THE REAL VALUE OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND HOW IT IS INCLUDED IN A Essay - 1

THE REAL VALUE OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND HOW IT IS INCLUDED IN A COMPANYS FINANCIAL STATEMENT - Essay Example The knowledge of an organization is what is at time referred to as the brain power; therefore, intelligent capital can be viewed as the intangible assets used by the company in the making of its services and products. Intellectual capital, therefore, can be assumed to be the fundamental aspects of the company’s profit and loss statements, as well as its balance sheets. As such, the value of a business is, therefore, comprised of its revenue generated through its intellectual talents, financial assets, intellectual assets, and physical assets (Barney, et al., 2001). Three elements of intellectual capital include: Human capital mainly comprises of the values provided by business employees through application of expertise and skills ‘know how’. This component of intellectual capital is not owned by a company, and therefore when an employee leaves the company, the human capital consequently decreases (Peloso, 2008). Human capital can, therefore, be used to measure how effective a company is using its people resources as a measure of innovation and creativity. Structural includes the supportive infrastructures, databases and processes of an organization that enables the human capital to function. Components of structural capital include buildings, processes, software and so on. Additionally, structural capital also includes things such as information system, proprietary databases, research and development infrastructure facilities and organization’s image. The diversity of structural capital demands that it is broken down into: process, innovation, and organization capital. Process capital includes procedures of programs and the techniques that implement and enhance the delivery of services and goods. Innovation capital includes intangible assets and intellectual properties of the corporation. Organizational capital, on the other hand

Homicide investigation in the last 10 yrs in the U.S Essay

Homicide investigation in the last 10 yrs in the U.S - Essay Example The Orange County Medical Examiner, on December 19, 2008, confirmed that the remains were that of the missing child (Orlando Sentinel). They were found a quarter of a mile from the Anthonys’ residence. The investigation was conducted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, and the autopsy report listed the cause of the toddler’s death as â€Å"homicide by undetermined means† (People Weekly). Let us check the timeline of the case to see if the process of investigation was carried out dutifully, or if there are areas of improvement that would have expedited the case. On July 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony, the dead toddler’s grandmother and suspect’s mother, called the sheriff’s office to report that her daughter Casey stole the family car and some money. Cindy also reported a possible missing child. On July 16, 2008, Casey went through interrogation and provided a string of statements that were later found to be contradicting some hard evid ences. On that same day, she was arrested for obstructing a criminal investigation, filing false official statements, and child neglect. On July 17, 2008, the case was presented to the court and Casey was denied of bail. From July 17, 2008 until Caylee’s body was found, investigators exerted all efforts to locate the missing child. Pictures and reports showing detectives doing their job demonstrated how carefully they executed the investigation. Immediate apprehension of the suspect was done, along with careful assessment and management of the Anthonys’ residence. Every individual linked to Casey was interviewed, including the babysitter that Casey claimed took her daughter. Thorough canvass of the scene provided the detectives several leads, making them believe the high probability that the case is not of a missing child, but homicide. Cadaver dog alerts to the odor of human decomposition in Casey Anthony’s car. Trace evidences such as hair strands similar to t hat of the missing child, dirt, and questionable stain were found inside the same car. All these were found 2 days after the child was reported missing (Orlando Sentinel). The investigators handling the case obviously did a spectacular job in solving the mystery of the case. The media was deeply involved since the story created a public outcry. Some key pointers that aided in securing valuable evidences were the cordoning of the â€Å"crime scene†, prohibiting access from anyone not involved in the investigation. Detailed records of activities of everyone possibly involved in the case were kept, and possible witnesses were identified. In the reports, one could easily see how most people willingly cooperated in telling everything they know, while some were hesitant in providing information. The Sheriff’s Office was able to secure photographs and other data that could either support or discredit information provided to them. In interrogating Caylee’s family member s, the investigators ensured that they were separated from one another to avoid any possibility of influencing each other’s opinion and making up plausible justification for questionable statements (Orlando Sentinel). However, Casey Anthony’s attorney Jose Baez asserts that the Miranda was not read to the suspect. Detectives explained that during those times, they see Casey Anthony merely as a mother of a missing child, and not a possible suspect (Orlando Sentinel

Automation of Plastic Grinding Plant using HMI and PLC

Automation of Plastic Grinding Plant using HMI and PLC CAREER EPISODE: 03 INTRODUCTION: 3.1) The career episode three presents an extensive description of the project Automation of plastic grinding plant using HMI and PLC. This project was part of my industry internship Project 2 in the final semester, as well as a requirement to complete my degree, Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics and Communication)from Gujarat Technological University, India. I started this project with a team of three engineers including myself and a project trainer. The project duration was five months which included project training, implementation and testing. We worked as Electronic engineer interns in Mega Switchgears, India for this project. BACKGROUND: 3.2) In most of the small-scale industries the fault detection is done through manual means i.e. a lot of time is spent in identifying the exact point of error/failure in a particular system. It is a very exhausting task for the operator to check each and every machine in order to locate the error. To make work easier for the workers, we made an arrangement that displays a message on the HMI (Human Machine Interface) display which indicates the location of the error. 3.3) In this project, our main objective was to develop an automation system for a plastic grinding plant using HMI and PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). With the help of this automation system, we were able to monitor and control the plant from a remote location. In other words, status of each module could be monitored without going to the location of the plant and also it sends a message or alert with the location of the error whenever there is a problem or failure in the plant. 3.4) My roles and responsibilities included: Programming of PLC using WPL software Simulation of Plastic Grinding plant on HMI using Screen Editor software Assisting in designing the hardware prototype of plastic grinding plant Maintaining neat and organized electrical connection between different components Discuss future tasks and assess every team members work in weekly meetings. Maintain technical documentation. 3.5) Project mechanism PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY 3.6) For this project, we went through an extensive training program for five months and simultaneously we completed our project implementation as well as the testing. We were working as interns in the organization. This training gave us an insight to the technical culture of an electronic industry. During this internship, we came across many new electric components such as PLC and HMI and learnt new approaches to design an electronic circuit in an organized manner as per IEEE design standards. I was trained by the project trainer in programming the PLC and HMI using different softwares. As a team, we were trained in designing and implementing the prototype of an automated plastic grinding system. During our training, we were also given lessons on safety measures to avoid hazardous situations. For a safety environment, we were provided gloves, clothes and glasses to design electronic circuit and mechanical hand. 3.7) Hardware Implementation We started with the designing of the prototype, discussed regarding the work process of the system and selection of components. In this project, we used DVP12SA PLC which was selected under the guidance of our project trainer and depending upon the application of the project. It consists of 8 input ports and 4 output ports. PLC is programmable controller which comprises of a microprocessor, input and output module, memory and power supply. It behaves according to the status of the input and output ports which depends upon the stored program in the memory of the PLC. Therefore, we decided to use PLC for our project. For the controlling and status condition of each module of the plant, I have used 8 channel and 4 channel relay cards, toggle switches and indicator lamps. Relay card is a device on which relay is mounted and can be used for controlling purpose, toggle switches for controlling certain aspects of the machines and indicator lamps are used for indication purpose of plant cond ition. These lamps have very good visibility.RS232 cable is used as a programming cable and RS485 is used to interconnect the PLC and HMI. To provide efficient power, in this project we have incorporated SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) Hardware Implementation with the mimic of the plant 3.8) Furthermore to automate the plastic grinding plant, we have also used Delta (DOPB07S211) HMI. I decided to use HMI in our project because it allows you to design the perfect plant diagram using a software and shows on the display screen. This made it really easy for me for the simulation process as well as monitoring the point plant from a remote location. The key feature of HDMI is to detect the exact location of the fault in the plant whenever any abnormal condition occurs such as If any motor will trip due to any abnormal condition then motor and related device process will stop and hooter gets ON, that gives a warning to the operator with audible sound. Operator can also verify which motor is tripped by visual indication on mimic by indicator lamps. 3.9) Software Implementation For software implementation, I was trained by our project trainer for two months. I used WPL Editor for PLC programming. This software is capable of providing 3 languages i.e. Ladder (LAD), Instruction (IL) and Sequential Function Chart (SFC).ÂÂ   It was easy to use the software but it was as difficult to program the PLC because the programming was implemented depending upon the various conditions of the plant and in those situations what action should be taken. After every minor implementation, I used to verify the action of the PLC in order to complete the programming successfully. For this project, I used Ladder language to program the PLC. 3.10) The second software which I was trained for was Screen Editor. I used screen editor to design the mimic diagram of plastic grinding plant with touch buttons that were used to control each module of the plant. This software is comparatively much lucid than WPL Editor software. I also incorporated colour code system for various fault condition such as follows: REDFeedback/Input is not given in system GreenSystem is running smoothly with no fault conditions YellowInterlocking the problem in the system Screen EditorHMI Display SUMMARY: 3.11) In the end after the implementation and documentation, we presented our project with the automated prototype of plastic grinding plant and gave a presentation in front of our faculty. The overall journey of this project was very productive in terms of learning, acquiring knowledge and enhancing technical skills. I faced many tough situations while pursuing this project such as programming the PLC and constructing the prototype but working under the guidance of our project trainer and as a team, made the project look easily achievable. For future prospective, system can be controlled using a computer at remote location by connecting HMI with an ethernet cable, record of faults occurring in the system can be recorded in the excel sheet and the system can be also password protected.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of High School When I think of my past four years of school, I have a lot of memories, more good than bad. I've been trying to think of what I have learned in high school and what has meant the most to me. A lot of people that I have met along the way have left me with pieces of wisdom. I am guilty of having a one-track mind, and sometimes that has hindered me from fully benefiting from all the wisdom I have been given. But, I try my best to see other's reasoning for things and their point of view, though at times I find it very difficult. I am young, and sometimes claim to know it all, but at least I'm honest, right? So, back to what I have learned and tried to apply to my daily life. The Importance of Setting Goals Taking Responsibility for Your Actions Using Mistakes to Build a Bright Future Finding Inspiration in the World Around You Never Giving Up On a Dream The Golden Rule (Do Unto Others ... ) Never Forgetting Your Morals and Beliefs Focussing on the Important Things in Life I know all too well how important it is to set goals. I feel so overwhelmed sometimes when I set goals, but when I have accomplished them, it is such a rewarding feeling, that I strive to set more and always want to beat out my last accomplishment. I love to work hard, because I feel like I am doing everything in my power to be the best I can be. Taking responsibility for your actions can be such a tough thing to do, and pride and lack of energy can sometimes get in the way. Whether it was the time I needed to "fess" up to breaking our TV or paying for my mom's car to get fixed, when I kind of crashed it into another car when I was parking. It sucked to be as ... ... your character, who you are, if you are true to yourself, you will always be respected and looked up to. I have learned that it is really important to make priorities, not others opinions of what is important, but what is important to you. When my grandma and my aunt died within six months of each other I learned that not having the coolest hair, or the nicest clothes didn't really matter, because life's too short to worry about "things." Even though, I like my "things" they aren't that important to me and I would rather have friends or family around than my things, they're not that cool or at least I haven't found anything that is cooler! And if I could leave anyone here with one thing it would be, be true to yourself, and live life to its fullest, have fun, explore new things, and last but not least ... " Do unto others what you would want done unto you."

