Sunday, July 26, 2020

An English Major at the Business Career Fair, Pt. 1

An English Major at the Business Career Fair, Pt. 1 Its my last semester of college, and Im freaking out. And you, dear reader, someday youll be in my shoesâ€"especially if youre hunting for a job after graduation rather than heading off to grad school right away. Ive had a hard time this year  dealing with that little bit of jealousy I feel when people I know land a post-grad summer internship or full-time job, because that means theyre ~on the other side~ of all this. I want to be  like them! I want to be free! And by free, I mean guaranteed a salary and 401K when I leave the hallowed halls of Illinois and  free  to focus on ~the now~ of my schoolwork, internship, undergraduate thesis finally trying a matcha green tea doughnut from Pandamonium. You get the idea. My friends with their lives figured out? Tom Haverford. Me? Leslie Knope. (Gif from Giphy) And Im not trying to freak you out! Im just trying to keep it real. This is a scary/exciting time in my life, but I hope you read my posts and ultimately feel assured. Because someday! Someday soon! There will be a post telling you just how Ive figured things out. But for now, Im heading to the spring Business Career Fair in seriously like five minutes. Its my second Business Career Fair this year, so Im hoping Ill be able to impress some recruiters. Im armed with 25 copies of my resume, a lot of examples of the work Ive created while working as an editorial intern for Admissions, a fancy black pleather portfolio, a pen, some paper for note-taking, and one semi-snazzy lamented name tag (courtesy of the Economics Departmentâ€"thanks, guys!). Ill let you know how it all goes in my next post: An English Major at the Business Career Fair, Pt. 2. Stay tuned! And as always, feel free to comment with any questions! They can be about landing an internship/job as an Illinois student or whatever you like. Maggie Class of 2017 After starting my time at Illinois Undeclared in the Division of General Studies, I’m majoring in English and Economics with a minor in Informatics from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I’m from the relatively small town of Manhattan, Illinois.

Friday, May 22, 2020

The President and Internet Traffick - 996 Words

Research Paper 2: Do you think it is a good idea for the President of the United States to have the authority to limit or shutdown internet traffic to and from any compromised federal government or U.S. critical infrastructure information system or network? Why or why not? Yes and no. For the general public, I don’t think limiting the internet would be a wise idea. Our country was founded on freedom, and to infringe upon that would cause civil unrest. Frankly, the general public would assume that the government was up to something nefarious, even if they were trying to protect the American interest. ‘Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.’ – Benjamin Franklin. However, to limit or monitor the internet in government buildings the way most corporations do, I see no problem with this. That would basically be the same as the IT security protocols that are enforced in corporate America. Our government secrets need to be guarded and protected at all costs. Therefore, any inter- or intranet that can access any government site or network should be monitored. Many countries do limit the internet that their citizens can access. These are the same countries that we in our, public opinion, hold ourselves above because we are more ‘civilized’. Most of these countries are afraid of their citizens, it seems. The internet gives people the ability to connect with each other virtually instantaneously and with people that we may have not met otherwise. In a country

