Educational Mobility Essay

The journal article is basically a report on the first study to longitudinally examine educational mobility among nurses. The reason for the study is that schools of nursing cite a lack of qualified nursing faculty as a primary barrier to program expansion. The main objective of the study therefore is to identify patterns in how nurses’ entry-level degrees and other individual characteristics correlate with the timing and achievement of subsequent advanced nursing education. The researchers used longitudinal analysis of data gathered as part of North Carolina’s licensing renewal process. They studied the educational mobility of newly graduated RNs with a variety of entry degrees in this state. They followed cohorts of new graduates who were licensed in 1984, 1994 and a special group in 2004, which is basically a longitudinal study of three decades. The results suggest among others that, more than 80% of all nurses in either cohort who attained a master’s degree in nursing or a doctorate in any field began their nursing career with a bachelor’s degree. Younger age at entry into nursing, male sex, and belonging to a racial or ethnic minority were associated with being more likely to pursue higher academic degrees. Based on their findings, they concluded that increasing the number of graduates with a bachelor of science in nursing degree, especially those who are men or members of a racial or ethnic minority will have the most immediate effect on increasing the potential nursing faculty pool. A Critique of the Research Process and Paper The hypothesis or research question was clearly articulated in the article when the authors introduced the issue of the lack of qualified faculty by schools of nursing as a primary barrier to program expansion. The researchers realized that an examination of the data could offer a much better understanding of how patterns in educational mobility have led to the current shortage, as well as some insight into how to address it. Since it was a longitudinal study of three decades, the literature review must not just be current, but also pertinent in order to address the research problem. In this study, the researchers used only two sources of data: cohort data from the North Carolina Center for Nursing database and data on national graduates from the National League for Nursing Division of Research: Nursing Data Book, 1984; Nursing Data Review, 1994; and Nursing Data Review, 2003. In terms of research design the researchers used longitudinal analysis (which is done over time) to explore patterns of educational mobility among RNs in North Carolina. In this type of research, longitudinal analysis is valuable and relevant because it profiles actual behavior and does not rely upon intentions or recall as in other types of conventional research such as cross-sectional research. However, as the authors admitted a disadvantage of this approach is that over time the nature of educational opportunity and access change so that what was true for nurses starting their career at a specific point in time may not be true for those starting in another time. In terms of selecting the sample and adequacy of the sample size, it was done in accordance to the sampling requirements of the longitudinal study. The first cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1983 or 1984 and were licensed in 1984. A second cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1993 or 1994 and were licensed in 1994. They also collected demographic data on a third cohort of 5,400 RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in 2003 or 2004 and were licensed in North Carolina in 2004. Using the database from the North Carolina Center for Nursing (NCCN) to get the raw data, the researchers were confident that as the first state agency dedicated to nurse workforce planning, the NCCN has 20 years of longitudinal data, including educational information, on the state’s nursing workforce. As far as ethical issues are concerned, there is no point or period in the study article that would suggest of any ethical issue raised by respondents. However, as longitudinal researches take a long time to finish, certain privacy may be raised by some respondents who do not want their past information to be dug up by researchers. For statistical analysis the researchers basically used descriptive statistics such as frequency, means, and certain non-parametric tests (chi-square) for testing significant differences between means computed from the data. Because of the relative characteristic of the statistical tests, the power of the non-parametric test is comparatively lower to that of parametric test. So it is difficult to determine why the authors decided to use non-parametric tests in this case. The findings of the authors do well in identifying the behavior and characteristics of nurses who will most likely fill the gap in terms of the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Their data also suggests that the nursing shortage will not be remedied without having sufficient nursing faculty in place. While the number of RNs has increased in the past decade, their findings suggest that the demand for nursing faculty is not being met. This research is a longitudinal study only of a specific groups or groups of respondents. This study cannot be generalized and duplicated in other states or locale because of such study’s background. The presentation and style of presenting the research article to the average reader might be a bit overwhelming considering that, although a descriptive study, certain areas are complicated and have heavy technical descriptions. The figures such as charts, tables and graphs are also readable and accurate, albeit it takes time for an average reader to understand them. The articles is useful to nursing practice since it tries to address the issue of shortage of nurses due to the lack of qualified nursing faculty who hold master’s or doctorate degrees. The authors themselves tried to encourage all nurses to understand the value of an advanced formal education and the expectation to pursue it. The authors believe that the fastest way to increase the ranks of faculty nurses is to encourage more nurses to enter practice at the baccalaureate level as this academic route has been shown to make advancement for master’s and doctorate degrees more rapidly.

Greek Contributions Essay

Contributions of Ancient Greece Many of the roots of Western society can be traced back to ancient Greece. The longest areas of contribution are architecture, medicine, and philosophy. The philosophical area of ancient Greece is one of the most important; it foundededucational laws and many other things. Also architecture was a major part of what ancient Greece left behind considering they constructed huge buildings that still stand today. Greece was known as one of the founders of modern medicine since they learned how to fix dislocated joints and broken arms. Those are the major contributions left behind from the Greek’s. One of the advancement’s that affects western civilization is architecture. Greece created huge buildings such as the Parthenon and Pantheon. Columns that are used in the Parthenonare found all over the world today such as the White House and other Government buildings such as the Capital Building and The Jefferson Memorial. Also the limestone and ma rble in the buildings and column’s are still used today because of their beauty and durability. The amazing architecture of Greece gave us the idea of creating massive buildings and columns. One of the greatest contributions of ancient Greece is philosophy. Aristotle, the great philosopher believed that reason is the one thing that guides lives. The three philosophers Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates founded the main idea of philosophy today. Socrates thought that you should ask questions that caused you to think deeply about a subject and find the truth in everything. Plato founded the idea that there should be laws on education. These three philosophers together created the idea that we should take what life gives us but find the truth in everything. These famous Greek philosophers set morals and ideas that we use in everyday life. One of the greatest achievements in the ancient world was medicine. There were many doctors who practiced things that will make patients feel better or be cured without hurting patients. Before a doctor called Hippocrates the ancient world believed that gods and demons cause illnesses but then he came around and taught that diseases had natural causes. The doctors of Greece showed us how to find many cures, put dislocated joints back in place, and how to reset bones. Finally they gave us the idea that doctors should do everything in their power to do what is best for the patient. Ultimately, the many contributions of ancient Greece affected our world in many different ways. Medicine helped us to cure many people and have people feel better when they  broke something, dislocated something, or even had a disease. Philosophy of Greece founded the way we learn and question things in today’s world. Finally the architecture of Greece has survived the test of time and impacts many important buildings in the United States of America and many other countries in the world. All in all those are the many contributions of ancient Greece.

