Primary research on motivation

Motivation Course: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Faculty: Batch: 2013-2016 Class: Table OF Content: Table OF CONTENT:S.NoSubjectPg. No.1.Student Declaration32.Introduction43.Questionnaire5-74.Analysis7-145.Decision15. Student DECLARATION We hereby declare that all the members in our group were present during the interview with Mr. Deepak Gupta, Director of Thoro Packaging Industries Pvt. Ltd.. All the members have every bit worked together on this undertaking titled ‘Motivation’ . Each of us had been assigned a portion of the entire undertaking and have contributed moderately to the completion of this undertaking. The questionnaire prepared by us consists of inquiries that have jointly been contributed by the members of our group. On the completion of this undertaking, we had acquired valuable cognition and information pertaining to the motivational facet in the working of a private endeavor and the psychological orientation of its employees. Introduction Motivationis amental characteristic that inspires an being to work on the desiredgoaland controls his behavior harmonizing to the demands. For illustration, Grades is a factor motive that allows us to analyze and work harder. It is an external or internal force which compels us to execute an action to accomplish a coveted end. Motivation helps the human to minimise physical hurting and maximise pleasance and helps us derive assurance so that we can accomplish our end. QUESTIONNARIE:I believe that the work that I do contributes to the ends of the organisation and makes a difference.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI readily take part voluntarily in meetings, treatments, arguments and supply suggestions that help better our work.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy leader understands my strengths, endowments and abilities, and ensures that I get to use them on a regular footing.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy work is positively disputing. It stretches my abilities and possible, without coercing me into emphasis.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI believe that there is good cultural coherence between me and the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverThere are equal chances for betterment and overall development in the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI do non experience hesitating about showing my sentiments, ideas and positions, irrespective of whether they are for or against an idea/proposition.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI consider myself appreciated and valued by the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy sentiments are encouraged, sought out, listened to and enacted upon.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverUnder-performance is analyzed, identified and rectified rapidly and efficaciously by the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverConflicts within the organisation are dealt with rapidly, efficaciously and in an just and indifferent mode.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy leader and I reciprocally decide upon marks on a regular footing, and I am clear about my personal ends that will assist me and the organisation become successful.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI believe that mypersonalends are just and ambitious every bit good as accomplishable and that I have a good opportunity of accomplishing them.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI am good informed, clear and convinced about our squad ends in the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI am an of import and portion of my squad contributing towards the accomplishment of the ends of the squad and organisation at big. AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI believe that oursquadends are just and ambitious every bit good as accomplishable and that I have a good opportunity of accomplishing them.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy squad places more importance on happening solutions and bettering public presentation, instead than interpersonal struggles, political relations, and unhealthy competition.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverThere is a sensible grade of trust between the direction and work force, and the higher-ups and subsidiaries of the organisation.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverI personally like working in the organisation and bask my work and the work environment.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverMy wage, fringe benefits and fringe benefits are sensible, just and equal.AlwaysSometimesRarelyNeverAnalysis 1.I believe that the work that I do contributes to the ends of the organisation and makes a difference 2.I readily take part voluntarily in meetings, treatments, arguments and supply suggestions that help better our work. 3.My leader understands my strengths, endowments and abilities, and ensures that I get to use them on a regular footing. 4.My work is positively disputing. It stretches my abilities and possible, without coercing me into emphasis. 5.I believe that there is good cultural coherence between me and the organisation. 6.There are equal chances for betterment and overall development in the organisation. 7.I do non experience hesitating about showing my sentiments, ideas and positions, irrespective of whether they are for or against an idea/proposition. 8.I consider myself appreciated and valued by the organisation 9.My sentiments are encouraged, sought out, listened to and enacted upon. 10.Under-performance is analyzed, identified and rectified rapidly and efficaciously by the organisation. 11. Conflicts within the organisation are dealt with rapidly, efficaciously and in an just and indifferent mode. 12.My leader and I reciprocally decide upon marks on a regular footing, and I am clear about my personal ends that will assist me and the organisation become successful. 13.I believe that mypersonalends are just and ambitious every bit good as accomplishable and that I have a good opportunity of accomplishing them 14.I am good informed, clear and convinced about our squad ends in the organisation 15.I am an of import and portion of my squad contributing towards the accomplishment of the ends of the squad and organisation at big. 16.I believe that oursquadends are just and ambitious every bit good as accomplishable and that I have a good opportunity of accomplishing them 17.My squad places more importance on happening solutions and bettering public presentation, instead than interpersonal struggles, political relations, and unhealthy competition. 18.There is a sensible grade of trust between the direction and work force, and the higher-ups and subsidiaries of the organisation. 19.I personally like working in the organisation and bask my work and the work environment. 20.My wage, fringe benefits and fringe benefits are sensible, just and equal. Decision This undertaking was really exciting for all in our group as we got to larn a batch about motive through a field trip to a private endeavor. We were able to derive a valuable penetration into the heads of the employees and their psychological feelings with regard to how motivated they felt within the administration. We ascertained the important function that motive dramas in any organisation, be it a private or a public endeavor. This is because motive is permeant in nature. We would wish to thank our Organisational Behaviour professor, Dr. Olive Nerulkar, for supplying us with an chance to larn about motive on the field through a questionnaire study of an organisation’s employees. pg. 1

Skin Cancer

It mostly found in Caucasians and is usually found on fair-skinned people. It may appear as nodules, or as red spots, scaly patches on the skin. This topic is very crucial, for all of you today, because you or someone you care about may be suffering from skin cancer. CREDIBILITY:Ever since my ex-boyfriend suffered from skin cancer, this topic has caused me great concern. Therefore, I have researched this cancer extensively. PREVIEW: I. I will discuss the problem with not protecting yourself from skin cancer. II.I will also discuss a plan to protect yourself from skin cancer. III. I will discuss the benefits of my plan. BODY I. THE PROBLEM OF NOT PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM SKIN CANCER (According to http://www. skincancer. org) A. Skin Cancer is a disorder that can creep up on you slowly. 1. Showing itself as a malformed and multicolored growth. B. It will tend to burn or freckle your skin causing pain in people with fair skin. C. Going out into the sun, when temperature is high, will ca use your skin to burn from direct exposure to the sun. 1.You will have a greater chance of getting Skin Cancer. D. When not taking the proper precautions to prevent Skin Cancer, you will be exposing yourself to UVA and UVB sun rays. 1. By not protecting your body from this exposure will and can cause you a great bodily harm. TRANSITIONNow that I have shared with you problems with not protecting yourself from skin cancer, I will now share with you a plan preventing it. II. A PLAN TO PREVENT SKIN CANCER: (According to W. John Diamond & W. Lee Cowden’s book and http://www. ebmd. com) A. We need to avoid the time of the day between 10 a. m. and 4:00 p. m. (when the sun is at its brightest). B. We need to wear protective clothing that covers our body and a hat to protect our head. C. We need to use a sunscreen with 15 SPF to 45 SPF and protect ourselves against both UVA and UVB sun rays. D. Lastly, we need to check our skin regularly. At our yearly checkup, we should have the doct or do an exam on our skin as well. 1. We need to check for any discolorations or growths developing on our skin.TRANSITIONNow that I have shared with you a plan to prevent Skin Cancer, I will share with you the benefits. III. BENEFITS OF PREVENTING SKIN CANCER: (According to Tracie Egan’s book â€Å"Skin Cancer†): A. Preventing Skin Cancer can help you avoid the necessary treatments, Such as Surgery and Medications which are painful and hard on the body. 1. Biopsies of the skin, surgeries to remove and/or chemical treatments (such as Chemotherapy) to slow down the development of cancerous cells. B.Most importantly, taking the precautions to prevent Skin Cancer will help you avoid death associated with the disease. It will not cost anything but time to prevent yourself from getting the disease. CONCLUSION, SUMMARY:In conclusion, I have shared with you the problems of not protecting yourself, a plan of action and the benefits of preventing skin cancer. I highly recommend that you take the precautions, I have described, in order to prevent Skin Cancer from taking control or your life. These precautions do not guarantee that you will not get Skin Cancer, but they will reduce your chances immensely.BIBLIOGRAPHY Egan, Tracie (2006) Skin Cancer: Current and Emerging Trends in Detection and Treatment, Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. , ISBN# 1-4042-0390-7, 64 pages (hardback) Hanly, C. (1995, July) Worldly Lessons On Skin Cancer, Publisher: The Center of Education, Skin Cancer, ISBN#1-855345-26-8, 400 pages (hardback) The American Cancer Society (2000) American Cancer Society’s Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Methods, Publisher: The American Cancer Society, ISBN# 0-944235-24-9, 438 pages (paperback) Kaufman, Howard L. 2005) The Melanoma Book : A Complete Guide to Prevention and Treatment, Including the Early Detection Self-Exam Body Map, Publisher: Gotham Books; The Penguin Group (USA) Inc. , ISBN# 1592401260, 352 pages (p aperback) Diamond, W. John & Cowden, W. Lee, M. D. s (with Burton Goldberg) (2000) Cancer Diagnosis: What to Do Next, Publisher: AlternativeMedicine. com, ISBN# 1-887299-40-8, 360pages (paperback) Robertson, M. (1998, March 8) Skin Cancer: Learn to Protect Yourself with the Following Treatments, Publisher: USA Today Magazine, 125 (2168-22-25. http://www. skincancer. org http://www. webmd. com [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]

