Asian Culture, Geography & Politics to understand Asia economies today

Winston Churchill once described India as a mere geographical expression that cannot be taken as a single country than the equator.It seems he was right  Ã‚   since there is no other country in the world that has embraced an extraordinary mixture of ethnic groups with incomprehensible languages living in a variety of topography and climates exhibiting varying cultural and religious practices with ranging levels of economic developments than India (Tharoor, 1997).This is what describes India. It is country with a mixture of ethnic groups which are held together by invisible threads which are like a myth, a dream or a vision held for generations.   India is a country with more than 940 million individuals from different ethnic backgrounds but living together in a land of snow peaks and tropical jungles.The country has more than 51 percent of its population illiterate but at the same time it has the world’s second largest pool in terms of trained scientist and engineers who h ave been the backbone of its economic growth.   India has teaming cities overflowing with people but four out of five Indians earn their living by scratching the soil.The culture religious life of the people is rich. It boasts with an ageless civilization which gave birth to four major world religions with different traditional classical dances which attract millions of tourist. The food and drinks culture cannot be compared to any other in the world with more than three hundred ways of cooking potatoes.We still don’t understand how, but the cultural life of India resisted two hindered years of  Ã‚   British culture imperialism to remain intact as it is today. From colonialism India has risen to become the world’s largest democracy with more than 85 political parties but all competing in one country.It is the combination of al the cultural, geographical, and political life of the people that has led to great economic development. To understand the soaring economy o f India, one has to understand the  Ã‚   contribution of the three spheres of life.Soaring economy of IndiaSince the country gained independent from British, it has been bracing to position itself in the world economy.  Ã‚   It has been improving its pace of economic development. In the last few decades, all the major cities in India have undergone radical infrastructural change which is in preparation for more economic development.The county has diverse economy which encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, modern industries existing along handicrafts, and a highly developed service industry.   The service sector has developed to be an important sector in the economic growth  Ã‚   with more that50% share of India’s output. But with less that a third of the labor force. Agriculture is another important sector which employs more than three fifths of the workforce.The economy has been recording a growth rate of more than 7% since 1997 which has led t o poverty reduction by more than 10%. In 2006 and 2007, the country achieved an economic growth of about 9.6%. From the 2007 estimates, the country has a GDP of about $2.965 trillion measured by the purchasing power parity while it stands at $894.1 billion measured by official exchange rate.   However due to the large population, the GDP per capita still remains low at $2,700.The service sector contributed 55% of the GDP with the industry sector following with 28.4% while the agriculture sector contribute only 16.6% but employing more that 60% of the labor force.   The rate of unemployment remains at 7.2% while 25% of the population lives below the poverty line (CIA world Fact book, 2004).India has the twelfth largest economy in the world and third largest in Asia after Japan and China. This has seen an emergence of a middle class of about 325-250 million people with a large disposable income. The growth of Indian economy has been contributed by enabling growth atmosphere contri buted by the political, geographical and political life of the country (Sankara, 2004).

Recognizing Organizational Culture in Managing Change Essay

In order to ask lots of questions about the influence of the social system, that is to say, the surrounding conditions of the organization on its ability to soak up like a towel and gain invention of new things, a having to do with figuring out. The quality of things without measuring them with numbers research was carried out to define the measuring tool for the most important things of this particular of surrounding conditions for the recognition and acceptance of e-learning in teachers or professors(Buć & Divjak, 2016). In the development of devices that make music, the examples of the development of devices that make music were used that are designed only for research in information sciences, such as for example, the development of a measuring instrument for evaluating the performance of e-Portfolio. It is generally admitted to that educational change benefits from a supportive surrounding condition. Cultural influences are a key issue when thinking about the invention of new things and change processes. Organizational culture is a key factor that influences instructional inventions of new things that the success of any something big and important that changes people’s thinking or lives effort may well depend on the extent to which organizational culture issues can be talked to(Zhu & Engels, 2014). Previous research has examined the influence of organizational culture on organizational inventions of new things. Studies point to new things is most likely to happen in organizations that have integrative structures draw attention to many different kinds of people or things, and team effort and teamwork. Yet the findings of the previous research are mixed with little believable information that proves something related to the role of specific organizational culture features in adopting instructional invention of new things in college. Students who come to a related to school and learning library meet with a variety of spaces that influence their learning and behavior. The library has two types of spaces which are shared and social. Shared spaces are places where students are involved in single, hardworking with schoolwork, and thoughtful study surrounded by other students. Students work at group and noisy work with other students in social spaces. The idea of library spaces for different types for different student needs and supports the idea which is that students need separate spaces for the types of learning and behavior connected with the ability to create interesting new things and invention of new things (Bieraugel & Neill, 2017). Ideas of library space when designing learning spaces in a library is extremely important to think about what types of behavior the design will bring out. Library design, as seen through the lens of the science of nerves and the brain, is interesting and suggests/says that library space is just like productive research surrounding conditions in helping the ability to create interesting new things and invention of new things. Bennett notes that Google, Twitter, Facebook, and other companies also aim to create productive research surrounding conditions within settings to help grow invention of new things and critical thinking be it in the lobby or a quiet corner. Environmental education can help increase problem-solving skills, very important thinking and action-oriented in relation to central and practical problems that are combined in nature(Fauville, Lantz-Andersson, & Sà ¤ljà ¶, 2014). Co-operative processes of question or investigation into an action on real related to surrounding conditions or the health of the Earth issues where students should be put in the position of active thinkers prepared to act in response to issues in partnership with fellow students. Such learning also involves understanding how to approach, plan and analyze complex issues and where to turn for clearly connected or related knowledge, and not only the reproduction of what is already known although in different difference fields of study. In such settings, student-active and problem-based instructional approaches have been argued as providing a good big picture in which to develop knowledge. So, the science of teaching and way of thinking behind environmental education can be thought of as challenging traditional approaches to schooling, which focus on learning of true knowledge presented in the classroom by the teacher in order to solve problems with an already existing, single and correct solution. Traditional education is also highly broken-up in terms of fields of study and is based on abstract problems, with students put in the rather allowing something to happen without reacting or trying to stop it a position of simply reproducing information and standard procedures.

