The Value of Education in Todays Society Research Paper

The Value of Education in Todays Society - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that today’s economy has become more global and Americans are being asked to gain more global knowledge. As the economy and political policies continue to change, the needs for competition and understanding have changed. Many businesses are requiring employees to have knowledge of more than one language so that they negotiate contracts easier. Globalization also brings with it the need for computer knowledge that includes an understanding of virtual working teams, and they must be able to take in knowledge quickly. This project makes a conclusion that education is important to society on many levels. Education drives a society and can help it transition to a stronger community. Education is important to enhance a society and to make it stronger. When someone is gaining education, he or she learns how to help others achieve as they take the role of leadership. Education is important to the economy because educated people spend more and they pay more taxes. They also pay taxes. Both situations bring people together and help the society grow. Most organizations are working with a diverse work group which means that training should be involved with them to understand more about cultures and about what culture looks like. In a global world, it is important is to be culturally sensitive to the needs of all workers and this come with education and training. There is no doubt that education is important to society. There are a variety of ways that educated people help the economy.

Theory Application Paper Essay Example for Free

Theory Application Paper Essay I. INTRODUCTION Advertising is mass communication an advertiser pays for in order to convince a certain segment of the public to adopt ideas or take actions of benefit to the advertiser (The History of Advertising). In other words, advertising is a form of communication as well as a marketing function where the advertiser pays for the use of the communications media. It is non-personal (compared to personal selling) and has to be persuasive and convincing in order to sell or secure favorable consideration. The advertiser has to communicate facts and ideas to the public in such a way that the information fits the needs, wants, and interests of the public (Crisostomo 4). Although the goals of advertisements may differ from ad to ad, there are generalizations that can be made. The first would be that ads are made to sell products, ideas, or services. The actual sale may be immediate or eventual and it is accomplished through the mass media rather than the salesperson. The second generalization is that ads are there to develop goodwill and build prestige. This is accomplished through institutional or public-interest advertising. Ads are also there to pre-sell products. With brand advertising, corporations are able to condition the minds of consumers to be loyal to their brand and purchase their products in the future. Ads are also used to widen the demand for a product. This demand can be increased if the advertisement can demonstrate alternative ways of using the particular product. This requires an investigation of the primary, secondary, and potential uses of the product. Ads are also aimed to establish brand superiority. Although by itself, advertising does not create an industrial monopoly, it can lead to the  establishment of brand superiority and dominance. Another goal of advertising is to maintain patronage. Retail establishments, particularly, depend on advertising largely in order to maintain customer patronage. The last objective of advertising is to speed up the movement of merchandise. This is accomplished through the stimulation and expansion of demand (Crisostomo 14). To achieve these goals, an advertisement must appeal to human desires. There are two types of human desires: the primary wants and secondary wants (Gomez and Arante 52). In order for an ad to be effective, it must be continuous and long-term. It is said to consist of a cycle of three stages: introductory advertising, competitive advertising, and retentive advertising (Crisostomo 12). Advertising is a means of mass communication where words and symbols are required to convey the basic theme to the audience. Choosing the wrong word or symbol may give or arouse images that are contrary to the advertisers purpose. These words and symbols make up the elements of an advertisement. These elements, specifically, are: the copy, the headline, the images, and the logo (Crisostomo 184-195). For different mediums, different ways of writing advertising copies are done but must always be written from the consumers point of view. Many advertising copiers commit the error of writing television commercials in the same way they do radio copy. This must be avoided because television appeals to two senses (visual and aural) unlike the radio. Contrasting radio, crowding the commercial time with words will make it difficult for the viewer to retain the message (Crisostomo 185). The importance of headlines cannot be overemphasized. Some say that it represents 50-80% of the value of an advertisement (Crisostomo 141). Let us face it, the entire body of the commercial may be excellent and the visuals superb, but if the commercial does not grab the attention of the viewers right from the start, it may have just lost its audience. The headline, much like the copy, must stress the readers, not the advertisers interest (Crisostomo 145). People are more interested in images combined with words than with words alone. These images serve as symbols, which are more easily decoded by the viewer than word or verbal symbols. Ideas are conveyed more quickly and clearly through images. Images can associate the product with a person or a specific class (Crisostomo 194-195). The last element of an advertisement is the company logo or slogan. Placing this in an advertisement immediately separates the advertised product or service from the competitors product. A logo could attract buyers to a specific store or lend prestige to the products with consumer preference influenced by the association of the firms name with the advertised merchandise (Crisostomo 195). Each advertisement has to reach the maximum number of prospects per advertising peso. In the procedure of media selection, the researcher defines the market to be reached by studying the results of consumer surveys and market analysis. After doing so, can the advertiser decide which medium or medias to select wherein they can exhibit their advertisement. There is an overabundance of media for advertisers (Miranda 157). For this study, I will concentrate on the television medium. Although the costs of advertising on TV are quite expensive, television can sell by appealing to two senses sight and sound rather that to only one as most media do. Demonstration of product performance and exhibition of styles, color, designs, and other product features can be achieved. The sponsor also enjoys great flexibility in the presentation of this commercial (Miranda 197). The background given provides us with an idea of the definition of advertising, its purpose and goals, its different cycles and elements, and the importance of the television medium for advertisements. We know that  these advertisements are made in order to sway the public to buy the specific product but in todays world, we are constantly bombarded with advertisement messages left and right. With so many stimuli, is it still possible for an advertisement to motivate us to buy a certain product? Why did or why didnt that advertisement send us to the nearest store? What elements of a commercial will stimulate its viewers to buy, buy, and buy? Does the public still watch advertisements on TV and are affected by it or is the audience so flooded with so many advertisements that they turn cynical and it just turns into a game of Russian roulette for the advertisers? II. STUDY FRAMEWORK Theoretical Framework The Shannon-Weaver Model (McQuail 12) Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver produced a general model of communication a year after Laswells Communication Model (which might explain the similarities). Although they were principally concerned with communication technology, their model has become one representation of the system of human communication. The emphasis of this model is on the transmission and reception of the information. The Shannon-Weaver Model proposes that all communication must include six elements: the source, the encoder, the message, the channel, the decoder, and the receiver but this model also includes noise. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (Maslows Hierarchy of Needs) One aspect of communication is persuasion. Peoples needs motivate them to act and if those needs are identified, the source can motivate the receiver to do what he or she wants them to do. Abraham Maslow developed the table of the hierarchy of needs. He emphasizes  the need for self-actualization. According to Maslow, before a person achieves self-actualization, he or she must attain the four lower-level needs of the hierarchy (physical, safety, social, and esteem). His table attempts to have a holistic description of human motivation, considering a range of influences on human behavior. Two-Step Flow of Communication (Littlejohn 313) In 1940, Karl Lazarsfeld and his fellow researchers conducted a study on the effects of political mass communication. Their findings were published in The Peoples Choice in 1944. Their research was based on the hypodermic needle model of media influence. Based on their findings, they established that the media effects were minimal, the concept of the mass audience was misguided, and that social influences had a major effect on the process of opinion formation and greatly limited the medias effect. This model, later developed by Katz and Lazarsfeld, consists of a process where opinion leaders play a vital role. They concluded that our responses to media messages are mediated through our social relationships. It is false to think that the receivers are the mass audience because this implies that everyone is equal in their reception of media messages when the fact is there are some who play a more active role than others do. It debunks the hypodermic needle model because the model implies that receiving a message does not necessarily mean the receiver will respond to it. Rosengrens Uses and Gratifications (McQuail 76-77) The uses and gratification approaches to media, by Elihu Katz, asserts the active use of the media by the audience to seek the gratification of a variety of needs. This research on the media-audience relationship suggests that the audience is much less passive than once thought and that people actively and purposefully use the media according to their own circumstances. The medias effects can then be thought of as being dependent  on the functions that they perform for each member of the audience. According to the limited effects paradigm, the media will not influence a member of the audience if it does not fulfill or gratify a need. Audience members are held to be active and involved in their understanding and interpretation of the media and are not completely passive. Rosengrens version constitutes of eleven elements that relate to each other. The needs of the individual is the starting point and interacts with combinations of intra- and extra-individual characteristics and the surrounding societal structure. These in turn create problems and the perceived solutions. The combination of these two give birth to patterns of media consumption and patterns of behavior giving patterns of gratifications or non-gratifications which possible affect the individuals combination of intra- and extra-individual characteristics and the surrounding social structures. III. INTEGRATION OF THEORIES The source, as mentioned before, is a person or group of persons that have a reason or a purpose for engaging in communication. The source expresses this purpose in the form of a message. This message is formulated into some kind of code, which requires an encoder. The encoder is responsible for taking the ideas of the message and purpose of the source and transforming it into a code. The message is what the communication is all about. This is whatever is communicated in the message. Choosing the channel of communication is an important aspect in the communication process. The message is sent through the channel chosen. Noise is always present in communication. The noise may disrupt or distort the message that is being sent across. There are times when the message is not distorted by the noise, but when it does, the receiver may not get the  complete message or ideas that is being conveyed. Just as the source needs an encoder to translate his or her message, the receiver needs a decoder to translate the message. For communication to occur, there must be someone at the other end of the network. The information transmitter and the receiver must be similar systems in order for the communication to be successful. The receiver of the message has (because of his or her needs added with the knowledge he or she has gained from opinion leaders as well as his or her own characteristics) combinations of problems as well as perceived solutions to these problems. Once the receiver gets the message, he or she internalizes the message and decides whether or not the message falls into any of the categories of his needs putting importance on those that he has not achieved (according to the hierarchy). This gives him or her motives for attempts at gratification-seeking behavior that leads to his or her patterns of media consumption and other patterns of behavior. These are followed by patterns of gratification and non-gratification that could possibly affect the individuals combination of intra- and extra-individual characteristics and ultimately the media structure. The patterns of gratification and non-gratification also serve as the feedback to the source of the message and the cycle continues. IV. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Corporations exist to make money. In the cutthroat world of business, many say it pays to advertise. It seems like everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Some advertisements may provide a few laughs, send a public service message, or seem like it has not point at all, but the bottom line is it serves to sell the companys products or services. The corporation hires an advertising agency to create a commercial that depicts the message or image the corporation wants. The advertising agency  chooses which medium is best suited for the ad. The commercial is aired. This commercial competes with many stimuli that are around. These distractions could be in the form of other commercials, other programs, or any events that are occurring when this commercial is aired. Because of the individuals needs, knowledge obtained from opinion leaders, and his or her own personal characteristics, the viewer has problems as well as perceived ways in which to solve them. These in turn make the individual seek out the solutions. When the viewer sees the commercial, he or she decides whether this would solve his or her problems. This will reveal how the individual will keep using the medium (i.e. if the viewer has just had a full meal, he or she will turn the channel when a commercial about food is on) as well as other behaviors (i.e. if the viewer sees a commercial about dishwashing liquid, it might motivate him or her to wash the dishes). The way in which the viewer uses the medium and his other behaviors will be precedents of how the individual fulfills his or her wants in the future which eventually will affect his or her personal characteristics as well as the structure of the media and attitudes of the opinion leaders. How the individual fulfills his or her wants in the future will also serve as the feedback to the corporations of how successful they were in getting their message across and the cycle continues. V. OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK There are many different types of corporations offering all kinds of products and services. These companies do not only exist to provide these goods and services but also, as mentioned before, to make a profit. Much like the corporations, there are numerous advertising agencies in the Philippines today. They are the ones who conceptualize advertisements that catch the eye of the viewers and entice them to spend their hard-earned cash  on products that they may or may not need. There are about as many advertisements as there are products, if not more. For this study, I wish to focus on the advertisements of a product that everyone buys and is relatively cheap. I also wish to focus on television, a medium that most people can access and appeals to both the visual and auditory senses. The distractions could be anything from the sound of a car passing by to other things that the individual is doing while watching TV. The viewer is considered as one who watches television. This viewer is exposed to many different TV programs as well as commercials. The viewer is motivated by certain desires such as material things, hunger, love and affection, acceptance, sex, etc. This viewer also has personal characteristics such as his or her likes and dislikes, attitudes toward certain issues or events, and the values he or she deems important. The viewer is exposed to many different opinions and it is due to his or her characteristics that he or she listens and accepts certain things opinion leaders (could be friends, celebrities, or someone he or she admires) say as true or as false. This could range from the political stand to what is considered cool or socially acceptable today. With all these in mind, the viewer then realizes that there are certain things he or she is lacking and considers these as problems. Examples of this could be hunger, boredom, or lack of a social life. However, with these problems come the viewers perceived solutions. Lets take the example of boredom. If the individual (viewer) is bored he or she might think of watching TV or going to the movies. Watching TV and going to the movies are things the individual thinks would get rid of his feeling of boredom. When the viewer comes up with his or her perceived solutions, he or she will seek out these solutions. Lets pick up from the boredom example again. Once the individual figures that going to a movie will solve his or her boredom dilemma, he or she will look through the newspapers for the movie times and listings, call a friend to ask what good movies are playing, or just drive to the movie theater and see whats playing. Now lets get back to the advertisement. Once the viewer is exposed to the advertisement, the factors mentioned earlier will determine other behaviors as well as how he or she will use the medium. For example, a teenage viewer (lets call him Andy) is exposed to a commercial about cigarettes. Andy feels like he is a nerd and does not have that many friends. From Andys personal characteristics, he finds cigarettes disgusting but he has the need to feel socially accepted and all the cool kids smoke so he decides to start smoking. He starts feeling cool and in with the crowd and starts gaining a few acquaintances. He wants to be popular so he copies what he sees on TV, fulfilling his desire to be accepted. Once Andy becomes socially accepted and is part of the cool crowd, his personality changes and the societal structure changes because now, Andy is one of the opinion leaders. This example is just one incident, one possibility, but if several of these incidents occur, these could serve as feedback to the corporation that their advertisement is effective. VI. DEFINITION OF TERMS Advertising Copy: This is the text of the advertisement that presents the advertisers message in a persuasive and convincing manner. Advertising Headline: This serves primarily to secure attention in an advertisement. Advertising Images: These also serves to secure attention in an advertisement as well as help the viewer understand the message the advertiser is trying to get across better. Advertising Logo: This is also known as the slogan, tag line, or the signature of the advertiser. Advertising Media: This includes newspaper, magazines, other literature (circulars, blotters, leaflets, booklets, shopping bags, wrappers, tags, labels), outdoor media (outdoor advertising signs, posters, poster panels, poster showings, painted signs, electric spectaculars, skywriting), internet, transportation advertising, point-of-sale advertising (window displays, counter cards and displays, clocks, floor stands and cutouts, etc), broadcast advertising (radio and TV), motion picture advertising, programs, directories, and matchbooks. Channel: This is the medium used. Competitive Advertising: This seeks to urge the consumers to choose their product or service over the competitors products and services. Decoder: This retranslates the message. Encoder: This is responsible for taking the ideas of the source and putting them in code, expressing the sources purpose in the form of a message. Esteem Needs: This refers to the feeling of value we feel when we achieve our goals. Feedback: This is the receivers response to the message. Hypodermic Needle Model: This assumed that the media transmits a message that would be automatically be absorbed by the viewer. Introductory Advertising: This is when the product, product features, service, idea, or cause is new to the public. Its main objective is to develop consumer awareness. Marketing: This is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer. Advertising is one of its tools. Message: This is whatever is communicated. Noise: This could be known as the physical noise (the unexplained variation in a communication channel) or semantic noise (this may be related to peoples knowledge level, their communication skills, their experience, their prejudices and so on). Opinion Leaders: These are people considered to be experts, have prominence, or have influence over others. Personal Selling: This is also known as salesmanship. It is the oldest known form of selling goods that comprises of direct, personal contact between the seller and the buyer wherein the buyer is orally persuaded by the seller to purchase the product. Physical Needs: These refer to the basic biological needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. Primary Wants: These are desires that are universal, more quickly aroused, and probably the strongest movers to action. They are those that are innate, biological, or unlearned. Receiver: This is the recipient (intended or unintended) of the message. Retentive Advertising: This is the stage where the advertiser attempts to develop or establish consumer loyalty by repeatedly keeping the public reminded of the name or brand of the product. Generally, the advertising message is brief and concise. Safety Needs: These refer to the need to feel secure. Secondary Wants: They are the desires that are acquired, sociogenic, or learned. Self-actualization: This is the realization of ones full potential as a human being. Social Needs: These refer to the needs to feel a sense of belongingness. Maslow claims that we have an innate need to affiliate with others in search for affection and love. Source: This refers to a person or group of persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication. VII. WORKS CITED Crisostomo, Isabelo T. Modern Advertising for Filipinos. Quezon City, Philippines: J. Kris Publishing Enterprises, 1967. Gomez, Julita R. and Lilia B. Arante. Advertising. Mandaluyong, Philippines: National Book Store, 1986. The History of Advertising. http://www.wissen-erleben.de/advertising/index.htm. Littlejohn, Stephen. Theories of Mass Communication 7th Ed. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Wadsworth Group, 2002. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/index.html. McQuail, Dennis. Communication Models for the Study of Mass Communications. New York: Longman Inc., 1981. Miranda, Gregorio S. Advertising 3rd Ed. Mandaluyong, Philippines: National Book Store, 2000.

