Saturday, November 30, 2019
Productive and counterproductive behavior
Productive behavior can be described as employee behavior that enhances the achievement of organizational goals. This behavior is always positive because an organization has expectations and targets that are supposed to be achieved and accomplished within a given period of time. It takes time for an employee to transition within an organization before he/she can engage in productive behavior.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Productive and counterproductive behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For productive behavior to be fully attainable, employees are supposed to be fully aware of the organizations culture. As far as financial issues are concerned, productive behavior is where returns on investments on an employee are achieved. Every organization wants to move forward based on different aspects and it always relies on employees to accomplish this which begs for good behavior that compliments well with the organizations goals and objectives. Most organizations are always focused on productive behavior than task performance because it accounts for more positive results and productivity (Scott, 2007, p. 23). There are different forms of productive behavior that every organization will always wish for because of the ever competitive business environment. Counterproductive behavior can be described as employee behavior that is always against the wishes of the organizations as far as goals and objectives are concerned. In this case, it should be known that counterproductive behavior can be either intentional or unintentional. This implies that there are always underlying causes that might lead to counterproductive behavior among employees which should be understood for long term sustainability. Different motivations and a wide range of underlying causes that encourage employees to be counterproductive might be found in any organization which limits productivity because there is no organiza tion that wants to be found in such a situation. As far as productivity is concerned, there are different aspects that can be used to explain a variety of counterproductive behavior that an organization might face as time goes by.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A person-by-environment interaction has been proposed as one of the ways by which counterproductive behavior can be understood and explained (Scott, 2007, p. 36). Counterproductive behavior within an organization is very costly and that is why employees should be supervised effectively for long term sustainability. Productive and counterproductive behaviors and job performance There is a big relationship between counterproductive and productive behavior within an organization. This is as far as job performance is concerned because it has an impact on productivity that is always critical towards the achievement of organization al goals. It should be known that behavior is a very important factor in any organization and even to employees. In this case, it is quite obvious that counterproductive behavior can cost an organization time and money. This behavior within an organization has different impacts based on various aspects (Scott, 2007, p. 56). While counterproductive behavior can cost the organization negatively, productive behavior can help the organization positively. In such circumstances, counterproductive behavior will always be a root issue in every organization and the society as a whole. Job performance which has an impact on productivity is always determined by either productive or counterproductive behavior. This is because when employees engage in productive behavior, an organization will be able to achieve its goals and objectives without any problem while counterproductive behavior limits such aspects. Business ethics are always important in every organization which relates well with produ ctive and counterproductive behavior. This is as far as every level of the organization is concerned because the behavior of employees will always be an important factor when it comes to success and growth. For long term sustainability within an organization, there should be negative and positive reinforcements that will ultimately influence the behavior of employees as time goes by (Scott, 2007, p. 89). There is no organization that will be happy to discontinue its business and that is why inefficient and nonproductive behavior should not be encouraged.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Productive and counterproductive behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Scott, R. (2007). Organizations and Organizing: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems Perspectives. London: Pearson Prentice Hall. This essay on Productive and counterproductive behavior was written and submitted by user Barbara Abbott to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Productive and Counterproductive behavior
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
How to Get Good Professional References
