Nonverbal Communication

Introduction The saying goes, â€Å"Look into a person’s eyes, and you will see their soul. † But what is it about the eyes that hold so much? Why do the eyes embrace so much emotion, so many feelings? The eyes, along with other body aspects, are able to communicate to people in ways our words cannot, for â€Å"eye contact is an invitation to communicate. If you look directly into a person’s eyes, [†¦] they will respond in some manner† (Andersen, 2004).Albert Mehrabian (1967) stated that 55% of communication is body language, 38% of communication is tonality, and 7% of communication is the actual words that are spoken (Misunderstanding Section, line 2). Altogether, 93% of communication is unspoken words – what we use to give or withhold meaning from our words. Communication is a complicated, ongoing process of sending and receiving messages. These messages provide both implicit and explicit interpretations depending on the synchrony between the spoken word and the body language associated with it.Body language is defined as â€Å"the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others† (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Knowing 93% of communication lies in unspoken word, teachers must put forth an effort to communicate through their actions and tone of voice, â€Å"Teachers should be aware of nonverbal communication in the classroom for two basic reasons: to become better receivers of students' messages and to gain the ability to send positive signals that reinforce students' learning while simultaneously becoming more skilled at avoiding negative signals that stifle their learning† (Miller, 2005).Teachers need to be more concerned about their teaching-learning situations because â€Å"the pattern of behavior of the teacher affects the pattern of behavior of the learner† (Clark, 1978). With this, teachers must focus on changing the learner’s behavior by changing their own behavior. By paying attention to nonverbal communication, teachers can better manage their classroom and the learners in that environment. One major aspect of body language is eye contact, â€Å"When you fail to make eye contact with someone, you are treating her or him as a nonperson and inviting that person to  not  communicate† (Andersen, 2004, p. 6). Teachers know that students respond to how they treat them. Therefore, when they choose to interact with them, they can help regulate behaviors by maintaining eye contact. In fact, eye contact from the teacher is the most important nonverbal behavior, for â€Å"eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students. [†¦] Increasing [†¦] eye contact dramatically improves motivation in the learning process† (Andersen, 2004, p. 42). Review of Literature In 1507, Leonardo da Vinci revealed his now legendary painting  Mona Lisa.Sent ence and Verbal CommunicationStudied by many and known by all, this painting was the first study to look at body language. It intrigues so many people because the painting is so complex, just like body language. The most interesting aspect of this painting is Mona’s smile. This smile portrays more than just one emotion. In addition, Mona’s gaze follows the viewer no matter the angle she is viewed from. There are many meanings and emotions hidden in this picture and that is why it arguably is the best-known painting in the world (Riding, 2005, lines 4-6).In his book,  The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin (1872) looked at how our emotions express our feelings and thoughts. Through his many studies, Darwin was able to prove that our expressions of emotions portray more than words. Darwin studied the eyes, nose, arms, voice, and many other body features in order to verify a correlation between body language and others’ perceptions. Oft en, our facial features correlate with our tone of voice in order to express a certain feeling, â€Å"The pitch of the voice bears some relation to certain states of feeling is tolerably clear† (Darwin, 1872, p. 03). This being true, one can easily sense another’s emotion, such as high spirits, by simply focusing on the unspoken word: A [person] in high spirits, though [he/she] may not actually smile, commonly exhibits some tendency to the retraction of the corners of his mouth. From the excitement of pleasure, the circulation becomes more rapid; the eyes are bright, and the colour of the face rises. The brain, being stimulated by the increased flow of blood, reacts on the mental powers; lively ideas pass still more rapidly through the mind, and the affections are warmed (Darwin, 1872, p. 696-697).Darwin claims that our emotions are intricately intertwined with our whole body. Our emotions, mind, and body work as one to send signals to other people. People use body lan guage to help drive interaction and keep others engaged. But what happens when our body language is not the same â€Å"language† as someone from another country? This poses a problem not only in society but in classrooms as well. Teachers are being asked more and more to create an atmosphere of inclusivity in order to accommodate for diverse populations including gender, ethnicity, religion, and ability. Debra Pitton et. al. 1993) stated teachers have a responsibility to provide the best possible educational experience day to day and this experience must include body language for many reasons: By incorporating the study of nonverbal messages into pre-service studies, teachers will more readily be able to help students become cognizant of culture, ethnicity, and gender as important variables in everyday life. This will also help students, as they will benefit from an increased appreciation of diversity when they assume their future roles as parents, teachers, community leaders , co-workers, employers, and citizens.An inclusive education should facilitate the changes in climate necessary to ensure ongoing change, and knowledge of culturally specific nonverbal communication patterns can enhance this process (p. 2). Teachers’ goals are to help their students be active participants in their community and in society. In order to do so, students must be able to understand verbal and nonverbal communication signals as they relate from one person and one context to the next. Nonverbal relates to the unspoken word and a means to send messages that are â€Å"not sanctioned for verbal delivery by our culture† (Wiemann, 1975).As humans, we have a particular strength to respond quickly and unconsciously pick up clues to other’s nonverbal behavior so that we can respond and react; however, we are culture-bound in what we see and can interpret those behaviors incorrectly depending on our background and experiences (Cohen, 1971). Nonverbal behavior i s difficult to control or to censor. Nonverbal behavior comes naturally to an individual based on true emotions, feelings, and culture – it is less likely to be deceptive as verbal communication can be (Galloway, 1993).With this, there seems to be a necessity for teachers to have complete control over their nonverbal behaviors in order to communicate to their students effectively. Students read more from their teacher’s body language than they do their actual words. In fact, most teachers â€Å"are not aware of the ways in which they transmit nonverbal messages to pupils. Classroom culture has its own nonverbal language and pupils absorb its nuances along with the spoken language† (Spanjer, 1972). Peter Andersen (2004) claims immediacy behaviors, hich â€Å"signal approach and availability, and send warm, stimulating messages to other people,† help teachers develop a positive relationship with their students. Some immediacy behaviors include touching, smi ling, nodding, facing others, showing relaxation, leaning toward others, and synchronizing our conversations; however, in the classroom, the most important immediacy behavior is eye contact, â€Å"Teacher eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students† (Andersen, 2004).Being able to read body language gives teachers an advantage at recognizing their students’ true emotions, enabling the teacher to be more effective on a minute-to-minute basis. By increasing immediacy behaviors, students’ motivation in the learning process dramatically improves (Andersen, 2004). Teachers need to be aware of immediacy behaviors, such as eye contact, in order to help their students’ succeed in the classroom and, ultimately, outside of the classroom. When it comes to motivating students to complete their work, nonverbal behavior is a prime factor in teacher effectiveness. Research studies [across K-college] found that learners at all levels reacted more favorably to teachers who used nonverbal immediacy cues. [†¦] Increasing immediacy behaviors dramatically improves students’ motivation† (Goman, 2008). Andersen (2004) concluded people trust body language over the spoken word (p. 14).People trust body language because it is spontaneous, multi-channeled, and possesses redundant qualities that make it very hard to completely fake (Andersen, 2004). This is applied in classrooms as well. Students rely on the teacher’s body language in order to interpret the meaning of their words; however, teachers are not well educated in the area of body language. No prerequisite courses are offered to teachers during their undergraduate/graduate years that help prepare them in nonverbal communication because it is still a largely unexplored area (Ligons, 1973).Teachers must be aware of nonverbal communication in their