How Motherhood Impacts On Womens Career Choices Social Work Essay

How Motherhood Impacts On Womens Career Choices Social Work Essay In most contemporary industrialised nations, womens participation rates have been rising. Since the 1980s, womens employment has become more continuous, even among mothers with children. (Lewis, 2009:27) However, despite of the optimistic rising employment rate among women, the career break due to motherhood still has a major impact on womens careers. Some women opt for part-time jobs after giving birth to child/children while some might exit the labour till their children reach school ages. This essay aims to examine the impact of motherhood on womens career in terms of womens work and care decision and type of works mothers do under different contingencies. As Windebank (2001:269) points out that there are great variations in mothers employment participation rates and career patterns across countries, this essay mainly focuses on mothers career choices and patterns in two countries, namely Sweden (a generous welfare country which striving for womens equality) and the United Kingdom . The first part of the essay briefly talks about the general impacts of motherhood on womens career followed by the descriptions of womens career choices (e.g. work or care decision) and career patterns (e.g. full-time VS. part-time, types of work mothers do) in the two countries mentioned. In the final part, the possible explanations to the patterns found in both countries will be addressed, such as the economic incentive, social norms, institutional context, and womens education level. And the essay will be concluded by summarizing the impacts of motherhood on womens career and discussing its implications for policy makers. Motherhoods Impact on Womens Career The evidence (Vlasblom and Schippers, 2006:335) shows that motherhood could have impacts on womens participation rate both before and after the childbirth. In their article, the female participation rates in all three countries, namely the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, have declined since 12 months before the childbirth and never return to the original level 24 months after the childbirth. Hewlett (2005) also states that 37% of women take some kind of break from work to achieve appropriate work-life balance. Although 93% of those women who taken a break after give a birth to children want to re-enter the job market, only 74% are successful, among these only 40% return to full time work. The statistics suggests that motherhood does affect womens career to a different degrees and it could last over a long period of time. In general, motherhood itself presents four choices for women. First, women could remain in their full-time jobs after giving birth to their child/children. Second, they could choose a more flexible job or a part-time work to achieve work life balance after becoming a mother. Third, women could choose to exit the labour force permanently for their families. Forth, women could leave the labour market temporarily and return to work after a while (e.g. when their child/children reach school age) (Vlasblom and Schippers, 2006:330). However, women who take the last option might find difficult to return to the labour market. As Joshi et al (1996) point out that losing of tie with the labour market due to the complete exit could depreciate womens human capital and make future entrance difficult. Therefore, the longer a mother is out of the labour force, the harder it is for her to return to work. Mothers Career Choices and Patterns in Sweden Being one of the most generous welfare states, Sweden is often regarded as a role model in terms of striving for equal women rights. In fact, most Swedish women work fulltime prior to give birth and the majority of women do return to paid work (either long part-time or full-time) after the maternity leave. According to the Statistics Sweden (a leading Swedish official statistics website), there are more than 80 percent of Swedish mothers in the labour market by the year of 1999. The high return rate is probably attributed to its long paid parental leave. According to the Swedish Law, all parents (employed prior to give birth) are entitled to 12 months leave with approximately 3,600 Pounds income replacement (up to 80% of their income before childbirth) plus 90 days of Guaranteed days with 6 pounds per day. Besides, parents rights to return to labour market are guaranteed by Swedish labour regulations. (Bjornberg, 2002:34) These policies not only help women to reconcile the work and c are balance during the most difficult period (with small child under 1 year old), but also encourage women to take part in workforce after maternity work by ensuring them better chances of being employed. As a result, child under 1 year is usually taken care at home by their parents (mainly mothers). And among children aged 1-6 years, institutional care instead of home care is commonly chosen by Swedish parents as that most mothers could return to their jobs afterwards. The statistics (Statistics Sweden, 2008) shows that 86% of children aged 1-6 years are in municipal day care in the year 2007. Based on the observations, Bjornberg (2002:39) suggests that the traditional male breadwinner model with mothers as housewives is not supported in Sweden rather a dual-earner model is more common and acceptable in Sweden. The high return rate does not occur among mothers with one child but among mothers with more than one child as well. As the Swedish policy states that the parent is able to enjoy the same insured income level if the next child-birth is within 30 months of the previous child. Thus, it makes possible for mothers with more than one child to return to labour market after maternity leave without worrying about the costs and losing their working rights. It is interesting to note that many returned mothers in Sweden choose to start work as part-timers. Traditionally, part-time work often associated with characteristics such as low pay, no benefits and low status, however, part-time work in Sweden has a different meaning. The long working hours (e.g. 30 hours per week) gives part-time a non-marginalized feature in Sweden. And part-time working mothers are generally treated similarly to their full-time colleagues and able to have more autonomy in their time (Sundstrom and Duvander, 2000). Fagan and Lallement (2000:45) indicate that part-time workers have integrated into Swedish labour market and received equal treatment in labour law and wage structures. Mothers Career Choices and Patterns in the United Kingdom Pursuing to be a liberal welfare state, the U.K. government has also come up with explicit policies to reconcile paid work and family life in terms of childcare services, childcare leave and flexible working hours since 1997. (Lewis and Campbell, 2007:4) Evidence shows that the newly introduced family-friendly initiatives do have certain effects in changing the British labour market situations. The mother participation rate in the market has increased from 24% in 1979 to 67% in 1999 (Dench et al., 2002) although among returned mothers, many engage in part-time rather than full-time jobs. Statistics (Social Trends, 2005) shows that 40% of women aged sixteen to fifty-nine with children are in a part-time job. However, the part-time work has a different definition in UK compare to that of Sweden in terms of the working hours. Part-time mothers only work about 16 hours per week in U.K. (Bishop, 2004) which is much shorter than 30+ hours in Sweden. In the aspect of public childcare system , it is not as popular as that of Sweden due to the poor qualification of childcare staff in UK and a lack of funding. (Lewis and Campbell, 2007) In general, instead of the traditional male breadwinner model or Swedish dual-earner