is estimated to be between ? 3.8 and ? 4.75 billion (NationalAuditOffice, 2009). There are many institutions engaged in the care of RA with their own guidelines for treatment. British Society for Rheumatology (BSR, (n.d)),NHS (NHS, n.d.), National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) (NRAS, n.d.), The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists (SCPOD, n .d.), The Musculoskeletal Services Framework (DeptOfHealth, 2006), NSF long-term conditions (DeptOfHealth, Department of Health, 2005), 18 week commissioning pathway (DeptOfHealth, Department of Health, 2006) and Podiatry rheumatic care associations (PodiatryRheumaticCareAssociation, n.d.) are the major sources of standards of care for RA conditions. They are complementary to one another and it is worthwhile referring to all of them while dealing with the patient affected by RA. Brief outline of care Two of the inevitable symptoms RA are joint pain and stiffness that manifest in the foot and ankle in the early stages. These symptoms also change during the course of progression of the disease (Helliwell, 2006). Since rheumatoid arthritis is not curable, the aim of care is to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for the patient. Although multidisciplinary approach is resorted to, therapeutic interventions are the responsibility of rheumatoid specialist professionals. The patie nt involvement and empowerment are desirable for a successful outcome with the patient coping up with the course of treatment and lifestyle adaptations (Alexander, Fawcett, & Runcinman, 2006). For control of pain, analgesics such as paracetamol/aspirin, compound analgesics such as cocodamol to NSAIDs can be administered. Since NSAIDs are associated with gastrointestinal side-effects, cyclo-oxygenase (Cox) II group of NSAIDs are recommended so that side effects are at minimal levels. (Alexander, Fawce

Utilitarianism - Act and Rule Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Act and Rule Essay

Jesus And The Anorexic Suicidal Supermodels :: essays research papers

Jesus and the Anorexic Suicidal Supermodels The family unit is one of the most cherished institutions of American society. Its function is one of philanthropy, to raise America's children in accordance with our accepted norms and various proscriptions and prescriptions. However, rising teenage pregnancy and juvenile crime seem to indicate that the American family is not doing this. Many Americans insist that a family is capable of producing a productive citizen in every instance and believe that only a traditional family can do this. So the conclusion one might draw baring in mind this paradigm is that the traditional one mom and one dad family needs help as a function. Any Pat Robertson-fearing Republican will tell you that Judeo-Christian ethics are the foundation upon which the family is based, therefore to help the family why not foster these religious ideals? (And while we're at it, why not make a contribution to the two billion dollar tax-free Christian Broadcasting Network?) The manifest function here of religion is to provide people with a unifying belief that will scare kids into behaving so they do not go to Hell. The latent function is that it is a slap in the face to every Easterner who has conducted themselves in a productive and positive manner. Many of the Christian right I am sure do not realize how offensive the notion is that Christianity is the only faith to recognize that killing and stealing are bad. What exactly are the "norms" that are so exclusive to Christianity? The Christian world is more afflicted with crime than Singapore ever will be, just take a walk through the super Catholic ghettos of Buenos Aires. I personally believe that the break from moral traditions does not exist. The vast majority of American youth hold murder and violence to be a proscription, and so do their families whether they consist of two moms or two dads or one of each. Certainly poverty has created a problem to compliment the stress placed on those growing up in single parent families, and perhaps here is where faith belongs. If people can just have something to believe in, to lift up their spirits, perhaps the dread of daily life would not seem so terrible for those it depresses, and here I speak not only of inner cities, I speak of the dozens of people I know who have to be on prozac to have the will to wake up in the morning, I speak of the countless multitudes of young women who purposely vomit because they feel they have no control over their lives or because they

