MASS MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY an Example by

MASS MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY Who, what, when, where, why, and how - the questions answered that people find out about on the happenings around the world. In any aspect of the society, whether about political, economics, religion, home living, environment, celebrity or entertainment news, among many others, are now easily fed to an everyday person's knowledge through the different mass media we have currently available. Such mass media include from the good old days up to now: newspapers, radio, television, word of mouth from family, friends, and colleagues at school, work, or neighborhood, etc. With the onset of high technology, namely the evolution of the internet, the wireless network that connects people globally, information is literally at the tips of our fingers. With the different forms of media available, we are kept updated and at these times of technology, we receive data at a brisk pace. It is up to an individual on how s/he digests all the information, on whether a person would listen in or read on d aily news, or simply tune them out. Need essay sample on "MASS MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed All sorts of news that are worthy taking note of or ones that belong to the garbage are churned out daily, even by seconds or minutes of coming out through all forms of media, especially the internet. There are now blogs that are easily composed by anybody in the world wide web tackling on different subjects from mundane things of celebrity gossips, to world issues about saving the environment, calamities, poverty, and war. We should take note that there are reliable sources and not so reliable ones. Separating the unreliable news, in one of the disadvantages of such forms of media, it is wisely advisable to apply the saying do not believe everything you read/hear. We should know that any news received from mass media are supposedly to make people aware of what is going on. It is up to an individual to discern which is truthful or not, or those that deserve to be junked out. Information received can be good or bad depending on how a person perceives it. Media people, those who churn out all of these information, news in any form, have the responsibility in keeping the society well informed. People's lives are influenced both positively and negatively. Positively in a way that it bridges people from everywhere in all walks of life. Negatively that it can bring out the worst in a person, especially with just about everything easily accessible that they are no longer monitored properly, especially with the young generation exposed to it such as social networking sites that can be a place for lurking predators. E-mail and online forms of communication like through instant messaging, chat, webcam, etc can connect people globally. Aside from personal friends, there now exists online friends. Relatives and friends from different countries are now able to keep in touch in more ways than one. A new language has also evolved with chat and text messaging that shortens or abbreviates words. For example: WB - welcome back, l8r - later. A downside to this is that the new generation would have the tendency of lacking in good vocabulary skills of grammar and spelling. Change is inevitable and how things may turn out with our high technology of today would indeed breed a high-paced generation. The mass media both reflect and shape our society. Our cultural values, attitudes and stereotypes are exposed through the news from mass media. It shows how people are now. Also, in a way, it reinforces in which direction people take from what is covered by the mass media. It changes how we see the society from what is laid out before us by the mass media. We are bombarded by too much celebrity news such as what has been going on lately with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan that would make us stop and think --- is this how we would want children to become? Role models, not! This is where a good change comes in, a real wake up call for everybody. Reference Clive Gifford "Media & communications" New York : Dorling Kindersley, 2000. J Charles Sterin "Mass media revolution" Boston : Allyn and Bacon, 2012.

Chemistry Abbreviations Starting with the Letter F

Chemistry Abbreviations Starting with the Letter F Chemistry abbreviations and acronyms are common in all fields of science. This collection offers common abbreviations and acronyms beginning with the letter F used in chemistry and chemical engineering.f - femtoF - FluorineFA - Fully AmorphousFA - Furnace AnnealingFAC - Free Available ChlorineFAD - Flavin Adenine DinucleotideFADE - Fast Atomic Density EvaluationFAN - Free Amino NitrogenFAS - Fluorescence Actin StainingFAS - Folic Acid SynthesisFBC - Fesser, Bishop and Campbell modelFBD - Free Body DiagramFBR - Fast Breeder ReactorFC - Face CellFC - Face CenteredFC - Fragment CrystallizationFCC - Face Centered CubicFCC - Fluid Catalytic CrackingFCC - Food Chemical CodexFCCU - Fluidized Catalytic Cracking UnitFCHC - Face Centered Hyper-CubicFCS - Fellow of the Chemical SocietyFCS - Fire Control SystemFCS - Fluorescence Correlation SpectroscopyFE - FerredoxinFE - Free EnergyFe - IronFGC - Flue Gas ConditioningFIGD - Flow Injection/Gas DiffusionFIGE - Field Inversion Gel ElectrophoresisF IPS - Fast Imaging Plasma SpectrometerFm - FermiumFOS - FructoOligoSaccharideFP - Freezing PointFPD - Freezing Point DepressionFPLC - Fast Performance Liquid ChromatographyFr - FranciumFRAP - Fluorine-Resistant Acid PhosphataseFRS - Fellow of the Royal SocietyFS - Free StateFSA - Formamidine Sulphinic AcidFW - Formula Weight​