classrooms because â€Å"nonverbal communication i s the medium through which relationships are maintained, regulated, and guided within culturally-prescribed patterns† (Grove, 1976). Focusing on professional success in the classroom is crucial, especially at a changing time in education’s history with the passing of the Budget Bill by Governor Walker, â€Å"At a time when it is widely recognized that professional success is achieved with or through other people, the power of, nd the need for, good interpersonal skills couldn’t be greater† (Goman, 2008). Method The examination underlying this paper is a better understanding of how adverse nonverbal behavior (in relation to the spoken word) will, ultimately, negatively impact students emotionally, behaviorally, and academically that teachers find as â€Å"problem students,† â€Å"different,† and/or â€Å"difficult. This investigation began with the articleThe Nonverbal Advantage  (Goman, 2008) and the evidence of increasing student motivati on and success in the classroom by changing behavior. Understanding the importance of body language in the classroom setting provided a pathway of inquiry related to immediacy behaviors, student motivation/success, and the classroom teacher of the 21st  century. This included reviewing research and articles from different time periods, even dating back to the late 19th  century.The information gathered proved the lack of current research existing in relation to nonverbal communication in a classroom setting; however, after reading multiple examples that verify the significance body language has in relation to student achievement, information regarding nonverbal behavior and its correlation to student motivation and achievement is imperative to know in order to progress not only certain classrooms but also schools as a whole.A short survey of nine multiple choice questions and one open-ended question (optional to answer) focused on teachers’ views of nonverbal behavior in the profession of teaching and working with children. The survey also provided information regarding their awareness of their own nonverbal behavior along with their thoughts on the ability to change their nonverbal behavior.The purpose of this research was to aid in providing valuable information to serve as a guide for teachers and administrators on how to change their behavior in order to change their students’ behavior and, ultimately, improve student achievement and motivation as well as schools’ success. Nonverbal communication pertains to the course of communication that involves the transfer and receipt of messages that are not related to the use of words (Knapp and Hall, 2007).   The messages transferred to the listener are generally associated with body language, as well as gestures, posture, external appearance or clothing, facial manifestations and even hairstyles.   Nonverbal communication is thus strongly influenced by visual messages which symbolize particular meanings to the listener.   Other paralanguage forms of nonverbal communication include the quality of the speaker’s voice and his style of speaking.   It should be noted that any features related to stress and rhythm of the speaker’s voice may also influence how a listener receives a speaker’s message. In the workplace, nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate.   It is well known that the employees at a workplace need to work together and cooperate in order to achieve the status of a productive company.   Cooperation and harmony are thus closely related to the trust and confidence of each employee to himself and to his co-workers and these factors are often influenced by both verbal and nonverbal communications among individuals in the workplace (Ottenheimer, 2007). It should be understood that even if the right phrases and words were expressed by an individual, the actual message of the spoken words and sentences are often changed by the accompanying nonverbal signals that the speaker is showing to the listener.   These nonverbal signs may or may not be consciously being shown yet it is a fact that these nonverbal signs often modify the message that is sent out to the listener. a)   In a meeting at my workplace, our supervisor was suggesting some changes to the organization and functioning of our small company.   Changes in our company are not a common occurrence, hence there was some shock among the members of the workplace as soon as the supervisor mentioned about the plan of modifying particular functions of specific members of the office.   I noticed that our supervisor was a bit uptight while he was proceeding to describe the changes that he would implement at the workplace. His voice was a bit hard and had a lower tone, which I usually do not hear during regular peaceful workdays.   In addition, the supervisor was sweating in his forehead hence this gave me two impressions.   Firstly, he was nervous, possibly because he knew that the topic he was discussing with the members of the workforce was not the best topic to talk about.   Secondly, I felt that our supervisor was not sure about his plan and he just wants to try out this new plan in order to determine whether this plan is indeed the right action to perform in order to solve the problem.   On the other hand, my co-workers were quiet while listening to our supervisor and there was not a single smile or voice from my co-workers. b)   When our supervisor finished explaining his plan of changing specific functions of particular individuals in our workplace, there were contradictions that came from some members of the office.   One co-worker asked why our supervisor came up with this plan. However, I also noticed that this particular co-worker gave out his question with a low voice, too, just the same as our supervisor and this low voice made me feel that our co-worker was not pleased and was actually upset over the changes that the supervisor was planning to implement.   At this point, the supervisor tried to explain his side of the plan with a normal pitched voice and this made our co-worker listen and understand why such changes would be implemented in our workplace, and that is to increase the sales of the company. c)   Nonverbal communications strongly influence the success or failure of communications because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being exchanged between individuals, including the sense of sight and even sound (Hargie and Dickson, 2004).   For example, it is easier to talk to a person who speaks in a soft voice than deal with a person who speaks with a very loud voice. d)   The use words in communication often involves meanings hence individuals should be careful with their choice of words because there a certain words that are linked to denotations or connotations.   For example, if a co-worker calls a female co-worker a queen, this may either mean that she is very productive and knowledgeable at work, or this may mean that she is only good for bossing people around.   Hence the use of words may be tricky and an individual should be cautious when describing specific individuals and issues at the workplace. e)   An effective listening technique that may be employed by a manager is to carry an attentive facial expression while hearing out a subordinate’s message.   In addition, a manager may also try to nod to the employee every now and then, in order to let the employee feel that he is welcome to express his ideas and concerns to his supervisor.   The nodding of the manager does not mean that he agrees to everything that the subordinate says, but it means that he is listening to what the subordinate is saying. Conclusion:   Nonverbal communication is generally associated with body language, gestures and posture as well as paralanguage forms that influence the success or failure of exchanges between individuals because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being sent out to other individuals.   Nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate because it positive communications promote cooperation and harmony between individuals. Reference Hargie O and Dickson D   (2004): Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Hove: Routledge Publishers. Knapp ML and Hall JA (2007): Nonverbal communication in human interaction, 5th ed. Wadsworth: Thomas Learning. Ottenheimer HJ (2007):   The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology, Kansas State: Thomson Wadsworth.                         Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is a very large part of human communication behavior. The types of nonverbal communication can range from a simple smile to an obvious avoidance of eye contact, but each behavior carries a direct message that can be understood by all the individuals in a public communication situation. Nonverbal communication, for use in this analysis, is defined by Canary and Dindia (1998) as the form of communication that does not include words; messages expressed by nonlinguistic means, people s actions or attributes, including their use of objects, sounds, time and space, that have socially shared significance and stimulate meaning in others (Canary &Dindia, 1998). Nonverbal communication plays a role in all communication: it is impossible to communicate without sending out nonverbal clues. These clues help others determine the truth behind one’s words and their true feelings. Nonverbal communication is a powerful form of communication in that it expresses and reveals attitudes and attributes that may not be expressed by the words spoken. Through my own observation of a public communication situation, a set of rules for nonverbal communication for that situation was determined, yet it varied according to age and gender. Nonverbal communication rules may differ according to the situation.Sentence and Verbal Communication An individuals actions are different when riding on the subway than their actions when getting acquainted at the local pub. Actions when riding in an elevator may be perceived very differently when doing business at a post office. This analysis does not assume or argue that the rules for nonverbal communication are the same for every public communication situation. Rather, each situation has its own set of rules for nonverbal behavior, and the observation and experience of each situation determines its set of rules. Nonverbal communication pertains to the course of communication that involves the transfer and receipt of messages that are not related to the use of words (Knapp and Hall, 2007).   The messages transferred to the listener are generally associated with body language, as well as gestures, posture, external appearance or clothing, facial manifestations and even hairstyles.   Nonverbal communication is thus strongly influenced by visual messages which symbolize particular meanings to the listener.   Other paralanguage forms of nonverbal communication include the quality of the speaker’s voice and his style of speaking.   It should be noted that any features related to stress and rhythm of the speaker’s voice may also influence how a listener receives a speaker’s message. In the workplace, nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate.   It is well known that the employees at a workplace need to work together and cooperate in order to achieve the status of a productive company.   Cooperation and harmony are thus closely related to the trust and confidence of each employee to himself and to his co-workers and these factors are often influenced by both verbal and nonverbal communications among individuals in the workplace (Ottenheimer, 2007). It should be understood that even if the right phrases and words were expressed by an individual, the actual message of the spoken words and sentences are often changed by the accompanying nonverbal signals that the speaker is showing to the listener.   These nonverbal signs may or may not be consciously being shown yet it is a fact that these nonverbal signs often modify the message that is sent out to the listener. a)   In a meeting at my workplace, our supervisor was suggesting some changes to the organization and functioning of our small company.   Changes in our company are not a common occurrence, hence there was some shock among the members of the workplace as soon as the supervisor mentioned about the plan of modifying particular functions of specific members of the office.   I noticed that our supervisor was a bit uptight while he was proceeding to describe the changes that he would implement at the workplace. His voice was a bit hard and had a lower tone, which I usually do not hear during regular peaceful workdays.   In addition, the supervisor was sweating in his forehead hence this gave me two impressions.   Firstly, he was nervous, possibly because he knew that the topic he was discussing with the members of the workforce was not the best topic to talk about.   Secondly, I felt that our supervisor was not sure about his plan and he just wants to try out this new plan in order to determine whether this plan is indeed the right action to perform in order to solve the problem.   On the other hand, my co-workers were quiet while listening to our supervisor and there was not a single smile or voice from my co-workers. b)   When our supervisor finished explaining his plan of changing specific functions of particular individuals in our workplace, there were contradictions that came from some members of the office.   One co-worker asked why our supervisor came up with this plan. However, I also noticed that this particular co-worker gave out his question with a low voice, too, just the same as our supervisor and this low voice made me feel that our co-worker was not pleased and was actually upset over the changes that the supervisor was planning to implement.   At this point, the supervisor tried to explain his side of the plan with a normal pitched voice and this made our co-worker listen and understand why such changes would be implemented in our workplace, and that is to increase the sales of the company. c)   Nonverbal communications strongly influence the success or failure of communications because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being exchanged between individuals, including the sense of sight and even sound (Hargie and Dickson, 2004).   For example, it is easier to talk to a person who speaks in a soft voice than deal with a person who speaks with a very loud voice. d)   The use words in communication often involves meanings hence individuals should be careful with their choice of words because there a certain words that are linked to denotations or connotations.   For example, if a co-worker calls a female co-worker a queen, this may either mean that she is very productive and knowledgeable at work, or this may mean that she is only good for bossing people around.   Hence the use of words may be tricky and an individual should be cautious when describing specific individuals and issues at the workplace. e)   An effective listening technique that may be employed by a manager is to carry an attentive facial expression while hearing out a subordinate’s message.   In addition, a manager may also try to nod to the employee every now and then, in order to let the employee feel that he is welcome to express his ideas and concerns to his supervisor.   The nodding of the manager does not mean that he agrees to everything that the subordinate says, but it means that he is listening to what the subordinate is saying. Conclusion:   Nonverbal communication is generally associated with body language, gestures and posture as well as paralanguage forms that influence the success or failure of exchanges between individuals because it provides additional senses and emotions to the messages that are being sent out to other individuals.   Nonverbal communications play an important role in the interactions among co-workers, as well as the interrelationship between supervisor and his subordinate because it positive communications promote cooperation and harmony between individuals. Reference Hargie O and Dickson D   (2004): Skilled interpersonal communication: Research, theory and practice. Hove: Routledge Publishers. Knapp ML and Hall JA (2007): Nonverbal communication in human interaction, 5th ed. Wadsworth: Thomas Learning. Ottenheimer HJ (2007):   The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology, Kansas State: Thomson Wadsworth.                         Nonverbal Communication Introduction The saying goes, â€Å"Look into a person’s eyes, and you will see their soul. † But what is it about the eyes that hold so much? Why do the eyes embrace so much emotion, so many feelings? The eyes, along with other body aspects, are able to communicate to people in ways our words cannot, for â€Å"eye contact is an invitation to communicate. If you look directly into a person’s eyes, [†¦] they will respond in some manner† (Andersen, 2004).Albert Mehrabian (1967) stated that 55% of communication is body language, 38% of communication is tonality, and 7% of communication is the actual words that are spoken (Misunderstanding Section, line 2). Altogether, 93% of communication is unspoken words – what we use to give or withhold meaning from our words. Communication is a complicated, ongoing process of sending and receiving messages. These messages provide both implicit and explicit interpretations depending on the synchrony between the spoken word and the body language associated with it.Body language is defined as â€Å"the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others† (Merriam-Webster, 2011). Knowing 93% of communication lies in unspoken word, teachers must put forth an effort to communicate through their actions and tone of voice, â€Å"Teachers should be aware of nonverbal communication in the classroom for two basic reasons: to become better receivers of students' messages and to gain the ability to send positive signals that reinforce students' learning while simultaneously becoming more skilled at avoiding negative signals that stifle their learning† (Miller, 2005).Teachers need to be more concerned about their teaching-learning situations because â€Å"the pattern of behavior of the teacher affects the pattern of behavior of the learner† (Clark, 1978). With this, teachers must focus on changing the learner’s behavior by changing their own behavior. By paying attention to nonverbal communication, teachers can better manage their classroom and the learners in that environment. One major aspect of body language is eye contact, â€Å"When you fail to make eye contact with someone, you are treating her or him as a nonperson and inviting that person to  not  communicate† (Andersen, 2004, p. 6). Teachers know that students respond to how they treat them. Therefore, when they choose to interact with them, they can help regulate behaviors by maintaining eye contact. In fact, eye contact from the teacher is the most important nonverbal behavior, for