Managing Conflict With Employees With Conflict And Improve...

Managing conflict with coworkers doesn t have to be difficult. In this article are eight simple rules that should both help you deal with conflict and improve your relationships at work. Rule 1: See conflict as an opportunity Your perception of conflict has a direct impact on how it plays out in your life. If you embrace conflict and see it as an opportunity to better a situation or a relationship, then you ll take on the challenge of seeing the confrontation through, regardless of how difficult it may be, because you know that the ultimate benefit of working through an issue will be worth it in the long run for both you and your working relationship with the other party. If, on the other hand, you distain conflict and would rather lie on a bed of sharp nails than address a problem with a coworker, you ll be more inclined to avoid it, mismanage it, or even deny its existence. In either case, your negative perception of conflict will prevent you from dealing with it effectively. Furthermore, avoiding conflict only makes it more likely that the issue will continue to be a source of contention with no end in sight. Keys: * Begin by breaking away from the following myths around conflict: a) Conflict is negative. b) Conflict is about winning and losing. c) Conflict, if left alone, will resolve itself. d) Conflict only impacts the parties in conflict. e) Your past determines how you handle conflict today. * The truth is, only you can determine what conflict means to you.Show MoreRelatedCompanies Must Mentor Relationships and Manage Conflicts Essay1172 Words   |  5 PagesManaging conflict and how it will undoubtingly affect the long-term success of your career. Understanding the five areas of the mentoring relationship becomes vital for all employees when effectively managing conflict. The next competency of leveraging diversity is just as important as being able to manage conflict. In leveraging diversity one must â€Å"foster an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization†Read MoreConflict, Job Designs, And Teams Are A Important Part Of Todays Organizations1014 Words   |  5 PagesOrganizational Behavior Conflict, job designs, and teams are a very important part of today’s organizations. Conflict is a struggle between people that have different views, ideas, values, goals, and beliefs (Popovic Hocenski, 2009, p.15). Conflict is inevitable. However it can be beneficial for the organization if the conflict is managed correctly. There are many different ways that conflict can be managed. One of the ways that conflict can be managed is through collaboration. Conflict can happen in aRead MoreThe Australian Workplace Is A Evolving Environment1483 Words   |  6 Pagesdiversity. Unless managed and understood properly, diversity can cause a wide range of obstacles in the Australian workplace, with the main workplace objective hindrance being miscommunication amongst employees In order for a workplace to achieve objectives, as well as promote diversity, employee relationships need to be maintained and fostered in a safe and positive workplace environment. This encompasses accepting and recognizing individuals beyond the scope of their religious beliefs, political viewsRead MoreMotivation and Conflict Resolution Essay753 Words   |  4 Pages Motivation and Conflict Resolution Conflict in the workplace is detrimental to employee motivation. An essential part of motivating employees is fostering trust and providing job satisfaction. Effectively resolving conflict is critical to the success of the organization, but is only one aspect of employee motivation. There are motivational theories that help organizations understand workplace relationships, organizational behavior, and their effects on employeeRead MoreGroups and High-Performance Teams1617 Words   |  7 Pagesleaders are able to assemble a high-performance team with good hierarchical balance, measurable and attainable goals, and appropriate communication expectations across the team. They promptly address conflict resolutions and break down all physical barriers in managing multi-city offices and dispersed employees. By paying close attention to team demographics and diversity, good leaders will establish a solid group foundation which will result in a high-performance team. Groups and High-PerformanceRead MoreManaging Any Type Of Event Or Organized Business1245 Words   |  5 PagesThere are many challenges involved in managing any type of event or organized business. Managing is defined as having authority or control over events, companies, or establishments. An example of a manger would be an administrator or someone who has executive authority. Being a manager brings about many challenges, because managers are in charge of making sure they know how to confront their employees, deal with people’s values, let them know what is expected of them ethically, and evaluate theirRead MoreManagerial Skills : The Basic Principles Of Management Essay1221 Words   |  5 Pagescontrolling. For example, the job of the supervisor is to properly instruct the employee on how to perform their work duties. Therefore, a supervisor needs a combination of managerial skills to handle a job effectively in an organization that includes conceptual, technical, human , emotional intelligence, social intelligence, systems thinking, political savvy, continuous learning, and managing diversity. Conceptual skills: justice, fairness, the difference between right and wrong, legitimacy, truth equalRead MoreThe Importance Of A Multi Directional Communication862 Words   |  4 PagesI prefer to work in an environment where the power distance index is low and every member can participate in the decision-making process. For my part, multi-directional communication is more effective than top-down communication. I also enjoy the working environment that encourages creativity and innovation. Additionally, I prefer to work in an organization advocating communication and commitment. Smooth communication increases productivity. Relationships should be as important as tasks in an organizationRead MoreLeadership : A Transformational Leader1552 Words   |  7 Pagesleadership as the power to influence people to achieve the same goal, vision, or purpose. I see true leaders as great communicators with high moral standards that are not afraid of change and who continue to innovate, inspire, and empower everyone to improve or progress the group. As there are many leadership definitions, there are also various leadership styles. What stands out the most for me is transformational leadership. Burns (as cited by Crowell, 2011, pp. 81-82) described a transformational leaderRead MoreConflict Management in the Workplace1136 Words   |  5 PagesConflict Management Learning Team A: Dana Stinson, Timothy Bird, Sterling Richards, Diana Loutensock LDR/531 October 5, 2010 Richard Hartley, M.A. Conflict Management Training Program Our consulting firm, Conflict Professionals, specializes in training all levels of managers (executive, mid- and entry-level) in the art of managing conflict within their teams and organizations. What is conflict and how does it arise? Typically, it occurs when two or more people oppose one another because

