Vignette Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Vignette Response - Essay Example The ethical considerations of counseling someone who has come in need of help are put to task when a member of a group believes that the person in need of help is a danger to the overall community. In order to best address the problems presented by this scenario, they must be divided for their individual needs and the responses for which they require. The first problem facing the counselor in this situation is how to help leader X deal with his difficulty with internet pornography. In dealing with this issue, the methods through which the counseling takes place must be directed at the bets possible outcome for the client. The second problem that is being faced is concerned with the expectation that leader Y has that personal information concerning leader X is relevant to the performance of leader X’s leadership and capability within the church. This concern suggests that revealing the personal information about leader X is the course of action that leader Y has come to expect. However, ethical concerns must be addressed and considered when trying to decide whether or not to reveal information about leader X. ... The key to determining if the behavior is pathology of a behavior is through the amount of control over the behavior the client can exhibit (Franklin and Fong 41). In this hypothetical, it must be assumed that the client has lost his ability to control his behavior because he is allowing it to affect his relationships. Another aspect of a pathological behavior towards sex is that it might indicate a need to separate from intimacy with a spouse. According to Franklin and Fong â€Å"Sexual acting out is a factor of the addict’s loneliness and anger† (41). The perception of a lack of control is often a symptom of being at war within the mind, the need to rebel and continue the behavior in conflict with the need to stop the behavior and confront whatever issue has led to this pathology. One of the first methods of counseling someone who has developed a sexual pathology is through finding out the core problems that have led to this separation from intimacy. It is possible th at this separation occurred long before marriage or the pathology began. Therefore, psychotherapy can be very beneficial in getting to the core of the reasons behind the behavior (Roukema 176). One of the most important forms of psychotherapy that can be suggested to leader X is that he become a part of group therapy. According to Cairnes and Adams, group therapy has shown a great deal of success in dealing with issue of sexual addiction. While there is no definitive research as to why it works, it is assumed that a series of human experiences, including but not limited to the instillation of hope, universality, imparting of information, altruism, and the recapitulation of the family group, can lead to effective relief from the need to indulge in the

Personal statement for university Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement for university - Essay Example Since graduating with a BSc in Accounting from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I have progressed up the accounting career. It is my wish now to solidify my understanding of the foundations of finance so as to support my extensive experience and fulfil my dream of undertaking a senior role as a finance manager. Based on my excellent performance in my undergraduate course, Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia (CMA) offered me a sponsorship to study their programme in England, and later offered me a job. I have been working in the Capital Markets Authority since 2009 where, due to my passion for numbers and desire to learn more, I have managed to progressively climb the ladder in the last five years. I started out in a rotation program that gave me a wide exposure to various functions within an authority ranging from corporate finance, internal audit, market supervision, strategy and research and enforcement. While this rotation was a great introduction to the finance world, the limited time in each department left me wanting to know more in some areas. I would therefore like to fill the gaps in my familiarity with corporate finance through further academic studies. The rotation program polished my teamwork skills and oral skills. I am currently working in the Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Department where one of my roles involve conducting detection and field visits to the listed companies. My involvement in group work has served me well in nurturing my listening skills through hearing the ideas of others to come up with solutions to the problem. My ability to become the leader of the group comes naturally. Prior to this position I was in the market supervision, continuous disclosure and financial statement review unit. This role was invaluable in broadening my accounting skills but left a wanting in me to understand the financial performance and economy of the world. This I would like to satisfy

Role of Job Satisfaction on Employee Behavior

Role of Job Satisfaction on Employee Behavior In todays complex work environment maintaining satisfied employees that will continue to serve an organization is the ultimate goal of any human resource department of a company. Job satisfaction is the most frequently studied variable in organizational behavior research (Spector, 1997). It has been considered in a variety of ways, and is defined differently in various studies. Thus in order to understand and appreciate the role of job satisfaction on employee behavior this study has been undertaken. The researcher has introduced the concepts of Attitude and Behavior and then moved further into explaining the three main components of major Job Attitude which consists of Job Involvement, Organization Commitment and Job Satisfaction. The Dimensions, Antecedents and Measures of Job Satisfaction have also been touched upon in detail. The researcher has also gathered information on various motivation theories that are applied in organizations by the managers There is enough discussion on the impact of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction on employee behaviors which in turn affects the workings and performance of an organization. To conclude with the researcher has discussed job satisfactions necessity for an employee since it not only affects his/her work life but also his personal life. It is very important for organizations to identify the determinants of job satisfaction in an effort to optimize the productivity of their employees and avoid the costs of employee turnover. Restructuring of activities and jobs in organizations and the human resources to suit the specific demands and needs of such structures is of vital importance