Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay Example for Free

Coming of Age in Mississippi Essay â€Å"No one’s life is a smooth sail; we all come into stormy weather.† This statement has more truth to it than one may think. In life, everybody reaches a rough point, a point where the light at the end of the tunnel seems dim, or even nonexistent. But overcoming this adversity is what builds character. Accepting and prevailing over life’s obstacles are what separate strong, independent-minded and forward-thinking people from those who give up and avoid their problems. Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi, lived a life of great struggle in which she overcame adversity with great efforts and a dedicated heart and mind. As an African-American female, Anne Moody had one of the hardest battles to fight throughout her life. With limited rights as a woman and even further limitations due to race, she often found herself being subordinated by others. While in high school, she left her hometown of Centreville, Mississippi to spend the summer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While there, she worked for a local woman, Mrs. Jetson, doing housework. After working for Mrs. Jetson for two weeks, Anne wished to collect her pay. When Anne found Mrs. Jetson’s house empty, she recalled â€Å"On Monday I did call the shoe store, and was told Mrs. Jetson had quit on Friday. I had never before felt so gypped in all my life. Out of all the women I had worked for this woman was the worst† (Moody 150). Anne had been cheated out of two weeks’ worth of pay. She was astonished at Mrs. Jetson’s audacity in failing to pay Anne what was rightfully hers. It was difficult to find jobs where she was treated with some dignity, and almost impossible to find ones where she was treated as her employer’s equal. Anne was forced to change jobs frequently on account of being disrespected and used. Although no scamming experience was as impactful on Anne as the one with Mrs. Jetson, Anne experienced similar situations in jobs she had prior and jobs she took afterward. The summer after being in Baton Rouge, Anne went back to Louisiana; this time she stayed in New Orleans. There, she managed to land a job in a chicken factory. What she expected to be a large, intricate, and somewhat clean workplace turned out to be a dreadful nightmare. To her shock, she found herself gutting freshly killed chickens for over ten hours a day  without gloves or proper sanitation whatsoever. Near the end of the day, Anne recollected her â€Å"face, arms, and clothes were splattered with blood and chicken shit. I got so disgusted at one point that I stood there and let about a dozen chickens half full of shit pass me by† (Moody 178). Along with the other factory workers, Anne is treated with the utmost disregard to dignity and sanitation. She is forced to work excruciatingly long hours for minimum wage, exposed to grotesque dead animals and susceptible to disease. Unfortunately, because the pay was better than most other jobs in the area, Anne was forced to stick with her factory work. She worked in the factory for a month, saving her money and gaining exposure to the various stations in the factory. Although she did make very good money under the circumstances, she was deeply affected by her work; for years she could not eat chicken and for the rest of her life she refused to eat boxed chicken. The challenge of going to work every morning knowing what she was going to endure was tough, but her willpower and need for money helped her push through. After high school, Anne applied to and attended Natchez College in Mississippi. During her second year, she was eating in the cafeteria on campus when she and a few other classmates found maggots in their food. Disgusted, she and her classmates stormed into the kitchen to find an explanation for the repulsive experience. She â€Å"knew exactly where the grits were kept from the time I had worked in the kitchen. I went straight to the pantry and saw that there was a big leak from the showers upstairs. The water was seeping right down onto the shelves† (Moody 256). Anne and her classmates boycotted the campus cafeteria and its food, refusing to yield until some sanitary fixes were implemented. The challenge here was finding other ways to stay fed. The students did not have enough money to last them more than a week or so, so eventually they all started back, one by one, to the cafeteria and its semi-sanitary food. Still repulsed, Anne refused to go back and began losing a lot of weight. She became so thin and hungry all the time that she resorted to writing her mother who brought her enough canned food to last the remainder of the semester. The challenge in staying fed with healthy, sanitary food was one which presented itself on a large scale for Anne at college and otherwise. Had she been unable to obtain food from  her family, she may have starved to the point of fainting or even death. Overcoming this challenge was just about a matter of life or death for Anne. One of Anne’s most prominent memories and experiences in her early life was during her college career when she participated in a sit-in in Woolworth. The idea of the sit-in was to sit calmly at a white lunch counter and ask for service; thus, blacks wanted to show they wished to be treated equally. Of course, doing such a thing drew a lot of attention in very little time, and soon after the sit-in began a large crowd formed in the restaurant. After the crowd of whites realized Anne and her fellow sit-in participants would not budge until they received service, â€Å"the mob started smearing us [sit-in participants] with ketchup, mustard, sugar, pies, and everything on the counter. Soon Joan and I were joined by John Salter, but the moment he sat down he was hit on the jaw with what appeared to be brass knuckles. Blood gushed from his face and someone threw salt into the open wound† (Moody 291). The violence that occurred at the sit-in that Anne and her friends had to endure is almost unimaginable. The absolute disrespect, degradation, and cruelty shown to blacks by whites is virtually unbelievable, yet Anne was faced with challenges like these almost every day. Amazingly, Anne was courageous, intelligent, and controlled enough not to fight back and to remain nonviolent no matter what violence was shown to her. Her ability to not fight fire with fire is remarkable, and helped her to overcome the adversity which she so often found herself facing.

