Sleeps Relationship to Learning and Memory Essay

Sleeps Relationship to Learning and Memory - Essay Example On the other hand, during REM, EEG waveforms change associated with increased frequencies. This is where memorable dreams occur. Sleep in mammals is described mainly by inactivity of behavior in conjunction with different electrophysiological changes in the motion of the brain.ii Factors like stress, shifting schedules, and longer work contribute to lack of sleeping time. This results to inefficient performance to workers so companies have allotted rooms for quick naps and other businesses have installed apparatus that will improve the results short-term sleeps. Sara Mednick et al. (2002) describe naps to be short periods of sleep which lasts for one hour maximum and likely to enhance one's attentiveness, efficiency and disposition. These brief periods of rest are suitable for people, who are experiencing sleep deprivations, nightshift schedules, and prolonged periods of driving. Daytime naps also improve psychomotor speed and attainment of short-term memory. However, their relation on previously learned information is not yet established although they are common among people with daily information overload. Mednick et al. (2002) suggest the psychological feeling of 'burnout', which is an amplified irritation and frustration brought by decreasing effectivene ss after a lengthened cognitive effort, is not merely a reflection of mental exhaustion but a need for a worn-out mind to experience restoration during sleep.iii Sleep is the only 2. Sleep to Human beings Especially Sleep is the only way by which one can rejuvenate oneself; a mere rest will not be any good as far as the revitalizing factor of sleep is concerned. In relation with that, studies also show the need for the brain to experience the restorative benefits of sleep, and also restore positive attitude emotionally. Matthew Walker (2009) identifies several roles of sleep in cognitive and emotional brain processes.iv 3. Sleep and Human Memory Firstly, Walker observes the role of sleep in memory processing which focused on the declarative memory. Secondly, he relates the ordered structure of sleep and memory stage evolution with the sleep-dependent plasticity models. Thirdly, he discusses the role of sleep in associate memory processing. Fourth, he touches on the emerging advantage of sleep in emotional brain reactivity. Lastly, he proposes a framework of sleep-dependent affective brain processing which will further explain the implications of mood disorders. Neurological studies have shown stimulating role of sleep in the control of brain function and emotional experience. Walker identifies that modulation of affective networks overnight and emotional experiences happened in the past are capable of affecting the restoration and maintenance of the appropriate connectivity for the next-day reactivity. Lisa Marshall and Jan Born mention the role of short wave sleep or the NREM, in benefiting the hippocampus-dependent declara tive memory, and also the valuable for the procedural aspects of memory. 4. Sleep and creativityCreativity has been defined by Mednik as the forming of associative elements into new combinations which either meet specified requirements or are in some way useful. Many studies also have explained the roll of sleep in the creative problem solving process. Denise Cai et al. find REM to be beneficial in terms of improving the associative network construction. It has also enhanced the incorporation of unassociated information,

Case study for The David Beckham Brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Case study for The David Beckham Brand - Essay Example Beckham, married to ex-member of the pop group Spice Girls’ Victoria Adams, became one of the most popular celebrity couples of the time. They were admired by a tremendously large number of fans and were considered as fashion icons for youth. Beckham’s most popular endorsements include Pepsi, Vodafone, Nike, Brylcreem and Marks and Spencer. According to (HUNTER, 2009, p34-36) the value of Beckham’s brand was estimated to be over 200 million pounds. Great hype in media was created when Beckham got shifted from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2003. However, this transfer was basically because of his commercial appeal instead of his game skills. In the following document we will analyse the reasons for successful endorsements by Beckham, the values and the principles which were followed in the endorsements and which led to those tremendous successes. Besides, the advantages and the disadvantages will be discussed that companies obtain from these endorsements. The case of Real Madrid will be analysed deeply and discussed in a separate section followed by the concept of celebrity endorsements in general and the benefits that can be achieved by celebrity endorsements by a company. There are generally three reasons for a customer to buy an endorsed product or service which are: quality of the product of service, quantity and price of the product or service and thirdly because of the endorser. David Beckham was sought for a large number of product or service endorsements in the late 90s era and the beginning of 21st century. He was undoubtedly one of the most successful endorsers of that era and the reasons of his success were many. He was not only a stylish soccer player but his popularity was increased due to his marriage with a famous pop star Victoria of former music band Spice Girls. His good looks, pleasant personality and his outclass performance in soccer had made him a style icon for not only the youth but

Employment and Line Management Essay Example for Free

