The Rebel, The Nihlist, and the Revolutionary in Batman the Dark Essay

The Rebel, The Nihlist, and the Revolutionary in Batman the Dark Knight - Essay Example The following study text expounds on the three figures as portrayed by Camus and further examines their possible application in the movie Batman the Dark Knight by examining three characters and how they fit in Camus’ figures. The nihilist believes that all values are meaningless and baseless, and that nothing can be understood or communicated. Concisely, the nihilist is an extreme pessimist who has no beliefs, no purpose, no loyalty, and all they think of is destroying. â€Å"A nihilist is not one who believes in nothing, but one who does not believe in what exists† (Camus 38). Camus argues that nihilism is a disorder that the modern age overly suffers from and it fights against morality. Morality demands of people to be honest and truthful when looking at their faults, and be truthful to their natures. However, a nihilist does not care about morality, and does not see any purpose of anything in the universe. According to Camus, most of us are nihilists, lacking the necessary values and seeing life as not worth living. The rebel as portrayed by Camus is an individual rejecting both absurdity and political, metaphysical which can be better put as rebellion against unjustified sufferings inflicted b y a state on citizens. The rebel in this condition tries to resist the unjust system of rules and at the same time rejecting the silent (unspoken) universe. A rebel protects what is theirs and denies anyone from touching it, and is perceived of as aiming at imposing but not conquering. This imposition is to make them meaningful towards people who deny his feelings of humanity in a world which has no meaning. As such, rebellion is an act of defence, but not offended, because a rebel will not charge at an oppressor. In the master-slave situation, a rebel will not rebel against their masters but will act against their â€Å"master† status. This is where the action against the superiority is evident and it can be concluded that

Mindfulness Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Mindfulness Worksheet Essay Please use the information from your â€Å"mindfulness conversation† to complete this worksheet. Submit this worksheet in the Module 1: Assignment 3 Dropbox no later than Day 7 of Module 1. Include vocabulary and concepts from your reading and course site to support and illustrate your own insights. In preparation for the papers you’ll write later in this course, take the time to organize your thoughts for each question and write clearly. Completed worksheet should be not more than three pages. 1. Describe who you had the conversation with and where. Only disclose what you are comfortable with. You can use initials or code names. I had this mindfulness conversation with a friend I’ve had for a long time. I had the conversation at my house on the front porch. 2. How easy/hard did you find it to be mindful? Why? I find it very easy to be mindful this time one reason being that me and him knew each other since we were 12 and we connect like brothers and have a lot in common that’s why I can be so mindful to him. 3. What did you notice during the moments when you were able to be mindful? How were you feeling? I noticed while being mindful that we have so much in common and we shared so many memorys for so many years. I felt very good listening to him because we are so close and it felt good to listen to what he had to say at those moments. 4. How did mindlessness both yours and the other person’s show up in the conversation? What affect did it have? Our mindfulness showed mine at first because I was only listening to him then him to me. It affected us by letting us know we can both be mindful and listen and learn from each other. 5. What 2-3 things did you learn about mindfulness? I learned that when you listen to someone they can teach you something everyone has a different perspective and view and deserve to be listened to. Next I learned that when you stop and be mindful to someone they will in return most likely be mindful to you. 6. What would help you be more mindful in your life? Identify 2 actions (i.e. new behaviors you can practice). How will these actions improve your interpersonal effectiveness? One thing that would help me be more mindful would be to learn about that person find out what we got in common and listen to them and then tell them what we have in common and share that with them. If I did this more often then I would definitely improve my interpersonal effectiveness because when you are more mindful then people will do the same to you and when people are mindful to each other then they will get along better and can teach each other more things about each other and about life in general.

Wisdom Leads to Suffering in Brave New World by George Orwell Essay

Solomon spoke once, after a life filled with great wisdom of nature- chochmah tata’ah- that all of life exists for vanity, that purpose erases itself from existence and man is left with only a mean, purposeless life. Orwell, in 1984, realizes in his work that insight gained of the workings of a dystopic society, leads only to the discovery of purposelessness- the reduction of life to something other than that it purports to be. Orwell’s attack of wisdom takes shape through his usage of juxtaposition in character description, the telling nature of Winston’s state post-discovery, and a most mystifying metaphysical description: the peril of knowing too much. In the same way that Solomon captured the essence of chochmah tata’ah, the wisdom of the external, so Winston gains more knowledge of the external world, in the same way that Solomon (or a Qohelet pretending to be him) wrote of despair issuing from wisdom in Ecclesiastes, Winston finds himself suffering more than the people around him, due to his wisdom. In 1984, Doublethink forces the entire society, both the proles (because of their intelligence quotients) and the higher echelon of people (in order to keep power), into a stupor which leaves the without any knowledge of their situation in life, and completely- obliviously- happy. Though Orwell paints a picture of a crumbling world, the people within see no need to improve it because the simply choose to ignore problems. The people around Winston find themselves duped into believing blindly, without wisdom, and are content while Winston, aware of his surroundings, constantly struggles. Orwell’s message here screams to t he reader that knowledge leads to pain. Winston, strolling to work one day, sees a man with a twitch- fightin... ...fering and death of the combatants. The only outcomes of increased knowledge and wisdom of the external- chochmah tata’ah, exist as oppression and death. Orwell, though speaking out against the oppressiveness of societies, argues more strongly that humanity’s gain of wisdom about corruption leads only to suffering. The author of 1984 brings these points to fruition in his character analysis, and his analysis of reality itself. In the same way that Adam sampled the fruit of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and gained only death, the addition of wisdom to the human consciousness leads only to suffering. The epic told to represent this story by Orwell ends with the argument that â€Å"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.† (4), the argument that when ignorance is lost, suffering and weakness follow. Work cited: Brave New World, by George Orwell.

Progressive Movement Essay

The period from 1890 to 1917 in the history of United States is known as Progressive era. This period is marked by an all-encompassing and intensive change in all spheres of American life viz. political, economic and social. According to Nevin and Commager, this period was â€Å"marked by revolt and reform in almost every department of American life. Old political leaders were ousted and new one enlisted; political machinery was overhauled and modernized; political practices were subject to critical scrutiny and those which failed to square with the ideals of democracy were rejected.† (p. 382) These leaders from middle class pleaded for government regulation of big businesses to prevent exploitations pf the weaker sections. Stressing on the needs for reforms, Theodore Roosevelt said, â€Å"†No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to the way in which such work [reform] must be done; but most certainly every man, whatever his position, should strive to do it in some way and to some degree.† (Roosevelt) Most of the problems that Progressives wanted to tackle was an outcome of the industrial expansion and the political-industrial coalitions of the Gilded Age. During the Progressive almost every department of American life was overhauled and modernized. Thus Progressivism was a movement with â€Å"predominantly middle class objectives and viewpoint, deriving much of its support from small businessmen, farmers and professional people.† ( Parkes, p.544) At the federal level, the Progressive movement set in with the inauguration of the President Roosevelt curtailed the powers of the large organizations was epitomized through the suite against The Northern Securities Company in 1903. He introduced other legislative measures to breakdown the monopoly of the large corporations. Trust-Busting was the first radical step taken by Roosevelt that was aimed at the breaking of monopolies in any form and its abuses. Second major proponent of Progressivism at the Federal level was President William Howard Taft (1909-1913) who accomplished more progressive legislation than the Roosevelt. He introduced and enacted law to check corrupt practices during the elections. He dissolved ninety trusts under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (these trusts were saving huge taxes in the name of charity and were involved in certain illegal activities). He strengthened the cause of democracy when he propagated the idea of direct elections for the senators and introduced 17th amendments in the U.S. constitution. Woodrow is the next in the row for progressive presidents. He introduced far-reaching economic reforms and adopted a number other progressive measure to capacitate the entire American spirit with purpose. Hs foremost priority was the revision of tariff and introduction of viable reforms. Secondly, he introduced another Act to reconstruct the monetary and banking sector. Although his program of more progressive reforms were cut short but the outbreak or WW II but two more constitutional amendment (18th and 19th) became effective in his presidency.[1] Progressives could not bring about the revolutionary transformation of the political and economic system. The evident disappointment of the Progressive movement was its disinclination to deal with racial discrimination. Although it had a national agenda but it was meant for Whites only. The Afro-American suffered from the victimization at the social and state level through disfranchisement, Jim Crow laws, and poverty.   Additionally, it failed to address the questions of class conflict and ended in despair for small owners and businessmen. Yet it cannot be denied that through their reforms they tried to revitalize democracy and made the rulers responsible and accountable to the public. â€Å"Perhaps the best known results of this era are the 18th and 19th Amendments, Prohibition and woman suffrage respectively. But this legislation really came at the tail end of the period that has come to be known as the â€Å"Age of Reform.† The amendments were actually the byproducts of an immense social and political upheaval which changed forever the expectations of the role government would play in American society.† (PBS) References Nevins, Allan& Commager, Henry S. 1966. A short history of the United States. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   York: A. Knopf. Parkes, Henry B. 1959. The United States of America—A History. New York: Knopf. PBS. The Progressive Era 1900-1918. On-line. Available from Internet, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande08.html, accessed 23 March   2008. [1] 18th Amendment of U.S. Constitution the process of introduction of Prohibition was completed whereas 19th Amendments granted the right of vote to the women on equal terms with men.

