Myself the Writer Essay Example for Free

Myself the Writer Essay One of the reasons why I love writing is because it is my desire to progress in writing through setting more achievable objectives, building on novel ideas, in addition to developing new skills. Through writing I am able to advance my knowledge on a variety of subjects. Every time I write I am able to learn something new. I take writing as a way through which I can express my feeling. However, writing is a challenging task due to the fact that it calls for extra caution. There are many rules and regulations that surround writing. Some of these rules limit the extent to which one can express himself in writing (Elbow p, 12). There are various challenges that I come across in the process of writing that tend to slow me down. Finding the right words is the hardest of these challenges. Sometimes it is very hard to find the most appropriate words to make my writing sound the way I would like. Writing can also be a boring as well as demoralizing task when a writer fails to get the necessary information (Elbow p, 26). Trying to figure out the words that will follow the work I have already completed is the other challenge that I face as a writer. Lack of knowledge concerning a particular topic is the other challenge I face as a writer. Along with lack of knowledge, lack of information from various sources is the other factor that negatively impacts on my writing. Writer’s block is the other challenge that I face in writing. However, I have learned that in order to overcome writer’s block I need to put down what is in my head. Work Cited: Elbow P. , (edn 2), (1998). Writing with power: techniques for mastering the writing process, ISBN 0195120175: Oxford University Press US

Penmanship: Fractional Reflection :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The narrator of â€Å"Penmanship† is a man madly in love in the art of writing. It is through entering the enchanting world of pen and paper that he is able to face the complexities of reality like social cancer (corruption), violence (murder) and fiery emotions (love) with strength and confidence. He could feel â€Å"a twinge of sorrow† every time he mails a letter because he had voluntarily given away a part of himself. I think for him (and may I boldly include everybody else who writes) that every word is carefully chosen to project, be it hinted or open for others to see, the personality, character and experience that molded him into becoming who he is at the present of writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If he loves writing, why did he concentrate most of that love to only on a fountain pen? Why not for the reader? The paper? It was clear from the start that the old Parker Vacuumatic fountain pen is sort of a heirloom therefore I won’t question anymore why didn’t he trash it for a new one. If I were the narrator, I would also fall for the fountain pen because it is the one I always use to materialize the thoughts, ideas and emotions I wish to convey. Paper doesn’t matter since any surface would do. Meanwhile readers, although necessary are not important because he writes on his own volition meaning it would be for his satisfaction first. Having readers is just one way for him to share that satisfaction by making them feel privileged to be remembered and cared for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The narrator’s encounter with Nora was a terrible one. She only used him and destroyed his writing principles in the process. She let his emotions for her grow so she can use it to get him to be an unsuspecting accomplice who will write the lies she weaved about herself for a certain Mark (probably an ex-lover) whom she wishes to in still guilt for leaving her. The deed totally upset him. The poor penman had his heart broken again into pieces and now with a sullied principle to go with. He was filled with â€Å"filthy hurt and â€Å"felt overcome with precious feelings†. The only way for him to release those pent-up emotions from the burdening lies he had absorbed is through his pen, which already felt heavy with words waiting anxiously to be written.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are similarities with Jose Dalisay’s life and that of the narrator in â€Å"Penmanship†.

