Explain and Briefly Evaluate the View That Ethnicity Is the Most Important Source of Identity in the Contemporary UK Essay Example

Explain and Briefly Evaluate the View That Ethnicity Is the Most Important Source of Identity in the Contemporary UK Essay Explain and briefly evaluate the view that ethnicity is the most important source of identity in the contemporary UK. Ethnicity is can be viewed as the most important source of identity in the UK because of many factors and views. In a Marxist view there are only two classes and ethnic minorities that are part of the working class which is divided by racism and therefore enhances the control of the ruling class which means that a more dominant race can have full control over the minorities and gives them the identity of the equivalent of a slave or a minor. Castles and Rosack (73) found that ethnic minorities tend to do the worst paid jobs and form part of the reserve army for labour who are not required in times of recession and can therefore be easily dropped from the workforce if the society around them will benefit from it. In a Functionalist view immigration is a temporary threat with will be overcome through integration and the acceptance of dominant norms and values, it is functional to have ethnic minorities in low paid jobs as they carry out the roles others do not want, therefore they are seen as people who just fill gaps in society is basic jobs just because of the bad pay that the dominant races do not want. Patterson (65) said the acceptance of dominant values would lead to better integration. He also believed that is was skin colour rather than immigration. We will write a custom essay sample on Explain and Briefly Evaluate the View That Ethnicity Is the Most Important Source of Identity in the Contemporary UK specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Explain and Briefly Evaluate the View That Ethnicity Is the Most Important Source of Identity in the Contemporary UK specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Explain and Briefly Evaluate the View That Ethnicity Is the Most Important Source of Identity in the Contemporary UK specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer From this study we now see that the contemporary UK was racist and using the immigrants to do the worst jobs because they seemed to not care about the pay as long as they were at least getting some money. An ethnic source of identity would be the family. Butler (95) said that Asian people who came to the UK wanted to preserve their traditions but in the UK instead; so they wanted to bring their culture into the UK culture and integrate into society whilst keeping their home-grown identity. Ghuman (99) said that during primary socialisation in an Asian family, the parents would make the children learn their own norms, values and traditions in order to keep their identity, however this could be seen as a bad idea in the UK as they could be singled out and vulnerable the UKs racial impressions towards minorities. This was, in my opinion, the most important source of identity as children were learning their ways of life from their family and bringing it into the UK’s society and making them stand out. Another ethnic source of identity is the Peer Group. Sewell (04) said the pressure in the peer group is extremely important in shaping ethnic identity among Afro-Caribbeans in inner city areas. Because they were more likely to drop out of school and turn to the streets and gang-like behaviour, they wanted to fit into their peer groups by wearing what that gang would stereotypically wear and act like the stereotypically would too. Alexander (96) said that peer groups were crucial in the art of being black; this shows that being black wasn’t just an identity but a way of life in the UK as they wanted to stand out and stand up for who they were and not lose their identity which refers to the question and shows that being in a peer group shaped your sense of ethnic identity in the UK because again, it was like a way of life and how you had to act to fit into society. In conclusion, it can be seen from Butler’s and Ghuman’s theories that keeping an ethnic minorities norms, values and traditions strong in another society such as the UK’s was important as it allowed them to stand out and be themselves, which is seen as a very important sense of ethnic identity in order to keep themselves as they are. It can also be seen that Sewell’s and Alexander’s theories about the peer group that the ethnic identity in a peer group was a way of life and again kept themselves as they are in order for them to stand out in a sense of ethnic identity in the contemporary UK. Just these two agents of socialisation, we can see that to a minority, it is important to not lose their normal way of life no matter where they live, and in the UK, bringing in their ethnicity was so that they didn’t have to change who they were to fit in, but stand out instead.