Impact of Social Media on Youth and their Relations

Impact of Social Media on Youth and their Relations Introduction In todays modern era, complete with digitization and technological advancements, social media such as online networking sites have been successfully integrated into the everyday lives of almost every individual on the planet. Social media has embedded itself in the foreground of this digitized age and has defined its place by attracting people, both laymen and researchers, due to their increased affordability and reach. Since the introduction of these sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, these online worlds have become so popular among the newer generations that they have been completely integrated as a basic part of their everyday lives. This warrants the need that is commonly seen in todays youth, where checking the notifications or news on online social platforms has become as necessary and integral as buying groceries or going to school. To understand the way in which social networking sites affect personal relationships and offline social life of the youth in todays generation, we first need to understand the core aspect and defining features of social networking sites and online social media in general. According to Ellison Danah (211), social networking sites can be defined as online platforms that help individulas by allowing them to create a profile, which may be public or semi-public. This profile can then be used to construct a list of other users with whom they share some kind of relation or connection. They can further traverse through numerous lists and build their social profile by creating more connections and strengthening their network of interconnected profiles. Social networking sites can also be differentiated on the basis of some subtle nuances that separate one particular site from another. The most basic difference is on the basis of the social culture that a particular site creates among its use rs. Some sites encourage and enable the strengthening of pre-existing connections by empowering people to connect with their loved ones, such as friends and family, on a social platform. Other sites encourage interaction between strangers on the basis of common interests and influences. These sites provide a platform for discussion and sharing of points of similar interests between total strangers. On the other hand, social networking sites also differ on the basis of the audience that the site caters to. Some sites cater to a wid and diverse population of audiences, while others are restricted to individuals belonging to a certain cultural or racial background (Ellison and Danah 210). By listing the basic aspects that make up online social platforms, we can now proceed to analyze the various means by which these sites affect the interpersonal relations of youth in an offline scenario. This area of analysis can be approached by dwelling into the basic reasons due to which the youth join social networking sites in the first place. Areas of Impact Of Social Networking Sites There have been numerous questions which have been raised in terms of the adverse and detrimental effects which social networking sites have on interpersonal relationships of the youth in today’s world. The major question that has been gnawing at the conscience of researchers, scholars and laymen is whether social media is becoming more of a tool for limiting and degrading the lives of the youth instead of just being a public forum or platform of discussion. Some of the areas in which social media has a high degree of impact are enumerated below. Privacy of the Individual Since the advent of the age of social media and social networking sites, there is only a fine line of difference between the public and the private life of an individual. According to Das and Sahoo (223), following the upload of any type of image, video or any other type of information, an individual is not at the liberty to control the distribution and reach of hat particular piece of information. On one hand, the person can fine-tune the privacy settings of his/her profile in order to ensure unwanted exposure, but nevertheless, any piece of information that is shared on social media is shared with an unknown web administrator. In today’s modern era, any aspect of your personal information may be accessible to your employer, teacher, parents, friends, marketing firms and cyber criminals. According to a research conducted by Gross and Acquisti (7), A thorough analysis of the facebook profiles of 4000 students belonging to the Carnegie Mellon University found several loopholes and threats which had stemmed from the result of extensive posting of personal information on the social networking site. The study found that only a meagre 1.2 percent of students made the effort to change the default privacy settings if their online profiles on social networking sites. It has been seen that there is a vast array of personal information, such as first name and last name of the individual, personal image, date of birth, ZIP code etc, which can be easily used for estimating an individual’s social security number and other types of sensitive information such as medical history and so on. This vast reservoir of personal information is now being used as a tool to determine an individual’s eligibility for jobs by several employers. According to Mooney (120), assessment of the facebook profile of one of its potential employees by a consulting company in Chicago led to the revelation of several aspects of the candidate’s personal life, with increasingly noticeable references to marijuana, obsessive sex and misanthropic disposition. This assessment proved to be dear for the candidate as it resulted in complete rejection by the company. Psychological Dependence Due to increased usage of social networking sites and other forms of social media, there are several risks related to dependence and addiction that can arise due to the same. Extensive usage of social networking profiles cosiderably reduces everyday face to face interactions between people and draws people them towards the virtual world of relationships. Due to easy accessibility and the need for instant gratification that becomes inherent in an individual once he/she joins a social networking site, there is very high potential for addiction. The ease and convenience associated with approaching people on nline platforms is something which cannot be replicated in real life interactions between individuals. Due to this , more and more youth are drawn towards the idea of forming virtual relationships on online platforms. According to the The Economic Times, 53 percent of the people in US check their profiles on facebook immediately after getting out of bed. They have been reported sayin g that checking their respective social profiles and news feed on social netwroking sites is one of the most essential ways for them to know the morning news. Further surveys also reveal that about 35 percent of people in the US check their social networking profiles or accounts several times a day. It has been said that the advent of social media and social networking sites has made accessibility much more simpler and convenient in today’s world, making it much easier for people to connect with friends, families and strangers on an online platform, in order to discuss similar interests and several issues that plague the world today. On the other hand, the advent of digitization and the boom of social media prevalence has also become the cause of some of the major instances of social isolation ever recorded in the history of mankind. Due to the ease and convenience that social networking offers in terms of social relationships and the responsibilities associated with it, people are finding it more and more difficult to keep up social relationships in an offline mode of life. Individuals are more attracted towards the life and relationships which are prevalent on social online platforms and prefer to interact on these social networks than on a face to face basis with peopl e in everyday life. This can have several problems for people who may be faced with several anti-social feelings when asked to interact on an offline basis of life. It has been observed repeatedly that electronic media has been detrimental to the aspect of social interactions in everyday life, which has seen a huge fall since the advent of the former. Addiction to Social Networking Sites The phenomenon of addiction to social media and social networking sites is widespread and surpasses boundaries, race, ethnicity and cultural background. This aspect proves the fact that social media has in turn contributed to a large scale social isolation in all parts of the world. The addiction caused due to social media is directly related to the psychological dependence that people feel towards social online platforms. This widespread addiction disorder has been the cause