How to Get Good Professional References Asking for a reference can be a subtle art form, but itââ¬â¢s a necessary thing to learn how to do, and do well. Youââ¬â¢ll want to put a good deal of thought into who you choose, as you will need to get their consent before giving out their name. Here are a few tips for how to plan for the perfect reference.1. Go ProIt may be tempting to pick a pal over a professional contact, but itââ¬â¢s not going to serve you half as well. Go for someone familiar with your work and experience. And when youââ¬â¢re asked for a personal reference, make sure to choose someone who isnââ¬â¢t too personal. Think of it as a character reference, and err on the side of professionals over pals.2. Tailor to the PositionDonââ¬â¢t just ask the same people or person for every reference. Think hard about the position youââ¬â¢re applying to and what skills your potential reference would ideally be able to speak to on your behalf. Go specific over generic. And, when possible, give the contact information of the hiring manager directly to your referrer. That avoids the bland ââ¬Å"to whom it may concernâ⬠opening to their letter.3. Develop a RangeCome up with 3-5à referrers who can be asked for different positions and can speak to different strengths of yours. Get their permission and have them lined up and ready to go when you need to deploy them.4. Get Their DetailsYouââ¬â¢ll want a name, business address, phone number, email, current title, company name, and preferred method of contact notated somewhere for each of your references. Leave them off your resume, but you might be asked for these in an interview or application situation, so have them ready. Try to keep their communication preferences straight as well.5. Inform Them Throughout the ProcessKeep your referrers in the loop. Let them know what jobs youââ¬â¢re applying to, send them the description, give them names of anyone who might be contacting them on your behalf. Coach them a bit, if you can, o n what the hiring manager is looking for. And donââ¬â¢t forget to thank them each and every time they recommend you somewhere.6. Ask in PersonIt may be tempting to ask over email, but resist the temptation! A more personal ask is called for when youââ¬â¢re asking someone to do you a massive professional favor. Pick up the phone and call- or better yet, take them out for coffee. Keep the relationship strong and donââ¬â¢t assume youââ¬â¢re owed anything. Keep your referrers sweet!7. Send your ResumeIt will often be extremely helpful for you referrers to see a copy of your resume. Who knows? They might end up being even more impressed with you than they were before when they agreed to recommend you.8. Know What Theyââ¬â¢ll SayWhen in doubt, donââ¬â¢t ask anyone who youââ¬â¢re not sure will go to bat for you. You want to be more or less certain what your referrers are going to say about you, your skills, and your experience. If thereââ¬â¢s any doubt, either have a conversation about it, or ask someone you feel more secure about.
Friday, November 22, 2019
How a style guide can transform your organisations documents
How a style guide can transform your organisations documents Why you need a style guide Whats one thing you can do to transform everything you write at work? In fact, not just what you write: what your colleagues write too ââ¬â even everyone in your entire organisation. Better still, as well as improving the emails, reports, letters, proposals and other documents you all produce, it can overhaul everyones experience of writing. So what is this magical act? Well, its taking the time to think about style. (And no, I dont mean what to wear on casual Friday.) Specifically, working with a style guide. Defining style And what is a style guide? In short, its the go-to reference for writing within a particular industry, organisation or publication. It outlines how to write the key documents in whatever arena it covers, touching on tone of voice, key terms, formatting and (sometimes) design. Style guides are particularly great at coming to the rescue on any questions that dont have an easy black-and-white, right-or-wrong answer. This would include things like whether to put one or two spaces after a full stop, how to punctuate bullet points, using US or UK spelling and how to style your company name in running text. (And hasnt every workplace or department temporarily ground to a halt at some point, as factions gathered to fight over such a matter?) When a question can be answered only in shades of grey, someone needs to make a style choice. Theyll decide that ââ¬â for example ââ¬â theyll always use one space after a full stop, US spelling and an initial capital for their company name. And then everyone at the company will always do it that way. Style guides are the norm in the publishing world. But youll find them in all kinds of fields, including law, medicine, academia, government ââ¬â and increasingly in business too. Do you need one? Is a style guide right for you and your company? Yes, probably. That may seem like a bold statement (I dont know you, after all). But its a safe guess, because a style guide can help people at almost every level of almost any organisation. For example, if youre a team leader who spends too much time editing colleagues documents and emails before youre happy with them, a style guide can help. If youre the head of marketing and frustrated that the tone of voice in your companys external documents is at odds with your brand, a style guide can help. And if you find yourself heading to Google again and again over the same sort of questions ââ¬â you may have guessed already. Yes, a style guide could definitely help. What style can do for you So, what benefits can a style guide bring? Well, it