Innovative Hr Practices to Maintain Work Life Balance of Employees

INNOVATIVE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES FOR MAINTAINING WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES Author – [pic] Mr. Virendra Gadiwar, Miss Puja Shedge & Prof. Poonam Vatharkar. INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 1. 1. Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 1. 2 Defining work life balance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. 3 1. 3 meaning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 2. 1 Importance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. Advantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. 3 Techniques influencing work life balance†¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 3. 1 How the survey help?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . 8 4. 1 Method of data collection†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 4. 2 Research Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 5. 1 Tabular Representation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 5 . 2 Diagrammatic Representation. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 6. FINDINGS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 7. CONCLUSION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 1. INTRODUCTION: 1. 1 Background The role of work has changed throughout the world due to economic conditions and social demands. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival. Throughout the years, the role of â€Å"work† has evolved and the composition of the workforce has changed. Today, work still is a necessity but it should be a source of personal satisfaction as well. One of the vehicles to help provide attainment of personal and professional goals is work-life benefits and programs The issue of work-life balance has developed out of demographic and social changes that have resulted in a more diverse, declining workforce, different family and work models. Supporting work-life balance (WLB) is seen as a way of attracting and retaining the labour force needed to support economic well-being. In organizations and on the home front, the challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers’ and employees’ consciousness. In today’s fast-paced society, human resource professionals seek options to positively impact the bottom line of their companies, improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and keep pace with workplace trends. However, experience has shown that policy on flexible work practices needs to be supported by strategies to achieve effective implementation. This research provides suggestions and options for Human Resources Managers on developing and managing equitable flexible work practices. It has been designed to provide practical advice to assist organizations in achieving successful implementation of these policies which would be a key initiative for inclusion in an organizational WLB. 1. 2 Defining work-life balance: 1. †Work life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. It’s not saying that work is wrong or bad, but that work shouldn’t completely crowd out the other things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation† . â€Å"Working practices that acknowledge and aim to support the needs of staff in achieving a balance between their home and working lives† 3. â€Å"people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. † UK organization Employers for Work-Life Balance 1. 3 Meaning : In recent years there is a dramatic change in much organization with respect to work-Life balance (WLB) which is named as flexible work time arrangements, the sensitivity of topic is reflected by its idea which is to provide personal work style preferences. This arrangement is famous for job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement of an employee. When we talk about flexibility the first thing which we relate it with is relaxation, relaxation in terms of tasks, duties, responsibility, but when we particularly talk about WLB it means that we are talking about nontraditional great schedules and working away from campus. There are a significant percentage of employees already involved in flexible time arrangements that they do not work the standard schedule of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm which is being followed by the most of the organization. Variable arrangements provide for daily, weekly, monthly, or annual fluctuations in scheduling. Flexible arrangements are a broad term we are not only talking about daily scheduling but it may vary to monthly or even annual rearrangements of time. In flexible arrangements we are not bound to an old stereotypical standards but a fair customize scheduling. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that. Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK : 2. 1 Importance: 1) Productivity : Managers can increase the productivity of employees by responding to their need to balance work and personal obligations. This positive approach by managers can: ? Inspire increased loyalty and commitment from employees. ? Retain employees and make savings on the costs of employee turnover, training and absenteeism. ? Examine how work-life balance policies affect another variable such as job satisfaction or organizational commitment, and then correlate these variables to productivity. 2) Job Satisfaction : When work extends into family time, it can create stresses which then extend into the workforce. One meta-analysis suggests that there is a consistent negative relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. As far as work-life balance policies can reduce the conflict between work and family, they can increase job satisfaction. There is no strong empirical evidence of a positive association between high employee satisfaction and high productivity, but job satisfaction does have a clear negative relationship to absence and turnover. A satisfied workforce may be valuable because employees are then less likely to be absent and consequently affect the bottom line. Other commentators suggest that work-life balance policies can increase organizational commitment. Higher levels of organizational commitment are then correlated with lower turnover and better job performance. 3) Saving Costs : The work-life balance important to reduce for the cost of an organization such as, ? Reduced staff turnover: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing a manager: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing an employee. Organizations are rest upon the assumption that work-life balance policies will improve staff retention. Reducing staff turnover leads to lower costs, as recruiting new staff is a costly process. Staff loss leads to direct costs and indirect cost. Direct cost associated with recruiting, such as advertising, interviewing. However indirect costs associated with the loss of institutional knowledge and contacts. Greater staff retention also reduces training costs. Having staff staying longer in a firm, increases the returns on investments made in their training. There is Cost savings also if work-life balance policies reduce absenteeism. 2. 2 Advantages: a. Enables extension of working hours. . Improves recruitment and retention of staff. c. Gives some scope to match peak staffing with peak demand for departments where the work pattern is unpredictable. d. A staff is able to fit domestic commitments in around the start or finish of the ordinary working day. e. Staff is able to miss the worst of the rush hour. f. Choosing to work early or late when there are fewer interruptions. g. Staff abl e to log extra hours worked and takes time back later. h. Staff able to consolidate credit hours into a half-day or day off. 2. 3 Techniques Influencing Work-Life Balance: |SR. NO. TECHNIQUES | DESCRIPTIONS | |1 |flexible work agreement |An agreement documenting specific flexible working arrangements negotiated between an individual employee | | | |and workgroup manager, signed by the employee and workgroup manager, and approved by the corporate manager| |2 |flexible working |Flexible working arrangements define the flexibility in working conditions available to specified groups | | |arrangements |of employees and the parameters within which individual agreements can be negotiated | |3 |flexi time |A flexible arrangement of working time, which allows employees to negotiate how and when hours will be | | | |worked within limits and conditions set by the corporate manager. |4 |compressed weeks |An arrangement which enables employees to exchange an agreed reduction in their salary ove r a specified | | | |period for extra periods of leave. The period or periods of purchased leave are planned in advance and | | | |funded by salary deductions spread evenly over the total period of the agreement. | |5 |job share |An arrangement where one full-time job is shared between two or more people. Each person works part-time | | | |on a regular on-going basis. | |6 |Part time |in basic terms this applies to staff who work fewer hours than full time, e. g. orking 20 hours over 3 | | | |days rather than 37 hours over 5 days | |7 |Voluntary reduced hours |a temporary reduction in working hours should be available in | | | |all forces, but may be given a different name | |8 |Annual hours |works on the basis of agreeing a fixed number of hours over a year, then calculating the hours on a | | | |monthly basis, i. e. instead of a five-week shift pattern | |9 |Career breaks |Taking an unpaid break in your career. | |10 |Home/tele working |staff working mainly from home or at a geog raphically separate site and | | | |Communicating with their HQ /base station via phone and e-mail. | 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY : The main objective of our survey is to focus on employee satisfaction with organization policies so as to control level of stress, lack of productivity, lack of moral etc. which effect employee retention and turnover. Therefore to achieve high employee satisfaction and engagement different innovative human recourse policies could be adopted. To address this issue, our survey is conducted to investigate the innovative human recourse policies to maintain work life balance of employee that aims to improve satisfaction and engagement. 3. 1 How The Survey Help? A comprehensive evolution of Work-life balance can best be seen as a â€Å"check up† on the human resources policies of your organization. Like any check-up, you learn both what is working well and where there are areas needed improvements. When conducted on regular basis, systematic method for assigning employee satisfaction will let you identify key trends and pattern among employee attitude towards the WLB, thereby enabling you and your company to anticipated and act on upcoming problems and issues. As a result, an human recourses policies study conducted this will enable you to use the information from your employee as a tools for change within your organization. We strongly believe that human resources policies studies should represent a mutual exchange of information between employee and organization. To fulfill this simple principle, there is a critical need to make employee feel that they are part of the research process. For maximum effectiveness, employee must believe that work-life balance have values to them as well as to the organization, that believes in clarity demostaticting to employees this study is an opportunity to be heard and directly influence human resources policies . This approach not only measurable impact on participation rates but also effect the degree to which employee trust the outcomes when finding are reported back to them. For these reasons, all questionnaires are carefully designed for a case of use, including straightforward wording a clean layout and simple navigation. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4. 1 Method of data collection: The survey was developed by a department team comprised of representatives from several organization, institutions, and the business farms. Evaluations provided technical assistance, and the team reviewed on human resources polices for maintain work-life balance. Following extensive discussion, the team determined the basic structure, format, questions, and methodology for administering the survey. Each workgroup member was asked to include participants from management, professionals, and support staff. The purpose of the test was to determine the following: a) Determine which technique will influence the Work life balance in human resources policies. b) Determine if the employee feels about work-life balance. c) To solicit suggestions for improvement of the human resource policies. d) To solicit information on employees willingness to participate in such a Survey. e) To solicit information on ways to encourage employee participation. 4. 2 Research Methodology: Research can be define as â€Å" process of systematic inquiry that is design to collect, analysis, interpret and use to understand, describe, predict or control an educational physiological phenomenon or to empower individuals in such contexts. This research undertaking is designed to be a descriptive study about objectives, types of data, sources of data, questionnaires, sampling and sample design. a) Collection of Data: There are two kinds of data can be taken as the survey is concern about they can be , i. Primary data ii. Secondary data From the above types of data the data can be extracted as following: Primary Data: It includes the Questionnaires taken for the survey includes ten factors with the rating options. Secondary Data: It includes the literature review as follows: ? There is clear evidence of a strong business benefits in the case studies, however these conclusions are context specific, and not necessarily general sable. There is No â€Å"one size fits all† business case for work-life balance policies. ? The larger, econometric studies are less common that the case study work but they do find a correlation between productivity and the presence of work-life balance policies. ? The evidence of the business benefits of work-life balance policies is reasonably strong, and increasing. There are many incentives for the usage of WLB policies – according to a 2002 National Development Plan Study, the level of family friendliness of the workplace (as measured in terms of number of family friendly policies available) was significantly correlated with the work satisfaction of fathers and mothers. The benefits of such policies included employee satisfaction, attracting/retaining employee productivity, reduced labour turnover, reduced absenteeism and improved business results. b) Questionnaire: Quantitative data in this study is collected through a questionnaire that was distributed to IT sector employees. The purpose of the questionnaires is to know about the employee satisfaction with organization policies which effect employee retention and turnover. The questionnaire is designed to determine the actual and perceptive view of the employee. To do this, the employees were asked to complete the questionnaire in two ways. First, they were asked close ended questions like â€Å"yes/no† according to their perception. Secondly, they were asking open ended questions in which they can write anything according to related question. c) Sampling: A process of selecting no. of units for a study in such a way that the unit represent the large group from which they are selected. The sampling can be defines as â€Å" a finite subject selected from population with the purpose of investigation of particular objective is called as sampling. The sapling method for this survey was a â€Å"simple random sampling†. The simple random sampling is the easiest from all probability sampling it assure that all the members in the population are included in the list and then randomly selected the desired no. of sample. 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA Processing and analysis of data involved open and closed ended questions related to work life balance which are performed the summarized collected data and organizing it in a manner that it gives the answer to the research question and objective. The questionnaire was as below, â€Å" This study is being undertaken for purely academic purpose on work-life balance i. e. flexible timing at the work place. The information collected will be treated as confidential and no means will be revealed in the research. Please read these questions and select appropriate option. † 1) Please specify about you- a) Gender : Male Female b) Age Group : Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65 &above 2) What is your working time? 3) Do you want any changes in your timing? Yes No 4) If the flexible working times would be offered to you, will it help in your personal life? Yes No ) Do you think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful? Yes No 6) Which of the following techniques of maintaining the work life balance are used by your Organization? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | a) Part time job b) Job sharing c) Compressed hours d) Voluntary reduce hours e) Flexi timing f) Annual hours g) Term time working h) Variable working hours i) Carrier breaks ) Over working allowance 7) Which technique /s you want your organization to introduce so as to maintain your work life balance? 8) Do you feel it will enhance your performance at work? Yes No 9) In your view does the techniques helps to increase employee commitment towards the organization? Yes No 10) Do you think that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction? Yes No 11) According to you does work-life balancing techniques help for reducing the level of stress? Yes No 5. 1 Tabular representation Srs no |Question no |response |No of response |Percentage of response | |1 |1(a) |Male |24 |57. 14 | | | |female |18. |42. 86 | |2 |1(b) |a)under 18 |0 |0 | | | |b)18-24 |10 |23. 81 | | | |c)25-34 |25 |59. 52 | | | |d)35-49 |7 |16. 7 | | | |e)50-64 |0 |0 | | | |f)60-above |0 |0 | |3 |3 |a) Yes |30 |71. 43 | | | |b) No |12 |28. 57 | |4 |4 |a) Yes |28 |66. 66 | | | |b) No |14 |33. 33 | |5 |5 |a) Yes |38 |90. 48 | | | |b) No |4 |9. 52 | |6 |8 |a) Yes |40 |95. 3 | | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | |7 |9 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |8 | 10 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |9 |11 |a) Yes |40 |95. 23 | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | 5. 2 Diagrammatic representation 6. FINDINGS – From the survey and above given tabular statements we can able to interpret the data. The survey conducted through IT employee from them 24(57. 14%) are male and 18(42. 86%) are female, under which 10(23. 81%), 25(59. 52%) and 7(16. 67%) are in 18-24, 25-34 and 35-49 age group respectively. Among the respondents 30(71. 43%) wants to change in their current timing and 12(28. 57)does not want 28(66. 66%) feels that If the flexible working times would be offered to them, then it will help in their personal life and 14(33. 33%) doesn’t feel that it would help. 38(90. 8%) think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful and 4(9. 52%) don’t think this way. 40(95. 23%) feel that if they suggested any techniques of work life balance which suitable for them, then it will enhance their performance at work and 2(4. 76%) not feel so, 41(97. 61%) feels that the suggested techniques will helps to increase their commitment towards the organization. From the respondents views 41(97. 61%) feels that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction and 1(2. 38%) don’t feel so. 40(95. 23%) views on the work-life balancing technique help for reducing the level of stress. 7. CONCLUSION On the basis of survey done on â€Å"Innovative Human Resource Policies for Maintaining Work-Life Balance of Employees† conclusion can make as follows: While performing on work life balance policies in organization the sex (male/female) should be considered priory. It is concluding from survey, as the employees’ are the major assets of an organization their satisfaction (that is 97. 61% feel) will play great role for the growth and development of organization. A committed workforce is the hallmark of a successful organization. Committed employees are more productive and work with a focus on quality to increase organization goodwill. However the employees are the organizations most important audience and they hold the keys to organizational success.