Destination Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Destination Management - Essay Example The London underground is identified as the oldest underground railway existing throughout the world. London can be said to be in the consolidation of destination development. As mentioned it is rich in both natural and artificial attraction's sites. Besides that it has vigorous tourism advertisements and promotion activities that are part of destination management efforts. For instance, visitlondon.com outlines the lined-up activities' events within London that appeals to people around the world. Visitors continued to flock to London, and it is said to attract 27 million visitors who stay overnight annually (Beesley-De, 2013). 2. Approach to destination management Basically, destination management involves three main phases, including development planning, marketing and management. Development planning involves assessing the potential of the destination, consultation and investment. Marketing involves research, target market, mix and planning, and visits and yield. Management involv es protecting resources, quality assurance and sustainable growth. Achieving these means competitive tourism to a destination. However, it must be underscored that destinations are dynamic and always evolving (Swrabook, 1999). This means that London is a continuously evolving destination that will have something new or rebrand itself to appeal to as many visitors as possible. As indicated above London boasts of some of the most visited tourism sites around the world. Besides it has the necessary facilities and amenities that support tourism. However, this success and sustainability of the same can only be achieved through consolidated efforts. There is a team responsible for development planning, marketing and management of London as a destination of tourism. This team comprises of appointees from the government of London and stakeholders in the tourism sector. This team is charged with identify what London can offer both naturally and artificially. The work of this team can be easi ly seen from the official visitor's guide identified as visitlondon.com. Here a visitor can discover London, know things to do, where they can stay, travel information and special offers. This makes London one of the most organized tourism destinations that receives a high number of visitors in Europe and worldwide. 3. System of governance London is home for two levels of government the local and national government. However, it is the local government that is responsible for administration. The local government administration is divided into two tiers-a local tier and a citywide, strategic tier. The great London Authority (GLA) coordinated the citywide administration whereas 33 smaller authorities coordinate local administration. The GLA is made up of two elected arms of government the Mayor, who occupies an executive office and London assembly check mayor’s decisions and can reject or accept the mayor’s proposals annually (Beesley-De, 2013). The command market system operates in London. The government owns and operates a significant portion of the factors of production. Infrastructure, including roads, airports, seaports and the underground railway system are owned and controlled by the government. At the same time, major tourism attraction sites as identified above are

Political Econ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Econ - Essay Example The government debt to GDP ratio also stood at 27.7 percent in 2014. It is also worth noting that the Australian economy is heavily reliant on natural resources thus less vulnerable. The other country in the top ten is Canada. According to Blaine, the Canadian economy is a mirror of the United States of America economy since it has a very big automotive sector (3). Over the last couple of years, there has been exponential growth of technology companies in Vancouver and Toronto. It remains the largest supplier to the US exporting oil, natural gas, hydroelectric power and uranium. About three quarter of Canada’s exports end up in the US. In 2008-2009, its automotive industry was hit very badly by the economic slump. The Canadian banks and the oil sector were able to weather the storm. The recent upsurge in oil prices and other exports have boosted the economy thus giving it a very good credit rating. The third nation is Denmark. The country’s finances are in solid shape even after the 2008-2009 recession as well as the Eurozone crisis. It has an AAA rating with the government debt being 59 percent of the GDP. Some of the nation’s strengths include the vibrant maritime sector and the stable pharmaceutical industry. Blaine points out that unemployment rates still remain high at 6.6 percent (par 4). Denmark is followed closely by Finland. Finland became an economic powerhouse in the 1990s due to the rapid telecommunication and technology growth. Nokia contributed to about 23 percent of the corporate taxes paid between 1998 and 2007. The Eurozone crisis did hurt the economy very much. In addition to this, the decline of Nokia has had a very detrimental effect on Finland’s economy. It has an unemployment rate of 8.0 percent. The fifth nation is Germany which experienced a GDP growth of 0.9 percent in 2012. The last few years have not been easy for the country due to the struggles of the Eurozone

Mini Research Report on Tutankhamun Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mini Report on Tutankhamun - Research Paper Example esenamun with whom they had two stillborn daughters who died at 6 months and later at 9 months of pregnancy according to modern computations.1 However, even the modern research has not yet revealed the core reason of the deaths since there were no congenital anomalies found in the mummies. Given the young age of Tutankhamun at the time of ascending to the throne and his successes such victories over several ethnicities, it obvious that he had wise and string council among them Vizier Ay. Nonetheless, Tutankhamun made several noticeable changes during his reign marking a number of achievements under his name. For instanvce, during the third year of his reign he banned the worship of the god Aten restoring the god Amun contrary to his father’s reign. Moreover, the Capital was reverted to Thebes abandoning Akhetaten that had served as the main city during his father’s reign. It was this period that saw the establishment of the name Tutankhamun that means â€Å"Living image of Amun† whom he had restored as the god to worship. Additionally, he saw the development of Thebes marked by numerous buildings such as a temple for Amun and erection of several monuments mainly related to the gods. As a result of these advancements, traditional festivals such as those related to Apis Bull that had earlier been neglected were now celebrated across the territory. However, due the increased concentration on the god Amun other gods and goddesses were seemingly neglected leading to the belief that the land was under a curse. As such, the temples and the sanctuary were in ruins with some being seemingly abused due to use as roads and hence prayers to these gods and goddesses were not answered. This may be considered one of the greatest failures of Tutankhamun and it has received great critic especially from those against the worship of the god Amun. Nevertheless, Tutankhamun saw the improvement of the economic status of the country that had been strained during the reign of his

Refugees in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Refugees in America - Research Paper Example Many of those who are offered asylum by the US apply from abroad. They are the ones referred to as refugees. Loescher and Milner (2009) define refugees as people who flee their country due to persecution, violence or war. A refugee is one person who has a well-founded fear derived from persecution because of race, religion and religious activities, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Their view remains contradicting to those wanting to prosecute them. In most cases, they cannot coming back home simply because they are afraid and timid to do so. According to Daley (2009), ethnic, war, tribal and religious violence have been known to be among the leading causes of refugees fleeing their native countries. Refugees differ from normal immigrants in that they do not have a choice or will to go back to their countries. There is a limitation for refugee admissions to the United States set by the American President. Additionally, there exist a much small er percentage of refugees who apply form within and are granted asylum. They are referred to as ‘asylees. They may be granted asylum on a permanent or temporary basis. Each year, America receives and welcomes refugees. It does not matter whether the refugees come from Nepal, Sudan, Iraq, Burma or Somalia. All refugees share a similar journey. Many refugees can spend months and even years in substandard camps. Less than 1% of refugees are able to flee their camps and get a chance to live in America, Sweden, Australia, or Canada or any other country that resettles refugees. It the responsibilities of the US department of state, Migration and Refugees and Bureau of Population to oversee the American support of refugees overseas and abroad, as well as the selection and transportation of the refugees to the Unites States, and their assignment to a local settled community for resettlement. The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants forms one of

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations Essay

Organizing and Delegating-Management of Organizations - Essay Example An effective cost reduction plan should achieve results that flow from top to the bottom line of financial matters (Mosley, 2008). The plan should be designed in such a manner that its implementation does not damage the organization itself. In fact, it is argued that a good cost reduction program should focus much on damage control as it involves cutting costs. The ways of communicating these measures are equally important, especially if it concerns salaries of the employees. Cost Reduction Plan All cost reduction plans aim at reducing costs in order to improve profitability. It is apparent that by reducing expenses, profits are increased. In the current scenario, it is apparent that most of the company’s expenses go to employee salaries. With 90 percent of the company’s expenses being channeled in one department, it becomes tricky to have an effective cost reduction plan in place. In this regard, it is advisable to have a cost reduction team comprising all departments. In the beginning, the head of the cost control team should ensure that the idea of cost reduction is well discussed with the team members. In the current scenario, since cost reduction measures will mainly focus on reducing salaries of the employees, it is also advisable to have all departments represented by employees in the cost control team (Mosley, 2008). However, the meeting should be frequent, probably once in a week. This helps the effort not to lose momentum. Every meeting’s minutes should be published and availed to the chief executive and the heads of each department. The minutes should include the status of each task in the meeting. Cost reduction team members should discuss ideas in a free flowing manner. The ideas should primarily focus on the agenda of the meeting with a contribution from team members being well recorded. Since the main area of concern is salaries, it is equally important to consider a review of other areas that could also be highly contributin g to losses. For example, the cost of raw materials, electricity, travel, maintenance, etc. may as well be reviewed (Suzue, 2002). However, the next step involves cost necessity assessment. In this regard, evaluation of the magnitude of necessity of cost items identified is done. Most crucial items should be retained, but suggested reduction should be applied. Items with less magnitude of necessity should be evaluated for other options. Issues concerning salaries range from labor costs and morale initiatives to training costs. The table below indicates a cost reduction proposal that can be used to reduce cost associated with employee salaries and benefits. Item Classification Risks Decision Labor Necessary None Keep but reduce cost Supervision Necessary None Keep Overtime Necessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Coffee Unnecessary Morale impact Eliminate Department party Unnecessary Morale impact Keep but reduce Communication Plan Before any decisions are made on the measures to use in cost cutting, it is vital to consider the number of permanent employees and those that are in contract. This sets a pace in evaluating implementation negotiations (Coombs et al., 2005). The first step involves analysis of the situation that has led to seeking the option of cost reduction. This could be termed as