The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta

The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta The Olmec Royal Compound at La Venta: La Venta was a great Olmec city which thrived in the present-day Mexican State of Tabasco from around 1000 to 400 B.C. The city was built on a ridge, and on top of that ridge are several important buildings and complexes. Taken together, these make up the â€Å"Royal Compound† of La Venta, an extremely important ceremonial site. The Olmec Civilization: The Olmec culture is the earliest of the great Mesoamerican civilizations and is considered by many to be the mother culture of later peoples such as the Maya and the Aztecs. The Olmecs are associated with several archaeological sites, but two of their cities are considered more important than the others: San Lorenzo and La Venta. Both of these city names are modern, as the original names of these cities have been lost. The Olmecs had a complex cosmos and religion.a including a pantheon of several gods. They also had long-distance trade routes and were extremely talented artists and sculptors. With the fall of La Venta around 400 B.C. the Olmec culture collapsed, succeeded by the epi-Olmec. La Venta: La Venta was the greatest city of its day. Although there were other cultures in Mesoamerica at the time La Venta was at its apex, no other city could compare in size, influence or grandeur. A powerful ruling class could command thousands of workers for public works tasks, such as bringing huge blocks of stone many miles to be carved at Olmec workshops in the city. Priests managed the communications between this world and the supernatural planes of the gods and many thousands of common people labored in the farms and rivers to feed the growing empire. At its height, La Venta was home to thousands of people and directly controlled an area of around 200 hectares – its influence reached much further. The Great Pyramid – Complex C: La Venta is dominated by Complex C, also called the Great Pyramid. Complex C is a conical construction, made of clay, which was once a more clearly defined pyramid. It stands about 30 meters (100 feet) high and has a diameter of about 120 meters (400 feet) It is man-made of nearly 100,000 cubic meters (3.5 million cubic feet) of earth, which must have taken thousands of man-hours to accomplish, and it is the highest point of La Venta. Unfortunately, part of the top of the mound was destroyed by nearby oil operations in the 1960’s. The Olmec considered mountains sacred, and since there are no mountains nearby, it is thought by some researchers that Complex C was created to stand-in for a sacred mountain in religious ceremonies. Four stelae located at the base of the mound, with â€Å"mountain faces† on them, seem to bear out this theory (Grove). Complex A: Complex A, located at the base of the Great Pyramid to the north, is one of the most important Olmec sites ever discovered. Complex A was a religious and ceremonial complex and served as a royal necropolis as well. Complex A is home to a series of small mounds and walls, but it is what is underground that is most interesting. Five massive offerings have been found in Complex A: these are large pits which were dug out and then filled with stones, colored clay and mosaics. Many smaller offerings have been found as well, including figurines, celts, masks, jewelry and other Olmec treasures given to the gods. Five tombs have been found in the complex, and although the bodies of the occupants decomposed long ago, important objects have been found there. To the north, Complex A was guarded by three colossal heads, and several sculptures and stelae of note have been found in the complex. Complex B: To the south of the Great Pyramid, Complex B is a large plaza (referred to as Plaza B) and a series of four smaller mounds. This airy, open area was most likely a place for the Olmec people to gather to witness ceremonies that took place on or near the pyramid. Several noteworthy sculptures were found in Complex B, including a colossal head and three Olmec-style sculpted thrones. The Stirling Acropolis: The Stirling Acropolis is a massive earthen platform which dominates the eastern side of Complex B. On top are two small, circular mounds and two long, parallel mounds that some believe may be an early ballcourt. Many fragments of broken statues and monuments as well as a drainage system and basalt columns have been found in the acropolis, leading to speculation that it may have once been the royal palace where the ruler of La Venta and his family resided. It is named for American archaeologist Matthew Stirling (1896-1975) who did a great deal of important work at La Venta. Importance of the La Venta Royal Compound: The Royal Compound of La Venta is the most important section of one of the four most important Olmec sites located and excavated to date. The discoveries made there - in particular at Complex A - have changed the way we see the Ancient Olmec culture. The Olmec civilization, in turn, is very important to the study of Mesoamerican cultures. The Olmec civilization is important in that it developed independently: in the region, there are no major cultures that came before them to influence their religion, culture, etc. Societies like the Olmec, which developed on their own, are referred to as pristine civilizations and there are very few of them. There may yet be even more discoveries to make in the royal compound. Magnetometer readings of Complex C indicate there is something in there, but it has not yet been excavated. Other digs in the area may reveal more sculptures or offerings. The royal compound may yet have secrets to divulge. Sources: Coe, Michael D and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008 Diehl, Richard A. The Olmecs: Americas First Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004. Grove, David C. Cerros Sagradas Olmecas. Trans. Elisa Ramirez. Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). P. 30-35. Miller, Mary and Karl Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. New York: Thames Hudson, 1993. Gonzalez Tauck, Rebecca B. El Complejo A: La Venta, Tabasco Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). p. 49-54.

Music Performance Ethnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music Performance Ethnography - Essay Example The Ultra Music Festival Background to the festival The ultra music festival is an outdoor music event that gets held in the city of Miami in Florida. It is a music festival that entails a weekend of electronic music at the Bayfront Park in Miami. The event gets held on the second weekend of every March in every year. The event takes three days from Friday to Sunday. This year the event took place in two consecutive weekends as a way of celebrating its 15th anniversary (Cohn 46). The Ultra Music Festival got started by two business partners, Rusell Faibsich and Alex Omes in 1999. In its inauguration year, the event got held for one day on the south beach in Miami. In the following year, it got relocated to Bayfront Park in the city of Miami. This was due to the large number of people who attended the first event. The event gets sponsored by the Winter Music Conference. During the festival in this year, I happened to have attended one of the two weekends during which it got held. The performers The performers at the ultra music festival were well over 200. They wore civilian clothes but the art in their design could be recognized. As it is with many musicians, the aspect of standing different from others could also be traced. Overall, the performers dressed in a way that it was easy identifying them among the audience as they sought to get an interactive platform with the audience. Prior to their individual performance, the performers looked relaxed, probably reserving their energy for the electric performers each was to hold (Scott & David 21). Some of the performers had come from outside the USA. However, most of them were local artists. The diversity of the performers had an added advantage to the festival. Among the performers were DJs who took turns in the work. All the performers could be said to be established musicians and top DJs in the country. Establishing them by names could, however, be difficult considering their numbers. The event involved the use of live per formance instruments. These instruments got changed with time depending on the performing artist. There were also music systems installed at strategic positions all over the Bayfront Park (Schmidt & Gretchen 198). The park at some point looked like a collection of an electronic factory. Some performers came with their instruments on stage while others used the ones already installed on the stage. Vocal music got included in the performances. Most of the lyrics seemed to have a message for the audience. Most of them praised the different successful people in the city of Miami. They are those that condemned the social crimes in the city. Some could even be seen to be going to the extent of narrating personal experiences on the difficulty experienced by the poor in the USA. There is also another category of music that praised the music festival itself as the greatest on the planet. Whether this is correct or not, it cannot be clearly established. The Audience The size of the audience c ould be approximated to be well over 330,000 according to figures released immediately after the festival. The audience got made to the larger extent by the residents of Miami. There were also people from other states in the USA. The event attracted some foreigners. The culture of the people at the festival could, therefore, be described as very diverse. Several cases of social misbehavior could be noted.

Assignment 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

4 - Assignment Example They are in the initial stage of their relationship as they were afraid and shy when they were having their eye contact. It might be their first or at the most second date. And the non verbal cues which led me to conclude this is their feeling of shyness and their reluctance in touching each other. Having a job is not an easy thing in anyone’s life. Nonetheless, everyone can a job, though might not be the job which he or she is looking for. It is difficult to find a job which will you give an optimum level of job satisfaction and with which you would be happy. Therefore job is majorly a luck event, with which you could win or lose. In order to find out whether I am satisfied with the job or not, I took the Burnout Quiz. The results of the quiz said that I am at medium job satisfaction. And I completely agree with the results, as I am happy with what I am doing in my job and I like my job. However, the only thing with which I am dis-satisfied is that the manager does not show any respect to us i.e. the employees junior to him. Infact, this pressure is now soaring with budget issues and layoffs looming. The results of the quiz also suggest that I can make some changes which will help me to experience some more job satisfaction like clear job requirement, better compensation, and more time off. I feel that the most important reason for my not enjoying job satisfaction is that, I have a low level of life style balance, as I don’t really have a sufficient amount of time to do whatever I want to do. As the results of the quiz suggests, I have decided to ask my manager to give me clearer job requirement, enhanced and better reward, and I will also start taking some time off and I my life with my family. In conclusion, this job assessment helped me to be aware of many things in my life which I was not concerned about. Firstly, I was not giving any importance to my time and life balance. And with the help of this assessment I came to know that having life style

