Employee Motivation Essay Sample

Employee Motivation Essay Sample Employee Motivation Essay Example Employee Motivation Essay Example Every business is expected to yield profit. However, raising profits can only be possible if the managers and workers perform their duties with their best efforts towards achieving a common goal. A workplace where the employers and employees are dedicated to their work and meet their deadlines without being supervised can score better proceeds. In the competitive business world, each organization yearns to succeed and improve the quality of its services and raise performance levels. Employee motivation is what makes an employee willing to improve personal performance and effectiveness, resulting in the provision of the high-quality outcome at the workplace (Berrin Bauler 182). It is divided into intrinsic motivation (internal factors), such as a feeling of enjoyment brought by the work, and extrinsic motivation (external factors), such as rewards. This paper will research on employee motivation types, factors affecting it, its importance, and techniques applied in motivating employe es. Types of Employee Motivation Intrinsic motivation is a feeling that comes from within a person. It is self-driven and comes from the inner feeling of an individual rather than being imposed by someone or being triggered by a particular reward (Kovach 59). When a worker feels motivated by the work, it is referred to as intrinsic motivation. It is the job itself that motivates a person, especially when it is enjoyable and includes an understanding of the reasonable goals. One can be intrinsically motivated by the work environment. For example, if the environment is favorable, an employee is more likely to feel at peace with the work thus driving him/her to work even more. On the contrary, if the environment is unfriendly, the employee is more likely to be discouraged to work. In fact, he/she will not like the idea of going to work. Intrinsic motivation may be generated through job satisfaction. Most employees feel gratified with their job when they are permitted to have control and liberation and to contribute to innovations on their job. Intrinsic inspiration can also be prompted by an environment that emboldens the exploration and learning. Intrinsic motivational factors can be accomplished by job design that encompasses job simplification, job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment. Extrinsic motivation is a type of motivation that is affected by the external factors to self-motivate an employee (Kovach 62). These factors usually drive an employee to reach a particular goal either willingly or unwillingly. They originate from the management, and the employees can either react to them positively or negatively. Thus, employers should use external motivators that generate a positive response from the workers. The examples of these factors are punishments and rewards system. When a punishment is set for not achieving a particular target, employees tend to do their best to hit the target. Likewise, when a reward is given to those workers who meet an objective, they will be motivated to work harder to reach the target and get the award. However, in some cases, a punishment produces a negative result; for example, some employees may cheat in their results when they are given a precise target to achieve, making the organization calculate its performance rate on false in formation. This information will include data that supports the improvement but no financial proceeds to support it. Employee motivation is important because it facilitates the sustainability of the business organization by enhancing its improvement. Without motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, it will be challenging for a business to succeed and prosper in the future. Thus, a key to the development of any company is motivation. People cannot be forced to work well but rather be motivated to perform better than before. Employee Motivation Techniques The following are techniques used to create and increase motivation of employees: fashioning a positive work environment, celebrating achievements made by employees, offering job security, providing incentives, training, surveys on employees, and promotions to best performers, and, lastly, sharing profits with the workers. A positive work environment motivates the employees because they feel free, comfortable and welcomed at the workplace. Promoting teamwork and sharing of ideas between employers and employees result in enhanced job performance (Berrin Bauler 223). Bonding is necessary at the workplace because employees will learn to work together to achieve a common goal and promote healthy competition among workers. A manager should be a good mediator when a conflict arises at the workplace and eradicate conflicts as soon as they arise. As much as teamwork creates a positive work environment, employees should be reminded to work independently to perform their assigned task. Recognizing and celebrating achievements made by the workers motivate them to perform better than before (Berrin Bauler 228). Naturally, people like to be recognized for their achievements; the same regards a workplace setting. Awarding workers with the certificates of accomplishment, vacation days, and employee of the month or year titles, giving trophies and gift vouchers are ways of recognizing and celebrating the efforts of the employees. When an employee is honored and known for an excellent work done, he/she will be motivated to do their best. However, if his/her achievements are not recognized, they will be discouraged because their efforts have not been celebrated. There is no need to make a success if you are not going to be known for it. Setting goals to be achieved by the end of a specified time gives an employee a reason to strive to attain a particular target (Berrin Bauler 237). Professional goals encourage competition between workers thus motivating them to reach a particular objective. However, the goals should be reasonable that is an employee can achieve that. When goals are not set, it is difficult for employees to know what is expected of them; thus, they will feel relaxed at their job. On the contrary, when a goal is set, they are made aware of what is expected of them. Setting specific goals and time limits will motivate the employees. Incentives boost employee motivation because when an incentive is put in place, it lures the employees to work harder and smarter (Berrin Bauler 255). Those include cash prizes, gift cards, parking spot and office space. Employees are more likely to be motivated if their efforts are rewarded. Conducting surveys to get feedbacks on how employees feel about the management if they face any problems will provide possible solutions to the problems. This technique can determine if there is a barrier in the workplace and allows the managers to solve the problem. If there are no barriers in the workplace, employees will be motivated to work because there is a peaceful co-existence (Berrin Bauler 228). A survey can be facilitated with questionnaires. These questionnaires should be filled by employees anonymously for the protection of their identification and making them feel free to share their feelings and ideas. A promotion granted on performance motivates employees to perform better. When an employee sees a reward or promotion for good job performance, they will be motivated to work their best. When one worker sees his/her co-worker being promoted because of performing well in his/her duties, he/she will be motivated to do the same to get a promotion (Berrin Bauler 250). Promotions come with a monetary increase in the salary, bigger office and better rank in the office. Acquiring a status through the promotion motivates the promoted employee to work at his/her best not wanting junior workers to think that their senior employee cannot handle the assigned new tasks. It also encourages other employees to copy the behavior of the promoted employee to achieve the same success. The managers should motivate their employees by encouraging them to get more knowledge by sending them to seminars and workshops. This technique enables the employees to acquire new knowledge that helps them advance in their job. Training is very important because it ensures that employees are knowledgeable about new technology or any new way of performing a job. New work is made easier after undergoing a well-constructed training; the training also works as a refresher course for the profession (Berrin Bauler 262). Providing job security also motivates the workers to work better. A worker who is at a company that offers job security is calmer, relaxed and has trust in the business, unlike an employee who is working in an organization with no job security. An employee has faith in an organization where job security has been offered hence will do what is expected of him/her by the employers (Kovach 64). Unlike an employee who has no job security, whose managers may dismiss him/her any time they wish too, he/she will always be anxious and tensed because of being unsure at which point the employment will be terminated whether he/she works at his best or not. Sharing of the company’s profits is also another way of motivating the employees (Berrin Bauler 259). When the profits of a corporation are reflected in the employees salary, it will make him/her want to get more profit for the company to earn more. The more profits they make, the more money they get. That is salary plus profits made by the company. Financial gains mostly motivate employees. When they release an input, they expect an output to them by the management. Theories of