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Economics - Essay Example Apart from economic factors, cultural and political issues also affect inflation rate. The activities of workers’ union might create pressure on the wage rate preventing any downward movement of the same. Therefore production cost will not come down and hence increase in supply is restrained. An increase in supply of money or credit in the economy can make the incidence of inflation strong in an economy. The global financial crisis which resulted from the excess credit and increasing defaulters especially in the housing loan market led to inflationary pressures owing to increasing demand and cost of basic necessities around the world (Nanda). For the Gulf Countries where oil is a key commodity and factor responsible for growth, the rise in oil prices from 2005-2006 led to increase in related products. The increase in oil prices across the world has been occurring at a rate higher than the depreciation of the dollar. The spot price of oil rose by 171.9 percent ($65.66) and achi eved the highest point in August 2006 (reaching the peak at $76.01). Depreciation of dollar across a wide spread of currencies took place at 13.8 percent (Oxford Business Group 38-39). The paper attempts to compare two different Gulf Countries, Bahrain and UAE, with respect to the incidence and impact of inflation. Inflation The first outcome of inflation is usually reflected in the purchasing power of money. Hence there is a reduction in the real value of a good. Inflation rate which measures the price inflation has both positive and negative impacts on the economy. On one hand it reduces the real value of wealth in hands and on the other it creates an expectation of inflation in future and leads to a fall in savings and investments. If there is increased activity of accumulation of goods in apprehension that price might rise further, then there might be a crisis of supply of products in the market. If one considers the positive effects it may be reflected in adjustments of nominal interest rates which help in controlling recessions. Seeing from the demand side, low and moderate inflation are caused by demand side changes or alteration in the number of suppliers at times of crisis and increase in money supply. Going by the Keynesian viewpoint, demand-pull inflation is brought about by a rise in private and government expenditure leadings to high demand. This reflects a grot hint he economy since such higher demand and favorable market situation will lead to higher investment and growth. However cost push inflation which is brought about by supply side shock (fall in supply) could be owing to some natural calamities or high prices of inputs. For instance a sudden increase in oil prices might affect the supply side of those products for which oil is used as raw material or input. The built-in inflation is brought about by a wage-price circle where workers try to keep prices up in keeping with the market price and employers in turn pass this labor cost on to the consumers in the form of higher prices. The essential way out from inflation is the monetary policy and central banks resort to high interest rates and slowed money supply growth to control inflation. Keynesian school of economics suggest that demand can be increased during recession and decreased during boom in order to control inflation; this might be brought about by both monetary and fiscal policy adjustments (Ball). Inflation in Bahrain Inflation as not really an issue for Bahrain as it

1.Critically examine assessment and interventions for a specific Essay

1.Critically examine assessment and interventions for a specific client group (dual diagnosis) presenting with alcohol or drug misuse - Essay Example The slightly modified term â€Å"co-occurring substance misuse and mental health problems† refers more specifically to the observation that these co-occurring substance use and mental issues are frequently associated with the misuse of drugs and alcohol in ways that may complicate and contribute to psychological illness. In this context, the term â€Å"substance misuse† refers to the use of illegal drugs, the illicit use of prescription drugs and/or the excessive use of alcohol. When substance misuse and mental health problems co-occur in the same individual, this is termed a â€Å"dual diagnosis† or â€Å"co-morbidity†, although it should be noted that these two terms may apply more generally to any two conditions existing simultaneously in the same individual. The increased awareness of the co-existence of mental health and substance abuse issues in clients seeking or requiring psychological treatment represents an acknowledgement that mental health issues may have complex, multi-faceted origins that require individualized approaches to treatment and recovery (Drake & Wallach, 2000). It has also drawn attention that many individuals who are substance abusers are not simply guilty of criminal or excessive behaviours, but may abuse drugs or alcohol in the context of undiagnosed or untreated mental illness (Brems et al., 2006). The purpose of this essay is to explore some of the current assessment and therapeutic approaches to the treatment of clients presenting with this type of dual diagnosis, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), and brief interventions. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a therapeutic approach that is based on the premise that psychological issues are the product of aberrant thought processes and associated behaviours (Mueser et al., 2005). The goal of this approach is

Vitality Health Final Paper Essay Example for Free

Vitality Health Final Paper Essay Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of beauty products, is at risk of losing market share in this highly competitive industry. James Hoffman, the newly appointed Vice President of HR, has been tasked with the evaluation of Vitality’s performance management system, to ensure that it is generating the outcomes Beth Williams, the CEO, is expecting. ISSUE IDENTIFICATION After a period of strong revenue growth, Hoffman is concerned that the workforce is becoming complacent. The research and development department is not producing quickly enough, resulting in a growing number of missed product launches. The company has realized a slow but significant turnover of highly talented research scientists, leading Williams and Hoffman to suspect that the performance management system is ineffective. ISSUE ANALYSIS Prior to 2009, Vitality was operating an old performance management system that failed to properly incentivize and recognize top performers and did not emphasize employee accountability. As a result, there was a lack of differentiation between top talent, average performers, and poor performers, which frustrated some of the company’s most valuable scientists and engineers. In an effort to keep the peace, managers categorized almost everyone as average performers, and because performance ratings were tied to merit-based wage increases, top talent felt slighted. Vitality used a flawed comparative ratio system to determine wage increases, which often resulted in giving low performers a greater raise percentage. Because high performers were not adequately recognized or compensated for their efforts, the performance management system failed to keep them engaged. In 2009, Vitality implemented a new performance management system based on forced distribution, which saw an increase in employee buy-in, but a decrease in  manager buy-in. Many managers disliked ranking their employees as it has the potential to cause conflict and animosity; however, top performers saw the new system as fair. Despite significant modification to the performance management system, problems still existed including a continuation of uniform ranking, and the mentality that the system was too rigid. Managers and employees had difficulty comprehending the new system, particularly considering there was little to no training. Thus, many of the issues share a similar cause poor implementation and thus poor understanding of the system. ACTION PLAN AND SOLUTIONS There are four interrelated issues that the following action plan addresses. These issues include the following: compensation related to performance, managers who give uniform rankings and do not rank new hires, a lack of training on the new performance management system, and managers who lie to employees about rankings. Each section of the action plan is designed to work in coordination with the other three sections in order to resolve these issues. To improve issues with compensation related to performance within the performance management system, we recommend eliminating all target percentages as well as constraints on the low achiever and unacceptable categories, and eliminating the use of the compa-ratio. By eliminating the target percentages and some of the constraints on the ranking, the flexibility of the performance management system will be increased. No manager will be forced to rank employees as top achievers, low performers, or under performers if there are none. However , the constraint for top achievers not exceeding 14% will stay in place to prevent managers from ranking all their employees as top achievers. To supplement this, we also eliminated the compa-ratio. Instead, top achievers will have the option of receiving a 3% raise plus stock options, or a 5% raise with no stock options, and average employees will receive a 2% raise with no stock options. No raises will be given to low performers or under performers. Thus, raises will be based only on performance and not on current salary. This will ensure that top performers are rewarded and properly incentivized. Since there will be no targets and no constraints to ranking everyone as average, managers may be tempted to take advantage of this and uniformly rank their employees. In order to prevent this, managers must be held  accountable for their appraisals of employee performance. According to Roberts (2002), accountability is one of five barriers to an effective performance appraisal, and he recommends that performance appraisal management be a component in manager ratings. Based on this research, we recommend that managers who uniformly rank their employees will get an unacceptable rank ing. As a result, managers will be accountable for differentiating between their team members and will not rank all employees as average. We also recommend changing the Not Rated ranking to New Hire to ensure that new hire performance is discussed and assessed. In this system, new hires with tenure of 6 months or less would have a ranking system that only includes new hires. This ranking system would be based on objectives that assess how well the employee is gaining knowledge of the company and his or her overall cultural fit. Therefore, the new employee would receive feedback on his or her performance as well as an initial understanding of the performance management process. Beyond compensation and rating issues, many managers and employees expressed confusion about how the new performance management system worked. Initially, when the transition was made to forced distribution, HR sent out a companywide email informing employees of the new system and later sent directors and managers a link to an online guidebook. However, no formal training was ever conducted. According to Elaine D. Pulakos (2004), an organizational psychologist specializing in performance management, training is essential when implementing a new performance management system because it not only teaches employees how to use the system but also motivates them to utilize it to its fullest capability. In order to remedy this lack of understanding, training for all employees at all levels must be administered within the next month. Specifically, it should consist of classroom training that emphasizes role-playing for providing constructive feedback during performance appraisal meetings. This role-playing will offer managers an opportunity to become more comfortable with delivering undesirable appraisals, which was identified as a barrier to proper system implementation. Moreover, providing classroom training indicates the importance of the performance management system because it demonstrates that the company is committed to the new system and values proper implementation of the system (Pulakos, 2004). Simply emailing an online guidebook does not emphasize this importance.  The final step in the action plan is to directly combat the issue of managers lying to employees about their performance ranking in order to avoid difficult conversations. Clearly, this practice not only jeopardizes the integrity of the system but it also diminishes its transparency. In order to remedy this, once HR has received and approved the performance rankings, they will send out an email to each employee with his or her ranking along with a brief summary explaining why he or she received that specific ranking. This email will be sent two days prior to an employee’s performance appraisal meeting with his or her manager. Consequently, managers will be discouraged from lying about rankings, and employees will be more prepared to enter these appraisals. This notification also serves as a way to begin the performance conversation and holds managers more accountable for delivering constructive feedback. By implementing this action plan, we believe many of the current issues will be resolved. However, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of these new practices, HR will collect survey data in two years. The collection of this data will use the same method as the performance management data collected in 2011. SOLUTION LIMITATIONS The proposed solutions address many issues of the new system; however, there are still some limitations. Specifically, managers could still manipulate the system by rotating their subordinates from year to year between the Top Achiever and Achiever rankings. Moreover, changing the percentage constraint of employees who are listed as Low Achiever (from the minimum of 7% to no minimum) and maintaining no constraint of the Unacceptable category could potentially allow managers to distribute no one in those ranks. The company, consequently, will have trouble identifying those who are actually low performers and those who are truly high performers. Secondly, the system still requires all managers to complete the evaluations during a specific time of year. Some managers complained that this practice was resource consuming when they should be utilizing this time and effort to complete more important and productive tasks. As a result, issues concerning divisional productivity and low quality evaluations are potential problems. Finally, the sheer nature of comparative performance management systems creates the  potential of conflicts among employees and managers or among employees themselves. Even with the adjustments to the new system, these conflicts may still arise. According to Aguinis (2013), collaboration and organizational goals are potentially in jeopardy when there is employee conflict. As a result, this further emphasizes the importance of carefully implementing the performance management system as well as ensuring that all managers and employees understand the system’s purpose and how it works. References Aguinis, H. (2013). Performance Management. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle, NJ. Roberts, G. E. (2002). Employee Performance Appraisal System Participation: A Technique that Works. Public Personnel Management, 31(3), 333. Pulakos, E. D. (2004). Performance Management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems. Alexandria, VA: SHRM Foundation.