Role of Advance Practice Nurse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Role of Advance Practice Nurse - Research Paper Example According to the paper the ANP should use his advanced level of education to advice and counsel the public on healthy living habits. Hamric, Spross and Hanson suggest that he or she should also assist middle level nurses in solving serious medical anomalies. ANPs are allowed to use their advanced medical knowledge for medical diagnosis and prescription. The administrative roles of ANPs include monitoring and mentoring junior medical staff and managing specialty medical sections according to Hamric, Spross and Hanson . ANPs should engage in research in their various specialty areas to realise and improve treatment methods and medical practices. An Advanced Nurse Educator (ANE) is a nursing instructor that is responsible for educating nursing students and they are mainly based in universities, colleges and medical research facilities. Furlong and Smith assert that the main role of ANEs in clinical practice is to implement the most effective medical research and care standards into the nursing profession. The role of ANES in primary care is to impart high standard skills and knowledge to nursing students to ensure they practice primary care effectively.

Leadership Perspectives and Theories

Leadership Perspectives and Theories Discussion about two fundamentally different perspectives toward leadership development ‘Leaders are born and ‘Leadership skills can be developed. Leadership is seen as an important component of any organisations structure because at all levels in an organisation there tend to be positions of authority. In every organisation there will be people under the control of people with higher job titles and status, for example, employees under the power of team leader, i.e., precisely stating â€Å"subordinates under the control of super ordinates (Finchman, R. et al, 2003).† Though there is a wide range of definitions of leadership, it can be generally be defined as the ability to motivate and influence other people to perform tasks and achieve objectives which otherwise they wouldnt be willing to do. Moreover, leadership depends upon the context in which it occurs along with an understanding of the needs and opinions of its followers. But, still there has been a lot of argument and debate concerning the difference between management and leadership. It is true that differences between the two terms can be put neatly on paper, but still it is suggested that the distinctions between the two are vague, with the two qualities usually overlapping each other in business context. This is because it is believed that every manager is bound to possess leadership qualities to be able to work effectively towards the success of an organisation. As literature states, there have been different perspectives relating to leadership development. They basically are the Trait Approaches, Behavioural Approaches, Contingency theories and the Transformational theories of leadership. The trait theory believes that leaders are born and possess certain personality traits beforehand which ultimately lead them to take on a powerful dominant position. Behavioural approaches look for certain ideal behavioural patterns in the leaders and contingency theories state that there is no one idealistic leadership quality and that leaders should modify their qualities and skills according to the situational demands as well as relating to the cultural and organisational context of the organisation. Finally, the transformational theories introduce the emergence of the new leader with qualities such as being visionary, inspirational and participative along with encouraging change. According to theories and researches conducted, it is pointed out that a good leader would be the one who understands himself, his fellow and group members with whom he interacts and the company along with the broader social environment in which he works to be able to choose wisely his skills. Also, he is able to behave appropriately in times of perceptions that are very importantly relevant to his behaviour, i.e., to be able to direct when called for direction and to be able to provide freedom when there is requirement of participative freedom. They are believed to establish direction and are expected to encourage people to come into their strategies and plans. Also, there are some leadership skills which are considered indispensable. These generally include an ability to have an intuition and judgement, the intelligence factor, motivation, assertiveness, risk- taking ability, smart enough to analyse situations and take actions, relevant knowledge and many more. Now, here we are concerned with the two fundamentally different perspectives of whether ‘Leaders are born or ‘Leadership skills can be developed towards the development of leadership qualities and their respective implications on the development of management in an organisation. However, choosing one perspective can sometimes be difficult. This is due to fact that leadership being such a subjective topic, it is impossible to believe in a single perspective. Both the perspectives are right to an extent of their own. It is indeed a true fact that there are born Leaders. Moreover, the old age saying that ‘Leaders are born and not made even gets stronger by looking at all the examples of great and historic leaders, like Hitler, Mother Teresa, etc. These leaders gained their status and respect because of their strong personalities or some in-born attributes which are difficult to come through training and development. It is an elusive charisma in some people which ultimately makes them World leaders and the followers look up to them. And these certain qualities looked in a leader are generally the ones that are the in-grown traits of ones personality, for instance the ability to have an intuition and vision, motivation factor and the natural intelligence. These are all characteristics which differ from person to person. Also, by birth certain kind of talent is already embedded in a few people because of which they stand apart and go on to the path of becoming a leader. For example: A person wh o is an average basketball player will never be able to achieve the skills which Michael Jordan excels at in spite of getting the best training, putting in all his efforts and practising to the fullest. Though, his skills would improve but never to that extent. And hence, we see that the concept of born leaders is existent. But then to what extent can this be seen to be true? Should we believe that the skills by birth are just the skills to be possessed to become leaders, i.e., there can be no self-development for a person lacking the so called necessary skills to become a leader. Here comes a noteworthy point that, by just being born with talent, it isnt necessary that one becomes a leader. Unless and until one works on the pursuit of perfection and improvement, he/she will not be able to able to become a Leader. In fact, all the great leaders who reached their status today did so due to their hard work and maybe went through some sort of learning process. It was necessary for them also to hone and develop their skills and learn from their predecessors. For example : It was seen that President John.F.Kennedy though made a great leader, maybe for some people, due to his charm persona but the fact was that he also had some learning from London School of Economics and he also undertook a Leadership training program in the military services during World War II. Moreover, there is a problem associated with identifying what kinds of leadership skills are apt. When it comes to choosing Leadership positions in organisations, the organisations generally look out for expertise, work experience and the respective seniority levels. They look for people with strong or charismatic personalities, who are commanding and can manage other people well by mesmerizing them with their stage presence. However, these are usually wrong indicators of choosing great leaders. This is seen from the fact that even the extraordinary organisations having the most intelligent, experiences and insightful board of directors have made the errors of choosing the wrong leaders. In California, when there was a rapid-change in the technology sector due to the growth of internet IPOs, HP realised that they needed a leadership change with a leader with a freshly new business perspective to help control its languishing stock prices and stalling growth. For this they hired a lead er who had won quite a lot of business titles and had had an impressing background. But, in the hands of the new leader, the company suffered its first loss, lost many jobs and saw a decrease in their stock prices. But, contrastingly, in the hands of the former down-to-earth CEO, HPs annual sales increased. This showed that leadership plays an important role in the success or failure of an organisation, yet still many companies do not have effective Leadership Development programmes in place and they indulge and invest in it only in terms of emergencies. A research conducted by the Institute of Leadership Management showed that a significant proportion of business leaders today must owe the credit to the gaining of their leadership skills from experiences learnt outside the school, as 12 percent left school before the age of 16 and only one-third of them (31 percent) had a University degree on leaving full time education. These statistics, therefore, state that in order to achieve success, academic qualifications might not be a pre-requisite and leadership skills can be developed through coaching and formal training also with an effective development programme in place. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, showed traits of becoming a future leader from childhood. But since he didnt have an academic degree he was not seen to be fit for the description of a classic leader. When he joined JC Penny as a management trainee, he always worked hard but then his paperwork wasnt up to the mark because of which his boss always told him that he wasn t fit for retail industry. At last, he resigned, not to sit back but to open his own firm which gave competition to JC Penny and surpassed it in retail dominance. This example suggests that in spite of not having academic qualification, Sam Walton would have been a great leader for JC Penny, if it had an effective system to tap the leadership potential in him. Hence, the above points suggest that leadership skills can definitely be developed not only through leadership training development programmes but also from real-life learning experiences arising on the job front. Hence, the perspective ‘Leadership skills can be developed holds more importance than the perspective ‘Leaders were born. However, no amount of teaching can ever fully help a person to know about leadership. Leadership is a phenomenon which can always be learnt through practical application. Leadership skills can be developed by watching other leaders, i.e., role models and emulating their behaviour. Leaders also enhance their skills by realising the fact that one can never get stuck in a situation. Even if one fails in a task, one needs to use that lesson to enhance his performance in future. This shows that the only failure they see is the failure to not learn from a mistake. They also improve by using the feedback from their supervisors, peers and junior colleagues to get better results. Moreover they learn by trying out new things and then review their performance critically. The best thing about the development of leadership skills and not assuming the notion of born leaders is that, leadership training helps to bring out certain behavioural aspects like character, passion and vision in people not having them and builds them to develop skills which can be used in future for becoming effective leaders. Furthermore, according to an article written by James Brava, teaching leadership skills to front-line managers through the support of the organisation as well as senior leaders can help lead to an improvement in an organisations flexibility to change and productivity. This is due to the fact that if front-line managers become leaders they can make decisions, can then use their own judgement and implement improvement. These techniques will assist in increasing employee engagement and employee motivation and thereby have a positive impact on management development in terms of an organisations performance level. A contrary point to note here is that, certain leadership skills even though believed to be associated with a persons character only, can still be developed among people to a great extent and affect the development of management of an organisation in a worth notable point. This means that if a person does not have skills to lead, he should not fall for the development of non-leadership aspects as there are a number of places to demonstrate ones leadership abilities. There are a lot many number of qualities looked in a person to become a leader which have already been mentioned relating to ability, motivation and sociability. But, the recent developments in the field of leadership show that it is not the just the old-age qualities of authority and intelligence that are enough to become a leader. No doubt, Intelligence is needed but rather than IQ and relevant knowledge, emotional intelligence is the pre-requisite to become a great leader. Emotional intelligence is the key factor which distinguishes star-leaders form the average leaders. Here we see a number of leadership skills that can be developed and how it might affect the development and learning of skills by managers for their own good as well as for their organisations. Emotional intelligence, a quality associated with leadership can definitely be learned, but it requires time and commitment. Hence, it is not believed that a person should have this trait by birth. Although, sometimes genetics do not play an important part in this as our parents qualities of empathy can be imbibed into us by birth. Self awareness is an aspect of emotional intelligence which tends to work for the organisation resulting in increasing its and its employees performance by being aware of the fact that how their feelings will affect themselves as well as of their colleagues. Also, motivation is an indispensable virtual quality of leadership which aims at achieving for the sake of achieving and not for external rewards. Even though, this can be seen as a personality trait to be associated with the concept of ‘born leaders, still it can be developed with course while learning in an organisation when one introspects about his passion for work, doesnt get disappointed with failures and has an urge for commitment towards his organisation. Therefore, it isnt difficult to see the outcomes of motivation for organisational management development. This can be seen from the fact that people with such qualities can always lead to the building of a team with managers sharing the same qualities. Also, as one sets a high performance bar for oneself, so will he for his employing organisation leading to the latters success. ‘Born or classic leaders are often seen as the ones having fiery temperaments because their outbursts are often associated with their respective style marks of charisma and power. And hence self-regulation is generally not seen as a good trait of leaders. But self-regulation is a quality which is necessary to be developed among leaders because it leads to the creation of a fair and trusted environment reducing politics and infighting and hence an increase in productivity. More so, it has a positive effect on managing development as employees want to be level-headed instead of hot-heads considering their leaders being calm and less moody. As a consequence, talent flocks to the organisation. In terms of environment changes, management development needs arise which can be taken care of effectively if managers are in control of their emotions. This is because in such a scenario they do not panic and tend to accept the challenges in a positive way. Empathy is another quality which is rarely seen to exist in the concept of ‘leaders are born. This is because according to this concept, they usually have attributes which are seen as being autocratic and exploitive. And hence, the perspective regarding born leaders might seem to fail here. Empathy or consideration skill is strongly recommended as a component of leadership due to it being effective while dealing with teams, diversification in organisations and for retaining talent in todays competitive market-world. It is usually developed while working in a team where there can be a mismatch and misunderstanding among the viewpoints of the members. This helps leaders develop their skills of understanding and recognising the emotional makeup of the team leading to collaboration among employees which can ultimately lead to higher job market for the organisation. Also, in order to keep good talent within their organisation coaching and mentoring is necessary for which empathy ski lls are needed. Therefore, a leader having these skills will effectively provide good coaching which leads to an increase in job performance along with job satisfaction and less attrition rate. Another fact which proves that Leadership skills can be developed can be seen during situations when a persons leadership skills might come under a test. This can seem to happen in terms of a crisis as was in the case of Intel Israel. During the First Gulf War when Iraq was resorting to its Scub missile attacks, the operation of the Intels firm unit in Israel was at stake because the civil defence directive had ordered organisational units to close down ensuring safety. But Dov Frohman continued the normal operations as he was concerned about the companys survival and success as he considered that a core aspect of leadership. Also, according to his belief during such situations there are three major points a leader should develop focus on the survival of the organisation in the long-term giving it the highest priority, going against what everyone says and expects to do and finally trusting ones instinct. As a result of following these qualities, commitments to Intel were met for the future