Big data free essay sample

All necessary study materials will be uploaded to UMBC Blackboard. Reference book: Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Twelfth Edition by Kenneth C. Laudon; Jane P. Laudon. ISBN: 978-0-13-214285-4 Course Overview This course provides an introduction to the fundamental management and technology concepts related to information technology (IT) and information systems (IS). In this course, students are expected to accomplish the following goals: †¢ Get familiar with fundamental concepts related to IT, including hardware, software, databases, and Internet technologies; †¢ Demonstrate how IT supports all functional areas of the organization and business processes, with a focus on the use of IT in electronic commerce, decision support systems, business intelligence, and knowledge management; †¢ Develop necessary skills to analyze managerial and organizational issues involved in the development, implementation, and use of IT in enterprise information systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), IT outsourcing, and IT security; †¢ Understand the major social and ethical aspects of information technology, such as consumer privacy, hacking, intellectual property, anti-trust, and social computing; †¢ Get opportunity to explore research skills in the IT industry and apply it to some current IS topics. The Blackboard The UMBC blackboard website http://blackboard. umbc. edu contains critical information for the course, including lecture notes, assignment and case study discussion. It is also important for you to visit the course website frequently for important announcements. Course Documents Folder: The instructor will use his own PowerPoint presentation slides during class lecture. Note that not all topics in the textbooks will be covered in class. Other class related documents and handouts will be posted on the blackboard as well. 1 Assignment Folder: One homework assignment will be posted under the Assignment folder. Homework submission is through the blackboard submission link under this folder. Course Grading Evaluation of student performance will be based on the following items with corresponding points. Items Exam #1 Exam #2 Exam #3 Term Paper Term Paper Presentation Assignment Class Participation (Case Study) Percentage 15% 15% 20% 15% 10% 10% 15% Term Paper: Each student should select a real case to analyze in the topic of â€Å"Cloud Computing† as we discussed on the first class. You are expected to do some research on the case you selected and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of applying Cloud Computing on this particular domain, also you can give your own opinions and judgment on whether they should adopt â€Å"Cloud Computing† compared with current IT strategy, how â€Å"Cloud Computing† can help for a successful business. The final deliverable should be in a 3 ~ 5 page paper, the words should be more than 1500, and your analysis part should be more than 50% in your paper. You can use any format (like APA) in your paper, but after you decide to use one format, you need to keep it consistent from the beginning to the end. For your case selection: If you have previous IT experience or work in the IT related industry, you can use your own case to discuss any potential opportunities to apply â€Å"Cloud Computing† and will it affect your current business? You can also find lots of cases in your real life, for example, if you like music or movie, you may have heard â€Å"Apple iCloud†; if you like playing video games, you may know the service â€Å"Onlive. com†; what’s more, you may already get used to the application of â€Å"Dropbox†, while have you heard another similar one â€Å"Amazon cloud drive†? Actually, â€Å"Cloud Computing† is coming to our daily life. If you still cannot find cases, look at our textbook’s â€Å"table of contents†, each chapter topic can be applied by â€Å"Cloud Computing†. Besides, you can get help with UMBC research portal (on the UMBC library website) and internet resources like Google. com, they can be used as your references. But you should not copy and paste any opinions or analysis from there, your work will be submitted to UMBC plagiarism detection systems finally. You should submit one page proposal of term paper on 7/17 to indicate your case selection. Please briefly describe what your case is, how it is relevant to the topic of â€Å"Cloud Computing† and what you are prepared to discuss. I will look at your proposal and give you feedbacks before you proceed. Your final term paper is due by 8/14 before class, but will be accepted at any earlier time. 2 Term Paper Presentation: Each student will present their term paper to the class and lead a discussion about that topic. All students’ presentation is scheduled at the end of our course, and each student’s presentation is no more than 10 minutes. Exams: There will be 3 exams to supplement and reinforce your learning. The exams will be given during the normal class meeting times. The exams are NOT cumulative. All exams are close-book tests. Test questions consist of true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple-choices. Again, if there is any conflict and you cannot make any of the exams, you must communicate with the instructor in advance to get permission for a make-up test. Otherwise, you will receive a zero grade. Generally, in order to make sure the exams are fair to everyone, there are no make-up exams. Case Study: The best way of learning MIS is to study real-world cases, and all cases will be posted on Blackboard under Course Document section. In this class, each student will select a case to study and lead the discussion on â€Å"Discussion Boards - Case Study†. Case selection will be based on a first-come, first serve basis, and please reply to the discussion thread on the case title you want to manage after our first lecture. All students should finish their case selection before our third lecture on 7/17 (otherwise, you will be assigned a case by instructor). For your selection of the case, your work is to promote your classmates to answer questions in the section of â€Å"Case Study Questions† on each case, and to summarize these answers and discussions. Finally, you should select â€Å"the best solutions you thought† to present to the entire class. I will also give feedbacks afterwards. All students are required to read and view the video of every case and all students should participate and post answers for every case on â€Å"Discussion Boards† at