Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance Research Paper

Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance - Research Paper Example Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance Employee engagement is one of the most important issues in HR. It plays a significant role in enhancing the overall performance of the employee and thus the productivity of the organization. It gives an individual a sense of importance and belongingness to the organization. Any absence of employee engagement could lead to stress on the part of employee. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of employee engagement and its impact on organizational performance as it has become one of the most important concerns for the HR of an organization. When employees are fully engaged and dedicated towards their work and organization, we say that employees are engaged. Employee’s engagement is usually a measurable form of concept, which assesses the positive and negative attachment of employee with job and organization. Engagement is a step forward than simple employee’s motivation and satisfaction as it also specifies the amount of involvement in organization tasks and decision making Schmidt in 1993 described employee engagement as a modernized version of job satisfaction and commitment with work. Various studies found employee engagement as a very important tool that could trigger positive outcomes for an organization.Employee retention is the most important benefit of employee engagement as it significantly reduces the cost of the organization and improves the productivity. ... In turn, it brings good results for organization and enhances the job performance of employees too. For example, such employees tries to give their extra input, spend extra time at work, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and improved services. This concept was initiated during the World War II, when the impact of unity between the army men was assessed. Studies were conducted in the world war to find the importance of motivation and engagement as scores were given to different attributes. In today’s world it has now become a major HR issue as the cost of replacing an old employee is very high (Arndt, 2000, pp. 44–48). According to the study conducted by Society of Human Resource Management, replacing an employee could cost $3500 at least, making it difficult for the organization to hire a new employee. As a result, organizations are trying to pay attention on this important issue so they could enhance organizational performance (Potosky, Bobko, 2004, pp. 1003 –34). Towers Perrin conducted a study in 2007-08 on 90,000 employees working in 18 different countries to gauge the importance of employee engagement. The study found that engaged employee had a 19% probability of increasing the operating income of the company. On the other hand, employee with lowest engagement had a 32% probability of reducing the operating income of the company. Tony Schwartz stated that more than 100 studies have proved strong relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance. Studies also show that out of the total workforce, only 20% of them are fully (Caruth, 2007, pp. 150-167). These studies show the importance of generating employee engagement that could result in

The Importance Of Photosynthesis

The Importance Of Photosynthesis To understand the importance of photosynthesis, research is conducted to help determine which wavelength of light and light intensity the chloroplast would generate the fastest photosynthetic reaction rate of photosynthesis. In plants, photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast. The chloroplast absorbs the light energy to convert to chemical energy such as ATP AND NADPH. Photosynthesis is the process of converting carbon dioxide to organic compounds, such as simple sugar, using the energy from sunlight (Smith, A.L.). The chemical reaction equation of photosynthesis is as followed: 6 C02 + 6 H20 + Light Energy → C6H1206 + 6 02 There are a number of limiting factors on the rate of reaction for photosynthesis. However, the purpose for this lab experiment is to measure the light intensity and the wavelength. Light is a form of energy known as electromagnetic energy, also called the electromagnetic radiation (Campbell 190).The most important segment of the visible light is the narrow band range from 380 nm to 750 nm (Campbell 190). Pigments are substance that absorbs the visible light; however, it may be also reflected or transmitted. Different pigments absorb light of different wavelengths (Campbell 190). Light emits a wavelength, the distance between the crest of electromagnetic waves, is inversely related to the amount of the energy: the shorter the wavelength, the greater the energy of each photon of that light (Campbell 190). Chloroplast contains pigment chlorophyll that absorbs the light energy from the sunlight and drive synthesis of organic molecules (Campbell 186). In addition, plants also