A Complex Case of Interpretation of Justice and Truth

A Complex Case of Interpretation of Justice and Truth Justice in society is the ultimate destination for those who wish to uphold the truth; however, morality is contradicted by an individual’s choice to be uninvolved when personal serenity is at stake. The novel Jasper Jones upholds this idea through the portrayal of silent bystanders as the driving force that powers the events of injustice that take place in Corrigan. Ultimately, this dilemma is revealed to the audience through the lens of Charlie Bucktins experiences, which act as a catalyst in assisting him piece together the reality that achieving justice is not always a clear-cut matter. Breakdowns within relationships are spurred into being by the inability of individuals to acknowledge their personal liability and condemn others of their misdemeanors. As Charlie witnesses his mother’s accumulating verbal abuse towards his fathers misbehavior, he understands how his mother attempts to feed her dissatisfaction in life by criticizing those around her: â€Å"She called him a poor parent, a useless husband. She accused him of not caring for either me or her.† However, since Charlies father stays uninvolved in order to restore peace, he is allowing injustice to linger; in fact, he is ironically being scapegoated as the excuse for his wife’s affair. As Charlie states, â€Å"I wanted him to take umbrage with her questioning of his heart and his loyalty. But he didn’t.† Although the peace of passiveness is eventually made most evident to the audience within the motif of Charlie’s antipodean snowdome, Charlie also understands the saf ety of being a silent bystander. His experiences force him to regret opening his window to Jasper Jones: â€Å"I’d choose to forget. I’d sleep safe in my settled snowdome.† Therefore, the Bucktin house can also be viewed as a microcosm of the Corrigan community, as the silent bystander sustains wrongdoings and allows the innocent to be accused for others mistakes. Silvey adapts his ideas about truth and responsibility to the Wishart family; Pete Wishart’s brutal abuse of Laura was facilitated by Eliza’s and Mrs. Wishart’s continuous suppression of the truth. The narrative demonstrates Laura’s encounters through a metaphorical spectacle highlighting how quickly evil was propelled â€Å"Like a cork from a bottle. A train with no brakes. Here, the use of simile heightens the intensity of Eliza’s recounting to Charlie of her inability to oppose the villainy under her own roof. In a uniquely Australian voice Silvey personifies the intense heat of the Australian climate â€Å"summer heat crept in† symbolizing nature growing in tension in parallel with the events within the Wishart family. Dissolution of relationships within the Wishart family thrived from the subduing of truth and the abrogation of responsibilities as parental guardians from both Mr. and Mrs. Wishart. The powerless and marginalized are ofte n scapegoated for the mistakes of those higher up in societies hierarchy to uphold faultless public appearances. Society’s animosity towards Jasper Jones is enunciated during Charlie’s first encounter with him â€Å"They think I’m a bloody animal. They think I belong in a cage† The image of Jasper as an animal represents the ironic label that impugns his sensitive and misunderstood nature and presents him as dangerous to society. The first person narrative within the novel positions Charlie as the narrator allowing us to recognize the duality of Jasper which may not be known by others. Subsequently these experiences are what fuels the novel and forces Jasper and Charlie to adapt methods contrary to the traditional to achieve justice. Jasper’s character is inexorably linked to accumulated stereotypical labels â€Å"a Thief, a Liar, a Thug, a Truant† that allows the powerful figures such as Pete Wishart to demonstrate a destructive power of injustice and scapegoat Jasper Jones for his misdemeanor. This supports his attempts in masking his identity as an alcoholic, immoral, sexually violent man and uphold his authority as the Shire president. Capitalization of these titles demonstrate the dominance of the assumptions of the community and promotes Jasper’s vulnerability to be scapegoated. However, during his encounter with Mad Jack Lionel Jasper is indirectly accused of the same mistake of judging by appearance without understanding reality, as he himself engage in scapegoating of the innocent. Represented through an imperative narrative voice tied together with aphorism, Silvey highlights the ability of the Corrigan citizens to disfigure the truth so extremely, despite their personal egregious p ractices, that it forces Jack Lionel to resort to an isolated life, â€Å"The story became truth†¦And Jack Lionel’s portrait was smudged with ink and smeared in shit†. Silvey alludes this image of Lionel to the character of â€Å"Boo Radley†, a reclusive social outcast in â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†. During Jaspers blindness of the truth he fails to understand the positive intentions of Lionel to reunite with his grandson. â€Å"Or maybe he knew†¦Maybe he knows about his place. Maybe it was him.† The repetition of â€Å"Maybe† accentuates Jaspers uncertainty and lack of evidence in accusing Jack Lionel. Even though Jasper doesn’t have an image he needs to support, he needs to accuse someone else to hide the possibility of his actions driving Laura to her death. Therefore by relieving oneself of mistakes by antagonizing the innocent we are able to eliminate possibilities of moral misadventure. Justice and truth are intertwined as the handling of truth by individuals are influenced by human experiences and the reinterpretation of it brings about justice or injustice. Peoples encounters within certain relationships shapes their view of the truth as only those willing to peel away the layers and explore it will truly understand reality. Charlie’s intelligence and compelling attitude to discover the truth before judging places characters in their authentic form, which assists in piecing together the different events within Corrigan. As a result of this he and Jasper were able to discover the ultimate injustice within Laura’s death and perceive Corrigan through a different lens. Craig Silvey poignantly completes this novel through the revealing of human nature and its role within unearthing the truth and bringing about Justice.

A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid - Essay Example We analyze every bit of her approach using careful consideration of possibilities and methods that she could have used. A unique way to create a personal touch in a narrative that is created to be a social bookmark, the author’s personal voice which keeps the reader acquainted with her thinking and experiences provide new reading experience indeed. Many argue that if she would have used a third person narrative, the book would have touched a higher realm of intellectual thinking and presentation of history. The process however, is reversed here. Both the fields of history and literature take a bow on this highly original creation by a native of Antigua and it is through the subjective narration of facts and happenings that the chapters in history come slowly forward to us. Using an objective narration would have only allowed the events to be chronologically set in a neutral backdrop, while her subjective narration instantly familiarizes the reader with the bias that she holds towards considering her country’s people more precious than tourists and outsiders. It may sound odd to the wors hipper of white power initially, but her conviction in the superiority of the natives and the inferiority and misery of the colonizers. The need to keep tourists reminded of the colonized past of Antigua has propelled the narrative to a direction wherein the writer is convinced that every white tourist that walks in her motherland is a descendent of the brutes of the past, who had initially walked in as a tourist but had eventually colonized the place and tried to turn it into England, the lad that they belonged to and adorned. History is replete with such incidences and if Jamaica has chosen to eye every tourist with the same perspective as the slaves saw the colonizers, then the entire picture, though brutal, still appears justified. We

Introduction to managerial accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction to managerial accounting - Essay Example It creates precise reports that are focused on future, present and past, the management uses these reports in making educated decisions concerning the organization. Some of the reports produced are; Department reports, Sales forecasting, planning reports and Production reports. Financial accounting provides information to government agencies, suppliers, banks and shareholders who use it in making long term decisions for the organization, and they follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Reports created include; income statement, balance sheets, retained earnings summary and cash flow reports. Managerial accounting lays emphasis on decisions that affect the future, therefore planning is an important element of the manager’s job since managerial accounting is future based. Financial accounting basically provides past financial transaction summaries which may be used in planning to some extent, since the future is not always a reflection of past happenings. Many changes are taking place in economic and technological conditions therefore, manager’s planning must be based on what will happen rather than what really happened (Accounting for Management, 2012). Accounting information is used internally by employees and various managers who include; marketing managers and purchasing managers. Accurate accounting is important to individuals who make crucial business and financial decisions within the organization that affect the organization directly. Companies aiming at selling services and goods at prices that provide adequate returns to the owners should keep an adequate level of liquidity and profitability to continue operations. Accounting information is critical to organizations in conducting their daily activities such as; financing the company, investing in resources, managing employees, producing goods and marketing

Evaluate the impact of Fairtrade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evaluate the impact of Fairtrade - Essay Example Alternative trade organizations that are based on philosophies of well being of environment, and also social justice are creating new channels for marketing and trade alongside conventional agricultural export sectors. Social responsibility and ethics have become an important factor in consumer marketing which provides an organization with competitive advantage with respect to its competitors. The changes that are brought about by fair trade have to be looked at first to analyze the impacts of fair trade. One has to consider in this regard the changes that were not possible without the existence of fair trade. When the existence of fair trade benefits farmers, they start to control a significant part of the production chain and also employ workers. When farmers who are certified by fair trade employ workers, those workers have a high standard of living and a working condition that is considered better. If workers have a standard of living that is considered better, they will invest more money in their children’s education. Favourable economic opportunities are provided by fair trade to small farming families such that they also get the opportunity to join manufacturing organizations and produce products with market specifications. These farmers are considered to enjoy higher and stable incomes as compared to those farmers that sell in the conventional market. Buyers pay a stable minimum price known as fair trade price to cover the sustainable cost of production. There also exists opportunity for pre-financing and also contracts for long term planning. It also has an increased access to the export markets (Bassett, 2010, pp. 44-49). The fair trade price is considered to have a lot of significance when in the volatile world the prices of commodities and products fall below the cost of production. Importers tend to import the products of fair trade in their respective countries for further processing of such products and to sell those products themselves or

Augustine and Dante Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Augustine and Dante - Essay Example dea of Plato’s intellectual light into a Christian conception of spiritual light by describing the source of intellectual light as Truth or God, presenting it as evidence of God’s work within our minds. This interpretation of intellectual light as Divine Illumination had significant impact on Augustine’s theories regarding the soul, including what the soul was capable of doing and how it related to the body as he wrote in his Confessions. A thousand years later, Dante Alighieri would use these ideas of Divine Illumination to provide the underlying theme for his Divine Comedy. Augustine wrote his famous Confessions when he was in his early-40s. He wrote it as a means of exposing the sinful child he was, how he came to be a Christian and what that has meant in his life. Augustine presents his book in terms of a biography tracing his own spiritual development. He starts with childhood up to age 14 is covered in the first segment of the book in which Augustine exists as the ‘natural’ sinful man. However, as he approached his 20s, one of his friends died and he began studying with Aristotle, adopting a life of philosophy and reveling in a life of sorrow. This represents the second stage in his spiritual development which is a kind of seeking and considering his values. His full enlightenment begins as he sits in the garden one day and hears a child singing a song instructing him to read. Since his friends are talking to him about the Bible at the time, this is the book he begins reading. What he reads convinces him to convert to Christianity. The deaths of his mother and two more friends cause him to stop studying rhetoric and begin to meditate on the spiritual values of confession and the senses. This progression of the soul is almost identical in Dante’s work. The long narrative poem begins when Dante as narrator is rescued from a dark wood in which wild beasts threaten him and he is aware that he is in a place of self-destruction. He travels to the

