Critic of the Application of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in Assessing and understanding employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective Essay

Critic of the Application of Frederick Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory in Assessing and understanding employee motivation at work: a Ghanaian Perspective. Patrick Ashiadey The Frederick Herzberg Two Factor Theory has had a considerable amount of practical and as well as theoretical influences. In fact, from a practical perspective, the influence of Herzberg’s motivation theory can be seen at every organizational level as well as within every department. From a theoretical perspective, Herzberg’s motivation theory can be perceived as having similarities to Maslow’s Theory of Need with the exception that for Herzberg’s theory, the needs aren’t placed in a progressive continuum, rather they are divided into two independent factors. Herzberg’s motivation theory emerged from a collection of data gathered by the interview of 203 accountants and engineers within the Pittsburgh area. The interview process consisted of asking the respondents to describe a work situation where they felt very happy as well as very unhappy. These descriptions were to include as many details as possible, including their feelings, the interpretation of the situation as well as the events that are suggestive of a change. The analysis of the responses confirmed the proposed hypothesis, where some factors where contributors to job satisfaction, while others were not. In addition, some factors were noted to be a source of dissatisfaction when absent. These were categorized as â€Å"Motivators† and â€Å"Hygiene† factors, the latter also being referred to as Maintenance Factors. (Wikipedia, 2013). Employee motivation in Ghana however takes on a different turn due to many factors that flaw the two factor Theory. This white paper seeks to discuss but a few of these factors. Firstly the difference in cultures and upbringing of the typical Africa especially the Ghanaian worker right from infancy to the work age differs from those used in the interview process as they are from entirely different geographical areas. Th e average Ghanaian lives on or below the poverty line and as such will be happy just having a job with his basic salary regardless of the existence of motivators or hygiene factors. The mentality of the average Ghanaian worker makes him fear joblessness as other forms of employment are hard to come by and that alone will motivate him or her to stay in the job in the absence of motivators or  hygiene factors. That is the theory does not take into account individual personality traits that could provide a different response to a motivator or hygiene factor. The Theory also lacks in the understanding of the inter-relations between some of the motivators which I totally agree with as can be seen from http://www.leadership-central.com/two-factor-theory.html#ixzz2g2Bs3nao in comparison to the dual structure theory. Example, one might receive adequate job recognition nut he or she may not be satisfied with the level of responsibilities therefore one would question the internal motivational value of job recognition for the individual. Lack of highly skilled personnel in the Ghanaian job market, makes the average Ghanaian worker dependent upon his or her professional level which would be more or less sensitive to one or the other of the factors. Frederick Herzberg’s sample space for his research included 203 accountants and engineers, a huge disparity from the large population of Ghanaian workers in the public sector who were only recently introduced to the single spine structure. Responses to the same questions posed to the accountants and engineers that led to the development of the theory would have produced different results as what mattered to a worker in the US would not necessarily have mattered to a worker in Ghana like recreational facilities. This leads us to the point where hygiene factors and motivators vary depending on the types of individuals involved and the nature of work examined. There is also the case where there exists no prove that highly satisfied people are also high performers per a research done on the internet. Example is the average Ghanaian worker in the public sector enjoying the new single spine salary structure still requiring some form of extra cash for him or her to carry out his or her civil duties. All said and done, it is a well-known fact that the Application of the Two Factor Theory is definitely well established within organizational settings. In fact, every leader has the responsibility to ensure that their employee’s hygiene factors are attended to and that proper motivators are implemented to increase job satisfaction. The most common mistake committed by leaders is to attend to the hygiene factor while expecting employee motivation. One application for Herzberg’s theory of motivation that isn’t well known is its importance in managing quality. A great paper by Heinz Weihrich shows the link between the Two Factor Theory  of motivation and quality. He equates the reliability or â€Å"R† factor of a product as being the hygiene factor and therefore customers have grown to expect products they purchase to be reliable. The â€Å"S† factor, the motivator, refers to the product features.