Professional Workoplace Dilemma Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Professional Workoplace Dilemma Paper - Essay Example Moral and ethical dilemmas are becoming frequent in one’s professional life. The cut throat competition coupled with diverse and multicultural fabric of the society, makes it difficult for a person to maintain a high level of personal integrity. The main reason being that very often the personal values clash with the organization’s objectives and organization’s target based results. According to Joseph Badaracco, "We have all experienced situations in which our professional responsibilities unexpectedly come into conflict with our deepest values...we are caught in a conflict between right and right. And no matter which option we choose, we feel like weve come up short" (internet). The resolution of ethical dilemma therefore requires a very careful consideration so that both the parties become gainers. As a customer support executive in a credit card company, I often come across such situations while dealing with the customers. My company being a target based organization, I have to sell credit cards to the customers so that I can meet my professional responsibilities and even exceed target for rapid advancement in my career. Even though all my customers may not require the credit cards, but the need to sell them becomes my professional responsibility towards my company. In such cases, I am faced with the ethical dilemma of whether I should convince my prospective customer so that he agrees to take our credit card. One such case comes to my mind whenever I look back to time. I once sold our credit card to a university immigrant student who had come on scholarship from India. Although I had informed him of all the details of using prudently the credit card, I later came to know that the said student had come under so much of debt that despite being an extremely bright student, he could not complete his studies on time as he had to work long hours to repay the debt accrued on his credit cards.

Coca cola Enterprises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Coca cola Enterprises - Essay Example In order to establish itself an enhanced space in the market, the company engages in social responsibilities. Coca Cola acts as a global employer and is ranked within the top 10 organisations (The Coca Cola Company, 2012). Products/services and geographic scope The company has launched some customised strategies while entering into international expansion plans. When entering into a new market, it tends to focus on business volumes. It invests in brand promotion through the use of visual and print media. Such brand promotional activities have helped the company to develop as well as to enhance its distribution. The distribution network is entrusted with the responsibility of the distribution of beverages to different corners of the targeted countries (The Coca Cola Company, 2010:23). In terms of expansion policies, Coca Cola is focusing on the creation of outsourced manufacturing, bottling and distribution that will work to cater for the local needs. The company engages in innovation in the realm of products, packaging, equipment and other activities designed to gain further penetration into both established and foreign markets. The invention of recyclable packaging through the use of plants helps to cement the company’s sustainable image. In Europe, Coca Cola focuses on enhancing its packaging activities. The family and economised plans serve the needs of all types of consumers. The company has formed ties with various sporting events, with a view to creating brand awareness and enhancing the loyalty of consumers. It has also diversified its business by entering into the production of juice and energy drinks (Bodden, 2008). Competitors Coca Cola’s main competitor within the soft drinks industry is PepsiCo; a firm that poses a serious threat to the company. Moreover, some local brands also provide some kind of competition for Coca Cola. Any kind of competition is healthy for a market, as it benefits the consumers (Porter, 1998). In spite of Coca C ola enjoying the major proportion of the market, it does not have the capability to exploit the market conditions, mainly because the substitute drinks companies have significant power. Some other competitors include RC Cola, Kola Real and Inca Kola (Bell, 2003). PEST analysis Political analysis: the company belongs to the non-alcoholic beverages group and falls under the Food and Drug administration. Coca Cola Company takes all the necessary steps in order to analyse whether the introduction of new ingredients will meet the required standards, and asks for advanced approval from the FDA. Coca Cola Company also abides by the rules set by the FDA on plastic bottled products. The company follows differentiated accounting policies which show a significant role in the reported results. According to the jurisdiction of various countries, the company is subject to income tax policies. It is also subject to import and excise taxes where outsourcing units are absent. Economic factors: befor e entering into a new market, the company always analyses the economic factors of the country in question. When a country experiences economic growth, the purchasing power of its population increases, enabling the company to market its products. Coca Cola currently uses 63 other currencies in addition to the US dollar. Fluctuating foreign currencies can impact revenue generation. The fluctuation of exchange rates affects the export of the products globally. The company uses the derivative financial instruction

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Questions - Essay Example I prefer change, I enjoy delegating tasks to others, and I want to be noticed for my achievements. I am also the type of person who likes to be in charge. I tend to look forward to confronting conflict instead of shying away from it. I consider myself to be a proactive person, with a proactive personality. â€Å"Proactives [with proactive personalities] identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. Proactives are more likely to be seen as leaders and to be change agents. They†¦[definitely can] achieve career success, but it’s important for them to be in the right situations to fit their personality.†1 As a proactive person, I seek to be the first to engage in an issue and take it head-on. Instead of waiting to figure out what is going to happen, I make sure that I make things happen. I change and influence what happens around me by being involved. In all situations, I try to stay proactive and interested as a pa rticipant in my surroundings. It’s evocative of a dominant person’s personality traits; I am no different. 2) How do ethics influence human behavior in organizations? (250 words) Ethics influence human behavior because humans’ actions are inevitable affected by dogma and rules. If there were no rules or ethical standards, people would do whatever they wanted. However, ethics give order to the chaos.

Intercultural communication class- Intercultural learning report Essay

Intercultural communication class- Intercultural learning report - Essay Example Apparently, proficiency in the host culture language is a prerequisite for any intercultural communication. The theory seeks to establish whether unique attributes or group memberships define individuals from an individual culture (Communication for Governance & Accountability Program 1). Moreover, the theory explores whether individual achievement and gratification are more important than unity a cultural group. Apparently, collectivism culture is more useful than the individualism culture as seen in international universities where international students from China record higher grades compared to American students. The theory has developed my knowledge on cultural diversity where I have been interacting with people from different cultures with the aim of understanding such cultures and borrowing the best cultural values. The theory compares minimum status differences with the preference for strict social hierarchies (Communication for Governance & Accountability Program 1). It relates to the acceptance of unequal distribution of power by the less powerful (The Hofstede Centre 1). The theory was significant in my project since it helped me to understand the powerful effect of Thailand culture on communication (College of Marin 1). For example, I established that Thailand people respect their King. Indeed, my Thailand project investigated the degree to which Thailand people consider themselves masculine or feminine. Thailand depicts a feminine society that respects women and allows them to work for a living (The Hofstede Centre 1). Cultural shock is very popular among international students who experience the American culture for the first time. The cultural shock relates to the immediate need for knowledge of American culture and English proficiency. However, I started to understand the new cultures since I wanted to belong to the environment. I established the good and bad things about the American and Thailand culture that

Proposal Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Proposal Example This will immediately be followed with the drafting of chapter 1, which will have the preparation of research question, formation of aims and objectives, and the outline of the significance of the study in some of the highlighted areas. During the last week of drafting of the chapter one, the researcher will begin collecting secondary materials needed to undertake the literature review. The selection will be based on the research questions and specific objectives. The actual drafting of the literature review, which is the chapter two of the study, will take place within a period of three weeks. While drafting the literature review, the researcher will meet resource persons to share ideas. This will then be followed with the seeking of formal consent from the targeted setting for the study. As soon as the permission is granted, the researcher will go on using one week to form the sample size and conduct the actual collection of primary data in three weeks. Thereafter, two weeks will b e dedicated to putting the data collection into writing and then another two weeks will be used to draft the results and analysis. The conclusion and summary shall take one week to draft while the marking of the whole draft will take place in the very week that the conclusion is written. The final week will be dedicated to making corrections and reviewing the entire project report. Resources Needed Computers and Tablet PCs: The researcher will make use of computers and tablet PCs for the typing and researching aspect of the project. The tablet PC is particularly necessary so that the researcher can be on the go with whatever data that he comes across, where the computer may not be readily available or accessible. In effect, the tablet PC would allow for portability. Internet Access: The researcher will need constant access to internet for undertaking online research. Such online researches are going to be necessary for the completion of the proposed research since the researcher wil l be making use of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches and will, therefore, come to a stage where secondary data derived from the internet will be of much relevance. Statistical Software: Since aspects of the research may be quantitative, it is proposed that the need to use statistical software may emerge. Some of these statistical programs may include Microsoft Excel and SPSS. Interview Guide: The researcher shall prepare an exclusive interview guide, with which data shall be collected from members of the sample group. It has already been explained that members in the sample size are going to be made up of students in lower grades and so the best form of data collection instrument to use on them is one that will not make them read and produce written responses. Tape Recorders: In the course of the interview, it will be necessary and important that the researcher records the interactions that will go on between the researcher and the respondents. Because of this, t he researcher will have the need of a tape recorder to do the recording and later transcribe the results. E-Coli Meter: the E-Coli meter is going to be

