Money Is The Biggest Motivator Commerce Essay

Money Is The Biggest Motivator Commerce Essay Money is the biggest motivator of people at the workplace. Most people are motivated by money. According to Alison Griffiths, journalist of Metro Canada, survey showed that 53 percent of Baby Boomers in Canada did want to earn more money while 32 percent of them did plan to open a own business after retirement to earn more money too. Besides that, Reuters (2012) also stated that 31.4 percent of Americans aged from 65 to 69 were still working in year 2010, compared to year 1990 with a lower percentage which is 21 percent. These showed that Baby Boomers value money as an important motivation factor. For example, A Generation X employee tells a Boomer manager that he had been working too hard and request for taking an off for family vacation. Instead of saying thanks, the Boomer replies, I work to get ahead, to get a promotion, not for a vacation. The Boomer manager then gave the employee a bonus, rather than a vacation (Hammill, G., 2005). In contrast, Generation X seek a work-life bal ance where they will take less money if they are given opportunity to work lesser hours and have time off to spend with family or take a vacation. For them, money act as an incentive or reward but it does not add value to the job. Whilst, Boomers are attracted to position and even more money rather than placing value on vacation time or flex time. According to Mcshane (2010), Generation X and Generation Y employees expect a more egalitarian workplace. For them, money is an important factor but it is not a standalone. A study by Accenture consulting firm found that 50% of middle managers were interested in new job that provide benefits such as more time off rather than more pay (Williams, R., 2010) Thus, money is very important to employees for number of reasons. I firmly believe that money is the major and biggest motivator at the workplace. Some of the motivation theory model also explains the importance of money as a major motivator factor such as Maslows Needs Hierarchy Theory, E RG Theory, Equity Theory and etc. 2.0 Content Maslows needs hierarchy theory According to Maslow, the most basic needs on the needs hierarchy had to be satisfied before the next level of needs emerge (Mcshane, 2010). Maslow stated that individual needs are arranged in a hierarchy from the lower level to the higher level of needs. It classified individual needs into 5 levels which is physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. Money which is a basic needs for survival, as stated by Maslow, it is very important as money can get shelter, food, clothing, water and other necessaries of life to satisfy individual basic physical needs such as physiological and security needs. As a matter of fact, worker is motivated to work in the organization to receive economic rewards to meet his basic needs. Whilst, the organization helps an individual to satisfy their basic needs by providing good salaries, benefits and good working condition. Besides that, the most general theoretical explanation for moneys importance is the fac t that it is useful for obtaining many other things that we want and wish for because of its symbolic value (Davis, K. and Newstrom, J. W., 2002). Thus, money or pay did satisfy individual drives and needs. Company and organization such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Tesco, Kelloggs, Siemens motivates its workers by providing these basic needs wherever they create job (McShane, 2010). Furthermore, money or pay is frequently used as a standard used for comparison for social status and personal accomplishment (Davis, K. and Newstrom, J. W., 2002). In addition, money or pay can help an individual to acquire a higher level on Maslows motivational needs hierarchy, including social esteem and self-actualization (Davis, K. and Newstrom, J. W., 2002). For instance, money can carve the path towards social recognition, making it possible for early retirement, a good education for ones children as well as free time for enjoyment. For example, a manager motivate his worker by raises his worke rs pay because the worker had done a good job. The worker felt he was respected and rewarded as well as more security and was highly pleased with this recognition (Davis, K. and Newstrom, J. W., 2002). Hence, money or pay did affect ones self-esteem as well as self-respect. ERG Theory In ERG theory, needs affect an individuals behavior as described by Maslow. Alderfers ERG theory reorganizes Maslows five groups into three which is existence, relatedness, and growth (McShane, 2010). Existence needs are the same as physiological and safety needs as Maslow. Relatedness needs are the same as belongingness needs as Maslow. Growth needs are the same as self-esteem and self-actualization needs. Unlike Maslow, which only explained how people progress up the hierarchy, ERG theory also describes how people regress down the hierarchy when fail to fulfills a higher needs (McShane, 2010). In another word, Alderfer suggested that more than one needs may be operative at the same time. Likewise, assume that a nurse who is seeking a promotion because the promotion will raise her pay. This promotion will promote her to a head nurse position would help meeting the nurses needs for growth as well. After a prolonged wait, she learned that she was dropped from further consideration. Sh e becomes frustrated, disappointed, and concerned about her future. Her supervisor and her co-workers