Classroom Observation Report free essay sample

I watched general instruction kindergarten class at Monte Vista Elementary school in the Albuquerque government funded school locale in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The arrangement of the study hall had four round tables with six seats for the limit of 24 understudies altogether. The round tables were set as a ‘U’ with the opening towards the front of the study hall. There was a vivid floor covering in the ‘U†, with the letters in order showed on it. With the situation of the tables, it was simple for the instructor and instructing aides to stroll around to help any understudy out of luck. The vivid region floor covering was intended for all to hear understanding exercises and exercises. The class was sorted out. All toys, supplies and materials were named and stowed away containers in the rear of the homeroom where anybody can without much of a stretch access it. The exercise design was organized and it was shown in the front of the class with a period plan. We will compose a custom paper test on Study hall Observation Report or on the other hand any comparative point explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Understudies enter the study hall, set aside their things and take part in around 20 minutes of available time. Available time comprises of mingling, playing with toys, number squares and the sky is the limit from there. Understudies at that point play out the vow of faithfulness; tune in to the morning declarations and any remarks the instructor needs to make for the afternoon. At that point they likewise select the line head, entryway holder and nibble aides for the afternoon. From that point forward, the understudies experience their morning schedule which comprises of discussing the letter set, hues and addressing straightforward inquiries. The majority of the guidance is done on the floor covering in the front of the homeroom. This space is utilized so understudies can connect with the teacher and draw near to the book or material that is being introduced. The tables the understudies sit at are utilized to finish composed work or different assignments. The educator and TA’s utilize a three hit framework with the understudies. At the point when an understudy is approached to change their negative conduct for the third time, they are disconnected from the remainder of the gathering. For successful study hall the executives, the instructor set up conduct objectives and gives motivating forces to act well. While strolling around the study hall, instructing collaborators remain near issue spots and transform the ring heads into class pioneers. There were around three understudies with an enthusiastic or conduct issue in the study hall. With a passionate or conduct issue these understudies have failure to learn, to keep up acceptable relational connections, they likewise have unseemly kinds of practices or sentiments and the inclination to create physical indications or fears. One youngster had a hissy fit in the understanding exercise. Evidently, he didn't care for the story being advised and chosen to shout and cry. Rather than a training partner evacuating the kid and separating him from the class, she began to reprimand him and make a scene before different kids. The child’s inspiration for this conduct was to get away from the exercise being told. Early intercession and distinguishing proof is basic so as to keep away from these circumstances. Subsequent to watching the top notch, I discovered that it is fundamental to make a positive and significant condition and fuse uplifting feedback. The standards showed were certain, however the results and how the educators and showing collaborator utilized negative fortification for their understudies caused an incredible force battle.

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Free Essays

Physical topography has a significant Influence to the story. The subjects of topography that primarily relate to the story are Place, Human/Environmental Interactions, and Movement. Spot can have physical and human qualities. We will compose a custom exposition test on Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini or then again any comparative subject just for you Request Now The physical topography of Afghanistan changed after the wars and the Taliban assaults. For instance, before in the â€Å"old days the breeze moved through the flooded fields around Islamabad where ranchers developed sugar stick and the pleasantness impregnated the air. † Now there were tight street and evaporates canals. In Kabul when Hosannas and Emir were little fellows, they used to run up slopes encompassed by Poplar and Pomegranate trees. Treetops could be seen jabbing from behind the houses as they played. Presently the majority of the trees were gone utilized as wood for timber to shield Taliban from covering up. Where before you could blades road merchants and cafés, presently there are just dusty streets, deserted structures, and bums. The quantity of poor people and stranded kids expanded after the wars. The adjustment in this geological sense changed the lifestyle of the Afghan’s on the grounds that now they were destitute in light of the fact that their homes were taken over by â€Å"guest† as the alluded to the Taliban. They were left without Jobs, methods of developing yields and accommodating their families. The war left sign and youngsters husbandly and bastard. Another subject of topography that relates is development. Due to the war, individuals had to migrate. Those that had cash fled from Afghanistan. Angel and Emir left from Kabul tyrannical and into an outside nation, America, in anticipation of a superior future. In Afghanistan they were the distinguished class and In America they turned into the average workers. The accompanying ethnic gatherings spoke to In Kite Runner are Afghans. Pakistanis, Arabs, Palestinian, Iranians, Russians, and Germans. The significant ethnic gatherings spoke to are the Afghans’ separated into two significant gatherings, the Hazard’s and the Pushpins, and the Pakistanis. The Hazard’s are untouchables as indicated by different Afghans in light of their Mongolia indigenous individuals of eastern and southeast Asia and Arctic district. They are likewise viewed as outcasts in light of the fact that the Hazard’s are Shiite Muslims In a for the most part Sunnis Muslim country. The Pushpins are the predominant ethnic gathering In Afghanistan representing the greater part of the populace. The Pushpins are Sunnis Muslims in a Sunnis Muslim Nation. Most of Pakistanis practice Islam. Islam oversees their own, lawful, political and financial pieces of their life. Pakistanis live in a various leveled society and are regard in light old enough and position. There are numerous instances of their contentions over the span of the novel. One model Is when Hosannas discovers his mother’s history book and starts understanding it. In the book he finds an inure section about the Hazards and how they were mistreated and abused by the Pushpins. At the point when he takes it to his instructor, he answers, â€Å"That’s the one thing Shih’s individuals progress admirably, passing themselves as saints. † This show how they vary and how they hate one another. Another model is the point at which the educator ells Emir, that Iranians are â€Å"grinning smooth talkers who praised you with one hand and picked your pocket with the other. † This shows how they disdain each other despite the fact that the Iranians, Like the Hazards, are Shih’s Muslims. Another model with me in Mazda†¦ We forgot about them for the dogs†¦ † This shows the Taliban couldn't take care of their disparities and they had so much contempt that they accepted the Hazards were as critical as creatures. The epic reliably coordinates the truth of now is the right time. All through the book, it specifies dates critical to the plot yet additionally occasions that occurred in all actuality. For instance, it spilled about King Mohammad Sahara Shah being sent away to Italy and being toppled by his cousin Mohammad Doodad Khan in 1973. At the point when further research was done, it end up being right with genuine occasions. Another case of this was the point at which the book makes reference to that the Taliban dominated and slaughtered the Hazard’s in 1998. After further investigations, it end up being precise with the genuine occasions. Another true occasion represented in the novel was the point at which it makes reference to the United States boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. After research, it is demonstrated that the realities given in the novel match the occasions that really happened. Step by step instructions to refer to Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Papers

MLA vs APA InfographicÂ

MLA vs APA Infographic   (25) When we talk about style at , we’re not talking about the clothes, shoes, or accessories we’re rocking. We’re talking about the best type of style there is â€" citation styles!   Even though there are thousands of citation styles in existence (yes, thousands!), the world generally revolves around the two most commonly used citation styles: MLA and APA. Both have been around for quite a long time and most students and researchers use one or the other to cite their sources. Even though MLA and APA are popular citation styles that are taught in thousands of schools each year, there are always tons of questions about the differences between the two. That’s why we’ve put together a handy visual infographic showing the main differences between MLA and APA.   If you’ve been wondering what MLA and APA stands for, which disciplines use the styles, how the names of authors and titles are displayed, or how to format MLA in-text citations, look no further! Our colorful infographic has the main differences highlighted just for you. It’s easy to read, easy to understand, and will give you the lowdown on the main points you need to know about MLA vs. APA. If that wasn’t enough, we even have examples thrown in to help you make sense of everything. #winning! After you’ve read through our infographic, head to our homepage, and give our citation generator and grammar checker a whirl. Both are innovative, easy-to-use tools to help rock any and all research projects  and written assignments. Head on over and try them out now!   Do you like Dr. Seuss quotes? Do you have writing assignments about historical figures like Winston Churchill? Do you do reports on authors like Mark Twain? If you said yes to any of these, checkout the EasyBib topic guides for fun history facts and quotes you can use in your next paper.