of several discrepancies in terms of social relationships and responsibilities. It has in fact been the cause of a scenario where people are so immersed in their online and virtual social life that they do not have the time and patience to appreciate and introspect on the physical world around them. In certain advanced cases of addiction to social networking sites, chronic users of social networking sites loose all perspective about the physical world around them, making it increasingly difficult for them to pur sue social relationships in an offline scenario on a daily basis. An article in The Economic Times gives several references to the degrees of addiction which people exhibit towards social networking sites. As study found that individuals under the age of 25 were most likely to loose sleep over a particular post or discussion that is facilitated over a social online platform. Other interesting statistics which were garnered by the study include the finding that 17 percent would willingly check their social profiles during acts of sexual intimacy while 63 percent would do so in the toilet. Day to Day Relationships Social media and social networking sites were once thought to be the epitome of unity and integrity. The basic ideals behind social and electronic media was that these easily accessible forms of communication and information were a perfect way in which people around the world could connect to each other on the basis of similar interests and thought processes. Though most of the aforementioned principles and ideals have been implemented to a great extent due to the subsequent rise of social media, there have been several factors related to the same that have been the cause of social isolation and have resulted in the severing of numerous relationships all over the world. A survey was conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), whose major finding revealed that Facebook was one of the major reasons behind one out of five divorces in the US. The survey further accentuated the fact that approximately 80 percent of divorce lawyers use the social networking profiles an d accounts of their clients and the other party in order to gather substantial evidence in case of infidelity. Extensive analysis of personal messages, images and online relationships which a person shares on an online networking site can be used as potential evidence in order to prove infidelity in a case. According to Grohol (1), there was an extensive survey conducted on 308 participants and their social networking profiles. The results of the survey estimated that a majority of the candidates, which amounted to about 74.6 percent of the total candidates present in the survey, were likely to add previous sexual partners or individuals with whom they shared personal and intimate relationships with as friends on social networking sites. This reinforces the fact that social media is being used as a platform to facilitate illicit sexual relationships and has become a sort of online dating portal or platform. This can be further lead to several complications and misunderstanding betwe en married partners if one (or both) of their friend lists contains their previous sexual partner or friend. Conclusion There is a good as well as a bad side to every aspect of our lives. The only thing that matters is how we choose to utilize these aspects and in what way we choose to approach them. Instead of being psychologically dependent on social networking sites and other forms of social media, we can limit our usage of online platforms in order to strengthen social bonds and to connect with people with similar interests and passions. There should be enough awareness among people in order to understand the various effects that psychological dependence on social media can have on interpersonal relationships on an everyday basis. People should strive to appreciate the physical world around them and give as much importance (if not more) to relationships and social responsibilities in an offline and face to face scenario. After all, it is not our Facebook profiles or status that defines us, it is the personality which we exhibit on an everyday basis in the physical world that gives us substance. Works Cited Das, B and J, S. Sahoo. Social Networking Sites- A Critical Analysis of Its Impact on Personal and Social Life. International Journal of Business and Social Science (2011): 222-228. Ellison, N, B and M, B. Danah. Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2007): 210-230. Grohol, J, M. Facebook reinforces relationship jealousy. 2014. psychcentral.com. Document. 15 August 2014. Gross, R and A. Acquisti. Information revelation and privacy in online social networks (the facebook case). Proceedings of the Acm workshop on privacy in the electronic society (wpes) (2005). Mooney, C. Online Social Networking. Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. The Economic Times. Peoples addiction to networking sites on rise: study. The Economic Times 25 March 2010.

Barclays Organizational Behavior

Barclays Organizational Behavior Organizational behavior is a study that looks at the individuals, employees, and how management teams behave and interact within the organization in a workplace setting. OB is therefore an interdisciplinary field that comprises communication, sociology, psychology, and management.  The key issues that influence organizational behavior include; organizational change, corporate culture within the industry, organizational development, and customer expectations that usually shape the organizational values. This research paper tries to explain the basic but vital principles of organizational behavior in order to equip the management teams with adequate theoretical knowledge regarding essential concepts necessary for the efficient and effective management their work, and to understand some of the concepts and challenges related to the management of behavior in organizations. This is done with focus on Barclays bank, to identify the correlation between employees and the organizations in w hich they work. The research methodologies adopted are online questionnaire, interviews, and the use of observation of the operation of Barclays bank employees. There is an increase in the drive by companies to develop mature organizational behavior and culture, owing to the perceived benefits and success associated with it that companies enjoy. Key words: Organizational behavior Organizational Behavior Research on Barclays Bank This paper seeks to analyze the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays bank across the world. Barclays PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company, which is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Barclays PLC operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Africa including Kenya, with a total number of customers exceeding 48 million globally and the fourth-largest bank worldwide by asset (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). Barclays is organized in two business clusters, (1) the corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management and (2), retail and business banking. The corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management cluster covers three business units: the corporate banking; Investment banking; and Wealth and investment management, while the retail and business banking cluster involve four business units that include Africa retail and business banking; Barclaycard; Europe retail and business banking; and UK retail and business banking (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). Most subsidiaries of Barclays PLC operate under Retail, Corporate, Treasury and Card Services with cross functional relationships to support the segments of local business and small to mid-sized enterprises (SME). Barclays financial strength coupled with extensive local and international resources have positioned Barclays as the top provider of financial services in the market for the past several years. Moreover, Barclays consistent financial performance has built confidence in their leadership and management among the Banks shareholders, as well as the indus try in general making it an easy go brand. For example, the Kenyan subsidiary known as Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited has been in operation for 95 years, and has consequently built an extensive network of 117 branches and over 230 ATMs countrywide (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2013). The network is supported by Internet and mobile banking channels plus a Customer Service Centre that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The multinational nature of Barclays bank and the diverse clusters operating in different business environment globally present different challenges to the bank that are related to the industry environment. Similarly, Barclays bank in this regards is influenced by both local and international