Employment and Line Management Essay †¢1.1 Communication is a vital thing in the workshop, it is very important so that jobs are done productively and correctly. If the communication in the workshop was poor mistakes would Begin to take place and accidents could occur. †¢1.2 The different methods of communication to the line management and colleagues are by talking to one another, team meetings, by telephone and even letters. In busy circumstances its best to use the telephone as its time efficient instead of wondering around searching for people. †¢1.3 The different methods of communication to my and colleagues are by talking to one another, team meetings, by telephone, letters and even hand signals. These are all helpful in different circumstances such as when its extremely noisy in the workshop and a person is on the other side of the workshop, hand signals would be best in that situation. †¢2.1 To plan my sequence of work from the relevant information I am given I find out what materials I require, what tools I need to assist me through the job and what PPE I need to protect me from the dangers. †¢2.2 When starting a new job I firstly look for any mistakes in the drawing, once I am satisfied I then carry on by finding out what materials I require to complete the job and then finally retrieve all of my tools that I need to assist me through the work process until I complete the job. †¢2.3 Work is carried out to the workshop using job plans, risk assessments and all other procedures. The resources that I use are job sheets, shop plans, time sheets and drawings. To reduce carbon emissions, there is an extraction system installed into the workshop. †¢2.4 The way our workshop contributes to a low carbon emission environment is that we have extraction systems built throughout the workshop to keep the emission levels at a low level. †¢3.1 The required relevant documentation that I provide is my time sheet. It shows the amount of hours I have spent on a job so that the consultants can then get a price to give to the customers. †¢3.2 I maintain my drawings and time sheets by keeping them in a locked draw. Time sheets are required to be filled in and complete every week and has to be submitted on a Monday morning before 8:00am. †¢3.3 If I do not ensure that my time sheets are not handed in on time, I will not get paid at the end of the week. With my job sheets, if it’s not complete within the given hours the customer has to pay more as the labour cost raises. †¢4.1 I am very able to work productively to the agreed specification and inline with the line management, colleagues and relevant people involved by finding out if they are pleased with the work produced and the quality. †¢4.2 I find that everyone is equal and that no one should be treated different. People tend to treat apprentices with less respect than others as they are not qualified and think they are not capable. Apprentice or not, people should not be treated different. †¢4.3 To maintain a good working relationship in my place of work I do the work that is asked of me and in the required time and in a good quality. With individuals I get on with them by being polite and cleaning after myself. †¢4.4 I think it’s good to keep a good working relation ship with the line management and colleagues as it doesn’t make it a challenge to talk to them or ask them for any information that is required. †¢4.5 Getting on with the line management and other working colleagues is important because it can make your time there difficult and non bearable. It also doesn’t make it a challenge when needing to ask for information or a specification. †¢4.6 When working with others you must never treat them any different than you would like to be treated. You should never talk down to people or think of them as lower than you.

Effects of Employee Rewards on Organisational Commitment

Effects of Employee Rewards on Organisational Commitment CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 Overview In any organization, employees rewards usually given to attract, motivate and retain the employees to stay longer and contribute a good quality services to ensure the successful of the organization; in other words, rewards play an important role in creating, building and maintaining the commitment among employees with the purpose to ensure high standard of performances and workforce stability. According to the individual organizational exchange theme, individuals enter the organization with special qualification and skill, desire and goals, and expect in return a work setting where they can use their skill, satisfy their desire, and achieve their goals (Mottaz, 1988). At the minimum, employees expect their organization to provide fair pay, safe working condition, and fair treatment. (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills, Walton, 1984). It simply implies that employees offer or increase their commitment when organization meets employees expectation regarding fulfillment of their important needs. Thus, the exchange perspective explains organizational commitment as a function of work rewards and work values (Lambert, 2000; Mottazz, 1988), and suggests the importance of work rewards for continuously encouraging employees. According to exchange theory and reciprocity norm, employees repay the rewards received from organization through increase commitment to the organization, which re-enforce the exchange prevalent in the employee employer relationship in a mutually beneficial manner (Blau, 1964; Haar and Spell, 2004). In addition, Vroom, V.H (1964) maintained in his expectation theory that everyone works in expectation of some rewards in both spiritual and material. In the other words, the level of reward influences the quality and the quantity of work, and will response on their commitment to doing the job in the workplace. Therefore, this paper will study the relationship between various type of rewards (extrinsic/intrinsic) received by the employees and the component of organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) focusing on hypermarket (retail industry) in Kota Kinabalu. 