Tupac Amaru Shakur, commonly known as Tupac, 2Pac or simply Pac, has long been considered to be one of, if not, the greatest hip hop artist. Not only of his generation but of all time. Although at first glance he might seem as an incredibly furious, angry and full of hatred young black man, he certainly was more than just that. Tupac’s influence is still present to this day, whether it is through his music, his poems or sayings…his legacy is very much alive. Tupac achieved great success in a very short-lived music career of just five years, especially due to him being a true literary genius and mastering the art of storytelling. The question arises when thinking about what makes Tupac such a special artist, what facts prove to us that he indeed is, the greatest rapper to ever exist. Born Lesane Parish Crooks, to activist parents, in East Harlem, New York, 1971, he had been exposed to violence from a very young age. His mother was a Black Panther Party member which eventually got her imprisoned. In the music video for his song “Dear Mama”, she is heard saying “when I was pregnant in jail I thought I was gonna have a baby and the baby would never be with me, but I was acquitted a month and three days before Tupac was born…I was real’ happy because I had a son”.
The hardships she faced from the time she left the Party to be a full time mother, and the rejection she, Pac and his sister received for doing so, would be crucial during his upbringing and later on discussed greatly in his tunes. In relation to this, there is a quote which perfectly depicts so, “Kevin Powell, […], recalls him standing before a room of teachers and administrators explaining that T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. (The Hate You Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone), which Tupac so valiantly trumpeted, is an expression of the laws of karma. He forced society to face up to its role in shaping the very object of its disapproval. His dynamism in all avenues of life gave onlookers access to themselves, for he was an exaggerated version of our collective multiplicity. It is for this reason that Tupac remains of colossal interest to such a wide array of people.” (Wells-Wilbon, Jackson, Schiele, 2011). Tupac coined the term T.H.U.G L.I.F.E and in fact, redefined “THUGS” and the perception people had of them. He defined a THUG as a man who was able to triumph despite society’s impediments, as opposed to its original meaning which was another variation of “gangsta”.
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Many other rappers have adopted the term ever since, coming to show how vast Tupac’s repercussion was. In addition to all of this, Tupac triumphed in this industry because his rap did not depend on the flow, as this was, and still is very common nowadays. His musical approach was never a commercial one, as proven by this journal quote which stated “His lyrics, like the traditional African narratives and poems, were full of symbolism and imagery, not just simplistic extreme hate diatribes coined for shock value alone”. (Wells-Wilbon, et al., 2011). Therefore, he cared for the content he was giving to the society that listened to him, which not only helped when gaining followers and recognition at the time but established him as an immortal artist. LaCount stated “It’s a hint as to why Tupac has endured. He didn’t just make music, he wove philosophy and literature out of words.” (Tupac Shakur, 2014). His lyrics were raw, hoarse, genuine and relatable, even now, more than 20 years after his death.
Perhaps studying at the Baltimore School for the Arts, being an active reader and a major admirer of Shakespearean literature, he once even said “I love Shakespeare. He wrote some of the rawest stories, man. I mean look at Romeo and Juliet. That’s some serious ghetto s**t.”, were some of the determining factors to exploiting his spoken word and poetic skills. Furthermore, his internal conflicts, the world which he inhabited, the false sexual assault claims that landed him jail time, the East Coast vs. West Coast beef… all came together to shape Tupac as a tormented soul with an extreme desire to scream out loud everything which tortured him or was unfair. This pain is seen in a poem written by Tupac himself which goes as follows “I exist in the depths of solitude pondering my true goal, Trying 2 find peace of mind and still preserve my soul. Constantly yearning 2 be accepted and from all receive respect, Never compromising but sometimes risky and that is my only regret. A young heart with an old soul how can there be peace. How can I be in the depths of solitude when there R 2 inside of me.
This Duo within me causes the perfect opportunity 2 learn and live twice as fast as those who accept simplicity.” (Shakur, 1999, p. 5) Shakur has one of the most extensive repertoire of albums, as he was known for spending long hours in the studio recording, with a total of over eleven albums. The artist believed time was not meant to be wasted, so he exploited it to his maximum ability. He also had a premonition that his death was soon to reach, maybe due to the fact that he had been shot five times or other factors that the rest was not aware of, thus felt his time on Earth was very limited. An example of this is his track “Hail Mary”, which was written within an hour and recorded in just a few takes, a completely different approach to music-making. One of the innovations he introduced while conceiving new tunes was the creation of a double CD, which artists such as Drake have replicated this past year. Moreover, he used a technique known for layering one’s vocals in order to add another coat of warmth and rawness to his voice.