Brenton Butler Essay Sample

On the forenoon of May 7th. 2000 the slaying of Mary Ann Stephens occurred. She was a tourer to Jacksonville. Florida along with her hubby. The two were remaining at the Ramada Inn Hotel and had merely came from breakfast when they were approached by a immature black adult male who held them at gunpoint. took Mrs. Stephens’ bag so proceeded to hit her between the eyes. When the constabulary foremost arrived. the aged woman’s organic structure was several inches off from the way on which her and her hubby were walking along to acquire back to their room. Her organic structure was strewn across the grass. covered in blood with the slug and it’s lesion being clearly seeable to the bare oculus. This instance became controversial and it is believed that there was racial favoritism and profiling involved because Brenton Butler. and immature black male. was arrested several hours subsequently by constabularies. Police InvestigationIn the procedure of the apprehension of Brenton Butler. there was no extended probe done by the constabulary. During the test. this fact was admitted by the officers when Pat McGuiness. who was stand foring Brenton. raised the point of them non oppugning neighbors. non look intoing for Deoxyribonucleic acid on the stolen bag etc. When they arrived at the scene. they asked Mr. Stephens to give them a description of the taw. Mr. Stephens described the taw to be tall. scraggy physique. dark shirt and trunkss. a fishing chapeau and black in skin colour. Polices that were appraising the country saw Brenton Butler. who was at the clip walking from his place to Blockbuster to manus out a sketch. a thinly framed. tall. male have oning a dark shirt and dark shorts†¦coincidentally. Brenton Butler was a black male. Officer Williams and Officer Darnell told Brenton there had been a slaying nearby and asked him to come with them to inquire him some inquiries about anythin g he may hold seen. which Brenton agreed to. When they brought 15-year-old Brenton Butler to the offense scene. Mr. Stephens instantly identified Brenton as being the liquidator and asked the officers to convey him nearer. at this clip he positively identified him as being his wife’s liquidator. When brought into the constabulary station. Military officers William and Darnell passed Butler onto Detective Glover. Detective Glover got Brenton to squeal to the slaying. He did this by physically endangering the life of Brenton and stating that for every ten seconds that passed in which Butler didn’t mark the confession. he would ache him. He represented that by demoing Brenton his gun. Detective Glover so brought Brenton out into the forests where the gun had allegedly been hidden and wanted Brenton to demo him where it was. which Brenton did non cognize. Because of this. although there was no sufficient grounds to turn out such actions. Detective Glover punched Butler in the tummy twice and one time in his left oculus. If more investigation would hold been done. they would hold accounted the fact that Brenton was 5 inches shorter and many old ages younger than the adult male that Mr. Stephens reported. Brenton besides had a really noticeable logo on the forepart of the shirt he was have oning. when Mr. Stephens spoke of what the liquidator was have oning he said the shirt had been obviou sly. Besides. when Mr. McGuiness spoke with Brenton’s female parent in their place. he got a expression at Brenton’s hat aggregation. which consisted of 3 chapeaus. none of which were anything remotely near to the â€Å"fishing hat† which Mr. Stephens identified on the liquidator. Mr. Stephens besides neer mentioned the liquidator have oning spectacless. which Brenton wears mundane and would hold been visibly noticeable to Mr. Stephens sing the place of the liquidator at the clip in relation to himself. Neither officers nor investigators felt the demand to oppugn neighbours inquiring if they had seen Brenton at the times specified in their study. they didn’t experience the demand to garner background information on Brenton or see the fact that Brenton Butler had neer been in gaol before that day of the month. therefore he had neer committed a offense in Jacksonville. Florida. Brenton Butler was charged with armed robbery and the first grade slaying or Mary Ann Stephens on May 7th. 2000. Brenton Butler Page 1What about the Forensic Investigation†¦ ?Like the constabulary probe. there was a deficiency of forensic engagement in this instance every bit good. Brenton Butler was entirely charged based on the fact that. an oculus informant. Mr. Stephens identified Brenton as the liquidator. Many will declare this instance to be racial favoritism and racial profiling. due to the fact that Brenton was a black male like the liquidator. Brenton merely happened to be in the incorrect topographic point at the incorrect clip. In the forensic probe. after happening Mrs. Stephens’ stolen bag in a refuse container a stat mi off from the slaying. they should hold tested the bag for DNA and finger prints. If they had done this. they would hold seen that Brenton Butler’s finger prints were in fact non to be found on the bag. alternatively they would hold those of another adult male and Butler would hold been immediately proved inexperienced person. Cardinal people involved in the instance Brenton Butler – the accusedOfficer Darnell – constabularies officer. one of the officer’s that arrested and questioned Butler Officer Williams – constabularies officer. the 2nd officer that arrested and questioned Brenton Detective Glover – investigator and boy of the sheriff. Butler was passed on to Glover to give him a confession. Glover allegedly beat Brenton in the forests and threatened him and forced him into subscribing a written confession Pat McGuiness – attorney. he was the taking attorney stand foring Brenton. after the test he did more investigating Anne Finnell – attorney. she was besides supporting Brenton in his instance Harry Shorstein – State Attorney. decided to prosecute the instance after Brenton confessed Mr. Stephens – retired. he was a tourer sing Jacksonville with his married woman who was shot by a immature black male. he was an oculus informant to the instance. he identified Brenton Butler as be ing the liquidator of his married woman Mary Anne Stephens – retired. held at gunpoint. robbed and murdered Trial ProcedureIn this instance. following Brenton Butler’s apprehension. he taken in for a 12 hr inquiring and so signed and verbally confessed to the slaying after being threatened by Detective Glover. State Attorney Harry Shorstein decided to prosecute the instance. During the test. the chief focal point of the defending attorneies was deficiency of process. deficiency of probe and constabulary ferociousness. All that the prosecution attorney could concentrate on was the fact that Mr. Stephens had reported a tall. skinny. black male have oning dark vesture. which would depict Brenton. and the fact that Brenton confessed to the robbery and slaying. The constabulary and investigators involved in the instance. other than the oculus informant who identified Brenton and the false confession. did nil to garner grounds to turn out Brenton guilty. During the whole procedure. they didn’t state his parents where he was or that he was arrested. which by jurisprudence you have to if the accused is under age. they mislead Brenton’s parents when they showed up to their household place inquiring if Brenton was at that place and stating they merely wanted to speak to him about housebreakings that had been happening in the country. Besides. Officer Darnell had told Brenton he had the right to an lawyer and that if he didn’t have one that he would reach one for him. which he neer followed through with. In respects to the confession given and signed by Brenton. by jurisprudence. a confession must be made on your ain free will. you can’t be pressured into a confession. swayed or otherwise or else it can be deemed unequal to the instance. Brenton ButlerPage 2ResultAfter the shutting statements made by both opposing sides in the tribunal room. the justice told the jury how to do their determination. so they left the courtroom to make their finding of fact. It took the jury less than 1 hr to come to their decision. In respects to the charges against Brenton Butler by the State of Florida for the first degree slaying of Mary Ann Stephens. the jury found him non guilty. In respects to the charges against Brenton Butler by the province of Florida for armed robbery. the jury found him non guilty of that every bit good. So in other words. the jury found him inexperienced person of all charges. After the acquittal. Pat McGuinness. who represented Butler. set out to happen the existent liquidator so he could truly settle the instance. Person had notified him of two possible suspects. He so tested the bag for DNA and found that the prints on the bag matched to one of the names given to him. Jermel Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree slaying and was sentenced to ten old ages in prison. He besides testified against Juan Curtis. who’s fingerprints matched those found on Mrs. Stephens bag. Curtis was found guilty of first-degree slaying and sentenced to life in prison. Although later it was found that because there was no confession. they had denied Curtis’ right to a just test. so they granted him a retrial in which he was found guilty and sentenced to two back-to-back life footings. In February 2001. Brenton’s attorneies announced that they were prosecuting a civil case in which they wanted $ 2. 5 million in amendss against the metropolis. Sheriff’s section and the single officers. Eight months subsequently they refiled the case and wanted $ 8. 5 million alternatively. The Butler household accepted 775. 000 from the metropolis as a colony in 2002. They accepted this sum because of assorted grounds including how long the instance would be d ragged on and how hard it was to turn out the instance under the federal civil rights jurisprudence. Brenton Butler Now Brenton Butler is now 28 old ages old and has written a book about his experience called â€Å"They Said It Was Murder† . The book includes new inside informations about the whippings. his clip in gaol and other unfairnesss in the probe. Besides it discusses the impact the instance had on his household and the near-death of his female parent due to the emphasis of his apprehension. Miscarriages of Justice Brenton Butler spent 6 guiltless months in gaol. His civil rights were violated. They took him to the offense scene under false pretences. didn’t inform his parents of his whereabouts or that he had been arrested ( in the beginning ) and take his parents to believe that they had merely come to their place because they were inquiring the adolescents in the vicinity about reoccurring interruption Immigration and Naturalization Services. Besides. during Brenton’s oppugning. he was threatened and forced into subscribing a confession by Detective Glover and the other two officers and Brenton was taken into a wood and beaten by said investigator. These were all evidently unfairnesss in the instance. Why? Because officers and investigators are supposed to stay by certain Torahs and the rights of the accused and in this instance they did non and they were negligent. Another unfairness was the fact that anyone accused of perpetrating a offense is guiltless until proved guilty. I n Brenton’s instance. every bit shortly as he was spotted walking on the pavement. he was immediately guilty. Brenton ButlerPage 3Personal Chemical reaction Like the Steven Truscott instance. this merely shows us. even though this took topographic point in another state. how flawed our system is. It shows us that even constabularies officers can be racially know aparting and don’t abide by the Torahs. This instance taught us that one second we can be making something wholly normal and accustomed and if you end up in the incorrect topographic point at the incorrect clip. you neer know what could go on. It besides teaches us that we need to be more cognizant of our rights and be more educated on what to make in that sort of state of affairs. In my sentiment. I still trust the jurisprudence and I still trust the constabulary officers will protect me. After hearing about Brenton Butler and what he had to travel through and how ill he was treated it makes me fear the idea of something like this of all time someway go oning to myself. It makes me doubt the judgement of our authorities and our jurisprudence hatchet mans. It besides makes me recognize that society to is really judgmental and racially know aparting. In my sentiment. every bit good as in the sentiment of many others. Mr. Stephens merely identified Brenton Butler as the liquidator because of his race. The deficiency of grounds dorsums this theory up. It’s non merely Mr. Stephens that react in that manner of leap to that decision though. Although the whole segregation coevals has passed us. we still know apart against others. chiefly because they are different from ourselves and we don’t know about their civilization etc. Hearing about Brenton Butler’s instance made me inquire what his household must hold gone through. The emphasis they must hold been under. the anxiousness. the defeat and anger†¦it made me inquire how I would hold handled the state of affairs if I were in it. I besides can’t aid but believe what if Brenton had been a white male†¦he wouldn’t have been stopped by the constabulary that twenty-four hours and wouldn’t have been identified as the liquidator. What if the constabulary and investigators had done more to happen grounds. what if they had tested the bag for fingerprints one time they found it. why didn’t they check the bag for fingerprints†¦cases like this are really thought provoking and do you inquire so many inquiries that can’t be answered. I’m sword lily that he was proven guiltless after everything he went through and I’m sword lily he has been able to travel on with his life and portion with others his experience through his novel.

Forests and Forestry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Forests and Forestry - Essay Example The evolution of deforestation in India has begun with the arrival of British government in India during 19th century. During the year of 1823, the governor of presidency during that period, Thomas Munro acted as a forest conservator with a belief that private business practices of forestry programs will be adopted soon to meet the balance of supply and demand. Due to this belief the country faced a continuous loss of forest resources for almost four consecutive decades. The developmental steps taken by the British government supported the act of deforestation in India. When the government realized the problem during 1864 the Governor-general Lord Dalhousie brought the German forester Dietrich Brandis to look after the problem and control the situation. Many more initiatives were taken afterwards in order to conserve the forests resources of India by recruiting manpower for the protection and control over the loss of the natural resource. It took almost another decade after these ini tiatives were taken up for the conservation of forest resource, to come into effect and proper law and orders were passed for the protection of the resource and resulted into Indian Forest Act in 1878. After the law and orders came into effect the situation was supposed to be under control but corruption adversely influenced them a lot and developmental activities were prioritized over the issue of deforestation. The corruption restricted the law and orders to show its proper effectiveness which is persistent till date. Deforestation activities can be beneficial also in cases where the cleared land can be used for the agricultural and farming activities. The technologies used for agricultural purpose still fails sometimes to sustain the farming and agricultural activities on certain tropical land formed by clearing of forest areas. Those lands are either made abandoned or used as less productive areas compared to other land used for agriculture and

Autobiography Anita and me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Autobiography Anita and me - Essay Example 150). The book is a semi-autobiography and is loosely based on the life of the author, Meera Syal. It is set in the background of a once flourishing mining village, Tollington, which was on its decline by the early 1970s. When the mines shut down, the men find themselves idle and out of work. The towns women, assertive and now in control, worked at the local ball-bearing factory and formed a group calling themselves the Ballbearings Committee. A highway threatens to take away part of the village, the grammar school is closing down, and the village thus faces many threats of doom and ruin. This is the background setting in which Meena sets out to discover her life. Bored with her mundane life, Meena is looking for some excitement to break the monotony of her life. "When would anything dangerous and cruel ever happen to me?" (Syal, Pg. 37). Her diary is her refuge and she takes to it to float into her dream world where she finds a life very different from the one she leads. This is beyond the understanding of her parents, who believe in hard work, proper education and take pride in their heritage. Meenas mother is portrayed as a soft-spoken, slender, well educated and poised lady. She plays the dual role of a professional teacher and an untiring housewife. Born in a village in Punjab and rich in her traditions, she doesnt lose sight of her values even as she lives in the racist neighborhood. "It was her duty to show them that we could wear discreet gold jewellery, dress in tasteful silks and speak English without an accent" (Syal, Pg. 25). She runs her house with an iron fist, not wasting a penny on what she deems as unnecessary. "My mother never eats out, never, always affronted by paying for some over-boiled, under seasoned dish of slop when she knew she could rustle up a hot, heart-warming meal from a few left-over vegetables and a

Citizenship Activity Log Essay Example for Free

Citizenship Activity Log Essay As a group we decided on possible ideas and we came to a conclusion of having an aim. We aim to raise basic drug awareness amongst the teenage society in our school. We want to achieve this aim by sticking up posters around the school. These posters need to be informative and eye-catching so the message can be spread effectively.  Discuss with Mrs Walton   As a group we plan to discuss our final conclusion to gain constructive feedback, to improve our general idea. We plan to put the feedback into action to produce Checking with Maiden Erlegh School   Me and David spoke to Mr. Attridge (Head of Year) about leaving earlier than usual on the day of our activity so that we will be able to teach our lesson at the right time. He told us that we needed a letter from one of our parents so that we would be able to do this. Therefore Davids mother wrote a letter to Mr. Attridge about this issue. This relates to the importance of communicating well with colleagues and bosses to be able to achieve our target. Speak to Mrs. Walton   After giving a parents letter to our school, we were told to see Mrs. Walton (Head of Citizenship) so that she would tell us what we needed to do next to be able to have permission from school for leaving early on the day of our activity. Mrs. Walton informed us that the final step was to get a letter from our parents confirming permission to be able to leave school earlier. Then she told us that we should hand it in so that the school would be able to give us permission for our activity day. This step was important because it shows that it is crucial to have written permission evidence of events in the future in order to carry it out. This influences citizenship issues such as being a responsible citizen and being able to provide enough information for work places. Research on internet   In my own time, I researched different health and fitness exercises to perform with the class in our activity. I kept the document so that I would be able to learn and use it for our event. Researching is important due to that it provides you with valuable information and sources relating to the subject.  Meeting, what we have done and future   Me and David had a meeting where we discussed what we have done so far, and what we are going to do in the future. I explained and showed the researches which I did and we talked about what we were going to do after. We realised that we still had to confirm an exact date of our event and get the permission letters from our parents. Group meetings influence ideas and improve plans towards the future. It is important because you have to gather what you have done and discuss it with your colleague or partner.