Employee engagement - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 29 Words: 8567 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Structured Equation Modeling for testing the impact of Organizational Communication Satisfaction on Employee Engagement. ABSTRACT Communication Satisfaction plays a very critical role in achieving employee engagement in organizations. It becomes even more significant and relevant in the context of the recent global crisis wherein organizations focus on employee engagement was high and was aimed towards employee retention and motivation. While several researchers have studied the relationship between communication and employee involvement, very few studies have established a relationship between Communication Satisfaction and Employee Engagement. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Employee engagement" essay for you Create order Using the second-generation analytical technique Structural Equation Modeling, the present study examines the relationship between various components of Organization Communication Satisfaction (Organization Integration, Supervisory Communication, Personal Feedback, Communication Climate and Media Quality) and various components of Employee Engagement (Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition). A modified version of the Downs Hazens Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire was administered on 235 personnel in the Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services industry in India. The scale was tested for reliability and validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The results indicate that Organization Communication Satisfaction has a positive impact on Employee Engagement. The study findings have strategic implications for organizations with regard to laying a greater emphasis on increasing communication satisfaction through various human re source interventions, both at macro and micro levels in the organization. Introduction Employee engagement has been drawing a lot of importance in various organizations in recent times. A global workforce study conducted by Towers Perrin in 2007-2008 revealed that only 21% of the employees were engaged. A more disturbing finding of the study was that 38% of the employees were partly to fully disengaged. The study also concluded that companies with the higher levels of employee engagement are able to retain their valued employees as also achieve better financial results. Similarly, Gallup has also conducted a study on employee engagement and found that 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs, 54% are not engaged, and 17% are actively disengaged. Many researchers have studied employee engagement and have found that employee engagement predicts employee outcomes, organizational success and financial performance (Bates, 2004; Harter et al., 2002,). Similarly, Hewitt Associates (LLC, 2005, p.1) have also established a strong relationship between employee engagem ent and profitability through higher productivity, sales, customer satisfaction and employee retention. Unfortunately though, a lot of literature available is only those from Consulting firms and there is very little theoretical or empirical research available on employee engagement. Today, as a result of continuous organizational restructuring (mergers, acquisitions, downturn imperatives), it is commonly observed that organizations are resorting to right sizing strategies. It certainly becomes the most critical priority of CEOs around the world to ensure that the employees who survive the layoffs are fully engaged. Research indicates that there is a decline in engagement levels and that there is deepening disengagement among employees today (Saks, 2006; Richman, 2006; Bates, 2004). It has also been reported that the majority of workers today, roughly half of all Americans in the workforce are not fully engaged or they are dis engaged leading to what has been referred to as an engagement gap that is costing US business $300 billion a year in lost productivity (Saks, 2006, Bates 2004, Johnson, 2004 Kowalski, 2003). Further, with the world becoming a global market place, where every thing is becoming a commodity, people and management of peoples talent are becoming very critical components of an organizations ability to service its customer. Managing dis-engaged employees or non- engaged employees in a customer facing role is therefore that much more critical to the success and profitability of the business. Lockwood explains, As organizations move forward into a boundaryless environment, the ability to attract, engage, develop and retain talent will hence, become increasingly important In addition to the various literatures available from consultants, there have been a few researches conducted on the antecedents and consequences of employee engagement and also What is employee engagement. A very exhaustive analysis of employee engagement has bee done by Macey and Schneider (2008). In the study employee engagement has been explained as 3 facests viz., Psychological state engagement (Satisfaction, involvement, commitment, empowerment), Trait engagement (personality, conscientiousness) and Behavioural engagement (Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, Personal initiative, role expansion). Another research indicates that employee engagement constitutes two aspects viz., job engagement and organization engagement (Saks, 2006). Saks (2006 further found that employee engagement was significantly positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour and negatively related to intention to quit. Organizational Communication plays a very critical part in ensuring employee engagement. It has been established that clear, consise and honest communication is an important tool for employee engagement (Lockwood). It is further established that lack of communication or poorly communicated information can lead to distrust, dissatisfaction, skepticism and unwanted employee turnover. Studies demonstrate that there is a significant influence of Interpersonal trust on individual, group and organizational achievements (Earley, 1986; Robinson, 1996), Job Satisfaction (Driscoll, 1978; Muchinsky, 1977), Job Involvement (Saks, 2006) and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (Konovsky Pugh, 1994; McAllister, 1995). Studies have also underlined the central role of communication in developing and maintaining Trust (Gail, Zolin, Hartman, 2009; Becerra Gupta, 2003; Muchinsky, 1977). With particular reerence to recession, downsizing has become a harsh reality over the past 2 decades. These downsizing strategies come with other negative consequences of attrition of employees who are not impacted by downsizing. The problem is more profound when the attriting employees are top performers or employees with skills critical to future growth plans of the organization. Various studies have proved that downsizing negatively affects attitudes of employees surviving the downsizing by reducing organizational commitment, morale, job satisfaction and also increasing intention to quit and job stress (Arnold and Feldman, 1982; Greenhalge, 1982; Kozlowski et. al, 1993). It is therefore, very important for organizations to find ways to retain the attriting employees afer downsizing. Managerial communication and Organizational support can be looked at as possible avenues to reduce the negative effects of downsizing. Communication becomes very critical because employees believe that their organization holds them in low regard and ignores their interest (Anderson, 1996; Mclean Parks and Kidder, 1994). They also suspect that management communication is not credible for tat information is being withheld (Noer 1993, ONeill and Lenn, 1995). Employees need to understand how they fit into the overall plans of the organization in terms of their roles and contribution to the growth plans of the organizations. Various surveys in this regard indicate that employees want more communication with their managers (Argenti, 1998). There are various studies that have established a positive relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction (Petit, Gori s and Vaught, 1997; Pincus 1996) and organization commitment (Varona, 1996). A communication ROI study by Watson Wyatt (2007-2008) revealed that firms that communicate effectively are 4 times as likely to report high levels of employee engagement as firms that communicate less effectively. This study therefore, attempts to establish the impact of Organizational communication on mediating role of Trust in the relationship between Organizational Communication Satisfaction on Employee Engagement in the Information Technology / Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES) industry in India. We have selected the IT/ITES) industry because of the significance of the impact during the recent recessionary period. Literature Review and Research Hypothesis Organizational Communication Organisation communication constitutes many dimensions spanning from formal and informal means of internal communication and external communications. A review of literature in this area reveals that Organizational communication can be classified into four different levels (SHRM Magazine) (i) Overall Organizational communication (ii) Inter-organizational communication (iii) Group-level communication (iv) Interpersonal communication Further, review of the research in this area underlines the importance of organizational communication towards building commitment, satisfaction and retention of employees in an organization. A number of studies (Burhans 1971, Downs 1971, Jain 1970) studied the relevance and importance of satisfaction with organizational communication. Such examinations of the communication-satisfaction relationship