Research On Compensation And Benefits In Employee Motivation Business Essay

Research On Compensation And Benefits In Employee Motivation Business Essay Abstract (executive summary) One of the biggest challenges facing business entities is the recruitment and retaining employees especially in the 21st century where the interest of employees is not getting employed, but rather in getting satisfaction in their jobs. Many employees come from houses and environments that are violent and chaotic. In the job, such kind of an employee needs to feel happy and forget the home problems. Consequently, employees move from one job to another in search of this environment. One of the ways of keeping these employees is to motivate them, a subject very complex, broad and expensive. The research carried out identifies compensation and benefits of keeping such employees in addition to the other motivational factors. Introduction Employees can very committed to the work assigned and be working very hard. However, if their hard work is not seen and appreciated, they become demoralized and their productivity may diminish considerably (Werner, and DeSimone, 2009). It is believed that human resource is the most valuable and delicate asset of a business though never included in the balance sheet of the corporation. Mistreating them will make the productivity of the business go down and consequently collapse, while appreciating their efforts will encourage them more leading to more production thus growth, development, and expansion of the business with the goals, objectives, vision, and mission in the mind in a bid to achieve them (McNamara). Motivation is one of the factors that keep employees on board, motivates them to work harder and better thus leading to increased productivity and growth of the business. Without motivation, productivity, morale, profits, product, and service delivery becomes at stake. It may be external or internal in nature (Werner, and DeSimone, 2009). The external motivation factors include the non-related work environment including both financial and non-financial aspects. On the other hand, the internal factors are those related to working environment that may include good working relationship, clean working environment and probably use of appropriate tools. Whether internal or external, there should be motivation. Compensation and benefits are reward based motivational factors. Benefit is an indirect reward that an employee gets for being part of the family or the organization (Mathis, and Jackson, 2008). On the other hand, compensation entails the reward that is given to an employee to complement the time or any resource that he might have used. This is going to be the basis of my research and as I present this research paper together with the recommendation, I believe it will see the company go further. Through developing the right strategic planning, steps are going to be taken to support the motivation of your employees (Mathis, and Jackson, 2008). Problem Statement Many organizations including our organization have found it difficult to retain good employees and enhance their productivity. We lose employees to other organizations, especially our competitors who offer them good packages putting our strategies to dealing with the competitors at risk. As a human resource manager, I have come to realize that this is really affecting our organization. After a seriously consultation, there is need for us to come up with strategies that will see us retain most of our employees and improve the companys productivity. As a result, the human resource management team has decided to develop strategy that will compensate our employees increasing the production of the company by 25% in the next 5 years. Review of literature of the recent opinions Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of needs According to Abraham Maslows hierarchy of need, different people are at different level of satisfaction. Discovering which level each employee is at may be difficult complicating the idea behind motivational (Podmoroff, 2005). This aspect of challenge is termed management challenge. It is believed that in the past a person would work for a company for very long period unlike to day where a person within a short span of time has worked for more companies (Podmoroff, 2005). It is there fore very right to assume that employees no longer look for job as a security rather to achieve certain satisfaction, no wonder one keeps on moving from one job to the other. It is therefore very important that in the event that the company wants to keep employees long enough to achieve its goals, we must be keen in motivating them (Javitich, 2004). Fredrick Herzbergs theory of Hygiene and Motivational Factors This theory was developed based on the needs identified by the Abrahams hierarchy of needs. Herzberg divided these needs into two fold; needs focusing on survival while the other need emphasizing on personal growth, very important factors that employees would want in a job (Werner, and DeSimone, 2009). According to him, any factor that satisfies the survival need cannot provide job fulfillment to the fullest. In fact, Podmoroff (2005) says that combination of these two factors may result into four very influential conditions namely, low hygiene, and motivation and high hygiene and motivation. Werner, and DeSimone add that for these to be effective there is need to enrich the job given to the employee which entails providing both hygiene factors and adding the motivational ones. Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y According to McGregors theory X, a person considers work intrinsically unpleasant and as such can do what he can to avoid the work. Theory Y on the other hand starts the contrary of events; a person looks at work as very favorable and would do anything to stay in the job (Podmoroff, 2005). Ensuring performance would there mean that. This calls for different principles to be applied by the management in order to achieve the desired motivational level. Some of the principles may include decentralizing the control of the organization, delegating some of the duties and especially to those who seem to fear job, make job diverse to accept different kind of people, ensure that the employees participate in the management of the organization and performing appraisals for the employees (Randhawa, 2007). Motivation of employee through Incentive compensation According to Gunkel (2006), motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organization goals conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual needs. He believes that however much the idea of motivation is universal where individuals go ahead to maximize their usefulness by ensuring that the issues or objectives they value most are me, it is limited to the challenging design of the study. Some organizations however, will never offer rewards to its workers when they incur higher costs that the revenues or benefits that they derive from business operations (Gunkel, 2006). To him, motivation can either bee intrinsic, coming from within the individual or extrinsic, any thing an individual gets from another person. Processes theories of motivation by Victor Vroom, Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler, III This theory assumes that any action of an individual is always goal oriented. This means therefore that when the compensation of an individual is directed towards performance, then the employee is likely to perfume better (Gunkel, 2006). . The theory asserts that even with intrinsic motivational factors, hygiene or any other factors discussed above, there still exists the need for an extrinsic power to motivate further the employee say rewards (Gunkel, 2006). Gunkel (2006) further disagrees with the idea that when incentives are give to promote extrinsic motivation, a crowding out effect will be felt between the two that is , a persons internal motivational factors will be corrupted and in many cases may not perform well until the extrinsic motivator comes into play. According to him, this holds no water. Strategic plan for change From the literature review, Processes theory developed by Victor Vroom, Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler III, it is very evident that whether all the factors of motivation come into play without the reward or compensation aspect, then the motivation becomes useless. It is therefore proper that measures be put in place to ensure that the reward aspect of motivation is there. In this regard, the human resource department has seen it worth that will improve the compensation and benefits of the employees. This will not only see our goof workers remain in the company but also enhance the productivity of the company. Our target is to be a leading company with approximately 75% of the market share in the next five years. The compensation and reward scheme that we have developed will also see our company attracting many qualified employees. This will equip the management and the skills of our employees. Better management and qualified skills will ensure that we meet the set objectives within the stipulated period, which is five years. In the recruitment, we shall ensure that we employ the best workers and especially from our competitors. The idea is to know the strengths of our competitors and their weaknesses, developing on them, and devising policies to counter act their strengths. This I believe will make us go a long way in increasing the productivity of this company and make it grow. Pay system support to the business strategy With the introduction of new rewards comprising of the compensation and benefit schemes, it is important for us to enlarge the pay system of our organization. Through this pay system, the method of reward distribution will be easier, faster, and more efficient. The enlargement of the pay system will enable us have more employment opportunities which will lead to recruitment of more employees. The efficiency and effectiveness of the system will see into it that employees get the best working environment. This in turn will enable us meet the set objective of employing more employees and retaining them to increase productivity, market share and out wit the competitors. Our recruitment will majorly concentrate on employees from our competitors. The idea is to discover their weaknesses and strengths and outwit them using the SWOT analysis technique by majoring on their weaknesses. New system and motivation of behavior, Developed system will also help us attract more employees and retain them. This will be achieved by the fact that the working environment will be very conducive to the employees. The motivational factors employed will not be limited to hygiene, and motivational factors as well as a better and efficient system to help us identify the different levels of satisfaction of each employee and try to satisfy them. Efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery makes work easier thus many employees will opt to stay rather than leave for another job that has no aspect of efficiency in it as well as effectiveness of performance in the production process. Final recommendations and possible outcomes (best and worst case scenarios) Finally, based on the data obtained, there is need to make the following recommendations: We need a strategic approach to help us in implementing the changes that we would like to introduce. To assist us in doing this, I would like to recommend that a team be selected form all the departments who will assist in designing a strategy that we will use to implement the changes. Caution however should be taken, as many employees may be resistance to change. In formulating the total compensation scheme, as the one we have offered is a sketchy one, we would like the overall management of the organization, that is the president of the company, to help us with resources including human and other required resources; finances. In addition, a team majorly comprising of the accounts, finance, overall management department and operations management departments should be composed to help in developing the scheme. This is necessary since there will be need to know the revenues and the expenditure as well as get approval from the overall. The human resource department, on my part will come up with ways of evaluating the employees, recruiting, and doing the performance appraisal in conjunction with training and development of the employees. We shall develop efficient ways through which some of the employees will be