Big Bang Theory Development Essay

The Theory of the Big Bang started from observations and scientific facts. The Big Bang theory states that after the â€Å"Big Bang† the universe expanded from its original pea-sized origin to astronomical proportions, and the expansion of the universe still continues today but at a much slower rate. In the twentieth century many scientific developments were made by scientists that contributed to the creation of the Big Bang Theory. In 1910 Vesto Slipher was the first person to observe shifts in spectral lines in galaxies. What he had discovered was the galactic redshifts. A galactic redshift is a displacement of spectral lines toward longer wavelengths. What Slipher specifically observed was that the spectral lines of many nebulas exhibited a red shift that indicated motion away from planet earth. Around 1912 Carl Wilhelm Wirtz like Vesto Slipher observed a systematic redshift of nebulae. While observing the redshift he came to the conclusion that relative to the present location of the solar system the spiral nebulae is moving away from the solar system. He later discovered that it is moving away from the solar system at 656 kilometers per second. This provided observational evidence that the universe was expanding. In 1916 Albert Einstein published his Theory of General relativity. The General relativity Theory states that gravitation arises from the curvature of space and time. It also said that the universe was either contracting or expanding. Today the theory is used to describe gravitation in physics. Einstein’s theory was influential to the development of the Big Bang theory because it created the cosmological constant. Alexander Friedmann used Einstein’s theory in order to come up with his own findings. He applied general relativity to cosmology without using the cosmological constant. He found solutions to field equations that created the preliminary work of the Big Bang Theory. His solutions created the Friedmann-Lemaà ®tre-Robertson-Walker Universe. Friedmann’s work was crucial to the advancement of the Big Bang Theory because his work showed that it is possibility of a changing universe. Georges Lemaà ®tre stated that the universe began with an explosion of a primeval atom in 1927. This idea was later called the Big Bang. Lemaà ®tre used the Friedmann-Lemaà ®tre-Robertson-Walker Universe and Einstein’s General Relativity as a base to his hypothesis. With his hypothesis he created a model of the universe to observe the shifts in the Spiral Nebulae. With this model he was able to prove that the universe was in fact expanding. Edwin Hubble discovered that other galaxies exist other than the Milky Way Galaxy. With this discovery it made the possibility of a â€Å"Bang† more plausible. In 1929 Edwin Hubble published â€Å"Hubble’s Law†. This law states that the recession velocity of a distant extragalactic object is directly proportional to its distance. His observation concluded that the universe was once compacted matter. His law led to the creation of the Big Bang Model. All of these scientists contributed to the creation to the Big Bang theory, as we know it is to be today. Many of these scientists used each other’s work I order to advance or explain their own observations or findings. Even though these scientists were eventually able to explain the process of the Big Bang they were not successful in clarifying why the Big Bang occurred.

Aviatin Policy

Airline Policy & Strategy Assessment 1 Academic Year 2012-2013 Formulating Analysing & Researching Policy The first assessment for this module asks you to deconstruct a piece of tourism policy. It draws directly on the research paradigm outlined by Fidgeon & Ritchie (2005). In addition it develops the self-directed activities you have been recommended to undertake in your study pack together with our work in lectures and tutorials. As a consequence you should be familiar with all of the tasks being assessed in this exercise.Before you launch into the assessment, read the policy document you have been given thoroughly. In addition the assessment also requires that you find some additional detailed information. Check that you have it to hand. Engage with the literature here. This requires you to reference material and include this in a bibliography at the back of this assessment You have seven weeks to complete this task. The deadline for submission is 12 noon on Friday 22nd March 2013 . Answer in the space provided below each question.Alternatively if you wish you can replicate the assessment on your own PC and submit a word processed version. Completed scripts should be submitted to the Faculty Office (TC375) with an accompanying cover sheet. An electronic copy of your work should also be submitted through Turn-it-in by the same date and time. Remember, this should be treated as an individual task. Identical scripts will be treated as plagiarism and will be dealt with accordingly. This exercise will count as the equivalent of 40% to your overall assessment mark. If there are any problems see me at the end of your lecture or tutorial or lternatively make an appointment to see me at a mutually convenient time. Paul Fidgeon February 2013 Task 1. Tourism policy can be conceptualised as an integrated set of components. The first step in this process is to understand what you can do and what is legally, ethically and politically acceptable (the developmental philosoph y). To this end, what underlying philosophies have influenced this policy and how? Identify five here. — Task 2 From an understanding of the socio-economic and political parameters that influence a piece of policy it is possible to come up with a vision.With reference to the literature identify what is visioning? Provide an example of a vision statement from your policy document. (Note it may be necessary to read between the lines if this is not immediately obvious. ) Why is it necessary to undertake such an exercise? According to Meadows(2004) visioning means taking off the constraints of ‘’feasibility’’, of disbelief and past disappointments, letting your mind dwell upon its most noble, uplifting, treasured dreams. To ensure sufficient hub capacity is in place to handle forecast aircraft and passengers, with improved resilience.Heathrow has taken steps towards becoming Europe’s hub of choice. The capital investment programme has modernised Heathrow to provide a better experience for its passengers. Heathrow’s ASQ score, an internationally benchmarked survey measure of passenger satisfaction, has been improved from 3. 43 in 2007 to 3. 88 in 2011. It achieved its highest ever score of 3. 92 in the survey for the first quarter of 2012 which continues to position Heathrow as one of Europe’s leading hubs, with the airport ranking first among the five largest airports in Europe on 15 of 33 survey measures.Task 3 Any vision will always be influenced by the mission statement of the company or organisation responsible for formulating that policy. Identify the mission statement of this company/organisation. To give safety and security the highest priority at all times by systematically assessing and managing our safety and security risks through audited, best practice management systems. Task 4 Any policy will include a statement of what it hopes to achieve i. e. its aims. Outline any five policy aims taken direct ly from your policy document. 1. Terminal 2 Replacement.Which will have a satellite pier T2B, with 16 boarding gates catering for the largest aircraft. It will also have an energy centre that will be built with sustainability at its heart. 2. Airport Capacity Optimisation: To optimise capacity within the constraint of 480,000 ATMs. The western campus A380 stands projects will increase T3/T4 A380 capability in preparation for anticipated additional A380 aircraft. 3. Portfolio of projects: Encompasses the wider set of capital projects outside the major strategic business change programmes. It includes regulatory compliance, environment and safety. 4.IT/ Systems: The programme implements technology which reduces operating costs and delivers improved value to Heathrow’s business, airline and passenger stakeholders. Projects include: IT Security, Radio and Cellular infrastructure and Integrated Baggage IT. 5. Western Baggage product: The T3 Integrated Baggage System will replace t he life expired baggage infrastructure in Terminal 3. The project will provide the Terminal 3 airline community with a modern baggage facility, it will also improve minimum connect times and miss connect rates. Task 5 How will these aims be operationalised? i. e. ut into practice. (Note one sentence is all that is needed here) –Mission statement is to make every journey better. Task 6 Outline five demand and five supply orientated strategies found in your policy document. Demand Strategies 1. Balance capacity across the LHR campus 2. Be prepared for growth in A380 traffic 3. Protect Heathrow reputation 4. Minimising the effect of capacity constraints at Heathrow 5. Support argument for future Capacity at LHR by delivery of Environmental Benefit Supply strategies 1. New model line 2. Terminal five transfers Add security Lanes 3. T3 South Wing HVAC Replacement . Way finding strategy Initiative 5. Terminal five early bag store capacity increase Task 7 Clearly some ‘entityà ¢â‚¬â„¢ (i. e. body or organisation) must be designated with the responsibility for writing, co-ordinating and implementing any policy document. In the case of this policy, who has such responsibility? How do they envisage conducting their role(s)? For example, will they take total responsibility for the document and its content or will they designate certain responsibilities? – A comprehensive structure is in place to engage with the airline community on the Q5 programme and beyond.The Joint Steering Team (JST) provides a forum for cross campus consultation and is attended by representatives from the home based carriers, the alliances, IATA and the AOC. The Information Technology (IT)/Systems scope is covered by three separate portfolios; Airport Operational Systems, Infrastructure Renewal and Business Planning and Support Solutions The management and allocation of PSDH funds is governed through the Joint Steering Team (JST). Task 8 Finally we used the term stakeholder for a ny person who seeks to influence the policy making process.Give some examples of the stakeholders who influenced this policy document. How were they involved? (How did they get their views across? ) Were they successful in influencing policy decisions? Again it will be necessary to engage with the wider literature here to fully answer this question. Hall( 2002) states that anyone who can influence the process of making policy individual, group, political party, preserve group. The Surface Access Stakeholder Programme Board was formed in November 2009, the programme Board meets on a quarterly basis and is chaired by the Heathrow Surface Access Project Manager.The purpose is to ensure airlines and key stakeholders are engaged with the Programme objectives and delivery, so that the objectives are achieved.. it provides stakeholders with an overview of all solutions in the programme to assure alignment and also demonstrate compliance with the CAA Q5 CIP settlement Annex G. The principal interfaces associated with this programme are many and cover the breadth of the existing Capital Delivery Programmes right through to the CAA.These interfaces are centrally about the development of information upon which the Q6 Capital Investment Plan will be based. These interfaces are therefore central to this programme being successful. Internally the team will be leveraging the appointed business unit Champions in identifying and generating effective engagement with key areas of the business. Externally key airline stakeholders will have a significant part to play. External sub groups are focusing on the development and review of key concepts as part of the development of the Q6 Capital Investment Plan.Mark Allocation In planning your time you might find it useful to consult the following table. This outlines the allocation of marks attached to each element of this assessment. Obviously spend the most time on those questions with the greatest number of marks. Task 1 10 marks Ta sk 2 5 marks Task 3 2 marks Task 4 5 marks Task 5 1 mark Task 6 10 marks Task 7 7 marks Task 8 10 marks Total 50 marks Airline & Airport Policy Module code: TH60052E Module Leader: Paul Fidgeon Student Name: 21067373

