Preferred language style: English (U.S.) Essay

First, you should read these key documents relating to the definition and expression of usability. As you read, try to define for yourself as specifically as possible how you would assess usability. Remember, usability matters, because time matters — the argument for usability is heavily based on efficiency, not on aesthetics or people’s rights not to be put upon. Jakob Nielsen, Kara Pernice Coyne, and Marie Tahir, Make it Usable. PC Magazine 02. 06. 01. [Available at http://www. pcmag. com/article2/0,4149,33821,00. asp] Jakob Nielsen (2003) Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. Alert box, August 25 http://www. useit. com/alertbox/20030825. html The Web Style Guide (2nd Edition) available at http://www. webstyleguide. com/index. html Usability First [available at http://www. usabilityfirst. com/] Then comes the experiential component of the case. It shouldn’t take you to long and will give you a point of reference for what the debate is all about. Take the Web Usability Quiz — free and online at http://www. humanfactors. com/training/webquiz. asp You might actually want to try the quiz before you do the reading to check your prior knowledge. However, since your score is just between you and the machine, it`s up to you. But you`ll get more out of it if you do take the quiz. Then, in a 3-5 page paper, discuss the following questions: What do you believe are the appropriate criteria for assessing usability? Who should make such judgments? How should disagreements about usability be resolved? Usability plays a very important role in determining the efficiency of a website, and suggests the ability of the customer to use the website (Neilson, 2001). It is a quality component and determines the easiness and the convenience in using the website (Neilson, 2003). The customer should find the website user-friendly and interesting (Neilson, 2001). In this article, the importance of usability to websites is mentioned, but it could be applied to any area. As there are countless number of websites providing relevant information, people have several options. Hence, if a website is badly designed, it would suffer from not being visualized by the customer. The customer has to be involved during the construction stage itself to ensure that the website can be designed in the most appropriate manner. Another fact which should be noted in this regard is that a customer would not return to the website if it is bad, as a negative impression would already have been generated in the mind (Neilson, 2001). Before the website is launched, a sample of the potential customers should provide feedback. Studies have shown that these potential users have provided appropriate feedback which was utilized and helped to improve the quality of the website. Many web-designers have made huge amount of corrections within a very short period of time, and with a little investment after taking advice from the sample of the customers. Usually customers were lost right from the start of the homepage, were a registration of the customer was required (Neilson, 2001). Usability is also required for the website surviving in the market. Customers would leave the website at any given point of time, if it is difficult to use. Any information put in a difficult to read manner would also have the same consequence. It is very important that the website answers the questions of the user promptly (Neilson, 2003). Hence, the information presented should be very relevant and specific. In the industry of web designing, usability suggests that the designers are very efficient at the construction of a website. At the moment about 10 % of the construction of websites costs is spent on determining and improving the usability (Neilson, 2003). It is one of the areas a website production unit would be spending more compared to other quality areas (Neilson, 2003). There are several criteria for assessing usability. These include:- 1. Efficiency – The ability of the user to perform the activities mentioned, once they have learned the website. 2. Learnability – The ability of the user to perform the activities easily, once they are able to enter the website. 3. Satisfaction – The pleasure derived in using the website. 4. Errors – The chances of committing errors on the website, and the extent of these errors along with the ease in which they can be corrected. 5. Utility – The ability to function in an appropriate user-friendly manner, (Neilson, 2003). 6. Accessibility – The customer should be provided with access to appropriate information in the website. This is one of the most important criteria a website should follow (Lynch and Horton, 2002). 7. User-friendly design – The graphics and the texts available on the website should be balanced and prepared in a well-balanced manner. It should encourage good flow of information. The website should provide content and should be user-friendly for only the target audience group. The navigation aids present on the website should be accessible. Sometimes, the user may require additional information, and in such circumstances an access link should be available. This access links should always be functional (Lynch and Horton, 2002). 8. Relevant information – The website should provide relevant and current information. Sometimes, further details about the source from where the information is derived, would also be required. 9. Author’s name and the Credentials of the author – The website should be providing the author’s name and the credentials of the author, so that the customer can also weight the accuracy and genuineness of the information provided. Judgments to improve the usability should be made by the potential customers. They should be called in at the designer’s office. The correction would be occurring in a process, which include:- 1. Determine the objectives and the activities of the representative user – At first, the users should be told the objectives of the website and they should be given sufficient information to proceed on to the next task. Each representative tasks should be written on a separate page, and once the user finishes with one age, he/she could move on to the next page (Neilson, 2001). 2. The people testing the usability of the website should be placed in real-life instances. Their profile should suit that of the relevant audience the website wants to target. To test a particular site, 5 people should be utilized. The time each tester should spend ranges from 20 minutes to about 2 hours (Neilson, 2001). 3. The test sessions should be performed in a serene and a quiet environment. Usually, testing should be performed at one person at a time. However, if one tester cannot observe or disturb the other tester, the process can be done for several individuals at a time (Neilson, 2001). 4. The areas the testers experience certain difficulties should be observed immediately, and efforts should be made to correct them. The feedback and responses supplied by the testers is very important and should be utilized appropriately (Neilson, 2001). 5. Besides actually following the feedback and reactions of the user, several other issues can be sorted out by the designers to ensure that the usability of the website can be improved. Frequently, surveys may not convey precise information, and a lot depends on following the observations of the user. The information provided by a survey may frequently be misleading (Neilson, 2001). 6. During the process of testing, the designers should be quiet and observe what the representative user does or say. Anything said by the designers would affect the outcome of such a procedure (Neilson, 2003). Problems that could arise during testing:- 1. The results obtained from one user may be similar to another user. In such a circumstance, it would be better to conduct the entire procedure individually for each user or place them in rooms where one user cannot disturb another user (Neilson, 2003). 2. Frequently, the outcome of a testing may not be useful if people not belonging to the target group are selected for testing. In such a circumstance, it would be better to select individuals (at least five of them belonging to the target group) (Neilson, 2003). 3. Users should not be told anything during the testing. Instead most of the talking should be done by the user. If too much talking is done by the testers, the users would get influenced, and real-life simulation would not be possible (Neilson, 2003). References: Foraker Design. â€Å"Usability in Website and Software Design. † 2002. Usability First. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. usabilityfirst. com/ Human Factors. â€Å"Web Usability Quiz. † 1996. Human Factors. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. humanfactors. com/training/webquiz. asp Jakob Nielsen, Kara Pernice Coyne, and Marie Tahir, â€Å"Make it Usable. † 2001. PC Magazine. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. pcmag. com/article2/0,4149,33821,00. asp Jakob Nielsen, â€Å"Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. † 2003. Alert box. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. useit. com/alertbox/20030825. html Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton. â€Å"The Web Style Guide, Second Edition. † Web Style Guide. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. webstyleguide. com/index. html

Ptlls Assignment 2

Summarise the key aspects of current legislative requirements and codes of practice relevant to your subject and the type of organisation within which you would like to work. In my future job I will be teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills using ICT. There are normally 15 students to a room sitting at a computer desk with headphones and a computer with keyboard. Basic health and safety is discussed at the induction session detailing emergency exits and the alarm that can be expected in the event of a fire.Ground rules are also discussed which state clearly that no food or drink is to be taken into the main classrooms and all mobile phones must be switched off. According to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, under the duties of employers: ‘All working practices must be safe; The work environment must be safe and healthy; All plant and machinery must be kept to a minimum; Safety policies must be stated to all staff. The reasons behind these ground rules are explored fo r example, if drinks are taken into the training classroom they could become a hazard if they were spilt over a computer keyboard or over another learner.Mobile phones can be very disruptive if they go off in the training classroom as they will disturb the other learners who despite the earphones will be able to hear the ring tones. Minton (1991) also states that ‘As a teacher your responsibility for the safety of your students is a legal requirement’. This legal requirement extends to the safeguarding from suspected abuse young people or vulnerable adults and the abuse covered is physical, sexual, emotional, bullying, discrimination and neglect, which all form a part of both the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 2006.Wherever people gather in groups they can be vulnerable to discrimination. The computer programmes themselves are published with copyright protection under the ‘Data Protections Act 1998’ and all programmes can only be run by learners enrolled on courses with appropriate passwords and registration. Copyright gives the creators certain kinds of material rights to control the ways in which their materials are used. These rights start as soon as the computer programme is accessed and the course is started. All learners are also protected under the Equal Opportunities Act 2006.Under this Act all people must be treated equally regardless of their differences both visible and non visible and treatment of all learners must be free from any kind of discrimination. There are a number of laws that promote equality and diversity and as teachers it is essential that we conform to all legislation to ensure the safety of our students. References Handout Notes Session 2 – 1/10/10/ Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Race Relations Act 1976 Disability Discrimination Act 2005 Data Protection Act 1988 Equal Opportunities Act 2006 Debra Clarke PTLLS Assignment 2

Social Entrepreneurism Module RQ1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Entrepreneurism Module RQ1 - Coursework Example Success means they must have the backing of willing donors. In light of this, it is crucial for any leader in social enterprises to have certain characteristics. This paper will examine some of the characteristics, and how they may assist them to stay at the top of the business chain. One vital character trait that a leader in the social enterprise must have is optimism. In the face of adversity, it is only right to have a leader who is optimistic of the outcome of certain scenarios, no matter how difficult the tasks or challenges may be. The hope that they will come out on top may work as encouragement to all those under that leader. It is true what social entrepreneurs believe about society that not everyone benefits from its success. It is their place in society to change this for the betterment of everyone. Their diverse views on how business ventures should relate to the environment is different from what for-profit enterprises believe. This makes them more versatile and diverse (Elkington & Hartigan, 2008). Another character trait is their futuristic nature. Social entrepreneurs always strive to find a lasting solution, beyond short term answers. This makes them decisive and dependent as individuals working under them find it easier to approach their leader with problems that require immediate attention. Last but not least, they are confident. They are not afraid to take chances in this highly competitive market, even if they have little resources. Social entrepreneurs have a small number of donors, which does not work to their advantage. This is unlike their competitors who rely on funding from philanthropic and charitable organizations to fund their businesses (Dees, Emerson & Economy, 2002). It may be risky for them but, they have to do this for the sake of society. In conclusion, leadership traits can be learnt from the existing business conditions. Some have the ability to grow, evolve, and change with changes in the

Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society Essay

Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society - Essay Example This essay "Expectations of gender roles are detrimental to our society" outlines the positive and negative effect of the gender role and accompanying expectations on the society. From man’s early childhood years, gender role expectations already dominate both genders. The pretty pink colors are for girls, and the â€Å"boyish† shade of blue are for boys. As they progress in their physical development, their toys are gradually differentiated from each other. According to the Pan Health Organization (PAHO), a regional office of the World Health Organization (p. 1), by age five, most children already know how to be boys and how to be girls. They know which toys to play with, which clothes to wear, which colors to choose, and whether or not they should cry or hit back (PAHO, p. 1). These gender roles and expectations assigned to children have serious implications on their future—most of them negative. Their access to food and education, participation in the workforc e, their relationships, as well as their physical and psychological health are all impacted by these gender expectations and stereotypes. In a study by the WHO (PAHO, p. 1), the agency points out that gender role expectations impact on people’s access to food. The study pointed out that in many countries, girls manifest with lower nutritional health and a decreased access to food as compared to their male counterparts (PAHO, p. 1). Such limited access for girls is highly detrimental to their health and their future development. Girls’ nutritional deficiencies also contribute to their vulnerabilities to childhood illnesses. Their vulnerability also exposes them to physical and sexual abuse (PAHO, p. 1). They also become vulnerable to decreased access to health services. Based on various reports, more often than not, girls’ health conditions turn worse before they are actually brought to the hospital or to a doctor for medical attention. In some developing nations, the mortality rate for girls are higher as compared to boys’ (Elsa). In terms of education, girls are often less likely to be sent to school. They are mostly kept at home to assist in the household chores and other duties. In effect, they are also learning from their mothers how to take care of the male family members – how to cook, mend clothes, clean house, do laundry, and other household duties (PAHO, p. 2). As a result, these girls would likely be stuck in the same pattern in which their mothers and other women befor e them have been stuck in – unable to have careers and other less domestic possibilities in their lives. In some areas like Africa where the HIV/AIDS afflicts a large number of the population, these girls are often

Critically examine the role of the mainstream school in the light of Essay

Critically examine the role of the mainstream school in the light of the concers and challenges for hearing impaired pupils - Essay Example ilities but to also serve their social needs through inclusive education, particularly those having ‘social, emotional and behavioural difficulties’ (St. Bartholomew’s, 2006, p. 3). Analysts argue that with the performance of the deaf children falls below the national average, as children with hearing impairments are most likely suffering from social adjustments deficiencies that are further aggravated by inadequate support facilities (Burns, 2006); (Cline and Frederickson, 2002); (Greville, 2009); (Stillman, 2002); Nunes et al, 2005; (Rustemier, 2003). According to a National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) report 2008, only 33 percent of deaf students achieved a GCSE grade of between A and C as compared to the national average of 57 percent. This translated to a 42 percent less likelihood of hitting the benchmark. The provision for inclusion of SENs in the mainstream schools is therefore a noble ideal that will incorporate the UN objectives of equal rights for all children (UNICEF, 2006) and (NDCS, 2008). Wells (1937) categorised school going children with defective hearing into three major segments. Grade I are those with partial hearing problems and can lip-read hence are more easily assimilated into normal classroom settings. Grade II, are children who need some sort of assistance due to slightly poorer hearing loss thus may require special educational aids but not necessary with the severely impaired. Grade III are those with advanced hearing problems that require ample special education needs [See Table: 1]. According to the definition of the Deaf Persons Act, Grade I does not fall in the category of hearing defects although this are children who must be carefully scrutinised to avoid falling into neglect due to their partial hearing problems (WELLS, 1937). The British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD) and the National Autistic Society (NAS) assert that due to the lack of adequate special schools for autistic children, there was no