can help to settle office arguments. But it can do much more than that. When everyone has the same reference point, the key benefit is consistency. And for a companys or organisations written output ââ¬â whether thats documents, webpages, letters, emails or all of the above ââ¬â this is vital. Small inconsistencies in spelling, formatting or tone may not seem like a big deal. But they can niggle at the people reading them ââ¬â even if those people dont realise quite why. Page by page, or screen by screen, those little irregularities chip away at their confidence in your company. How about that overstretched team leader? Consistencys important for them too. After all, it could mean the difference between needing just 20 minutes to sign off their teams work or several hours and another late night at the office. And its not just the time ââ¬â its the decisions themselves. With no authority giving a casting vote on style matters, the poor team leader is left to decide every time. That can be exhausting. Research suggests we have capacity for only a limited number of decisions a day, even the seemingly tiny ones. So, finding ways to bypass some of them means preserving a valuable resource: your mental energy. This saving naturally extends to every person writing within the organisation ââ¬â which, in the age of email, is probably almost everyone. With just one handy reference to check, all are saved from falling into a potential black hole of online searching. Pick a guide (not any guide) But how do you go about choosing the style guide for your organisation? You can choose to use someone elses, such as the highly regarded, informed and eloquent guides of The Economist and Guardian. As long as everyone at your workplace knows which one theyre supposed to check, this can work. However, the best style guides are effective because theyre relevant: everything in them applies to the work that people at the organisation actually do. For most of us, that doesnt include writing articles for the Guardian. When you try to bend someone elses guidance to your needs, you can find yourself stuck with a lot of information thats of little use to you. (For example, the Guardians guide includes a curiously detailed entry on canal boats, and how narrowboats differ from barges.) Meanwhile, youll probably also be missing areas you do need. So you might want to refine your search. For a more business-focused book, you could look no further than our own. We produced The Write Stuff as a universal guide to help people write at work. Thats why it includes sections on writing for the web and for a global audience, tips for clear writing and getting the best from email. Plus, of course, our take on those tricky style issues. Its designed to answer the kinds of questions that youre likely to face at work. You can download it for yourself here. Build your own The ultimate answer is to develop your own guide, purpose-built for your organisation. But how do you go about this? You dont have to start from scratch. Instead, start by looking at whats already out there to see what could be covered, then adapt it to fit as needed. Then pin down the questions that crop up repeatedly in your department or company. Which decisions have to be made over and over again? Which words and terms cause problems or dispute? Is the company name formatted in too many different ways? What tone of voice are you hoping to encourage? What values best sum up your company ethos? How can this be reflected in your writing choices? Gather examples to illustrate all these points ââ¬â youll need to include these. Create a list, then ask other people to look at the list and add their own ideas. Keep in mind that this isnt a place to catalogue everyones personal punctuation bugbears or to explain complex grammatical issues. (The latter might require training; the former may be best reserved for a personal blog.) Remember that youre aiming to end up with a useful resource for quick reference. Making it work Clearly, even the best guide will do little good if no one uses it or even knows it exists. So bring your colleagues into the process early on: ask them for their thoughts on drafts and for feedback on the finished article. Theyre more likely to take it to their hearts if they dont feel like its merely the product of one persons mission. When its published, consider having a launch event to get people on board and enthusiastic ââ¬â you could even combine the launch with training. And make the guide easy to find. A searchable online version is good, as long as its not buried on your intranet. But if you really want to encourage people to thumb through it regularly, go old-school and put a hard copy on everyones desk. We can help Even for a seasoned editor, all this can sound like a daunting task. If it does to you, thats OK. You can enlist some experienced help. Weve worked with many clients to create guides that are a perfect fit for their company. Starting with The Write Stuff as a basis, we work directly with them to see what we need to add (or subtract). For example, one client added a section on how to write for PowerPoint. Another cut Writing for a global audience and added guidance on referencing and bibliographies. And whatever additions or subtractions make sense for your team or organisation, by consulting every step of the way we can create the reference that is exactly what you need. If youd like to talk to us about developing the right guide for your company, get in touch. Finding the answers Writing at work comes with all kinds of challenges. It involves hundreds of tiny decisions along the way and ââ¬â as weve said before ââ¬â theres no one authority on high to tell us whats correct in the widest sense. The good news is that that doesnt really matter. Within the cosier confines of your daily working life ââ¬â and with the right book on your desk ââ¬â you can still have all the answers you really need in one place. If you feel its time for you to settle on a style for your team or organisation, dont forget you can download our guide, The Write Stuff, here. And if youd like to talk to us about helping to develop one tailor-made for you, get in touch. Image credit: Eric Isselee / Shutterstock