Clinton Administrations Proposal To Increase Taxes For Multinational Co

My topic is the increase if the taxes which Clinton Administration is planning. This increase in taxes will target "multinational Corporations, end the favored tax treatment of extra long term bonds", It will also raise capital gains taxes by â€Å"changing the rules for computing the cost basis of securities when they are sold at a profit†. What this will do is increase the taxes for the rich and will decrease the difference between the rich and the poor. The plan is intent on cutting the middle class tax and finance higher education (yeah right). The current tax law decreases the Federal Treasury Revenue and makes the economy less efficient or less competitive. The multinational tax would disallow multinationals to assume half of their goods are foreign even if they are made in the US. Thus they could export to a country with low taxes and thus pay less taxes. This change would bring an increase of 7.9 Billion in corporate taxes over the next 5 years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This withdraws a lot of money from the economy and may thus decrease demand for goods, as people have less money to spend. The multinationals would employ many people and with and increase in their cost (tax is a type of cost) they would be forced to decrease the average amount of wages which the their employees received. This may take the form of decreased raises, or the laying off of some people. This would thus decrease aggregate demand for goods Nationally (as Multinationals would employ people in th...

Child Rearing in the Us and Colombia Essay

Early care-giving is a major factor for a child to feel secure to explore the world around them (Carbonell, Alzate, Bustamente & Quiceno , 2002). How different is this early care-giving between two cultures such as the United States and Colombia? This is a look at the differences and similiaries of raising girls, both born in 1988, in Colombia and the United States. Both girls were raised in nuclear families, with one older sibling, close enough in age to be a major part of each girl’s daily life. One was raised in Colombia, although she moved to the United States at the age of eleven, while the other was raised completely in the United States. Both parents of each girl were interviewed as well as the girl herself. The basic stepping stones, the times that parents love to videotape, the â€Å"baby’s first† moments all seem to happen relatively similarly in both girls. Self-reported by Paulina, was that she walked around the age of ten months. Similarly, Jane walked at the age of ten months. Both were somewhat delayed in speech, enough so to be taken to doctors. In each case, the parents were told that the child would speak if the family stopped following the non-verbal directions from the child. Paulina’s first words were â€Å"eso,† Spanish for â€Å"that,† and â€Å"Ma. † Jane’s first word was â€Å"Ah-yah† which was meant to be â€Å"Alex,† her brother’s name. Paulina stood alone at the age of eight months (personal communication with subject), as did Jane (personal communication with subject). Punishment is something all parents must figure out. Hispanics tend to mollify children and be more lenient (Figueroa-Moseley, Ramey, Keltner & Lanzi, 2006). Hispanic parents tend to try to calm their child rather than work towards developmental goals, which tend to be more valued in the United States. Neither girl was punished in the form of â€Å"grounding,† but both were warned with simple looks from their parents, such as glaring and both girls were yelled at as well. Corporal punishment was used for each girl as well. Paulina was â€Å"smacked,† and Jane was occasionally spanked. Jane would be sent to her room or made to sit in a chair as in a â€Å"Time Out,† however Paulina never experienced a â€Å"Time Out† and recollects that such a thing was not common in Colombia. Both girls were raised to speak their mind, and not wait to be spoken to, as long as what was said was respectful. Questions were welcomed by both families, but the girls were expected to know the time and place in which to ask questions. Each girl was also allowed to pick out her own clothes, which has been shown to be good for children, as children see it is important for them to make some of their own decisions, and identify with the choices (Ardila-Rey, Killen, 2001). Paulina’s mother tried to teach her what matched, but eventually gave up trying when it, although Colombian mothers tend to worry about the outward appearance of their children (Carbonell et al, 2002). When asked what Jane would choose to wear, Jane’s mother replied, â€Å"Anything that didn’t match,† although she, too, tried to teach her daughter matching. No major restrictions were set upon either girl, except to be respectful. Respect was emphasized in both situations. As respect was emphasized from child to adult, so was it shown from adult to child. Both children were kept informed of what was happening in the family. Children were expected to be a part of dinner conversation and were allowed to participate in the adults’ lives. Also, both children were given reasoning behind decisions and had things explained? â€Å"because I said so† was used only when the situation would be later explained, and the consequences of an action were described rather than a mere â€Å"don’t do it. † Chores were a part of each girl’s life as well. Both were expected to do what was asked of them to help around the house– dusting, vacuuming, clearing the table, etc. Jane was expected to help with dinner, which included getting food from the refrigerator, carrying things to the table, loading the dishwasher, setting the table, and occasionally stirring. Jane was given an allowance of approximately five dollars a week, but this was never in exchange for doing her chores. Paulina, too, was not paid for doing her chores. She states, â€Å"I was part of the family and therefore I was expected to work in the house without any sort of reward (personal communication, April 10, 2007). † Colombia tends to be a collective society that looks to the benefit of the group, rather than the individual (Pilgrim, Reuda-Riedle, 2002), which applies to this situation in that Paulina was expected to help keep the house in order, without ? payment’ because it was for the greater good of the family, being part of the group is an important aspects of a collective culture. Family relationships and interdependence? a common bond between family members, working together for the benefit of the family? tend to be much more emphasized in Hispanic cultures (Carbonell et al, 2002). A major part of any culture is food and dining, and children are a part of that. Children often lose some of their appetite between ages two and six, and because parents worry, bad food habits are put into place. Sugary foods are offered if a child finishes a meal, and many foods have vitamins and nutrients added. However iron, zinc, and calcium are seen to be deficient because juices and sodas are replacing milk, and cereals and processed foods replace fresh fruits and vegetables (Berger, 2006). It is also hard to maintain good eating habits during this age, because children often need meals to be â€Å"just right. † Children have very determined ideas for what should be eaten, how it should be eaten, and the entire situation surrounding the meal. Often times the food â€Å"required† is not healthy food, but rather sugary or similar to fast-food, like chicken nuggets or French fries. Paulina ate dinner together with her family every night, generally at eight o’clock, as is customary in Colombia. Her mother did most of the cooking, and after dinner, either her mom would not clean up, or her mother would, but with the help of her daughters, while her father did other household things. On weekends, most meals were eaten together. Breakfast was generally around ten o’clock in the morning and lunch was around three o’clock in the afternoon. Very few times, her father would cook, although he cooks more now that they live in the United States. Food was as healthy and fresh as possible. Snacks were fresh fruits, and there were never packaged foods in the house. Jane would eat dinner with her family as well, often around seven o’clock in the evening, when her father came home. She would eat breakfast and lunch with her brother until this was no longer possible because of school. Jane’s mother did most of the cooking, and the children were expected to help. Snacks were often dry cereal like Cheerios, apples, crackers, or cheese. Paulina started learning numbers and how to read and write at the age of four, when she went to preschool. The debate of how children should be taught to read can be broken into two sides; phonetics and whole language (Berger, 2006). Phonetics looks at each sound of each letter, while whole language, encouraged by Piaget, says that concentrating on the goal of fluency and communication is more important than individual words (Berger, 2006). Jane also attended a preschool at the age of four, but it was not as much structured, formal schooling. Both were taken to a part-day day-care or nursery school for the opportunity to socialize with other children. While at nursery school, Paulina was mostly made to play with toys. Jane attended a Co-op nursery school at a Unitarian Universalist church. In a Co-op nursery school parents take turns coming into the school to help supervise stations and participate in the nursery school experience. Stations were set up, such as a Reading Corner, Snacks, and a daily feature, such as tracing bodies on large sheets of paper or crafts. Co-op nursery schools are not typical in the United States, but Jane’s parents thought it was important to be involved with their children when possible and for their children to have the socialization experience. Both were read to everyday. Jane was read to a two to three times a day, for about fifteen minutes each time, but also had labels, signs, and anything printed read to her during everyday life. Jane was occasionally, but not often spoken to in â€Å"Baby Talk,† while Paulina was never spoken to in â€Å"Baby Talk,† as her parents thought speaking to her regularly would help her learn to understand. Both parents acknowledge that their children were not raised in a way that is typical to their individual cultures, and that is evident looking at the two girls in adolescence and early adulthood. Both girls realize that because their parents were stricter when they were young, that as the girls grew older; their parents didn’t need to be as strict. Each girl knew what was expected of her and was therefore given more freedom as she matured. Many times this appeared to friends as though the girl could do what she pleased, although this was not the case. The girls knew the limits of what they could do without being told. Both sets of parents relied more on their trust in their daughter than blatantly telling her what she could or could not do. Obviously, there are some differences and some similarities between raising children in Colombia versus the United States. Developmentally, the children seem to be similar, and most of the parenting is more alike than different. References Ardila-Rey, A. & Killen, M. (2001). Middle class Colombian children’s evaluations of personal, moral, and social-conventional interactions in the classroom. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25 (3), 246-255 Berger, K. (2006). The Developing Person: Through Childhood and Adolescence (7th ed. ). New York: Worth Publishers. Figueroa, C. , Ramey, C. , Keltner, B. , & Lanzi, R. (2006). Variations in Latino Parenting Practices and Their Effects on Child Cognitive Developmental Outcomes. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 28, 102-114. Pilgram, C. & Rueda-Riedle, A. (2002). The importance of social context in cross-cultural comparisions: First graders in Colombia and the United States. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163 (3), 283- 296. Posada, G. , Jacobs, A. , Richmond, M. , Carbonell, O. , Alzate, G. , Bustamante, M. , & Quiceno, J. (2002). Maternal Caregiving and Infant Security in Two Cultures. Developmental Psychology, 38 (1), 67-78.