Friday, May 8, 2020

The Victorian Century Woman And A Victorian Woman Essay

What is the difference between a 21st century woman and a Victorian woman? Most women in the 21st century are exhilarating, lively, intelligent, passionate, and full of life, but who is to say that Victorian women were not? It is said that the typical Victorian woman must have â€Å"inherent qualities of femininity [such as:] emotion, passivity, submission, dependence, and selflessness† (Historical). Most of the Victorian women abode by these social standards and therefore could not speak their true thoughts or emotions. This is because they â€Å"were dominated by their sexuality, and were expected to fall silently into the social mold crafted by men, since they were regarded as irrational, sensitive, and dutiful† (Historical). A famous writer from that era, Charlotte Bronte, defied these social standards by creating characters and explaining, through them, her own thoughts and beliefs. The protagonist, Jane Eyre, was created to exemplify Bronte’s powerful emoti ons that would have been looked down upon in society. In Charlotte Bronte’s Victorian novel, Jane Eyre, Bronte uses constant description of fire to symbolize Jane’s emotions and her thoughts that could not have been expressed aloud. Bronte also uses fire to demonstrate the emotional aspect of Jane’s personal development throughout the novel. Overall, Bronte creates this symbol of fire to defy the social standards of typical and suppressed Victorian women by demonstrating their true passion and exuberant emotions. For oneShow MoreRelated Wilkie Collins’ The Woman In White: 19th Century Victorian femininity exposed through the accounts of multiple narrators1837 Words   |  8 PagesWilkie Collins’ The Woman In White: 19th Century Victorian femininity exposed through the accounts of multiple narrators Readers of nineteenth century British literature imagine typical Victorian women to be flighty, emotionally charged, and fully dependent on the men in their lives. One envisions a corseted woman who is a dutiful wife, pleasant entertainer, and always the model of etiquette. Wilkie Collins acknowledges this stereotype in his novel The Woman in White, but he contradicts thisRead MoreAnalysis Of Virginia Woolf s Woolf Essay1201 Words   |  5 Pagestwentieth centuries, women typically only held the following positions: wifehood and motherhood. On the other hand, a man’s job was to obtain a well-rounded education and become the head of the household—the breadwinner (â€Å"Women’s History in America† 1). Having a woman obtain the same level of education as her spouse was not encouraged by Victorian society. In fact, women were still being restricted to a certain level of education (Yuzuncu 18). Virginia Woolf, a prominent twentieth century writer, wasRead MoreThe Representation of Family in Nineteenth Century English Art1338 Words   |  6 PagesNineteenth Century English Art 19th century art gives us a great insight into Victorian society and culture, its hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, its ambitions and failures and its preconceptions and contradictions (The Victorian Web, 2003) . Each picture tells a story and provides us with a great record of Victorian culture and the thoughts and pre-occupations of people throughout the 19th century. The home and the family became the centre of 19th century life and theRead More Defining the Victorian Woman Essay1590 Words   |  7 PagesDefining the Victorian Woman      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Victorian Age, there existed a certain ideology of what constituted the perfect Victorian woman. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, young girls began attending schools that offered basic skills such as reading, writing, and math. Manuals of etiquette and conduct instructed young girls in manners of society and the home (Basch 3). All of this prepared a young woman for marriage, which, in the nineteenth century, was putRead MoreFemale Sexuality Within Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre1689 Words   |  7 PagesEyre sets a strong example of female sexuality in the Victorian era. The title character confronts herself with her feelings for Mr. Rochester and her growing throughout the novel. She eventually finds the courage to embrace herself as she is. Jane’s independent mind and nature contradict the grain of Victorian society. She defies historical notions of female sexuality and Victorian codes and rules on sexuality. Brontà « reimagines the Victorian notion of marriage as she emphasizes Jane’s educationRead MoreVictorian Women: A Human Sacrifice Essay1465 Words   |  6 PagesIn herself the woman is nothing. The woman can only justify her presence on the earth by dedicating herself to others; through deliberate self-effacement, duty and sacrifice she will discover the identity and raison d#234;tre of which, by herself, she is deprived (Basch 5). Surrounded by such popular belief, the women of the Victorian age had to surrender their valuable possessions simply to avoid the wrath of the male dominated society. The female characters in A Dollhouse, by Henrik Ibsen,Read MoreThe Victorian And Post World War I1590 Words   |  7 Pagesdichotomy. The division between the two identities of the man and the woman permeated through the Victorian era and developed a template for prospective gender constructs. The Victorian woman, expected to preserve purity and domesticity, was portrayed with a repressed sexuality. Passive characterization supported the duty of child bearing as the female destiny and molded their identities into subordinate ones. At the turn of the 20th century in Great Britain, women began to partake in conventionally maleRead MoreWomens Rights during the Victorian Era1082 Words   |  5 PagesRights during the Victorian Era The Victorian era, spurred a momentary sequence of both women and men in search of a prosperous relationship regulated by the demanding etiquettes of the Victorian Society. If these desired qualities were not in possession, a man or woman could be labeled as ‘unsuitable’ in the positions of a husband or a wife. Women suffered mostly throughout the Victorian Era as rights were ceased and the rules and guidelines of society were placed. The Victorian Era caused the rightsRead MoreThe Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner812 Words   |  3 Pagessociety to equal the scope of a mans station. This facet of Schreiners best-known book is the reason that she has become famous as, a feminist who hated being a woman (Showalter, 195), and the reason that African Farm has endured as an early feminist manifesto. Like other novels written by women in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, Schreiners book attempts to expose the precarious position in society in which women of the time found themselves. Schreiner does not have a single character embodyRead MoreRole Of Women During The Victorian Era1664 Words   |  7 Pagesshaped by many movements and time periods. The Victorian Period had a huge impact on many aspects in British literature and culture. The roles of women were greatly affected during this time period. The question of what women could (or should) do attracted a lot of debate in the Victorian era. There are numerous characteristics about The Victorian Period, one of them being the transformation of Britain. From the1830’s to the 1870’s, as seen in Victorian Literature, Britain underwent changes that transformed

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Globalization Prosperity or Poverty Free Essays