1.1 Research Problem Over the last two decades, much research has explored issues related to effects of employee benefits or rewards at individual levels. On the whole, most studies explored the impact of employees benefits or reward on turnover intention, satisfaction, productivity, mobility, attraction, retention also motivation. Little is known about whether rewards or benefits have impact on organizational commitment, specially in hypermarket (retail industry) in Malaysia context. Meyer and Smith (2000) had found out that despite the vast literature on job atttitue, the issue of commitment still remain ill-defined and ill-conceptualized. Reseachers argue these dissappointing reseach outcomes are due to a ‘lop-sided approach towards the study of commitment, which conceptualized as a uni-dimensional construct (Mowday et al., 1982) whereas commitment is actually found to be multidimensional construct comprising three components (Allen and Meyer, 1990). Thus, the relationship between rewards and commitment also required further attention because majority of studies have based their approach solely on the affective component of commitment, negleting the other two; continuance and normative (Dunham et al., 1994; Meyer and Smith, 2000). It is argue that reseach is required to explore further the entencedents, especially, with regard to normative and continuance commitment (Allen and Meyer, 1990; Dunham et al., 1994). Previous study by Neeru Molhotra at el (2007 ) tends to fill the gaps in the existing literature by doing the comparative effect of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards on the three components of commitment. However, as mention by reseachers, the possible differential antecedent of the three component model of commitment should continue to develop (Culpepper et al., 2004, Hacket et al., 1994; Meyer and Smith, 2000 ; Neeru Molhotra, Pawan Budhwar and Peter Prowse, 2007). Furthermore, it is essential for top management also to understand which rewards mean the most to which employees, given that the bases of thier commitment are distinct. Nevertheless, the great of the greater understanding of this organizational phonemenon increase daily. The major driving force behind this continue recognition of commitment in the management literature for more than three decades is that is often seen as the key of ‘business success (Benkhoff, 1997). The retail industry has always suffered from high employee turnover rates. High employee turnover is costly to retailers not only because it increases administrative costs in recruiting and training employees but it also reduces the operational capability of the retailer. Good et al (1988) had noted that the retail industry has one of the highest turnover rates at 30 percent. Turnover rate among retail management trainees, the entry position for retailing graduates, had been especially high with one study reporting the employee turnover rate as high as 49 percent. Yet, as Akehurst et al (1995) had noted, despite the importance of personnel issues in the retail industry, retail employment is a comparatively under-researched area. It had been suggested that high employee turnover in the retail industry is the result of the unique human resource environment in the retail industry. A career in the retail industry is not appealing to many workers. Coupled with the need to employ large numbers of workers in the industry, the retail industry is forced to employ large number of workers who are not motivated or interested to remain in the industry. This has resulted in high employee turnover rates in the industry. This statement was admitted by HR Manager of Giant and Servay Hypermarket, theyve said that turn over rate in their hypermarket quite high where employees reported in and out monthly. Meanwhile, these day one of the major problems by all companies is the lack of the total commitment from their employees. In Malaysia for example, it is comman complaint that employees are no more loyal as they used to be in the past. As a result of lower commitment, employees leave their companies for slighty higher pay. And to cope with this problem, they have to adopted many programmes and strategies, which tries to restore employees commitment. Higher salaries can increase the attractiveness of a job, including in the retailing job (Swinyard et al 1991). To motivate employees, retailers should review their reward policies and ensure that they are still competitive (Levy et al 2001). Base on above analysis, this study tends to examine the relationship between various intrinsic and exrinsic rewards and three component of organization commitment, taking the multidimensional perspective of commitment in retail industry which is hypermarket in Kota Kinablu area. 1.2 Research Question The study aims to understand the relationship between rewards and organizational commitment among workers in hypermarket (Kota Kinabalu). Accordingly, few main research questions are examined in the research; Is there a significant relationship between extrinsic rewards (working condition, pay satisfaction, satisfaction with fringe benefits and promotional opportunities) and organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) among workers in hypermarket (Kota Kinabalu). Is there a significant relationship between intrinsic rewards (supervision, training and feedback) and organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) among workers in hypermarket (Kota Kinabalu). 1.3 Research Objective Based on the assumption that employees rewards tend to attract, retain, and motivate employee, which eventually increase employee commitment, the purpose of this study are; To examine the relationship between extrinsic rewards (working condition, pay satisfaction, satisfaction with fringe benefits and promotional opportunities) and organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) among workers in hypermarket (Kota Kinabalu). To examine the relationship between intrinsic rewards (supervision, training and feedback) and organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) among workers in hypermarket (Kota Kinabalu). 