to both the employees and managers. The viewpoint of many managers and employees from various articles has been taken into consideration. INTRODUCTION Organization Behavior (OB) is a very important study and application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within organizations. It studies what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance. It endeavors to identify ways in which people can act more effectively. It is an applied behavioral science that is built on contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines. It provides a useful set of tools at many levels of analysis. For instance it helps managers understand the behavior of individuals working within an organization. It also aids their understanding of the complexities involved in interpersonal relations. People, structure, technology, and the environment in which the organization operates are the key elements in the study of organization behavior (Robbins, Judge and Sanghi, 2008). In todays work environment, organizations focus a lot of their attention towards ensuring job satisfaction for each of their employees. The cost of dissatisfied employees is extremely high for any organization. Satisfied employees are believed to be more productive, perform better and are more likely to perform acts that lead to customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied employees on the other hand, are those that are not satisfied with their working conditions for a variety of reasons and the consequences of having them in an organization are very disastrous in nature (Newstrom and Davis, 1993; George and Jones, 1999; Bennett, 1991). ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs that largely influence as to how the employees would perceive their working environment, commit themselves to designated actions and behave as a result. They are evaluative statements in nature which can be either favorable or unfavorable- concerning objects, people or events. They basically reflect as to how an individual feels about something. Attitudes is formed by three main components: cognitive component which talks about the opinion or belief segment of an attitude, affective component stresses on the emotional or the feelings segment of an attitude and finally behavioral component talks about having an intention to behave in a certain way towards some or something. These components, together, help in understanding the complexity and the potential relationship between attitudes and behavior. In organizations, attitudes are important because of their behavioral component. In order to explain the linkage between attitudes and behavior, Leon Festinger proposed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance in the late 1950s. This theory refers to any incompatibility that an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes. Recent researches have confirmed to Festingers belief by evidencing that attitudes significantly predict future behavior and also that relationships between employees and the organization can be heightened by taking into concern moderating variables. Important Attitudes that reflect fundamental values, self interest, or identification with individuals or other groups that a person values are considered to be very important in nature. Attitudes that the individuals consider important tend to show a stronger relationship to behavior. The link between the two is even stronger when the attitude and the behavior are very specific in nature. For instance asking an employee about their intention to stay with the concerned organization for the next few months is going to help in predicting the turnover for that person as compared to if they were asked about how satisfied they were with their pay. Attitudes that are easily thought of or are often showed by an employee play a key role in predi cting behavior than those attitudes that are not easily accessible in the memory. Variances between attitudes and behavior are quite likely to occur when social structures stress people to behave in certain ways. This tends to qualify behavior in organizations. Also the attitude-behavior relationship is likely to be much stronger if an attitude refers to something with which the individual has direct personal experience. Attitudes are usually used to evaluate and understand after an action has taken place instead of using it before so as to guide an action. Organization Behavior concentrates on only a limited number of work-related attitudes even though a person could have an unlimited number of attitudes. Either may it be positive or negative evaluations that an employee carries about his/her work environment are captured by these work related attitudes. Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment are the three main attitudes that have been studied by a lot of scholars and researchers. MAJOR JOB ATTITUDES JOB INVOLVEMENT JOB SATISFACTION ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT JOB INVOLVEMENT Job involvement helps in measuring the level to which people psychologically relate themselves with their job and conceive their self worth with the perceived level of performance. It has been evidenced that employees who are highly involved with their jobs strongly identify themselves with their work and value its worth in their life. Because of their attachment with their work they highly engross themselves in their jobs, invest valuable time and energy in them and view work as a fundamental part of their overall lives. Higher level of job involvement and psychological empowerment leads to higher to organizational citizenship and job performance by the individual. Holding meaningful jobs and performing them well are important to their own self image which helps to explain the traumatic effects of job loss on their esteem needs. People involved in their jobs participate in following the code of work ethics of their workplace; exhibit high growth needs, and also enjoy their involveme nt in making decisions. Thus, job involvement also helps in lowering the absenteeism rate and turnover rates. Also a managers high involvement in the job leads to higher job satisfaction of his employees thus making it an important factor for an organizations effectiveness in a highly competitive environment. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT Organizational Commitment is usually defined as the strength of ones identification and involvement with their respective organization (Mowday et al., 1979) as cited by Silva. P (2006). Its the state when an employee identifies himself/herself with a particular organization and its goals and sees he/she working with that organization in the future also. It is a way by which an employees willingness to remain as a member of that organization for the future also is evaluated. It often reflects the employees belief in the mission and goals of the firm, willingness to put in effort in their accomplishment and intentions to continue working there. Under the case of high job involvement an employee identifies with ones specific job, while under high organizational commitment an employee identifies with ones employing organization. It has been identified that a positive relationship exists between organizational commitment and job productivity. Employees who are organizationally committed u sually have low absenteeism rate, low turnover rates and also have a willingness to adhere their concerned companys policies. JOB SATISFACTION Take away my people, but leave my factories, and soon grass will grow on the factory floors. Take away my factories, but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory Andrew Carnegie (as quoted by Brown, 1996) Job satisfaction, in the words of Ivancevich and Matteson, 1990, is an attitude that individuals carry about their jobs. It results from their perception of their jobs. Various aspects of a job such as pay, promotion opportunities and co-workers plays a role in forming the base of job satisfaction. Also factors such as of the work environment such as the supervisors style, policies and procedures etc. affect a persons level of job satisfaction. It details other determinants of job satisfaction such as promotion, co-workers, managerial styles and policies/procedures. Job Satisfaction is a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings and emotions with which employees perceive their work. Job satisfaction is an affective attitude- a feeling of relative likes or dislikes. It can be viewed as an overall attitude or it can apply to the various parts of an individuals job. Job satisfaction is related to the positive feeling an employee perceives about ones job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. Jobs require interaction with coworkers and bosses, following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with working conditions. It has been identified that a positive relationship exists between a persons job satisfaction level and holding of positive feelings about the same concerned job whereas a person dissatisfied with his job carries negative feelings about the job and organization. Every organization works towards having satisfied employees. There are multiple reasons for the same such as increased employee performance as pointed out by George and Jones (1999), higher motivation levels as found by Bennett (1991) and longevity in tenure with the organization as stated by Robbins (1996). All of the above are essential for any organization especially in case of the hospitality industry where employee performan ce, high levels of motivation and saving costs incurred in replacing employees are vital. Dimensions of Job Satisfaction Job Satisfaction is a complex concept and not easy to measure at the same time. Job satisfaction is different from motivation. It is more of an attitude, an internal state. It could, for example, be associated with a personal feeling of achievement, either quantitative or qualitative whereas motivation is more of a process which may lead to job satisfaction as a result. It is not clear whether job satisfaction consists of a single dimension or a number of separate dimensions. But there surely seems to be a positive correlation between satisfaction and different areas of work. But some workers may be satisfied with certain aspects of their work and dissatisfied with other aspects. Level of job satisfaction gets affected by a wide range of variables related to individual, social, cultural, organizational and environmental factors. These factors all influence job satisfaction of individuals in a given set of circumstances, but not necessarily in others (Mullins. L, 2001). It is important that managers know the tremendous discrepancies that seemed to exist in the past between what they thought workers wanted from their jobs and what workers said they actually wanted. It is also important that they realize what effect an economic or other change has on these priorities. One may generalize at this point that individuals act on the basis of their perceptions or interpretation and not on the basis of reality itself. One of the main reasons behind understanding the study of behavioral sciences is that they help in getting our perceptions to realism. Therefore, by bringing their perceptions closer and closer to reality- what their people really want- managers can often increase their effectiveness in working with employees. Managers just cannot make and act on their own self made assumptions. They have to know and understand the factors that motivate their employees (Hersey. P and Blanchard. K, 1992). ANTECEDENTS OF JOB SATISFACTION A lot of researchers and scholars have carried out studies to determine and understand the variables and factors affecting an employees job satisfaction. A wide range of individual, social, organizational and cultural variables have been identified as factors affecting an employees level of job satisfaction. These factors affecting an employees job satisfaction can be divided into internal and external factors. Internal factors usually refer to the factors that can affect the employees job satisfaction within the organization and are always focused around the environment of the organization, working conditions, relation with other members in the organization, benefits that employees receive as outcomes to their work and many other factors. Factors outside the organization like employees family/social life, the identity and image of the organization in the outside market are categorized under external factors affecting an employees level of job satisfaction. It is not important that the employees may be satisfied with their job but may not have the same feelings about all the aspects of their job (Spector, 1997). George and Jones (1999) found that there are four main factors that affect the level of job satisfaction namely, personality, values, the work situation and social influences. These can also be broadly grouped as non work and work related determinants of job satisfaction. Determinants of Job Satisfaction Source: www.google.com Five main components of job satisfaction, that is, work, supervision, coworkers, pay and promotion play a very key role in affecting an employees job satisfaction levels. Personal factors such as age, health, length of job experience, emotional stability, social status, leisure activities, and family and other social relationships also play a certain role in influencing job satisfaction. Even role ambiguity and role conflict are considered to be vital in influencing an employees job satisfaction. An employers behavior at the workplace in many ways can