use other p igment, such as carotenes and xanthophyll, to absorb different wavelength of the light. Chlorophyll absorbs violent-blue and red light while transmitting and reflecting green light, which gives leaf its color. Violent-blue and red light are the most effective color of the light spectrum to conduct photosynthesis, whereas green light is the least effective color (Campbell 192). Photosynthesis starts when the chlorophyll molecules are excited by the absorption of light. The chlorophyll molecules are organized along with other small organic molecules and proteins into photosystem (Campbell 193). The photosystem are composed of a protein complex called a reaction-center complex that is surrounded by several light-harvesting complexes, which contain various pigments that are embedded to the protein. In Photosystem II, light travels through the chloroplast and strikes a pigment molecule in the light harvesting complex. This excites the electron to a higher energy level and fall back down to ground state. As the electron falls back down to its ground state, it stimulate a nearby pigment until this process reaches the reaction center called the P680, a pair of chlorophyll ÃŽ ± molecules in the Photosystem II reaction -center complex. The electron is then transfer to the primary electron-acceptor. As the P680 loses its electron, it is replace by the enzyme catalyze s the splitting of water molecules into two hydrogen ions and  ½ of oxygen in the thylakoids space. The oxygen atom immediately combines with another oxygen atom, forming O2, which was generated from the splitting of another water molecule. The excited electron from the primary electron-acceptor in PS II passes through the electron transport chain to the chlorophyll ÃŽ ± molecules, which is called P700, located in PS I. In the meantime, light energy travels through the light harvesting complex into the P700, which excited the electron, transferring the electron to PS I primary electron-acceptor. These electrons are passed on through electron acceptors that donate the electron to NADP+. The energy release drive the transfer of electron in an oxidation-reduction mechanism in which NADP+ is reduced to NADPH. Involving a redox reaction, oxidation is the loss of electrons from a substance, whereas reduction is the addition of electrons to a substance. The excess of energy from the oxid ation-reduction process provides energy for the synthesis of ATP, which generates a proton gradient across the chloroplast membrane that is used in chemiosmosis. Overall, the light reactions are steps of photosynthesis to convert light energy to chemical energy, such as ATP and NADPH, in order to produce pieces of sugar in the Calvin cycle. In this study, we first separate and identify pigments within plants cells by a process called chromatography. We will also study how several factors quantitatively affect the rate of photosynthesis. The factor that was tested includes the light intensity and wavelength. Thus, we can determine the effectiveness of the different pigments to absorb light to different wavelength and light intensities. The hypotheses are formed as follows: H1: Violent-blue and red light would have a faster photosynthetic rate compared to green light. H2: Light intensity is directly correlated with rate of photosynthesis. H3: Carbon dioxide is directly proportional to the amount of carbon present in the atmosphere. Materials and methods Chromatography is to separate and identify pigment within the plant cell which spinach leaves was use to conduct this experiment. Using a paper chromatography of 14 cm wide by 16cm tall, a pencil line of 2 cm is drawn from the bottom edge of the paper. Then apply the plant extract along the line to within 1 cm of each edge. Allowing the extract to dry each time, this process is repeated 10 times or more to ensure the pigment are on the chromatography. The paper chromatography is stapled into a cylinder at the bare edges and place into chromatography jar that contain a 15 ml solvent of petroleum ether-acetone. The chromatography jar is set under a vented-hood with the jar covered. This will allow the atmosphere inside to be saturated with the solvent. The solvent will move up the paper chromatography and carry the pigments along. Each pigment will move at different rate along the paper. The discrete pigment band will be formed from the front, which is the leading edge of the solvent, to the origin where the pigments were added to the paper. To determine the distance of each discrete pigment band, Rf ratio is used. The Rf is the ratio of the distance a band travels to the distance the front traveled (lab manual). The Rf equation is as follow: After the pigments are separated, each band will be pooled with other group and eluted into 10 cc of acetone. The unknown pigments from the each band are placed in a cuvette and place in a spectrophotometer. Four cuvettes were obtained and label as band 1, 2, 3, and 4. A spectrophotometer is used to measure the