1.4 Scope Of The Study The retail industry is used in this study to measure the relationship between rewards and organizational commitment in the industry. This is because; retail industry is the most important sector in terms of volume and value. Retail has been one of the most active sub-sectors in the Malaysian economy, also the second biggest contributor to the national GDP, contributing RM31,081 million (AUD14,603 million) in 2000 (Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001). Based on Euromonitor‘s Retailing Report in Malaysia (2008), four main retail formats are hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store, and traditional grocery store; however, this study will only focus on one of retail format which is Hypermarket. The study was conducted in the Kota Kinabalu area using non probability and convenience sampling. Kota Kinabalu was chosen due to the number and large variety of choice of formats available and also its highly dense population in Sabah. 1.4.1 Retail Industry in Malaysia The rapid expansion of the Malaysian economy over the last few decades, combined with external and social influences has led to a boom in the retail industry. Consequently, the retail industry in Malaysia is highly fragmented, as there are a lot of retailers entering the competitive market each year. Retail in Malaysia is wide-ranging; from department stores, hypermarket, supermarkets and mini markets, specialty shops, convenience stores, provision stores, pharmacies, medical halls, direct sale, wet market stalls to pavement shops and petrol kiosks (Seventh Malaysia Plan, 1996). Such variety reflects the changing demands and expectations among consumers for better quality products and services. The retail environment in Malaysia has undergone a continuous and marked change over the decades. New facilities ranging from supermarkets and superstores to retail warehouses and convenience stores have been added to the retail landscape, much at the expense of the traditional shop houses. The retail sector has been very active in the last few years due to the strong economic growth which had led to an increase in income levels and spending power. Furthermore, Malaysia has become a prime target for foreign investors like the Japanese, Americans and Europeans. Participation by foreign investors will support the industry by introducing future products for the higher quality of life as well as environmentally-friendly products. 1.4.2 Definition of Retail Retailing refers to all activities directly related to the selling of small quantities of goods and services, at a profit, to the ultimate customers for personal consumption and non-business use (Mohd-Said, 1990). Guy (1980) for instance has categorized retail trade into three groups: (a) convenience goods which include groceries and daily provisions; (b) shopping or comparison goods which refer to relatively more expensive items bought at less regular intervals; and (c) specialty goods which are unique items that appeal to customers of the higher income level. Goldman and Hino (2005) have divided the retail trade depending on size large scale or small scale. The 13 small scale retailers are also referred to as the traditional retail store where they include the single propriety stores, wet market, and mini market. Whilst the large scale retailers, which are also known as the modern retailers include superstores, department stores, hypermarkets, and discount stores. Nevertheless, according to Miller and Layton (2000), many stores can still be grouped into the following retail types; A department storecarries a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods, including apparel, cosmetics, house wares, and electronics products. Some departmental stores even attached a supermarket. A superstore or hypermarketis a very large store that aims at meeting consumers‘total needs for routinely purchased food and non-food items. It carries personal care products, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, stationary and sewing supplies, hardware items, garden products, some clothing some leisure-time products and offers household services such as dry cleaning, laundry and shoe repairs. A discount storeis a retailer that competes on the basis of low price, high turnover and high volume. Supermarketsare large, low cost, low margin, high volume, self-service stores that cater to serve the consumer‘s total needs for food and household products. In Malaysia, the supervision of the wholesale and retail sector falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) through the Committee on Wholesale and Retail Trade. The Committee was set up in 1995 to regulate and supervise the industry, including foreign participation in the sector. 1.4.3 Hypermarkets In Malaysia, the hypermarket has grown rapidly since the 1990s. The emergence of hypermarkets has altered the structure of the distributive trade in Malaysia to some extent. The existence of hypermarkets has allowed the consumers to do their shopping easily with less hassle as they can purchase the grocery products and mass merchandise under one-roof. A research carried out by Euromonitor (2008) revealed that hypermarkets recorded sales of RM6,217 million in 2007, which represents a 263.2 percent increase since 2002. Euromonitor has forecasted that the sales in hypermarkets will reach RM11,199.5 million by 2012. The success of the hypermarket chains is largely due to their low price, wide range of offerings, customer service and strategic location (Seiders and Tigert, 2000; Carpenter, 2008). The hypermarket industry is dominated by the foreign retailers, namely, Carrefour, Giant, and Tesco. This is because multinational companies have a greater capability in terms of outlet expansion, development of private label products, and offer extensive ranges of products and value-added services. In 2007, the hypermarket market was led by Giant, followed by Carrefour and Tesco (Euromonitor, 2008). The dominance of Giant is largely due to the high number of outlets available in Malaysia. Despite there being only a few key players, the hypermarket environment is highly competitive. This is because the retailers employ similar positioning strategy in order to attract more consumers. Most of the hypermarket operators compete on pricing and promotion to attract more customers. Some retailers even reduce prices permanently in order to attract more people to the stores. Major promotions and advertisements are some of the key growth strategies utilized In the hypermarket segment, the main players are foreign owned retailers