Content and Process Theories of Work Motivation

Content and Process Theories of Work Motivation The work motivation theories can be broadly classified as content theories and process theories. The content theories are concerned with identifying the needs that people have and how needs are prioritized. They are concerned with types of incentives that drive people to attain need fulfillment. The Maslow hierarchy theory, Fredrick Herzbergs two factor theory and Alderfers ERG needs theory fall in this category. Although such a content approach has logic, is easy to understand, and can be readily translated in practice, the research evidence points out limitations. There is very little research support for these models theoretical basic and predictability. The trade off for simplicity sacrifices true understanding of the complexity of work motivation. On the positive side, however, the content models have given emphasis to important content factors that were largely ignored by human relationists. In addition the Alderfers ERG needs theory allows more flexibility and Herzbergs two-fa ctor theory is useful as an explanation for job satisfaction and as a point of departure for job design. The process theories are concerned with the cognitive antecedents that go into motivation and with the way they are related to one another. The theories given by Vroom, Porter and Lawler, equity theory and attribution theory fall in this category. These theories provide a much sounder explanation of work motivations. The expectancy model of Vroom and the extensions and the refinements provided by Porter and Lawler help explain the important cognitive variables and how they relate to one another in the process of work motivation. The Porter Lawler model also gives specific attention to the important relationship between performance and satisfaction. A growing research literature is somewhat supportive of these expectancy models, but conceptual and methodological problems remain. Unlike the content models, these expectancy models are relatively complex and difficult to translate into actual practice. They have also failed to meet the goals of prediction and control Motivation Theory 1 Adams Equity Theory of Work Motivation The theory explains that a major input into job performance and satisfaction is the degree of equity or inequity that people perceive in work situations. Adam depicts a specific process of how this motivation occurs. Inequality occurs when a person perceives that the ratio of his or her outcomes to inputs and the ratio of a relevant others outcomes to inputs are unequal. Our Outcomes Our Inputs Others Inputs Our Outcomes = Others Outcomes = Equity Our Inputs Others Inputs Our Outcomes > Others Outcomes = Inequity (over-rewarded) Our Inputs Others Inputs Both the inputs and the outputs of the person and the other are based upon the persons perceptions, which are affected by age, sex, education, social status, organizational position, qualifications, and how hard the person works, etc. Outcomes consist primarily of rewards such as pay, status, promotion, and intrinsic interest in the job. Equity sensitivity is the ratio based upon the persons perception of what the person is giving (inputs) and receiving (outcomes) versus the ratio of what the relevant is giving and receiving. This cognition may or may not be the same as someone elses observation of the ratios or the same as the actual situation. If the persons perceived ratio is not equal to the others, he or she will strive to restore the ratio to equity. This striving to restore equity is used as the explanation of work motivation. The strength of this motivation is in direct proportion to the perceived inequity that exists. Research suggests that individuals engage in illegal behaviors to maintain equity in relationships, either with their employing organization or with other people (Greenberg, 1990). The theory was later expanded with the concept of Organizational Justice. Organizational justice reflects the extend to which people perceive that they are treated fairly at work. It identified three different components of justice: distributive (The perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are distributed), procedural (The perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make allocation decisions) and interactional (The perceived fairness of the decision makers behavior in the process of decision-making). (Copanzano, Rupp, Mohler and Schminke, 2001). Critiques: Equity theory is descriptive and it reflects much of our everyday experience. As a theory however equity is only partial in analysis and as a predictor. There are many societal and institutional variables (inequalities) that we all navigate. The theory ignores peoples natural resilience, their competitiveness, selflessness and selfishness, their ethical dilemmas in decision-making and their passions. It does not adequately explain interactions in close relationships such as marriage or emotional labor where we may provide care to others at a burdensome cost of declining personal well-being and self-denial. Norms of equity and reciprocity are often discounted in close and romantic friendships or where there are deep family bonds. In the social exchanges of business, causal, or stranger relationships, there may be more of a dominant assumption that inputs are offered with the expectation of a like response. There is more of a formal contract of tangible and intangible reward. A promise unfulfilled, without proper reciprocity incurs a debt of honor. A promise is broken. In our community, obligations of reciprocal response operate. We are expected to apply the Golden Rule and to help where we can an act ably demonstrated by the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Social exchange theory assumes rational, calculated action involving an expected pay-off. We do not always act rationally. Many will not be as selfish as rational action may suggest. Indeed our reward may be the inner glow of respecting oneself and living to ones own values. Such altruism, albeit self-referential, does not sit easily under the assumptions of the rational, economic-person model. Implications It is necessary to pay attention to what employees perceive to be fair and equitable. For example: In my company, one of my colleagues was assigned to a project that required him to work during non business hours frequently. He worked three days at the office and two days at home in a week for a month and half. This caused others to start working from home during business hours. Allow employees to have a voice and an opportunity to appeal. Organizational changes, promoting cooperation, etc. can come easier with equitable outcomes. Managements failure to achieve equity could be costly for the organization. For example: One of my technically team members was not very competent. He took double the time to complete any give work when compared to the others. Management failed to take any action; instead the others were given more work. Eventually, even the competent workers took it easy to restore equity causing project delays. Motivation Theory 2 Vrooms Expectancy Theory of Motivation: Expectancy theory provides a framework for analyzing work motivation, which is eminently practical. It provides a checklist of factors to be considered in any managerial situation and it points to the links between the relevant factors and the direction, which these factors tend to follow in their interrelationships. (Tony J. Watson, Routledge Kegan Paul, 1986). Expectancy theory holds that people are motivated to behave in ways that produce desired combinations of expected outcomes. It can be used to predict motivation and behavior in any situation in which a choice between two or more alternatives must be made. (Kreitner R. Kinicki A., Mcgraw Hill, 7th Edition). Vroom gave the following equation of Motivation: Motivation (M) = Valence (V) x Expectancy (E) Valence stands for the preference of an individual for a particular outcome. Thus, when an individual desires a particular outcome the value of V is positive. On the other hand when the individual does not desire a certain outcome, the value of V is negative. The value of expectancy ranges between zero and one. When a certain event will definitely not occur the value of E is zero. On the other hand when the event is sure to occur the value of E is one. Since its original conception, the expectancy theory model has been refined and extended many times. The better know of all is the Porter-Lawler model. Although conventional wisdom argues that satisfaction leads to performance, Porter and Lawler argued the reverse. If rewards are adequate, high levels of performance may lead to satisfaction. In addition to the features included in the original expectancy model, the Porter-Lawler model includes abilities, traits, and role perceptions. Critiques: Vrooms theory does not directly contribute to the techniques of motivating people. It is of value in understanding organizational behavior. It clarifies the relation between individuals and the organizational goals. The model is designed to help management understand and analyze employee motivation and identify some to the relevant variables. However, the theory falls short of providing specific solutions to the motivational problems. The theory also does not take into account the individual differences based on individual perceptions nor does it assume that most people have the same hierarchy of needs. It treats as a variable to be investigated just what it is that particular employees are seeking in their work. Thus the theory indicates only the conceptional determinants of motivation and how they are related. Research studies have confirmed that the association of both kinds of expectancies and valences with effort and performance. The motivated behavior of people arises from their valuing expected rewards, believing effort will lead to performance, and that performance will result in desired rewards. The expectancy theory explains motivation in the U.S. better than elsewhere and therefore may not be suitable for other regions. Implications This theory can be used by the managers to: Determine the primary outcome each employee wants. Decide what levels and kinds of performance are needed to meet organizational goals. Make sure the desired levels of performance are possible. Link desired outcomes and desired performance. Analyze the situation for conflicting expectations. Make sure the rewards are large enough. Make sure the overall system is equitable for everyone. Motivation Theory 3 Maslows Theory of Hierarchy of Need: Maslow believed that within every individual, there exists a hierarchy of five needs and that each level of need must be satisfied before an individual pursues the next higher level of need (Maslow, 1943). As an individual progresses through the various levels of needs, the proceeding needs loose their motivational value. The basic human needs placed by Maslow in an ascending order of importance can be summarized and shown as below: The desire to become what one is capable of becoming. These are the needs to be held in esteem both by oneself and by others. These are the needs to belong and to be accepted by various groups. These are the needs to be free of physical danger. The safety needs look to the future. These are the basic needs for sustaining human life itself, such as food, water, warmth, shelter, and sleep. Maslow in his later work (Maslow, 1954) said: Gratification of the self-actualization need causes an increase in its importance rather than a decrease. Long deprivation of a given need, results in fixation for that need. Higher needs may emerge not after gratification, but rather by long deprivation, renunciation or suppression of lower needs. Human behavior is multi-determined and multi-motivated. Critiques: Part of the appeal of Maslows theory is that it provides both a theory of human motives by classifying basic human needs in a hierarchy and the theory of human motivation that relates these needs to general behavior. Maslows major contribution lies in the hierarchical concept. He was the first to recognize that a need once satisfied is a spent force and ceases to be a motivator. Maslows need hierarchy presents a paradox in as much as while the theory is widely accepted, there is a little research evidence available to support the theory. It is said that beyond structuring needs in a certain fashion Maslow does not give concrete guidance to the managers as to how they should motivate their employees. Implications: The need hierarchy as postulated by Maslow does not appear in practice. It is likely that over fulfillment of anyones particular need may result in fixation for the need. In that case even when a particular need is satisfied a person may still engage in the fulfillment of the same need. Furthermore, in a normal human being, all the needs are not always satisfied entirely. There remains an unsatisfied corner of every need in spite of which the person seeks fulfillment of the higher need. A person may move on to the next need in spite of the lower need being unfulfilled or being partly fulfilled. Conclusion No single motivation theory can suffice in todays workplace. Each motivational theory has its pros and cons. A theory may get the highest performance from an employee but may not from another employee. The organizations workplace has changed dramatically in the past decade. Companies are both downsizing and expanding (often at the same time, in different divisions or levels of the hierarchy). Work is being out-sourced to various regions and countries. The workforce is characterized by increased diversity with highly divergent needs and demands. Information technology has frequently changed both the manner and location of work activities. New organizational forms (such as e-commerce) are now common. Teams are redefining the notion of hierarchy, as well as traditional power distributions. The use of contingent workers is on the rise and globalization and the challenges of managing across borders are now the norm. These changes have had a profound influence on how companies attempt to attract, retain, and motivate their employees. Yet we lack new models capable of guiding managers in this new era of work. As management scholar Peter Cappelli notes, Most observers of the corporate world believe that the traditional relationship between employer and employee is gone, but there is little understanding of why it ended and even less about what is replacing that relationship (Cappelli, 1999). I believe that the existing work motivation and job performance theories are inadequate to cater to the present era of such diverse workforce. New theories of motivation are required to commensurate with this new era.