of Israels high tech economy as well as for Intel Israel, because of which it today is â€Å"the headquarters for the companys global RD and product development in wireless technology as well as a major centre for chip fabrication (Harvard Business Review, December 2006)†. Also, following these three rules not only help deal with the situation aptly but also thinks about the organisations success which is the basic rule of leadership and management development. Moreover, this can be seen as a time for managers to be able to learn and develop skills not only for their own good but even for their organisation. In all organisations it is seen that management generally means conducting, controlling, directing and linking. But an article by Henry Mintzberg who has studied a lot of managers and management in a symphony orchestra, states that Covert Leadership, an aspect which can seem to develop might be better than overtly display of leadership. This is because in todays world knowledge and trained workers respond to inspiration and not supervision because they know what to do. According to him, management in a symphony orchestra can be seen as a good deal of what managing in todays world is all about. The article throws light on the fact that though the conductor manages all its musicians, but he does so in a covert way be it controlling, directing or developing culture. It showed that what is generally seen as conventional leading is seen as operations doing in the context of an orchestra because the conductor got involved directly and personally in all the tasks getting done. Also it was s een that extreme supervision isnt necessary today and that the coordination can occur independently, but however certain amount of power is necessary. Lastly it is noted that though the conductor managed all the inside operations, he was also concerned with the external networking for his orchestra. Hence, a positive outcome of covert leadership on management development is that it not only satisfies employees but in the end it also tends to give a feeling of satisfaction to the leader. And if managers accept this trait of leadership and follow all the six qualities of internal controlling, leading and doing along with external communication, linking and dealing, they can raise the organisation to a high level. Furthermore, it is evident that in todays modern world every manager or leader is faced with the dilemma of being torn between which leadership style to use and when democratic or authoritative. According to the earlier times, leaders were just seen as ones possessing the required intelligence, vision and the ability to empower others. But todays scenario sees the fact that leadership skills tend to be developed and be used according to the demand of the situation. A continuum developed by Tannenbaum and Schmidt concerning the authoritative versus democratic choice of leadership style, shows that any one of these extremes (either emphasis on manager or on the subordinate centred behaviour) isnt apt and that there are a range of behaviours which are best to use when necessary. The decision of what leadership style to use is highly influenced by factors which concern managers behaviour, non-managers or subordinates behaviours and the situational aspects. If a manager understands his p ersonality traits effectively, he is likely to know clearly which style to use. The situational factors such as organisation type (might approve certain behaviours and not others), group effectiveness (how well people coordinate together to resolve issues), nature of problem (depends on whether subordinates have relevant knowledge about the problem) and time constraints (depends upon the criticalness of the situation) also affect the way a manager thinks in decision-making situation). Similarly, a clear understanding about the employees behaviour and their expectations or demands from him, can help him decide to be permissive or coercive. This can ultimately lead to the development of good and flexible communicative relationships among organisation members leading to the creation of good work teams, i.e. the development of management which ultimately can affect an organisations success rate. Therefore, whatever is the case, the implications would always be in the favour of the organ isation with the manager being flexible and insightful so as not to face the issue of leadership dilemma. Finally, in the end wed like to discuss two main important points. Firstly, how companies can create leadership development programmes in order to tap the talent of people showing the capabilities of becoming future leaders. In regard to this, companies ought to create a development profile needed for identifying strong leader including qualities they think should be suitable for their particular company or the industry. On completion of the creation of profile, the company can use a number of effective assessment tools like psychometric tests, employee surveys, feedback reviews etc. to identify these characteristics in their employees. Secondly, we need to discuss critically as to what we need whether it is the image of a heroic leader with a vision, inspiration and charisma or the image of a manager who can organise, plan and control issues in an organisation. In the beginning, it was mentioned that there are differences between management and leadership but they usually overlap. However, arguably it is seen that now there has been a widening gap between managers and leaders. According to studies in the twenty-first century, it was seen that a new perspective of transformational leaders came into being. These transformational super leaders had all the characteristics which were suitable during a hostile and a rapidly changing environment. This new leader had the ability to create visions of what can happen in future and was able to communicate them. These traits indicated the difference between management and leadership according to some writers. But a more recent study of leadership trends stated that such views could be dangerous and that what is more importantly required is the capabilities of change management. According to a lot of writers the concept of visionary leaders is not good as they can destabilize the organisation. For instance, in the opinion of Jim Collins, leaders who are seen to be world class are generally not effective, and it is the senior ordinary managers or executive which actually handle work well by combining both humility and persistence. Moreover, it is believed that the efforts of these middle managers should be appreciated because in spite of them not being top managers they still are implemental in starting and aiming change. Finally these repercussions against the concept of new leaders, leads back to the argument between the distinction of management and leadership suggesting that now leadership destabilises while management drives change. To sum it all, it can be said that though leadership skills are developed but still in-born traits are sometimes necessary and that in reality organisational change occurs due to the help of competent managers and not because of the concept of leaders possessing charismatic visionaries and personalities. (3898 words excluding references) Works Cited Brava, J., (n.d.) Are Frontline Leadership Skills Instinctive or Learnt?. Available: http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-Frontline-Leadership-Skills-Instinctive-Or-Learnt?id=3231942. Last accessed January, 2010. Britains Bosses Learn to Lead at an Early Age. (n.d.). Available: http://www.i-l-m.com/research-and-comment/1449.aspx. Last accessed January, 2010. Buchanan, D., Huczynski, A. (2004). Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text, 5th Edition, London: FT Prentice Hall. Donaldson, D., (n.d.) Can Leadership Training Make Great Leaders?. Available: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Can-Leadership-Training-Make-Great-Leaders-/509240. Last accessed January, 2010. Finchman, R., Rhodes, P. (2003). Principles of Organizational Behaviour, 3rd Edition, Oxford: University Press. Frohman, D. (2006). Leadership Under Fire, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 12, pp. 124-131. Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader?, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, No. 6, pp. 93-102. Hurst, R. (September 10th, 2007). Is a leader born or made?. Available: http://leadershiptrainingdevelopment.com/is-a-leader-born-or-made. Last accessed January, 2010. Leadership Development Are Leaders Born or Made?. (n.d.). Available: http://www.impactfactory.com/gate/registered/leadership_skills_training_development/registeredgate_1619-9103-73572.html. Last accessed January, 2010. MacDoanld, D. (December 8th, 2009), Why is it so hard for companies to find great leaders?. Available: http://learnthis.ca/2009/12/the-problem-with-leadership/. Last accessed January, 2010. Mintzberg, H. (1998). Covert Leadership: Notes on Managing Professionals, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, No. 6, pp. 140-147. Tannenbaum, R. and Schmidt, W. (1973). How to Choose a Leadership Pattern, Harvard Business Review , 51(3), 162-180.