have produced, a construct called communication satisfaction, which is becoming a common reference in organizational literature (Downs and Hazen, 1977). Downs and Hazen, introduced the Communications Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) and conducted a factor analytic study of communication satisfaction. This study established eight stable definitions of communication satisfaction, which has also been enumerated as follows in another study by Clampitt Downs, 1993: Communication Climate reflects communication on both the organizational and personal level. On one hand, it includes items such as the extent to which communication in the organization motivates and stimulates workers to meet organizational goals and the extent to which it makes them identify with the organization. On the other, it includes estimates of whether or not peoples attitudes toward communicating are healthy in the organization. Supervisory Communication includes both upward and downward aspects of communicating with superiors. Three of the principal items include the extent to which a superior is open to ideas, the extent to which the supervisor listens and pays attention, and the extent to which guidance is offered in solving job-related problems. Organizational Integration revolves around the degree to which individuals receive information about the immediate work environment. Items include the degree of satisfaction with information about departmental plans, the requirements of their jobs, and some personnel news. Media Quality deals with the extent to which meetings are well organized, written directives are short and clear, and the degree to which the amount of communication is about right. Co-worker Communication concerns the extent to which horizontal and informal communication is accurate and free flowing. This factor also includes satisfaction with the activeness of the grapevine. Corporate Information deals with broadest kind of information about the organization as a whole. It includes items on notification about changes, information about the organizations financial standing, and information about the overall policies and goals of the organization. Personal Feedback is concerned with the workers need to know how they are being judged and how their performance is being appraised. Subordinate Communication focuses on upward and downward communication with subordinates. Only workers in a supervisory capacity respond to these items, which include subordinate responsiveness to downward communication and the extent to which subordinates initiate upward communication. Crino White (1981) investigated Communication Satisfaction with 137 supervisors from textile mills. Similarly, Pincus (1986) used the CSQ in a study of nurses and their supervisors to investigate the relationship between communication and job satisfaction and job performance. These findings had resulted in the CSQ being the most widely used scale when measuring communication satisfaction. The notable aspect though is, that the studies by Downs Hazens (1977) and Crino White (1981) exploratory factor analysis rather than confirmator factor analysis for assessing the validity of the CSQ. Theerefore, the convergent and discriminant validity of the CSQ was under question. Further, until the introduction of CSQ, Communication was considered as an unidimensional construct. The underlying belief was that employees are either satisfied or dis-satisfied with communication. However, with the introduction of the CSQ changed it communication satisfaction to be viewed as a multi-dimensional construct wherein, employees could be satisfied or dis-sastisfied with one or more aspects of communication and be dis-satisfied. Gary and Laidlaw (2004) assessed the CSQ using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Their study used a series of congeneric measurement models to study the validity and reliability of the CSQ. Based on the study, Gary Laidlaw concluded, the results substantiate CSQ as a valid instrument for measuring communication satisfaction and supports the multi-dimensional aspects of the communication satisfacation construct. This study therefore, proposes to establish the convergent and discriminant validity and reliability of the CSQ for the purpose of IT/ITES sector in India. The study also proposes to establish the relationships between the individual dimensions of Organizational Communication Satisfaction using First order and Second order Confirmatory Factor Analysis. H1 : Dimensions of Organisation Communication Satisfaction are inter-related H2 : Organisational Communication Satisfaction is explained by Organisational Integration, Supervisory communication, Personal Feedback, Corporate Information, Communication Climate and Media Quality. Employee Engagement Employee engagement has been drawing a lot of importance in various organizations in recent times. There have been few research works on employee engagement (Robinson et al, 200) and most of understanding comes from Consulting firms and Independent Research agencies. There have been various definitions of employee engagement. Employee engagement is the level of commitment and involvement an employee has towards their organization and its values (Vazirani, 2007). Engagement is the willingness and ability to contribute to company success, the extent to which employees put discretionary effort into their work, in the form of extra time, brainpower and energy (Towers Perrin, 2007). Often used as a synonym for motivation or motivation and retention; engagement is really more fundamental. Engagement is an employees decision to apply his discretionary effort to the goals of the enterprise, to accept those goals as his own and wholeheartedly commit himself to achieving them. (Fineman Carter 2007) Though employee engagement as a concept has been drawing a lot of importance, it is still a term widely referred among consulting firms and independent research agencies. There have been very few empirical research initiatives in the academic world to establish the definition of the construct employee engagement. Mickey and Schneider (2008) have done a detailed study on the meaning of employee engagement and have established a series of propositions covering 3 facets : a) Psychological stage engagement b) Behavioural engagement c) Trait engagement. This research though will focus on the psychological state engagement facet since this has received maximum attention and is central to the engagement issue. Further, the scope of the research is focussed towards examining the impact of Organizational Communication Satisfaction on Employee Engagement. Past researches on similar subjects have all focussed on studying the relationship between Organizational Communication Satisfaction on individual aspects of State Engagement viz., Satisfaction, Commitment and Involvement. Mickey and Schneider (2008), while explaining the psychological state engagement have studied 4 different aspects viz., Job satisfaction, Organizational commitment, Psychological empowerment and Job involvement. They have further referred to various related research in each of the above aspects and thereby analyse each of the aboe aspects as a facet or antecedent or consequence of employee engagement. Their study and analysis is as follows : Engagement as Job Satisfaction In defining Job Satisfaction as a facet of employee engagement, the views of Erickson (2005) are noteworthy; Engagement is above or beyond simple satisfaction with the employment arrangement or basic loyalty to the employer. Engagement in contrast is about passion and commitment, the willingness to invest oneself and expand ones discretionary effort to help the employer succeed Therefore, it is beyond basic loyalty and is about the emotional aspect of Job satisfaction that triggers emotions and feelings of energy, enthusiasm and thereby constitutes a very important aspect of Engagement. Engagement as Organization Commitment In defining Organizational commitment as an important facet of employee engagement, the views from various contributions are noteworthy (Wellins and Concelman, 2005; OReilly Chatman, 1986; Mowday, Porter Steers, 1982; Meyer and Allens, 1997; Meyer, Becker Vanderberghe, 2004). These significant contributions lead to definitions; employees exert extra energy in support of the organization, feel proud as a key contrinbutor to the organization and its success and enjoy a personal identity with the organization. This leads to organization commitment being defined as a key facet of engagement (Mickey Schneider, 2008). While analysing organization commitment, there is also an analysis around organization / job withdrawal thereby suggesting that commitment as a state of engagement also relates to how long an employee stays as a result of commitment (The Corporate Executive Board, 2006) Engagement as Job Involvement The next aspect analysed by Mickey and Schneider (2008) is Job Involvement. Job Involvement has been defined as the degree to which an employee psychologically relates to his or her job and the work performed therein and specifically equated job involvement and job commitment (Cooper-Hakim and Visweswaran, 2005). Brown (1996), Mathieu and Zajacs (1990) have also come up the conclusion that job involvement is an antecedent to organizational commitment. Brown further concluded that organizational withdrawal decisions are less related to job involvement than to organizational commitment. Erickson (2005) described job involvement as a key antecedent of the state of engagement. Based on the analysis and significant well researched contributions, we identify Job Satisfaction, Organizational commitment and withdrawal as key facets of employee engagement. Further, Saks (2006) has conducted a good study on the antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. The research conceptualized engagement as being reflective of the extent to which an individual is psychologically present in a particular organizational role (Kahn, 1990; Rothbard, 2001). It was further conceptualized that there are two dominant roles attributable to most organizational members viz., their work role and their role as a member of the organization. These two roles led to the two components of employee engagement: Job and Organization engagement. Saks (2006) further found that that Job and Organization engagement were significantly positively related to Job satisfaction, organizational commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior, and negatively related to intention to quit. In summary, employee engagement is about ones emotional commitment towards the organization, being psychologically involved and willingness ability to walk that extra mile in achieving the Organizational goals and objectives. Based on the above review, it is understood that employee engagement mainly constitutes three aspects viz., Organizational commitment, job satisfaction and intention to stay. This study aims at establishing a relationship between the facets / components of Employee Engagement using 2nd order Confirmatory Factor Analysis. This study further proposes to establish the convergent and discriminant validity and reliability of the various facets of employee engagement using First and Second order Confirmatory Factor Analysis H3 : Dimensions of Employee Engagement are interrelated H4 : Employee engagement is explained by Organisational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Withdrawl Cognition Organization Communication Satisfaction and Employee Engagement The next dimension studied was the relationship between Organizational Communication and Employee Engagement in organizations. Employees see managers as trustworthy when their communication is accurate and forthcoming. In addition, adequate explanations and timely feedback on decisions lead to higher levels of trust (Folger Konovsky, 1989; Konovsky Cropanzano, 1991; Sapienza Korsgaard, 1996). Evidently, managers who take the time to explain their decisions thoroughly are likely to be perceived as trustworthy. Finally, open communication, in which managers exchange thoughts and ideas freely with employees, enhances perceptions of trust (Butler, 1991; Farris, Senner, Butterfield, 1973; Gabarro, 1978; Hart, Capps, Cangemi, Caillouet, 1986). Lockwood states that lack of communication or poorly communicated information can lead to distrust, dissatisfaction, skepticism, cynicism and unwanted turnover. This is even more relevant in times of crisis as observed by Meyers in 1986 ; When a crisis occurs, employees are affected on a personal level, in ways and to an extent unlike in any other audience. Their immediate reaction is often to be stunned and lose a sense of common purpose and cohesiveness Gripped by fear, employees may stray from their sense of reality and turn inward, focusing exclusively on their personal needs and ignoring the organizations needs. Pincus Acharya, 1998 observed that Employees who are uncertain about their jobs, health, or safety may deny, misinterpret, selectively perceive, or tune out information from management about the crisis situation because they may be blinded by their own sense of a personal crisis. These studies lead us the understanding that clear, consice, timely and honest communication is a very important management tool towards building employee engagement in Organizations (Lockwood). As discussed earlier, there have been many consultants and independent research organizations, which have established communication as a very critical component in enabling employee engagement in organizations. Further, there have been individual studies relating organizational communication and the individual facets and antecedents of employee engagement. This study proposes to study the relationship of Organization Communication Satisfaction on Employee Engagement using second-generation analysis tecnique, Structural Equation Modelling. H5 : Organisation Communication Satisfaction has a positive impact on Employee Engagement.. Research Methodology Questionnaire Design The Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (Downs and Hazens, 1977) was selected for the Organization Communication construct of the study. We have used on seven factors of the CSQ beause the eighth factor, subordinate communication since this study was not aimed at personnel in their role as employees and not supervisors. For the Employee Engagement construct, each of the individual facets was measured on borrowed scales. Job Satisfaction was measured on 5 items taken from the scale developed by Price and Muellar (1986). Organization Commitment was measured on 6 items taken from the scale developed by Meyer, Allen and Smith (1997) while Withdrawal Cognition was measured on 3-item scale developed by De Conninck and Bachmann (2005). Since we are using borrowed scales for each of the constructs, it is important to first establish the validity and reliability of the scale. In other words, the items must reflect what they are intended to measure (face validity) and represent a proper sample of the domain of each construct (content valididty), and pass other tests of validity (discriminant, convergent and predictive validity) in order for a measure to have construct validity (Hardesty and Bearden, 2003). As a first step, we carried out a face validity of the constructs of the study. Based on the approaches discussed by Hardesty and Bearden, we identified a panel of 7 judges to assess the face validity. The judges were exposed to the definition of each construct, overall scope and objective of the study and the individual items under each construct (Total number of items was 49). Each judge was requested to rate the importance and relevance of the item to the constructs conceptual definition on a scale of 1-10 (1-Lea st important to 10-Most Important). (eg. How would items like I find real enjoyment in my job or I am seldom bored with my job). Additional remarks were also sought from the judges on whether multiple items under a construct mean the same and also which among the items was a better representative of the constructs conceptual definition. These results were summarized by Judge for each item and the items which were given a weightage of less than 8 were considered for reduction. During the content validity stage, the judges unanimously felt that co-worker communication, as a dimension was not too relevant from an engagement perspective since a lot of it was not largely under the control of the organization. However, one item in the co-worker communication was felt necessary to be included viz., Extent to which communication practices are adaptable to emergencies and hence, the same was retained and included in the dimension Communication climate. Similarly, the item viz., Information a bout changes in our organization and Information about company goals and policies were the only 2 items left under the dimenstion Corporate Information. Since it is required to have atleast 3 items under each dimension / factor for Structured Equation Modelling, these 2 items were grouped under the dimension Organizational Integration. Therefore, in the final questionnaire (total number of items 29), Organizational Communication Satisfaction was reduced to 5 factors viz., Organizational Integration, Supervisory Communication, Personal Feedback, Communication Climate and Media Quality. The factors under Employee Engagement were all retained viz., Organization commitment, Job satisfaction and Withdrawl cognition. In addition to the 2 sections representing the main constructs of the study, the questionnaire also covered a brief write up covering the purpose of the study as well as explicit statements of assurance to the respondents about the confidentiality of their responses and that the responses would be used for academic purposes only. Data Collection and Sampling : For this study, primary data was collected through structured undisguised questionnaires adminstered to the respondents. Questionnaires were administered through personal contacts / meetings and through mail as per the convenience of the respondent at home or in office. The respondents were requested to spare few minutes to provide categorical responses to items in the questionnaire The respondents for the study were selected from the personnel of organizations in Information Technology (IT) / Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry in India. A total of 275 questionnaires were administered to the respondents. 264 questionnaires were found to be complete in all respects, giving a response rate of 96.