model, Britain parents are taking a one-and-a-half earner model, which fathers work long hours (48+ hours per week) while mothers work short hours (about 16 hours). (Christine and Tang, 2004) Therefore, atypical job (e.g. part-time work) and shift parenting are common in UK. (Lavalle et al., 2002) Explanations to the Patterns Found Based on the findings of both Sweden and UK, it is clear that motherhood affects womens career not only in the form of career breaks during childbirth but also in terms of the after-effects on balancing work and childcare. There are several similarities found among working mothers in both countries, for instance, both countries have a relatively high mother return rate. However, part-time mothers in Sweden are seemingly to enjoy a better benefit coverage, status and pay compared to mothers in U.K. In the following part of the essay, the reasons account for the different patterns observed will be discussed and whether the high return rate reflects womens true preference between work and family will be explored. According to Hakim (2000), the difference in work and care decision made by mothers is determined by each womans preference. However, many researchers criticize Hakims statement by showing other factors which restricting womens decisions, such as the income level of the household, institutional context, social norm and womens education level. Household Income Level Household income level directly limits mothers decision on work and care. According to Vlasblom and Schippers (2006), mothers are more likely to go back to labour market if the benefit for participation is larger than its opportunity costs. For instance, most mothers in Sweden choose to work as womens income in a household is as important as their partners in order to maintain a high living standard as close as possible to those of households without children.( Bjornberg, 2002:36) In the case of U.K., the decrease in family subsidy in tax system during the 1990s has made childcare more costly, (Sainsbury, 1999) as a result, many British mothers chose to return to workforce during that time. However, unlike Sweden, high quality and affordable public childcare is not widely spread in U.K. According to Taylors survey (2003), there are only 8 % of organizations offering financial assistance with childcare costs and 3% organizations providing childcare for their employees. Thus, the lack of childcare service and the high costs associated with childcare outsourcing for working parents has explained the increasing number of part-time working mothers and the shifting childcare arrangement between parents in U.K. Social Norms Under the traditional male breadwinner model, mothers are expected to become housewives while fathers will be the only income source for the household. However, as time passes by, the social norm has been changed and working mothers are more acceptable in both countries (Vlasblom and Schippers, 2006). And in Sweden, women to have a gainful employment before childbirth is essential as the replacement income during 12 months maternity leave is determined by womens salary level prior to giving birth. Those mothers who were housewives do not receive any income benefit during the first year of child care (Bjornberg, 2002). Such policies, to a certain extent, have reinforced the womens importance in the job market and increased the acceptance of womens role as workers in general. However, in both countries, the increasing in women participation rate and social acceptance of working mothers does not match the changes in their male spouses behaviours. Gershuny (2000) points out that mens participation in unpaid work is much lower than womens participation rate in paid work. According to Elvin-Nowak and Thomsson (2001:432), fathers work schedule is considered as fixed and unalterable and mothers concern about childrens well-being more than fathers do, as a result, the negotiations come to rest between the woman and her conscience rather than between the mother and the father. Uneven distribution of domestic chores, especially childcare is still prevalent nowadays. In U.K., the long working hours of men has left the childcare to mothers mainly. Without the help from their spouses, it is more difficult for mothers to combine the work and childcare and thus, full-time work is often not an available option for many British mothers. The situation in Sweden is relativ ely better than that in U.K. due to the introduction of compulsory Daddy Month policy. However, Even in country like Sweden, fathers only spend just half the time in taking care of children as their partners do (Gornick and Meyers, 2008:318). Institutional Context Institutional context is one of the most critical factor in shaping womens work and care decision. Often, the change in mothers behaviour is as a result of change in institutional policies, such as the reduced in family subsidy mentioned above. Both British government and Swedish government are aiming to promote waged labour through its policies, like extension of maternity leave, childcare provision or flexible working-hour practices, in order to attract mothers into workforce and to increase the labour supply and tax base (OECD, 2005). However, these two countries have varied degree of success in obtaining the goal. The difference in institutional policies explains why the part-time mothers in Sweden could focus on their work better than those of U.K. First of all, the public childcare is well-developed and widely used in Sweden, therefore, most Swedish women are able to work long hour part-time or full-time job without worrying lack of proper care for their children. Besides, the introduction of Daddy Month in Sweden has increased the fathers participation in childcare task and thus, reduces the burden from mothers. According to the statistics, 77% of father in Sweden took up the whole month leave in 1995. However, the formal childcare is either too expensive or poorly organized in U.K. which forces most British mothers to care children privately and restricts their career development. Besides, the long working hours for British fathers makes sharing private childcare more difficult and often mothers have to change their working hours in order to suit their partners more rigid schedules for childcare. Thus, mothers career in U.K. is more likely to be disturbed than their counterpart in Sweden. Womens Educational Level Besides the differences in external factors, such as the policies, income and social norms, the educational level among women also affect the degree of motherhoods impacts on their careers. The educational level here not only refers to the initial education (Portela, 2001), but also the working experiences and personal capabilities a woman possesses. Elvin-Nowak and Thomsson (2001:407) suggests that mothers with different social background have different motherhood experiences and interpreted the meaning of the motherhood differently. In general, low-skilled female workers are more likely to exit the labour force for their children than those high-skilled workers (Cantillon at al., 2001). And Hofferth et al.s (1996) study is consistent with Cantillons findings, showing that high-skilled women tend to use formal childcare while low-skilled women tend to provide childcare themselves. As a result, high-skilled women are more likely to commit themselves into their work without worrying about the childcare. At the same time, with the high earnings gained from work, they are able to afford the formal childcare while for the low-skilled women who cannot afford the formal childcare with the low earnings, staying at home to look after their children becomes the only option for them. In UK, 75 percent of highly educated women with children aged under 5 years old are actively participate in paid work while