Motivational Factor at Tesco

Management and Staff Motivation Contents of the Research CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTON 1. 1. Statement 1. 2. Research Background 1. 3. Company’s Background 1. 4. Research Purpose 1. 5. Research Objectives 1. 6. Research Questions 1. 7. Research Nature 1. 8. Rationale CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC 2. 1. Introduction 2. Motivation (in general) 3. Human Resource Management 4. Theories of Motivation 1. Content Theories 1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 2. ERG theory . Theory X and Theory Y 2. Process Theories 2. 4. 2. 1. Victor Vroom Expectancy Theory 2. 4. 2. 2. Hertzberg Two factor theory 2. 4. 2. 3. Equity Theory 5. Implication for management of Motivational theories 6. Advantages of Motivation 7. Staff retention 8. Conclusion of theoretical background CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLGY 3. 1. Research Philosophy 3. 2. Research Approach 3. 3. Research strategy 3. 4. Research Design 3. 5. Time horizon 3. 6. Data collection method 3. 6. 1. Designing the questionnaire 3. 6 . . Relationship of Questionnaire with research Objectives 7. Sampling 8. Credibility of research 1. Reliability 2. Validity 9. Ethical Issues 1. Fairness 2. Confidentiality 3. Consent 4. Stealing Ideas from Others 10. Data analysis techniques 11. Data access and resource Implication CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH FINDINGS 4. 1. Introduction 4. 2. Questionnaire results CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION ON THE RESEARCH FINDINGS 5. 1. Introduction 5. 2. Overall Motivation of the staff 5. 2. . Role of Salary 5. 2. 2. Working Conditions and Atmosphere 5. 2. 3. Reward system 5. 2. 4. Job security 5. 3. Relationship between Theoretical Concepts and Research Findings 5. 3. 1. Relationship with Hertzberg’s Two Factor Theory 5. 3. 2. Findings Relationship with Adams Equity Theory 5. 3. 3. Relationship of findings with Victor Vroom Expectancy theory 5. 3. 4. Relationship of findings with Maslow’s Need Theory 5. 3. 5. Relationship of findings with ERG Theory 5. 4. TK MAXX HR Policies CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIO N AND RECOMMENDATION . 1. Introduction 6. 2. Building the Framework 6. 3. Research Process 6. 4. Scrutinizing Findings 6. 5. Conclusion in relation to research objectives and questions 6. 6. Recommendation 6. 7. Research Limitations 6. 7. 1. Time Constraints 6. 7. 2. Managing Resources 6. 7. 3. Limited Data Access 6. 8. Recommendation for Future Research 6. 9. Accomplishment of the Research CHAPTER 7 REFLECTION 7. 1. Introduction 7. 2. Honey and Mumford style of Learning 7. 3. KOLB Learning Style . 4. Skill Achieved 7. 4. 1. Skill 1: Selection, Evaluation of Critical Management Thinking 7. 4. 2. Skill II: Evaluation and Selection of the Techniques 7. 4. 3. Skill III Arriving at Conclusion 7. 5. Personal and Career Development 7. 6. Critical Incidents APPENDICES CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1. The Statement The dissertation investigates approaches to staff motivation used by the TK Maxx store in Uxbridge and the significant relation between the applied in T. K.Max staff motivation mana gement and its connection to staff loyalty. This dissertation investigates what important role staffs has in the organisation and highlights peculiarities in staff loyalty and work attitude development. The researcher believes that staff plays as an essential role in any industry therefore good staff management ensures ones commitment and input to the organisation. To find a good talent as an employee is a difficult task however to keep this talent, improve and develop is much more complicated. Nevertheless in order to sustain competitive advantage companies and particularly T.K. Max have to concentrate on the staff management approaches it uses and be eager to improve and develop the strategy at all times. 1. 2. The Research Background: The global business environment constantly changes. It is becoming more evident today that the key element of the business environment today is its employees. Motivation has been a subject of several studies. The main researches are the following: M aslow’s hierarchy of need, Alderfer’s ERG theory, McClelland’s theory of socially required needs and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory.These theories concentrate of the benefits and importance of motivation, however researcher found it necessary for this research to consider that as it is mentioned by Vercueil, 2001 incorrectly implemented motivation management causes a harmful affect on the employees. Watt, 1998 refers to Anon saying that in the past motivation could be identifies as a way to make people want what we want and differs it from manipulation that makes individuals do what we want. However today as it mentioned by Bruce and Pepitone, 1999 modern employees are much more sophisticated and are in search for a greater satisfaction from the job they are doing.Artificial reward or money alone are nor enough. Therefore modern organisations need to learn and understand human nature as it indicates why people in these case employees behave in a par ticular manner. Managers need to motivate the employee leading to a grater working performances and mainly managers have to understand their employees needs and their life organization in order to meet the employees expectations and motivate ones performance more efficiently. Staff retention is a significant element of every successful business.It is characterized by the employees desire to sustain in the organization and continuing contribution to the business. In times of economic crisis more and more individuals have to stay at their jobs even if conditions are not favorable due to a risk of being unable to provide for a family. However more and more individuals are raising the importance of staff motivation management. Organizations today have realized that a modern employee needs to be rightly motivated and encouraged, not only money wise, to ensure staff retention.Motivation is a force that stimulates people to perform an action. Therefore motivation is a force which compel pe ople go to their work every day and that is why people bring improvement in themselves to satisfy the desire of becoming or accomplishing what they have set out to become or accomplish in their life. More over with motivation any complicated situation can be converted into a simple and learning experience. In his research Watt, 2003 also states that managers must understand that individuals want to be treated fairly and have equal opportunities to advance.He highlights the problem of motivation today. Often organizations do not recognize that the motivation management requires different approaches depending on the industry sectors. The problem of motivation and staff performance as it is stated by Green et al, 1999 might stay undetected, hidden and unresolved by the managers. Therefore managers often don’t realize that it is important not only to appeal to the individual’s intellect but to their hearts as well. Green et all, 1999 also identifies three main problems for motivation: – Lack of confidence – Lack of trust Lack of satisfaction Well designed and implemented motivation strategy leads to employee’s retention therefore employee’s loyalty. Loyalty is a significant and vital part of any organization. As it is mentioned by Daft and Marcic, 2011 management should learn to allow all it s employees make a contribution and use its talents and potential in order to progress and improve their skills. This sort of motivation creates employees retention and ensures ones constant grow and contribution to the company. TK MAXX has a well developed reward and development management.Organization believes that its people should be growing as well as the business. From the first time the employee joins the company organization provides a comprehensive induction programs and ensures that whether it is about moving up the career ladder, learning and development of new skills or gaining experience working in different countries ther e are plenty of available opportunities for the employees. Company has a strong rewards and benefits system, pension scheme, holidays, private healthcare and voluntary benefits as a part of its employee motivation and ensures of employees happiness and satisfaction.All this provides companies growth and efficient performances with a high rate of employee’s retention. Researcher believes that T. K. Max is a real example of a right motivation management. Organization aims at ensuring satisfaction of its employees and at the same time ensures a solid growth and development for the business. Therefore the researcher wanted to examine the motivation strategies used by T. K. Max and analyze its effect on the employees. 1. 3. The Company Background The organization that we have chosen for our research is one of the most successful retailers in the market today. T. K.Max management in the Uxbridge branch were excited and happy to participate in our research and granted us with a perm ission to use the organization’s name in this investigation. T-K Maxx is a chain of clothing and accessories stores. The company was launched in 1994. It is a subsidiary of TJX Companies Inc. (TJXtra, JUNE 2010) TK MAXX always aimed to deliver frequently changing and best quality products at a price which is 20-60% less than other department and specialty stores regular prices. TK MAXX has label of â€Å"Always up to 60% less† and has target customers who is middle to upper-middle income shopper.But simultaneously who are fashion and value conscious. T. K. MAXX is now 7th largest fashion retailer in the U. K. It introduced the off price concept in the UK and it is now the only major off-price retailer in Europe. It was operating in UK and Ireland. Later on T. K. Maxx opened first stores in Germany in 2007 and also entered in Poland in 2009 (TJXtra, JUNE 2010) The reason why we the researcher choose TK-Maxx as an organization is its market share and the enormous global scale that it’s operate. Having its unique position in UK market T. K.Maxx have chosen efficient strategies in order to keep its staff motivated and have introduced several ways to make it an awesome place to work. The T. K. Maxx’s management believe that the staff motivation in the blood life line of any organization so they treat their employees fairly and have implemented many strategies in order to make their jobs more interesting and satisfying by providing different opportunities and support. 1. 4. Research Purpose Motivation is considered to be one of the major factors in employees retention The researcher believes that employee’s loyalty is a direct link to motivation.Therefore this research is aimed at identifying the significance of employee’s motivation and its relation to employee’s loyalty; in order to help TK Maxx to continue its successful business operation and maintain high level of staff retention. 1. 5. Research Objectives †¢ Critically evaluate the use and the effectiveness of the current policies used by management at T. K. Maxx towards staff motivation. †¢ Critically analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of staff motivation and its connection with staff retention. †¢ Construct and suggest recommendations to T.K. Maxx managers on how to increase effectiveness in staff management and motivation in order to achieve staff retention. 1. 6. Research Questions †¢ How understanding of importance in employees motivation help business growth and development; and what strategies in staff motivation T. K. Maxx utilizes to ensure company’s progress in a competitive business environment? †¢ What are the leading motivating factors used by T. K. Max management; from employees perspective how these factors impact of employee’s retention? †¢ What recommendations can be made to T. K.Max management policies to improve staff morale and ensure employee’s continuing performan ce efficiency? 1. 7. Research Nature To conduct this investigation researcher will apply the existing theoretical and academic theories and models to a practical research. We are aiming at examining the results of the T. K. Max management and employees interviews. The analysis will be performed based on the available academic references. However we are not only looking to agree or disagree with the existed theories on staff motivation and retention, but to find new, important and practical information for the organization.We are to highlight new approaches in staff motivation that will help T. K. Max to ensure its successful sustainability in the market. 1. 8. Rationale The researcher believes that the main issue in today’s working environment is primarily to find a new and unique talent, motivate and encourage this talent to perform well for the benefit of the organization; but also to keep this talent in the competitive market by increasing staff retention. Being a leader i n the apparel and accessory market T. K. Maxx has a reputation of a strong competitor not only business wise but in the way the company values its employees.We believe that in today’s competitive market environment the key element of a success is the talent the organization has. With newly hired talents new ideas and therefore competitive advantage comes. However to help every talent perform well and work for the benefit of organization it is necessary to motivate and encourage ones needs. Today employees are not only searching for money, individuals are keen to have better working conditions and have equal opportunities for learning and development. Therefore organizations need not only to have a motivation plan but to ensure that they actually know what their employees needs are.In other words we believe that motivation help to maintain healthy and positive working environment for both management and employees. Happy employees are eager to work harder and to contribute more efficiently to the organization. Therefore we believe that this research has a significant importance for T. K. Max because it will help organization learn more about their employee’s attitudes towards staff management and motivation in the company. Our research will assist organization to discover new approaches to staff management.Through the research interview employee will have an opportunity to recommend or advise organization on how to improve the existing motivation model and increase employee’s retention. Although employee motivation is a well known topic among the academics, we believe that this research brings a new development to these existing models. The academic significance of this research is based on the fact that we are not only aiming at analyzing the existing motivation approaches in T. K. Max but we also are to investigate its importance and connection with employee retention.We are to understand how significant staff motivation is and believe tha t we can fill in the existing gap in the modern concept of employees’ retention and motivation. The significance of this research for the researcher is based on the fact that researcher has been a customer in the organization for a while. The approach and attitudes of the staff had positively impressed the researcher. The researcher believes that this research will help him in his future career experiences in the retail business. |CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC | . 1. Introduction Before going to detail discussion on specifically TK MAXX staff motivation, we need to understand what motivation is and how it is developed in individuals. This chapter defines motivation in general and specifically employee motivation. Chapter discusses wide range of areas of motivations. It includes existing theories of motivation that discusses the needs of the individuals, problems that organizations faces and what factors that should be accounted for to motivate staff. It also discusses staff retention, its implications for the organizations and how this can be countered.These all are considered to be the key element to remain competitive for an organization like TK MAXX as it is operating in a highly volatile industry and is subject to low morale of workforce and staff turnover due to continuously changing environment. 2. 2. Motivation The word motivation has been derived from the Latin word ‘Movere’ which means to move (Kretiner, 1998). Motivation is the force which moves humans to achieve their goals and objectives in their lives or in their jobs (Bruce and Pepitone, 1998). It pushes human mind to do an activity that gives him or her satisfaction.This pushing force could be money to get wealthy or it could be appreciation from other to become more respected in the society. It may include basic needs such as eating and resting. Essentially, motivation can be defined as a need to maximize happiness as all above means are likely to enhance ha ppiness of an individual either that is money or recognition in the society. It is obvious fact that people work because they obtain something that they need, from work. The something obtained from work fulfills needs of the people and have a great impacts on their morale and the quality of life.This something can be called Motivation; it moves people to do their job. Usually, motivation could be intrinsic and/or extrinsic (Deci, 1976). Intrinsic motivation is the internal temptation to perform a task. This could be due to reason that it gives workers pleasure from having a chance to develop skills in them. Whereas, extrinsic motivation includes external factors and it is unrelated to the tasks, people are performing. Extrinsic motivation can be achieved by money and other rewards (Bruce and Pepitone, 1999). It was previously thought that good salary is a best motivator and is ufficient to get the highest level of performance from them (Taylor, 1903). However, workers are not just m otivated with money but could be better motivated if their social needs are met (Cole, 2003). Therefore managers should take more interest in treating employees as people who have worthwhile opinions. There is a point worth noting that workers enjoy, interacting each other and by understanding this behavior they can be motivated, which would let them to be better aware of the status of the company and know what are expected of them (Cole, 2003). 2. 3.Human Resource Management Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function that operates mostly within the organization, whose purpose is to deal with issues such as recruitment, performance management, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training of the individuals (Schuler and Jackson 1998). In simple words, Human resource management is the management of an organization’s employee who performs different task and responsibilities in order to make sure the human resources are well utilised for the benefit of th e organization (Schuler and Jackson 1998).Human resource management plays an important role in order to motivate lower level staff, improve their work life and enables employees to use them as an organization’s competitive advantage (Schuler and Jackson, 1998). If the HRM is working effectively it lead to accomplishment of overall organization’s goals and objectives and will enable employees to effectively contribute to the success of the organization and improve their productivity in a changing environment (Yeung and Ulrich 1990). In present era, the world of work has been totally changed. Treating people fairly is no longer an option; it is necessity (Lawler, 2003).In this business era, the organizations cannot easily replace them because human resources are the intellectual property for the organization. And this intellectual property has become more important than company’s financial capital. This perspective will be discussed in the theories given in this c hapter. An important task of the HR management is to hire and retain appropriate staff in order to keep competitive advantage (De young, 2000). T-K Maxx HR management therefore, has onus to retain and motivate its employee for the purpose of reducing its staff turnover, increasing productivity and maintain its competitiveness. . 4. Theories of Motivation The concept of motivation has been discussed earlier in this chapter. This section of the chapter includes different theories by different psychologists. These theories have been categorized as the content theories and the process theories. Content Theories These explain the needs of the individual and how different people can be motivated. These theories also discuss the difference between needs of different people living in different environment (Thompson, 1996). This is really important as to determine and evaluate the TK MAXX staff motivation.Researcher needs to assess the overall needs of the individuals working there and that of the people in that particular environment have. Process Theories These explain the mechanism by which the human behavior initiated, sustained and extinguished (Thompson, 1996). In other words these theories explain how human needs changes and what managers need to focus on when motivating their employees. These theories include the Victor vroom expectancy theory and Hertzberg two factor theory. 2. 4. 1. Content Theories 2. 4. 1. 1. Maslow’s Need TheoryAbraham Maslow proposed his theory in 1943 which is known as Theory of Human development. His theory focused on describing the stages of growth in humans. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is explained as a pyramid, with the most basic or fundamental needs at the bottom, and the needs of high desires of superiority at the top. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met. Fulfillment of these needs will move individuals to desire the secondary level of needs. For example a starving person may only think o f creativity when his hunger is extricated.Physiological needs are the obvious requirements for human survival. If these needs are not met, the human body cannot function (Taylor and Houthakker 2009). Whereas safety needs is the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy. Safety and Security needs include personal and financial security. Once the safety needs are met, Humans need to love and be loved by others. They need to feel a sense of belongingness with others, whether it comes from a large social group, such as office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, social connections e. g. family members, close colleagues.Esteem represents the human desire to be accepted by others and getting importance from others. High self esteem people engage themselves in activities which give them recognition and let them feel self-valued. Low self esteem can lead to an inferiority complex and helplessness in individuals (Jillian and Powell, 2005). Whereas Self actualization is a d esire to actualize everything that a man is capable of. To achieve this level of need a man must realize its potential and capability. Without realizing potential a man can not desire to become everything, since he is unaware of what he is capable of (Goldstein's, 1939).Validity and Criticism of Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Maslow’s theory is presented as a rigid hierarchy. However this is not in real life as rigid as it is presented. It has been noted that the order may vary from standard as people do not follow the same order as used in pyramid to fulfill their needs (Wahba and Bridgewell, 1976). For example, for some individuals the need for self-esteem is more important than the need for love. Whereas, for others the need for creative fulfillment may be of high importance then even most basic needs. Hofstede criticized Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy by saying that it ignores the ocial and intellectual needs of different societies. He believed that Maslow’s Need s Hierarchy is based on a individualistic society as Maslow belonged to United States which is considered to be highly individualistic society. The needs of humans in an individualistic society tend to be more self-centered than those in a collectivist society, where the people are more concerned about the needs of acceptance and community (Cianci and Gambrel, 2003). Therefore self actualization at the top is not the true representative of every society rather it is only from the perspective of an individualist.It has also been criticized that the hierarchy fails to take into account the acts such as bravery, charity, heroism etc. It has been argued that there is no evidence to support Maslow’s ideas and only a few people were observed before coming up with this theory (Greenhaus and Badin, 1977). Maslow has ignored people’s spiritual dimensions (Clemmer, 1992). Personally, I believe that Maslow Hierarchy is a useful tool in motivating staff however; it would be diffic ult for the management to decide which employee stands at which level of need.In the same way organizations are sometimes unable to provide needs such as Belongingness and Love needs. Application of Maslow’s theory in TK MAXX TK MAXX is operating in a environment where there are individuals demanding high from their employers. There are quite a lot of Job opportunities in the market and it is important to retain skilled employees. By this theory the researcher would able to determine the staff needs, which can lead to determine whether these are adequate. 2. 4. 1. 2. ERG Theory of Clayton Paul AlderferClayton Paul Alderfer is an American psychologist who further addressed the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs issue in 1969 in his psychological review of human needs by reducing the number of levels to as existence, relatedness and growth. Alderfer categorized the lower order needs, which are described as Physiological and Safety needs in Maslow’s pyramid into the Exist ence category. Maslow's interpersonal love and esteem needs were categorized into the Relatedness category. The Growth category contained the self actualization and self esteem needs.Like Maslow's model, the ERG  motivation is also hierarchical. Existence needs are more important at fundamental level than relatedness needs. And growth needs are more important than the growth needs. |Growth | |Self-Actualization | |[pic] | | | | | |External Esteem Needs | |[pic] | | | Relatedness | |Internal Esteem Needs | |[pic] | | | | | |Social Needs | |[pic] | | | Existence | |Safety Needs | |[pic] | | | | | |Physiological Needs | |[pic] | | Alderfer’s  ERG theory differs from Maslow’s hierarchy in some ways. It explains that at a same time more than one needs can motivate employees at a time (Griffin and Moorhead, 2009). It also suggests that a man do not need to satisfy substantially the lower motivator if he or she wants to move onto the next level. For example, â€Å"starving artist† may place growth or self actualization needs above those of existence or physiological needs.The ERG theory also accounts for differences in needs in different cultures, which were not considered by the Maslow's as he only focused on the individualistic societies. The order of needs can also be different for different people in different societies. Managers  need to understand that  each employee  operates with different  needs at the same time. Leadership which focuses exclusively on one need at a time will not motivate their people effectively. Furthermore, the frustration-regression principle has been discussed by the Alderfer.This means that if individual’s higher needs are not satisfied than the he will put double efforts to fulfill the lower needs (Griffin and Moorhead, 2009). This has additional impact on  motivation in the workplace. As an example, if employees are not provided opportunities to grow,  an employee  might red ouble the efforts to fulfill relatedness needs, socializing with their co-workers more. Unlike Maslow, Alderfer did not emphasized that lower-level needs must be fulfilled before higher level needs.ERG theory contains some of the strong points of previous theories such as Maslow’s however it is not very limiting and restrictive however still it lacks the explanation about the complexities in motivation and tend to be more general like other motivational theories (Jain, 2005). ERG theory is the continuation of the Maslow’s theory and it also describe the needs of the human in different manner. It is helpful in the case of TK MAXX as it describes the needs of a collectivist cultures. 2. 4. 1. 3. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y These theories are based on human motivation and presented by Douglas McGregor in 1954.In theory X management assumes that their employees are lazy and dislike work (Fisher, 2000). This theory lead to management believing that there should be close supervision of workers and there should be proper systems of controls to restrict employees avoiding work. Close supervision implies that there should be narrow span of control at each level. Therefore, a tall hierarchical structure is needed. Tayler (1903) called this style of management a scientific management. If the organizational goals are to be met, theory X managers rely heavily on threat to gain their employee's compliance.Usually these managers feel that there is only purpose of the employees doing job is money. They will blame their workers without first analyzing, whether it may be the system, policy problem. The theory Y managers assume that employees enjoy their work and possess ambitions, abilities to solve problems and may exercise self-control (Rothwell et el, 2009). But their abilities are underused in most organizations. According to McGregor (1954), Employees will seek and accept responsibility and exercise self-control in achieving objectives and goals o f organization, if they are given proper conditions.In Theory Y, managers believe that the satisfaction obtained from doing good job by employees is a strong motivation. 5. 1. 5 Validity and criticism of Theory X and Y There is a criticism of these theories an that is, theory X managers are mean or harsh as compared to theory Y managers who believe that subordinates have desire to achieve and then finally hold them accountable for that and become more toughest and angriest (Fisher, 2000). However, McGregor argued that Theory Y accompany more possibilities than Theory X to develop the environment of trust at workplace.This includes open communication with subordinates, minimizing the difference between senior-subordinate relationships, creating a comfortable climate in which workers can develop their abilities. This climate would include subordinated being involved in decision making so that they can put their view on decisions that affect them. Secondly, this theory is difficult to apply in real world as it represents unrealistic extremes. Few people or usually no one falls within these extremes but tend to be somewhere between these two extremes (Stevens, 2008).Still the theory is a good guideline in order to understand the principles of motivation. In today’s world where more autonomy is given to the workers and there is more emphasis on self-management, Theory Y is becoming more useful and is consistent with this approach. There would be a need in TK MAXX to determine the inclination of the managers towards the two extremes provided by the McGregor. Either Theory X or Y both are valid, but this depends on the environment conditions. It is found that only 21% workers prefer authoritarian style of leadership (Sadler, 1966).However, with ever growing organizations, rapidly changing technology and environment and demand for new ideas, Theory Y is likely to be more favorable (Vaske and Grantham, 1990). According to theory X managers deal with the workers as if they are general purpose machines which are operated by them (Vaske and Grantham, 1990). It can be said that people shape their own environment but sometimes environment also shapes the behavior of humans. The workers will behave according to theory X if they are provided such work environment that is consistent with theory X (Argyris, 1957). 2. 4. 2. Process theories . 4. 2. 1. Victor vroom theory of expectancy Victor H. Vroom developed the Expectancy theory through his study of the motivations behind decision making. Victor Vroom theory deals with motivation and management. As per vroom, the motivation at any situation is dependant upon individual’s desire for outcome, perception that his or her performance is related to other outcomes and the assessed probability that his or her struggle would lead to required performance level (Borkowski, 2010). Employee's performance is based on factors such as skills, knowledge, and experience of an individual.The individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if there are desirable rewards which will satisfy their needs for their favorable performance. Vroom's Expectancy Theory is described as an equation. The key elements of the equation are Expectancy, Valence and Instrumentality. Motivation = Valance ? Expectancy (Instrumentality) Valence refers to negative or positive behavior of individual towards outcomes (Koontz, and Weihrich, 2006). This represents individuals’ preferences. Motivating without having knowledge of what the staff value would be useless.Whereas Expectancy means that employees have different expectations about what they are capable of doing. This is due to the fact that they carry different level of confidence (Kinicki, 2009). Instrumentality represents a person belief that the outcome is dependant upon certain level of performance. There are some factors linked with the individual's instrumentality for outcomes. These are trust, control and policies of management. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and there is proper communication of these to the employees.Validity of Expectancy theory This theory is more realistic than the Maslow’s and McGregor (Koontz, and Weihrich, 2006). Victor Vroom suggested that Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence inter act each other to create a motivational force. The individual will take into his consideration the reward associated with different performance levels and choose the level that brings the greatest reward for him or her. A task for which the employees have high expectancy but have insufficient rewards associated with it would not result into high motivational force.Similarly a high rewards linked to a task, for which employees have low expectancy, would not result in motivation for employees as they are more motivated when they develop skills from difficult tasks given to them. Some critics suggest that only a few individuals clearly correlate between performance-r eward and performance-effort, so the theory is of limited use. We can see that individuals are not rewarded according to their performance rather they are rewarded according to their seniority, skill level and job difficulty (Stephen P. Robbins 2009).However this theory may be useful in explaining why some individuals put low efforts in their jobs. The measurement, criterion and methodological complications complicate the validation of this theory (Robbins, 2009). Overall the theory has been criticized on the grounds that the three variables it suggests are too vague and the theory is complex to measure and applies. Nevertheless, the theory has helped managers to motivate their employees in a better way and see what conditions must be met in order to keep the employees satisfied (Rae, 2008).Application of Victor Vroom theory for the TK MAXX TK MAXX has been competitive in providing their staff good salary. Due the reason that the its operating in a highly volatile industry which is related to fashion clothes, there could be a chance of low staff expectancy. This theory is helpful for the researcher in providing an overall view of affects of change in any variable such as reward system that could affect Valence and finally the staff motivation. 2. 4. 2. 2. Hertzberg Two Factor TheoryTo better understand employee attitudes and motivation, Frederick Hertzberg performed studies to determine which factors in an employee's work environment caused satisfaction or dissatisfaction. He presented his theory in the 1959 in â€Å"The Motivation to Work†. Unlike Maslow and Herzberg's theories, two factor theories are capable of handling individual differences (Hackman and Oldham, 1976). Secondly, the focus is on present and future, in contrast to Maslow and Hertzberg, which are based on past. Hertzberg found that the factors causing job satisfaction are different from those that cause job dissatisfaction and both affect motivation of ndividuals (Davies, 2007). Hertzb erg developed the motivation-hygiene theory to explain these results. Motivators In Hertzberg theory, satisfiers are motivators and these include achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility (Davies, 2007). Hygiene Factors The factors that remove dissatisfaction are Company policy, Supervision, Relationship with boss, Work conditions, Salary, Relationship with peers (Davies, 2007). However, these do not provide satisfaction as hygiene factors. Validity and application of the theory for the TK MAXXAccording to Hertzberg, individuals do not get motivated with the satisfaction of hygiene factors at work such as minimum salary levels or safe and pleasant working conditions (classified as existence by Alderfer). Individuals actually look to achieve of motivators such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, and the nature of the work itself (classified as growth by Alderfer). Hertzberg found that dissatisfaction actually results from job-related characteristics such as company policies, supervision, technical problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions.Therefore, if management of the TK MAXX wishes to increase satisfaction on the job, it should be concerned with the nature of the work itself. Which provides individuals the opportunities for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and for achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then the focus should be placed on the job environment, for example policies, procedures and working conditions of work place. Usually some management are concerned with both discussed characteristics to have satisfaction in workers.If this is the case in TK MAXX, the attention of managers should be given to both the factors equally. Hertzberg argued that for intrinsic motivation a continuous job improvement process is required. According to Hertzberg the managers, when designing jobs should consider that the job have sufficient challenges so that workers utilize their full abilities and skills. If a person’s skills cannot be fully utilized, then this may lead to a motivation problem. Employees who demonstrate high level performance should be given high level of responsibilities.Criticism of Hertzberg Two-Factor Theory The theory has been criticized on the basis that there is only a narrow range for job investigation, the job attitude is measured using only one measure, there is lack of reliability and validity of critical incident methodology and absence of measure of overall satisfaction. When the employees are satisfied they consider themselves responsible for this and in contrast to that when they are dissatisfied they put there own failures on someone else’s shoulders (Mukherjee, 1985).Some researchers have given harsh judgments on the validity of this theory saying up to this extent that the theory should be â€Å"Buried peacefully† and that the theory does not provide support to the managers (Agarwal, 1983). It has also been suggested that Hertzberg ignored the individual differences such as self-confidence and skills. For instance, an individual with higher skills might find a job less difficult as compared to an individual with lesser skills but with same intelligence.Still, Herzberg’s theory has been of great use for the managers in providing guideline and helping in designing jobs and is widely used by practicing managers (Tosi et el, 2000). 2. 4. 2. 3. Equity Theory Equity theory is widely applied in the businesses. In equity theory as per Adam’s, employees demands equity between inputs and output. Inputs can be defined as the employee’s contributions to the organization (e. g. time, effort, loyalty, hard work, commitment). Outputs on the other hand side are the consequences of the inputs (e. g. alary, employment benefits, recognition etc. ). A senior person should receive higher returns, since the input by him in form of experien ce is higher than others. Adam’s claimed that employees motivate, when they are fairly treated. If employees are over or under rewarded in respect of pay, it can cause distress which leads to demotivation for employees (Carr and McLoughlin 1996). For example, if an employee feels that he is underpaid, it will result into anger in him or her for the organization. This would result in the employee not performing well at work place.Salary is the main concern of the employees as we discussed in Maslow’s Hierarchy and therefore in most cases it causes equity or inequity. However the equity can not be measured only with the salary or monetary rewards. It is also important that for the feeling of equity, an act of thanking the employee by the managers for their work will cause a feeling of satisfaction and therefore help the employee feel being fair treated. There is another perspective which Adam’s theory introduces is the social comparison. That is, employees compare themselves with others (Kinicki, 2009).An employee will be dissatisfied with the work if he feels that another person is getting more recognition and rewards for their inputs when both have done same quality of work. These phenomena however contrast with the equity theory where the rewards are to be matched with the input and employees comparing each other are not accounted for. The equity relationship can be illustrated by the following equation: [pic] Criticism on the Equity Theory The critics have suggested that the theory does not differentiate between the feeling of satisfaction and perception of fairness (Jacobson and Koch, 1977).Some critics have also said that the theory is too general and fails to deal with complexities of decision-making (Crosby, 1982). Critics have also claimed this theory as the theory of injustice and believed that the model is incomplete as it would be unjust for an individual to have unfavorable outcomes when compared with other’s ratio (Cropa nzano, 2001). However the theory is useful for managers as a guideline for motivating staff. Therefore it will be unjust to use this theory in isolation to evaluate the staff motivation in TK MAXX. However, in conjunction with other theories his provides a useful understanding of the fairness for the staff. 2. 