%. A further 29 invalid questionnaires were eliminated (those questionnaires where too many items were left unanswered or the same response was given to all the questions) and thereby 235 valid questionnaires were taken for further analysis. Measurements The study hypothesis covers 2 Constructs Organization Communication Satisfaction (OCS) and Employee Engagement (EE). OCS is measured for 5 key dimensions / Factors viz., Organization Integration, Supervisory Communication, Personal Feedback, Communication Climate and Media Quality while EE is measured on 3 key dimensions / factors viz., Organization commitment, Job satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition. The 8 categorical dimensions were measured on the following items / variables: Factor / Dimenstion Items / Variables of measurement Organization Communication Satisfaction (OCS) Organization Integration Information about the requirements of my job Information about my progress in my job Information about company policies and goals Information about changes in our organization Supervisory Communication Extent to which my supervisor listens and pays attention to me Extent to which my supervisor offers guidance for solving job related problems Extent to which my supervisor trusts me Extent to which my supervisor is open to ideas Personal Feedback Information about how I am being assessed Information about how my efforts are recognized and rewarded Extent to which superiors know and understand the problems faced by subordinates Communication Climate Extent to which the organizations communication motivates and stimulates an enthusiasm for meeting its goals Extent to which the organizations communication makes me identify with it or feel a vital part of it Extent to which communication practices are adaptable to emergencies Extent to which I receive in time the information need to do my job Media Quality Extent to which written directives and reports are clear and concise Extent to which the attitudes toward communication in the organization are basically healthy Extent to which the amount of communication in the organization is about right Employee Engagement Organization Commitment I really feel as if this organizations problems are my own I do not feel like part of the family at my organization (R) I do not feel emotionally attached to this organization (R) This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me I do not feel strong sense of belonging to my organization (R) Job Satisfaction I find real enjoyment in my job Most days I am enthusiastic about my job I feel fairly well satisfied with my job Withdrawal Cognition I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career in this Company Within the next six months, I would rate the likelihood of leaving my present job as high All the variables are categorical in nature and were measured on a categorical scale (5 point Likert). Data Analysis We have applied Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as the tool of analysis for maximum likelihood estimation for examining the proposed hypotheses. As suggested by many researchers (e.g. Anderson Gerbing, 1998), we have chosen the Two-step analysis method wherein in the first step, we conduct the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) based on the correlation coefficient matrix of each measurement item (i.e. dimenstions / factors of OCS and dimensions / factors of EE). In the second step, after confirming the fitness of the constructs, the structural model is examined futher based on the covariance matrix and the hypothesis is tested for the entire model (OCS EE). Results Measurement Model The study employed both First order and Second order Confirmator Factor Analysis (CFA) to confirm the fitness of the measurement model. The Latent constructs and their corresponding measurement items are listed in Table 1 to Table 4 covering the first order and second order CFA results for the 2 main constructs of the study; OCS and EE. Overall results show that the factor loadings for most of the items were above 0.7 (Except for one item under OCS Information about changes in our organization for the which the factor loading is 0.57 and for 1 item under EE I really feel as if this organizations problems are my own. We retained the item with factor loading of 0.57, because the judges as well as our literature survey had identified communication about changes in the organization as very critical to employee engagement and removal of this was actually reducing the model fit charcteristics of the OCS construct. We however, removed the item EE I really feel as if this organizations problems are my own from futher analysis because this removal was improving the model fit charactericts of the EE construct. The CR values of all the items reached the significant level (p.001). This finding confirmed the convergent validity of each of the items measuring the constructs of the study. We further analysed the Construct for each of the factors and they were all above 0.7 except one factor Withdrawal Cognition which was marginally lower at 0.66. This implies a good internal consistency of the scale (Nunnally, 1978). We also analysed the Variance-extracted estimates for each of the factors and almost all of them are nearly equal to and greater than 0.5. These results therefore, provide adequate evidence of convergent validity. Hypothesis Testing Table-1 shows the Constructs and indicators of the measurement items of Organization Communication Satisfaction OCS on executing First Order CFA. For a sample size of 235, the factor loadings are all greater than 0.7, except two items of the Factor Organization Integration. The first item Information about company goals and policies has a factor loading of 0.65, which is marginally lower than 0.7. The second item Information about changes in our organization has a factor loading of 0.57. Though this is less as compared to the acceptable value of 0.7, we have retained it for the purpose of futher analysis since the judges as well as literature survey identified it as a very critical component of OCS. The CR values for all the items reached the signicance level (p.001). Further, the Construct for each of the factors was greater than 0.7 and the Average Variance Extracted for each of the factors was greater than or equal to 0.5. The above results confirm the Convergent Validity and in ternal consistency reliability of the OCS construct. Table-2 shows the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values and the squared correlations for the constructs in the First Order measurement model for OCS. All the Variance-extracted estimates are greater than the corresponding squared correlations estimates. This test confirms the Discriminant Validity. The other key model statistics and values, CFI=0.914, GFI=0.871 and RMSEA = 0.081 indicates an acceptable level of model fit. These results clearly support Hypothesis 1 that the Factors / Dimensions of Organization Communication Satisfaction are inter-related. Table-3, shows the constructs and indicators of the measurement items of OCS on executing the Second-order CFA. In this case also the factor loadings of all the measurement items was greater than 0.7 except the 2 items of the factor Organization Integration similar to first order analysis. The CR values for all the items reached the signicance level (p.001). Further, the Construct for each of the factors was greater than 0.7 and the Average Variance Extracted for each of the factors was greater than or equal to 0.5. The other key model statistics and values, CFI=0.909, GFI=0.866 and RMSEA=0.081 indicate an acceptable level of model fit. These results clearly support Hypothesis 2 that Organizational Communication Satisfaction (OCS) is explained by the dimensions viz., Organization Integration, Supervisory Communication, Personal Feedback, Communication Climate and Media Quality. Table-4 shows the constructs and indicators of the measurement items of EE on executing the first order CFA. In this case, the factor loadings of all the measurement items was greater than 0.7 except the item, This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me, which was marginally lower at 0.67. In the first analysis, we executed the CFA with 5 items under the factor Organization Commitment. The item, I really feel as if this organizations problems are my own was removed from further analysis because the factor loading was less than 0.7. Further, removal of the item improved the overall model statistics. The CR values for all the items reached the signicance level (p.001). Further, the Construct for each of the factors was greater than 0.7, except one factor, Withdrawal Cognition which was marginally lower at 0.66. The Average Variance Extracted for each of the factors was greater than or equal to 0.5. The above results confirm the Convergent Validity and internal consis tency reliability of the EE construct. Table-5 shows the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values and the squared correlations for the constructs in the First Order measurement model for EE. All the Variance-extracted estimates are greater than the corresponding squared correlations estimates. This test confirms the Discriminant Validity. The other key model statistics and values, CFI=0.964, GFI=0.942 and RMSEA = 0.081 indicates an acceptable level of model fit. These results clearly support Hypothesis 2 that the Factors / Dimensions of Employee Engagement are inter-related. Table-6, shows the constructs and indicators of the measurement items of EE on executing the Second-order CFA. In this case also the factor loadings of all the measurement items was greater than 0.7 except the item, This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me, which was marginally lower at 0.67, similar to first order analysis. The CR values for all the items reached the signicance level (p.001). Further, the Construct for each of the factors was greater than 0.7, except the one factor, Withdrawal Cognition which was marginally lower at 0.66, similar to the first order CFA. Average Variance Extracted for each of the factors was greater than or equal to 0.5. The other key model statistics and values, CFI=0.964, GFI=0.942 and RMSEA=0.081 indicate a good and acceptable level of model fit. These results clearly support Hypothesis 4 that Employee Engagement (EE) is explained by the dimensions viz., Organization Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Withdrawal Cognition. Table-7 shows the results of the examination of the overall OCS-EE model. The overall model reached the range of acceptability, since the value of 2 / df equals 2.003, which is considered acceptable (Bollen, 1989). The other indices of model fitness and values, CFI = 0.91, GFI = 0.83, AFGI = .80, IFI = 0.91 and RMSEA = 0.065. These