course Blackboard, and it is a part of your grades as â€Å"Class Participation (Case Study)†. The available case lists are (30): Case: UPS Global Operations with the DIAD IV Case: Google Data Center Efficiency Best Practices Case: How FedEx Works: Enterprise Systems Case: IT and Geo-Mapping Help a Small Business Succeed Case: National Basketball Association: Competing on Global Delivery With Akamai OS Streaming Case: Customer Relationship Management for San Franciscos City Government Case: Net Neutrality: Neutral Networks Work Case: Data Mining for Terrorists and Innocents Case: Hudsons Bay Company and IBM: Virtual Blade Platform Case: Salesforce. com: SFA on the iPhone and iPod Touch Case: Maruti Suzuki Business Intelligence and Enterprise Databases Case: Data Warehousing at REI: Understanding the Customer Case: Cisco Telepresence: Meeting Without Traveling Case: Virtual Collaboration for Lotus Sametime 3 Case: IBM Zone Trusted Information Channel (ZTIC) Case: Open ID and Web Security Case: Sinosteel Strengthens Business Management with ERP Applications Case: Ingram Micro and HR Block Get Close to Their Customers Case: M-Commerce: The Past, Present, and Future Case: Ford AutoXchange B2B Marketplace Case: LOreal: Knowledge Management Using Microsoft SharePoint Case: FreshDirect Uses Business Intelligence to Manage Its Online Grocery Case: IBM and Cognos: Business Intelligence and Analytics for Improved Decision Making Case: IBM: Business Process Management in a Service-Oriented Architecture Case: Startup Appcelerator For Rapid Rich App Development Case: Mastering the Hype Cycle: How to Adopt the Right Innovation at the Right Time Case: NASA Project Management Challenges Case: Daum Runs Oracle Apps on Linux Case: Monsanto, Cisco ANS, and Microsoft SharePoint Case: The Tester Assignment: The purpose of homework assignment is to give you hands-on exercises to get you familiar with the Microsoft software Access. I will walk you through some basic functions and the software operations so you will learn how to use Access to manage database. Assignment must be done by individuals, not a group. The homework assignment must be turned in by the specified due date and time (it is on your assignment document). Assignment handed in within 24 hours after the due time/day will receive 30% penalty. Without permission from the instructor, no assignment will be accepted more than 24 hours after the due time. Course Policy Communication The instructor will communicate with students using the students official UMBC email address. Audio/Visual Recording Policy Electronic recording of lectures is prohibited unless receiving prior approval from the instructor. Approval will be granted only for self-study purposes. Class Participation Class attendance is very useful as a means of acquiring knowledge and clarification. You will learn more if you are in class to listen, take notes, and get your questions answered. Especially, a number of exam questions are derived from lectures and class discussion. Therefore, you are required to attend all class meetings and actively engage in class interactions. To show courtesy to your classmates and the instructor, it is important that you come to class on time. Please notify the instructor for any anticipated absence due to religious holidays, or UMBC official extracurricular activity ahead of time. If you use a laptop in class, I expect you to put it in proper use – no email, IM, or games. If you break 4 this rule, you may get a yellow card. After two yellow cards, you will get a red card and you can no longer bring your laptop to class. Academic Integrity The university defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Since dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the university, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. By teaching this course, I have agreed to observe all the faculty responsibilities described in the corresponding document. By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBCs scholarly community in which everyones academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Any dishonesty such as cheating, plagiarism, false representation, etc. that comes to my attention will result in an F in the course. Course Overview Part 1: The information age (Topic 1 ~ Topic 3) Overview of business information systems Strategic use of IS Business functions and supply chains Part 2: Information technology (Topic 4 ~ Topic 7) Business hardware, software, network communications, database and data warehouse Part 3: Web-enabled commerce (Topic 8 ~ Topic 9) The web-enabled enterprise, challenges of global IS Part 4: Decision support and business intelligence (Topic 10 ~ Topic 11) Decision support systems, expert systems, business intelligence and knowledge management Part 5: Planning, acquisition, and controls (Topic 12 ~ Topic 14) System planning and development, choices in system acquisition, risks, security, and disaster recovery 5 Course Schedule Below is a tentative schedule of lecture topics, cases and assignments. Any changes will be posted on the blackboard. Please check the announcements regularly. Date Topics 7/10 Course introduction The future of IS Business Information Systems: An Overview Types of Information Systems (IS) Strategic Use of IS Business Functions Supply Chains and ERP Business Hardware and Software Exam #1 (Topic 1 ~ 3) Business Networks and Telecommunications Databases and Data Warehouses The Web-Enabled Enterprise Challenges of Global Information Systems Decision Support Systems Expert Systems Exam #2 (Topic 4 ~ 9) Business Intelligence and Knowledge Management System Planning and Development Choices in Systems Acquisition and IT Outsourcing Network Security and IT Risk Management No Class (AMCIS 2012) Term Paper Presentations 7/12 7/17 7/19 7/24 7/26 7/31 8/2 8/7 8/9 8/14 8/16 Case Study Assignments One page proposal of term paper C1;C2;C3 C4;C5;C6 C7;C8;C9; C10 C11;C12;C13 One page proposal of term paper due Access Assignment Handout C14;C15;C16 C17;C18;C19; C20 C21;C22;C23 C24;C25;C26 Access Assignment due C27;C28;C29; Final Term Paper due C30 on 8/14 before class Term Paper Presentations Exam #3 (Topic 10 ~ 14) 6

Why has the membership of the major political parties declined in recent years Essay Example