only 24 percent of women without qualifications are in workforce. (EOR, 2001) Similar results are found among Swedish wo men too. Besides, Sundstrom and Duvander (2000) found that parents with higher educational level are more likely to share the domestic tasks including childcare than couples with lower educational level. Therefore, it confirms the view that women whose level of education is high is more likely to take part in work. Conclusion This essay has examined the motherhood impact on womens career choice and patterns in Sweden and the U.K. The findings show that both countries have an increasing mother participation rate. But despite of the optimistic rising working mother numbers in both countries, working mothers careers are still affected by the motherhood. Not only that full-time work option is no longer available for many mothers due to the burden of childcare, part-time working mothers are generally more difficult to concentrate on their jobs, especially in the U.K where formal provision of formal childcare system is not well-developed. Besides, possible factors, such as household income level, social norms, institutional policies and womens educational level, which restrict mothers work and care decision, are explored in the essay. However, there are many other factors which could shape the motherhoods impact on womens career, for instance, the number of children. Women with smaller family size have less car eer breaks and spend less time on childcare, thus they have better opportunity to channel their energy into paid work (Gill et al., 2000). Besides, the rising divorce rate and high teenage pregnancy rate result an increase in singe-mother families. Motherhoods impact on single mother family could be different from normal families. After analyzing the possible factors which affect working mothers careers, how their accessibility to the labour market and status could be increased is the key challenge that should be addressed. Based on Sweden and the U.K. cases, it is clear that institutional policies could a powerful tool for creating a better environment for working mothers. For instance, the Daddy Month introduced by Swedish government has been successful in tackling the unequal division of work among men and women and this policy could be learnt by other countries too. In sum, in order to increase working mothers full-time participation rate and achieve better work-life balance in the society, governments should invest more on the institutional policies. In another word, following the concept of diversity/mainstreaming, government should change the focus from trying to fit working mothers into the society to changing the society/organization/culture to embrace differences by making working mothers issue centr al to every aspect of the policy. Word: 2930

Commentary: An Advancement of Learning by Seamus Heaney Essay

In An Advancement from Learning by Seamus Heaney, he describes a retrospective childhood experience. The narrator compels himself to face a deep-seated and preposterous fear which he consequently conquers. He shares his terror and revulsion by implementing vivid and vibrant imagery presented in nine quatrains. The conquest of an irrational fear depicted in this poem is perhaps a metaphor for overcoming greater fears in life. As the title suggest, this poem is about An Advancement of Learning- facing and subsequently conquering sometimes strong and private fears. Heaney describes a lone stroll along a polluted, ‘oil-skinned’ river bank. The almost sombre introspective tone of the opening two stanzas rapidly changes into one of revolt and terror as a rat emerges from the river. In a moment of panic, the poet attempts to escape, only to find another on the far bank, which encouraged a deeper impact. The second rat provoked the author to question his response to and fear for these animals. He then ‘incredibly’ decides to courageously maintain his ground and face the rodent. Despite Heaney providing the reader with a vibrant image of the animal to reinforce his contempt, he almost battles the rat until he ‘stared him out’. Eventually, as if the narrator won the ongoing battle, the rat retreats into a sewage pipe. Heaney then advances his way and triumphantly crosses the bridge, as he conquered a fright which has bedevilled him since childhood. An Advancement of Learning is written in nine quatrains consisting of short and sharp lines, which almost present the reader with a succession of flashing images. Heaney employs a loose and alternate rhyming scheme- stanzas one, three, six, eight and nine follow the pattern abcb, whereas stanzas two and four follow the abac pattern. Where the seventh stanza follows the abab pattern, Stanza five has the different but effective rhyming scheme abbc. The regularity of the rhythm in this stanza contributes to the reader’s sense of the poet’s rising self control. Heaney makes active use of enjambment and caesura to emphasise many of his emotions and sentiments. The astute use of enjambment from lines ten to sixteen increase the tempo and excitement of the poem, which in turn aid to convey the poet’s  fright and aspiration to flee. Furthermore, the writer applies enjambment between one stanza and the next to allow his descriptions to flow smoothly, which appropriately reflects the fluidity of the river described. Interesting is that the verses reflect the writer’s gradual gaining of self control. The main entity in the poem is the bridge as it symbolises the tree stages in the writer’s conquest of fear. At the sight of the first rat, the poet initially refuses to cross the bridge. Once faced with his ‘enemy’, he establishes a ‘dreaded Bridgehead’ which in military terms means to hold a defensive position. He is fearful but determined. Finally, as the poet defeats his foe and fear, he, with a vestige of triumph, ‘walked on and crossed the bridge.’ The bridge is mentioned at these three key stages of Heaney’s experience as well as structurally in the first, central and closing stanzas to emphasise the stages of overcoming his fear gradually. Heaney’s most striking feature in terms of style and language are unmistakably his effective use of alliteration and sibilance, as well as the appealing use of lexis. The repetition of the sharp consonant sounds s and c, especially conspicuous in the third stanza, contribute to both the sickening nature of the rat and the writer’s feelings towards it. An example of words carefully chosen to enhance and reflect the meaning of the poem is ‘Insidiously listening’, which is despite its impact, neither alliteration nor assonance. The narrator also employs extraordinary and emotive vocabulary, such as ‘slimed’ and ‘nimbling’ to describe the rats, allowing the reader to accurately experience the fear and loathing which he suffered. Remarkable about this poem is that as the writer overcomes his revolt and fright, the description of the animal becomes more forgiving. Where at the beginning the rodents were Insidious, ‘slobberedâ€℠¢ and ‘slimed’ around, they are, less forbiddingly, observed as animals with ‘the raindrop eye’ and ‘the old snout’ towards the end. This indicates how the writer’s fear and terror disappears with the rat into the sewage pipe, and how he now views the rodent in its proper perspective. An Advancement of Learning successfully conveyed the writer’s feelings and  emotions while conquering a lifelong phobia. The use of enjambment and caesura as well as the alternating rhyming patterns, which reflected the increasing order of the situation, all contribute to the vibrant image the reader is provided with. Furthermore, the poet employed the motif of the bridge as a foundation for the poem’s structure while adding more dimension to the text by enforcing it as a symbol of the poet’s route to overcoming his deep-rooted fears.