Margaret Atwood Essay

Margaret Atwood once wrote â€Å"Does feminist mean a large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings. To me it’s the latter, so I sign up.† This clearly shows that Atwood believes that feminism is not about depicting a woman as a strong and macho character but a real one with admirable traits and some imperfections. Cat’s Eye, one of Atwood’s acclaimed novels, is distinctively a feminist novel that shows two different kinds of women in society. The first being the stereotypically traditional woman, who is weak and submissive to man. She illustrates this type of woman through her minor characters – Ms. Smeath and Susie, both of whom play weak and traditional women who face tragedy in life. Her second kind is the heroic and feminist character that while being admirable and strong has some human weaknesses. She presents this with two unconventional protagonists – Elaine Risley and Cordelia. She depicts Elaine and Cordelia as two tough but insecure women who fight to create their unique identity in the society. During the time frame of the book (1940- 1980), society was extremely male dominated especially the literary aspect of it. Most of the famous authors were male and most of the highly regarded books were written in a chauvinistic manner, depicting women as weak, vulnerable, disloyal, unimportant and narrow minded. On the other hand, men were portrayed as heroic, overly strong, and perfect in every sense. Feminist novels, throughout this time, were novels that portrayed women as the â€Å"hero† and protagonists rather than as women. Atwood’s Cat’s Eye, however, differed from the typical feminist novels as it illustrated the women as admirable â€Å"heroines† who were strong and proud but flawed. This brought a realistic touch to the characters as readers were able to understand them better as they seemed more humanlike – with strengths and weaknesses. Margaret Atwood cleverly proves her book uniquely feminist through her portrayal of characters as she explores the struggles of dual level of women in society; the stereotypical and vulnerable woman and the strong and unconventional feminist. Ms. Smeath is first introduced as a woman with a weak heart and someone who needs constant rest due to her illness. Already, readers pity her and have a mental image of a weak and frail mother who is in need of help. In contrast, if a novel of the same era were to depict a man with the same condition, he would be shown as someone who is internally very strong and despite his physical illness, he would be fighting to save himself. This is a clear example of the sexist views of society during that time. Through the description of her physical appearance, one can see that Ms Smeath believes that women should dress in a plain and conservative fashion. She is shown as wearing print housedresses which are especially saggy around the chest and Oxfords- which are very plain leather shoes. She also does not wear make-up or make fancy hairstyles and is perceived to be strict, straight and upright. This perception of her is later proven true as Atwood describes her as someone who doesn’t laugh, goes to church every week and does not stand for things she does not like – like the time she was told that Carol’s mom and dad slept on two different beds. â€Å"Mrs. Smeath is not like Mrs. Campbell. For instance, she has no twin sets and views them with contempt. I know this because once, when Carol was bragging about her mother’s twin sets, Mrs. Smeath said â€Å"Is that so†, not as a question but as a way of making Carol shut up.† In the novel, Mrs. Smeath is depicted as a narrow-minded mother who believes that Elaine deserves to be punished by God because she comes from a family that is not as religious as the Smeaths. â€Å"It’s God’s punishment†, says Mrs. Smeath. â€Å"It serves her right†. This shows her high-self esteem and her belief of superiority over others. Mrs. Smeath represents the dark and evil side of women in society during that time period. Another stereotypical woman, fragile and defenceless, is presented in the form of Susie, a fellow classmate of Elaine’s in night school. Susie is seen as someone who puts on a lot of make-up and jewellery, wears skin-tight clothes, and has a quiet voice. To Elaine, she is just a fake and dumb girl who’s just fooling around in class. Elaine also suspects Susie of having an affair with their art teacher Mr. Joseph Hrbik, as she is the only one who sticks up for him when the rest of the class taunts him. In the beginning, Elaine thinks that Susie is incapable of love – as she is too superficial; another stereotype of women in that society, she believes that Susie is just playing with Mr. Hrbik’s feelings for personal benefit. â€Å"Susie herself is incapable of love, she’s too shallow, I think of her as the conscious one, the one in control: she’s toying with him† Susie represents the other side of the stereotypical woman in society †“ the opposite of Mrs. Smeath. She is seen as a dependant person as she seems to be in awe of Mr. Hrbik at all times. Another proof of this is the time Susie comes to visit Elaine one last time in Swiss Chalet. â€Å"Have you seen Josef?† she asked. I lied not well â€Å"No why would I?† â€Å"I just thought you might know where he was†, she said.† This shows that not only is Susie aware that Elaine and Josef are having an affair; she can do nothing about it, as she is too dependent on Josef. This also proves her to be weak and with a low self esteem. However, Elaine later discovers that Susie was in fact pregnant and knew that Josef would refuse to marry her and so she decides to abort the baby – herself. This shows her helplessness, as she is unable to defend herself against the pain of Josef leaving her. Even in her weakest moment, the time she was in the ambulance she pleads with Elaine not to tell Josef. Together, Mrs. Smeath and Susie represent the stereotype of women as eit her evil and dark or weak and vulnerable in society at that time period. On the other hand are Atwood’s two uniquely feminist characters – Cordelia and Elaine. Cordelia and Elaine represent the reality of women rather than the supposed roles represented by Mrs. Smeath and Grace. Cordelia represents a very strong but victimized woman of society and Elaine is the unusual central character that is a very passionate and talented with a traumatic childhood, which influences her entire life. Cordelia is first introduced in the beginning of the novel in one of Elaine’s first memories. Straightaway, the reader gets the impression of a rebel when the narrative voice says, â€Å"We’re impervious, we scintillate, and we are