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role Essay

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role of supra-national organizations in crises like the Arab Spring and Libya in 2011 Why - Essay Example The mistreatment of the people in Libya and victims of the Arab Spring should have been a concern for the supra-national organizations. The political leaders in Africa for example in Libya use their power to oppress the minority. These leaders deny their subjects their human rights and make their lives miserable under their rule. The success of NATO depended on the chance of Libya emerging as a stable democratic nation.2 The success of supra-national organizations is dependent on their objectives. Doubts have been casted over the responsibility of networks to protect vulnerable populations. Supra-national organizations have the ability to protect the vulnerable through ensuring there are fair elections among less democratic state. Such states are exposed to unfair elections and election violence, as well as oppressive rules. However, the supra-national organizations have legal authority only over member states. This means that cases of Libya and the Arab Spring can be handled by the African Union or the United Nation among others.3 This is legal right of membership is the reason why Falk questions NATO’s involvement with Libyan issues. Conclusively, networks may be a threat to governments; however, confronting them is not a simple task. This is because interaction of individuals through the internet is the cause of the expansion of networks. Supra-national organizations must ensure every person around the globe practices his or her human rights. NATO intervention in Libya might be question, but despite going against the UN, NATO’s move might have saved lives of many individuals in Libya. Jie Tang, Irwin King, and Ling Chen, Advanced Data Mining and Applications: 7th International Conference, ADMA 2011, Beijing, China, December 17-19, 2011, Proceedings, Volume 1. New York: Springer,

Nanoprobes used to Fight Breast Cancer Tumors Essay

Nanoprobes used to Fight Breast Cancer Tumors - Essay Example The prevalence rates are quite similar throughout the world with the United States leading in the number of incidences and China showing the least. Historically, Eastern Europe and the Far East have had low rates of breast cancer which however, have begun to rise rapidly (Babb et al, 2001). The age related incidence is also very significant in this disease as, the age group most at risk are women over 50 years old (80% of cases) and the highest number of cases is in this 50-69 age group (Office for National Statistics, London, 2008). The treatment for breast cancer is dependent on various factors like, the type of breast cancer, the size and histopathology of the tumor, the stage of the disease and the presence or absence of certain biomarkers. The general health of the patient is also a major factor in determining the mode of treatment. The options range from unilateral to bilateral mastectomies, lumpectomy, with additional chemotherapy or radiation therapy or chemotherapy and radiation on their own. Tamoxifen, an endocrine targeting drug which acts by interfering with the activity of estrogen, a female hormone is the largest selling drug for breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been used for more than 30 years to treat breast cancer in women and this too, has side effects that cannot be overlooked and in most cases is usually an additional therapeutic drug. All these treatments are painful in different degrees both physically and emotionally. The recovery time is long, especially in older patients and the nature of th e disease, that it could reoccur, is an emotionally exhausting variable to live with. The invasive and painful features of the currently available treatment options and the high incidences, makes this a very important disease in which to fund research. The awareness, on the rising numbers and the need to address the methods of diagnosis and treatment has been heeded by many countries and organizations. Technological advances in one area serendipitously affect applications in other areas. Nanotechnology is one such science that has influenced developments in many spheres of science, technology and medicine. Nanotechnology involves the creation of practical substances, devices, and systems which can be used in different applications on an incredibly small scale. The size and scale we are referring to here is in nanometers and hence the name nanotechnology. Nanotechnology works between 1 and 100 nanometers, a nanometer being, one billionth of a meter. To put this in proportion we can compare this to being the same as about ten times the diameter of a hydrogen atom. Advances in this technology have had applications in treatment options for many diseases including cancer. Introduction Significance of the Issue Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women (http://www.cancer.gov/statistics/). Breast cancer incidences and statistics are calculated and processed by gender, age, geographic variation, trends over time and prevalence. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the United Kingdom although the incidence in men is minute compared to other cancers. In 2005 there were 45,947 new cases of breast cancer that were diagnosed, of these 45,660 (over 99%) were in women and 287 (less than 1%) in men. As mentioned earlier the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with

McDonalds Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonalds Marketing - Essay Example McDonald's offers some training to the store managers. The training is done every year and the goal of training them is to ensure they provide the best quality services in all countries. Its vision gives it the advantage in the industry especially because it is competitive. Exams are done to ensure the trainees are perfect. The McDonalds make the effort to make high profits by improving speed and efficiency amongst the restaurants. This plan was a result of the McDonalds introduction of wraps that slowed speed times since they required new techniques. The need for increased speed is the high growth rate in the economy (Panwer 2004).The McDonalds work on increasing profits by product innovation to allow training and development. The improvements made help in reducing the ordering times and the waiting times. From the financial perspective, the McDonalds focus on profits and sales. In the customer, prospective service times are the main areas of focus. In the growing and learning persp ectives; how the employee is committed, and turnovers are the focuses. The financial perspective of the McDonalds focuses on sales and the store manager probably specifies areas that are to be improved. Increase in the market share and increase the production and delivery times maximizes the productivity (Grove 2000). On focusing on the sales, the McDonalds focus its attention on the cost leadership and efficiency. The customer perspective focuses on areas including new customers. Combining all these areas makes sure that customers have experiences that are repeated on the good quality products and services and they tell their friends. Learning focuses on important concepts. The technology plays a major role in ensuring employees works quickly and efficiently (Hill 2007). Benchmarking Benchmarking is to be done on certain key aspects of service that is valued by the customer. Fast-food chains have been benchmarking

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec Essay

Should religious symbols be banned for workplaces in Quebec - Essay Example During this time, the Catholic Church was granted en seigneurie zones of land covering about 30% of the lands that the French Crown granted in New France (Dickson and Young 16). Due to influences from France and the religious fervor during the Counter-Reformation, Quebec was mainly religious and women joined the Roman Catholic nuns in large numbers. The 1944 election saw Maurice Dupress ascend as the premier of Quebec. He was known for his strong opposition to intellectuals, modernizers and trade unions. Due to his beliefs and policies, the period he ruled became known as the Great Darkness (La Grande Noirceur) (Courville 49). During his rule under the Union Nationale party, the society of Quebec was culturally close minded and Catholic doctrine and morality defined the way of life for most people. In 1960, the Union Nationale party lost the election to Jean Lesage’s Liberal Party who stood under the slogan â€Å"it’s time for change†, thus sparking The Quiet Rev olution (Courville 72). This period was marked by social and political transformation where Quebecois national identify took the center stage from secularism. The late 1960 also saw a gain in momentum of Quebec separatism with Rene Levesque forming the Mouvement Souverainete-Association. Bureaucracy in the government of Quebec saw a growth in friction between English-speaking Canada and Quebec. In 1968, the Parti Quebecois was formed when different separatist force joined into one under the leadership of Rene Levesque (Dickinson and Young 57). The party gained popular vote, increasing from 8% in 1966 to 30% in 1973. From 1970 to 2000, the people of Quebec grew in confidence and sought to find their path. This was a time in which people were angry at the yoke placed on them by the church. People stopped attending churches, women started leaving their convents and every form of authority was put under a microscope The Charter of Values is officially referred to as Bill 60 (Charter aff irming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and the equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests) (Edmiston 1). The charter proposes provisions to revise the Quebec Charter of human Rights and Freedoms, institute an obligation of reserve and neutrality for all employees of the state including healthcare personnel and teachers, limit wearing of religious paraphernalia for government personnel and ensure that all people have their face uncovered when giving and receiving service from the state (Gagnon 1). Items prohibited include niqab, hijab, turban, kippah and other large pendants denoting a specific religion. Small pendants such as rings and earrings that are discrete will not be affected. This prohibition will affect all personnel of the state such as teachers, nurses, doctors, police and firefighters, secretaries in government offices, public daycare employees and politicians holding government offices (Edmiston 1). Parti Quebecois proposed the charter of values to solve the controversy on reasonable accommodation in Quebec. Reasonable accommodation describes the modification that does not cause unjustified burden, to ensure that minority groups enjoy the same freedom and right as the mainstream population in cases where it is necessary (Gagnon 2). The charter was proposed mainly to promote

African American Studies-Introduction to the Art of Africa Essay

African American Studies-Introduction to the Art of Africa - Essay Example Adult men in African wear most masks. Nevertheless, there are there is one mask that is not worn by men. The main purpose of this paper is to describe which mask is not worn by men. In addition, there will be an analysis of when the mask is worn as well as who wear the masks. Majority of masks are worn by men as they are the only people in the society who are permitted to conduct ritual activities. Most masks are worn in ceremonial dances, initiation ceremonies, during the war as a sign of being brave among other occasions. On the contrary, the Mende mask is worn exclusively by women (Foster 1). The Mende mask is worn by the Sande societies who are geographically located in the sub-Saharan Africa. To be precise, the Sande society is situated in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Mende people are approximated to be around two million, and their primary economic activity is farming. In the Sande society, women used to perform rituals that required the appearance of the masked figure of the Mende helmet mask. Although there were many variations in carving styles and local practices due to their large population, their significance in performing the rituals was still felt by the Sande society (Schulze 1). In the Sande society, when women reached puberty, the initiation process begun. The goal of the initiation process was to teach young women some of the responsibilities of an adult Mende woman. These Mende girls are taught to be modest in behavior as well as being hardworking. During initiation ceremonies, The Mende women used to wear masks as a show of courage and determination. This was also to demonstrate to the young girls that they are entirely welcome into adulthood. The already initiated girl is then given a unique mask just for her that is carved from a section of a trunk of a tree. In most cases, the carving was made from cotton tree. Before the mask is carved, the woodcarver is let wait until he hears a scream from the girl as she undergoes

Cultural and Teamwork Map and Self Reflection Essay Example for Free

Cultural and Teamwork Map and Self Reflection Essay 1. Introduction and Purpose Sharing of knowledge across the border is becoming very widespread phenomenon. Companies are well aware that hidden in their disperes, global operations is a treasure trove of ideas and capabilities for innovation(Wilson Doz, 2012). Therefore, working with multicultural groups is getting more and more common very rapidly since last decade. However, in global teams, team memebers have different feed back techniques, different uniqueness levels and different communication patterns. People belonging to different cultures have difference in values, geography, ethencity,belief system and lauguage. These difference can lead to cuture clash . In this paper I am writing about where I find myself in a cultural and team work map and my reflections about my placement thereon. I have judged myself with reference to my placement in high and low context  cultures, cultural paradigm , my preffered and performed roles in my team keeping in mind Belbin‘s team roles and my position in Johari window. Purpose of this assignmnet is to judge where I find myself right now in a cutural map in context of team work and to bring improvement in myself if I am away from the normal scale .The actual purpose of this assignment is to save me from cultural clash by giving a chance to get self-awareness and to make us conscious about behaving accordingly for future interactions. Just like these two rivers in the below mentioned picture are merging, people from different cultures should merge the same way. These two rivers have different native base but after merger nobody can find any clash between them. 2. Self-assessment Below mentioned is my self assessment and reflections thereon. 2.1 First impression My first impression on my team members was that I am trust worthy. When asked, they answered that they made this impression from my body laungauage and my tone of voice. I believe that my such impression was made because of my uniqueness levels i.e. personality culture and human natur. After practicaly working with them my group as well as me have assessed that I focused on working collectively as i believe collectivism is the key to group success. 2.2 Assessment with reference to Communication Patterns On the cultural map I find my self as the person who works better in the middle of high and low context. l worked more better after every next team meeting because in meetings we discussed our desired outcome by spoken words and I shared all my ideas and problems with my team. Secondly, I was not fully relying on what was shared among us through emails. But I cannot say that I am just a high conext person because, contrary to high context couumincation patterns, I wanted detailed information about the assignment and I used direct speech during the whole correspondance .It helped me to exchange ideas quickly . Looking further into communication pattern ,I find myself as a person who is more task oriented than people oreinted.I prefer to do work first.Relations are aligned after task completion. In gropu, I only talked about assignment till the work is finished. After submition of assignemnt I discussed my personal things and hobbies with them. My time orientation is ploy cronic. I was working on the assignment as well as I was seeing the others part also. More over, I was comparing my work with the wok done by other groups in the class. I kept on updating the absent team mebers about activities (relevent to assignment) conducted in class through a social network simultaneously. Hence I can say that my communication pattren is neither high context nor low context.Its somewhere in the middle of both. 2.3 Assessment regarding Placement in Belbin’s team roles My preferred team role is team worker. The reason of saying so is that I remain mild and gentle. I like to work in depth but I am not willing to work in pressure and tried to avoid working under stressful situations. I played the role of team worker in practical. We revised the work plans many times  initialy and I accepted that without much resistance which indicates that I am easy to be influenced. I remained mild and friendly. I worked on that part of assignment which required extensive out of the box research and long working hours. My second preference is the role of resource investigator. I always look to find smart opportunites or methods to get work done effectively, efficiently and economically. I performed the role of resource investigator in passive manner in the group. I was enthusiastic in suggesting my fellow colleagues which part of assignment should be done by whom. I also shared few articles with them.I guided one memeber about how he can do his part more accuratly. However I was little over optimistic because we spent alot more hours on assignment then i initially predicted. My third preference was to perform the role of Shaper because I am having tendencies to fit things into frame and strives to get the action start immediately. However I could not execute this role in my group as the assignment work was very dynamic and it was being revised too quickly. Secondly, one of my fellow colleagues was performing this role better than me. My third performed role was of finisher. I proof read the document many times, found the errors and gave ideas to team members to revise few workings. I was not willing to rely on other team members for final proof reading and I was worried for the acuracy of assignment. I focused to create a balance in three roles that I performed in group and tried to avoid overlapping. However team worker was the frequently performed role. 2.4 Johari Window The Johari Window, named after its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is a model that provides a dynamic framework for understanding and improving self-awareness. Helping one to become more self-reflective, to learn about oneself, and to become more therapeutic is an exercise in self-awareness(South, 2007). In the context of Johari window, my arena (open area), has increased and I became aware of blind spots. Eventually my hidden areas are disclosed. During the group work, I experienced that my open arena has been gradually broadened and my blind spot has been subsequently decreased after every next working step. 3. Conclusion The combination of roles i.e. two from people oriented frame (resource investigator and team worker) and one from task oriented frame (shaper)  shows that I am not on any of extreme on cutural map. On the culture paradigm, I find myself on the middle, niether too weak nor too strong. I can infer that I am flexible, observant and non-judgmental. l Communicated respect and sake knowledge and understanding. I am in the last stage of confrontation and entring into adjustment phase. I am passing through W-model quickly because of level of education and support from family and network i.e. swede friends.In Johari’s window, my arena has broaden which indicates that I am more self aware after completion of group assignment. Bibliography Wilson, K. Doz, Y.L. (2012). 10 Rules for Managing Global Innovation. Harvard business review, 85 (10), 84-90. South, B. (2007). Combining mandala and the Johari Window: An exercise in self-awareness. Teaching Learning in Nursing,2 (1), 8.