Harry Frankfurt

Harry Frankfurt defined the principle of alternate possibilities ( PAP ): A person is morally responsible for his actions if he couldn t have done otherwise . And he argued as follows 1) ( PAP) is true 2) determinism : every event must be the way it is and we couldn t do otherwise is also true Conclusion: ( PAP ) and determinism are not compatible This argument is a valid argument but it is not a sound one because the author doesnot agree with the conclusion of the argument and since it is a valid argument so he decides that one of the premises is false and doubts the first premise . By giving us an example he will try to convince us that the (PAP) is false . He states that Jones does action (A) and that Black is some kind of manipulator that has the ability to manipulate Jones so he can inhibit Jones from performing actions other than (A) without Jones knowing that black exists . Black will manipulate only if Jones is going to decide to do otherwise , so we conclude that Jones couldn t have done otherwise because of Black , nevertheless Jones is morally responsible for action (A) because he did all on his own without the interference of Black. This example contradicts with definition of (PAP) . because jones is morally responsible even though he couldn t have done otherwise. Moreover I think it is wise to add an argument here : 1)Jones is morally responsible for his action (A) )Jones couldn t have done otherwise ( in other words his actions are determined ) We conclude that moral responsibility is compatible with determinisim . One thing that I noticed from the example is that black s duty or job is to block or inhibit jones choices of actions other than action (A) . therefore the author admits that there are other choices of actions ( possible alternatives ) than action (A) , so possible alternatives is true but we have to find the right definition and appli cation for it . Words : 356?