Forbidden Island Reflection Paper

Background information Forbidden Island is a visually stunning ‘cooperative' board game. Instead of winning by competing with other players like most games, everyone must work together to win the game. At the beginning Of the term, the class was divided into several small-sized self-management teams that would be responsible to learn how to play Forbidden Island together under minimal supervision. Because this is the team that we will work together on different projects throughout the term, we have introduced ourselves to each other, UT we had very limited knowledge about each other.This would be considered as our first stage of Dustman's stages of group development: forming. There are six members in my team. I will call them by J, B, O, P and K. Based on first impression and very little knowledge about their background, before the game, I had the following perception about the team members: J and B both are Asians, but growing up in Canada. I thought they were rational and ass ertive because they are from JDK/MBA program, and law students are generally considered to have higher level of conscientiousness and emotional debility.P seemed very easy-going and agreeable, because she never showed any objection during our previous conversations. O was comparably quiet during our first meeting, so I made the assumption that she was more introverted. K recently came from India, according to my past experience with my Indian coworkers, who were generally strong-willed, hardworking and assertive; therefore, I presumed that K would have the same characteristics. Throughout our interactions during the game, would gradually realize that have made some typical perception errors, which will be discussed later.None of our team members have played Forbidden Island game before, so our knowledge about the game is close to zero. At the beginning of the Forbidden Island game session, teams were assigned to breakout rooms, which were small and closed rooms, giving us a prison f eeling. Analysis of team behavior For the three-hour session, we only played two rounds. Overall, the game experience with the team was quite pleasant. At the beginning, we spent a few min to set a goal and discuss the strategy.We agreed without raising any objection that our goal is to win the game cooperatively, because we hared the common belief that self-managed teams that demonstrate high group cohesiveness and collective efficacy are more likely to successfully achieve goals and accomplishments. With a common end goal in sight, we strategically started with ensuring we understand the rules. J had watched some Youth videos about how to play the game; thus she had a better understanding about rules. J took the leadership role to explain the rules.J made us grasped the main idea of the rules; however, since majority of us grew up in different countries with different culture background, we were instantly confused with some details of the rules. After struggling with the details f or about ten minutes, proposed to play a test round at novice level first. Everyone admitted that we would understand the rule more easily with hands-on experience. J continued her leadership role to direct the play at the beginning; the individual players permitted this guidance.However, as everyone feels more comfortable with the game and individual role, J easily surrendered the leader role in favor of the group dynamic of mutually shared cooperation among all. Meanwhile, team members' participation level was increased. With a better understanding of the each role's strengths and weakness, every player attempted to utilize their strengths and avoid their weakness in their moves. For each round, the player of the round would ask for an open discussion about the move he/she should take, and then the player would explain his/her decision on moves and ask the rest of the team for agreement.For me, such effective communication ensured that every move we made was towards the same direc tion. It was worth mentioning that B firstly communicated in this manner when professor Karamazov presented in the room, and then everyone else followed his method automatically. As far as am concerned, although Professor Karamazov did not make any verbal comments during her presence, we all felt her power as a professor as she put her hand at the back, this gesture, to me, indicated her Status of leadership, and we therefore inclined to impress her as students; as a result, we started to communicate in a more formal way.Moreover, it was intriguing to see how well the team members played when someone needed retention. The conversation took on an air of empathy for someone who could be taken off the board and everyone spoke on how best to save said player. It was with a shout of jubilation when everyone showed each individual player how to move toward the helicopter pad in order to fly off the island. The game was won and smiles and pats on the back were shared. The test round went o ver very smoothly. I did not sense much of competition among us, rather we were very cooperative and agreeable.Notwithstanding, we enjoyed more healthy competition in the second round and we played the amen more strategically. We increased the difficulty level to Elite for the second round. We started with examining our roles' strengths and the overall situation before making any moves. Although we followed the same effective communication method we used in the first round; I sensed more healthy competition during the discussion. Instead of being agreeable, each of the players competed for their ideas during the discussion.Surprisingly, O and J were the most actively participated in the debate for the best move, since I thought they were introverted and agreeable before. Due to some long abate during the game, the second round took about an hour to finish. If we examine our team success through effectiveness approach, we achieved the goal by winning the game at the end; on the other hand, if we examine the team's success through effectiveness, then suppose we failed to achieve the goal; since the game was designed for thirty minutes for each round, we spent the double time to win.Time as a resource was not utilized. Our team does not really have a leader, we all equally share the responsibly in coordination; however, no one managed to see the overall picture at the end, n this case is we were running overtime. Takeaways Forbidden Island is a well-designed cooperative game that is exciting and tense even when played at the novice level. While the game is simple there is a strategic aspect that keeps it interesting. From this game session, I was able to put some organizational behavior theories into application.I saw our team experienced Dustman's stages of group development. We started from forming stage, where the individual's behavior is driven by a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or conflict. Then we next enter terming stage, in wh ich different ideas compete for consideration. Then we came up with one goal and came to a mutual plan for the team at morning stage. Next, we reach the performing stage, where were capable of functioning as a unit as we find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or need for external supervision.Overall, I would evaluate the functionality of our team as above average. Even though, clearly there some improvement opportunities lies in increasing team performance efficiency; our team had a high level of collaboration and some lately competition to enlighten some innovative ideas. Team members personalities played an important role in how we enhanced our collaboration. At the beginning I made some typical perception errors, such as stereotypes, selective perception, self-fulfilling prophecy etc.J from JDK/MBA program turned out to be full of emotion, and K from India, instead of have strong opinions, is the most agreeable person on the team, an d O is not introverted at all, according to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, she would be .NET P type, who is innovative and entrepreneurial. Some important implications for my future repressions career obtained from this game play were, first of all, the real-life manifestations of five different stages of team development.