also to some extent affect an employees job satisfaction. Outcomes such as organizational commitment or intention to leave are some of the end results that come into being because of these factors. Personality also plays an influential role in forming as an antecedent of job satisfaction since it is subjective to individual experience and expectations (Judge, Heller Mount, 2002). An employees personality traits can influence satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work. Employees with Type A personalities are usually more aggressive in nature. They believe in setting high standards for themselves and therefore are more prone to job dissatisfaction. Whereas employees who are quite relaxed in their attitude fall under the category of Type B personalities. Their personality shows its effect on their attitude towards work in a very relaxed way. People who find themselves in jobs which fit according to their attitudes and personalities stay more satisfied and committed to their work. The characteristic of the job also influences ones attitude towards it which may include the aesthetics of that workplace. Financial Rewards are viewed as satisfactory only when it is equitable and is in li ne with the expectations of the workers (Khandewal. V, 2008). The use of sound selection methods and having a good match between employee and jobs can ensure right person for the right job which in turn would help in enhancing job satisfaction. Job satisfaction factors for employees keep changing over time. Thus it is the responsibility of the managers and the employers to keep in pace with their changing needs and demands so that they remain committed to the organization. MEASURES OF JOB SATISFACTION To evaluate an employees satisfaction or dissatisfaction at work is a complex process which consists of assessing a number of discrete job elements. One of the popular methods to evaluate the attitudes of employees is by the use of attitude surveys. It helps in drawing out responses from employees through questionnaires as to their feelings about their jobs, work groups, supervisors and the organization. Managers are provided with valuable feedback on how employees perceive their working conditions by using attitude surveys on a regular basis. It helps in revising an organizations policies and procedures so that they work in favor of the employees. In research literature, the two most extensively validated employee attitude survey measures used are the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) which questionnaire widely used to capture job satisfaction data that was created by Smith, Kendall Hulin (1969). It measures ones satisfaction in five facets: pay, promotions and promotion opportunities, coworkers, supervision and the work itself. JDI is a very reliable method. Some more job satisfaction questionnaires include Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) created by Weiss, Dawis, England Lofquist (1967), the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) And the Faces Scale. The MSQ method has the advantage of skillfulness. All of these measures have led to greater scientific understanding of employee attitudes and it has proven to be very successful for many practioners and researchers (www.wikipedia.org) Many organizations often wish to obtain a more detailed assessment of employee attitudes in order to ensure employee satisfaction as an end result. It is very important to analyze and interpret effectively the data obtained from these employee attitude surveys in order to understand the results and in turn take appropriate actions to improve employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Employee surveys used effectively can act as catalysts for improving employee attitudes and producing organizational change. Survey feedback and action help support and drive organizational change (Ulrich, Brockbank, Yeung, Lake, 1995). IMPACT OF JOB SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR When employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, lack job involvement and are low in their commitment to the organization, a wide variety of consequences follows in. Dissatisfied employees may engage in psychological withdrawal, physical withdrawal or even acts of aggression and retaliation for presumed wrongs. Many researchers and authors like Davis Newstrom (1989), Lawler (1977), Porter Steers (1977), Newcomb, Betts Cano (1987) have attributed job turnover, absenteeism and job burnout to a lack of job satisfaction. Satisfied employees may provide acts of consumer service beyond the call of duty, have sparkling work records, and actively pursue excellence in all areas of their jobs. Some specific outcomes of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a workplace are explained as under: Job Satisfaction and Job Performance The relationship between Job satisfaction and Job performance is one of the most researched topic by many scholars (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, and Patton, 2001). According to Landy (1989) their relationship in the field of Industrial psychology was described as the Holy Grail. The satisfaction-performance relationship is more complex that the simple path of satisfaction leads to performance. Thus it is wrong to assume that high satisfaction always leads to high employee performance. Satisfied workers actually may be high, average or even low producers will tend to continue the level of performance that brought them satisfaction before also. The study of the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance has a very controversial history. In 1930s the Hawthorne studies conducted helped the researchers in becoming aware of the effects of employee attitudes on their work performance. According to Newstrom and Davis (1993), one way to view this dimension is in believing the relationship that high performance contributes to high job satisfaction. This sequence states that better performance typically leads to higher economic, sociological and psychological rewards. If these rewards are seen in a fair light then the overall employee satisfaction improves. On the other hand if these rewards are seen inadequate for ones level of performance then dissatisfaction tends to arise. It is important for managers to devote its efforts to aid its employee performance, which will likely produce satisfaction as a by product. In 2001, Judge et al identified seven different models that can be best used to describe the job satisfaction and job performance relationship. Some of these models view the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance to be unidirectional which states that either job satisfaction causes job performance or vice versa. Job Satisfaction and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) Job satisfaction is considered to be a major determinant of an employees organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A modest relationship exists between job satisfaction and OCB. Satisfied employees seem more likely to talk positively about the organization, help others, and go beyond the normal expectations in their job. They are also very likely to go beyond the formal requirements of the job just in order to reciprocate their positive experiences. They voluntarily engage in behaviors that work in favor of the organization. Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a very important requirement for many firms. Their performance gets marked by keeping their customers satisfied and happy. Employees of service based organizations often interact with their customers, thus the satisfaction of these employees is very important in order to keep the customers loyalty to the concerned organization. Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Service organizations know that satisfied and loyal customers are highly dependent on how frontline employees deal with their customers. Satisfied employees are more likely to be friendly, upbeat and responsive in nature which the customers appreciate. Since satisfied employees have high retention rate, customers are more likely to encounter familiar faces and receive experienced service. All these qualities build customer satisfaction and loyalty. The dissatisfied customers can increase an employees job dissatisfaction in a similar fashion. Many service based companies like, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Four Seasons Hotels are American Express very customer oriented companies who go out of their way in order to please their customers. In order to provide that great impeccable service to their customers they focus on building employee satisfaction- recognizing that employee satisfaction will go a long way towards contributing to their goal of having happy customers. These firms seek to hire upbeat and friendly employees, train the employees in the importance of customer service, reward customer service, provide positive work climates and track employee satisfaction on a regular basis through various attitude surveys. Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism/Tardiness A consistent negative relationship exists between satisfaction and absenteeism. Dissatisfied employees are more likely to be absent at their work, other factors have an impact on the relationship and reduce the correlation coefficient. Employees who have less job satisfaction tend to be absent more often. But this connection is not sharp for a couple of reasons. Some absences are caused by legitimate medical reasons and therefore a satisfied employee may have a valid absence at times. Tardiness is another way by which employees may exhibit their dissatisfaction with job conditions. A tardy employee is one who arrives late at work. Tardiness is a type of short period absenteeism ranging froma few minutes to several hours for each event, and it is another way by which employees withdraw from active involvement in the organization. This may impede the timely completion of work and disrupt productive relationships with coworkers. Job Satisfaction and Turnover Satisfaction is also negatively related to turnover, but the correlation is way stronger than that in the case of job satisfaction and absenteeism. Yet there are various factors such as labor-market conditions, expectations about alternative job opportunities, and length of tenure with the organization are important constraints on the actual decision to leave ones current job for some other work. Evidence indicates that an important moderator of the satisfaction-turnover relationship is the employees level of performance i. e, it is said that level of satisfaction is less important in predicting turnover for superior employees as compared to the poor performers. But studies suggest that job satisfaction should be more important in influencing poor performers to stay than the superior performers because regardless of level of satisfaction, the high performers are likely to remain with the organization only on account of receipt of recognition, praise and other rewards. Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Behaviors Numerous studies have shown and proven that dissatisfied employees are more likely to quit their jobs or be absent than satisfied employees (eg. Hackett Guion, 1985; Hulin, Roznowski Hachiya, 1985; Kohler Mathieu, 1993). Job satisfaction shows correlations with turnover and absenteeism. It also appears to be related to other withdrawal behaviors like lateness, unionization, grievances, drug abuse, theft or decision to retire. Using different methods that statistically measure the financial impact of employee attitudes on organizations, practioners can reveal costs of low job satisfaction and the value of improved employee attitudes on such outcomes as absenteeism and retention (Saari Judge, 2004). Job Satisfaction and Workplace Deviance Job dissatisfaction predicts a lot of specific behavior, including unionization attempts, substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socialization and tardiness. Researchers say that these behaviors are indicators of a broader syndrome that is usually termed as deviant behavior in the workplace. If the employees do not like their work environment then they world respond in some way which could either be in favor or not in favor of the organization. If the employers want to control the undesirable consequences of job dissatisfaction, they have to attack the source of the problem i. e. the dissatisfaction rather than trying to control the different responses. Source: An overall model of the Job Dissatisfaction-Job Withdrawal Process www.geocities.com The consequences of job dissatisfaction are very long term in nature. Mowday (1984) suggested that the negative effects of job turnover on organizations may include increased costs in recruiting, selecting and training new employees, demoralization of remaining employees, negative public image of the organization, disruption of day-to-day activities and decreased organizational opportunities to pursue future growth strategies. Thus it is important to have a thorough understanding of the factors that lead to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction so that it would help in putting a stop on the negative consequences associated with job dissatisfaction (Davis Newstrom, 1989; Mowday, 1984 and Berm, 1989). MOTIVATION THEORIES It has been evidenced to consider Job satisfaction as one aspect of life satisfaction because what a person does on the job reflects while he is off the job. A persons job satisfaction can actually impact his life, a person works to earn a living and therefore his entire