Why has the membership of the major political parties declined in recent years Essay The membership of the major political parties has declined alarmingly in recent decades. In the 1950s, Labour had a million members and the Conservatives over two million, but nowadays they have 360,000 and 335,000 respectively. Parties are keen to recruit as many members as possible as they can provide important campaigning and financial support. There must be some wider reason for this phenomenon, as it did not affect just one party. Political apathy may be one factor, as people lose interest in the political system in general. Another possible reason could be the dissatisfaction the electorate feel towards the political parties of today. The class and party de-alignment arguments could also be used to explain this contrast with yesteryear- that the changes in the class system have left people unsure about whom their natural representatives are. The huge increase in floating voters may have something to do with this decline as well. Evans (1997) suggests another possibility, rather than people not participating in politics, this generation has shifted from party politics to supporting pressure groups. A politically apathetic electorate would have no interest in politics; therefore they would not join political parties. This state of mind has increased dramatically, possibly as a result of the move by the major parties in their stances. Moves, initially, by the Labour Party but subsequently by the Conservatives have left very little distinction between the parties. As the Labour Party shifted towards the centre under Blairs early leadership period, so did the Conservatives as a reaction against the Thatcher stereotype. We will write a custom essay sample on Why has the membership of the major political parties declined in recent years specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why has the membership of the major political parties declined in recent years specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why has the membership of the major political parties declined in recent years specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This might have left the electorate feeling discontented, as there would not be as much political debate from two sides that operate so close to each other in their policies. Political apathy can be measured in a number of ways: party membership, turnout, and public opinion polls, although these are not completely reliable, as people might not vote for certain reasons and not join parties for reasons other than political apathy. Without a change in the attraction of politics and parties, this should not change. There would need to be more opportunity to get involved in politics than under the current political system, possibly an increase in referenda and initiatives. This might make the electorate more interested in politics, and consequently political parties. Parties and their politicians have also been given a poor image by the media in recent years, which may have resulted in people not supporting the political parties by not joining them. Incidents like the Neil Hamilton saga and the introduction of negative campaigning show politics up to be a dirty business and one that many people dont want to be a part of. The political parties have become much more centralised now, with less power allowed to the members, and this has been reflected by the membership figures. The politicians in comparison with the constituency groups now hold much more power and some people may think there is nothing to be gained from joining the parties other than funding something that they are not a part of. Party conferences, formerly a means of allowing the member a real vote, are now seen as a media charade. The de-centralisation of the main parties would probably considerably increase their membership, as the members would be in a position to have their say and not have their party managed by an elite. Traditionally, Labour has attracted working class support whereas the Conservatives have got their vote from the middle and upper class. However, according to Crewe (1977), following the emergence of an evolved class system, with a smaller working class, the traditional class boundaries have been eliminated with people making rational choices about their vote. This is the same with whichever party they are going to join, if any. People are not necessarily going to support their class representatives anymore. As these people become more sceptical and objective about the state of the different parties, so have the parties changed their policies to suit most people as opposed to their traditional voters. This has led to a loss of core support, and an increase in the floating vote. There is nothing to suggest that this trend of rational choice voting is going to change. On the contrary, if de-industrialisation continues, the movement towards rational choice voting would gather pace and membership figures would decrease further. For an election victory, the floating vote is very important but these voters will not join a party and will therefore not donate or participate in political activities. The floating electorate choose their affiliations in the short-term, and are the most objective of the different types of voters. Their only commitment is to the party that most attracts them with its various factors whose popularity can only be defined by the individual. They will not participate in party activities- such as assistance in election campaigns, donating money, etc. as they are not members. The increase in this group would explain any change in the party membership. During recent years, the trend has been to support single-issue groups as opposed to broad groups like political parties. In this pattern, there is a divide, where younger people are interested in these single-issue protest activities whereas the older generation are more dedicated to political party activity. Whereas only 6% of 15-34 year olds describe themselves as very interested in politics, 73% see themselves as particularly interested in the homeless situation, and similar proportions have concern about disabled rights, animal rights, and increased funding for the NHS. This could suggest that in the future party enrolment will decrease even more as the previous generation of party activists die out. In conclusion, there are five main reasons for the decline of party membership: an increase in political apathy, due in some considerable way to the move to the centre ground which has disillusioned more partisan support; the distrust surrounding politics, especially showed in the media coverage of sleaze and negative campaigning; the class-dealignment experienced by Britain as a result of de-industrialisation, which has left more people moving to a rational choice model of voting; this having resulted in an increase in floating voters who do not tie themselves down to one political party; and the younger generations tendency to be more interested in single-issue politics than the wide spectrum of issues in politics today. If the following continue as expected, party membership will decrease even further. To stop this movement, parties and the political system will need to change to allow the electorate a bigger role in political decision-making. It should be noted that these conclusions could also be used in the explanation of the decline in the faith of the electorate in the present political system.