The Relationship Between Work Stress and Performacne Among Accountants Essays

The Relationship Between Work Stress and Performacne Among Accountants Essays The Relationship Between Work Stress and Performacne Among Accountants Essay The Relationship Between Work Stress and Performacne Among Accountants Essay THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK STRESS AND PERFORMACNE AMONG ACCOUNTANTS. BY KEMIGISHA GRACE 05/U/094/AFD/GV A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF VOCATIONAL STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE OF KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY. SEPTEMBER 2008 DECLARATION I, Kemigisha Grace, declare that to the best of my knowledge this dissertation is my original work except where otherwise acknowledged. Signature†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. APPROVAL This dissertation has been approved for submission Signature†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ LUTALO GODWIN Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. DEDICATION I dedicate this work to all accountants that have ever felt the bite of work stress emotionally, mentally and financially. AKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank God for continuously blessing me with the presence of mind, health, and faith to complete my Degree. I would like to thank Cathy, Baine and Justine for providing words of encouragement when I needed them. Mr. Geoffrey Haabaasa, Mrs. Anne Akankwasa, Mrs. Rebecca Gumisiriza, Mrs. Jolly Rubambarama, Mrs. Juliet Mikisa and Miss. Gloria Katusiime for your continued friendship, support, and willingness to assist as needed. To Mr. Lutalo Godwin my supervisor, what would I or the other students do without you; thank you so much for the great support and all you do for us as students in the Business Department. ABSTRACT The study investigated the presence and direction of a relationship between work stress and employee performance among accountants. The study tried to uncover the common sources and signs of stress among accountants, the extent of the relationship between work stress and performance, coping strategies applied and other factors that affect performance of accountants. The study was conducted in the central region of Uganda and in particular, the districts of Kampala and Jinja. A quantitative and correlation design was used and tests were applied to a sample of 100 accountants but data from only 86 respondents was utilized. A cross-sectional approach in which tests were applied at only one point in time was used. Accidental sampling was used to select respondents who then provided the required data in the standardized self administered questionnaires supplied to them. Data was presented in tables using frequency counts and percentages, and the inferential data was computer analyzed using a combination of CORREL and Pearson’s rank correlation coefficient techniques. The results of the study showed that there was a significant negative relationship between work stress and performance but no significant relationship between work stress and coping mechanisms. CHAPTER ONE 1. 0Introduction This chapter provides the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research objectives, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study and definition of terms. . 1Background to the Study Work stress defined by Beehr and Newman as â€Å"A condition arising from the interaction of people and their jobs that force them to deviate from their normal functions. † Stress is produced when the stressor interacts with the individual’s appraisal to induce emotional, behavioral and psychological reactions. It is likely to occur where demands are high, the individual has low control, and the individual lacks social support. Organizations today are under increasing pressure to improve productivity while simultaneously reducing costs resulting in an epidemic of â€Å"Corporate Anorexia† (Hamel 1996). A new enterprise formula is emerging ; ? x2x3 whereby half as many people are being paid twice as much to produce three times more (Handy 1996). The rapidly changing work conditions and environment now more than ever pose a threat to the health of employees and in turn to the health of the organization. All organizations constantly strive to be the top performers in their industries, a goal that is jeopardized by stress and its effects. It is reported that the psychological, physiological and behavioral changes due to stress are associated with lower job performance; a consistently a negative outcome for the organization. In managing work stress, organizations are one step closer to excellence. Accountants need to be aware of the current stress statistics in the corporate world and the pressures they are constantly warned of. They should know where these pressures are most likely to stem from, how the pressures will change their behavior and performance and ultimately how to cope with these pressures. Many organizations ignore the possible impact of work stress on performance of their employees. Other organizations feel at a loss to do anything about the stress levels among their employees therefore leave it to go unchecked. Stress hurts the organization and continued indifference by organizations puts them at risk. The study is intended to identify the main sources of work stress, the signs of work stress, the ways stress affects job performance and how it can be managed. 1. 2Statement of the problem As organizations grow larger and more competitive, employees are faced with longer work hours, heavier work loads, shrinking pay checks and greater bureaucracy; some of the factors that make it increasingly difficult to perform. In this increasingly complex corporate world, stress is inevitable. And with stress come the associated evils: health disorders, violence at work, errors, mental disorders, drug abuse, and other stress-related disorders that impair the effectiveness of individuals. The consistently changing work environment has led to demands on professionals that are greater than they can handle. The pressure to deliver has created human time-bombs just waiting to go off and this has to be addressed immediately. 1. 3Purpose of the study The overall objective of the study was to ascertain the presence and direction of a relationship between work stress and performance of accountants. 1. Objectives of the study The study was intended to achieve the following objectives: 1. To identify the major sources of work stress among accountants. 2. To determine the signs of work stress that most commonly present among accountants. 3. To assess the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants. 4. To identify the Coping Mechanisms applied by accountants. 5. To identify other factors which significantly affect the performance of accountants. 1. 5Research Questions The study was designed to answer the following questions: 1. What are the major sources of work stress among accountants? 2. What are the signs of work stress that are common among accountants? 3. How does work stress correlate with performance among accountants? 4. What coping mechanisms do accountants apply in dealing with their stress? 5. What other factors significantly affect the performance of accountants? 1. 6Scope of the study 1. 6. 1Geographic: The study was carried out among accountants in the central region of Uganda because of the high density of accountants in this region. Data was collected in Kampala and Jinja. 1. 6. 2Subject: The study focused on work stress because it can be managed by organizations by adjusting the various organization variables. The study emphasized the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants as opposed to the other professions and areas stress is believed to affect e. g. health and psychological wellbeing. 1. 6. 3Time: The study was cross-sectional and all questionnaires were administered at once. The overall study took a period of three months. 1. 7Significance of the study The study may positively impact on HRM policies of organizations as they try to attain a favorable organization stress profile in order to boost performance. The study may push accountants to analyze their stress profiles and apply appropriate coping strategies. It may also aid budding accountants to proactively approach the corporate world with set procedures for dealing with stress on a personal level. The study may aid business students appreciate the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants. 1. 8Definition of Terms Absenteeism: This is a situation in which employees develop a habitual pattern of absence from duty or obligation. Biofeedback: This is a form of alternative medicine in which stress related symptoms are mechanically detected by measuring the quantifiable bodily functions like blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, sweat gland activity and muscle tension. Coping Strategies: These are the techniques individuals apply to master conditions of harm, threat or challenge when routine or automatic responses are not readily available. Presenteeism: This is a situation where employees report to work in spite of illness or where they are present at work and are accomplishing nothing or there is no work available to be done. Stress Profile: This is a report on the level and complexity of stress in an individual or an organization that is produced by using specific computer software. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 0Introduction This chapter presents the analysis of the sources and signs of stress work, the relationship between work stress and performance, the coping strategies applied to deal with work stress and other factors that affect performance as discussed in existing literature. 2. 1Definition of Work Stress and Performance Stress in general has been defined as â€Å"the pressures people feel in life† (Newstrom et al 1997) or an unpleasant emotional state resulting from the perception that a situational demand exceeds one’s capacity and that it is very important to meet that demand (Luthans 1998). Work stress in particular is defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker (NIOSH). Performance has been defined as the way in which an individual does a job, udged by its effectiveness (wiki dictionary). 2. 2Sources of work stress Paul Froiland cited in Newstrom et al (1997) feels that the basic cause of work stress is a high level of job demands and little control over the work to be done. The generally accepted causes of work stress as identified by NIOSH include: Poor job design such that there is heavy work overload, few rest breaks, long work hours, hectic repetitive tasks w ith little relevance, underutilization of employees’ skills, and little control over work tasks. Poor management style composed of low participation by workers in decision making, poor communication in the organization, and Poor quality of supervision. Kreitner (1998) cited a research study, carried out at Southern Bell and other companies that showed the biggest source of work stress to be poorly trained and inept supervisors. Poor interpersonal relationships characterized by a poor social environment, lack of support from work mates and supervisors, harassment and discrimination by coworkers and lack of group cohesiveness. Poorly defined work roles; employees are plagued by conflicting and uncertain job expectations, too much or too little responsibility, and inadequate authority to match responsibility. Career concerns also contribute to work stress as employees worry about the security of their jobs, lack of opportunities for growth or advancement, and rapid changes in th e organization like restructuring. The researcher, Nathan Podsakoff, said hindrance stressors like job insecurity and red tape had a big negative impact on motivation and performance (NIOSH). Unpleasant and dangerous work conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, and ergonomic problems. 2. 3Signs of work stress NIOSH has documented the first signs that indicate employees may be stressed. This guide on the changes in behavior that may occur is summarized below: Work Performance Declining or inconsistent performance Uncharacteristic errors and accidents Loss of control over work Loss of motivation or commitment Indecision Lapses in memory Increased time at work Lack of holiday planning and usageRegression Crying Arguments Undue sensitivity Irritability and moodiness Over-reaction to problems Personality clashes Immature behavior Withdrawal Arriving late to work Leaving early Extended lunches Absenteeism Resigned attitude Reduced social contact Elusiveness and evasivenessAggre ssive behavior Malicious gossip Criticism of others Vandalism Shouting and bullying Poor employee relations Temper outbursts Other behaviors Difficulty in relaxing Increased consumption of alcohol or smoking Lack of interest in hygiene Accidents at home or work Unnecessary risk takingPhysical signs Nervous stumbling speech Tiredness Stomach upsets Tension headaches Rapid weight gain or loss Acute stress presents with anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, preoccupation, indecisiveness, presenteeism, recurring feelings of hopelessness, fear of disease, low self esteem, migraines, sleep disorders, and depression. Newstrom et al (1997) however caution that these signs may result from other conditions. 2. 4The Relationship between Work stress and performance Creating a high performance organization is the aim of all management teams and it is believed that stress can limit the achievement of this dream. Newstom et al (1997) and Wagner et al (1995) agree that low levels stress enhance job performance. Mild stress may lead to increased activity, change and overall improvement in performance. Selye (1956) emphasizes that stress is a necessary part of life and that it does not always have negative consequences; at certain moderate levels, stress can actually improve performance. However, many studies have shown that stress has various adverse effects that can be categorized under psychological, physiological, and behavioral effects. Psychological effects: The most common psychological effects of stress are poor decision making, loss of concentration, anxiety, loss of self esteem, depression, repression of emotion, displacement of anger, isolation, irritability and forgetfulness. Physiological effects: The researcher Blyth in 1973 identified a list of diseases with a fairly high causal relationship with stress and these were hypertension, allergies, migraines, intense itching, peptic ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, nervous dyspepsia, skin disorders, overactive thyroid glands, diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis. Even though these ailments could have originated from other causes, it has been suggested that stress aggravates them. The physical effects create the most costs to the company through medical expenses and absenteeism. Behavioral effects: Work stress can increase behaviors like insomnia, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, aggressive behaviors, over and under reacting, withdrawal, regression and declining performance. At very high levels, stress even leads to burnout and trauma. Most research on stress has emphasized the impact of stress on the physical health of employees (Luthans 1998). Whereas the physical ailments have a drastic effect on the individual, they have an equally serious effect on the organization. The largest cost to the organization is reduction in productivity but aside from this are costs related to lost company time in replacing employees, absenteeism, high turnover, increased client complaints and increase in work related accidents that disrupt production. Cole (1997) argues that the symptoms and effects of stress whether triggered by work problems or social problems, will eventually lead to reduced employee performance, loss of motivation and increased absenteeism. Stress interferes with human emotional, intellectual and interpersonal functioning; creativity and innovation which are crucial for excellent performance and the survival of an organization are compromised in the typical high stress workplace. (David Lee, an article on Employee Stress and Performance). Peter Nixon carried out a study on the relationship between work stress and performance and the results are illustrated below (Stewart 1997). 2. 5 Coping Mechanisms The organization and work conditions have to be altered appropriately if stress at the workplace is to be properly managed. Coping Mechanisms are the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize stressful events. The following methods have been suggested for the reduction of work stress in employees: Incorporation of ‘intent to reduce undue stress’ into the organization policies. Management should recognize the positive impact such an amendment would have on productivity. The policy could include factors like frequent counseling sessions and medical exams. The change of policy would automatically lead to change of plans, procedures and systems to ensure that a favorable working environment that protected the wellbeing of the employees was achieved. Management can aid employees improve their ability to deal with work stress by: oClearly communicating their expectations of employees and to them. Expectations may be communicated to a group of employees or to individuals. The aim is to verify the roles the employee is expected to fulfill and the scope of the position held. Devising a performance-evaluation-feedback system such that each employee is aware his performance based on the feedback received. Employees would then be able to know whether they are meeting management expectations or not, and if not, work towards a resolution. oEnsuring that employees are capable of carrying out work tasks by tightening the recruitment process or training employees. Job training programs provide employees with broader knowledge and skills to better ha ndle the expectations from their roles. Cole (1997) made general recommendations on how to reduce stress in organizations and they include: Designing jobs to permit maximum use of skills, allow employees discretion in carrying out job tasks, to be challenging and have variety. Developing participative management styles. Encouraging team spirit and inter-departmental communication Ensuring delegation of decision making. Giving employees authority to match their responsibilities. Limiting procedures associated with execution of tasks. Allow employees express their feelings to their superiors, colleagues or counselors. Provide sports and social facilities. Provide adequate canteen and restroom facilities. It has been documented that people work more effectively in a participative management style and are better motivated when work tasks meet their needs (CIPD). The quality guru, Demming, argued that about 80% of improvement required management effort and major changes in the work place, while only 20% of improvement could be instituted by front line managers (Beardwell et al 1997). On a more personal level, individual employees are advised to use relaxation exercises like yoga or to apply biofeedback and personal wellness (Newstrom et al 1999). The individual coping and preventive strategies include: Exercising to a sweat at least twice a week Meditation exercises can be used hand in hand with biofeedback Behaviorally conditioning oneself to circumvent stressful situations Redefining one’s thoughts about themselves and their ability to cope with stressful situations through self talk. Getting support from friends, family and colleagues during stressful periods. Ensuring one achieves holistic wellness by taking responsibility for oneself, eating well, using relaxation techniques, exercising regularly, and being sensitive to one’s surroundings. 