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Saturday, August 31, 2019

A Lesson in Reinvention

A case study on the lesson in reinvention is what this paper will focus on and the paper will also try to establish the successes and major challenges that a company known as Hampton in Virginia City has faced over the last years since its inception.   Hampton organization is currently under major reforms that have led to changes in its organizational culture.There are a range of activities that were taking place with the most of the 1,300 city employees having participated in the available more than 115 task forces, committees, advisory groups, self-directed teams all who worked under different jobs that were not their usual jobs.For instance, the city’s assistant manager, Mary Bunting was preoccupied with the task of digging ditches with a city’s sewer crew, development of a new city park that was required by another agency was performed by a certain heavy construction team that worked under the public works department, the chief housing inspector Mr. Donald Gurley on the other hand was busy organizing for an exhibition that concerned the provision of city services for a college in the neighborhood which was also a training program that could be made available to the city’s residents, Kevin Gallagher who was in charge of the city’s recycling programs assisted the street crews in clearing ice and snow (Lane, 1999 p. 412-418).All these activities that were taking place mainly because of the change that Hampton’s city manager Bob O’Neil had initiated.   He wanted his assistants to integrate well with various agencies and this could only be achieved by making them to work in conjunction with various agencies so as to be able to know and understand how these organizations operated.As a result, this strategy led to various impacts on the employees of Hampton organization.   The assumptions and beliefs that the employees had about each other changed as the case of Mary Bunting’s assumption on sewer employees.   She found out that these employees were actually more flexible and skilled on their new responsibilities.   Motivation was also apparent on the employees under the heavy construction team.   Teamwork is evident and created a positive impact on employees and employers.For instance, Kevin Gallagher enjoyed the teamwork that was created as it connected him to other employees as well as understanding their roles and responsibilities.   This is informal connecting and creation of networking among the employees as a result of the collaboration that was among the employees of Hampton as they tried to achieve the organizational objectives (Lane, 1999 p. 412-418).This change as offered by city manager Bob O’Neil was essential for Hampton because of the existence of a non-competitive economic as well as fical development structure and the â€Å"inside the box â€Å"standardized issue of bureaucracy that was intense in the organization was causing a major stagnation to Hampton .In the past, the employees at Hampton did not portray much flexibility and bureaucracy was felt in the city government whose boss was the manager.   The departmental heads were directed on what to do by the assistant city managers and on the other hand these heads of departments guarded their hoarding decisions, their turf and information by commanding supervisors and middle managers who were responsible for controlling the everyday work of employees.Another issue concerning bureaucracy is that employees as well as managers were preoccupied with operational procedures that were mainly detailed and the chain of command was evident in communication processes in Hampton.   In other words the past Hampton organization greatly prized the aspects of stability, control, loyalty and certainty (Lane, 1999 p. 412-418).As a result, Hampton was slowly dying as noted by James Eason.   The impacts then were high population growth rate, high taxes, reduced per-capital income and home values were among the lowest in the region, a strain on the budget that was caused by debt-repayments and lastly there was business loss in the city to the neighboring communities.This therefore proved that Hampton was non-competitive hence the city council opted to find a suitable city government that could be quick to respond to the needs of the community, an innovative city government as well as action – oriented and flexible.The city council identified Bob O’Neill who had once worked as an intern in the city hence he clearly understood the bureaucracy right from the inside.   Bob O’Neil was given a performance contract that was written by the city council that contained clearly specific and spelled out for city government (Lane, 1999 p. 412-418).Upon his arrival to the Hampton organization, O’Neill instructed his assistant managers to work on long-term strategic policies rather than micromanaging their departments.   Moreover, he asked directors to full y control their agencies.He also worked with the city council through the method of â€Å"core† strategy in order to achieve the set goals.   He also put the heads of department under performance contracts which contained spelled out results that they were expected to attain and also included bonuses for any achievements made by these departmental heads (Lane, 1999 p. 412-418).

Core & Peripheries

Economic value will shift to the ends of the networks, as a result of the decoupling of intelligence in a network. Subsequently, companies have realized that they need to change their focus to the core – the back-end intelligence that is farthest away from the user – and the periphery – the front-end intelligence that is closest to the user. This separation of value to the ends has thus created an opportunity for organizations to optimize their business functions around the ends. Common InfrastructureAs in the case of the PC at work, there was a clash between what the users wanted: easy-to-use, portable, and flexible at the front-end; powerful and reliable at the back-end. In trying to provide both requirements some necessary design compromises had to be made previously. However, with the decoupling of intelligence in networks the two ends could be separated and a common infrastructure provided at the back-end, in the form of one server in the IT Department of th e office, while the front-end intelligence could be made without compromise as specialized machines.Similarly, disparate elements within the company can be combined to form shared infrastructures that are more cost-effective in their specialization. Modularity The mobilization of intelligence is another pattern that has resulted in a trend that has shifted economic value in the network. Sawhney and Parikh (2001) have discovered that the importance of plug-and-play has been established by the subsequent modularity of devices, softwares, and processes into self-contained modules that can be assimilated into a new value chain as needed.Sharing of capabilities is more important in this regard, than safeguarding of proprietary assets. Orchestration With increased modularity, it has become more and more economically valuable for there to be companies and managers that are able to coordinate, organize, and connect the different modules into new value chains. HP and Cisco are such examples of companies that are seeking to become the intelligent hubs to coordinate their various stakeholders, and are thus reaping the lion’s share of the value in their respective networks. Conclusion In the words of Sawhney and Parikh (2010, p.79): â€Å"By learning to recognize two simple patterns in the evolution of networks, you may be able to turn chaos into opportunity. † It is the intelligence of the network, more specifically its location and mobility as established by the recent advancements in technology that determines the way that companies organize disparate pieces of information, products, people, and the market, and consequently, how to maximize the inherent value. References Sawhney, M. & Parikh, D. (2001). Where Value Lives in a Networked World. Harvard Business Review, 79, p79-86. Retrieved May 02, 2010, from Harvard Business Review.

Friday, August 30, 2019

To Obey or Disobey

Obedience is an age old expectation that rulers, priests, and government officials have required for years from their subjects. Most of the time individuals follow their leaders without question. This is the case because the population from which obedience is required believes that they continue to have a choice. When, for whatever reason this belief is lost, some individuals will begin to exhibit an increasing disobedience to the requirement. This often increases to the point of violence or, the case of a country, war. While there are all types of disobedience, this paper will discuss civil disobedience and the social pressure often associated with it. A good example of this type of cycle can be found in the historical background of the United States. When the United States was first populated by Europeans it was a colony of Great Britain. Over the course of several decades, the British king imposed a series of taxes on the colonists. Most colonists felt that they were being taxed without any representation. Over the course of approximately 15 years the protests against the taxes became increasing violent until the Continental Congress was formed in 1775 (History Central). With Thomas Jefferson serving as the writer, the Declaration of Independence was drafted by the Congress and sent to the King of England. In it, Jefferson wrote, Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security (Ushistory) The Revolutionary War was fought and freedom from British rule was won. Today the population of the United States is expected to pay taxes. The difference is that people believe the choice is theirs because of our representative form of government. In the mid 1800s, Henry David Thoreau introduced a new concept that has greatly influenced individuals and groups desiring change since then. Thoreau spent several years living in a simple cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. During this time the United States still allowed slavery. Thoreau was opposed to this. He refused to pay taxes as a form of protest. His explanation evolved into an essay entitled â€Å"Civil Disobedience†. Basically Thoreau felt that an individual should not support by any means a government that was engaging in acts of which the individual did not agree. He felt that the individual should be willing to suffer the consequences of his disobedient act, however he/she should never take a violent stand in defense of his/her belief (Williams). Today â€Å"Civil Disobedience† is considered to be the basis of several modern nonviolent resistance movements. â€Å"It is known to have been an inspiration to Mohandas Gandhi, who led the passive resistance movement for the liberation of India from British colonial rule. Thoreau’s ideas also influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. s Civil Rights movement and the American struggle to end the Vietnam War† (Williams). During the fight for equal rights for Black Americans that took place in the 1950s and 60s, Martin Luther King Jr. relied on the principle of civil disobedience written a century earlier by Thoreau. While incarcerated in the Birmingham, in a letter known as the â€Å"Letter from the Birmingham Jail†, King wrote, â€Å"Over the past few years I have consistently p reached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends† (King). Others followed Dr. King’s example of non-violent protest. One evening in December, 1955, on her way home from her job in downtown Montgomery Alabama, a woman, Rosa Parks, was asked to give up her seat to a white passenger on the bus she was riding. She refused. She was arrested and fined. This simple action inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott. By June of 1956, the court declared Alabama's racial segregation laws for public transit unconstitutional. The city appealed and on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling. . . The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses† ( Bio. True Story). Groups of individuals, when convinced that it is no longer acceptable to conform to the expectation of the ruler can make historical changes in the world in which they live. What causes one individual to become disobedient and another to remain obedient to the group rules? Most people want to believe that they think for themselves; however, when an individual is part of a social group that person will began to assume the group’s ideas and rules. Individuals may then find themselves engaged in a struggle in which they do not believe because of the social pressure to fit into a group. Additionally they may fear being an outcast. This is especially true if friends or family belong to the same group. Doris Lessing wrote â€Å"When we’re in a group, we tend to think as that group does: we may even have joined the group to find â€Å"like-minded† people. But we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group. It is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group†. (724) Universities over time have done a lot of research trying to understand why people obey and disobey. Most people believe they are good and trustworthy. These individuals feel no matter what occurs they will always try to do the right thing in their day to day life. In The Perils of Obedience, Milgram tells of a woman â€Å"that the last shock she administered to the learner was extremely painful and reiterates that she did not want to be responsible for any harm to him†. 695). Despite her desires she still administered the shock, thus being obedient to the person in charge and not to what she believed. Individuals who still believe in the concept called into question by the disobedient group, often feel intense pressure to maintain loyalty to the old ruling entity. In Doris Lessing’s article, Group Minds, she states â€Å"But the majority will continue to insist-speaking metaphorically-that black is white, and after a period of exasperation, irritation, even anger, certainly incomprehension, the minority will fall into line†. Pressure to conform can manifest itself in another way as well.. Individuals may feel compelled to follow the ideas and rules of someone else and follow that group of people no matter what path it my lead them down or where those ideas and rules may take them. Social pressure comes from everywhere; family, church, friends, jobs, co-workers, and etc.. During the height of the segregation movement in many of the minds of the south there are only two sides in this fight; for segregation or against segregation no fence riding. This concept is also apparent during times of conflict. For examples, during the Revolutionary War many colonists remained loyal to Great Britain. British sympathizers were called Tories. They often â€Å"agreed with the patriots about â€Å"no taxation without representation. † But they wanted to solve the dispute in such a way as to remain in the British Empire† (US Anabaptists). Following what you believe to be right will have consequences. For example, those wanting freedom from England formed a new country and enjoyed many rights and freedoms. All those remaining loyal to the king were considered traitors. â€Å"Most of the new states passed laws taking away the loyalists' property. Patriot mobs attacked prominent Tories. Those found helping the British were imprisoned† (US Anabaptists).. Most people want to believe that they think for themselves; however, when an individual is part of a social group that person will began to assume the group’s ideas and rules. Individuals may then find themselves engaged in a struggle in which they do not believe because of the social pressure to fit into a group. Additionally they may fear being an outcast. This is especially true if friends or family belong to the same group. Doris Lessing wrote â€Å"When we’re in a group, we tend to think as that group does: we may even have joined the group to find â€Å"like-minded† people. But we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group. It is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group†. (724) In conclusion, it appears that a person is either obedient or disobedient based on the group to which he/she belongs. Inclusion in a particular group may be based on family culture as in the case of those loyal to the King in the Revolutionary War or those engaged in keeping in tact the segregated nature of the South before 1965. Other groups include religious groups, political groups, and special interest groups. While as a people we may like to believe that we think for ourselves, the facts point in a different direction. It would take a brave person indeed to stand on principles in the face of objections from the group to which he is most closely associated. Work Citied http://www.historycentral.com/revolt/causes.html http://abacus.bates.edu/admin/offices/dos/mlk/letter.html http://www.anabaptists.org/history/rev-war.html