Baby Boomer, The Driving Force :: essays research papers

Landlord-tenant law combines three areas of law; 1.) property law 2.) contract law and 3.) negligence law. Landlord-tenant law combines three areas of law; 1.) property law 2.) contract law and 3.) negligence law. Colleges nation wide have been reporting strong surges in enrollment largely due to baby boomers returning to school. Baby boomers are Americans born between 1946 and 1964. Soldiers returning from WWII caused a rise in the birth rate of the United States, creating a â€Å"boom† which is where the term â€Å"baby boom† comes from. There were approximately 76 million baby boomers born during that 18 year span. The baby boomer generation is now creating a â€Å"boom† in the field of adult education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enrollment in college programs by baby boomers has risen substantially. In 2001 the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that more than 20 percent of United States college students are above the age of 30. (qtd. in CNN 1). The National Center for Education Statistics also reported that enrollment of students aged 40 and older has increased by 48 percent from the early 1970’s. (1). The baby boomer generation has become the driving force behind the growth of adult education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The benefits of higher education for the boomers have been greater than that of their parents. Baby boomer parents are from the Great Depression generation. These Great Depression era parents were immigrants who believed that hard work was the way to succeed in life. Upon arriving in America, the immigrants needed skills to help them live in their new homeland. They learned a new language, to read and that education was necessary to secure their future. These parents raised their children with the belief that education would open many doors for their children’s futures. The effects of education for the baby boomers was stronger than for their parents of the Great Depression generation. â€Å"Both baby boomers and their parents enjoyed a positive association between net worth and education.† (Keister 5). According to National Center for Educational Statistics the boomers have acquired more wealth by the age of 30 than their immigrant parents had acquired by that same age. The boomers have enjoyed a higher income than their parents substantiating the theory that higher education is the key to success. Educated boomers were enjoying the reward of a higher lifestyle than that of their uneducated immigrant parents. The baby boomer students have proven themselves to be the fastest growing