Globalization is a word that has recently become a commonplace in two different ways. Firstly globalization inspires visions of global village, a place where by all citizen of the world is linked together with high technology system. On the other hand, globalization is the one of the consequence that local factory closed down and re-open at another corner of the world where the country with cheap labor and weaker environmental law. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization: Prosperity or Poverty or any similar topic only for you Order Now Globalization as it exists today is not fully understood and impacts are unclear.It is because globalization has wide variety of combinations that affecting every aspect of life. In this report aims to explore world issues to analyze two statements: prosperity and poverty. Throughout this report many of the issues that will be examined by four important issues which influence prosperity and poverty in farther chapters; Economical, Technological, Political and Cultural Globalization. Economic Globalization Changing Economies In the past, a company tended to be identified with one particular country.For example Toyota started with their ownership, production and their market were primarily located in Japan. Today in the globalized world, growing number of huge companies including Toyota, are Multi National or Transnational in nature. Since they have integrated operations across the world. They maximized their work. The economist Karl Marx’s quotes â€Å"The working men have no country† (Marx, 2002, Pg. 17) pretty much make sense of this. According to Fortune magazine publishes a list of the Global 500, which contains the 500 largest companies in the world based on their annual revenues.For example, In 2008 Toyota’s revenue of USD 230 billion is comparable to the size of the entire economy of Bangladesh’s GDP of USD 224 billion with 156 million population. (CNN, n. d. and CIA, n. d. ) As we can see the number of GDP in the process of globalization, the wealthy is based on own stability. The gap between rich who move their production and capital, seek markets everywhere in the world that benefit the company. Those own stability comes from competitiveness in Knowledge Economy (K-Economy) based on technology. Those who can expend and apply new knowledge and defined trends early, and quickly create competitive advantages that produce much greater global wealth which will leads higher standard of living. World Trade and Income Inequalities In 2003 statistics (Norton, 2007) stated that, the richest fifth of the world’s population received 85% of the total world income, while poorest fifth received just 1. 4% of global income. The wealthy countries has high percentage of open trade and investment. Which reduced the bargaining power of unskilled workers to gain the lower wages and increased inequalities between wealthy and poverty countries.For example in the United States, there is rising income inequality due to increased of population migration. On many occasions for those migrants legally or illegally, they order to find jobs and improve their standard of living. However decreasing number of job opportunities for less-skilled native citizens of the United States. In addition, corruption of Cameroon is part of increasing in the country income inequalities due to poor governance, poor finance administrations and tax evasion and exemptions that disproportionately connected to wealthy population groups. (Harford, 2006)Technological Globalization Impacts of Innovation and Technology The technological globalization has been always produced revolutions in the way in which people live. Today we are more referring primary to communications. This has occurred because of non-stop growth of communications revolutions as well as computer technology in the past few decades. The impact of this technological revolution affects everyone of the world almost every single seconds. We are able to communicate with much of the world, by phone and the Internet instantly and cheaply. By the technology many of factories’ manpower are multiplied many times by the use of external power or machinery sources. It can increase lack of job opportunities for low skilled labors in wealthy countries due to substitutes technology progress and cheap skilled labors in poor countries and also, evolve on communication tools many of wealthy countries are more willing to do outsourcing because technology is so widely available and increasingly inexpensive. (Harford, 2008) Technology Transfer in Low-Income CountriesIn a globalized world, the poorest countries should gain most from new technology and infrastructure. Globalization has huge improved access of technology easily, introduce latecomers to advanced technologies and to the extent that technological up-grading, it provides a unique opportunity for low-income countries to raise per capita income. To raise the benefits reaped from technology, governments might need to make additional efforts towards the Foreign Direct I nvestment (FDI), an effective international economic system that major contribution for country development.FDI is basically dominated by the small number of producers and each one of small business can influence prices and affect competitors. The FDI is affecting everything on economics that it exists everywhere where by related to trade barriers, in part to avoid the uncertainties in supplies, and with external market. For example in Malaysia, multinational companies such as Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Intel Corporation are transferred certain degree of technology and also the skill of management to Malaysians.But the other hand, companies such as Mitsubishi and Acer, they only transferred the manufacturing techniques, all RD and Marketing are left behind in their home countries which are Japan and Taiwan. (Guerrieri, 2001) Dr. Mahathir states that the bottom line is that no country in the world would want to reveal away their trade secret and transfer on the latest technology because they are also in the survival and global competition. Poor countries should have to be smart instead of quarreling amongst themselves on rights and policies. (chedetblog, 2009) Political GlobalizationNeo-Liberalism affect on Poverty and Prosperity As the world’s countries become more independent technologically and economically all countries are adopting similar regulations and opened their economy to the world. For example, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) linking