Flaws of the Hawthorne Effect Essay

Progress toward specified goals is fundamental to planned accomplishment. Measuring that progress is essential since it provides intermediate feedback for continued or corrective actions and can help ascertain actual accomplishment. Beyond the simple assessment of accomplishment is the evaluation of what that accomplishment truly means. Through proper evaluation, an accomplishment’s true worth can be determined. Then, decisions about future actions can be made. Care must be taken, however, to avoid pitfalls that could lead to incorrect conclusions and improper decisions. Let’s begin with an example. A golfer attempts to hit a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. After each stroke, the golfer hopes, the ball will be nearer the hole, until (at last) on the final shot, the ball disappears with a satisfying rattle into the plastic cup liner. The goal has been met. But what does that mean? How well was the goal met? Was it met in exemplary fashion or merely in a satisfactory manner? One measure is the number of strokes required. Assuming another player is competing, scores can be compared in order to evaluate relative performance. Without a norming score, however, goal attainment remains somewhat undefined in terms of level of achievement. Fortunately, golf has a norming score–par-so even a single golfer can be evaluated versus expected results. Golf can be taught and played in several ways. Which is the best method? How can one evaluate these methods? Perhaps comparing the performance of those who adhere to each method will provide a relative measure of which is most productive. Evaluation of these results can help golfers and instructors make informed decisions about which method to employ. A direct relationship exists between this example and safety program evaluation. A safety program is individually measured using a variety of tools. These measures, such as injury frequency rates, can be used in comparison with normalized (or group) measures to evaluate how a program is progressing toward a prescribed level of performance. Furthermore, program activities used to improve performance can be evaluated by comparing various measures of those activities. Hence, the evaluation process can be used to make informed decisions about safety program effectiveness. Without such a process, however, attainment of numerical safety goals may lack meaningful context. Hopkins and Antes describe traditional uses of the results of educational measurement and evaluation. â€Å"Educational evaluation takes the output of measurement and other pertinent information to form judgments based on the information collected. These judgments are the basis for decisions about students as individuals, and decisions about the effectiveness of school programs† (Hopkins and Antes 34). They conclude, â€Å"Improvement of the teacher’s teaching and the student’s learning through judgments using available information is the ultimate function of the evaluation process† (Hopkins and Antes 31). Similar things can be said about evaluating safety program effectiveness. That is, information collected about the various activities associated with a safety program should form the basis for decisions made to improve safety performance. Evaluation is based on information collected. Data collection can be achieved via many methods. Observation is one. Observations may be recorded or unrecorded. Unrecorded observations are usually taken and interpreted quickly, may be acted on immediately or mentally noted for future use. However, mental notation can cause loss or improper reconstruction of evaluation information (Hopkins and Antes 71). Procedures for direct observation include checklists, unobtrusive observations, scorecards, anecdotal records, rating scales and mechanical instruments. Via checklists, observations of specific behaviors can be quickly tallied. Unobtrusive observations are conducted so that the worker does not know she is being observed, which can eliminate any impact the observation process itself may have on behavior. Scorecards are similar to checklists, but apply a weighting scheme to the behaviors being observed. Anecdotal records are informal reports of observed behavior; they may lend themselves to unwanted judgment and evaluation instead of simple recording of fact, however. Rating scales can be used to collect information about intensity or degree in relation to the observation (Hopkins and Antes 78-96). Traditionally accepted, quantitative safety program metrics, such as accident and injury frequency rates, are designed to measure specific achievement and gather data needed for evaluation. Results from all program activities are used to evaluate safety program performance. Bottom line: Information-collection techniques must be designed to prevent an evaluator’s personal biases from influencing how results are recorded or considered. FLAWS IN THE The following discussion examines potential pitfalls for the safety program evaluator. Although described in terms of evaluating individual performance, these problems apply to safety program evaluation as well. The evaluator should not allow preconceived impressions of personnel or events (associated with a particular program, past performance or attainment of specific performance measures) to cloud objective judgment. Safety program evaluation takes time and resources. Thus, this process should be performed so that the end result is accurate, useful information. The Halo Effect The Halo Effect is one potential evaluation pitfall. According to Kirkpatrick, who describes the effect as it relates to the workplace and employee performance evaluation, the Halo Effect is a tendency to overrate the person being observed. This concept can be applied to safety program evaluation as well. Kirkpatrick lists seven reasons why this effect occurs. 1. A person’s past good performance leads one to expect continued good performance, and the assumption of good performance carries over to future evaluations (Effect of Past Record). 2. An evaluator tends to rate a person who is pleasing in personality and character, agreeable and otherwise compatible higher than performance may justify. . Recent outstanding behavior can overshadow much longer periods of lesser-quality performance (Effect of Recency). 4. A person with an asset deemed important by the observer, although it may be irrelevant, may receive a higherthan-justifiable rating. 5. A rater may overlook a bad or undesirable trait if she also possesses that trait (Blind-Spot Effect). 6. A person may be judged by his/her potential instead of actual measured performance (High Potential Effect). 7. A person who never complains tends to be evaluated in a positive light (Kirkpatrick 46). The Hams Effect The Horns Effect is the reverse of the Halo Effect in that evaluations tend to be lower than deserved. Kirkpatrick offers eight causes for this effect. 1. The evaluator may have high expectations that are not easily met. 2. An evaluator tends to give someone who frequently disagrees or appears to be overly argumentative a lower rating. 3. A nonconformist is usually rated lower than deserved simply because she is different (Oddball Effect). 4. Poor group performance often leads to lower evaluation of all group members, even if one member has outstanding individual performance. . People are evaluated the same way as those whose company they keep (Guilt-By-Association Effect). 6. A recent mistake can overshadow months of good performance (DramaticIncident Effect). 