5. Implication for Management of Motivational Theories There are several implications for the management of the alleged theories. These are as below: †¢ First problem with motivating employees is that all individuals do not get motivated by the same reward. So, the managers may have to determine and apply motivators on an individual basis rather than implementing single criteria which is assumed to account all the employees needs (DuBrin, 2008). This is to be accounted for in the TK MAXX. The employees working in the TK MAXX are from the diverse cultural background.Individual living in UK give preference to flexible working hours over salary (Price, 2007). This may not be the case for employees who are from the different cultural background. The Maslow’s theory based on the individualistic culture would not be applicable here and the employees needs can be determined through ERG theory. However, this can be very difficult or even impossible in larger organizations. †¢ As per the Maslow’s and ERG theory, at a basic level there is one common motivator that applies to all employees and that is money. Remuneration is the primary reason why people work.In organization like TK MAXX long hours, high pressure and stresses in employment during the peak hours are the factor that causes decrease in employee motivation and may lead to staff turnover or decrease in loyalty. So, to reduce this company needs to pay their employees well. In addition, employees also want performance related pay. Performance related pay means that employees, who under perform, should be subject fine or penalties. †¢ Apart from above, employees often feel that they are like mindless machines. This could lead to employees loosing their morale. To avoid this employees like to have control over their work.If employees are involved in decision making this will contribute overcome this phenomena and it will also enhance their motivation (Kinicki, 2009). This is described as the hygiene factor by in the two factor theory. There are lots of individuals who work voluntarily to improve their skills and expertise. Learning new skills and developing present ones is also a prime motivator and provides workers an opportunity for personal development. Education and training allow an individual to discover its potential that increases their personal satisfaction and causes motivation of the seeker (Holton and Baldwin, 2003). To put their whole brain power employees require a clearly defined structure of job and their responsibilities. The absence of this would result in employees being uninformed which would cause low productivity. A clearly defined job description gives them a framework that can increase their performance. This structure of work is provided by inclusion of workforce in decision making and effective communication of the structure from managers to workforce as suggested by the Hertzberg two factor theory. 2. 6. Advantages of staff motivationA positive motivation practice helps to bring synergy in operations. Motivated employees work more efficiently, producing better products or services in less time then unmotivated employees, who waste time in non productive activities such as surfing the Web and instant messaging for their personal benefit. They take longer time to complete tasks assigned to them. When employees are motivated, they put extra efforts and brain power to produce the best products or services. This can bring to a company a better name in the market simply by producing a superior product.Improved productivity and higher quality services and products consequently result into high profitability for a c ompany. This improves cash position that can be used for improvements in the company or can be used for the benefits of employees. Unlike motivated employees, unmotivated employees rarely put efforts, which results in poor customer service, and low-quality products and can result into bad publicity of the company they work in. If employees are motivated, they can be retained for longer term.This would reduce the training and recruiting cost for the company as each time an individual is hired, time and money has to be invested to get that person up to speed on the job requirements, integrating new employees into the workforce could be difficult. Existing employees have experience and knowledge about company and how operations work. They are also already familiar to working with the other employees at your facility. Motivation also helps people in achieving their goals and objectives in life. Motivated people may build self-esteem and positive energy and manage their development. 2. 7 . Staff retentionStaff retention has a direct relationship with employee’s motivation. Managers must align company’s and staff objectives and goals to reduce staff turnover and retain employees for longer term. The rewards should be matched with the needs of the employees. By doing this, managers will be able to determine the proper reward system that is offered to employees to increase job satisfaction of employees, which finally result into motivation. Inversely, if the rewards are not aligned to the needs, it can lead to low job satisfaction, increase in turnover and consequently increase cash outlay of the company. 2. 8.Conclusion and Validity of Theoretical background for TK MAXX |Research Objectives |Literature |Link between literature and research | | | |objectives | |Critical analysis of the effectiveness |Maslow’s Theory |Both Maslow’s need theory and ERG theory | |of staff motivation and its connection |ERG Theory |elaborate different level of n eeds of | |with staff retention. |employees. It will be useful to explain | | | |overall motivation of employees of TK MAXX and| | | |finally the effectiveness of the staff | | | |motivation by determining the needs of the | | | |employees.This is research objective 1. This | | | |will however to some extent would also | | | |contribute to recommend that how staff can be | | | |retained. | | | | | | | | | | | | |Critically evaluate the use and the |Hertzberg Two Factor Theory | This theory is important to analyze the | |effectiveness of the current policies | |current policies of the staff motivation in TK| |used by management at T. K. Maxx towards| |MAXX. This would help researcher analyze that | |staff motivation. | |whether the management has established | | | |motivators that motivates employees e. g. | | | |recognition or just hygiene factor that are | | | |unlikely to build up staff motivation.Instead| | | |these will reduce dissatisfaction such as good| | | |salary. | |Con struct and suggest recommendations |Victor Vroom Expectancy Theory |This is a useful tool for the researcher to | |to T. K. Maxx managers on how to |Adam’s Equity theory |both critically evaluate the staff motivation | |increase effectiveness in staff | |and design the recommendation and the | |management and motivation in order to | |conclusion.From the Equity theory the | |achieve staff retention. | |researcher would be able to assess whether the| | | |inputs from the employees were equal to the | | | |outputs by the management. | |CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY | 3. 1. Research Methodology Research methodology is a systematic way of solving problems that arise in research.Research method on the other hand, is different methods and techniques used in the research. Research methods are part of research methodology and the scope of research methodology is wider than research methods (Rajendar Kumar 2008). There are different methodologies for research e. g. descriptive, anal ytical, qualitative and quantitative etc. The methodology used by the researcher is a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The research would focus on the both qualitative aspects of the TK MAXX policies on staff motivation and will also quantitatively analyze staff satisfaction with the 3. 2. Research philosophy Research philosophy refers to how the researcher thinks of the development of knowledge (Saunders, 2003).There are normally three views with which the knowledge produced is viewed by the researcher. These are positivism, realism and interpretivism. Positivism is the natural scientific view with the philosophical stance on the development of the data (Remenyi, 1998). In other words, this view implies that the knowledge which is based on sense, experience and positive verification is authentic only. Interpretivism is the critical to positivism and is also known as the antipositivism. This implies that it is necessary to understand the subjective reality of the m atter that they are studying in order to make sense (Saunders, 2003). Simply this means finding out the details of the situation to understand the reality (Remenyi, 1998).Realism recognizes that people sharing their interpretations and this is based on the idea that reality exist beyond the human though (Saunders, 2003). Researchers claim that there is no single methodology to adopt while carrying out the research. They believe that a combination of methodologies must be used to carry out research effectively (Kaplan and Duchon, 1988). However, the complexity and dynamism of the reality should be kept in mind to choose best suited methodology (Benbasat, 1984). In order to understand the motivation level of employees in TKMAXX and how they are motivated, research philosophies adopted by the researcher are interpretivism and Positivism.The researcher has adopted positivism due to the reason that it examines the casual and deterministic relationships (Meel, 2000) and most of the data c ollected would be statically analyzed. On the other hand, Interpretivism is of main focus in this research as the research is exploratory in nature, where the researcher would be examining the behavior and perception of the staff about their managers and supervisors. This requires the researcher’s subjective interpretation of the phenomena and includes proper understanding and interpretation of the data collected (Meel, 2000). However, to some extent the research philosophy would also include realism.This philosophy bypasses the individuals’ thoughts and beliefs, of their organizational and suggests that there are lots of other issues that influence people in different way which they might not aware of (Saunders, 2003). This approach will be useful for the researcher in drawing his conclusion of the research. 3. 3. Research Approach The second step in the research process is the research approach. Research approach means that how the research in design and the conclusi on is drawn to make explicit. There are two approaches of the research, deductive and inductive. In a deductive approach the researcher develop a theory or hypothesis and then design the research strategy to test the research hypothesis. Whereas in a inductive approach the researcher collect data from the respondents and then develop theory from the analysis of the data collected.The researcher approach in this research will be inductive as deductive reasoning is usually used for arguments based on rules, laws and principles whereas this research is tended to be based on observations. Inductive reasoning works from specific to more general informally its called â€Å"bottom up† approach. In inductive reasoning we start from specific measures and observation and start to develop some patterns and regularities with the help of these. Once it is done a hypothesis is formulated and finally a conclusion or general theory is drawn up. In addition to this the conductive approach pro vides a rigid conclusion which does not allow alternative explanation (Saunders, 2003).The researcher has to collect data from TK MAXX staff and analyze to examine the behavior and motivation level and this is important that alternative explanations are also brought into consideration. This approach is also useful as developing own ideas and then proving it from the tests could result into the researcher being biased towards either more favorable or unfavorable for TK MAXX. I have expanded the research strategy and added justification of research methodology chosen 3. 4. Research Strategy There are several strategies with which the research can be carried out. These mainly include the explanatory studies, survey, case study, grounded theory e. t. c . The strategy adopted by the researcher in TK MAXX are both the case study and survey strategy. survey includes careful designing of questionnaire.The questionnaire will be standard for all interviewees and therefore the results can be c ompared. The strategy will help to interpret the quantitative data gathered in interviews. Secondly, case study includes investigation of a phenomenon using multiple sources of information. This approach is relevant to the TK MAXX research as the researcher will be interviewing individuals to determine the motivation in staff. In addition researcher would be evaluating the staff motivation policies through reviewing the documents available on websites and other publicly available documents. The other approaches like explanatory strategy is unlikely to be ruitful as these include detailed explanation of the data collection and could be vague for the quantitative analysis to be carried out. Grounded theory is kind of theory building. It is classic example of the inductive approach. The researcher would also be, to some extent, using the grounded theory strategy. This is due the reason that researcher will be taking cross sectional view due to time limitation. 3. 5. Time horizon The re searcher had to decide the time required to carry out the research. The research is embedded with the time constraint and therefore the researcher has taken a cross sectional approach in this regard. This approach employs usually the surveys where a particular phenomenon is observed (Saunders, 2003).The researcher has ignored the longitudinal approach, which includes observing the phenomena over a long period of time (Earl Babbie, 2010). It is obviously not possible for the TK MAXX research project due to time constraints. The researcher is going to conduct the interviews of the staff and will have (what Saunders call) snapshot of inside TK MAXX motivation which helped to save considerable amount of time. There could be some limitations of the approach as it is the observation of particular phenomena at one point of time. The researcher has countered the issue by increasing its sample size. Increasing the sample size will help to determine different individuals’ view of TK MA XX staff motivation.It can be expected that most the interviewees have developed their views over a long period of time and therefore they will contribute constructive ideas. 3. 6. Data collecting Techniques The researcher has used different methods of collecting data. It has already been discussed that the researcher will be analyzing the qualitative and quantitative data. The methods mainly include the qualitative interviews, questionnaire and secondary data will be access through E-journals and different websites. There are different methods for data collection such as through telephone, postal, electronic or self-administered. For questionnaire, researcher has used the self administer technique.This technique is