industry environment since decisions made at the international regions have a direct bearing on the operation of other subsidiaries around the world. The bank draws its employees across all nationalities, races, and cultures as a result of the increasing globalization and interconnectivity where people from different nationalities are hired to work far away from their countries of birth bringing with them different values, norms and cultures. To deal with this, Barclays bank has successfully managed to develop workable and standard organization behavior and culture that that cuts across the nationalities to ensure harmonious operations. Organizational Behavior Principles The success of multinational organizations is dependent upon the organizational behavior principles adopted and applied in the respective subsidiaries. The OB principles that re relevant to this study are customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership. Customer Responsiveness Being that Barclays operates in a service industry; their success is fully attributed to the quality of service and the fast level of responsiveness when handling customer queries. One of the values adopted by the bank is the declaration that customer first, to mean that customers must be attended to first before anything else. This has become part of the organizational behavior, making the bank to strengthen their customer service department by ensuring that all employees handling customers are well trained to offer quality service within the shortest time possible. Every one including the management team is oriented to treat the customers as the boss in all circumstances. Customer responsiveness is also achieved through product diversification to meet the demands of all groups of customers irrespective of their socio-economic status. This is much evident through the introduction of flexible and diversified credit card products commonly known as Barclaycards that match different needs. The market and customers expectation has been modeled to demand flexible and cheaper cards that match diverse needs of the members (Barclays.co.uk 2013a). For example, Barclaycard being the first credit card provider in Britain offers a range of quality products that match the need of all customers including those who require competitive interest-free product, or those in need of first credit card at competitive rates. Similarly, there are low standard-rate credit cards that are preserved for clients with excellent credit histories. This range of product ensures there is a suitable product for every category of customers. It is what is missing in HSBC that needs to be pr ovided to ensure that customers satisfaction are met, corporate communication, group behavior, human decision making. Personality and Organization To develop a good organizational behavior, the management need to understand personality of employees in order to develop a workable interaction model within the organization. Personality involves characteristics, qualities, skills, and competencies of employees, combined with other traits such as grooming and attitude. Personality in most cases is influence by the environment and the social settings. However, there are particular universal characteristics which always emerge in individuals that are acceptable across the board. For example, customer service executives are expected to be aggressive, humble and respectful, have a listening ability, assertive and welcoming. These traits, thoughts, and feelings should be translated into visible behavior that can attract and retain the customers. Communication Clear communication within the organization is very important since it is essential in inculcating common objective. Failure in communication can result when clear purpose is not conveyed or when the message is distorted along the channel of communication followed. Communication setting can also bar clear conveyance of information as a result of unclear chain of command. Some of the barriers of effective communication may include assumptions by the sender who ignores parts of the information to be relayed, preconception among the receivers and biases in delivery. It is therefore imperative for the organization to develop communication culture as part of the organization behavior (Ashraf, 2012). Such culture clearly stipulates the chain of command of communication, communication channel and generally the type of language to be used in any delivery of information, which must strictly be official. Everyone including the management must communicate well with all people within the organiz ation irrespective of being subordinates. This will instill respect and accurate execution of the command as clearly outlined. Clear communication also plays a major role in the satisfaction of customer demands and to provide all the information needed by the customer for decision making Work Motivation Full compliance to the organizational culture and behavior is also influenced by the level of motivation among the staff and the entire workforce. Motivation brings the intrinsic urge to perform at work place, and is connected to the psychological and emotional well-being. The level of motivation among the staff within the organization therefore, activates behavior or an urge that is directed at a goal (Ashraf, 2012).This means that for the organizations culture and behavior to be adhered to at all times, the management need to develop a highly motivated staff that understands and fully embraces the values of the organization. To achieve the work motivation that has direct impact on productivity, several factors can be adopted as part of organization culture to encourage competition among the employees towards production. Some of the factors include; Job Enrichment: Jobs need to be designed to offer opportunities for responsibility growth, achievement, and recognition for good performance. This involves providing challenging responsibilities that fully engages the employees through greater utilization of skills and offers opportunity for personal development. Flexi time: This concept is meant to allow employees to occasionally control their work schedule, such that they decide which work to start with (Ashraf, 2012). This system makes employees more responsible and accountable, and eliminates the general feeling that they are micromanaged to perform. Empowerment: This involves giving employees authority in their area of operation to make decisions and be able to resolve their work related problems without approval from the management. Employees stock ownership plan: this method has become a key tool in attracting, retaining, and motivating workforce in business organizations. The system allows employees to own the companys stock to be part of the stockholders and as part of their benefit package. This motivates employees work harder and protects the organization since their service directly impacts the performance of the company. Low employees productivity means lower value of the stock prices. This strategy was adopted by Equity Bank, which is currently the fastest growing bank in the sub-Saharan Africa, thus should be adopted by market leaders like Barclays bank. Job Satisfaction and Reward Management Organization behavior should be one that promotes job satisfaction, which is the employees overall attitude towards their jobs. It is the fulfillment an employee develops after evaluation of a job or job experience. Job satisfaction can be derived from a number of features such as the amount of pay, promotion opportunities, the work itself, supervision, conducive work environment, and relationship with co- workers. Every organization should therefore create a standard organizational behavior that includes employee promotion on merit, professional supervision, and standard remuneration of employees based on productivity and job group. Although different people may derive satisfaction from different features, the most common elements are as mentioned above and a wider approach to improve job design, work organization and general quality of life. In addition to job satisfaction, effective reward management needs to be developed that fairly recognizes employees efforts to reinforce produ ctivity or adherence to organizational values and behavior standards. Usually, in case peoples good behavior are effectively recognized or rewarded through any means, the desired behavior is usually repeated. Organizations such as Barclays in this regard need to consider designing a standards reward system that is sustainable to the business and make it an organizational culture and behavior promotion tool. Leadership This involves controlling and directing individuals, groups and subordinates within the firm. It includes hiring, training, guiding, and assessment of processes in order to achieve the best performance from employees. Organizations that succeed in their operations usually maximize on the talents and