talk with her assuring her that other opportunities will occur and her value to other co-workers is immeasurable. After few days of feeling frustrated, she redirected her need for the promotion to the relatedness category and seems to enjoy her work and her colleagues. Furthermore, Alderfer also suggested that the failure to satisfy relatedness or growth needs will cause renewed interest in existence needs. For instance, this might increase the desire for more money or for better working condition. Likewise, money or pay which is the factor of existence needs. It drives people to go to work for survival. Individual at the existence level who is given the opportunity to earn additional $100 will be more motivated compare to someone earning $100,000 per year. This can be explained with McClellands theory which low achiever view monetary reward as an end in itself while high achiever v iew monetary reward as symbol of success or achievement and feedback about job performance. In contrast, the importance of money or pay is indeed a strong motivator. It ensures an individual primary needs to be met as well as providing security and personal growth and development as the worker is assign to perform more responsibility on the job. Other than achievement, money can be use to buy affiliation and power. For example, people can use money to buy their way into expensive clubs as well as giving them the capacity to influence others such as through political contributions. Furthermore, money or pay is classified as a hygiene factors in Frederick Herzbergs motivator-hygiene theory. Herzberg suggested that manager first must improve the hygienic conditions of work before trying to increase motivation. Negative hygienic conditions distract employees because they are necessary for building a foundation on which to maintain a reasonable level of motivation in employees. Therefore , the role of money or pay must not be ignored. Expectancy Theory According to Victor Vrooms Expectancy theory, the theory stated that work effort is directed toward behaviors that people believe will lead to desired outcomes. That is, people are motivated to achieve the goals with the highest expected payoff. For example, a person may be a high-performing employee because he believes that this will lead to a merit increase in pay. This means that an employee must want more pay or money which is valence, must believe that effort will be successful in producing desired performance which is expectancy, and must trust that the monetary reward will follow better performance which is instrumentality. Most employees do respond to money as a reward. For instance, a person may prefer a 10 percent merit increase rather than transfer to a new department. Thus, money often has high valence. Likewise, pay or money also plays a larger role in applicants job choices. That is, a level of pay must be met before an individual will even consider accepting a job offe r. Company that offer starting salary or pay below the market range will not even being considered by the applicant. In another word, money can attract employee as well as retaining the employee such as offering high salaries and increased variable pay. Equity Theory In equity theory, the equity principle infers that people should be paid in proportion to their contribution. The theory posits that individuals evaluate the fairness of their pay by comparing their own ratio of inputs and outcomes to the input and output of other person such as close coworkers, workers in other companies, or the employees past work history. In addition, the theory predicts that an individual who perceives his raise to be inequitable is likely to change his behavior in several ways like expressing dissatisfaction to his supervisor, working harder to get a bigger raise next year, working less to bring her inputs in line with his perceived outcomes, or even quit the job in disgust. Hence, money or pay level clearly becomes important as an outcomes perceived by the employees in exchange for their services. For instance, it will affect employee behaviors if it is cut. As such, employees are on high alert and sensitive for every time employers make pay changes. It reflect s differences in how the employees are regarded or value by the employer. In another word, employees react strongly to changes in pay. An example of employee reaction to underpayment inequity occurred in a manufacturing plant that the company cut 15 percent pay of all employees because some important contracts were canceled. The affected employees reacted by doubling their normal theft rate by stealing tools and supplies from the company. Turnover rate also increased from 5 percent to 23 percent. In particular, underreward seems to produce motivational tension with negative consequences. Hence, pay was a symbolic scorecard to employee that they are overreward, equity or underreward. 