powerful economic and political co-operation with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. The ASEAN meant that many countries cut government expenditures, reduce economic regulation, privatized government operation among countries and opened their economies to the world.I feel that neo-liberalism which gets rid of trade and other barriers allow less wealthy countries to speed their transitions towards maturity. However globalization is designed to help transnational companies by allowing them to move their production to less developed countries that have cheap, unregulated labor and low standard. For opponents of neo-liberalism is no more excuse for sweatshops and high profits. And also the number of homeless people in neo-liberalism countries has grown. The country such as the Unites States under previous President George W.Bush had faced challenges as a result of the terrorist attack on September 11th 2001. There was huge damage to the US economy. Worst affected was air travel industry and laid off many thousand of employees, and called for billions of dollars of aid from government to help them survive. (James, 2008) I think government who truly believe in allowing the industry to work would not provide support by rescue packages. Alternative is that competition within the reduced scope of industry to decide some companies would disappear or merge. Figure 1.The United States: Domestic Airline Passenger Revenue – Miles http://static. seekingalpha. com/uploads/2009/2/12/saupload_airlines_6. jpg Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Exclusion The world’s poorest countries are always encouraged to borrow from World Bank (WB) or International Monetary Fund (IMF). The idea is that wealthy countries would invest in projects that could produce an economic return sufficient to repay the loans.As Dr. Mahathir state that the idea would not be happen without education of people and stability of government. Mahathir, 2008) Therefore, a group of 40 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) today got a huge amount of debt and annual interest that they can not afford to pay back. (The World Bank, 2009) UK-based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) named Jubilee Debt Campaign which working for 100% cancellation of un-payable debt for poor countries of those, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and more African countries. (The Jubilee Debt Campaign, 2009) Figure 2. Literacy Rate Source: UN Human Development Report 2008 Africa is poor partly because of the poor development in the country.The country or government does not know how to gather income from foreigners. India and China were used to be poor, but they were trying to attract themselves in more foreign investors. However, NGO might mismanaged the way of supporting Africa. Cultural Globalization Wrong Culture at the Wrong Place The strong economic freedom and money orientation which characterize the wealthy country’s model it is simply because they are backed by a relatively well educated mass and an effective law enforcement and judicial system. Geoffrey, 2004) However, WB or IMF recommend to adopt this culture to less fortune countries, chances of economic will be failed. To go the wealthy way will be good for minority who knows how to take advantage of economic freedom. Which means the wealthy way of democracy and market economy is rarely the right solution in less wealthy countries because of the strength of communitarian values and needs of maintain cultural identification. As Harford says, most of governments in Africa are not working very well.The only hope is to make work to preserve national culture while developing the economy, and this is possible only through educating the masses and making the right collective decisions. (Harford, 2006) In the globalized world, wealthy countries should understand what that balance is collective decision, which varies by time and place. Conclusion: Alternative to the Future No matter how much money we give to less prosper countries it’s might only enough to cover all their medications or food cost and does little to help in the progress of their infrastructures.I found out in this report money is ine ffective without understanding to use them. When a country is undeveloped the government should responsible to bring better life to their people, after World War II Japan was one of high poverty country which lacking of human, technical and mainly lack of natural resources. Along the way Japan improved education, technology and infrastructure. Just like what India and China is doing today. Dr. Mahathir said, the Western way of democracy and market economy is rarely the right solution in East Asia because of the strength of communication values and the need to maintain many of cultural identification. (Abdullah, 2008)I believe the homeless person in the Western countries have more freedoms, wealth and more opportunities than those majority in the hard-core poor countries. Perhaps those in the Western countries wish not to be aware of how difficult life is in the poor world. We are in danger of becoming selfish, uncaring and overly materialistic in globalization era. Another findings are most of people in undeveloped countries are tend to think that a country can develop under the guidance of international organizations such as WB and IMF, but this is not correct.Those help from global institution might be effective but they cannot guide each one of less fortune countries’ economy for long-term. In the short run, undeveloped countries should look into economic development internally. People must be educated and the government must be made to work. But it does not mean by going to the Western way, which emphasizes individualism and profit orientation. (Harford, 2006) The real question in this report was that how to make globalization consistent with the institutional as well as the manpower requirements necessary for increased productivity in less developed countries. As a result an American journalist Thomas Friedman suggest that globalization worked well in a world where by majority of countries opened up in a similar functions to be flattened into more open model. (Friedman, 2007) In the end, the wealth has not been evenly spread, but it is slowly improve, because India and China have done most of the difficult parts. All people have real choices, in the globalization era more choices mean something better quality of life for each of global citizens. How to cite Globalization: Prosperity or Poverty, Papers