Pause for thought............. How does Pinter's use of language and Essay

Pause for thought............. How does Pinter's use of language and rhythm influence his subtext - Essay Example ally gives meaning to the plays, enhance tonalities, brings out the element of characterization, and helps in developing and strengthening of the major themes in the subtexts. The language Pinter uses is highly performative, and this serves as a reinvention to subtext. The Birthday Party is Pinter’s play that mainly explores the absurd, mysterious, secretive, and insidious forces that underlie the lives of the main characters and their relentless efforts to find peace, normalcy, and acceptance in the natural order (Raby 41; Pinter 752). Therefore, Pinter makes sure to use a language form that will bring out the state of the characters as they are. To achieve this, Pinter uses language aspects such as description, repetition, and syntax. All these in the subtext serve the purpose of bringing out the absurd and confusing elements of the main characters in the play (Pinter 750). By basing on syntax, as an element of language, the play achieves good description of the relevant scenes. For instance, the playwright uses a combination of both short and long sentences in different scenes of the play. The conversation between Petey and Meg is primarily composed of short sentence: â€Å"What?, Is that you?, Yes, its me., What? Yes,† (Pinter 751). This aspect of language use impacts on the subtext in different ways. First, it helps establish the atmosphere in the couple’s house. To an extent, one might read tension in this kind of conversation. Secondly, this aspect of language depicts the nature of relationship between Petey and Meg, in addition to the calm or mundane nature of their existence. The deceptive calm and tranquility is effectively brought out through language in order to be contrasted by the disruption and chaos that is to follow (Pinter 750). Moreover, the short sentences enhance the steady and relaxed rhythm of language, which enhances the description of the characters and the uninterrupted nature of their setting as the play unfolds. Today, most

Tourism Attraction Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tourism Attraction Assessment - Assignment Example They focus on the regional commercial, cultural and political activities. It translates the reputation and visibility of the local area into higher achievements and attractions (Richards 113). The local Art museum is advertised in various brochures and an internet source like their website.it is situated in Central Avenue, Ithaca New York which opens from 10am to 5 pm and is easily accessible by a personal car, bus or foot and the directions and bus timetable are given in their website and brochures. There is free admission for all therefore appealing to all persons and not just luxurious visitors. The Johnson Museum of Art provides easy accessibility and excellent experience for people with a range of disabilities the staff and receptionists are available to assureof comfort and trained staff members are available to provide tours to children and adults with disabilities. There is aminimum of five people per tour and fifteen per group and a requirement for a two weeks’ notice, a guide is assigned for every group of visitors; they show them around explaining the various exhibitions and arts around the museum (Herbert para 1). The museum is visited by various demographics that are curious to learn and appreciate culture and beauty, it boasts as a unique destination because it is made vibrant by the students and faculty of Ithaca College and Cornell university,visitors range from local tourists like university students who are there to learn and appreciation of their culture to international visitors who are enticed by the beauty of the museum and the charm of the environment. The museum displays Art in the form of modern, contemporary, photographs, videos, print and drawings among others. Their collectionpromotes teaching, learning, and research in a wide range of disciplines and is constantly being developed. Some of their Art work and publications can be purchased by the visitors. This can also be done online on their

An Industrial relations issue, its source and how to deal with this Essay

An Industrial relations issue, its source and how to deal with this - Essay Example When employees continue to press for their demands, they are sometimes considered greedy by the management who expect more work from them with little complaints. The employees are thus sometimes considered acquisitive, selfish and a union that has a tendency to consider itself as a political watchdog of the management and abandoning their primary goal of work. This paper reports about origins, development, primary causes and the effects of industrial disputes between the employees and the employers in state corporations. The wider aspects of these industrial disputes go to wage disputes, which most managers cannot justify especially after the global economic crisis. The consumers of goods and services, which results from these state corporations, have suffered a great deal. The quality of goods and services that results from these state corporations have also been greatly compromised since the employees have not devoted a good quality of their time to service. Industrial disputes in Australia Strikes are shaped on many levels that range from the macro to the mundane, as such, attempts to understand strikes must include broadest implications of industrial relations landscape. ... In the university level, students repeatedly mobilize and demonstrate against government measures and core of the union activists agitating from within the political system, causing a lot of disruptions in the learning system. Neoliberalism and labour Neoliberalism reforms, macro stabilization and structural adjustments programs promoted by international financial institutions, state reform, trade and investment liberalization seen in most parts of the world has enlightened the work operations. These reforms have led to creation of free market economies of all types followed by liberalization regimes resulting into protective labour standards. The reduction of employer’s contribution to social security and the dismal of workers with good jobs increased subcontracting of production resulting into increased employment based on low wages and low job security (Price, 2007). These developments weakened the capacity of labour relations to represent the workers hence leading to sever al disputes arising from workers. The establishment of entrepreneurial society dominates moat organizations leading to unexpected labour relations (Alexander and Lewer, 2004). Key developments in Australian employment relations The political and employment relations process at the national level led to the creation of new rules to take care of employment interest and to increase the cooperation between the employer and the employee. The swearing in of Rudd Labour Government and the appointment of Julia Gillard as deputy prime minister saw a number of changes in employment relations but the path to change seemed slower and complicated than anticipated (Burgess and McDonald, 2003). The government has been subjected to a lot of pressure on employment and increase in wage demands from the workers in

The Old Man and the Sea Essay Example for Free

The Old Man and the Sea Essay â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea:† A Tale of Betrayed Brotherhood In Ernest Hemingway’s novella â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† an old fisherman named Santiago faces the challenge of catching the largest fish of his life, an act he hopes will bring immortal greatness to his name. The accomplishment of this goal, however, hinges on the act of killing a creature Santiago often deems his equal, as exemplified by his recurring reference to the fish as a brother. The old man’s longing for greatness negates any moral considerations he may have, though, until he realizes his own mortality, extends that into a feeling of equality with the fish, and the fish’s body is destroyed by sharks. Then he understands what he has done: stripped the noble fish, his equal, of its pride. From that point on, he regrets his actions of betraying his brother. Therefore, throughout a majority of â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† Santiago’s desire to achieve immortal greatness overshadows the immorality of his actions, but when the sharks destroy the physical embodiment of this achievement, the fish, he realizes that the end does not justify the means; immortal greatness is not obtained. Santiago, who is nearing the end of his life, has a preoccupation bordering on obsession with greatness. He continually speaks and thinks of Joe DiMaggio, the embodiment of greatness in the form of a baseball player, and his roots as a poor fisherman’s son strengthen the attachment. He dreams of lions, the kings of the jungle, enjoying their domain on a beach. Greatness is clearly on Santiago’s mind. In addition, he longs for the type of greatness that transcends human life; he dreams of achieving immortality through the remembrance of his name in association with something great after his death. After battling the fish for many days, Santiago thinks, â€Å"I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. You’re good for ever† (Hemingway 70). His inner speech, particularly the last sentence, demonstrates his lofty, idealistic mindset. He views his existence as eternal; thus, the type of greatness for which he yearns inferably fits this view and is therefore eternal as well. For Santiago, immortal greatness can only be achieved through fishing: â€Å"You were born to be a fisherman and the fish was born to be a fish. San Pedro was a fisherman as was the father of the great DiMaggio† (Hemingway 81). By extension, Santiago labels the rest of the subjects of the sentence as great due to the reference to DiMaggio, and because he specifically refers to his role in life (a fisherman) in this context, he believes it to be his means toward achieving this greatness. What better chance does he have than to bring in the greatest fish of his life, alone and in old age? Therefore, the fish he catches in the story is his chance at immortal greatness. Early in the story, before Santiago has even seen the fish, he thinks, â€Å"If he will jump I can kill him. But he stays down for ever. Then I will stay down with him for ever† (44). This thought also illuminates the connection he feels between the fish and his glory: If he does not catch the fish and bring it home, hope for his immortal existence dies because this greatness depends entirely on the fish, this fish. Throughout most of the novella, Santiago views the fish as beneath him, as something he is entitled to subdue. For example, he takes possession of the fish, the fish he thus believes he is destined to catch, by referring to it as his before anything even nibbles on his line (Hemingway 24). Also, during Santiago’s battle with the fish, he thinks, â€Å"But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able† (Hemingway 47). In the first half of this passage, he clearly places himself mentally above the fish; however, the second half introduces the respect Santiago holds for the fish, which brings into question his asserted feelings of superiority. In addition, he often refers to the fish as his brother, introducing a sense of kinship he feels with the creature (Hemingway 44, 47, 57, 71, 73). Yet the air of supremacy remains, despite these outward expressions of equality, because the old man’s desire for greatness is so blindingly dominant. Santiago speaks aloud: â€Å"‘I’ll kill him though,’ he said. ‘In all his greatness and his glory. ’ Although it is unjust, he thought. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures† (Hemingway 49). In this quotation, Santiago recognizes the greatness of the fish and even contemplates the moral implications of his quest to kill it, but his conclusion that he needs to finish what he set out to do to prove man’s dominance over the creatures of the sea, specifically his dominance to satisfy his hunger for greatness, overshadows his brief moral questioning. Also, Santiago’s references to the fish as a brother initially do not always signify kinship and equality. Once, he makes the claim that his two hands and the fish are brothers; the fish is only related to two small parts of his body (Hemingway 47). Albeit the hands are important parts to the fisherman, he still equates the fish to a portion of his body, not the whole self, which implies there is more to than man than to the fish. A little later, he calls the stars his brothers and expresses gratitude for not having to kill such great, distant beings (Hemingway 58). This minimizes both the fish’s greatness and supposed brotherhood because Santiago clearly longs to be one amongst the stars (immortal greatness), despite, or perhaps because of, their admittedly ungraspable nature, in addition to battling a mere mortal fish. For these reasons, throughout much of the novella Santiago puts the fish’s greatness below the quest for his own, despite selected words to the contrary. When Santiago comes to terms with his own mortality, however, he truly recognizes his equality with the also mortal fish. After days of battling the fish, his inescapable mortality rises to his mind for the first time: â€Å"‘Fish,’ the old man said. ‘Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too’† (Hemingway 70)? Here, Santiago realizes that more than the ability to obtain greatness lies in the hands of this fish; his physical existence also hinges on the fish’s actions. This thought humbles the old man, and minutes later he thinks, â€Å"You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a great, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who† (Hemingway 71). For the first time the word â€Å"brother† carries the weight it implies because Santiago sees both himself and the fish as mortal beings in a struggle for life. No longer does he assume superior rank over the fish; instead, he recognizes the nobility of both beings as equal in his expression of unconcern for which dies. Shortly after this realization, Santiago succeeds in landing the fish; however, only an hour later, sharks begin to attack the dead fish tied to the side of his boat, ripping flesh from bone, stripping it of its physical mortal greatness. At this point, the question of the morality of killing the fish once again surfaces: â€Å"You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive, and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more† (Hemingway 81)? Because Santiago had previously established a kinship with the fish, he questions his pride-motivated actions, whether or not his obtaining of immortal greatness justifies killing a noble brother. It soon becomes clear that these means are not justified. Santiago begins to apologize to the fish numerous times, first for the sharks that mangle its body, then for killing it in the first place (Hemingway 85). Eventually, Santiago says, â€Å"‘I shouldn’t have gone out so far, fish,’ he said. ‘Neither for you nor for me. I’m sorry, fish’† (Hemingway 85). In this quotation, Santiago laments his quest for greatness (â€Å"I shouldn’t have gone out so far†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) and asserts that it destroyed both him and the fish. Therefore, despite the completion of his goal to catch a great fish, Santiago fails in his quest for immortal greatness because he realizes that killing a creature equal in greatness and nobility to himself, a creature he calls his brother, is ignoble. He even acknowledges this failure after he returns to shore, when he recognizes that nothing outside himself actually beat him in his quest: â€Å"And what beat you, he thought. ‘Nothing,’ he said aloud. ‘I went out too far’† (Hemingway 93). Only his desire for immortal greatness defeated him and barred him from achieving it, that is, if it was ever possible for him to achieve it at all. Therefore, in Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"The Old Man and the Sea,† Santiago fails in his quest to acquire immortal greatness. He begins by thinking of the fish as his to take, the means by which he can obtain greatness, but after realizing his own mortality he understands the fish’s equality to himself and regrets taking its life, which led to the stripping of its flesh, its physical greatness. Thus, the nobility of both the old man and the fish are ruined, and he certainly fails to seal his name as an eternal presence of greatness. Perhaps his quest was doomed from the beginning; immortal greatness was never possible for the old man.