â€Å"eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students. [†¦] Increasing [†¦] eye contact dramatically improves motivation in the learning process† (Andersen, 2004, p. 42). Review of Literature In 1507, Leonardo da Vinci revealed his now legendary painting  Mona Lisa.Sent ence and Verbal CommunicationStudied by many and known by all, this painting was the first study to look at body language. It intrigues so many people because the painting is so complex, just like body language. The most interesting aspect of this painting is Mona’s smile. This smile portrays more than just one emotion. In addition, Mona’s gaze follows the viewer no matter the angle she is viewed from. There are many meanings and emotions hidden in this picture and that is why it arguably is the best-known painting in the world (Riding, 2005, lines 4-6).In his book,  The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin (1872) looked at how our emotions express our feelings and thoughts. Through his many studies, Darwin was able to prove that our expressions of emotions portray more than words. Darwin studied the eyes, nose, arms, voice, and many other body features in order to verify a correlation between body language and others’ perceptions. Oft en, our facial features correlate with our tone of voice in order to express a certain feeling, â€Å"The pitch of the voice bears some relation to certain states of feeling is tolerably clear† (Darwin, 1872, p. 03). This being true, one can easily sense another’s emotion, such as high spirits, by simply focusing on the unspoken word: A [person] in high spirits, though [he/she] may not actually smile, commonly exhibits some tendency to the retraction of the corners of his mouth. From the excitement of pleasure, the circulation becomes more rapid; the eyes are bright, and the colour of the face rises. The brain, being stimulated by the increased flow of blood, reacts on the mental powers; lively ideas pass still more rapidly through the mind, and the affections are warmed (Darwin, 1872, p. 696-697).Darwin claims that our emotions are intricately intertwined with our whole body. Our emotions, mind, and body work as one to send signals to other people. People use body lan guage to help drive interaction and keep others engaged. But what happens when our body language is not the same â€Å"language† as someone from another country? This poses a problem not only in society but in classrooms as well. Teachers are being asked more and more to create an atmosphere of inclusivity in order to accommodate for diverse populations including gender, ethnicity, religion, and ability. Debra Pitton et. al. 1993) stated teachers have a responsibility to provide the best possible educational experience day to day and this experience must include body language for many reasons: By incorporating the study of nonverbal messages into pre-service studies, teachers will more readily be able to help students become cognizant of culture, ethnicity, and gender as important variables in everyday life. This will also help students, as they will benefit from an increased appreciation of diversity when they assume their future roles as parents, teachers, community leaders , co-workers, employers, and citizens.An inclusive education should facilitate the changes in climate necessary to ensure ongoing change, and knowledge of culturally specific nonverbal communication patterns can enhance this process (p. 2). Teachers’ goals are to help their students be active participants in their community and in society. In order to do so, students must be able to understand verbal and nonverbal communication signals as they relate from one person and one context to the next. Nonverbal relates to the unspoken word and a means to send messages that are â€Å"not sanctioned for verbal delivery by our culture† (Wiemann, 1975).As humans, we have a particular strength to respond quickly and unconsciously pick up clues to other’s nonverbal behavior so that we can respond and react; however, we are culture-bound in what we see and can interpret those behaviors incorrectly depending on our background and experiences (Cohen, 1971). Nonverbal behavior i s difficult to control or to censor. Nonverbal behavior comes naturally to an individual based on true emotions, feelings, and culture – it is less likely to be deceptive as verbal communication can be (Galloway, 1993).With this, there seems to be a necessity for teachers to have complete control over their nonverbal behaviors in order to communicate to their students effectively. Students read more from their teacher’s body language than they do their actual words. In fact, most teachers â€Å"are not aware of the ways in which they transmit nonverbal messages to pupils. Classroom culture has its own nonverbal language and pupils absorb its nuances along with the spoken language† (Spanjer, 1972). Peter Andersen (2004) claims immediacy behaviors, hich â€Å"signal approach and availability, and send warm, stimulating messages to other people,† help teachers develop a positive relationship with their students. Some immediacy behaviors include touching, smi ling, nodding, facing others, showing relaxation, leaning toward others, and synchronizing our conversations; however, in the classroom, the most important immediacy behavior is eye contact, â€Å"Teacher eye contact shows confidence, controls classroom interaction, and enables teachers to read the body language of their students† (Andersen, 2004).Being able to read body language gives teachers an advantage at recognizing their students’ true emotions, enabling the teacher to be more effective on a minute-to-minute basis. By increasing immediacy behaviors, students’ motivation in the learning process dramatically improves (Andersen, 2004). Teachers need to be aware of immediacy behaviors, such as eye contact, in order to help their students’ succeed in the classroom and, ultimately, outside of the classroom. When it comes to motivating students to complete their work, nonverbal behavior is a prime factor in teacher effectiveness. Research studies [across K-college] found that learners at all levels reacted more favorably to teachers who used nonverbal immediacy cues. [†¦] Increasing immediacy behaviors dramatically improves students’ motivation† (Goman, 2008). Andersen (2004) concluded people trust body language over the spoken word (p. 14).People trust body language because it is spontaneous, multi-channeled, and possesses redundant qualities that make it very hard to completely fake (Andersen, 2004). This is applied in classrooms as well. Students rely on the teacher’s body language in order to interpret the meaning of their words; however, teachers are not well educated in the area of body language. No prerequisite courses are offered to teachers during their undergraduate/graduate years that help prepare them in nonverbal communication because it is still a largely unexplored area (Ligons, 1973).Teachers must be aware of nonverbal communication in their classrooms because â€Å"nonverbal communication i s the medium through which relationships are maintained, regulated, and guided within culturally-prescribed patterns† (Grove, 1976). Focusing on professional success in the classroom is crucial, especially at a changing time in education’s history with the passing of the Budget Bill by Governor Walker, â€Å"At a time when it is widely recognized that professional success is achieved with or through other people, the power of, nd the need for, good interpersonal skills couldn’t be greater† (Goman, 2008). Method The examination underlying this paper is a better understanding of how adverse nonverbal behavior (in relation to the spoken word) will, ultimately, negatively impact students emotionally, behaviorally, and academically that teachers find as â€Å"problem students,† â€Å"different,† and/or â€Å"difficult. This investigation began with the articleThe Nonverbal Advantage  (Goman, 2008) and the evidence of increasing student motivati on and success in the classroom by changing behavior. Understanding the importance of body language in the classroom setting provided a pathway of inquiry related to immediacy behaviors, student motivation/success, and the classroom teacher of the 21st  century. This included reviewing research and articles from different time periods, even dating back to the late 19th  century.The information gathered proved the lack of current research existing in relation to nonverbal communication in a classroom setting; however, after reading multiple examples that verify the significance body language has in relation to student achievement, information regarding nonverbal behavior and its correlation to student motivation and achievement is imperative to know in order to progress not only certain classrooms but also schools as a whole.A short survey of nine multiple choice questions and one open-ended question (optional to answer) focused on teachers’ views of nonverbal behavior in the profession of teaching and working with children. The survey also provided information regarding their awareness of their own nonverbal behavior along with their thoughts on the ability to change their nonverbal behavior.The purpose of this research was to aid in providing valuable information to serve as a guide for teachers and administrators on how to change their behavior in order to change their students’ behavior and, ultimately, improve student achievement and motivation as well as schools’ success.