Free Trade and Poor Countries

Why free trade is in the interest of the world’s poorest countries Free trade has been a much discussed topic since the 1770s, when Adam Smith presented his theory on trade and absolute advantages. Most sources argue that free trade will benefit the poor nations in the long run (Anderson et al. 2011; Bussolo et al. 2011; Madely 2000; Winters et al. , 2004). How-ever, the size of the benefits will vary in terms of which trade reforms are made, who the poor are, and how they support themselves (Winters et al. 2004).The purpose of this paper is to discuss why and how free trade is in the interest of the world’s poorest countries. The essay will commence by a description of the traditional trade theories, followed by a discussion of the advantages and the im-pact free trade has on the poorest nations including different theories and findings. There are two classic elements in the definition of trade. The first is Adam Smith’s rule of ‘mutual gain’, asses sing that for two countries trading with each other both must gain.Furthermore Adam Smith argues that trade is based on ‘absolute advantages’, which means that free trade will benefit all nations, if they specialise in producing the goods in which they are most efficient. The countries will then be able to produce at a lower price and trade the surplus for goods where they are less effective. This will allocate the world’s resources in the best possible way (Dunkley 1997; Irwin 2002; Madely 2000; Smith 1776) The second element to trade is Ricardo’s (1817) argument that trade and specialisation is based on ‘comparative advantages’.If one country has the absolute advantages in all goods com-pared to another country both nations can still benefit from trading. The country with the absolute disadvantage should specialise in producing the goods in which the absolute disadvantage is small-est and then import the goods in which the absolute disadvant age is largest. In the perspective of comparative advantages, freeing up trade would give the developing countries a chance to specialise in the production of primary goods and export the surplus to the developed countries in exchange of e. g. industrial goods (Salvatore 2012).However, some sources argue that when the trading is between a poor country trading primary goods and a rich country trading industrial goods the latter will benefit the most, because the poor country will have to export more in order to import a similar amount (Madely 2000). In contrast, Samuelson (1939) argues that any kind of trade is better than no trade and Salvatore (2012) concludes that developing countries should continue trading as long as they gain. The capital they get from the trade should be used to improve their technology, which will change their comparative advantages from primary goods to more refined goods.This is supported by Winters et al. (2004) who point out that connection be-tween the l iberalisation of trade and growth have not yet been completely proven, however there is no proof that trade should be harmful to growth. Moreover, barriers of free trade are not the only factor causing poverty; wars, corruption, diseases, and natural disasters are just a few internal fac-tors that keep the poor countries in poverty (Salvatore 2012). Another argument for free trade is that it would utilise the developing countries unutilised resources, caused by the insufficient national demand, more efficient.Free trade would give productions in developing countries a chance to sell their surplus on a greater market and with this give the developing countries a vent for their surplus (Salvatore 2012). Furthermore, free trade would increase the efficiency of domestic producers in order for them to compete with foreign companies. In addition, the expanding of the market size would form a basis for division of labour and economies of scale (Salvatore 2012). Advocates of free trade argu e that free trade will maximise the world’s welfare (Bussolo et al. 2011).This is supported by the theory of imposing tariffs in small and large countries (Salvatore 2012). A small country is defined as a country where changes in the domestic market would not affect the international market price and a large country is defined as a country where changes would affect the international market prices (Salvatore 2012). If a small country imposes import tariffs they will experience an overall loss in welfare, because of deadweight loss which is caused by inefficiency in domestic production. If a large country imposes tariffs they will xperience an improvement in welfare because they are able to affect the international market price, the producer’s surplus rise and the government’s revenue increases (Salvatore 2012). However, gains from tariffs are often only short term; when a large country imposes tariffs their trading partners probably will too. This will result in reduced traded volume, which in the long term will cause a decrease in world welfare. Madely (2000) argues that free trade, historically, has raised the welfare of many nations, however, but not for the poorest nations.He claims that free trade mostly benefits the multinational companies, because the rise of food import has forced the smaller farmers to sell their land to the larger companies. Furthermore, the multinational companies do not have any commitment or loyalty to the country in which they are active, which means that the poorest stay poor. In contrast Dollar (2005) claims, that the fast growth and reduction of poverty has been strongest in the developing countries that have included themselves in the world economy most rapidly.Furthermore, Salvatore (2012) states that trade will move new technologies, ideas, and managing skills from the developed countries to the developing countries. So even though multinational companies are taking over the small farmer’s land t hey still provide the producing country with new knowledge and tools that can help the country develop new comparative advantages. Winters et al. (2004) claim, that freeing up trade is one of the easiest ways to reduce poverty.Agricultural trade reforms would have the largest and most positive impact on poverty, because three-quarters of the world’s poorest people still hinge on farming as their main source of income (Anderson et al. 2011). Furthermore, the poor countries also often have a large number of unskilled workers, which give the poor nations a comparative advantage in exporting labour-intensive goods (Bhagwati & Srinivasan 2002). This paper determines that free trade overall would be in the interest of the poorest countries. Free trade will increase the global welfare and help the poor countries develop their comparative ad-vantages.Multinational companies’ investments in the poor countries will result in moving of tech-nology, ideas and skills. However, theo ry is not always consistent with practice, why it is important to examine the different perspectives in each case. Abolishing the world’s trade tariffs would indeed help the world’s poorest countries access a greater market to sell their goods, however, freeing up trade alone would not completely eliminate poverty; wars, diseases, corruption, and catastrophes are also strong influential factors of poverty.