One of the most differential factors of Tupac’s music was the sense of urgency you could perceive when listening to his tracks. He was not focused on the musicality of a song but on the action of making a song. Generally, musicians tend to work on an album for a while, then release it and wait about a year or two to work on another one. However, this was not Tupac’s case. Tupac was truly a hardworking man, and being in jail did not stop him from writing. Once he was released, thanks to the bail payment done by Suge Knight and Jimmy Iovine, he signed with Death Row Records to make three albums under said label. His only desire was to write and record. He had the need to tell the truth, to express everything he had prevented himself from doing in the past, his lyrics went from racism to police brutality, all the way to poverty and politics. Shakur wrote so much, that seven of his albums were published after his death. Nevertheless, an artist’s success and greatness is also measured through the the number of awards or recognition they receive. In the case of Pac, his trophies list is not as extended as his records albeit the numerous nominations he received. Among all of the recognition he obtained, perchance the most remarkable ones are two Soul Train Awards for Best Rap Album for “Me Against the World” and R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year for “All eyez on me” respectively and a MOBO award for Best Video for “California Love”.
Another impressive fact is that almost each and every one of his albums went platinum after their release, with some reaching the staggering figure of 9 times platinum on the album “All eyez on me”. Lesane was shot three times during a shooting from a car in the Metropolitan Area of Las Vegas, Nevada. This happened on September 7th, 1996 and after a long battle, he passed away on the 13th of September, 1996. A remark he had made prior to his death was “I’m not saying I’m going to rule the world or I’m going to change the world. But I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world. That’s our job – to spark somebody else watching us.” In spite of the fact that his death was atrocious and completely unexpected, Pac, without a doubt, left this world initiating young people into critical thinking through probably one of the most persuasive and widespread channels, music.
In conclusion, Tupac is undoubtedly the greatest rapper of all time. As it has previously been explained, it is not just about the flow or the rap itself. It is about how powerful someone’s voice is and how skillful one is with words. And even so, it also involves charisma, attitude, hardwork and most importantly, a message to be told. Tupac Amaru Shakur surpassed these qualities and had even more to offer, with an inspiring and heartfelt childhood to an amazing music career to an incredibly tragic death, he had it all. His legacy will continue and expand to even more publics, and as long as somebody talks about him, Tupac will always be alive.
Walmart’s New Recruitment Strategy
Walmart’s New Recruitment Strategy Marcia Lee (HRM440) Recruitment, Selection and Employee Development Colorado State University Global Campus Dr. Danielle Camacho October 14, 2018 Walmart’s New Recruitment Plan
Sticking with Walmart, it’s apparent their current strategy is ineffective. I have yet to walk into a Walmart and receive good customer service; however, their pick up and delivery is outstanding. Well, maybe not outstanding, but it’s great. No matter whether it is a low-income area or a high-income area, never has a Walmart associate asked me “May I help you?. I always have to chase them down to ask them for help, or for someone who can help me. Once, I was in desperate need of a nose ring retainer for work. I stood at the jewelry counter for thirty minutes waiting on an associate to assist me because the retainers were under lock and key. I purchased two packs; therefore, I won’t have to wait at the jewelry counter any time soon.
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Walmart’s uses internal and external recruitment sources. External recruitment sources have the benefit of accessing the labor market to address the human resource management objectives. This combination helps provide Walmart flexibility of satisfying the human resource needs. Walmart’s uses current employees, trainees, and transfers for internal recruitment. Their human resource management supports the promotion of hourly sales employees to managerial positions. More than seventy percent of their managers were promoted within the ranks and started as hourly employees. Walmart’s method of recruitment is through structured interviews and job knowledge evaluations by way of personality tests and situational judgment tests. Their selection criteria depend on the job position (Thompson, 2017). Walmart’s Current Recruitment Strategy
Walmart’s basic criteria for recruitment comprises of education, training, background experience, and the results of a criminal background check. No resume required for hourly employees, just work history. Walmart uses analytical and problem-solving capabilities and conflict management skills for supervisory and managerial positions, and previously used knowledge retention and interpersonal skills for hourly employees as they are in constant contact with customers. Walmart’s most used strategies for recruitment is through advertising on their website and promoting within the organization. What to consider prior to the recruitment process
According to Marie August, before recruitment begins, Human Resource Management should think about (August, 2014):
- Where you advertise a role and by which methods Walmart’s strategy is to advertise on their website and promote within. My plan would be to hire headhunters and temp agencies to obtain qualified candidates. By using headhunters, Walmart would obtain qualified professional managerial applicants. As for temp agencies, make the employee work for it. Hire them as temps for the first ninety days or so, and if they have received a positive evaluation, offer them a permanent position. This process will weed out the bad and lazy employees, which is almost guaranteed to boost customer service ratings
- How simple it is for individuals to apply almost anyone can fill out an application or have someone complete it for them. This creates a large amount of applications to sort through looking for qualified candidates and causes the un-necessary waste of revenue. “Employees are your best ambassadors (August, 2014).
- How they plan to respond to candidates – Walmart uses the indirect method of recruitment, by advertising on their website. However, they use the direct method when it comes to communicating with the chosen candidates. They reach out directly to the candidate and invite them in for an interview. My strategy would be to communicate by email. By checking his/her email daily, shows a sense of responsibility on behalf of the candidate (Application Process Step By Step, 2018).
- The number of interview stages Walmart holds only one face to face interview. If you do well with the interview, you are offered a position, in contingent upon a positive background check and a negative drug screen. This is a good strategy; however, I would conduct a number of interviews, which would include scenarios to measure good customer service and conduct written test to measure knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) (Application Process Step By Step, 2018).