Investments in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technology Essay

Investments in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technology - Essay Example By thoroughly realizing and examining these questions that need to be addressed, then we will be able to come to a much more informed and understanding viewpoint on this subject matter at hand, and as well we will be able to thus come up with new and innovative strategies in regards to what methods and means should be taken in order to put a more positive spin on this matter overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. There are truly many different benefits when we speak of the term CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) issues, and what CIM really is needs to be properly understood before any further measures can be taken in this regards. In all actuality, CIM is "a manufacturing philosophy in which the functions for the organization, from product definition to the disposition of the final product, are achieved using computer, communication, and information technologies" (Wikipedia, 2007). There are basically three different components that are considered and known as being essential in regards to the implementation of flexible design and manufacturing in this regards, and this includes that of the following three components: the means for data storage, retrieval, manipulation and presentation; the mechanisms by which to sense state and modify substance; and lastly, the methodologies by which to unite them. The CIM phase is the phase which is "used to describe the complete automation of a manufacturing plant, with all processes functioning under computer control and digital information tying them together" (Rockford Consulting Group, 1999). Basically then the CIM phase is without a doubt one of the most crucial, and there are quite obviously many different benefits that are gained from CIM overall. Why Might DCF Methods not Take These Benefits Into Consideration When Evaluating CIM Investments There are actually again quite a few answers when it comes to the reasoning as to why DCF methods may not take the benefits that are concluded as being from CIM processes into consideration when they are evaluating CIM investments; first we must understand what the DCF really is, in order to understand better. The DCF (discounted cash flow) is a means in this regards which uses certain methods of analysis which have both in the past and recently come under certain criticism. It really began in the 1980s when the use of these DCF methods began coming under this criticism, and in particular they were found to be especially deficient when they were being used to evaluate investments in CIM technologies, as many critics claimed and pressed to argue the fact that these DCF methods of analys

See draft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See draft - Essay Example The author’s information in this selection is significant, she mentions accurate studies and data, and her argument and way of writing is very clear. On the basis of the book by Friedan this paper will prove that suburban housewives’ emotions with matters in the society and marriage, education and profession, and home duties cause unhappy womanhood. The word â€Å"femininity† is defined in many different meanings and according to the dictionary is â€Å"the quality of being female; womanliness†. The femininity that is discussed in the chapter is that what the majority of women dream about, which is marriage. In other words, how femininity and an old-fashion suburban housewife make us understand the word â€Å"woman†. In the 60’s, marriage takes major part of womanliness. Women are influenced to have early marriage. This idea leads women to ignore every position they could achieve. Friedan proves that early marriage is the main reason behind population increase while young women make career out of marriage duties. â€Å"The women’s magazines, deploring the unhappy statistics about these young marriages, urged that courses on marriage, and marriage counselors, be installed in the high schools† (Friedan 16). According to Friedan women career is limited in the twentieth century. Many women look forward an occupation inside the home. Bearing children and being supportive for their husband, women wanted to have profession. The concern to spend most time at home may harm the society. The author includes the fact of few women having professions. (Friedan 4). If women had the opportunity to work, they perhaps would be able to change the situation. Friedan adds the importance of education. Women’s role as housewives is what makes them unhappy with their education (Friedan 10). Women should gain education since it essential to solve problems people had. Education is important and it must be got to develop one’s profession. It is difficult for women not

Political Philosophy 3 paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political Philosophy 3 paper - Essay Example Therefore, this essay will delve on two Greek philosophers, Epictetus and Epicurus, to try to understand their ideologies regarding the importance of living life without having to worry of the occurrence of death. According to ancient philosophy, Epicurus was an ancient philosopher that lived between two hundred and seventy one and three hundred and forty one B.C. He founded his school of philosophy in Athens where he spent most of his life. Epicurus was a philosopher who related the aspect of pleasure with good and the aspect of bad with pain concerning living. This concept became Hedonism, a Greek word meaning pleasure. For Epicurus, being sensuous and exalting life did not quantify for Epicureanism to form opinion on the views of living. However, Epicurus was of the belief that a pleasurable life came from having calm emotions through the appreciation of simple but beautiful pleasantries of life. These pleasures include good company of friends, a healthy diet, morally upright behavior, and good personal health. This meant that people were not to worry about death, but only had to concern themselves with pleasure and pain (Pojman 531). Therefore, Epicurus believed that death was not a feeli ng hence advising people not to be fearful of death. Ideally, this philosopher was a great believer in the doctrines of philosophy because to him philosophy was a constant factor in the life of any individual. Further, Epicurus felt that people needed to focus on the aspects of life that made them happy as part of living a fulfilled life. However, this philosopher had a queer belief in matters related to God and other gods, but acknowledged their existence. In essence, Epicurus believed that these higher deities received much accreditation for what they truly were not. For him, ill fate befell those that lived wicked lives and blessings followed those that did well hence

