Human Resources Is The Heart Of A Business

The modern office is becoming an increasingly litigious place. With potential legal problems seemingly around every corner, human resources is growing in importance. The expanding roles of HR include talent recruitment, diversity and inclusion, succession management, departmental restructuring, employee engagement, employee retention, performance metrics, and much more. For professionals in the field, obtaining HR certification can open up doors and help improve business performance. HR leaders have the ability to drive business performance by defining, developing and delivering a competitive advantage through human capital.

Human resources is a growing asset to any company. HR stands in the unique position of being able to influence the strategic planning process to align the goals and values of a company for superior outcomes. Businesses that do not look to take advantage of the skills taught in HR consulting training are not utilizing all the assets at their disposal. Having a professional with HR certification in an office will help the company align its goals vertically and horizontally to improve processes, people, and customer outcomes. Each business has a set of core values, and most aim to turn a profit. Human resources combines the two to maximize the workspace environment. Human resource experts can implement the best practices for workforce partitioning, performance variability, and value identification. Utilizing all workers to the best of their abilities is the key to maximizing profits for a business.

Diversity is a common issue for human resources, but as recent research has shown, diversity is progressively being viewed as a competitive advantage. HR consulting training will cover the nuances of workplace equality laws such as Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AA). Not only just understanding these laws, but also having the ability to apply them to real situations is crucial to maintaining an equal and lawful workplace. Those with HR certification will use the things that make employees different to either reinforce a company's strengths or fortify an area of weakness. Different personalities and cultures provide a wide range of perspectives on various topics, often leading to greater innovation. Diversity is crucial for a business to protect against litigation, but more importantly, it helps an organization grow and become a well-rounded environment for success.

Human resources is defined as the set of individuals that make up a workforce. The goal of human resource management is to utilize the workforce to the best of their ability and to create an environment to encourage efficient, comfortable work. A human resource consultant helps changes proactive advice into strategic initiatives. These strategies are built around improving decision-making processes, accurately predicting outcomes, and refining and driving processes.

HR consulting training teaches managers how to use these skills by utilizing employee scorecards and advanced metrics in order to maximize each employee's output. HR's impact continues with developing talent and increasing employee engagement and retention. Human capital is what makes up a company; if the people doing the work are not engaged and improving then the results will impact the bottom line. Proper human resource management will engage employees and enhance the process. Human resources is the heart of the company. Receiving HR consulting training or gaining HR certification ensures that the company will reach its full potential.

What Is the Best Month to Take the ACT Test?

There are several months to take the ACT test. How do you know which is the best one? Well, first of all, the test is the same every time, so there is no advantage with the test being easier or harder. However, there are two very important considerations that can help you end up with a higher score.

The first consideration is that you will probably want to take the ACT test more than once to optimize your score. If that is the case, you will want to take the ACT test the first time during the Fall of your junior year. This will give you time to focus on the areas you need to improve upon before taking the test again in the Spring, when you will have the chance to do better.

Second, you will want to take the test in the month of December specifically, because that gives you the option of requesting a Test Information Report, for a small additional charge, which will be priceless. This report will give you the questions from the test so you can see exactly what you got wrong. With that information you will know exactly what to study to improve your score.

In order to be able to request a "TIR" you have to take the ACT test at a national test location. That means it is on the December date where it is being administered nationally, and not just at a few schools. To ensure you get the right date, simply register online through the ACT website.

This is just one way of working really smart to get the highest ACT test score you can. Another way to work smart is to learn by watching videos online whenever you have a couple of minutes, here and there.

Why Is Reading a Key to Student Success?

Statistics indicate that only about one in four Americans read a book per year. The one greatest deficiency employers note in their employees is poor reading and writing skills, and companies spend billions each year on remedial courses for workers. J. C. Penney stated, "One of the saddest mistakes I made in years gone by was my utter neglect of reading." Abigail Van Buren said, "If I could give young people only one piece of advice, it would be read, read, read!"

Back in the day when books were less common and more expensive, the great preacher, Spurgeon, urged people to buy only the best most profitable books-those that would do the reader the most good. Locke follows up on that challenge with his statement that "reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read our own."

Nowadays in Western society some formal education is available for most of the young, and, where it is available, of course it should be enjoyed. However, the crucial value of reading cannot be over-emphasized. Dozens of famous and very productive individuals became successful largely through reading.

It is not secret that Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) left school at the age of thirteen for a learning pilgrimage which included stints as a delivery boy, grocery clerk, blacksmith's helper, typesetter, and river boat pilot. He became one of the most renowned writers in American history.