Money Is Not The Only Motivator Management Essay

Money Is Not The Only Motivator Management Essay We are presenting our term project which was chosen from one of the topics provided by the course instructor. We are pleased to present our report on topic Money is not the Only motivator This research gave us an excellent chance to understand the concept of motivation and its applications in practical world. We chose Pakistan State Oil as our organization for our research. We would also like to thank all our respondents, who were kind enough to answer our questionnaires and gave their valuable time in guiding and informing us about their perception on our topic. We acknowledge all of your help and support for this research. We sincerely thank our instructor Ms Unzela Hasni for her support and trust in our capabilities. Yours Sincerely, Syed Ahmed Asad (12131) Bilal Jawaid (12093) Riaz Ramzan Ali ((10712) Abdul Moiz Mughal (11540) Maryam Abbasi (11869) Acknowledgement We begin by expressing our gratitude to our Lord, the Almighty Allah without Whose Guidance and Will, all is impossible. We are also highly thankful to our teacher and instructor, Mr Unzela Hansni, whose teaching has given us great knowledge and a peek into the professional world of Human Resource Management and its various aspects. This report has sharpened our ability to interpret the concepts and methods with greater sensibility. Executive Summary Pakistan State Oil is the leading oil company in Pakistans energy sector with largest retail outlets to serve all industries and consumers of Pakistan. PSO takes pleasure to continue tradition of excellence and it is fully committed to meet energy needs of future. PSO is one of local organization that holds an award for attracting employees because of their strategic human resource practices.PSO takes it human resource management as the most important department of their company because they treat their employees as their most significant asset.PSO along its effective compensation plan (monetary) holds many other techniques and methods of modern era to keep employees engaged and make sure that they are striving for the attainment of companys goal. In this report we surveyed PSO to collect valuable information on different motivational aspects and methods used by management to make sure employees feel interested at work and have a sense of belonging to the organization. We learned var ious techniques such as performance management, motivational surveys, employee awards, recreational facilities , training and development and others. Hypothesis H0: PSO is successful in motivating its employees H1: PSO is not successful in motivating its employees In our research we assumed that PSO is one of the most successful domestic organizations to keep a motivated workforce in Pakistan, so to test our hypothesis we went to the organization and interviewed 2 top managers and got questionnaires filled from 12 employees linked to senior , middle and lower level management positions. Our hypothesis is to prove whether a motivated group of employees help individuals and business to achieve job satisfaction, productive employees, more profit, self development and an effective work environment (culture). Methodology We used research based methodology to work on this report. Our research was conducted in several steps that include: Planning which topic to choose Choosing the Organisation Collecting secondary information from different sources such as Human Resource Books Internet Articles from Harvard Business Review Next we designed a questionnaire Site visit (PSO) Get our questionnaires filled Interviewed two managers Assembled primary and secondary data 1st draft report to check plagiarism Final report INTRODUCTION PSO: Overview Just like any other competitive business, PSO is a challenging petroleum products marketer, supporting foresight, quick judgment and hard work and acumen. At PSO, we have been making new grounds since our situation in the market. By introducing a competitive product portfolio, aligning our corporate social responsibility, putting up up storage depots at far-flung areas, presenting relative marketing techniques, energizing industrial institutions, supporting the countrys defense forces, ensuring customers satisfaction and provision of new business challenges, PSO has been setting the benchmark for other oil marketing companies during the 25 years of its excellent existence. Under the strategy, State Oil Company Limited a private company owned by the Federal government in which undertaking were vested on 15th September 1976 took over the entire undertakings of Pakistans Oil limited companies and National Oil limited companies as disclosed in their respective financial statements declared on June 30th. The company then later converted in to Public limited company. In consideration for the transfer, the reconciliation program provided all shareholders of the two former companies, PNOL and POCL, be issued fully paid-up ordinary shares of PSO against their holdings in PNOL and POCL along with fully paid-up premium shares. This was done at the rate of 1,185 PSO shares for every 1,000 shares of PNOL and 1,136 PSO shares for every 1,000 shares of POCL. The inception period of any company is always comparatively difficult but for an organization emerging out of the merger of three separate units, the problems can be more complex. PSO, during its first year of operation, was no amazing. However, most of the problems were properly solved and taken care by the company. PSO sold a total of 2,514,000 tons of petroleum products till June 30th 1977. This made a turnover of Rs 404.53 crores. Such meager return was partially due to the unrealistic gross margins, which were available to the oil marketing companies in all main products and were fixed by the government as far back as 1963. At the end of the first year, the extent of the PSO operations was that it had four ocean terminals, 34 inland depots, four blending plants and 950 retail outlets. Of the retail outlets, 715 were gasoline and HSD stations, 126 service stations, 44 LDO farm stations and 65 kerosene stations. In its first year of operations, the upcountry storage capacity of the company was augmented by 33,000 tons. The storage capacity was established at Gilgit, Chitral and Skardu, enabling the residents of the Northern Areas to obtain their requirements of petroleum products throughout the year and at reasonable prices. By the second year of operations i.e. 1977, the company had successfully overcome the initial problems of the merger, establishing itself as a homogeneous commercial force capable of playing its rightful role in the economic progress of the country. It sold 1,826,000 metric tons of petroleum products during the year as against 1,746,000 tons in the first year. This indicated an increase of 4.56 per cent. Since then, PSOs success story has continued with the company making a strong impact on the countrys overall development over the years with excellent prospects for further growth. A cursory look at PSO at a Glance in the annual report reveals remarkable financial strength accumulated since inception. Statistics, though somewhat restricted, nevertheless, give a picture of all-round improvement despite temporary setbacks. The companys shareholders have reposed unwavering confidence in the astute financial policies followed by the company that have not only given extremely attractive cash dividends year-after-year but also a consistent increase in the shareholders equity from Rs 116.2 million in 1977 to Rs 9,808 million in 2001. Where do we stand today? PSOs sales revenue during FY-2001 rose to Rs. 170 billion, showing a growth of 25.7% over the previous year. The company earned an all-time record gross profit of Rs. 6.4 billion, which was up by 12.4% over the preceding year. The profit after tax was Rs. 2.25 billion. This was marginally higher than the previous years profit of Rs. 2.23 billion. If PSO had not made these provisions, the company would have reflected an additional profit of the same amount, which would have resulted in significantly higher profit than the preceding year. Not only that, the company has emerged as one of the countrys few largest taxpayers in the corporate sector. PSOs business operations have helped collect over the years Rs 338 billion in duties and taxes on behalf of the government. Integral to our success are our efforts to provide our customers an unmatched service based on innovation, deep care and our vision for the future. Accordingly, we have launched an aggressive plan to build New Vision outlets in order to provide better quality service to its customers. Some 330 New Vision retail outlets have been established all over the country in a short period of two and a half years, which is a record. At the same time, to set high standards of customer service, the number of Company-owned and Company-operated (CoCo) sites has increased to 20. Yet another ambitious program that PSO has launched will see the promotion of Internet, especially in inaccessible areas of Pakistan. A total of 500 retail outlets are to be provided with Internet facility, which is now available at 150 outlets. The philosophy of HR in PSO 1. Consider human asset as the only asset which gets appreciated by passage of time. 2. Always the right person at the right place for the right job. 3. Continuously re-align organization in line with contemporary business practices. 4. Make Organization responsive by making it lean and flexible. 5. All HR issues to be handled with transparency and keenness. Work environment in PSO Employee Recognition To boost the morale of employees a reward and recognition scheme is in place for the last few years and has been a great source of creating a spirit of healthy competition amongst employees. Each year employees are nominated for two company-wide ceremonies viz Shaukat Raza Mirza Management Excellence Award and PSO Managing Directors Performance Award Motivation Survey Special efforts for continuously enriching our business systems and implementing relative strategies have always been fruitful which are aimed at augmenting a work culture that enhances employee motivation as well as gaining a better understanding of forces that shapes motivation, attitude, behavior patterns and expectations. Employee Motivation surveys are conducted that recognize the needs, opinions, concerns and perceptions of our human capital about the organization and what they value in terms of professional and personal interests and incentives. Keeping a human element is mind these surveys help identify a meaningful employee relationship with the organizational objectives and understand their job responsibilities and work expectations. Communication: Open-book direct approach environment An assortment of forums/meetings at hand (Executive Committee, Management Committee, Employee Leadership Team) inspire discipline and accelerate establishment of processes systems. Encourage team work group dynamics while inculcating a sense of ownership through empowered Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) Employ Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to maintain an international working environment by streamlining processes and removing unnecessary layers Interactive sessions are regularly held by the Managing Director at all levels because clear, coherent and consistent messages ensure that employees are able to integrate the inputs into their thinking All organizational changes are announced Tolerance We have high ethical standards and a Business Principles and Ethics Policy in place. We value, encourage and inculcate corporate reforms, good governance, best business practices and an environment of continued adherence to Zero Tolerance, resulting in the development of our human capital and meeting all business challenges. Facilities and Recreational activities PSO encourages recreational activities of workforce at all levels. Formation and functioning of PSO Club provides assistance to employees for their mental and physical health as well as for their social activities. Sports and recreational activities are organized through this forum, where employees and their families are encouraged to participate. It is our top priority to ensure the employees are in good shape and health. To physically show that we care, we have in-house food service with subsidized meals in a cafeteria that can cater all the employees stationed at PSO House. Employees can enjoy gymnasium facility right in PSOs corporate vicinity, a convenience of walking from your workstation to a private gym for a revitalizing workout. Performance Management System of effective performance and feed back is worked out at PSO and is a significant figure of our appraisal management Individual performance is sorted with the business goals and objectives of the company Performance-based rewards are offered on early basis All management employees annual appraisal through a population spread Human Resource Awards In September 2007 Engage Human Resources (consultancy, solutions and services) in partnership with the Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management (PSHRM) conducted a preference study interviewing 550 graduating MBA students from 8 universities, chosen from the latest Higher Education Commission ranking survey. December 18, 2007, Karachi (PSHRM) and Engage Human Resources, announced the results of the first Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2007 study at the ceremony held for PSHRM Graduate Employer Awards 2007. As we create an aspiring internal credibility along with leading HR practices delivering that promise, we standout for graduating MBA students as the most preferred place to work. Pakistan State Oil won the Most Preferred Local Company Award as the highest ranked Pakistani company with their perceived attractive compensation package as the main reason for their ability to attract talent. Literature Review Motivation Motivation is the process that is a mixture of individuals intensity, direction persistence of effort toward attaining a goal. We would like to describe each element separately. Intensity- states how hard a person tries , or how much effort he will apply in his job Direction- A person should know the areas where he has to put more or less effort. Persistence-states how long a person could maintain his effort Effort that is directed toward and consistent with organizational goals is the kind of effort that we must be