3.0 Recommendation Based on the above theory and facts, in emphasizing the importance of money as the biggest motivator, we are not saying that money is the only important motivator but money play a key role in motivating people especially among the low achiever. Indeed, it is clear that many other factors such as interesting work, participation in decision making, flexible working hour and etc are also important motivator to many people. However, in order for money to be the biggest motivator, pay or money has to be used in a way that would produce motivation such as incentives or bonuses that boost the morale of the workers by performing better performances. This is simply because money acts as a mechanism for rewarding and modifying behavior in industry. It is an extrinsic reward that encourages people to work harder, more energetically as well as motivate the employee to achieve higher level of performance. Furthermore, the effectiveness of money as a motivator depends on variety of individual and situational factors. Each individual has different perception, preferences, expectancy, and self-concept toward money. Thus, manager has to talk to their employees to understand and find out which needs or preferences a particular employee is seeking. 4.0 Conclusion In conclusion, we strongly believe that money is indeed the biggest motivator in the workplace. Based on the points and statements above, we can clearly see that money is indeed the important factor that motivates people at the workplace. Money is regarded as a very high reward for the individuals that have worked hard for it. It is also regarded as the highest form of reward for employees. The higher the pay grade, the higher the recognition they receive from their employers as well as from the working mates. Finally, we conclude that money is indeed the most important factor that motivates individuals at the work place. (2001 words) 5.0 References McShane, S.L. and Glinow, M.A.V. (2010) Organizational Behavior. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Luthans, F. (2008). Organizational Behavior. 11th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Gibson, J.L., Ivancevich, J.M., Donnely, J.Jr. and Konopaske, R. (2003) Organizational Behavior Structure Processes. 11th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Newstorm, J.W. and Davis, K. (2002) Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior At Work. 11th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. Gibson, J.L., Ivancevich, J.M. and Donnely, J.Jr. (1997) Organizations Behavior Structure Processes. 9th ed. United States of America: McGraw Hill. Edward, J. (2011) Organizational Behavior: Intergrating Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. 4th ed. Milton Park: Taylor Francis Group. Banerjee, M. (1995) Organizational Behavior. 3th ed. Madras: Allied Publishers Limited. Aswathappa K (2005) Human Resource and Personnel Management: Text and Cases. 4th ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Raju, R.S. and Parthasarathy, A. (2009) Management. 2nd ed. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited. The Times 100 (2012) Motivational Theory In Practice At Tesco [Online]. Retrieved from: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/motivational-theory-in-practice-at-tesco/taylors-motivational-theory.html#axzz2ChPkuekgl [Accessed 12 November 2012 ]. The Times 100 (2012) Motivating Through Total Reward [Online]. Retrieved from: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/royal-bank-of-scotland/motivating-through-total-reward/what-is-motivation.html#axzz2Ch7FZfye [Accessed 12 November 2012]. Griffiths, A. (2012) The Boom In Canadian Baby Boomer Small Business [Online]. Retrieved from: http://metronews.ca/voices/alison-on-money/404772/the-boom-in-canadian-baby-boomer-small-businesses/ [Accessed 12 November 2012]. Hammill, G. (2005) Mixing and Managing Four Generations Of Employees [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm [Accessed 12 November 2012].

Understanding Autism Essay -- Health, Special Needs, Autistic

Autism Imagine you walk into a classroom and you see a child sitting alone at a desk, almost in their own world. Or maybe you see a person sitting at a park, rocking back and forth, talking to themselves. The chances are these people may have autism. 15 of every 10,000 births result in a person with this life altering disorder (source 1). Autism is a developmental disability of the brain that affects communication. There is no cure for this disability and few answers of how to treat it. There are many misconceptions about autism. Some may say it is a form of mental retardation. The truth is autistic people display a broad spectrum of intelligence levels. Many are extremely gifted in certain areas but unable to comprehend the simplest behaviors or facts. It has been speculated that Albert Einstein was in fact autistic (source 1). Even though most with autism excel in limited topics they should not be confused with someone that has savant syndrome. Savant syndrome was publicized in the movie Rain Man, where the character displays a fascinating ability for mathematics. Autism is similar to Asperger's syndrome but the main difference is people with Asperger's are more likely to communicate effectively opposed to people with autism who don't (source 1). Autism can occur by itself or with other developmental or brain disorders. Autism may be coupled with Attention Deficit Disorder or dyslexia and so on. Parents usually notice that there may be something wrong with their child when they are around three years old (source 2). They notice that they don't obey verbal commands and they might begin to think they have a hearing problem. Also they begin to notice that their child doesn't socialize well with othe... ...s all educational and racial boundaries and therefore no one is immune. This disability can affect anyone and for that reason it should never be ignored. Bibliography (Source 1) www.autistics.org. "What is autism?" (Source 2) http://ani.autistics.us/ASA_defn.html "ASA autism definition." (Source 3) http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/hw/mental_health/hw152190.asp (Source 4) Volkmar FR, Klin A (2000). Pervasive developmental disorders. In BJ Sadock, VA Ed., Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive textbook of Psychiatry, vol 2, pp. 2659-2678. Philadephia:Lippincott Williams and Williams. (Source 5) http://www.autistics.org/library/autadult.html