such as Carefour (France), Makro (Holland), Jaya Jusco (Japan), Tesco (United Kingdom) and Giant (Hong Kong) which account for 46 per cent of the hypermarket sector (Economic Report, 2005/2006). By 2005 there were around 400 foreign supermarkets and hypermarkets spread around the country including the sub-urban areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, and other states such as Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Kedah, Sabah and Sarawak. This retail segment was the best performers among the retail sub-sector with 18.3 per cent growth during first month of 2006 (Economic Report, 2006/2007). This study was confined to the hypermarket in Kota Kinabalu area. According to Trading Licence Listing(Table 1.1) from Kota Kinabalu City Hall, there are only two hypermarket in Kota Kinabalu, namely Giant and Servey Hypermarket Parkwell. Giant Hypermarket, which is owned by Giant Capital Holdings (GCH), is one of the largest hypermarkets in Malaysia. It was founded in 1944 by the Teng family in Kuala Lumpur. Its headquarter is based at Shah Alam, Selangor, meanwhile Sabah-Sarawak-Brunei Regional headquarter is located in Kolombong Outlet, Kota Kinabalu. Giant Hypermarket currently has around 1,000 employee in Sabah itself, and 10,000 employees in total nationwide. There are about 14 outlet store of Giant Hypermarket around Kota Kinabalu; 4 hypermarket, 7 supermarket and 3 superstore. However, this study will only focus in Giant Hypermarket which is located either in Kolombong, 1Borneo, Putatan and City Mall. Furthermore, Servay Parkwell are the homegrown Sabah Sarawak proud success story, operating one of the leading hypermarket Sabah Sarawak. It is formed in 1979 under Evergreen Trading (1979) Sdn Bhd. Under the group of companies, it encompasses 5 major subsidiaries companies label, they are the retail brands of: Servay Hypermarket (Sabah) Sdn Bhd Servay Supermarket Sdn Bhd Servay Hypermarket (Sandakan) Sdn Bhd Servay Jaya Superstore Sdn Bhd Parkwell Departmental Stores Sdn Bhd Currently, Servay Hypermarket has 10 store outlet around Sabah; 4 hypermarkets, 5 supermarkets and 1 departmental store. However, this study will only focus in Servay Hypermarket in Kota Kinabalu which is located either in Penampang, Putatan, KK Plaza and Likas. 1.5 Significance of the Study This research will endeavor to make both a theoretical and practical contribution to the existing literature:- 1.5.1 Significance to Body of Knowledge This study will contribute additional knowledge to the construct of organizational commitment in relation to extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Thus far, there is evidence that these rewards are positively related to Organizational Commitment (Neeru Malhotra., et al (2007), Bunmi Omolayo, A.B. Owolabi (2007), Ian O. Williamson at el., (2009), However, it is hoped this study will add to the body of knowledge in terms multidimensional construct of Organizational Commitment among hypermarket employees in Malaysia, especially in Kota Kinabalu. 1.5.2 Significance to Human Resource Practitioners The significance of this research is aimed to produce some kind of practical guidance and benefits to the human resource managers in to help them better plan and move towards retaining their employees through designing a good and attractive rewards system. It is hoped that this study provides some valuable insights to any retail organization which seeks to create the appropriate work environment or establish the significant organizational rewards which encourage hypermarket employees to be committed to their current organization and continue their service with them. Additionally, this study might contribute to a better understanding of three dimensional of organizational commitment, and also its role in enhancing employees sense of attachment and membership to their organization. Therefore, the results of this research may guide human resource managers to incorporate organizational rewards to improve the work environment, motivational level, and retention, enhance O.C. and thereby reduce turnover, increase productivity, and enhance performance. Each committed employee is a vital ingredient to the success of any hypermarket organization. 1.6 Definition of Key Variable In order to have a sound understanding of this study, the following are the definitions of the key variables for this study. 1.6.1 Rewards Reward refers to all forms of financial returns, tangible services and benefits which an employee receives as part of an employment relationship (Bratton and Gold, 1994). According to Porter and Lawler (1968), rewards can be divided into two type; intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Katz and Van Maanan (1977) have further classified work rewards into three distinct categories of task, social and organizational rewards. Task rewards are intrinsic rewards, while social and organizational rewards are extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards are those that resulting from extrinsic, non-job-related factors. Social rewards (friendly, helpful and supportive co-workers and considerate supervisors) are those that are derived from interaction with others on the job; while organizational rewards (working conditions, pay satisfaction, benefits, and promotional opportunities) are those that are provided by the organization and are aimed at motivating performance and maintaining membership. On the other hand, intrinsic rewards are inherent in the content of the job itself. They include motivational job characteristics such as feedback (Hackman and Oldham, 1976). Individuals at all levels of the organization recognize the importance of continually upgrading their skills, and regard access to training as a ‘key element in the overall reward package (Armstrong, 1993: 121). Training is regarded as an important non-financial motivator and thus can be considered as an intrinsic reward. 