Personal vs. Personnel How to Choose the Right Word

The words personal and personnel are related in meaning, but theyre not identical. They also belong to different word classes  and theyre pronounced  differently. The adjective personal (with the stress on the first syllable) means private or individual. The noun personnel (stress on the last syllable) refers to the people employed by an organization, business, or service. Both words derive from the Latin word personalis, meaning of or related to a person. How to Use Personal The word personal is an adjective that has two different meanings: It may be used to describe a persons unique preferences or qualities, as in My personal favorite musician is Bruce Springsteen or My personal ability to play baseball is not very impressive. It may also be used to refer to private experiences or items, as in The police even went through his personal correspondence or You have no business tampering with my personal belongings. In contemporary English, personal may also be used as a noun. For example, the personals refer to personal ads in newspapers and online venues, and the term the personal is occasionally used as slang for bathroom or toilet. How to Use Personnel Personnel is a noun referring to employees of a business or organization, as in The personnel at the XYZ company are very happy with their compensation packages. Personnel is also used as an adjective in one specific circumstance: In the past, the personnel office or personnel department of a business was in charge of anything related to hiring, firing, training, or managing the companys employees. In more recent years, the term human resources department emerged to take its place. The human resources department or HR manages everything that the personnel office once handled but may also be involved in helping employees navigate the challenges of the workplace, ranging from work-life balance to diversity training. Examples Quite a few sources warn against confusing personal with personnel. Although these words come from the same root, they are spelled, pronounced, and used differently. In the following examples, both words are used appropriately: Employees files are stored in the personnel department. The files that contain information about employees are stored in the department that manages employee information.Jane was asked to reveal personal information as part of the process of receiving top-secret clearance. A particular individual is asked to reveal private or secret information about herself to receive security clearance.ABC Corporations personnel are required to hold bachelors degrees. The people who work at ABC Corporation must be college graduates.My personal belief is that all people should follow a vegan diet. An individual holds particular views about food. How to Remember the Difference It may be unlikely that youll mix up personal vs. personnel, but these tips will help you if youre not quite sure of which to use: Personnel, which refers to multiple people, has more letters than personal, which refers to just one person.Personnel includes the letter e, which is the first letter in the word employee. Personnel almost always relates to the employees of a business or organization. Related Grammatical Concepts Some grammar experts believe that the word personal is redundant. For example, the meaning of the phrase my personal opinion is really identical in meaning to the phrase my opinion. There are, however, exceptions to this rule; for example: The terms personal secretary and personal computer suggest that the secretary or computer is dedicated to the needs of an individual. Thus, the phrase personal secretary means something different from secretary.The phrase personal scent refers to a customized perfume, intended only for a particular person. There are many perfumes, but only one personal scent for an individual.The word personal can also suggest the concept of private or secret. For example, my personal diary suggests a private diary (as opposed to an online calendar that might be shared with others in an organization). Sources Personal.  Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.Personal Versus Personnel.  Quick and Dirty Tips, Grammar Girl, 6 Mar. 2019.