Theories and Factors of Employee Motivation and Reward - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2042 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The Joy of Giving mainly emphasizes a number of ways to reward the employees on a small scale, which has proven to be more effective than large bonuses for many companies. In companies, when the need to make every employee feel an important part of the organization becomes a priority, such gestures which are on an individual or group level play a vital role in fulfilling the need. This are also known as Motivators as they help in boosting the morale of employees and keeps them motivated and driven to fulfill the organizations goals , along with their own personal goals. Motivation is the result of the internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be interested in and committed to a job, role, or subject and to exert persistent effort in attaining a goal. It results from factors like the intensity of desire or need, the incentive or reward value of the goal and the expectations of the individual. There are many motivation theorie s which support the gift giving behavior in the Joy of Giving, however, the study conducted in this paper will be of three of the renowned studies, and discuss them in detail while critically analyzing the methods used in the case study. Frederick Herzbergs Two Factor theory (Kalleberg, A., 1977, pp. 124-143) about the motivation of the employees relates to that certain factors in the work place, which according to him lead to the presence of Job Satisfaction in employees in an organization. The specific factors might vary for every individual; the presence of these will motivate employees and the absence of these would lead to de-motivation among the employees. They will not add much value when they are present, but will cause a lot of damage psychologically to the employees which can result in lower productivity and level of output for the employees. However, they can be distinguished into two major categories, which include: Motivators These include the factors which lea d to positive satisfaction. The main motivators for most people would be challenging work which requires effort and the successful completion of the tasks would lead to a sense of achievement. This sense of achievement is important according to Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Also, recognition of work well done would also be a motivating factor, as the employees get acknowledged for the work they do. This gives them the confidence that the work they do is being noticed and is given importance by the organization. Hygiene Factors The other type of factor is the hygiene factor which includes elements like salary, job security, status and fringe benefits. These are the factors, when missing from the organization give immense dissatisfaction to the employees. This Motivator-Hygiene Theory supports the gift giving behavior in the companies mentioned in the Joy of Living. The employees of Brassiere retailer, Bravissimo, have to deal with customers on a regular basis, and in the servi ce industry, the higher the level of service, the higher the customer loyalty, the better the sales. Therefore, it is even more important in the service industry that the employees understand and implement the vision and the mission of the company policy. There is a difference in fulfilling the job description and taking ownership of the job and going beyond by doing what is best for the organization. The extra mile is taken by the employees when they know they will be rewarded and recognized for it. For this, the company needs to keep the employees satisfied and motivated. One way of doing this, according to the Herzbergs Two Factor Theory is by providing them with motivators, like the little gifts that Bravissimo is already giving to its employees. Bravissimo does not randomly hand out gifts, its a part of the well thought out strategy. They give gifts when at the times when the employee needs to be made felt special. Holiday times, birthdays always have the soft corner in ever yones lives, and when noticed and celebrated by small, thoughtful gestures like a bottle of champagne, chocolate snowmen at Christmas, etc., by the company leads to a strong goodwill, and a loyalty, which is rarely replaceable by generic bonuses to all. The additional factor that Bravissimo takes into account is the factor that it takes feedback from the employees to keep its gift giving up to date, and in tune with the needs of the employees, and corrects its policy wherever its employees feel it is lacking. Another theory that supports the acts of companies like Peppermint PR, which is a communications firm and gives out special rewards to an employee working harder than usual, or going beyond their job description, is the positive reinforcement theory which is a part of the Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning is when the environment is operated upon, and the consequences are then maintained. In simpler words, a few factors in the environment are changed, which the n leads to the required behavior. The four contexts of the Operant conditioning are listed and discussed below in an organizational setting. Positive Reinforcement This is a form of reinforcement which is used to encourage certain wanted behavior of the employees. For example, the employer would want the employees to go the extra mile to provide better services to their customers, achieve the necessary goal in the time allocated, etc. Such behavior is encouraged by the organization, when it is followed by a stimulus that is rewarding to the employees, which then leads to a repetition in that behavior. For example, a difficult task when achieved within the deadline by an employee can be awarded with an additional bonus, or the effort can be acknowledged at the Reward and Recognition Night of the Company. Negative Reinforcement Such reinforcement is to again encourage certain behavior, but instead of rewarding, it continuously gives a negative stimulus, which is only remov ed when the certain required behavior is achieved. For example, in the case of an employee, s/he will have a portion of his salary removed till s/he is able to achieve the task at hand within the time allocated to the employee and with the resources allocated. Positive