communicated to the final strategy to prevent any rebellion. In the mean time, I recommend that the accounting and finance department to develop policies and procedures of developing our payment system level. In recruiting, I would like to recommend that we target the employees of our competitors. Through this we shall discover their strengths and weaknesses and take advantage to outwit them in the market. However, I would like you to note that the above recommendation will be very costly to the organization at the on set but once the strategies are implemented, I assure you the benefits derived will far much exceed the costs experience. In effect, it is a long-term plan, five years plan. In addition, the program will not be introduced once but rather in stages and therefore there is no course for alarm. I further recommend that caution be taken when implementation of the various strategies as they are likely to be met by opposition from some employees. Summary/Conclusions In as much as employee motivation may be expensive, it is advisable that we should look at the long-term perspective of the study. The study is very broad and not all employees may be satisfied. In this regard, the human resource management department should work on achieving most of the basic forms of motivation. This include ensuring a better working environment, treating each employee equally, appraising performance of the employees, if possible allow the employees contribute to the management of the company and ensure the reward scheme is very favorable. Meeting all these will ensure that at least 85% of the workers are satisfied with the organization. As a result, many employees will be attracted, the existing ones will be retained as in effect, increased productivity, market share and growth and expansion of the organization. Let organizations take care of the most valuable and delicate asset and this will minimize costs associated with breakdown of machines, ineffective and inefficient work force. References section Gunkel, M. (2006). International Management Studies. Country Compatible Incentive Design: a Comparison of Employees Performance Reward Preferences in Germany and the USA. Wiesbaden: DUV. Javitich, A. (2004). Motivating Employees. Retrieved on November 24, 2010 from http://www.javitch.com/Q/004.pdf Mathis, R.L., Jackson, J.H. (2008). Human Resource Management. 12th Ed. Ohio: Thomson Inc. McNamara, C. Basics about Employee Motivation (Including Steps you can take). Retrieved on November 24, 2010 from http://managementhelp.org/guiding/motivate/basics.htm Podmoroff, D. (2005). 365 Ways to Motivate and Reward your Employees Ever Day-With Little or No Money. Florida : Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. Randhawa, G. (2007). Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers Distributors Werner, J. M., DeSimone, R. L. (2009). Human Resource Development. 5th Ed. Ohio: South Western Cengage Learning.

Aphra Bhen’s Oroonoko “The royal Slave” and “Candide, Or Optimism” Essay

Aphra Bhen was a prolific female playwright and author during the restoration period of English history. Bhen herself stood by the power of the monarchy. Her book ‘_Oroonoko_’ has hints within the text that royalty is seen as set apart from the rest of society; and that rank is the natural order of things. Though little is really known about Behn’s early years, evidence suggests that she may have had a Catholic upbringing; (1) however, in considering the text for analysis, Bhen’s position on religion shows that she found religion very constrictive to society, which I will discuss in detail later. Franà §ois-Marie Arouet who is also known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, free trade and separation of church and state. He was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, and his Book ‘_Candide or Optimism’_ is a satirical philosophical tale which I will also discuss in detail later. The first text to be analysed is found on page 11 of ‘_Oroonoko_’. The text depicts the â€Å"Indian† natives of Surinam, how they appear to the narrator, how they show love to each other and how they interact with the English governor. The text begins with a vivid description of the natives. ‘they are extreme modest bashful, very shy and nice of being touched†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ [†¦] ‘†¦and though they are all thus naked if one lives forever among them, there is not seen an indecent action or glance.’ This is a vivid description of innocence, and leads to the use of poetic language when discussing erotic love: eg :-‘he pursues her with eyes and sighs were all his language’ while she: ‘†¦looked  down with all blushing modesty.’. This is also a clever use of the narrative structure known as vocalisation, and gives a powerful impression of how the natives feel for each other. However the tone she uses in the text is also hyperbolic, in as much as she romanticises the natives she describes. Also by doing this the natives are shown as passive. The text also contains Biblical perspective and religious connotations. In the first quarter of the narrative she states ‘†¦so like our parents before the fall†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ which she also connects with: ‘†¦and these people represented to me an absolute idea of the first state of innocence, before man knew how to sin†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ By placing these comments in this conjunction, together with the innocence she creates, she thus connects both the native man and the woman to Adam and Eve within their setting:- the jungle of Surinam, which thus creates an impression of the Garden of Eden as described in the Bible, in Genesis 3. This is something that her audience, having known the Biblical text accurately, would have been able to understand and thus take into consideration, when thinking about a man and a woman from a country a long way away. The narrator considers this noble; when she sees their culture free from the social parameters of religion and informs the reader thus: ‘Nature is the most harmless, inoffensive, and virtuous mistress, it is she alone, if she were permitted, that better instructs the world than the inventions of man; religion would here destroy that tranquillity that they possess by ignorance.’ But she also sates in the first quarter of the text . ‘It seems as if they had no wishes, and nothing to heighten their curiosity’; and later adds: ‘where there is no novelty there is no curiosity.’ when this is considered with the biblical connections, there is the possible implication of rank detachment thus separating the natives from the Christian-European culture which she and her readers are a part of. At the end of the text, she separates the natives even further from the colonists, when she describes a meeting with the Governor. When the Governor cannot make the trip to see them, the natives conclude that he must be dead. When this it is seen that this is not the case, the natives call the Governor ‘a liar and guilty of that infamy’. On one level, this could be seen as ‘native justice’ as she calls it. However, it also implies that the natives are limited in their understanding, and possibly suggesting that colonisation is acceptable, moreover necessary for their development. The second texts is seen on Pages 40 to 42 of Voltaire’s ‘Candide or Optimism’ and are contained in chapter 16 of the main text. The scene depicts Candide and Cacambo entering the Jungle of Orillion, Their entrapment by the Orillians’; Cacambo’s discourse with the Orillians, who then release Candide and Cacambo from captivity, and ends with Candide’s exclamation as to how nice the Orillians are. ‘It’s a Jesuit it’s a Jesuit we will be avenged! And we’ll eat the Jesuit! ‘ say the Orillians after capturing Candide. Here Voltaire is seeing the native as very savage. But he is also viscously satirical and ironic, as Voltaire himself was taught by the Jesuit order. The omniscient narrator here gives us insight into what the natives are saying, and this adds to the viscous humour and the irony. Candide then considers the philosophy of optimism which is the underpinning continuing theme within the text ‘All is for the best, no doubt, but I must say that it’s a cruel thing to have lost Mademoiselle Cunà ©gonde and be roasted on a spit by the Orillions.’ Cacambo comes to the rescue by reasoning with the natives. Here Voltaire does not see a race that is inferior to the culture in Europe, but simply another form human being that can be reasoned with. As Cacambo states: that: ‘natural law teaches us to kill our neighbour all the world over’. [†¦] ‘The Orillians might be cannibals’ but as he says ‘We Europeans have other means of eating well’ thus suggesting that there is little that separates modern society from the native, other than money. The Orrillians are convinced by Cacambo’s reasoned speech and not only do they let them go, they give them women and are treated with â€Å"every civility† again underlining the ‘civility’ of the native population and thus informing the reader of the day that the natives are civilised in their behaviour, despite where they live and what they wear and try to do. As the piece end’s, Candide is overcome both by his deliverance but also by the natives themselves â€Å"what men! What customs!† he says, going back to the theory of Optimism and the issues that relate to cause and effect: ‘ if I had not run my sword right through Cunà ©gonde’s brother, I would have been eaten alive without fail.’ [†¦] ‘It seems to me that nature is a good thing, since these people, instead of eating me, showed me a thousand civilities just as soon as they know I was not a Jesuit.’ In its tone style and genre ‘_Candide or Optimism’_ is a sharply satirical, philosophical tale that stands against the Leibnitz’s argument for philosophical optimism which is summed up in the words of Alexander pope: ‘whatever IS, IS RIGHT’. (2) In its tone style and genre ‘Oroonoko’ is a classical tradgedy where the hero is brought low by personal character flaws or outside circumstances. In comparing and contrasting the texts, both consider colonisation and exploration: In considering the concept of exploration within ‘_Oroonoko_’ Bhen paints a vivid picture of the passivity and the beauty of the natural order, and how this justifies hierarchal society, Whereas, in ‘_Candide_’ Voltaire paints a very different picture, where humanity as a whole is struggling with its very nature, and only reason and enlightenment can help humanity progress. In considering colonisation, Bhen supports the idea of colonisation as a means of financial gain for the homeland. Therefore the natives are shown as a species on their own but a secondary species, next to the European colonists which thus supports the idea of slavery, as a means to an end, despite the suffering that slavery incurs. This is seen in how she considers the natives in the text, who are considered, on the whole as naà ¯ve. In ‘_Candide_’ Voltaire gives us a very complex picture of a world with complex cultures that simply do not interact well. Suggesting that colonisation is an imposition of one culture upon another for the sake of greed. This too is seen in the way he portrays the natives in the text, and though both consider religion to be a man-made construct that is difficult and dangerous to impose upon another culture. It is Bhen’s perspective of the natives that is demeaning, whereas Voltaire’s position is one of equality where we are all the same ‘the world over’. ‘_Oroonoko_’ by Aphra Bhen and ‘_Candide_’ by Voltaire, Both have varied and complex arguments relating to slavery and the plight of humanity. Both are very different and tell two very different stories of life in other lands. The fact that they are still in print now, is a reflection of their importance in understanding the attitudes and cultural aspects of the time that they were written. This in turn, still makes them as important as they were when they were first written. 1. Todd J Introduction xviii Oroonoko 2. Pope A _Essay of man p 45-6_ Fraiser R Voltaire â€Å"_candide, or optimism†_ P 182 renaissance and the long 18th Century (ed) Pacheo A, Johnson D, Open university press. Biblography Bhen A. Oroonoko William canning (1688) (ed) Todd J. penguin classics(2004) Voltaire Candide or Optimism (ed) T. Cuffe Penguin classics (2005) The Renaissance and long eighteenth century (ed) Pacheo A, Johnson D, Open university press.(2008)

The Importance Of Teaching Schools With Cultural And...