Employee Motivation These theories support the techniques of motivating the employees and are divided into process and content theories. Motivation content theories concentrate on the exact thing that motivates an employee (for example, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, McClelland’s Achievement Motivation, Herzbergs Two Factor Theory, and Alderfers Modified Need Hierarchy) while process theories look at how behavior is instigated and sustained; they include Vroom Expectancy Theory and Adams Equity Theory. Herzberg’s Theory is also referred to as Hygiene Theory. It is a two-factor approach that states that two different factors influence satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Herzberg, Mausner, Snyderman 288). Herzberg ’names the factors that influence dissatisfaction as dissatisfiers (maintenance and hygiene factors) while factors that influence satisfaction are called satisfiers or motivators. Dissatisfiers include working conditions, policies, job security, and status while satisfiers include recognition of achievements, responsibilities, and growth. Dissatisfiers do not have the same impact on job satisfaction but rather influence job dissatisfaction. These factors will not motivate an employee, but their absence in a workplace will influence job dissatisfaction (Berrin Bauler 188). To motivate workers effectively, the management should work on providing good hygiene factors that ensure the staff’s job satisfaction thus motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory of Needs arranges the interdependent needs of a human being from the basic need to the highest level of requirements (Berrin Bauler 184). The author concludes that once a person has satisfied the lower level of need, the next level of requirements motivates him/her to work harder to attain it. The most fundamental needs are physiological, for example, shelter, food, air, and clothing (Maslow 372). They are the key needs to sustain life, and when they are not met, it affects a person physically. Once a person can sustain his/her life, he/she can be motivated to achieve the next step; but if he /she cannot afford these basic needs, it will be difficult to move to the next level. Employees should be able to afford these necessary basic needs with their salaries to be motivated to get to the next level. Safety needs are the next level, where employees feel a sense of having security, feeling peaceful and orderly at the workplace (Maslow 380). Social need s comprise of friendship, a sense of belonging to a certain group, love and acceptance in a certain environment. Employees usually want to fit in a particular group at a workplace or feel accepted and loved by the others. To satisfy these needs, they tend to work harder to reach a target that will allow them to be identified and accepted by others. A person will strive to reach that rank. Esteem needs generate motivations only when the lower needs are satisfied. They include self-esteem, freedom, and self-confidence. When an employee satisfies these needs, he/she feels capable, in power and worthy to be in that place. However, if the needs are not met, an employee will lack esteem and will feel inferior to the others. What is more, he/she might not be able to tend even to the duties. The highest need is self-actualization that includes creativeness, self-realization, and self-fulfillment (Berrin Bauler 185). When an employee realizes his/her potential, he/she feels the satisfaction of oneself. This process serves as a continuous motivational fact because when an individual completes one need another need arises. Alderfer’s Modified Hierarchy of Needs is a modified Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory (Berrin Bauler 187). Alderfer agrees with Maslow that human needs can be arranged in levels but instead of categorizing them in five, he reduces them to three levels of existence, growth and relatedness. According to Alderfer, two levels can be achieved at the same time. It is not necessary to move from one stage to another (Berrin Bauler 187). A person can attain the highest level of need without fulfilling the lower needs. Thus, in these two propositions, he is not in agreement with Maslow’s theory. When an employee satisfies growth needs, he/she will have the desire to meet relatedness needs. The fewer existence needs are met, the more desire a person will feel to fulfill them. In McGregor X-Y Theory, X stands for autocratic management while Y is participative management. X theory assumes that external motivation is achieved through punishment or threat while Y theory believes that an employee is internally motivated with a good environment. X Theory assumes that people dislike work and, therefore, have to be pressured to contribute to a companys goals. Y implies that although punishment can motivate a worker to work, it is not the only way because employees are self-motivated. Employees can get motivation from within themselves because of good environmental factors surrounding them at a workplace. According to McClelland’s Need-Based Motivation Theory, human beings have three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation (Berrin Bauler 190). In his research, McClelland found out that businessmen have a desire for achievement motivation. According to him, motivation achievement can be taught through training by teaching an employee to act in terms of achieving a motive (Berrin Bauler 190). Locke’s Goal Theory illustrates how setting specific goals to induce high performance and setting more challenging goal increase performance efforts. Through employees’ participation in making goals, they will set higher goals and be motivated to achieve even more to gain superior performance. Workers will set reasonable and attainable goals since they are the ones expected to reach the objective unlike when employers set unreasonable goals. In this theory, for a goal to be achieved, there has to be an effort to achieve it. When the goals set are unreasonable, there will be no motivation to attain them. Thus, it is important to involve the staff in setting the goals. Skinner’s motivation through positive reinforcement suggests that stimuli trigger behavior. Thus, in a business set up, any factor that results in behavior change is a motivational change (Berrin Bauler 205). The change can either be positive or negative. Skinner advises managers to use positive reinforcers such as promotion and salary increment to promote motivation in the workplace. Managers should also solve problems in the workplace to create a peaceful environment that will motivate employees. The staff can only be motivated if there is a positive reinforcer. Vroom’s Model Theory asserts that effort leads to performance and performance leads to either positive or negative rewards. Positive rewards motivate employees while negative rewards do not motivate them. Employees’ work effort is based on what they are expecting to gain at the end of it thus the expectancy theory (Berrin Bauler 203). Ensuring the staff expects a pay rise and promotion will motivate them to work harder on achieving the set goals. When there are no reward expectations, a minimum effort will be put since there is no potential gain at the end of it. No one wants to work for free unless it is charity. Work is believed to have some payment after its completion; thus, an extra work of achieving a goal should have an extra bonus to the salary. If the management considers bonuses, its staff is more likely to be motivated. Adam’s Equity Theory illustrates how employees seek fair treatment at the workplace in cases of rewards and the rate of their efforts (Berrin Bauler 195). Employees base their judgments on comparing themselves with people around them or with persons of the same profession. They will feel undermined if they realize that they are contributing more than the other employees and are not being rewarded the same way. The level of motivation is based on the percentage of fairness that has been found out by the employees. When employees believe they are treated equally, they will be motivated; but when they believe there is unfairness; they will be discouraged. Unfairness can cause the staff to be hostile, disruptive and silent. This paper has critically explained the concept of employee motivation and the various advocated theories used to motivate employees towards helping the organization to accomplish its goals. Theories of employee motivation suggest that there are many variables influencing how employees perceive their work and are motivated to achieve a high level of performance. Concepts of fairness, hierarchy, motivational effects and external motivational factors all give tools to help to analyze motivational influences and come up with strategies to increase levels of motivation at a workplace. Although most theories seem to conflict, they do shed light on those areas of motivation. Motivation is a vital area in the study of organizations and management, and it cannot be ignored even with the presence of many unanswered questions and conflicting theories. Employees are the most important resource in an organization and, for this reason, they should be treated well and should always be motivated. Well-motivated employees are always ready to work hard towards achieving the set goals of the organization. Employees individually and collectively contribute to the attainment of the set goals for sustainable competitive advantage. It can be achieved through various ways including providing safe working conditions for employees, rewarding the employees well according to the work they do, and providing training programs to sharpen the employees’ skills.