Lab Report Investigating the Rate of Reaction Between Marble Chips and Acid when Variables are Changed :: essays research papers

Investigating the rate of reaction between marble chips and acid when variables are changed Aim: to find out how changing the concentration of acid by diluting it affects the rate of reaction. Planning: I will use marble chips and different concentrations of hydrochloric acid and water to see how it affects the rate of reaction. I will use 30ml of liquid made up of different concentrations of acid diluted with water. Introduction: I have decided to vary the concentration of the acid as my variable I could have chosen other variables to change such as changing the heat of the acid, the size of the marble chips and many others variables. The word equation for this reaction is Marble + Hydrochloric ïÆ'  , Carbon + Water + Calcium Chips Acid Dioxide Chloride and the symbol equation for this is CaCl + CO2 + H2O so CaCO + HCl ïÆ'  , CaCl + CO2 + H2O. Apparatus: A Stop Clock - To determine how long it takes to collect enough gas to fill the measuring cylinder. A Water Bath - To stop the water escaping from the measuring cylinder. A Measuring cylinder - To measure the amount of gas that is given off. A Chronicle Flask - Contains the marble chips, hydrochloric acid and the water that will make the reaction. A Tube - To connect the conical flask to the measuring cylinder. Method: Firstly, I will measure out 0.5 grams of powdered marble chips. Next I will measure out different concentrations of acid, these concentrations are, 30ml acid no water, 25ml acid 5ml water, 20ml acid 10ml water and 15ml acid 15ml water. I will then put the powdered marbled chips in the chronicle flask along with the acid and put the stopper on top. I will then record how long it takes for it to fill the measuring cylinder up. I will repeat each experiment 4 times so I can work out an average Prediction: I predict that when I have a higher concentration I will have a faster rate of reaction. I believe this is so because as you increase the concentration of the acid, there are more acid particles in the same volume. Therefore there is a greater chance of acid particles colliding, and reacting with more particles on the surface of the marble. So, this means that the higher the concentration of my acid the faster the reaction. Results: Test/acid strength 30ml acid no water 25ml acid 5ml water 20ml acid Lab Report Investigating the Rate of Reaction Between Marble Chips and Acid when Variables are Changed :: essays research papers Investigating the rate of reaction between marble chips and acid when variables are changed Aim: to find out how changing the concentration of acid by diluting it affects the rate of reaction. Planning: I will use marble chips and different concentrations of hydrochloric acid and water to see how it affects the rate of reaction. I will use 30ml of liquid made up of different concentrations of acid diluted with water. Introduction: I have decided to vary the concentration of the acid as my variable I could have chosen other variables to change such as changing the heat of the acid, the size of the marble chips and many others variables. The word equation for this reaction is Marble + Hydrochloric ïÆ'  , Carbon + Water + Calcium Chips Acid Dioxide Chloride and the symbol equation for this is CaCl + CO2 + H2O so CaCO + HCl ïÆ'  , CaCl + CO2 + H2O. Apparatus: A Stop Clock - To determine how long it takes to collect enough gas to fill the measuring cylinder. A Water Bath - To stop the water escaping from the measuring cylinder. A Measuring cylinder - To measure the amount of gas that is given off. A Chronicle Flask - Contains the marble chips, hydrochloric acid and the water that will make the reaction. A Tube - To connect the conical flask to the measuring cylinder. Method: Firstly, I will measure out 0.5 grams of powdered marble chips. Next I will measure out different concentrations of acid, these concentrations are, 30ml acid no water, 25ml acid 5ml water, 20ml acid 10ml water and 15ml acid 15ml water. I will then put the powdered marbled chips in the chronicle flask along with the acid and put the stopper on top. I will then record how long it takes for it to fill the measuring cylinder up. I will repeat each experiment 4 times so I can work out an average Prediction: I predict that when I have a higher concentration I will have a faster rate of reaction. I believe this is so because as you increase the concentration of the acid, there are more acid particles in the same volume. Therefore there is a greater chance of acid particles colliding, and reacting with more particles on the surface of the marble. So, this means that the higher the concentration of my acid the faster the reaction. Results: Test/acid strength 30ml acid no water 25ml acid 5ml water 20ml acid

My Life-Changing Decision

MY LIFE CHANGING DECISION ROSS BROWN ENGL 1301-270 SUSAN ROBBINS 4/2/2013 It was the beginning of spring about two years ago- a wet and gloomy day. I was thirty two years old, strung out on meth and homeless. Headed back to prison for the third time, I was faced with a life changing decision, â€Å"do I turn myself in† or â€Å"do I keep running and take my chances†. It was a decision that would affect the ones I love the most, my children. As I sat in the woods behind a run down, drug infested motel, I closed my eyes and all I could see were the tears in my kids eyes every time they came to see me in prison.The ones that depended on me for love and security, were now sad and scared of me. They were as lost as I was. Thoughts began to run through my head, â€Å"have I failed my children as a father†, â€Å"do I want them to go down the same path I went down† or â€Å"do I want to give them a future and a father to be proud of†. Living the life style I lived for ten years, taught me not to trust people. Especially authority figures. So the thought of turning myself in didn’t sound like a good idea to me at the time. It left me puzzled and scared.I could keep running, but the past ten years had been nothing but a continoues cycle that always landed me back in prison and left my children without a father. I’ve always been known for taking chances. Turning myself in would require taking the biggest chance of my life, trusting an authority figure and the system that I thought had already failed me. My Pastor had always told me â€Å"recovery has to start somewhere son†. At that moment, with my children in mind, I had made my decision. I was going to turn myself in.As I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face, the day seemed to turn from wet and gloomy, to calm and clear. I picked up my phone and made the call. I was to turn myself in to the authorities within two weeks. On April 20,2011 I walked into the F ederal Halfway House. I was tired, physically and mentally. I did not know what to expect or what was expected of me. They gave me three meals a day and a hard mat to sleep on. They provided transportation and the opportunity to become stable, if you wanted it. I wanted it bad! It would require a lot of effort and determination to make it through the system successfully.Not many ex felons make it. They looked at me as another statistic when I first arrived. You only have a certain amount of time to get a job and start your recovery. I struggled, nobody wanted to hire a recovering ex con. I was starting to think I was not going to make it. I was at the end of the dead line, they were wanting go ahead and send me back to prison. On the very last day the phone rang, it was Bill Orr with Gym Bleacher Boards. He asked me to come in right away for an interview. I had to get permission from the job coordinator in order for that to happen.He was not wanting to give me this last chance at ge tting a job. Then out of nowhere my case worker, Ms. Woodson, showed up and said â€Å" just give him this one last chance before you send him back†. When I arrived at Gym Bleacher Boards, I was nervous and had mixed emotions about everything. As I sat there waiting on my interview with Bill, I said a little prayer to myself, â€Å" Lord, please let me get this job, not for me, but for my children†. Bill came out of his office and called me in and I was up front about everything.By the time the interview was over, we were talking as if we had known each other for years. Then he looked over at me and said, â€Å" Ross, everybody deserves a second chance at life, you are hired†. Within two months I was able to get my own place and out of the Federal Halfway House. Now, two years later I got my family back, a good job, and a set of nine month old twin daughters. As I look back on the day I made my decision, I realize I took a chance that changed my life. Now, I am able to give my children a future and a father to be proud of.

Research Paper Sample on Enzymes Effects of Different Concentrations

Research Paper Sample on Enzymes Effects of Different Concentrations Abstract The enzyme that is responsible for the darkening of cut surfaces of fruits, vegetables and plants are called polyphenoloxidase. These enzymes, like all all other biological catalysts that cause us to exist, are often taken for granted. Without this enzyme, fruits, plants, and vegetables would-be left unprotected from different infections and diseases. There would be no response to the injuries, tissues in plants, fruits and vegetables might incur. Also, an absence polyphenoloxidase would leave humans without a skin pigment to tan. Thus, to understand this enzyme more in depth this paper will show the results of the research done on the effects of different concentrations of the enzyme, and the effects temperature will have on the rate of the reaction. In theory, the reaction rate should be proportional to enzyme concentration (â€Å"Factors Affecting Enzymes†); thus, the outcome of the experiment was successful. The results for the effects on temperature also appeared to be co nsistent with the hypothesis that reactions take place best in 35 ° C; temperatures close to normal body temperature. Introduction Have you ever wondered what causes the darkening of cut surfaces of fruits, vegetables and plants? First, to understand the process of this phenomena, we must understand how enzymes, the biological catalysts work. The process of an enzyme can be very complex. â€Å"The enzyme will catalyze the reaction by binding to a substrate molecule and altering its molecular structure so that the substrate is more readily converted to a different molecule or product† (Campbell 96, 97) Astoundingly, the enzyme that is responsible for the darkening of cut surfaces of fruits, vegetables and plants are called polyphenoloxidase. â€Å"Polyphenoloxidase catalyzes the oxidation of a catechol to ortho-quinone and then undergoes a series of changes to form a red product† (Koning). The reaction is: cathecol+ Ð… O2 Polyphenoloxidase ortho-quinone + H2O red product Thus, the result of the reaction is a response to injury, the catechol is released and the enzyme is converted to ortho-quinone, which is an antiseptic to the injured tissue. So the brownish effect of the cut surface protects the plant from infection or disease (Koning). Moreover, the enzyme polyphenoloxidase can also be found in humans by a different name of tyrosinase, which produces skin pigment melanin, which causes tanning. Thus, the objective of the trials that will be done on the enzyme polyphenoloxidase is to witness the effects of different concentrations of the enzyme, and effects the temperature will have on the rate of the reaction. The theory is rate of the enzyme reaction should be proportional to the enzyme concentration (â€Å"Factors Affecting Enzymes†). Also, the reactions of the temperature should react best in 35 ° C due to the closeness to normal body temperature. Materials and Methods Effect on Enzyme Concentration The procedure to find out the effect of the polyphenoloxidase enzyme concentration and effects on temperature on polyphenoloxidase began, October 4, 2002 and continued on October 11, 2002. The first step of the experiment was to prepare the enzyme, polyphenoloxidase, by washing and peeling a potato. It was then important to chop it into pieces and blend it with 40 ml of phosphate buffer for 1 to 3 minutes. The blending caused the tissues of the potato to homogenize. After the potato and the phosphate buffer were blended, the solution was then strained into a test-tube through two layers of cheesecloth in a funnel. Amazingly, the initial color of the filtered enzyme immediately changed from a cream color to a light brown as soon as it was poured into the test tube. The final steps of the preparation of the potato enzyme involved the filtration in the centrifuge for five minutes for the removal of cell wall, cell fragments and starch grains. The solution was then poured into a test-tub e and then placed in a beaker of ice to keep the enzyme cold. During the preparation of the polyphenoloxidase enzyme, the materials that were going to be used in the experiment were prepared, such as one clean empty test-tube, one Spec. tube, and one Spec. tube half filled with the phosphate buffer. A very interesting instrument was used and it was called the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer; it is used for measuring the transmission of light by comparing various wavelengths. It was vital that the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer was set to 520 nm and set to zero, before the experiment began. The Spec. tube that was half filled with the phosphate buffer was used to set the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer to zero. The final step that was done before the trial test took place was the preparation of the substrate. The preparation of the substrate involved the mixing of 10 ml of 0.006 cathecol solution with 40 ml of the phosphate buffer in a beaker. Finally, all necessary steps were taken to begin the trial test of the experiment. Using a pipette, 10.0 ml of the substrate was mixed with 0.4 ml of the enzyme extract, and .6 ml of the phosphate buffer in a test-tube. The test-tube was immediately transferred to the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer and the stop watch was started. There was a Spec. reading every minute for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the test-tube was taken out, shook briefly and put back in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer for several more minutes. The trial was completed and the Spec. readings were taken. Next, the real trial was preformed, known as trial one. This time there was a control group. In the control .5 ml of the enzyme and 5.5 ml of buffer were mixed together. In another test-tube the solutions that were mixed included: .5 ml of enzyme, .5 ml of buffer, and 5 ml of buffer-substrate. The control test-tube was first put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer and only one control reading was taken. The control was immediately taken out and the trial test-tube was quickly put in. Spec. readings were taken every minute for 10 minutes. After the Spec. readings of the test-tube trial, the control reading was again put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer for one final control reading. Following the first trial, the second trial began. The second trial involved the combination of: .8 ml of enzyme, .2 ml of buffer, 5 ml of buffer-substrate. The control trial involved .8 ml of enzyme and 5.2 ml of buffer. The control test-tube was first put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer and only one control reading was taken. The control was immediately taken out and the trial test-tube was quickly put in. The Spec. readings were taken every minute for 10 minutes. After the Spec. readings of the test-tube trial, the control reading was again put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer for one final control reading. Lastly, for the third trial for the effect of enzyme concentration, 1 ml of enzyme, 5 ml of buffer-substrate were combined. For the control group 1 ml of enzyme and 5 ml of buffer were mixed. The control test tube was first put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer and only one control reading was taken. The control was immediately taken out and the trial test-tube was quickly put in. The Spec. readings were taken every minute for 10 minutes. After the Spec. readings of the test-tube trial, the control reading was again put in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer for one final control reading. After all of the trials were completed, the results were plotted on a same piece of graph paper. To find the initial rate of the enzyme concentration, a straight line was drawn through as many points that could form a straight line. Thus, the initial rate was found in the slope of the straight line. Temperature Effect Following the experiment of the effect of enzyme concentration, another procedure was done, to see the temperature effects on the polyphenoloxidase enzyme. The procedure involved the preparation of the enzyme as described before. Then Spec.20 Spectrophotometer was set up the same way as in the previous experiment. As in the past experiment, the buffer-substrate was also prepared. However, in each of the four test- tubes that would be tested, 3 ml of buffer, and a required amount of enzyme would be added. So a trial test was done by adding 5 ml of buffer-substrate, and .5 ml of the enzyme. It was then placed in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer and readings were made every minute for five minutes and thus the required amount of enzyme was established. Finally, by establishing required amount of enzyme, .5 ml of enzyme and 3 ml of buffer were poured into four different test-tubes. The test-tube that was the control was kept at room temperature, the second test-tube was placed boiling water for four minutes and then cooled under the water at room temperature. The third test-tube was boiled at 35 0C, and then cooled as well. The fourth test- tube was placed in a beaker of ice. The experiment began with the placing of each test tube one after the other in the Spec.20 Spectrophotometer in sequential order for 10 minutes while also noting the readings. Results Enzyme Concentration Reaction The preparation of the phosphate buffer, cathecol and phenolxidase yielded a promising outcome. After much preparation, quick moving and contemplation on the experiment which involved four trials the outcome was graphed, as seen in the graph of The Effect of Enzyme Concentration. Then the initial rate was figured out and graphed as seen in the graph of Initial Rate of Enzyme Concentration. A certain pattern was noticed in the effect the substrate had on the enzyme concentration. In the test trial, 10.0 ml of the substrate was mixed with 0.4 ml of the enzyme extract, and .6 ml of the phosphate buffer in a test-tube. The initial rate of this enzyme concentration turned out to be .10608 Spec. per min. During the very first trial, in the control .5 ml of the enzyme and 5.5 ml of buffer were mixed together. In another test-tube the solutions that were mixed included: .5 ml of enzyme, .5 ml of buffer, and 5 ml of buffer-substrate. The initial rate of this enzyme concentration turned out to be .11325 Spec. per min. The second trial involved the combination of: .8 ml of enzyme, .2 ml of buffer, 5 ml of buffer-substrate. The control trial involved .8 ml of enzyme and 5.2 ml of buffer. The initial rate of this enzyme concentration turned out to be .11825 Spec. per min. Finally, in the third trial for the effect of enzyme concentration, 1 ml of enzyme, 5 ml of buffer-substrate were combined. For the control group 1ml of enzyme and 5 ml of buffer were mixed. The initial rate of this enzyme concentration happened to be .2997 Spec. per min. Effect of Temperature Rate of Reaction In the second part of the experiment, how the phenolxidase would be affected in different temperatures was the primary focus. The outcome of each treated tubes as compared with the control was varied and can seen in the graph of Temperature Effects. Compared to the control, the test tube that was placed in boiling water denatured the enzyme and caused its relative rate of reaction to stay the same. The test-tube that was 35 C compared to the control had the best relative rate of reaction since it is pretty close to the normal body temperature. The test-tube that stayed in the ice-bath, had very little activity in the ice bath due to the enzymes and substrate moving at a very slow speed so there was not much interaction. Finally, the control itself that was at room temperature moved at a moderate speed. Thus, it was shown that significance of each temperature effect was very important; because it increased the reaction of polyphenoloxidase, decreased the reaction, or denatured the enz yme. Discussion The objective of this experiment was to find the effects of different concentrations, and temperatures on enzyme reactions. In theory, the reaction rate should be proportional to enzyme concentration (Factors Affecting Enzymes ). Thus, during each concentration trial the absorbance should have increased with time like it had in the entire trial test and the other three trials. First of all, errors and problems could have occurred early in the experiment during the preparation of the enzyme when there might have been an accidental dropping of some mixture while decanting the potato. Other problems included the fast pace of the experiment, the solution for the trials had to be made very quickly especially when it concerned the transfer of the enzyme. Last but not least, the major error in the experiment had occurred within the Spectrophotometer, when it broke down in the middle of trial 3. The test tube had to be immediately transferred to another Spectrophotometer, and continued from there. The second part of the experiment was based on the different temperature effects of enzyme reactions. As based on the hypotheses, the test-tube that was 35 0C had the best relative rate of reaction since the reaction took place close to normal body temperature. The test-tube that stayed in the ice-bath, had very little activity in the ice bath due to the enzymes and substrate moving at a very slow speed so there was not much interaction as expected. The test tube that was placed in boiling water at 100 ° C denatured the enzyme and caused its relative rate of reaction to stay the same. Thus, it was shown that significance of each temperature effect was very important; because it increased the reaction of polyphenoloxidase, decreased the reaction, or denatured the enzyme. Thus, the enzymes’ optimal temperature is around body temperature, when most reactions occur. Errors that could have occurred with this experiment seem to be very minimal, since part of the experiment was a repeat of the previous trials that were done on the effect of different enzyme concentrations. An error could have been made with finding the required amount of enzyme to use. Errors could have taken place during the Spec. readings, when each of the four tubes were sequentially being put in the Spec. and taken out after the reading. This was especially frustrating when everything was going on at such a fast pace that there could have definitely been a mix-up of the tubes with different temperatures.