Abraham Lincoln failed twice in business before he reached the age of twenty-five, had a nervous breakdown and failed in seeking public office eight times before being elected the sixteenth president of the United States. In spite of the odds against him, Lincoln was a self-educated lawyer with not even a year of formal schooling. He is said to have walked for miles in pursuit of books, and, although he couldn't avail himself of multitudes of books, he set out to thoroughly understand everything he did read.

Research establishes that almost four million children in the United Kingdom do not even own a book. This causes concern that the rate of children growing up without books is rising, not falling. Youngsters from families of a lower economic level are even more likely to miss out. A recent report by the National Literacy Trust reported in a survey of 18,000 youngsters that almost a third - 3.8 million - do not have books of their own. And the figure has increased from seven years ago, the last time the poll was conducted, when it stood at one in ten.

These statistics also reveal that boys are more likely to be without books than girls, and children eligible for free school meals - a measure of poverty - are more likely to not own a book. The findings, not unsurprisingly, indicate that children who do own books are more likely to enjoy reading, read more books and read more frequently. They are also more likely to perform better at school. Just 7.6 percent of pupils who possess books of their own are reading below the expected level, against 19 percent of those that do not own books. This reflects cause for great concern. Researchers also concluded that 75% of children who read nine or more books a month read above the level expected of them, compared with 28.6% of those who read no books in a month. We must make good books available to our children. Then we must get our children reading by giving them books that will hook their interests. The statistics are almost guaranteed to be no better in the United States.

Pastors Are Not the Only Ones "Doing" Ministry

The church as an institution has operated on levels of hierarchy for many years. Due to this system, many are encumbered by the weight of feeling "less than perfect" and therefore give up volunteering or helping in ministry settings. We get into a mindset that ministry is only done within church walls, a particular building, or only for pastors or missionaries-"over there." Ministry is only for "ordained clergy," or so popular culture emphasizes. When we see a priest with his Catholic garb, we might say "#@#*!" and then say, "oh sorry, father," when in reality, the priest is just as human as the next person and has probably seen, heard, or done worse himself.

The reality of the word "ministry" covers multiple aspects of serving within a community alongside and among believers. A pastor has the role of equipping and leading, while at the same time empowers others. In this article, I reflect on the Biblical concepts of what it means to live out a "ministering community" and the "equipping role" that pastors and leaders have in bringing it about.

Ministering Community

The purpose of the church in Acts is for them to be a "light in the darkness" (Matthew 5:14-16) and a community united in love. From the start, there was a "togetherness" that set them apart from the world's ways, because they were following Christ's commands as He is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23). The early believers worshiped together (Acts 2:46) and were "united in heart and mind" (Acts 4:32). Part of their work involved opposition and even grumbling, but they were encouraged to each play a specific part as the body of Christ (Acts 6:2-4). We do not hear much about Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (Acts 6:5), but we do know that because of their teamwork, significant roles, and unique gifting, including Stephen and Philip, that "God's message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted too" (Acts 6:7).

While many of us in the church community today want to be a Peter or Paul or John or James, we forget it is just as meaningful to be a Barnabas, Nicanor, Timothy, Lydda, or Aquila and Priscilla, etc. Paul rightly called on the Corinthians' favoritism and said "you are still controlled by your sinful nature" and "you are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other" (1 Corinthians 3:3). He went on to say we have a role in God's kingdom purposes: "For we are both God's workers. And you are God's field. You are God's building" (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Once this mindset is tackled, the church as a body can be more effective in doing what God has called us to do. Especially with Jesus' command to be the light and to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength" and "to love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27-29). The issue we face as a community of believers is deciding who is "worthy" enough to be a neighbor. So who is my neighbor? Businessman Bob or pious, attend every church service Jenny? Is it poor Ralph on the street? Single mom Maria with her obnoxious kids next door? The Vietnamese family who always talks loud?

Jesus challenges our erroneous thoughts and ethnocentrism by sharing the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were mixed blood. They were "less than human," according to the pietism of the true Pharisees. None of these holy Pharisees, however, stopped to help a person. They just kept on keeping on. It was the Samaritan who stopped to help and be a neighbor. At the end of his story, Jesus asks: "now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy" (Luke 10:30-37).