M. L. King essays

M. L. King essays I think a heroe is an ordinary person who has done something to change the way people think about the world or is not afraid to be punisched for their beliefs. It is someone who has ideas that could make life better for another human in any way and has the courage to act on these ideas. Heroe should care about others and shouldnt discriminate against anybody because of differences in beliefs, race or religion. Martin Luther King Jr. helped black and other races over come segregation in a peaceful way. King is responsible for most of the credit of the civil-rights act. In 1955 he headed the Montgomery Bus Boycott in which African Americans stopped using buses because the white people would not allow them to sit in the front of the bus. The boycott lasted 382 days, it was non-violence and peaceful protest. On December 21,1956, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that Negroes and whites rode buses as equals. He went through this and more, reaping the rewards and accepting the consequences. Between 1957 and 1968, he travelled over six million miles and spoke over 2500 times. Meanwhile he wrote five books as well as articles. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. He led the March on Washington, in which almost 250,000 civil-rights supporters participated. At this time, at the Lincon Memorial King delivered his famous I had a dream speech. King says there I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. In 1965 he joined a voting rights march which was over 50 miles long. The goal of this was to get peoples attention, and draw attention to the struggle of black voting rights. The police beat and sprayed pepper spray at the marchers, on a day called Blood Sunday because of the result o...

Binge Drinking In College Students Research Paper

Binge Drinking In College Students - Research Paper Example The blood- alcohol content in her body during the time of death was 0.52. This was six times more than the legal adult intoxication limit as per the law in California. The girl measured 5 feet 2 inches in height. She weighed about 100 pounds. According to the toxicology report the girl had drank an equivalent of one pint of whiskey in an hour to get to this blood –alcohol content rate. There were more such reports of alcohol related deaths from different campuses in the country during the last three years. These incidents and the series of research reports and surveys that followed prompted this investigation after much pre investigative research .The pre investigative research showed that the issue is wide spread in the United States and it is beyond race and gender among the young school / college students. Thus focusing on gender or race for this investigation seemed meaningless. But still, the investigation included more whites than other races almost at the percentage of 80-20, because the whites are in majority and because the issue is not a racially culture specific .More males were included in the investigation than females as of course males indulged in alcohol abuses more than the females, may be as a part of macho freedom and macho power evidently present in a male dominated society. Most of the youngsters included in the investigation indicated that it is the subculture that exists in the campuses in the United States that leads to alcohol abuses .When fresh students reach the campus, most of them away from home for the first time, they are very cordially invited for free beer parties. The ready availability of cheap alcohol especially beer is another factor that traps students into this drinking sub-culture in the campuses. Availability of cheap alcohol, according to students included in the investigation, tempts them to drink in private settings like dorms and fraternity parties. Alcohol

Richard Wright Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Richard Wright - Essay Example Wright brought into picture the sufferings he himself passed through as a black. In the book, Wright expresses racial prejudice in Jim Crow’s South, how the blacks were affected and how they coped with the racial prejudice. When the Jim Crow era started during the 1880s, the whites who lived in the southern area of the United States did anything it would take to oppose any form of education for the black children. They felt that education would spoil the good field hands. They felt that the education would destroy their labor force for the future and discouraged it at all costs. For the whites education would make blacks too pretentious. By the end of the nineteenth century, two thirds of all black children could not go to school because the whites had restricted them not to attend school. The black children had no teachers and did not have any building that they could use as classes. The whites burned down schools attended by blacks and killed or chased away people who worked as teachers for black children. Despite these discouragements, the blacks did not give up. The black community build and supported their own schools. The local churches were also of help because they provided education via Sabbath schools. Over seventy percent of all black children went to private schools. ... loped by Jim Crow were segregative in nature in the sense that they segregated trains, schools, parks, streetcars, bathrooms, hotels, restaurants, cemeteries and other things. Black people were restricted to seek medical care from many hospitals. In addition to this, the facilities meant for African Americans were inferior in terms of staffing and resources as compared to the facilities build for the whites. In employment, black earned much less compared to whites. In addition, in many instances, the blacks were denied employment. The issues of segregation were so intense to the extent that the blacks even usd a different type of bible when they took oaths in a court of law. Discrimination had become a part of their daily lives. For instance, during the 1890s, there was about 187 lynchings of blacks every year. Out of the 187, 80 percent happened in the southern part. Lynchings were done because the victims were purported to have committed crimes or had violated the station or positi on of a white person. The main purpose that the lynchings served was to show that the whites were in control of the black Americans. Therefore, they ruled with terror and intimidation in order to scare blacks and make them do whatever the whites wanted them to do. The terror and intimidation were meant to contain any rebellious activity that could have been planned by the blacks. Therefore, the black suffered a great deal from the way the whites treated them (Wright, 1937). In the 1920s, the Africans responded to the segregation, mistreatment and intimidation from the whites through a social and Cultural Revolution understood as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance occurred particularly in New York City. Later this was described as the action of a new generation of black