Educational Preparation Essay Example for Free

Educational Preparation Essay Difference in Competencies Between Associate and Baccalaureate Degree Nurses There is much controversy surrounding the issue of the difference in competencies between nurses educated at the Associate (ADN) and Baccalaureate (BSN) level. This paper will discuss those differences in relation to Professional values, and risk-taking propensity. This paper will discuss how, even though numerous studies have been done that show there is little difference between the competencies of ADNs and BSNs, there is, in fact, a distinct difference. No one can deny that the health care industry has come a long way. This does not exclude the nursing field. There is a huge push by the Magnet hospitals to maintain that 80% of their nursing staff carry baccalaureate degrees by the year 2020. This is due to changes in the healthcare delivery system, as well as cost-containment (Masters, 1989). While baccalaureate prepared nurses have better access to jobs as new graduates and are looked at as being better prepared for the clinical workforce, until they have been working in the clinical sector there is really no difference between the experience level of an associate or baccalaureate prepared nurse. There is also a gray area, because graduates of both levels of education take the same licensing exam, and also have the same legal responsibilities (Masters, 1989). In the article â€Å"Analysis of Differences in Entry-Level RN Practice by Educational Preparation†, June E. Smith states that there was a very close relationship in pattern of practice between recently graduated Associate and Baccalaureate nurses (2002). She also wrote that â€Å"Within the first 6 months of practice, ADN and BSN graduates performed activities with remarkably similar frequencies† (Smith, 2002, p. 494). It is shown in the article â€Å"Professional Values Held by Baccalaureate and Associate Degree Nursing Students†, that there have been â€Å"no significant differences found between the two groups† (Martin, 2003, P. 292). This particular study was done out of a random selection of graduating students from a number of baccalaureate and associate degree programs in the state of Texas. These nurses rated their professional values using the Nurses Professional Values Scale (NPVS), as taken from the 1985 American Nurses Association Code of Nursing (Martin, 2003). Findings of this study concluded that â€Å"senior nursing students in ADN programs did not differ significantly from their counterparts in BSN programs† (Martin, 2003, p. 293). According to Marcia L Masters, role differentiation between ADNs and BSNs is not â€Å"clearly defined in terms of decision making responsibility† (1989, p. 391). In this same article, Masters quotes W. Weiss (1985), â€Å"Taking risks means different things to different people.† One person may look at a situation as a challenge for success, where another will look at it as a threat of failure. Through the course of this study, it was found that nurses had a higher risk taking propensity than the normal population, but there were no significant differences in risk taking propensity noted between the ADNs and BSNs studied. This includes both education and experience. â€Å"Although in practice, BSNs may be given more opportunities for decision making, this study indicated the willingness to take the risk in making decisions is fairly evenly distributed between ADNs and BSNs† (Masters, 1989, p. 394). Contrary to what these studies have shown, there is a distinct difference in the competencies of ADNs and BSNs. According to the National League of Nursing (NLN, 2011), a baccalaureate degree expands on the knowledge and capabilities acquired in an associate program. Where associate programs focus on the patient and their family, baccalaureate programs tend to focus more on community nursing and leadership. There is a broader context of nursing that is learned in a baccalaureate program. In the article â€Å"The Differences Between Associate Degree Nurses and the Baccalaureate Degree Nurses†, The author states â€Å"a nurse with a BSN has more opportunities to work in a variety of health care settings that offer an extensive array of op portunities for professional growth. Baccalaureate-prepared nurses can be bedside nurses, educators, case managers, discharge planners, administrators, and work in public health, home health, and community clinics† (Moore, 2009). She continues to explain how associate prepared nurses are focused more on the technical aspects of care, where Baccalaureate prepared nurses are focused more on â€Å"evidenced-based clinical practice and leadership† (Moore, 2009). Moore also agrees that in skill competency, there is not much difference between ADNs and BSNs, but that â€Å"BSN nurses show greater critical thinking skills, better problem solving, and the development of clinical judgment; three skills of increasing importance for the increase in acuity of patients in hospitals and other health care settings† (2009). As a new graduate ADN, the author of this paper has insufficient experience to identify a specific patient care situation in which approaches to decision making may differ between associate and baccalaureate prepared nurses. It comes to light from research, however, that a baccalaureate prepared nurse is more competent in thinking on the fly. As stated earlier, baccalaureate prepared nurses have improved clinical judgement and problem solving skills, which are crucial in an emergency or trauma situation, where the patients have a higher acuity level. It seems that as far as newly graduated nurses are concerned, there is not much of a difference in bedside skill competencies between ADNs and BSNs. A baccalaureate degree, however, better prepares the newly graduated nurse for critical thinking, problem solving and better judgment in emergency situations. A baccalaureate degree gives the nurse more opportunities for advancement and movement within the nursing field, and also prepares the BSN for graduate study. This is important especially when it comes to the nation’s hospitals movement toward Magnet Status. References 1. Martin, P., Yarbrough, S., Alfred, D. (2003). Professional Values Held by Baccalaureate and Associate Degree Nursing Students. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Third Quarter, 291-296. Retrieved January 19, 2013, from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=cmedmAN=14562499site=eds-livescope=site 2. Masters, M., Masters, R. (1989). Risk-Taking Propensity of Nurses: ADN and BSN. Journal of Nursing Education, 28(9), 391-396. Retrieved January 14, 2013, from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=rzhAN=1990100566site=eds-livescope=site 3. Moore, D. S., PhD., RN., CNM., MN., MPH. (n.d.). West Coast University: Deans Corner The Differences Between Associate Degree Nurses and the Baccalaureate Degree Nurses. West Coast University Nursing Programs Los Angeles, Orange County, Inland Empire. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from http://www.westcoastuniversity.net/deanscorner/print.php?article=22 4. Ridley, R. (2008). The Relationship Between Nurse Education Level and Patient Safety: An Integrative Review. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(4), 149-156. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=rzhAN=2009885996site=eds-livescope=site 5. Smith, J. (2002). Analysis of Differences in Entry-Level RN Practice by Educational Preparation. Journal of Nursing Education, 41(11), 491-494. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=rzhAN=2003013823site=eds-livescope=site