Punishment Positive Punishment is used to discourage an action, this occurs when an action is followed by an unwanted reaction. For example, if an employee falls short on the job, the supervisor can then have a meeting with him/her to give him/her a warning. This will ensure that the employee does not slack off on the job again. Negative Punishment This is to discourage an action by taking away a wanted stimulus. For example, a portion of the salary will be deducted from the employees paycheck, followed by an unwanted behavior. Keeping in accordance with the Positive Reinforcement theory from Operant Conditioning, the Peppermint PR gives out thoughtful gifts to appreciate some work, or extra help that a n employee provided to the organization, or to another employee, as stated by Carolyn Axtell To be singled outÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦.more likely to motivate someone to repeat same positive actions. The factor that Peppermint PR keeps as most important is that individuals should be highlighted, and the gifts should be given soon after the positive behavior demonstrated. According to the Alderfers ERG theory (Boshoff, C. Arnold, C., 2002, pg. 677- 719) there are three types of needs, existence, relatedness needs and growth needs. Existence refers to basic needs that are required for an employee to keep working. Relatedness need refers to the social environment that an employee craves for. Growth refers to the desire for the personal achievement that an employees from a job. A basic salary covers the basic needs, a thriving office environment and culture covers the relatedness needs, whereas, the reward and recognition which leads to the sense of achievement is the highes t stage of the three needs. Growth need is very important, and small token of appreciation, such as the gift giving in the companies, can also be used to create that necessary sense of achievement which motivates the employees and drives them to further achieve goals and tasks allocated to them. The gift giving behavior of the companies mentioned, is supported by all three theories. Every theory accepts the need of the basic factor which makes employees join the labor force and an organization, however, more than that is required to keep the employee satisfied, motivated and productive. The pushing factor may vary for different employees in different organizations, however, the gift giving behavior is enjoyed and appreciated by the employees of the above mentioned companies. 2) Reward defined in simple terms is the return for service, or merit. The reward in order to be effective, and noticed, needs to be tangible enough to be seen as recognition of the service or merit. One of the myths from Pffeffer (1998 b, pp. 9-13), is that people work for money. This myth has been believed by people for centuries now. That has been the reason why to reward employees; the employers give the employees the bonuses or raises in the salaries. However, according to the Alderfers ERG theory (2002, pp.677-719), after the existence needs have been fulfilled, other needs like relatedness and growth need to be fulfilled, otherwise, there is no satisfaction in the job. The basic salary is the existence need, but other needs also need to be catered to, to keep the employee motivated. For loyalty, and for rewarding employees, companies like Madgex appreciate the work of the employees with cakes. Such gestures are said to cater to the other needs of the employees, which a basic salary does not fulfill. Hawthorne Studies (Frank Kaul, 1978, pp. 623-643), provides a theory quite contrary to the one which has been implemented by Madgex. Hawthorne Studies cut out the breaks of the employees, and brought the women back to longer working hours. This, contrary to popular belief, instead of reducing productivity, it gradually increased it. When studied in detail, it was concluded that the social environment also helps in the productivity of the employees, where they can create the atmosphere of their own choice, where they can socialize, talk, and enjoy the atmosphere they work in. The raised self-esteem of the employees was the reason why the productivity increased. The conclusion of the Hawthorne Studies, (Frank Kaul, 1978) proves that monetary benefits, or material gifts are not always the ones that will lead to an increase in motivation and productivity, a factor like the work environment can also prove to be of great significance. In some cases, to make the employees work harder, factors other than material benefits might need to altered, and in such scenarios, no number of gifts would increase productivity or motivation. The method of giving g ifts, may not be the most appropriate to increase the self esteem of the employees. If the employees perceive the gifts to be of little value, cheap or meaningless, they will not add value to the employees self esteem, and might even prove to be unfavorable. For example, Recruitment manager at Metaswitch believes that generic gifts should be given to the employees as they would have broader appeal. This would have little value for the employees if the gift is as generic as a bonus, and is not even that value adding. If the employees start perceiving that the gifts are being given to the favorites of the employers, then instead of seeming as a reward, they will start resenting it. If given to too many employees, then the employees who will not receive it will be de-motivated and it might raise a level of frustration. A similar policy is followed at Bravissimo where little-and-often approach is followed while giving out gifts. When these rewards come too often, they become expected and lose their value, and the reason for the gift giving gets nullified. This, instead of increasing motivation will decrease the morale of the employees. There are advantages of giving gifts to employees, but there are also cons if the gift giving strategy is not thoroughly thought out and major factors like the time interval and the number of recipients is not considered. If handled well, the gifts can lift morale, if not, and then it can lead to adverse consequences for the organization and the self esteem of the employees. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Theories and Factors of Employee Motivation and Reward" essay for you Create order