The factors that influence the well being of children and young people Essay Example for Free

The factors that influence the well being of children and young people Essay The well being of children can depend on many things. Having a good positive mental attitude to life is very important and there are many factors that can determine how we feel and how we think. Building good relationships with family members and friends can have a good outcome on how children feel and can help build a good self esteem and a good sense of who they are. Having emotional security is beneficial to a child so that they know they are loved , wanted and needed. We need to promote a well balanced diet so that children are well nourished with plenty of exercise. Make sure we teach children about good hygiene like everyday things such as washing and brushing teeth regularly. Making sure dentist and doctor appointments are made and kept so that their general health is kept up to date and promote a good sleep pattern so that they have plenty of rest. Explain the importance of resilience for children and young people Read more: Explain how children and young peoples development is influenced by a range of personal factors essay A resilient child is often a child who is strong and unaffected by changes around them unless they choose to be. They will become unaffected by different or new situations and will be able to handle them better. A child who has come from a loving family with strong emotional attachments are given a good sense of security. They will have good knowledge of their culture and will tend to know who they are and where they have come from. They will be more resilient toward negativity and winning or being good at everything will not be a priority to them but a bonus if achieved. If a child feels insecure about things they will find it difficult and may not experience everything they need to experience to get on in life. The well being of a child can be affected by resilience so a good sense of well being is needed and should include their physical and emotional health.

The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies…and Acceptance :: Technological Essays

The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance Access is the breeze through the window of interest. --Richard Saul Wurman (21) In his extremely provocative book, Information Anxiety 2, Richard Saul Wurman provides the definition of access as â€Å"the breeze through the window of interest†. (21). I really like this definition in a number of ways, particularly since it evokes a more dynamic approach toward understanding the role of access in the cosmos of technology. While his other thoughts in that book are not comprehensive in terms of our interest in pedagogy and technology, he does manage to put his finger on the spot that hurts: that â€Å"access signifies the ability to do what everybody else can do and to make use of what everybody else can use; access means the liberty to take advantage of resources.† (21) Yes, there it is: the point that has caused so much angst and pain in the supposedly glittery world of modern technocracy. At a time when we have the need for the widest, most open public access to experience and information that might, as Wurman says, â€Å"giv[e] people new ways to look at their environment and their lives,† scholars like Bertram Bruce, Charles Moran, and Lester Faigley are also warning us about a number of obstacles that can restrict access. (Bruce, Moran, Faigley) Since I had major roles (writer, editor, Interim Media Services Coordinator) in preparing the first action plan for technology at Washtenaw Community College, I was again astonished, in this discussion, by just how complex the issue of adequate access remains. To my mind, the kind of access that Wurman and the others have in mind depends on a triad of resources, strategies, and, what shall we call it, acceptance. Wurman is able to point toward the complexity of understanding what access represents when he also provides a graphic designed by Nathan Shedroff called â€Å"An Overview of Understanding† (see Figure 1). (27) This graphic captures the dynamics of how information can move, as it is shaped by producers and consumers, from being data to wisdom—or, to put it in other terms, from research creation/gathering/discovery to contemplation/evaluation/interpretation/retrospection. (27) What might make all this possible? You guessed it: adequate access. Perhaps the easiest portion of the triad to define is the scope of the resources. The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance :: Technological Essays The Challenging Triad of Access to Technology: Resources, Strategies†¦and Acceptance Access is the breeze through the window of interest. --Richard Saul Wurman (21) In his extremely provocative book, Information Anxiety 2, Richard Saul Wurman provides the definition of access as â€Å"the breeze through the window of interest†. (21). I really like this definition in a number of ways, particularly since it evokes a more dynamic approach toward understanding the role of access in the cosmos of technology. While his other thoughts in that book are not comprehensive in terms of our interest in pedagogy and technology, he does manage to put his finger on the spot that hurts: that â€Å"access signifies the ability to do what everybody else can do and to make use of what everybody else can use; access means the liberty to take advantage of resources.† (21) Yes, there it is: the point that has caused so much angst and pain in the supposedly glittery world of modern technocracy. At a time when we have the need for the widest, most open public access to experience and information that might, as Wurman says, â€Å"giv[e] people new ways to look at their environment and their lives,† scholars like Bertram Bruce, Charles Moran, and Lester Faigley are also warning us about a number of obstacles that can restrict access. (Bruce, Moran, Faigley) Since I had major roles (writer, editor, Interim Media Services Coordinator) in preparing the first action plan for technology at Washtenaw Community College, I was again astonished, in this discussion, by just how complex the issue of adequate access remains. To my mind, the kind of access that Wurman and the others have in mind depends on a triad of resources, strategies, and, what shall we call it, acceptance. Wurman is able to point toward the complexity of understanding what access represents when he also provides a graphic designed by Nathan Shedroff called â€Å"An Overview of Understanding† (see Figure 1). (27) This graphic captures the dynamics of how information can move, as it is shaped by producers and consumers, from being data to wisdom—or, to put it in other terms, from research creation/gathering/discovery to contemplation/evaluation/interpretation/retrospection. (27) What might make all this possible? You guessed it: adequate access. Perhaps the easiest portion of the triad to define is the scope of the resources.