thirteen†. Through the way they express their likes and dislikes, and the power they thought they had, one can easily make out they are feminists. Atwood uses symbolism when she writes â€Å"Cordelia sits with nonchalance, nudging me with her elbow now and then, staring blankly at the other people with her grey-green eyes, opaque and glinting metal. This symbolizes Cordelia’s eyes as cold and sharp as metal to show Cordelia’s attitude towards others. Cordelia has many traits fit for a heroine – for example her outer self-confidence – she presents herself in an extremely confident manner despite her real feelings inside. Her independence- she is never dependant on anyone to guide her and despite having two sisters and mother to look up to, she lives life her own way almost struggling to create her own place, her own identity in the world. Her intelligence-she got promoted to a higher grade despite being younger than the rest. Her strength to become what she wants and not what the society wants her to be. And her leadership skills, which even though used wrongly, were powerful enough to ensure she was always leader. However, Cordelia has some obvious weaknesses – her family. Throughout the book, Cordelia shows that she has a certain discomfort with her family, especially her father – who beat her- and her sisters who were the perfect girls thus, creating a lot of pressure for Cordelia to do well. But no matter how well Cordelia did, her dad paid no attention to her. She later on reveals to Elaine that as a child she would swallow mercury so she wouldn’t have to go to school, and she would dig holes in her yard so she could be safe in them and how she used to get into a lot of trouble with her dad and that she hated moving to the new house because she didn’t have any good friends except for Elaine. At that moment, readers see the broken and hidden child behind the hard and cold exterior. Readers see a young girl who has been a victim to many pressures and responsibilities. Another instance of this is when Perdi says to Cordelia â€Å"Pull up your socks, Cordelia, or y ou’ll flunk your year again. You know what Daddy said last time.† Cordelia flushes and doesn’t respond. This shows Cordelia’s fear of disappointing her dad and again readers see this young child just stuck in cruel and cold world, wanting to come out, but never given the chance. Another weakness of Cordelia is her self-esteem, which is very low. When Elaine and Cordelia are in high school, Elaine manages to get more attention from guys than Cordelia as Cordelia comes across as a fake person to most guys since she lacks the self-confidence to behave naturally. One more example of this is when Cordelia looses her job and tries to kill herself at home and gets sent to a mental hospital. Readers can make a connection between Susie and Cordelia, as both in times of trouble resorted to self-harm. And this proves the genuineness of Cordelia’s character as she has strengths of a hero and weakness of the female stereotype, which form her personality – both powerful and vulnerable Elaine Risley, the main unconventional protagonist of the book when first introduced, is a successful 50 year old painter back in Toronto (her home town) to do an exhibition. She is first seen as an insecure woman with a tormenting past but as the book progresses one can fully appreciate Elaine’s heroic traits. One can see the journey Elaine takes the struggles she faces, the obstacles she overcomes and the memories she leaves behind. Elaine, though not the conventional heroine and perfect, is someone most women will admire as she has a lot of inner strength. There are many times where Elaine shows her inner strength – especially when she walks away from Cordelia, Grace and Carol, and when she finds the inner strength (through Virgin Mary) to go back home instead of loosing consciousness at the freezing riverbank. She also finds the inner strength to walk away from a failing marriage, while having no concrete plans. Elaine also has a thirst for finding a place where she belongs, her own identity, which is why she struggles to please people- so she can fit in. She is very unique in her thoughts and actions – for example when she runs past her poster and she has moustache, instead of feeling hurt or breaking down as the stereotypical women would, Elaine likes the moustache because she thinks she has â€Å"achieved, finally, a face that a moustache can be drawn on, a face that attracts moustaches. She is also a proud feminist who stands up for women, when she goes to â€Å"consciousness raising† meeting for women, in which feminine issues are raised. She also feels bitter towards the Art Gallery of Ontario as they refused to hold her exhibit in their gallery because as she says, â€Å"Because they have a bias towards old dead men†. She is also seen as someone who cares for others as she is shown giving money to the poor on more than one occasion and is also seen doing things to please people even if she does not want to – for example the interview with Andrea. She also shows her caring side when she finds out Grace’s mother has a weak heart and so she goes and checks everyday to see if Mrs. Smeath is fine. However, Elaine also has her human weaknesses like her habit on putting on masks and faking things to please people. She also develops neurotic habits such as biting her skin, pulling her hair and peeling her skin so she can feel pain and her existence. She also develops fainting fits and has suicidal impulses. She has moments where she is lost and needs help, she is afraid of galleries, and is afraid to express her emotions and all in all she hold a lot in from her past that she needs to let out in order to move on. She is also self-doubting as she has no confidence in her abilities and she is paranoid as to what other women think and say about her. She is always afraid she is going to end up like someone and so takes pleasure in knowing she’s stronger than others. She struggles her entire life to create her own identity that is not pre-determined by society. Elaine and Cordelia represent the unique and real female protagonist Atwood creates to represent the true role of women in society. Through her clever way of portraying characters to represent a society much like a normal one rather than a fake one, Atwood explores the detailed struggle in the lives of all four characters, which at a first glance seem very distinct but are interconnected in their roles in the society. Atwood brings forth an unconventional protagonist, who despite being susceptible to weaknesses and flaws manages to gain the admiration of many readers through her actions in life.