percent of each wavelength of light absorbed by the pigment (Campbell 190). Each band is measure at specific wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 680 nm. Thus, each of the bands is identify according to its pigment by comparing its wavelength to the known standard wavelength. To determine at which wavelength of light and at which light intensity the chloroplast would generate the fastest photosynthetic reaction rate of photosynthesis, the floating leaf disk assay is use for this experiment. The wavelength of red, green, and blue light is test to determine the rate of photosynthesis. In addition, the effect of light intensity is determined by the distance of light (white) from the leaves. For each trail, a 0.2% of 300 ml sodium bicarbonate solution (baking soda) is use as an alternate dissolved source of carbon dioxide for photosynthesis by using 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking in a 300 ml of water (lab manual). Then a hole-punch is use to cut out 10 or more uniform leaf disks (avoid major veins). The air space of the leaf disks is infiltrates with the sodium bicarbonate solution, which the solution will cause the leaf disk to sink due to its increase in density. Infiltration of the leaf disks with sodium bicarbonate is as followed: Remove the plunger and place the leaf disk into the syringe barrel. Replace the plunger and slowly push air out while being careful not to crush the leaf. With a small volume of sodium bicarbonate solution into the syringe. Tap syringe to suspend the leaf disks in the solution. While holding a finger over the syringe opening, draw back the plunger to create a vacuum for 10 seconds. In addition, swirl the leaf disks to suspend them in the solution. This procedure may be repeated 2-3 times in order to get the leaf disk to sink. After the leaf disks sink, pour the disk and the solution into a clear cup or beaker. A constant volume of bicarbonate solution is added and should be the same depth for each trail. Place the cup or beaker under the light source and start the timer. Each minute is to record the number of floating disk. In addition, dislodge any disks stuck against the sides of the cup by swirling the disks. Continue until all of the leaf disks are floating. In addition, the presence of CO2 is measured.

The Body, Meaning and Symbols in Medical Anthropology Essay examples --

In the course of the study of medicine from an anthropological perspective, there are several themes which are repeatedly encountered. These include the body and its representation, meaning and a person’s response to that meaning, and finally, the symbolic images which construct and shape both meaning and the bodily representation. Each of these themes are addressed throughout medical anthropological texts, and are connected to and build on each other in a variety of ways. The body is the site of medicine, because the body is the site of all cultural practices. As Byron Good states, â€Å"medicine formulates the human body and disease in a culturally distinctive fashion†. (Good, 65) It is the cultural fashion of western medicine to objectify the body by constructing it in purely biochemical and molecular terms. As Shiehisa Kuriyama shows us in his work, this is the result of the historical development of Greek medicine and its intersection with the western scientific sentiment. Kuriyama says, â€Å"conceptions of the body owe as much to particular uses of the senses as to particular ‘ways of thinking.’† (Kuriyama, 12) He goes on to explain how a tradition of empiricism and a belief that â€Å"only [literal speech] can insure limpid understanding; [figurative speech] is profoundly unreliable† (Kuriyama, 75), informed the development of the western medical culture. With the obsession with clear and unambiguous language came a set of presuppositions, which, among other things, created a hierarchy of bodily representation. Kuriyama describes this in terms of western obsessions with musculature or the Chinese emphasis on how the skin looks. When the West undertook its various imperialistic projects across the globe this hierarchy of the... ...sm for a lack of modernity. Villagers were keenly aware of what the shaman meant not only to their own culture, but also what it meant to those in the transnational space, and their conception changes because of this. Thus we see how medical anthropology studies and provides analysis on the issues of the body, bodily perception, and the representation of the body, as well as meaning and symbolism. Also we see how medical anthropology takes these interpretations and uses them to critique the system’s practices. The biomedical system largely ignores the social aspects of illness, and this does a disservice to the suffering individual it seeks to restore. It emphasizes a biological reductionism which limits the care it can bring to the person it reconstructs as a patient, and in doing so, it discounts the multiple meanings medical symbols can hold for the patient.