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Work Motivation Essay Example

Work Motivation Essay Work Motivation Theory and Research at The Dawn Of The Twenty-First Century Based on this journal, the writers examine progress made in theory and research on needs, traits, values, cognition, and affect as well as three bodies of literature dealing with the context of motivation: national culture, job design, and models of person environment fit. They focus primarily on work reported between 1993 and 2003, concluding that goal setting, social cognitive, and organizational justice theories are the three most important approaches to work motivation to appear in the last 30 years. The writers reach 10 generally positive conclusions regarding predicting, understanding, and influencing work motivation in the new millennium. Miner (2003) concluded that motivation continues to hold a significant position in the eyes of scholars. Miner’s conclusion is based on a comparison with other middle range theories of organizational behavior (OB). The question remains on an absolute standard, motivation theory and research have fared well over the last quarter of a century. In answering this question, we provide a definition of the construct and an assessment of how the field of motivation in the workplace has evolved and progressed since the year in which the last chapter devoted exclusively to this topic appeared in the Annual Review of Psychology (ARP). We selectively review theory and research, emphasizing work published in the past decade, 1993–2003, with special emphasis given to research on contextual effects and mediating mechanisms. We will write a custom essay sample on Work Motivation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Work Motivation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Work Motivation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Work motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration (Pinder 1998). where motivation is a process resulting from the interaction between the individual and the environment. However, because of space limitations, the writers just focus on national culture, job design characteristics, and person-environment fit, omitting reviews of other exogenous sources of motivation. MOTIVATIONAL FRAMEWORK The framework used in reviewing the literature is consistent with Locke Henne(1986). Needs is followed by a focus on (b) personal traits. An individual difference variable rooted in needs is (c) values. Because context affects the extent to which needs are met and values are fulfilled, emphasis is given to (d) national culture, (e) job design characteristics, and (f) person context fit. Needs and values affect (g) cognition, particularly goals. Cognition plays an integral role in each of these concepts. Although (h) affective reactions need not depend on cognition (Bandura 1997), the two usually are reciprocally related (Lord Kanfer 2002). Finally, affect is influenced by culture as well as by organizational norms (Lord Harvey 2002). We close with an (i) assessment of progress in the field since 1977. NEEDS Aslam et al. (2000) presented a process-based analysis of need structure and need salience derived from the social identity approach to organizational behavior. When personal identity is salient, needs to self- actualize and to enhance self esteem through personal advancement and growth become dominant. When social identity is salient, the need to enhance group based self-esteem through a sense of relatedness, respect, peer recognition, and attainment of group goals dominate. They stated that McGregor’s (1960) Theory Y assumptions apply when the supervisor and employee share the same identity; Theory X assumptions apply when they do not do so. 2 People are motivated to attain goals that are compatible with their self-identity. Needs associated with a specific group membership are internalized; they serve as a guide for behavior in a specific working context. Need-based theories explain why a person must act; they do not explain why specific actions are chosen in specific situations to obtain specific outcomes. Moreover, they do not easily account for individual differences. Hence, along with increased attention to needs, there has also been a resurgence of interest in individual differences, particularly with regard to the effects of job characteristics on employee motivation. TRAITS In summary, the importance of personality in predicting, understanding, and influencing choice, affect, and performance has been shown, as well as the importance of job characteristics (e. g. , autonomy) as a mediator/moderator. An issue identified by Locke Latham (2004) that has yet to be addressed is how general variables such as personality are applied to and are mediated by task and situationally specific variables in affecting performance, or how they are moderated by situations and affect situational structuring and choice. Locke (2001) showed that values and personality work through goals and self-efficacy to influence performance. Yet it is likely that some trait effects are direct and thus are not mediated. Research is needed on if, when, and why this occurs VALUES Values are rooted in needs and provide a principal basis for goals (Locke Henne 1986). Locke Henne (1986) argued that values are inherent in most work moti- vation theories. These theories focus on the influence of one or several particu- lar values, such as perceptions of fairness on action or on the effects of values in general (expectancy theory). CONTEXT As a result of globalization, however, values have been studied within the context of a person’s culture and job as well as person-environment fit. National Culture In an attempt to tie together needs and values, Steers Sanchez-Runde (2002) stated that national culture determines three key sets of distal sources of motivation: (a) people’s self-concept, including personal beliefs, needs, and values; (b) norms about work ethic and the nature of â€Å"achievement,† tolerance for ambiguity, locus of control, etc. ; and (c) â€Å"environmental factors†. Based on their conceptual model, the authors concluded that these distal factors influence self-efficacy beliefs, work motivation levels, and goals, as well as the nature of incentives and disincentives to perform. Building on research findings of other scholars, Leung (2001) has offered four hypotheses for further research: (a) work teams in collectivistic cultures have higher levels of unconditional benevolence and positive social identity that, in turn, lead to higher levels of in-group involvement than is the case for groups that value ndividualism; (b) productivity and performance levels are more homogenous (not necessarily higher or lower) in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures; (c) motivational strategies by superiors have more effect on subordinates in cultures with high levels of power distance than in cultures low in power distance; and (d) negative reactions from supervisors in high power-distance cultures generate more negative reactions among workers than is the case in low power-distance cultures. Job Design Characteristics Gustafson Mumford (1995) reported that the ability of personality measures to predict performance as well as satisfaction increases when characteristics of a job are taken into account. Job autonomy can facilitate the time necessary for learning and development, which in turn improves job performance (Wall Jackson 1995). Cordery (1997) argued the necessity of differentiating the importance of three dimensions of job autonomy, namely (a) method control as defined by the amount of discretion one has over the way in which work is performed, (b) timing control in terms of the influence one has over scheduling of work, and (c) discretion in setting performance goals. He found four interrelated dimensions that affect job autonomy, namely the extent to which the supervisor (a) provides clear attainable goals, (b) exerts control over work activities, (c) ensures that the requisite resources are available, and (d) gives timely accurate feedback on progress toward goal attainment. PERSON CONTEXT-FIT The basic assumption underlying these models is that the relationship between person variables (such as needs or values) and both individual and organizational outcomes is contingent upon various features of the environment (such as the job, the organization, or culture). These models originated from Shaffers (1953). He used Murray’s (1938) needs to develop a goodness-of-fit model that takes into account individual