seeking. Managers are the nervous system of any organization, so they play the main role to make sure of motivational practices that are necessary for an organization. Major steps which managers should take to motivate employees are: Recognize individual differences Use goals and take feedback on these goals Link reward to performance Check the reward system Make sure that employees are present in decision making which directly affect them There are two basic ways to motivate employees. These are monetary and non-monetary approaches that are used by management. Moreover before using rewards to motivate employees we have to take some strategic decisions. These are what should be the pay structure? How to pay employees? Whether there should be flexible benefits or not? How the company should build its recognition programs? First major decision is what to pay, that is to establish a pay structure. It is a rather complex decision and entails balancing internal and external equity. However the best pay system pays the job what it is worth while also paying competitively relative to the labor market. Second decision is how to pay, whether there should be variable programs or skill based programs. Variable Pay Programs A portion of an employees pay is based on some individual and/or organization measure of performance Piece Rate: Workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed Merit-Based: Based on performance appraisal ratings. This merit based pay is motivating for employees because if they are designed properly, individuals can see their performance and reward they are getting. Bonuses: Reward recent performance rather than historical. SKILLED BASED PAY: It is also known as knowledge based pay, it sets pay based on jobs or skills an employee can perform. Profit Sharing plan: These are organization wide programs that distribute compensation based on some established formula designed around a companys profitability. These can be cash outlays or stock options. Gain sharing: It is a formula based group incentive plan. Rewards are tied to production gains not to profits. Employee Stock Ownership Plans: In this program employee acquire stocks mainly below market price as part of their benefits, it increases employee satisfaction but its impact on performance is still not clear. Third decision is what benefits to offer, another component is known as flexible benefits. Flexible Benefits: It allows each employee to put together a benefits package individually tailored to his needs and situation. Three most popular benefits plans are: Modular plans- a predesigned package of benefits put together to meet needs of specific group of employees Core-plus plans- consists a core of benefits and a menu like selection of other benefits. Flexible spending plans- allow employees to set aside up to the dollar amount offered in the plan to pay for particular services. Employee Recognition: Fourth is to build a comprehensive employee recognition program. It ranges from a THANKYOU to widely publicize formal programs in which specific types of behavior are encouraged and procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified. Two of the most popular methods are giving gifts certificates and cash rewards. It also includes giving personal attention to employees. But all factors described above holds some pros and cons. Benefits of it are Fulfill employees desire for recognition Inexpensive to implement Encourage repetition of desired behaviors Non Monetary Approaches to Motivation: There are some non monetary approaches to motivate employees. To proceed further we need to understand job design first i.e. way the elements in a job are organized. First way to redesign a job to motivate an employee is job rotation that is periodic shifting of employee from one job to another. When an activity becomes unchallenging employee is shifted to another job usually at the same level of skills requirements. Another way is job enlargement in which variety and number of tasks of an employee are increased; it is a horizontal expansion in an employees job design. Similarly, we expand vertically to which is known as job enrichment. It increases the degree to which worker controls planning, execution and evaluation at the work. Furthermore there are some alternative work arrangements. These are: Flexitime: Employees work during a common core time work each day but can arrange their total hours a day by themselves from the set of hours outside the core. Job sharing It is a practice in which a 40 hour a week job is split between two to three employees. It allows management to draw on talents of more than one individual in a given job and is mostly suitable for female workers. Telecommuting It refers to employees who do their work at home atleast 2 days a week on a computer that is linked to their office. Three types of jobs suits this method Routine information handling task Mobile activities Knowledge related jobs Employee Involvement: It is a process that supports participative management by using employees input to increase their commitment to the organizations success. By increasing worker autonomy and control over work lives (involvement), organizations: Increase employee motivation Gain greater organizational commitment Experience greater worker productivity Observe higher levels of job satisfaction Three major forms of employee motivation are: Participative Management Subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors Representative Participation Works Councils: Groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted for any personnel decisions Board Representative: An employee sits on a companys board of directors and represents the interests of the firms employees. Quality Circle A work group of employees, who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions. Articles on Motivation from HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW: To make our research more interesting we decided to summarize some very interesting article from Harvard Business Review which we were told to read regularly by our instructor. References to these articles are given at the end. Article 1: Say, Tom, Let Me Whitewash a Little: The Power of Intrinsic Motivation: Article Link: http://blogs.hbr.org/erickson/2007/07/say_tom_let_me_whitewash_a_lit.html Summary or the Article: This article develops clear sense of what intrinsic motivation is. Intrinsic motivation is the willingness to engage in an activity without some external rewards (i.e. French benefits) or in other words we can say that it is the motivation that comes from inside of an individual rather than from any external reward. It is the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on the task. The computer games are the best example as its suckled on the principle of intrinsic motivation. The growing skill level and the increasing degree of difficulties led to effective online learning with the motivation for players to move towards the next level. Similarly within this type of cultural norms, smaller steps are far better than the big infrequent increment. If workplace adopt same culture than the workers will work harder to compete with colleague and move towards the next level in order to attain the desired goal. Nowadays the workforce are adopting this culture i.e. using games (whether addictive or not) in which there is a use of intrinsic principles to encourage self-motivated work activities that can led to enormous effective production. This is a successful strategy because people want to move to next level as fast as they can and in workforce competition among workers motivate them to work hard and to move towards the next level in order to attain goal after which they get self satisfaction and pleasure which is known as Intrinsic Motivation. Article 2: Four Motivation Mistakes Most Leaders Make: Article Link: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/10/four_motivation_mistakes_most.html Summary This articles talks about the motivational mistakes the leaders make while leading their employees. The first mistakes they make are by always thinking rational and create frustrating unintended consequences. The leaders should rather focus on five sources of meaning for humans at work: the impact of the work on society, the customer, the company, the team, and me. Another blunder that is made by the leaders is focusing on offering monetary incentives only. Experience and numerous studies, however, show that big bonuses are less effective than smaller, unexpected gestures, because gifts create a relationship while bonuses are purely transactional also leaders are habitual of giving orders rather listening to the employees perspective. Lastly the leaders need to be optimistic and dont search for problems. Focusing on problems tends to create fatigue and resistance,  instead focus on how your organizations or individuals, strengths can be used to overcome your challenges. Questionnaire For how long have you been a part of this organization? Less than 5 years 5-10 years 10-15 years More than 15 years What is your level of satisfaction with the working culture of the company? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Rate the following statement Executives are interested in motivating the employees? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree What is your satisfaction level with the incentives provided by the company? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Please rate the statements given underneath according to the following ratings. 1 for Strongly Agree 2 for Agree 3 for Neutral 4 for Disagree 5 for strongly disagree Reasonable periodical increase in salary Job Security Good Relationship with other staff members Effective performance appraisal system Effective promotional opportunities Performance appraisal activities are helpful to get motivated Support from the other staff members is helpful to get motivated Organization recognizes and acknowledges your work. Organizational Policies motivates for achieving its aims and objective Do you think that incentives and other benefits will influence your performance? Yes No Opinion No Does the Top Management involve you in decision making which are connected to your department? Always Usually Often Sometimes Rarely Never Do you think Internal Competition plays an important role in employee motivation? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Does ethical principles of the organization influence employee motivation? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Do you agree that employees are placed on their jobs according to their field of interest? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Does your job provide you the opportunity to continually advance to more senior positions. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree How does pressure motivate you? Handling Competing Priorities Facing Tight Deadlines Managing Setbacks Being in a team motivates you? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Results For how long have you been a part of this organization? Less than 5 years 5-10 years 10-15 years More than 15 years Out of 12 people we interviewed 4 were working for less than five years , 6 were working for more than five years and 2 employees were PSOs part for about 12 years. What is your level of satisfaction with the working culture of the company? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied A very positive reply was noticed as 59% of the sample was satisfied with the corporate culture of PSO as it has a policy of orienting employees according to their need , which then leads employees to understand the culture more easily. Secondly, open door policy and corporation of colleagues is encouraged in PSO which allows high satisfaction levels. PSO is recognized as an EMPLOYER OF CHOICE for which it received an award in 2007. 25% of the sample was satisfied moderately while remaining 16% were employees who were working for more than 10 years and showed their extra satisfaction because of the growth, status and respect which they received in their career at PSO. Rate the following statement Executives are interested in motivating the employees? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Open door policy, performance management, career development, training sessions, authority and being a part of departmental decision making are some factors that aroused 67% of the sample to rank this statement with the second option, however some employees who are still new to the organization rated it as neutral that executives are not biased towards other employees but they are also not directly involved in decision making. Top management provides guidance on particular issues, they encourage Cross functional teams, Employee Business Process Reengineering, meeting with employees, different informational and interactive sessions and make sure that all organizational changes are well announced. When the response of these 33% employees was shown to a top executive Rashad Usama brand manager lubricants, he provided us with the answers that it is our policy of first assessing fresh employees and let them show their potential then with their respective supervisors a complete training and development plan is made for them. What is your satisfaction level with the incentives provided by the company? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied 16 % employees were highly satisfied with their benefits that include medical insurance , petrol , children education , pension fund, paid holidays, vacations and etc , 67 % employees were just satisfied as they think even in difficult times PSO assumed them as their assets and rest showed moderate responses. Moreover employee recognition awards, ethical standards, tolerance policies and facilities such as gym, cafeteria and PSO club plays a great role in keeping employees proactive. Please rate the statements given underneath according to the following ratings. 1 for Strongly Agree 2 for Agree 3 for Neutral 4 for Disagree 5 for strongly disagree Reasonable periodical increase in salary Job Security Good Relationship with other staff members Effective performance appraisal system Effective promotional opportunities Performance appraisal activities are helpful to get motivated Support from the other staff members is helpful to get motivated Organization recognizes and acknowledges your work. Organizational Policies motivates for achieving its aims and objectives 84 % employees strongly agreed with 2nd, 3rd and 7th