results achieve an acceptable level of Goodness of Fit (Hair, Anderson, Tatham and Black). The results also show that OCS has a significant positive influence on Employee engagement ( = 0.76, p .001). Therefore, our Hypothesis 5 is supported that Organization Communication Satisfaction has a positive impact on Employee Engagement. Table I Constructs and indicators of the measurement items (Organization Communication Ssatisfaction) First Order Measurement item Factor Loading Standard Error ej CR Value Construct Alpha AVE Organization Integration 0.93 0.501 Information about the requirements of my job 0.767 0.59 Information about my progress in my job 0.752 0.098 0.56 10.805** Information about company policies and goals 0.650 0.085 0.42 9.359** Information about changes in our organization 0.566 0.090 0.32 8.116** Supervisory Communication 0.80 0.500 Extent to which my supervisor listens and pays attention to me 0.815 0.66 Extent to which my supervisor offers guidance for solving job related problems 0.849 0.077 0.72 14.575** Extent to which my supervisor trusts me 0.788 0.065 0.62 13.272** Extent to which my supervisor is open to ideas 0.774 0.070 0.60 12.951** Personal Feedback 0.86 0.501 Information about how I am being assessed 0.771 0.59 Information about how my efforts are recognized and rewarded 0.788 0.100 0.62 11.375** Extent to which superiors know and understand the problems faced by subordinates 0.735 0.091 0.54 10.692** Communication Climate 0.80 0.495 Extent to which the organizations communication motivates and stimulates an enthusiasm for meeting its goals 0.825 0.68 Extent to which the organizations communication makes me identify with it or feel a vital part of it 0.797 0.066 0.68 13.023** Extent to which communication practices are adaptable to emergencies 0.720 0.065 0.52 11.551** Extent to which I receive in time the information needed to do my job 0.719 0.071 0.52 11.527** Media Quality 0.75 0.500 Extent to which written directives and reports are clear and concise 0.705 0.50 Extent to which the attitudes toward communication in the organization are basically healthy 0.827 0.105 0.68 10.713** Extent to which the amount of communication in the organization is about right 0.760 0.101 0.58 10.153** Fit Index Chi-Square (df) 315.727 (125) GFI 0.871 AGFI 0.823 CFI 0.914 NFI 0.866 RFI 0.836 RMSEA 0.081 ** p0.001. Note : All the measurement items are guaged with Likert 5-point item Table 2 Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values and squared correlations for the Constructs in the First Order Measurement Model (OCS)*$ Organization Integration Supervisor Communication Personal Feedback Communication Climate Media Quality Organization Integration 0.501 Supervisor Communication 0.466 0.500 Personal Feedback 0.420 0.462 0.501 Communication Climate 0.453 0.230 0.417 0.495 Media Quality 0.456 0.402 0.411 0.349 0.500 * AVEs are shown along the diagonal of the matrix $ Squared correlations between each pair of constructs are shown in the left bottom of the matrix Note : Correlation Matrix for measurement items and Constructs in the model are available with the author upon request. Table 3 Constructs and indicators of the measurement items (Organization Communication Satisfaction) Second Order Measurement item Factor Loading Standard Error ej CR value Construct Alpha AVE Organization Integration 0.93 0.501 Information about the requirements of my job 0.761 0.58 Information about my progress in my job 0.757 0.100 0.57 10.729** Information about company policies and goals 0.652 0.086 0.42 9.298** Information about changes in our organization 0.566 0.091 0.32 8.061** Supervisory Communication 0.80 0.500 Extent to which my supervisor listens and pays attention to me 0.811 0.66 Extent to which my supervisor offers guidance for solving job related problems 0.850 0.078 0.72 14.455** Extent to which my supervisor trusts me 0.787 0.066 0.62 13.146** Extent to which my supervisor is open to ideas 0.778 0.071 0.61 12.956** Personal Feedback 0.85 0.486 Information about how I am being assessed 0.772 0.60 Information about how my efforts are recognized and rewarded 0.793 0.101 0.68 11.386** Extent to which superiors know and understand the problems faced by subordinates 0.729 0.091 0.58 10.587** Communication Climate 0.80 0.494 Extent to which the organizations communication motivates and stimulates an enthusiasm for meeting its goals 0.818 0.67 Extent to which the organizations communication makes me identify with it or feel a vital part of it 0.793 0.068 0.68 12.751** Extent to which communication practices are adaptable to emergencies 0.725 0.067 0.53 11.491** Extent to which I receive in time the information needed to do my job 0.728 0.073 0.53 11.561** Media Quality 0.75 0.500 Extent to which written directives and reports are clear and concise 0.706 0.50 Extent to which the attitudes toward communication in the organization are basically healthy 0.829 0.105 0.69 10.741** Extent to which the amount of communication in the organization is about right 0.757 0.101 0.57 10.142** Fit Index Chi-Square (df) 329.892 (130) GFI 0.866 AGFI 0.824 CFI 0.909 NFI 0.86 RFI 0.835 RMSEA 0.081 ** p0.001. Note : All the measurement items are guaged with Likert 5-point item Table 4 Constructs and indicators of the measurement items (Employee Engagement) First Order Measurement item Factor Loading Standard Error ej CR Value Construct Alpha AVE Organization Commitment 0.80 0.501 I do not feel like part of the family at my organization 0.795 0.63 I do not feel emotionally attached to this organization 0.809 0.080 0.65 12.946** This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me 0.673 0.070 0.45 10.456** I do not feel strong sense of belonging to my organization 0.842 0.075 0.71 13.476** Job Satisfaction 0.75 0.501 I find real enjoyment in my job 0.880 0.77 Most days I am enthusiastic about my job 0.838 0.070 0.70 14.637** I feel fairly well satisfied with my job 0.774 0.065 0.60 13.422** Withdrawl Cognition 0.66 0.499 I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career in this Company 0.819 0.67 Within the next six months, I would rate the likelihood of leaving my present job as high 0.676 0.112 0.46 7.773** Fit Index Chi-Square (df) 60.803 (24) GFI 0.942 AGFI 0.892 CFI 0.964 NFI 0.943 RFI 0.915 RMSEA 0.081 ** p0.001. Note : All the measurement items are guaged with Likert 5-point item Table 5 Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values and squared correlations for the Constructs in the First Order Measurement Model (EE)*$ Organization Commitment Job Satisfaction Withdrawal Cognition Organization Commitment 0.501 Job Satisfaction 0.254 0.501 Withdrawal Cognition 0.429 0.272 0.499 * AVEs are shown along the diagonal of the matrix $ Squared correlations between each pair of constructs are shown in the left bottom of the matrix Note : Correlation Matrix for measurement items and Constructs in the model are available with the author upon request. Table 6 Constructs and indicators of the measurement items (Employee Engagement) Second Order Measurement item Factor Loading Standard Error ej CR Value Construct Alpha AVE Organization Commitment 0.80 0.501 I do not feel like part of the family at my organization 0.795 0.63 I do not feel emotionally attached to this organization 0.809 0.080 0.65 12.946** This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me 0.673 0.070 0.45 10.456** I do not feel strong sense of belonging to my organization 0.842 0.075 0.71 13.476** Job Satisfaction 0.75 0.501 I find real enjoyment in my job 0.880 0.77 Most days I am enthusiastic about my job 0.838 0.070 0.70 14.637** I feel fairly well satisfied with my job 0.774 0.065 0.60 13.422** Withdrawl Cognition 0.66 0.499 I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career in this Company 0.819 0.67 Within the next six months, I would rate the likelihood of leaving my present job as high 0.676 0.112 0.46 7.773** Fit Index Chi-Square (df) 60.803 (24) GFI 0.942 AGFI 0.892 CFI 0.964 NFI 0.943 RFI 0.915 RMSEA 0.081 ** p0.001. Note : All the measurement items are guaged with Likert 5-point item Table 7 SEM results of Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis Coefficient CR-Value Organization Communication Satisfaction - Employee Engagement 0.76 5.734* Model Fit Index Chi-Square (df) 631.049 (315) Chi-Square / df 2.003 GFI 0.833 AGFI 0.800 CFI 0.907 NFI 0.832 IFI 0.908 RMSEA 0.065 * p.001 Discussion Managerial Implications The overall model is summarized in 5. All the 5 hypothesis proposed by us were confirmed thereby establishing the importance of Organization Communication Satisfaction in influencing Employee Engagement in organizations. This study therefore, serves as a means of empirically validating the understanding the concepts expressed in various literatures from consulting firms and independent research agencies. With the downturn and associated resource re-organization in various organizations, specifically in the IT / ITES sectors, it will become imperative for the organizations to ensure that their most valued employees are fully engaged. This study underlines the importance of communication satisfaction in building a sense of organizational commitment willingness to walk that extra mile to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Organizations would like to use communication as a strategic option to deliver focussed messages to segmented employee audiences in order gain their trust a nd make them highly engaged. This would help organizations reduce the uncertainity in the minds of their employees about their jobs, future in the organization, especially during uncertain times and thereby reduce attrition of high performing and most valued employees. Limitations and future implications for research This study was limited to the IT and ITES