Introduction Of Copd Health And Social Care Essay

Introduction Of Copd Health And Social Care Essay Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a group of chronic and progressive respiratory disorders that are characterized by an airway obstruction with little or no reversibility. Damage to the lungs continues to make breathing gradually more difficult over time. Two clinical conditions often associated under the diagnosis of COPD are chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which obstruct or limit airflow into the lung fields. Chronic bronchitis is the presence of chronic productive cough for three months in each of two consecutive years in a patient in whom other causes of chronic cough have been excluded. Emphysema is an abnormal permanent enlargement of the air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles, accompanied by destruction of their walls and without obvious fibrosis (Lewis, S., Heitkemper, M., Dirksen, S., OBrien, P., Bucher, L., 2007, p. 629). Most patients diagnosed with COPD suffer from both pathological conditions, but manifestations can vary significantly from patient to patient. According to Medline Plus (n.d.), Your airways branch out inside your lungs like an upside-down tree. At the end of each branch are small, balloon-like air sacs. In healthy people, both the airways and air sacs are spring and elastic. When you breathe in, each air sac fills with air like a small balloon. The balloon deflates when you exhale. In COPD, your airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy, like a stretched-out rubber band (Medline Plus, n.d., para.2). These disease processes affect the bronchi, bronchioles and lung parenchyma with predominance on distal airway. COPD is a growing health problem not only in the United States, but also worldwide. In 2005, approximately one in 20 deaths in the United States had COPD as the underlying cause. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for at least 75% of COPD deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008, para.1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also estimates that there are over 119,000 deaths, 726,000 hospitalizations, and 1.5 million hospital emergency department visits are caused by COPD annually(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009, para. 2). Even more alarming are the statistics world-wide. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2007), revealed that currently 210 million people have COPD and 3 million people died of COPD in 2005. WHO predicts that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030 (World Health Organization, 2009, para.3). With statistics this rampant, what exactly are the manifestations that cause COPD? Etiology/Prognosis: There are several causes of COPD. Of all potential inhaled pollutants, cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor thought to contribute to COPD. Patients with a history of smoking a pack per day, over forty years, are especially predictive of COPD development. Exposure to passive cigarette smoking, air pollution, occupational hazards such as dust or fine particles (coal or silica dust, asbestos) and childhood respiratory disorders such as severe viral pneumonia can also contribute to the development of COPD. The elderly, patients with a low body weight and clients with a history of alcohol abuse are also susceptible. Prognosis of COPD is highly dependent upon the degree to which the patients breathing is affected and the ability to manage dyspnea, the ability of the heart to oxygenate other body systems. It is also dependent upon how damaged the lungs are upon diagnosis and if they are able to continue to oxygenate the blood without difficulty. Early diagnosis of COPD can help identify predisposing factors; such as smoking, and help provide a better prognosis through smoking cessation and deep breathing exercises to help ensure that the disease does not progress. A late diagnosis, that has affected the patients ability to perfuse vital organs, can result in organ failure on multiple levels and prognosis can be very grim. Further evaluation may be needed to determine the full extent of damage from lack of tissue perfusion. Pathophysiology: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease can be a result of chronic bronchitis and emphysema. An enlargement and multitude of mucous glands are produced with chronic bronchitis, resulting in an increased mucous production and a characteristic cough. Apart from the amount of mucous produced; the quality of the mucous also becomes more viscous in nature, making it harder for the patient to expel. Accumulation of excess mucus causes airway obstruction in the peripheral airway and therefore an increase in airway resistance. Lymphocytes, neutrophils and macrophages also accumulate which can lead to fibrosis or a formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lung fields as an attempt to repair the area. Emphysema results in large part from an enlargement of airspaces distal to terminal bronchioles. The loss of elasticity of the lung tissue and the closure of small airways is due to the destruction of the alveolar walls. When the connective tissue is destroyed in the alveolar walls, protease is released, further destroying elastin and inhibiting the ability of the alveoli to recoil. Protease affects structural integrity of the alveolar wall. In a healthy individual, the ability of the alveoli to recoil helps to maintain the patency of the airway lumen, especially during expiration. With COPD, there is airflow limitation due to loss of alveolar attachments, inflammatory obstruction of airways and obstruction of the terminal branches with mucus. Airways begin to narrow due to the inflammation, resulting in a loss of elastic recoil and loss of alveolar attachments. Ciliary function in COPD is also abnormally impeded. Cilia in the airway wall normally acts as a force to help thrust mucus or other foreign bodies toward the trachea for expulsion from the body. This function is often impeded by the thick and firm mucus often seen with chronic bronchitis. Lack of ciliary function increases the risk of recurrent infections in the lungs due to accumulation of these foreign particles within the lung fields. Destruction of the alveoli and profuse mucous accumulation destroys the ability of the body to deliver oxygen, resulting in hypoxia. The patient suffering from COPD often struggles to breathe and hypoxic-related dyspnea systemically affects other areas of the body ofte n leading to pulmonary hypertension and heart problems such as heart attacks and right-sided heart failure. Patients with COPD are more prone to respiratory infections, lung cancer and depression. Signs and symptoms of COPD usually do not occur until significant damage to the lungs and other body systems have occurred. Signs and Symptoms: Patients with COPD usually present with signs and symptoms of both emphysema and chronic bronchitis to include a continuous hacking-type cough that produces a thick mucus which is often hard to expectorate. Patient may also complain of significant shortness of breath that presents particularly with exercise or exertion. Clients may also complain of difficulty sleeping with constant fatigue and an abrupt, unplanned weight loss. Patients typically also present with rapid breathing, barrel-like distention to chest and will sit often in a tripod position, leaning forward with arms braced against their knees, chair, or bed. This gives them leverage so that their rectus abdominus, intercostals, and accessory neck muscles all can aid in expiration (Jarvis, C., 2008, p. 449). Due to lack of oxygen the patient might also present with cyanosis of the skin, wheezing and chest tightness, with possible signs and symptoms of respiratory infection. Patients with COPD can also experience exacerbatio ns, which are periods or episodes where the patients COPD symptoms can suddenly worsen. Exacerbations can be caused by influenza, infections or exertion. Other contributing factors include a rapid change in humidity or temperature, exposure to smoke or other pollutants, allergens and dust. According to report from the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) (2009), COPD can be broken down into four various stages to include: Stage I: mild COPD: Characterized by mild airflow limitation predicted. Symptoms of chronic cough and sputum production may be present, but not always. At this stage, the individual is usually unaware that his or her lung function is abnormal. Stage II: moderate COPD: Characterized by worsening airflow limitation with shortness of breath typically developing on exertion, with a productive cough. This is the stage at which patients typically seek medical attention because of chronic respiratory symptoms or an exacerbation of their disease. Stage III: severe COPD: Characterized by further worsening of airflow limitation, patient experiences an even greater degree of shortness of breath, reduced exercise capacity, fatigue, and repeated exacerbations that almost always have an impact on patients quality of life. Stage IV: very severe COPD: Characterized by severe airflow limitation with the presence of chronic respiratory failure. Respiratory failure may also lead to effects on the heart such as cor pulmonale (right heart failure). At this stage, quality of life is very appreciably impaired and exacerbations may be life threatening (GOLD Report, 2009, p.4). With the varying manifestations in the progression of the disease, providers must take into account the assortment of challenges and medical interventions necessary in the treatment of COPD. COPD: Medical Interventions Diet Plan: Needs and Modifications: Individuals with COPD have overall muscular weakness, including the respiratory muscles, that relates to systemic inflammatory process in the lungs. Diet is an important factor to take into consideration, especially in the elderly because the risk for malnutrition increases. COPD and malnutrition go hand in hand, malnutrition and a low BMI of Individuals who are underweight have an underlying problem that relates to an increased metabolism and the breakdown of essential nutrients for energy requirements. In these individuals it is best to modify their eating habits, with frequent breaks to decrease fatigue. It takes a lot of energy to metabolize food, breathing and eating become harder, [the individual] may have to choose between taking a gasp of air or a bite of food (ONeill, 2004, para. 3). For those who are overweight, the problem as it relates to COPD is due to excess abdominal fat. Abdominal fat prevents the diaphragm from expanding completely, which causes a decrease in oxygen availability. This decrease in oxygen compromises the cardiovascular system due to the inadequate amount of oxygen being delivered to the heart and throughout the body. Both malnourished and obese individuals need to monitor weight, food and fluid intake daily. According to Peggy ONeil (2004), intake of fluids, calories, protein, calcium and potassium all play a role in protecting immunity and easing breathing (ONeil, 2004, para. 8). The American Lung Association states that the metabolism of each [nutrient] requires a different amount of oxygen and produces a different amount of carbon dioxide. Metabolism of carbohydrates produces the most carbon dioxide for the amount of oxygen used; metabolism of fat produces the least (American Lung Association, 2010, para. 3). Good sources of fat should come from unsaturated fats such as nuts, olive oil, soy and avocados. Protein is essential for muscle repair and assists in the healing process when an infection or injury occurs. ONeil recommends that generally two cups of milk plus six ounces of protein from other sources each day provide four servings of high-quality protein, good sources of protein, which is adequate for someone with COPD (ONeil, para. 12). Potassium is found in fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats [and are] key to control blood pressure, muscle contraction, and nerve impulses transmission. Normal serum potassium levels help with optimal muscle contraction to aid breathing (ONeill, para. 15). Excessive need for increased nutritional intake is imperative for the adequate daily functioning and maintenance in the COPD client. In order to facilitate sufficient digestion and proper absorption of food the patient should remain upright after meals to prevent the stomach from pushing on his diaphragmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦limit intake of carbonated beveragesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and to consume] soft, easy-to-chew foods to prevent him from becoming short of breathe while eating (ONeil, 2004, para. 16). Consumption of clear fluids should be encouraged to prevent dehydration and also to help thin mucous secretions. Appropriate Medications and Diagnosis: Although there is controversy over the amount of oxygen to give a patient with COPD, it is generally understood that the long term use of oxygen therapy improves survival, exercise capacity, cognitive performance, and sleep (Lewis et al., p. 640). There are various ways that oxygen therapy can be administered to a patient with COPD. In hospitals the most precise delivery of oxygen therapy is through the use of the venturi mask, however most patients prefer to use the nasal cannula. The structure of the nasal cannula allows the patient to perform daily activities such as eating and talking without interrupting oxygen delivery. When oxygen therapy is used in conjunction with smoking cessation it improves the patients quality of life by increasing the amount of available oxygen and increasing systemic perfusion. Depending on the severity of COPD, bronchodilators such as beta2-antagonist, anticholinergic, and methylxanthine (Lewis et al., 2007, p. 639) will be given to relax the smooth muscles of the airway, and to increase gas exchange. These medications can be administered as an inhalant or by the oral route. For those experiencing moderate-to-severe COPD, glucocorticoid therapy may be combined with a bronchodilator to decrease inflammation of the airways. Inhaled glucocorticoids are preferred over oral glucocorticoids for long term treatment, because oral treatments can lead to adrenal insufficiency and Cushings syndrome. (See Appendix A). Patient should expect to experience improved oxygen utilization. Diagnostic Tests and Lab Work: Pulmonary functions test measures the intake and output of air in the lungs and is used to confirm the diagnosis of COPD. There are four components to pulmonary function testing, [which consist of]: spirometry, postbronchodilator spirometry, lung volumes, and diffusion capacity (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Diagnosis, 2010, para. 3). Also, there are many diagnostic studies that support the diagnosis of COPD, such as chest x-rays, arterial blood gases, echocardiogram and electrocardiogram (ECG) (Lewis et al., p. 638). X-rays are not the preferred method of diagnosing COPD since it cannot pick up abnormalities until COPD is in the later stages. Arterial blood gases are performed to monitor the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. In individuals with COPD typical findings are low PaCO2, elevated PaCO2, decreased or low-normal pH, and increased bicarbonate (HCO3) levels (Lewis et al., 2007, p. 638). COPD can cause right sided heart failure related to pulmonary hypertension so patient should be monitored regularly by ECG and echocardiogram. As discussed earlier, changes in the lungs are related to smoking, toxins in the environment or occupation. In order to identify the causative effects of these toxin, clinical trials are being conducted to development new diagnostic tests that are aimed at identify early neoplastic changes in the lung. For example, advanced imaging techniques such as the PET scan is able to reveal metabolically active nodule [that are] highly indicative of malignancy (Petty Miller, n.d. p. 7), that could not be found with prior diagnostic tests. Also, a tissue autofluorescence, which is an enhanced bronchoscopy technique, can indicate a high likelihood of malignancy (Petty Miller, p. 7) in the lung tissue, that cannot be seen in a CT scan or chest X-ray. Hopefully, these clinical studies as they become available to the general population, will not only identify acute changes in the lung structure in advance, but also could potentially assist in finding a cure for lung diseases. Treatment and Treatment Options: Medications can make COPD patients more comfortable, but there is no overall curative treatment. The disease itself extends beyond the airways and lungs to include other body systems, (Barnett, 2008, p. 30). The goal in treatment is aimed at the controlling the symptoms involved in these various areas of the body and to reduce the inflammatory response in the lungs. To do this, the patient will need to modify their diet and lifestyle habit to prolong the quality of their life. As discussed earlier, emphysema and bronchitis constitute the disease known as COPD. The management and treatment of these two diseases is necessary for the patient to live a quality life. The medical treatments used to treat COPD was reviewed earlier, there are also non-pharmacological treatment options available that slow the progression of the disease and the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. One non-pharmacological treatment option is pulmonary rehabilitation. The goal of this treatment is to: break the vicious cycle of increasing inactivity, breathlessness and physical de-condition, and improving exercise capacity and functional status as well as improving individual patients self-management skillsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Pulmonary rehabilitation is conducted by physiotherapist and respiratory nurses. Each session is based on the patient exercise tolerance and consists of one to two sessions a week for about an hour, for 6-8 weeksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ then followed by an educational component to enable to the patient to make lifestyle changes to help them cope better with living with COPD (Barnett, p. 31). There are various energy conservation techniques that a patient can use to improve the quality of available oxygen. Often COPD patients struggle to breathe. The overall goal of the following energy conservation techniques is to help the patient breath better and to improve activities of daily living by relieving the distressing symptoms that accompany COPD. According to Barnett (2008), these techniques are: Exhale during strenuous part of an activity and use pursed lips to reduce to work of breathing, alter strenuous activities with easier tasks, place items within easy reach, to reduce bending and stretching for items, If needed, use aids and equipment such as electronic wheel chairs and to sit down to perform many of the daily activities (Barnett, 2008, p. 32). With a healthy individual, there is a low residual of air that remains in the lung. With the COPD patient, the volume of trapped air is increased and therefore decreases oxygen exchange within the lungs. Stress reducing techniques can help relax the patient. Therefore the patient can exhale the excess retained carbon dioxide and inhale even greater amounts of saturated oxygen with each new breathe. Hence, the efficiency of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange is improved. Individuals should be updated on immunizations, even more so if a patient has COPD. According to the CDC (2010) adult immunization schedule, patients with chronic lung disease are required to have one annual influenza and one or two pneumococcal inoculations within the patients lifetime (CDC, 2010, p. 2). If the patient becomes infected with influenza or pneumonia, damage to the lung fields can be exacerbated if not treated quickly and can possibly lead to death. COPD: Holistic Assessment of Patient Scenario: Mr. Johnson is a 73 year old male who has presented to the Emergency Department for the third time this week with dyspnea. Patient has been smoking a minimum of one pack per day for the past 46 years. Patient is currently on two liters of supplemental oxygen at home via nasal cannula and states that he cannot seem to catch his breath. Mr. Johnson is leaning over the side of the bed in tripod position, gasping with supraclavicular retractions noted on inhalation. As a nurse, what do you think could be wrong with your patient? Physical Assessment Upon further evaluation, the nurse notices that Mr. Johnson also has a non-productive hacking-type cough that has persisted throughout the triage process. Mr. Johnson complains, I just cannot seem to get this thick mucus up out of my throat and I feel like I am suffocating, like I cannot catch my breath! Patient appears to be bracing himself over the side of the chair in a tripod position. The nurse is a waiting for the provider to place orders in the computer for the clients chest x-ray. A venturi mask is placed on the patient and oxygen delivery is set to be administered at three liters of oxygen per minutes. This intervention successfully alleviates the patients rapid and shallow respirations, as well as the circumoralcyanosis. Upon auscultation the nurse notices diminished lung sounds over the left and right lower lung fields with auditory wheezing upon exhalation. The nurse also notices a barrel-like distention to the patients chest. The nurse begins to take the patient to radio logy and abruptly stops as the patient begins to weep inconsolably. What could be the likely factor associated with the emotional reaction exhibited with the patient? Psychosocial Assessment: To make an accurate assessment of the patients psychological reaction, the nurse casually begins to inquire about the patients daily activities. The patient divulges to the nurse that he has lost his job, is no longer able to care for himself and feels a sense of guilt that he has become burdensome on his family members. Patient states, I have a loving family, but feel as though they would be better off without me. I know I shouldnt feel this way, but I have been depressed and feeling lonely for some time now. The nurse recognizes that the patient is displaying signs of depression, low self-esteem and lack of autonomy with loss of control over his personal life. The priority nursing interventions for this patient should include a referral to a mental health agency and community outreach programs that can assist the patient to meet the psychological strains produced by his current health situation. The patient then covers his face and whispers in a soft undertone, I cannot even afford to pay for my groceries, much less this visit! How can I afford this referral? With this statement in mind, what priority nursing assessment should the nurse consider? Socioeconomic Assessment: Mr. Johnson is one of many faces dealing with the strains and financial hardship associated with COPD. The overall costs of COPD are overwhelming. According to the Harvard University (2008), the annual cost to the nation for COPD (emphysema and bronchitis) is approximately $32.1 billion, including healthcare expenditures of $18.0 billion and indirect costs of $14.1 billion (Harvard University: Healthcare delivery- Deconstructing the costs, 2008, para 58). The global statistics are even more astounding. According to the American College of Chest Physicians (2003), the global direct yearly costs of chronic bronchitis and COPD patient was $1876. The cost generated by the patients with COPD was $1,760.00 [per patient/year/costs], but the cost of severe cases ($2,911 per year) [per patient/year/costs] was almost double that of mild cases ($1484 per year) [per patient/year/costs] (Miravitlles, Murio, Guerrero, Gisbert, 2003, p.786). With these statistics in mind, what are some of the teac hing points that a nurse can utilize to assist the COPD patient? Health Teaching and Community Resources: The nurse must take in various considerations when assisting the COPD patient. How well is the patient able to tolerate activity? Does the patient suffer from dyspnea related disturbance in their sleep pattern? What are the patients physical or financial resources? A patient that has a hard time meeting monthly utility bills is far less likely to be compliant with a medical regime. The nurse should focus on trying to coordinate social work service to help the patient to meet healthcare needs. If the patient has a family member, how does this affect his or her role if they are primary breed winner in the family? Interview should point out any psychological stressors that may be affecting the patient and should determine if therapy may be required. Primary education should focus on convincing the patient to quit smoking. Inform the patient to keep up to date on immunizations such as annual flu and pneumonia vaccines. Patient should compliantly take prescribed medications and avoid second-hand smoke or exposure to other irritants such as dust, smog, extreme heat or cold and high altitudes, pollutants that can exacerbate symptoms. COPD patients must increase fluid intake to decrease viscosity of mucous secretions in addition to maintaining an adequate nutritional status to facilitate extra nutritional requirements. Diets should be low in saturated fat and should include various fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Highly emphasize to the patient that use of oxygen therapy should be only used as directed and control of respirations with pursed lip technique. Direct the patient to take frequent breaks to minimize fatigue. Pacing of activities throughout the day will minimize undue stress on the lungs. It may be necessary to coordin ate follow-up appointments for the patient; however signs and symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing or the desire to lean forward to aid in breathing will warrant an earlier visit. A trip to the emergency room will be necessary if the patient starts to have sudden, severe shortness of breath, or if they become lightheaded, weak, faint or experience chest pain with a rapid, irregular heart rate. Conclusion Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a progressive and debilitating disease process that wreaks havoc on the patients cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Management of COPD can be maintained and symptoms minimized through adequate diet interventions, medication regimens, completing diagnostic exams and lab tests. Though COPD is a preventable disease, the realistic nature of the disease process requires a nurse that is knowledgeable, caring and sympathetic to the patients overall needs.