Four Challenges of Sustainability

â€Å"Four Challenges of Sustainability† by David W. Orr confronts the problems of sustainability and proposes a path to get there. The concept of sustainability is the primary topic and goal in regards to the future of humans. The entire idea that humans and civilization as we know it may cease to exist, is a relatively new idea. This very real idea has spawned acknowledgement and pursuit of avoiding it through sustainability. Militarization, the increasing number of incredibly poor, and the increasing amount of frivolous consumption are some of the many current practices that simply cannot be sustained. Major industrial industries like agriculture, energy production, and health care have begun to exhibit diminishing returns. The move to sustainability requires major changes and improvements in government, specifically democratic governments and the relationship between them and their citizens. Fair distribution of wealth, cradle to cradle material policy, and building ecologically sound cities are only possible through ethical governments that have their citizen’s best interests at heart. Orr more succinctly puts this as, â€Å"Sustainability, in short, constitutes a series of public choices that require effective institutions of governance and a well-informed democratically engaged citizenry. † Education and curriculums must be improved to include ideas that are essential to sustainability. These ideas should promote more windmills, more farmers’ markets, and more small businesses. Orr feels that the public must be educated about sustainability and then taught how to implement it. It is then their responsibility to pass this knowledge on to future generations. The transition to sustainability requires more than education and critical problem solving skills. In the quest for sustainability, Orr says we need â€Å"a higher level of spiritual awareness† and references Schumacher in saying that we require, â€Å"wisdom, love, compassion, understanding, and empathy. † These spiritual tools will enable us to stop the self destructive behaviors that we continually perpetuate. If not for any other reason than preserving humanity we must stop killing the planet.

Battle of Santa Cruz in World War II

The Battle of Santa Cruz was fought October 25-27, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945) and was part of a series of naval actions tied to the ongoing Battle of Guadalcanal. Having built up troops on the island in preparation for a major offensive, the Japanese moved naval forces to the area with the goal of attaining a decisive victory over their counterparts and sinking the remaining Allied carriers. On October 26, the two fleets began exchanging air attacks which ultimately saw the Japanese suffer one carrier heavily damaged and the Allies lose  USS Hornet (CV-8). Though Allied ship losses were higher, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties among their air crews. As a result, the Japanese carriers would play no further role in the Guadalcanal Campaign. Fast Facts: Battle of Santa Cruz Conflict: World War II (1939-1945) Date: October 25-27, 1942 Fleets Commanders: Allies Vice Admiral William Bull HalseyRear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid2 carriers, 1 battleship, 6 cruisers, 14 destroyers Japanese Admiral Isoroku YamamotoVice Admiral Nobutake Kondo4 carriers, 4 battleships, 10 cruisers, 22 destroyers Casualties: Allies: 266 killed, 81 aircraft, 1 carrier, 1 destroyerJapanese: 400-500 killed, 99 aircraft Background With the Battle of Guadalcanal raging, Allied and Japanese naval forces clashed repeatedly in the area around the Solomon Islands. While many of these involved surface forces in the narrow waters off Guadalcanal, others saw the adversaries carrier forces clash in attempts to alter the strategic balance of the campaign. Following the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942, the US Navy was left with three carriers in the area. This was quickly reduced to one, USS Hornet (CV-8), after USS Saratoga (CV-3) was badly damaged by a torpedo (August 31) and withdrawn and USS Wasp (CV-7) was sunk by I-19 (September 14). While repairs quickly progressed on USS Enterprise (CV-6), which had been damaged at Eastern Solomons, the Allies were able to retain daytime air superiority due to the presence of aircraft at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. This allowed supplies and reinforcements to be brought the island. These aircraft were not able operate effectively at night and in the darkness control of the waters around the island reverted to the Japanese. Using destroyers known as the Tokyo Express, the Japanese were able to bolster their garrison on Guadalcanal. As a result of this standoff, the two sides were roughly equal in strength. The Japanese Plan In an effort to break this stalemate, the Japanese planned a massive offensive on the island for October 20-25. This was to be supported by Admiral Isoroku Yamamotos Combined Fleet which would maneuver to the east with the goal of bringing the remaining American carriers to battle and sinking them. Assembling forces, command