Essay Sample on Fear Based on the True Story

Essay Sample on Fear Based on the True Story On the fourth of July, a group of young boys thought that climbing to the top of dead-mans cliff would be a thrill they would never forget. The climb was full of narrow paths and dagger-like rocks. They had precluded that the trek up to the cliff would be their only difficulty. The eldest and most courage’s boy of the group reached the summit first. As the boy peeked over the edge into the water his heart sank. â€Å" Is this the same cliff we had looked at from the water,† he thought to himself. Fear came over him as the other boys ran up behind him. â€Å"Jump, jump!† They shouted. He tried to speak but nothing came out. Not wanting them to think of him as a coward, he stepped toward the edge. He had jumped from a small cliff in the past and new all to well what the consequences were if he landed wrong in the water. Heart throbbing, legs shaking, skin sweating, and lungs gasping, he prepared to take the plunge. What the boy is experiencing is called fear. Fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. In the boy’s case, the danger of not landing in the water perfectly strait could cause him bodily harm. The words dread, fright, alarm, panic, and terror, are essentially all terms that express different levels of fear. Fear is the most general term and implies anxiety and loss of courage. Everyone on the face of the earth has experienced this emotion. Different elements bring fear to peoples mind. The fear of heights played a large roll in the boy’s uncertainty in jumping. Some of the many fears people experience include: heights, death, abandonment, eternity, and ghosts. The causes of fear that one may experience can be traced back to his earliest childhood memories. A painful experience on a bicycle may generate a fear of riding a bike for many years. A near drowning experience while learning to swim could make one fear the water for the rest of his life. When I was nine years old I saw a horror movie about clown dolls. At night the dolls would come to life and torture people. For five years after I saw that movie I would have nightmares. And still to this day I cannot sleep in a room that has a clown in it. Fear causes anticipation in ones mind and an awareness of danger. Associating a physical or mental pain with an activity or object makes one have a fear of the dangers associated with it. There are three different types of fear: superstitious, intelligent, and uncertainty. Superstitious fear is a fear of imaginary and make-believe things. The â€Å"monsters† in the closet are a fear that young children have that is totally superficial. The television shows that a kid sees or the stories that are told to him by other siblings can cause his imagination to make up a creature that want to â€Å"get† him in his sleep. Intelligent fear is one that comes as one gets older and gains more knowledge of the world around him. A girl that carries mace with her as she walks home through a bad part of town is scared of getting raped or robbed. She is only fearful of getting raped or robbed because she has either read the newspaper or saw on the news, people who have been attach in that part of the town. The fear of uncertainty is, not knowing the outcome of ones action. The boy that was about to jump off the cliff was uncertain to whether or not he would land safely in the water. Also being uncertain of whether of not the water is deep enough plays a role in his uncertainty of the task. Fear is a natural emotion but having knowledge about ones surroundings can give enough courage to face those fears with some confidence. And that little bit of confidence is what one needs to safely overcome the challenge. Fear is not a good feeling; there is no freedom, happiness, or admiralty in it. One can spend a lifetime trying to conquer all his fears and never triumph. However that does not mean that one should not try. I read an inspiring quote a long time ago that read â€Å"There can be no courage without fear and no success without courage. Overcoming a fear will develop courage to take on more of life’s obstacles. The boy that was debating jumping off that cliff had two options. One being that he could try warming up on a smaller jump and progressively jumping higher. Or two, He could just jump and risk personal injury. The first is the best way in overcoming ones fears. By knowing the skills on the intermediate level first, one can safely move up to the more difficult advanced trials. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Fear from our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with high-quality custom written papers.  

Prop 21 essays

Prop 21 essays Education is the best part of life. Education can evolve you into a better person. Education can prevent you from committing crimes and will lead you to a prosperous life. Proposition 21; The Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act aims to incarcerate disturbed youth rather then educate them. Proposition 21 creates tougher laws that are aimed toward minority teen males. Therefore Proposition 21is a careless solution to reduce crime and is aimed toward youth and minorities. Minority men are a problem to society. No wonder the majority of imprisoned males are minorities. Racial profiling is the cause of this, and it is a big problem in our society. Proposition 21 will increase racial profiling by giving authorities more freedom to categorize people as a menace to society or a gangster. Racial profiling is illegal yet it will be used as a form of judgment. Authorities will take the liberty to judge you by your appearance and label you as a gangster or not. If you were in a group of four people or more, you would be hassled, and brought down to the police station. Your picture and fingerprint will be taken. This is a big problem in society, considering how many corrupted police officers we have out there. Policemen will abuse their power, and base their opinion on what color skin you have and how you look or dress. Proposition 21 tries to get rid of or reduce crimes, but all it does is create more problems. Everybody wants to feel safe. People would lust at the ideal life style of walking down the street and feeling safe with your family. Proposition 21 increases low level vandalism into a felony. Four hundred dollars worth of damage will be considered a felony. Four hundred dollars would be a scratch on a window of a bus. Sure everyone wants to be safe, and walk down the streets with their family. But imagine walking down the street knowing your only son went to jail for graffiti damage. Proposition 21 ...

Training & Development Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Training & Development - Term Paper Example It has been observed that â€Å"formal training and most organizational processes mandate that every training program have stated objectives and evaluation† (Carliner, 2002, â€Å"Adapting Design Techniques for Informal Learning†). In the context of Maddox, the training program has to be formalized and the first step will be to form a focus group consisting of representatives from the management, administration, HR department, maintenance department, and operational and functional associates. A comprehensive agenda that covers the vital areas of development/implementation, training guidelines, time-frame, mode of training, etc. will be designed. The training initiatives will be augmented through training brochures, best practices, troubleshooting and there shall also be testing/evaluation, analysis of performance as well as operational effectiveness. The entire process will be supported by information technology (IT) to ensure no communication-gaps exist.2.2. TNA Survey 2.2.1. Explanation of TNAAccording to the observations of the Cabinet Office (1988), training needs are said to arise â€Å"when a learning need cannot be met within the normal day-to-day processes or when meeting a learning need in this way will take too long, involve too high a risk/cost, not result in the required standard of performance, and when training is the most cost-effective way of meeting the need† (â€Å"The Identification of Organizational and Individual Training and Development Needs†).

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 Essay

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 - Essay Example However, Title VII of the act focuses primarily on discrimination within the workplace. This paper will explore Title VII of the 1964 legislation providing incidences, which may be protected under the law. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is a federal law, which deters discrimination in terms of employment on the basis of national origin, race, sex, color or religion. The law aims at protecting groups of people considered as vulnerable (Loevy, 1997). These groups include ethnic, racial, national, religious, and gender minorities within the workforce. The rights of these minority groups are protected to ensure that the groups attain similar treatment and rights as those in majority groups. The law typically applies to employers with at least 15 or more employees, consisting of local, federal and state employers. Notably, Title VII is applicable to institutions of higher learning colleges, labor organizations and employment agencies. Title VII essentially forbids discrimination i n employment, specifically on the basis of religion, sex, color, national origin or race. Title VII outlaws not only premeditated discrimination, but also disallow a number of practices, which have the consequence of discrimination against individuals termed as protected. ... In order to provide proof of the incident of unlawful discrimination, employees should demonstrate that the action in question centered primarily on the fact that the employee belongs to a protected category instead of a legitimate business choice. This means that employment discrimination falls into two categories; firstly, disparate treatment signifies an employer’s intentional discrimination. On the other hand, disparate impact actions refer to employer’s procedures, as well as policies, which encompass unintentional discriminatory effects. Regardless of the form discrimination takes; Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits it and requires employers to find ways to deter its occurrence. Notably, however, even in case an employee provides evidence to show that the employer’s actions constitute discrimination, the employer can justify the actions by showing that there was an inherent business necessity. Employers may also justify their discriminatory act ions were in relation t legitimate job qualifications. When employers make decisions on the basis of legitimate justifications, the burden of proof lies squarely on the employees to show that discrimination, rather than the employer’s justification was the basis of the action. Title VII affirms what constitutes unlawful employment practices, which include, among others, failure or refusal to hire or discharge an individual (Loevy, 1997). Alternatively, the piece of legislation also qualifies discriminatory actions as touching on aspects of an employee’s conditions, terms, privileges, compensation of employment as a consequence of such a person’s attributes. Discrimination also constitutes limiting, classifying and segregating applicants or

Multiculturalism has had corrosive effects on society.' Discuss, Assignment

Multiculturalism has had corrosive effects on society.' Discuss, referring to examples from different parts of the world - Assignment Example Living in a multicultural society encompasses a number of things. First, people have to accept the ethnicities and races of the other people. Secondly, in a multicultural society, people need to embrace unity in diversity (Asfaw, 2008:23). This is where different groups accept their diversity but still work together with others. Lastly, a multicultural society involves immigrants from other countries and regions. There are some people that seek refuge in different parts of the world for a variety of reasons. It is better to live in a multicultural society which is welcoming and hospitable than one’s homeland that may not offer much. However, multiculturalism has numerous corrosive effects towards the society. This paper will argue that multiculturalism has brought more harm than good. Though there are some advantages in terms of diversity, peaceful living and peaceful coexistence, multiculturalism has affected some parts with the consequences being recorded beyond limit. Howev er, multiculturalism cannot be annihilated since it could be infringing the rights of some people. There are various corrosive aspects that have been heightened by the development of multicultural societies (Parekh, 2006:17). Some of these aspects are deeply rooted in the society and could lead to a deteriorated cultural setting. In many instances, there are some groups of people that emerge and are disadvantaged among the rest. According to statistics, the multicultural societies lead to cropping up of some groups that are not morally right. Though some people are of the opinion that these groups should be legalised, some people are critically opposed to this idea. For example, reports state that crimes rates have been increasing in Canada due to multicultural induction. Different groups have been cropping up and this has led to an increase in the crime rates. There is a similar record in the united state where there has been an increase in crime rates. This has been attributed to the increase in the number of immigrants in the countries (Cameron, 2011:3). In recent times, the United States government has instilled strict measures on the issue of immigrants participating in crimes. They are sentenced to stringent terms in jail as the regulations that have been imposed are to reduce the crime rates. Indeed, the multicultural society has seen deterioration in the normal routine in these countries. This has affected the moral way of the society where crime rates should be decreased. In many instances where multiculturalism has affected the moral behaviour of the society, many of the affected people’s lives are destabilised. Similarly, there is change in the way of life. Change in the morality of a person will definitely bring change into the normal activities, socialising culture and behaviour in the workplaces (Kivisto, 2008:19). Culture is withdrawn from communities hence bringing misconduct of children who are born in today’s generations and the y cannot be advised. In many instances, the young generation does not conform to the culture that is instilled by the old generation. The new generation does not follow the previous culture that has been cultivated by the older generation. In most cases, the new generation does not follow the culture that has been in the society for a long time. This is ultimately brought by the issue of the multiculturalism in the society. Many different cultures have their different norms and activities that are