As a body, team, and follower of Jesus, we are called to show mercy in our communities (I see Romans 12:9-21 and Ephesians 4:1-16 as a good litmus test for this). This could literally mean the person who lives across the street or next door to the grocery store clerk. I admit, I am guilty of ignoring someone in need and I have passed by someone when clearly I had the means to offer assistance. I must strive not to "pretend to love others," (Romans 12:9) but to "really love them."

Equipping Role

Is a pastor holier than other people? Does a pastor sit on a level higher than "all the rest," or the "laity," as so commonly distinguished in our culture? I would disagree. I believe pastors have a unique role in guiding people similar to Paul and Timothy, but they are not the "be all and end all," even if they were the ones who "founded" a church group in some town or city. Pastors are to find, lead, build-up, and encourage the gifts of others and empower them to serve with their talents. The term laity conjures up the idea of "sub-par," or "not as good."

Kent Humphreys, president of Lifestyle Impact Ministries, is a successful businessman. He had a call to serve God "full time." His insight is inspirational:

"I thought that in order to serve God in a full-time capacity, you had to be a missionary, a pastor, or a paid church worker. Therefore I began to prepare to go to college and seminary. I decided that I would become a pastor. After making poor grades in Greek and Hebrew studies in the 'pre-ministry' program in college, I got some valuable and godly counsel. I learned that I could serve Christ full-time in the area in which I was gifted! I switched my major to business and began to excel in my classes. My life was changed forever." (1)

Romans 12:6-8 gives examples of gifts of serving, encouraging, teaching, giving, leading, and showing kindness. Upon further reflection, Galatians 5:22-26 relates in that the power of the Holy Spirit allows us to use these gifts and live within our unique fruit-bearing talents. 1 Corinthians 12 lists abilities God gives those who believe in Christ and makes the analogy that we are a body. Some do the equipping and some do the uplifting. "The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you" (1 Corinthians 12:21). We are all a part of Christ's body and we are there for one another (1 Corinthians 12:27).

So What?

Plain and simple: we learn from one another. I am blessed and thankful to have leaders in my life who have poured out their teaching and their hearts in equipping me for ministry. For example, my Dad and Father-in-Law both have mechanical minds which benefit others around them. They reveal through their servant heart, activities, and lifestyle that they really are Good Samaritans. My wife can balance a budget very effectively, plan, and organize events, as well as taxes! Both my brother-in-laws have strong mechanical aptitude and leadership skills. My older brother is great at making sales and business entrepreneurship decisions. My younger brother is an industrial design genius.

The Lord's Supper Is Truly About the ACT of WORSHIP

The majority of churches across America celebrate the Lord's Supper in some form (some refer to it as Holy Communion, the Eucharist, Sacrament at the Alter, or the Blessed Sacrament). Some get hung up on the name. However, I believe without reservation it is not about the name it is about the ACT of WORSHIP.

I'm fearful that in the majority of the churches today that Lord's Supper has become a tradition or monthly/quarterly requirement and not the act of worship it was meant to be. It has become a set date on the calendar. It is simply the act of passing a tray down the aisle, a short prayer, and verse of hymn and thank you for coming and out the door. There is no longer a call to repentance of sin, a discussion of forgiveness that we have been hurt by others, or a time of reflection of what I have done to others, no serious reflection on what Christ did at the cross.

Paul clearly set the stage in II Corinthians 11: 17-34 that the Lord's Supper is not about the church meeting its monthly requirement, fulfilling that constitution/by-laws, or getting together for a time of fellowship it is about a Heart Searching Change.

As I write, this it is not my heart or intent to criticize any method used to serve the Lord Supper It is my belief that as pastor and spiritual leader we need to take the individuals of our congregation to the very foundation of the teachings of the Lord Supper. We should continually take the members of our church to the place of remembrance, of the shed blood of Christ which is represented by the wine/grape juice, and the broken body of Christ which is represented by the broken bread. Helping them understand that it through a personal relationship with Christ, and remembering what he did at Calvary is what we need for a personal relationship with Christ.

As I close, pastor's I encourage to simply reevaluate the motive and method for serving the Lord's Supper. Spend some time doing a search of scripture, challenging your own heart, philosophy, and thinking about the Lord's Supper. Does the method you currently use bring individuals within your congregation to the place of worship, repentance, and develop a personal commitment with Christ. If not it is time do to something differently. My pastor and mentor in the ministry Dr. Don Lougheed emphases to all us young preachers, Always take them to the cross, always make sure they understand the significance of the cross, and lead them to repentance at the cross. That sum's up what the Lord's Supper is really all about.