Goals of Linguistic Essay

Mr. 1. Introduction 1. 1. Approaching the issue The task of setting out (to use a neutral word) the goals of a human activity may be approached in a variety of ways depending on conditions such as who is involved in the activity and who has the power to determine the goals. In the case of the goals of a scientific discipline, the question may, in principle, be approached by established scientific methods: * Deductive approach: The highest and most general goal is taken as an axiom, more specific and lower-level goals are deduced from it. * Inductive approach: By methods of the sociology of science, the goals actually pursued by scientists may be ascertained; by sociological methods, it may be ascertained what goals a community thinks should be pursued by the sciences that it entertains. The deductive approach suffers at least from the following shortcomings: * The postulation of the highest goal is itself outside the scope of science. * Clean deduction is only possible in the logical disciplines. What is called deduction in (the rest of) philosophy, the humanities and social sciences is really informal and heavily dependent on the interpretation of words. The inductive approach suffers at least from the following shortcomings: * Just like other people, scientists occasionally pursue selfish or idiosyncratic goals, which a purely inductive approach would not be able to separate out. * The extra-scientific members of a social community – be they politicians or citizens – have limited presuppositions of making a rational contribution to the discussion of the goals of a science, lacking both knowledge and experience of the nature and possibilities of scientific work and presuppositions for appreciating the spiritual side of objective knowledge (see below). On the basis of available evidence, it is safe to say that few of them can distinguish between scientific insight and technological â€Å"progress†. Thus, if one wants at all a scientific approach to the problem of the goals of a discipline, one would have to combine – as usual – deductive and inductive methods, hoping that they will compensate for each other’s shortcomings. It would certainly be reasonable to do this scientific work (from time to time). However, it has apparently not been done. I will therefore abide by taking a common-sense approach to the problem, informed both by some epistemology of linguistics and by some experience with linguistic work. 1. 2. Fundamentals Like any human activity, linguistics has a place in a teleonomic hierarchy (see teleonomische Hierarchie) which is headed by its ultimate goals. Science is the pursuit of objective knowledge/understanding (Greek episteme, German Erkenntnis). The attainment of such knowledge is its ultimate goal. This goal is itself subordinate to the goal of human life, which is the improvement of the conditio humana. It is in the nature of human cognition – as opposed to God’s cognition –, that it can be fully achieved only in communication. To say that the goal is objective knowledge is therefore almost tantamount to saying that it is rational communication. This rephrasing also serves the purpose of avoiding a static conception of ‘objective knowledge’. In the more specific discussion below, the role of communication in the achievements of the goals of a science will come up again. Understanding has two sides, a spiritual and a practical one. * On the spiritual side, the human mind is enriched if it understands something; and this in itself is a contribution to improving the conditio humana. * On the practical side, understanding something is a presupposition for controlling it. Controlling1 the world in which we live is another contribution to improving the conditio humana. Some sciences make a stronger contribution to the spiritual side, others make a stronger contribution to the practical side. This is the basis for the distinction between pure and applied science. Linguistics is the study of human language. Understanding this object has a purely spiritual aspect, which constitutes what might be called â€Å"pure linguistics† and what is more commonly called general linguistics. It also has a practical aspect, which concerns the role of languages in human lives and societies and the possibilities of improving it. This epistemic interest constitutes applied linguistics. Given the divergence in the epistemic interest of pure and applied science, there can be no universal schema by which the goals and tasks of a science should be systematized. As discussed elsewhere (see Wissenschaft), there is a basic distinction between logical, empirical and hermeneutic approaches. Linguistics shares components of all of them. Here we will focus on the tasks of linguistics as an empirical discipline. For such a discipline, the main tasks are: 1. elaboration of a theory of its object 2. documentation and description of its object 3. elaboration of procedures for the solution of practical problems in the object area. In what follows, the main goals of linguistics will be characterized, at a general level, according to this schema. 2. Theory: the nature of human language The spiritual aspect of the human understanding of some object is realized in the elaboration of a theory of that object. In this respect, the task of linguistics consists in the elaboration of a theory of human language and its relation to the languages. Its most important aspects include * the structure(s) and function(s) of human language and languages * the relationship between unity and diversity of human languages * linguistic change * acquisition of one’s native language In characterizing the nature of human language, linguistic theory also delimits it against other kinds of semiosis, both synchronically in the comparison of spoken and written languages with sign languages, whistling languages and, furthermore, with animal languages, and diachronically in the comparison with primate semiotic systems from which human language may have evolved. 3. Empiry: documentation and description of languages As recalled above, linguistics is (among other things) an empirical science. In such a discipline, there is a necessary interrelation between the elaboration of a theory of the object and the description of the object; one informs the other. Furthermore, since speech and even languages are volatile, they have to be documented. The tasks of linguistics in this area may be systematized as follows: 1. language documentation: recording, representation, analysis and archiving of speech events and texts that represent a certain language 2. language description: 1. the setting of the language * ethnographic * social/cultural * genealogical 2. the language system: * semantic system: grammar, lexicon * expression systems: phonology, writing The documentation of a language must be such that people who do not have access to the language itself can use the documentation as a surrogate for as many purposes as possible. In particular, it should be possible to develop a description of a language on the basis of its documentation. The description makes explicit the meanings that the language expresses and the functions it fulfils – what it codes and what it leaves uncoded –, and represents the structure of the expressions that afford this. It does all of this in the most systematic and comprehensive way possible. Such a description may be used for a variety of purposes, most of which are mentioned below in the section on applied linguistics. Both documentation and description take the historical dimension of the object into account. That is, in the synchronic perspective, they are systematic, while in the diachronic perspective, they are historical. 4. Practice: application of linguistics The daily use of language for communication and cognition is replete with all kinds of tasks and problems that require science for a proper solution. Some of them are: * compilation of grammars, dictionaries and text editions for various purposes * native and foreign language teaching * testing of linguistic proficiency * standardizing and planning languages * devising and improving writing systems * development and maintenance of special languages and terminologies * analysis and alleviation of communication problems in social settings * diagnosis and therapy of aphasic impairments * intercultural communication, translation and interpreting * communication technology: speech technology, automatic speech and text production and analysis, machine translation, corpus exploitation †¦ The descriptions produced in â€Å"pure† linguistics – not only descriptive linguistics, but also socio-, psycho-, neuro-, ethno- etc. linguistics – are exploited for the formulation of technical procedures by which tasks arising in the fields enumerated may be solved. And contrariwise, the demands arising from those practical fields are taken as challenges by theoretical and descriptive linguistics to produce theories and descriptions that respond to them. 5. Methodology: epistemological reflection and working tools The nature of the goal of science – objective knowledge – requires the elaboration and testing of methods by which putative knowledge may be attained, verified/falsified and applied in the solution of practical or interdisciplinary problems. * The epistemological side of this activity is a stock-taking of the particular nature of the activity of the linguist, its goals, conditions and possibilities. There will be reflection on the logical, empirical and hermeneutic nature of the object of linguistics and the approaches appropriate to each facet. * The operational side of methodology is the elaboration of particular methods within such a methodological frame of the discipline. Given the interplay of specific aspects of the linguistic object with specific problems and purposes, specific sets of methods may be developed to deal adequately with such aspects of the object, to solve such problems and serve such purposes. This involves * in the deductive perspective, the operationalization of concepts and theorems and the elaboration of tests * in the inductive perspective, the elaboration of standards of representation of linguistic data and of tools for processing them. While a contribution from general epistemology may be expected for the epistemological side of linguistic methodology, its operational side is entirely the responsibility of the particular discipline. Its status as a scientific discipline crucially depends on its fulfillment of this task. 6. Cooperation: interdisciplinary fertilization. The articulation of science into disciplines is, first of all, a necessity of the division of labor. As observed above, a particular discipline is constituted by the combination of an object with an epistemic interest. The object is just a segment of the overall object area susceptible of scientific insight, the epistemic interest depends on all kinds of factors, and the combinations of these two elements are consequently manifold. In other words, no discipline is autonomous and self-contained. The contribution that it makes to human understanding can only be assessed if it is compared and combined with other disciplines. The theories developed by a discipline must define their object in such a way that it becomes transparent where they leave off, i. e. where the interfaces for the combination of related theories are. And they must be formulated in such a way that non-specialists can understand them and relate them to the epistemic interest pursued by them. Thus, a linguistic theory has to make explicit what it purports to cover and what not – for instance, only the linguistic system, not its use –; and linguists should say what they think is required for taking care of the rest. Moreover, the products of linguistic description and documentation must be represented in such a way that non-linguists may use them. For instance, there must be * grammars usable by foreign language curriculum designers * semantic descriptions usable by ethnographers * models of linguistic competence testable by neurologists * formal grammatical descriptions usable by programmers. Finally, linguistics must be capable of and receptive in taking up insights and challenges from other disciplines. For instance, * phonological concepts must be related to phonetic concepts * models of linguistic activity must be inspired by findings of psychology and neurology * models of linguistic competence must be able to account for the performance of plurilingual persons. Interdisciplinary cooperation is the touchstone of the communicative capacity of a scientific community. A discipline that can neither inspire other disciplines nor be inspired by them gets isolated and unnecessary. 7. Conclusion Above, five areas of goals of linguistics have been identified: 1. Theory: the nature of human language 2. Empiry: documentation and description of languages 3. Practice: application of linguistics 4. Methodology: epistemological reflection and working tools 5. Cooperation: interdisciplinary fertilization These goals do not belong to the same level. Goal #1, the elaboration of a theory of its object, is the highest goal of any science. As already mentioned, goal #1 is interdependent with goal #2, because a theory of an object area presupposes its proper description, and a proper description presupposes a theory on which it can be based. Furthermore, the production of documentations and descriptions is a service to the society. This is even more true of goal #3: The solution of daily-life tasks and problems is a practical contribution to the improvement of the conditio humana. It has to be done by someone, and if it is done by the discipline that has the relevant know-how, it is both better for the solution of the problem and better for the social standing of the discipline. Finally, the demands emerging from extra-scientific practice may feed back into the content and form of descriptions. Goals #4 and #5 are more science-immanent. Neither the elaboration of a methodology nor interdisciplinary cooperation are anything that would be of direct relevance outside a scientific context. They are, however, preconditions for the attainment of goals #1 – #3. As said before, no serious theory can be developed, no adequate descriptions and documentations can be produced, and no practical problems can be solved, without an arsenal of pertinent methods and without a systematic interchange with disciplines that partly share the object area or the epistemic interest.