Holland Enterprises Essay

Holland Enterprises Most recently the firm Holland Enterprises has retained an hr consultant to review analyze and revise the current compensation and benefit structure. We have seen since 2007 a 25% decrease in the workforce due to a lack of the benefits system that is in place. My team is committed to analyze and potentially change the perception that Holland’s benefit system is unfair and uncompetitive in the marketplace. We will find that organizations excel and remain competitive when they have consistent human resource practices that align with the companies organizational goals. Increasing organizational productivity is important to any organization. â€Å"Managers know that simply paying employees more will not result in increased output and improved quality. They frequently find that employees who are overpaid or highly paid relative to others doing comparable work are sometimes less productive than their lower-paid peers or counterparts†¦Organizations realize that if they are to b e more competitive, they must change this â€Å"I’m owed it† mentality to an â€Å"I earned it† mentality. A major opportunity available to organizations to bring about this change in attitude is to reduce the fixed part of compensation packages and increase the variable part. The variable components consist of all short- and long-term incentives and awards. The kind and amount of incentives and awards must be linked directly to desired employee behaviors, contributions, or results achieved. These incentives and awards comprise a pay-for-performance program â€Å"(Henderson, 2006). In other words Holland needs to have a system in place that rewards employees fairly while exciting them to provide the very best customer service to meet the demand of the business. â€Å" Through the use of a fair and stimulating compensation system, Holland Enterprises can motivate their employees to complete their assigned tasks at the standards expected and in return the employee is compensated with a wage/salary, wage/salary add-ons, incentive payments and/or other benefits and services† (Henderson, 2006). In order to promote positive change and make the compensation strategy fair for all the organization must, â€Å"improve cost and quality competitiveness and where information overload is a problem facing all organizations and their employees, information regarding work requirements, performance standards, and organizational recognition and rewards programs must be readily available, complete, and accepted. The compensation system, therefore, must be able to transmit a message that is understood and accepted by all employees that they are valued contributors to organizational success and that the organization is willing to share the revenues from its products in an equitable manner with all members† (Henderson, 2006). In order to create some harmony and renew the faith of the people the company has decided to change the compensation and the benefit structure to become more competitive and become more in line with the companies organizational effectiveness and plan. The new plan should have a more competitive edge, one that will motivate the employees and should be in line with the organizations strategy. Organizational leaders, including those occupying the executive suites and those in charge of human resources and compensation practices, must be able to recognize and integrate the long-term strategic objectives of the organization with its short-term tactical requirements. An understanding of how organizational strategy and its related tactics interact and become integrated is becoming increasingly important to managers at all levels performing various organizational assignments. Compensation takes on many forms in any organization, this may include the obvious pay/wages, health care/insurance other fringe benefits such as paid time off, disability, bonuses and other monetary stipends. Pay may be adjusted based on how hard the employee chooses to work or what type of lifestyle the employee has. â€Å"Proper and acceptable performance of diff erent kinds of jobs requires different kinds and amounts of employee knowledge and skills, which vary significantly among individuals. In the course of their lives, many individuals acquire various kinds and levels of knowledge that organizations value. Additionally, through education, experience, training, and natural predisposition, some individuals are able to demonstrate different and greater skills than others. The worth to the organization of the individually acquired and job-required knowledge and skills is identified through job rates of pay† (Henderson, 2006). In order to construct a new pay structure and benefit system we must first look at the five major components that will factor into our decisions. These components are compensation and benefit philosophy, pay grades, ratio of base pay to incentive pay, external equity and internal equity and other types of benefits such as deferred compensation, health insurance vacation and sick leave. â€Å"There are a number of components that need to be addressed when developing your compensation systems to ensure they align with your organizational strategy and objectives. One key to remember is that your compensation strategy must help to create the work culture you want. How you structure your systems and manage the internal and external equity issues, will directly inform the culture of your organization†¦Ã¢â‚¬ A compensation philosophy is developed to guide the design and complexity of your compensation programs; this is done by identifying your goals and objectives, considering your c ompetitiveness in attracting and retaining employees, your emphasis on internal and/or external equity, and whether performance is tied to increases. Understanding what balance you want to achieve between direct salary and indirect benefit is critical in developing your overall total compensation approach. A consistent philosophy provides a strong foundation for both the organization and the employee. Without a philosophy, leaders often find themselves unsure of what to offer as a starting salary for a new employee. This can lead to offering too high a total compensation package for a new employee in relation to existing employees, or being unable to successfully hire because the total compensation offer is too low to be competitive† (hrcouncil.com). Using the five components will allow Holland to remain competitive within the industry. Pay grades are a fair way to help determine the amount of pay a person will receive. The general characteristics of a pay grade system set forth by the federal government include that there should be 15 pay grades with 10 steps within each grade; there should be a 25 to 30 percent increase from minimum to the maximum pay within each grade (Henderson, 2006). â€Å"When an organization is establishing its wage policy, it must maintain external comp etitiveness. In other words, wages need to be high enough to attract, motivate and retain talent; but, wages shouldn’t be so high that they drive labor costs beyond those of competitors in the product market. Salary surveys help to determine the pay rates of various positions† (erieri.com, 2013). â€Å"Each organization must develop its own pay policy line, which is a trend line or line of best fit that best represents the middle pay value of jobs that have been evaluated or classified to have particular worth. A line of best fit produces a trend line by minimizing the sum of the squares of the vertical deviations around the line. A line of best fit can be a straight or curved line. In either case, it is one that best represents the middle pay value of all jobs or the benchmark jobs used to establish a pay policy line†(Henderson, 2006). The ratio of base pay would be to identify the lowest and highest rate of pay is a basic step in establishing a pay policy line. After identification, the next step is to establish† what management expects to be the average or central tendency value paid to the lowest-rated job and the average pay rate of the highest-rated job. These highest and lowest average values should be the midpoint of the pay for those jobs assigned this rate when a range of pay is available for each category. When only one rate of pay is assigned to a job or group of jobs, normally the average or midpoint value is the single rate. The midpoint value is normally the marke t or going rate† (Henderson, 2006). Internal equity compares different jobs inside a single organization in terms of their â€Å"relative contributions to the organization’s objectives, whereas external equity refers to how an employer positions its pay relative to what competitors are paying. Equity reviews are completed to ensure that salaries for positions are internally consistent and remain externally competitive.External equity reviews are warranted if significant discrepancies exist between a position’s salary and prevailing salaries positions in other companies or institutions within the same geographic area. Difficulties in recruitment and retention support the need for an external equity review. Every effort must be made to ensure that equity exists and the concept of equal pay for equal work is embraced† (Henderson, 2006). Holland Enterprises need to understand that the cost of human capital is high when you are losing staff because of salary issues and benefit problems. And lastly employee benefits are a very important portion of the employee’s tenure with the organization. Most compensation components included within employee benefits are made available through some type of insurance plan. â€Å"An important group of benefit components, ho wever, is frequently noninsurance based and provides income to the employee at some future date. Employee benefits can be further classified under these seven major groups: (1) disability income continuation, (2) loss-of-job income continuation, (3) deferred income, (4) spouse or family income continuation, (5) health and accident protection, (6) property and liability protection, and (7) a special group of benefits and services called perquisites. Each of these groups contains a number of compensation components, which may have a variety of features that may be made available only to certain employees or certain groups of employees† (Henderson, 2006). The organizations that supply the benefits and compensation play a huge role in the success of the business. Security for families is key for any employee and they rely on the specific benefits and compensation that they receive and the employers rely on superior employees that will be attracted to their company. This is the exact reason why Holland should take much care when analyzing the benefits and compensation packages in the future as they must remain competitive if they would like to stay in business. The way to motivate employees is to provide a fair, competitive and secure place to work. This may be attained if Holland Enterprises will be on board with paying the workers the incentives they deserve and in turn will receive the hard work in return and keep Holland Enterprise just as profitable as ever. References Henderson, R. (2006). Compensation management in a knowledge-based world. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0131494791 Retrieved from: http://www.hrcouncil.ca/hr-toolkit/compensation-systems.cfm Retrieved from: Retrieved from:http://www.erieri.com/tutorials/sa/index.html?lesson_2.htm Retrieved from: http://www.stonybrook.edu/hr/employmentservices/classification/equity_review.shtml