Dahmers Confession :: essays research papers

On Wed., 7-24-91, I, Det. KENNEDY on Squad 126, while interviewing the suspect in this offense, that being one Jeffrey L.. DAHMER, spoke to him in regards to the fact that he had knowledge to whether or not the acts he was comitting were right or wrong. At this time, Mr. DAHMER stated that he was fully aware that the acts he was colTiflitting were wrong and that he feels horrified that he was able to carry out such an offense. He stated that it is obvious that he realized that they were wrong because he went to great time and expense to try to cover up his crimes. He stated that he used quite a bit of caution by setting up alarm systems in his apartment, that being In the outer door, the sliding door leading to his hallway bathroom and bedroom, and his bedroom door. He stated that he set up a fake video camera and told other homosexuals that he had brought to his apartment that it automatically turned on if his door opened up without the alarm being turned off. He stated that this was all done in order to keep people from entering into his apartment and discovering the evidence of his criminal act. He also stated that he drank excessively to try to forget the nlghtmre he felt he was living as he remembered the horror of some of the acts that he performed. He stated that he is deeply remorseful now for what he had done and wished that he had never started. He stated that he is not sure why he started committing these offenses and feels that in order to make restitution to the families of those he has killed, that he would like to help the police In any way that he can by trying to identify his victims. Report dictated by Oct. Patrick KENNEDY. PK/rc 7-24-91 On Tuesday, 07-23-91, I, Detective KENNEDY, of Squad 126, while investigating the above incident and filing reports down on the 4th fi., of the CIB, was given a message, by the head jailer in LUCAD, that the suspect in this offense, one Jeffrey_DAHMER, had requested to speak with me again. At this time I proceeded to the 5th fl., LUCAD lock up, where I went to the cell, where DAHMER, the suspect was sitting. At this time I asked if he had in fact requested to see me again, and he stated "yes I did". Dahmers Confession :: essays research papers On Wed., 7-24-91, I, Det. KENNEDY on Squad 126, while interviewing the suspect in this offense, that being one Jeffrey L.. DAHMER, spoke to him in regards to the fact that he had knowledge to whether or not the acts he was comitting were right or wrong. At this time, Mr. DAHMER stated that he was fully aware that the acts he was colTiflitting were wrong and that he feels horrified that he was able to carry out such an offense. He stated that it is obvious that he realized that they were wrong because he went to great time and expense to try to cover up his crimes. He stated that he used quite a bit of caution by setting up alarm systems in his apartment, that being In the outer door, the sliding door leading to his hallway bathroom and bedroom, and his bedroom door. He stated that he set up a fake video camera and told other homosexuals that he had brought to his apartment that it automatically turned on if his door opened up without the alarm being turned off. He stated that this was all done in order to keep people from entering into his apartment and discovering the evidence of his criminal act. He also stated that he drank excessively to try to forget the nlghtmre he felt he was living as he remembered the horror of some of the acts that he performed. He stated that he is deeply remorseful now for what he had done and wished that he had never started. He stated that he is not sure why he started committing these offenses and feels that in order to make restitution to the families of those he has killed, that he would like to help the police In any way that he can by trying to identify his victims. Report dictated by Oct. Patrick KENNEDY. PK/rc 7-24-91 On Tuesday, 07-23-91, I, Detective KENNEDY, of Squad 126, while investigating the above incident and filing reports down on the 4th fi., of the CIB, was given a message, by the head jailer in LUCAD, that the suspect in this offense, one Jeffrey_DAHMER, had requested to speak with me again. At this time I proceeded to the 5th fl., LUCAD lock up, where I went to the cell, where DAHMER, the suspect was sitting. At this time I asked if he had in fact requested to see me again, and he stated "yes I did".

Spanish Conquistadors: Heroes Or Murderers :: essays research papers fc

Spanish Conquistadors: Heroes or Murderers "The Indians in the first fatal decades of the white man in America were conquered because they could not conceive what it was that the white man was after, and what manner of man he was." (The Indians of the Americas, p97) This misconception, was that the Indians could not imagine was that the Spanish Conquistadors would come to the Americas and brutally murder men women and children in the name of a god. They could not see how a group of people could follow such a god. The Spanish conquistadors raped the American natives of their naiveness. The Spanish conquistadors took away the Indians right to their way of life and their land. Living in the United States of America, it's hard to imagine a group of people coming into our country, and taking our land. But this event has already happened, almost 500 years ago. The people who dominated the United States before the Spanish invasion roamed among a 2 large continents. Today the Indians are restricted to reserves or â€Å"reservations†. Their land has been taken from them, and little if any was given in return. The people who live among these reservations try to preserve the â€Å"old way of life.† Another thing taken from the Indians of Americas was their way of life. One thing almost all people hold close to their heart is their way of life whatever it may be. The Indians however were persecuted for their beliefs and either killed or converted to the â€Å"Spanish Catholicism† or many other varying ways of life. This conversion did not take place peacefully. Many resisting Indians died for their cause. The Indians of the Americas could no longer hunt and gather food freely. Nor could they farm just for their community. Strong men were taken as slaves either to Hispaà ±ola (Modern Day Haiti), Cuba or taken back to Spain. Such slaves were often worked to death, because of the seemingly endless supply of American Indians. Other Indians were forced to pay tribute to the Spanish by working on farms to feed the invaders when they themselves were barely nourished enough to live. Some American Indians went so far as to commit mass suicides and not to have children, because they knew their fate if they were to go on living or to bring another child into the world only to see him or her worked to death (Collier, 63). Another very important factor in the demise of Native American Indians was disease, the native Americans had no immunity to the European diseases.

Poetry :: Poem to a friend

To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph In the poem "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph", Anne Sexton alludes to the flight of Icarus and Daedalus and to "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing" to convey a message to a friend. I think this poem was written to reassure a friend that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps a father figure of the friend advised her to do something and she defied him, making herself feel worried that she did the wrong thing. William Butler Yeats once wrote a poem titled "To a Friend Whose Work has Come to Nothing". It was a poem believed to be written to reassure a friend that what she ended up doing was a noble thing even though in reality she failed her original task. The title of Sexton's poem is an obvious allusion to Yeats' poem. Sexton changed "Nothing" to "Triumph" in her title. Sexton's friend must have been a fellow poet to be able to catch the allusion to Yeats' poem. I believe she wanted her friend to know that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps she compared her friend to Yeats' friend. Sexton wrote "Think of the difference it made!" referring to Icarus' flight. She might have wanted her friend to realize a difference her defying her father made. The final line of the poem has a comparably different tone than the first 13 lines. The last line, "See him acclaiming the sun and come plunging down while his sensible daddy goes straight into town.", seems more mocking of Daedalus' flight. It seems that Sexton feels that Daedalus' flight was a wasted chance and was in no way adventurous. She might also be comparing her friend to Icarus, seeing as he too failed his initial task but accomplished something greater on a global scale. I believe Sexton thought that Icarus' flight was not foolish or a failure, but adventurous and a great personal success, even though his satisfaction and personal glory was short-lived.