Behavioral economics and economic man

Behavioral economics and economic man How Behavioral Economics Rescue Economic Man From The Selfishness Behavioral economics is one single most influential and dynamic area in the current economics. Applying some insights from psychological science(s) to the economic models so as to understand better the economics decision making, the behavioral look has provided new and important ways for the economists to understand why different people make different choices that they make. The purpose of this article therefore is to explain how behavioral economics rescue the economic man from the selfishness in which he finds himself. Economic man is an imaginary perfect rational person who maximizes his/her economic welfare or being and achieves the consumer equilibrium by thinking marginally all the time. The importance of this concept is hinged in the theory of consumer behavior in which real people function such as this fictional entity (Wansink, 2006). On the other hand, economics is a group of ideas and conventions put together by different economists which they accept and use to reason along with. It is mainly a culture of doing things mainly by the economists. Behavioral economics therefore represents the transformation of such culture and it is a field of economics that study how decision-making process influences reached decisions in any organization as well as in any individual (Ainslie, 1992). Neoclassical economics postulates an economic man in any system is the main course of being economic as well as the course of being rational. This economic man is assumed to have good knowledge is different aspects of his surrounding which is not clearly complete (Wansink, 2006). This man is assumed to posses a well organized and a stable system of personal preferences and better kills of calculation on the best action to take so as to make him attain the highest benefits as compared to other people. The axioms of the consumer choices that underlie the economic man ensure that he, the economic man, is minimally rational and consistent in the choices that he makes because he always prefers more of a thing to less and he is able to efficiently allocate his low income among numerous things that he desires so as to enable him achieve a global utility maximum. In a standard welfare model, habits and culture are assumed to take a fixed position or at least change slowly during a given time period so that the cultural context of the Homo economicus/ economic man does not enter the analysis stage. The way tastes and preferences are formed is assumed to be outside the purview of economics because they are not matters of dispute (Stigler and Becker, 1977). According to Veblens (1898), an Economic man is a homogeneous (Uniform) globule of desire full of self interest. Self-interest is defined by different economists as all things that are intangible and tangible to human beings (Solow, 1993) but in practice the real meaning of utility is radically narrowed down to mean the consumption of goods in the market. Any increase in the welfare is equated to the increase in the economic output. The Economists are aware of public goods, intransitivity, Veblen effects and interdependent utilities but all these real-world phenomena are very difficult to include in the general equilibrium framework that currently dominate the economic policy recommendations (Hirsch, 1976). Different subjects explain the economic man in different terms pointing to the same meaning. For instance, biology explains the economic man as a selfish gene while regarding it as a concept that is used to explain the overall selfishness of any living thing especially man and for the direction of evolution. Richard Dawkins with his evolution theory coined this term in his book titled The Selfish Gene (Ainslie, 1992) as a notion of competition, struggle for survival/existence, natural selection and survival of the fittest in his idea of genes as self replicators. In a teleological account, evolution of the biological life is explained as being driven by these replicators, genes. The conclusion drawn here is that the successful replicators are very selfish that otherwise they would not replicate successfully. In order to protect and preserve their replication process, these genes create avenues of self-preservation in form of living things, their bodies and minds. From this type of re asoning, Dawkins (1976, p. 2) concludes that human nature cannot be anything but selfish as its very essence is composed of very selfish units in the name of genes. Later, Dawkins expanded his biological research by considering these genes as self-contained wholes things. But, as Maynard Smith states in Barlow (1991, p. 195), this Selfish Gene does not contain any new facts but rather offers a new world view. The basic to this view is the notion that competition and the virtuousness of the selfish behavior of biological units are rife in ever being. It is from this view that the biologist Ghiselin (1974, p. 247) writes concerning the species and nature that natural economy is competitive from start to the end .This can be seen in the impulses which lead an animal to sacrifice herself for another turn out to have their rationale in gaining more advantage over a third animal especially where it is in her own interest. Therefore, every organism can reasonably be expected to aid her fellow organisms yet if given full chance to act in her own interest, nothing but speed will restrain her from brutalizing, from murdering, from maiming her mate or child (Andrei, 1999). This perspective of the biological world replicates the economic perspective of human nature as being openly self-centered, rational in being consistent in choices they make and characterized by selfishness which is constrained by expediency (Frank, 1988). Strong intellectual thoughts in both economics and biology see the market economy as being full of utility-maximizing individuals without room for cooperation other than for a single individual to gain the immediate advantage over other individuals (Johnson, 2003). With the above explanation, there are three areas that tend to look at the economic man in a bid to get him out of his selfishness. These areas include the neoclassical economics, the human behavior and the behavioral economics. The criticism of these three areas against each other really explains the demerits of the economic man and the associated selfishness to each other. In the neoclassical economics, economics is the study of the way resources are allocated to their uses. In this school of thinking, economics is said to be the study which considers human behavior as a relation between alternative ends and scarce means. Virtually every neoclassical economist is a positive economist though there are a number of positive economists that are not neoclassical in nature (Harbaugh et al, 2002). Therefore, neoclassical economists consider the study of resource allocation as scientific and not a normative study. In addition, a neoclassical economist believes that free markets always bring about efficient resource allocation (Kagel Roth, 1997). With this understanding, neoclassical economists have made a number of assumptions. Depending on the definition that one can prefer, it can be said that economists are more interested in the resource allocation in nature and causes wealth of nations or perhaps something different. Irrespective of all these, all such things depend on the actions and decisions of people (Luce, 2000). Therefore, so as to get started, economists made or make some assumptions about people and about how individuals act and how they decide how to act. However, the economists have not as a rule based these assumptions on the psychological views of human minds. Rather, most of them have started from an assumption that few modern psychologists might support (Dahlquist Kirkpatrick, 2007). This assumption is that human beings/ individuals are highly rational and self-interested/ selfish. Many neoclassical economists assume that human beings make their choices in a way that gives them the best possible advantage (s) especially given the circumstances that they face. Such circumstances includes such things as the prices of the resources, goods and services available, scarce income, limited and localized technology for transforming such resources into finished goods and services, taxes imposed on them by their organizations, regulations by their governments and other objective limitations on the choices that they make. In Strict terms, neoclassical economics does not just assume that real and concrete people are rational and self-interested as it may seem. Rather, many economists assume that the economic systems work as if they consist of the rational and self-interested persons. People exists in all sorts ranging from sneaky and altruistic to smart and dumb but if the average is an individual that is rational and self-interested, then the system most definitely will act as if human beings in general were self-interested and rational (Hersh, 2002). The basis of neoclassical economics assumes that deviations from the rational self-interests are random and therefore will cancel out making the system to act as if every person is rational and self-interested. As a consequence, neoclassical economics studies the economic system that consists of rational, self-interested persons (Luce, 2000). However, it is known that there are some examples of non-self-interested behavior of human beings who for instance give to the church and who sacrifice themselves in other ways and common sense suggests that human beings are often irrational chumps. There are two very issues here to closely scrutinize. The first one is that human beings are at times altruistic. One can not avoid concluding that people sometimes act on ethical values making it hard to see how the selfishness of this majority can cancel out this self-sacrifice of many others (Kagel Roth, 1997). Therefore, people often act on non self interested values but whenever they do so they act on their own values and not of the government or some philosopher(s) or the economist that is observing (Dahlquist Kirkpatrick, 2007). This might be called a rational individualism rather than a rational self interest. What is left then is the rationality if human beings are not always self-interested. A broader neoclassical economics presumes that human beings choose things in a way that best advances their own values, altruistic or self-interested. The critics of the neoclassical economics sometimes argue that economics is an apology for self-interest. We can therefore note the behavioral approachs criticism to the neoclassical economics that man is always selfish and self centered. The behavioral approach indicates that not all people are self centered since many individuals act on behalf of other people (Harrison, 2005). This indicated that it is not true that all people are selfish. Rather, some are and it should not be generalized that all human beings are selfish to conform to the economic man. However, human behavior is not always selfish and behavioral economics rescues economic man from the selfish gene. In other words, the behavioral economics criticizes the neoclassical economics whether people are always rational or not (Luce, 2000). The neoclassical economics is at times criticized for its normative bias against human beings especially on their assumption. In this perspective, it does not lay more focus on explaining the actual economies instead of describing a utopia in which Pareto optimality applies. The assumption that human beings act rationally can be seen as ignoring very important aspects of the human behavior. Many people see the economic man to be very different from real people. Majority of the economists, even contemporary economists, have criticized the model of economic man. Neoclassical economics assumes people to be the lightning calculators of pleasures and pains, who oscillate like the homogeneous globule of desires of happiness under impulses of stimuli which shifts about an area but leaves then intact. Large organizations might come closer to the neoclassical ideal of maximizing profits but this is not necessarily seen as desirable whenever it arises at the expense of negligence of the wider social issues (Fehr Gachter, 2000). The response to this argument is that neoclassical economics is more of a descriptive statement rather than a normative one. It therefore addresses such problems with the concepts of private against those of social utility. Many critics of behavioral economics typically insist on the rationality of the economic agents. They contend that the experimentally observed behavior is not applicable to the market situations as the learning opportunities and competition ensures at a close approximation of the rational behavior. Equally, many others note that the cognitive theories like the prospect theory are models of decision making and not generalized economic behavior hence are only applicable to the sort of once-off decision problems that are presented to experiment the survey respondents. Traditional economists are very skeptical of the survey based techniques which are put to use extensively in the behavioral economics. Economists typically emphasize on the revealed preferences over the stated preferences from the survey in determining the economic value (Fehr Gachter, 2000). Experiments and surveys should be designed very carefully so as to avoid systemic biases and lack of incentive compatibility. Some economists on the other hand dismiss these criticisms claiming that the results are reproduced in various situations and