2. Other factors that affect performance Results of a 40 year study by Ralph Goldman to explore the relationship between employee performance and the environment showed that factors like good ventilation, lighting, acoustics and indoor air conditioning could increase productivity by 6% (Kreitner 1998). The major factors that affect employee performance are: HRM Strategies : A strong causal link has been established between HRM and business performance by Patterson et al (1998). Compared to other management practices like strategy and investment in research, human resource practices explained 18% of the variation in productivity. Job design: Challenging jobs with adequate levels of authority and responsibility stimulate the performance of employees. Employment Benefits and Rewards: Employees are motivated to perform effectively and efficiently to reap various benefits and rewards which include bonuses, medical coverage, recognition at the work place, training and advancement opportunities and allowances. Employee level of Training and Training Requirements of the Job: The level of training of employees vis-a-vis the training requirements of the job plays an important role in that employee’s performance. An under-qualified employee will not be able to effectively carry out work tasks and perform as required by the organization. Organization Culture: An open organization culture enhances communication and encourages employees to exchange views and participate in decisions. This gives employees a feeling of control over the work environment, a state of mind that is believed to improve performance. Technology: The mix of technologies used in the organization affects the performance of employees. Organizations where all work e. g. preparation of ccounts and financial statements is done manually cannot compare to those that use computerized accounting systems. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 0Introduction This chapter discusses the methods that were used to carry out the study; the research design, study area and population, sources of data, data collection methods, data quality control measures, data presentation and analysis methods, and the problems encountered and limitations of the study. 3. 1Research design The study was co-relational so as to determine the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants. A cross-sectional design was adopted so all tasks and measures were applied on one occasion and not to over a period of time because the study sought to determine conditions as they were and not changes in the relationship between the variables over a period of time. 3. 2Study area and population of the study 3. 2. 1Study area: The study was carried out in the central region of Uganda; in the districts of Kampala and Jinja. 3. 2. 2Population of the study: A sample of 100 accountants was chosen from organizations across various industries in the public and private sectors. Data collected from 86 respondents was used as 14 respondents did not return their questionnaires. 3. 3Sources of data Both primary and secondary sources of data were used 3. 3. 1Primary: The chosen sample of accountants provided data in the form of self administered questionnaires that were distributed to them. 3. 3. 2Secondary: Data was also obtained from existing literature i. e. pamphlets, journals, text books and the internet. 3. 4Data collection methods Two methods were applied in the collection of data: sampling and questionnaires. 3. 4. 1Sampling: Accidental sampling was used for the purposes of this study. The time frame in which the study was conducted did not give allowance for random sampling techniques to be used and only respondents who were available were served questionnaires. 3. 4. 2Questionnaires: Self administered questionnaires were used to gather data critical to the study. The standardized questionnaire contained 50 close-ended questions and 5 open-ended questions in 3 categories to be answered on a four point scale i. e. ranging from Never to Sometimes to Often to Always. The categories explored were; work related stress, performance, and coping mechanisms. Questionnaires were delivered to and collected from selected respondents. 3. 5Data quality control Standardized questionnaires were used to ensure uniformity of possible responses and this was further enhanced by the use of primarily close-ended questions. A four point scale was used to maximize simplicity as a wider scale would have created ambiguity and confusion among respondents. Questions were weighted according to the significance of the factor under consideration. This ensured that critical factors got appropriate recognition therefore giving more reliable results. 3. 6Data presentation and analysis Data was presented in tables by frequency counts or scores and percentages. It was then analyzed using correlation analysis and in particular, a combination of the CORREL and Pearson’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. The results of the study are presented and discussed in Chapter 4. 3. 7Problems and limitations There was a non-response rate of 14%. It is possible that the results are biased away from respondents that did not return the questionnaires. The public sector contributed 55% of the respondents while the private sector provided 45%. The results may be biased toward the public sector. Cost constraints necessitated the reduction of the number of respondents from 200 which was the desired sample size to 100 which eventually became the sample size. It may not be practical to extrapolate the results to all accountants in the region. Non-random sampling was used and the results are to a degree biased. CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 4. 0Introduction This chapter presents analyses and interprets the results of the study. Presentation is done by frequency counts or scores and percentages and analysis is done using a combination of CORREL and Pearson’s Rank Coefficient Correlation techniques. . 1Bio Data The results in this section are presented in tables 1 to 4 under the titles age, sex, marital status and working hours (per week) of respondents. Table 1: Age of Respondents AgeFrequencyPercentage Below 301112. 8 Between 30 and 454451. 2 Between 45 and 552731. 4 Above 5544. 6 Total86100. 0 From the above table, majority of the resp ondents (51. 2%) were 30 to 45 years old followed by 45 to 55 year olds (31. 4%), then those aged below 30 years (12. 8%), and the least were aged above 55 years (4. 6%). Table 2: Sex of Respondents SexFrequencyPercentage Male5968. 6 Female2731. 4 Total86100. As shown in the table above, majority of the respondents were male (68. 6%) and the minority female (31. 4%) Table 3: Marital Status of respondents Marital StatusFrequencyPercentage Single2934. 0 Married5361. 6 Widowed44. 4 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table majority of the respondents were married (61. 6%), 34% were single and the minority (4. 4%) were widowed. Table 4: Working hours (per week) of Respondents Working HoursFrequencyPercentage Less than 3022. 3 Between 30 and 406373. 3 Between 40 and 601618. 6 Above 6055. 8 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table, majority of the respondents (73. %) worked for 30 to 40 hours per week, followed by those that worked 40 to 60 hours a week (18. 6%), then those that worked more than 60 hours a week (5. 8%) and finally those that worked less than 30 hours per week (2. 3%). 4. 2Sources of Work Stress among Accountants Table 5: Sources of Work Stress among Respondents Sources of Work StressScore Percentage Job Design2716. 4 Management Style3621. 8 Social Support2414. 5 Reward Structure3420. 6 Work Environment4426. 7 Total165100. 0 As shown in the table, the main source of work stress among the respondents was Work environment (26. %), followed by the management style applied (21. 8%), followed by the reward structure in place in the organizations (20. 6%), then the design of jobs (16. 4%) and lastly lack of social support (14. 5%). More specifically, the results showed that numerous demands made of the respondents, insufficient remuneration to match job tasks, a poor work environment, poor attitudes to diverse perspectives at the work place, boring job tasks and inadequate resources to do the job were the causes of work stress common among majority of respondents. 4. 3Signs of Work Stress among Accountants Table 6: Signs of Work Stress among Respondents Signs of Work StressScorePercentage Exhaustion4117. 4 Limited Social Contact3113. 1 Difficulty Relaxing2912. 3 Leaving Work Early2811. 9 Irritable and Moody2811. 9 Others7933. 4 Total236100. 0 As shown in the table, the sign of stress most common among the respondents was exhaustion (17. 4%) followed by limited social contact with colleagues and peers (13. 1%), followed by difficulty relaxing (12. 3%), then leaving work early and irritability and moodiness (11. 9% each) and other signs (33. 4%). 4. 4The Relationship between Work Stress and Performance Table 7: Stress Levels of Respondents Stress LevelFrequencyPercentage Low78. 1 Moderately Low3338. 3 Moderately High4147. 7 High55. 9 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table, 47. 7% of the respondents showed moderately high stress levels, 38. 3% showed moderately low levels of stress, 8. 1% showed very low levels of stress and 5. 9% showed very high levels of stress. The results showed that 45% of the respondents suffered from ailments and disorders attributable to stress and the most common among the respondents were hypertension, peptic ulcers, allergies, depression and anxiety. Table 8: Performance Levels of Respondents Performance LevelFrequencyPercentage Low1213. 9 Moderately Low33. 5 Moderately High5968. 7 High1213. 9 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table, majority of the respondents (68. 7%) had moderately high performance levels, followed by respondents that had high and low performance levels (13. 9% each), and finally 3. 5% who had moderately low levels of performance. The results showed that almost 50% of the respondents worked outside formal working hours to finish their work, rarely took vacations, and had little or no control over how they performed on their jobs. Table 9: Correlation between Work Stress and Performance Work StressPerformance Work Stress1. 0000-0. 6312 Performance-0. 63121. 0000 As shown in the table, there was a relatively significant negative correlation between work stress and performance of -0. 6312. This means that there is a significant inverse relationship between stress and performance. 4. 5Coping Mechanisms applied by Accountants Table 11: Level of use of Coping Mechanisms Level of use FrequencyPercentage Low910. 5 Moderately Low5361. 6 Moderately High2225. 6 High22. 3 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table, majority of the respondents (61. 6%) showed moderately low levels of use of coping mechanisms, followed by 25. 6% who showed moderately high levels of use of coping mechanisms, then 10. 5% who showed low levels and finally 2. 3% that showed high levels of us of coping mechanisms. The coping mechanisms that were commonly used by respondents were exercising, setting time to relax, and pursuing religious/spiritual interests. 24% of the respondents said they dealt with their stress primarily through sleeping while 17% consumed alcohol. Table 12: Correlation between Work Stress and Coping Mechanisms Work StressCoping Mechanisms Work Stress1. 0000-0. 1169 Coping Mechanisms-0. 11691. 0000 As shown in the table, there was an insignificant negative correlation between work stress and coping mechanisms. This means that there was a very low and therefore insignificant inverse relationship between work stress and coping mechanisms. 4. 6Other Factors that Affect Performance Table 10: Other Factors that affect Performance Other FactorsFrequencyPercentage Financial Constraints 3034. 9 HR Policies1922. 1 Organization Culture910. 5 Technology2023. 2 Others89. 3 Total86100. 0 As shown in the table 34. 9% of the respondents cited financial constraints as the leading disincentive to their performance, followed by technology (23. 2%), Human Resource policies (22. 1%), organization culture (10. 5%), and others (9. 3%). CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. 0Introduction This chapter discusses the findings in relation to the objectives and existing literature. It also includes the conclusion and recommendations. 5. 1Bio data Of the 86 respondents, the majority was male, 30 to 40 years old, and married. The respondents were from various organizations in both the public and private sectors and were accountants and accounting officers by virtue of their positions and their tasks and duties. Majority of the respondents worked for 30 to 60 hours a week. 5. 2Work Stress and Performance The results showed that majority of the respondents felt that their jobs were boring, did not get adequate pay to match the work they did, their working conditions were poor, and they had many people at the workplace make excessive demands of them. These factors have been identified as some of the most significant organizational stressors (Luthans 1998). The respondents claimed to be exhausted and indicated that they did not maintain social contact with their friends and colleagues, found difficulty relaxing, and were irritable and moody. These signs have been associated with stress by many authors and researchers. The results showed that there was a moderately high correlation between work stress and performance among the respondents. This suggests that an increase in stress levels will lead to a significant drop in performance. These findings agree with Sanders (1983) who found that performance was optimal at moderate levels but reduced when stress levels were too low or too high. Jamal (1985) and Vroom (1964) also support the idea that â€Å"stress at any level reduces task performance by draining an individual’s energy, concentration and time. † Work stress in moderately high and high levels among employees, as some respondents showed, is not the productive type that organizations desire; it does not improve the use of resources or enhance performance. This type of stress disrupts relationships both at work and outside work, damages mental and physical health, and tarnishes one’s outlook on life. It is near impossible to be productive under such conditions. Up to 50% of the respondents were suffering from various stress related ailments and disorders like hypertension, ulcers, allergies, depression and anxiety. Newstrom et al (1997) has however cautioned that the signs and effects associated with stress may result from other conditions. 5. 3Work stress and Coping Mechanisms The main coping strategies respondents used were exercise, relaxation and pursuit of spiritual and religious interests. These are both proactive and reactive and probably served to protect the respondents from very high stress levels. The results showed an insignificantly low negative correlation between work stress and coping mechanisms. This might be attributed to personality factors like a hardy personality, a strong sense of commitment, an internal locus of control or the need to meet challenges in life. McGuigan (1999) said that a stressor is an event that can be perceived as stressful by an individual; and therefore what is distressful for one individual may not be so for another. Majority of the respondents had moderate work stress results but they did not cope with their stress the same way, probably because their personalities differed. While some could have been suffering under the pressure, others may have considered conditions to be normal or simply challenging. Dennis Warren in an article in the Montana Lawyer said â€Å"it’s our attitude toward what we do and how we do it. It’s out perspective- how we see and experience the challenges and difficulties in our lives. † Adults are believed to apply coping strategies at different levels as was suggested by Lazarus et al (1984) when they stated that â€Å"coping is constantly changing; involving cognitive and behavioral efforts applied to handle specific external and internal demands appraised as stressful. 5. 4Other Factors that affect Performance The results showed that financial constraints were the leading disincentives to accountants’ performance, followed by technology, Human Resource policies, and lastly organization culture. These have been cited by Kreitner (1998) as the major factors that affect employee performance. 5. 5Conclu sion In regard to the findings of the study, a conclusion can be drawn that; 1. There is a significantly moderate relationship between work stress and performance. Though some people may perform highly as they undergo moderately high and high levels of stress while others perform poorly in conditions of low stress, it is more common for highly stressed people to perform poorly and vice versa. 2. There is no significant relationship between stress and coping mechanisms. Most accountants do not apply coping mechanisms basing on their stress levels or as a way of dealing with stress; they do it as part of their way of life. 5. 6Recommendation Stress is a descriptive term used to cover conditions of a physical, biological, or psychological nature that typically cannot be controlled by people and therefore strain them beyond their powers to adapt (Gaillard et al 1994). Although majority of the respondents showed medium stress levels, accountants rarely recognize and admit that they are stressed until irreparable damage has been done. Wagner et al (1995) support this observation and mentioned that employees were afraid to admit that they could not overcome some of problems with their work tasks for fear of being labeled chronic complainers. It is important for accountants to try and minimize work stress and its effects, and more so to be proactive rather than reactive in dealing with their stress. It has been found that performance suffers where stress exists and stress should therefore be checked to counter its effects and in particular, loss of productivity or poor performance. This should concern management of the organization as they strive for increased performance and employee productivity. Organization structure, culture and policies should be evaluated and restructured so as to be supportive to employees and the duties they have to undertake. Management should also evaluate the design of jobs, pay structures, HR policies and practices, the working environment and organization stress profile, and take appropriate steps to bring the organization to a stress free state. References: Brian White, 2003. Dissertation Skills for Business and Management Students; Continuum. Fred Luthans, 1998. Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition; Irwin/McGraw Hill. G. A. Cole, 1997. Personnel Management, 4th Edition; Letts Educational, Aldine Place, London. Gaillard A. W. K. and J. M. Seyvers, 1989. Sleep Loss and Sustained Performance; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Gareth Morgan, 1997. Images of Organization, 2nd Edition; Sage. Ian Beardwell Len Holden, 1997. Human Resource Management; A Contemporary Perspective, 2nd Edition; Pitman Publishing. Jacques Barzun Henry F. Graft, 1957. The Modern Researcher; Jacques Barzun. Jamal M. , 1985. An article on â€Å"Relationship of Work stress to Job Performance: A Study of Managers and Blue-Collar Worke rs† published in Human Relations Vol. 38. John A. Wagner III John R. Hollenbeck, 1995. Management of Organizational Behavior, 2nd Edition; Prentice Hall Inc. John W. Newstrom Keith Davis, 1997. Organizational Behavior; Human Behavior at Work, 10th Edition; McGraw Hill. Paul Hersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard Dewey E. Johnson, 1969. Management of Organizational Behavior; Utilizing Human Resources, 7th Edition; Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Peter F. Drucker, 1999. Management Challenges of the 21st Century; Butterworth Heinemann. Robert Kreitner, 1998. Management, 10th Edition; Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. Rosemary Stewart, 1997. The Reality of Management, 3rd Edition; Butterworth Heinemann. Selye H. , 1956. The Stress of Life; Mc-Graw Hill, New York. Stephen P. Robbins Mary Coulter, 1999. Management, 6th Edition; Prentice Hall Inc, New Jersey. Laurie J. Mullins, 1996. Management and Organizational Behavior, 4th Edition; Pitman Publishing. Vroom V. H. 1964. Work and Motivation; Wiley Press, New York. Kworoba Elly, 2006/2007. Lecture Notes; Organizational Behavior; Faculty of Vocational Studies, Kyambogo University. Mwasa Patrick, 2004/2005. Lecture Notes; Stress and Stress Management; Faculty of Community Psychology, Makerere University. www. cdc. gov/niosh National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Journals. www. cipd. o. uk Chartered Institute of Personnel and development, 2006. Absence of Management. Survey Report; London CIPD. www. humannature. com An article on Employee Stress and Performance written by David Lee. www. matrix-performance. com www. mobar. com An Article on The Laws of Stress and Performance by Dennis Warren published in the 1998 issue of The Montana Lawyer. www. news. ufl. edu www. worc. ac. uk Gbola han Gbadamosi. A Paper on Perceived Stress, Performance Appraisal Discomfort and Core Self Evaluation in a Non-Western Context; University of Worcester. www. wikipedia. com