A Society Without Culture Is As Good As Dead Essay

This essay attempts to discuss, with examples, the topic which says, ‘a society without culture is as good as dead’. Carefully evaluated, the subject entails that culture is of great relevance and value to society. In this vein, the essay shall first examine the meaning of the term ‘culture’, and then outline the significance of culture to any given society. A conclusion shall be presented at last. In the first place, there is no universally acceptable meaning of the word culture. Different people from different lifestyles have advocated for various theoretical interpretations. Anthropologists hold the view that culture has something to do with the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in specific social groups learn, create, and share. Experts have categorized these as customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group of people. However, many experts agree that in its totality, a people’s culture encompasses their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art and technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, political and economic systems. All in all, these can be broken into two major groups namely the material culture and the non-material culture. However, a common practice is to divide all of culture into four broad categories: material, social, and ideological with the fourth category, the arts, sharing characteristics of both material and non-material culture. The material culture includes products of human manufacture, such as technology. The non-material culture pertains to  people’s forms of social organization – how people interact and organize themselves in groups. According to Anchor (1990), the non-material culture includes people’s perceptions on value, beliefs, and commonly held ideals. Both the material and non-material culture may contain some aspects of the art culture including some activities and areas of interest such as music, sculpture, painting, pottery, theatre, cooking, writing, and fashion. The economic system is a very important notion in societies made of material cultures. All societies produce and exchange material goods so that people can feed, clothe, shelter, and otherwise provide for themselves basic needs. In most material cultures, anything that can be attached to the means of production is prioritized. Thus, when carrying out studies on the material culture of a particular society, Anthropologists look at several aspects of people’s material culture including the pattern of subsistence; the ways in which people exchange goods and services; the kinds of technologies and other objects people make and use; and effects of people’s economy on the natural environment. The aforementioned four are the major tenets of a material culture as defined in modern social groups. How advanced one material culture is determines even its levels of development. This is evidenced by itself in that the culture of any given social group defines the level of development that has been attained by that social group. Another value of the material culture is that it provides the form of exchange. Generally, it is a tradition in any society whether big or not to exchange goods and services with each other through appropriate exchange systems. In Luapula Province for example, money is not the only form of exchange, but people can use other valuable products including food stuffs, clothes, and fishing equipment to exchange with fish. On the other hand, contemporary industrial societies have organized markets for land, labor, and money, and virtually everything is a commodity. People buy and sell goods and services using money. This form of economy, known as capitalism, is typical of the pre-modern Zambian culture. As shown above, a material culture of every society or social group has a system of exchanging goods and services. Pre-historical man developed a system of exchanging goods and services quite different from the present. Today people from different regions are able to exchange goods and services through the exchange aspects of their cultures. However, it is important to note that the culture plays a  very important role in shaping the exchange system of any social group and that the nature of the exchange system determines the rate of development of that cultural group. Apart from the afore-mentioned, material culture also has a hand in the development of the use of a particular type of technology. In most primarily agricultural societies in Zambia, people build sturdy houses of sun-dried mud bricks and grass-thatched roofs, wooden beams, or quarried stone. In large industrial and commerce-based societies, most people live in wood-frame or brick houses and apartment buildings with plumbing, supplies of electricity and natural gas, and telephone services. Much of the material culture in these societies consists of mass-produced goods created through industrial production, Sowell, (1996). A great deal of food and clothing are produced in this way. The variety of common household technologies includes televisions, stereos, microwave ovens, electric kettles and irons, computers, etc. Apart from the material culture, the non-material culture also has a great role to play in the development of a given people, social group or society. Focusing on those aspects of the non-material culture that help people of any given society to get organized, the non-material culture varies from simple to complex societies. People commonly organize themselves according to bonds by kinship and marriage. Important factors in family, work, and political relations include age and gender. The other factor that makes the non-material culture different from material culture is the notion on ideologies. In every society, culturally unique ways of thinking about the world unite people in their behavior. Ideology can be broken down into at least three specific categories: beliefs, values, and ideals. Many people rely on religion, systems of belief in the supernatural (things beyond the natural world), to shape their values and ideals and to influence their behavior. Beliefs, values, and ideals also come from observations of the natural world, a practice anthropologists commonly refer to as secularism. In Zambia, since the pronouncement that Zambia is a Christian nation, religion is becoming a very important aspect of the non-material culture. Religion allows people to know about and communicate with supernatural beings – such as animal spirits, gods, and spirits of the dead. Religion often serves to help people cope with the death of relatives and friends, and it figures prominently in most funeral ceremonies. In the same way, visionaries and healers known as shamans  receive stories from supernatural beings and later recite them to others or act them out in dramatic rituals, Taylor (1996). Culture plays a very important role in the development of any given social group. As a way of life for a given social group, culture shapes the development of any given social aspect. One such an area is communication by symbols. According to Archer, (1996), humans are of a nature in many ways to use symbolic communication. The ability to communicate with and understand symbols is one aspect that qualifies people to have a culture. Moreover, communication is a vital component in the development of a particular country. For example, in Zambia just like in many other countries, colours on the national flag instill a spirit of patriotism among citizens. Similarly, language allows people to develop complex thoughts and to exchange those thoughts with others. Language and other forms of symbolic communication, such as art, enable people to create, explain, and record new ideas and information. In this day and age a great deal of arithmetic is expressed or communicated through symbols, enabling a flexible way for people to communicate even very complex thoughts with each other, for instance in the construction industry. Among several benefits that come with the starting of culture is self-identity. Self-identity usually depends on culture to such a great extent that immersion in a very different culture – with which a person does not share common ways of life or beliefs – can cause a feeling of confusion and disorientation or culture shock. Sharing culture enables people to cultivate a spir it of unity. Members of a society who share culture often also share some feelings of ethnocentrism, the notion that one’s culture is more sensible than or superior to that of other societies. Ethnocentrism contributes to the integrity of culture because it affirms people’s shared beliefs and values in the face of other, often contradictory, beliefs and values held by people of other cultural backgrounds. Cultural exchange can provide many benefits for all societies. Different societies can exchange ideas, people, manufactured goods, and natural resources. Such exchanges can also have drawbacks however. Often, the introduction of aspects of another society’s culture can disrupt the cohesive life of a people, Archer (1996). For example, the introduction of consumerism into many small societies has led to what anthropologists refer to as cargo cults. In cargo cults, people focus much of their religious energy and time on trying to magically acquire  commercial goods. Accordin g to a good number of experts, education has been a vital component of human civilizations. Today, policy makers and other concerned parties have woken up to the fact that education is crucial to the development of any nation. People are not born with culture; they have to learn it. For instance, people must learn to speak and understand a language and to abide by rules of a society. In many societies, all people must learn to produce and prepare food and to construct shelters. In other societies, people must learn a skill to earn money, which they then use to provide for themselves. Culture helps human societies survive in changing natural environments, Sowell, (1996). By enabling people to develop new technologies and learn how to subsist on new environmental conditions, people are empowered to survive. As a matter of fact, cultural adaptation has made humans one of the most successful species on the planet. Through history, major developments in technology, medicine, and nutrition have allowed people to reproduce and survive in ever-increasing numbers. The global population has risen from eight million during the Ice Age to almost six billion, Hall (1999:45). In conclusion, I remain of the opinion that culture depicts the way of life for any given social group. It covers all aspects of the human life including symbolic aspects, art, technology, ideologies among others. However, it is common tradition for experts today to categorize culture in terms of material and non-material culture. The material culture can be much closely linked to the means of production or earning a living or livelihood that has been adopted by a given people. The non-material culture has something to do with the beliefs, customs, norms, and other important non-material aspects of a people’s culture the society has adopted to ease the process of communication or cooperation. Culture is important for the development of any nation. It is common among anthropologists today to distinguish between developed and developing nations just by studying some aspects of the culture to that nation. Culture defines the means of production, type of technology and innovation among others. Culture is important if a given society should uphold those aspects of culture it considers to be working even for future generations. The shared aspect of culture enables people in the same society to share among other things, skills, norms, customs, and beliefs. Furthermore, while people biologically inherit many physical traits and behavioral instincts, culture is socially  inherited. A person must learn culture from other people in a society. Culture is also adaptive. People use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to changes in the world around them. Indeed, as can be noted from the above discussion, a society without culture is as good as dead. REFERENCES Anchor, J. (1990), An Examination of Cultural Influences on Behavior and nonverbal Communication. Gold, Tie Cooperations. Archer, M. (1996), Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory. Rev. ed. Cambridge University Press. Hall, E. (1959), The Silent Language. Doubleday, New York: Wiley & Sons. Sowell, T. (1996), Migrations and Cultures: A World View, London: Basic Books. Taylor, G. (1996), Cultural Selection, London: Basic Books.