7. An evaluator may associate some character trait (i. e. , aggressiveness, arrogance, passivity) with poor performance and give a lower-than-justified rate to someone who has that trait (PersonalityTrait Effect). 8. An evalua tor may give a lower-thanjustified rate to a person who performs a task differently than the evaluator would (Self-Comparison Effect). Controlling These Effects  Kirkpatrick attributes these flaws to vague standards and maintains that effectively established standards of performance can reduce or eliminate their impact (Kirkpatrick 46-47). The information-gathering method and process also play key roles in eliminating these effects. As stated, anecdotal records that rely on memory can easily lead to inappropriate evaluation. Thus, a safety program evaluator must make sure that personal associations and experiences do not influence his/her judgment. Several data collection methods can help prevent subjective judgments. For example, the critical incident method is a three-step process that involves data collection, data summary and analysis, and feedback. Developed by J. C. Flanagan, this technique uses recorded observations of specific behaviors that are judged to be critical to good or poor performance. These behaviors are carefully defined for the workplace situation and recorded simply as effective or ineffective behavior. Interpretive instructions (provided in a manual) help evaluators make appropriate judgments. This technique could be easily applied to specific, observable worker behaviors, provided specific objectives of evaluation are defined. Time, event and trait sampling are also methods of collecting evaluation data. Time sampling involves specifically timed observations that, over time, might be expected to provide a good representation of total performance. Event sampling is like Flanagan’s critical incident method in that events deemed to represent specific performance characteristics are recorded as they are observed. Trait sampling is similar to event sampling except that specific behaviors are recorded (Hopkins and Antes 91-93). Such techniques can help ensure collection of objective data. An evaluator’s knowledge of the various facets of the Halo and Horns effects can also help alleviate these problems. The evaluator must learn to ask whether either of these effects is influencing his/her judgment and make adjustments if necessary. An evaluator who uses objective data-collection techniques and consciously avoids making Halos/Horns judgments will produce more-accurate evaluations that, in turn, will lead to better decisions. Hopkins and Antes suggest teaching evaluators about these effects in order to improve objectivity. The Illumination Experiments In the 1920s, a group of engineers at Western Electric examined the effect of illumination on work performance. The researchers established an experiment room and a control room, controlled various conditions and introduced changes one at a time. Much to the engineers’ dismay, the results were confounding. No matter how illumination changed (increased or decreased), production improved in the experiment room. Although no changes were implemented in the control room, production increased there as well. These results indicated the need to record not only the details of the physical changes made, but also the physiological, medical and social changes occurring (Mayo 80). Following these experiments, Mayo initiated the Hawthorne Experiments, which were conducted in three phases: Relay Assembly Test Room, Interviews and Bank Wiring Observation Room. Relay Assembly Test Room In the Relay Assembly Test Room, various regimes of workday length, payment schemes, break length and scheduling, work week and return to non-experimental conditions were evaluated. In all cases, productivity increased from previous levels. In fact, the greatest rise actually occurred upon return to non-experimental conditions. Mayo attributed this result to â€Å"†¦ six individuals working wholeheartedly as a team, without coercion from above or limitation from below† (Mayo 78). Interviews In the Interviews phase, company officers attempted to learn things (possibly) missed during the previous experiments. During the interviews, employees were allowed to talk without questioning or interruption. Some 20,000 employees were interviewed over several years. The result was a feeling of well-being among employees; the interview process had been a sort of emotional release. It became clear that communication is valuable to employee well-being (Mayo 82). Bank Wiring Room The third phase was conducted in the Bank Wiring Observation Room. Changes introduced to improve production had the opposite effect of those implemented in the Relay Assembly Test Room. Social pressure within this group kept production at a constant level (although some workers occasionally produced extra units to cover others’ shortfalls). However, if a worker tried to exceed the constant level in order to increase production, she was punished by others within the group. This process, called â€Å"binging,† involved a physical hit on the arm of the â€Å"offender† by an â€Å"enforcer† (Roethlisberger and Dickson 422). The Hawthorne Effect Thanks to these experiments, the term â€Å"Hawthorne Effect† was coined. Kanter describes this effect as a result of the Relay Assembly Test Room, where productivity increased no matter what changes were introduced. â€Å"In one experiment, a team of women workers was given a separate work area where their production would be measured while a variety of environmental conditions, such as lighting and rest breaks, were varied. Productivity tended to [increase] regardless of the changes that were made to physical conditions. â€Å"One conclusion was that being singled out to be in a high-visibility experiment was highly motivating in and of itself; calling this the Hawthorne Effect was, in part, a way of dismissing the claims made by new ‘human relations’ programs, arguing instead that any change involving [some] increased management attention and special treatment would have positive effects for a little while† (Kanter 409). Kanter simplifies this explanation, saying it was due to â€Å"the excitement of getting involved and making an impact† (Kanter 242). Controlling the Hawthorne Effect The key message is that, when evaluating a safety program, one must make sure the mere process of being evaluated is not the reason a measured characteristic changes from baseline measurements. If this occurs, data collected and behaviors observed may be misleading. Or, if, for example, several workers-are told they have been chosen to test a new safety-related process, will institution of the process itself lead to better performance, or will the workers be motivated to perform simply due to their participation in the experience? To minimize this effect, control groups should be established. By having two groups â€Å"participate† in the activity, the true effect of the different stimuli can be better determined. For example, Latham and Locke discussed an experiment through which a wood products company attempted to examine the value of goalsetting as it relates to increased production. One work crew was selected to strive toward specific production goals, while another crew, a control group, was told the experiment was designed to assess the effect of absenteeism on production (Latham and Locke 400-401). â€Å"To control for the Hawthorne Effect, we made an equal number of visits to the control group and the training group† (Latham and Locke 401). In other words, both groups received equal attention, so both had similar reason to be motivated by participation. Result: Test group was more successful than control group.