Equity Theory of Motivation Essay

As the cliche goes, no man is an island. Everything man does is influenced by other men and his environment. Be it in school or at work, the reason why people persevere lies on the desire to achieve a certain goal. Hence, motivation is essential to keep the drive of doing things passionately and effectively. However, the enthusiasm to sustain the dream and keep the motivation alive can be tampered by life’s uncertainties. Given the unique characteristics that each student possess, the amount of effort exerted by an average student does not always equal the amount of effort exerted by an outlier in class, yet the results are the same or sometimes exceeded by the outlier. Perhaps there are instances when studying overnight and not studying at all yielded the same result. These situations affect the level of motivation a student harness when studying. The feeling of unfairness affects how he/she will prepare for the next exam. In the workplace setting, motivation is likewise an i mportant factor to increase productivity. For example, an employee who worked overtime to get the job well done vis-a-vis an employee who slacked off and produced a mediocre output both received the same salary and the same praises from their boss. The hardworking employee might feel wronged upon seeing how his extra effort was overlooked. To give justice to the unfairness he feels, he opts to mimic the other employee, thus also producing a mediocre output. The equity theory of motivation, developed by workplace and behavioral psychologist John Stacey Adams in 1963, is grounded on the concept that employees tend to seek equity or balance in the amount of input they give to their job or relationship with their bosses, and the output they receive. The inputs referred in this theory include college degree, hard work, effort, committment, ability, adaptability, determination, flexibility, skill, loyalty, tolerance, enthusiasm, trust in superiors, support from colleages, personal sacrifi ce and the like. On the other hand, outputs come in the form of financial benefits like salary, bonuses, and perks, and also intangible benefits such as recognition from superiors, praises, responsibility, job security, good reputation, sense of achievement, personal growth and the like. When an employee’s inputs outweigh his or her outputs, he or she becomes demotivated and unhappy. To achieve equity, the behavioral response is to balance out the input-output equation by asking for an increase in the output side, or  simply diminishing his or her input. The state of equity lie on the perception of an employee in relation to another employee’s input and output ratio, which shows that employee motivation is subjective nature. However, an employer or manager’s role of keeping employees motivated should not be deterred by this notion. Instead, understanding the sources of employee dissatisfaction and demotivation can help managers address the issues surrounding t he workplace to allow for a more productive and work-conducive environment. The equity theory is more commonly known as the social comparison theory or the inequity theory since an employee compares his input-output ratio with another employee’s input-output ratio to determine equity, and an employee who feels inequity or unfairness reduces this through his behavior and attitude towards work. The â€Å"exchange relationship† between work and compensation in comparison with a colleage draws forth discernment of what is fair and unfair. To grasp the intuition behind the theory, four objects must be present which include the person, whose aim is to reduce whatever inequity feeling he or she has; the comparison to other, which pertains to the benchmark person from whom equity and inequity is determined; the inputs and the outputs. According to the theory, a person first compares inputs and outputs with a comparison other, then determines if there is inequity or unequal input/output ratio between himself/herself and comparison other. Basically, the theory assumes that an individual addresses his/her inequity feeling after comparison to others, and remains at the level where equity is achieved. Several ways a person does in reaching equity include altering his/her inputs, altering his/her outputs, distorting his inputs and outputs cognitively, finding a new job, or changing the person of comparison. (Gogia, 2010) In line with this, Huseman, Hattfield and Miles (1987) dissected the equity theory into four basic ideas. First, the notion of fairness is conceived through comparing an individual’s input and outcomes ratio with others. The other does not necessarily require a colleage, because it can also be his/her old self. Comparing the amount of effort exerted and the amount of salary received to a colleage’s or an old job facilitates the judgment of what is fair to an individual. Second, if the compared ratios are not equal, then there is inequity. The two kinds of  inequity are underpayment inequity and overpayment inequity. Underpayment inequity happens when an individual deems that his/her ratio is smaller than others, or in other words, his great effort mismatches with the benefit received as compared to another employee. On the contrary, overpayment inequity occurs when a big compensation is received from the little effort exerted, as compared to other coworkers. Third, the greater the difference in inequity, the greater tension and distress the individual feels. The different attitudes people have toward life’s unfairness in general brought about the three kinds of equity-sensitive people namely the benevolents, the equity sensitives and the entitleds, with the benevolents being the most tolerant of underrewards, and the entitleds having the most preference of over-rewards. The equity sensitives just want their ratio to be the same with others, but the entitleds believe that the world owes them, so it is just rig htful for them to receive more. Forth, the more intense feeling of tension brought about by inequity, the harder an individual will work to restore equity. This is just like how a more oppressed victim is more thirsty he is to seek justice, if not revenge. The ways in achieving equity varies from person to person. Upon experiencing the feeling of unfairness, the assumption of this theory is that employees will find ways to reduce inequity. The two most typical ways are through behavioral options and cognitive options, where the latter is used more often used since it is both less riskier and easier to do than the former. For behavioral options, the employees change their input to match outcomes like slacking off or leaving work early, changing outcomes to match input by asking for an increase, or perpetrating a crime like theft or fraud, persuading others to change inputs by complaining to superiors, and withdrawal through tardiness, absenteeism or quitting the job. As for the cogni tive options, the employee distorts his own inputs or outcomes by underestimating his own performance so that the inputs will match the output; distort the inputs or outcomes of others by thinking that others earn more because they probably deserve it; change the comparison others by choosing a different benchmark for them to feel better. (â€Å"Motivation theories†, 2009) Applying this theory in the government office place gives a clearer understanding as to why in general, government employeees are unmotivated and unhappy with their jobs. Perhaps they have once tried to work dilligently, but only end up with having the same  across-the-board incentive as fellow workers who do not work as hard as them. Hence, the Aquino administration came up with the performance-based incentive system to allow a fair compensation to those who deserve to be rewarded. By altering the outcome through a performance-based bonus, government employees try to match their performance to the amount of bonus they wish to receive. Motivation Theories. (2009, April 26). Why Do Employees Take More Initiatives to Improve Their Performance After Co-developing Performance Measures? A Field Study (Groen, Wouters & Wilderom, 2012)  Usually, people work more conscientiously when their performances are being monitored, be it in school, at work, or even in playing games. Knowing how grades, scores or output are obtained help an individual’s goal setting and invoke the determination and commitment to achieve the said goal. What more if the employees themselves determine how they are to be rated? Having an opinion and first hand experience in developing performance measure criteria make employees not only feel valued, but also feel a sense of fairness because they know that the criteria they set are attainable and reasonable. Groen, Wouters and Wilderom (2012) conducted a field study to investigate why employees perform better when they are involved in developing peformance measures. The study used the theory of planned behavior, which states that beliefs predict how individuals behave or plan to behave. Gathering data from meetings, interviews, company information data, quantitative questionnaire and first-hand experience in the field in a beverage manufacturing company, bottling line employees were found to be more motivated, have more initiative, and more positively affected by social pressure when they were involved in developing performance measures. The  variables examined in the study included attitude towards the job, social pressure from coworkers, capability from personal skills. All these variables were found to positively and significantly influence an employee’s intiative towards his job, thus increasing his productivity. The study showed that productivity and initative of the employ ees who were aware and had a say on performance measurement criteria improved the departments’ overall performance. 7. Models of Performance-Measurement Use in Local Governments: Understanding Budgeting, Communication, and Lasting Effects (Melkers & Willoghby, 2005) Since performance measurement has been emphasized in various literatures, the importance of having them adopted and implemented is no longer debatable. Performance measurement schemes help in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and it also serves as an objective basis of planning the budget to be used to fund government projects. The study of Melkers and Willoghby (2005) paid close attention to the usefulness of performance-based information on the operations of the local government in the US, communication, and budgetary decisions. The pervasiveness of performance measurement implementation in the US was also studied through the results obtained from a national survey of city and count y administrators and budgeters of nearly 300 governments. Multiple regression analysis was implemented to find out whether dependent variables budget effects, communication effects and lasting effects index were individually affected by independent variables community characteristics, respondent characteristics, organizational culturea and performance measurement characteristics. The results showed that although the use of performance indicators was pervasive, the respondents were apathetic with regards to the effectiveness of these performance measurements for budgetary concerns and operational processes within the government unit. Promoting the Utilization of Performance Measures in Public Organizations: An Empirical Study of Factors Affecting Adoption and Implementation (Julnes & Holzner, 2001) It is true that performance measurements are vital for making informed decisions. Both public and private firms need to be guided on a set of parameters that help them determine where they have done well and what areas need improvement. If the government departments are serious  in improving their service to the public, then coming up with a set of criteria and implementing these evaluation criteria would be essential in determining where to start the change. Despite recognizing the importance of having performance measures, there are several issues that impede the development and usage of a performance measurement scheme. The empirical study by Julnes and Holzner (2001) examined the factors that hamper the utilization of performance measurement in public organizations in the US. A sample of state and local governmen t employees were drawn from the Government Financial Officers Association, International City/County Management Association of College and University Business Officers obtained from GASB. A total of 934 questionnaires were sent to state and local government employees across the nation in 1997. The variables used in the survey included adoption and implementation for the dependent variable, and external requirements, internal requirements, internal interest groups, external interest groups, attitudes, risk taking, information, resources, goal orientation, percent unionized, government type and position. Using ordinary least square mulitple-regression analyses, the results of the study revealed that output measures were developed for various programs, but efficiency measures and outcome measures were less developed. Looking at the performance measure usage, the researchers found out that efficiency and outcome measures were less used for strategic planning, resource allocation, progra m management, monitoring and evaluation, reporting to internal management, electec officials, citizens or media. Aside from these, the researchers’ findings showed that internal requirements, external requirements, goal orientation and access to information positively and significantly affect the adoption of performance measures, while external interest groups and internal requirements positively affect implementation of performance measures, but unionization negatively affect implementation. Overall, the policy of using performance measures would more likely be adopted if it were an internal requirement wherein top management commits to the effort of evaluating government programs. On the contrary, external requirement would not automatically merit the implementation of performance measures since factors such as organizations’ ability, politician’s support, sufficient resources and commitment to the purpose were lacking if not missing. The study suggests that p ublic administrators be aware that  performance measure is a two-step process namely adoption and implementation, wherein factors affecting adoption include mostly rational and technocratic theory, while actual implementation are determined by political and cultural factors. (Julnes & Holzner, 2001) The Use of Performance Measurement Systems in the Public Sector: Effects on Performance (Spekle & Verbeeten, 2013) Performance measurement information are collected and used in various ways such as strategic planning, budgeting, and employee bonus planning. The immense benefits of measuring performance outweighs the costs of collecting such data, which is why most government agencies have already instilled in their system a peformance measurement mechanism for reference. In the study of Spekle and Verbeeten (2013), the researchers explored whether the pefromance measurement system actually improves or deters organizational performance. They also introduced the concept of contractibility, which means clear goals, undistorted pefromance metrics, managers’ knowledge and control of the transformation process. Public sector organizations that have high contractibility were expected to be better than those organizations with low contractibilty in terms of performance. The test was d one through a survey of 101 public sector organizations in the US. The results showed that contractibility influences the way incentive-oriented use of the performance measurement system and performance. More interestingly, the researchers concluded that usign the performance measurement system for incentive purposes negatively influences organizational performance, unless contractibility is high. Disregarding contractibility, performance measurement system tends to enhance performance. Hence, the effect of the performance measurement system in public sector organizations are greatly affected by the level of contractibility and managers’ usage of the system. Determinants of Incentive Intensity in Group-Based Rewards (Zenger & Marshall, 2000) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Public Sector: A Study in Malaysia. Economic Incentives and the Choice of State Government Accounting Practices (Ingram, 1984)