Characteristics of culture Essay

Culture is beliefs and values that are shared and influences effectiveness, they interact with formal structure to get behavioral norm. It is shared basic assumptions that are learned when solving problems of internal integration and external adaptation. There has been evolution of pattern of values, rites, practices, rituals and symbols. Culture is pattern of activities of human beings and symbolic structures that show significance of these activities. Characteristics of culture Culture is learned where its values can be transferred into institutions by means of social interaction and exposure to mass media. This exposure is very important because it reaches everybody and creates awareness about values and beliefs that are shared and no one can lack access to information. A purposeful culture offers order and gives direction and guides in solving behavior of human being because there is a given direction to be followed by every one and proper means of solving human behavior. The beliefs and practice must be common to the society because culture is shared. Members of the same society must have the same culture and share in the beliefs and practices that are set by the society. Culture is cumulative because, it is passed from one generation to another and each new generation is aware of the culture it is supposed to follow. This makes culture have a very strong historical and traditional relevance. (Barry, 2002 pp. 11-17) Culture is dynamic. In case of any change in society, it is able to adapt quickly. This is very important because the world is dynamic and changes can not be avoided at any given time and most of times changes are for the better due to innovations and changes in technology. Culture is perceived based on what we experience, hear or see. Therefore, we should be careful on what we experience, see with our own eyes or hear because it can affect our beliefs either positively or negatively. Culture considers how members perceive things but not whether they like it or not. Sources of culture Culture is transmitted from one person to another through stories containing narrative of events and things like breaking of rules, reaction of past mistakes where one is disciplined after a mistake is done and the punishment available to wrongdoers. The stories are true but are not meant to link past events with present events but only provide an explanation of the performance of events in order to justify practices that are used currently. Culture can come from rituals which are sequence of activities that repeat themselves in order to reinforce key values. The important goals of the firm, ceremonies for recognition and awards and annual picnics are all considered as rituals. In higher learning institutions, the way academic graduates dress and academic procession are the rituals that reinforce great value and beliefs. Material symbols can reflect the seriousness of organization and the quality of product and service which reflect organization personality. The facilities layout of offices and buildings and the way of dressing of employees and the cars driven by the superiors are material symbols. Some places have large well organized offices for their staff and allow staff to be members of clubs and reserve places where managers park their vehicles. Symbols create corporate identity by making workers feel special although those who are not recognized may have negative effect. (Castells, 1999 pp. 15-20) Language can be used to identify members who belong to a particular culture. By learning the language, people show that they accept the language and culture and are ready top preserve it. In computer companies, there is unique language that is used to describe equipments and key personnel. New employee require more time to learn the language and coding system and once everyone learns the language, it is used as a key denominator that unites members to given culture. Culture as civilization The idea of culture developed in Europe in early 19th century and reflected itself in inequalities in European societies, powers and colonies in the world. Culture is identified with civilization and contrasted with nature. Some countries are taken to be more civilized than others and some people are more cultured compared to others. Cultural theorists eliminate mass culture from meaning of culture. Culture is what is thought about and said and popular culture is contrasted with anarchy. This is the account in which culture is linked closely with human behavior and pursuit of perfection by knowing all matters that concerns us. (Galbraith, 1992 pp. 10-16) In practice, caliber arts, museum and classical music are referred to as culture and the term cultured means the people who know these activities and take part in them. There has been contrast between lowest and highest culture but stress has been put in sophistication and refinement of high culture being corrupting and human developments which are not natural and distorting nature of human beings. Folk music produced by people who are working express natural life and classical music is superficial. Indigenous people are taken to be noble savages who live authentic lives and are uncorrupted by capitalists system. Many social scientists do not like monadic culture and opposing culture to the nature and non-elites are cultured just like elites. Symbols are social actor’s practices