Administrative Or Conventional And Critical Research Media Essay

Administrative Or Conventional And Critical Research Media Essay The field of mass communications is relatively new and is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary in nature. It is therefore not surprising that the approach to mass communications research will be mixed. This essay attempts to look at the issues which gave rise to research theories and distinguish between the terms administrative or conventional and critical research. It will discuss and contrast the similarities of both types of research while evaluating the usefulness and relevance of both approaches and what it meant for the development of the media. Finally, it will look at the different traditions of media research and explain how they manifest either conventional or critical characteristics. The history of mass communications research is a short one. In the 1940s, when communication and media studies came about in the United States of America (USA), research focused on the needs of an expanding society, including the positioning of political and economic interests which (was based on the critical pragmatism) and sociology of the Chicago School (Hardt, 1992, p. 9). However, Wilbur Schramm suggested that communications research was quantitative, rather than speculative and argued that its practitioners such as Lazarsfeld, Lewin, Laswell and Hovland (who were identified as the founding fathers of communications research in the USA) were deeply interested in theory, but in the theory they can test (Hardt, 1992, p. 11). His view ignored the history of concerns about communication and culture that had characterized the Chicago School (Hardt, 1992, p.10). Schramm insisted that they were behavioural researchers and as such interests in the wider social and cultural aspects of media and communication were left unaddressed. Schramms interest was journalistic rather than scientific and communications research is the USA served the system at the time instead of challenging it because of the influence by media and commercial interests. Hardt (1992) concluded that in the USA: Mainstream communication and media research had failed to address critical developments from within and without its boundaries. It had remained within specific categories of interests, reflected in an academic specialization in the study of communication that was interdisciplinary by its commitment to a behavioural science orientation, but without any significant or successful attempt to break out of its modiac circle (p. 19). In Great Britain, media research did not begin until the early 1960s. Halloran noted that a more critical, holistic approach emerged where the approach to research was more disciplined and systematic and focused on media as institutions and communication as a social process. The first review of the field was conducted in Great Britain and published in 1963 (Halloran 1963) and referred to few research exercises which concentrated on media effects which looked at the impact of media on attitudes and behaviour of individuals. Even though a number of studies have been conducted in the field of mass communications, researchers have not been able to gather enough information because of the way research has been defined, initiated, supported and organized, (Halloran,1981, p. 9). He adds that in addition to having limited information, it is also unfair and biased. He emphasized: Research is not initiated, organized, executed or applied in a social/political vacuum. Appreciation of the nature of research and its application calls for an understanding of the historical, economic, political, organizational, disciplinary, professional and personal factors which impinge on the research process in so many ways (p. 33). Halloran (1981) defined conventional research as having value-free, positivistic, empiricist, behaviouristic, psychological emphasis (p.34). He noted that earlier media research conformed to the dominant paradigm at the time and responded to the requirements of modern, industrial, urban society for empirical, quantitative, policy related information about its operations (p.37). Research was basically carried out to improve the effectiveness of the media and assist media entities in achieving its aims and objectives. This type of research used quantitative methods such as surveys, and field experiments (Boyd-Barret, 1995, p. 69) while critical media research was concerned with obtaining data that could easily reproduced (reliable data) through scientific testing as opposed to data that was valid. It was more holistic in approach and was viewed as being service orientated. Critical research was criticised because it was viewed as alternative research which did not support the status quo at the time as most media entities supported administrative research. It challenged the long held values of media establishments and provided the first real challenge to media entities. In this regard, most media organisations viewed critical research as being not scientific, qualitative and having a political agenda. Halloran (1981) points to three main characteristics that differentiate critical research from conventional research and which would have been ignored by the latter. Firstly, he said communication is treated as a social process. While administrative research was described as being media centric and pro -media critical research looked at the institution behind media and those affected by the media. This suggested that administrative research was more occupied by the efficient and effective operation of the media at the expense of other issues such as refining concepts, development of theories and the whole notion of social change. In contrast, critical research is what Halloran called society centric and to this end it addressed issues of public concern and focused on how media addressed these societal or public concerns. One of the striking features is that it looks at the medias role in promoting the democratic process and social reproduction (Boyd-Barret, 1995, p. 188). It also examines the inverse effect of the communications process i.e how social factors affect communication and media operations. One such example is the research of Racism and Mass Media (Hartmann and Husband, 1974) which examined the role of media with regard to racial prejudice. A good example that amply demonstrates both the weaknesses of the administrative approach and the broader, more realistic perspectives of the sociological or critical approach, is to be found in research which has attempted to deal with the alleged media/violence relationship (Halloran, 1995, p. 26). Secondly, media institutions are studied in relation to other institutions and within the wider social context. Critical research examines the whole system rather than just mere individuals which was the focus of administrative research, its unit of measure was society as opposed to the individual and research was not conducted in a vacuum. Critical researchers look at issues of ownership, control and technology. By contrast, administrative research focused on fine tuning media methods to facilitate specific institutional aims and goals. In so doing, it ignored certain factors that affected the communications process as well as what the media produced. The third characteristic, as described by Halloran, is that critical research addressed issues associated with structure, organization, professionalism and participation. Its more independent of institutions, policy and problem orientated and research enquiries are conducted externally with the aim of forming policies. Unlike administrative research, critical research is less likely to be of a social or administrative character and does not stroke the egos of media managers and owners by researching their issues or by accepting their definitions of media problems. Critical research challenged their (administrative) ideologies and attempted to provide alternative research forms to the field. Critical research and its researchers became very unpopular and were viewed with suspicion because it was hoped at the time, that research would support the status quo and the system. The dominant paradigm at the time would have viewed critical theorists as not supporting the status quo. Additionally, critical research was starved for funding while administrative research was financed by the institutions that commissioned the research and as such the results were predetermined. In attempt to make mass communications research scientific, administrative researchers pushed the study of mass communications into positivism and empiricism. Earlier, the entire study of mass communication assumed that mass media have a total and immediate effect and thought audiences to be passive. Early effects studies were preoccupied by persuasion and studies were grounded in psychology, more specifically referred to psychoanalysis and stimulus response and emerged primarily in the USA (Newbold, 1995). The development of the media effects tradition started in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when many social upheavals were being experienced by many countries and the media was viewed to be engaged in social control by moulding behaviour in line with the will of those who controlled the media (Newbold, 1995, p. 7). Then, the content of media was viewed as having direct effects on individuals who relied on the mass media as their only source of information about the world. Newbold (1995) notes that this gave rise to the hypodermic needle theory or magic bullet theory which implied that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on their audiences (Hypodermic needle model, Wikipedia). The Payne Studies of 1928 were the first major empirical studies to establish effects. Carried out in the USA, these studies looked at how motion pictures impacted children. The findings of the studies indicated that while films provided blue prints for living the effects of these films were not anti-social. Newbold (1995) stated that Cantrils study was among the first to question the magic bullet model and involve social and cultural factors in its analysis. Much criticism of effects studies focused on the media centric approach of researchers and the individualistic approach of the research, thereby being administrative in nature. Researchers were viewed as taking an approach which was purely interested in the direct relationship between the medium and its audience, failing to take into account the social and cultural influences of audiences which might also help shape their views (Newbold, 1995, p. 12). In this regard, social and audience interpretations were seldom taken into account. The Peoples Choice Study, conducted by Lazarsfeld et al and which sought to reveal the importance of interpersonal ties in the mass communications process (two step flow) was heavily criticised by Mills (1959) who described the approach taken in the study as abstracted empiricism because it was viewed as