nations which can lead to good theoretical insight. Behavioral economists on the other hand have incorporated these criticisms by focusing more on the field studies as compared to the than lab experiments. Some economists therefore look at this split as the fundamental schism between the experimental economics and the behavioral economics. However, prominent experimental and behavioral economists overlap some techniques and approaches in giving answers to common questions. In addition, many other proponents of the behavioral economics have taken note that neoclassical models many times fail to predict the outcomes in the real world context (Luce, 2000). Behavioral insights can therefore be used to update the neoclassical equations and the economists have noted that these revised models do not only reach similar correct predictions as the traditional models but predicts correctly some outcomes where the traditional models fail. As an economic student, I object to the fact that man is always selfish. This drives to the numerous criticisms of the economic man. Criticisms of this notion that human beings are purely selfish go back to the start of the modern utility theory. Edgeworth (1881), for instance, in his theory of exchange included the term accounting for pure altruism. He stated that people might suppose that an object X with own utility is P tends, in a reflective and calm moment, to maximize his/her benefits from P to P+, where the + is a coefficient of effective sympathy. Equally, Mr. Veblen (1898) criticized the neoclassical concept of human beings as coldly calculating and coolly rational and this is still one most insightful literature among the criticisms of neoclassical theories (Ainslie, 1992). The other early, though neglected, criticism is that of Mr. Georgescu (1954) who stated that the individual utility not only depends on the individual well-being but also the communitys well-being to wh ich the individuals belong. This truly indicates that human beings are not egocentric and self centered but also works for the benefit of the society in which such a person comes from. Many other economists as well as just writers investigating the behavior of the human beings have come up with more criticisms while explaining the behavior of human beings. For instance, Frank (1988) and Hirsch (1976) all emphasized on the social nature of human beings and their decision-making process which is always associated with their behavior. It is true that that a big number of economic models have been developed to give explanation about altruism, charity, bequests and benevolence among human beings and how they exercise them. In doing all these, many economists together with many other social scientists have been quite ingenious in finding the explanations for the intentions for such behavior in self-interest among human beings. The possible selfish motivations or intentions that apparently lead to altruistic behavior include the enlightened self-interest, the pursuit of reputation among people, anticipation of reciprocity from other people and fear inherent in human being s that they will lose whatever little they have and as a consequence they will be faced with shame (Henrich, Henrich, 2008). Further, different explanations indicate that personal utility can be derived from one persons satisfaction or his contribution to it together with the benefits that adherence to the social contract may provide. The motives of altruistic behavior among human being however can be studied in different categories. For instance, from a psychological point of view, two egoistic motives for altruistic behavior can be identified. The first category is based on the social learning and enforcement amongst people while the second category is based on arousal reduction (Fehr Gachter, 2000). However, the theoretical and empirical investigation to the existence of altruism, different economists argue that altruism can also arise from peoples empathic emotions towards others. In some occasions an individual takes the perspective and position of another person that he/she perceives to be in need without feeling distress and helps to reduce his/her need. Given this explanation, one can conclude from numerous similar examples of altruistic behavior on which human behavior is based that moral commitments and economic factors shape each other and evolve and change within a given social environment and structu res (Arnsperger Varoufakis, 2005). Having explained this, one can forget that neoclassical theories insist on the fact that human beings have the selfish gene dominant in its system. This is the one hat is responsible for the selfishness in the economic man. However, there are a number of criticisms of this argument mainly based on the behavioral economics exercise. The selfish gene, just like the economic man, has also come under attack from numerous directions in general. The selfish gene together with its extension known as the extended phenotype has for a long time been criticized based on the fact that phenotype-distinction is not as clear as its proposers supposes. According to the explanations by the extended phenotype ideas, changes in the genes are reflected in the phenotypes and phenotypical effects determines the selection of genetic replicators (Henrich, Henrich, 2008). Therefore, the phenotypical effects preserve or replicate themselves by means of their extended phenotypes. These phenotypical effects may be morphological or behavioral. For example, a phenotypic expression of the beaver genes is the dam it builds. However, the phenotypical transformations are not exclusively triggered or induced by the changes of the genetic replicators but can as well result from the changes in the elements of the environment (Rabin, Loewenstein, Camerer 2003). On a very close examination and scrutiny, the proponents of the selfish gene idea are not dogmatic enough as popularly believed by many people especially the economists. Some people argue that higher properties of life are emergent in virtually all situations. In addition, it is argued that the accepted explanations of causality from genes to culture just the same as from genes to any other products of life, are not heredity alone. Equally, they are not environmental alone. It is mainly the interaction between the two. Therefore, all possible expressions of phenotype are always encoded in genes though particular attributes which express themselves depends on the triggers from the surrounding environment (Dasgupta, 2002). These phenotypic expressions may as well depend on how an individual integrates within a group. The controversy over the selfish gene is very important to the economists and economics in general because of its implication that competition is of much more complicated sort as compared to that which is assumed by the economic man (Fehr Gachter, 2000). This competition is much more complicated as compared to the isolated people competing for the immediate gain. Likewise, cooperation is complicated as compared to a simple tit-for-tat strategy. Not only does the economic mans model fail the test of realism but also fails to offer accurate predictions about the human behavior. Such failures are evident in the recent empirical findings by numerous economists. In the standard theory, the economic man as described by neoclassical economics lead to micro-foundations approach to the economic policy. Macro economies are assumed to operate by the similar rules of constrained optimization which are used to describe individual organizations as well as households together with their people (Varoufakis Hargreaves-Heap, 2004). Normally, a representative human being whose behavior is indicated and outlined by a well-behaved utility function and a representative organization outlined by a well-behaved production function are made use of to model some real-world phenomenon such as the global climate change or foreign trade. Without the assumptions of economic man and perfect competition such optimization models cannot reach a unique and stable equilibrium. Neoclassical models assume a strictly rational behavior in human consumption with constant returns in production and rely on the prices to dynamically adjust demand and supply. In relation to behavioral economics, the existence of pure altruism and other forms of pro-social behaviors has much more implications to the economic policy. The first policy implication is that the impersonal markets are not and not anticipated to be the best vehicles for the expression of human preferences (Fehr Gachter, 2000). Whenever economic decisions do not conform or tally with the axioms of consumer choices, market outcomes are not rational and therefore, there is no any reason to believe that a competitive equilibrium can represent social optimum. In as much as the market restricts choices to individuals then such choices exclude the richness of human behavior (Thaler, 1991). Equally, depending on who among peoples ancestors is considered human, people have been making decisions for many years based on personal interactions, direct negotiations and imposition of rewards and punishments so as to facilitate cooperation. It is however true that people have difficulties in ma king social decisions especially in impersonal markets (Frank, 1988). Even then, the prevailing trend is toward pushing more critical decisions into the market framework. In conclusion, behavioral economics rescues the economic man from the notion that he is selfish. It is true that human being s are always pursuing their self interests and goals given their human nature, but it not true that they are totally engulfed in their selfishness (Wansink, 2006). The neoclassical economics theories explain well about the economic man and his interests but it should not be generalized that human beings are selfish beings ever in the world (Fehr, E. Gachter, 2000). Human behaviors rescue man from the aforesaid selfishness because thee are many other human beings that sacrifice themselves to support other people in their society. This takes them out of the selfness that the neoclassical economics advocate. Human behavior is therefore not always selfish as is can be portrayed by the neoclassical economics (Harbaugh et al, 2002). Many people have been influenced by religion and molded in a way that they value human life and fellow human beings to an extent that even if they are seeking self interests, they go out of their way to help others achieve they needs. For instance, doctors world over might have their intrinsic desire to posses a lot of money but they always help their patients to gain their health so as to continue working for their good. Equally, different countries can only prosper if every person or at least majority of the citizens works for the good of their nation rather than working for their own gain. Should such happen, that nation is doomed to be poor. Therefore, human behavior explained in behavioral economics plays a great role in rescuing the economic man from the selfish gene. References Ainslie, G. (1992). Picoeconomics, London: Cambridge University Press Arnsperger, C., Varoufakis Y. (2005). Most Peculiar Failure: How neoclassical economics turn theoretical failure into academic and political power. Erkenntnis, 59, 157-188. Rabin, M., Loewenstein, G., Camerer, C. (2003). Advances in the Behavioral Economics, New Jersey: Princeton University Press Dasgupta, P. (2002). Modern Economics and its Critics: Models, Realism and Social Construction, London: Cambridge University Press Faruk, G. (2008). The Behavioral economics and the game theory. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition Fehr, E. Gachter, S. (2000). Fairness and Retaliation: Economics of reciprocity. The Journal of the Economic Perspectives, 14, 159 p. 81. Harbaugh, W., Krause, K. Liday, G. (2002). Bargaining by children. Unpublished manuscript: University of Oregon Varoufakis, Y. Hargreaves-Heap, S. (2004). Game Theory: A critical text, London and New York: Routledge Harrison, W. (2005). Advances in Behavioral Economics. Journal of Economic Psychology, 25, 793-795. Henrich, S., Henrich, J. (2008). The Culture and Evolutionary Origin of Cooperation: Kinship, Reciprocity and Ethnicity. London: Oxford University Press Johnson, A. (2003). The Families of a forest: Matsigenka Indians of the Peruvian Amazon. California: University of California. Kagel, H., Roth, E., eds. (1997). The handbook of the experimental economics. New Jersey: Princeton U. P Dahlquist, J., Kirkpatrick, C. (2007). A Complete Resource for the Market Technicians. pp.49 Luce, R. (2000). The Utility of Losses and Gains: Measurement-theoretical and Experimental Approaches. New Jersey: Lawrence Publishers. Hersh, S. (2002). Beyond Fear and Greed: Understanding the behavioral finance and the psychology of investing. London: Oxford University Press Andrei, S. (1999). Inefficient Markets: Introduction to Behavioral Finance. London: Oxford University Press. Smith, V. (2002). The Method in Experiment: A Rhetoric and Reality. Experimental Economics, 5, 91-110. Varoufakis, Y. (1998). Foundations of Economics: A beginners companion, London and New York: Routledge publishers Edgeworth, Y. (1881). Mathematical Psychics. London: L.S.E. Reprint 1934 publishers. Frank, R. (1988). The Passions within Reasons: The Strategic Role of Emotions. New York: Norton Publishers Hirsch, F. (1976). Social Limit to Growth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press Thaler, H. (1991). Quasi Rational Economics. New York: Russell Sage Publishers Foundation. Wansink, B. (2006). A process of Mindless Eating: Why people eat more than they think. New York: Bantam Books publishers