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Who participates in movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who participates in movement - Essay Example McAdam disregards strict definitions of recruitment, movement, and activism, and instead focuses on the process of an individual’s participation in activism. Risk and cost assessment gives his theories a good base. Risks taken on the part of the activist cost him something (positive or negative cost). As an example, signing a petition is a low risk, low cost activity; organizing homeless people is a high risk, high cost activity. Individuals do a conscious or subconscious risk/cost assessment before they participate in activism activities. An individual may verbally support an idea yet not physically participate in higher cost activities such as rallies or writing letters to Congress. Individuals may choose to participate in higher risk/cost activities, if those risks/costs are acceptable to him. These individuals typically â€Å"(a) have a history of activism, (b) [are] deeply committed to the ideology and goals of the movement, (c) [are] integrated into activist networks, and (d) [are] relatively free of personal constraints that would make participation especially risky† (71). By contrast, Polletta states that people join high risk/cost movements â€Å"because it is fun; because their sense of solidarity with people they know who are already in the movement demands it; because if they don’t, no one else will; because they are morally shocked and compelled by an injustice† (35). She refers to McAdam’s works and expands on the â€Å"narrative† component of recruitment. Protesters and activists, whether their actions are believed to be spontaneous or are the result of long-standing commitment to the movement, tell a powerful story that inspires others to agree and perhaps join in. Participating in protest and activism is a somewhat organic process from the individual’s point of view; people are inspired when the movement’s ideology rings true with their own ideology, and find themselves participating without really understanding how they got

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Nature as a Construct in Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nature as a Construct in Art - Essay Example Since the beginning of time, nature always takes part and affects the way humans express themselves, and from its inspiration, nature becomes part of our culture and personal identity1. This trend of inspiration continues to survive and generation passes it onto the next generation where it gets improvement, or rather alteration, further distancing it from nature. Natural forests are disappearing, man no longer lives in the jungle, water masses are drying up, pure air is diminishing, wildlife getting extinct, and this authentic of world are being represented in a very new way2. Different regions of the world have embarked on trying to resurrect that diminishing era, which due to its rareness is of great value where found. Nature-man interdependence is at a risk due to the conflict brought by man as he sidelines nature in quest for his own gains, a gap that is widening with the day 3. The environment plays a great role in inspiring contemporary artists. Artists use or include elements of the environment such as naturally occurring stone or wood in coming up with pieces. For instance, Andy Goldsworthy, a famous environmental artist mostly uses ice, vegetation, or snow to create ephemeral artworks such as the Midsummer Snowball project in which large snowballs amounting to thirteen decorated the streets in 2001. Since it was summer, their melting held surprises inside; wool from sheep, pine seeds and berries, rarely seen elements in London streets4. Another artist, Rivane Neuenschwander, draws her inspiration from scenes in her homeland in Brazil where torrential rains mark its wet season and the people align to it. She has a work, Chove Chuva of 2002, where buckets with holes and containing water hang in mid-air letting the water drip into buckets below. This she uses to represent the rains. Sunlight as nature puts it literally dulls and fades color exposed to it- a situation one describes as destruction. However, sculptor Tonico Lemos Auad from Brazil did a piec e (Sunset Seven Seas) in 2007 where he exposes colored card to sunlight and lets part of it fade. The sunlight’s effect, in addition to helping him achieve his piece largely corresponds to his theme. In addition to nature’s role in helping him achieve the Sunset Seven Seas, Tonico directly collaborates with nature when he uses bananas to come up with unique pieces. He gets yellow ripe bananas and makes outlines on them using sharp pins. As the dented pores rot out resulting in black colored spots, they create illusions on the banana skins as per the outlines drawn. During live performances, the feeling of reality comes to life by use of backdrops with representations of real scenes painted or printed on them. For instance, when a play entails war, the backdrops usually have scenes like destroyed buildings, billows of smoke or military equipment. This engages the audience more; giving them the near reality of what a war scene looks and feels like. On the same, playing m usic or applying corresponding sound effects during the performance further brings the audience closer to the real events that occur there. Contemporary artists employ nature in achieving more sensational, realistic art that one can experience being within. Naturally occurring trees, water masses, and stones do not give the impression art to most people. However, some artists bring together naturally occurring elements such as vegetation and stones to create visually appealing scenarios. A good example is Robert Irwin’s maze garden in Getty Center that is a combination of stones, trees, and water that form a maze where visitors can ‘experience’ art. They can touch the elements and experience touchable art, the vegetation has color that appeals to the eye, and the flowers give off

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

European union law free movemenet of goods Case Study

European union law free movemenet of goods - Case Study Example c) Denmark has passed a law banning the use of plastic packaging and requiring the use of recyclable materials instead, such as paper or aluminium foil. SCP's Cheesy Snax have always been sold in plastic packs, and no other material is as effective in keeping them fresh. d) Ireland has passed a law requiring all food products to be guaranteed free from genetically modified (GM) produce. SCP goes to great lengths to ensure that it does not knowingly use GM products, but it knows that it cannot be absolutely sure that the ingredients it buys are totally free from contamination. 2. The case of Keck drew a distinction between rules relating to the goods themselves and rules relating to selling arrangements. Do you consider that this distinction is a useful or practical way of determining which rules are contrary to Article 28, EC Treaty 1. The questions and issues pertaining hereto relate to obstacles to internal trade in the European Community. As counsel I would approach each case by looking firstly into the municipal legislation and the existence of harmonisation and attempt the procedural removal of the related obstacles from that direction. Where no such harmonisation was made, the approach will be taken from the concept of mutual recognition under Article 30 of the Treaty of Rome. The obstacles herein are obviously not fiscal, so analysis of their natures will also be made whether the bases fall under the mandatory requirements1 or justified exceptional grounds (to Article 30) for prohibitions or restrictions or whether they do constitute arbitrary discrimination or disguised restriction on trade between Member States.2 Only when the proper evaluation of the factual and legal issues is made can the proper remedies be considered and taken in the proper fora. 1.a. France. In this particular case, the subject matter relates to food which is already subject to harmonisation and the French ban is made on the basis of a preservative SO2. Any relief can only be made pursuant to EU regulations on the matter of food safety, in this case Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 which has a horizontal effect. Determination must be made whether the ban on SO2 containing foodstuffs was made based on risk analysis under Article 6 of the said regulation or as a precautionary measure pursuant to Article 7 thereof. The problem only stated that said ban was made after the publication of one scientific study suggesting carcinogenic tendencies in food products containing the said preservative despite the existence of contrary findings of many other scientific studies. In other words, the scientific study was not a risk assessment within the context of Regulation No. 178/2002. Furthermore, it was not a risk management measure and could not have taken into account the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority or the factors of proportionality and non-restrictiveness of trade under Article 7 of the said regulation. On such ground, I would advice SCP to pursue an initial claim in the French government for the suspension of the ban and the conduct of a proper and independent risk assessment based on all available scientific evidence on the matter. If denied, the proper claim may be made in the French Court of First Instance for the relief of the ban and an appeal in the Supreme Court if denied. If further denied, a

Monday, August 26, 2019

Marketing BDD proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing BDD proposal - Essay Example After which, BDD believes that HMC will be better off as a key account in the company to better take advantage of its multidivisional efforts. This proposal will show how HMC can best utilize its strategic partnership with BDD in response to its current financial dilemma. Our company is currently aware that HMC is in a tight financial situation due to the decline in state funding. In this regard, HMC seeks to reduce medical management cost by $175,000, $100,000 of which is assigned to medical acquisition cost. BDD is also aware that the company sought a supplier which can possibly slash the prices currently charged to HMC. Thus, Terumo, a Japanese manufacturer offered to charge a price 15% lower than HMC. Further evaluation revealed that Terumo's products passed the standard of the hospital and was thus considered. Slashing the medical acquisition cost of 15% will lead to $32,000 cost savings. It is of BDD's interest to help HMC with its effort to cut operating cost through this proposal. The counter proposal of BDD far outweighs the cost savings to be generated should HMC accept Terumo's offer. Initially, BDD offers to cut the HMC's acquisition cost by 10%. At first, it might seem that Terumo offers higher cost advantage than BDD as the proposed 10% cut will only reflect a $21,333 saving as opposed to $32,000. However, BDD will undermine the first offer by posting more cost savings in the form of value-added services. It should be noted that BDD wants to convey more value to HMC in the form of add-on services not covered in the deal with Terumo. Through the partnership of BDD and HMC, the latter avails of the basic services offered by the company which include fulfillment accuracy, on time delivery, damage-free goods, efficient order-inquiry routines, effective sales representation, accurate invoicing, and efficient in-servicing of end users. Acceptance of this proposal will assure HMC of the aforementioned services. However, it should be noted that deciding to choose Terumo will risk incurring the associated cost should the company fail to delivery the above services. It is irrefutable that Terumo's inability to ensure efficiency will be recorded as other costs. It is estimated that ordering inefficiency alone will HMC incur $2,500 a year. It is assumed that HMC acquire additional $8,500 if Terumo fails to deliver BDD's basic services. This significantly erodes the cost savings initially covered by Terumo's $32,000 cost savings. It should also be noted that since Terumo cannot supply all the syringes and needles provided b y HMC, this will cost another $7,000 for HMC. Thus, HMC will only be able to save $16,500 if it chooses to accept the proposal of Terumo. As HMC will be converted into a key account instead of a national account, it will also benefit from BDD's multidivisional efforts. The table below summarizes the cost savings of HMC between the two alternatives. Aside from the 10% discount, HMC will also directly benefit from the multidivisional effort of BDD in the form of lower ordering, transportation, warehousing, and disposal cost. In the multidivisional program, HMC will not need to place order every now and then as BDD's information system facilitates automatic ordering. This reduction in operation processes is expected to generate a $2,000 savings