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How to Afford Private School Tuition

Private school can be expensive, and paying those hefty tuition bills can be a burden for families from all income levels. The average national cost of non-sectarian private schools is approximately $17,000 a year, and the yearly tuition at schools in urban areas such as New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. can be more than $40,000 for just a day school program. Boarding schools are even more expensive. But, that doesnt mean a private school education is out of the question for your family. While you may think that there is little financial aid for private schools, and yes it can be competitive to get financial aid, there are several sources of funding that you may not have thought of. Here are some ways in which you can find financial assistance to pay for private school: Talk to the financial aid officer at your school. The financial aid officer at your school may know about merit and need-based scholarships that your child may be eligible for; sometimes these are not widely promoted. Several private schools offer free tuition for parents earning less than about $75,000 a year. As many as 20% of private school students receive some form of need-based financial aid, and this figure is as high as about 35% at schools with large endowments. Keep in mind that schools with large endowments and longer histories can generally offer larger amounts of aid, but inquire about programs even at schools that are less established. Check out scholarships. There are many scholarships and  even voucher programs  available for students at private schools. The school youre applying to or attending may even have scholarship programs for students; be sure to ask the admission office or financial aid office to find out if youre eligible and how to apply.  There are also regional scholarship programs that can assist with finding scholarships. Some notable programs include A Better Chance, which provides opportunities for students of color to attend boarding and day college-prep schools around the country. Research free or low-tuition  private schools. Private school for free? ​Believe it or not, schools that offer zero tuition  do exist.  There are completely tuition-free private and parochial schools across the country. Check out this list of free private schools. You can also research schools with low tuition rates; with a financial aid package, if you qualify, you could find yourself with an opportunity to attend a private school for little to no money.   Don’t forget to ask about sibling discounts. Many schools will offer discounts if you already have a child at the school, or if a family member has attended previously (often referred to as a legacy student). In addition, some private school financial aid officers will reduce the tuition for families paying college tuition at the same time that they are paying private school tuition. Ask if the school youre applying to offers these kinds of discounts! Take advantage of employee discounts. This may sound odd, but its true. Many private schools offer full time employees free tuition or tuition discounts. If you know you want to send your child to private school and your skill set aligns to an opening at a school you like, apply for a job. Be sure to look at requirements for the tuition discounts, as some schools require that employees work at the school for a certain number of years before they are eligible. If youre already a parent at the school, you can still apply. But youll likely have to go through the same formal job application process as all the other candidates. Dont worry, if you dont get the job, your child can still attend.   Spread out payments with tuition payment plans. Many schools will allow you to spread out your yearly tuition in installments. They may charge a flat fee or interest for this service, so be sure to read the fine print and determine if this is right for you. There are also many institutions that manage tuition payments at private schools across the country. Take advantage of pre-payment incentives. Many schools will offer parents a discount for paying in full by a certain amount. If you have a rewards program credit card, this can be a great way to earn some perks. You can use tax-free Coverdell savings accounts. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, which allow you to save up to $2,000 a year per beneficiary in tax-free accounts, can be used for tuition at private schools. The distributions from these accounts will not be taxed if the amount in the account is less than the beneficiary’s educational expenses at an eligible institution. Article edited by  Stacy Jagodowski  - stacyjago