Analysis of a Business Problem Essay -- Business Management

Nature of the Problem: The purpose of this paper is to briefly analyze why burrs and rough spots suddenly started to appear on quarter panel parts at an automotive company. Three out of four production lines at an automotive plant facility experienced defects of manufactured panel parts. Also, an analysis of how the panel problem is related to organizational sub-culture, organizational politics and job stress. Although there are several implications of various issues related to organizational culture, organizational politics and job stress is important because it determines how human capital within an organization will demonstrate the capacity to cope with working for the organization, thus determining the success of the organization. â€Å"To illustrate, studies have shown that job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of the workplace, i.e., the culture (Vigoda, 2002).† â€Å"Likewise, there are studies conducted that found organizational politics to have an advers e effect on psychological issues such as job stress (Ferris, Russ, & Fandt,1989).† Therefore, an organizations most valued asset is its employees. Analysis and Evaluation: In an effort to address the burred and rough spots found by Quality Control on several defective panels, upper management uncovered several poor managerial decisions and employee relations issues. In order to stay competitive within the automotive industry, the company must make some major decisions. A decision to support one of their line supervisors’ decisions of disciplining an employee could cause a potential strike. Although, a decision of not supporting their line supervisor could potentially avoid a strike and paint a positive image in the company. In essence, m... ...d to evaluate this issue. My analysis did not include the new alloy of the material change in the Zenith sheets for this information was not discovered until careful analyzing of the issue by the management team in part two. The management team discovered that there had been a material change in the Zenith sheets which was the root cause of their problem. As stated by the author, this was a very puzzling situation. Works Cited Ferris, G.R., Russ, G.S., and Fandt, P.M. (1989), Politics in organizations. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Robbins, S., and Judge, T. (2008), Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Vigoda, E. (2002), Stress-related aftermaths to workplace politics: the relationships among politics, job distress, and aggressive behavior in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23: 571–591. doi: 10.1002/job.160.

BLOOD AND BELONGING :: essays research papers fc

This is a critique of the book, Blood and Belonging, by Michael Ignatieff. This paper will explain the subject of the book and its relevance, discuss Michael Ignatieff's methods and conclusions on the subject and finally include a personal critique of the book by the author of this paper. The author of the book travels on what he terms "the six journeys." On these "journeys" he encounters different cultures, as he travels to six different coinciding areas of the world. He examines the unique expression of nationalism that each populace displays by interviewing various members of that particular society. The six areas that he travels to are specifically chosen for the clarity which nationalism is expressed in society. Nationalism is a factor contributing toward both present possible future instability in these areas. These areas are former Yugoslavia (specifically Croatia and Serbia), Germany, Ukraine, Quebec, Kurdistan and Northern Ireland. According to Ignatieff, in Croatia and Serbia there is a desire for a separate identity between the two nations. The fear of losing one's national identity has caused ethnic hatred. A terror so strong and historically persistent, it has driven people to a desperate state to do anything. This is a large contributor to the reasons for the extreme violence present there today. The author states, "A Croat, thus, is someone who is not a Serb. A Serb is someone who is not a Croat." This quotation profoundly expresses the short-sighted mentality present in their conflict. In his travels in Germany, the author points out an important question. Does the nation make the state, or the state the nation? This question by far does not stop here, especially when Germany is the subject. The essence of the German people is seen by some as aggressive and offensive, thus the existence of the German problem. If the nation makes the state then Germany will always be a threat. If the state makes the nation, then the aggressive nature of the German nation, which lead the world into two global wars, can be harnessed and redirected. The question has its roots and answers in the recent reunification of Germany. The Ukraine is concerned with not being Russian. It is here Ignatieff receives a complete vision of what nationalism is. He states, "I understand what nationalism really is: the dream that a whole nation could be like a congregation; singing the same hymns, listening to the

Essay example --

Throughout life we lose grandparents, parents and grow apart from close friends but sibling relationships can be one of the most enduring relationships an individual will have throughout their lifetime. Although there are many things that can affect sibling relationships such as gender, age gaps and sex composition, this paper will examine the association between the parent-child relationship and the sibling relationships in adolescence. Based on the family systems theory which suggests that families are made up of interconnected subsystems that influence each other (Whitchurch and Constantine, 1993), it is not surprising that researchers use this theory as a way to study the effects that one relationship may have on the other. By examining the research, it is clear that the parent child relationship has an unquestionable effect on siblings’ relationships. The current literature supports this claim by presenting evidence based on the warmth/conflict within sibling relatio nships, parent’s differential treatment of their children, as well as the indirect/direct involvement parents have on their children’s sibling relationships. People believe most siblings have a love/hate relationship but the amount of one emotion over the other may not be directly the siblings own doings. Variables such as the parent-adolescent relationship can shape how siblings interact with one another whether one consciously notices or not. Derkman, Engels, Kuntsche, Van Der Vorst and Scholte (2011) conducted a five year longitudinal study on 428 families that evaluated the perceived parental support towards children, and the warmth/conflict between siblings during adolescence. Using self reports they found that sibling warmth and adolescent parent su... ...ng the problem themselves, and often punishing the behavior. The results demonstrated that mother’s preferential style of involvement was intervention, and fathers more often used coaching. It was found that when mothers and fathers used coaching as their style of involvement during conflicts between siblings it was related to greater levels of sibling warmth afterwards. Although both mothers and fathers used the coaching technique, mothers less often used non-involvement and more often used intervention than fathers. The style of involvement parents choose to use during sibling conflicts influence the way siblings learn to cope and deal with troubling situation, and so the coaching involvement style is reported to be the most effective because it shows the adolescents the parents are involved and care, yet give them room to grow and develop skills of their own.