Sunday, August 25, 2019

What have I learned during the programme and how can I apply this in Essay

What have I learned during the programme and how can I apply this in my future career A critical reflection - Essay Example , and during the project which will be defined, highlighting the major ones will form the outline and backbone for what this particular response paper attempts to highlight. One of the most important, and perhaps most helpful, skills that I learned during the course of this particular project has to do with the process of developing new ideas. Ultimately, my group, which consisted of four individuals, found it necessary to develop a business plan and seeks to implement this business plan in a virtual setting. As such, many ideas were developed and analyzed within this group prior to one being selected. Whereas it is of course important to underscore the fact that each member of the group provided an essential role and ultimately help to the project towards completion, it was my suggestion that was determined to be the best and provided the basis for the business plan that was eventually developed (Bouma et al., 2014). The development of the business plan serves as an essential complement, and perhaps the most important aspect of learning that was achieved during this particular semester. The underlying reason for this has to do with the fact that the bu siness plan is far more than a rough interpretation for what service or product should be offered. Instead, the business plan must make preliminary projections and considerations with respect to how this will be affected, feasibility, economic issues, potential threats and weaknesses, and a litany of concerns involving finance and the way in which such a project would be initiated, supported, and projected into the market (Meadows & Buckley, 2014). In this way, rather than the development of the business plan only taking a few days or hours to complete, this process was one that instilled a level of respect in me with regard to the importance of carefully crafting the business plan and going about it in a thorough and analytical manner (Goodwin, 2002). In terms of how this particular aspect of the project could

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Examining the need for more fully accredited Schools of Architecture Essay - 1

Examining the need for more fully accredited Schools of Architecture in historically Black Colleges & Universities - Essay Example wer, and with the empowerment that these high learning institutions would give to the blacks, there were high chances that the blacks would no longer hear a thing that the white man said and thus cease to be their slaves (Gasman, and Tudico, 2008). The history of the start of historically black colleges and universities dates back in the mid and early 19th century. The first ever black colleges and universities were started secretly and they used to be located in hidden places such as basements of churches and box cars. This was a strategic move by the pioneers of these black colleges and universities so as to avoid the discovery of the white population of the existence of these colleges. Naturally, these colleges and universities started to grow and with the urge of more blacks seeking a higher education berth, more and more historically black universities started cropping up. Some of the pioneers of these universities, referring to the starters, include Mary M. Bethune, a desire of education that was inspired to open up a college with limited funds of less than $2 and less than 10 students back in the early 1900s. Currently, historically black colleges can boast of having brought up some of the black scholars that exist. The se include; W.E.D Du Bois, who went through Fisk University, Toni Morrison, who went through Howard University and the great revolutionist, Martin Luther King, Jr. who went through Morehouse College. To date, there are more than 106 colleges that can be accredited as historically black colleges and universities spread through the entire United States of America. As a result of the history behind the start of these historically black colleges and universities, most of them don’t boast of fully accredited high end courses that are being offered in them. In this case, high end courses refer to the courses that are considered in high esteem among the professional or career circles. These include courses such as medicine, architecture, courses

Friday, August 23, 2019

The relationship between control and resistance in organisations Essay

The relationship between control and resistance in organisations - Essay Example Examples of change can be alteration in strategic, operational, cultural or technological fronts. Since this change is often a continuous process therefore, there are times when these modifications are not well received by the employees which lead to resistance. Over the time, the concept of resistance has been re-conceptualised due to which the management control systems have become increasingly elaborate as well. Overt form of resistance is hardly observed in organisational settings now (Karreman, 2009, pp. 1115–1144). In order to analyse and explain the concept of control and resistance in organisations, two real life examples will be discussed in the paper. The control and resistance situation faced in Oti-Yeboah Complex Limited and PETROM will be discussed in paper to highlight different aspects of the concept. In the light of these examples, the relationship between resistance and controls will be explained; also, their links with theoretical framework will be discussed Halley (2000, p.1) quotes a generic definition of resistance in his article as ‘acting or making efforts in opposition or withstanding the action or effect of’. However, resistance is defined more comprehensively in organisational terms by Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis (2011, p.262) as ‘Resistance to change consist of those organizational activities and attitudes that aim to thwart, undermine and impede change initiatives. It is a widely observed phenomenon in organizations. The resistance can be overt, in the form of wildcat strikes, campaigns or other forms of collective action, or it can be covert, through attempts at undermining change programmes through widespread adoption of cynicism, irony and ambivalence’. The various types of resistance are discussed as follow (Linstead et al., 2009, pp. 347–8): Distanced Self Consciousness: In this type of resistance, employees generally practice

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Ethics - Essay Example This paper aims to present a case study related to an ethical dilemma and the decision suggested to solve the situation. Additionally, it shall evaluate the decision from a viewpoint of utilitarianism, Kantian moral philosophy, Gandhism or Buddhism. The case study that I have selected for this paper is not my personal experience, but it pertains to one of my first cousin, Liana, who has been working as a journalism professor for many years. She has a good experience in her field and possesses a strong command over the subject (writing and sub-editing) as she has been teaching the subject in different institutions and also, holds a Masters degree in the subject. She is quite friendly and has always told me about her teaching ways and behavior that one must have with students in the class. She has always taught her students by maintaining a friendly environment and has always made herself available to help students with their problems within class or outside the class. She has develope d a good understanding with all students, and she has always intended to remain cooperative with them for their academic matters. Last year, at the end of the semester, she gave an assignment to all her students of reviewing five articles, which was to be submitted within 25 days. A day before submission date, one of her good and obedient students named David requested her to give him two extras days to complete and submit the assignment. David did not present any suitable reason for requesting an extension in the submission time. Thus, despite the fact that he was good student and always submitted his work on time, Liana did not grant him the permission to submit assignment after the submission day. For Liana, this situation was quite challenging and she considered this as an ethical dilemma for her as she was quite confused with her own decision. But, being loyal with the profession and honest with all other students of the class, unwillingly she decided not to grant him with extr a time. However, on the day of submission she received assignments from all students including David. She was happy that he had completed his work on time and she appreciated him in the class, but she noticed that he did not respond her properly. She was confused again and decided to check David's assignment before she can further comment on or think about this situation. Upon checking his assignment, she noticed that he had submitted plagiarized work. Out of five article reviews, two were completely plagiarized, while other three article reviews were well-written without plagiarism and other mistakes. Liana has been very strict with her students regarding the issue of plagiarism in their work and her students were aware of the fact and they have always avoided plagiarism to secure good marks in assignments and avoid disciplinary actions against them. In case of David, it was hard to believe that an above average student like him can plagiarize in two reviews in this manner. For an honest and generous teacher like Liana, it was an ethical dilemma to decide whether she should fail David in his assignment like she has done it before for all those who have submitted plagiarized work or she should give David marks on those three articles that he has completed without plagiarism. In this case, she was recalling David's request for granting him more time to complete the given assignment, but

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Comment on how Baz Luhrmann uses video Essay Example for Free