Home Care Of Our Elderly Citizens Research Proposal

Home Care Of Our Elderly Citizens - Research Proposal Example This umbrella group acts as advocate and activist against the growing weight of political change and governance for our future elder care. Therefore, I have decided to focus this study on the work of UKHCC, to explore three specific areas that are consistently in the media and of concern to both the recipients of care and the deliverer of care services in the UK. My reason for considering this specific area of concern is that we are working in a demographic time bomb of care; as our elderly population grows, and our current elders continue to live beyond higher age trends; we are seeing a growing need to re-address, re-appraise and debate the future of care for ourselves and our elderly. At this stage it is important to discuss the work of UKHCC, to offer understanding to the wider concerns that will be explored by the research being proposed. Its own website describes its focus, which appropriately give reference to its remit: "United Kingdom Home Care Association Ltd (UKHCA) is the professional association of home care providers from the independent, voluntary, not-for-profit and statutory sectors. UKHCA helps organisations that provide social care, which may include nursing services, to people in their own homes, promoting high standards of care and providing representation with national and regional policy-makers and regulators. The Association represents over 1,500 members across the United Kingdom, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland". www.ukhcc.org.uk (2006) Having now introduced the nature of the potential enquiry we can now move to briefly consider the current debate in literature that has informed the initial interest in this project subject and hypothesis proposed. Literature Review The culture of care has in recent years been debated and discussed within academic circles to the point where this debate now firmly focused on developing a wider theoretical understanding of this concept within the context of delivery. We shall consider briefly the three objectives within the context of current literature and academic debate. This will allow for an informed and guided focus for the potential research study that is being planned. Therefore to offer justice to the wealth of literature we would use the terms "care and home care" to be the context of our ensuring discussion that will offer a key conceptual analysis of the UKHCC, that will be the subjects of this, proposed study. This will afford firstly, an overview of: the legislation that informs delivery of home care provision in the SME's UKHCC represents; Secondly, the training

Organizational performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational performance - Essay Example A plan and forecast for the workforce should be developed. It should include the number of employees, recruitment base and training program. In addition, recognizing that experienced workforce is success, they should be included in the program. It will involve a recruiting process was certification; referrals and expertise skills are ranked of the candidates. Taking up leadership positions is a fact pegged on ability from self-will and experience. It will be achieved by offering training opportunities, holding regular meetings to streamline perception and channel the energies of the workforce. It has been proved that rewarding of staff is a good way to empower their individual strategies for development. Building their art of communication, influence abilities and responsibility is paramount. The aspect of staff retention raises eyebrows in most of the company’s agenda. It is worthless to come up with a team of talented members, only to lose them again. Offering competitive packages should be first on the workforce plan for conservation will enable the firm built a name in the market and conquer new markets within the South America. Moreover, working environment conditions in terms of developing a mutual relationship will help to develop coherence of team members; mutual respect, opinion space and leadership offers. Making them feel part of the organization by offering them a stake of it builds the confidence of working with a company for longer periods. The south America is a good source when talent is

Management Information System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management Information System - Research Paper Example Organizations are so involved in reaping the benefits afforded by this highly globalized society, that they are now compelled to bear the repercussions of the same. The internal as well as external organizational environment has changed significantly due to the presence and use of Information technology. It has not only made access of firms to international markets easier and faster, but also offered immense support to such firms with regard to managing and learning to manoeuvre the anxieties and proliferation of data in the most effective manner possible (Oz, 2008). Increased investment in multinational ventures, by local and private businesses back home, including airlines, financial institutions and even grocery stores, have made it all the more crucial to rely on these global networks for information. This is imperative for local businesses operating beyond their local and national geographical boundaries, as international dimensions begin to permeate the local corporate structures, gradually compelling such firms to adopt a more globally viable approach to business and make respective changes in their advertising and marketing policies in a way that is more acceptable to its growing multicultural customer base (Dlabay & Scott, 2005). Referring to various challenges faced by companies, as they prepare to venture into international markets, Flynn (1994: 142) remarked, that when a company moves into international markets, "the management now faces multilingual and multicultural climates, many different governments with different regulations and political systems. It also finds different currencies, multiple time zones, and many different approaches to IT and IS education". International markets differ from the domestic ones in a broad range of aspects including drastic differences in culture, social expectations, and political and economic laws, on a

Home Care Of Our Elderly Citizens Research Proposal

Home Care Of Our Elderly Citizens - Research Proposal Example This umbrella group acts as advocate and activist against the growing weight of political change and governance for our future elder care. Therefore, I have decided to focus this study on the work of UKHCC, to explore three specific areas that are consistently in the media and of concern to both the recipients of care and the deliverer of care services in the UK. My reason for considering this specific area of concern is that we are working in a demographic time bomb of care; as our elderly population grows, and our current elders continue to live beyond higher age trends; we are seeing a growing need to re-address, re-appraise and debate the future of care for ourselves and our elderly. At this stage it is important to discuss the work of UKHCC, to offer understanding to the wider concerns that will be explored by the research being proposed. Its own website describes its focus, which appropriately give reference to its remit: "United Kingdom Home Care Association Ltd (UKHCA) is the professional association of home care providers from the independent, voluntary, not-for-profit and statutory sectors. UKHCA helps organisations that provide social care, which may include nursing services, to people in their own homes, promoting high standards of care and providing representation with national and regional policy-makers and regulators. The Association represents over 1,500 members across the United Kingdom, in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland". www.ukhcc.org.uk (2006) Having now introduced the nature of the potential enquiry we can now move to briefly consider the current debate in literature that has informed the initial interest in this project subject and hypothesis proposed. Literature Review The culture of care has in recent years been debated and discussed within academic circles to the point where this debate now firmly focused on developing a wider theoretical understanding of this concept within the context of delivery. We shall consider briefly the three objectives within the context of current literature and academic debate. This will allow for an informed and guided focus for the potential research study that is being planned. Therefore to offer justice to the wealth of literature we would use the terms "care and home care" to be the context of our ensuring discussion that will offer a key conceptual analysis of the UKHCC, that will be the subjects of this, proposed study. This will afford firstly, an overview of: the legislation that informs delivery of home care provision in the SME's UKHCC represents; Secondly, the training

Management Information System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management Information System - Research Paper Example Organizations are so involved in reaping the benefits afforded by this highly globalized society, that they are now compelled to bear the repercussions of the same. The internal as well as external organizational environment has changed significantly due to the presence and use of Information technology. It has not only made access of firms to international markets easier and faster, but also offered immense support to such firms with regard to managing and learning to manoeuvre the anxieties and proliferation of data in the most effective manner possible (Oz, 2008). Increased investment in multinational ventures, by local and private businesses back home, including airlines, financial institutions and even grocery stores, have made it all the more crucial to rely on these global networks for information. This is imperative for local businesses operating beyond their local and national geographical boundaries, as international dimensions begin to permeate the local corporate structures, gradually compelling such firms to adopt a more globally viable approach to business and make respective changes in their advertising and marketing policies in a way that is more acceptable to its growing multicultural customer base (Dlabay & Scott, 2005). Referring to various challenges faced by companies, as they prepare to venture into international markets, Flynn (1994: 142) remarked, that when a company moves into international markets, "the management now faces multilingual and multicultural climates, many different governments with different regulations and political systems. It also finds different currencies, multiple time zones, and many different approaches to IT and IS education". International markets differ from the domestic ones in a broad range of aspects including drastic differences in culture, social expectations, and political and economic laws, on a

Brief History of Istanbul Essay Example for Free

Brief History of Istanbul Essay Evidences obtained from archaeological remains indicate that people began to inhabit the proximities of contemporary Istanbul for approximately thousands of years ago. At about 5000 B. C. , a thick and sprawling population of individuals inhabited the fertile grounds of Istanbul. The Greek people all the way from Megara and Miletus started to rest upon the soils situated along the coasts of the Black Sea as well as the Bosporus back in the latter years of eight century B. C. The year 660 B. C. witnessed the colonization of Byzantium by Byzas, the founder of the colony whose origins trace to Megarian roots. As expected, the name of the colony was patterned after his name. Due to the strategic location of Byzantium, it easily gained dominance over the region in terms of economy which eventually led to the attention of numerous would-be conquerors. Along the path of the Golden Horn, Byzantium was founded which bestowed it with the most suitable harbour all-over the region. The agricultural prosperity of Byzantium can be largely attributed to the abundance of fish as well as the surrounding countryside which was fertile enough to support plants for agriculture. Next to Byzantium, a safe harbour was efficiently provided for by the inlet of the Golden Horn which was near Bosporus. This area was considered as a major maritime route back in those times as it linked the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. Byzantium eventually found itself struggling amidst the powers trying to conquer and dominate over the city—Persians, Greeks, Spartans and Athenians all drew their swords and took away lives for the sake of taking the city under their control. Such was the major importance of Byzantium during those times where its prosperity was seemingly beyond imagination. Even the Gauls attacked the city during the third century and in 202 B. C. the city sought the help and protection from Rome after being taken over by Macedonians. Eventually, the city was absorbed as a vital part of the Roman empire back in 73 B. C. During 196 A. D. , the city was caught on the wrong side after the creation of a power struggle in the Roman empire. As economically powerful as Byzantium may seem, it was not able to respond and resist the struggle which eventually trickled down the capabilities of the cities as it paid dearly. A large number of the residents were murdered as well as a significant portion of Byzantium was obliterated through the leadership of the Roman emperor Septimus Severus. Apparently, the Rman emperor had to rebuild the entire city starting off with the ruins as the wake of the power struggle. In the process, Byzantium was able to manage itself and continue to progress amidst threats and occurrences of civil wars as well as rebellions which smothered all-over the Roman empire through the many years to follow. However, Constantine I routed his foe, emperor Licinius, on September 18, 324. Constantine I was able to unify the broad territory of the Roman empire and made it follow his leadership. The Roman empire eventually made Byzantium as the prime capital of the region which extended to as far as three continents. Byzantium eventually gained a new name—Constantinople—after being briefly known as the New Rome named in honor of Constantine who was the first Roman ruler to embrace the doctrines of Christianity. During its time, Constantinople gained much reputation and wealth making it one of the world’s most economically advanced cities. The city was almost untouchable in status, having the power to dictate the doctrines of the Christian religion and to amass huge amounts of wealth up until the eleventh century. As the meeting points between the East and the West became largely attributed to Constantinople, it was no surprise that all roads were now focused on the wealthy city of Constantine. In 395 A. D. the whole of the Roman Empire was divided into the West and the East especially after the death of Theodosius. The Eastern Roman Empire adopted Constantinople as its central city or capital which was later referred to as the Byzantine Empire as a reminder of its brilliant past. Through the course of time, Constantinople further advanced as the core of the Greek Orthodox Christian realm. With its immense financial resources, the wealth of the Byzantine Empire gave it the capacity to transform Constantinople as a beautiful city far beyond compare. The splendour and majesty of Constantinople is perhaps owed to the well-paid architects who designed majestic churches and splendid palaces as well as artists and sculptors also contributed a large fraction of the city’s aesthetic transformation. One notable structure ever to be erected is the hippodrome which could hold more than a hundred thousand spectators. Eventually, the walls of the city were further built into a seemingly impenetrable protective layer as threats of invasion from rivalling forces never dwindled. Almost half million citizens inhabited Constantinople under the rule of Emperor Justinian from 527 to 565 A.  D. The Emperor took full control of the creation of some of Constantinople’s most majestic buildings which include the Haghia Sophia, one of the largest churches during the height of the prosperity of Constantinople. The Byzantine empire’s capital reached its full blom under the helm of Emperor Justinian. Even though Constantinople continued to supplement its wealthy advancement with protective measures, enemies from the outside were inevitably attracted to the splendour of the city. A few years after, the city was devastated with a plague in 542 A. D. which claimed the lives of three of every five citizens. This, unfortunately, brought the beginning of the city’s fall. As the city weakened in terms of its population both in size and strength, the enemies of Constantinople took the opportunity to besiege the city. Apparently, the enemies were unable to successfully conquer the city as the walls of Constantinople proved impenetrable. Attacks on the city mounted between the seventh and eleventh century A. D. which include forces from Persian Sassanids, Bulgars, Avars, Russians, and Muslim Arabs. At the time of the Fourth Crusade, the Latins were able to break the walls of Constantinople and captured the capital of the Byzantine Empire in 1204 A.  D until 1261 less than a century of captivity when the Byzantine forces reclaimed the capital. At the height of captivity, however, Constantinople was greatly diminished in terms of wealth and infrastructure as the invading forces plundered precious jewels and any other item they deemed were of sufficient value. The entire population diminished to half a hundred thousand during that time, and the citizens suffered greatly from famine. In 1396, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and built a fort on the Asian side of the Bosporus Sea in order to hinder aid from reaching the city. However, the capital would not fall for a few more years. On the 29th day of May, the Ottoman leader Mehmed was able to tear down the city walls and penetrate the city which ultimately signalled the fall of the era of Constantinople’s Christian church and the commencement of Muslim rule over the land. Apparently, the Muslims transformed the Haghia Sophia into a Muslim temple. In 1457, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was already known as Istanbul which later became the central point of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed began to repopulate the city after the siege and within a few years time, Istanbul gained a considerable increase in population, roughly amounting to approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Ottoman Istanbul was able to achieve its peak during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, and perhaps the most notable buildings ever to be erected during those times, roughly amounting to 300 buildings, were the creations of chief architect Sinan. These efforts to restructure Ottoman Istanbul were significant as it signalled the dawning of a new Istanbul, one which is uniquely Ottoman in identity. Throughout time, Ottoman Istanbul opened its doors to the outside world in order to obtain a harmonious relationship with the other cities and states. This resulted to the expansion of the city’s population, now having a mixture of different races such as Jews, Christians, Armenians and other citizens. Influence on Ottoman Istanbul rule was apparently being influenced by many different forces from these races. Eventually, Istanbul became influenced with the modernization of the world. Europeans began to build a railroad system which connects the whole continent with Istanbul by the 1870s. As a result, the Ottoman empire became placed under the debt of European powers. These would later result to power struggles from within the empire, complicated all the more by the struggling influences from the Europeans to whom they were indebted with. In consequence, these developments in the Ottoman empire especially in Istanbul uring the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries would signal the downfall of the Ottoman empire and would mark the commencement of the Turkish Republic. Today, Istanbul remains as a fervent reminder of how a city once so powerful became so absorbed into the desire for power which led to its own subjugation and diminishment of power in the following years.