personal and professional life depends upon his job therefore a single factor leading to dissatisfaction can cause a great deal of damage to his overall life satisfaction and vice versa (Davis and Newstrom, 1989). Similarly, it is important for managers to monitor the employees attitudes towards their life along with their attitude towards their job and also work environment. Motivating employees so that they work more productively and efficiently is one of the crucial problems facing todays organizations. This in turn helps in increasing their feelings of satisfaction, involvement and commitment. Two Factor Theory (Motivator-Hygiene Theory) The two factor theory, also called as motivation-hygiene theory proposed by psychologist Federick Herzberg was used in order to understand the factors affecting peoples attitudes about their work. This theory states that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are driven by different factors that are intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors which are also known as satisfiers are related to job content (work itself). It also includes achievement, recognition, work itself and responsibility. It is stated that motivation can be seen as an inner force that drives individuals to attain personal and organizational goals (Hoskinson, Porter Wrench). These motivating factors those aspects of the job that make people want to perform, and provide people with satisfaction. While the extrinsic factors which also know as the hygiene factors are related to the job context (work environment). It involves company policy, administration, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working con ditions. According to this theory, the factors leading to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. The opposite of job dissatisfaction is, no job dissatisfaction but instead: not satisfaction (Herzberg et al, 1959). Job Characteristics Model (JCM) The Job Characteristics Model was proposed by Hackman Oldham which is widely used in many organizations to study how particular job characteristics impact the job outcomes, including job satisfaction. The model states that there are five core job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback) which impacts three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results) which in turn influences the work outcomes of the employees (which covers aspects like job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation etc). These five core job characteristics can be combined to form a motivating potential score for a job which can be used as an index of how likely a job is going to affect an employees attitudes and behaviors. Attitudes are generally acquired over a long period of time. Similarly, job satisfaction or dissatisfaction emerges as an employee gains more and more information about the workplace. Nevertheless, job satisfaction is dynamic, since it can decline even more quickly than it dev

aids awareness :: Free AIDS Essays

When AIDS first emerged, no-one could have predicted how the epidemic would spread across the world and how many millions of lives it would change. There was no real idea what caused it, and consequently, no real idea how to protect against it. Now, in 2004, we know from bitter experience that AIDS is caused by the virus HIV, and that it can devastate families, communities and whole continents. We have seen the epidemic knock decades off countries’ national development, widen the gulf between rich and poor nations and push already-stigmatized groups closer to the margins of society. We are living in an ‘international’ society, and HIV has become the first truly ‘international’ epidemic, easily crossing oceans and international borders. Just as clearly, experience shows that the right approaches, applied quickly enough with courage and resolve, can and do result in lower national HIV infection rates and less suffering for those affected by the epidemic. Globally, we have learned that if a country acts early enough, a national HIV crisis can be averted. It has also been noted that a country with a very high HIV prevalence rate will often see this rate eventually stabilise, and even decline. This indicates, among other things, that people are beginning to change risky behaviour patterns, because they have seen and known people who have been killed by AIDS. Fear is the worst, and last way of changing people’s behaviour and by the time that this happens it is usually too late to save a huge number of that country’s population. Already, more than twenty million people around the world have died of AIDS-related diseases. In 2004, 3.1 million men, women and children have died. Around twice the amount who have died until now - almost 40 million - are now living with HIV, and most of these are likely to die over the next decade or so. The most recent UNAIDS/WHO estimates show that, in 2004 alone, 4.9 million people were newly infected with HIV. It is disappointing that the global numbers of people infected with HIV continue to rise, despite the fact that effective prevention strategies already exist. Africa It is in Africa, in some of the poorest countries in the world, that the impact of the virus has been most severe. Altogether, there are now 16 countries in Africa in which more than one-tenth of the adult population aged 15-49 is infected with HIV.

British Government Essay

Evaluate different methods of estimating the current extinction rate. Do you think that humans will induce a mass extinction on the same scale as the Big Five? Introduction: There is consensus in the scientific community that the current massive degradation of habitat and extinction of many of the Earth’s biota is unprecedented and is taking place on a catastrophically short timescale. Based on extinction rates estimated to be thousands of times the background rate, figures approaching 30% extermination of all species by the mid 21st century are not unrealistic, an event comparable to some of the catastrophic mass extinction events of the past. The current rate of rainforest destruction poses a profound threat to species diversity. Likewise, the degradation of the marine ecosystems is directly evident through the denudation of species that were once dominant and integral to such ecosystems. Indeed, this colloquium is framed by a view that if the current global extinction event is of the magnitude that seems to be well indicated by the data at hand, then its effects will fundamentally reset the future evolution of the planet’s biota. Robert Whittaker recognized an additional kingdom for the Fungi. The resulting five-kingdom system, proposed in 1969, has become a popular standard and with some refinement is still used in many works, or forms the basis for newer multi-kingdom systems. It is based mainly on