- Where interviews will be conducted Walmart hold interviews at their stores. This is a good idea mainly because Walmart stores are already handicap friendly. You have parking up front, electric carts available, and ramped walkways. I would not change a thing in this aspect.
- How will they handle rejected candidates and the final offer of the chosen applicant – According to bloggers, not very well. “You can always call the store an ask, but if you applied for a job position that was currently open at the time of your application, let me save you the trouble and say that you didn’t get it. I know it defies logic, but you cannot apply for open positions at Walmart because the application process is a little backwards. Here is how it works. Store manager or co-manager put in a request (req) for a position that detail what is open and how many people are needed, the job is then listed as open in the application system, the personnel manager drops the req and gets a list of people who have already applied for the job in the past 90 days, those job applicants are called in and interviewed (How do you check a Walmart job application status?, 2016). I am not sure how true this statement is; however, my strategy would be to mail out rejection letters to those candidates who did not make the cut and place a phone call to those candidates that were chosen to be offered the position.
- How they plan to stay in contact with the new recruit until their start date By keeping the line of communication open, insures that the employee will keep you abreast of any changes. Changes such as, if another job offer becomes available to the employee, open communication will allow that person to inform you if they decide to accept the other position, instead of just not showing up for work. Recruitment methods utilized to ensure diversity among applicants
Diversity at Walmart is greater than race, gender, religion, or disability. It’s about acceptance people who stand for diverse things. People that have different viewpoints and ways of thinking. This type of diversity aids in unlocking an inspired atmosphere. New and diverse concepts can help drive innovation and business growth. To assure diversity in recruitment, an organization should advertise on popular sites like Indeed, Monster, and Glassdoor. They should offer competitive salaries and benefits. They should advertise a positive work environment.
Walmart has more than one and a half million employees of which twenty-two percent are African American, fourteen percent are Hispanic or Latino American, four percent are Asian American, one percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and one percent American Indian or Alaskan Native. Fifty-five percent of all employees are women, which includes forty-three percent in management and thirty-one percent in administration positions (Diversity & Inclusion, 2017). Challenges that might occur during the recruitment process
Some of the challenges that may occur during recruitment are finding top talent, streamlining the hiring process, and managing new hire onboarding. Many corporations now offer employee referral program where current personnel are rewarded for referring applicants who are hires by the organization. Outside headhunters or specialized function recruiters are also valuable resources (How to Deal with 3 Common Recruiting Challenges, 2013).
Recruiting processes can be simplified and optimized using applicant tracking software. This type of software can make it easy to post new job openings, check the progress of current applicants, and match candidates to available positions. Using technology in the recruiting process saves valuable time and energy and offers a better hiring experience for recruiters and candidates (How to Deal with 3 Common Recruiting Challenges, 2013). Onboarding can be a hassle. Using today’s technology, an employer can eliminate most of those problems. With recruitment software, once an applicant is hired, their information can be transferred to an HR application. This type of application will allow employers to see their new hires position in their orientation programs with training, which allows the human resource management team to plan training courses and track attendance of employees. With support from the right technology, new hire onboarding can be a smooth process (How to Deal with 3 Common Recruiting Challenges, 2013).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Walmart needs to revamp their recruitment strategy. First by advertising not only on the Walmart website, but on other well-known and popular websites as well in order to capture quality applicants. By offering competitive salaries and benefits will attract well qualified candidates. They should provide intensive customer service training for their employees. Assign employees areas and require them to man those areas until relieved by another employee. Hiring on a temporary basis will weed out the bad employees and allow management to focus on the good employees and offer those that are worthy a permanent opportunity.
Walmart has traded its previous training programs with something they refer to as an academy. These academies include a mixture of classroom and on-the-job training and are intended to train department managers and assistant managers to become more customer-focused (Hyken, 2016).
References
- Application Process Step By Step. (2018). Retrieved from Walmart.com: https://careers.walmart.com/application-process-step-by-step
- August, M. (2014). Strategy key to recruiting the best for your business. Chartered Accountants Journal, 93(1), 60. Diversity & Inclusion. (2017). Retrieved from Walmart.com: https://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/opportunity/diversity-and-inclusion
- How do you check a Walmart job application status? (2016, May 25). Retrieved from Quora: I know it defies logic but you actually cannot apply for open positions at Walmart because the application process is a little backwards. Here is how it works.
- How to Deal with 3 Common Recruiting Challenges. (2013, May 8). Retrieved from Paycor: https://www.paycor.com/resource-center/how-to-deal-with-3-common-recruiting-challenges Hyken, S. (2016, March 12).
- Walmart Creates Training Academies To Improve Customer Service. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2016/03/12/walmart-creates-training-academies-to-improve-customer-service/#443a69d82c57 Thompson, A. (2017, January 28).
- Walmart’s HRM: Recruitment, Selection, Employee Retention. Retrieved from Panmore Institute: http://panmore.com/walmart-human-resource-management-recruitment-selection-employee-retention