America Needs More Immigrants - 3083 Words

America Needs More Immigrants After political security, there is nothing that the Republic needs so much as bone and sinew, for the development of its vast resources . . . we want flesh and blood, men, women, and children, to assist in fulfilling that intention. —Editorial from the Commercial and Financial Chronicle, published in August 12, 1865—as the re-United States reels back from the divisiveness of the Civil War (Abbott 156) When my ancestors came to the U.S. in the 1800s to help build the transcontinental railroad (enabling intracontinental commerce on an unprecedented scale), it was very true that immigrants contributed to America’s economic prosperity. Does this remain true today? Today is a very different time than the aftermath of the Civil War. Or is it? Now, the U.S. is also reeling back from wars, albeit of very different sorts: the Cold War and the latest series of riots in the cities. The U.S. is turning inwards, wanting to rebuild its infrastructure and inner cities. Pre-eminence in various scientific areas and the education of its citizens, who are, by world standards, lagging educationally, are again prime national goals—much as they were following the Civil War. Skills and labor are needed. Although not as powerfully delineated as in a North-South segregation, the American population is still bitterly divided over many issues—one of which is immigration. Would immigration aggravate our problems, especially unemployment and social tension, orShow MoreRelated America Needs More Immigrants Essay834 Words   |  4 PagesAmerica Needs More Immigrants America is sometimes referred to as a nation of immigrants because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants threaten American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and Read More English Should be the National Language Essay1004 Words   |  5 PagesRock, immigrants have been culturally diverse and have spoken many languages. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they did not know how to communicate with the natives. Through intense study the natives learned the Pilgrims’ language. Even with the common language they were still a melting pot of different culture. Some would say that America has gotten over the language/ cultural barriers and now almost everyone speaks the common langu age of English, but there are still many immigrants whoRead MoreWhy We Need Immigration Reform1168 Words   |  5 Pages Why we need immigration reform Immigration is important to America and so is Immigration reform. The laws we have in place are unfair and unsuccessful to all of us. In order to progress we need to look at our country’s past to advance in our future. Our economy and society can learn and advance with immigration reform. Our laws on Immigration need an upgrade and most politicians would agree that we need immigration reform also. Immigration reform is the renewal of our immigration lawsRead MoreWhy We Need Immigration Reform1168 Words   |  5 Pages Why we need immigration reform Immigration is important to America and so is Immigration reform. The laws we have in place are unfair and unsuccessful to all of us. In order to progress we need to look in our country’s past to advance to our future. Our economy and society can learn and advance with immigration reform. Our laws on Immigration need an upgrade and most politicians would agree that we need immigration reform also. Immigration reform is the renewal of our immigration lawsRead MoreThe Theory Of Assimilation And The American Dream940 Words   |  4 Pagesbasically talks about immigrants coming to America and that they need to be force to give up on their own culture and assimilate to the American culture. Throughout the reading, I have learned that the theory of Assimilation has been present in this country for many years and how impactful it can still be. Since America was built around immigrants, the first people who came in to this country has already establish a certain life style and whoever would come after them, those immigrants are force to beRead MoreThe Center For Human Rights And Constitutional Law1564 Words   |  7 PagesHuman Rights and Constitutional Law Help Lead a Path for Immigrants to Become Active Citizens? Immigrants have faced many challenges when trying to become citizens of the United States. These challenges began when the Immigration Act of 1882 was passed, which gave authority to officials to deny access to the United States to anyone who was a criminal or who was uneducated (Immigration Act). This made it very hard for people coming to America to become citizens of the United States and even harderRead MoreUncle Sams Thanksgiving Dinner Analysis1155 Words   |  5 PagesDinner† and â€Å"America The Land of Opportunity†, both cartoons show different aspects of immigration. America was founded by immigrants. Our brave and heroic founding fathers set out to create a new nation. The founding fathers wanted to get away from the burdens in England and establish a new colony unlike any around. This nation would be free of unjust rule and any tyranny. They wanted citizens of the country to have rights that would never be taken away. We all came from Immigrants at some po intRead MoreIllegal Immigrants Should Be Illegal1456 Words   |  6 Pagesmillion illegal immigrants live in America† (Watkins). According to the recent study, â€Å"The Percentage of immigrants living in the U.S.A. is almost fourteen percent†(Wooldridge). This problem is an issue to the U.S. and will be an issue to all of the nations including europe, asia, etcetera. if it is not fixed. Reason is that the immigrants get more government help or welfare some may call it, than the registered citizens of America. Studies show that 51 percent of homes led by immigrants are gettingRead MoreImmigrant Children : A Growing Problem For American Schools999 Words   |  4 Pages and later graduated from Harvard. Before immigrating to America, Selamawi experienced famine, a civil war, and spent five years of his childhood in a refugee camp. Rather than holding him back, his struggles in life made him thrive in American schools. Like Selamawi, many immigrants come into this count ry with unique backgrounds and appreciate education. In spite of Selamawi’s story, with more and more immigrant children coming to America, many question how sufficiently these students can be educatedRead MoreHow Can America Become A Better Immigrant Nation?1245 Words   |  5 PagesHow Can America Become a Better Immigrant Nation Again? It has become evident to many that the American economy is declining in recent years. Journalists are pointing out that one of the reasons why it got weaker is due to a failed immigration system and outdated policies towards illegal immigrants. For instance, Fareed Zakaria from Time magazine says, although America was once considered an example to many other immigrant nations, it is now falling behind some of them in terms of immigration-related