Rise and fall essays

Rise and fall essays John Gotti was known to some as the most prestigeous fathers of the mafia family who went from rags to riches, while others feel that he weaseled his was to the top. You are about to hear the life of John Gotti, from his birth in New York, to his becoming the head of the largest Mafia family in history. John Joseph Gotti was born into one of the poorest families in New York on October 27, 1940. His father was a garbage man and his Mother didn't work. John was the youngest of five children. As a child Johns scared many of his teachers. He was described as having an uncontrollable temper and behavioral problems, two traits in which he would one day value. He was constantly getting into fights with older boys who tried to take his lunch money. He soon got the reputation as one of the boys you didn't want to mess with, especially after fracturing an older boys skull in the classroom. Gotti soon began running with smalltime gangs at the age of twelve. After noticing a mobster named Albert Anastasia, he created a street gang called the Fulton Rockaway Boys. Then, at the age of 16, he dropped out of school and began to model his life after Anastasia. He got the job as debt collector in his gang. He was required to bust a lot of people and do what it took to get the money back. This eventually got him noticed by Angelo Bruno, who was a soldier in Anastasias crew. John was later requested by Bruno and asked to do many odd jobs for him. In 1957 Carlo Gambino had Johns role model Albert Anastasia killed, yet he took John in as his apprentice at the age of twenty. John soon got married at the age of 21 to Victoria DiGiorgio and had four children. He then began getting into trouble and spending most of his time in and out of prison. In 1977 Gotti got his wish. He was formally inducted into the Gambino crime family. Neil Dellacroce inducted John into the family under the authorizat...

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Story of an Hour: Seen but Not Heard†¦Women in the Victorian Age Written by: Svenmancke In an age where bustles, petticoats, and veils stifled women physically, it is not surprising that society imposed standards that stifled them mentally. Women were molded into an ideal form from birth, with direction as to how they should speak, act, dress, and marry. They lacked education, employable skills, and rights in any form. Every aspect of their life was controlled by a male authority figure starting with their father at birth and persisting through early womanhood into marriage where it was the husband who possessed control. Men believed that it was the law of the bible for one of the two parties to be superior and the other inferior. Women were ruled over as children and were to be seen†¦but not heard. Author and feminist Kate Chopin lived in the height of the Victorian Era and was a first-hand witness to the suppression women endured and accepted in the late 19th century. Unlike most women at the time, Chopin was far from a conformist. Kate showed increasing concern for the plight of women in Victorian age America and she responded with scandalous writings dealing explicitly with love, sex and marriage. In one of her more famous short stories, The Story of an Hour, her refusal to be silenced is all too evident. Chopin presents a character known simply as Mrs. Mallard. The lack of personal identity is evident in this name. Not once in this story is her first name mentioned illustrating the lack of individuality possessed by these women. The name also reveals another element in the formula representing the ideal Victorian housewife. Mallard ducks are docile, unthreatening creatures that when in flight, fly in form...never wavering from their perfect V. This loyalty to conformity and meekness was the ideal society demanded. The similarity between mallards and women is striking and it is appalling how men ruled over women as if ... Free Essays on The Female Eunuch Free Essays on The Female Eunuch Story of an Hour: Seen but Not Heard†¦Women in the Victorian Age Written by: Svenmancke In an age where bustles, petticoats, and veils stifled women physically, it is not surprising that society imposed standards that stifled them mentally. Women were molded into an ideal form from birth, with direction as to how they should speak, act, dress, and marry. They lacked education, employable skills, and rights in any form. Every aspect of their life was controlled by a male authority figure starting with their father at birth and persisting through early womanhood into marriage where it was the husband who possessed control. Men believed that it was the law of the bible for one of the two parties to be superior and the other inferior. Women were ruled over as children and were to be seen†¦but not heard. Author and feminist Kate Chopin lived in the height of the Victorian Era and was a first-hand witness to the suppression women endured and accepted in the late 19th century. Unlike most women at the time, Chopin was far from a conformist. Kate showed increasing concern for the plight of women in Victorian age America and she responded with scandalous writings dealing explicitly with love, sex and marriage. In one of her more famous short stories, The Story of an Hour, her refusal to be silenced is all too evident. Chopin presents a character known simply as Mrs. Mallard. The lack of personal identity is evident in this name. Not once in this story is her first name mentioned illustrating the lack of individuality possessed by these women. The name also reveals another element in the formula representing the ideal Victorian housewife. Mallard ducks are docile, unthreatening creatures that when in flight, fly in form...never wavering from their perfect V. This loyalty to conformity and meekness was the ideal society demanded. The similarity between mallards and women is striking and it is appalling how men ruled over women as if ...

The Social Theory of Decentering

The Social Theory of Decentering Decentering is a way of understanding the world in its social and psychological aspects that holds that there is no single way to read an event, or institution, or text. Gathering varied experiences from many individuals produces greater fidelity, such that an explanation of an event based on a decentered approach will acknowledge many different interpretations from many different individuals. In Relation to Technology The explosion in social media in the second decade of the 21st Century has been a boom to the theory of decentering. For example, the events of the so-called Arab Spring following the popular revolution in Egypt in 2011 played out vividly on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. The multiplicity of voices and viewpoints created a wide field of data for understanding not just the facts of the events, but their underlying meaning to a cross-section of Middle Eastern people. Other examples of decentering could be seen in popular movements in Europe and the Americas. Groups like 15-M in Spain, Occupy Wall Street in the United States, and Yo soy 132 in Mexico organized similarly to the Arab Spring on social media. Activists in these groups called for greater transparency of their governments and teamed up with movements in different countries to address common problems all over the world, including the environment, health, immigration, and other important issues. In Relation to Crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing, the process coined in 2005, is another aspect of decentering as it relates to production. Instead of outsourcing work to a determined group of laborers, crowdsourcing relies on the talents and perspectives of an undefined group of contributors who often donate their time or expertise. Crowdsourced journalism, with its multiplicity of viewpoints, has advantages over traditional writing and reporting because of its decentered approach. Decentering Power One effect of social decentering is the opportunity it presents to expose aspects of power dynamics that remained previously hidden. The exposure of thousands of classified documents on WikiLeaks in 2010 had the effect of decentering official government positions on various events and personages, as the secret diplomatic cables about them were made available for all to analyze.

Controlling Organized Crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Controlling Organized Crime - Essay Example Control of organized crime is one of the most difficult police functions. Organized crime is defined as illegal activity aimed to generate a money profit with the help of illegal methods and activities. Organized crime is centralized activity based on strict authority and hierarchical structure of the enterprise. Abadinsky (20090 underlines that small countries with weak military government are the main producers of illicit drugs. Criminality is linked to the systemic violence and corruptive categories, as is their related criminal support system, which focuses on acquiring, securing, laundering, and safely guarding money and getting and preserving positions of power. Organized crime does not end with these more sensational and individual acts of depriving, hurting, maiming, and destroying. Even the "benign" repatriation of criminals assets through illegal cash laundering-whether this entails investment in lawful enterprise or disbursement to cover business debts in the underground e conomy-adds to criminality. Beyond that, criminal leaders corrupt the state or political leaders who run it in order to improve goods movement and access to intelligence, protect persons and property, allow for easier repatriation of financial resources, and build respectability through political influence (Lunde, 2006). Control of organized crime requires international cooperation and interaction between the First and the Third world countries. Allowing for the organized crime groups, more decentralized and less prone to syndication and violence, in many isolated geographical areas there is more finance to be made in illegal drugs and human trafficking than in any other available product or service, despite the risk and loss factors associated with an illegal drug trade. Drug money buys the peasant in Burma a new quality of life, one to be defended at all costs. On the other hand, it also provides the wherewithal for some social groups to prosecute political demands). Both political leaders and major drug traffickers in cocaine and heroin are world-class criminal leaders deprive, hurt, maim, and destroy out of business necessity or political goal. Most individuals consider this to be criminal, and much of the criminality is funded by financial assets (Abadinsky, 2009). Experience bred in conflict ha s honed control and discipline among criminal organizations worldwide. The new criminal methods, supported by the state, are much more sophisticated than the old ones of the mafia. One international critic admits that international drug traffickers have become the "global mafia," a new monolithic threat able of invoking fears such as those stirred up by East-West rhetoric about communism and capitalism (Abadinsky, 2009). Conspiracies whose combined intelligence, firepower, and will for violence exceed the capacity of some states to restrain or counter them. Such solutions create a safe, near foolproof way needing to launder vast quantities of financial reso