Contribution Margin and Break Even Analysis

Many factors come into play in determining business success. One of them is the financial factor. For a company to set financial goals it is crucial that its management know in detail the products or services they sale or provide. This is the analysis of two different scenarios at Aunt Connie's Cookies Simulation (University of Phoenix, 2011) and the financial performance of Jamestown Electric Supply Company (Heiter, et. al. 2008). During both analysis I applied concepts like fixed and variable costs, contribution margin, break-even point, indifference point, and operating leverage. Aunt Connie's Cookies Scenario Simulation  The Aunt Connie's brand grew successfully producing Lemon Creme and Mint cookies. Maria Villanueva is the current chief executive officer of this family-owned company (University of Phoenix, 2011). She faces critical decisions to make because both the lemon creme and mint cookies prices increased and sales volume decreased. Maria should apply several accounting concepts to reach her goal of increasing sales and revenue for the company. Some opportunities and challenges lined up for Aunt Connie's Cookies like large bulk orders and the buyout of a competitor's factory (University of Phoenix, 2011). A confectioner commissioned Aunt Connie's Cookies to fill a bulk order of one million packages of the Real Mint cookies delivered in one month's time. The stipulations of the order weights greatly on the company as the confectioner will only pay $1. 20 per package, which is much cheaper than the mass market selling at $1. 50 per packet. Rejecting the order may seem foolish as Aunt Connie's Cookies has the capacity to produce the order, and could be missing out on a good opportunity if she declines to fill the order (University of Phoenix, 2011). In deciding which cookie's production to reduce, Maria took into account the concepts of contribution margin, unit contribution margin, and operating profits. This decision was necessary to create sufficient capacity to accommodate the mint cookies bulk order. The contribution margin is the amount of money that remians from the revenue obtained after sales to pay for fixed expenses and to contribute to the operating profits after deducting variable expenses. Alternatively, the unit contribution margin of each unit sales, in this case each pack of cookies adds to profit. Finally, operating profit is the profit earned from a company's core business operations, also known as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Maria calculated the contribution margin and the unit contribution margin for each type of cookie, determined to reduce the production of lemon creme cookies and to increase the production capacity for the bulk order of real mint cookies. Maria can sell mint cookies at $1. 20 per package, below the selling price of $1. 50 because the real mint cookies provide a greater total contribution margin and that the lemon cream cookies provides a greater unit contribution margin. Maria knew that Aunt Connie's Cookies should produce more of the cookies with the greater contribution margin per unit to maximize the shop's operating profit. If the scenario changed, and the bulk order was for lemon cookies, Maria would have to turn over the order to the confectioner. The unit contribution margin for the lemon cookies is smaller and Maria would have to increase the production capacity to make the same operating profit as for the mint cookies, to the point of going beyond the factory's production capacity. Maria faced the opportunity to buy a peanut butter cookie plant. She could use this plant to make more lemon creme cookies because the near-term demand exceeded 600,000 packs. The challenge for Maria is to make a decision about going forward or not with this business (University of Phoenix, 2011). If the new plant has a break-even volume of creme cookies of 650,000 packs, Maria must ensure that Aunt Connie's Cookie shop sales the same amount of packs or more. If the business sales less, it will make a loss, if it sells more, it will be a profit. The break-even point in volume is the point where the plant's fixed expenses are covered. In the case that Maria considers Aunt Connie's Cookie shop cannot sell that much, she may ensure viability of the plant by (1) trying to reduce the fixed costs (e. g. renegotiating rent, reducing telephone bills, insurance, etc. ), (2) trying to reduce variable costs (e. g. purchasing at lower cost the ingredients used to make cookies), or (3) increasing the selling price of the cookies. Any of these strategies can reduce the break-even point in volume. In the worst of the scenarios, Maria should not buy the peanut butter cookie plant. Key Learning Points. During the simulation I applied several concepts such as contribution margin, break-even point, fixed and variable costs, indifference point, and operating leverage. All these concepts interrelate and form part of the cost volume profit analysis tool. The application of these concepts by managers help organizations attain good financial performance. Cost volume profit analysis (CVP analysis) is a powerful tool that can help managers in understanding better the relationship that exists among the cost, the volume, and the profit in a business. Managers can make good business decision if they concentrate in trying to understand the interaction that exists among (1) the prices of product or services, (2) the level of activity, (3) the volume of product , (4) the variable cost per unit, (4) the total fixed costs and (5) and the mixture of the product or services. Business decision may be about changes to company's pricing policy, selection of a marketing strategy to use, choosing which products to manufacture or services to provide, and even about the acquision of new companies. The break-even point (BEP) is one element of CVP analysis. BEP is the level of output at which the profit is zero. Break even analysis helps managers determine how far sales can decline before their companies start to lose money. The indifference point is the volume at which costs for both labor-intensive operations and equipment intensive operations are equal. When volumes increase, revenues increase. However, the presence of lower variable costs per unit in equipment-intensive operations ensures that the operating profits increase more significantly when compared to labor-intensive operations. Equipment-intensive operations have higher fixed costs and lower variable costs per until when compared to labor -intensive operations. Jamestown Electric Supply Company. Jamestown Electric Supply Company has been in business for 45 years. The company designs, manufactures, and delivers electrical supplies in various forms to different type of businesses. Jamestown invested heavily in research and development of automotive electronic technology to provide its customers with modern functionality, safety, and performance. Jamestown products have outstanding features that create competitive advantage to commodities that customers regard as standard features on all automobiles. Jamestown has hundreds of diverse contracts with different divisions and plants of each of the major automobile manufacturers. Most of the contracts show good gross profit margin on sales, but others do not show acceptable bottom-line profits or show no profit. Although Jamestown's sales, continue to rise, profit declined in the period under analysis from 2003 to 2007 as showed on Exhibit One. Jamestown top managers believe that if sales growth remained positive, the problems with the profit would resolve. Warehousing and shipping managers think that customer service expenses are out of control and causing significant cost increases for the company. Jamestown customer services include overnight delivery of electronic component products, just-in-time inventory deliveries to client's plants, warehousing of client parts, special part support services, and many other customer services designed to gain and maintain clients. Exhibit One. Jamestown Electric Supply Company Income Statements for 2003 to 2007. Electric Supply Company financial performance is in jeopardy and top management have to change its customer service policy and marketing strategy after carefully analyzing the information obtained after performing a CVP analysis. The focus of the analysis should be in understanding the relationship between product price, volume, per unit variable cost, and the mix of products sold by Jamestown Electric. Calculating the contribution margin on the products which Jamestown Electric sales will allow management to know more in detail how much each unit sale will contribute to the company profit. Calculating the break-even point will provide information about which products do not bring either profit or loss, and about how far sales can decrease before Jamestown Electric starts to lose money. James Electric product cost structure has a higher percentage of variable costs than in fixed costs, which involves less operating leverage or risk. One of he options management should consider is to closely monitor the variable expenses incurred by customer service in order to increase the company profits. Jamestown Electrical Supply Company management will definitely benefit from setting a regular schedule to analyze contribution margins either monthly or quarterly to track product margin performance more accurately. Conclusion Managers can help their organizations achieve a good financial performance when they apply basic accounting concepts in their business strategic plans. Knowing the existing relationship between these concepts contribute to ensure their organization's financial success.