industry. While the effects of downturn and resource reorganisations are more profound in the IT / ITES industry, the other sectors are also feeling the heat with respect to employee engagement. Therefore, findings of the study may not be generalised and would need further research to check its relevance to all industries. This study has focussed largely on the Psychological Stage engagement facets of Employee Engagement. There are other facets like behavioural engagement and trait engagement (Macey and Schneider, 2008) that would need to be analysed. Further, this study has focussed on Organization Communication Satisfaction and its impact on Employee Engagement. There are other aspects of employee engagement that literature refers to as antecedents and consequences to employee engagement viz., Organization Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) and Perceived Organization Support (POS) (Saks, 2006). Future studies could examine the impact of Organization Communication on OCB and POS. Lastly, there is a mention of trust in various literatures and the role of Organization Communication in developing trust among employees. There are also studies that mention the role of Interpersonal trust in positively influencing the various facets of employee engagement (Organization commitment, Job satisfaction and Withdrawal cognition). This study did not examine the role of Organization communication in building interpersonal trust and its impact on employee engagement. Future studies could examine the mediating role of trust in the OCS EE relationship. References Anderson, L.M. (1996) Employee cynicism : an experimentation using a contract violation framework, Human Relations, Vol. 49 No. 11, PP. 1395-418 Anderson, J. C Gerbing, D. W (1988) Structured Equation Modeling in practice : a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), pp. 411-423. Argenti, P.A. 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School Uniforms, Stay Or Leave - 1546 Words

School Uniforms, Stay or Leave? Having school uniforms or dress codes, has both positives and negatives. Some people would like to believe that they help and play a role in students academic performance and behavior at school. However, others counter that, with it does not help, it only creates a bigger problem by enforcing the rules of a school dress code. According to School Uniforms: An Overview, the definition of dress code means, rules designed by school districts or individual schools to prescribe students attire (Chittom). Although, school uniforms may help with discipline, attendance, and academic performance, it can also diminish their freedom of expression. Which conversely affects the student s’ self esteem and†¦show more content†¦For some students, they would prefer school uniforms. Poor children can relax and not worry about how they look, or what brands they should be wearing, or what their classmates think of them, they can now focus on learning instead of getting judged (Forster). Parents are not happy with Clifton’s school board, for making their elementary kids wear uniforms. They say â€Å"it is unnecessary and they want the district to update the existing dress code.† In fact, some parents want to sue if the Clifton school district says yes to uniforms (Murtha). To add, about half of black students and about one in every four Hispanic students are forced to wear uniforms, while about one in every twenty white students have to wear uniforms, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found. The statistics show 50% black students, 26% Hispanic students, and only 6% white students have to wear uniforms in the metro Atlanta area (French). Racial disparities are drawing federal attention, plus the punishment for minor uniform violations are getting out of hand. Pulling children out of class is unfair to the students. In only the first couple weeks of the 2003- 2004 school year hundreds of students were suspended for just having an un-tucked shirt (Wilson). â€Å"The racially disproportionate application of uniform requirements unfairly penalizes minority students, and may violate the federal Civil Rights Act† said Daniel Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of

Econ-545 Week 6 Quiz Free Essays

| 1. | Question: | (TCO F) The size of the labor force in a community is 1,000, and 850 of these folks are gainfully employed. In this community, 50 people over the age of 16 do not have a job and are not looking for work. We will write a custom essay sample on Econ-545 Week 6 Quiz or any similar topic only for you Order Now In addition, 80 people in the community are under the age of 16. The unemployment rate is ______. | | | Student Answer:|   | Unemployment rate=unemployed/labor force*100 150/1000*100=15% 1000-850=150 (number of people unemployed) then divided by total labor force divided by 100|   | Instructor Explanation:| The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed by the labor force. The labor force is calculated by subtracting three things from the population (# under 16, # of institutionalized adults, and # not looking for work). In this example,  you are given the size of the labor force (1,000), and you are also told that 850 are employed. Therefore, 150 are unemployed, and the  unemployment rate is simply 150/1,000 or 15%. | | | | Points Received:| 15 of 15| | Comments:| | | | | | | 2. | Question: | (TCO F) Suppose  nominal GDP  in 2005 was $15 trillion, and in 2006 it was $16 trillion. The general price index in 2005 was 100, and in 2006 it was 103. Between 2005 and 2006,  real GDP  rose by what percent? | | | Student Answer:|   | Nominal GDP and REAL GDP must be equal in the base year. 2005 15tr, price index = 100 since nominal and real GDP must be equal in the base year 15tr/1. 03=16. 56tr(16. 56-16. 00)/16. 00=4% or 3. 5%|   | Instructor Explanation:| You need to make use of the inflation formula for the GDP deflator here and compare results between the two years. For 2005: 100 = [$15 T / Real GDP] x 100 So, Real GDP must equal $15 T. You could also recognize that Real GDP and nominal GDP are the same in the base year. For 2006: 103 = [$16 T / Real GDP] x 100 1. 03 = [$16 T / Real GDP] Real GDP = $16 T / 1. 03 So, Real GDP must equal $15. 534 T. The percentage increase in Real GDP will then be [(15. 534 – 15) / 15] x 100 = (0. 534 / 15) x 100 = 3. 56%  Therefore Real GDP increases by 3. 56% between 2005 and 2006. | | | | Points Received:| 19 of 20| | Comments:| | | | | | | 3. | Question: | (TCO F) The consumer price index was 198. 3 in January of 2006, and it was 202. 4 in January of 2007. Therefore, the rate of inflation in 2006 was about ______. | | | Student Answer:|   | 202. -198. 3=4. 1 4. 1/198. 3=. 02067 or 2. 07%|   | Instructor Explanation:| The rate of inflation is the rate of change of the inflation indicator, or more specifically: [(New Price Index – Old Price Index) / (Old Price Index)] x 100 In this case this equals, [(202. 4 – 198. 3) / 198. 3] x 100 = (4. 1 / 198. 3) x 100 = 2. 07% or approximately 2%. | | | | Points Received:| 15 of 15| | Comments:| | | | | | | 4. | Question: | (TCO E) (10 points) As the U. S. dollar appreciates in value relative to the Japanese Yen, what happens to the price of U. S. goods in Japan? What happens to the price of Japanese goods in the U. S.? (10 points) Why would a country (for example China) choose to keep their currency relatively pegged to the U. S. dollar? If the U. S. dollar were to appreciate considerably against most currencies, what would be the effect on Chinese exports to countries other than the U. S.? | | | Student Answer:|   | the price of goods in Japan start going up. the price Japanese goods in US start going down. China keeps its currency pegged in order to sell their goods for a cheaper price in the US and to make the US market dependent on their product. If dollar appreciate it will drag China’s currency with it,in other words reducing China’ export. |   | Instructor Explanation:| When a country’s currency appreciates, it becomes more valuable versus the other currency we’re comparing against. So, in this case, it would take fewer dollars  to purchase the same amount of Japanese Yen, U. S. goods become more expe nsive to Japanese buyers, and Japanese goods become cheaper to U. S. buyers. A country such as China might choose to peg their currency to the U. S. dollar to keep prices stable for a key  trading partner like the U. S. If the U. S. dollar would appreciate considerably against most  currencies, this would not affect China trade with the U. S. , but  Chinese goods would become more expensive to their other trading partners, and could cause Chinese exports to these other markets to decrease. | | | | Points Received:| 17 of 20| | Comments:| | | | | | | 5. | Question: | (TCO E) Suppose the Indian rupee price of one  British pound is 54. 392 rupees for each pound. A hotel room in London costs 120 pounds, while a similar hotel room in New Delhi costs 6,500 Indian rupees. In which city is the hotel room cheaper, and by how much? | | | Student Answer:|   | London hotel room 120 pound or 6527 rupee (120*54. 392) India hotel room 119. 50 pounds (6500/54. 392) or 6500 rupee the hotel room is cheaper in India for . 50 cent in pound or 27 rupees|   | Instructor Explanation:| Since the exchange rate is 1  pound = 54. 392 Indian rupees, we can convert the price of the hotel room in London to Indian rupees and then be able to compare. 120 pounds = rupees(120 x 54. 