Development and Training Employees as a Method of Retention

Development and Training Employees as a Method of Retention Free Online Research Papers Employee retention guarantees companies remain high performance organizations. Crucial to retention is identifying talented employees who possess potential, showing them how they add value to the organization, and using their talents, so not only the employees remain engaged, but also the company benefits from the employees’ contributions. Oftentimes, if employees lack engagement, they seek out opportunities with other companies. Since companies cannot afford to lose talented employees to competitors, proper training and development is critical (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2003). Although geared toward companies’ future needs, developing employees aids in retention because development shows employees that they have a future with the company. Conversely, training focuses on employees’ present positions. However, training is as important as development since succession planning highlights high-potential employees, allowing employers to earmark employees for development. Development is not necessarily the employer’ responsibility, as employees aspiring to better positions can and should make their intentions known (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2003). Training an employee to function properly at a given task requires planning and foresight. Desiring to become an Employer of Choice, Lincoln Electric has made a commitment to provide quality training to its employees. This paper will analyze the training and development plan of the following five training issues; needs assessment, design, development, implementation and evaluation of training provided to employees of Lincoln Electric. Employee development is more than just training; it must become the way the company runs. Companies hire people from all skill levels, even those people who possess little more than a high school diploma or GED. Companies provide these talented individuals with challenging opportunities for personal and professional growth and development. In business training, communicating the importance of accomplishing tasks is paramount. Effective training starts with pinpointing the current skill set of each individual employee. One of the first steps of effective training is finding out what each employees current skill set is. The next step is to find out which parts of the job need to be taught to that individual. The team needs to develop a company-wide development and training program for all of the employees at Lincoln Electric. The result will be an organization of talented, engaged and committed employees. The training program will address the training needs for potential, existing, and newly hired employees as well as supervisors and directors (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2003). Lincoln Electric’s pay-for-performance system (Lincoln Electric Company, 2007) is well known; however, Lincoln Electric oftentimes encounters difficulties in recruiting employees (Prizinsky, 1994 Narisetti, 1995). While most people seek positions at Lincoln Electric because of their infamous holiday bonus, which is really profit sharing dividends, many applicants do not meet the position requirements (Narisetti, 1995). Moreover, Lincoln Electric is not capitalizing on its most valuable asset: the employees. Investing in employees makes business sense for the employer. While Lincoln Electric laments the number of skilled workers available to them, they forget that they already have those skilled workers: current employees. Lincoln Electric’s issues with training and development are solvable, and the solution starts with the initial problem, which is the lack of qualified, entry-level applicants (Narisetti, 1995). The better the employee, the better the company runs. Lincoln Electric is doubtlessly aware of this concept. Training and developing employees from the onset guarantees Lincoln Electric remains successful in the future. The first way to hook potential recruits is to catch their attention. Lincoln Electric does this rather well by promising no lay-offs, and sharing the company’s profits with the employees (Lincoln Electric Company, 2007). Perhaps even more important is the employer’s willingness to help maximize employees’ potentials. Although Lincoln Electric promotes employees based on experience, as opposed to seniority, there are no systems in place to ensure employees garner enough experience to realize a promotion. If only a small number of applicants can perform basic math skills, and the results are worse every year, Lincoln Electric has to begin training and development before applicants begin working at Lincoln Electric (Narisetti, 1995). This training r anges from refresher courses in mathematics for new applicants to specialized courses such as tool and die, computer-controlled machining, and welding for present employees. Lincoln Electric cannot hire enough applicants for several reasons. First, most people have no manufacturing experience. Second, many high schools restructured their curriculums and no longer offer students exposure to vocational training programs (Prizinsky, 1994). Consequently, Lincoln Electric rejected a majority of the 20,000 applications received during an 18-month period because applicants lacked basic algebra skills (Narisetti, 1995). Lincoln Electric exhausted its hiring efforts by placing newspaper advertisements, retaining recruiting firms, and launching a mail marketing campaign (Prizinsky, 1994). While they did hire some workers using these methods, the original problem remained. Lincoln Electric can meet its hiring goals by sending new recruits to math refresher courses. As opposed to turning away all applicants who fail Lincoln Electric’s math assessment, Lincoln Electric should send those applicants to the math refresher courses. Doing so ensures a continual su pply of entry-level workers. More important, Lincoln Electric can groom these employees for higher positions within the company. Lincoln Electric currently affords employees the opportunity to develop their own career path, and promotes employees based on experience, not seniority (Lincoln Electric Company, 