Comment on how Baz Luhrmann uses video Essay Romeo and Juliet, is a play written by William Shakespeare in the late sixteenth century in fair Verona. This is an ultimate love story between the only children of two powerful enemies , both alike in dignity These two households bear an ancient grudge. Within this hate Romeo and Juliets love cannot survive, and they are driven by this hate to death. From this 1595 classic play, Baz Luhrmann got the job of wielding it in to a twentieth centaury blockbuster. He did this by using many different techniques, and even though he keeps the original dialogue, he changes many classic features of the play to give this modern feel to it. Such as horses to cars, Swords to guns and villages to cities are several examples. As the film starts, the opening shot is of a modern day television. It is shown speaking as a newsreader, speaking as a chorus would on stage, giving background knowledge to the audience watching. This television reflects Luhrmanns modern setting, showing how the film will be set, rather than the one in which the written play was set. The TV represents the media, as our main source of information. Just as the chorus would be, stood on stage, addressing the audience, giving them required information. The headline upon the TV reads , Star-crossed lovers, and above a picture of a ring split in two, showing both the themes of love and hate. How the pair had love enough to marry, though within their families there was hate enough to drive the couple to take their lives. Their love was doomed to die, the ring shows how they could not be together as reflected in one of the chorus lines , death marked love. One extremely short though effective camera shot, zooms down the middle of a main street, with many high raised buildings, until focusing upon a large statue of Christ. Showing that religion will play some part within the play/film. Here loud dramatic music kicks in. This music tells us that the play is going to be very powerful and dramatic. The choruss first line appears white upon black, in fair Verona. White and black are usually associated with good and bad. Showing two main features of the film. Again the image of Christs face appears, a close up camera shot, recoiling to show two large skyscrapers dominating the skyline. Each bearing separate names, Montague and Capulet, showing the large gap between them, they are different. The sheer size of the buildings tells us they are wealthy families, but separate. The statue of Christ is stood in the middle, showing again the religious society in which the film is set. Still with the dramatic music playing building up aura, images of police vehicles- cars and helicopters burn across the screen. Quick images. Images of conflict, linking the families with violence and ultimately the law. The music quietens, though still strong and menacing, as a voice over man speaks the same lines as already spoken by the chorus. Now the images are shown slower, two households both alike in dignity showing the two families, again separated by Jesus, sour looks upon the heads faces; hate and malcontent, though smiles upon the childrens; happy, contented faces, with no worries. Leading on to images of flames, representing hell, hatred and death. Headlines of newspapers flash upon the screen, linking again with the theme of the media and the modern setting. Showing there must be public interest in the growing feud between the two families, and again highlighting the conflict between the two families. Extremely short images are shown of police helping civilians escape the troubles caused by this abhorrence between the Montagues and the Capulets. The music had died down up until the point of take their life, where it picks up again adding atmosphere and letting the audience know there is great tragedy within the film. Another modern technique is then used. Just as characters on television programs are introduced or how western wanted posters are displayed, some of the main characters are initiated. These images build great suspense though shows a building power within the play/film. Two important images from later on in the film flash upon the screen, though they are very insignificant at this point, just adding suspense and wonder at this early stage. The music reaches a peek as the now familiar words of the prologue flash upon the screen. The words white on black, suspense, power, the words showing love, lust, hatred and tragedy. Followed by random images shooting across the screen, fireworks, choir boys singing in a loud wild fashion. Guns, characters, light and dark images showing good and evil. Loud bangs of gunshots, police helicopters, blood, raging images demonstrating excitement and apprehension to the audience. Now with the music at a climax, the words in bold print of Romeo + Juliet linger upon the screen. The + in blood red symbolising bloodshed and conflict, it is also shaped like a cross, to continue the religious theme of the film. The words are white upon black, illustrating good and evil. Here the music changes and a bouncier, more funky, modern tune kicks in as the boys come on to the screen. These three wear brightly coloured shirts- reds and lime greens, indicating good and to me fun. Though with the first line spoken you realise the Montague boys hate the Capulets. The boys are presented whizzing down a highway in an expensive looking yellow convertible, again suggesting warmth and fun. They are cool, with open shirts, brightly coloured hair, shades on heads and tattoos over their bodies. They are excitable, casual and looking at them they would not pose any threat. The car has a personalised number plate, Mon-005, Verona beach again showing wealth. The camera shot is at the front of the car as it comes in to the gas station, here there is a sound of screeching tyres, the piping of horns and basically excitable boyish behaviour. Benvolio- Romeos cousin does not come across as uncompromising, he tries to detach himself from the quarrel between the two families masters. Where as the other two Montague boys are very eager and want to be involved this is sown in their faces as a face close up is shown. Here Benvolio turns and another facial close up is shown, his face twisted almost looking in disgust as he turns and walks away. Here the camera turns moving across to another pump as an expensive looking blue car pulls calmly in to the station. Blue suggesting coldness and the slow speed suggests that the driver is not excitable like the Montague boys but serious. The music suddenly changes from hip to a western style tune as another personalised number plate is shown Cap-005, Verona beach. The camera is swung around with a whooping sound and rests upon a close up of the bottom of the car door opening and a pair of western style cowboy boots stepping from the car. Here the frame freezes on the boot touching the ground, Cooley and calmly and in this freeze frame he displays the words The Capulet boys with western style music playing to continue the western style theme. The boots walk away through a door the sound of spurs following, tension building as the camera shot moves again from the western boots to shoes and tights and the giggling of little girls over the western music. Leading back to more dark cowboy boots with spurs. The shoes belong to a Nun with a class of children and each side of their people carries resides a car of each of the two families. The two families torment the nun and her party in a very cocky sort of manor, exceptionally intimidating. So as the nun and her party speeds away to escape further torment, the two families are revealed to each other for the first time. The fun and idiocy of the Montagues turns to fear, as Abra-Capulet is revealed. Here another facial close-up is shown. Abra wears dark menacing colours (oranges, blacks and reds- colours associated with hell. ) He has a goatee beard an earring and a silver chain with cross hanging around his neck. He has the look of a typical gunslinger, someone who could be extremely dangerous. The music is now changed, as a more electric tune plays more menacing and threatening than before, highlighting the danger of this man. Fear is shown in the Montagues faces, shocked by the appearance of a known enemy. This man alarms them and with this abrupt entrance one of the boys makes a quick movement to reveal the butt of his pistol. A fast frightened movement, followed by the facial shot of a frightened face and the sound of a reluctant gasp, signifying the fear and tension between the two families. Here there is a shot of the face of Abra moving down his body and showing the slow movements of his hands to reveal the butt of his own pistol, engraved with the word Capulet, just as the Montagues gun was engraved with the word Montague, reflecting wealth yet again. The movements are menacingly slow, so calm and cool. Then suddenly a loud hissing sound like a serpent as Abra snarls revealing the word sin engraved on a silver plaque on his teeth. The camera is at a straight close up angle. The shot is both threatening and frightening. Here all the sounds stop as the Montagues sink back in to the car relieved that no harm has come to them. Though the Capulets are amused by the impression they have made upon the Montagues and laugh profusely showing they do not feel threatened at all by their presence but take them more as a joke than any thing else. The Montagues took this wind up a little too lightly and decide to make a second move. Here one of the Montagues bites their thumb at the Capulets. This is shown as a close up with a silly sound coming from the mouth of the offending Montague. Now there is anger and hate starting to show as the montages reverse the car, with the noise of screeching tyres, and the sound of a quick furious sounding, loud blast of music showing anger. The caplets sling loud though slow angry words at the Montages who return fast frightened words trying to calm the situation. Though as the camera shot goes to the toilet door, the quick shocking music picks up again and Benvolio appears-an image of a peace maker leading to a close up of Benvolios gun with a change back to western music. Here with gun drawn, a close up of Benvolios apprehensive face fills the screen and silence falls. Here only the sound of an old creaky sign is heard blowing in the wind, un-nerving Benvolio further and continuing the western theme. The camera swizzles around to an image of a close up cigar being lit and a match being dropped to the ground by Tybalt-the prince of cats. Juliets cousin Landing close to his feet, though still burning. The music playing slowly and quietly, adding tension and atmosphere. Now there is a major close up of tybalts face. He has the look of the devil, slick black hair with tiny matching beard. He has pointed teeth that only a close up would enable us to see properly. He wears the colours of the devil, Reds and blacks showing hate, fire, torment and death. Also his face shows no fear, no feelings but pure untamed hate. He is just so slick and calm and as he speaks, there is a close up on his eyes. These ooze confidence and hold great hate and rage towards the Montagues. The camera then focuses on Benvolios eyes, which are the complete opposite to Tybalts. His eyes show a great fear of the other man, apprehension. All adding tension to the opening scene. On a half of body shot, Benvolio is seen putting away his sword (which in this 1997 film s actually a gun,) and in an effort tries to avoid conflict by stating I do only to keep the peace put up my sword. His voice shaky in the eerie silence. Then another facial close up on Tybalt, as he says, Peace, peace, I hate the word. As I hate hell. All Montagues. And thee. With no quivers only confidence and raw hate. The burning match is finally stamped out with the sound of the metal healed boots grinding at the concrete ground. This long gap between lighting the match and putting it out shows a great danger. This man means something; he alone stands for power and danger. Now a small boy, symbolising innocent bystanders at the market place, interrupts the silence. The boy just playing, shouting bang, bang triggering the attack. Tybalt draws, the music screeching. The shot looking up the barrel of tybalts gun as the word bang is said again. Showing he is willing to harm fellow citizens if need be. Now there is a range of many different camera shots, with electric music playing in the background. Tybalt does a lot of flamenco style movements, flowing, professional movements, as though he was fluent and skilled in the art. Very dramatic and serious movements, with no fear of being harmed. The Montagues begin to try to fight back, though not really succeeding. They are frightened; you can see it in their eyes. Tybalt moves almost fashionably, where as the Montagues dont really know what to do. They shoot, showing no passion or drive. Unlike Tybalt who shows both. Tybalt is calling the shots, and in a swift movement he throws down his coat and fits an aiming device. Kissing his gun with a loving passion. People are running, frightened. The Montagues flee, leaving Benvolio and Tybalt in the petrol station. Music still flaring giving added depth to the scene, petrol covering the ground. Tybalt zooms on to one of the fleeing Montagues, taking the shot, and injuring him. The camera looking down the guns barrel as the shot is fired, pointing into Tybalts eyes. With a flickering smile he drops the cigar from his mouth, landing in a pool of petrol and igniting it immediately, which during the whole scene showed how contented he was with conflict. Here Benvolio flees with Tybalt in pursuit. The flames escalate, symbolising the devastation to come. The flames show hate and anger. Every body around is affected by the fighting as symbolised by the flames. Affecting peoples livelihoods, every body is effected by these civil brawls. There is very dramatic music playing now, escalating the feeling of hate and friction between the two families. A poster is shown burning, once stating Montagues and Capulets 2nd civil brawl. This shows that it is over; hate has ended that, and born a third brawl, more powerful than the previous ones. A sign is also shown burning, Add more fuel to your fire. Showing that the public are affected, and that hate is the road to all evils, symbolising the devil and hell. The camera follows the flames upwards showing things will get worse, still with the music blasting. It moves up and through the smoke screen, the two houses can be seen dominating the skyline, with the image of Jesus between them. Still looking extravagant and wealthy after the brawl. Nothings really changed. The fire is burning as strong as their hate, causing public panic and confusion. Now short images are shown of police helicopters and vehicles flying between and around the towers and statue. The music still blearing. Shots are shown from alternate angles showing news reporters reporting the third civil brawl, again linking with the media. Ted Montague (the father-head of the house) rushes to the scene in his limo with registration plate being Montague, Verona beach. Again representing wealth and power. Once more fast flickering shots are shown of the fleeing public, panic stricken, confused. Police swarming to the scene in different kinds of vehicles now, and here with the music breaching a climax the shots slow down and return to facial close-ups. Tybalt and Benvolio are screaming at each other hate in their eyes, with no more fear left in Benvolios body only hate. Cars spread upon the road, utter havoc breached by the two feuding enemies. Guns are pointed at the couple from air and ground. They have no choice but to both walk forward and admit defeat, dropping their weapons to the ground. There is no music now just a loud boom as the weapons fall. Adrenalin at an ultimate climax for anybody watching. The range of shots along with the series of different sounds and music create an unforgettable opening, showing many of the different themes and aspects of the play/film to anybody watching.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Teaching Conditional Sentences