and the meaning of such practices. Social actors have common symbols of communication to be able to understand one another while the same symbols have personal meaning and importance. Symbols limit cultured thoughts and culture members use symbols in framing their thoughts and expressing themselves in intelligible terms because culture is made possible, readable and reproducible by use of symbols. (Poster, 1990 pp. 23-27) Mass media culture Culture is very significant to mass media because it is integrated pattern of belief, human knowledge and behavior which includes ideas, beliefs, codes, tools, institutions and ceremonies. Social paradigm and culture refers to specific society and a specified time. This means that, there is change from time to time and from place to place. Therefore, there is no theory to determine relationship that exists between culture and economic or political elements in a society. The starting point is rejecting versions of crude economists and sophisticated versions that determine elements that are dominant in social formation. Elements which are dominant in social formation can not be determined by economic base but are determined only by creative act, that is, whether the outcome is of social praxis of social individual’s activities. Theocratic society’s dominant element was cultural and society existed as socialism. In market economies, after introduction of new system in commercial society during industrial revolution, dominant elements in markets economies were also economic. Means of production was controlled by private ownership which led to economy which was socially controlled and market played major role in market economies due to fundamental self regulating systems and are solved by price mechanism rather than by use of social decisions. Interdependence is the relationship between elements with economic element dominating. There are differences that exist between social paradigm and culture because the scope of culture is great and expresses ideas and values that are not necessarily consistent with dominant institutions and characterizes market economy arts and literature where there is significant freedom given to writers and artists to be able to express their own views freely. But in dominant social paradigm the values and beliefs in market society must be consistent with economic elements where economic institutions that determine dominant elites are economic elites who control production. Society can not be able to reproduce itself without dominant beliefs and ideas which are consistent with institutional framework. For example, the social paradigm which is dominant is supposed to be dominant with political elements and political institutions which determine party bureaucracy. The future democratic society corresponds with democratic institutions to ensure there are no formal elites in the society though democracies can not function well without informal elites. (Baudrillard, 1988 pp. 44-47) Mass media produces reality and does not fake things. Mass media does not manipulate democracy because it is democracy which is faked and not the picture of mass media and this shows the reality of current democracy and defines political reality provided by mass media. Furthermore, there can be distorted picture provided by mass media when reported about what causes crisis conflict between different sections of elites. This is where they show the picture which the sections that control them may want to reproduce. For example the media in Anglo-American distorted meaning of Iraqi criminal bombardment in 1998. During the Gulf war, there was distortion of what caused the conflict such as who would be in control of oil in the world with legumes of peace loving between the north and south regimes. Under circumstances like this, mass media is the only one that can tell the truth of the reality when there is division between elites on the way they take political reality. Mass media is very significant whether it is owned by few people or many in order to help in struggle aiming at social change. For example, division among European elites to join monetary union have led to great discussion by the media on meaning of European integration in Britain where there was split of elites. Similar divisions existed between European and Anglo-American over the Gulf crime which was criminal role of supporters of bombardments. About economic reality, there is accurate picture provided by mass media on economic reality today. In this case, the media take market economy for granted ending up with partial picture of reality in the economy where what matters most is whether there is rise or fall in prices, rate of exchange, profits and interest rates. Mass media is not able to see economic problems such as unemployment and poverty and end up faking economic reality. The media is simply able to reflect views of professional politicians, bankers and orthodox economists. (Baudrillard, 1990 pp. 27-31) REFERENCES Barry B. (2002): culture and equality: Ingenta connect pp. 11-17. Baudrillard J. (1988): selected writings: policy press pp44-47. Baudrillard J. (1990): mass media culture, in the revenge of the crystal: Pluto press pp27-31. Castells M. (1999): society and culture: Sage pub pp15-20. Galbraith J. (1992): the culture of contentment: Danny reviews pp10-16. Poster M. (1990): Baudrillard and TV in the mode of information: polity pp23-27.