Techniques And Strategies Of Managing Finance Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 15 Words: 4495 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Introduction Within an organization, there lie the techniques, strategies, and processes being implemented by the people. Supposedly, the organization originated in the concept wherein the essential and key people are collected and working together in order to achieve one common goal. Due to the influence of globalization and its two faces: opportunity and challenges, the organization can be plagued with variety of issues. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Techniques And Strategies Of Managing Finance Finance Essay" essay for you Create order In the attempt of the organization to create a well founded plan for their future success, there are many areas that need to be considered. For over the years, different business analysts and researchers draw an interest in different aspect of organization. Namely organizational structure, organizational changes and challenges, long-term and short-term plans, roles and responsibilities of the people, corporate culture, organizational behavior, and many others. All of the idea comprised within the context of organizational research promotes the difference academic areas such as the psychology in human resource management, accountancy for accounting/audit department, finance management for finance department, etc. In addition, all of the concept drawn within the organization are supported with the theories and is currently applied among the successful organization and be part of their practice. Because of the broad discussion towards the organization, the study is attempting to summ arize or, rather, give an overview with the common topics, issues, or ideas, within the organization. The aim to describe the different important areas in organization was generated through the underlying principle regarding the success in businesses either domestically or foreign, or both business environment. Question 1 Irrespective of the size and type of organization, it is essential that strong interrelationships exist between organizational objectives, long term plans and performance measures if the organization is to be successful. As said earlier, the organization is the collection of people bearing with skills, knowledge, and if possible, experience. The invisible bind that holds the people together is through the formulation of certain objectives. Most of the organizational objectives are increasing the profit, quick pace on the return of investment, exploitation of the natural resources and the exploration of other options, development opportunities in the products and services, etc. On the other hand, the machines, materials, investments, and other natural resources are placed under the management and control. The roles and responsibilities of people are also emphasized and it is started through the proper selection of personnel. The increase in the performance of the employees are th ereby, supported by proper handling and management. All of the strategies and techniques applied are essential of overall management in an organization. And the management within the organization is implemented in various industries. Most of the organizations are formed by the individuals who are well oriented in the environment of their business as well as acknowledging the characters of the individuals. Moreover, the firms are often founded by the members of family and holding most of the top positions. In order to drive the business towards its success, the management there should be a strong interrelationship in between the organizational objectives, long-term plans and performance measures. The strong relationships within the organization provide conformance and compliance in all the aspect settled inside the departments or even in the entire organization. Relationships or the links can be manifested in the values and ethics; policies, procedures and processes; application o f security and controls; fiscal management; risk management; and quality assurance (Barrett, 2002). Because of the strong relationship being built in the organization, there is an establishment of corporate governance that aligns the objectives along with the practices involved. The framework of the relationship pertains to the idea that the long term plans of the organizations can be achieved if there are appropriate performance measures. The connection of the elements towards success should accommodate each other and move towards the operation of the organization. In addition, the enforced interrelationship of management strategies with the organizational performance and performance measures can quicken the pace in reaching the corporate goals or long-term plans (Chan, 2003). It is because; the three concepts open the opportunity ahead, draw the responsibilities, and ensure the accountability and can be the essential ingredient behind the corporate culture. In the emphasis o n the performance measures, that usually lies in the human capital and can be the key component towards the success. From the past organizational researches it is often describe as the driver that aligns the objectives and corporate vision. The factors that contribute with this idea are the aspects including the reliability, accuracy, timing, and ability of people to adopt in changes and face challenges. The performance is the most critical part in achieving one certain goal because of the implications of operational efficiency. The performance targets can important to be settled to create the actual performance. The support given by the organizational objectives and long-term plans increases the chances towards success (Henning, Theron, Spangenberg, 2004). Targets can be also considered as the long-term plan of the organization, and if possible, all of the performance measurements can be crafted meant to satisfy all the organizational goals. One of the most common tasks that an in dividual should posses is the ability to discover the weakness and then, improve and find the other potentials. The focus of the organization in monitoring the practices towards the performance of the organizations is an effective way to achieve the objectives. Such measures brought out the management are mirrored in their leadership, directing, and controlling. There is an empirical ground of idea that the creation of organizational objectives is the results of the long-term plan and organizational goals. Often, the objectives resembles as the requirement of the organization. And in using the applicable performance, there arrives the management and control. In every department, it is recognizable that the managers have the ability to lead and direct the people, because of the objectives set before them. The acknowledgement of an individual regarding his position in the organization as well as the roles and responsibilities tailing in his position is an effective solution in achievi ng the goals. When all the performances result according to what is planned and stipulated in the objectives, the quality of work can be generated. In finance management, the assurance that there is a quality on the output of work such as in auditing, then the organization can say that the people complied unto what is indicated in the overall organizational goals. The quality in the performance means that there is an assurance of performance measurement. The essence of effective performance, however, is another indication of performance management. Therefore, the auditing practices in the finance department can adopt and afterwards, increase the level of interest in corporate governance for it has a focus on the accountability and sustaining the practice in work (Barrett, 2002). The situations and the improvement in the systems and operational procedures can deliberately affect the performance measures in the organization. The idea of accountability, in the finance management supports the idea in operating with efficiently and effectively. It could be a basic strategy and be an ideal performance management if the organizational theories can be implemented and delivers a continuous practice. In general, the transformation of the organization towards the success can be a critical point in any organization, especially when the organization has issues and recently involved in organizational turmoil. The interrelationship of the performance measurements in the financial department along with the influence from organizational objectives and motivation coming from the long term plans has the ability to work together such in control and operate is proven to have the impact in delivering the success and continuous growth (Chan, 2003). The strong interrelationships within the organization are affected by the various factors due to the globalization in the business. The increase in the globalization of businesses were triggered by the improvements in transportation