Given Danziger’s Claims Essay

Given Danziger’s claims about ‘methodomorphic theories’ and given what you know of quantitative and qualitative research methods and psychology in general, what do you think would be the obstacles to attempt to break free of the ‘methodological circle’? Research methods in modern psychology offer a variety of methodological options for researchers to utilise. However, there are issues associated with all methods. This essay will examine problems associated with the ‘methodological cycle’, such as the monopolisation of statistical methods in social sciences. These ‘issues’ continue to be common practice in psychological research and present obstacles to moving towards a less rigid, constrained method of working. This will be followed by exploring approaches that move forward, towards a more fluid and inclusive method of empirical psychology, such as Theoretical Sampling in Grounded Theory and Relational metatheory. Danziger coined the term ‘methodological circle’, asserting that many psychological researchers adopt methods based on certain assumptions about the subject matter, which in turn â€Å"only produce observations which must confirm these assumptions† (Danziger, 1998, p 1). These assumptions continue to be common practice in current psychological research, and pose as a barrier to moving away from the ‘methodological circle’. Psychology as Pure Science Kuhn (1962) described â€Å"ordinary science† as involving discussion of problematic truth claims and is carried out within the context of implicitly shared metatheoretical frameworks; on the other hand â€Å"paradigms† involve discussion that challenges these metatheoretical frameworks themselves. Psychology operates within both of these frameworks. ‘Ordinary science’, also known as Scientism, involves uncritically accepting that science is both highly distinct from, and superior to, ‘common sense’ and methods for identifying cultural patterns. However, factors that a social scientist may wish to study do involve facets that are not static and are defined by the context in which these facets operate. An example of this could be trauma. Trauma is viewed by individuals in Western society as a concept which individuals or a collective may suffer after a disrupting or distressing event. However, in less developed societies, such as in Rwanda which suffered mass genocide, no instances of trauma are reported (Alexander et al, 2004). Such examples highlight the problems presented by adopting a purely scientific (positivist) approach to a social phenomenon. In addition to this, it must be remembered that even though research will always endeavour to be as objective as possible they will, ultimately, use their common-sense knowledge of how social phenomena operate in order to define and measure these variables for precise investigation (Silverman, 1993). Psychologists who work purely in line with Scientism make the error to totally remove itself from common sense, rather than acknowledging and working with it, adopting, say, a more constructivist approach e.g. Conversation Analysis. Kock (1973) sums this up assumption beautifully by saying â€Å"The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science† (Kock, 1973, p. 66). Dependence on statistics The use of statistical methods in psychology can be said to have become â€Å"institutionalized† (Danziger, 1998, p. 4). According to Danziger, such institutionalization presents 3 main problems: 1. It assumes that statistical conclusions are the only means of providing reliable and valid results for interpreting and developing theory; 2. It asserts that certain rules and models are constant, and cannot be amended or updated by new evidence; 3. it postulates that methodology must lead theory formation, and not the other way round. Such facets create a rigid environment, which restricts ways in which the social scientist can explore social phenomena which focuses on interactions between figures rather than meanings of interactions. The importance of the meaning behind words was acknowledged as far back as Freud, who stated â€Å"In medics you are accustomed to see things†¦in psychoanalysis, alas, everything is different†¦Words were originally magic and to this day words have retained much of their ancient power†¦Words provoke affects and are in general the means of mutual influence among men† (Freud, 1918, p.12). This statement emphasises the importance in not just, say, overt behaviour in the amount of words one uses (i.e. numerical data) in an interview, but also what one says and the meaning behind those words (i.e. qualitative data). Artificial settings to measure real life Psychology is the science of the real life, cannot be manipulated in artificial models. In its attempt to become a ‘pure’ science, psychological research methods tend to prefer to use controlled, experimental procedures, where one variable is directly manipulated by another variable, controlling for any other influencing factors. While such methods offer detailed and reliable statistical information, details of social, political, economic, and historical contexts can be overlooked (Waitzkin, 1990). The variety within psychology Psychology is a broad discipline with a variety of approaches such as Social and Cognitive Psychology. Social Psychology looks at qualitative interactions in the real world between people, whereas Cognitive Psychology examines the thought processes involved in individual reasoning. The former cannot be effectively manipulated in a controlled laboratory experiment, whereas the latter can be. If one attempts to artificially create and conduct a social experiment which uses solely statistics as a method of obtaining and interpreting results, one will miss the rich data that can be gained through qualitative measurement, looking at meanings and interpretations. A degree of flexibility is required in theory construction and method development, taking care to acknowledge how applied the science is and the vast array of methodological procedures to adopt. Top down vs. bottom up When conducting empirical investigation in psychology, the research question should lead the methodology, not the other way round. However, with the dominant quantitative method, researchers tend impose theories on data and see whether or not the data supports the theory. Upon these results, the researchers either accept or reject their hypotheses, rather than further exploring any discrepancies. Alternatively, researchers who adopt a qualitative method allow the data drive the theory and design models and theory from data. This is unpopular with many as it can oversimplifying complex social phenomena. As we can see, both designs appear to be poloarised, with little or no room for convergence. Deductive vs. Inductive Another assumption that perpetuates the ‘methodological circle’ is the belief that quantitative methods always must use a hypothetico-deductive approach and qualitative methods an inductive approach. Again, this restricts the way in which researchers can work with their subject matter, and rather than adopting an antithetical approach, researchers should endeavor to focus on the rationale of the study and the research question. Realism vs. Idealism In a similar vain to the short discussion above, there is the determinist assumption that all quantitative researchers are realists and qualitative researchers are idealist in their approach. This assumption enforces more restrictions on the way research would be carried out. Indeed quantitative research could do well to accept more subjective and individual attitudes, as qualitative methods could with more objective, measurable approaches. Moving forward Acknowledging the obstacles above, I will now explore ways in which psychology can move forward, away from the ‘methodological circle’ towards an approach that recognises and embraces both ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ virtues. Such an approach should not be concerned with paradigmatic purism but more concerned with identifying effective ways of conceptualising and discovering answers to the research questions. Grounded Theory -Theoretical saturation and sampling When using Grounded Theory, researchers use Theoretical sampling until they reach ‘Theoretical saturation’, where researchers collect data â€Å"until (a) no new or relevant data seem to emerge regarding a category, (b) the category is well developed in terms of its properties and dimensions demonstrating variation, and (c) the relations among categories are well established and validated.† (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 212). Such a fluid and flexible approach provides a useful means in theory construction because it builds the theory as it evolves from incoming data, offering an alternate perspective on how the results are interpreted than the restrictive positivist, deductive approaches. Relational metatheory Relational metatheory offers a relational dialectical perspective in which interpretation (a more quantitative, positivist approach) and observation (a more qualitative, construstivist approach) are both acknowledged and used (Overton, 1998; 2003). Relationism metatheory acknowledges that there is interconnection between the person, culture and biology (Hase, 2000), which is a much more fluid and explorative method then a split metatheory (using only quantitative or qualitative). This results in more complex, self creating, self organising, self regulating and adaptive systems that function and develop in relation with sociocultural constructs. In conclusion, there is a range of obstacles researchers encounter when attempting to break free of the ‘methodological circle’. These include both theoretical considerations such as theory construction and practical considerations such as the dependence on statistics. In order to move away from these imposed restrictions, researchers should consider adopting a more inclusive, flexible approach such as Grounded Theory and Relational Metatheory. As Danzgier concludes we must overcome these problems associated with the ‘methodological circle’ in psychological research; if not â€Å"theory testing in psychology will be a matter of choosing among different versions of a theoretical position, the fundamental features of which are in fact beyond dispute.† (Danziger, 1985, p.13). References Alexander, J. C., Eyerman, R., Giesen, B., Smelser, N. J., Sztompka, P. (2004) Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity, University of California Press, CA Danziger, K. (1985) The methodological imperative in psychology. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 15, 1-13 Freud, S. (1918) The Complete Introductionary Lectures on Psychoanalsis, Alden Press, Oxford Hase, S. (2000) ‘Mixing methodologies in research’, NCVER conference, Coffs Harbour, April. Koch, S. (1963) Psychology: A Study Of a Science, (Koch, S. (Ed.). (1959-1963), McGraw-Hill, New York Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Overton, W. F. (2012) Paradigms in Theory Construction, (Eds L’Abate, L.) Springer; US. Silverman, D. (1993) â€Å"Beginning Research†. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction, Sage Publications, Londres Strauss, A. L. & Corbin, J. M. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, Sage Publications, US Waitzkin, H. (1990) On Studying the Discourse of Medical Encounters, Medical Care. 28:6, 473-487