The Invisible Man Free Essays

In the novel, The Invisible Man, there are many characters that go against the Invisible Man and try to keep him from succeeding. The definition of a Villain is: A wicked or evil person; a scoundrel; A dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero. Since the Invisible Man is the protagonist of the novel, Dr. We will write a custom essay sample on The Invisible Man or any similar topic only for you Order Now Bledsoe would fit as a villain towards him. Dr. Bledsoe is the president of the IM’s college, and the IM looks up to him until he turns out to be a big phony. While Dr. Bledsoe preaches a doctrine of hard work and humility as the key to black advancement, he retains his power as president of the college by â€Å"playing the nigger† – he scrapes, bows, and all the while deceives the powerful white men upon whose patronage his power depends. Thus Dr. Bledsoe’s supposed commitment to his race is a sham; at one point he declares that he would see every black man in the country lynched before he would give up his position of authority. What makes Dr. Bledsoe such an influential villain is that the protagonist (IM) truly did trust in him and look up to him as a role model. Bledsoe had the IM’s fate in his hands. One of the most important things to the IM was to go to college and become successful, but Bledsoe had the power to take all of that away. Bledsoe has three faces: one he shows to important whites, another he exhibits officially to the students of the college, and the private and true side he reveals to the IM. When the IM sees Bledsoe’s true nature, he soon comes to realize the corruption and malevolent methods that Dr. Bledsoe utilizes. This is the IM’s first encounter with such deep-seated corruption. The IM’s perception is that his world is at its deepest levels corrupted by certain varieties of radical dishonesty and manipulation. He sees this, when the man he idolizes, Dr. Bledsoe, is heavily entrenched in dishonesty and manipulation. Dr. Bledsoe attributes his success to a similar ability to feign humility. The power hungry Bledsoe would have done anything to keep his power, even deceive a vulnerable student or the white trustees. Bledsoe advocates lying as a good way to interact and manipulate Mr. Norton and the white trustees. His belief is that deceit is a means to obtain dignity and status. Because of Bledsoe’s false identity, the IM recognizes his grandfather’s sentiment that true treachery lies in believing in the mask of meekness. For, echoing Booker T. Washington’s philosophy, Bledsoe practices humility and preaches the virtue of humble contentment with one’s place; but, in fact, he uses his seeming passivity to mask his true aims. Bledsoe employs this mask of meekness not only as a method of self-preservation or even self-empowerment but also as a method of actively grabbing power. He uses the college and Washington’s ideology to gain a position of power rather than to achieve broad social progress for his people (something that the IM initially looked up to him for). Bledsoe’s declaration that he has â€Å"played the nigger† long and hard to get to his position and won’t have one young, naive student erase his accomplishments reveals his priorities: his concern for the college’s image masks his greater fear that his own image will be defiled and his power stripped. The IM’s grandfather advised his family to use masks as a form of self-defense and resistance against racist white power, but Bledsoe uses masks as a weapon against members of his own race. Moreover, he uses deception to achieve an influential position within the white-dominated power structure rather than to dismantle that structure. One can argue that Bledsoe’s character shows the ultimate limitations of the grandfather’s philosophy: African Americans will not win true power for themselves as a people if they continue to lead double lives. This is a major theme in the novel, and it’s something that the IM does not truly understand until the end of the book. Dr. Bledsoe, although a villain to the IM and to the entire black community, the IM is still able to learn a lot about him when it comes to his invisibility. The IM learns that to be invisible is to be unacknowledged by others, and he learns that by â€Å"playing a role† or pretending to be something that you are not (mask’s) you end up losing your true self and sense of identity. Behind the many masks of Bledsoe, he ends up getting lost in his multiple identities and does not know who he is. Bledsoe seems to be blind to the fact that he too is black, and although he may have a higher position than other blacks, he is still â€Å"invisible† in the eyes of the white people to whom he â€Å"sucks up† to. Dr. Bledsoe is a villain who seems to be lost in his own evil, power hungry motives. Dr. Bledsoe is blind to the truth of his own identity, and therefore it causes the IM to rethink his life. Bledsoe serves as a villain because of the many roles he played to fool people. He did not care about anyone else but himself. Bledsoe had many twisted morals, but the protagonist, the IM was able to learn from Bledsoe’s blindness and ignorance. He learned that your true identity does not come from the power of putting others down, but it comes from the realization that you are powerless but that you can still make an effort to change things for the betterment of all people. How to cite The Invisible Man, Essay examples