Injury prediction and prevention screening in sport Essay

Injury prediction and prevention screening in sport - Essay Example It will also critique papers and identify the best screening practice covering a wide range of sports and screening tools used for both elite athletes and recreational sports. This review will assess various databases including, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar in order to establish various studies relevant to this subject matter. The literature shall be narrowed down to the following inclusion criteria: studies on injury prediction and prevention screening, studies on athletes, servicemen, and other active individuals, studies published from January 2003 to January 2013, and studies published in the English language. The credibility of the authors and the publication will be assessed, including the validity and the reliability of the studies. In the paper by Myer, et.al., (2011), the authors set out to apply sensitive laboratory tools in order to establish predictive tools which impact on increased knee-abduction movement (KAM) during landing. The study covered a sufficient population of respondents evaluating two groups of athletes—female basketball and soccer players. The study however chose to cover a single-county public school district, limiting the general applicability of the results. The respondents were asked to participate in testing athropometrics, maturation, flexibility, and strength and landing biomechanics. The study revealed that an increased knee abduction angle, quadriceps recruitment, tibia length, and BMI with lower knee flexion represent 80% of the variance in the KAM in instances of drop vertical jump. In effect, females who manifest increased KAM would be more responsive and would likely manage better after neuromuscular training. Such findings help in identifying those who have a higher ris k for injury assisting also in their neuromuscular training in the prevention of related risks.