The Gods Must be Crazy essays

The Gods Must be Crazy essays As the Bushmen are portrayed in the film, they are a simple and quite non-materialistic culture that lives off the land, gathering plants and hunting for their food and the survival of the entire tribe. They enjoy each other, and do not feel any need for outside intervention or modernity. When the Coke bottle drops into the tribe's midst, it creates divisions that were never there before. It illustrates how just the slightest intervention by the white man can change the ways of a culture forever. As Xi travels with the "evil thing" to the end of the world, he encounters "civilization," but it does not seem very civilized to him. He is accused of stealing a goat, and has many other misadventures before he makes it The film is a sociological study in a variety of ways, from how tools changed the lives of the hunter/gatherers forever, to the roles and values of men and women in a non-structured society. Before the Coke bottle drops from the sky, the people share their tasks equally, but after the Coke bottle is used as a tool, one person has the advantage over the others, and so the others covet the tool that was never necessary before. Suddenly, the values and mores of the women have changed. They no longer work happily together, because they are angry and jealous that only one woman commands the tool. This illustrates an important concept in society, that those with the "most tools" are the most powerful, and the most competitive. As the Bushmen compete to use the Coke bottle for various tasks, they build walls between themselves, and their society begins to change. Before the bottle, they lived simply, and continued the folkways and values of their ancestors, that had been handed down for centuries. They did not change because they did not have to, and their lifestyle worked perfectly for them. The Coke bottle created a counter-culture that ...

Planning in SWA Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning in SWA Group - Essay Example This has resulted in the organization’s services been leased. The planning model that the organization intends to use is the rational model of planning (Mullins, 2010). This involves identifying the problems they are encountering, formation and evaluation of their criteria’s of planning along with the creation and implementation of alternative solutions (Murphy and Willmott, 2010). This model is mainly used in the planning of towns and their systems of transport and this paper will elaborate how SWA group manages planning. The organization will start by confirming, describing and laying out the details of the problem being encountered. This will involve first identifying the problems at hand and then defining a possible solution to begin making changes. The solution is then analyzed for the purpose of checking whether it adequately solves the problems at hand. This involves the management’s ability to come up with more creative designs, schemes and breakthroughs. This model facilitates the decision making process to become a group process since ideas will have to be shared. The organization’s competitors such as Brennerplan and the Taylor Siefker Williams group of design have experienced success in their activities due to the influences of their group decision making processes (Morgan, 2006). The decisions that result from group decisions are normally well thought of with their repercussions being evaluated. Many, diverse opinions are also offered with the best alternatives being selected to efficiently solve the issues in question. After the identification and analysis of the problems being experienced, the organization embarks on the generation of different solutions to the problem (Mullins, 2010). This will involve the suggestion and selection of up to three solutions to solve the problem along with their implementation to the problem’s site. This will involve their efforts in revitalizing the slums and developing planned u nits in the towns. Such activities will be carried out in groups for the purpose of achieving the different solutions to these problems. The emergence of alternative solutions for the organization enables the management to apply rationality in selecting the best possible solutions. The organization collects information using their available technology for the purpose of discovering alternatives to their problems. These alternatives will undergo evaluations to determine their levels of success or failure before being implemented. The analysis will provide final solutions to their problems. It will include activities such as carrying out an examination of the sites in question to determine their sensitivity and appropriateness. This assists in evaluating the consequences of the solutions they have chosen to implement. The organization will also consider the various options they have of evaluating their different solutions. This will be done before the implementation of final solutions to the sites. The organization’s competitors use different models that the management will also have to evaluate. This will be done to determine their efficiency in solving the problems before discarding them. Once the best decision has been selected, their application to the problems site will then be implemented. The above steps form the heart of the decision making

Solar energy as an alternative energy source Essay

Solar energy as an alternative energy source - Essay Example (uk.news.yahoo.com 2011) Solar energy is more abundant, less exhaustible, and a more population free than any other source. Active and passive solar energy types are the major ones. The active systems are those that capture, stores, and distribute that energy from the sun. Passive systems provide the avenues for the sun to enter and they rely on natural airflow to provide distribution. (Goel, 2005 p109) The active solar system includes a collector, a storage mechanism and a distribution device. This type of the solar system has overcome the age-old problem of solar concept wholly. It is the most needed when the sun is not shinning at right for example, the storage area is usually water such as, an indoor swimming pool, stores or bricks located in the basement. The heat can be distributed as the need arises and it is extracted by means of pumps or fans, depending on the storage method. A passive solar system is not expensive as active system because it has only a device for collection which consists of a south facing solar panel that collects the sun rays. The method is effective in greenhouses and homes equipped with another back up heat source. The construction technique is followed to ensure heat is held once captured. Passive solar energy are used to heat water, grain, distilled water and also used in cooking. According to (Smith and Taylor, 2008 p2), the latest development with the solar energy concerns converting the sun rays that is, radiant energy, into electric energy. The second thermodynamics law states that heat is usually lost when we change the form of energy. The research indicates that 99% of radiant energy from the sun is lost in form of heat leaving the earth’s surface. The main goal of using solar energy to produce electrical energy is to use more efficiently the escaped heat of the sun. There is a more indirect method of converting the solar energy to electrical power. More research is being conducted lately on the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity by the use of solar cells. These solar cells are in need of more development before they