differences in nutrition: his Plantae were mostly multicellular autotrophs, his Animalia multicellular, heterotrophs and his Fungi multicellular saprotrophs. The remaining two kingdoms, Protista and Monera, included unicellular and simple cellular colonies. Extinction rates in the fossil records: The time at which an organism is classified as becoming extinct is when the youngest fossil of its form is found. It is likely that there would have been later examples of the organism present, which were simply not preserved. It is known that some genera have existed for long periods around this time without leaving any known fossil record by the phenomena of Lazarus taxa. It is believed that these organisms were simply not preserved during the time they are missing, or preserved in offshore sediments as yet undiscovered. This may also be the case with many other organisms creating the illusion they are becoming extinct before they are in reality. Ecological Evolutionary Factor affecting the past extinction: Many claim that human activity caused a large scale of plants and animals extinction. The others claim that human caused extinctions are on a similar scale to those that occurred 65 million years ago at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary eras when most species perished including the dinosaurs. This causes two distinct worries: (1) The loss of species will harm humans (2) Quite apart from any harm to humans; there is a duty to prevent â€Å"ecocide†. According to Peter Raven (National Academy of Science) â€Å"We are confronting an episode of species extinction greater than anything the world has experienced for the past 65 million years. Of all the global problems that confront us, this is the one that is moving the most rapidly and the one that will have the most serious consequences. And, unlike other global ecological problems, it is completely irreversible. † Different people evaluate this duty differently. Since the purpose of these pages is establish the sustainability of material progress, I’ll take the view that although biodiversity is an important amenity, we are mainly concerned with the extent to which losses of diversity are a threat to human progress. One interesting fact in the article concerns the effect of an increase in temperature on the north-south range of a plant species, especially of trees. It turns out that the northern limit of a species is determined by temperature. As that limit is approached the rate of growth goes to zero. However, the rate of growth of a species does not decline as it approaches the southern limit of its range but remains stable or even increases. What determines a species’ southern boundary is competition from other species that require high temperatures. For this reason the southern boundary of a species is likely to change slowly as its territory is gradually invaded by species liking warm temperature. The invasion is likely to begin in gaps caused by logging and various kinds of die-off. According to Lord Robert May (FRS)-Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government. â€Å"Hardly a day passes without one being told that tropical deforestation is extinguishing roughly one species every hour, or maybe even one every minute. Such guesstimates are based on approximate species-area relations, along with assessments of current rates of deforestation and guesses at the global total number of species (which range from 5 to 80 million or more. ) While such figures arguably have a purpose in capturing public attention, there is a clear and increasing need for better estimates of impending rates of extinction, based on a keener understanding of extinction rates in the recent and far past, and on the underlying ecological and evolutionary causes. † Scientists who worry about extinctions often agree that the world will reach a new equilibrium as temperature increases – assuming it does. However, they worry that the rate of increase of temperature is unprecedented and that species, especially of plants, will migrate northward too slowly and become extinct. Roughly 43 percent of the earth’s terrestrial vegetated surface has diminished capacity to supply benefit to humanity because of the recent, direct impacts of the land use. This represents 10 percent reduction in potential direct instrumental value (PDIV), defined as the potential to yield direct benefits such as agricultural, forestry, industrial and medical products. Capitalizing on the natural recovery mechanisms is urgently needed to prevent further irreversible degradation and to retain the multiple values of productive land. Differences in extinction rates among groups: Estimated Future extinction rates from the species area relations: A better way of studying rates of complete biota extinction levels has been developed with the analysis of isotopic ratios of Carbon. When life is abundant there is almost completely carbon-12 within the geological record. Enzymes within organisms, passing into organic matter faster, more efficiently accept this isotope, which becomes lithified into rock. At times of lowered biotic activity, such as at an extinction event when a lot of life has been killed, the ratio of carbon-13 within the rocks will be higher as a higher proportion of carbon will be being fixed as carbonates inorganically. Inorganic precipitation of carbon does not differentiate between the different isotopes of carbon as life does. By analyses of carbon isotope ratios it is then possible to see, by peaks in the carbon-13, at what times there has been a reduction of biotic activity. This is independent of whether organisms present are being preserved or not, and shows at what rates the extinction is occurring. Estimated future extinction rates from IUCN red Lists: Recent extinction rates are 100 to 1000 times their pre-human levels well known, but taxonomically diverse groups from widely different environments. If all species currently deemed threatened become extinct in the next century, then the future extinction rates will be 10 times recent rates. Although new technology provides details on habitat losses, estimates of future extinctions are hampered by our limited knowledge of which areas are rich in endemics. The 2004 IUCN Red List contains 15,589 species threatened with extinction. The assessment includes species from a broad range of taxonomic groups including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and fungi. However, this figure is an underestimate of the total number of threatened species as it is based on an assessment of less than 3% of the world’s 1. 