How to Get Motivated Essay

Motivation is literally the desire to do things. It’s the difference between waking up before dawn to pound the pavement and lazing around the house all day. It’s the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. So figure out what you want, power through the pain period, and start being who you want to be. 5 Keys to Unlock Your Creative Motivation Motivation is a much more complex process than just â€Å"wanting† to do something. When you’re working on a creative project and the going gets tough, if you’re not motivated enough, you’ll quit. And it always gets tough, whether you’re a novelist, artist, musician, or even a creative entrepreneur. In my own research with highly experienced writers, I found that motivators are often combined for best effect. Here, then, are 5 ways to raise your motivation level: 1. Increase the challenge of your project. Try something you’ve never done before. When I interviewed bestselling novelist Diana Gabaldon, she told me that she once gave herself the challenge of writing a â€Å"triple-nested flashback.† For many of us, concocting an ordinary flashback is challenge enough, but those are a snap for her. 2. Change your creative method for the stimulation of a fresh approach. I f you typically write with an outline, try not to. Or begin writing without an ending in mind. If you never write with a plan, see what happens if you plan ahead. Even if it doesn’t work, you’ll learn something. Here’s Wells Tower, author of a volume of short stories, Everything Ravaged Everything Burned: I can never coldly write a story; it doesn’t work. I’ve tried it where I have an outline, and I’ll think this is going to be so easy, but when I sit down of course it’s not. You have to get into a state of autohypnosis and let the story be what it wants to be. 3. Create from a different point of view. Do you always write in first-person? Do you never write in first-person point of view? Try the opposite. Or create something artistic from the point of view of the bicycle, or the car, or the dog or cat, or the new immigrant or the alien from outer space. 4. Look deeper to find your intrinsic motivation. Here’s how poet Ralph Angel put it: As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve learned in recent years that writing, even more than some of the most important relationships in my life, is where I am most in touch with myself, and, worst case scenario, people I love die and my life goes on. But if anything took me away from the work, I would be separated somehow from myself. 5. Forget about the goal and find the fun. This is the most crucial key to entering flow. Put all thought of audience aside for the time being and find something pleasurable about what you’re trying to create. If it’s not fun, figure out why not and make it more engaging for yourself. There’s nothing trivial about fun, as I’ve found in my talks with great creative individuals. It’s one of the many motivators that bring them back to the work they do, day in and day out. The 3 Biggest Myths About Motivation That Won’t Go Away Just Write Down Your Goals, and Success is Guaranteed! There is a story that motivational speakers/authors love to tell about the Yale Class of 1953.Researchers, so the story goes, asked graduating Yale seniors if they had specific goals they wanted to achieve in the future that they had written down. Twenty years later, the researchers found that the mere 3% of students who had specific, written goals were wealthier than the other 97% combined. Isn’t that amazing? It would be if it were true, which it isn’t. I wish it were that simple. To be fair, there is evidence that getting specific about what you want to achieve is really important. (Not a guaranteed road to fabulous wealth, but still important.) In other words, specificity is necessary, but it’s not nearly sufficient. Writing goals down is actually neither – it can’t hurt, but there’s also no hard evidence that writing per se does anything to help. Just Try to Do Your Best! Telling someone, or yourself, to just â€Å"do your best† is believed to be a great motivator. It isn’t. Theoretically, it encourages without putting on too much pressure. In reality, and rather ironically, it is more-or-less permission to be mediocre. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, two renown organizational psychologists, have spent several decades studying the difference between â€Å"do your best† goals and their antithesis: specific and difficult goals. Evidence from more than 1,000 studies conducted by researchers across the globe shows that goals that not only spell out exactly what needs to be accomplished, but that also set the bar for achievement high, result in far superior performance than simply trying to â€Å"do your best.† That’s because more difficult goals cause you to, often unconsciously, increase your effort, focus and commitment to the goal, persist longer, and make better use of the most effective strategies. Just Visualize Succe ss! Advocates of â€Å"positive thinking† are particularly fond of this piece of advice. But visualizing success, particularly effortless success, is not just unhelpful – it’s a great way to set yourself up for failure. Few motivational gurus understand that there’s an awfully big difference between believing you will succeed, and believing you will succeed easily. Realistic optimists believe they will succeed, but also believe they have to make success happen – through things like effort, careful planning, persistence, and choosing the right strategies. They don’t shy away from thinking â€Å"negative† thoughts, like what obstacles will I face? and how will I deal with them? Unrealistic optimists, on the other hand, believe that success will happen to them, if they do lots and lots of visualizing. Recent research shows that this actually (and once again, ironically) serves to drain the very energy we need to reach our goals. People who sp end too much time fantasizing about the wonderful future that awaits them don’t have enough gas left in the tank to actually get there.