are readily available to the public. The solar energy supply is unlimited and the supply is also renewable. The reliance of fossils fuel thus indirect population by the amount of solar produced can be reduced. Solar is a necessity because of the demand increase on the traditional energy and also the increasing costs relating to such an increase. There is no population generated as a result of its use. Every watt of power generated from the sun reduces the population thus solar energy is an excellent alternative energy. Other than the costs of manufacturing of the component, their purchasing and the installation costs, there are no other costs that are associated with the use after the initial investment outlay. To meet the needs, the electric solar system can be expanded by installation of more panels. It is notable that the demand of fossil fuels that is oil and natural gas decreases as the usage solar energy increases. Other advantages of alternative sources of energy is solar electric system can eliminate greenhouses gas emissions by an amount of 18tons. The solar energy can be used for the remote applications, heat water and space heating. (Craddock David, 2008 p 13) Solar energy as an alternative source of energy has various disadvantages too. Solar energy projects that are Large scale commercial involves a large area of land and involves

Sources Of Stress Among Teachers Psychology Essay

Sources Of Stress Among Teachers Psychology Essay Stress is a psycho-physiological process which arises out from the intercommunication of the individual with the environment (Muhammad et al, 2010) and (luthans, 1998) which ends up in disturbances and manifestations depending on the individual characteristics such as health status or psychological process such as attitude (Muhammad et al, 2010).As reported by Ingrid (1997) adapted from Hans Selye (1982), few people would be able to give the definition of stress or even attempt to give a clear cut definition due to the huge number of causes which can contribute to stress. Stress can be defined as a charismatic situation in which a person is affront with an event, constraint or appeal related to what he desires and for which the result is perceived to be both ambiguous and vital (De Cenzo, 1998) whereas Hans selye simply said that stress is the expansive response of the body to any appeal made upon it. It is to be noted that stress can be classified into eutress and distress whereby e ustress is a positive psychological response to a stressor and distress is the negative response (Geraldine, 2011). An example of eustress is an opportunity or a challenge which will lead to a promotion and for distress if any tension, worry or frustration. This study will be focusing mainly on distress. Stress is experienced by nearly all people in their life; however occupational stress is more present in the daily life of worker. As stated by Smith (2000) occupational stress is widespread and can be a major cause of ill health. 2.2 OCCUPATIONAL STRESS Jobs have always been a little stressful however over the last few years the workplace has become increasingly stressful. As per the report of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 75% of workers believe that todays workers experience more work stress than the prior generation. In 1992, the United Nations in its report even qualified job stress as the 20th century disease (Bob, Rollin, and Bruce, 1997). The World Health Organization (WHO) has characterise job-related stress in countries that are developing as a modern hazard in a traditional working environment and it is not to be forgotten that Mauritius as well is a developing country. Due to the important metamorphosis in company organization, change in nature of work, and technological advances, stress affect employees of all hierarchical level. Work-related stress can be said to be experienced when the appeals from the work environment exceed the employees ability to cope with (or control) them. It is not a disease, but it can lead to problem of ill health in areas like mental and physical health. Occupational stress is a sign of a problem within the organization, not individual weakness (European Agency 2000a, 2002a). It is to be noted that in this study, the term work related stress and the term occupational stress has been used interchangeably however they are distinguished from each other(Health and safety executive,2006) work related stress includes cases where work may have aggravated the stress experienced hence work may be a contributory factor but not necessarily the sole cause whereby the term occupational stress refers to cases where work is the sole cause of the stress experienced and associated symptoms of ill health. The Health and safety executive defined work related stress as the unfavorable reaction people have to increasing pressures or any types of request on them at work. Those reactions, people have to cope with a great number of demands, trying to cope with their duties and responsibilities concerned about their job and they have difficulty in doing so. On an individual level, it is often the fact of not being able to cope with the work load and environment with an associated negative manifestation. In comparison with other professions, teaching is considered as a high stress occupation. (Lambros, 2006) and (Mc and Von, 2005). 2.3 MODELS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS A stress model helps to better understand the various stages, and therefore can help people to better cope with the stress. The main model of stress is discussed below: 2.3.1 HANS SELYE MODEL OF STRESS Selye (1977) developed the general adaptation syndrome model .The general adaptation syndrome can be defined as the sum of whole expansive, systemic reactions, of the body which arise due to continuous and prolonged exposure to stress. When a person emits symptoms of not being in good health, it may surely be due to the fact that he is stressed. He identified that stress gather up in the body and if the relevant stressor is not removed, the person body will go through predictable phases as shown in Figure 1. Hans selye talked of three phases: ALARM STAGE This is the stage whereby the body recognize that there is a danger and prepare to deal or not to deal with the threat which is also known as the stressor, this situation is often called the fight or flight response. The stress hormone, adrenaline, is secreted and give the person the energy to fight or flight the stressor. RESISTANCE STAGE In this stage the body tries to return to a situation of psychological tranquility by resisting the alarm due to the fact that the threat still exists. The body remains activated however on a lesser extent than in the alarm stage but sufficient to cause an increase in the metabolic rate and consequently it may enter the third and final stage EXHAUSTION STAGE Exhaustion takes place when one or more target organs shows sign on dysfunction, this happens when the body can no longer meet up with the demand places upon it and start to dysfunction. This is the state whereby a disease is diagnosed which shows that a disease is the consequence of the related stressor. This can result in having serious consequences even death of the organ or the organism as a whole. http://210.9.134.6/zinecmt/templ/aipc/ezineimages/stress.gif Diagram 1: graphical evolution of the three stages of general adaptation syndrome. (Source: Carlson et al,(eds) (2007). Psychology: The Science of Behaviour (6th Ed). Boston, USA: Allyn and Bacon-Pearson) The above theory has been a basis for later research work to be carried out, however there are some issues with it, as it has been carried out on rats, and to extend it to humans may not be that clever, considering the emotional content of the stress perceived which may alter the way a human will react to the stress. Also as the name of the theory state, selye claimed it to be general irrespective of any nature of stress, however different type of stressors may act differently and hence different responses may be observed. 