for the operation was given to Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo who would personally lead the Advance Force which was centered on the carrier Junyo. This was followed by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumos Main Body containing the carriers Shokaku, Zuikaku, and Zuiho. Supporting the Japanese carrier forces was Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abes Vanguard Force which consisted of battleships and heavy cruisers. While the Japanese were planning, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, made two moves to change the situation in the Solomons. The first was speeding repairs to Enterprise, allowing the ship to return to action and join with Hornet on October 23. The other to was to remove the increasingly ineffective Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley and replace him as Commander, South Pacific Area with aggressive Vice Admiral William Bull Halsey on October 18. Contact Moving forward with their ground offensive on October 23, Japanese forces were defeated during the Battle for Henderson Field. Despite this, Japanese naval forces continued to seek battle to the east. Countering these efforts were two task forces under the operational control of Rear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid. Centered on Enterprise and Hornet, they swept north to the Santa Cruz Islands on October 25 searching for the Japanese. At 11:03 AM, an American PBY Catalina spotted Nagumos Main Body, but the range was too far for launching a strike. Aware he had been spotted, Nagumo turned north. Remaining out of range through the day, the Japanese turned south after midnight and began closing the distance with the American carriers. Shortly before 7:00 AM on October 26, both sides located each other and began racing to launch strikes. The Japanese proved faster and soon a large force was heading towards Hornet. In the course of launching, two American SBD Dauntless dive bombers, which had been serving as scouts, hit Zuiho twice damaging its flight deck. With Nagumo launching, Kondo ordered Abe to move towards the Americans while he worked to bring Junyo within range. Exchanging Strikes Rather than form a massed force, American F4F Wildcats, Dauntlesses, and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers began moving towards the Japanese in smaller groups. Around 8:40 AM, the opposing forces passed with a brief aerial melee ensuing. Arriving over Nagumos carriers, the first American dive bombers concentrated their attack on Shokaku, striking the ship with three to six bombs and inflicting heavy damage. Other aircraft inflicted significant damage on the heavy cruiser Chikuma. Around 8:52 AM, the Japanese spotted Hornet, but missed Enterprise as it was hidden in squall. Due to command and control issues the American combat air patrol was largely ineffective and the Japanese were able to focus their attack on Hornet against light aerial opposition. This ease of approach was soon countered by an extremely high level of anti-aircraft fire as the Japanese began their attack. Though they took heavy losses, the Japanese succeeded in hitting Hornet with three bombs and two torpedoes. On fire and dead in the water, Hornets crew began a massive damage control operation which saw the fires brought under control by 10:00 AM. Second Wave As the first wave of Japanese aircraft departed, they spotted Enterprise and reported its position. The next focused their attack on the undamaged carrier around 10:08 AM. Again attacking through intense anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese scored two bomb hits, but failed to connect with any torpedoes. In the course of the attack, the Japanese aircraft took heavy losses. Dousing the fires, Enterprise resumed flight operations around 11:15 AM. Six minutes later, it successfully evaded an attack by aircraft from Junyo. Assessing the situation and correctly believing the Japanese to have two undamaged carriers, Kinkaid decided to withdraw the damaged Enterprise at 11:35 AM. Departing the area, Enterprise began recovering aircraft while the cruiser USS Northampton worked to take Hornet under tow. As the Americans were moving away, Zuikaku and Junyo began landing the few aircraft that were returning from the mornings strikes. Having united his Advance Force and Main Body, Kondo pushed hard towards the last known American position with the hope that Abe could finish off the enemy. At the same time, Nagumo was directed to withdraw the stricken Shokaku and damaged Zuiho. Launching a final set of raids, Kondos aircraft located the Hornet just as the crew was beginning to restore power. Attacking, they quickly reduced the damaged carrier to a burning hulk forcing the crew to abandon ship. Aftermath The Battle of Santa Cruz cost the Allies a carrier, destroyer, 81 aircraft, and 266 killed, as well as damage to Enterprise. Japanese losses totaled 99 aircraft and between 400 and 500 killed. In addition, heavy damage was sustained to Shokaku which removed it from operations for nine months. Though a Japanese victory on the surface, the fighting at Santa Cruz saw them sustain heavy aircrew losses which exceeded those taken at Coral Sea and Midway. These necessitated withdrawing Zuikaku and the uncommitted Hiyo to Japan to train new air groups. As a result, the Japanese carriers played no further offensive role in the Solomon Islands Campaign. In this light, the battle may be seen as a strategic victory for the Allies.