Natural Disasters and Their Effect on the Macro Economy Essay Example for Free

Natural Disasters and Their Effect on the Macro Economy Essay Natural Disasters can have both a positive and negative impact on the local, national and the global economy. However it is rare, but not out of the question, to see the positive impact it may have on an economy. For instance, when disaster struck in Haiti from the 7. 3 magnitude earthquake in 2010, between 200,000-250,000 people were killed. That is 2 percent of the total Haitian population of only 10 million. Comparatively New York City alone totals nearly as much as the entire population of Haiti with about 8. 2 million people (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010). The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that it cost 8.5 billion dollars in damage to Haitis economy. The earthquake caused the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 5. 1 percent that year. Considering that Haiti’s economy only produced 12 billion dollars in 2008, 8. 5 billion dollars is a huge deficit to the overall production and functionality of their economic and social growth. That is less than a tenth of a percent of U. S. GDP of 14 trillion dollars, but Haiti’s GDP per capita is only 1,300 dollars compared to over 40,000 dollars per person in the U. S. (CIA. gov). With all of this said, Haiti brought in nearly fifteen billion dollars through donations. So although there was catastrophic and disastrous losses to both the social and economic stimulus, on donations alone, Haiti was able to receive three billion dollars more than even their best year in 2008 with only twelve billion dollars. Proposing a theoretical situation, if an earthquake destroyed capital stock but left the labor force intact, the real rental price of capital would increase. The real rental price equals the marginal product of capital and having less capital stock available raises the marginal product of capital and therefore, raises its real rental price. This situation would also make the labor force larger in relation to available capital. Since this would lead to a declining marginal product of labor as workers have less equipment to use, the real wage would decrease as well. Due to rising world population, climate change, and environmental degradation, natural disasters are increasing in frequency. They are also becoming costlier and deadlier, according to Swiss Re, a reinsurance company; the U. S. suffered a cost of 145 billion dollars in 2004, which was up from 65 billion dollars in 2003. In 2009, natural disasters cost insurers about 110 billion dollars. In 2010, the cost was double that, at 218 billion dollars. So as you can see, in the past 10 years there have been jumps nearly doubling the cost that a country suffers to natural disasters from year to year. According to the World Bank, there are several factors that affect a country’s vulnerability to natural disasters: its geographic size, the type of disaster, the strength and structure of its economy, and prevailing socioeconomic conditions. In a globalized economy, all these factors, as well as others, also play into how the world’s finances will be affected. A common belief is that short-term economic hits after a disaster, even those as large as this year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan or Hurricane Katrina in the U. S. in 2005 are more than offset by the reconstruction boom that follows. However this is only in countries that are large and rich enough to have short-term stabilization to the immediate economic hit. The nature of the disaster and the size of the victim count in an economy are key when determining whether or not natural disasters have a negative impact on macroeconomic growth. So in a country such as Haiti and their disastrous earthquake, although a lot of money was pumped into the economy in order to help in the rebuilding, that does not do much when they are still in need of the proper man power that can produce new development or ideas for rebuilding the structures that were destroyed. Incidences of natural disasters have increased by 30 percent since the 1960s, and risk-modeling companies have raised the likelihood of a Katrina-like event happening once every 20 years, rather than once every 40 years (SKOUFIAS, 2003). Because of the possibility of large natural disasters happening more often as well as more frequent smaller natural disasters occurring, how will the economy be affected? Especially if before the reconstruction both socially and economically is finished from the original disaster, another strikes in the same area. Another problem that is faced with economic downfalls due to natural disasters is how other countries may view the stability of that country. For example, 75 percent of Haiti’s national income came through the export of retail apparel to the United States. If Haiti were to have any kind of smaller disasters before they can properly rebuild their economic and working communities, then other countries will only see them as a reoccurring high-risk investment and will no longer look to invest in Haiti, only deepening their turmoil from an economic stand point. Droughts cannot be forgotten either. 2010 set records as the hottest year in one of the hottest decades in history. Climate change, exacerbated by the effects of El Nino, sparked off a series of global heat waves. In Pakistan, temperatures rose to 128. 3 degrees Fahrenheit on May 26, the highest temperature seen in Asia. Russia was plagued by a series of wildfires, destroying crops and woodland, and blanketing cities in smog. People across Europe had to be hospitalized for heat strokes and dehydration as air-conditioning failed to bring relief. Asia had one of the most severe droughts across the globe. The drought caused an estimated 3. 5 million dollars in immediate damage, both to agriculture and to the country’s hydroelectric sector. There are also other uncounted losses, but still very real costs from the drought: a drought can lower the overall productivity of land due to erosion and topsoil loss. It can reduce the numbers in livestock herds, which most of Asia relies on for everyday living needs as well as economic income. Before the end of the summer, the death toll would rise into the thousands. 15 million people were evacuated, and over a million homes destroyed. Nearly 34 million acres of crops were affected by floodwaters, with at least two million completely destroyed. By August, direct damage from the floods was estimated at $41 billion. This is something that affected the worldwide agricultural need and demand (PreventionWeb, 2010). Proving the destructive power of natural disasters, even in highly developed nations, Hurricane Katrina crushed the gulf coast. Just east of the Bahamas on August 24, 2005 a small, unlikely tropical depression intensified into a tropical storm which was given the name Katrina. This storm slowly made its way to Florida’s southern coast on the 25th where most experts believed the storm would dissipate. Unfortunately, Katrina’s path took it over the everglades allowing it to maintain its category 1 standing that it had acquired before it first made landfall, then entered the Gulf of Mexico. The warm waters of the Gulf fostered the rapid development of Katrina (Kempler 2010). The above image shows Hurricane Katrina at the height of her power. Estimates had Katrina making landfall as a category 4, but thankfully it weakened a bit and before it rolled in as a strong category 3. Katrina became been responsible for an estimated 1,800 deaths, as well as 100 billion dollars total in damages, of which about 60percent were uninsured losses. Some economists would put the total economic loss at around 250 Billion dollars (Amadeo 2011). That made Katrina the most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the United States. With all of Katrina’s destruction, the short term effects on the economy were very evident. Only one year after the disaster the United States, the economy was back to normal. In the first three quarters of 2006 the United States had GDP growth of 5. 6 percent, some of the most rapid growth in recent years (Herman 2006). Even though the nation as a whole made a quick economic recovery after Katrina, locations that were struck directly, like New Orleans, did not make the turnaround quite as rapidly as hoped. The first few months after Katrina the United States economy went into a downward trend. The GDP growth rate dropped from the 4. 2 percent that it had experienced in the first three quarters to 1. 8 percent in the last quarter of 2005. The reason for this impact goes beyond the destruction of property and the primary economic concern; the loss of goods and production capabilities (Herman 2006). Perhaps the most important resource that the gulf region produces is oil. The gulf makes up about 30 percent of America’s oil production and distribution. The effects of Katrina resulted in the destruction of 113 offshore platforms, and nearly 500 oil and gas pipelines (Amadeo 2011). The loss of this production led to a drastic increase in gas prices soaring to over 4 dollars per gallon. This drastic rise in prices created a panic, and people rushed to the gas stations to fill up before prices rose again, creating massive lines and much talk about the gloomy forecast of economic woes come. The only positive result from the increasing gas prices was when the Federal government opened the strategic petrollium reserves. This increase in gasoline prices surprisingly did not have as much of an impact as speculators feared, other than people’s outlook on the situation. There were some effects.mthough mostly food price centered. The three main goods that saw a notable impact were the prices of bananas, rice and sugar (Leibtag 2006). The primary reason for the increase in the rice and sugar prices is because the Louisiana Mississippi area is responsible for 85 percent of the sugar cane production, and 14 percent of the rice production in the United States (Leibtag 2006). The drastic loss in production from that area was softened by short-run increases in the other producers of those crops. This ability to increase short-run production is a factor that contributes to the resiliancy of free-market economies. Though the nationwide effects were not all that staggering, the effects in New Orleans the months following Katrina were devastating. With 80 percent of the city flooded, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee the city of New Orleans, many never to return again (Blackburn 2010). This drastic loss in population coupled with the destruction of approximately 200,000 homes and businesses led New Orleans and the surrounding areas into a dire economic situation. In the first few months after Katrina, Louisiana lost 12 percent of the state’s 214,000 jobs (Herman 2006). One result of the loss of jobs was a drastic raise in mortgage delinquancy rates (Herman 2006). This inability to pay is more than likely a contributing factor to the very low rate of return from people who were forced to evacuate their homes by Katrina. Those that did find the resolve to return to stay were in a desperate situation. New Orleans, whose primary industry is tourism, suffered great losses after the storm. They desperately needed to be able to find a way to bring back the American and foreign tourist in order to fuel the creation for more jobs. The drop in tourism is best reflected by the attendance rates in New Orleans famous Mardi-Gras and Jazz Festivals. Both events had roughly a 30 percent drop in attendance from previous years (A year after Katrina, New Orleans desperately seeking tourists 2006). Part of the reason for the delay in the return of the tourism industry is the mass clean-up that had to take place first. Before anyone could return and maintain normal operations, there was still 118 million cubic yards of debris to be cleaned up.