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay Example

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay Example Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the role of the women In the Victorian age Introduction: Thesis: Women during the Victorian Age were restricted and limited to gender roles and expectations. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the exception through her writings of poetry. Body Paragraphs: l. The history of the Victorian Age. A. Named after Queen Victoria 1. Considered one of the most glorious periods In British history. 2. The British Empire grew In sixes and Importance while being ruled by a woman. B. People began to describe this period through poetry 1 . Poetry expressed social injustice, repression, and adjustments. 2. Themes in poetry began to change also to link the Romantic period to modern poetry. II. Poetry makes a shift. A. Males had a different focus. 1. Denied women have the capacity or the position in society to write poetry. 2. Men thought women were only good for doing housework and caring for the children. B. Women poets expressed themselves mostly by writing. 1 . After breaking free from conceptual structures, the women became a wife, and the poets they wanted to be. 2. The finest love poets were written by female poets. Ill. Elizabeth Barrett Browning Impacted poetry. A. History of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 1. Birth date, when began writing as a child. 2. Sustain injury as a child. B. Life challenges and accomplishments. 1. Her favorite brother died on July 1 1, 1840, causing her to loose focus on her poetry and stay in her room for 5 years. 2. Was recognized as one of Englands most original and gifted young poet. Conclusion: Elizabeth Barrett Browning had an enormous impact on women of the Victorian age. She helped paved the way for them to be their own people.

Job Search Tips that Work Yes, They Worked for Me!

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Individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual report - Essay Example For team works to be successful, each member needs to contribute to the group’s cause and the individual differences and diversities of the participants can bring about various perspectives on the work assigned; therefore, students are better equipped to chose the best alternative derived out of their discussion. No doubt, our team’s group work of designing and implementing a job interview has convinced me how group dynamics is at work and the task has provided me with fresh insights regarding the concepts of group performance, individual performance and new skills development. The process of designing and implementing the job interview in groups was interesting and each one put his best efforts to prepare a flawless and competent pre interview check list. In the preparation of the pre-interview check list, the ideas of each member in the group were significant and special care was employed by the group to select competent panel members for the interview; the date, time and venue of the interview was fixed, the job specifications were studied in detail and a comprehensive questionnaire was prepared, and an environment where the interviewee is completely comfortable was carefully set. The next step was to identify the necessary skills and qualities that are required of each participant in the interview. It was really useful for me to listen to the ideas of others in the group and I noticed with astonishment how each one had his own unique ideas and outlooks. The most essential requirements were finalized by the group that included the candidates’ edu cational qualification (honours Degree), teaching experience, ability to supervise, subject competency, ability to be tolerant and open-minded, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, dedication, time management and aptitude towards team work. Keeping in mind the required skills of the desirable candidates, our group formulated questions by which responses from the candidates could be elicited

Orange Juice Titration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Orange Juice Titration - Essay Example Ascorbic acid ascorbic acid (also known as Vitamin C) is antioxidant and in presence of oxidizing agent it turns into dehydro-ascorbic acid [2]. Earlier experiments have shown that exposure of orange juice to oxygen lead to decrease in amount (concentration) of ascorbic acids and browning of orange juice [3]. No such effect is observed when orange juice is exposed to light [3]. While another research showed that the oxygen does not accelerates non enzymatic browning of orange juice [4]. This research paper tries to analyze the effect of oxygen and light on orange juice and thereby tries to resolve the ambiguity. Hypothesis Null Hypothesis 1: Oxygen does not affect the lifespan of orange juice or vitamin C in the juice. Alternate hypothesis: Oxygen affects the lifespan of orange juice or vitamin C in the juice Null Hypothesis 2: Exposure to light does not affect the life span of orange juice or vitamin C in the juice. Alternate hypothesis: Exposure to light affects the lifespan of ora nge juice or vitamin C in the juice. Claim Exposure to oxygen reduces the shelf life of orange juice. Exposure to light reduces the shelf life of orange juice. ... exposed to air (not exposed to light) 7.666667 10 7 Fresh 0.1. exposed to light 18.66667 23 14 Concentration values of ascorbic acid of different samples achieved from titration (concentration = x*10^-4) P values (T-Test) Fresh OJ. (not exposed to light) Vs. Non-fresh OJ. exposed to air (not exposed to light) – Hypothesis 1 0.00377 Fresh OJ. (not exposed to light) Vs. Fresh 0.J. exposed to light – Hypothesis 2 0.0212 Non-fresh OJ. exposed to air (not exposed to light) Vs. Fresh 0.J. exposed to light 0.03491 Probability of type 1 error while rejecting null hypothesis using students T-test. Bar graph depicts minimum, mean and highest observed concentrations of ascorbic acid in the three samples of orange juice. Evidence It was observed that the mean concentration of ascorbic acid in fresh OJ (0.00320) was much higher than the mean concentration of ascorbic acid in non-fresh OJ (0.00077). Mean concentration of ascorbic acid in fresh OJ exposed to light (0.00187) was more t han mean concentration of ascorbic acid in both non fresh OJ and less than fresh OJ. The variation in concentration of ascorbic acid was highest in Fresh 0.J. exposed to light (2.03333E-07) and was lowest in Non-fresh OJ exposed to air (not exposed to light) (4.33333E-08). T test showed that population Fresh OJ (not exposed to light) and population Non-fresh OJ exposed to air (not exposed to light) were not same. This could be stated with more than 99% accuracy. T test also showed that population Fresh OJ (not exposed to light) and population Fresh 0.J. exposed to light were not same. This could be stated with almost 98% accuracy. Conclusion It was found that the ascorbic acid concentration in orange juice decreased when it was exposed to both light and