a study of voting in American politics and not necessarily the substance of opinion or dynamics. Newbold (1995) explained that: By abstracted empiricism, Mills is referring to the prevailing high value ascribed to statistical data derived from sampling procedures and interviews data upon which assumptions are made, and the relations between them established. He argued that quantification was pursued for its own sake, and at the expense of other major important issues for which quantifiable data might be difficult to obtain (p. 18). This in itself meant that the research displayed administrative characteristics which was media centric in nature and conducted in a vacuum without any social considerations. Newbold (1995) adds that while abstracted empiricism still appears to be a characteristic of this style of research, the two-step flow is still one of the most important developments in effects tradition because of its sociological orientation and shifting focus from the individual to the primary group thereby making the social context difficult to ignore. Following on from media effects, another tradition in mass communications research which is similar in focus but opposed to its perspectives is the political economy tradition. The political economy tradition searches for answers to the question of power of the media in the analysis of their structures of ownership and control. Mosco (2004) offered two definitions of political economy. Firstly, he described political economy as the study of the social relations, particularly the power relations that mutually constitute the production, distribution and consumption of resources, including communication resources (p. 6). This definition he explained focuses on how the communication business operates. A more general and ambitious definition of political economy is the study of control and survival in social life (Mosco, 2004, p.7). By these definitions, Mosco points to the fact that media institutions are both economic and political in nature. Adopting a fundamentalist Marxist approach, studies of this tradition have been based on the assumption that the dynamics of culture producing industries can be understood primarily in terms of their economic determination (Murdock and Golding, 1977, p. 37, cited in Bussaba, 2008, p. 24), thus the contents of the media and the meaning carried by their messages are determined by the economic base of the organization in which they are produced. Political economy is also characterized by an interest in examining the social whole or the totality of social relations that make up the economic, political, social and cultural areas of life (Mosco, 1995, p. 6) which included moral implications with an interest in social intervention to change society. Mosco (2004) indicates: Traditionally, the political economy of communication studied the major business firms responsible for producing and distributing mass media and the government agencies responsible for regulating and making communication policy. It focused on the power of media companies, demonstrated in the trend towards media concentration, and on how they use this power to influence media content (p. 28). With the aim to broaden the perspective in political economy, recent work addressed major processes such as commodification, spatialization and structuration. These process looked at making communications a market commodity; addressing the growth and spread of media institutions (especially the simplification by governments to do this by developing pro business regulation and policies; media production and access influenced by social, class, gender and race (Mosco, 2004). The precise mechanisms and processes whereby ownership of the media or control of their economics is translated into the message are complex and often problematic. The workings of the control are not easy to demonstrate or easy to explain empirically. The evidence is often circumstantial and is derived from the ideology implicit in the message and the interests of those in control. Mosco (2004) added that cultural studies and policy science are disciplines on the boundaries of political economy (p. 26). The broad based intellectual movement of the cultural studies approach which focuses on the constitution of meaning in texts and defined broadly to include all forms of social communication can contribute to the process of renewing political economy in several ways (Storey, 2003, p. 15, cited in Mosco, 2004, p. 26). Additionally, Mosco (2004) highlighted how cultural studies contributed to a broad based critique of positivism and has defended a more open philosophical approach that concentrates on subjectivity or on how people interpret their world, as well as the social creation of knowledge (p. 26). However, political economy can also contribute to rethinking cultural studies since it insists on epistemology that maintains the value of historical research, of thinking in terms of social totalities, with a well grounded moral philosophy and a commitment to overcome the distinction between social research and social practice (Mosco, 2004, p. 26). British cultural studies arose in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the Marxist informed work of Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart and Edward Thompson who were all interested in political questions of class culture, democracy and socialism as it related to working class cultures in the UK. Williams work contributed significantly to the development of cultural studies as he attempted the study of relationships between elements in a whole way of life (Williams, 1965, p. 334). In 1964, Hoggart together with Stuart Hall established the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) which analysed mass media and popular culture and while many researchers did not share Hoggarts view of mass culture and cultural decline they did adopt some culturalist methodologies studying cultural texts and practices including media texts and practices (Gough-Yates, 2007). Structuralist methods allowed cultural studies to explore the rules and practices of culture, including media culture, and to ask how culture might generate the missing (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 33). Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes while credited with making significant contributions to structuralism were also criticised for the structuralist assumption that signs can have stable, denotive meanings. Althussers concepts have also contributed to the development of cultural studies by pushing cultural studies to more analysis of popular culture and its role in fixing and containing identities away from the Frankfurt school style focus of the media. The Althusserian approach, because of its view of media products as closed texts that imprison their audiences and denies them any agency in their lives was challenged (Gough- Yates, 2007, p. 20). Gramscis model of hegemony argued that the consumption of poplar and media culture can be empowering as a refusal of subordination or form of resistance to dominant ways of being and doing (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 32) and it helped scholars to address some of the criticisms of the Althusserians perspectives. Poststructuralists approaches also informed cultural studies and drew more attention to audiences rather than texts because of its approaches to cultural construction of meaning and their power relationships as it related to society and the domination of groups (based on gender, class, sexuality etc). As such, cultural studies shared some of its political interests with feminism and was challenged by feminists theory and politics which argued that cultural studies marginalized feminist issues and concerns (Schiach, 1994). This was evidenced in the CCCS Womens Studies Group (1978) publication Women Take Issue where feminist researchers encountered considerable difficulties in working around definitions of culture and theoretical perspectives that excluded and marginalized women, (Gough-Yates, 2007, p. 28). Post modern theory which has engaged cultural studies since the 1980s has broken down the traditional boundaries between culture and art, high and low culture, and art and the comme rcial which reflects the cultural, economic and technological change of society. Cultural studies especially new audience research offers the study of mass communications a means of researching through qualitative research, the cultures and discourses of media use in a new way (Gough-Yates, 2007, p.33). Hermes (2005) notes that the sudden increase in qualitative audience studies in mass communications research is sometimes know as the ethnographic turn (or new audience research) because key studies involved are inspired by particular traditions of anthropological research called interpretive ethnography (p. 5). Although new audience research is a type of research it is different from other traditions that use comparable research techniques. New audience research practitioners prefer the use of qualitative methods rather than quantitative which allows them to study more social contexts in which the media is used; its focus is more culture and cultural backgrounds that are sometimes marginalized by mainstream research traditions and its research objective is often popular culture. Interactive research methods such as interviews are used and it often has a feminist agenda. One prime example of New Audience Research is Ien Angs study of watching Dallas, the American prime time soap opera (Ang, 1985, cited in Hermes, 2005, p. 6) in which Ien Ang was able to assess, through qualitative methods, audience pleasure in viewing the show. Ethnographic turn was born of three traditions including British or European cultural studies; American cultural studies and qualitative mass communications research and ethnographic refers to four characteristics including the study of the media in a broader social context rather than in isolation as done in the James Lull research of the role of television in the dynamics of family life. The meanings of media practices are of much more interest than media practices in new audience research and stands for a more political investment as the practices of media are mostly researched for specific institutional goals. Finally, its aim is to develop theoretical understandings of the practices that were observed through lengthy, open interviewing (Hermes, 2005, p. 28). The lack of methodology and its revisionist politics has been the most popular criticisms of New Audience Research. In conclusion, much of mass communications research now is neither administrative nor critical and proceeds as if no debates had been held as Livingstone (1993) points out and she advises that all research projects should consider text, audience and context. She adds both research processes and its subject matter can be questioned since much research from either tradition can be, and often is, used to support or critique the status quo (p, 7).