Assessing the Role of Motivation on Employees

thr ole CHAPTER 1- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The main purpose of this study was to† assess the role of work motivation on employee performance†. This study in an assessment of this purpose used deductive approach in which a qualitative survey was carried out among employees of different companies. The survey was intended to get their responses on what they feel is (are) the best factors that could motivate them as employees among a list of ten motivational factors.In this light the study sets to identify the most ranked factors among the ten motivational factors. The analysis from the empirical findings showed that Job satisfaction† was the most ranked factor for both sub groups that made up the sample survey. However a study from previous researches used in this study showed that different results could be obtained from different groups of already working employees.This study therefore can be seen as an introduction to a more detailed study to be carried by future research ers on the field of employee’s motivation. CHAPTER 2- INTRODUCTION * Background When looking at factors that affect job satisfaction, I find that Agency theory might be helpful as it explains the extent to which organizations need to think of their human resource responsible in producing the output needed by organizations to meet shareholders value.Agency theory is concerned with issues related to the ownership of the firm when that ownership is separated from the day-to-day running of the organization. It assumes that in all but owner- managed organizations the owner or owners (known in agency theory as the â€Å"principal†) of an organization must vest authority to an â€Å"agent†-corporate management- to act on their behalf. The principal recognizes the risk, here and act on the assumption that any agent will look to serve its own as well as the principal interests as it ulfils it contract with that principal. However, this is not the situation in real life s ituation. As all agents are perceived to be Opportunistic. These approaches are to examine the problems of human exchange derived from the field of finance and economics but they are often applied to the study of shareholders Risk Management (SHRM). Agency theory is therefore used to analyze this conflict in interest between the principal (shareholders of organizations) and their agents (leaders of these organizations).Whereby the â€Å"Agents† in keeping with the interest of the shareholders and organizational goals turn to use financial motivational aspects like bonuses, higher payrolls, pensions, sick allowances, risk payments, perks to reward and retained their employees and enhance their performance. There is a strong lobby propounding the view that human resources and their management are the source of competitive advantage for the business, rather than, say, access to capital or use of technology.It is therefore logical to suggest that, attention needs to be paid to th e nature of this resource and its management as this will impact on human resource behavior and performance and consequently the performance of the organization. Indeed Boxall and Steeneveld (1999) argue that there is no need to prove the relationship between firm critical influence on performance and labour management as it is self evident that the quality of human resource management is a critical influence on the performance of the firm.Concern for strategic integration, commitment flexibility and quality, has called for attention for employees motivation and retention. Given this perception, the principal in an organization feels unable to predict an agent’s behavior in any given situation and so brings into play various measures to do with incentives in other to tie employee’s needs to those of their organization. Thus getting employee’s identification with respect to the organization, and thus increasing their commitment level.As an approach to mediate the employment contract, elements of human resource strategy (especially those to do with rewards and retention) can offer a way of ensuring an efficient transaction process that enables both parties to get committed towards the fulfillment of each other needs. The fundamental problem, dealt with is what drives or induces people to exploit their potential resources in the way they do in organizations? The issue of motivation and performance are they positively related?By focusing on the financial aspect of motivation problem like bonus system, allowances perks, salaries, etc. By paying attention to the financial aspect of motivation, I intend to probe in to the role this aspect has on enhancing employee’s performance. I believe, financial motivation has become the most concern in today’s organization, and tying to Mallow’s basic needs, non-financial aspect only comes in when financial motivation has failed. Though in some situation, it is being operated side by sid e.But as a research topic for my thesis I will employ the financial aspects of motivation used by the agents of organization in enhancing their employee’s performance and the extent to which non-financial aspects of motivation turn to enhance employee’s performance. To evaluate the methods of performance motivation in organization in organizing some motivational factors like satisfies and dissatisfies will be used to evaluate how employees motivation is enhanced other than financial aspects of motivation. Problem Statements As a research question, the research seeks to answer what role motivation plays in enhancing performance in organization. This will be possible through analysis of information gathered from students. Hence this thesis is mainly quantitative. * Objectives In trying to find an answer(s) to the research question and on the basis of the above background discussion and research question, the main purposes developed for this thesis is to assess the factor s that motivate employees to perform best at work.This is done by carrying out a survey in which respondents responding to a survey, ranked the least two most important factor on a list of ten factors, and how these factors influence them. * Limitations and Demarcations The limitation is being considered in relation to the natural explanation to which the researcher has limited the study and the active choices to limit the study area that is financial motivation as a determinant of performance. The study is limited to existing theories and models, and their influence and limitation on performance enhancement.By considering the financial and non-financial aspect of motivation on employees’ performance relating to existing theories and models, I intend to mark a demarcation for the study. Here I have considered limitation in line with the research objective that is the study is limited. I believe that with the changing nature of the work force, recent trends in development, inf ormation and technology, the issue of financial motivation becomes consent on one of the most important assets in an organization.A lot has been said on the outside forces of an organization. This research considers the inside forces as a starting point. Ideally, a study of all the explanatory variables will be considered appropriate in order to capture the interactive influences of other variables and thus be able to come up with holistic and generally more acceptable results, of financial motivation and performance. * Definitions Motivation: Motivation by definition refers to what activates, directs human behavior and how this behavior is sustained to achieve a particular goal.Also it can be defined as the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behavior towards attaining some goals. Jones (1955) argues that† Motivation is concerned with how behavior gets started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, and is stopped and what kind of subjective reaction is present in the organization while all this is going on. † Role of financial motivation: The potential role of money is – (1) Conditioned reinforce (2) An incentive which is capable of satisfying needs (3) An anxiety reducer (4) Serves to erase feelings of dissatisfactionEmployee satisfaction: This refers to the positive or negative aspects of employee’s altitude towards their jobs or some features of the job. Organizational Goals: A concept, which refers to the focus of attention and decision-making among employees of a sub-unit. Organizing: This involves the complete understanding of the goals of organization, the necessity of proper co-ordination, and the environmental factors that influence the goals and employees within the organization. Employee attitudes: Mental state of readiness for motive arousal.Performance: the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it; A performance comprises an even t in which generally one group of people (the performer or performers) behave in a particular way for another group of people. Efficiency: The ratio of the output to the input of any system. Economic efficiency is a general term for the value assigned to a situation by some measure designed to capture the amount of waste or â€Å"friction† or other undesirable and undesirable economic features present.It can also be looked as a short run criterion of effectiveness that refers to the ability of the organization to produce outputs with minimum use of inputs. CHAPTER 3- Literature review * What is motivation? According to Greenberg and Baron (2000) this definition could be divided into three main parts. The first part looks at arousal that deals with the drive, or energy behind individual (s) action. People turn to be guided by their interest in making a good impression on others, doing interesting work and being successful in what they do. The second part referring to the choic e people make and the direction their behavior takes.The last part deals with maintaining behavior clearly defining how long people have to persist at attempting to meet their goals. Reinter (1995), Buford, Bedeian &Linder (1995), Higgins (1994) all cited in Linder (1998,) defined motivation as â€Å"the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction, a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific unmet needs, an unsatisfied need, and the will to achieve, respectively. Young (2000) suggest that motivation can be defined in a variety of ways, depending on who you ask .Ask someone on the street; you may get a response like â€Å"it’s what drives us† or â€Å"it’s what makes us do the things we do. † Therefore motivation is the force within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work. † Halepota (2005) defines motivation as â€Å"a person’s active partic ipation and commitment to achieve the prescribed results. †Halepota further presents that the concept of motivation is abstract because different strategies produce different results at different times and there is no single strategy that can produce guaranteed favorable results all the times. Antomioni (1999), â€Å"the amount of effort people are willing to put in their work depends on the degree to which they feel their motivational needs will be satisfied. On the other hand, individuals become de-motivated if they feel something in the organization prevents them from attaining good outcomes. It can be observed from the above definitions that, motivation in general, is more or less basically concern with factors or events that moves, leads, and drives certain human action or inaction over a given period of time given the prevailing conditions.Furthermore the definitions suggest that there need to be an† invisible force† to push people to do something in return. It could also be deduced from the definition that having a motivated work force or creating an environment in which high levels of motivation are maintained remains a challenge for today’s management. . This challenge may emanate from the simple fact that motivation is not a fixed trait –as it could change with changes in personal, psychological, financial or social factors.For this thesis, the definition of motivation by Greenberg & Baron (2003) is adopted, as it is more realistic and simple as it considers the individual and his performance. Greenberg &Baron defines motivation as:â€Å"The set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain human behavior towards attaining some goal†. (Greenberg &Baron, 2003) Bassett-Jones &Lloyd (2005,) presents that two views of human nature underlay early research into employee motivation. The first view focuses on Taylors, which viewed people as basically lazy and work –shy†, and thus held that these set of em ployees can only be motivated by external stimulation.The second view was based on Hawthorn findings, which held the view that employees are motivated to work well for â€Å"its own sake† as well as for the social and monetary benefits this type of motivation according to this school was internally motivated. * Motivational theories Even though much research been conducted on the field of financial motivation and many researchers and writers have proposed theories on the concept of financial motivation, and its role in enhancing employee’s performance in every organization some of these models have been widely used and accepted by today’s organizations leaders.In this thesis discussion on some of the motivational theories will include Alders (ERG theory), Maslow (Need theory), Vrooms (Expectancy theory), Adams (Social equity theory), Taylor (productivity theory), Herzberg (Two factor theory), Mac Gregory (theory X and Y), Geogopalaus (path goal theory) and skinn er (Reward theory). To better understand this discussion a summary of the theories is presented and an indebt discussion on Maslow and ERG theories on which I base my thesis overlooked.Alder asserts in his Existence relatedness and growth theory commonly known as the ERG theory that there are three basic human needs: Existence, relatedness and growth, which must be meet by an employee to enable him, increase performance. Maslow (1943) suggests that human needs can be classified into five categories and that these categories can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance. These include physiological, security, belongings, esteem and self-actualization needs. According to him a person is motivated first and foremost to satisfy physiological needs.As long as the employees remain unsatisfied, they turn to be motivated only to fulfill them. When physiological needs are satisfied they cease to act as primary motivational factors and the individual moves â€Å"up† the hierarchy and se ek to satisfy security needs. This process continues until finally selfactualisation needs are satisfied. According to Maslow the rationale is quite simple because employees who are too hungry or too ill to work will hardly be able to make much a contribution to productivity hence difficulties in meeting organizational goals.Vroom (1964) proposes that people are motivated by how much they want something and how likely they think they are to get it he suggest that motivation leads to efforts and the efforts combined with employees ability together with environment factors which interplay’s resulting to performance. This performance interns lead to various outcomes, each of which has an associated value called Valence. Adams (1965) on his part suggests that people are motivated to seek social equity in the Rewards they receive for high performance.According to him the outcome from job includes; Pay, recognition, promotion, social relationship and intrinsic reward . to get these rewards various inputs needs to be employed by the employees to the job as time, experience, efforts, Education and loyalty. He suggests that, people tend to view their outcomes and inputs as a Ratio and then compare these ratios with others and turn to become motivated if this ratio is high. Taylor (1911) observed the soldering by employees, which is a situation whereby workers work less than full capacity.He argued that soldering occurs due to the fact employee’s fear that performing high will lead to increasing productivity, which might cause them to lose their jobs. This slow paces of work where promoted by faulty systems however this situation is not what prevails with contemporary employees who organizations evaluate them through their performance. Herzberg suggested that there are factors in a job, which causes satisfaction. These he called intrinsic factors (motivators) and other factor he refers to as dissatisfies (hygiene factors).According to him if the motivation al factors are met, the employee becomes motivated and hence performs higher. Mac Gregory suggested that there exist two sets of employees (lazy and ambitious employees) with lazy employees representing theory X, hard and ambitious workers representing Y. According to him the lazy employee should be motivated to increase performance in an organization. Geogopalaus path Goal theory of motivation states that, if a worker sees high productivity as a path leading to the attainment of one or more of his personal goals, he will turn to be a high producer.But if he sees low productivity as the path leading to the attainment of his goal he will turn to be a low producer and hence needs to be motivated. This discussion on the above motivational theories explains the fact that the concept of employee’s motivation has been a critical factor addressed by previous authors as what determines the core competence of every organization in achieving a competitive position. Skinner who propound ed that any behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated supported this view. The term motivation has been used in numerous and often contradictory ways.Presently there appears to be some agreements that the crucial thread that distinguishes employee’s motivated behaviors from other behavior is that it is goal directed behavior, Bandar (2000P223) argues that the core of motivating individuals lies in the goal-directed aspect of behavior. Jones suggested â€Å"motivation is concern with how behavior gets started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, is stopped and what kind of subjective re-action is present in the organization while this is going on. The process egins because of tension within drives or needs of an employee. Next there is a search within the company or groups or within employee to fulfill his desires. When the employee is satisfied with his financial motivation he redefines his desires and needs and the process is initiated again. These groups of resea rchers were over the years divided into what was later labeled the content and process theories of motivation. Steers, mow day& Shapiro (2004) the process generated during this period, makes this period referred to as â€Å"the golden age of work motivation theories†. Never before and, some would argue, never since has so much progress been made in explicating the etiology of work motivation† (steers et al. ) Bassett-Jones & Lloyd (2005) suggests that the â€Å"content theorists led by Herzberg, assumed a more complex interaction between both internal and external factors, and explored the circumstances in which individuals respond to different internal and external stimuli. On the other hand, process theory, where victor Vroom was the first exponent considers how factors internal to the person result in different behaviors.From the focus point of these two groups, one could observe that the process theories attempt or try to understand the thinking processes an indivi dual might go through in determining how to behave in a workplace. The primary focus was on how and why questions of motivation, how certain behavior starts, developed and sustained over time it is true that human behavior in general is dynamic and could affect the individual’s personal altitude as well as factors surrounding that individual.These exogenous factors eminent from the environment in which the individual operates generate stimuli to employees. It is my belief that employees in general are goal seeking and look for challenges and expect positive re-enforcement at all times. Hence it could only be of benefit if organizations could provide these rewards and factors. Though I have discussed earlier in this thesis that employees are financially motivated, motivation could be seen as a moving