2007). Lincoln Electric should take this incentive a step further by offering tuition reimbursement to employees showing an interest in tool and die making, welding, computer-controlled machining, or any two-year college program that will help employees perform their job more satisfactorily. Tuition reimbursement often pays unforeseen dividends. An employee who realizes his or her true potential is bound to perform better. Although costly, this strategy offers Lincoln Electric a better return on investment than their direct mail marketing campaign. Carefully analyzing costs is one of the many reasons Lincoln Electric is a successful business. To ensure employees stay with Lincoln Electric after completing their degree or certificate, Lincoln Electric should have employees sign contracts that mandate employe es remain under Lincoln Electric’s employ for a specified number of years in exchange for their education. Cleveland Clinic has a similar program; for every 2 years of education the clinic pays on an employee’s behalf, the employee owes the clinic 1 year of employment. If employees leave beforehand, they are liable for the cost of the education (C. Ormsby, personal communication, 2007). Implementing this strategy has a cyclical effect on the hiring, training, and development process. Once new employees enter entry-level positions, seasoned workers who have completed their schooling progress to higher positions, and the cycle continues. As an alternative, Lincoln Electric can offer in-house training program that will inaugurate each January after analyzing contract bids from any area college interested in the advertisement. Participants must sign in for the lab, and take a pretest, which aids in future benchmarking. Lincoln Electric will test participants again after five math labs and participants must demonstrate significant improvement in order for the contract to remain viable. Participants gain no compensation, other than their respective gains in job skills and qualifications. This program will encourage, though not mandate, managers at Lincoln Electric to attend at least one lab a year. The labs commence at Lincoln Electric twice a week at both 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M., to compensate for Lincoln Electric’s rotating schedule (Lincoln Electric, 2007). The primary purpose of these labs is to focus on improving skills in two areas – mathematics and computers. The company will post the schedule on a bulletin board to encourage as many employees as possible to attend. Unfortunately, many ambitious adults do not possess adequate math or computer skills to help Lincoln Electric. This plan will provide otherwise-dedicated employees the basic skills needed for company growth and potential. The evaluation process consists of a two-step process. During the training process, management focuses on the participation and enthusiasm of the employees. Next, employees describe the main points of the training. After the training and development process, the employees demonstrate their mastery of the training session, while management observes. This is an evaluation tool used for employees with direct observation performed by supervisors. While observing, supervisors, prepared with checklists evaluate whether employees demonstrate the desired and required behaviors and skills of the position (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2003). Businesses usually conduct annual evaluations on their employees rather than providing ongoing process of continuous feedback. A problem with annual appraisals is that the evaluation can sometimes focus on recent events as opposed to past events, which, depending on the details of the events, could be either good or bad for the employee. Both positive and negative feedback is recognized as effective when it is done shortly after completion of a task. Therefore, ongoing evaluations are required at Lincoln Electric. After completing training, employees have the opportunity to complete satisfaction surveys of the training. Any feedback they have helps in their learning process and feedback also lets the employees know their opinions matter and the company as a whole will do their best to consider their opinion. After all, they are the ones using the information they gain from the training on a daily basis. Any employment setting implementing a training program requires planning. For Lincoln Electric, the training and development processes begin at the hiring phase. By implementing training geared toward specific positions, Lincoln Electric can overcome its hiring issues and further develop career path incentives already in place. The institution of math classes and tuition reimbursement provides effective training, and ensures adequate delivery of the training to the employees. Moreover, once employees complete training, supervisors conduct evaluations on the effectiveness of the training, and employees have opportunities to provide feedback. These days, all industries including manufacturing need skilled employees. By providing adequate training to employees at the onset and further developing employees, Lincoln Electric can prepare employees and the company for future growth. References Lincoln Electric Company (2007). Incentive Performance A Cornerstone of Our Culture. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from lincolnelectric.com/corporate/career/ Narisetti, R. (1995). Many workers are called . . . but few are qualified. The Wall Street Journal [Electronic Version]. Retrieved November 24, 2007 from ProQuest Database. Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B., Wright, P.M. (2003). Fundamentals of human resource management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Prizinsky, D. (1994). Going to church gets new meaning: Lincoln electric tries varied venues to find employees. Crain’s Cleveland Business [Electronic Version]. Retrieved November 24, 2007 from ProQuest Database. Research Papers on Development and Training Employees as a Method of RetentionAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaTwilight of the UAWResearch Process Part OneThe Project Managment Office SystemOpen Architechture a white paperInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in Capital