Sense And Sensibility Themes Essay -- essays research papers

"Sense and Sensibility" In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility there is a theme that runs along with males in the novel. The first born sons are forced to deal with the promotions and abilities that come along with the laws of primogeniture, yet even with all they get they do not lead an altogether happy life. The men that are "first-born" are in fact too swayed by the power and obligation that comes with their estates. In the novel the first sons are viewed in a negative light, yet the second-born sons have less responsibility to be what society wants them to be and are allowed to be his own. Although Edward Ferrars, is a firstborn, his mother disinherits him because of his lack of focus and ability to be all she wants him to be; as John Dashwood remarks "Robert will now to all intents and purposes be considered as the eldest son." We know that Colonel Brandon is a second son because he has an older brother who married his old sweetheart, Eliza, many years before the novel's plot begins. And whereas these characters are the heroes of the novel, all the eldest sons are cast in a negative light, including John Dashwood, Robert Ferrars, and Colonel Brandon's older brother. In Austen's day, the eldest sons were the ones who inherited all the family property according to the laws of male primogeniture. However, in spite of these inheritance laws, it is the second sons who ultimately find happiness in the novel; thus they make content lives for them...

Old Man and Sea Essay -- essays research papers

Perserverance, Courage, and Wisdom Used in Everyday Life Throughout a life, people have to overcome obstacle after obstacle to be successful in the world. Humans are thrown challenges day after day, week after week. Everyone must try hard at something to be truly happy in their life. In Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea, he used the marlin and the sharks as symbols, and gave Santiago certain character attributes to depict the perserverance, courage, and smarts needed to get through the ups and downs that life hands everyone. Santiago had gone 84 days without catching a fish and was about to surpass his previous record of 87 days, when there was a pull on his line. Santiago had finally caught a something. To make it even better, it was a marlin larger than his boat. Hemingway used this marlin to symbolize the struggle for life. Santiago was matched up against his perfect opponent to bring out the best in him. The marlin brought out his strength and courage to fight the fish for 3 days in his old age. Santiago had to overcome the fish to survive, to be a hero is his community and to himself. Towards the end of the story, Santiago told the fish, â€Å"I shouldn’t have gone out so far fish, neither for you nor for me. I’m sorry fish† (110). Santiago was telling himself the experience brought out so much strength and courage in him, but it was hard for him to accept the defeat of the sharks devouring the marlin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One contrast to the marlin...

Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay -- Literary Analysis

Following the fall of the great Roman Empire a new age was born, the age of knights in shining amour and the great kings in stone castles. Yet, it was also a chaotic time, War and plague was a disease upon Europe. Countries fought for land, resources, and above all, the attention of God. The world was young and so was the English Language. Few writers wrote in English, the language of the commoners, as French and Latin was the Language of the powerful à ©lite. Yet one writer dared to speak against the feudal society of which he was born into. Geoffrey Chaucer served most of his life in the employment of the crown, as both a soldier and a clerk. Yet through all of these titles, Chaucer would be forever immortalized as Geoffrey Chaucer the writer, and the Satirist. The true goal of any Satire is to point out the flaws in certain aspect of society, while also inspiring reform to that very same aspect in one way or another. In Chaucer’s Canterbury tales, Chaucer satirizes the co rruption Catholic Church and those associated. Chaucer saw that hypocrisy polluted the pureness of the church and expressed his disillusionment through the use of satire. Fearless of discommunication Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of satire, dared to speak openly of the absolute corruption of the medieval church. Medieval society was centered on the flawed Catholic Church, where hypocrisy and corruption poisoned the purity of religion. When one individual spoke against the way the church‘s way, the church would simply retaliate. One such example is that of Joan of Arc, a French farm girl turned soldier. The Church was outraged at her choices, performing deeds that were reserved for men. Joan wore men’s clothing and wore her hair short as to avoid being the s... ...t man in a time of great despair. Through the greatness of his actions, satirically pointing out the corruption in the Catholic church, Chaucer earned a reputation as one of the greatest writers in the English language. Fearless of the Church’s retaliation, Chaucer continued to educate his audience, the English speaking commoners of Medieval Europe, who had long been taken advantage of by the Church, becoming one the greatest and first English satirist and the Father of English satire. Works Cited Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales in Modern Verse . â€Å"The Prologue†. Hackett Publishing Company, INC. United States of America, 2005. Chaucer, Geoffrey. â€Å"The Canterbury tales: The Prologue†. Our Literary Heritage. Ed. Desmond Pacey. 4th ed. Montreal, Que.: Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson ltd., 1982. Shaw, Bernard. Saint Joan. Penguin books, London 1952.

Chinese Philosophy and Poetry Essay

Chinese Philosophy and Poetry One of the most prevalent beliefs of the Chinese philosophies is that men are born good. People are naturally good unless they fail to develop their feelings and senses. Confucianism teaches that a lack of knowledge can be the cause to evil. In Poem 238, a woman named Chiang Yuan gave birth to the human race by sacrificing and praying to God. She bore her child easily because she sought after blessings from God. Confucianism teaches that good things will come to those who are good and do good. A. N. Whitehead’s quotation of a Cambridge vicar says, â€Å"For well-conducted people, life presents no problems. † The mother in the poem seemed to be well-conducted and therefore she was blessed with a painless, easy childbirth. It says that God gave her ease and blessed her because he was pleased with the sacrifice and prayer. The poem paints a picture of how even the animals protected the baby. This might be because of their view of being born flawless and without evil. This baby was protected by the animals because there was no evil in him. Hou Chi, the baby boy, grew up to be a wise man and continued to be blessed and prospered through his crops and farming. He would be considered to be the â€Å"superior man† because of his moral wisdom and his ability to tell right from wrong. Because he lived by his mother’s example and gave sacrifices to God, good things came to him. The power of moral example is strongly shown here. His mother first taught him the importance of sacrifice and prayer and through that, he learned to do the same and show respect and fear God. Another philosophy is the importance of filial piety and reverence. Parents are revered because they give life to their children and sacrifice much for them. The child brought honor to his mother by keeping her religious traditions. God was pleased by his actions and blessed him his entire life. This is a very ideal form of what a man can be like, but it is very unrealistic. If man were actually born good, then evil would not have such a major influence and affect everyday lives.