Management Research Project Symantec Corporation

Management Research Project Symantec Corporation Free Online Research Papers Chapter 1 – Introduction 1.1 Background Symantec Corporation, founded in 1982, is the world’s 4th largest independent software companies with operations in more than 40 countries and more than 18,000 employees. Joining Fortune 500 in 2008 and ranked 461, Symantec is headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA. Serving 99% of companies listed in Fortune 100 and 50 million active consumers worldwide, Symantec is a global leader in providing software and services that protect, manage and control information risks related to security, data protection, storage, compliance and system management. There have been talks from employees over lunch about having little motivation and the company has noticed lower productivity of late. Every organisation wants to be successful and stay competitive within their respective industries. And to do that, organisations need to maximise their employees’ actual and potential capabilities through initiatives that can keep them motivated as well as to keep them happy. Motivating employees has always been a very difficult topic because each individual is motivated differently. However, there are many conclusive researches indicating a strong relationship between happy employees and productivity (Regina, 2009). Designing the right job for employees may be able to get employees more motivated to improve performance and productivity. The correlation of job satisfaction and job performance is intensively studied by many researchers in the past. And all the studies (Yoav, 1998; Jose, 2007; Daniel, 2000) till date have come not to many but one conclusion that job satisfaction is indeed a very important variable to improved job performance (Spector, 1997) because it affects the incumbent’s capacity to perform. It is experienced that when the three variables of performance, motivation and satisfaction are well-balanced within the employees’ work environments, there will be a positive impact on the productivity of the employees. Organisations cannot reach competitive levels of quality, either at a product level or a customer service level, if the employees do not feel satisfied or do not identify with the company (Steward, 1996). Therefore, motivated and committed employees can be a determining factor in the success of an organisation. In this study, it is proposed that these three factors would make up the rudder that steer the direction of the organisation just like how it would for the boat. An organisation that is able to design the work environment that successfully manipulate these three variables to their advantage will be able to increase overall organisational productivity. This research will focus on how the organisational working environment, has an impact on employees’ job performance, motivation and satisfaction which will be reviewed in this study. Although, there are many organisational working environment factors, this research will focus on supervisor and supportive peers’ relationship, political and conflicts and career expectations. 1.2 Scope of Research The scope of this study is to understand how the Symantec’s working environment affects the employees and how productivity may be increased. Investigations will be conducted on each of the three different variables job performance (Chapter 5, pg 84 of txt), motivation (Chapter 5, pg 74 of txt) and satisfaction (Chapter 2, pg 22 of txt) to gain further understanding on employees’ reactions and attitudes towards their working environments. This will definitely help Symantec gain better insight of what is required from their superiors and what directives to be improved on or implemented so as to enhance the quality of job performance, motivation and satisfaction. An in-depth study will be conducted to explore employees’ views on these three variables. 1.3 Objectives of Research The objectives of the research are : a) To investigate if the presence of supportive peers will lead to a higher job satisfaction level b) To examine if an effective supervisor will lead to better job performance. c) To determine if high conflict and political work environment really increases job motivation. d) To study if there is a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction when career expectations are met. e) To test if challenging work positively increases job motivation. 1.4 Organisation of Research The study will be divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter of this current study. A brief overview of the company and the variables that will affect it will be given. The study scope and objectives of this study will also be discussed. A series of research papers and journal articles that are relevant to this study will be reviewed in Chapter 2 to help grasp a better understanding of the study matter. It will provide the fundamental background for this research. Chapter 3 sets out the formulation of the hypotheses in this research. Based on these hypotheses, survey questionnaires will be formulated and distributed to the respondents working for the various industries for data collection purposes. The research methodology for this study will be outlined in Chapter 4. It will give a brief explanation of how the information is collected to and at the same time ensure that there will a high level of reliability and validity. Chapter 5 will present the analyses and findings of the survey results. The result will be tabulated and presented according to the sequence of hypotheses formulated in the earlier chapter. This study will be concluded in Chapter 6. And the limitations and areas for future research will also be discussed. Chapter 2 – Literature Reviews 2.1 Introduction The objective of this chapter is to review journal articles in order to gain a better insight and have a strong fundamental background on the subject matter. The topic on work environment is very wide and there has been numerous studies undertaken to measure the variables or factors that will affect work environment. This chapter will present summaries of previous research studies conducted in the different areas of concern in many industries that has been in the interest of professionals and academics which are curious to find the link between the variables that will alter work environment. The reviewing of journals by previous author is important as it could assist in the having an understanding of how they formulate hypotheses and carry out further empirical investigation in the present study. The reviews have been segmented into 3 broad segments. They are: 1. Job Satisfaction 2. Job Motivation 3. Job Performance With the above segments, researchers will be able to derive an in-depth overview of comprehending the subject matter. 2.2 Job Satisfaction 2.2.1 Introduction Job satisfaction came to be the work-behaviour of choice for many researchers interested in studying the relationship between attitudes and efficiency in the working environment. Job satisfaction by far is the most frequently studied variable in the organisational research. Various studies were carried out to test the relation of job satisfaction in aspect in the environment both internal and external. Charlie O. Trevor (2001) had demonstrated â€Å"Interactions among actual ease-of-movement determinants and job satisfaction in the prediction of voluntary turnover.† The methodology used longitudinal data which were analyzed via time dependent convaries and repeated turnover events with a sample size of 5506. The results showed that job satisfaction matters more for turnover when there is greater opportunity to move. Job satisfaction negative effect on turnover was greater when each of the three indicators of movement capital was high. Limitation is to think that it is self-serving to think of oneself as voluntarily leaving the job when dissatisfied and, consequently, job satisfaction and voluntary turnover could arguably co-vary in part because both measures were taken from NLSY survey instrument. Gilbert A. Churchill Jr., Neil M. Ford and Orville C. Walker, Jr. (1976) undertook a research â€Å"Organisation Climate and Job Satisfaction in the Salesforce† concluded that organisational climate is an important determinant of salesforce morale. The methodology approach were through primary data collected through mailed questionnaires from a sample of 479 industrial salesmen drawn from 10 companies in 7 industries. Analysis shows job satisfaction improves when their performance is being directed and monitored closely by their superiors. And as the quality of interpersonal contact improves i.e. receiving support from superiors and co-workers when they meet non-routine challenges and helping him understand what were the expected jobscope, so will their job satisfaction. A salesman is happier when he perceives himself as an active participant in determining the company directives that affect him. 2.2.2 Overview of Job Satisfaction. As a person values, attitudes and beliefs change over the years, job satisfaction can be affected. Moreover, adverse working environment can substantially decreases job satisfaction as well. The research supports that there is a correlation between employees’ low-level job satisfaction and high absenteeism rates. The organisation may improve the satisfaction level via meeting the aspirations, needs and expectations of the employees. Satisfied employees may in return be more committed and productive to the organisation in a long run. 2.3 Job motivation 2.3.1 Introduction Job motivation is considered to be one of the most important factors in driving an individual towards a goal or accomplishments. It is proposed that a well-define job will enhance motivation of an employee, thus making it very important to reduce all other factors that may alter the motivation level of an individual in any environment. Jacob K. Eskilden, Kai Kristensen and Ander H. Westlund (2003) studies Work motivation and Job satisfaction in the Nordic countries. The methodology approach took a survey with a sample size of 9623 employees in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The results show that job satisfaction can almost replicate in internal work motivation. This indicate that job satisfaction and internal work motivation is highly related to one another. An interesting aspect is that although the employees with a high education are less satisfied, they are more motivated. It might be that the highly educated have more diversified and challenging tasks that can motivate them despite their lower level of satisfaction. J. Daniel Couger (1986) in his research Effect of cultural differences on motivational of analysts and programmers: Singapore vs. The United States. The methodology was through survey of Singapore computer professionals with a sample size of 1179. The findings shows that five job characteristics which comprise the job motivating potential score are: skill variety task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback from the job. Singapore Analyst and programmers in contrast to U.S counterparts perceived their job to be deficient in key job characteristics, thus there is a huge potential improvement for motivation for the individuals in Singapore. 2.3.2 Overview for Job Motivation The literature show that in the last decade of studies, motivation can be improved through empowerment and autonomy in the organisation. There are six main motivating factors in any organisation; high wages, good working conditions, promotion, job security, interesting work and appreciation of work done. Intrinsic motivation has a stronger influence than extrinsic motivation on organisational climate variables. 2.4 Job Performance 2.4.1 Introduction It is experienced that well design jobs can have a positive impact on the job performance of an employee. The possibility that job performance can cause a vast difference in the outcome of any organisation which makes more researchers looked into the variables affecting job performance. Ryan D. Zimmerman and Todd C. Darnold (2009) had the purpose to estimate the impact of job performance on employee turnover intentions and the voluntary turnover process. The methodology was data form 65 studies meta-analyzed to estimate the performance-intention to quit (ITQ) relationship. The results observed supervisor ratings of performance had the strongest relationship to ITQ, followed by self ratings and objective measures. Poor performers are more likely to quit even after controlling for job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Job performance affects turnover intentions and behaviours both directly and in-directly. The fact that the performance-turnover relationship was not fully mediated by job satisfaction and ITQ, poor performers are more likely to engage in unplanned or impulsive quitting. Charles M. Futrell, John E. Swan and John T. Todd (1976) investigated Job performance related to management control system for pharmaceutical salesman. The methodology uses quantitative surveys in two national pharmaceutical firms from salesman to supervisors with a sample size of 431. The results indicate that the three control system constructs of goal clarity, performance-rewards relationship and influence and control were all significantly related to performance. The performance construct could be represented by the two Variables of â€Å"work hard† and â€Å"attitude†. The performance-rewards relationship was shown to have the strongest association with performance. Desmond Yuen (2007) aim to investigate, the antecedents of budgetary participation: enhancing employees’ job performance. The methodology is data collected through a quantitative survey with the sample size of 216 managers. The results show positive association between a need for achievement/work attitudes and job performance. A need for achievement and a positive work attitude are significant antecedents to budgetary participation which, in turn, positively influence job performance. The study suggests that the job performance of employees can be enhanced by encouraging participation in budgetary activities. The participants volunteered to participate in this study and thus sample was not random which makes it a limitation for this research. 2.4.2 Overview for Job Performance In this segment of the study shows that Job Performance does affect turnover intentions and behaviour in every organisation. Employees who perceived as having a favourable chance of getting a promotion would have a higher job performance. A need for performance and a positive work attitude positively influences job performance. To know that Goal clarity, performance-rewards relationship, and influence and control all are significantly related to performance will be the key to keep employees in peak performance. 