Free Essays on Zen Action

Zen and action are inseparable- the latter being the most expedient means of transmitting the teachings of the former. Far from the attempts at conceptualization and articulation of the primary ideas of Zen, the more appropriate approach is through action, be it zazen or other significant acts. As Morinaga Soko explains of his own experience, â€Å"I had known nothing but theorizing; during my high school days I often spent the whole night with friends reading books on philosophy and arguing- talk, talk, talk. I now burned with shame because I could not even do such a simple job as cleaning a floor properly† (Kraft 1988, 18). Buddhism seeks to teach people that to notice the simple fact in front of them- that they are acting in a condition of oneness in the present moment- is to realize what reality is, to be awake to reality. And it says that when we immerse ourselves into what we are doing in the actual moment, we make ourselves balanced too. This allows us to overcome the tendency of the mind to cover up the essential nature of what we are doing in the present moment with analyses, opinions, objectives, expectations, uncertainties, and so on. Thus, action allows the practitioner to not miss the fact that is in front of him. In Zen and Japanese Culture, D.T. Suzuki also substantiates the importance of action in Zen. â€Å"[T]eaching by action, learning by doing. There is something like it in the actional approach to enlightenment. But a direct action in Zen has another meaning. There is a deeper purpose which consists in awakening in the disciple’s mind a certain consciousness that is attuned to the pulsation of Reality . . . . Satori must be the outgrowth of one’s inner life and not a verbal implantation brought from the outside† (Suzuki 1993, 9-10). We can therefore see that the attempts at conceptualization or linguistic expression of Zen become futile and lead us astray rather than guiding us to a more approximate underst... Free Essays on Zen Action Free Essays on Zen Action Zen and action are inseparable- the latter being the most expedient means of transmitting the teachings of the former. Far from the attempts at conceptualization and articulation of the primary ideas of Zen, the more appropriate approach is through action, be it zazen or other significant acts. As Morinaga Soko explains of his own experience, â€Å"I had known nothing but theorizing; during my high school days I often spent the whole night with friends reading books on philosophy and arguing- talk, talk, talk. I now burned with shame because I could not even do such a simple job as cleaning a floor properly† (Kraft 1988, 18). Buddhism seeks to teach people that to notice the simple fact in front of them- that they are acting in a condition of oneness in the present moment- is to realize what reality is, to be awake to reality. And it says that when we immerse ourselves into what we are doing in the actual moment, we make ourselves balanced too. This allows us to overcome the tendency of the mind to cover up the essential nature of what we are doing in the present moment with analyses, opinions, objectives, expectations, uncertainties, and so on. Thus, action allows the practitioner to not miss the fact that is in front of him. In Zen and Japanese Culture, D.T. Suzuki also substantiates the importance of action in Zen. â€Å"[T]eaching by action, learning by doing. There is something like it in the actional approach to enlightenment. But a direct action in Zen has another meaning. There is a deeper purpose which consists in awakening in the disciple’s mind a certain consciousness that is attuned to the pulsation of Reality . . . . Satori must be the outgrowth of one’s inner life and not a verbal implantation brought from the outside† (Suzuki 1993, 9-10). We can therefore see that the attempts at conceptualization or linguistic expression of Zen become futile and lead us astray rather than guiding us to a more approximate underst...