and communications, political affairs, technological designs and advancement that might develop and increase the products, and the population of the multinational businesses that are under the same industry. In the trend of globalization, there is an increase in interest in the financial management. Question 2 Internal and External Stakeholders and the Financial Information they use Organization is an environment where both mind and body synchronized in working. It is fuelled with full of expectations and the access in a good information is believed to be a great foundation in leadership, effective management, and control. The performance measurements being applied in the workplace might be ambitious but because of the target, the entire organization can agree in terms of their focus such as in catering the services and development. The obligation of the information is to ensure that all the decisions that can be generated and can change the position of the organization have a strong basis. For an instance, the audit in finance department presents the capability of the department in providing the assistance because of the effective financial management. In return, the information that the department can provide includes the various opinions, recommendations and opportunities that are made available for all the stakeholders. More than figures, the report are entitled to deliver the adequate and meaningful interpretation, approaches, and judgement towards the information. Stakeholders, who have the right to see the financial report, hence, can craft a sound decision that is clear, unbiased, and transparent (Barrett, 2002). Stakeholders and the Analysis In evaluating the organizational performance, the stakeholders or the people who can create an influence on the business need a strong basis such as the use of the financial information. Stakeholders concepts and approaches in the organization can be described as a systematic tool that can define steps and being utilized by the organization. The design of the information enables the stakeholders to evaluate and understand the position of the organization according to the specific activity the organization is engaged and its current environment. Based from the information, there is a creation of a decision that potentially changes the path of the organization including the policies in order to satisfy the organizational objectives. The analysis of the stakeholders is more on the systematic process because it is equipped with the range of methodologies. This includes the analysis on the stakeholders interests, positions, interrelations, networks, and as well as influence. Generati ng the knowledge can be the most appropriate description on the role of stakeholders of the organization in which both people and organization understand the behaviour and intentions of the business in the market. Having identified the internal and external stakeholders will help the business to uncover the appropriate changes that should be included in the overall organizational activities. Therefore, it is an advantage for the organization to recognize the stakeholders as well as the perceptions they create towards the organization. Internal Stakeholders The internal stakeholders are the CEO, managers, and executives who are present in the everyday operation of the organization and thereby, can judge the performance of the organization. In the idea of an efficient and effective operation that is being implemented in the organization, the term accountability can be emerged. The use of the balanced scorecards is an effective way in transforming the organization. A balanced scoreboard is an effective solution in all the managers and executive to track and improve the corporate performance through the use of the key business indicators such as the financial aspect, internal process and operation, customer analysis, and growth of the industry; being offered and then, recorded and be available for their review. The power of the balanced scoreboard creates an impact in visualizing the future success and helping the people in highlighting the essential key areas towards the performance management of the organization (Chan, 2003). In additi on, the presentation of the status and trend in the market are good set of indicators which can provide a quick overview on the performance and define the benchmarks. Because of the growing uncertainties in the market, the balanced scoreboards are effective in guiding the organizations on their corporate goals. The method of reporting that were utilized by the executive and managers help them to analyze the operational activities that are needs to improve, maintain, and eliminate. All of the activities involved in decision in the operating activities are ensured to be aligned according to the organizational objectives covering the overall strategy. Aside from the balanced scoreboards, the internal stakeholders can also assess the capital market that is obtained in financial intermediaries and is utilized by most of the large organization which described as the most dominant sources of finances that supports the development aims of the business (Megginson Boutchkova, 2000).On the ot her hand, the efficiency market hypothesis (EMH) that is related in the equity of the traders and investors, tells the idea regarding the stocks in the market and dictating the movement that the investors should do to beat the market (Brigham Gapenski, 1997). Internal stakeholders are rendering the effective performance; therefore, it is a great challenge for the managers to drive the performance towards growth. The CEO and other executives are solely responsible in terms of the authority. And for recent years, the CEOs role in the organization adopted other managerial practice because of the seniority they gained, most especially in the experiences and higher knowledge and skills that they possesses. In accordance to this, the increase in the capacity of the CEOs in serving the organization are almost align with the duties and responsibilities of the Boards of Directors. The facilitation of the organizational ideas are therefore, passed through the creation of organizational go als and enhancing the quality of the performance (Barrett, 2002). External Stakeholders As a counterpart of the internal stakeholder, the external stakeholders or otherwise called shareholders includes the employees, customers, suppliers, journalists, and the government. All the individuals that are working outside the organization yet being affected by the existence of the organization are called external stakeholders. Meaning, the individuals doesnt need to invest in the organization to carry the stake because being a consumer creates a great impact in the success of the organization. The information can be obtained from the disclosure of the performance of the organization such as the financial (interim and annual reports), through viewing the information in comparison with the other related organization, through addressing the behavior of the market as well as the entire stakeholders; sustainability performance report; through the distribution channels, meetings, press conferences, and other channels for communication, Internet, legal Websites. In addition, becaus e of the interest of the entire organization in achieving the trust form the public, the Shareholder Value Analysis became the key objective of the organization to increase the value of the shareholders and this is through recognizing the specific measurements like the economic value. Shareholders can also view this kind of approach and measure the appeal of the organization in the market (White, Vanc, Stafford, 2008). Question 3 The internal financial information an organization provides to its managers for planning, controlling and monitoring purposes is subject to the same accounting concepts and conventions that apply to the published annual reports and accounts. To what extent is the comment true? Illustrate your answer with examples. The responsibilities of the managers can be broad but should include the underlying principles in order to create a significant improvement in the working environment. All of the organizations display the ethical standards and practices which deal from the top-to-bottom of the organization. To manage all of the resources effectively and efficiently and with the accordance of the organizational objectives, the managers should recognize the importance of the governance. Through the use of the financial information, the managers can determine the level of the business relationships among its suppliers, distributors, and other partners. It is so true that the accounting co ncepts and principles can give the comprehensive review on the financial position of the organization. And with that, the managers can create sound decisions. However, the internal financial information deals with an in-depth analysis, not more on figures and discuss the