energies of their employees (Ashraf, 2012). This is because such firms develop competitive advantage against their rivals as a result of maximum production. Due to the fact that employees are vital resource to the achievement of the organizational goals, managers should be careful on how they interact and handle their subordinates. This means that managers who are knowledgeable and skilled in organizational behaviors are likely to effectively and efficiently manage their teams and influence them to fully support the companys goals. Different leadership styles such as autocratic, consultative and free will may be adopted depending on the situation (Locke, 2009). Organizational behavior in relation to the leadership style adopted in all the management levels is very important to the success of the organization. The management structure adopted by Barclays bank is usually the vertical line where top management that comprise CEO and the board of directors issue directives that are implemented at the middle and lower level. However, before the decision is communicated downwards, consultation at the tactic level of management takes place, involving the finance department which is responsible for the strategy development process, driving business performance and financial control across Barclays Africa. Other management functions include human resource, operations, consumer banking, risk management, corporate banking, treasury services and card business departments. This also includes the personnel in each of the departments. It is important for organizations to note that decisions made collectively are often easier to implement than forced decisions. Whereas different leadership styles can be adopted in different situations, organizations mindfully need to create a leadership culture that has clear distinction of roles and clear definition of responsibility to enable efficient flow of duties. Leadership must be concerned and emphasize on peoples issues just as the organizational issues (Locke, 2009). Employees are very important resource that must be valued if the organization is to succeed, thus their complaints must be addressed well without ant victimization from the leadership. Organizations must therefore adopt leadership behavior that respects the employees, treats them fairl y in order to improve their attitude towards work and the firm in general. Theoretical Framework Organizational behavior refers to the study of groups and individual dynamics within an organization, as well as the nature of the organizations. The interaction between human resource and the organization and the interaction amongst employees themselves usually bring several factors into play and in turn define the organizational behavior. Presently, different people with diverse cultural values and backgrounds work together in different institutions. Organizational behavior in this respect seeks to bring an understanding and emphasize the acceptable behavior in organizations in orders to develop competencies and standards in which people likely to behave. These finding are therefore, to assist in controlling behaviors that go against the regulations and objectives of the organizations. Equally, it is significant to note that in an organization, the social system comprises all the people, considering how they relate to the rest of the world. Normally, the behavior of one person has impact on the behavior of others either directly or indirectly. Culture refers to the conventional behavior of a society that comprises knowledge, beliefs, customs, and practices and people depend on culture since it guarantees them understanding, stability, security, and the ability to react to a given situation. It shapes human behavior, even if not fully embraced. In an organization set up, people fear change in culture and behavior for fear instability, and loss of security. The operation of organization is usually based on the managements philosophy, vision and mission, values and goals that guide employees. These consequently define the organizations culture or behavior, which is composed of the formal and informal organizations, and borrowed from the social environment. The organizations culture determines the type of leadership adopted, communication channels and chain, and group and individual dynamics within the organization. Existence of such working environment, culture, and behavior becomes a motivating factor to the workforce, leading into high performance, individual and group satisfaction, and personal growth and development. The combination of these elements constructs the framework that guides the operation of the organization. Research Methodology The choice of research methodology to determine the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays bank was depended on the objectivity, reliability and sustainability of the method based on the environment and nature if the industry. To clearly meet the purpose, three methods were used alternatively to determine the employees feelings concerning the organizations culture and the customers feelings on whether the organizations behavior is suitable in the service industry. Online questionnaire was used to collect data from 25 employees in different ranks within the organization equally distributed from the middle management to the cleaners through clerks. This was after securing their email addresses, having that time constraints could not allow them to adequately respond to interview questions. Face to face interview was also used to specifically interview 15 randomly selected walk-in customers from across socio-economic class and age bracket with an intention to gauge if they were sati sfied with the reception and service they received from the bank staff. Their feelings on the general arrangement within the banking hall and personal grooming of the staff were also sought. Finally, observation was used to monitor staff response to customers enquiries and the speed of service. This observation was done during my routine visit to the bank to carry out transactions. The structured online questionnaires were filled by the respondents at their convenient times. Prior to the collection of data, authorization was sought from the bank management, who in turn briefed the security agencies for the days the data were collected. This arrangement was done silently without notifying the staff members to ensure that the data collected in not skewed when employees try to conceal their right attitude and behavior. It is also important to note that more information about the profile and background of Barclays bank was sought from the banks website. This gave a clear understanding of the banks operations and the actual values, vision, mission, culture and the organizational behavior that the bank stand for, to be used gage the level of compliance by the employees. Results and Findings According to the online questionnaire survey that was filled by 25 randomly selected Barclays bank employees from across the socio-economic class and age bracket, most respondents especially the non-management staff who responded to the questions as indicated in the appendix section of this paper disapproved the organizations culture and behavior, while most of those in management positions approved the organization behavior. One of the reasons for disapproval is that management was authoritative in decision instead of being consultative and felt that their views are not accommodated in the running of the system. The interview that involved 15 customers sought to know their view on Barclays banks organizational behavior. The analysis found that 90% or the customers interviewed were satisfied by the arrangement of counters and service points inside the banking hall. Similarly, an overwhelming majority of 14 customers were of the opinion that the official dressing as part of their behavior was commendable and should continue, while only 1 felt the type of dress was not concern. The observations made also confirmed the values of the bank as they are in the mission statement. The declaration that customer comes first in their list of priority was evident, especially in relation to how customers were ushered in and allowed to sit while awaiting to be served. Are Organizations Behavior principles applied in Barclays Bank? The principle of effective reward management is partially applied in the bank based on the findings. Most junior staff complained that the difference in salary bracket between the management, the clerks, and other staff members such as cleaners was very big. It showed that management teams are paid much higher than the rest, thus the feeling that effective reward system be adopted. One area reward that if fully implemented is on earning of bonuses at the end of the year and the yearly increments according to the collective bargain agreement. This is however dependent on individual performance as indicated by the balance score card assessment