Retrofitting Suburbia How to turn undefined, unstructured places into Dissertation

Retrofitting Suburbia How to turn undefined, unstructured places into legible, coherent, accessible spaces and the effects - Dissertation Example These areas have a pragmatic and emotional significance for every citizen (Lynch, 1960). Legibility can be defined as the facility with which symbols can be interpreted. Legibility is effectively the facility with which individuals comprehend the perspective of a location. In composing questionnaire surveys, Lynch delineated a format of interpreting legibility based on five components. These components are recognized as Thoroughfares, borders. Districts, Landmarks and Hubs. These were delineated as follows: Thoroughfares Thoroughfares are venues of travel which are familiar to the citizenry. These are the venues by which the individuals regularly, occasionally or possibly transport themselves. Examples of thoroughfares are: pathways, transit routes and railroad modes of transport. The consistency of the thoroughfare is reliant upon its dimensions, its inclination and the occupations which occur upon it (Lynch, 1960). Borders Borders can be defined as the limits which are formed from one part of the city to another. Borders can be characterized as coastlines, natural and man made geographical socio economic and political limitations. The consistency of the borders in a municipal environment is reliant upon the man made or geographical parameters of the limits which are assigned to a municipality (Lynch, 1960). Districts Districts are characterized by the distinction in geographical location, the architecture of which they are composed, the socio economic, geographical and political characteristics by which they are formed and the occupations which take place within them. The consistency of a district is reliant upon its population, its geographical location, the socio economic and the aspects of the citizenry which occupy it. Examples of districts are commercial areas, historical areas which are reserved for recreational purposes such as parks, commercial and cultural areas of activity within a municipality (Lynch, 1960). Landmarks Landmarks are geographical poi nts of reference which are mutually recognized by the individuals in a city as being frames of references. A landmark may be a natural characteristic of the city, a location of historical importance represented by a commemorative aspect or a construction which is outstanding in its characteristic which is outstanding in its environment. Examples of landmarks may be hills, historical monument, facilities in the municipality which are mutually recognized among the other buildings and geographical aspects of the environment (Lynch, 1960). Hubs Hubs are recognized as being the centers of activity in a municipality. There are characterized by the activities which occur within the. A municipality may be characterized as a hub if it has connections with other municipalities in the area by means of commerce, socio political activity, population density, cultural and transport characteristics of interconnection with other areas (Lynch, 1960). The Formation of Mental Maps An individualâ€℠¢s perception of their surrounding is defined as mental map. A mental map is the individual’s paradigm of their recognized surroundings. Mental maps can be researched by requesting direction to a landmark, path, edge or hub. They can also be characterized by an individual’

Human Resources- Compensation and Benefits Essay

Human Resources- Compensation and Benefits - Essay Example An analysis of the types of non-financial rewards that could be introduced and how this may affect retention. An analysis of the view on bonus arrangements and any recommendations in terms of required changes. Detailed recommendations to the issues raised will be given to the Director of Reward at the end of the report. 1.1 The organisation’s current reward strategy MI currently uses the extrinsic rewards strategy to compensate its employees for the contribution they make towards its viability. Basically, extrinsic rewards include direct compensation, indirect compensation as well as non financial rewards (Robbins, 1993). Direct compensation in this case includes a basic wage salary, bonuses based on performance as well as profit sharing. Apart from the high basic salaries being earned by the traders in this particular case of MI, the bank also calculate their rewards on overall profitability of the trading operation and this entails that they get anything between 30 and 50 % of what they have earned in profit for the Bank. Performance bonuses significantly contribute to the package earned by the dealers and these motivate them to put optimum performance in their operations. It can also be noted that all dealers currently attract a package of benefits including a company car, healthcare and pension contributions. Grobbler (1998) suggests that these can be awarded to the employees on the basis of their performance. The traders are treated as the most valued assets to the bank as they may leave if they are not satisfied with the reward system for their performance. As such, their rewards are designed in such a way that they will appeal to their interests which in turn can lead to their retention in the organisation. It can be observed that the major strategy used by the bank to offer rewards is based on overall profitability of the bonds that have been sold. The traders are entitled to get a certain percentage of the profit as their bonus. However, the ext ernal environment plays a significant role in shaping this strategy. The strategy is influenced by gathering and analysing competitor information so as to come up with the best reward strategy. In this case, MI tries to remain on top of other organisations hence it seeks to differentiate its rewards strategy from other competitors. The organisation is compelled to offer the best reward on the basis of the situation obtaining in the environment. The level of performance of the economy also shapes this strategy since bonuses are calculated on the basis of overall profitability of the trading operation. In the event that the bonds sold have poorly performed, this entails that their rewards will be lower which shows that the external environment has a bearing on the strategy of rewards. Though there is no direct government intervention in the operations of banks with regards to their reward systems, it can be noted that more financial institutions are becoming wary of not rewarding undu e risk taking. For instance, the recent Turner report contributes to the mounting pressure for financial organisations to review their bonus systems in order to protect the interests of the shareholders. These are some of the external factors that shape the rewarding strategy by MI. 2.0 What motivates the dealing team? Since the dealing team has a very little loyalty to the