Retention of Employees in Call Centres

Retention of Employees in Call Centres Personal computers Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In the 21st century every child or adult have their own personal computers and ways of communication have been made easier with the help of email, mobile phones and faxes. These are adopted from Information Technology (IT) industries. The main concern of IT industries is to make life easy for the people. Information Technology can be defined as the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store transit information. (Wisegeek, N.D.) Call centres are a part of the IT industries, which is the most blooming sector and the role of these call centres is to make life easy to customers. Call centres are the upcoming field of employment for youngsters in Information Technology. Recruitment to get into a BPO (Business Process Organization) is done on the basis of qualification and good communication skills. BPOs are the fastest growing segments in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES). These BPOs are striving out a new exposure of the westernized working environment that could lead to a few problems in other countries. Although it has a good side by providing a good pay and a better life style for the individuals, on the other side there are still some diplomatic problems that could be identified. Most researches are done on stress, physical and psychological problems that are faced by the employees. An article in the journal, An Exploration of Occupational Hazards in BPO industry, states, Majority of employees were found to have physical health, socialization and stress related problems due to their job. (Vashistha, 2008) Competition is more in todays world and organizations are trying to build a competitive advantage through more employees who are often challenged. These individuals try to be the best in their respected fields and give their best for the organization. As the competition between organizations increases the competition for the individuals also increase. The IT industry is one of the leading industries in the world and every company needs an IT section that plays a vital role as it controls most of the organization. As it is this is the most wanted sector in every organization, the pay for employees is also expected to be high. In an IT sector, there are a number of employees who although start as freshers and will expect to get a better income as the years of experience increase (Employee Engagement Report 2008 Published May 2008). India has become the hub to start IT industries in the world. India is one of the developing countries and allows foreigners to commence large MNCs as it will reduce the unemployment level and would help the educated to get immediate jobs after education. Most global organizations have always preferred outsourcing Call centres in India. The reason to it would be that India has the second most English speaking population after the USA. There are various other reasons such as skilled labour, educated workforce, etc. Indias large number of educated workforce will not reduce, as there is always been an increasing number of students graduating every year. It is difficult to take the analysis of the entire country as is too broad and vast to cover. There are many IT companies in India; Chennai is a part of Southern India that consists of many call centres. New IT companies emerge every week and a few get closed too. E.g. Call centres in Chennai have become very popular within students and graduates, who have just completed their course. They are given a reasonable pay as fresh employees, in course of time only a few employees stick to the organization and most employees take it as a fill in job or they shift to another company because they are paid higher than its previous employer. The following section will outline how the dissertation will be structured. This will include the following: the research question, research objectives, scope, methodology, benefits and justification. A good dissertation will attempt to answer the research question and will provide a conclusion based on both secondary and primary information. Research purpose This dissertation will help us to find out the retention of employees in IT industry (Call centres) by considering a MNC in Chennai (India), (Sutherland). This large MNC (Multi National Companies) would be used as a case in this research. Below are a few key issues that will be addressed in the dissertation process: To find out ways to improve strategies in retaining employees in call centres. To study the various reasons and the need for jumping to different organisationis it only money or Is Hierarchal Phenomenon the cause of employees to shift? Dissertation Aim The purpose of doing a research is to answer the proposed research questions in a dissertation. The research questions will articulate the research problem giving various findings and suggestions. The following are the research questions for this dissertation; these questions will help the researcher to get valid information of the employees and the HR team in the organization. Information from the HR team would give the researcher suggestions and methods based on retention strategies. Does the organisation take any steps to retain their staff? Why is the retention of an employee, a hectic problem in an IT (Call centre) than any other sector? The aim of the dissertation is to critically assess and evaluate HR strategies used in Indian call centres, in specific to improve staff retention rates. Research Objectives: The research objectives are subjected to the purpose of the research; these objectives give an outline of a dissertation. The main objectives in this dissertation are: To carry out a critical review of the literature on staff retention To identify and assess reasons for poor retention rates in the IT industry. To identify and evaluate strategies to improve employee retention rates in the IT industry. To provide conclusions based on both secondary and primary evidence To make relevant recommendations for improving employee retention rates based on the conclusions arrived at. Benefits of the research: The benefits of the research help in giving the company a better understanding of the employee status. E.g. do employees want to quit the job and shift to other companies? This research would help the organisation to identify key issues faced by employees in terms of retention that will enable them to improve their retention rates. Employee retention is a large cost to some companies and by improving retention rates, it can be argued that costs can be controlled and which in turn will improve the effectiveness of the organisation. India is a developing country and IT is a major source for all MNCs. The research would consist of a case study on an IT company. The scope in this research is referred only with respect to the place chosen for the research (India). The scope of an organisation is dependable on geographic location and the culture of the people. Scope depends on the people and the location of the organisation, such that the scope in India for Biotechnology is less when compa red to U.S. More problems can arise due to the involvement of different cultures in one organisation. The rationale of my research will provide an analysis for human resource planning on employee retention in the IT industry. This will also help to identify the HR practices and whether these can be improved. This dissertation will consist of a detailed research and analysis on IT Company chosen (Located in Chennai, India). Background to the company Sutherland is a BPO that is operating in Chennai (India), it was first established in New York by Rochester in the year 1986. The branch in Chennai was opened in the year 2000 and was the first offshore facility to be opened in India. Many other branches were opened in course of time in different countries such as Canada, Mexico Bulgaria and Philippines. Sutherland employs 24,000 professionals offering rich services from its 24/7 delivery centres globally (Sutherland, 2009). Sutherland won the award; Employer of the year in 2009. They state that their employees are given the best of training to excel in their field, either in terms of business methodologies or technology. Sutherland offers front office and back office services that provide customers a better service. CHAPTER 2 Review of literature Employee retention: Carsen, 2005 states that employee retention refers to the possible number of employees that stay around for a given duration of time. In simple words employee retention could be defined as a process in which the employees are encouraged and motivated to stay with the organization. Employee retention is important and beneficial for the organization. This dissertation deals with call centres, which is a part of the IT industry. Call centres are defined as specialized organizational units providing telephone-based customer services (Kleemann Matuschek, 2002, p.41). Call centres are a part of the IT sector and are of two types and they are outbound and inbound call centres. They usually operate 24/7 a week i.e. 365 days a year. (Marr Neely, 2004). IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Employee retention plays a vital role in every organization. Mobley, 1982 states that employee turnover may be important to some organizations and a few individuals. From the organizational perspective employee turnover can represent a significant cost in terms of recruiting, training, socialization and disruption, as well as a variety of indirect costs. There are many reasons for an employee to leave an organization and it could be due to age, length of service, organizational sector size, occupational group and geographic location. The problems that arise of poor retention should be assessed within the norms of a given external labour market. (Evans 2001) Models and Theories on employee retention: There is a reason for companies to retain their top most employees. There are several models that are being followed in retaining the top most employees. There are few common hiring models that are being used by organizations for employee retention. Each has its own advantage and all serve the purpose to get hold of maximum employee retention. The following are the models, which are being used commonly. The classic model- Core employees. The above model works best with senior management, where one would require a persons full time work and attention. This is best suitable for core activities within the organization and proprietary activities such as trade secret within the organization. Many organizations do make the mistake by assuming that core employee model is the only retention model and the organization tries to fit in all jobs within it. It is important for an organization to understand and follow the hiring models appropriately. Flexible work This type of model usually involves in sharing a job within the family. This model best fits in call centres as in this industry continuity is not mush required. On the whole this model cannot work for short shift works; for example; an advertising team launching a new advertisement cannot offer job sharing-posts, as the continuity of the job is very much required. Job sharing is a success in certain cases such as when there is no much need of individual continuity with customers or with a third party and when the degree of interaction is low between the employee and the consumer. This type of model makes employees feel at home and have very less probability in them leaving the job, as they are comfortable with it and it usually works within families. Free agents Many educated individuals in the IT industry do not like to work full time for a particular organization as these employees enjoy working as part-timers in more than one organization, these type of employees are called free agents. This is the next step to flexible work with respect to job satisfaction. These types of free agents are not given a usual salary but they are paid on their results that they produce. This model is not business orientated but it is project orientated and it attracts the employee to do the job as it a likely interest. These employees usually stay with the organization only if they are recognized for their work. Outsourcing The above three models not only explains the different types of employees in an organization but also explains how to retain employees according to the type of sector that is best suitable for the individual, the question arises only when the organization gets an employee from outside to do the job of the organization. These kinds of employees are taken only for a specific duration by different organizations or individuals. This model best works with low value transaction, low-tech uncomplicated activities and non-critical activities. Many organizations have concluded that it is not possible to motivate and train employees for specified jobs, so they agree with outsourcing. (McKeown, 2002) Svyantek McChrystal, 2007, p.225, shows in his book, a new model of retention, which is very different from the above models. In this model he states employees retain the jobs because they are self-concept-job fit and an experienced meaningful work. Self-concept-job fit is a method in which the human relations professionals input the meaningful work in employees. Horgans Roberts, 2000 have stated that the future should focus into the concept of self-concept-job fit either in existing or after recruiting employee. The above models are different from each other and each of them fits best for different kinds of organizations. The best suitable model must be used in order to retain their employees and get high job performance from them. Though we cannot satisfy all individual needs there are certain general factors that we can get rid of so that the employees who are working, feel at home. After one executes a type of model into an organization it is important that the employees are satisfied with the type of job that an individual is doing. Job satisfaction is related to employee retention and for an employee to retain in the organization the individual must be satisfied but the job. Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction is very important to all employees and it is defined as the extent to which a person derives pleasure from a job (Muchinsky, 1993, p. 290). Locke (1969 as cited in Friday Friday, 2003, p. 429) defines job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job. Job satisfaction may be one of the most ideal characters for the employees to work in an organization. As job satisfaction is the most vital key for an employee to stay with an organization for a long-term relation. Spector (1997, p.5) comments, Job satisfaction is the degree to which people like their jobs. Attitudes towards job satisfaction differ between employees and may change in the course of time. A number of researchers have done research on job satisfaction and each researcher has given a unique definition for job satisfaction. Agho, Muller and Price (1992) stated that job satisfaction is the extent to which an employee likes the job. Ashp (2008, p. 323) states Job satisfaction is important to retention; although the relationship may be direct or indirect. With Employee satisfaction, an organization deals with employees opinions and work process such as workload distribution, schedule (work timings) schedule and flexibility and internal communications. But the frequently asked question by everyone; Are we satisfied with the job that we are doing. Most say that Job satisfaction in an organization is not a problem but a symptom within the organization. However one can describe job satisfaction can go up and down by the hour independently of the ones works performance. Mullins states, Job satisfaction is necessary in order to achieve a high level of motivation and job performance(Mullin 2007, p. 277). It is not possible for low performance employees to get high job satisfaction. A report published on May 2008 states that there is a clear correlation between employee engagement and employee retention, the writer states that 85% of engaged employees were indicating that they plan to stay with their employer through 2008. The report states that an effective employee retention strategy is based on employee engagement. (Blessing White, 2008) Theories on job satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be defined as ones attitude towards ones job. Job satisfaction pays much relation with retention as it is the attitude that the person gains with the job attained and this makes the employee decide whether to stay or not (Weiss, 2002). There are several theories on job satisfaction a few of them are listed below. Affect theory Lockes Range of Affect Theory (1976) is the famous theory of job satisfaction in which the theory gives an explanation of what one wants from the job. The theory gives views of the dissatisfaction level and satisfaction level of an employee working. The theory states the facet of work, for e.g. the degree of autonomy of position decides the employee to stay or leave. If an individual were satisfied with the job, then the individual would give his best in the job he is doing in the organization. Dispositional theory This is a basic theory that explains the nature of similar identities such as two twins are alike to think the same but in process they tend to end up with different results. Hence job satisfaction for each employee is quite different. This theory was narrowed down by Judge (1992) by his model called the Core self evaluation model, where in the theory states the higher levels of self esteem and self efficacy would result in high job satisfaction levels. Two-factor theory (Motivator hygiene theory) This theory has taken two variables (Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers) and the theory states that factors causing these two variables are different and it is these factors that are responsible for an individuals satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the job. Satisfiers or motivators are satisfied with their job in presence or absence of a working condition corresponding to the higher levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. And the dissatisfiers or hygiene factors, which correspond to the lower levels of Maslows hierarchy, are not satisfied with the job when they are adequate or in an inadequate working condition. (Ellis, 2005) Job characteristics model Hackman and Oldham introduced the Job characteristics model that is used widely to study the job characteristics and job outcomes along with job satisfaction. This model derives and states that there are five characteristics; i.e. skill, task, significance, autonomy, and finally feedback. These characteristics combine to give three physiological states; experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results that influence job satisfaction and motivation. This framework of five characteristics can be combined to form Motivation Potential Score (MPS). (Hackman Oldham 1976) Ones attitude towards ones job is defined as job satisfaction. These theories cannot change the attitude of the individual but can help the individual to get settled with the job. Evans (1998, p. 19) states, Job satisfaction increases with age, job values remain constant with age and job reward increase with age. Certain factors usually affect an individuals job and this will affect the willingness of the individual to carry on working. E.g., in call centres, high stress is a factor that affects employees performance; it is because of this factor that most employees may not be satisfied with their jobs. It is important that the organization take necessary steps to solve the problem else many employees would leave the organization. Factors affecting employee retention: There are several factors that affect the growth and development of an individuals carrier. If an employee cannot see his future ahead in the organization, there are a number of reasons for him to leave the organization. As these factors can affect the employees work profile, personal growths and dreams, training and development which consists of communication skills, technical skills, procedure improvement skills and skills from special projects. As this dissertation deals with Information Technology (IT) let us consider the factors that affect the employees working in Call-centres. An article by Krishnan Jagadeesan G. on Employee Satisfaction in Knowledge Industry shows the factors that affect employees and the cause of turnover in IT industries (Call centres). He states that surveys have revealed that 42.35% were found working at odd times which were the main causes for high turnover and stress disorders. In terms of job satisfaction and retention rates, while the future of the BPO industry appears bleak unless suitable changes like job rotation and intellectual pursuit in the job content are brought about, the lookout in the manufacturing and the IT sectors are promising. (Krishnan, 2008) The most common factors that affects retention of employees is: Age Length of service Industry sector Organization size Occupational group Geographic location Gender A survey done by CIPD (2006) on Employee attitudes and engagement of employees in UK shows the factors responsible for employees to leave the organization, such as older employees are engaged more than younger employees, women are equally engaged with men, management of the organization, leadership and communication, job satisfaction, length of service, stress and involvement. In this survey, the results show that a lot of stress is given to the employees and this is due to the absence of employees and the pressure from senior employees. This survey will be done to analyse few of the researchers findings. Employee retention strategy: Retention strategies are less effective than recruitment and training strategies. Case study agencies have also agreed with the same on an industry survey. The findings of retention activities are consistent with literature and it is identified that retention is a weak link in the employment cycle. Retention strategies that all organizations include are employee engagement, employee orientation and employee recognition (Davis, 2002, p.41). Each of these employee strategies helps the employee to connect with a goal in the organization. Researchers have done research and are doing research on how to retain employees for the company one is working for. The below are the findings from an article on the web which show the ways in retaining the employees. 