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Cons of radiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Cons of radiation - Essay Example There has been an immense form of evolution of the life on earth. It is in relation to both the useful and harmful effects of Ultraviolet radiation that human beings have to live with. They can either be from natural sources or artificial sources, but the damage is as a result of human activity. For a long time, the life on earth has been exposed to radiations that occur naturally beyond the earth. It is known as cosmic radiation as well as the radioactive material that is found within the crust of the earth. The lack of proper or appropriate usage has serious consequences on the lives of humans, plants and animals. It is because they lead to the emission of the rays in different wavelengths that cause harm on the surface of the earth. In turn, it leads to a lot of damage on the human, animal and plant lives hence the radiation exposure from natural and man-made sources (Casper, 2010). Although most of these radioactive substances that occur naturally end up into the nuclear waste stream, most of these are products of the fission products emitted from the nuclear reactors. Some of the cons of these kind of radiation products include: The lack of safety of the technology that is associated with improper waste handling techniques. It results in the significant technical uncertainty that is caused by the use of geological repositories. The final isolation of the unresolved nuclear waste remains is a major cause of this. They have a great effect on the host rock owing to the construction and burial of repository (Miller & Spoolman, 2010). For a long time, radiation from the sun as well as that from other human activities that are related to treatment and the creation of nuclear weapons has been linked to global warming and its adverse effects. The exposure of some radioactive elements can turn pieces of land sterile. This means that numerous activities can no longer be performed on land with such conditions since they
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Organisational Structural Issues Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Organisational Structural Issues - Case Study Example The new management versus the old organizational structure always comes in clash with each other. The Regency Hotel Case is an example that depicts the issues arising in an organization after it has been acquired by a different group of investors. The Regency Hotel is shown to be a successful entity in the hotel business along with its eastern culture and a bureaucratic structure. The employees of the organization are satisfied and adhere to the managementââ¬â¢s set standards and practices. Becker, the new manager, however, has different and more westernized thoughts of empowerment and risk taking. The major structural issue faced by the Regency Hotel is the transition from pure bureaucracy to complete empowerment. The old employees believe in supervision where as the new manager believes more in delegation and team cohesion. ââ¬Å"Team cohesion is an extent to which team members band together and remain committed to achieving team goals.â⬠(Lussier and Achua, 2010) Differen t organizational behavioral model can be used to explain the structural issues in the case at hand. ââ¬Å"Management researcher Douglas McGregor proposed possible assumptions that managers make about workers.â⬠(Bagad 2008) His theory X and Y are well evident in the management perceptions of Becker and the previous managers of the Regency Grand hotel. Becker was a proponent of participative management style also of known as McGregorââ¬â¢s Theory Y while the old management believed in the authoritative style of management known as the Theory X. Beckerââ¬â¢s behavior can also be explained through McClellandââ¬â¢s Achievement Theory of Motivation also known as the acquired needs theory. McClelland believed that a personââ¬â¢s needs are a resultant of life experiences and cultural background. He explains three categories of needs as need for achievement, need for affiliation and the need for power. In our case, Becker agreed with the acquired needs theory and believed that people have needs to achieve goals and are motivated to perform in a more productive manner if these needs are catered for in an organization. Also, the need for being affiliated made Becker keep rapport with the front line staff, He empowered them so they control their environment and their need for power is fulfilled. Another theory that helps us understand the case in a better manner is the Vroom Theory. ââ¬Å"One of the greatest attractions of the Vroom Theory is that it recognizes the importance of various individual needs and motivation.