Country Comparisons Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Country Comparisons - Assignment Example The GDP (purchasing power parity) of U.S.A in Billion $ is 14660 while that of Japan is 4310 in the same currency. These statistics are for the year 2008. Both countries are industrialized; however, Japan’s government seems to have a smaller population to plan for as compared to the U.S.A. The GDP growth rate of Japan is 3.9% and that of U.S.A is 2.8%. This may be due to the smaller population that Japan has to plan for (Indexmundi, 2011). India is one of the most densely populated countries; however, with a population of 1,189,172,864, this is slightly lower than the population of China which stands at 1,336,717,952. India’s population grows at a higher rate 1.34 percent, as compared to China’s 0.49 percent. Still considering the two countries on the aspect of economy, India posts a GDP of 4,060 in Billion $, on the other hand, China has a GDP of 10, 090. However, both countries GDP grows at an almost similar rate with India having a GDP growth rate of 10.4% and China 10.3%. This is probably due to the two countries differences in GDP (Indexmundi, 2011). Another country that is in focus is Saudi Arabia which has a population of 26,131,704 people. This population grows at the rate of 1.54 percent which is the highest compared to that of the United States, Japan, China and India. The GDP of Saudi Arabia in the year 2008 was 622 Billion $, signifying a growth rate of 3.7 percent (Indexmundi, 2011). Mexico, a country neighboring the United States has a population of 113,724,224 which grows at the rate of 1.1 percent. Looking at the economy of the country, it has a Gross Domestic Product of 1,567 in Billion Dollars; the countries’ economy grows at the rate of 5.5 percent, which is the highest of all the countries discussed (Indexmundi, 2011). Despite the fact that Japan has a lower GDP compared to the United States, its economy is growing at a faster rate than the United States, with 3.9

Credibility in desired career path in criminal justice Essay

Credibility in desired career path in criminal justice - Essay Example It is often argued that detective/criminal investigators are paid quite less as compared to other professions. These aspects are at times quite de-motivating for the individuals who are in this profession. Rewards and compensations are key elements that encourage people to work efficiently. However, the profession of detective/criminal investigator often lacks in terms of this kind of encouragement which can be considered as an issue towards compromising one’s credibility. Moreover, proper education is also a vital issue associated with this profession. It has been noted that individuals engaged in this professions at times lack required guidance and education as detective/criminal investigator, as now-a-days there is a need for incorporating a lot of knowledge and skills to handle different critical scenarios. In this regard, a lack of higher education regarding the subject matter at times can create hindrances in terms of selecting the right and the wrong path of action espe cially regarding credibility (Orthmann & Hess, 2012; PICJ, 2010). These aspects or issues can be avoided with the adoption of certain measures such as setting proper higher practical education as one of the criteria for such profession. Moreover, the government or private authorities should also intend to revise the remuneration structure in such profession, keeping in view the high risks faced by the individuals involved in

Farming societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Farming societies - Essay Example In simple farming societies economic activities are not separated from religious, political and social aspects (Walrath and Prins 51). The economic system of a farming society largely depends on production, distribution and consumption of goods. However, there many types of economic systems which include: traditional and modern, industrial and non-industrial, and small scale and large scale economies. In the small scale societies that are non-industrial, land and other valuable resources are usually controlled by groups of related people and individual ownership of land is rare to find. The division of labour is done according to gender and age of the members of the society. Simple farming societies also practice specialization of arts and crafts, although, production is carried out only for the quantity required at that moment. Most of the goods produced are consumed by those in the group that produces them. This is different from the economic organization of large scale industrial and post industrial societies (Walrath and Prins 59). ... The exchange of goods and services is also done as a ritual or for prestige purposes (Walrath and Prins 86). This is where distribution of goods is done by the governments or the religious elite who collect and allocate resources. Locations of exchange of goods and services are designated in certain areas. Here, people meet friends and strangers, find entertainment and trade goods. However, in industrial societies, exchange is indirect, impersonal and mediated through money or capital assets in form of shares and stocks. Moreover, in the digital age, trade can be conducted on the internet with personal contact. The major characteristic among farming societies is Cooperative work groups regardless the society’s industrial capability. For instance, in cases the work group involves the whole community a festive mood permeates the work. In most societies, cooperation basically starts at the household level. Through cooperation, farming societies are able to allocate duties of prod uction and distribution, as well as, allocation of goods and resources. There is great diversity in the types of specialized tasks that are performed. However, although specialization has increased in the farming societies, modern technologies have influenced them such that division of labor on the basis of gender has become less relevant. In modern farming societies, each member is knowledgeable on all aspects of work although specialization is still maintained (Walrath and Prins 43). According to Walrath and Prins, Simple farming societies are firmly rooted in the cultures of people in their communities (101). This culture is passed on from the older generation to the younger generation. By doing this, the younger members of the farming society,

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example se, successful entrepreneurs are those who think creatively to find and seize hidden business opportunities by innovating the products or services and by utilizing the latest technology and human capital. This piece of research presents an understanding of the underlying principles and foundations of entrepreneurship. This paper describes the entrepreneurial functions with a view to apply with the empirical studies about the entrepreneurial efforts carried out by one of the most renowned entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, the ex CEO of Apple Inc. By analyzing various literatures about entrepreneurship, Kuratko and Hodgetts (2008, p. 5) developed an integrated definition to acknowledge critical factors included needed for entrepreneurship. According to them, entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change and creation, requiring energy application and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions. An entrepreneur is one who undertakes to organize, assume and manage the risks associated with a business organization. He is a visionary who can successfully implement change by managing resistance or other obstacles and a creator of something new. Joseph A Schumpeter, the father of entrepreneurship, viewed that entrepreneur is an innovator (Carsrud and Brannback , 2007, p. 7). According to him, he is one who finds and take an opportunity to seize it and to create a new product or service or its new variance and thus create a new marketable contribution to the economy (McDaniel, 2002, p. 57). He asserted that entrepreneurship is essentially a creative activity consisting of doing such things as are generally not done in ordinary course of business (Milonakis and Fine, 2008, p. 212). Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple with Steve Wozniak, is a legend in the world of technology and the main brain-force behind world’s renowned brands such as Macintosh, iPad and iPod. Steve Jobs pioneered the personal computer industry by changing the

Logistics and supply chain mgnt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Logistics and supply chain mgnt - Essay Example extraction of raw material to the sale of the finished product to the ultimate customer, whilst taking into account organizational, technological and human factors in a integrated supply chain. The customer most times keeps limited inventory of the products he/she uses, as many of these products are perishable and prefers to purchase them frequently as and when required. As most of their demands are due to requirement at their end, purchase decisions may be influenced by the availability of product in the racks and this were the supply chain management comes into the picture. So, the vitality of the supply chain management for the running of the organization cannot be whisked away. The potential of integrated supply chain is considerable. For example, a global study conducted by the supply chain council demonstrated the potential for cost reduction between 3 and 6 percent of turnover (supply chain council). From the earlier centuries itself, production of goods useful for the humans is an ongoing process and organizations are organized to continue the ongoing process into complete and successful process. And, for the process to be a complete and successful one, the important link in the chain of the organization, which ‘joined’ all the process, is Supply Chain Management. And there are reasons why its utility is of recent origin and why is it important to the 21st Century philosophy of Logistics. SCM (Supply Chain Management) is considered a recent concept because in 1982 only, Keith Oliver of the strategy-consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, first coined it. Keith Oliver through the course of an argument with the manager named Mr. Van t’Hoff coined the word â€Å"supply chain management†. And while coauthoring an article for financial times, he introduced the term to the world. The term ‘supply chain management† (SCM) could have easily disappeared into the history of business jargon. Instead, SCM rapidly passed into the public domain — a sure

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example se, successful entrepreneurs are those who think creatively to find and seize hidden business opportunities by innovating the products or services and by utilizing the latest technology and human capital. This piece of research presents an understanding of the underlying principles and foundations of entrepreneurship. This paper describes the entrepreneurial functions with a view to apply with the empirical studies about the entrepreneurial efforts carried out by one of the most renowned entrepreneur, Steve Jobs, the ex CEO of Apple Inc. By analyzing various literatures about entrepreneurship, Kuratko and Hodgetts (2008, p. 5) developed an integrated definition to acknowledge critical factors included needed for entrepreneurship. According to them, entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change and creation, requiring energy application and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions. An entrepreneur is one who undertakes to organize, assume and manage the risks associated with a business organization. He is a visionary who can successfully implement change by managing resistance or other obstacles and a creator of something new. Joseph A Schumpeter, the father of entrepreneurship, viewed that entrepreneur is an innovator (Carsrud and Brannback , 2007, p. 7). According to him, he is one who finds and take an opportunity to seize it and to create a new product or service or its new variance and thus create a new marketable contribution to the economy (McDaniel, 2002, p. 57). He asserted that entrepreneurship is essentially a creative activity consisting of doing such things as are generally not done in ordinary course of business (Milonakis and Fine, 2008, p. 212). Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple with Steve Wozniak, is a legend in the world of technology and the main brain-force behind world’s renowned brands such as Macintosh, iPad and iPod. Steve Jobs pioneered the personal computer industry by changing the