sheet. Employee recognition based on particular achievements is done within the banks, both formally and informally. As indicated in the principle above, reward is a tool that reinforces good behavior. According to the management, several staff members are given recognition cards for being best communication agents, best time managers, and best i n minimizing the wastage of papers. This reward system needs to continue since it encourages other to work harder to earn bonuses at the end of the year after meeting their yearly targets and receiving nomination cards that improve profile for future promotions. One the standard sustainable reward behavior is adopted; all sectors are covered without discrimination. This research found out that measuring job satisfaction has been a challenging process to most managers. Based on the determinants of job satisfaction such as amount of pay, promotion opportunities, the work itself, supervision, conducive work environment, and relationship with co- workers, several employees, several employees are not satisfied with their jobs, either because of the perception of inequality in the pay structure, the management being too authoritative and the generally routine nature of the jobs that offer little opportunity for personal growth. Customer responsiveness is a principle that is fully applied in the entire Barclays bank. Based on their value that makes customer first, it was evident through the observation that customers were well received, advised, and served within the shortest time possible. Whenever a customer walks into the bank they are advised by the customer care representative on which counter to go to for the desired service. This was also confirmed by the customers themselves who said that they are satisfied with the manner they are handled by the bank staff. Customer responsiveness is also proved by the diversified products offered by the bank that are meant to meet the demands of all customers in all socio-economic groups. The most outstanding product line is the Barclaycard that covers all needs from low interest to low interest cards, as well as those meant for students. Barclays bank personnel composition is composed of top level management that involve the CEO and the Board of directors at the local level, middle management including the branch managers and operation and departmental managers and the lower level staff including clerks and sales representatives. Leadership is in this case is well structured with very clear chain of command from the strategic level to the regional directors and to local subsidiary branches (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2012). This has clearly assisted in separation of responsibilities and entrenched accountability systems within the management. In the recent economic recession, the bank recently adopted restructuring that saw several employees lose their jobs and adoption of the system where junior staffs like the clerks, cashiers are employed on a contract basis in most subsidiaries. This is a human resource policy, accompanied by lower remuneration structures led to mass exodus of staff. Conclusion and Recommendations This research paper looked at the organizational behavior adopted by Barclays PLC, which is a British multinational banking and financial services company with its headquarter in London, United Kingdom. Barclays PLC operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Africa including Kenya, with a total number of customers exceeding 48 million globally and the fourth-largest bank worldwide by asset (Business.barclays.co.uk, 2012). Organizational behavior is concerned with how individuals, employees, and management behave and interact within the organization in a workplace setting. It is an interdisciplinary field that comprises communication, sociology, psychology, and management. The key issues that influence organizational behavior include organizational change, corporate culture within the industry, organizational development, and customer expectations that usually shape the organizational values. Organizational Behavior Principles are also very i mportant since they guide companies in setting their organizational behavior standards. This paper has discussed customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership as major principles of OB. The methodologies employed in this study are online questionnaire filled in by employees, face to face interview of customers and observation methods. The observation methods were instrumental in monitoring how the staff receive, address, and serve customers if within the organizational behavior standards. These methods were selected based on their objectivity, reliability and sustainability of the method based on the environment and nature if the industry. To clearly meet the purpose, the three methods were used alternatively to determine the employees feelings concerning the organizations culture and the customers feelings on whether the organizations behavior is suitable in the service industry. The study found that most of respondents especially the non-management staff who responded to the questions as indicated in the appendix section of this paper disapproved the organizations culture and behavior, while most of those in management positions approved the organization behavior. Recommendations The success of organizations is dependent upon the organizational behavior principles adopted and applied in the respective subsidiaries. The OB principles that are relevant and should be adopted by organizations include customer responsiveness, personality and organization, work motivation, job satisfaction and reward management, communication, change management and leadership. In order to develop a good organizational behavior, the management needs to understand personality of employees in order to develop a workable interaction model within the organization. Personality involves characteristics, qualities, skills, and competencies of employees, combined with other traits such as grooming and attitude. Personality in most cases is influence by the environment and the social settings. However, there are particular universal characteristics which always emerge in individuals that are acceptable across the board. For example, customer service staff members are expected to be aggressive, humble and respectful, have a listening ability, assertive and welcoming Every organization should therefore create a standard organizational behavior that includes employee promotion on merit, professional supervision, and standard remuneration of employees based on productivity and job group

The Knife :: essays research papers

It all started on a warm Saturday afternoon. My parents decided that we should go out on the boat that afternoon. So we changed into our swimsuits, got our beach towels, and finally piled into the van for the drive to the cabin. The cabin, where my grandparents live, is where we park our boat. Their house is about a mile from lock and dam fourteen on the Iowa side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My grandparents were away on a lustrous journey when we arrived. My dad went to fuel the boat, my mom loaded the boat with food for the day, and I went to go whittle on the roof of the garage. I went into the garage and got my filet knife out of my tackle box. Then went around to the back, climbed the fence, and got onto the roof. I had done this several times before and liked this place because it was serene and peaceful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I took a branch off the great oak tree that stood before me and began carving. Suddenly, the knife slipped off the fresh, smooth, moist wood and sliced into my leg for what seemed like an eternity. It hurt for what seemed like a decade, but was only a few seconds. After I realized what happened, I rushed down off the roof to get my mother. As I was climbing down from the roof, it began to pulse and hurt again. The wound was beginning to bleed profusely from the movement. Luckily, my mother was just leaving the house as I got down from the roof. â€Å"Mom, would you be mad if I cut myself?† Because of the blood on my finger, she thought I had cut my finger and needed a Band-Aid. â€Å"No, of course not, do you need a Band-Aid?† I then showed her the great gash on my leg. â€Å"Go into the house while I get your father!† I went inside and waited†¦ â€Å"Lie down on the floor while I get some towels to stop the bleeding,† he said calmly. With the bleeding under control he carried me to the van and rushed to the hospital emergency room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inside the emergency room, we waited for nearly an hour before seeing a doctor. Finally, we were escorted back by a nurse to see the doctor. Then after about another half-hour the doctor came in. The cut was about two and a half inches long and one inch deep, so it was a nice one as the doctor said.