2.3.2 THE PERSON- ENVIRONMENT FIT MODEL The person-environment fit model is one of the well known among others, whereby it lays emphasis on the interaction between the peculiarity of the individual and that of the situation. One important aspect of this interaction is that occupational stress is the extent to which the individual will fit to his working environment, in other words, according to the person-environment fit model , the extent to which the person will face occupational stress depend on how much can he fit the workplace and the demands of the work thereof. Other factors can be motivation, ability and productivity. Â  If the person-environment fit turn out to be wrong, it can cause serious problems in any work environment. Occupational Stress and lack of productivity are natural conflicts related to the fact of a failure between a person fit into their workplace environment. This model can be highly related to occupational stress as it is important for the person to feel his importance in the work place and to fit the working environment so that later on, the problem of occupational stress dont arise, this was confirmed by Edwards and Ship (2007) whereby the study he did confirmed that the misfit between the person and the environment can lead to people having stress. As well as not being able to meet up the demands, the person-environment fit can also failed due to different motives of the individual and the work respectively which will surely lead to occupational stress. Person-environment fit theory argues that stress effects may arise when threatening job demands lead to disequilibrium in the interaction between an individual and the work environment. Although influential, the model is considered to have some drawbacks .There remains confusion over the notion of fit and its measurement (Edwards Cooper, 1990) and also difficulty to conceptualise the notion of fit (Julian and john, 2010) 2.3.3 THE KARASEK DEMANDS- CONTROL MODEL The demand-control model was developed by Karasek in 1979 and it focuses on the job demands and control at a work place situation whereby the employee is faced with a heavy work load/demand and at the same time , is given little control over the work. Hence any job which has a very high demand and very little or simply no control is given to the employee will end up in the employee facing stress, as confirmed by Doi.Y (2005), this is also known as the strain hypothesis. Demands can be in terms of various work activities, such as a close deadline to submit a particular work, too much responsibilities to handle, conflicting roles at work, not having the right to share views in decision making among others and control can also be in terms of the decision making of the employee and the way how he want to carry his job, this model divide the employees in four categories. The first category is the one who have high control over the high demands are known as active employees, second category, those who have high control but low demand, as low strain category of employees. Third category, those with low demands and low control are known as the passive category and finally the one with low control and high demands, as the high strain category (D Overgaard et al, 2004). The most common criticism is that the demand -Control model is too simple. Peter, Arnold B., Ad de (2001) and Johnson (1989) has argued that job control is not the only resource available to coping with job demands and proposed that social support from colleagues or superiors may also function as a mediator of the relationship between job demands and Stress reactions which agrees with the study done by Cristina et al (2012) who said that this model does not apply equally to all individuals and various factors, such as personality can act as a moderator or a buffer. 2.4 TEACHERS STRESS In the field of education, it is not easy to define teachers stress; however Kyriacou (2001) defined the latter as the involvement by a teacher of abhorrent, negative emotions, such as anger, Anxiety, tension, frustration or depression, resulting from some aspect of their work as a teacher. Since the late 1970s, many research work has been done to analyse teacher stress. The wealth of research published over the last years shown that there is a big problem concerning teachers and they do face stress. Compared to other professions, teaching is considered to be high stress occupations (Mc Shane and von Glinow, 2005), which therefore results to higher stress level among teachers consequently leading to poor performance, staff health problems and higher job dissatisfaction (Williams and Gersh, 2004).Occupational stress did had a negative effect on the job performance of the teachers in a secondary school which in turn may result in poor teaching to the students (Mohammad Aklaq et al, 201 0). A survey carried out by Karl Peltzer et all (2008) proved that teachers do have a high level of stress as well as job stress were associated with most stress- relating illnesses such as hypertension, mental distress, tobacco and alcohol abuse which agrees with the study of Wang pei and Zhang Guoli (2008) who deducted from their study that the negative effect of occupational stress on teachers health are significant. Teachers stress can have various consequences therefore it is important to manage it and one way of managing it , is by knowing the sources which stress the teachers most and deal with it directly. 2.5 MANIFESTATIONS OF STRESS AMONG TEACHERS Sign and symptoms of stress among teachers can be seen as manifestations when they face a threshold of stress that they cannot control or deal with. It can differ individually as some may be more prone to certain symptoms than others. Sign and symptoms of stress or those manifestations need to be identified as soon as possible so that it doesnt end up in serious consequences or even fatalities. These can be categorized into three main areas: first of all, the mental symptoms, for example depression and anxiety, secondly, the physical symptoms such as indigestion, palpitations and stomach cramps, and finally the behavioural symptoms which may be in terms of alcohol abuse, using prescription drugs etc. Despite being exposed to same level of stress, secondary school teachers may react differently and have different symptoms to that stressor, some teachers may exhibit depression whereas others may have back ache (leung et al, 2009).Mental symptoms/emotional symptoms tend to be most prese nt and among the first reaction to stress from the teachers. A study carried out in the George region in south Africa showed that teachers stress manifest itself mainly on a mental or emotional level as well as but to a much lesser extent in terms of physical level (M.A.J Olivier, D.J.L and Venter, 2003).In the study carried out by Kyriacou.C and J. Sutcliffe (2011) they found that, the most frequent symptoms of stress reported were tiredness and feeling frustrated 2.6 SOURCES OF STRESS AMONG TEACHERS The sources or causes of stress are also known as