differences in needs as well as the characteristics of jobs. Cable ; DeRue (2002), through a confirmatory factor analysis, found that employees differentiate among three varieties of fit: (a) person-environment fit (in which the focus is on organizational outcomes such as organizational identification and turnover decisions); (b) â€Å"needs-supplies† fit (in which the primary focus is on career-related outcomes such as employee satisfaction) and (c) job demands–employee abilities fit. COGNITION As Locke ; Henne (1986) observed, cognition is inherent in motivation. The sensations of pleasure and pain are informational. Based on needs, values, and the situational context, people set goals and strategize ways to attain them. Goal-Setting Theory A meta-analysis by Zetik ; Stuhlmacher (2002) revealed that negotiators who have specific, challenging, and conflicting goals consistently achieve higher profits than those with no goals. Consistent with goal-setting theory, the higher the goal, the higher the outcome. No effect was found for participation in setting goals. Contextual Conditions Seijts ; Latham (2000b) examined the applicability of goal-setting principles when personal goals are potentially incompatible with those of the group. They found that social dilemmas are boundary conditions for the usual positive effects of goal setting. Self-enhancing personal goals have a detrimental effect on a group’s performance. Audia et al. (2000) found that past success increased strategic decision makers’ satisfaction, and satisfaction led them to increase their past strategies. Higher satisfaction was associated with higher self-efficacy and higher performance goals that increased dysfunctional persistence subsequent to a radical change in the environment. Implementation Intentions and Auto-Motive Goals Gollwitzer (1999) found that goal intentions that are accompanied by implementation intentions on tasks that are complex for people lead to a higher rate of goal attainment than do goal intentions only. An implementation intention is a mental link that is created between a specific future situation and the intended goal-directed response. Thus, it is subordinate to goal intention. Implementation intentions specify when, where, and how behavior is likely to lead to goal attainment. By forming implementation intentions, people strategically switch from conscious effortful control of their goal-directed behavior to being automatically controlled by situational cues. Bargh ; Ferguson (2000) summarized research findings that show that automatic or nonconscious goals produce the same outcomes as conscious goal pursuit in information processing, memory storage, social behavior, and task performance, as well as in self efficacy, self evaluation, and mood state. Feedback Ashford et al. (2003) stated that the processing of feedback likely involves monitoring the environment in an automatic preconscious fashion through visual, auditory, and relational cues. In their enumerative review, Ashford ; Black (1996) also suggested three primary motives for feedback seeking: instrumental to attain a goal and perform well, ego-based to defend or enhance one’s ego, and image-based to protect or enhance the impression others have of oneself. Self-Regulation Goal setting and feedback seeking in relation to goals are the core of self-regulation (Latham ; Locke 1991). Self-regulatory processes supporting goal implementation were examined by Gollwitzer ; Bayer (1999). They offered a time perspective on goal striving and self-regulatory processes as mediating the effects of intentions on behavior. The latter consists of four phases: predecisional (choosing among competing wishes, based on expected value); preactional (forming implementation intentions in the service of the goal intention); actional (bringing goal direct actions to a successful end); and postactional (evaluation as to whether further action is necessary) Expectancy Theory After reviewing the literature, Ambrose ; Kulik (1999) concluded that little or no advances have been made in expectancy theory research in the past decade. Ambrose ; Kulik concluded that there are few theoretical or applied reasons for additional research on the application of this theory to organizational behavior Social Cognitive Theory SCT research shows empirically that the effect of environmental antecedents and consequences are mediated by cognitive variables. SCT emphasizes dual control systems in the self-regulation of motivation, namely a proactive discrepancy production system that works in concert with a reactive discrepancy reduction system (Bandura 2001). Thus, people are motivated by the foresight of goals, not just the hindsight of shortfalls. A specific high goal creates negative discrepancies to be mastered. Effort and resources are mobilized based on anticipatory estimates of what is necessary for goal attainment. AFFECT/EMOTION Mowday ; Sutton (1993) argued against an overemphasis on cognition in the study of motivation. This is because moods and emotions influence the attainment of complex long-term goals (Lord ; Kanfer 2002) and are interrelated with the other constructs we have discussed. Erez ; Isen (2002) showed that people with higher levels of positive affect exhibited higher levels of persistence, effort, self-reported motivation, and performance on two different tasks. Positive affect was associated with higher levels of valence and expectancy beliefs at these tasks as well as higher levels of instrumentality beliefs at one of them. Organizational Justice A significant body of research on work motivation that has appeared since Korman et al. ’s 1977 review is conceptualizations of organizational justice (Greenberg 1987). These studies, based on sociolegal research of disputants’ reactions to a conflict resolution, supplement Adam’s equity theory, the fundamental idea of which is that individuals develop beliefs about the inputs they provide in their employment relationship as well as about the outcomes they receive in return, and they form attitudes about the ratio between inputs and outcomes in relation to the corresponding ratios they perceive among comparison others. The premise of organizational justice is that fair procedures enhance employee acceptance of organizational outcomes. second premise, namely that in addition to being fair, leaders must be perceived as fair with regard to outcomes and processes that serve an important psychological need (Greenberg 1990). CONCLUSIONS First, three theories dominate the motivation literature: goal-setting, social cognitive, and organizational justice. Second, whereas theory and research in the third quarter of the twentieth century focused almost exclusively on cognition (Latham ; Budworth 2004), this is no longer true. Third, the ability to predict, understand, and influence motivation in the workplace has increased significantly as a result of the attention that has been given to all rather than only a few aspects of an employee’s motivation. Fourth, whereas the dependent variables historically studied were limited to traditional measures of job performance and satisfaction, today’s dependent variables range from citizenship to counterproductive behavior. Fifth, Cronbach’s (1957) plea a half century ago for experimental and correlational psychology to combine forces has been heeded. Sixth, the importance of context to motivation has been recognized much more in recent years than in the past; so much so that an additional chapter could be devoted to it. Seventh, these advances in the study of motivation may reflect the fact that this subject is no longer restricted to the research findings of North Americans. Eighth, behavioral scientists in the latter half of the twentieth century responded positively to William James’ exhortation to systematically study consciousness. Ninth, the antagonisms among theorists that existed throughout much of the twentieth century have either disappeared or have been minimized. Tenth, the nomological nets related to work motivation constructs are thicker and tighter than ever before, but the size of the aggregate net (metaphorically speaking) is not growing at a rate commensurate with the energy that scholars and practitioners have invested since 1977. Accordingly, Steers (2001) recently recognized the limitations of current theory and research in work motivation, and issued a call for groundbreaking papers for publication in a special edition of the Academy of Management Review in 2004. It is too soon to assess whether any of the papers published in response to his call will