Spiritual Milestone Essay

In â€Å"Spiritual Milestone† the author describes his life as an Asiatic American and the troubles that he has faced non merely with his individuality but with his conflict with depression. The more compelling narrative is his rise above the disease and his enormous success in the universe of academe and in his community. Not recognizing that he really had depression. he worked diligently to get the better of the stigma attached to his ethnicity. and at the same clip. ended up detecting that he was enduring from â€Å"the common cold of mental unwellness: depression† . Bing a ego motivated scholar. the writer was able to name himself by reading and analyzing about depression. He sought immediate aid from a professional to assist cover with the symptoms of the disease. and in the interim. continued his surveies and his battle to go more than a stereotype. The different therapies the author endured were cognitive therapy. interpersonal therapy. and behavioural therapy. These three therapies prescribed by his psychologist helped him to acknowledge and cover with his feelings so that he could hold a clear way to success. While the writer does non travel into excessively much item depicting the agony he endured from his depression. he does reference sleepless darks. anxiousness. self medicine. and lassitude. He knew these symptoms were a mark of something much deeper and besides that they would impede his hereafter success. so he sought aid instantly. The author’s intent was to inform readers of the symptoms of depression and to promote those who suffer from it to take action and seek the aid necessary to do life as fulfilling as possible.

Poetry and Mother Essay

Outline It is an afternoon and the mom is washing clothes in a tub. The child has written a poem for her mother and gives it to her as she is washing. The mother scans the poem but rejects it as not being ‘all there is to life’. She feels that there is much more to life than reading or writing poetry. Despite her protest, the mother glances at the poem while she continues to wash clothes. Stanza 1 The mother obviously has given her life to hard work and struggle and seems to have lost interest in life. She does not seem to appreciate the effort of her child to offer some relief or change in her burdensome routine. That her mother washes in the afternoon indicates that her workload is enormous (as washing is usually done in the morning so the clothes can be hung out to dry.) The images of stress and strain are effectively captured in the description of the women ‘hunched’ over the washtub and her ‘shrivelled hands’. The word ‘hunched’ suggests her strenuous routine which has physically harmed her posture. The comparison of her hands to the shrivelled burnt skin of granadilla evokes the destructive efforts of hard labour on her physical body. Stanza 2 The words of the child’s poem are compared to a piece of slippery soap. Just as soap is used to cleanse dirt off clothes in this case, so too do the words of the poem give the mother strength and the power to bear her burden to restore her to some state of wholesomeness, just like soap restores clothes to their original clean condition. Note that the mother ‘grabbed’ the words and ‘used’ them, suggesting that she needed them desperately to sustain her to cope with the oppressive burden of life. Stanza 3 It is the burden of life which weighs down oppressively, that prevents the mother from appreciating or being sensitive to other aspects of life (like reading and enjoying poetry) But the fact that she does read the poem indicates that she is aware of its significance and healing power. (A poem appeals to our aesthetic sense.) It makes us see life in detail and appreciate the multi-faceted experiences of life. The word ‘scanning’ suggests that she does read the poem. The reference to the mother’s ‘blue-ringed gaze’ suggests that she has a deeper, appreciative side to her nature. Note that the colour ‘blue’ is usually associated with sky and beauty. The reference to the ‘dirty water’ is a metaphor for the pollution and corruption of life which have sullied or dirtied capacity to be sensitive to the beauty of nature of life. Stanza 4 The poem ends on a positive note. The mother continues to hold onto the words of the poem, the word ‘clenched’ recalls the term ‘grabbed’ of stanza 2, it means to hold tightly onto something. That the words are clenched ‘smaller and smaller’ indicates the great effort exerted by the mother to make the world of poetry a part of her life, she realises the value of poetry to guide her through the difficulties of life. Central message of the poem The poem whilst acknowledging the burden and harshness of life, confirms the value of developing our aesthetic nature, our capacity to appreciate what life has to offer as the only hope to cope with the hostility and problems we encounter on a daily basis. Further Consideration The writer uses simple words to reinforce the innocent, pure exchange between mother and child. The simplicity of the words also evokes the humility of their life – the setting is most likely a rural one.  The poem also has a simple structure; the lines are uniform and short reinforcing the simple effort of the child to console her mother.