Marketing Management class discussion wk11 Coursework

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MAcro R - Assignment Example National Statistics charged with the mandate of reporting the rate of unemployment in United Kingdom reports that; the mean rate of the unemployment rate is 7.70 percent from the period of the year 1971 until 2013. The greatest unemployment rate was 12.0 percent reported on May 1984, and the lowest rate of the unemployment was 3.4 percent reported in November 1973 (Trading Economics 2013). In the United Kingdom, the calculation of the unemployment rate measures the number of persons actively searching for an occupation as a percentage of the entire workforce (National Statistics 2013). Moreover, National Statistics reported that there were 2.89 million of unemployed people in UK down from 18.000 reported on March to May 2013. These statistics clearly indicates that the unemployment rate has been declining day by day in United Kingdom. This is as a result of the government effort through which it established policies intended to succumb unemployment among other issues affecting UK eco nomy. From the use of Microeconomic principles, there may be a host of causes of unemployment in UK. ... The main reasons for frictional employment in U.K are because information is not always perfect and it always takes time for people to find work. The next common form of unemployment is the structural unemployment, which occurs due to a mismatch of skills in the labour market. There are three main reasons for this form of unemployment namely occupational immobility, geographical immobility and technological change. Occupational immobility refers to the difficulties in learning new skills applicable to a new industry. Many people fail to access information relevant in assisting them gain a competitive advantage in the job market. With the changes that occur everyday in organizations the job market continues to become more demanding, unfortunately many unemployed people either lack the knowledge of what they need to get the jobs or lack the finances to advance their skills. Geographical immobility that refers to the difficulty of working in certain areas because of issues of transport and movement is another common cause of unemployment. For example, there may be job in London, but accommodation and living conditions compared to the place one lives may be difficult to afford. For other people, it is difficult to leave their families in search for employment. Change in technology may also lead to unemployment. This is so because firm can lay off some of its labour force since it is possible to perform a similar amount of work with the help of technology and maintain a smaller work force. Changes in the economy are also likely to lead to unemployment as some firm may have to close down after economic changes make it impossible for them to continue operating (Snower 1997) Other causes of unemployment are when people