All God's Children (Fox Butterfield) Book Report Essay

All God's Children (Fox Butterfield) Book Report - Essay Example All God's Children is an exceptionally well written and finely researched book, detailing how violence in the African American community and primarily in the Bosket family, saw roots from the violence that was the norm in South Carolina, where the Boskets came from. It is the sobering story of Willie Bosket's family, from his ancestors down to his parents and siblings, explaining how families can be doomed when they remain outside mainstream society and who have no access to opportunity or given any hope. Butterfield does a fine job describing the criminal justice system as it relates to children and how we have come to treat 12 and 13 year old children like adults. In July 1962, while Willie was still in the womb, his father, Butch, stabbed two men in the heart in a Milwaukee pawnshop. Willie's mother, Laura gave birth to him in Harlem, three months before Butch was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders. Willie did not learn his father's history or whereabouts until he was seven years old. By then, Willie had stolen groceries and assaulted an old woman. By age 8, Willie was described as a human nuclear chain reaction, someone very unpredictably violent and aggressive. When he threw a typewriter out of a school window, just missing a pregnant teacher, he was expelled from school and sent to Bellevue for observation. His institutional life had begun. He was diagnosed as depressed. By the time he was 15, Willie claimed he had committed 2,000 crimes, including 200 armed robberies and 25 stabbings. They culminated in seven violent weeks in 1978, when he kicked another boy off a roof to his death, and then murdered two men during subway robberies. Six factors existed in the Bosket family that fuelled this level of violence - alcoholism, physical abuse, sexual abuse, incest, rejection, and neglect. Since the victims of this abuse found it difficult to transfer their anger back at their family, they turned their rage outwards on society. It seemed as though the only way they had learned to fight back was with either weapons or with their bare hands. One of the saddest situations included Butch and the fact that he had raped his girlfriend's 6 year-old daughter, Kristin. The girlfriend's name was Donna, a weak-willed woman, who had actually ignored her daughter's cries during the rape. In the end, because she allowed it to continue, she had lost custody of both Kristin and her twin brother, Matthew. She was so taken by Butch that she seemed to care more about him than her own children. Butterfield shows the weaknesses that existed within the family. This book seamlessly ties two issues together. On the one hand, it is a fascinating and detailed true crime study of Willie Bosket and on the other hand it's a study of the origins of violence in America. With a surprisingly detailed research, the author was able to trace Willie Bosket's ancestry back to his slave ancestors, and follow the escalating evolution of violence and criminality in each succeeding generation of the Bosket family. The book begins in pre-revolutionary era with a study of white violence in the region of North Carolina where Willie's ancestors were enslaved. The author persuasively argues that the primary origin of black violence is the tradition of white violence that was transferred to them from their former slave owners. Butterfield contends that the white Southern mentality of easily aggrieved honor has made its way through time and the descendants

Effective use of business principles and practices Essay

Effective use of business principles and practices - Essay Example n abilities and skills that influence the leader to provide these followers with the desired resources so leaders can sucessfully conduct the task of attaining organization’s aims and objectives. One of the main tasks conducted by leaders is influence their followers to accept change inorder to implement changes in the organization as changes are very important if an organization has to prosper in its business. It is the duty of the leader to ensure that followers understand the importance of the change not only for the organization, but even for the followers themselves. The leader has to make sure that followers are ready to accept change, they do so by supplying the true picture of the change to the followers and informing them about the various advantages and disadvantages of implementing these change (Northouse, 2007). Success of a leader is determined by how well he has been able to influence its followers and whether organaizzation goals and objectives have been achieve d in the best possible