target, as what motivates differs among different people.And may even change for the same person over a given period of time, developments within the modern organization has proba bly made motivating employees ever more difficult due to the nature of every individual, behavior increasing the complexity of what can really motivate employees. Bassette-jones & Lloyd (2005) â€Å"expectancy, equity, goal setting and reinforcement theory have resulted in the development of a simple model of motivational alignment. The model suggests that once needs of employees are identified and organizational objectives and also satisfy employee needs .If poorly aligned, and then low motivation will be the outcome†. According to (Wiley, 1997) â€Å"modern approaches to motivation may be organized into three related clusters: (1) personality-based views (2) cognitive choice or decision approaches and (3) goal or self-regulation perspective; where personality-based views emphasize the influence of enduring personal characteristics as they affect goal choice and striving. Workplace behavior is posited to be determined by persons current need state in certain universal need category.Cognitive choice approaches to work motivation emphasize two determinant of choice and action; expectations, and subjective valuation of the consequences associated with each alternative. These expectancy value theories are intended to predict an individual choice or decision. Goal framework to work motivation emphasize the factors that influence goal striving which focuses on the relationship between goals and work behavior. The assumption is that an employee’s conscious intentions (goals) are primary determines of task-related motivation since goals direct their thoughts and action†.It is worth noting that an in-depth review of all the different theories mentioned above, is beyond the scope of this thesis. However, the personality-based perspective of work motivation within which Maslow need theory of motivation and Alders ERG theory falls will provide the main support and serve as a foundation for the research reported in this thesis. Specifically, as organi zational scholars have paid a great deal of attention to the idea that people are motivated to use their jobs as mechanisms for satisfying their needs.This project intend to use Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory of motivation as a foundation to identify the factors that motivate today’s employees, and in the process determine a ranking order off actors that motivates these employees, the original Maslow theory will be looked at more detail hereof. * History and Explanation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need Theory The â€Å"motivation to work† published by Maslow probably provided the field of organizational behavior and management with a new way of looking at employees job altitudes or behaviors in understanding how humans are motivated.Probably the best-known conceptualization of human needs in organizations has been proposed by this theory. Abraham Maslow was a clinical psychologist who introduced his theory based on personal judgment, which was generally k nown as the need hierarchy theory. According to him if people grew in an environment in which their needs are not met, they will be unlikely to function as healthy individuals or well adjusted individuals. This idea was later applied to organizations to emphasize the idea that unless employees get their needs met on the job, they will not function as effectively as possible.Specifically Maslow theorized that people have five types of needs and that these are activated in a hierarchical manner. This means that these needs are aroused in a specific order from lowest to highest, such that the lowest-order need must be fulfilled before the next order need is triggered and the process continues. If you look at this in a motivational point of view Maslow’s theory says that a need can never be fully met, but a need that is almost fulfilled does not longer motivate.According to Maslow you need to know where a person is on the hierarchical pyramid in order to motivate him/her. Then yo u need to focus on meeting that person’s needs at that level (Robbins) According to Greenberg and Baron (2003,) the five needs identified by Maslow correspond with the three needs of Alderperson ERG theory. Whereas Maslow theory specifies that the needs be activated in order from lowest to highest Alder’s theory specifies that the needs can be activated in any order. His approach is much simpler than Maslow’s.Alder specifies that there exist three main needs as opposed to five postulated by Maslow. This human basic needs include existence, relatedness and growth. These needs according to Alder need not necessarily activated in any specific order and may be activated at any time. According to him Existence needs corresponds to Maslow’s physiological needs and safety needs. Relatedness needs corresponds to Maslow’s social needs and growth needs corresponds to esteem and self-actualization needs by Maslow.Below is a summary of these needs that in this thesis are divided into Deficiency needs(psychological, safety, social needs) and Growth needs (esteem, self-actualization needs). Factors Explanation 1. Physiological needs are the need at the bottom of the triangle and include the lowest order need and most basic. This includes the need to satisfy the fundamental biological drives such as food, air, water and shelter. According to Maslow organizations must provide employees with a salary that enable them to afford adequate living conditions.The rationale here is that any hungry employee will hardly be able to make much of any contribution to his organization. 2. Safety needs this occupies the second level of needs. Safety needs are activated after physiological needs are met. They refer to the need for a secure working environment free from any threats or harms. Organizations can provide these need by providing employees with safety working equipment e. g. hardhats, health insurance plans, fire protection etc. The rationale is th at employees working in an environment free of harm do their jobs without fear of harm. . Social needs: This represents the third level of needs. They are activated after safety needs are met. Social needs refer to the need to be affiliated that is (the needed to be loved and accepted by other people). To meet these needs organizations encourage employees participation in social events such as picnics, organizations bowling etc 4. Esteem needs this represents the fourth level of needs. It includes the need for self-respect and approval of others. Organizations introduce awards banquets to recognize distinguished achievements. . Self-actualization: This occupies the last level at the top of the triangle. This refers to the need to become all that one is capable of being to develop ones fullest potential. Most research on the application of need theory found that although lower-level managers are able to satisfy only their deficiency needs on the jobs, managers at the top level of org anizations are able to satisfy both their deficiency and growth needs (Greenberg &Baron2003) this view was supported by Shipley &Kiel (1988)Shiply &Kiel (1988) argue that as â€Å"need satisfaction is an attitude, and that it is perfectly possible for a worker to be satisfied with his/her need, but not be motivated the reverse of which holds equally true. Hence, need satisfaction and motivation are not synonymous and both need fulfillment and un- fulfillment can have negative as well as positive influence on motivation. * Organizational /managerial Applications of Maslow’s Need theory The greatest value of Maslow’s need theory lies in the practical implications it has for every management of organizations (Greenberg & Baron 2003).The rationale behind the theory lies on the fact that it’s able to suggest to managers how they can make their employees or subordinates become self-actualized. This is because self-actualized employees are likely to work at their maxi mum creative potentials. Therefore it is important to make employees meet this stage by helping meet their need organizations can take the following strategies to attain this stage 1. Recognize employee’s accomplishments: Recognizing employee’s accomplishments is an important way to make them satisfy their esteem needs.This could take the form of awards, plagues etc†¦ According to (Greenberg & Baron 2003, p197) research carried out in GTE Data services in Temple Terrace, Florida shows that awards are given to employees who develop ways of improving customer’s satisfaction or business performance. But it should be noted that according to Greenberg &Baron awards are effective at enhancing esteem only when they are clearly linked to desired behaviors. Awards that are too general fail to meet this specification. 2. Provide financial security: Financial security is an important type of safety need.So organizations to motivate their employees need to make them fi nancially secured by involving them in profit sharing of the organization. In a research carried out with AT&T and Wang showed that 50% of their employees received financial outplacement services to assist laid-off employees in securing new jobs. 3. Provide opportunities to socialize: Socialization is one of the factors that keep employees feel the spirit of working as a team. When employees work as a team they tend to increase their performance.Research conducted on IBM shows that it holds a â€Å"family day† picnic each spring near its Armonk, New York headquarters. 4. Promote a healthy work force: Companies can help in keeping their Employees physiological needs by providing incentives to keep them healthy both in health and mentally. In a research carried out at the Hershey Foods Corporation and Southern California Edison Company showed that Employees are provided with insurance rebates with health lifestyles while extra premiums were given to those with risk habits like smoking. * Criticisms of Maslow’s Need theory of motivationMaslow proposed that if people grew up in an environment in which their needs are not meet, they would be unlikely to function healthy, well-adjusted individuals. Research testing Maslow’s theory has supported the distinction between the deficiencies and growth needs but showed that not all people are able to satisfy their higher-order needs on the job. According the results of the research managers from higher echelons of organizations are able to satisfy both their growth and deficiency needs lower level managers are able to satisfy only their deficiency needs on the job.Maslow’s theory has not received a great deal of support with respect to specific notion it proposes (Greenberg &Baron 2003, p195). To them this model is theorized to be especially effective in describing the behavior of individuals who are high in growth need strength because employees who are different to the idea of increasing their growth will not realize any physiological reaction to their jobs. Centers &Bengal (1966) in their survey carried out among a cross-section of the Working population in Los Angeles, posited â€Å"background factors, altitudes and aspirations Affects workers needs, expectations and situation assessment†.According to Graham & Messner (1998) there are generally three major criticisms directed to the need theory and other content theories of motivation. (A) There is scant empirical data to support their Conclusions, (b) they assume employees are basically alike and (c) they are not theories of Motivation at all, but rather theories of job satisfaction. This was supported by the views ofNadler & Lawler (1979) in Graham &Messner (2000). Nadler & Lawler (1979) cited in Graham & Messner (2000) were also critical of the need theory of motivation.They argue that the theory makes the following unrealistic assumptions about employees in general that: (a) all employees are alike (b) all s ituations are alike and that (c) there is only one best way to meet needs. Another critic to this view was Basset-Jones & Lloyd (2004). Basset-Jones & Lloyd (2004, p 961) presents that in general, critics of the need theory argue that it is as a result of the natural feeling of employees to take credit for needs met and dissatisfaction on needs not met.Nonetheless and regardless of the heavy criticism levied at the hierarchy of need theory, I believe that this theory has a made a significant contribution in the field of organizational behavior and management especially in the area of employee motivation and remains attractive to both researchers and managers alike. The incorporation of the need theory into the work environment today could be as a result of the contributions made so far by Maslow’s Hierarchy of need theory. Empirical studies on employee motivation using the original and Adapted Maslow’s model If any person has to come up with the question that is there any need for employees motivation? The answer to this type of question of-course should be simple-the basic survival of every organization is it public or private limited before, today and in the foreseeable future lies in how well its work force is motivated to meet the objectives of the organization. This explains why the human resource department in today’s organization is became a focus of its core functions.I think that motivated employees are needed in this rapidly Business world where the principal-agent conflict is the issue confronting most managers. Most organizations now consider their human resources as their most valuable assets (a strategic or competitive advantage). Therefore, in order to effectively and efficiently utilize this strategic asset, I believe managers and the organization as a whole must be able and willing to understand and hopefully provide the factors that motivate its employees within the context of the roles and duties they perform.This is bec ause highly motivated employees are the cause of high productivity levels and hence higher profits for the organization. Having noted this rationale the next question one may ask are what factors motivated today’s employees†? According to Wiley (1997, p265) at some point during our lives, virtually every person may have to work. He claims that working is such a common phenomenon that the question â€Å"what motivates people to work is seldom asked.Wiley went on to say that â€Å"we are much more likely to wonder why people climb mountains or commit suicide than to question the motivational basis of their work†, therefore, exploring the altitudes that employees hold concerning factors that motivate them to work is important to creating an environment that encourages employee motivation. From the much amount of literature available on employee motivation, it is clearly evident that a lot of surveys regarding employees and what motivates them have been undertaking. These employee motivation surveys have been conducted in many different job situations, among different categories of employees using different research methods and applications. One of the very first survey to be conducted was on industrial workers by (Hershey & Blanchard, 1969) over the years, similar or different survey employees have been carried out see (Kovach, 1987, 1993) (Wiley, 1995), (Lindner, 1998, 1999) According to a research carried out by Kovach on industrial employees who were asked to rank ten â€Å"job rewards† factors based on personal preferences where the value 1 represented most preferred and 10 being the least preferred.The results were as follows (1) full appreciation of work done (2) feeling of being (3) sympathetic help with personal problems 4) job security (5) Good wages and salaries (6) interesting work (7) promotion & Growth (8) employees loyalty (9) Good working conditions (10) tactful discipline. During the periods of (1946, 1981 & 1986) when e mployee surveys were carried out, supervisors were at the time asked to rank job rewards, as they taught employees would rank them.The rankings by the supervisors were relatively consistent for each of the years. These rankings were as follows: (1) Good wages (2) Job security (3) promotion and Growth (4) working conditions (5) interesting work (6) personal loyalty to employees (7) tactful discipline (8) full appreciation (9) sympathetic help with personal problems (10) recognition (Kovach 1987) The results from the supervisor survey indicated that their ranking had not changed over the study period with regards their collective perception of factors that motivate employees.This shows that they had a very inaccurate perception of what motivates employees but also that they did not realize the importance of the need theory. In a survey by Wiley (1997, p. 278) in which approximately 550 questionnaires were administered to person employed at different industries and divided into 5 subgr oups, or categories namely: (occupation, gender, income levels, employment status and age) they were asked to rank 10 factors according to the level of importance each is in motivating them to perform best with the most important factor ranked 1 and the least important ranked 10th.The survey concluded with the following collective rank order by respondents: (1) Good wages (2) full appreciation of work done (3) job security (4) promotion (5) interesting work (6) company loyalty to employees (7) Good working conditions (8) tactful discipline (9) recognition (10) sympathetic help with personal problems.The results from a representative sample of the labour force in seven different countries by Harpaz (1991) showed that the two most dominant work goals were â€Å"interesting work† and Good wages†; He further concluded that these two factors were consistent across different organizational levels, between genders and age groups. Quinn (1997) also cited in Harpaz (1991 p. 311) concluded, â€Å"When the ratings of twenty three job related factors (including the need factors) were carried out, the conclusion reached was that no single factor was pre-eminently important†.He further pointed out that, â€Å"The most aspect of the worker job was that of sufficient resources to perform a task. From the above studies presented so far, the rankings by different subgroups have shown semantic differences in the importance placed on different motivational factors. For example (Kovach, 1987, Wiley, 1997 and Harpaz, 1990) . The discrepancies in these research findings supports Nelsons (2001) positional view that â€Å"what motivates employees differs and may change for the same employee over time†.It is appropriate at this level to give a brief summary of the previous researches in this thesis. Even though the original need hierarchy theory was presented some 50 years ago, some of its if not all factors remain of significant importance to employees toda y. The large number of earlier and recent studies investigating employee motivation using sometimes the original or modified version of Maslow’s theory, may continue the appreciation of this theory and the issue of employee motivation.The literature also shows that where the original theory was lacking (short comings or criticized for), has been greatly taken into consideration. Researchers have taken issues such as differences in gender, age, income, culture & countries etc and how these may affect or influence employee work motivation extensively. The commonality between these previous researches is the agreement that certain factors are more important as motivational factors than others and that these factors may change from one employee to another.These previous studies have also been taken using different methods, from surveys, questionnaires, face-face interviews, but their outcomes have not differed significantly. A possible explanation could be due to the fact that ev en though these studies were carried out using different methods and target population, the motivator’s factors remain same. The literature used in this thesis covers a wide range of time period, highly relevant and useful for addressing the purpose of this thesis. CHAPTER 4- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY * MethodIn order to form a background and to give the reader an appropriate direction of focus of my work, I have put forward and motivate the choices I have made when working on this research. Thus all the issues raised