1.6.2 Organization Commitment The concept of organizational commitment has been defined in many ways. Zheng Wei Bo et al (2009) had concludes the evaluation of OC from 1960-2009 in different period to defined Organization Commitment. From side-bet thinking till affective dependence even multi-dimension period, commitment author have identified different theories to explain the correlations between the foci of OC and outcome. Commitment was initially defined and studied as one dimensional construct tied either to ones emotional attachment to an organizational (Porter et al., 1974), or to the costs associated with the exit (Becker, 1960). As work in this area progressed, this view of commitment converged and a new, multidimensional dimension framework was adopted base on three distinct but related form of commitment: affective, continuance and normative (Allen Meyer, 1990). The affective commitment refer to sn emotional attachment and the involvement with an organization while continuance commitment denotes the perceived costs of leaving an organization (Allen Meyer, 1991). Normative commitment ia newer addition to commitment to the commitment topology and its views as felt responsibility to support and remain a member of an organization (Allen Meyer, 1990). 1.7 Summary and Organization Of The Study This study present in three chapters. Chapter 1 concerned on the study overview, problem statement, research question and objectives, scope and significance of the study as well as definitions of key variables. Whereas Chapter 2 the Literature Review focus on the previous research and discusses the key variable such as extrinsic and intrinsic rewards as independent variables in this study as well as the dependant variable. In Chapter 3 represent the research methodology, in which explain how study is designed in terms of its sample size, data collection method, instrument and data analysis technique. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 INTRODUCTION Encouraging employees to work and be committed toward achieving organizations goals and objectives is one of the most significant challenges for any management. It involves active relationship with the organization in which employees are willing to give something of them in order to help the organization to succeed and prosper. According to March and Simeon (1958:52), real commitment often evolves into an exchange relationship in which individuals attach themselves to the organization in return for certain rewards or outcomes. Usually, employees will feel committed when their needs are met and fulfilled by their organizations. According to Maslow (1954), human needs are arranged in a hierarchical order, and once a need is satisfied, the individual move to the next unsatisfied need which now forms the basis for his/her behavior. These needs are the physiological needs (which include food, clothing, shelter, water, and sex), security needs (such as job security, protection of life and property), social needs (such as need for affection, friendship, and sense of belonging), esteem needs (which include need for recognition, accomplishment, achievement, and self respect), and self-actualization needs (which is the need for an employee to reach his/her highest potential at workplace in conquering his/her environment). Rewards are something given or obtained in return for work done or service rendered. Vroom (1964:134) asserts that the expectation (reward) of employees on task performed motivates and encourages them to be committed. Thus, the higher the expectation of workers, the greater the commitment. On the other hand, the lesser the expectation of workers, the lower the commitment. 2.1 Literature Review Conceptual Background 2.1.1 Organizational Commitment (OC) Research on OC spans over four decade and remains an area of interest to both researchers and practitioners. Commitment of an employee to his or her employing organization or known as Organizational commitment (OC), has received much attention in the literature but different definitions continue to be used. Zheng Wei Bo et al (2009) had concludes the evaluation of OC from 1960-2009 as illustrated in Table 2.1. From side-bet thinking till affective dependence even multi-dimension period, commitment author have identified different theories to explain the correlations between the foci of OC and outcomes. Table 2.1: Evaluation Of Organizational Commitment Commitment was initially defined and studied as one dimensional construct tied either to ones emotional attachment to an organizational (Porter et al., 1974), or to the costs associated with the exit (Becker, 1960). As work in this area progressed, this view of commitment converged and a new, multidimensional dimension framework was adopted base on three distinct but related form of commitment: affective, continuance and normative (Allen Meyer, 1990). The affective commitment refer to sn emotional attachment and the involvement with an organization while continuance commitment denotes the perceived costs of leaving an organization (Allen Meyer, 1991). Normative commitment ia newer addition to commitment to the commitment topology and its views as felt responsibility to support and remain a member of an organization (Allen Meyer, 1990). Furthermore, the concept of commitment in the workplace is still one of the most challenging and researched concepts in the fields of management, organizational behavior and Human Resource Management. A great deal of research has been devoted to studying the antecedents and outcomes of commitment in work setting. The conceptual and operational development of organizational commitment has affected the conceptualization and measurement of other commitment forms such as commitment to the occupation, the job, the workgroup, the union and the work itself (Cohen, 2003; Gordon, Philpot et al., 1980; Morrow, 1993). Blau and Boal (1987) discussed two approaches in defining commitment. The first one, referred as behavior approach where the individual viewed as committed to an organization if he/she is bound by past actions of â€Å"sunk cost† (fringe benefit, salary as a function of age or tenure) and the second one are referred as attitudinal approach where organizational commitment is viewed as a more positive individual orientation towards the organization; here, organizational commitment is