Teaching Conditional Sentences The Teaching of Conditional Sentences Part 1: Evaluation of the Textbook Treatment of Conditional Sentences I. Introduction: Definition of Conditional Sentences In grammar, conditional sentences refer to the discussion of factual implications or imaginary or hypothetical situations and their results. They express something that must happen or be true if another thing is to happen or be true (Hornby, 2000; Swan, 1996). Generally, conditional sentences consist of two main clauses – a main (‘conditional) clause containing a verb in a form with will or would, and a subordinate clause that is introduced by if (Parrott, 2000). The order of the two clauses can appear interchangeably. When the if-clause leads the sentence, normally a comma is used. However, when the conditional sentence takes the lead, no comma is found after it. In certain cases, the way we use this comma in conditional sentences lies ‘partly on their length and partly on personal preference (Parrott, 2000, p. 231). II. First Conditional A. Basic Form In the basic form of the first conditional, the verb in the if-clause takes the present tense, and the verb in the main or conditional clause takes the simple future. If Clause Conditional Clause If + present tense, Future tense Conditional Clause If Clause Future tense If + present tense B. Meaning and Use Generally, the first conditional or conditional sentence type one is used to express a probable condition and its probable result in the future (Soars Liz, 2007; Swan, 1996; Thomson Martinet, 1986). Nonetheless, it does not limit itself only to this use. Parrott (2000) points out that this type of conditional is employed to show ‘aspects of persuasion such as cajoling and negotiation and for giving warnings and making threats'(p. 232), as can be seen in the examples below. Examples: [a] If you have enough rest, you will feel better. [b] Ill cook for you this evening if you help me with this assignment. [c] If he procrastinates, hell miss the flight. [d] Ill kill you if you dont stop your relationship with my sister. Apart from these functions, the first conditional sentence can possibly appear in certain variations. Variations can be present in both the conditional clause and the if-clause. In the conditional clause, a range of other forms, such as may, might, can, must, should or imperative or any expression of command, request or advice, may be used instead of will, depending on what messages we want to send (Parrott, 2000; Thomson Martinet, 1986). For example, if we want to show that something is possible, we can use either may or might instead of will, or when want to indicate permission, either may or can is possible. Moreover, when we want to advise or suggest someone to do something, we can use should or had better or imperative form. Examples below show these. Examples: [a] If you drive fast, you may/might hit others on the road. [b] If you dont feel well, you may/can leave early today. [c] If you want to thoroughly enjoy Christmas, you should finish your assignment well before the deadline. [c1] If you want to gain weight, you had better eat and sleep more. [c2] If dont feel well with coffee, never drink it again. Interestingly, two present tenses can also appear in both the if-clause and the conditional clause. When it is the case, it is usually used to indicate automatic or habitual results (Thomson Martinet, 1986). An example below shows this usage. It should be noted here that this kind of use can mostly be seen in the zero conditional, which mainly discusses factual situation or natural phenomena. Therefore, students at a lower level should not be presented this difference. Example: If there is a shortage of any product, prices of that product go up. Similar to the variations in the conditional clause, we can also use a range of present forms in the if-clause, depending on the meaning we want to convey (Parrott, 2000; Thomson Martinet, 1986). For example, we can use present continuous or present perfect instead of present simple to show a present action or a future arrangement. When we want to show that something is less likely possible and it may happen only by chance, we can use should because it helps weaken the possibility (Parrott, 2000). All these can be found in the examples below. Examples: [a1] If you are coming over next week, Ill bake our traditional cakes for you. [a2] If the letter hasnt arrived by the next hour, well have to phone the post office. [b] If she should call me at night, I wont answer. Moreover, we can also find the use of will or would in the if-clause when we want to indicate polite requests. However, often will is seen as less polite than would (Swan, 1996). At this point, it should also be noted that should can also be used in replacement of if, usually in more formal, written contexts (ibid, 2000), without any change of the meaning (Azar, 2002). This kind of use indicates offer or suggestion. Here are the two examples: If you will/would carry this bag, Ill treat you lunch. Should you need more help, you can call me any time. III. Second Conditional A. Basic Form In general, the basic form of Type 2 conditional uses the past tense in the if-clause, and would + bare infinitive or ‘the conditional tense in the conditional clause to ‘distance our language from reality (Swan, 1996; Thomson Martinet, 1986). If Clause Conditional Clause If + past tense, would + bare infinitive Conditional Clause If Clause would + bare infinitive If + past tense B. Meaning and Use The second conditional is used to talk about an unreal situation and its probable results now or in the future. The situation or condition is improbable, impossible, untrue, imaginary or contrary to know facts (Azar, 2002; Parrott, 2000; Soars Liz, 2007; Swan, 1996; Thomson Martinet, 1986). It is important to note that there is no time difference between Type 1 and 2 conditionals, and the past tense in the if-clause of Type 2 conditional is not a true past, but a subjunctive (Parrott, 2000; Thomson Martinet, 1986). However, while Type 1 conditional is viewed as a real possibility, Type 2 is not the case. Besides, were instead of was is more often found in the if-clause in more formal sentences, and many people consider it more correct, especially in American English (Parrott, 2000; Swan, 1996; Thomson Martinet, 1986). Examples below show these uses. Examples: [a] If I had enough saving, Id buy that grand house. [b] If I were rich, Id be happy! [c] If the plan crashed, Id be terrified. Not different from the first conditional, the second conditional likewise has its possible variations, in both the if-clause and the conditional clause. For the variation in the conditional clause, we can use, for example, might or could or the past tense in place of would to talk about several other things. This ranges from ability or permission to the past automatic or habitual actions. Below examples show this use. Examples: [a1] If she applied for that position again, she might get it. [a2] If they had tickets, they could enter the theater. [b] If he got home late, his wife slept first. In the if-clause, instead of using if with a simple past, it is possible to have if with a past continuous, indicating a wish for a difference for a temporary situation. Moreover, sometimes were + infinitive, in placement of a past tense form in the if-clause, is used to make the situation more hypothetical or polite. At other times, the inversion of the if-subject and were can be seen, and when were takes the if-subjects place, if is then left out. The meaning is still the same. Here are the examples: Examples: [a] She doesnt like the children but now they are going to her home. If they were not going there, shed be a lot fine. [b] If they were to study harder, their teacher would be much happier to help them. [b1] Were they to study harder, their teacher would be much happier to help them. IV. Third Conditional A. Basic Form The basic form of the third conditional takes the past perfect in the if-clause, and would with have plus past participle, or ‘the perfect conditional in the conditional clause. If Clause Conditional Clause If + past perfect, would + have + past participle Conditional Clause If Clause would + have + past participle If + past perfect B. Meaning and Use The third conditional is generally used to speculate about the past events, which are unreal or imaginary, and about the ways things might have been affected just because how other things happened or did not happen. This conditional is also used to talk about regret, criticism or excuse (Parrott, 2000; Thomson Martinet, 1986; Vince Emmerson, 2003). Examples: [a] Kate would have been nice if Peter had treated her equally. [b] If she hadnt gone out late at night, she wouldnt have been rapped. [c] If my car hadnt broken down, Id have been able to catch you up. The same as the first and second conditional, the third conditional has its possible variations, in both the if-clause and the conditional clause. In the conditional clause, in place of would, we can use, for example, might or could to discuss ability, possibility or permission. Examples: [a1] If we had found him earlier, we could have saved his life [a2] If we had found him earlier, we might have saved him. [a3] If our documents had been in order, we could have left at once. In the if-clause, had can be used in the form of inversion. When had is used, then if is to be deleted. No meaning is changed in such usage. If you had asked for his permission, he wouldnt have been that mad at you = Had you asked for his permission, he wouldnt have been that mad at you. V. ‘Unless in conditional sentences In conditional sentences we can use a wide range of conjunctions, such as supposing, as long as, provided, unless, etc., instead of if. Here, however, only unless is discussed. Unless is usually perceived as sharing similar meaning with if†¦not (Swan, 1996; Thomson Martinet, 1986). However, as Parrott (2000) argues unless has a ‘strong degree of reservation compared to if†¦not. Examples: I wont go with you unless you pick me up. Ill go with you only if you pick me up. There is an exceptional case when unless cannot be used in replacement to if†¦not. We would rather use if†¦not instead of unless if it refers to something negative that would be the main cause of the situation we are talking about (Swan, 1996). Instead of saying, ‘My wife will be very upset unless I get back tomorrow, we say, ‘My wife will be very upset if I dont get back tomorrow. This being so because the root cause of the wifes unhappiness is if the speaker does not go back. VI. Implications for teaching conditional sentences Different types of conditional sentences are taught at different levels. A general suggestion given by Parrott (2000) is that the first conditional should be introduced at an elementary or intermediate level; the second at a lower intermediate; and the third at an upper intermediate level. As for the Secondary 3, Band 2 students who are seen as pre-intermediate level, they should be introduced to all the four types of conditional. However, the introduction of details or variations of each type should be carefully considered. As can be seen from the detailed explanation of the three types above, there are many variations in each type, in both the if-clause and the conditional clause. The Secondary 3 students at this level should therefore not be taught all these variations. Otherwise, this will become a very good confusion for them. However, if there are some strong students in the class and if the teacher is ambitious, he or she can introduce his or students to some kind of the variations of the conditional clause Type 1 and 2. These variations could be the use of might or may instead of will in the first conditional, and might or could instead of would in the second conditional. The third conditional is already very difficult and the students should not be made confus ed because of these variations. It should be noted that before all these variations can be introduced, teachers should make sure that the students are made clear with the basic forms of the four types. Furthermore, the way how the conditionals are punctuated should also be ensured since for most Chinese students, recognizing the order of conditional sentences is difficult for them. This being so because the order of clauses does not go with the order in their language (Parrott, 2000). VII. Treatment of a Hong Kong textbook on conditionals