UK Taxation System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

UK Taxation System - Essay Example Alongside, the developments in the indirect taxation are also described. Income Tax is believed to be the largest source of earning equating up to 30% of the total tax revenue in UK. This is charged on salaries from employment, on rental income for let-out properties, on bank and building societies' interests and on company dividends. The one that comes next in this list is the Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT is charged to the customer by businesses on the supply of goods and services in the country. The revenue generated by the UK government by way of VAT comes somewhere around to 23% of the total tax revenue and also this is believed to be the second largest earner of revenue to the government. Apart from this the government of UK also generates revenue through some other kinds of taxes like the National Insurance Contributions (NIC), duties and Corporations Tax, the contribution of which are believed to be 21%, 16% and 8% respectively. There exist also other sources of contributions like the Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Inheritance Tax (IHT), Stamp Duty (SD) and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) etc., which form the rest of the total tax revenue. The Tax Year: The Tax Year in the United Kingdom starts on the 6th of April in the current year and ends on 5th of April in the following year. All the citizens of the country pay their income tax by reference to the same. The different kinds of rates and allowances relating to taxes are finalized in the Annual Budget which is scheduled every year in the month of March. The Tax System: A study conducted in the previous year reveals that almost 29.5 million individuals do pay tax in the form of income tax in UK. Indirect taxes are collected in the form of Excise duties, Vehicle excise duties, Insurance premium tax, Air passenger duty, Landfill Tax and Aggregates Levy etc. The government of UK levies excise duty particularly on five types of goods. They are tobacco, fuel, beer, wine and beer. A flat rate is followed for levying tax on these particular goods. When it comes to tobacco, they are additionally subject to a tax called ad valorem tax. This ad valorem tax is set up at an amount of 22% of the total retail price. The following table shows the tax rates of duties that were levied in the year 2006-07. Table.1 Excise duties, 2006-07 Good Duty (pence) Total duty as a % of price Total tax as a % of price Packet of 20 cigars: Specific + ad valorem 314 66.4 81.3 Pint of Beer 29 13.5 28.4 Wine (75cl bottle) 129 38.2 53.1 Spirits (70cl bottle) 548 48.0 62.9 Ultra-Low sulphur petrol 47 50.8 65.7 Ultra-Low sulphur diesel 47 49.1 64.0 Sources: HM Revenue and Customs website (customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal'_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_InfoGuides); UK Trade Info website - www.uktradeinfo.co.uk; National Statistics - www.statistics.gov.uk Capital Gains Tax: The concept of Capital Gains tax was introduced in the year 1965. These capital gains are supposed to be levied on the

Strategic analysis of a company and its competitive environment Essay

Strategic analysis of a company and its competitive environment - Essay Example Tesco offers almost 40,000 food products, including clothing and no-food items there product range includes their own labeled products that account for almost 50% of the total sales of the company (Finance.yahoo.com. 2013). Tesco labeled products are of three grades value, normal and finest thus targeting and offering products all range of customers offering them products of different price ranges. Many of the Tesco stores have gas stations that makes it the UK's largest independent petrol retailer. Tesco has almost 530,000 employees that according to the company policy are called their colleagues and it operates almost 6,780 stores around the world with 3,146 stores in UK thus making UK its largest market and it largely depends upon the UK market as 75% of the revenues of Tesco are from UK market. Tesco also operates online store through its subsidiary Tesco.com (Tescoplc.com. 2013). Tesco is one of the largest retailers in the world and was held responsible for 5.4 million tons of Carbon Dioxide emission in 2010-11. However in 2011 Tesco was named the top retailer globally in the Carbon Disclosure. It was the recognition given to the company for its Carbon reporting and reduction measure that made it the top FTSE 350 Company (Eurofound.europa.eu. 2013). Tesco recognized its responsibility towards environment in 2007 and since then had adopted the climate change strategy to curb the carbon emission from its business and ultimately aims to become the zero carbon emission company. Industry Environment and Competitors Following below are the industry and the competitor analysis of the Tesco: Industry Analysis UK along with Germany, France, Spain and Italy is the largest food and drink producer in the EU. The food and drink manufacturing industry is the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK with almost ? 70 billion turnover in the last year while more then 500,000 people are employed by the food and drink manufacturing industry that represents around 13% o f the total manufacturing workforce in UK (SOFHT, 2013). Besides the manufacturing industry food and drink retail sector is the largest industry in UK that employees almost 3 million people. The retail food and drink industry has always witnessed the growth in the UK economy as it is believed that 20% of all consumptions are relating to the food. However the year 2013 brought the growth of revenues at the fastest pace for the retail food and drink industry. Retail sales in July 2013 were 3% higher than of sales in July 2012. The major reason of this increase in revenues is thought to be the heat wave that as the longest period of hot weather that the UK has witnessed since 1997. It was thus due to the weather that people were spending more on food, drinks (alcohol), clothing and other out-door items. The surveys revealed that the grocery stores and the supermarkets dominated the UK retail industry and with every ? 1 spent 42 pence were on food. Especially in July 2013 it was seen th at the consumers spent almost ?7bn per week that is an increase from ? 6.8bn in June 2013 and ?6.7bn in July 2012 (Financial Times. 2013). The food and drink retail industry in the UK has been associated to the supermarkets or the grocery retail stores that along with the traditional stores also provide their products online. UK witnesses one of the world’

Growing effects of violence in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Growing effects of violence in Sports - Essay Example The author posses the historical context of the article by discussing how children emulate professionals in the sport, and always find a way of displaying their affection and love for the game. Research about the author indicates that he is a sport journalist; therefore, the credibility of the article is not in doubt. This is mainly due to the knowledge of the game, facts and issues surrounding the article. The author displays an air of professionalism in the way he presents the facts of violence in the game and in the National Hockey League (NHL), which indicates that the author is credible. The author comes across as knowledgeable and fair since he does not lay blame on one party, in fact, the author tries to analyze and apportion the blame for the effects that violence in hockey has on children. The author blames both the parents, who let their children be exposed to the violence, and the media, who glorify the actions of violent players. From an analysis of the article, it is evident that the main aim of the author is to convince parents that violence in sports, especially hockey, really exists, and the parents should exercise caution when exposing their children to such sports (Davidson). This aim is evident from the warnings that the author puts across for parents to counsel their children and only allow children to view age appropriate content. The article is a persuasive essay that tries to indicate that violence has a real influence on the psychological growth of children, and parents should look out for these influences. The article also seeks to inform the audience that violence in sports is increasing, and the group most affected in society is the children and teens. The author also seeks to point out the results of the violence in the sport, which is done by quoting facts from past incidents. The intended audience in the article is obviously parents of teenagers and children who allow their children to be exposed

Nope nope nope Essay Example for Free

Nope nope nope Essay Rhetorical Modes Quiz Complete the following chart to identify the purpose and structure of the various rhetorical modes used in academic writing. Provide at least two tips for writing each type of rhetorical device. Rhetorical modePurpose Explain when or why each rhetorical mode is used.Structure Explain what organizational method works best with each rhetorical mode. Tips Provide two tips for writing in each rhetorical mode. NarrationThe purpose of narration is to tell a story or recount an event.Used when one wants to tell an event by event account of a story, best organized in chronological order. Use only one tense. Always put important things first. IllustrationExplains a topic or statement with specific examples.Best used by order of importantence by arranging idea by their significance, Always starts with the topic sentence.Do not over detail your concepts. Use evidence that supports your topic sentence. DescriptionTo makes your audience fully immersed in the writing by using all 5 senses.It depends on the writer as discriptions can go from left to right or top to bottom.Spatial order is your friend. Don’t use discriptors that are empty. ClassificationUsed to break down broad subjects into smaller specific parts.Can be broken down into smaller categories for organization.Break down your topic 2-4 ways. Choose topics you’re well versed in. Process analysisUsed to explain how something works or is done right.Organized in order with step by step directions.Use clear examples. Have a friend read over it. DefinitionSimply put it’s to define something.Organized by settings or condition to how something goes or is explained. Comparison and contrast Cause and effect Persuasion Copyright  © 2011 by Flat World Knowledge. All rights reserved. Adapted with permission. Select one of the topics below and determine at least one rhetorical mode that would be appropriate for addressing the topic you selected. Write 100 to 150 words explaining the topic you selected, the rhetorical mode, and why you think this mode is most appropriate for addressing your topic. †¢Pollution †¢Workplace proposal for a new initiative †¢Arguing to change a law †¢Building a new park in your town †¢Climate change †¢Profile of your best friend or a family member

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).