(Amadeo 2011) Thanks to efforts by FEMA, the Red Cross and many church ministries across the country, there was much help to be found. However, despite the efforts of all these groups, New Orleans a year after the incident was still working its way very slowly towards full recovery. With the aid that had come into the city, organizations were able to rebuild infrastructure and make great improvements to both education and government. In fact, post Katrina New Orleans has experienced steady growth in almost every way, including education levels, over the last 6 years as shown by the chart below Though it took about a year for it the effects to show and recovery to really make a strong step forward, the relief money that came into New Orleans and the other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina did what the nation was hoping it would; help restore one of Americas cultural and industrial centers. The economic turnaround in New Orleans shows how an initial investment in the form of government aid, insurance claims, and private donations can improve the economy of an area affected by a natural disaster. If this idea can hold to be true with the most costly natural disaster in American history, it should work with other costly natural disasters as well. Though maybe part of New Orleans success lay in the restructuring of their government and school systems in addition to the monetary support. Though the economy of the areas affected improve without bringing down the rest of the nation’s economy, suffering this type of event might not prove to be true in countries with weaker economies. Also, if a disaster like this was to hit a city like Los Angelas or New York, like Irene almost did, it is still speculator to say if there would be similar results. One thing can be said for certain, America’s ability to maintain long term economic growth despite short term impacts, like Katrina shows the resiliency of America as an economic super-power. Other economic super powers, like Japan, are trying to find this same formula for economic recovery. In the case of Japan’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, the loss of clean water, electricity, infrastructure, production lines, financial institutions, and more than 15,000 lives caused what the Prime Minister of Japan called the â€Å"The most difficult crisis for Japan† since World War II. However difficult it has been, people have been recovering from the loss of loved ones, injury, and the general trauma of the disaster. Perhaps the greatest and most uncertain long term effects brewing are the econ omic impacts on the world market. Many large industries and economic functions have been hurt, causing price inflation in those industries throughout the world. Since March 11, 2011, nations around the world have had to adjust their consumption in accordance with the loss of production in Japan. Several car companies, such as Toyota and Honda, had their production of car parts slowed, and electronics producers experienced the same effects (Syed, 2011). This has been felt worldwide. For example, Toshiba, who produces roughly 30 percent of the world’s computer chips that store data in smart phones, cameras, and laptops, closed down several factories due to economic losses and physical damages. Events like this are what caused the average price of a chip with eight gigabytes of memory to rise from 7. 30 dollars to around 10 dollars just three days after the earthquake and tsunami struck (Helft, 2011). Obviously, the price of computer chips is not the only price that has risen. Because computer chips are more expensive, new phones, laptops, televisions, cars, cameras, electronic billboards, and complex machinery will have a rise in price to cover the cost of parts and production. This effect will be felt for months, and maybe even years in an already instable world economy. Many of these products are produced in Japan; the world export market has been greatly affected because of that. Japan’s exports have decreased, causing increased economic uncertainty. The macroeconomic result of this is that investors tend to pull away from the increasing risk of pumping money into Japan and look for safer and smarter industries and nations to try to grow their profits (Kihara, 2011). One of the most fascinating things about today’s economy is that everything is so globally connected. Because of this and the slow in Japanese exports, the United States level of consumption of Japanese goods dove 3.4 percent following the earthquake (Guardian. uk, 2011). If this trend continued throughout the year, then the Japanese economy would have lost 4. 2 billion dollars from 2010 levels of United States consumption alone (State. gov, 2011). The disaster and surrounding effects not only caused a decrease of funds going into Japan, but the economic instability caused by the earthquake was devastating in its timing. Japanese and other Asian stock markets plunged as the news of the disaster spread, and this is coming on the heels of the U. S.stock market falling nearly 2 percent the date before. Not only that, but the earthquake caused struggling European stocks to fall to three month lows (CBSnews. com 2011). This goes to show that natural disasters can cause a myriad of negative factors in an economy, and that a spike in uncertainty can be one of the most demoralizing. That uncertainty does not just surface in the stock markets, but also in global financing. The Japanese currency, the Yen, had a significant surge the day after the massive earthq uake struck (Bloomberg. com, 2011). This is said to be credited to the immediate cleanup, repair, and reconstruction needs that Japan incurred following the damages. The long-term effects of the boost in the value of the Yen are still unknown, but it has made the Yen rise in demand in recent months, despite fluctuations since the initial rise in trading worth (Bernard, 2011). The Yen is currently becoming stable once again, eight months after its spike in March then fall in April. Japan has done well in its recovery considering that the Yen hit recent year record lows in April. This graph shows the trading value of the Yen in the past year (Forexblog.org, 2011). The value of the Yen is not the only financial issue at stake. Japan is one of the major foreign holders of U. S. government and corporation debt. With Japan’s Debt-to-GDP ratio at 200 percent, and massive amounts of government spending looming in the rebuilding of the thousands of buildings and roadways lost, Japan is in great need of more money (CIA. g ov, 2010). Because of this, the current interest rates that U. S. corporations are paying on their international loans could increase in an effort to generate more revenue in Japan (Nanto, 2011). In turn, corporations would not be able to borrow as much money for new capital investment, thus hurting the consumption and job creation in the United States at a time when jobs are greatly needed with unemployment rates near nine percent (BLS. gov, 2011). Jobs are a big issue in Japan too. With many of the more than 15,000 killed and nearly 6,000 injured people being a part of the Japanese work force, and tons of cleanup and construction to be done, companies and the government have had to hire thousands of new workers to satisfy the demand for work (Japanese National Police Agency, 2011). After a brief climb in unemployment because of the direct aftermath of the earthquake, numbers dropped to a recent history record low of 4. 1 percent (Tradingeconomics. com, 2011). Once organization was restored, Japan began to utilize its workforce to combat the challenge of rebuilding cities. It is perhaps a gruesome yet effective means of increasing job demand in a nation when its economy was unsettlingly devastated. Since the record drop in unemployment, Japan has had what could be considered a â€Å"Recovery boom. On November 14, 2011, a news article stated: Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 6 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30, the fastest pace in 1 1/2- years, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. At 543 trillion yen ($7 trillion), economic output was back to levels seen before the March 11 earthquake, the report showed. Japan’s return to growth after three quarters of contraction was driven by companies including Toyota Motor Corp. making up for lost output from the disaster. A sustained rebound will depend on how much reconstruction demand can offset a slowdown in global growth as Europe’s debt crisis damps global confidence and an appreciating yen erodes profits (Sharp, 2011). The fact the Japan is now back to its pre-earthquake GDP level is remarkable. It initiates again the idea of what is known to economists as â€Å"The Broken Window Fallacy. † The theory is that an economy can create jobs and achieve higher employment levels though the destruction of the current goods that exist. However, the destruction comes at a cost of replacement that, in the end, is not going to create a net gain, but will instead create a loss or â€Å"quick-fix† break even because businesses will be stimulated, but run less efficiently in the long run. Only time will tell if Japan’s growth over the last few months is simply a rebound or if the disaster caused a rethinking of how things should be done and built, therefore creating a more efficient, productive Japanese economy. Economists will be watching closely to spot trends. Another disaster that could have the same categories of effects on a much smaller scale is Hurricane Irene. The northeastern U. S. experienced the worst flooding since the existence of many towns and buildings of the region. Since only three months have passed since Irene made landfall on the New England area on August 28, 2011, the long term impact of the estimated 45 billion dollars in losses are still speculative (Morici, 2011). Given the current status of the American economy, any damages of the storm are probably being felt most nationwide right now, if compared to the time table of Japan’s economic fall and rise with respect to the earthquake in March. The U. S. may see a slight drop in unemployment and a rise in capital investment as part of the restoration of Irene’s damages, but most likely, no real growth will come out of it. However, the increase in consumption in order to rebuild the damaged parts of the northeast may spark a rise in consumer confidence, and that is what America desperately needs. A natural disaster in a third world country might bring in more money in aid than that country’s economy could have ever produced on its own, making a very positive economic impact. But, as far as the number go, in a developed nation like the United States or Japan, natural disasters cause little more than a large scale broken window fallacy case study. A hurricane, earthquake, or other disaster can bring forth events that build intangible benefits such as consumer confidence, improved organization of infrastructure, or more efficient ideas, but most real development and confidence comes from ingenuity, not devastation. However, it is hard to argue against the fact that necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case, restructured success. Works Cited