Deped’s Thrusts Essay

1. The ALS Accreditation & Equivalency Test formerly known as the Non-formal Education A&E Test is a paper and pencil test. The test is designed to measure the competencies of those who have not finished either the formal elementary or secondary education. Passers of this test are given a certificate/diploma certifying their competencies as comparable to graduates of the formal school system. Hence, they are qualified to enroll in high school (for elementary level passers) and to enroll in college (for secondary level passers). 2. Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) is the principal instrument used in Accreditation and Equivalency Program (AEP) which was first established in 1977. The main objective is to retrieve out-of-school youths and place them in the formal school system, if they so desire, and to place over-aged in-school youth in the grade/year level corresponding to their ages. The PEPT tests the competencies gained through formal, informal and non-formal education which is equivalent tot hose developed in five subject areas – Communication Arts in English and Filipino, Science, Math and Social Studies – from first grade in the elementary school to fourth year in the secondary school. 3. Special Education is an educational program or service designed to meet the needs of children with special needs that cannot profit from general or regular education because of disabilities or exceptional disabilities. The ultimate goal of special education shall be the integration or mainstreaming of learners with special needs into the regular school system and eventually in the community. Special education also aims to develop the maximum potential of the child with special needs to enable him to become self-reliant and shall be geared towards providing him with the opportunities for a full and happy life. It gears up to the development and maximization of learning competencies, as well as the inculcation of values to make the learners with special needs a useful and effective member of society. 4. Every Filipino child now has access to Early Childhood Education through the universal Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to slowly adjust to formal education. Research shows that children who underwent Kindergarten have better completion rates than those who did not. Children who complete a standards-based Kindergarten program are better prepared, for primary education. Education for children in the early years lays the foundation for lifelong learning and for the total development of a child. In Kindergarten, pupils learn the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors through games, songs, and dances, in their Mother Tongue. 5. The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) work focuses on supporting the children’s development through this vital period – ensuring they are physically healthy, cognitively stimulated, emotionally resilient and socially competent. ECCD program also strengthen children’s protective environment by supporting parents and pregnant women, as well as looking for wider contexts such as government policies and attitudes. 6. The Drop Out Reduction Program (DORP) aims to curb the high dropout rates in public schools by offering alternative modes of education for students at the risk of dropping out (SARDO). First implemented in 1998, the DORP is already perceived to have achieved some success, with a decrease in the dropout rate from 12. 51% in AY 2005-2006 to 7. 45% in AY 2007-2008. A â€Å"dropout† is defined by the DORP as a student who has stopped attending school before completing the prescribed level of education within the specified school year. The dropout rate, meanwhile, is the percentage of students who drop out from a level of education in a given school year, including those who complete the school year but fail to enroll in the next. In a school implementing the DORP, a DORP support team must be formed. They shall be tasked with organizing, designing and implementing the school’s DORP through setting the targets for the program and choosing the appropriate intervention methods in the context of the available school and community resources. 7. The Alternative Learning System is a free education program implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) under the Bureau of Alternative Learning System which benefits those who cannot afford formal schooling and follows whatever is their available schedule. ALS aims to open more educational opportunities for Filipino citizens of different interests, capabilities of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic origins and status as well as addressing the needs of marginalized groups. The program cuts the time needed to finish high school, hence, significantly cuts the expenses as well. Aside from giving hope to the less fortunate, it also provides opportunities to Out-of-School Youths (OSY) and adults elementary and secondary school drop-outs; industry-based workers; housewives; maids; factory workers; drivers; members of cultural minorities; indigenous people and the disabled/physically challenged. 8. The Adopt-A-School Program is enacted in 1988 for the very purpose of providing a venue for the strong and dynamic private sector to participate in nation-building through investments in the education of Filipino children. The rewards of such investments come through an educated generation that will succeed ours, run our enterprises, and steer this nation to greater heights. Over the years, DepEd introduced interventions to reduce student dropouts and keep the youth off the streets. It has sought to increase student achievement levels and improve teacher performance. It continues to bring the issues and needs of public education to every Filipino who cares, in an effort to invite each and everyone to help boost education opportunities for our young. With Adopt-A-School, each Filipino can have the opportunity to enjoy his right to education, to open his eyes to the wonders and challenges of the world, to pursue his dreams, and to contribute capably towards the nation’s progress. 9. The Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) is designed for the Muslim Migrants to be able to positively contribute to the peace efforts of our government in order to improve that quality of life of Muslim out-of-school youth and adults. It teaches the language of the Holy Qur’an and the beliefs and value system of the Muslim religion. It has components, namely, Basic Literacy Program + ALIVE, Accreditation & Equivalency (A&E) Program + ALIVE, Informal Education + ALIVE, Technical Vocational Education Program + ALIVE and Entrepreneurship Development +ALIVE. In the Philippines, the teaching of Islamic values and Arabic used to be done only in Islamic schools, however, DepEd ordered the mainstreaming of these lessons in the curriculum in some selected public elementary schools particularly those who have Muslim communities. The order mandated the teaching of Islamic values and Arabic language in public elementary school with at least 30 Muslim students. 10. Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses for schools are use to pay expenses for utilities like electric and water expenses. It can also be to pay salaries for janitorial and security services or use for other mandatory expenditures except for the procurement of textbooks and other instructional materials and school furniture and equipment. Other uses of MOOE include travelling expenses, communication services, repair and maintenance, transportation services and many others. 11. Brigada Eskwela is a nationwide voluntary effort which started in 2003, bringing together teachers, parents, and the community to do clean up and repairs in public schools to prepare the facilities for the June school opening. Undertaken in all public schools every third week of May or two weeks before classes begin, it is participated in by private organizations, individuals, national and local government agencies, local businesses, and international organizations and foundations, among others. Volunteers paint classrooms, repair furniture, and clean up the school grounds. Materials and supplies are usually donated by the parents or by private businesses and foundations. Brigada Eskwela encourages the public to share their time, strength and resources in kind. In 2012, Brigada Eskwela pooled more than P1. 5 billion-worth of resources-in-kind and man hours by over six-million volunteers in various parts of the country. 12. K to 12 aims to make basic education sufficient enough so that anyone who graduates can be gainfully employed locally and globally and will have a productive life. The K-12 Education plan is to add two years in the secondary level plus kindergarten and it will look at the specialized education in high school which will focus on a specific field of interest. If the K-12 Education Plan becomes successful, then the Philippine education system can become more competitive among other countries around the world. Though there are still some problems that the government needs to solve before they can successfully implement the plan. Such elements include the number of public school classrooms plus the adequate supply of classroom chairs, books, etc. If the government could allot a bigger budget to educational needs, then we could be one-step ahead towards the success of the K-12 program. Furthermore, parents (especially those who belong in the poor sector) should be properly informed and motivated of the advantages of the K-12 Education Plan. This is very important since parents play a major role in providing the child’s school allowances, supplies, and fees for other school projects and activities. Once this succeeds, it is best hoped that Filipino students would be more literate, skilled, and competitive to be able to find jobs more easily and contribute to the country’s pride as well as the country’s economy. 13. A Lingua Franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a first language, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both speakers’ first languages. Examples of lingua francas are numerous, and exist on every continent. The most obvious example is English, which is the current dominant lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation. There are many other lingua francas centralized on particular regions, such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. With the rich experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of the use of lingua franca or mother tongue as language of instruction, the DepED has expanded this in its multilingual education implemented in SY 2008-2009 until SY 2012-2013. The project is called Lingua Franca and Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MLE). Its main goal is to develop lifelong learners who are proficient in the use of their lingua franca or mother tongue (language 1), the national language (language 2) and other languages (language 3 and language 4) who take pride of their heritage and culture. This move helps to improve schools performance indicators specifically dropout, repetition, retention and completion rates among elementary pupils; increase pupils’ academic performance through the acquisition of oral fluency, reading and writing skills in their lingua franca or first language that provide them a bridge to learning Filipino and English enabling them to become more competent in all areas of study; and demonstrate self-confidence and pride in one’s culture, tradition and values. 14. The Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) has been implemented in all public schools, specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2, and 3, as part of the K to 12 Basic Education Program, starting the School Year 2012-2013 to support the goal of â€Å"Every Child-A Reader and A-Writer by Grade 1. † The MTB-MLE aims at language development which established a strong education for success in school and for lifelong learning and at cognitive development which focuses on Higher Order Thinking Skills. It also aims at academic development which prepares the learner to acquire mastery of competencies in each of the learning areas and at socio-cultural awareness which enhances the pride of the learner’s heritage, language, and culture. In the MTB-MLE implementation, the following eight major languages or Lingua Franca and four other languages will be cited as learning area and utilized as language of instruction for SY 2012-2013: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chavacano. 15. In anticipation of over two million students enrolling in the start of the school year, the Department of Education sees the Alternative Distance Learning Program as a way to decongest schools which will allow students to do their schoolwork without coming to school every day. Instead, the students will study at home and report to school for exams and group activities. DepEd created also the Internet-based Distance Education Program (iDEP) as an alternative way for students to complete their education in an attempt to reduce high school dropout rates in the country. iDEP offers formal secondary education to qualifying students using Internet-based technologies and classes are conducted and managed completely online. The program is seen to benefit many students, as well as those working in the entertainment industry, those with health and financial problems, and those in rehabilitation centers.

American education Essay

I grew up in America and received an American education. I have an American wife and children and I love the life I have built for myself in America. My dilemma is that I am, by birth, beholden to become the chief of an African tribe upon the death of my father who was chief of the tribe. My loyalties are torn between my life in America and my responsibility to a tribe I have never known in a land I don’t understand, and in a role of leadership which I have never experienced. I must also consider my wife and children; I must make a decision either to shirk my responsibility to the tribe or to take my family to a very strange, possibly dangerous land and upset our lives completely. Because it seems to me that the cultural and technological changes that are impacting Africa in the twenty-first century are complicated and profound, I feel a strong sense that I should serve the tribe. It would be very difficult to give up my life in America because the life described n Africa in the film sounds demanding and very alien to the social customs of America. However, it seems that refusing to provide wisdom and knowledge and leadership to the tribe due to fear of change or personal selfishness would be morally wrong. Because I have had a good education in America, I will be able to help the African tribe in many ways. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to conduct travels to America and do business on behalf of the tribe in America or work to provide opportunities for those in the African tribe who seek it to become educated in America. In some ways, the responsibility to the tribe is not only to facilitate a transition into the twenty-first century but to uphold the promise of my father who, as chief, promised the tribe that I would serve upon his death. Taking my family to Ghana will be a very difficult and very troublesome action which is a sort of sacrifice that will be necessary in order for me to do what is morally and practically the right thing to do. It would be wrong to turn my back on the tribe, but it is potentially dangerous and destructive to uproot my family and take them to a foreign land. On the other hand, the opportunity may well prove to be a good one for both myself nad my family. The land may show us mysteries and cultural differences which will make us better people, and maybe even happier people. There may be issues other than those of service to the tribe. After-all, I will be chief and me and my family will be held in high esteem by the tribe; we will be important and influential and we may find that our new roles are right for us after-all. Going to Africa will also allow me and my family a chance to find out about my ancestry and the history of the tribe. It could be that certain tribal traditions and tribal wisdoms will prove important for Westerners to understand and that my role as a â€Å"bridge† will work both ways: I may impart wisdom about modern ideas and technologies to the tribe but I may be able to use traditional tribal ideas and cultural wisdoms to elucidate problems which face the â€Å"modern† world. The final factor which weighs in my decision is the fact that the tribe has already pronounced me chief and accepted me as chief. In this sense, the tribe is also my â€Å"family’ they are simply family members which I have not yet become attached to and involved with, but it is important for me to make a self-sacrifice on behalf of the tribe. I would choose to become Chief of the tribe in order to provide a cultural ‘bridge† from the African traditions to the modern changes which are going to impact the tribe, whether they want them or not and whether or not they are prepared. I feel a sense of responsibility to my father’s reputation and to the tribe, as well as to myself and my family.

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

Art - Essay Example   Art started before anyone had even recognized it. It was like in the cave man times when things were written on walls and it was passed on by others in the tribe by an example of what others had done or their own interpretation. It started 40000 years ago as a form of people expressing their thoughts. Research shows that artwork began at the same time when human beings advanced in making tools (James, 87). In this case, artwork started as a way of keeping records for future references. It is used to let the current generation know how their culture should be.SurrealismSurrealism is a recent painting style that shows different images together to provide a startling effect. The images are usually illogical with dreamlike standards about them. Such is like the given picture.This is another modern art style where the artist knows that an idea is very important that the artwork itself. In the given picture the conceptual artists believe that it will be completed by the people viewing it.Pop artThis happened as a reaction to expression that happened in 1950s and the British at that time believed it was art that was further taken to the current time. In the case of the given picture, the main reason of the artist is to let the current generation know what happened in the past .This is painting which really looks like a photograph. It is normally influenced by pop art and it is like a reaction to expressionism like the picture given really looks like a photograph.