2.5 Summary of Literature Review From the Literature Reviews of paragraph 2.2 to 2.4 illustrated that employee’ attitudes, values and beliefs do add to one’s job satisfaction. It would decrease the chances of employees being absent from the workplace and at the same time improve the productivity of the organisation. Having the right motivating force for the employees is getting more autonomy and empowerment that they may feel a sense of responsibility in the working environment resulting in longer commitments and loyalty to the organisation. Rafikul Islam and Ahmad Zaki Hj. Ismail (2006) found six main factors that will increase motivation in any organisation which are good working conditions, high wages, job security, promotion, interesting work and lastly being appreciated for their contributions in the workplace. Only by knowing how to satisfy and motivate employees, will the organisation be able to benefit from the performance of the individuals as they will feel compelled to put in more effort for the advancement for the company and also themselves. Positive mindset towards work is definitely the way for an employee to perform in their working environment. The three segments of job satisfaction, motivation and performance although are different in their areas of results, there is a strong correlations between the three segment of how it affects and influence on another. The above literature reviews have given an in-depth insight on the environmental factors that affect job satisfaction, motivation and performance. With this understanding, the research is able to develop the appropriate hypotheses to meet the research objectives. The development of hypotheses is elaborated in the next chapter. Chapter 3 Formulation of Hypotheses 3.1 Introduction The main aim of this research is to investigate how work environment has an impact on employee’s job satisfaction, motivation and performance. This is important as we know that even in our own daily workplace, motivation and having a sense of satisfaction at work do affect performance and vice versa. In this chapter, hypotheses are developed based on the relationship among work environment and job satisfaction, work environment and job motivation, and lastly work environment and job performance. 3.2 Hypothesis 1 Charlie O. Trevor (2001) in his research about job satisfaction and its effect on voluntary turnover in the organisation had shown that there is a correlation between the two variables. To understand how we can reduce voluntary turnover is to know how much does the employee interact in the workplace and how much job satisfaction they have in the job. Having a pleasant work environment is more likely to make employees feel a sense of belonging and satisfied coming to the work place. Hence, the following hypothesis states that: H1: Supportive peers will lead to higher job satisfaction. 3.3 Hypothesis 2 The findings through research of Clifford P. McCue and Gerasimos A. Gianakis (1997) research objectives were the relationship between job satisfaction and performance has supported the facts that better job performance will lead to job satisfaction in the organisation. The feeling that it has to be true in every aspect, has to be tested to validate itself of how people react to between performance and satisfaction. With this, the hypothesis is: H2: An effective leader leads to higher employees’ performance. 3.4 Hypothesis 3 In many research studies, motivation is the key attribute for an employee to possess if they would like the organisation to advance in increasing efficiency and efficacy in the way things are done. The workplace must be pleasant and appealing to the employees making them feel motivated all the time that will indirectly increase performance within the organisation. The following hypothesis will look into this: H3: High conflict and political work environment increases my motivation level. 3.5 Hypothesis 4 Meeting career expectations of the employees may in return have an impact on the employees’ satisfaction level. As contend by Thomas Lange (2008) and Kenneth Teas (1983) shows that jobs satisfaction does in return contribute to the positive aspects of an individuals in their careers. To study on this, a hypothesis is formulated. H4: There is a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction when career expectations are met. 3.6 Hypothesis 5 Jacob K. Eskilden, Kai Kristensen and Ander H. Westlund (2003) in their study showed that challenging task may motivate an individual despite having lower satisfaction level. In this fast moving environment and fast changing economy, will individuals still be motivated with more challenging work? Hence the hypothesis: H5: Challenging work positively increases Job motivation. Chapter 4 – Research Methodology 4.1 Introduction The purpose of this chapter is to outline the methodology employed in this study. It will give a brief explanation of how the information is collected and at the same time ensure that the study has a high level of reliability and validity. Respondents will participate in this research to help to the analysis of the study. Figure 4.1 Research Methodology Process Source : Blaikie (2003) Analyzing quantitative data: from description to explanation. 4.2 Importance of Research Methodology Asker, Kumar, Day and Lawley (2005) stresses that the importance of having a research methodology because it serves to guide the direction of the research towards fulfilling its objectives. It enables better control of the study, data collection and raw data interpretation and analysis. Research methodology is thus the thread that strings all the elements of the study systematically to achieve the research objectives. 4.2.1 Primary Data According to Bruce (2007), â€Å"primary data are data not available in a secondary form that must be collected to address the specific needs of the research†. Allen (1999) also pointed out in his study that primary data collection is crucial when secondary data sources are not available. Questionnaire surveys are the source of primary data in this research. Data collection is standardised so that analysis and comparison can be made easier. Most of the questionnaires were distributed directly to working adults. Using this direct approach is advantageous because any doubts can be clarified immediately and responses can be gathered on-the-spot. But the downside to using the direct approach is that respondents have limited time to think through their answers when completing the questionnaires. 4.2.2 Secondary Data Bruce (2007) stated that â€Å"secondary data are data gathered for some purpose other than the project at hand†. Though secondary data are readily available, caution must be exercised when interpreting the contents as they may not up-to-date or from incredible sources. Thus, primary research should be carried out to obtain more current information. Secondary data for this study was sourced from avenues such as journal, articles, books and the internet which main focuses on job satisfaction, motivation and performance which are to be explored in this study. 4.3 Research Design The random sampling design is used because the data was collected over certain time-periods. The questionnaire survey approach was adopted for data collection primarily because a large of sample can be collected over the shortest time frame. This approach also facilitates ease of recording and processing of survey results The questionnaire surveys will be distributed to working adults across Symantec to acquire a meaningful representation of the whole population. Different data collection methods were used ensure reliable estimates: electronic mails, face to face interviews, telephone interviews. This study utilises data gathered from working adults from Symantec and the sample size is targeted at 500 respondents. To increase the accuracy of the response, each survey was distributed with a verbal guarantee of anonymity. 4.4 Development of Questionnaires To achieve the objectives of this research as stated in paragraph 1.3 on Page 3, a set of questionnaires consisting of 24 questions were developed and modified to test the hypotheses as formulated in Chapter 3. Questions 1 to 5 are formulated to test Hypothesis 1. The questions examine the responses of individuals about how they feel about job satisfaction when they have supportive their peers. To test Hypothesis 2, questions 6 to 9 are formulated to investigate whether effective supervisors are able to affect the employees’ performance. For testing Hypothesis 3, questions 10 to 14 seek to evaluate the relationship of between conflicting and political working environment and employees’ motivation levels. Hypothesis 4 is tested against questions from 15 to 19 which are formulated to test if there will be any positive impact on job satisfaction when career expectations are met. Questions 20 to 24 are formulated to test for Hypothesis 5. The questions aid in the examination of whether challenging work produces more job motivation for employees. The demographic characteristics of the sample population can be identified through questions 25 to 31. 4.5 Measurement Questions 1 to 24 use a 4-point response Likert scale to eliminate central tendency biasness and to ease date collection and tabulation. The respondents will be required to express the extent of their agreement or disagreement from (1) â€Å"strongly agree† to (4) â€Å"strongly disagree† with regards to a series of statements. Questions 25 to 31 are closed-ended questions. Such structure allows effective probing to the specific item and reduces the presence of free-response data which may complicate statistical interpretation and analysis. 4.6 Pilot study Prior in conducting the actual survey, a pilot study was carried out with a research supervisor to help rectify the content of the survey according to Saunders, Lewis and Thronhill (2003). This pilot study helps in identifying the problems from the start and consistent feedbacks were given to polish up on the questionnaire structure. Many changes were made to the questionnaires and then given to a small group of 10 individuals to see if they could understand the instructions and content of the survey in the pilot test. 4.7 Data Collection The data is collected over a period of two weeks with a dateline on 10th November 2009 and responses received within this timeframe will be used in this study. Most of the questionnaires were distributed during lunch hour and also after-office hours. Whenever possible, the respondents were encouraged to complete the survey on-the-spot to minimise data loss i.e. failing to return the survey forms. 4.8 Computation of Data The data for the study is computed using the Microsoft Office Excel application. Hypothesis testing taken from questions 1 to 24 are tabulated using the following criteria : Strongly agree – 1 Agree – 2 Disagree – 3 Strongly disagree – 4 The mean score of each question and each hypothesis will be calculated While demographic attributes taken from questions 25 to 30 are tabulated using the following criteria : Gender – (1) male and (2) female Age Group – (1) under 20, (2) between 20 to 30, (3) between 31 to 40, (4) between 41 to 50, (5) between 51 to 60 and (6) 61and above; Profession – (1) student, (2) executive, (3) technician, (4) manager, (5) administration and (6) self-employed; Income Level – (1) less than S$1000, (2) between S$1001 to S$2000, (3) between S$2001 to S$3000, (4) between S$3000 to S$4000, (5) between S$4001 to S$5000 and (6) S$5000 and above; Educational Level – (1) PSLE, (2) ‘O’ level, (3) ‘A’ level, (4) diploma/advanced diploma, (5) degree and (6) masters/PhD; Nationality – (1) Singaporean, (2) Singapore permanent residents and (3) Others. 4.9 Conclusion The survey questionnaires were designed for data collection to achieve the objectives of this study. A sample size of 500 questionnaires was used to represent the population in the research to ensure reliability, accuracy and validity. Data collected from various departments and from employees holding different designations were then computed using the Microsoft Office Excel application which will be presented in the next chapter. Chapter 5 Findings and Analysis 5.1 Introduction This chapter shows the analysis and findings of the survey results done. This chapter is important as it will validate whether the hypotheses formulated in Chapter 3 are true to its claims. Paragraph 5.3 will cover the demographic profile of the respondents while the analyses and finding will be presented in Paragraphs 5.4 to 5.8. The survey results will be reported after each test and a summary of the hypotheses will be provided in Paragraph 5.9. 5.2 Data Collection and Research Responses A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed to various individuals from Symantec. The final sample size consists of 433 responses. A total of 23 responses were rejected due to error or incompletion of the questionnaires. Hence, a total number of 410 valid responses were used to tabulate the findings effectively making a response rate of 82.0%. 5.3 Demography Survey questions 25 to 30 are designed in such a way as to give an overview of the demographic profile of the sample population which serves to provide an important insight of the entire company’s demography. All findings will be translated into graphs and charts to enable ease of referencing. 5.3.1 Gender Chart 5.1 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.1, the response rates for male and female are almost similar at 51.46% and 48.54% respectively. This is indicates that the workforce in Symantec are quite evenly distributed and also suggests that both genders enjoy equal employment opportunities with little or no gender discrimination. 5.3.2 Age Group Chart 5.2 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.2, the data shows that a significant portion of the respondents falls under the age groups 21-30 and 31-40 at 49.76% and 30.98% respectively. This indicates that young and middle-aged working adults make up the majority of Symantec’s workforce. Making up 11.22% and 5.12% of the sample population are older workers from the age groups 41-50 and 51-60 respectively. There indicates that there is also a substantial percentage of older workers within Symantec’s workforce suggesting that the policy of employing older workers is rather effective. 5.3.3 Profession Chart 5.3 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.3, the majority of the sample population is made up of executives at 52.20% followed by administration staffs at 17.80%. Managerial and technical staffs made up another 16.83% and 13.17% respectively. This is representative that majority of Symantec’s employees hold middle to high level positions within the organisations. 5.3.4 Current Income Level Chart 5.4 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.4, the data reveals the earning capabilities of the respondents. Most of the respondents are earning a comfortable monthly income range of above S$2000, with the bulk of 37.80% earning between S$3001 – S$4000. 5.3.5 Education Level Chart 5.5 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.5, the data shows that the majority of the respondents have completed tertiary education – 18.05%, 57.80% and 3.66% having completed their Diploma/Advanced Diploma, Degree and Masters/PhD respectively. This presents an accurate picture of Symantec’s current workforce which has high literacy rates. 