Wisdom Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wisdom Paper - Essay Example I consider my grandmother wise because she conforms to the definition of wisdom that I believe in and have discussed above. She has spent a whole lifetime during which she has seen a lot of highs and lows. She has been through a lot of enlightening and tough experiences and challenges, all of which have added to her knowledge of the best ways to deal with them, and so she has become more learned and wiser as she has aged. Perhaps it can be said for all elderly people, but some people do not learn from their mistakes, so they cannot be considered wise even if they are old. I am sure my grandmother is not included in that category. While I have had a lot of opportunities to learn from my grandmother, I have not been quite as lucky to learn from Martin Luther King Jr. as he had died several years before I had born. However, having read his biographies, and the books and articles written about him, I have learnt a lot of qualities and philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. that were described in them. Obviously, learning from a living person is a much different and better experience than learning from the second-hand accounts about a person who has passed away. Since my childhood, spending at least half an hour a day solely with my grandmother whenever she is at my home has been my habit. Whenever we are together, I ask her questions about her life, and her experiences, and tend to understand her thoughts, philosophies, and opinions about all kinds of issues. These experiences have been extremely informative, spiritually rejuvenating, and enlightening for me. I think that wisdom and learning are interrelated terms in that wisdom is enhanced by learning, but the two terms cannot be used interchangeably since they differ in their meanings. Wisdom is in-born. It is the sense to distinguish between the right and the wrong. Learning, on the other hand, is knowledge that is

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Case Study Example elementary school, I have analyzed that it is essential to develop innovative facilities for the students to enhance the portfolio and demand in the market among others. Along with this, it might be also worth trying to introduce varied types of extra-curricular activities such as lab and library facilities, an Accelerated Reader Program to develop the joy of reading among students and character education classroom programs to enhance the inner skills and talents of the students. Only then, the dominance of the school may be maintained in such a competitive market scenario as compared to others. Along with this, the profit margin and sales might be enhanced resulting in amplification of the brand equity in the market. Side by side, the market value and reputation of the organization might also be enhanced among other rivals in the market (Sadler, 2003). Only then the mission statement of the Maryland elementary school of becoming the top player in this sector might get fulfilled as compared to others in the market. Side by side, its range of students might also get enhanced day by day very rapidly. Trait theory: It is an approach describing the personalities of human beings. It is essential, because on the basis of his or her personality traits, I might approach the person for further discussion regarding the prospects of the goals in this competitive scenario. For example, this theory might also prove effective in understanding the personality traits of the senior managers and the administrators enrolled below me for the fulfillment of this task. Thus, it may be stated that trait theory of leadership is extremely essential for any leader or members of any organization or group. So, it is extremely essential for the leaders to attain a definite type of skills and traits to accomplish the objectives or goals (Sadler, 2003). Transformational leadership theory: This theory always tries to reject the personal interest and motivate the peers and employees to work for

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods Essay

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods - Essay Example There have been increases in smuggling activities, which have been aided by advances in technology and the emergence of new economies like China. Forgery of luxury has also been on the increase due to increased demand for these items making it a lucrative venture for many individuals. This paper seeks to discuss illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods in the world. Forgery is term used to describe the imitation of and adaptation of items, objects and even identity of persons in an effort to pass them as the originals. The practice of producing forgeries is referred to as forging, and the forging of money or currencies is referred to as counterfeiting. Documents are also forged as when bank checks are forged or important personal documents like birth and death certificates, passports, drivers’ licenses and other important documentation. The forgery of art is another lucrative practice that sees the imitation of master paintings by Picasso, Da Vinci and Van Gogh. Ar t forgery is a thriving industry that involves the creation and sale of art works that are falsely credited to famous artists like Da Vinci and Van Gogh instead of their actual painters or creators (Keats 112). The increased demand for works of art by famous creators like Benini and Da Vinci makes forgery of these works of art a lucrative business. The value of forged art is determined by the name of the purported creator or artist (Keats 73). The forging of the Picasso painting by my second cousin involved a careful process that was characterized by getting the right paints and other materials like the painting medium. He chose the right scene or object in a painting to paint in order to capture all the elements that are identifiable with the original or master’s aspects (Keats 76). Forging masters requires that the imitations resemble the originals, which are usually aged and have the telltale signs of age. These signs include cracks filled up with dirt and faded colors. To age the painting in order to make it resemble the original, my cousin applied bleach to the back of the painting to make it feel old and brittle (Keats 96). The frame and the front of the painting was aged using a concoction of brown paint and thinner to age the wood frame, while the front was aged by a 70/30 blend of brown paint and thinner. Every painting by a master possesses an identifying signature or marker that confirms the identity of the true creator or artist. My cousin who is skilled enough in both of these processes did this or they can be done another individual who is skilled in the art of forging signatures and other identifying marks. I was able to easily forge ownership documentation for the painting, and acquire an authentication certificate showing that my fake Picasso was indeed an original. I was able to achieve this fete by bribing corrupt officials in the department of arts at a renowned local museum. The convention on the international trade in endangered sp ecies (CITES) is an international agreement between nations and states to ban the trade in animal and plant specimens that endangers their survival (Becker & Wehinger 28). Through CITES initiative and related organizations, a number of policies have been formulated and implemented to limit or completely ban the use, sale and trade of various goods associated with negative externalities

Property Prices in the UK Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Property Prices in the UK - Coursework Example Our null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis were as follows:H0: ÃŽ ¼w = ÃŽ ¼l (No significant difference in the two means) H1: ÃŽ ¼w ≠  ÃŽ ¼l (A significant difference exist between the two means)A t-test was used to ascertain whether the price data vary vastly, with regard to our assertion or it is steady. We opted for a t-test because, according to Dalgaard (2008), it is best suited for this work and it is easy to interpret. From the results of two sample, t-statistics tells how the mean of one population sample deviates from the mean of another population sample. It interprets the average of each property price and the mean difference between the two property sits. Moreover, t-test gives an explanation as to whether the difference in mean is statistically significant or not especially if the two populations, where the sample prices were gathered, have similar means.      We tabulated the sample prices for property news (sample w) and the sample prices for property live and then calculated the relevant summary statistics using STATA.  The variance of difference for the two means (sd2) was calculated as follows:sd2 = (sw2 / nw) + (sl2 / nl) = (108370.3/8) + (108725.4/7)  = 13546.29 +15532.2 sd2 = 29078.49 Therefore, sd = √29078.49 = 170.52 Our calculated t-statistics was therefore given as:  t = (ÃŽ ¼w – ÃŽ ¼l)/ sd = (85731 - 73329.71)/ 170.52 = 72.73 However, the tabulated t-value, at 13 degrees of freedom (8 + 7 -2) is given as 1.7709. Since the calculated t-statistics > the tabulated t-statistics, we reject Ho and conclude that the two means for the two property prices are significantly different at 5% significance level.

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods Essay

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods - Essay Example There have been increases in smuggling activities, which have been aided by advances in technology and the emergence of new economies like China. Forgery of luxury has also been on the increase due to increased demand for these items making it a lucrative venture for many individuals. This paper seeks to discuss illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods in the world. Forgery is term used to describe the imitation of and adaptation of items, objects and even identity of persons in an effort to pass them as the originals. The practice of producing forgeries is referred to as forging, and the forging of money or currencies is referred to as counterfeiting. Documents are also forged as when bank checks are forged or important personal documents like birth and death certificates, passports, drivers’ licenses and other important documentation. The forgery of art is another lucrative practice that sees the imitation of master paintings by Picasso, Da Vinci and Van Gogh. Ar t forgery is a thriving industry that involves the creation and sale of art works that are falsely credited to famous artists like Da Vinci and Van Gogh instead of their actual painters or creators (Keats 112). The increased demand for works of art by famous creators like Benini and Da Vinci makes forgery of these works of art a lucrative business. The value of forged art is determined by the name of the purported creator or artist (Keats 73). The forging of the Picasso painting by my second cousin involved a careful process that was characterized by getting the right paints and other materials like the painting medium. He chose the right scene or object in a painting to paint in order to capture all the elements that are identifiable with the original or master’s aspects (Keats 76). Forging masters requires that the imitations resemble the originals, which are usually aged and have the telltale signs of age. These signs include cracks filled up with dirt and faded colors. To age the painting in order to make it resemble the original, my cousin applied bleach to the back of the painting to make it feel old and brittle (Keats 96). The frame and the front of the painting was aged using a concoction of brown paint and thinner to age the wood frame, while the front was aged by a 70/30 blend of brown paint and thinner. Every painting by a master possesses an identifying signature or marker that confirms the identity of the true creator or artist. My cousin who is skilled enough in both of these processes did this or they can be done another individual who is skilled in the art of forging signatures and other identifying marks. I was able to easily forge ownership documentation for the painting, and acquire an authentication certificate showing that my fake Picasso was indeed an original. I was able to achieve this fete by bribing corrupt officials in the department of arts at a renowned local museum. The convention on the international trade in endangered sp ecies (CITES) is an international agreement between nations and states to ban the trade in animal and plant specimens that endangers their survival (Becker & Wehinger 28). Through CITES initiative and related organizations, a number of policies have been formulated and implemented to limit or completely ban the use, sale and trade of various goods associated with negative externalities

War of the Worlds Essay Example for Free

War of the Worlds Essay War of the Worlds is a book which was written by H.G Wells in 1989, the book depicts the end of mankind at the peril of Martians. The main fears at that time where highlighted in this book. H.G Wells was a man of science, when in education he received many science awards and he liked to write science fiction novels. Some of his well known novels where The Time Machine and The Invisible Man these where some of his well known books but War of the Worlds must be his most popular as it is still read over a hundred years after he wrote it. At the start of the book an object is seen flying towards earth by the narrator and his friend who are both scientists, this object was a metal cylinder which landed on Horsell common, a crowd gathers and theyre all amazed at what is lying in front of them. After a short while the cylinder starts to unscrew, this is when the crowd start to realise that there may be someone or something inside the cylinder, maybe it was men from mars thought the narrator. With the first sighting of the Martian, many people on Horsell common are mesmerised be the visitors. They appear to be like a mass bulk of wet leather. The Martians do not move around, as it is thought that they will be helpless as the force of gravity is much stronger than that on mars. But little do they know that the visitor is more powerful than them. This can be shown when the Martian fires the Heat Ray on the people around the pit. This causes disarray, with which many flee the scene. The narrator says an ungovernable terror gripped me as he witness the Martians act of devastation. A short while after the cylinder had landed one of its ends started to unscrew, when the end had fully unscrewed a brown leather like tentacles appeared. At the same time as the tentacles appearing the crowd started running in all directions. The Martians didnt move anywhere as the scientist seemed to think they wouldnt because of the difference in gravity on mars and earth, on earth the Martians would be heavier. With the Martians not moving the humans thought that they wouldnt be very powerful, but little did they know about the Martians light rays. When the Martians first use there light ray the crowd go into a frantic rush to leave the common. When the narrator see the immense power of the Martians he says an ungovernable terror gripped me Throughout the book there is an imbalance of power, this is with the Martians having there immensely powerful light rays and the humans only having there guns. The main quote which shows the imbalance of power is its bows and arrows against the lightening anyhow. When the imbalance of power is realised by the humans they start to flee there house when the Martians get closer. When the Martians are in London there are only a few of them against all of the population but only one of the Martians get injured, although two of them where destroyed by the Thunder Child. The civilisation of London is destroyed by the Martians black gas. The black gas forces people who are living there to flee their houses so they dont die. With this black gas covering London the book quotes that it is like an ink splodge on a map. H.G Well adds a religious side to the novel when he introduces the curate, also the exodus in London can be compared with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The book also highlights many of the fears of the people at the time when it was written. One of the main fears at that time was of the industrial revolution, with machines being invented and used many people where afraid that machines would eventually take over the world. Also at that time the British where colonising many countries, one of these where Africa. The quote which was used in the book about bows and arrows is also linked to countries like Africa having basic weapons when the British had guns etc. Around that time many people believed that there might have been men on mars. H.G Wells manages to incorporate some of the fears of mechanisation through the way which the Martians are portrayed. The way which the Martians treated the humans is identified by the way which the British was treating the countries which they where colonising. Today people never have the same fears at what people had back when The War of the Worlds was written, this is mainly because scientist have managed to prove more things and technology is much more advanced now days. Although the main fears of today are nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction.