The Value Of Happiness In The Workplace

The Value Of Happiness In The Workplace To write this essay, I mixed the main findings of the text and included some additional references with my own opinion. I believe that the text wants us to reflect on this question: does work allow happiness? In our contemporary society, and especially for someone like me who is starting my professional career, I think it is a relevant question, a controversial topic very interesting to discuss, that has become a real debate nowadays. About Happiness Happiness is a state of fully satisfied consciousness. Its a state of mind that depends on how it is interpreted. Happiness may also be defined as the experience of frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect and an overall sense of satisfaction with life as a whole (Myers Diener, 1995). In recent years, there has been a craze to measure happiness due to feelings of individuals who dont feel happier despite of an increase in wealth and of the increasing importance given to quality of life, hence the concept of sustainable development for example. Happiness is not just being happy: as Aristotle wrote, A swallow does not a make a spring, nor one single day ( « une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps, ni non plus un seul jour  »). This phrase became proverbial, meaning that happiness is not the affair of a moment; it must really last over time if it is true. The ambition of the great schools of antique philosophy is to allow men to reach happy lives: the search for lasting happiness is the purpose of this part of philosophy called ethics. Aristotle as well as the Epicureans and the Stoics agree on this point: only a just and upright life can give us access to true happiness, that is to say durable, long-lasting happiness. For the Epicureans, if pleasure is essential to happiness, some desires bring more disorders than festivities: they must be set aside, and we should content ourselves with natural and necessary desires, because they are source of pleasure and easy to satisfy. For the Stoics, happiness cannot be sustainable if it depends on external circumstances: I have to discipline my will to learn to only depend on me, because my happiness cannot be left with the whims of the fortune. 2. About Work Due to its etymology (tripalium meaning in Latin torture trestel), the concept of work is already inconsistent, contradictory with the idea of happiness. While in antiquity and in a society of orders work was contrary to social prestige, employment is nowadays a discriminating element. Indeed, we see appearing in the society a social category of working poors and many precarious jobs. From then on, become central constituent element of both lifestyle and standard of living, work appears today not as a Garden of Eden but more as a source of conflicts, concerns, and gloom. In fact, happiness and work do not seem to be compatible. 3. Work and Happiness Happiness depends on work According to the relative index of happiness, work is one of the most important factors that influence happiness. You cannot separate one from the other. This notion of work rises through the tasks we execute, of course, but also in the relationships we have with colleagues, in the recognition that we obtain from our employer, in our level of empowerment and in the valuation bound to the fact of learning and discovering. In addition, in a French study published in 2003 work to be happy? ( « travailler pour à ªtre heureux?  »), it seems that a quarter of the French respondents emphasize that work constitutes in itself an essential part of happiness. If a quarter of the French states that individual happiness directly depends on work, it reveals not only the importance of work as a major source of definition of the conceptions of happiness, but also the wide variety of professional situations. This can be understood as far as work is thought by men as a source, multifaceted, essential, of happiness. In this sense, without work, unemployed men cannot get to know happiness. Indeed, the activity is today privileged and highly valued in the economic and social life. France, which has a relatively high unemployment rate compared to its European neighbors such as Germany, regularly puts in place specific economic policies aimed directly at reducing the unemployment rate. In our society, the professional activity is valued because it provides legitimate resources (wealth, social status, salary, etc.) In addition, we can only emphasize the omnipotence of work. The occupation appears in this perspective as a necessary condition for happiness because it allows for a whole range of human needs. Happiness can be compatible to work to the extent that a productive activity can also be a creative activity, a fruitful activity, especially source of satisfaction of multiple needs. Abraham Maslow has shown in his pyramid theory of needs that men must satisfy first their physiological needs, then their safety needs (i.e. earn money to meet their basic needs, that is to say, food, housing ) before considering other needs more extensive as sense of belonging, esteem from others, self-esteem etc.. But it is precisely through the professional activity that men will be able to meet their first needs, indispensable to happiness. For the majority of workers, working is a condition of their happiness and their job is an irreplaceable source of income and social inclusion. Indeed, for some employees, the firm is not only a workplace, but a real social institution, where they can really socialize with others. As a matter of fact, with the current economy, for some it is a real luck to have a job to be able to live (housing, food), and this work can make them happy! In addition, a personal development, a self-fulfillment is done by working with the satisfaction obtained after the effort. To illustrate this, we can cite people who do a thankless job, but who follow an ideal, and whom it makes happy! For example Mother Theresa worked in the garbage dumps to look after the rejected, unloved, and neglected people and was happy to help them even if the environment was dreadful. I think that happiness at work is different for everyone, for some people, happiness will reside in the social side provided by the activity, for others it will be being able to travel, for other it will be obtaining a big pay etc In addition, many people will say that if you like what we do, you obtain better results. Having happy employees can be the key to business success. During my internship, I have noticed that employees who seemed happy were more team-players, were more concentrated, more proactive and wasted less time and resources. Indeed, if we take the example of a salesman, if he looks happy and satisfied, he will transmit his enthusiasm, he will probably encourage more easily customers to buy, his sales will increase, his performance and efficiency will participate to a productivity increase and the company will benefit directly from it! Basically, having happy, satisfied and loyal employees will bring happy, satisfied and loyal customers! And happy, satisfied and loyal customers will bring higher profits! The motivation to reach our objectives increases with professional fulfillment. It also stimulates and encourages creativity and innovation. I think if that if we are really happy, we are then 100% invested in what we undertake, and we can even go beyond what is expected of us. Then starts a virtuous circle because the company, happy with the employees results, will give him or her more autonomy and responsibility, which will increase the workers satisfaction. In addition, I think that in general, when were happy, when we see life in pink, we look at the future in a more positive way, and obstacles appear less insurmountable. According to the hierarchy particularly, if a worker is successful, he will be easily granted better positions, more responsibilities and higher salaries which will participate to increase his happiness. Achieve contentment and satisfaction of its employees is a real challenge for a company. But it is really beneficial because it helps decrease employee turnover and absenteeism due to illness or overwork, through better energy management and health. Negative stress is transformed into positive stress. I recently read that a real link was established between being happy at work and health. We can cite the example of management in the company Google. In my opinion, the company has implemented many policies to achieve well-being and satisfaction of its employees. For example, employees can enjoy many benefits such as free haircuts, sports facilities (gyms, swimming pools), laundry services, medical personnel on the workplace, recreation rooms (billiards, babyfoots, video games), enjoy massages and so onà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I think thats part of why Google is placed number 1 of the 100 best companies to work for in 2012 by the magazine Fortune. I think it is important to emphasize the important place of labor relationships for happiness. Empathy has a prominent place. At work, there are four types of relationships with colleagues: Friends outside of work, who become friends in the normal way Friends at work, whom we only see at work, for example, during breaks or lunch time The friendly relations at work, people with whom we dont have a break or lunch with Labor relations only, that is to say those which we avoid But in closer relationships, two types of behavior are favored; on the one hand cooperation and on the other hand, jokes and gossip. It was found that these two ways of acting promote job satisfaction, help to reduce the impact of stress on health, and decrease the psychosomatic effects. We know now that health is a driving force in self-realization, in self-fulfillment, in the pursuit of happiness. Thus, good working relationships facilitate the achievement of personal happiness. It is for this reason that the employer must ensure that the working environment is positive. This is for example why numerous team building activities were developed these recent years. In my view, the recognition by colleagues and superiors of the accomplished work is essential. An even more important relationship is the one between an employee and his supervisor. In order for the employee to be satisfied in his work and thus allow opening a door to his general happiness in life, the immediate supervisor must show a lot of consideration and well-being. He must also be careful not to be too prescriptive but suggestive, not imposing a way to do things but imposing goals for examples. The supervisor should give feedback, recognize successes, offer new challenges and especially show justice and fairness. I also believe that a good manager is a supportive manager. To be happy at work, it is important for employees to work in an environment that is not hostile but dynamic and fair. In other words, we could say that even if the hierarchy must remain, hierarchical barriers must fall. Moreover, we can highlight that various intellectual traditions held thinking work, not only as a place of possible alienation (Marxist tradition), but also in a more modern way, as a place for membership, belonging, and identity creation. Indeed, if work is often seen as a painful constraint, it is nevertheless a way by which men overcome nature and conquer their freedom and humanity. This is what Hegel shows by teaching me to delay the satisfaction of my desires, working requires me to discipline myself ( « en mapprenant à   retarder le moment de la satisfaction de mes dà ©sirs, le travail moblige à   me discipliner  »). Through the effort, men gradually master themselves: they free themselves from the nature (their instincts) by transforming the nature out of them. Work is thus needed in a second sense: without it, men cannot realize their humanity. Work should not be considered in the horizon of survival: by their work, men cultivate and humanize nature (Marx) and educate themselves. This is the meaning of Hegels dialectic of the master and the slave, the master, that is to say, the one who enjoys the work of others without doing anything with his ten fingers, is finally the true slave, and the slave who learned to discipline himself and to patiently acquire knowledge becomes master of himself and of the nature. While it was an undergone constraint and the mark of slavery, work becomes the driving element of our liberation as it allows the realization of ourselves. Thus, work can be seen as a liberating or emancipating activity. But work also has a more specific educating value: work is a source of education according to Kant. Indeed, as Rousseau stated, work involves effort, perseverance, consistency, qualities that are opposed to our natural tendency to inertia. Working is educational as it teaches us to go against our natural tendency to passivity and ease. In a way working is doing violence to our nature: work also teaches us to master ourselves. If work takes such a central place in our lives, it nonetheless also shapes our own representations of happiness. Thus, we must also understand the sense in which 75% of French respondents in the survey work and happiness think work is not in itself a part of happiness. Happiness doesnt depend on work If professional activity is not necessarily an integral part of individual happiness, it is because happiness can come from other sources. Also, if some ethics believe work can make people happy, some other ethics believe non-work constitutes a way to be happy. In other words, it is primarily the type of profession that will determine whether a person is happy or not. Sweetened and idealized images of the self-made man or of the businessman travelling have to face those darker images of the warehouseman or of the unpacker employee subjected to difficult schedules. Thus, some individuals place their work in the center of their happiness, but others emphasize the concepts of health, family, friends. Within the sociological study Happiness and Work ( « Bonheur et Travail  ») directed by Christian Baudelot and which resulted in the book Work to be happy ( « Travailler pour à ªtre heureux  »), it has been shown that the reference to work is uneven from one social group to another. In fact, 43% of workers, but only 27% of business leaders, executives and self-employed mentioned it. It is therefore a visible paradox: the apparently less valued professions (such as blue-collar workers), believe work is a superior source of happiness than more socially desirable occupations such as managers and higher intellectual professions (who believe work is a less important source of happiness). A film like Human Resources from Laurent Cantet in 1999 ( « Ressources humaines  »), which describes the arrival of a young adult into the Human Resources Direction service of his fathers company, shows the dichotomy of the business and social world and highlights the different relationships to work. For the father, work is the backbone of a lifetime; for the son, work is a means by which it seeks its own identity. Moreover we can distinguish the white collars, whose profession is a way to conduct a good life out of the company (family, friends, outings, travels, leisureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), and the blue collars, like the father of the young hero, who, once returned from the factory in the evening, continues for his pleasure to work on parts. In this logic, we can assume that for many workers, happiness depends on other things deemed more important than work. We can also note that work is sometimes thought, certainly in a more marginal way, as antithetical to happiness. This is particularly the case when the activity in question is suffered, undergone because of it is hard, arduous, precarious or not remunerative enough. It can also be translated more concretely by the introduction and implementation of alternative lifestyles, refusing work, as described in the movie directed by Pierre Carles in 2003 Attention danger work ( « Attention danger travail  »). It is important to highlight that many workers emphasize a certain job insecurity due to structural changes and to the desire of companies to maximize flexibility. Also, the first professions to be exposed to the major recent developments of capitalism (the end of massive industrialization and the development of the tertiary sector), have been either deleted or replaced (we can think for example of minors or steel workers in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais). Nowadays, these trends, continued and emphasized by growing financialization of economies and increased power to shareholders, thus bring some professionals in specific sectors of the industry in situations where the sense of fragility and precariousness outweighs safety. Outsourcing and relocation waves to conquer new markets and produce at a cheaper labor cost, have recently crystallized in France this deep fear of workers for their personal future. To sum up, we can that that because of the severe downturn of todays economy, a big majority of employees are apprehensive about the security of their positions and this leads to higher levels of self-doubt and conflict into the workplace. Considering in this perspective that a precarious profession couldnt be constitutive of happiness in the long term, we can understand that so few French respondents said they were happy with their work because their work is no longer their predominant value. The working time reduction, the emergence of a leisure society, and the omnipresence of consumption lead the professional activity to become an incidental or accessory occupation. At the same time, authors like Dominique Meda with his book Work, an endangered value ( « Le travail, une valeur en voie de disparition  ») or Andrà © Gorz with his book Work metamorphoses, search for meaning ( « Mà ©tamorphoses du travail, quà ªte du sens  ») show that the modern work is not necessarily at the heart of concerns. On one hand, for Dominique Meda, work in contemporary Western societies requires individuals to make permanent choices and tradeoffs between professional life and family life. On another hand, for Andrà © Gorz, any activity that aims to minimize its working time cannot at same time boast or glorify work as a source of personal fulfillment. In short, it is therefore clear with these two authors that technical and technological progress tends to make work become a mere moment, often restrictive and constraining, of life. In addition, professions where hardness and physical or mental efforts to produce are numerous can logically less contribute to happiness, compared to other more fulfilling professions. Also, those jobs where wages and salaries are very low cannot actively contribute to happiness. Moreover, it would be interesting to know whether the professions traditionally favored, envied and valued are actually those where happiness is possible, at work, and out of work. It is interesting to note that managers, for example, is the profession where people say they are most exposed to a significant nervous tension, rather than workers, for example. We can cite as an example that the year 2012 saw the greatest number of burn-outs. In addition, new researches show that such stress at work is as dangerous for the health and the well-being of an individual as smoking. Similarly, because the professions with high responsibilities are absorbing and time consuming, the life out-work is sometimes disturbed which questions and threatens the general equilibrium of life. Managers are more likely than workers to report that their occupation prevents them from practicing other activities. They are in fact subject to a dilemma: to invest in their profession to climb the social ladder and eventually earn more, or focus on areas outside work to find a personal harmony. Suffering at work (psychological pressure, for example) is thus not only the prerogative of professions usually less valued like blue-collar workers. In addition, examples of recurring depression and suicides at work (for example in France Tà ©là ©com in 2008) are in any case symptomatic of a doubt about the ability of work to make us happy. In the past few years, large companies such as IBM have created within their organizations positions of Well-being Director or Happiness Director. As a matter of fact, the question of happiness at work is today no longer immediately obvious; it is not a certainty anymore for more and more workers, employees or entrepreneurs. In the same range of ideas, we can highlight that Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello have in their book The new spirit of capitalism ( « Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme  ») also shown how capitalism has managed to integrate all the external ideological reviews and has incorporated them in its ways of doing. The liberation of the personal creativities, the expression of everyones happiness in the company can, in fact, become a daily burden. If the modern managerial discourse laid the mysteries of employees happiness, the practice of happy work has become a reality often illusory. 4. Conclusion I believe we can say that the 25% of French people who responded positively to the question of whether their work constitute in itself a part of happiness can be considered privileged. On the one hand, work has become a major source of self-fulfillment as a condition to meet our needs, but it retains the possibility to submit, use, coerce, through human traditional subjugation for specific tasks, such as through managerial techniques aiming at excessive responsibility: to ensure not only the competence, the knowledge, but also the know-how and the skills. On the other hand, work was subjected in all its aspects, dimensions and possibilities to profound and deep changes that have made it more difficult to achieve happiness. In a way, the work reinventing itself in the contemporary period, it is all traditional conceptions of happiness that could be challenged. It is ultimately through a rational individual arbitration between working time and leisure time, made possible by a harmonious relationship with ones business, which could be found the source of a possible fulfillment through work. Some retired or inactive people, seek to continue working rather than stop. In fact, they highlight the importance work takes in our society. It allows standing in life, worthy, dignified and proud of our human condition. Therefore, maybe should we question the economic policies of employment nowadays in France because they dont sufficiently take into account the importance of work as a source of personal fulfillment and not just as a source of income?