Cocaine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cocaine - Essay Example To understand those who use it, one must understand that cocaine is a stimulant drug that is primarily metabolized by the liver. So much of the drug is metabolized by the body, that less than 1% of the drug is secreted through urine. As stated by Maureen Coombs, â€Å"Cocaine is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant and induces a euphoric sense of happiness and increased energy. It can be chewed, insufflated, smoked or injected and has both medicinal and recreational uses†. With this information in mind, one can understand why individuals who use this substance do so. The purpose is not to experience a high, as it is with individuals who smoke marijuana. Instead, cocaine users seek the euphoric feeling and high level of energy associated with its use. Reports that have come out in past decades have indicated that deaths from cocaine use are not caused by overdose. Such reports may have caused a reduction in concern over its very real dangers. The reality is that cocaine c ontinues to kill thousands of individuals every year, and most of those deaths result from long-term damage caused by extensive abuse. According to Karch, â€Å"It is important to understand that death from acute cocaine toxicity is a relatively rare event, essentially only seen in ‘body packers’ or ‘body stuffers’ who find themselves exposed to massive, multigram quantities of cocaine. Otherwise, the only cocaine users likely to become seriously ill or die are the chronic users†. That is to say, fatal overdoses from cocaine do not occur from users â€Å"over indulging† in the user’s illegal substance of choice. Rather, the overdoses result in something going awry when individuals attempt to use themselves or allow themselves to be used as a drug mule. Packages of immense amounts of cocaine in their body are supposed to be sealed, but occasionally the packages become broken down enough to allow the cocaine to absorb in to the body. One of the reasons why cocaine users do not overdose through regular use is that the amount of cocaine required to produce an overdose is not possible via that method. The user would have to make themselves sick to achieve an overdose. When the purpose of using the drug is to achieve euphoria, to make oneself sick would be counterproductive. In terms of usage, â€Å"Nasal inhalation is the most popular method of cocaine administration certainly because of its discretion† (Blaise, pg. 1262). There are also the options of injecting the drug, or smoking it. As Blaise wrote, snorting cocaine is typically the primary method chosen because of the ease with which one can hide it—at first. Extended cocaine use has the unpleasant side effect of causing nasal lesions, which are all but impossible to hide. When officials want to test for cocaine, often they will take hair, blood, or urine samples. A little known fact about hair is that it essentially acts like a tree core. Where on a tree, each ring represents a year of life, hair shows signs of illegal substance use up to 90 days later. Urine tests can be used to screen for cocaine use 2-5 days after use, with the exception for those with certain kidney disorders. Finally, blood tests can be used accurately within 2-5 days. Individuals who indulge their drug habit with cocaine will find that at first, all may seem well and good.

The Myers-Briggs Essay Example for Free

The Myers-Briggs Essay The Myers-Briggs type indicator is a widely used to help individuals gain insight into there personality type and communication patterns. This tool will help the career counselor as well as the client have a better understanding on how the client judges and perceives the world. The type indicator is a beneficial tool for gaining insight into future career endeavors. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs in order to have a better understanding of differences and similarities in human personalities. The instrument is based on the psychological theory of Carl Jung, who strongly suggested in the 1920s that personality traits are inherited or innate. Myers and Briggs used Jungs theory to develop a list of four ranges of personality traits. They refined their definitions over and over again during the 1940s and 1950s by administering thousands of assessments (Gordon Martin, 2004). The MBTI identifies preferences rather than competencies it is designed to help you understand your unique personality and the way you relate to others around you. Backed by thousands of research studies, the MBTI assessment is both reliable and valid in assessing personality traits. The eight characteristics that are defined in the MBTI are not traits that vary in quantity; they are dichotomous constructs that describe equally legitimate but opposite ways in which we use our minds (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). The MBTI describes a dynamic personality system such that the 16 types are greater than the sum of their parts. This instrument is the most widely used personal instrument in the world-2 million administrations are given each year (Martin, 1997). Today their personality assessment instrument is more widely used by educators in the US than any other. It is not like other psychological tests in that it does not uncover illness or psychosis (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). It was designed to help normal people understand normal human behavior. Therefore, it could be used as an assessment instrument to help individuals select careers that suite their type preferences. There are eight types arranged in four continuums or scales. Everyone uses each of the types but there is an innate preference for one. The different types explain how individuals communicate and see the world. The MBTI uses these four separate dichotomies; two of these S-N and T-F, describe functions and reflect basic preferences for use of perceptions and judgment, the other two E-I and J-P, reflect attitudes or orientations. Together these functions and orientations influence how a person perceives a situation and decides on a course of action. The scales are explained below: Extravert-Introvert: In the extraverted attitude the energy flow is outward, and the preferred focus is on people and things, whereas in the introverted attitude the energy flow is inward, and the preferred focus is on inner thoughts and ideas. Extraverts (E) are energized by interaction with others such as they love to talk, participate, organize, and party. Extroverts like action. Es are pulled into life’s social interaction and may find it difficult to due things such as; settle down, read, or concentrate on written work. It is suggested that extravert due not to enjoy listening and would prefer to talk to work out their ideas. They would find tasks such as reading, research, or writing challenging because they are solitary endeavors (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003).. Introverts (I) are energized by the inner world of reflection though thought and contemplation. They need space and time alone. Introverts like activities such as; reading, lectures, written, or oral work. They usually have a longer attention span and prefer to think things through before acting (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). . Sensing-Intuitive (S-N) Sensing and Intuition are the perceiving functions. They indicate how a person prefers to receive data from the environment around him. These are the non-rational functions, as a person does not necessarily have control over receiving data, but only how to process it once they have it. Sensing prefers to receive data primarily from the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch), and intuition prefers to receive data from the unconscious, or seeing relationships via insights. Often it is called sixth sense or gut feel†. This scale suggests how you take in information and reported to have the biggest impact on how we learn (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Sensing (S) people depend heavily on their five senses to ingest information. They base knowledge on concrete facts, organization, and structure. They tend to be good at memorization, usually realistic, and relatively conventional. Ss are focused and oriented on the present, the concrete, and the here and now. Sensing people have a tendency to like outlines, clear guidelines, and specifics. They have difficulty relying on theories. Intuitive (N) individuals see the world through intuition. They learn by hunches, look at the big picture verse small details. They want to know the theory before deciding that facts are important. They have a tendency to be creative, innovative, and work with bursts of energy. Intuitive people ask why before anything else (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Thinking-Feeling: Thinking and Feeling are the rational functions. They are used to make rational decisions concerning the data they received from their perceiving functions. Thinking is characterized as preferring to be logical and analytical and thinking in terms of true or false. Thinking decisions tend to be based on more objective criteria and facts. Feeling, which refers to subjective criteria and values, strives for harmonious relationships and considers the implications for people. Feeling decisions tend to be based on what seems more good or less bad according to values. This range tells how people make decisions (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). . Thinking (T) people make decisions based of logic, analysis, and reason. They follow their head rather than heart, they tend to value truth. At times thinkers can appear blunt and uncaring about the feelings of others. Ts usually have strongly held principles, value fairness over everything, and need purpose in their life. People who must make decisions that negatively effect many individual lives (surgeons and corporation presidents) are often thinking types. Feeling (F) individuals follow their heart rather than their head. They decide on the basis of their feelings, personal likes and dislikes. They tend to want others to like them therefore they find it difficult to say no or disagree with others. Fs need and value kindness. Feeling type’s value harmony and are distressed by interpersonal friction. Feeling types are often found in social work, elementary school teaching, and other helping professions. They will feel rewarded when they can help others (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Judging-Perceiving: This range suggests the type of life style and work habits we prefer. It shows how people relate to the world around them. The J person tends to prefer to create and live in an ordered environment. Words like structured and controlled come to mind. Js tend to plan their work and work their plan. They often come across as decisive. The P individual tends to prefer a flexible, wait-and-see environment. Words like spontaneous and adaptable and open-minded best describe him or her. Judging (J) types try to order and control their world. They are decisive, may be closed-minded, and are usually well organized. The meet deadlines, like planning, and prefer to work on only one thing at a time (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Perceiving (P) types are spontaneous and do not enjoy to be boxed in by deadlines or plans. They want to gather more information before making a decision. They tend to multitask or have a variety of activities in their lives. Ps are flexible and often good in emergencies when plans are disrupted. Their biggest problem tends to be procrastination. They may make a calendar of things to do, but will probably lose it (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Jung originally developed his theory of types as part of his counseling with his clients. Distinguishing type can shed light on issues of self-esteem, relationship difficulties, life development and transitions, as well as decision making. As Jung suggests human behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, due to the basic differences in the way individuals prefer to use their judgment and perception. Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, and ideas (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). Judgments involve all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. Every individual could be described as unique. Each of us is a product of heredity and environment and, as a result, is different from everyone else. The idea behind uniqueness, however, gives no practical help in understanding the people whom we must educate, counsel, work with, or interact with in our personal lives. The assumption of similarity, therefore can promote misinterpretations and misunderstandings of humans because peoples minds operate differently. People’s perceptions and judgments are all choices, in accordance with principles of human development (Gordon Martin, 2004). According to Jung’s theory the instrument can be beneficial in organizational development as well as career development. Through the instrument individuals can gain self understanding which leads to self awareness (Briggs-Myers, McCauley, Quenk, Hammer, 2003). When individuals have self awareness they gain knowledge on personal preferences and dislikes. MBTI suggests that when people understand how they communicate with others there can be a wealth of positive outcomes such as; increased appreciation for colleges, improvement in communication, a better understanding of how to deal with conflict, enhancement in problem solving, and better decision making (Gordon Martin, 2004). Dr. Charles Martin suggests that research clearly has shown that people are attracted to careers choices that will allow them to make use of their natural type preferences. He also suggests that through all the four letters of the final personality types can affect the kind of career that interests you (Martin, 1997). A person’s combination of the two middle letters has particular importance on the career choice you pick. That is the combination of perception (sensing or intuition) and judgment (thinking and feeling) seems to have the most influence on which kinds of careers will attract you (Martin, 1997). The individual’s type can provide the career counselor with useful information as well as the client on a variety of issues related to career choice. Based on I verse E, this will determine a persons need for social interaction, J verse P can interpret how organized an individual needs to be verse how flexible they can be (Gordon Martin, 2004). Obviously there is more to an individual them there type so it is also necessary for the individual to make decisions for a career choice. Under the assumption a career counselor would have knowledge and be educated on the Myers Briggs assessment this specific tool could be beneficial for job placement of career choice. If people gain insight in to what motivates them, possibly they could choose a career that would satisfy that need.