Cultural Differences in Psychology: Indigenous Psychology

Cultural Differences in Psychology: Indigenous Psychology Bedia, Ben Joseph People often attribute culture with cultural products such as the food they eat, the music they listen to, the dance that their body imitates and with psychological constructs such as beliefs, values, and norms. But in order to have a deeper understanding of culture, one should dig in to bodies of knowledge such as superstition, history, and language. In understanding culture, one should take an insider’s view who is capable of feeling, thinking, and identifying themselves as members of the culture. The creation and re- creation of culture is a continuous process and starts every time a child is born. With this, new patterns of relationships between the person and the environment develops and is also shared with others. Several units of the society such as tribes, clans, and families make strategies to cope and adapt with natural conditions that affects their livelihood and entire existence (Segall et al., 1990). Culture makes human beings unique from animals because without culture, people would not be able to think and behave the way they do. Humans are able to communicate with one another, make meaningful conversations, are able to manage their physical and social world, and more importantly, they make their own identity. All of these are because of culture. There are two approaches in understanding culture: understanding a culture from within and understanding a culture from without but I will only discuss about understanding a culture from within because the concern is to understand culture in the Filipino context. Results of years of psychological research have been disappointing since data have been based with objective third- person analysis (Kim, 199; Koch Leary, 1985). Two types of knowledge are identified in indigenous psychology. The first one are semantic, analytic, and declerative which is about information about impartial, objective analysis and the second one is about phenomenological, episodic, and procedural knowledge describes the subjective first- person experience. With these, it is really hard to understand culture because each person has each own approach and views. That is why scholars have developed Sikolohiyang Pilipino or Filipino Psychology. According to Enriquez (1994a), Sikolohiyang Pilipino wants to explain Philippine realities putting into consideration distinct Filipino values, characteristics, and experiences which other psychological models fail to explain. Western methods and concepts are the ones being used in the education and practice of psychology in the Philippines and there applicability to the Filipino culture and society is being questioned by Filipino scholars. But the prevalence of western psychology is not only felt in the Philippines but as well as in other countries around the globe and this led to the development of indigenous psychology. A characteristic that defines Sikolihiyang Pilipino is the use of Filipino language for research and writing. SP scholars have noted that the use of native languages are important sources in the construction of native constructs as it can reach a wider audience and can contribute to the development of national identity (Enriquez, 1994b; Enriquez Marcelino, 1984; Javier, 1996; Rood, 1985; Salazar, 1982b, 1991; Sibayan, 1994). Research also shows that the language used in data collection reflects the identity and quality of the data (Church, Katigbak, Castaà ±eda, 1988; see Church, 1986, pp. 106–113, for a review). Two types of indigenous psychologies were identified by Enriquez (1993). Indigenization from within and indigenization from without. Indigenization from within involves the development of methods, concepts, and theories within the Philippines while indigenization from without involves the transfer of western psychological methods, concepts, and theories and modify it to fit local culture. These types of psychologies aim to understand how people behave naturally and when they interact with the real world. Several challenges have been encountered in the indigenization of psychology in the Philippines. One example is hybridization. Hybridization can be seen as a result of intercultural marriages as it results to the combination of existing beliefs and practices forming into new forms creating new identities. In other words, it is a transformation of existing culture into new ones (Pieterse, 1995; Rowe Schelling, 1991). The stronger the hybridization, the greater the influence it has to the person and this has both negative and positive effects. Another challenge is the one according to Wilkinson (1995). He states that is there is only on civilization and those who interact intensely, continuously, and significantly belong to one civilization even if it is a hostile interaction and their cultures are very dissimilar. These criterion were made by Wilkinson because according to him warfare, conflict, and even hostility when frequent creates a system for socialization composed by the antagonists and protagonists who cannot live in isolation. Glocalization is an attempt to fuse the global and the local. One best example is micromarketing in which global brands are tailoring their products to fit in the local market through advertisements, In order for their products to sell, they should incorporate locality. For example, in selling a shampoo brand in the Philippines, international brands should have a sachet version of it because Filipinos love to use small versions of products as it make them save more money. The third challenge is cultural complexity in which again discusses the diversity of methods that culture is taught and understood. Technology had a big help with these. Dubbed as â€Å"machineries of meanings†, they enable personal communication even without the presence of one another (Hannerz,1992). If I were to study Filipino culture in a psychological lens, I would take into view social class as culture. Social class divides the society into elements such as schools, forms of recreation, the neighbourhood they choose to live, and the choice of food to eat (Domhoff, 1998). A person’s everyday life is controlled by his or her social class and it is already becoming a cultural identity. Objective social class refers to wealth, social behaviours, and preferences and these signals other people on how to perceive us. Social class can also be seen in non- verbal behaviour such as head- nods and eye contact for the lower- class individuals and less eye contact and head- nods for upper- class individuals. When a person identifies himself into a social class, he or she also identifies himself into a hierarchy and hierarchies provide individuals access to privilege and resources. A person’s social rank also affects his or her social cognition. For example, lower- class individual’s decisions are influenced by external factors such as their bosses, government policies etc. as compared to upper- class individuals where their lives are more individualistic in which they decide whatever decision they would like to make on their own. In other words, lower- class people just tend to follow what upper- class people tell them because they think that upper- class individuals know-it-all and they would not question that. A perfect example for me is our household helper. I noticed that whenever my mom tells her to do some errands, she just always say yes without having any questions. I later on concluded that maybe because she thinks that my mom is knowledgeable enough and that no further question should be asked. Research has shown that individuals with low income blame educational opportunity as the reason for their poverty and wealth problems as opposed to upper- class individuals where they attribute their situation with their disposition. Emotional empathy also differs with your social class. Kraus Keltner (2009) noted that lower- class individuals are more engaged and reliant with others. Also, research indicates that having less makes a person more sensitive to others, interacts more, and is more emphatic leading to the theory that lower- class individuals are more prosocial. A study by Piff et al., (2010) found that individuals with lower socio- economic status gave more to charity than upper- class individuals. References: Enriquez, V.G. (1994a). From colonial to liberation psychology:  The Philippine experience. Manila: De La Salle University  Press. Enriquez, V.G. (1993). Developing a Filipino psychology. In U. Kim and J.W. Berry (Eds), Indigenous Psychologies: Research and experience in cultural contetxt (pp. 152-169). Newburry Park. CA: Sage. Segall, MH.—Kim 2000   (Kim, 199; Koch Leary, 1985). Enriquez, V.G. (1994b). Pagbabangong-dangal : Indigenous psychology  and cultural empowerment. Quezon City, Philippines:  Akademya ng Kultura at Sikolohiyang Pilipino. Enriquez, V.G., Marcelino, E.P. (1984). Neo-colonial politics  and language struggle in the Philippines: National consciousness  and language in Philippine psychology. Quezon City,  Philippines: Akademya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Philippine  Psychology Research and Training House. Javier, R.E., Jr (1996). Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Papaloob o papalabas?  [Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Inward or outward?]. Layag, 1,  51–56. Rood, S. (1985). Language and Philippine social science. In A.  Aganon S.M.A. David (Eds.), New directions in indigenous  psychology: Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Isyu, pananaw at kaalaman  [Filipino psychology: Issues, views and knowledge] (pp.  76–90). Manila: National Book Store. Salazar, Z.A. (1982b). Ilang batayan para sa isang sikolohiyang  Pilipino [Some bases for a Filipino psychology]. In R. Pe-Pua  (Ed.), Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Teorya, metodo at gamit [Filipino  psychology: Theory, method and application] (pp. 45–55). Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Psychology Research  and Training House. (Reprinted from Ulat ng unang pambansang  kumperensya sa sikolohiyang Pilipino [Proceedings of  the 1st National Conference on Filipino Psychology], pp. 33–48, by L.F. Antonio, E.S. Reyes, R.E. Pe, N.R. Almonte  (Eds.), 1976, Quezon City, Philippines: Pambansang Samahan  sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino.) Sibayan, B.P. (1994). The teaching of the technical disciplines in  Filipino.Unitas, 67, 88–99. Church, A.T., Katigbak, M.S., Castaà ±eda, I. (1988). The  effects of language of data collection on derived conceptions  of healthy personality with Filipino bilinguals. Journal of  Cross-Cultural Psychology, 19, 178–192. Pieterse, J.N. (1995). Globalization as hybridization. In M. Featherstone,  S. Lash, R. Robertson (Eds.), Global modernities (pp.  45-68). London: Sage. Rowe, W., Schelling, V. (1991). Memory and modernity: Popular  culture in Latin America. London: Verso. Wilkinson, D. (1995). Central civilizations. In S. K. Sanderson (Ed.),  Civilizations and world systems: Studying world-historical change  (pp. 46-74). LondHannerz, U. (1992). Cultural complexity: Studies in the social organization  of meaning. New York: Columbia University Press.on: Altamira Press. Consumer Choice Behaviour: UK Nightclub Industry Analysis Consumer Choice Behaviour: UK Nightclub Industry Analysis From about 1900 to 1920, working class Americans got together at bar to dance with the music played on a piano or a jukebox, and this is the early origin of the nightclub (Smith, 2001, p. 3). Nowadays, in general perspective, the Nightclub is a word can represents the entertainment and social nightlife. And in recently decades the nightclub has become one of the most important parts of modern entertainment industry (Peretti, 2007, p. 4). It is clearly that, compared with the pub and bar, the nightclub not only has some similitudes, but also has more own characteristics. The nightclub sells alcoholic drink and put music as pub and bar. However, nightclub generally has dance floor and a DJ booth, the music always includes hip hop, rock, reggae and some house music (Smith, 2001, p. 5). To some extent, nightclub mixed the advantages of pub and bar, it has more entertaining and more modernity. As Smith (2001, p. 9) claimed that the nightclub industry is bright and profitable in the coming future, and this industry will probably has more influences on economic growth. For example, a positive phenomenon of U.S. shows that after consumer spending declined on nightclub industry in 2009, consumer spending is probably has a noteworthy growth in 2010 (Bars, Nightclubs Drinking Establishments report in IBISWORLD, Jan 04 2011). And this kind of situation is happening in UK. In UK, there are 332,700 people working in the pubs, bars and nightclub industry, 40% of this people is working for nightclub. Therefore, the nightclub provides a huge number of job opportunities to society Pub, bar and nightclub industry workforce report in WARWICK, March 2010). Consequently, now the nightclub industry is playing a significant role in UKs economy. Although the nightclub industry is important, in the academic circles there is a few literatures were related to the consumer behaviour of this industry. Moreover, in nightclub industry, less than 20% of entertainment venues capture 80% of the market share (Nightclubs | A business where 20% continue to make 80% of the money cited in NIGHTCLUBBIZ, 08 February 2010). And there is no authoritative and coincident academic theory to explain this unbalanced phenomenon. Therefore, more and more attention began to focus on this interesting unbalanced situation. What are the main factors dominating consumer choice in nightclub industry and what is the core competitive advantage in this truly competitive market. Obviously, the nightclub industry is a bright and profitable industry over the next few decades. Therefore, realizing the main factor dominating consumers choice behaviour is useful and significant. This dissertation will make an in depth look into the nightclub industry and investigate the main factors dominating consumers choice behaviour. And then, provide some theoretical supports for understanding consumers choice behaviour in this industry. Moreover, use the research results to provide some positive suggestion about the marketing and promotions strategies in the nightclub industry. Literature Review Obviously, nightclub industry is truly different from other industries, such as food, medical, clothing and so on. These kinds of industries produce tangible products. However, the nightclub industry provides tangible products and intangible service together (Rigakos, 2008, p. 12). To some extent, the intangible service is more difficult to promote and also uncontrollability. Therefore, investigate the main factors which dominate the consumers choice behaviour in this industry is arduous task. Firstly, looking back the previous academic theories, Baker (1999) demonstrated that marketing is a process that can provide the products to the consumers, and this process includes four factors; they are product, price, place and promotion. Additionally, Keller (2003, p. 7) claimed that brand take on special meaning to consumers. It is a significant source of competitive advantage of the manufacturers. Fill (2006, p. 8) suggests that the marketing communication can add value through enhanced product and organisational symbolism. Egan (2008, p. 16) and Buttle (2009, p. 14) demonstrate that the customer relationship management is a positive technology to enhance the achievement of enterprise, helping broader organizational goals. In the secondary research procedure, this dissertation will take these academicians theories as the basic theoretical supports. After the secondary research studying in this area, it can be seen that in nightclub industry there are several factors can influence the consumers choice behaviour. According to the basic theories and through the preliminary assessment, these factors can be separated by two parts, internal and managerial. The internal factors includes: music, light, price and security. The managerial factors includes: brand value, promotion and customer relationship management. First of all, some perspectives support that the music is the core competitive advantage of a nightclub. The main types of music in nightclub include hip hop, rock, reggae and pop music and so on. And different consumer groups have different demands to the music (Smith, 2001, p. 219). Therefore, comfortable musical environment is an important factor could be influence the consumers choice behaviour. Then the other internal facilities factor is light. On the topic of professional writing and referencing Smith (2001, p.131) states: Light set the mood, like many other things, light play an important role in establishing an overall mood, and if the place is hopping, it usually results in an easy decision for customers to enter and if it is not, they may leave. Furthermore, sometimes the price is also an important element to influence consumers choices behaviour. That is not to say price is cheaper is better. It is mean that in this industry, there should be different price ranges for different consumer groups (Engelson, 1995, p. 33). For example, there is a figure shows that per person spending on average from  £12 to  £31 one night (A basic overview of nightclub and bar investments cited in NIGHTCLUBBIZ, 08 February 2010). Different consumer groups have different attitudes on same price. Therefore, some consumers with high consumption would probably choose the high price service or product. Opposite, the low consumption consumers would be more price-sensitive (Engelson, 1995, p. 35). Consequently, to some degree the price is probably an important factor can influence the customer choice behaviour. Recently, the security problem is raising a key master of the nightclub industry. That is because there are several malignant cases were re lated with nightclub. For example, a man died after a shooting outside a nightclub in Winter Garden on 5 April 2001 (One killed in shooting outside Winter Garden club cited in ORLANDOSENTINEL, 05 April 2011). And in earlier time, there is another homicide case happened in East London nightclub (Murder at Boheme nightclub cited in MURDERMAP, 27 March 2011). Except the malignant cases, the fire disaster is another frequent threat to the security of nightclub (McManus OToole, 2005, p. 244). Therefore, the consumers put more and more attention on security of nightclub. The first managerial factor is brand value. Rigakos (2008, p. 46) mentioned that the brand value to a nightclub is crucial adjective. And the brand value can make your nightclub stand out from the rest and potential customers need to be able to find your nightclub. Moreover, Peretti (2007, p. 201) comments that create a brand name is significant step for building fame in the nightclub industry, sometimes the brand value is the key matter for earning profit in this industry. Therefore, the brand value is a significant element in the process of the consumers choice behaviour. Secondly, promotion for the nightclub is a significant element. Compared with other industry, the customers of nightclub industry have more mobility. It is meant in this industry the average customer loyalty is lower than traditional industry. Hence, this industry needs more promotions activities (Coe, 2009, p. 102). Some simple promotions technologies can results in an easy decision for consumers to enter the nig htclub. Such as the free hats, shirts, and carry bags. According to the academic work of Egan (2008, p. 16), the customer relationship management is not just sent an email to customers. It is also not simply sent the invitation on Facebook. The customer relationship is becoming the major trend in marketing and the key mater of nightclub promotion process. It is clearly that, customers prefer to the nightclub with favorable customer relationship management. Consequently, from the analyzing the related material, the customer relationship management is probably can be a main factor dominating the customers choice behaviour. Finally, through reading the literatures it is can be found that there are some factors are basic. Such as the price, security, music, favorable traffic condition and convenient parking conditions. That is to say if the nightclub investor wants get customers into nightclub and make profit, these factors are necessary. Expect there necessary conditions, the brand, promotion and customer relationship management are the extended conditions. Therefore, in the process of primary research, this project will investigate these factors can dominate the consumers choice behaviour or not. And if there has influence on the consumers choice behaviour, how much is the degree of the influence. Research Question and Aims The proposed research question is to explore what are the main factors can dominate the consumers choice behaviour in UK nightclub industry. As motioned previously, there are many factors have influences on customers choice behaviour. And what are the decisive factors can dominate the consumers choice behaviour in this competitive market? This project is designed to investigate the current situation of UK nightclub market and find out the core factors which can decides the consumers choice behaviour in this industry. Then, in order to help the owners of nightclub in UK can better realise the customers intend propose and need, increasing the profitability. Proposed Method Research strategy Form the research question and aim; this project will focus on investigating the main factors which can dominate the consumers choice behaviour. That is to say, why the consumer choice A nightclub rather than B nightclub? What are the main reasons of the consumption behaviours? Therefore, the emphasis of this project will focus on the consumer side. However, that is not to say the information come from the operator of nightclub is useless. This project will also adopt the case study method, choosing some successful nightclubs as the samples of case study. Interview the operators of the nightclub or do some participant observation works for collecting the useful data from the nightclub operators. According to the research methods literature; this project will adopt the qualitative and quantitative research methods together to get the research result. And the main basic theoretical supports come from Bryman and Bell (2007), Saunder (2007) and Easterby-Smith, et al. (2002). Research design Several research designs were considered. Consequently, cross-sectional design, longitudinal design, Multiple-case study design and comparative design was decided as the practical and appropriate research designs due to the restraints imposed by time and accessibility (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 44-66). The reasons of choosing these kinds of research designs have four: firstly, this research will adopt the questionnaire and structured interviewing methods, and the cross-sectional design is an appropriate research design to analyse the data come from the questionnaire and structured interviewing (Saunder, et al., 2007, p. 153). Secondly, in this research, it will adopt the case study method to analyse several nightclubs. Therefore, it meant there will be Multiple-case study design. Because the case study research always includes longitudinal factors, and the longitudinal design is also an effective way to analyse the changes happened inside of the cases (Saunder, et al., 2007, p. 161). He nce, it will be also adopted in this research. Thirdly, the comparative design is appropriate for analysing the external elements of the cases (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 66). It can be used to investigate the differentiations and similarities among different nightclubs. Research method In this research, it will first collect the related literatures about the research topic, analysing the similarities and differentiation among different literatures, and then, obtain the background of this topic and the general theoretical framework about this field (Easterby-Smith, et al., 2002, p. 60). Secondly, this research will use the primary research methods to glean the original data. In this procedure, it will include questionnaire, interview, participant observation and some internet research methods (Easterby-Smith, et al., 2002, p. 168). The questionnaire will be used in the structured interview, and the self-completion questionnaires would not be adopted in this research, because the limitation of lower response rates and not prompt (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 242). The types of interview will include structured, unstructured and semi-structured interview. The structured interview will be used in the process of questionnaire, and the unstructured and semi-structured intervie w will be adopted to interview the operators of nightclubs. Additionally, the participant observation will be used to analyse the nightclubs which the research selects as the samples (Easterby-Smith, et al., 2002, p. 76). Access issues This research will choose the Newcastle nightclub market as the research sample. The reason for doing have two. One is Newcastle upon Tyne is famous for its entertainment, and especially the nightlife culture. And a new survey by Luxardo sambuca reveals that Newcastle followed Manchester as the second most offers for nightlife city in UK (Top UK Nightlife City Survey cited in PRNEWSWIR, 25 November 2011). Therefore, the Newcastle nightclub market has its strong representativeness of the UK nightclub industry. Two is I am a student in Newcastle University, I live in Newcastle, for the reason of restraints imposed by time and accessibility therefore I choose Newcastle nightclub market as the sample is reasonable and viable. And after determine the sample this project will try to glean the data from consumers by questionnaire. And this research will print two hundreds paper questionnaires and the questionnaires will be distributed by structured interview around the city centre and in fr ont of door of the nightclubs. The electronic questionnaires will be distributed by email or put on the websites. For example, establish a group discussion on Facebook or Twitter. Furthermore, this research will attempt to interview fifteen nightclub operators in Newcastle, obtaining their perspectives about the dissertation question for supplementing the data come from consumers. And until now, I have two interviewees were selected, one is my classmate, he is the main operator of the Voodooers party in Newcastle. The other one is the manager of Sinners. Because that I have operated some private parties in her nightclub. Therefore, she would like to be an interviewee of my interview and would like to introduce other nightclub managers to me. And this project will search for more interviewees in May. Proposed work plan April: The design of questionnaire Check the quality and viable of the questionnaire Send the questionnaires and analysis of questionnaires data Continue to search for the interviewees Continue the secondary research work and contact with the interviewees of interview May: Carry out the interviews and record the process of interview Finish the report of interview June: Analysing all of the primary data and contrast the results of the secondary research and primary research Start writing the final dissertation July to August: Finish the writing of dissertation Ethical issue In this research it will adopt a series of research methods. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention on the ethical issue. Firstly, it should keep the rule of reciprocity and trust; create a favourable research environment (Bryman Bell, 2007: 144). Secondly, In the process of questionnaire, it should keep the principles of voluntary participation and informed consent, it means the respondents must be fully informed about the procedures and risks involved in research and give their consent to participate (Bryman Bell, 2007: 137). Thirdly, in the process of participant observation, it should avoid the harm of participants to the respondent, and keep a certain distance from the respondents in hope that avoiding the negative influence and maintaining the objective of the data. Furthermore, in the process of data analysing, do not destroy the privacy of the respondents. Moreover, protect the security of data after finish research (Bryman Bell, 2007: 143). Consequently, only under t he ethical principles, the research is reasonable and significance, the results of research can be objective and credible. Limitations The most serious limitation of this research is that the secondary literatures are not adequate. Therefore, to some extent, the primary research is the key matter of this research. Hence, the quality of the primary research decides the results and the quality of this project. Consequently, if the collection and analysis of primary data are not reasonable, then the results of the research will not representative (Easterby-Smith, et al., 2002, p. 128). Therefore, in the process of designing questionnaire and the procedure of analysing the data should be more cautious and systemic. The second limitation is that the size of the sample. It is common that bigger size sample will make minimum biased (Bryman Bell, 2007: 242). Hence, I am not sure that the two hundreds questionnaires will get the representative primary data or not. Whether increase the size of sample or not need to be checked and considered in the practice process. Finally, there is another limitation is that lack of practical experience. I just make sure two interviewees until now. Therefore, I need to contact thirteen interviewees in May. And the worse thing is I did not have any experience about the interview. I need to design a question plan and ask questions in an appropriate way. Consequently, this process for me is a challenge, for the whole research is a limitation. Proposed data handling and analysis Generally speaking, in this research it will obtain plenty of data come from the questionnaire and interview. Therefore, it is important to adopt an appropriate method to analyse the qualitative research data. There are two general strategies of qualitative data analysis were considered. One is analytic induction (Bryman Bell, 2007: 582). The other one is grounded theory (Bryman Bell, 2007: 584). And this project will adopt the grounded theory as the main strategy of qualitative data analysis. The data of the qualitative research will be analysed by the computer software NVivo (Saunder, et al., 2007, p. 480). Moreover, the quantitative data will be analysed by using the normal statistical methods (Saunder, et al., 2007, p. 414). Furthermore, the secondary analysis will be used in both of the quantitative and qualitative research.