The Living English 3B by Nancarrow, Thomas and Yuen (2005) used for Secondary 3 features all the four types of conditionals. Type 0, 1 and 2 are introduced mainly in terms of revision and of some forms of variations. Type 3 is presented virtually exclusively in form of basic rule and usage. However, there is no introduction of conjunctions which can be used in place of if. Perhaps this may be helpful for the students instead, for they are not overwhelmed with too many things at this level. The presentation of the use of the first conditional is simple and well enough for the students to understand. Nevertheless, there seems a bit vague for weaker students to fully recognize the changing of the order of the clauses, explained in the note on page 43. The students should be drawn to the fact that there is no change in meaning even if the position of the two clauses is changed. Another thing is that there is an explanation of variation of this conditional in the Teachers Book (TB), which requires teachers to tell their students but which is generally not necessary at this level. There are two problems in the explanation of the first conditional. The first one is with its description of usage. The explanation tells that this type of conditional is used to describe ‘the future consequences of a situation that is true now (Nancarrow, et al., 2005, p. 43). The wording here looks easy but it may not be the case for the students to grasp the whole picture, and thus needs revision. The second problem concerns with the variation of this type. The book explains that it is possible to use can or may instead of will. However, in the Students Book (SB), it does not give any example of this possibility, nor does it indicate what it means when they are used. A short explanation is available only in TB, though. For the second conditional, it carries only the last problem of the first conditional. In other words, SB gives the same explanation that variation is possible for the second conditional, but fails to show the usage and meaning. Again, only TB explains this va riation in more details. The presentation of the third conditional in this book is very well structured. It introduces the students to the most basic use of this conditional through clear explanation and examples. It suits the students level quite well. One last note is that the textbook should not introduce the variations of the first three types of conditional. Ironically, the title is devoted only to revising, yet the students are also presented with variations. At this level, the students should learn mainly the basic or general forms and usage. Variations should be presented in the next levels. However, one good thing is that there is no presentation of conjunctions, which can be used to replace if. It is good to make sure that the students can understand the basic first. Part Two: Critique and Reflection I. Critique on Ms Leungs teaching Ms Leung is revising conditional sentences Type 1 and 2 and trying to introduce Type 3 and conjunction unless to her Secondary 3 students. Certain problems appear as she handles these grammatical aspects in each excerpt. Among all problems, her inadequacy of knowledge of the underlying system of language is the central one and in turn affects the ways she handles her teaching. In excerpt 1, in which she revises the first and second conditionals, Ms Leung generally appears unclear herself in what she explains to her students. She asks her students to remember that with Type 1 conditional, it has to be future in the main clause. She yet does not point out specifically what kind of future tense it is to which she is referring since there are many future tenses. Although this is apparently clear that she is referring to the simple future will, being a well-language aware teacher, she should present it to the students to clear confusion it may have. Concerning her explanation of the use of this conditional, I feel the word choice is rather ambiguous. She tells her students that conditional Type 1 is for a prediction. Even though the form of will here is used as the normal future form in general, there is a significant difference between the use of will in conditional sentences and in general sentences. In a general sentence, will is used ‘for unplanned fu ture events, or to make predictions that arent based on present or past evidence (Parrott, 2000, p. 170). However, in a Type 1 conditional sentence, the use of will in the main or conditional clause is to indicate a probable result, not a prediction of it. This can be implied that the teacher is not truly well aware of the content subject. When Ms Leung revises the second conditional in the same excerpt, she seems to create similar problems as when she handles the first conditional. The first problem concerns with the relationship between her own explanation of the use of the second conditional and her examples. She gives two examples to her students and informs the students that the second conditional is used to talk about ‘things which are not so probable, they are possible but not very probable. To some degree, the examples do carry an improbable meaning. However, the two are just contrary to known fact, with the first example indicates an imaginary future situation, and the second an imaginary present situation. The second example also indicates clearly that it is advice, which the teacher misses to convey to her students. The second problem is the extent of her explanation, in addition to the first problem. She does not make it clear to her students whether the past tense used in the if-clause refers to the real past, or present or future speculation. Some students may be still doubtful about this tense, though they have already gone through it. This implies that the teacher is not well aware of the students difficulties or that she is not thinking about the language content from the viewpoint of the learners (Andrews, 2007). In excerpt 2, she introduces the third conditional, and here two critical problems come about. The first one is about overgeneralization of the conditional form in both the if-clause and the main clause. Ms Leung presents to her students that all the third conditionals begin with if plus Past Perfect. To say that all the third conditionals start with if is already too exaggerated. She seems not to take into consideration the variation of this form. It is questionable in her explanation whether it is still called Type 3 conditional when ‘had is used instead of if in the case of inversion. As she goes on to explain the form in the main clause, Ms Leung makes the same overgeneralized mistake. She mentions that would have done is always used in the main clause. This rule again ignores the fact that there are variations in the third conditional too. In addition, it creates confusion in the use of ‘have done. As can be seen from her example, ‘done is not used with ‘have. Instead, it is ‘woken that is being used with ‘have. The example and the rule then do not match, and so another question arrives whether this is a conditional sentence or not. The second problem in her presentation of this Type 3 conditional is the fact that there is no explanation of when it is used at all. She presents to her students only the form and a single example. Why or when the third conditional is used is not explained. Although the students may know how to structure this conditional, they surely do not know when to use it. This seems like it is nothing for the students to learn because how useful it is to use this conditional they are not aware of. One last note is that the teacher seems not willing to give more examples to help with her explanation. This insufficient example would mean to limit the general understanding of the students, and so they will not learn. Ms Leung finally finishes her class by trying to introduce another language point. She teaches her students how to use unless in place of if†¦not. Even though she can manage to tell her students relatively well that unless can be used instead of if†¦not when the if-clause is negative, she perhaps may not be well aware that meaning of the two sentences is not exactly the same as she has claimed. According to Parrott (2000) unless carters a stronger degree of reservation compared to if†¦not. This shows that the teachers knowledge of the subject-matter is insufficient enough. Besides, Ms Leung is unable to clarify when to use unless instead of if†¦not. From the beginning of this introduction, she tries to tell her students that they can use unless sometimes. Nonetheless, she ends up not explaining when exactly, and so abruptly changes the way she presents to the students. This perhaps indicates also that she lacks ‘strategic competence (Bachman, 1990). Through her teaching of all the language points, it is obviously clear that Ms Leung does not check with her students whether or not they have understood what has been taught. Instead, she seems to rush from one language point to another very quickly. This seems that she does not care about the students learning or that she wants to escape from the students questions. An implication from this behavior and her so far inability to clarify each language point is that she is short of necessary subject-matter knowledge as well as language competency. These inadequacies will in turn impact the way the teacher handles the teaching in a negative way. According to Andrews (2007), professional factors of teacher affect the teachers attitudes in a way that the teacher is afraid of giving serious attention to language-related issues. Because of this, the learners cannot get a meaningful learning from the teacher. II. Reflection of what can be done differently better If I were Ms Leung, I would adopt a different approach to teaching this language point to the students in this target group. As can be seen from her teaching, she is trying both to revise two conditional types and to introduce two other major language points at the same time. This teaching is already too much with the time available and the target group, and therefore can be unfruitful. ‘At different levels of language learning students will need to be shown different aspects of grammar and teachers will need to decide how detailed their approach to grammar will be (Joyce Burns, 1999, p. 66). If I were the teacher myself, I would not introduce conjunction unless to the students. At this level, the students should be taught only the basic form or marked feature, that is, if†¦not first. The unmarked feature such as unless should be left for the students to learn by themselves naturally before the right time comes (Ellis, 2006). I would therefore use the available time for teaching this conjunction to focus more on the revising of Type 1 and 2 conditionals and on the elaboration of Type 3, for I believe this intensive teaching will help them progress through the sequence of stages involved in the acquisition of that structure (ibid, 2006). For the explanation of Type 1, I would simplify the wording that the teacher uses to discuss when this conditional is used. Instead of telling the students that this conditional is used for predictions, I would say it is used to show a possible condition and its probable result in the future. In the same way for Type 2, I would tell t he students that it is used to talk about an unreal situation and its probable results now or in the future, or to give advice to someone. I would also draw their attention to the fact that the past tense used in the if-clause is not the real past, but a subjunctive which indicates unreality or improbability. In addition, I would give the examples that truly reflect its usage, so that the examples can help facilitate the students understanding in a better way. For Type 3 conditional, I would first change the extreme generalization the teacher makes in both clauses. I would tell the students that in the if-clause, we usually use the Past Perfect, and would plus Past Participle in the main clause. Then I would give them 3 examples. From this, I would present to them when we use this third conditional. The students will find it easier to understand the central meaning with the facilitation of the examples on the board. If I had some time left, I would establish connections between form and meaning for them to practice the language point since this is a fundamental aspect of language acquisition (VanPatten, Williams, Rott, 2004, as cited in Ellis, 2006).