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!

Sauroposeidon - Facts and Figures

Sauroposeidon - Facts and Figures Name: Sauroposeidon (Greek for Poseidon lizard); pronounced SORE-oh-po-SIDE-on Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Middle Cretaceous (110 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 100 feet long and 60 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Extremely long neck; massive body; small head About Sauroposeidon For years, pretty much all we knew about the fancifully named Sauroposeidon derived from a handful of cervical vertebrae (neck bones) unearthed in Oklahoma in 1999. These arent just your garden-variety vertebrae, thoughjudging by their massive size and weight, its clear that Sauroposeidon was one of the largest herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs that ever lived, outclassed only by the South American Argentinosaurus and its fellow North American cousin Seismosaurus (which may well have been a species of Diplodocus). A few other titanosaurs, like Bruthathkayosaurus and Futalongkosaurus, may also have outclassed Sauroposeidon, but the fossil evidence attesting to their size is even more incomplete. In 2012, Sauroposeidon underwent a resurrection of sorts when two other (equally poorly understood) sauropod specimens were synonymized with it. The scattered fossils of Paluxysaurus and Pleurocoelus individuals, discovered near the Paluxy River in Texas, were assigned to Sauroposeidon, with the result that these two obscure genera may one day be synonymized themselves with the Poseidon Lizard. (Ironically, both Pleurocoelus and Paluxysaurus have served as the official state dinosaur of Texas; not only may these be the same dinosaur as Sauroposeidon, but all three of these sauropods may also have been the same as Astrodon, the official state dinosaur of Maryland. Isnt paleontology fun?) Judging from the still-limited evidence available, what set Sauroposeidon apart from other enormous, elephant-legged, small-brained sauropods and titanosaurs was its extreme height. Thanks to its unusually long neck, this dinosaur may have towered 60 feet into the skyhigh enough to peek into a sixth-floor window in Manhattan, if any office buildings had existed during the middle Cretaceous period! However, its unclear if Sauroposeidon actually held its neck to its full vertical height, as this would have placed enormous demands on its heart; one theory is that it swept its neck and head parallel to the ground, sucking up low-lying vegetation like the hose of a giant vacuum cleaner. By the way, you may have seen an episode of the Discovery Channel show Clash of the Dinosaurs stating that Sauroposeidon juveniles grew to huge sizes by eating insects and small mammals. This is so far from accepted theory that it seems to have been completely made up; to date, theres absolutely no evidence that sauropods were even partly carnivorous. There is, however, some speculation that prosauropods (the distant Triassic ancestors of the sauropods) may have pursued omnivorous diets; perhaps a Discovery Channel intern got his research mixed up! (Or perhaps the same TV network that enjoys making up facts about Megalodon simply doesnt care whats true and whats false!)

Journal Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal Summary - Essay Example These needs imply the needs for self-preservation and economic independence. These are the needs for being free from physical danger, threat and deprivation. Man is a social animal. He therefore wants association, belonging, friendship, love and affection. These are the need to seek affiliation and affection of one’s fellow beings. People form informal groups to seek meaningful association, companionship. This implies ‘a desire to become more and more of what one is, to become everything that one is capable of.’ It involves self-fulfilment or achieving what one considers to be his mission in life. It urges an individual to realize his full potential for continued self development and for being creative in the broader sense of the world. Maslow pointed out that the first three categories are lower level needs. The remaining two are higher order needs. He states that the needs have a definite sequence of priority. They arise in certain order of preference and not randomly. Safety needs do not dominate behaviour until physiological needs are satisfied. Man is a wanting animal. He always continues to want something or the other. He is never satisfied. If one need is satisfied, another takes its place. If one need is satisfied it ceases to be a motivating factor. Thus, if lower level needs are satisfied an individual can be motivated only by satisfying his higher level needs. Physiological and security needs are finite while the other needs are to a large extent infinite. Maslow suggests that the various needs levels are interdependent and overlapping, each higher level need emerging before the lower level need has been completely satisfied. Finally, Maslow points out that an individual may jumble the order and importan ce of the needs according to his preference. Motivation theory is concerned with the employee’s needs and preferences. Frederick Herzberg and his associates conducted

Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Benefits - Research Paper Example tended sick and vacation days, medical plan, profit sharing, stock option plans, pensions, IRA, 401k, maternity leave, paternity leave, wellness programs, flexible time, and telecommuting. A trend in the medical plans companies offer to its employees is increased costs. In 2013 medical costs in the United States are expected to increase by 5% (Mercer, 2012). Companies have to keep track of the medical profession since the government in the future might implement a universal health plan that would put the burden of the nation’s medical costs on the government, instead of the private industry. In the 21st century employees care a lot about having a work-life balance. A benefit that can help employees achieve that goal is flexible time. Flexible time is a work arrangement that gives the employees the ability to set their own hours during the workweek. Telecommuting is also a hot trend. Telecommuting involves having employees perform work from their homes. Telecommuters communicate and upload work tasks by connecting to the company’s information system using the internet. Some important factors to consider when designing a benefit plan are composition of lab or force, size of workforce, and budget allocated for employee