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Example of Confidence Interval for Variance

Example of Confidence Interval for Variance The population variance gives an indication of how to spread out a data set is. Unfortunately, it is typically impossible to know exactly what this population parameter is. To compensate for our lack of knowledge, we use a topic from inferential statistics called confidence intervals. We will see an example of how to calculate a confidence interval for a population variance.​ Confidence Interval Formula   The formula for the (1 - ÃŽ ±) confidence interval about the population variance. Is given by the following string of inequalities: [ (n - 1)s2] / B ÏÆ'2 [ (n - 1)s2] / A. Here n is the sample size, s2 is the sample variance. The number A is the point of the chi-square distribution with n -1 degrees of freedom at which exactly ÃŽ ±/2 of the area under the curve is to the left of A. In a similar way, the number B is the point of the same chi-square distribution with exactly ÃŽ ±/2of the area under the curve to the right of B. Preliminaries We begin with a data set with 10 values. This set of data values was obtained by a simple random sample: 97, 75, 124, 106, 120, 131, 94, 97,96, 102 Some exploratory data analysis would be needed to show that there are no outliers. By constructing a stem and leaf plot we see that this data is likely from a distribution that is approximately normally distributed. This means that we can proceed with finding a 95% confidence interval for the population variance. Sample Variance We need to estimate the population variance with the sample variance, denoted by s2. So we begin by calculating this statistic. Essentially we are averaging the sum of the squared deviations from the mean. However, rather than dividing this sum by n we divide it by n - 1. We find that the sample mean is 104.2. Using this, we have the sum of squared deviations from the mean given by: (97 – 104.2)2 (75 – 104.3)2 . . . (96 – 104.2)2 (102 – 104.2)2 2495.6 We divide this sum by 10 – 1 9 to obtain a sample variance of 277. Chi-Square Distribution We now turn to our chi-square distribution. Since we have 10 data values, we have 9 degrees of freedom. Since we want the middle 95% of our distribution, we need 2.5% in each of the two tails. We consult a chi-square table or software and see that the table values of 2.7004 and 19.023 enclose 95% of the distribution’s area. These numbers are A and B, respectively. We now have everything that we need, and we are ready to assemble our confidence interval. The formula for the left endpoint is [ (n - 1)s2] / B. This means that our left endpoint is: (9 x 277)/19.023 133 The right endpoint is found by replacing B with A: (9 x 277)/2.7004 923 And so we are 95% confident that the population variance lies between 133 and 923. Population Standard Deviation Of course, since the standard deviation is the square root of the variance, this method could be used to construct a confidence interval for the population standard deviation. All that we would need to do is to take square roots of the endpoints. The result would be a 95% confidence interval for the standard deviation.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Dark Quotes About Life from Oscar Winner American Beauty