Prescriptive Privileges for Clinical Psychologists

Prescriptive Privileges for Clinical Psychologists Erin E. Wood In the last thirty years, many parties within the American Psychological Association have made motions to promote the motion for clinical psychologists to have prescriptive privileges. With the motions made to promote prescriptive privileges, there have also been motions to counter the arguments made supporting prescription privileges. To research the claims made by both sides of the issue, the American Psychological Association has created a task force to assess the effects that prescriptive privileges will have on education as well as psychology as a whole. This paper will discuss the arguments revolving around professional integrity, financial implications, the amount of professionals interested in prescriptive privileges, safety, and educational consequences of prescription privileges as well as my own opinions as to whether I support or oppose the motion for clinical psychologists to obtain these privileges. Since the birth of psychology, American society has evolved to the point that individuals demand instant gratification. The desire for instant gratification has caused individuals â€Å"‘one-stop shop’ for mental health services† and medical professionals who can directly prescribe medications—causing physicians to become increasingly popular in comparison to psychologists (McGrath, 2010: Levine Schmelkin, 2006). By being able to prescribe medication while proving effective treatments to patients, prescriptive privileges will not only assist patients by cutting out the middle-man, it will also, according to Barnett and Neel (2000), â€Å"result in higher quality care.† Although physicians are currently able to provide medication, they are often uneducated on the effects drugs have on mental health (Barnett Neel, 2000). Psychologists in favor of prescriptive privileges argue that, through training and practice, they are more apt to deal with prescri bing medications and treatments that will treat mental health disorders than physicians who have very little training on mental health disorders (Barnett Neel, 2000). While some psychologists believe that prescription privileges is essential to keep psychotherapy from becoming superfluous in comparison to pharmacology and will assist in increasing the care for patients, others believe that these privileges will change the change the â€Å"professional identity† of those practicing psychology (Wiggins Wedding, 2004). Those who believe that psychologists should be allowed prescription privileges believe that not only will prescription privileges keep psychologists from becoming overshadowed by physicians, they also believe that clinical psychologists would be â€Å"in a unique position to assess and to monitor† when it comes to prescribing medication because, through doctoral training, they are more apt to study the effects of medications on patients (Barnett Neel, 2000). This would allow clinical psychologists to retain and extend their psychotherapeutic roots by giving them the opportunity to research the effect medications have on mental disorders while giving behavioral and cognitive therapies to patients. While psychologists in support of prescriptive privileges argue that prescriptive privileges will give way to many new opportunities in psychology, those in opposition to these privileges claim that the authority to prescribe medication will not create such a large window of opportun ity and will cause psychologists to fall prey to advertising from pharmaceutical companies. Many of the psychologists in opposition to prescriptive privileges believe that the addition of prescription privileges will change the direction of psychology towards an undesired direction—ultimately jeopardizing their professional integrity. They believe that, by placing more of an emphasis on medical treatments rather than behavioral treatments, â€Å"psychology as we know it will come to an end† because psychologists will be more interested in providing medications than therapy (Caccavale, 2002). Psychologists may not prescribe medications to patients based on their effectiveness, but more because will be encouraged by pharmaceutical companies. Currently, pharmaceutical companies create advertisements that strategically influence the opinions that physicians have on medications and bribe psychologists – through means of money and continuing education – to encourage them to prescribe these medications (Antonuccio, Danton McClanahan, 2003). Bribing and advertising does not only affect practicing physicians, according to Antonuccio, Danton and McClanhan (2003), pharmaceutical companies assert their influence as early as medical school—meeting with students to promote medication. This influence asserted by pharmaceutical companies over physicians and medical students can taint the objectivity of psychologists and, in extreme cases, place the patient in harms way. Although psychologists who are against prescriptive privileges believe that the integrity of the profession will be negatively impacted by the bribes and advertising of pharmaceutical companies, those who support prescriptive privileges believe th at these privileges will increase the financial status and interest in the profession. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States being dubbed â€Å"the most profitable industry in the United States† (Antonuccio, Danton McClanahan, 2003). By being one of the most profitable industries in the nation, if psychologists were given the right to prescribe, it would not only give clinical psychologists an ‘edge’, it would also encourage individuals to join the profession. With prescriptive privileges, psychologists will also be able to partake in the benefits of pharmacology by receiving insurance reimbursements and increased status within health institutions (McGrath, 2010). McGrath (2010) claims that this increased status will not only benefit psychologists in private practice, hospitals, and other intuitions, it will also benefit the academic community by funding research projects. Although there are many financial benefits to both the counselling and academic communities of clinical psychology, there are also drawbacks that could potentially outweigh the benefits. First, while pharmaceutical companies have been known to provide bribes and false information to professionals with prescription privileges to increase drug sales, they have also been responsible for increasing levels of â€Å"commercialism and malpractice allegations† within health professions (Antonuccio, Danton McClanahan, 2003: Stuart Heiby, 2007, p. 6). Commercialization of medications has further tainted the objectivity of health professionals because, according to Stuart and Heiby (2007), although prescribers are able to deny medication to patients, they are more likely to give medications that have been â€Å"requested† by the client—even if they are ill-informed of the drug. Physicians may be becoming more willing to prescribe requested medications because the negative side effects of drugs have drastically decreased making it less of a risk for them to prescribe them (Levine Schmelkin, 2006). While medications have become safer to prescribe, when com plications arise, the professionals who prescribe the medications will be the ones at risk for malpractice lawsuits—not the pharmaceutical companies. In the article To Prescribe of Not to Prescribe: Eleven Exploratory Questions, Stuart and Heiby (2007) discuss the lack of support insurance companies have for professionals in malpractice lawsuits. Many insurance companies have created new policies when dealing with malpractice because â€Å"the rate and cost of settlements [that have] risen so sharply during the past decade† (Stuart Heiby, 2007, p. 22). Because of this, it can be very expensive for a psychologist to pay for the insurance to cover malpractice, or pay for the legal counsel because their insurance does not cover malpractice. According to Wiggins and Wedding (2004) only a small majority of psychiatric nurses – clinical psychologists who have gone through training to prescribe medication – have insurance policies that cover malpractice—even when it is in many ways cheaper than other forms of insurance (p.150). This could be because, although psychiatric nurses are able to prescribe medicatio ns, very few of them actually utilize prescription privileges (Wiggins Wedding 2004, p. 149). Due to the amount of psychiatric nurses who refrain from prescriptive privileges, before the APA -financial -military -RNP -coursework References Antonuccio, D. O., Danton, W., McClanahan, T. M. (2003). Psychology in the prescription era: Building a firewall between marketing and science.American Psychologist,58(12), 1028-1043. Barnett, J. E., Neel, M. L. (2000). Must all psychologists study psychopharmacology?Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,31(6), 619-627. Caccavale, J. (2002). Opposition to prescriptive authority: Is this a case of the tail wagging the dog.Journal of Clinical Psychology,58(6), 623-633. DeLeon, P. H., Dunivin, D. L., Newman, R. (2002). The tide rises.Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,9(3), 249-255. Levine, E. S., Schmelkin, L. P. (2006). A move to prescribe: A change in paradigm.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,37(2), 205-209. McGrath, R. (2010). Prescriptive authority for psychologists.Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, (6), 21-47. Retrieved from clinpsy.anualreviews.org Muse, M., Neel, R. E. (2010). Training comparison among three professions prescribing psychoactive medications: psychiatric nurse practitioners, physicians, and pharmacologically trained psychologists.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 96-103. Robiner, W. N., Bearman, D. L., Bearman, M., Grove, W. M., Colon, E., Armstrong, J., Marack, S. (2002). Prescriptive authority for psychologists: A looming health hazard?Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,9(3), 231-240. Stuart, R.B., Heiby E.E. (2007). To prescribe of not to prescribe: eleven exploratory questions. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practices, 5(1),4-32. Wiggins, J. G., Wedding, D. (2004). Prescribing, professional identity, and costs.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,35(2), 148-150. (McGrath, 2010) (Antonuccio, Danton McClanahan, 2003) (Wiggins Wedding 2004) (DeLeon, Dunivin Newman, 2002) (Caccavale, 2002) (Levine Schmelkin, 2006) (Robiner et al., 2002) (Muse Neel, 2010) (Stuart Heiby, 2007)