Bruce Smith is a totally incompetent manager Essay - 1

Bruce Smith is a totally incompetent manager - Essay Example As we move along we will also use other theories and research to substantiate our conclusions. The interpersonal activities of a manager arise out of his status and the formal authority that he has. This category of activities supports the information processing and the decision roles which are the other two activities that manager performs. This is the role in which the manager represents the unit which he heads and becomes the one who symbolizes the unit. Duties must be carried out whether they are social, legal or inspirational. Events must be attended and documents must be signed. There is no evidence in the information provided in the case study to suggest that Bruce might not be fulfilling this role well. In fact his commitment to excellence in the performance of his unit indicates that he fulfills this role very well. This is a decisive role played by a manager particularly with respect to his relationship with subordinates. In the leadership role the manager keeps the subordinates motivated, encouraged and alert. The manager balances the interests of the organization (which he keeps first) with the interests of the employee to ensure effective functioning. I would categorize Bruce as an exceptional leader. ... These are technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. Peterson & Fleet (2004, pp. 1299) have defined these for us: Technical skills are defined as the understanding of, or proficiency in, specific activities that require the use of specialized tools, methods, processes, procedures, techniques, or knowledge.Human skills are defined as the ability to work cooperatively with others, to communicate effectively, to resolve conflict, and to be a team player.Finally, conceptual skills are defined as the ability to see the organization as a whole or to have a systemic viewpoint Bruce would score highly on technical skills because of his ability to resolve technical issues as indicated by the feedback of his subordinate Stephen Dye who appreciated Bruce's ability to come up with solutions for technical problems like computers or paper or ink. Alex Brown another of Bruce's subordinates has complimented him on his interest in keeping his staff well trained as well as his frankness in giving feedback. Leonard Best tell us about the monthly morning tea awards which is a system that keeps the team motivated and contributes to a good spirit. These soft skills of Bruce give him a high score on human skills which is the second category of skills enumerated by Katz as necessary for managers. The time and energy he devotes to these human activities indicate the high level of priority that he attaches to these activities as well as his belief in the need to keep his team motivated. Liaison: This is the role of the manager which has to do with his networking skills. A positive equation with people with whom there may be no direct working relationship has great rewards and favor result out of these relationships. These kind of networking skills shaping internal and external