laughter :: essays research papers

In a nation that spent some 75 million dollars on prescription drugs in 1993, not to mention illegal drugs, we sometimes overlook the coping mechanisims we have been endowed with (U.S. 1995). Our bodies were created to take care of themselves for the most part, and we sometimes botch things up when we try to alter our system with drugs. In Proverbs 17:22 (1989), it says "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones." For many years scientists and lay persons have done studies, research, and performed experiments concerning the effects of laughter on one's physical and mental health. These studies have proven that when we laugh, there is an actual chemical change in our bodies that helps to ease pain and release stress. Laughter is a coping mechanisim for the normal stress of life. There are two kinds of stress--distress, which is the negative kind of stress; and eustress, which is the positive kind of stress. While distress increases stress hormones such as beta-endorphin, corticotrophin, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin, and the catecholamines, eustress decreases these hormones and instead increases the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells that help fight diseases (Berk & Tan 1996). Distressful events and major life changes can obviously impact our bodies negatively. It has been proven that stress depletes the immune system's ability to fight against disease. Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan of the Loma Linda University Medical Center have done an abundance of research in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). PNI simply says that the immune system is directly connected to the brain; therefore, it would be effected by the emotions. One of Berk and Tan's experiments showed that immunosuppressive hormones (hormones that harm or deplete the immune system) such as epinephrine and cortisol were lower in those participants that laughed than in those who did not (Wooten 1995). Another experiment performed by Berk and Tan (1996) in which they presented their results at a conference on April 18, 1996, proved that laughing (while watching a humorous video) increases the amount of NK cells. Indirectly, stress is probably our number one killer. It effects us physically and mentally, wearing our immune systems down, and causing us to be more susceptible to sickness and disease. We try to treat the disease, when we really need to treat the cause. How does one treat something like stress? laughter :: essays research papers In a nation that spent some 75 million dollars on prescription drugs in 1993, not to mention illegal drugs, we sometimes overlook the coping mechanisims we have been endowed with (U.S. 1995). Our bodies were created to take care of themselves for the most part, and we sometimes botch things up when we try to alter our system with drugs. In Proverbs 17:22 (1989), it says "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones." For many years scientists and lay persons have done studies, research, and performed experiments concerning the effects of laughter on one's physical and mental health. These studies have proven that when we laugh, there is an actual chemical change in our bodies that helps to ease pain and release stress. Laughter is a coping mechanisim for the normal stress of life. There are two kinds of stress--distress, which is the negative kind of stress; and eustress, which is the positive kind of stress. While distress increases stress hormones such as beta-endorphin, corticotrophin, cortisol, growth hormone, prolactin, and the catecholamines, eustress decreases these hormones and instead increases the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells that help fight diseases (Berk & Tan 1996). Distressful events and major life changes can obviously impact our bodies negatively. It has been proven that stress depletes the immune system's ability to fight against disease. Dr. Lee Berk and Dr. Stanley Tan of the Loma Linda University Medical Center have done an abundance of research in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI). PNI simply says that the immune system is directly connected to the brain; therefore, it would be effected by the emotions. One of Berk and Tan's experiments showed that immunosuppressive hormones (hormones that harm or deplete the immune system) such as epinephrine and cortisol were lower in those participants that laughed than in those who did not (Wooten 1995). Another experiment performed by Berk and Tan (1996) in which they presented their results at a conference on April 18, 1996, proved that laughing (while watching a humorous video) increases the amount of NK cells. Indirectly, stress is probably our number one killer. It effects us physically and mentally, wearing our immune systems down, and causing us to be more susceptible to sickness and disease. We try to treat the disease, when we really need to treat the cause. How does one treat something like stress?