9 million described species. Among major species groups, the percentage of threatened species ranges between 12% and 52%. The IUCN Red List identifies 12% of birds as threatened, 23% of mammals, and 32% of amphibians. Although reptiles have not been completely assessed, the turtles and tortoises are relatively well reviewed with 42% threatened. Fishes are also poorly represented, but roughly a third of sharks, rays and chimaeras have been assessed and 18% of this group is threatened. Regional case studies on freshwater fishes indicate that these species might be more threatened than marine species. For example, 27% of the freshwater species assessed in Eastern Africa were listed as threatened. Of plants, only conifers and cycads have been completely assessed with 25% and 52% threatened respectively. References: Robert M. May, John H. Lawton and Nigel E. Stork. â€Å" Assessing Extinction Rates† â€Å"Extinction Rate Analysis† http://palaeo. gly. bris. ac. uk/Palaeofiles/Permian/rateanalysis. html â€Å"Restoring the value to the worlds degraded Lands† Gretchen C. Daily â€Å"The future of biodiversity â€Å" Stuart L. Pimm, Gareth j. Russell, John L. Gittleman ,Thomas M. Brook â€Å"IUCN Red List of Threatened Species†http://www. iucn. org/themes/ssc/red_list_2004/GSAexecsumm_EN. htm References: IUCN 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3. 1. IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, pp. ii+30. Parr C. S. and Cummings M. P. 2005. Data sharing in ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol. Evol. 20: 362–363. Purvis A. and Rambaut A. 1995. Comparative analysis by independent contrasts (CAIC): an Apple Macintosh application for analysing comparative data. Comput. Appl. Biosci. 11: 247–251. Sherwood, Keith and Craig Idso (2003) â€Å"The Specter of Species Extinction Will Global Warming Decimate Earth’s Biosphere? † 2003 September John Lawton and Robert May â€Å"BIODIVERSITY AND EXTINCTION RATES† 17-May-2004) www-formal. stanford. edu/jmc/progress/biodiversity. html

The History of Art, Changed

Many artists and musicians have a claim to fame: Elvis Presley is â€Å"The King† of rock-and-roll, Michael Jackson is â€Å"The King† of pop, Miles Davis made jazz what it is today. But perhaps the only musical artists that are known for having changed an entire era of youth musically, politically, socially, and even economically are The Beatles. John, Paul, George, and Ringo are four names that when said together will, in most cases, solicit the same response: The Beatles. There was Beatlemania, Ed Sullivan, early years, transition years, drug years, war years, the fighting, and of course, the break-up. Their first appearance on â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show† is just as vivid in the memories of baby boomers as is the memory of John F. Kennedy†s assassination. Perhaps most surprising is that The Beatles did in 8 years what most artists can†t do in a life time; they impacted youth culture and became arguably the most well known artists in history. In 1956, at the age of 16, John Lennon started a band by the name of the Quarrymen (Schaffner 12). Playing mostly in local clubs, The Quarrymen were a neighborhood band. On July 6, 1957 John Lennon would meet Paul McCartney for the first time. One of John's band mates, Ivan Vaughan, also a friend of fifteen year old Paul McCartney, invited Paul to the St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool where the Quarrymen would be playing. Introductions were made; Paul picked up a guitar and John was genuinely impressed with Paul, not only because he could play so well but because he could tune a guitar, a feat that the others had not yet mastered. A few days later while riding his bicycle, Paul ran into Pete Shotton, one of the Quarrymen. Pete told Paul that they had talked it over and John wanted Paul to join the band. After a moment's contemplation, Paul replied â€Å"Oh, all right† (Goldman 72). John and Paul quickly became friends, and the historic song writing duo was born. Ivan Vaughn would go on to introduce John and Paul to George Harrison. Paul discovered that the fourteen year old George knew dozens more chords than he and John put together (Giuliano 28). George could also pick out actual solos instead of merely strumming (Goldman 75). The band†s name went from Quarrymen to The Silver Beetles, and finally to the Beatles. One of John's rock ‘n' roll heroes was Buddy Holly whose band was called the Crickets so John tried to dream up an insect name of his own. The result was â€Å"Beetles†, but unable to resist the pun, he changed â€Å"Beet† to â€Å"Beat†. Explained John, â€Å"When you said it, people thought of crawly things, when you read it it was beat music† (Schaffner 19). Members were added and thrown out of the group eventually leaving only John, Paul, and George. On a brief outing to Hamburg, the three members would meet a drummer by the name of Richard Starkey, later to be known as Ringo Starr. He got the name â€Å"Ringo† for the many rings he wore on his fingers. On January 24, 1962, the Beatles signed a management contract with Brian Epstein.

Democracy In the US essays

Democracy In the US essays Although not a direct democracy, the United States has successfully solved the many enduring issues that face any democracy. These issues are numerous and range from political equality all the way to rights and responsibilities of citizens. Although there are many concerns to confront, democracy is still the most preferable form of government. Niccolo Machiavelli said, Government by the populace is better than government by the princes. (p.15) The first issue that a democracy must deal with is who is eligible for citizenship. In ancient Greece a citizen was any free adult male who could fight. This didnt include women, slaves, or the crippled. I agree with Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal. (p.101) Men and women, old or young, should not be denied citizenship. The next issue that faces a democracy is Representation and Participation. How are people represented fairly, and how can they participate in the government? The next issue includes how laws are made and how easily they can be changed. This procedure is found in the beginning of the Constitution. The fourth issue includes the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. In the United States, the rights of the people can be found in the Bill of Rights. (p.118,119) The next issue that is always present in a democracy is the fear of tyranny, or the fear that one person will have all the power as in an absolute monarchy. In 1690 John Locke spoke of an absolute monarchy by saying, Hence it is evident, that absolute monarchy, which by some men is counted the only government in the world, is indeed inconsistent with civil society, and so can be no form of civil society at all. (p.39) Another fear that is present in democracies is the fear of factions, or the fear that one group will rise to influence some aspect of the government. In the US, people are part of so many ...