Research In Motion Essay Example for Free

Research In Motion Essay Research In Motion (RIM) is most famously knows for its smart phone device Blackberry. Blackberry, when first introduced in 1999, took the corporate market by storm because of its capability of storing and managing e-mails along with other professional tools. Later the introduction of Black Berry Messenger (BBM) was another successful addition and made it famous among the non-corporate user class all around the globe. From its inception to the introduction of Blackberry and until today, RIM has had various challenges in terms of safeguarding its intellectual property and took some steps to counteract those problems which I will be discussing in this paper. 1.What were some of the challenges that RIM faced to protect its intellectual property, and how did RIM handle those challenges? The first challenge for RIM was in 2001 when it claimed that its competitor Glenayre Electronics infringed on its patent and charged dilution, unfair competition, and false advertising (1). As a result RIM sued them over using its patented mailbox integration technique that was exclusive to its Blackberry smartphone device which was later settled in their favor (2). Another lawsuit filed by RIM was against Good Technology in 2002. RIM alleged that Good was infringing on four of its patents. The first is for a method and apparatus to remotely control gateway functions in a wireless data communications network. The second relates to a method and system for loading an application program on a device. The third relates to a method and system for transmitting data files between computers in a wireless data communications environment. And the fourth relates to a mobile device that is optimized for use with thumbs (3). Finally in 2004 Good Technology signed a settlement with RIM under which it will give RIM a lump-sum payment during its current quarter and ongoing quarterly royalties. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed (4). Later in 2006, RIM was sued by mobile e-mail provider Visto Corporation that RIM violated four of its patents. The patents in question relate to the accessing and synchronizing of information over a network and are fundamental to the BlackBerry service (5). After a long battle of three years, in 2009 RIM agreed to pay $267.5 million to settle this dispute adding to a costly series of intellectual-property purchases (6). The company spent more than $1 billion in the past two years on intangible assets, such as patents. It booked part of the cost of the Visto settlement, which gave them a lifetime license to some Visto patents and legal possession of others, as an acquisition of intangible assets (6). Another big event was the RIM-Motorolla lawsuits in 2008 when Motorolla filed a lawsuit against RIM for using its patented technology but in reply RIM sued back Motorolla. RIM filed the lawsuit for demanding exorbitant royalties on patents that were essential to RIMs business. Besides being accused of anti-competitive conduct, Motorola was also accused of violating nine different patents and for breaking a 2003 agreement by refusing to agree to new terms beyond January 2008. Adding injury to lawsuit, RIM also claimed that Motorolas licensing fees were due to declining fortunes of its handset business (7). This long battle came to an end when both companies settled out of court. Under the Agreement, Motorola and RIM will benefit from a long-term, intellectual property cross-licensing arrangement involving the parties receiving cross-licenses of various patent rights, including patent rights relating to certain industry standards and certain technologies, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 802.11 and wireless email. In addition, the parties will transfer certain patents to each other (8). 2.What were some of the industry factors that influenced RIM? Industry factors that influenced RIM are Competition, Scale and Future (9). Patents, copyrights and trademarks help a firm safeguard its intellectual assets giving it an edge in the market and enabling to stay competitive in the market. From the lawsuits discussed above, we can see that just in 10 years on inception, RIM had over seven patent related issues for its technology. In technological field, a patent enables a firm to bank on its technology by not allowing other firms to use and produce it. So it enables the firm with the patent to have exclusive right to that technology and have a competitive advantage. When a firm’s technology is successful, patent enables that firm to exploit from it and hence expand their firms scale by securing a larger consumer base leading to a better bright future for the firm. 3.Apply as many TCOs as you can to the RIM. There are quite a few TCOs that can be applied to RIM. Competence Enhancing and Component Innovation applies very well to RIM. Looking at the introduction of Blackberry in 1999, after 14 years we still find them have a strong demand among the smartphone consumer base. So RIM has constantly been improving its blackberry phones keeping them up to date by providing new features that keep the consumer base attracted. Similarly if we look at introduction of features like e-mail service and BBM for blackberry, they are following the component innovation ideology discussed in the course. On the other hand, RIM also follows the concept Network Externalities. BBM can be a good example to support this. Anyone with a blackberry anywhere in the world can send a free message to the other blackberry user using the blackberry network. BBM is actually one of the features’ that has protected Blackberry against I-phone. Tying to BBM, RIM also follows the policy of Trade Secret because no one other than the corporation itself has access to the BBM data. RIM has gone to an extent that recently in India, even the government was not allowed to access the BBM data and after a 19 month service ban the government, RIM finally allowed them to have access but through a different server (10).

Iago the Conniver in Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othello essays

Iago the Conniver in Othello  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   If there were more than one evil presence in Shakespeare’s Othello who had the intensity of Iago, the play would be unbearably pessimistic. Let us examine the character who is unexcelled in his evil ways.    Lily B. Campbell in Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes expounds on the self-centered philosophy of Iago:    To Iago love is merely â€Å"a lust of the blood and a permission of the will†. Self-love, which is in the thinking of   Shakespeare’s day the mother of all vices, is the only love that Iago respects. [. . .] It is thus that the villain is defined. Will is directed to the gaining of ends set by passion and judged by reason. The passion which escapes reason the leads men on to their destruction is the passion which marks the tragic hero. But the passion which sets the ends and has the means judged by reason is the passion which we have already seen is mortal sin. And such is the passion that has brought the judgment and the will into its service in Iago and the other villains. (157)    Is there any doubt as to how vital Iago is to the narrative of the play? Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† elaborates on Iago’s exact function and place in the play:    . . . Iago ruins Othello by insinuating into his mind the question, ‘How do you know?’ The tragic experience with which this play is concerned is loss of faith, and Iago is the instrument to bring Othello to this crisis of his being. His task is made possible by his being an old and trusted companion, while husband and wife are virtually strangers, bound only by passion and faith; and by the fact that great joy bewilders, leaving the heart apt to doubt the reality of its joy. The strange and... ...ho Each Other.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare: The Pattern in His Carpet. N.p.: n.p., 1970.    Gardner, Helen. â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from â€Å"The Noble Moor.† British Academy Lectures, no. 9, 1955.    Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wright, Louis B. and Virginia A. LaMar. â€Å"The Engaging Qualities of Othello.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Introduction to The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare. N. p.: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1957.