Case Analysis on Hornell Brewing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Analysis on Hornell Brewing - Essay Example Canadian competitors Financial, Market 15. Academe Social, Reputation 6. Native Americans Financial, Legal, Reputation 16. The Local Community Financial, Market Stability 7. Lawyers of Chinese investors Financial, Legal 17. The Global Community Financial, Market Stability 8. Chinese investing public Financial 18. Future Generations Financial, Market Stability, Social 9. Canadian entrepreneurs Financial 19. American competitors Financial, Market Stability, Social 10. American Entrepreneurs Financial 20. Legal, Social a.) Please identify two pairs of stakeholders with opposing interests/stakes and describe briefly how they conflict. The Chinese investors want them to be represented by Chinese nationals as they do business in Canadian and American soil. This, in turn, will have a conflicting interest with Canadian and American representatives because this would mean taking away jobs from them. Also, one aspect of the business is that Chinese investors are looking for start-up businesses that involve natural resources project and take them over. This presents conflict to Canadian and American interests because Chinese are not known to be respectful of the environment when they conduct evident with the disregard of their industrial plants to environment back in China. What makes the issue worrisome is that these Chinese investors are looking for Chinese nationals who might connived with them comparing to Canadian and American representatives who have genuine regard for the Canadian and American environment because it is their environment. b.) Please identify two pairs of stakeholders with shared interests/stakes and describe briefly how they might benefit from coordinating their interests. The Chinese investors and their representatives have a common interest of making money in the projects that they will be involved in. The investors return for their investments and the representatives, stability of employment and there could even be bonuses. Using information from the case, propose recommendations for possible business activities that promote LONG-TERM enrichment for each of the following stakeholders: customers Chinese investors must ensure that they follow all the government regulations about using the natural resources in their projects. News about abuse in the environment can make Canadian and American customers jittery and they are not that tolerant to environment abuse compared to Chinese. shareholders Chinese investors must make sure that their business practices are ethical and legal to make their fellow shareholders feel confident about their business in foreign soil (Canada and America). If the investors get involved in any form of environmental abuse, investors will divert their investors to other business. the natural environment It is highly suggested that Chinese investors be represented by local Canadians and Americans for the general public become more confident about their operations that involve the environment. Also, their operations will have a greater probability that it is in accordance with Canadian and American laws because of the representatives’ familiarity not only with the local law but also on the local perspective on how to treat the environment. Chinese are not known for being sensitive about the environment. the local community Chinese investors must be transparent in their operations to have the confidence of local community. If the local community protests their presence and operation, it would make their business very difficult. It may even

Financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Financial analysis - Essay Example The flagship Barclays Bank has around 1700 branches spread across UK and other countries (Hoovers, â€Å"Company Description†). The group has its operation across Europe, Africa, the United States and the Middle East countries. The company deals in financial products and competes within the global financial services industry. The control and authority of an organisation lies with the corporate managers. Undoubtedly, it indicates that the managers must be conversant with the accounting position of the organisation. â€Å"The term management accounting refers to accounting the management i.e. accounting which provides necessary information to the management for discharging its function† (Anbuvelan, â€Å"Management Accounting†). Management accounting provides variable assistance to the management to carry out the managerial functions with more efficiency. There are a number of tools and techniques in Management Accounting arena. The whole process includes gathering required information and analysing them to make decision making process much uncomplicated. A number of companies use ‘Activity Based Costing’ to identify and allocate the cost of the products or services. This includes identifying the cost pools or the activity centres and within the organisation and allocating cost to the activities using the cost drivers. The assignment of the cost is done based on the contribution of various activities in any particular product or service. As this costing process considers multiple cost drivers with different activities, the distortion risk is minimised considerably, providing the required cost information. As ABC indentifies each of the overhead costs with the products and services, produced and delivered to the customers, the process is more advanced than the traditional cost techniques. The significant steps in ABC are identification of the companies’ key activities, identification of related cost amount, establishment

The American Cultural Myth, America as the Land of Freedom and Essay

The American Cultural Myth, America as the Land of Freedom and Equality - Essay Example The given paper will discuss the American myth and reality and prove that the equal rights the United States provides are still to be got by people in a long and difficult struggle. The question about the reality of American equality is rather controversial. This controversy comes from the miscomprehension of what is meant by equality and freedom and how it is realized in the American society. The myth is that the United States of America represents the place where everybody is â€Å"free†, so he can do everything that comes into his mind. In reality, freedom and equality are really present in America, however, people who come to the state usually feel shock because of the official and bureaucratic limitations, and face difficulties on their way to become a part of the American society. During its history, the United States regulation has been doing its best to counterpoise the independence of a person with the welfare of the country and the outcomes of such efforts sometimes appeared to be rather strange and unexpected. Anti-smoking law that states that those who do not smoke have a right to live without smoke that restricts the right of smokers’ to smoke represents the perfect example of this strangeness. Young people who come to America to study are usually unpleasantly surprised by a great number of regulations that controls each step they make. The social principles in America are really strange. They represent a mix of Puritanism and the commonly nonjudgmental American approach that generates a lot of difficulties for newcomers, because they can’t foresee the American society’s reaction to their actions. Furthermore, in America various ethnic groups live one next to another and each group has its own principles that may differ much from the values of other. Consequently, the newcomers often feel that there are absolutely no rules in the United States and appear at a