5.3.6 Nationality Chart 5.6 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.6, the data indicates that the vast majority of the respondents are mainly made up of locals. 5.3.7 Summary of Demographic Profile The findings from paragraphs 5.3.1 to 5.3.6 enable the researcher to draw inferences about the demography of the company’s workforce based on the analysis of the sample population of 410 respondents. To summarise, Symantec offers unbiased employment opportunities to its employees, comprising mainly of locals who are highly educated and mainly from the age group 21 to 40. Most of the population holds middle to high level posts in the organisation and drawing high income. This sample demography is adequate for the study to achieve its research objectives. 5.4 Survey Findings – Hypothesis 1 H1 : Supportive peers will lead to higher job satisfaction. 5.4.1 Question 1 : I am satisfied when my peers understand my work related problems. Chart 5.7 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.7 shows that 10.24% and 82.68% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 6.83% and 0.24% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 1.97 (refer to Appendix 1), indicating that most respondents is in agreement to the above question. This attest the fact that job satisfaction is highly influenced by peers’ understanding work related problems. 5.4.2 Question 2 : Frequent communication with my peers increases my job satisfaction. Chart 5.8 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.8 register that 25.61% and 60.73% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 12.20% and 1.46% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 1.90 (refer to Appendix 1) suggesting that a significant number of the respondent is in agreement with the above question. This confirms that that there is a positive correlation between job satisfaction and the frequency of peer-to-peer communication. 5.4.3 Question 3 : When my peers show me respect, I am satisfied. Chart 5.9 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.9 reveals that 45.85% and 44.63% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 5.12% and 4.39% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 1.68 (refer to Appendix 1) which indicates high agreement rates from the respondents. Thus pointing out that job satisfaction is depends on the levels of respect for they receive from their peers in Symantec. 5.4.4 Question 4 : Without my supportive peers, I am not satisfied even if the job is done well. Chart 5.10 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.10 shows that 16.10% and 44.39% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 23.90% and 15.61% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.39 (refer to Appendix 1) pointing out the fact that most respondents agree to the above question. This emphasizes that most individuals believe that supportive peers will enhance their job satisfaction levels. 5.4.5 Question 5 : When my manager avoids conflict in my department, it decreases my motivation level. Chart 5.11 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.11 reveals that 10.00% and 48.05% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 22.93% and 19.02% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.51 (refer to Appendix 1) suggesting that in general, most individuals believe that when their manager do not avoid conflicts, they will be more motivated and hence increase their job satisfaction levels. 5.4.6 Summary of Findings for Hypothesis 1 H1 : Supportive peers will lead to higher job satisfaction. For Hypothesis 1, the mean score is 2.09 (refer to Appendix 1) indicating that most respondents agree that supportive peers will lead to higher job satisfaction which strongly support the claims of Hypothesis 1. The findings in paragraphs 5.4.1 to 5.4.5 further support the hypothesis. 92.92% of the respondents feel that they will be satisfied when their peers understand their work related problem because 86.34% and 90.48% of the respondents noted an increase in their job satisfaction levels when there is frequent communication between peers as well as when their peers show them respect respectively. Moreover, 60.49% of the respondents feel that without supportive peers, they will not be satisfied even when the job is well done. 58.05% of the respondents feel that their motivational levels will fall when the manager avoid conflicts. Hence, there is a positive correlation between higher job satisfaction levels and supportive peers. 5.5 Survey Findings – Hypothesis 2 H2 : An effective supervisor leads to higher performance. 5.5.1 Question 6 : My supervisor influences my job performance. Chart 5.12 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.12, the data indicates that 13.66% and 59.27% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 20.24% and 6.83% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.20 (refer to Appendix 1) suggesting that a significant portion of respondents agree to the above question. This implies that supervisor does have a certain level of influence over individuals’ job performance. 5.5.2 Question 7 : Without my supervisor, I am not able to perform. Chart 5.13 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.13, the data shows that 9.02% and 24.63% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 49.76% and 16.59% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.74 (refer to Appendix 1) indicating that a substantial number of respondents disagree to the above question. The high disagreement rate has pointed out that supervisors’ presence is not really necessary to bring about better job performance. 5.5.3 Question 8 : My job performance increases when I work for an effective supervisor. Chart 5.14 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.14, the data reveals that 26.10% and 42.44% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 24.88% and 6.59% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.12 (refer to Appendix 1) which implies that the majority of the respondents agree to the above question. This is indicative that better job performance can be accredited to an effective supervisor. 5.5.4 Question 9 : I need encouragement by my supervisor to improve my job performance. Chart 5.15 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.15, the data register that 11.46% and 63.90% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 20.49% and 4.15% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.17 (refer to Appendix 1) reflecting that a significant number of respondents believe that with their supervisors’ encouragements, their job performance will improve significantly. 5.5.5 Summary of Findings for Hypothesis 2 H2 : An effective supervisor leads to higher performance. For Hypothesis 2, the mean score is 2.31 (refer to Appendix 1) which is indicative that most respondents agree that an effective supervisor leads to higher performance. From the analysis, Hypothesis 2 is well supported. The findings in paragraphs 5.5.1 to 5.5.4 further support the hypothesis. 72.93% of the respondents agree that their supervisor influence their job performance as 68.54% of the respondents felt that their job performance will increase when they work with an effective supervisor and 75.36% of the respondents’ feedback that they need the encouragement of their supervisor to improve their job performance. However, only 33.65% of the respondents agree that they will not be able to perform without their supervisor. Hence, there is a positive correlation between higher job performance levels and having an effective supervisor. 5.6 Survey Findings – Hypothesis 3 H3 : High conflict and political work environment increases my motivation level. 5.6.1 Question 10 : There are a lot of conflicts in the office. Chart 5.16 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.16, the data reveals that 11.22% and 59.02% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 24.63% and 5.12% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.24 (refer to Appendix 1). This point to the fact that most of the respondents felt that there are a lot of conflicts in their offices. 5.6.2 Question 11 : I will be motivated in a high conflict working environment. Chart 5.17 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.17, the data indicates that 15.12% and 40.00% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 34.15% and 10.73% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.40 (refer to Appendix 1) reflecting a minor difference between the agreement and disagreement rates. This suggest that there are mixed feelings towards being motivated in an environment with high levels of conflicts, however, there is a slight deviation of 10.24% towards agreeing with being motivated in a high conflict working environment. 5.6.3 Question 12 : I will leave the organisation if there is too much political behaviour by my peers. Chart 5.18 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.18, the data register that 10.24% and 35.61% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 39.27% and 14.88% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.64 (refer to Appendix 1) which reflects a minimal difference between the agreement and disagreement rates. This indicates that there are mixed feelings towards leaving an organisation when there are too much political plays between peers. 8.30% more of the respondents tend towards disagreement with the above statement which implies that the decision to leave an organisation will not be significantly influenced by the exhibition of political behaviours by the peers. 5.6.4 Question 13 : The work I am doing motivates me even if there is political behaviours in my organisation. Chart 5.19 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.19, the data shows that 18.05% and 57.32% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 15.85% and 8.78% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.20 (refer to Appendix 1) revealing a high agreement rates with the above question. This implies that the nature of the job will motivate the respondents even when they are placed in an environment with a lot of political behaviours. 5.6.5 Question 14 : My motivation is not affected by the environment. Chart 5.20 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.20, the data reveals that 7.80% and 39.02% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 32.68% and 20.49% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.65 (refer to Appendix 1) reveals an insubstantial difference between the agreement and disagreement rates. This suggests mixed feelings towards the effect of the working environment and the respondents’ motivational level. The difference of 6.35% is deviated towards disagreement which may imply that the working environment can affect the motivational level but has little influence on it. 5.6.6 Summary of findings for Hypothesis 3 H3 : High conflict and political work environment increases my motivation level. For Hypothesis 3, the mean score is 2.43 (refer to Appendix 1) which is indicative that although quite a fair number of respondents agree that high conflict and political work environment increase their motivation level, there is too much disparity in the responses to provide any concrete findings to prove the correlation. Hence, the hypothesis is not supported. The findings in Questions 10 to 14 in paragraphs 5.6.1 to 5.6.5 from pages 51 to 55 further elaborates the inaccurate responses which render Hypothesis 3 invalid for any effective inference. 70.24% of the respondents are aware that there are a lot of conflicts in their working environments. Among the respondents, 55.12% agree that they are motivated in a high conflict working environment but then again 45.82% feels that their motivation level is not affected by the environment. There is a clear disparity in their responses – if most respondents feel motivated by a high conflict environment, their motivation level should be affected by the environment as well and yet the actual responses are negatively correlated. Further analysis shows that majority of the respondents are young executives from the age group 21-30 years of age currently holding degrees and earning high income. As they are young, they feel a need to be challenged in a high conflict environment proving their capa bilities. The majority 75.37% of the respondents believed that the nature of the work they are doing will motivate them even though there is political plays in their organisations. And yet 45.85% of respondents will consider leaving the organisation if there is too much political behaviour experienced. Again, there is a huge variance between both responses – if the respondents are motivated by their work and not the environment, the response rates towards leaving the organisation should register at a lesser percentage. Thus, it may be infer that the respondents are trying to give a politically correct answer. The majority of these respondents are also from young executive from the age group 21-30 years of age currently holding degrees and earning high income. They may be impulsive with regards to job changes and constantly looking out for new challenges. Although there is a very slight positive correlation between high conflict and political work environment and motivational levels, the results do not support Hypothesis 3. Perhaps the questions were structured to caution the respondents to give political responses. However, there is sufficient evidence to show that the nature of the work plays a more important role in influencing the motivational levels. 5.7 Survey Findings – Hypothesis 4 H4 : There is a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction when career expectations are met. 5.7.1 Question 15 : My employer knows about my career expectations. Chart 5.21 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.21 register that 12.44% and 51.46% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 22.44% and 13.66% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.37 (refer to Appendix 1) which reflects that most of the respondents noted that their employers are aware of their career expectations. 5.7.2 Question 16 : I am satisfied when my career expectations are met by my organisation. Chart 5.22 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.22 shows that 23.66% and 44.63% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 25.37% and 6.34% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.14 (refer to Appendix 1) suggests that majority of the respondents will be satisfied when their career expectations are met by the organisation. 5.7.3 Question 17 : My satisfaction level increases when my employer helps me achieve my career expectations. Chart 5.23 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.23 shows that 24.63% and 58.29% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 13.90% and 3.17% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 1.96 (refer to Appendix 1) since a majority of the respondents experience an incremental improvement in their satisfaction levels of when their employers help them to achieve their career expectations. 