60 years of research have shown that only research-based and theory-supported approaches will help in improving employee engagement, as employee engagement will improve retention strategies, by offering compliments, such as the best employee of the month, giving prizes and suggestion boxed. Short-term gifts or prizes such as the above do not help the employee to stay with the organization for long. The responsibility taken to create the change and implementing it will assure improved understanding and support from the employees in all aspects. Loyalty and commitment are significance to the employees working in an organization. Action oriented approaches will help the organization in order to move forward quickly. As this would bring an organization with best development practices to effectively build a high retention culture (Employee Retention Strategies, N.D.). Employees play an important role in every organization and are responsible for the growth of the organization; hence it is important that the employers retain their employees. The above findings describe a few strategies on how to retain employees. It is found that Employee Retention is not given much importance when comparing with recruitment and training processes. The above text states that employee engagement is related with employee retention, change in retention strategy will improve employee engagement. These findings will help the researcher in building a strong questionnaire as the previous researches have already showed good results. Keeping these results aside it would be easier to attain the research goal, as the path would be specific with no variation in between. It is only by research new strategies are found and changes are made in existing strategies to satisfy employees. These findings would give the researcher more space in finding the problems in deep, apart from the regular ones. In this dissertation, Sutherland (a call centre) is taken as the case study to find out and improve the retention strategies that are being followed with reference to the ancestral methods. Few common strategies on employee retention are Retention focused recruitment. Retention focused orientation. Job sculpting Retention focused Managing Retention focused Career support Work life balance measures Retention focused rewards Retention focused communication. The above are few strategies that are commonly used by organizations to retain employees by giving them high level of job satisfaction. As this dissertation is concerned with the IT sector let us see in detail the retention strategies that are used in IT (call centres) for retaining the employees. As this dissertation consists of a case study of a call centre, the researcher can examine what strategies could be used for retaining employee in this sector. An article published on the Internet shows a few strategies on how to retain the employees in a call centre. The job satisfaction of the employee will result in the performance of the employee which will give the employee a better working environment and henceforth which will result in customer satisfaction and productivity. A few ways of satisfying employees include: Recruit people who value work. Clarify expectations. Provide good and specific job training. Reward the employees for high performance. The above are few key elements that used to satisfy employees in the IT industry. There could be more elements that can satisfy employees and help the organization my retaining the employees. This research would help in finding more ways to satisfy employees so that they do not have to leave the organization. Interviews and questionnaires with the lower level and top-level of the organization will help attaining the research purpose and meet the research objectives. The findings from the questionnaire would be used to frame the structure of the interview. The interview will be taken with an agent, team leader and an HR team member of the organization. The Review of Literature in this dissertation helps to give an understanding of what is meant by employee retention and the existing models and concepts that being used such as strategies and techniques. Theories on job satisfaction helped the researcher in finding out the importance of job satisfaction with employee retention. Existing research-based theories on retention strategies were included so that the researcher will be able compare the primary findings with it. It would also be useful to find out, whether the existing strategies found by researchers are sufficient to maintain employee retention or changes should be made to the theories. These existing theories on employee retention, job satisfaction and retention strategies would give the researcher abundant satisfaction and confidence in moving towards the research as all the aspects of retention have been covered. Theories and models used in the review of literature gives a brief idea of the strategies that are being used in organizations and could be compared to one of the existing models. The contents in the review of literature could be compared to the case study companies to find the changes that are necessary and why does it need it. The researcher concludes by stating that the Review of Literature helps to achieve the aim of the dissertation in this research. CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology Clough and Nutbrown, 2007, p.5 states research is the investigation of an idea, subject or topic for a purpose. Research is used to investigate a topic or a theory in depth to get a better understanding in detail. The term research is a way of describing systematic investigation of a theory or area of activity. Although all research cannot be measured, a few can be scientifically measured or data collected and can be analysed to identify differences. Approach to the research Deductive and Inductive approach There are two types of approaches in doing a research, i.e. deductive and inductive methods. It depends on the researcher whether to choose a deductive approach or inductive approach. In deductive approach, the researcher develops a theory and designs a research strategy that analyses the hypothesis and in inductive approach, the researcher collects data from by various methods of research and end up with the hypothesis based on the data analysis. Deductive approach involves the improvement or development of a theory that is subjected to tests. Nwokah et al., 2009, p.4, states, Laws present the basis of explanation, allow the anticipation of phenomena, predict their occurrence and therefore fore permit them to be controlled. 5 stages in which deductive approach will progress. Deducing a hypothesis from a theory. Exposing the hypothesis in operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific concepts or variables. Testing this operational hypothesis. Examine the outcome obtained from the inquiry. If necessary modifying the theory in the light of the findings.(Saunders et al., 2007, p. 117) Inductive approach is opposite to deductive approach; inductive approach starts with the collection of data that it is added to form a theory or hypothesis. The following is an inductive approach for analysis for a qualitative evaluation data is described. The reasons to use an inductive approach are (a) it compresses textual data into a summary format (b) provide links within the research objectives and findings that are derived from the data and (c) a framework can be developed of the structure of processes that are evident in the data (Thomas, 2006). The inductive approach provides an easy systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable and valid findings. The inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple and straightforward approach for deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to use the inductive approach, as it is less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data analysis (Schutt, 2006). Research philosophy The type of method used in this research Retention of Employees in Call Centres Retention of Employees in Call Centres Personal computers Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In the 21st century every child or adult have their own personal computers and ways of communication have been made easier with the help of email, mobile phones and faxes. These are adopted from Information Technology (IT) industries. The main concern of IT industries is to make life easy for the people. Information Technology can be defined as the branch of engineering that deals with the use of computers and telecommunications to retrieve and store transit information. (Wisegeek, N.D.) Call centres are a part of the IT industries, which is the most blooming sector and the role of these call centres is to make life easy to customers. Call centres are the upcoming field of employment for youngsters in Information Technology. Recruitment to get into a BPO (Business Process Organization) is done on the basis of qualification and good communication skills. BPOs are the fastest growing segments in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES). These BPOs are striving out a new exposure of the westernized working environment that could lead to a few problems in other countries. Although it has a good side by providing a good pay and a better life style for the individuals, on the other side there are still some diplomatic problems that could be identified. Most researches are done on stress, physical and psychological problems that are faced by the employees. An article in the journal, An Exploration of Occupational Hazards in BPO industry, states, Majority of employees were found to have physical health, socialization and stress related problems due to their job. (Vashistha, 2008) Competition is more in todays world and organizations are trying to build a competitive advantage through more employees who are often challenged. These individuals try to be the best in their respected fields and give their best for the organization. As the competition between organizations increases the competition for the individuals also increase. The IT industry is one of the leading industries in the world and every company needs an IT section that plays a vital role as it controls most of the organization. As it is this is the most wanted sector in every organization, the pay for employees is also expected to be high. In an IT sector, there are a number of employees who although start as freshers and will expect to get a better income as the years of experience increase (Employee Engagement Report 2008 Published May 2008). India has become the hub to start IT industries in the world. India is one of the developing countries and allows foreigners to commence large MNCs as it will reduce the unemployment level and would help the educated to get immediate jobs after education. Most global organizations have always preferred outsourcing Call centres in India. The reason to it would be that India has the second most English speaking population after the USA. There are various other reasons such as skilled labour, educated workforce, etc. Indias large number of educated workforce will not reduce, as there is always been an increasing number of students graduating every year. It is difficult to take the analysis of the entire country as is too broad and vast to cover. There are many IT companies in India; Chennai is a part of Southern India that consists of many call centres. New IT companies emerge every week and a few get closed too. E.g. Call centres in Chennai have become very popular within students and graduates, who have just completed their course. They are given a reasonable pay as fresh employees, in course of time only a few employees stick to the organization and most employees take it as a fill in job or they shift to another company because they are paid higher than its previous employer. The following section will outline how the dissertation will be structured. This will include the following: the research question, research objectives, scope, methodology, benefits and justification. A good dissertation will attempt to answer the research question and will provide a conclusion based on both secondary and primary information. Research purpose This dissertation will help us to find out the retention of employees in IT industry (Call centres) by considering a MNC in Chennai (India), (Sutherland). This large MNC (Multi National Companies) would be used as a case in this research. Below are a few key issues that will be addressed in the dissertation process: To find out ways to improve strategies in retaining employees in call centres. To study the various reasons and the need for jumping to different organisationis it only money or Is Hierarchal Phenomenon the cause of employees to shift? Dissertation Aim The purpose of doing a research is to answer the proposed research questions in a dissertation. The research questions will articulate the research problem giving various findings and suggestions. The following are the research questions for this dissertation; these questions will help the researcher to get valid information of the employees and the HR team in the organization. Information from the HR team would give the researcher suggestions and methods based on retention strategies. Does the organisation take any steps to retain their staff? Why is the retention of an employee, a hectic problem in an IT (Call centre) than any other sector? The aim of the dissertation is to critically assess and evaluate HR strategies used in Indian call centres, in specific to improve staff retention rates. Research Objectives: The research objectives are subjected to the purpose of the research; these objectives give an outline of a dissertation. The main objectives in this dissertation are: To carry out a critical review of the literature on staff retention To identify and assess reasons for poor retention rates in the IT industry. To identify and evaluate strategies to improve employee retention rates in the IT industry. To provide conclusions based on both secondary and primary evidence To make relevant recommendations for improving employee retention rates based on the conclusions arrived at. Benefits of the research: The benefits of the research help in giving the company a better understanding of the employee status. E.g. do employees want to quit the job and shift to other companies? This research would help the organisation to identify key issues faced by employees in terms of retention that will enable them to improve their retention rates. Employee retention is a large cost to some companies and by improving retention rates, it can be argued that costs can be controlled and which in turn will improve the effectiveness of the organisation. India is a developing country and IT is a major source for all MNCs. The research would consist of a case study on an IT company. The scope in this research is referred only with respect to the place chosen for the research (India). The scope of an organisation is dependable on geographic location and the culture of the people. Scope depends on the people and the location of the organisation, such that the scope in India for Biotechnology is less when compa red to U.S. More problems can arise due to the involvement of different cultures in one organisation. The rationale of my research will provide an analysis for human resource planning on employee retention in the IT industry. This will also help to identify the HR practices and whether these can be improved. This dissertation will consist of a detailed research and analysis on IT Company chosen (Located in Chennai, India). Background to the company Sutherland is a BPO that is operating in Chennai (India), it was first established in New York by Rochester in the year 1986. The branch in Chennai was opened in the year 2000 and was the first offshore facility to be opened in India. Many other branches were opened in course of time in different countries such as Canada, Mexico Bulgaria and Philippines. Sutherland employs 24,000 professionals offering rich services from its 24/7 delivery centres globally (Sutherland, 2009). Sutherland won the award; Employer of the year in 2009. They state that their employees are given the best of training to excel in their field, either in terms of business methodologies or technology. Sutherland offers front office and back office services that provide customers a better service. CHAPTER 2 Review of literature Employee retention: Carsen, 2005 states that employee retention refers to the possible number of employees that stay around for a given duration of time. In simple words employee retention could be defined as a process in which the employees are encouraged and motivated to stay with the organization. Employee retention is important and beneficial for the organization. This dissertation deals with call centres, which is a part of the IT industry. Call centres are defined as specialized organizational units providing telephone-based customer services (Kleemann Matuschek, 2002, p.41). Call centres are a part of the IT sector and are of two types and they are outbound and inbound call centres. They usually operate 24/7 a week i.e. 365 days a year. (Marr Neely, 2004). IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION Employee retention plays a vital role in every organization. Mobley, 1982 states that employee turnover may be important to some organizations and a few individuals. From the organizational perspective employee turnover can represent a significant cost in terms of recruiting, training, socialization and disruption, as well as a variety of indirect costs. There are many reasons for an employee to leave an organization and it could be due to age, length of service, organizational sector size, occupational group and geographic location. The problems that arise of poor retention should be assessed within the norms of a given external labour market. (Evans 2001) Models and Theories on employee retention: There is a reason for companies to retain their top most employees. There are several models that are being followed in retaining the top most employees. There are few common hiring models that are being used by organizations for employee retention. Each has its