Dark Quotes About Life from Oscar Winner 'American Beauty' In the cult film American Beauty, no one is who they seem. The movie touches upon dysfunctional families, which may look picture-perfect on the outside.  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹American Beauty is a dark satire- a profoundly complex, yet brilliantly executed movie that tells you a tale you didnt want to hear.  It is a thought-provoking, incisive movie with a message that each family is special in its own way.​ Review the main characters and read a compilation of some of the best lines from this classic 90s movie. The Main Characters Lester Burnham  is a middle-aged non-achiever- a father with a boring career. His deadpan voiceover as the narrator communicates his lack of enthusiasm. For him, life is nothing but a series of repetitive, boring menial tasks. Beneath his patient and subservient exterior lies a frustrated man, hungry for love and recognition.Carolyn Burnham is  Lester Burnhams obnoxious and overbearing wife. Carolyn is also a character with many colors. She obsesses over every detail, often overriding her familys views to suit her whims. She is driven and capable of going to extremes to achieve her ends, but beneath her abrasive surface lies a person who is frustrated, fearful and sexually bored.  Jane Burnham,  the teenage daughter of Lester and Carolyn, suffers from an inferiority complex. She is frustrated, insecure, and depressed. She is ashamed of her parents  and is disturbed by their incessant quarrels and selfish pursuits. Jane can’t stand it when her dad lusts after her best friend Angela.Angela Hayes, who visits the Burnham family, is not without flaws. Beneath her gorgeous looks and mellifluous voice, she is a narcissist, obsessed with her looks and her desirability quotient with men. She has no qualms about the fact that her best friends father is lusting for her, and she seduces him further. Her overtly sexual aura is a facade to hide the deeply cracked insecure disaster within. Lester Quotes My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead.   Our marriage is just for show. A commercial for how normal we are when were anything but. Both my wife and daughter think Im this gigantic loser. I didnt lose my job. Its not like Whoops! Where did my job go? I quit. Remember those posters that said, Today is the first day of the rest of your life? Well, thats true with every day except one: the day that you die. I feel like Ive been in a coma for the past twenty years. And Im just now waking up. This isnt life, its just stuff. And its become more important to you than living. Well, honey, thats just nuts. Carolyn Quotes Dont you mess with me, mister, or Ill divorce you so fast itll make your head spin! There happens to be a lot about me that you dont know, Mr. Smarty Man. Theres plenty of joy in my life. Well, I see youre smoking pot now. I think using psychotropic drugs is a very positive example to set for our daughter. Oh, you dont complain? Then I must be psychotic, then! What is this? Yeah, lets bring in the laugh-meter and see how loud it gets. Jane Quotes And well always be freaks and well never be like other people, and youll never be a freak because youre just too... perfect! I know you think my dads harmless, but youre wrong. Angela Quotes I dont think that theres anything worse than being ordinary. Everything thats meant to happen does. You want to have, like, ten thousand of his babies. Quotes by Other Characters My dad thinks I paid for all this with catering jobs. Never underestimate the power of denial. – Rocky Fitts Shes not your friend. Shes just someone you use to feel better about yourself. – Ricky Fitts But it helps me remember... I need to remember... Sometimes theres so much beauty in the world, I feel like I cant take it, and my heart is just going to cave in. – Ricky Fitts In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times. – Buddy Kane