defined as a state in which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goal, and he/she wishes to maintain membership in the organization in order to facilitate its goals. Attitudinal commitment is affective in nature; employees are emotionally attached to the organization and view their goals and organizational goals are similar. In summary, OC can be defined as a psychological state characterize an employees relationship with the organization that has implication for the employees decision whether to remain or leave the organization. Commitment reflects the employees acceptance of the organizations goal and willingness to engage in the behavior that is specified in the job description. OC can be considered to be affective response or attitude which link or attach an employee to the organization. In the other words, OC can be defined as the degree to which an employees experiences a ‘sense of oneness with their organization. However, for the purpose of this study, the following definition of OC as provided by Allen and Meyer (1990) was used. It has become clear that during the last decade, OC was conceptualizing as multidimensional construct that involve three dimensions as mention before. 2.1.2 Allens and Meyers Model of Organization Commitment (OC) Meyer and Allen (1990) had defined OC as pychological state that bind the individu to the organization. For that extend, they have developed a three component conceptualization of organizational commitm

Ngo Dinh Diem :: South Vietnam

â€Å"Diem was the kind of asian we can live with,† said a Supreme court Justice Member (Conflict). The Diem family was a powerful family due to the fact that Ngo Dinh Diem was the prime minister of South Vietnam in 1954. Diem grew up in the same region as the person he was going against. Diem grew up as strong catholic member. He led vietnam with a strong sense of anti-communism (Vietnam War). Diem was a powerful ruler who rose to power in South Vietnam, then fell harshly from his position after his corruption. The corruption ended up getting him killed by his own country's generals. Diem rose to power quickly mainly due to America favoring him. America had many reasons to favor him. Diem grew up in a higher class family and received a decent education. As a smart kid, he studied law at a Vietnamese university, after he declined a scholarship in France (Conflict). Diem was the best pick of the remaining potential leaders that weren't dead or joined the enemy and communism (Vietnam War). The biggest reason America favored Diem was because he was strongly anti-communist. Diem was also catholic, along with many Americans (Conflict). In 1933, Diem was dismissed from office because the French did not like him. He wanted Vietnamese independence, and France had lost their patience with him. Until 1950, Diem did nothing eventful. He focused on religion and things that he enjoyed doing. Then in 1950, he fled Vietnam due to the Viet Minh coming after him. He showed up one year later in America. There, he did what is called ‘networking’. He met with important people, increasing his popularity in the states. At the Geneva conference, U.S. had mentioned Diem as a potential leader. â€Å"The only boy we got out there† (Conflict). French had disagreed, but later decided he was the lesser of the evils (Ngo Dinh Diem). They held a vote in the country to elect a prime minister. It was between Diem and Bao Dai, the former emperor. The election was most likely rigged, as he won with 98% of the votes. This was just the start of his corruption (Conflict, Ngo Dinh Diem). Diem was always a person who was uneasy about changes that were requested of him. He ended up making changes to the land in South Vietnam even though he did not want to.

Hair Manifesto :: Personal Narrative Creative Writing Essays

Hair Manifesto Whenever I travel to another part of the US or another country in the world I find myself taking on the vocal and speech patterns of a native speaker. I lose my own way of speaking, and adopt that area's accent. I am an Accent Chameleon. I find it a fun little linguistic/sociological game. And so, this summer while working in a restaurant deep in the heart of Dupont Circle in Washington DC, an area known far and wide for its dense Guppie (gay male + yuppie) population, where 80% of the staff was gay, it seemed only natural that I should adopt this Guppie mode of communication, behavior, self-representation. I was a Sexual Identity Gender Expression Chameleon. SIGEC, for short. I became a gay boy. It was a sociological extrapolation. Further beyond the reach of any autonomy I possessed. And afterall, who doesn't simply adore another acronym in their life? So much of my demeanor changed. I incorporated that flipping of the wrist thing into my every interaction. My body developed a certain poise, as I flowed gracefully, melodramatically from room to room. I oozed sass. And to uphold just a few more stereotypes about gay male culture of the 21st century, it was during this SIGECian period of my life when I first discovered my Inner Hair Dresser. It started with a minor compulsion to do hair. I found myself spending more time than ever before staring into the mirror, strategically situating each strand. But it quickly escalated, infecting the realm of my desire: I wanted to cut hair. Mine, my housemate's, that guy who walked by me in the park and so desperately needed to trim off his mullet. Anyone. I found myself nightly snipping off different pieces of hair, my wastebasket mounding with black, brown, bleached little trimmings, the cast-offs of my art. I became irked easily when people paid $9.99 for a shoddy Super Cuts do. The judgment of a hair snob. I became restless, itching to conquer hairdos of all genres. Strolling on busy streets, I was a flaneur, constantly taking in the hairstyles moving past me. In the supermarket, I insatiably devoured the hair concepts sprouting atop all the shoppers. I was a machine, always, everywhere calculating length and luster, shade and sheen and type of sheers used. I had undergone a pop-cultural metamorphosis, emerging from my cocoon a hair person.

Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman Democracy Essay

â€Å"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.† – Plato The question at hand is whether there were any similarities that led to the fall of Ancient Greek and Roman democracies. This essay will discuss how wars and territorial expansion led to a rise in populism, which brought political chaos, and how it is the fundamental cause of the decline of democracy in Ancient Greece and Rome. The first forms of democracy started in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. In Ancient Greece, democracy and politics were more related to the Athenian city-state – because Sparta was more of a military dictatorship – than any other city-state in the region. As for Rome, the brief period between the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Empire, known as the Roman Republic, came to be a symbol of democracy in the Ancient Roman time period. Though democracy is defined as a form of government in which its people make decisions that directly influence their daily lives, the ancient forms of democracy were slightly different. It is clear that the Athenian city-state was more democratic than the Roman Republic, but both had forms of oligarchy that tampered with the image of ideal democracy. The Roman Republic had its Senate, and the Athenian city-state had its Areopagos, groups of aristocrats that usually dominated the region’s politics. Some sources even suggest that â€Å"Rome n ever became a democracy in the sense that they (the citizens) ever controlled the government for long.† But whatever democracy existed in these areas was short-lived. Even though these democracies existed in different time periods, they had similar reasons to their downfall. Scholars suggest that these democracies fell because of the sheer landmass each had to control after their numerous victories. The Roman Republic stretched the Italian Peninsula and controlled parts of Northern Africa; Athens ruled much of mainland Greece and the Ionian states (the Delian League basically put the Ionian states under Athenian subjection) along the Mediterranean coastline. The constitutions built for Athens and the Roman Republic were figuratively too small to control these newly added territories. Since the constitutions were made only to satisfy the populations of the homeland itself, the constitutions had gaps in which politicians abused, ultimately  leading to political corruption. Another cause reasoned for the downfall of democracies in both states is the democracies’ fallout with thei r common citizens. Citizens of Rome and Athens consequently wanted a single strong ruler after years of war had created panic among all levels of government. However, though these two reasons are valid, there was another significant cause for the fall of these two democracies. The rise of populism in both the Athenian city-state and the Roman Republic was crucial to the deterioration of their democracies. The Athenian city-state fought many wars such as the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian Wars. To fight these wars, the Athenians needed income. The common Athenian citizen had to fund the war, similar to the Roman Plebeians and their war taxes, creating heavy discrepancies between the rich and poor. This in turn paved the way for many populist reforms – reforms that favored the working class – most importantly, Pericles’ reforms. Pericles removed the property restrictions on army enlistment to provide more troops in the Athenian war machine. This reform, along with the previous reform of Cleisthenes that enlarged the Council of 400 to five-hundred people, allowed for the â€Å"†¦ involvement of a large part or even the whole of the citizen body in the state’s affairs,† giving the citizens too much power. Citizens, w hom had no experience in politics, started to make decisions for the Athenian public. This proved detrimental in Second Peloponnesian War, when Athens could not effectively place its troops because of quarrels within the Council of 500 (and a weakened Areopagos due to Pericles’ reforms), leading to a defeat that nearly crumbled the existing form of democracy in Athens. This inefficiency of the government moved citizens and thinkers, such as Plato, to view democracy as an ineffective form of rule. Citizens now shifted their sights to Macedonia as their only hope for survival. The case for the Roman Republic is similar. The plebeians funded wars which created discrepancies between the Patrician class and the Plebeians. This allowed the Patricians to dominate the state’s resources, such as land, which started to deteriorate the economy of the Republic. To counter these movements, reformers such as the Gracchus brothers and Gaius Marius turned to populist ideals to gain a strong plebeian holding. In trying to do so, the reformers disobeyed many of the constitution’s preexisting laws which brought  political instability: Tiberius Gracchus tried to illegally obtain another year as tribune, resulting in the first â€Å"daggers in the forum,† Gaius Gracchus tried to start a plebeian reform, which failed, and Gaius Marius and Sulla created a clash between the populares and optimares, creating conflict within Rome. These attempts at populist reforms seemingly started a trend within politicians to undermine the authority of the Roman constitution. Sulla was elected dictator for two consecutive terms – Roman law only allowed for a single term in case of national emergency – and Julius Caesar declared himself dictator-for-life and crossed the Rubicon into Rome with his troops, which were both illegal. All of these attempts at populist reforms created confusion amongst the Roman public, whom now viewed dictatorships more pleasurable than the current Republ ic mess. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Octavion took over, marking the end of the Roman Republic. As discussed above, wars were the backbone to the populist movements. It is important to note, however, that in Ancient Greece, the fall was associated more with the populist reforms itself, and that in Ancient Rome, the fall was associated more with the push for populism, rather than the reforms itself. Another rather interesting fact was that the increase in democracy in Greece actually led to the demise of the democracy itself. However, in all, populism was a common factor that brought the collapse of the democracies in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"The Making of the Roman World.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 51. Print. [ 2 ]. Roberts, J. M. â€Å"Ancient Greece.† The Penguin History of Europe. London, England: Penguin, 1997. 31. Print. [ 3 ]. A term used to describe the first appearance of violence in the Roman General Assembly; it is blamed for start of the disregard of the Roman constitution by many politicians to follow.