â⬠(Koontz and Weihrich, 2007) The Vroom theory advocates management by objective, the concept that Becker wanted to introduce in the Hotel work environment. The all the above mentioned theories and their application to the case suggests that Becker was more team oriented and believed in the fact that motivation and risk taking leads to greater employee satisfaction and better results for the organization. He wanted to introduce the element of self efficacy in the newly acquired hotel. ââ¬Å"Self efficacy refers to ones belief in oneââ¬â¢s capability to perform a specific task.â⬠(Gist, 1987) The case showed that Becker was going by the theories when it came to the organizational structure as he believed in the modern principles and the new paradigms of organizational behavior. The new shift in the field of organizational behavior advocates a flexible organization that continuously learns and adapt. As Daft and Lewin (1993) explained in their essay ââ¬Å"the trend appears to be moving away from the paradigm within which
Saturday, November 16, 2019
The Fifth Child Essay Example for Free
The Fifth Child Essay The main characters in this novel are Harriet and David Lovatt. They met each other at an office Christimas party, where they see each other from across a room crowded with dancing, drinking people and recognize, as they study each other, that they are fundamentally quite similar. In 1960`s they decide to marry and invest everything they have into a rambling Victorian house. Both of them have ideals like fidelity,family life and a permanent house. Harriet and David Lovat are a conventional couple in 1960ââ¬â¢s England. Their only oddity seems to be their desire for a large family, and when they produce four children in quick succession, they seem to be building the happy family they want. The Christian connotations of the names of the male children, Paul and Luke, are unmistakable, and this layer of meaning is reinforced by the way the entire family regularly assembles from far and wide to celebrate the great festivals of the religious year. Even they are happy with their four children, she gets pregnant again with the fifth child, but she has a strange feeling that this child is different from the others. She feels the unborn baby to be a savage thing, and baby Ben emerges like a beast of the Apocalypse, an anti-Christ. He started to move violently and too early inside Harriet. The birth is one month early and very difficult. After half a year he is able to walk without help, but it`s not only very strong, he is also extremly aggressive too. Over the next few years they are forced to recognize that ââ¬Å¾littleâ⬠Ben is more like a monster, not a child and his violent behaviour produces some horrifying accidents. He often beats his brothers and sisters. ââ¬Å¾Harriet was wondering why she was always treated like a criminal. Ever since Ben was born itââ¬â¢s been like this, she thought. Now it seemed to her the truth, that everyone had silently condemned her. I have suffered a misfortune, she told herself; I havenââ¬â¢t committed a crime. ââ¬
Thursday, November 14, 2019
The Lady of Shalott and The Lady in the Looking Glass :: Lady of Shalott Essays
The Lady of Shalott and The Lady in the Looking Glass Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote "The Lady of Shalott" around 1830, during what is known as the Victorian Age. Virginia Woolf published "The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection" in 1929, during what is referred to as the Modernist Age. These works of art both deal with women who have important relationships with mirrors. The light in these stories has a great and different effect and meaning for each of these women. The importance and meaning of light are contrasted in these two tales, representing a change in writer's attitudes toward light portrayal. In Tennyson's poem, the woman known as The Lady of Shalott, has been placed in a tower and told if she ever looks directly onto Camelot, she will be cursed. "A curse is on her if she stay / To look down to Camelot"(lines 40-41). She relies upon a mirror to reflect to her what happens outside her tower. Light is very important to her, as without the light there can be no reflections. It is through the use of this mirror that she glimpses Lancelot riding by, in the sunlight, "His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;"(line 100). She falls in love with him, and watches him ride away causing her eye to wander from the mirror to the road and on to Camelot. The light, which beforehand had allowed her glimpses of the world, is her undoing and the curse is upon her. Up until the point when the Lady decided to look toward Camelot, the light had been a positive aspect in her life. The light was most often friendly for The Lady of Shalott, but it does not prove to be friendly to Isabella Tyson, the main character in Woolf's "The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A Reflection." After returning from the garden, "At once the looking-glass began to pour over her a light that seemed to fix her; that seemed like some acid to bite off the unessential and superficial and to leave only the truth"(2456).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)