Discussion and Examples of Expectation States Theory

Discussion and Examples of Expectation States Theory Expectation states theory is an approach to understanding how people evaluate other people’s competence in small task groups and the amount of credibility and influence they give them as a result. Central to the theory is the idea that we evaluate people based on two criteria. The first criterion is specific skills and abilities that are relevant to the task at hand, such as prior experience or training. The second criterion is composed of status characteristics such as gender, age, race, education, and physical attractiveness, that encourage people to believe that someone will be superior to others, even though those characteristics play no role in the work of the group. Overview of Expectation States Theory Expectation states theory was developed by American sociologist and social psychologist Joseph Berger, along with his colleagues, in the early 1970s. Based on social psychological experiments, Berger and his colleagues first published a paper on the topic in 1972 in the American Sociological Review, titled Status Characteristics and Social Interaction. Their theory offers an explanation for why social hierarchies emerge in small, task-oriented groups. According to the theory, both known information and implicit assumptions based on certain characteristics lead to a person developing an assessment of anothers abilities, skills, and value. When this combination is favorable, we will have a positive view of their ability to contribute to the task at hand. When the combination is less than favorable or poor, we will have a negative view of their ability to contribute. Within a group setting, this results in a hierarchy forming in which some are seen as more valuable and important than others. The higher or lower a person is on the hierarchy, the higher or lower his or her level of esteem and influence within the group will be. Berger and his colleagues theorized that while an assessment of relevant experience and expertise is a part of this process, in the end, the formation of a hierarchy within the group is most strongly influenced by the effect of social cues on the assumptions that we make about others. The assumptions we make about people - especially who we dont know very well or with whom we have limited experience - are largely based on social cues that are often guided by stereotypes of race, gender, age, class, and looks. Because this happens, people who are already privileged in society in terms of social status end up being favorably assessed within small groups, and those who experience disadvantages due to these characteristics will be negatively assessed. Of course, its not just visual cues that shape this process, but also how we comport ourselves, speak, and interact with others. In other words, what sociologists call cultural capital makes some appear more valuable and others less so. Why Expectation States Theory Matters Sociologist Cecilia Ridgeway has pointed out in a paper titled Why Status Matters for Inequality  that as these trends perpetuate over time, they lead to certain groups having  more influence and power than others. This makes members of higher status groups appear to be right and worthy of trust, which encourages those in lower status groups and people in general to trust them and to go along with their way of doing things. What this means is that social status hierarchies, and the inequalities of race, class, gender, age, and others that go along with them, are fostered and perpetuated by what happens in small group interactions. This theory seems to bear out in the wealth and income disparities between white people and people of color, and between men and women, and would seem to correlate with both women and people of color reporting that they are frequently presumed incompetent or presumed to occupy positions of employment and status lower than they actually do. Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes!