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Subjective well-being at the workplace and organizations

Subjective well-being at the workplace and organizations Even though the psychologists explored the human behavior especially unhappiness in detail but the positivity was ignored in the past. Until 1974, the Journal Social Indications research founded and dedicated large number of articles to Subjective well-being. The literature of SWB shows or focuses on why and how people experience positive way of life including cognitive judgments and affective reactions. By cognitive judgment it means life satisfaction and by affective reaction it means positive and negative affect. In past many researches used the affective dimension to measure well-being. For instance, using the traits of negative affectivity and positive affectivity to explain the well-being of employees but the measurements of the cognitive dimensions were uncommon. So, Because of this Diener developed the measurement of Satisfaction with Life scale (SWLS) 1985. It assess person on their own rather on the researchers judgments. One of the definitions for happiness according to Di ener (1984) is satisfaction of life (Diener, 2000). Despite lots of researches exploring the individuals happiness sources, no one of the theories of subjective well-being has risen to dominate this area of study as the main reason for this is incomplete existing SWB theories. Psychological theories of SWB are divided in to two main categories, top-down approach suggesting individuals that are happy as they are inclined to react to the circumstances in a positive way while the bottom up approach uphold that individuals are happier because of numerous happy moments in their lives. There are three characteristics of subjective well-being first is development of SWLS. Secondly it includes not only positive but also negative measures and finally SWB measures global assessment of all peoples life aspects (Diener, 1984). Donaldson (2009) defined positive psychology as a term that focus on excellence, happiness, gratitude, flourishing, subjective well-being, strengths, flow, resilience and positive organizational scholarship. This section focuses on positive as well as negative Subjective well-being in the organizations but more importance is given to positive aspect. Circumplex model (Russell, 1980, 2003) as a broad theoretical frame work to distinguish between positive and negative work related subjective well being. Positive subjective well-being includes work happiness, job satisfaction and work engagement where as negative SWB includes burnout and workaholism. Psychologists and sociologists are focusing in happiness and subjective well being from many years (Veenhoven, 1991). Recently happiness also gain importance in the field of economics (Layard, 2006) and is the central focus in the positive psychology movement (Sleigman Csikszentmijhalyi, 2000). This field of psychology has focused on the positive aspects of the individuals to help them flourish. Psychology, sociology and economy all of these fields in together can contribute in better understanding of the employee happiness in the organization (Bakker and Schaufeli, 2008). Definition of Subjective Well-Being (SWB): Subjective well-being means that how people assess their lives. Its a normal positive state that involves the whole life experience. This assessment may take the form of cognitions when person makes conscious evaluative judgment about their satisfaction with life as whole. A person is having high subjective well-being if he is satisfied with his life and having frequent positive experiences or emotions such as joy and happiness and in frequent negative feeling such as sadness and anger (Diener, Sandvik Pavot, 1991). Subjective well-being is a trait not a state. Many researchers argue that individual have a set-point for happiness level and this is fixed and crucial part of our performance. So, SWB is very important as without it human beings shrink their skill to gather desired assets and weaken their ability to handle and remain flexible in the face of challenges (International Well being Group, 2006). According to Windle and Treuer (2008) subjective well-being is vital because positive feelings and experiences build a range of personal resources i.e. physical, social, intellectual and psychological and they defined SWB as a normal positive state of mind that includes the whole life experience and stable happiness. According to Diener (2009), subjective wellbeing indicates satisfaction of life; high positive emotions like passion, joy and love; reduced negative emotions like anger, depression and also satisfaction with various other aspects of life like work, marriage, health. Diener (1984) said that subjective well-being is an umbrella term that evaluates ones lives including life satisfaction, pleasant emotions, feeling of fulfillment, work and marriage satisfaction and lowest level of satisfactions. Researchers used the term subjective well-being rather than happiness as it has varied meaning depending on the life event. Although life satisfaction is is an important aspect of life but not for all people as people want to be happy for good reasons and presence of vital things although they are not happy with it. So, it can be argued that subjective well-being is just an important component of good life. Diener also stated that demographic factors like age sex, income, ethnicity and education has 20% variance in subjective well-being. It is also stated that married people are happier than unmarried people over that women are happier than men. Diener (2000) studied the relation between the resources and subjective well-being and they predicted that internal resources like self confidence were best predictorsof subjective well-being in college students rather than external resources like money due to that with the help of internal resources external resources can be obtained too. Culture does have influence on the subjective well-being of the individuals. Diener and Biswas-Diener (2002) and Diener and Oishi (2000) have worked a lot on relationship between money and happiness. Their studies showed findings that positive correlations exist between income and subjective well-being of wealthy nations. Wealthy nations have high subjective well-being than the poor nations. But always its not the same in case when the employees pay is increased he is still unhappy as its stressors are more like high expectations in return. It was also found that materialistic people have low subjective well-being because people who have high desire for money dont care about the social relationships and are insecure. People with high subjective well-being have the following characteristics that is they have more friends, more likely to get married nad stay happily, have good services are more involved in leadership roles and live longer. 2.3 Subjective well-being at Work According to Dieners (2006) definition of SWB, an employee has elevated work related SWB if he is satisfied with his job and have frequent positive experiences and infrequent negative emotions. Positive emotions are employees experiences at work investigative of engagement, happiness or satisfaction. Diener (1994) also stated that when SWB, term is read it must be immediately noted that its not the same as happiness but synonymous to it. It can be defined as broad category that includes peoples emotional response, domain satisfactions and global judgments of life satisfaction. Sleigman (2002) also said that positive psychology is the scientific study of how humans achieve happiness and mental satisfaction, in order to discover how people can lead the most productive lives possible. It is about positive subjective experience i.e. well being ad satisfaction. In short, positive psychology is a science of subjective well-being. Diener sees life satisfaction as a factor of SWB and subsidiary to it (Camfield and Skevington 2008). International experts defined subjective well-being as an umbrella term for different valuations that person make related to their lives, the actions experienced by them and the situations in which they survive. Happiness is referred many times as positive affect but it can also be related to positive mood generally, a global evaluation of Life satisfaction, living a good life and the causes or reason of happiness (Diener, 2006). Now, we will discuss positive and negative emotions of work related SWB by placing them in the circumplex model. Russells (1980, 2003) circumplex model put forwards that affective states occur from two basic neurophysiological systems, one linked with pleasure-displeasure continuum and the other with arousal and activation. Each experience of emotions can be linear combinations of theses two proportions as varying degrees of both pleasure and activation. Figure 2. A two-dimensional view of work-related SWB (adapted from Russell, 1980, 2003). 2.4 Positive forms of Work related SWB: 2.4.1 Work engagement: it is defined as an optimistic, gratifying, work related state of mind that is portrayed by vigor, dedication, and absorption (Schaufeil and Bakker, 2010). Its position in circumplex model is at upper right quadrant resembling high levels of pleasure and activation. Vigor means high level of energy while working and persistence even in the face of difficulties, dedication means being strongly in ones on work and experience a sense of enthusiasm and lastly absorption mean being fully concentrated in ones own work . Because of engaged employees positive attitude towards them selves, employees buildup their own positive feed back in terms of appreciation, recognition and success (Bakker, 2009). 2.4.2 Happiness at work: numerous researchers have connected subjective well-being with the term happiness (Cropanzano and Wright, 1999; Easterlin, 2001; Sleigman, 2002; Lyubomirski, 2001). It refers to high level of activation as being satisfied and some hat lower as being excited. According to Fisher, (2003) more than 90% of workers agree that happy workers are productive workers as they are more active, energetic and interested in work and persistent to face difficulties as compared to unhappy employees. It is important to distinguish happiness as a specific emotion from other measures that cover a range of positive and negative emotions (Veenhoven, 1984). 2.4.3 Job satisfaction: it is most studied form of work related SWB and it can be placed in the right lower quadrant of the model, as it reflects a high level of pleasure and a lo level of activation. According to Grebner, Semmer and Elfering (2005), employees having satisfaction with their jobs experience high pleasure, but may have limited energy and aspirations. Similarly, Bussing, Bissels, Fuchs and Perrar (1999) said that decrease in aspiration level can result in a positive state of satisfaction and over all job satisfaction is closely related to the experience of satisfaction as positive emotion in the work place. 2.5 Negative Forms of Work-related SWB 2.5.1 Workaholism: it is placed in the upper left of the quadrant reflecting lower levels of pleasure and high levels of work activation workholism is an inner drive to struggle and work hard (Oates1971). According to Tris, Schaufeil and Shimzau (2010), workholism is an employee has compulsion to work incessantly and give exceptional time to work and to meet expected organizational requirements. 2.5.2 Burnout: its placed in the lower left of the circumplex model reflecting low levels of pleasure and activation. According to Masiach and Jackson (1986) it was originally conceived as work related syndrome that most often occurs among individuals who work with other people. Consistent with our categorization of SWB according to circumplex model and some researches have suggested that burnout is the opposite of work engagement (Gonalez-Roma-Schaufeil, Bakker and Lloret, 2006). According to Noll (2002) the individual is himself or herself responsible to evaluate their quality of life in terms of subjective well-being. The subjective well-being construct is comprised of four different components: Life satisfaction (universal judgment of ones own life). Satisfaction with necessary life domains ( family, health work) Positive affect ( many positive emotion and moods experienced) Low negative affects ( familiar with few unpleasant emotions and moods) Dolan and White (2006), regard as these mechanisms of SWB as divisible elements. a person for example who have high level of positive affect for a particular event will be dissatisfied because he has failed to achieve personal aim. Alternatively, an individual experiencing negative affect may be satisfied by comparing himself to an individual in less favorable situation. There are cross cultural differences in happiness and life satisfaction that are not completely explained by income differences. Bradburn (1969) study showed that Subjective well-being was moderately associated with adjustment, neuroticism, work satisfaction and family situation, but were considerably associated to each other. Concluding, the psychological contract following are its key features: Psychological contract is based on beliefs and perceptions and is different for each individual although in the same organization. They are implicit and are thought to be inferred from obligations made by the organizations or employees and conclusions are drawn by one party by observing the behavior with the other party. There is an exchange relationship in it so its founded on the principle of reciprocity: the implied promises to behave in certain way to work, psychological contract is also based on perceived or observed agreement rather than actual or written agreement, in which the terms are continuously re-written as the parties interact and mutual expectations, obligations and promises are generated and implied. The employees have a heart as well other than a hand and a head which is mostly over looked by the organizations that have focused just on hiring the hands and head ignoring the heart. Subjective well being is satisfaction with life and positive emotions and moods having low level of unpleasant emotions. Studies have revelaed that the income, religion, education , intelligene have only 15% of effect on th subjective well-being. The focus of happiness that who is happy has been shiftd from when and why people are happy (Diener, 2000). Chapter 2: Literature Review. The growing body of literature on the psychological contract reflects collecting confirmation or verification for its great impact on assorted work-related outcomes. The literature review estimate that employees evaluate their incentives received from their organization by comparing it with the promises made and this estimation leads to psychological contract fulfillment or breach impression (Turnley Feldman, 1998). The over view of PC research shows that there are about 100 or more empirical studies on Psychological Contract out of which 60% were on the breach and 30% on content of psychological contract. Psychological contract breach or violation has been correlated with mistrust, job satisfaction, intention to quit, actual turn over, actual performance, organizational commitment and absence .Based upon research by Guest Conway (2001) 84% of managers had heard of psychological contract, 36% of managers apply it to deal with the employment relationship. Similarly, Guests (1998) ex plain why the Psychological contract is important and should be taken seriously. First reason was that from the last few years the focus is being shifted from industrial relations to employee relations and this can be explored through the construct of Psychological contract. Second reason is it focuses on distribution of power and finally it has ability to incorporate large number of organizational concepts. In 1998, Turnley and Feldman study found that twenty five percent of their employees sample felt that they received less than they had been promised like health care