own advantage and all serve the purpose to get hold of maximum employee retention. The following are the models, which are being used commonly. The classic model- Core employees. The above model works best with senior management, where one would require a persons full time work and attention. This is best suitable for core activities within the organization and proprietary activities such as trade secret within the organization. Many organizations do make the mistake by assuming that core employee model is the only retention model and the organization tries to fit in all jobs within it. It is important for an organization to understand and follow the hiring models appropriately. Flexible work This type of model usually involves in sharing a job within the family. This model best fits in call centres as in this industry continuity is not mush required. On the whole this model cannot work for short shift works; for example; an advertising team launching a new advertisement cannot offer job sharing-posts, as the continuity of the job is very much required. Job sharing is a success in certain cases such as when there is no much need of individual continuity with customers or with a third party and when the degree of interaction is low between the employee and the consumer. This type of model makes employees feel at home and have very less probability in them leaving the job, as they are comfortable with it and it usually works within families. Free agents Many educated individuals in the IT industry do not like to work full time for a particular organization as these employees enjoy working as part-timers in more than one organization, these type of employees are called free agents. This is the next step to flexible work with respect to job satisfaction. These types of free agents are not given a usual salary but they are paid on their results that they produce. This model is not business orientated but it is project orientated and it attracts the employee to do the job as it a likely interest. These employees usually stay with the organization only if they are recognized for their work. Outsourcing The above three models not only explains the different types of employees in an organization but also explains how to retain employees according to the type of sector that is best suitable for the individual, the question arises only when the organization gets an employee from outside to do the job of the organization. These kinds of employees are taken only for a specific duration by different organizations or individuals. This model best works with low value transaction, low-tech uncomplicated activities and non-critical activities. Many organizations have concluded that it is not possible to motivate and train employees for specified jobs, so they agree with outsourcing. (McKeown, 2002) Svyantek McChrystal, 2007, p.225, shows in his book, a new model of retention, which is very different from the above models. In this model he states employees retain the jobs because they are self-concept-job fit and an experienced meaningful work. Self-concept-job fit is a method in which the human relations professionals input the meaningful work in employees. Horgans Roberts, 2000 have stated that the future should focus into the concept of self-concept-job fit either in existing or after recruiting employee. The above models are different from each other and each of them fits best for different kinds of organizations. The best suitable model must be used in order to retain their employees and get high job performance from them. Though we cannot satisfy all individual needs there are certain general factors that we can get rid of so that the employees who are working, feel at home. After one executes a type of model into an organization it is important that the employees are satisfied with the type of job that an individual is doing. Job satisfaction is related to employee retention and for an employee to retain in the organization the individual must be satisfied but the job. Job Satisfaction. Job satisfaction is very important to all employees and it is defined as the extent to which a person derives pleasure from a job (Muchinsky, 1993, p. 290). Locke (1969 as cited in Friday Friday, 2003, p. 429) defines job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job. Job satisfaction may be one of the most ideal characters for the employees to work in an organization. As job satisfaction is the most vital key for an employee to stay with an organization for a long-term relation. Spector (1997, p.5) comments, Job satisfaction is the degree to which people like their jobs. Attitudes towards job satisfaction differ between employees and may change in the course of time. A number of researchers have done research on job satisfaction and each researcher has given a unique definition for job satisfaction. Agho, Muller and Price (1992) stated that job satisfaction is the extent to which an employee likes the job. Ashp (2008, p. 323) states Job satisfaction is important to retention; although the relationship may be direct or indirect. With Employee satisfaction, an organization deals with employees opinions and work process such as workload distribution, schedule (work timings) schedule and flexibility and internal communications. But the frequently asked question by everyone; Are we satisfied with the job that we are doing. Most say that Job satisfaction in an organization is not a problem but a symptom within the organization. However one can describe job satisfaction can go up and down by the hour independently of the ones works performance. Mullins states, Job satisfaction is necessary in order to achieve a high level of motivation and job performance(Mullin 2007, p. 277). It is not possible for low performance employees to get high job satisfaction. A report published on May 2008 states that there is a clear correlation between employee engagement and employee retention, the writer states that 85% of engaged employees were indicating that they plan to stay with their employer through 2008. The report states that an effective employee retention strategy is based on employee engagement. (Blessing White, 2008) Theories on job satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be defined as ones attitude towards ones job. Job satisfaction pays much relation with retention as it is the attitude that the person gains with the job attained and this makes the employee decide whether to stay or not (Weiss, 2002). There are several theories on job satisfaction a few of them are listed below. Affect theory Lockes Range of Affect Theory (1976) is the famous theory of job satisfaction in which the theory gives an explanation of what one wants from the job. The theory gives views of the dissatisfaction level and satisfaction level of an employee working. The theory states the facet of work, for e.g. the degree of autonomy of position decides the employee to stay or leave. If an individual were satisfied with the job, then the individual would give his best in the job he is doing in the organization. Dispositional theory This is a basic theory that explains the nature of similar identities such as two twins are alike to think the same but in process they tend to end up with different results. Hence job satisfaction for each employee is quite different. This theory was narrowed down by Judge (1992) by his model called the Core self evaluation model, where in the theory states the higher levels of self esteem and self efficacy would result in high job satisfaction levels. Two-factor theory (Motivator hygiene theory) This theory has taken two variables (Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers) and the theory states that factors causing these two variables are different and it is these factors that are responsible for an individuals satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the job. Satisfiers or motivators are satisfied with their job in presence or absence of a working condition corresponding to the higher levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. And the dissatisfiers or hygiene factors, which correspond to the lower levels of Maslows hierarchy, are not satisfied with the job when they are adequate or in an inadequate working condition. (Ellis, 2005) Job characteristics model Hackman and Oldham introduced the Job characteristics model that is used widely to study the job characteristics and job outcomes along with job satisfaction. This model derives and states that there are five characteristics; i.e. skill, task, significance, autonomy, and finally feedback. These characteristics combine to give three physiological states; experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility for outcomes and knowledge of the actual results that influence job satisfaction and motivation. This framework of five characteristics can be combined to form Motivation Potential Score (MPS). (Hackman Oldham 1976) Ones attitude towards ones job is defined as job satisfaction. These theories cannot change the attitude of the individual but can help the individual to get settled with the job. Evans (1998, p. 19) states, Job satisfaction increases with age, job values remain constant with age and job reward increase with age. Certain factors usually affect an individuals job and this will affect the willingness of the individual to carry on working. E.g., in call centres, high stress is a factor that affects employees performance; it is because of this factor that most employees may not be satisfied with their jobs. It is important that the organization take necessary steps to solve the problem else many employees would leave the organization. Factors affecting employee retention: There are several factors that affect the growth and development of an individuals carrier. If an employee cannot see his future ahead in the organization, there are a number of reasons for him to leave the organization. As these factors can affect the employees work profile, personal growths and dreams, training and development which consists of communication skills, technical skills, procedure improvement skills and skills from special projects. As this dissertation deals with Information Technology (IT) let us consider the factors that affect the employees working in Call-centres. An article by Krishnan Jagadeesan G. on Employee Satisfaction in Knowledge Industry shows the factors that affect employees and the cause of turnover in IT industries (Call centres). He states that surveys have revealed that 42.35% were found working at odd times which were the main causes for high turnover and stress disorders. In terms of job satisfaction and retention rates, while the future of the BPO industry appears bleak unless suitable changes like job rotation and intellectual pursuit in the job content are brought about, the lookout in the manufacturing and the IT sectors are promising. (Krishnan, 2008) The most common factors that affects retention of employees is: Age Length of service Industry sector Organization size Occupational group Geographic location Gender A survey done by CIPD (2006) on Employee attitudes and engagement of employees in UK shows the factors responsible for employees to leave the organization, such as older employees are engaged more than younger employees, women are equally engaged with men, management of the organization, leadership and communication, job satisfaction, length of service, stress and involvement. In this survey, the results show that a lot of stress is given to the employees and this is due to the absence of employees and the pressure from senior employees. This survey will be done to analyse few of the researchers findings. Employee retention strategy: Retention strategies are less effective than recruitment and training strategies. Case study agencies have also agreed with the same on an industry survey. The findings of retention activities are consistent with literature and it is identified that retention is a weak link in the employment cycle. Retention strategies that all organizations include are employee engagement, employee orientation and employee recognition (Davis, 2002, p.41). Each of these employee strategies helps the employee to connect with a goal in the organization. Researchers have done research and are doing research on how to retain employees for the company one is working for. The below are the findings from an article on the web which show the ways in retaining the employees. 60 years of research have shown that only research-based and theory-supported approaches will help in improving employee engagement, as employee engagement will improve retention strategies, by offering compliments, such as the best employee of the month, giving prizes and suggestion boxed. Short-term gifts or prizes such as the above do not help the employee to stay with the organization for long. The responsibility taken to create the change and implementing it will assure improved understanding and support from the employees in all aspects. Loyalty and commitment are significance to the employees working in an organization. Action oriented approaches will help the organization in order to move forward quickly. As this would bring an organization with best development practices to effectively build a high retention culture (Employee Retention Strategies, N.D.). Employees play an important role in every organization and are responsible for the growth of the organization; hence it is important that the employers retain their employees. The above findings describe a few strategies on how to retain employees. It is found that Employee Retention is not given much importance when comparing with recruitment and training processes. The above text states that employee engagement is related with employee retention, change in retention strategy will improve employee engagement. These findings will help the researcher in building a strong questionnaire as the previous researches have already showed good results. Keeping these results aside it would be easier to attain the research goal, as the path would be specific with no variation in between. It is only by research new strategies are found and changes are made in existing strategies to satisfy employees. These findings would give the researcher more space in finding the problems in deep, apart from the regular ones. In this dissertation, Sutherland (a call centre) is taken as the case study to find out and improve the retention strategies that are being followed with reference to the ancestral methods. Few common strategies on employee retention are Retention focused recruitment. Retention focused orientation. Job sculpting Retention focused Managing Retention focused Career support Work life balance measures Retention focused rewards Retention focused communication. The above are few strategies that are commonly used by organizations to retain employees by giving them high level of job satisfaction. As this dissertation is concerned with the IT sector let us see in detail the retention strategies that are used in IT (call centres) for retaining the employees. As this dissertation consists of a case study of a call centre, the researcher can examine what strategies could be used for retaining employee in this sector. An article published on the Internet shows a few strategies on how to retain the employees in a call centre. The job satisfaction of the employee will result in the performance of the employee which will give the employee a better working environment and henceforth which will result in customer satisfaction and productivity. A few ways of satisfying employees include: Recruit people who value work. Clarify expectations. Provide good and specific job training. Reward the employees for high performance. The above are few key elements that used to satisfy employees in the IT industry. There could be more elements that can satisfy employees and help the organization my retaining the employees. This research would help in finding more ways to satisfy employees so that they do not have to leave the organization. Interviews and questionnaires with the lower level and top-level of the organization will help attaining the research purpose and meet the research objectives. The findings from the questionnaire would be used to frame the structure of the interview. The interview will be taken with an agent, team leader and an HR team member of the organization. The Review of Literature in this dissertation helps to give an understanding of what is meant by employee retention and the existing models and concepts that being used such as strategies and techniques. Theories on job satisfaction helped the researcher in finding out the importance of job satisfaction with employee retention. Existing research-based theories on retention strategies were included so that the researcher will be able compare the primary findings with it. It would also be useful to find out, whether the existing strategies found by researchers are sufficient to maintain employee retention or changes should be made to the theories. These existing theories on employee retention, job satisfaction and retention strategies would give the researcher abundant satisfaction and confidence in moving towards the research as all the aspects of retention have been covered. Theories and models used in the review of literature gives a brief idea of the strategies that are being used in organizations and could be compared to one of the existing models. The contents in the review of literature could be compared to the case study companies to find the changes that are necessary and why does it need it. The researcher concludes by stating that the Review of Literature helps to achieve the aim of the dissertation in this research. CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology Clough and Nutbrown, 2007, p.5 states research is the investigation of an idea, subject or topic for a purpose. Research is used to investigate a topic or a theory in depth to get a better understanding in detail. The term research is a way of describing systematic investigation of a theory or area of activity. Although all research cannot be measured, a few can be scientifically measured or data collected and can be analysed to identify differences. Approach to the research Deductive and Inductive approach There are two types of approaches in doing a research, i.e. deductive and inductive methods. It depends on the researcher whether to choose a deductive approach or inductive approach. In deductive approach, the researcher develops a theory and designs a research strategy that analyses the hypothesis and in inductive approach, the researcher collects data from by various methods of research and end up with the hypothesis based on the data analysis. Deductive approach involves the improvement or development of a theory that is subjected to tests. Nwokah et al., 2009, p.4, states, Laws present the basis of explanation, allow the anticipation of phenomena, predict their occurrence and therefore fore permit them to be controlled. 5 stages in which deductive approach will progress. Deducing a hypothesis from a theory. Exposing the hypothesis in operational terms, which propose a relationship between two specific concepts or variables. Testing this operational hypothesis. Examine the outcome obtained from the inquiry. If necessary modifying the theory in the light of the findings.(Saunders et al., 2007, p. 117) Inductive approach is opposite to deductive approach; inductive approach starts with the collection of data that it is added to form a theory or hypothesis. The following is an inductive approach for analysis for a qualitative evaluation data is described. The reasons to use an inductive approach are (a) it compresses textual data into a summary format (b) provide links within the research objectives and findings that are derived from the data and (c) a framework can be developed of the structure of processes that are evident in the data (Thomas, 2006). The inductive approach provides an easy systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable and valid findings. The inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple and straightforward approach for deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to use the inductive approach, as it is less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data analysis (Schutt, 2006). Research philosophy The type of method used in this research