How to Celebrate Even the Biggest Mistakes! Big Mistakes in Big Companies In a famous 2010 tale, Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh chose not to fire an employee who had made a $1.6 million mistake. In another story, a CEO actually thanked the IT guy who caused the company’s site to go down (causing a loss of thousands of dollars per hour) for uncovering a systematic weakness that needed to be fixed. See Top 5 Reasons to Celebrate Mistakes at Work. My Blog Mistake I did not know these anecdotes until I sat down to write this blog about mistakes. Last week, as many of you are aware, I wrote a draft of my blog and sent it to my assistant with a request that she come up with an appropriate title for the article. She offered six suggestions, with her top pick being â€Å"3 Trends Effecting LinkedIn That You Need to Know.† I wrote back the following: I chose #3 [3 Ways LinkedIn Times are a Changin’] and updated the title on WordPress. Note it would be Affecting not Effecting!! The next thing I knew, the blog had gone out to my e-list with the original subject line, the word â€Å"Effecting† intact. Oops. The emails rolled in: I noticed a spelling mistake in your subject title. It should read 3 Trends Affecting LinkedIn†¦. I see this error a lot, but thought you might want to make a note of it. It should be 3 trends AFFECTING Did you use effecting rather than affecting on purpose? Living â€Å"Above the Line† My first response was â€Å"This is bad.† I mean, here I was, a writer and editor, making an error that I’ve actually blogged about in the past! See Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012. But as I aim to do in my life, I looked at where the opportunity was in the face of this breakdown. I’ve taken plenty of personal growth courses where we are coached to say things like â€Å"Yay! I made a mistake!† So how could I, dare I say, celebrate this initially embarrassing mistake in my blog title? I issued a correction as soon as possible, thanking my readers for their eagle eyes and explaining what had happened. I did my best to convey an understanding that mistakes happen, and that I probably need another round of editorial proofing before sending out my blog. One message from a reader confirmed I had done the right thing: Love the graceful save you did on this you got it goin on, as they say, girl. Always a fan. When I can ever get a moment I want to work with you to update my LI profile! In the grand scheme of things, this was a small mistake. While I feared I might lose clients over it, since people count on me to know English grammar and spelling, I hope my correction set the record straight. No one was injured or taken advantage of as a result of this mistake. Celebrating Mistakes! Mistakes are the way we learn most in life. Looking back, I can see that my mistake last week was a testament to my ability to trust another person to do work for me! It would not have happened if I had not expanded my business to the point where I need an assistant. The mistake also showed me that many of my readers care and are paying attention. And I was given the opportunity to â€Å"play above the line,† issuing a correction that was gracious and non-blaming. I got to show my commitment to quality, and that I was unwilling to let something like this error go unaddressed! I recently spoke with someone who told me about a $250K mistake she once made at work. When she went to her boss expecting to be fired, she had another thing coming. He appreciated her honesty and let the monetary loss roll off his back. As he said, he could always make another $250K, but he would not be able to get her back. That’s how I feel about what happened with my assistant. I wouldn’t let this one mistake color my undying appreciation of what she does for me and how responsible she is when she does make a mistake! In fact, in the midst of writing this blog, I took a break to apologize to her for my initial â€Å"This is bad† response. I have a lot to learn about celebrating my own mistakes and the mistakes of the people around me. And I’d love to hear what you have learned in your life! How have you celebrated mistakes? How could you or someone around you have done better in their response to a mistake? I look forward to hearing what you have to share!

Maritsa Plcs Using the Capital Asset Pricing Model Essay

Maritsa Plcs Using the Capital Asset Pricing Model - Essay Example Using the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the cost of capital is computed as: where: kc is the cost of capital; krf is the risk free rate; ß is the systematic risk of the common stock’s return relative to the market as a whole; and km-krf is the market risk premium, which is equal to the difference in the expected rate of return for the market as a whole2. In order to choose the most profitable investment to be pursued, the Net Present Value (NPV) technique will be used. This method of capital budgeting is widely used because of its recognition of the time value of money3. Thus, annual cash flows will be discounted order to arrive at their present values.Table 1 shows the computation of NPV for the first option which is to renew the rent contract and extend the facility for higher production. It should be noted that the values are expressed in unit  £. It can be seen that the rent payments are adjusted each year to take into account the annual 5% inflation. The NPV for Option 1 is computed as - £2,562,594. Table 2 shows the computation of NPV for the second option which is to purchase a larger facility to accommodate the increasing demand for the products. Like in the first option, all values are expressed in unit  £. Consistent with the case, this paper assumes that the company is able to secure financing through five-year debe nture with an 11.5% annual interest. It is also assumed that the company borrows the whole amount that it used to purchase the building which is equivalent to  £2,500,000. This paper also assumes that interest payments are taxable thus; it opts to deduct the tax shield from interest payments in the cash outflow. This paper also assumes that the building will be sold at  £5,000,000 after the ten-year period. The computed NPV for the ten-year period is - £1,674,701.

Argumentative research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Argumentative research paper - Essay Example Now, think about how different that morning ritual might have been without the technology? In fact, most human beings consider most of the modern technology that they use today to be pretty commonplace. This is mainly because technology enables them to fully perform multiple tasks in a great and quick fashion. Of course, there is a moment when that ceases to be a good thing. Likewise, in contemporary days, most adults perceive the technology that they use at work, at home or at school, as tools to use in the aim to accomplish a specific task. On the other hand, others have a very different and potentially dangerous relationship with technology. This is the kind of dangerous relationship that arises when people, as a society, become so completely dependent upon their technology that they become nearly useless without it. Some people believe that this dependence could lead to a dark future for humanity. The Millennials, the name given to those born between the early 1990 to the present , have been inundated with the convenience of advancing technologies all of their lives (McGlynn 12-13). The Millennials possess a false sense of entitlement - a laziness that is born of excessive convenience, and a total loss of self-sufficiency. For this reason, the Millennials overwhelming fixation, total reliance, and complete dependence on technology will lead to nearly helpless and hapless future generations. As mentioned earlier, the perspective and purpose of technology has changed greatly from the period mankind first began implementing the earliest technology. Since the beginning of society, people have invented tools that make their lives simpler, more productive and efficient. For instance, the wheel changed the transportation of goods. As an outcome of this, people improved that concept with the invention of trains and automobiles. However, many people still do not see the modernizations of technology as helpful. This is because they see technology as a means to perform tasks for them, rather than teaching them how to actually do things without using the technology. To demonstrate that, some people would likely write letters by using their iPads, rather than taking the time/effort to write them with their pens. This suggests that people may lose some basic life skills (like handwriting) if they keep using the new means of technology exclusively. Generation X, the first techno-generation, was literate and comfortable with new technologies. Nonetheless, most of their skills can be surpassed by children half their age from the Millennial generation today (Rapoza 49). While Generation X was competent with technology, Millennials are completely dependent on it. Indeed, the Millennials account for approximately 70 to 80 million people, which is roughly equal to 33% of the population of the United States (McGlynn 12-16). This dependence can be dangerous if it is passed on to the next generations as that dependence will only become more natural and common . When one looks at some of the different aspects of modern technology, (televisions that respond to voice commands, computers that answer any questions you have, and GPS that tell you how to reach your destination), one can see man’s modern willingness to allow technology to do everything for them, as opposed to using them as tools to accomplish a task. This is interesting because science fiction writers dreamt of such things many decades ago. As a