stressors. Stressors vary in severity and duration, some situations maybe stressful for everyone but in other situations, individuals may react differently. What is a stressor for a particular individual may not be a stressor for the other one. For some teachers, not being able to cope with the classroom indiscipline maybe a source of stress whereas for others, this may be easily tacked with and not a source of stress hence despite every one of them are teachers; sources of stress may vary from people to people, from organization to organization as well as from situation to situation. Factors such as the mental state of the individual, degree of stress coping, experience of teaching and other demographic variables may play a vital role in deciding if a specific problem can be a cause of stress or not. The research conducted by Brown Ralph (1992) concluded the following most Prevailing work-related factors leading to stress among teac hers, which gave us a better Idea and knowledge on teachers stress: Students-An absence of discipline or disruptive students, students motivation and their respective attitude towards the class and their teachers, the size of the class and their ability to cope and preparing the students for examination purposes. Stressors such as disruptive students may endanger the mental health of the teachers as confirmed by (Nurrul Izzah Abdul Samad et al , 2010) and the national union of teachers in UK(2009) Changes- A lack of information and the necessary resources to smoothen or make changes easier as well as more changes than the demand by the teachers which end up in stress among the teachers. This agrees with the study of kyriacou.(2001) whereby change itself is implicated in teachers stress and could be a problem thereof The management of the school -There is poor cooperation in terms of decision making process and no required training is given to meet the job new demands which keep increasing day by day, an example can be new and latest technological demands, the latter may as well be a potential source of stress for teachers (Olivier and Venter, 2003). Interpersonal relationships- poor social interactions among colleagues and lack of team spirit which may result in interpersonal conflicts. Reviews studies have identified interpersonal conflicts as a major source of teachers stress.( lambros lazuras , 2006) Parents and the community-parents pressure on the teachers to make their children achieve good results and accommodate unrealistic expectations. A study done by G.M steyn and G.D.Kamper (2006) shown that Parents pressure do cause educators to experience stress and the community poses a serious hindrance to learning. Another modern problem nowadays is a particular type of role ambiguity as often the teachers have to nurture, counsel or be mother and father of certain students due to family shift work factors or simply divorce factors.(Nhundu,T,J, 1999) which was confirmed by Joachim Stoeber and Dirk Rennert( 2008). In short, the most common sources of stress for teachers mentioned above are poorly motivated pupils, ill discipline, organizational culture, poor working conditions and poor collegiality. Jarvis (2002) in his critical review of more recent findings on teacher stress focus on three ample causative factors for this: (1) Factors intrinsic to teaching, (e.g., working condition, work under load/overload, repetition and boredom) (2) Cognitive factors which affect the teachers (e.g., time pressures, role conflict and role ambiguity), and (3) Systemic factors operating at the institutional and managerial level (e.g., appraisal system, Non-managerial support, reward system) Holmes (2005) stated that several scholars researching on teachers stress and stress management have categorized some situations that caused stress as follows: (1) Stress resulting from anticipation: fear of whats to come, worry and anxiety. (2) Stress as a response to a current situation: its happening now, and you have to react. (3) Stress from the past: it happened a while ago, but is still lingering in your mind and seemingly impossible to let go. (4) Chronic stress: its an on-going situation, or reaction to a specific event, the impact of which is lingering. Career development can also be a major source of stress (G.M steyn and G.D. kamper, 2006),which agrees with the study done by Ahlam b el shikieri and Hassan A. musa (2012)These can be classified into three main categories namely, job security, performance appraisal and professional training whereby the threat of losing one job is a potential source of stress (M.A.J Olivier and Venter, 2003).Any possibility of demotion may also lead to stress( Rout and Rout,2002).the performance appraisal system can also be a major source of stress for the individual especially if the outcome may influence any promotion or the latter salary.( Rout and Rout, 2002).Required training programme is needed to meet new demands and challenges of the education sector. 2.7 FIMIAN TEACHER STRESS INVENTORY In the present study, we have followed the Fimians teachers stress inventory with minor adaptations to suit the local context in Mauritius. This model explains the teacher stress in a ten factor theory, whereby five consist of sources of occupational stress and the other five about manifestations of stress. According to fimian, when those stressors are present, teachers do have stress and it becomes evident in terms of psychological, behavioural and other type of symptoms. It should thus be possible to identify one array of events that acts as sources of stress and other array of stress that acts as manifestations of stress. Teachers stress is related more to environmental events and the perception of these events, than it is to personal or professional variables such as teacher age, gender, age, education level and number of years of teaching. The factors described in the inventory are time management, work related stressors, professional distress, discipline and motivation, profess ional investment, emotional manifestations, fatigue manifestations, cardiovascular manifestations, gastronomical manifestations and behavioural manifestations. A study carried out by M.A.J Olivier(2003) using the fimian teachers stress inventory concluded that teachers stress manifest itself mainly on an emotional level as well as on a physical level and the most significant source of stress among them was professional investment however the results cannot be generalized as the limited scope of the investigation. In 2009, the study carried out by Victoria sanderlin hand in New Orleans, among novice secondary school teachers, using the fimian teacher stress inventory found that time management, along with discipline and motivation, were the two highest sources of stress for novice teachers moreover Fatigue manifestation and emotional manifestation were the most apparent manifestations of stress, novice secondary teachers may not have those experience to tackle with stress and it may have been different sources or manifestations if they were not novice. Another study carried out by Rubina hanif, Sadaf tariq and Masood nadeem (2011) using the same inventory concluded that teachers shows highest level of stress at work related stressors and fatigue manifestations was the most common one, however this study was carried out in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, and the teachers of Islamabad may not be facing same problem as small town or cities teachers are facing, hence the sample is not well represented. 2.8 SUMMARY OF LITTERATURE REVIEW