392) = 6,527 rupees. Since the hotel room in New Delhi  costs 6,500 rupees, it must be that the hotel room costs 27 rupees  more in London than in New Delhi. | | | | Points Received:| 15 of 15| | Comments:| | | | | | | 6. Question: | (TCO E) Answer the next question on the basis of the following production possibilities data for Egypt and Greece:   Egypt production possibilities: A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  D  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  E Shirts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  9  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 Pants  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   24  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  18  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   12     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0 Greece production possibilities: A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  D  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  E Shirts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  40  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  30  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   20  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0 Pants  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   40  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   80  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  120  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  160 Refer to the above data. What would be feasible terms of trade between Egypt and Greece? | | | Student Answer:|   | terms of trade between 2 countries lie somewhere between the opportunity costs in the 2 countries. in this case Egypt 1 shirt= 2 pants and in Greece case 1 shirt=4 pants, so the only feasible term of trade bet ween the 2 countries would be anywhere in between these limits anything between 2 and 4 shirts and pants would work. t any terms of trade higher or lower than 2 or 4 pants per shirt , one of the countries would be able to do better than the terms of trade simply by trading off resources in their own country. |   | Instructor Explanation:| Feasible terms of trade between 2 countries lie somewhere between the opportunity costs in the 2 countries. In this case, in Egypt —   1 Shirt = 2 Pants, and in Greece — 1 Shirt = 4 Pants. So,  the only feasible terms of trade between the 2 countries would be anywhere in between these limits  Ã¢â‚¬â€ anything between 2 and 4 Pants per Shirts would work. At any terms of trade higher or lower than  2 to 4 Pants per Shirts, one of the countries would be able to do better than the terms of trade simply by trading off resources in their own country. | | | | Points Received:| 20 of 20| | Comments:| | | | | | | 7. | Question: | (TCO F) The Republic of Republic produces two goods/services, fish (F) and chips (C). In 2006, the 1000 units of F produced sold for $8 per unit and the 5000 units of C produced sold for $1 per unit. In 2007, the 1500 units of F produced sold for $10 per unit, and the 6,000 units of C produced sold for $2 per unit. Calculate Real GDP for 2007, assuming that 2006 is the base year. | | | Student Answer:|   | base year 2006 1,000 units of fish at 8/unit =8,000 5,000 units of chips at 1/unit =5,000 GDP=13,000 2007 1,500 units of fish at 10/unit-15,000 6,000 units of chips at 2/ units at 2/unit =12000 GDP =27,000 Real GDP with 2006 as the base year 1500 units of fish at 8/unit =12,000 6,000 unit chips at 1/unit = 6,000 Real GDP =18,000 18,000-13,000/18,000 GDP grew by 28%|   | Instructor Explanation:| For 2006, Nomimal GDP  = ($8 x 1000) + ($1 x 5000) = $13,000. Real GDP for 2006 would be the same ($13,000). For 2007, Nominal GDP = ($10 x 1500) + ($2 x 6000) = $27,000. Real GDP for 2007 would be ($8 x 1500) + ($1 x 6000) = $18,000. That is, when calculating real GDP for a given year you use the production numbers for that year and the prices from the base  year. | | | | Points Received:| 12 of 15| | Comments:| | | | | | | 8. | Question: | (TCO F)  Country A  produces two goods,  elephants  and  saddles. In the year  2006, the  10 units of elephants produced sold for $2,000 per unit and the  25 units of  saddles produced sold for $200 per unit. In 2007, the  20 units of  elephants produced sold for $3,000 per unit, and the 50 units of  saddles produced sold for $300 per unit. Real GDP for 2007, assuming that  2006 is the base year, is ______. | | | Student Answer:|   | base year 2006 10 units at 2000 per unit =20,000 25 saddles at 200=5000 GDP=25,000 2007 20 units at 3,000 per unit =6,000 50 saddles at 300=15000 GDP=21,000 real GDP with 2006 as the base year 20 units of elephants at 3000 = 60000 for 50 units of saddles at 25 =1250 real GDP 61250 61250-21000/61250 real GDP grew by 65%.   | Instructor Explanation:| Real GDP is calculated for a given year by using the quantities produced in that year and substituting the base year prices. In this example we get: 20 ($2,000) +  50 ($200) = $40,000 + $10,000 = $50,000. | | | | Points Received:| 12 of 15| | Comments:| | | | | | | 9. | Question: | (TCO E) A Honda Accord sells for $28,000 in the United States and for SF35,520 in Switzerland. Given an exchange rate of SF1. 5 = $1, how do the car prices of both countries compare? | | | Student Answer:|   | with an exchange rate of SF1. 25=$1 28,000*1. 25=35,000 SF price is 35,520 the car sells for SF520 more in Switzerland that it does in the US. |   | Instructor Explanation:| At an exchange rate of $1 = SF1. 25: $28,000 would equal   (1. 25 x 28,000) Swiss Francs = SF35,000, meaning that the car sells for SF520 more in Switzerland than it does in the U. S. Points 15 of 15| | | | | | | How to cite Econ-545 Week 6 Quiz, Papers

On The Sidewalk Bleeding free essay sample

On The Sidewalk Bleeding is a short story by Evan Hunter. This short story is about a young man called Andy who is part of a gang. To others a gang member is what Andy is known as, except from his girlfriend Laura. Andy gets into bother with a rival gang moments after leaving his home. This experience and situation Andy’s been left in has made him think about his true identity and his main focus’ in life. Symbolism in this short story is very effective to make it more interesting, personal identity is a main theme. Andy’s jacket clearly meant a lot to him as it had his name on his gang jacket which filled him with pride of being a Royal. â€Å"The boy’s name was Andy and the name was delicately scripted in the black thread on the front of the jacket. The name scripted over Andy’s heart on the jacket shows the importance of Andy’s role in the gang and how proud it makes him. We will write a custom essay sample on On the Sidewalk Bleeding or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It shows that he is truly devoted and loyal to the Royals. I think that Andy has completely forgotten his true identity and how others around him see him. I also don’t think he realizes how much trouble he has dragged himself into. Andy’s girlfriend Laura is the only person to know the true emotional and personal side of him. What Andy doesn’t realize is how the other people around him see him, they see him as a thug and a danger to the streets which makes them have no sympathy towards Andy and gangs. The particular setting Evan Hunter has used ties in perfect on the main characters situation. It sound’s horrid and miserable as Andy is sprawled along the sidewalk helpless and unaware of how serious the situation he is currently in. â€Å"He lay on the sidewalk with the March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body and washing away the blood that poured from his open wound. † Helpless and unable to move whilst the night storm shower you sounds terrifying and gives a feeling of sympathy towards Andy and his situation. Only a few minutes ago he had a life, a girlfriend, friends and a street status. Now he is just left wounded and isolated. He wasn’t stabbed because of who he was; he was stabbed because of what he represented. This is why I feel sympathetic towards Andy. The irony is very strong in this short story as the author makes us have sympathy for Andy as he has many encounters with people and opportunities for help that completely backfires on him. â€Å"I got a good mind to call a cop. † â€Å"Andy nodded. Yes, he tried to say. Yes, call a cop. Please call one. The drunk character is unaware that Andy is in a great deal of pain and assumes that he is also intoxicated due to Andy stuck on the ground like a squashed chewing gum so he then threatens to call the police but then hesitates and insists he is helping Andy by not getting him into trouble when really Andy desperately wants help as he is coming to terms with the fact he is very wounded. The drunk then stumbles away leaving Andy feeling helpless and think about the situation he is in. This makes me feel sympathetic towards Andy due to his failed chance of getting help. Being in the Royals made Andy feel superior and as if he had power. Through the story we witness Andy go through his opinion on being a gang member and the lifestyle he lives. â€Å"Even in his pain, there had been some sort of pride in knowing he was a Royal. Now there was no pride at all. † Andy thinks long and hard about what life would be like without the gang involved and how he would have a life with his girlfriend, Laura. Knowing his time left was very rare and with very little energy left Andy realized the situation he is in is because of being a member of the Royals. If he didn’t wear the jacket that stated he was a gang member then Andy could already be with his girlfriend Laura, with full health and a life to live. With the last bit of strength in his body; Andy took off his jacket and flung it to the side, hoping he wouldn’t be identified as just a gang member when he was dead. The short story On The Sidewalk Bleeding by Evan Hunter is a heartbreaking story about a young man going through a tough moment in his life. It was strange that situation can happen anytime in my world. I thought it was very interesting seeing Andy’s opinion change on something that once meant life or death to him.