benefits, job related security, power to make vital decisions, career development and responsibilities. Similarly, Robison, Kraatz and Rousseau (1994) study found that fifty five percent of the sample reported contract violations by their employers after spending two years at the organization and these violations were related to training and development, promotion, compensation etc. These studies indicate that workers or employees are quite cynical about the organization that whether they accomplish their pledges. In the past organizations focused on employees loyalty and honesty to the organization but currently they need flexible employees who learn more skills and abilities, to work under pressures and are more marketable for the organization (Herriot and Pemberto, 1995, Sparrow and Marchington, 1998). The current sta te of psychological contract is much similar to the past as four out of five employees are satisfied with their job, there commitment ha not declined but there trust has declined over the years according to the CIPD surveys (CIPD, 2005). According to Guest and Conway (2002), 1,306 senior HR showed that Psychological Contract offers employers a framework within which they study how to administer the employment relationship. So, the main role of the Psychological Contract in an organization is to make most out of their human capital which means what employee expect from their employers (Guest and Conway 2002, CIPD 2005). CIPD concluded that employees today seek one of the three types of psychological contract with their employee: Traditional: those who seek long term tenure and work long hours. Disengaged: for those whom work is not a central life interest and seek no emotions to their employers and Independent: those who are well qualified and seek short tenure and high rewards. In a qualitative study by Herriot, Manning, and Kidd (1997) it was found that the relational component of psychological contract was more frequently mentioned than was the transactional component and therefore seemed more important. Similarly, Zhao, Wayne, Glibkowski and Bravo (2007) also found in a study that the association between relational breach and job satisfaction, turnover intentions and organizational citizenship behaviors as much stronger than association between transactional breach and job satisfaction, and the above variables. According to suggestion of Berman, E.M. and West, J.P. (2003), psychological contract involves work load, work schedules, authority, work quality, responsibility, interpersonal relations, job security, rewards, promotion, career development, loyalty, working relation with immediate supervisors, specific behaviors of employees and managers and individually preferred working styles other than employees and employers. While Devidson (2001) recommended that employee hopes involve benefits and rewards, job security, safe and comfortable working conditions, personal development opportunities and career progression, fair treatment, work life balance, working hours, job challenges on the other hand employers expectations involve high productivity for reward, working under organizational objectives. According to Collin (2010) psychological contract fulfillment is found to be significant predictor of turn over intention and finding suggest that turnover can be moderated if leaders of organizat ion have strong relation based on respect, trust and mutual obligations and uses them to fulfill the unwritten contract between firm and the employees. Rousseau (1995) investigated that the psychological contract in business relationship is a key ingredient between employees and employers and at work place it could be influential determinant of behaviors and attitudes. Researchers like Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000), Tekleab and Taylor (2003), Turnley and Feldman (1999), Robinson and Rousseau (1994), findings showed that fulfilled contracts are positively related to organizational commitment and the effective functioning of the organization. The fulfilled psychological contracts have positive association with employees and organizational outcomes. A foremost research was conducted by Psycones (2006) in six European countries and Israel. The sample size was 5288 employees (1981 were temporary employees and 3307 were permanent employees) working in 202 companies of education an industries and retail sectors. The results of this study were violation of promises made by the employer reduced the job satisfaction. Workers receiving power at work, fulfilling promises from their supervisors show higher satisfaction the more the promise fulfilled by the organizations the more the employees are committed to the organization and the violation of employer or employee obligations lead to quitting the job. Suazo, MarK, Turnley, William H., Mai-Dalton, Renate R (2008) conducted a study on characteristics of supervisor subordinate relationship as predictors of psychological contract. The sample size was 234 full time employees out of which 41% were males and 59% were females and the mean age of the participants was 37years. The data was collected through emails. The aim of this study was to know the factors like gender, cognitive style and race present between employees and employers predicting psychological contract breach. The hypotheses were that greater similarity between the cognitive styles of supervisor and subordinate will reduce the likelihood of psychological contract breach, the gender will be a specific factor in predicting psychological contract breach and subordinates with mix races will perceive more psychological contract breach than subordinates in same race supervisor subordinate dyads. The results proved that the cognitive style was negatively related to perceived Psyc hological contract breach and where as gender and race were not significant predictors of psychological contract breach. The cognitive approach of the supervisors and subordinates towards a problem, matters more than gender and race in predicting psychological contract breach. Lester, Claire, Kickul (2001) paper studied the status of psychological contract in 21st century. Employees recognized the importance of various aspects of psychological contract and the degree to which their organization had fulfilled theses obligations. The purpose of this study was to examine the employer inducements which are considered more important by the employees, to find how well the companies are fulfilling their obligations and also to know the discrepancies between the perceived importance and fulfillment of psychological contracts obligation affecting employees behavior at work. The numbers of participants were 268 fulltime employees out of which 51.7% were males and 48.3% were females and the average age was 27.6 years old. The respondents belonged to different occupational fields like finance and banking, sales and marketing, computer science, accounting, human resource and staffing, engineering and organizational consulting. The findings showed that the organizations also struggle to fulfill components of psychological contract mostly accepted by the employees. The discrepancies between the perceived importance and fulfillment have significant effect on satisfaction and turnover of employees. Employees performance was also effected but to less extent. Similarly, Bergmann (2001) investigated relational component of the psychological contract across time, generation and employment status. His study focused on just one type of psychological contract and went to its details. The sample size was 204 individuals of three different generations 68 were college students, one of each of their parents and grandparents were also included in the survey. From 204 participants 56% were females and 75%of students and their parents were employed where as grandparents retired and 44% of students were full time employees. The respondents were also asked for their perception regarding psychological contract on four different time periods 1900s, 1950s, 1960s and 19 70s. There was significant difference between psychological contract scores for 1950s and 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The interaction effect of time and generation on assessment of the relational component of psychological contract was not significant i.e. the subjects viewed psychological contract same across time regardless of changes in generation. So it was stressed that the relational components of the psychological contract have decreased during the five decades. It is also possible that factors other than time, generation, workplace may also have contributed to the shift in the psychological contract. Michael (2001), perceived the obligations of future forest industry employees and their first employers after graduation. New employees have reciprocal obligations between them and their employers and these beliefs can be called as psychological contract between them when the employee observes that he owe the employer certain incentives in return to the contribution given by him. Fulfillments of psychological contract have a direct impact on employees productivity and satisfaction. The sample size of his study was 300 graduated students from 34 different universities at United States of America. The results showed that the first obligation of the employee to their future employer is hard work and have distinct type of relationship with future employers. From the middle of 1970s the well-being has not increased in Britain and United states. White individuals are happier than black and non-white individuals in the United States but in the last 30 years the results are changing the blacks are also much happier and satisfied, so this study by Blanch Flower and Oswald (2004) has focused on races not immigrants. The peer reviewed literature on the influence of positive psychology in organizational sector focusing on organizational behavior and scholarship is in the year 2001 there were to researches done in organizational sector, in 2002 in total 6 researches were conducted 2 empirical and 4 non-empirical, in 2003 3 empirical and 6 non-empirical researches were conducted , 3 empirical and 24 non-empirical in 2004, 5 empirical and 17 non-empirical in 2005, 6 empirical and 18 non-empirical in 2006, in 2007 7 empirical and 16 non-empirical, and finally 19 empirical and 18 non-empirical in 2008. So in total 46 empirical studies and 104 on empirical studies were conducted and combining both 150 studies having being conducted in positive psychology organizational sector (Donaldson, 2009). Danna and Griffin (1999) investigated that work settings and occupational stress would be the forerunner factors of well-being. This view was supported by Cropanzano, James and Konovsky (1993) and Wright and Hobfoll (2004). Workers or employees when experience poor health and well-being at the work site are less productive, make lower quality decisions, and absenteeism (Boyd, 1997). Similarly, Price and Hooijberg (1992) the low subjective well-being would diminish the contributions to the organizations. In a cross national study, Diener and Oishi (2000) established that for majority of the students in 42 countries happiness and life satisfaction was more important than income. Over the past five decades the number of longitudinal studies on income and subjective well-being exposed that although income level has been increased dramatically in United State of America and other developed countries but the levels of subjective well-being have been rather stable (Myres, 2000). According to Diener (2000), as employees rise in their accomplishments and possessions their expectations also raise. They adapt themselves to the ne level very fast and then the current level is no longer source of happiness for them but this happens with some employees depending on the situation. The factors that have import effect on the subjective well-being of the individual are personality, personal goals, comparison with other people, past, needs, goals and the last factor is culture. In the recent years, the emergent number of researchers focused on positive indicators of subjective well-being (SWB), including job satisfaction (Judge, Thorenson, Bono and Patton, 2001), work engagement (Bakker, Schaufeil., Leiter and Taris, 2008), and happiness at work (Diener and Biswas- Diener 2002). Parent-Thirion, Fernandez-Macias, Hurley and Vermeylen (2007) study shows that 85% of all employees in the European Union and a study by Handel (2005) found that 86% of all the employees in the United States of America are very satisfied with their jobs. A research on subjective well being of managers of private enterprises was conducted by Bo Lui, bus, Hohai, Nanjing (2010) in China. This study include factors that affect subjective well being, subjective well being of different masses, cultural differences. Different managers of private enterprises were considered as participants and the data was analyzed on SPSS15.0. The overall subjective well being of the managers of private enterprises was low. The factors like status of marriage had significant impact on the subjective well being of the managers but gender and education didnt play vital role. Correspondingly, a study Job Insecurity and Wellbeing: Moderation by Employability by Inmaculada, Nele, Francisco, Jose and Hans (2010) investigated the association between job insecurity and wellbeing and the role of employability in this association. The researcher hypotheses were that job insecurity may be related to poor well-being, employability might moderate the unfavorable results of job security for employees well-being and employability is beneficial in the same manner as the job security is. These hypotheses were tested on the sample size of 639 Belgian employees from six organizations. The findings showed that the job insecurity is related to poor well-being, employability as expected moderates the relation between job insecurity and life satisfaction. There was no association found between employability and job security. The model accounted for 8% of explained variance. The first research that studied the relationship between psychological contract and subjective well being of employees was conducted by Windle and Treuer (2008). In this longitudinal study psychological contract was dependent variable and subjective well being was independent variable. The sample size was 187 new recruits in Australia wide organizations and data was collected through online survey 58% males and 42% females. The results indicate that SWB informs development of a Balanced Psychological contract and SWB significantly correlated with employer fulfillment, employee fulfillment, social knowledge and interpersonal resources. Balanced dynamic performance of Psychological contract was predicted by subjective well-being at 9% variance explained while in dynamic performance 10% of variance was explained. A lot of researches have focused on happiness of individuals and employees living within their own country. This study is different in terms that its focusing on employees who have migrated from their home country to the host country and to investigate the relationship of psychological contract and the physical and mental health i.e. subjective well-being of Pakistani immigrants working abroad (Middle East). It would be expected that the fulfillment of psychological contract would have positive relation with subjective well-being of the employees. The role of gender within psychological contract has received little attention, so this study would also examine whether there are any gender differences in the type of psychological contract of Pakistani immigrants and among them which type of psychological contract is more common. Rationale Keeping in view the literature review on the psychological contract and subjective well-being and also the statistical figure of Pakistani immigrants working abroad especially at U.A.E, not much work has been done regarding the problems and difficulties they face, and no work