Blackberry Case Study Essay

Once the leader of mobile devices for business associates across the United States, in recent years BlackBerry has loss significant market share to its competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. Struggling to keep afloat, although BlackBerry only holds five percent of the total mobile device industry, it still succeeds in its consulting business solutions that BlackBerry offers its clients. BlackBerry Business Solutions offers hardware, software, and applications to improve businesses’ performance in several industries such as healthcare, wholesale and retailing, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. The need for efficiency and access to data in the healthcare industry has recently become a standard protocol of how physicians and healthcare providers treat patients. Especially since the handheld electronic devices and e-commerce applications markets have been expanding rapidly, this trend has in turn provided an outlet of immediate access and diversity of physician-oriented applications available in the marketplace. Research conducted by Manhattan Research states, â€Å"more than 80 percent of U.S. physicians [have] smartphones [in] 2012–up from 64 percent in 2009–and half of that group will use their phones for patient care, administrative functions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Versel). BlackBerry has recognized these needs from the healthcare industry providing unique and customizable solutions to various clients’ problems by providing them with solutions and applications offered by their 70+ Healthcare ISV (independent software vendor) partners (Partner Solutions). BlackBerry has distinguished their business model by, â€Å"still dominat[ing] among physicians and healthcare application developers, through the iPhone and Google Android are closing the gap quickly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Versel). BlackBerry can see their successes throughout the entire healthcare continuum by offering e-commerce solutions that improve business and clinical performance across several categories within the healthcare industry which differentiate the services the can offer various businesses than Apple and Android. For instance, Mercy Health Partners, a conglomerate of 30+ hospitals across four states, needed to be able to provide immediate mobile access to patient records and clinical information at the bedside so physicians can more efficiently manage patient care (BlackBerry). BlackBerry Business Solutions were able to uniquely assess Mercy Health Partner’s needs and expand their health information systems by offering an e-commerce application called Clinical Xpert Navigator provided by on of their partners, Thompson Healthcare (BlackBerry). The Clinical Xpert Navigator gave Mercy a way to access and securely deliver patient information such as patient medications lists, transcribed report, lab results, and electronic health records at their various locations and right at their patients bedside tables. As a customer, Mercy Health Partners received an exclusive BlackBerry Enterprise Solution as apart of their business solutions model, which ran on BlackBerry smartphones and tablets making it a cost-effective use of their technology. This cost efficiency has in turn resulted in benefits seen in both Mercy Health Partners’ business performances but also their clinical patient care performance. The necessity for time in today’s society is critical for any industry. BlackBerry’s Business Solutions offer clients within the healthcare industry more time through e-commerce applications that directly improves the quality of care, access to care, and continuous care they can ultimately offer their patients in need and help save more lives. http://www.itproportal.com/2012/03/30/iphones-share-us-smartphone-market-very-close-android/ http://sg.blackberry.com/newsroom/success/Mercy_BCS.pdf

Nurse: Health Care Field Essay

The health care field has numerous amounts of individuals that care for patients or assist with their care. All persons that assists with a patients care must be able to communicate effectively amongst each other and this includes the nurse. Nursing is a communicative intervention and is founded on effective communication. Nurses have to communicate with various people such as: patients, families, physicians, and or consultants to provide the best care for his or her patients. So communication is the most important aspect when it comes to caring properly for patients. Communication is the simple element of human relations that allows people to establish, maintain and improve interactions with others. â€Å"Communication is essential when reporting a patient’s status, change in condition, or developing and revising the plan of care† (Fernandez, Johnson, & Jones, 2010, pg. 266). Furthermore, the importance of effective communication includes an interdisciplinary team approach which in turn promotes safe and effective health care for the patient. All health care professionals share a mutual commitment to serve the patient and work towards optimal health care for the patient. This is carried out by using the interdisciplinary approach of health care. Interdisciplinary team is defined, â€Å"as a group of health care professionals from diverse fields work in a coordinated fashion toward a common goal for the patient† (Saunders, 2013, pg. 60). This makes each team member valuable, and when each team member’s expertise and perspective is brought together patient care is improved and delivered in a more complete and effective manner. The facility at work at uses the interdisciplinary care approach when we receive trauma patients. These trauma patients can range from motor vehicle collision, shooting victims, or any incidents involving life threatening injuries. Each member of the trauma team has a title or a role within the team such as: team leader, manager, or facilitator. For example, the emergency room resident is in charge of the neurology assessment and airway, the trauma resident and trauma attending are responsible for the rest of the assessment. We also have a primary nurse that records all events that take place in the trauma room. Another member is the intensive care nurse, she delivers all the meds and any other skill that are needed for the patient. We also have a phlebotomist, chaplin, and respiratory therapist on the team. Other doctors are also available if other injuries such as: broken bones, neurologic conditions, or cardiac conditions arise. All the members of this team, brings valuable professional safe care to the trauma patient promoting optimal outcomes. â€Å"Ineffective communication is a leading cause of preventable patient injuries and deaths† (Fernandez, Johnson, & Jones, 2010, pg. 265). If all the members of the health care team are not communicating effectively it can jeopardize the care of the patient and also exhaust the interdisciplinary team. This is why communication is very important when providing care for patients. Another approach to health care is the intradisciplinary approach. The intradisciplinary approach is an individual that works alone to promote health in patients. An example of this is a home healthcare nurse. The home health care nurse provides care for a patient in his or her home. This nurse works alone when caring for patients. This professional nurse has to be organized and able to make decision on his or her own regarding the patients care. I feel the home health care nurse must be very knowledgeable is his or her field and have keen assessment skills. This nurse should have experience within the hospital before deciding to care for others at their home. This difference with interdisciplinary care is that the nurse has multiple resources at the time of care for the patient. caring for Finally, working as a team in the health care field helps empower not only the nurse, but also the patient. â€Å"Empowerment is a transactional process involving relationship with others. This relationship includes mutually beneficial sharing through mutual sharing of knowledge, resources, and opportunities; and respect for self and others† (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008, pg. 72). This develops the professional nurse to provide successful, safe care for his or her patients. When patients witness nurses and physicians working together to assist with his or her health care. This in turn enables and may motivate the patient to â€Å"develop awareness of area that need change, foster a desire to take action, and share resources, skills, and opportunities that support change† (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008, pg. 471) in his or her health . The nurses and patients experience and perspective regarding healthcare empowers them to make change patient to become advocates in their health.