5.7.4 Question 18 : My motivation level increases when there is low political behaviour but high level of work conflict within my department. Chart 5.24 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.24 indicates that 12.93% and 46.59% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 28.54% and 11.95% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.40 (refer to Appendix 1) as there is a significant portion of the respondents experiencing a surge in their motivational levels when there is low political behaviour but high level of work conflicts within their departments 5.7.5 Question 19 : I feel it is not important to meet my career expectations when my needs are satisfied by my organisation Chart 5.25 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 The data from Chart 5.25 registers that 18.05% and 54.88% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 22.93% and 4.15% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.12 (refer to Appendix 1) which point to the fact that a substantial number of the respondents feel that it is not important to meet their career expectations so long as their needs are satisfied by the organisation. 5.7.6 Summary of findings for Hypothesis 4 H4 : There is a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction when career expectations are met. For hypothesis 4, the mean score is 2.20 (refer to Appendix 1) indicating that most respondents agrees that there is a positive impact on their satisfaction levels when their career expectations are met. The findings in paragraphs 5.7.1 to 5.7.5 support the claims of Hypothesis 4. 63.90% of the respondents pointed out that their respective employers are aware of their career expectations and 68.29% of the respondents agree that that they will be satisfied when their career expectations are met by the organisation. Moreover 82.92% of the respondents will experience an increase on satisfaction levels when their employers help them to achieve their career expectations. However, only 59.52% of the respondent felt that their motivational levels will increase when there is low political behaviour but high levels of work conflict within their departments. However, it is important to note that 72.93% of the respondents felt that fulfilling their career expectations can be forgone so long the organisation satisfy their needs. Hypothesis 4 is well-supported as the analyses find a positive correlation between career expectation fulfilment and satisfaction levels. Nevertheless, fulfilling needs is still more important and there are other factors that will influence satisfaction levels as well. 5.8 Survey Findings – Hypothesis 5 H5 : Challenging work positively increases Job motivation. 5.8.1 Question 20 : The work I am doing is challenging. Chart 5.26 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.26, the data registers that 10.00% and 72.20% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 12.93% and 4.88% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.13 (refer to Appendix 1) which implies that a majority of the respondents feel that the work they are doing is challenging. 5.8.2 Question 21 : Challenging work is more important to me than monetary reward that keeps me motivated. Chart 5.27 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.27, the data indicates that 12.68% and 59.27% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 20.98% and 7.07% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.23 (refer to Appendix 1) which reflects a general sentiment that challenging work is more important to the respondents’ motivational levels than monetary rewards as implied by the high agreement rates. 5.8.3 Question 22 : Increasing in job responsibility increases my motivational level. Chart 5.28 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.28, the data shows that 26.59% and 52.68% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 12.68% and 8.05% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.02 (refer to Appendix 1) indicating that a significant portion of the sample population agrees to the fact that when their job responsibilities increase so will their motivational levels. 5.8.4 Question 23 : Challenging work with no pay increase, increases my motivation level. Chart 5.29 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.29, the data indicates that 9.51% and 21.22% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 40.98% and 28.29% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.88 (refer to Appendix 1) as there is a high level of disagreement rates to an increment in motivational levels when there is challenging work with no pay increase. This implies that monetary rewards overrule challenging work. 5.8.5 Question 24 : The more challenging work I have, the more motivated I am. Chart 5.30 Source : Created by Jonathan Tay, 2009 From Chart 5.30, the data register that 22.20% and 59.27% of the respondents strongly agree and agree respectively while 10.00% and 8.54% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree respectively with the statement. The findings of this question have shown a mean score of 2.05 (refer to Appendix 1) since most of the respondents feel that when they are challenged at work, they will be more motivated to prove their worth. 5.8.6 Summary of Findings for Hypothesis 5 H5 : Challenging work positively increases Job motivation. For hypothesis 4, the mean score is 2.26 (refer to Appendix 1) indicating that there is significant evidence to support the claims of Hypothesis 5 that challenging work positively increase job motivation. The findings in paragraphs 5.8.1 to 5.8.5 further support the claims by pointing out that with 82.20% of the respondents feeling that their work is challenging, 71.95% and 79.27% of the respondents feedback that they experience that challenging work is more important than monetary rewards and increasing responsibility keep them motivated, However, there is a significant percentage (69.27%) of respondents will not be motivated when they engage in challenging jobs with no pay increments. Although there is enough evidence to conclude that challenging work will positively increases job motivation, there are also significant evidence to show that monetary rewards is also another preceding factor towards increasing motivation. 5.9 Summary of Findings There is significant evidence to support the claims of Hypothesis 1 and 2 leading to a conclusive confirmation that there are indeed positive correlations between higher job satisfaction levels and the presence of supportive peers and effective supervisors respectively. Although there is a very slight positive correlation between high conflict and political work environment and motivational levels, the huge disparity in the responses produces conflicting results is unable to support Hypothesis 3. However, there is significant evidence to show that the nature of the work plays a more important role in influencing the motivational levels. Although the findings support the claims of Hypothesis 4 to show that there is a positive impact on the satisfaction levels when there is fulfilment of career expectations, fulfilling needs is still more important and there are other factors that will influence satisfaction levels as well. There is enough evidence in support of Hypothesis 5 to conclude that challenging work will positively increases job motivation but monetary rewards is also another significant preceding factor towards increasing motivation. 5.10 Linking Findings with Literature Reviews As shared by Clifford P. McCue and Gerasimos A.Gianakis (1997) the level of satisfaction is the function of the correspondence between expectations, aspirations, needs, and the degree to which the organisation fulfils these needs. The analyses of the findings in the above paragraphs do duplicate similar conclusions, in the findings supporting the hypothesis that when employees career expectations are met, there will be a positive impact on their satisfaction levels. However, there is enough evidence to show that, career expectations can be forgone so long needs are met. Besides that, the findings shown that 72.20% of the sample population gives a strong agreement that they find their work challenging and would find it motivating when more responsibility are given to them which corresponds to the study done by Zydziunaite Vilma and Katiliute Egle (2007). However, as researchers Rafikul Islam and Ahmad Zaki Hj. Ismail (2006) has pointed out, monetary rewards must be present which has been tested positive in this study. Analysis of the data showed effective supervisors to affect the job performance level which Paul F. Rotenberry and Philip J. Moberg (2007) do agree in their assessment of job involvement and performance in the working environment. There are not a significant number of linkages to the literature reviews in Chapter 2 on performance but this gives new insights to effective supervisor being able to improve job performance capabilities which are supported by other numerous literatures (Douglas, 1981; Mark, 2006; Onne, 2001) which are not presented in the current study. Chapter 6 – Conclusion 6.1 Introduction This chapter will summarise all the discussions from previous chapters will look into the research summary of this study. The analysis of how the research was done and discussions of the limitations and assumptions undertaken will be elaborated in the next few paragraphs. Based on the evaluations on Chapter 5, suggestions for future research will be discussed as well. 6.2 Research Summary and Analysis The objective of this study is to examine the factors that will be influenced by Symantec’s working environment. In Chapter 2, many literatures by various professionals and academics were reviewed to explore the possible areas that can be studied and 3 variables are narrowed down, namely job satisfaction, motivation and performance to provide a base on which hypotheses can be formulated. The 5 hypotheses formulated in Chapter 3 are : i. H1 : Supportive peers will lead to higher job satisfaction. ii. H2 : An effective supervisor leads to higher performance. iii. H3 : High conflict and political work environment increases my motivation level. iv. H4 : There is a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction when career expectations are met. v. H5 : Challenging work positively increases Job motivation. With reference to the hypotheses, survey questionnaires are created to serve the twin purpose of testing if the employees’ working environments will affect the 3 variables consisting of job satisfaction, motivation and performance as well as to measure the degree of cause-and-effect relationships between the working environments and each of the 3 variables. The methodology can be reviewed in detail in Chapter 4. From the analyses and findings in Chapter 5, respondents in the working environment are indeed affected by their peers and even superiors, which will be able to affect their satisfaction level which supports the claims by Hypothesis 1. The findings for Hypothesis 2 have indeed shown that an employee’s performance is also based on the effectiveness of their superior in the working environment. A vast majority have agreed that they would need encouragement by their superiors to perform in their workplace and would feel that the supervisor in a way or another affects the job performance level. However, it is unfortunate that the test results for Hypothesis 3 which measures motivation levels in a high conflict and political environments presents contradicting responses. Thus, there are not enough findings to support the claims of Hypothesis 3. As for Hypothesis 4, the findings showed that employees’ needs have to be met to enjoy a higher level of job satisfaction although n ot necessary to be in line with their career expectations as presented earlier. The majority of the respondents felt that their work is challenging and thus keeping them motivated in striving to excellence. In Hypothesis 5, an increased in job responsibility would in return increase the job motivation level for the bulk of respondents. As much as monetary rewards may not be as important as a challenging job, most would not take up additional workload if no monetary incentives were given. These hypotheses formulated are generally supported with the exception of Hypothesis 3. Nonetheless, they do have some limitations for Symantec’s work environment which will be elaborate in the paragraphs below. 6.3 Limitation of Research This study has some limitations that should be acknowledged. Time was the main constraints of this study. Given only a relatively short time frame to gather, analyse and interpret the data, conducting the research on such a schedule may not be able to provide optimal insights to the subject matter. The research grouping also focuses mainly on Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. Thus, the results may not serve as a useful indication when applied to other companies or even countries. The current study suggests that Symantec’s working environment can only affect three variables which are job satisfaction, performance and motivation. As acknowledged in the literature reviews in Chapter 2, there are a myriad of other factors within the organisation that may affect employees in other ways. The responses received do not support Hypothesis 3. Perhaps more hypotheses should be drawn to measure motivational levels in a high conflict and political working environments. Last but not least, data collected from the survey are from the whole company, perhaps an even better way to conduct the research would be to narrow it down to the various business units (i.e. Sales, HR, Management) so as to have a better and deeper understanding. The results collated also may have limited inference to the subject matter and caution must be exercised when interpreting the results. 6.4 Further Research and Conclusion In conclusion, the current dissertation examines and surmises how an employee’s job performance, motivation and satisfaction can be influence by Symantec’s working environment. And the results from Chapter 5 have clearly supported the existence of a strong causal relationship between organisation working environment with job satisfaction and performance – the more pleasant the working environment is, the higher the job satisfaction and performance. For Hypothesis 3, there is a clear disparity in their responses – if most respondents feel motivated by a high conflict environment, their motivation level should be affected by the environment as well and yet the actual responses are negatively correlated or perhaps, respondents were caution to give politically correct answer which is why it is advisable to re-test Hypothesis 3 with either different scale or ranking and a more specific questionnaire to determine how politics and conflicts affects employeeâ€⠄¢s job satisfaction, motivation and performance. Thus, this is definitely an area to explore for any further research. 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