in this chapter should form the basis for evaluation of the result in the light of how I have planned and carried out the work. * Choice of Subject In a rapidly evolving environment, where skills and capabilities continuously play a vital role in the creation of shareholders wealth and values, firms must be able to learn fast and adapt regularly.So as to attract, retain and integrate their workers with respect to new challenges of globalization and technological adva ncement. Ensuring that their workers can construct and share strategically valuable knowledge. Organizations must be able to arouse, directs and sustained human behavior to achieve organizational goals and meet shareholders value many organizations have failed to link employee’s interest to those of the organizations and as such, employees and employers job contract has become unstable, with higher labour turn over.Thus I have chosen to write on this topic because traditional tangible assets (employees) have become less important than intangible knowledge -based assets (technology). I believe, a study like this one could form the bases for the evaluation of company motivational strategies, and thus a quorum for future research and organizational adjustments.The emergence of the knowledge economy is one of the most dramatic shifts to have taken place in society since the industrial revolution, with the impact of the World Wide Web I address the belief that, with the current tr end of globalization, labour turnover demands more part times to full time jobs, companies need to continuously measure and evaluate their motivational strategies with respect to labour turnover and the number of new applicant and hence think on how to enhance performance.Having worked back home, with some organizations where I served as an intern, I realized that some employers were misunderstanding the concept of motivation. The work environment was not conducive and in most situations, the environment was tense with little or no job satisfaction employer’s turn to look upon financial motivation as the only aspect of motivation, which can be used to enhance every employee’s performance. Thus, I thought of the issue of employee’s motivation of a research interest.Thus when the issue of a C-level thesis came to my mind I reflected on my past experience with my former employers with motivation being a point of focus. I believe the result and recommendation could serve some other organizations and open up opportunities for further research. We may agree that in reality most if not all organizations consider their employees to be the most valuable resources since the other factors of production can easily be obtained due to globalization.Researchers for example Pfeiffer (1998), cited in (Whittington and Evans, 2005) suggested â€Å"perhaps the only remaining source of sustainable competitive advantage is through people†. This in other words suggests that the effective and efficient management of this human resource has and will continue to be of increasing importance possibly for all organizations. Thus, the subject of this thesis was based on the increase importance of people within all kinds of organizations.That is to identify if financial motivation is the sole factor pushing today’s employees to go the extra mile and give their best at work, and in so doing provide a rank of all other factors that can push employees to best performance. Aspiring as a future manager, the findings of this thesis will not only help me understand what motivates employees in different works of life, but also an advantage for my future managerial abilities and capabilities. * PerspectivePerspective in terms of a research study can be considered as the starting point of the research study . it more or less clarifies from which direction the researcher(s) studies the problem at hand and how he or she plans to interpret the research findings in reality. The choice of perspective usually has a strong connection with the purpose of the research and most often than not influences the choices of methods and theories needed to carry out the research (Reed, 2006).The general perspective in this thesis is broadly from USBE student’s point of view as employees and future employees. That is to identify what motivates employees to do best at work. This perspective is taken with the hope that results of this thesis could act as gu ide that would help organizations retain their most valuable resource and hopefully reap the rewards of a motivated work force. This thesis will provide a collective rank order of motivational factors among employees, taking the perspective of the employees is considered to be appropriate for this thesis.Writing a research like this one requires every researcher to take a stand and have a view of knowledge. Here, I have taken my stand or perspective for this research with respect to two folds. An academician and a businessperson can often view problem interpretation differently. Here the perspectives I have taken reflect my interpretation and findings of the problem at hand. Thus, my overall objective is â€Å"To assess the role of work motivation on employee’s performance†.Thus my perspective is that of performance enhancement in relation to financial Motivation and to judge if other motivational factors can as well enhance employees’ performance. * Preconcepti on Individual’s preconceptions are their ideas that exist regarding different phenomenon. According to the Cambridge advanced learners dictionary, preconception is an idea or opinion formed before enough information is available to form it correct (Reed, 2006, p1).This opinion is as a result of a complex pattern, which is usually influenced by a person’s practical experience, social background education, etc. Each and everyone decision values and behavior is affected by preconceptions for they posses it. It therefore undermines everyone complete objectivity especially when making observations. Rather than pursuing complete objectivity, I should instead be aware of such a phenomenon and let them not interfere in my decisions in an unreasonable manner.Preconceptions differ from individual to individual depending on for example experiences, education or previous scientific work. Education in its self forms a strong foundation for understanding, preconceptions. Preconcepti ons are socially founded, subjective opinions on the issues to be studied. The scientist preconceptions vary depending upon the parents, religion conviction, circle, and set of acquaintances, working places, social status. Some are deeply founded than others and as such are harder to change e. g. faith and politics.As a business student with previous economic background and work experience, my preconceptions will not only affect my findings and the conclusions made, but also the whole scientific process as noted earlier. Thus pure objectivity is very difficult to maintain in scientific research. To some extent, my findings reflects the values, my work is inevitably subjective and that it is important for me to give the reader knowledge regarding my background providing the reader with sufficient information against which the work research can be evaluated and understood.Preconceptions are the foundation upon which I have based all my following experiences and therefore the following experiences can be colored by our preconceptions. They are not just a built in memory; they affect me while I search from new knowledge and decide the approach that I have on the subject that am about to explore (Sarita N, and Ulrika Ronnholm (2004) Culture what are its effects). My preconceptions came from my previous studies and practical experience within the public sector in Cameroon and educational background.Having this in mind, my preconceptions (especially about the motivational importance of money) and how this might affect the study was questioned at great lengths Primarily because the empirical findings or results of this thesis will be based on the responses obtained from the questionnaires administered to the survey participants, which of course during the study period are not affected by my individual preconceptions. * Ideal Depending upon the way you choose to perceive the reality, a scientific research should be essential to give the reader knowledge on the research .This view should follow the theoretical and scientific choices of the study. They are two scientific ideals that emerge from the interpretation at hand; the positivism and the hermeneutic. These ideals are two extremes and the researcher may place him any way along the line. In my reflections upon the rule of financial motivation, I describe myself as an unreconstructed positivist, guided by the belief that employees are motivated financially to perform better. As a result, conclusions can be drawn about employees’ attitudes towards financial motivation.These results in the generation of scientific knowledge base on generalized propositions that can be tasted against facts from which it is possible to Asses the rule of work motivation on employee performance. * Approach In this research, I will follow the deductive approach. Since it utilizes a wide range of existing theories and tries to find answers from existing research and findings about motivation and employees enhance ment, which I very much believe, will be use to form the basis to compare, analyze and investigate the findings of the research.The investigation will start from a sample questionnaire and various theories on motivation, and performance enhancement relating them to previous research. And then conclude by analyzing Results of the questionnaire ranking the motivational factors that is welcomed by employees towards their performance. Reed (2006,p1) suggest that,† empirical research generates knowledge derived from observation or experimentation as opposed to theory and that empirical research uses inductive reasoning to draw conclusions about the experimentation and observations †.In general, a study can be carried out using an inductive or deductive approach. Reed goes further to present that the inductive approach is â€Å"where specific observations or measurements are made in order to develop broader conclusions, generalization and theories. The deductive on the other hand, is â€Å"where one starts thinking about generalizations, then proceeds towards specifics on how to prove or implement the generalizations. * Research Method Basically, they are two main research methods and each method is employed and used depending on the research question at hand.Firstly, the qualitative method is where the goal is to widen the knowledge and the whole pre-understanding through field observations or in laboratories. The weakness of this method is the effect from the control of the phenomena, which will continue to change because of the scientific process. During the oral method, the interviewer should guide the conversation as little as possible. Through the language, the scientist and respondents could take part of each other’s thoughts by their own valuations and experience, for it ecomes easier for the scientist to gather information from the respondents. Qualitative research is by no means a new strategy or framework for doing social research (Ha milton, 1994; Vidich and Lyman, 1994). None-the-less, there has been a very considerable growth in the use and popularity of qualitative research since the early 1960s, which can easily convey the impression that it is of more recent origin than is in fact the case. It seems to imply any approach, which does not entail the collection and analysis of qualitative data.This view is generally regarded as unhelpful though it does have some currency, largely because for most writers and practitioners, it is viewed as being more than the mere absence of qualitative data. Quantitative methods on the other hand are based on already decided and well-structure questions, which all the respondents will be asked. The information is reduced to a certain area of interest and respondents will be repeated the same questions. This can be combined with open questions, which give the respondents the flexibility to answer from different perspectives.Quantitative and qualitative aspects may also be comb ined in the same study. They can complement each other by bringing width and depth into the research. A mix of qualitative and quantitative studies gave me the best ideal to follow as by focusing on secondary data, and previous research I intend to forge ahead with the research question. With my main objective, to achieve a deeper understanding of the chosen subject, this research will knowledge realized from articles written on the topic conducted in previous research.The combined approaches will be the most meaningful way to probe into the subject and assess the role of the financial aspect of motivation in enhancing employees’ performance. The major part of this thesis uses a quantitative method, as the aim is focus on gathering information or opinions about the many factors in a systematic manner (in this case a survey) in order to identify the factor that motivates today’s employees. However, a quantitative approach is considered most suitable when analyzing the r esults between the different subgroups of respondents as the results are mainly presented in figures. Collection The search among the students yields a considerable amount of literature (both books and scientific articles) concerning work motivation dating as far backs as the 1950s. To develop a strong theoretical background, several of these materials were utilized, which enabled me to select those that I considered most suitable for this thesis. The books and articles were found using the search engines and databases available at the Internet. From a review of literature, a survey questionnaire was developed to collect data for the study.The survey questionnaire developed included a list of ten factors that were adapted from previous researchers already mentioned in the previous discussions. During the study period, 100 surveys were administered to employees who represent the target population of this study. These typed questionnaires were all hand-delivered to participants, which were dropped in a box assigned for collection. My presence was only relevant for explaining some statements in the questionnaire that the respondents needed further explanation.The questionnaire asked participants to rank the surveys ten questions according to how important each is in motivating them as future employees to perform best at work. The most important factor was ranked 1and least important ranked 10. All factors were to be ranked and no rank could be used more than once. The participants were as well asked to indicate their; Name, Current age. The respondents filling the questionnaire found no major problem in understanding the question as they were asked the only major problem I realized although from a very small number of respondents, was that of ranking the factors.However, out of the 100 hundred questionnaires administered 75 responded questionnaires usable for this project (75%). The remaining 25% were those that were not refund by the respondents for various reas ons, which could not be, count for. In general, collecting data among employees was very interesting, as many of the respondents were happy making an assessment of their future employment situations. Therefore I consider the 75% response rate to be adequate and a good sample for this project. * SampleThe purpose of this project is to access the role of financial motivation in enhancing employee’s performance in organizations, utilizing Mallow’s hierarchy of need theory as a foundation in order to achieve this aim. The process through which this would be obtain is by allowing individuals to rank a given set of adapted motivational factors according to how important each is in motivating them as employees to perform best at work. I am of the view that by using a general survey method rather than interviews, it would be possible to overcome some of the major concerns of Mallow’s critics.As a result, a total of 100 questionnaires (see appendix for sample of administ ered questionnaire), were prepared and randomly administered among employees of different organizations. These questionnaires were distributed randomly in order to ensure maximum representation of all level of employees from different works of life and to avoid any possible biases. To ensure this, for example, the sample included employees from different age groups, regions and studying different field of programmers. * Choice of investigating factorsChoosing the investigating factors for a research is of great importance for the outcome of that study. The factors selected in this study are from a number of previous studies, enabling this thesis to accommodate a broader view of the existing literature. Therefore it is only necessary at this point to motivate my choice for adopting some factors for this thesis and not others. Firstly, the original plan was to undertake a case study of Company to assess the role of financial motivation on the performance of their employees, taking int o consideration my preconceptions.However, this did not materialize because of some understanding difficulties, for example, when I contacted through phone calls to carry out my study, I was told of the understanding difficulties. Therefore with a degree of counseling from my supervisor the decision was taking to instead carry out a general survey involving employees of various companies both private and public. Secondly, only four subgroups are considered in this project.These included (name and age) because I saw them as the most appropriate subgroups to be used for this project since the respondents to the survey included just students who could only be sub-divided for easy analysis of the results. Thus a third factor was to include the basis on which the selection for the factors was done to ensure validity in the results obtained from the analysis of the survey. Thirdly, the basis for selecting the ten factors in this project was that each factor must have been used by at least more than one previous research thus making the results and analysis of this thesis objective.Hence a discussion on what constitutes Deficiency needs and Growth needs was necessary as a fourth reason for the selection of investigating factors. Fourthly, it is worth noting that from the ten factors of need used in this study, three could be regarded as Deficiency needs for every employee (Good working conditions, job security, and nature of job). While the other seven could be considered growth needs for every employee (promotion and expectations, organizational/management style, recognition, satisfying goals, Good wages, team spirit, working hours).These factors were considered to be appropriate for this study. Finally, it is worth nothing that even though most of the target population of previous studies was specific group of employees, however most of the factors used were the same, though some were different. In this study, certain factors such as Good working conditions, workin g hours were not considered, as I did not find them highly relevant in this study, as their inclusion will only result in a pull of unnecessary data. * Data analysisAfter data were collected on all the factors, excel computer programme was used to present the results. The collective rank order was determined by entering the ranking given to each of the 10 factors in the survey questionnaire. After entering the rankings given to each factor by each respondent, the total or sum of all the rankings for that factor was totaled. The factor with the least or lowest sum, was ranked number 10 or the last factor and the factor with the highest sum was ranked 1 or first.The same procedure was used to analysis the ranking of factors between the different subgroups. This system of data analysis was found to be more appropriate as different participants gave a different ranking for the same factor, and this was the simplest method that I could use to present the results. * Quality of the researc h design Validity: Research design is often divided into three broad categories, according to â€Å"the amount of control the research maintains over the conduct of the research study†. Th