related information from the range of products, services, and operational activities. In such the internal financial information provides the transparency in all the areas of organization. In this sense, there is an increase in the financial returns because being transparent in reporting, unbiased, and avoiding the manipulation resembles the ability of the entire organization to create the competitive advantage and protection on company assets. Generally, the financial reports are fashioned in favor of the organization which may leave some blind spots in the overall sustainability of the organization. Some of the organization is reluctant to provide the internal financial report because of the unfavorable indicat ors regarding the organization. In contrast to this, the internal financial information is bound to reveal everything whether good or bad. The hint that the organization might be engaged in a wrong path is the incomplete disclosure of information and it might indicate the poor performance of the organizational activities. The essence of disclosing all of the information is a result of the sustainable performance of the organization (Bedard Jackson, 2003). The essence of disclosing the information is to prove that there is an improvement in the organization regarding the application of the strategies and systems. In fact, the influence of the growing uncertainties in the market and business environment should be also examined and be included in the comprehensive report. This is for the reason that the regulatory requirements in the society create a great impact in the organization, most especially in foreign countries. Internal financial information can be the internal audit. In ternal financial information can be only assess through the application of the internal auditing which the financial management can describe as an independent area, objective, and assures that the design of the consultation is for the organization and its related operation. With the strong founded practice and auditing activity, the financial reporting can be evaluated according to the organizational objectives because of the systematic and disciplined approach. The audit also includes the essence of risk management, control, and corporate governance in the overall process. Financial manager is the one who is responsible in the establishment and maintenance of the practice in the internal controls of the organization. The continuous process of the internal auditing is focused on the exposing the risk areas that are under the operation, financial and operational information, safeguarding the organizational assets, assurance on the compliance with the laws and regulations, and directi ng the organization towards the accomplishment of the goals and associated objectives. Financial managers can work along with the internal auditors because most of the internal investigations will be taken from the accounts of the financial managers and the accountants, since they are the people who are responsible in handling the financial issues in the organization. It is recommended that there should be improvements in the internal controls from the top of the management to maintain the integrity in the corporate world while at the same time, targeting the operational improvement (Quality Assurance Bureau, 2007). As a contrast to the internal controls, the weak implementation of the financial management and control only invites the opportunity in committing fraud. The fraudulent act is the most negative action that may arise among the individuals. In the essence of corporate governance, the signs and overall existence of the frauds can be minimized until eliminated. It is not important that a policy in being established, what necessary is to act according to the settled policy, have an effective leadership, and provide appropriate commitment. In terms of the adoption of sound management and stringent control in the financial aspects, there will be a clear intention in promoting the corporate governance and facilitation of the processes and procedures according to the organizational goals and objectives. Effective implementation of control reflects in the managements attitude and commitment in ensuring that the business will receive the interests and there exist the term accountability (Barrett, 2002). The utilization of the internal financial information emphasizes, explores, and strengthens the financial managers responsibilities within the organization. To use the funds according to the objectives of the organization and the related plans remains the heart of the financial managers task. In accordance to this, the financial manager has five specific activities that are part of the maximization of the value of the firm. First is the forecasting and planning, and with the use of the internal financial information there is an accuracy in performing this task. Second is to manage and facilitate the major investment and financing decisions, such as determining the optimal sales that can be achieved in the invested project. Third is to coordinate and control through interacting with the people within the organization like the executives to ensure that the plans are followed accordingly. Fourth is to deal with the financial markets or the capital markets to ensure that there are enough funds to support the on-going project. And fifth is to assess and manage the risks. All businesses has their risks depending on the type of environment that they are involved but it is important that the business can play safe even if there is a threat coming from different elements (Brigham Gapenski, (1997). Question 4 Each of the four main methods of investment appraisal (Accounting Rate of Return, Payback, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return) is as relevant and appropriate as the others when making investment decisions. Discuss and critically evaluate this statement, illustrating your answer with some numerical examples. As part of the finance managers roles and responsibilities, there is a coordination and continuous communication with the other personnel in the organization like the marketing manager who would help in project sales, the engineering and production staffs that would determine the assets necessary to meet the demands in the market. Aside from simply raising the funds to satisfy the projects, they are generally has the direct responsibility for the elements involved through the application of the control process. Financial managers make decisions regarding which assets that the firm should acquire; how the assets should be financed, and how the firm should manage the existing resources. If these responsibilities are performed optimally, the importance of financial managers will arise because of the recognition in maximizing the values of the firms and supporting the long-term plan of the organization while keeping the consumers and employees. However, in the start of the project, the knowledge and skills of the finance manager is expected to show through measuring and projecting the capacity of each projects in delivering the favorable interest for the organization. The basic investment appraisal techniques that every financial manager should be aware of are the computation of the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback Period (PP), and the Accounting Rate of Return (ARR). In the application of theses methods, the decision can be made because of the strong ground of basis. However, there are rules that need to determine in order to use the chose of method. The type of decisions may also varied but there are only two o ptions available accept or reject the project. When the finance manager is bound to deliver a comprehensive answer regarding the project, he must be aware on the conditions towards its ongoing completions. If there are long-term projects, one must look on the consistency of the corporate plan. The essence is that, all the funds will be wasted if there is a sudden change in the organization whether in structure, leadership, plans, and goals all will be affected in the changes. A financial manager must consider the cash inflows in the project. All of the funds should exceed on the estimated outflows or expenses and create an appropriate technique in capital budgeting. This will emphasize the true ability of the finance manager in forecasting. Below is the example that can mirror the ability of the finance manager in creating a sound decision between the two projects. The situation is that, the manager should make a choice between the projects with the given assumption of 15% annual cost of capital and estimated net annual cash flows (University of London External System). Project Time Periods (Years) Â 0 1 2 3 4 Total A (25, 000) 5, 000 12, 500 12, 500 12, 500 $17, 500 B (10, 000) 5, 000 10, 000 (1, 000) $4, 000 Next are the four methods in investment appraisal according to their set of rules. NPV IRR (%) Payback (Years) ARR (%) A $4, 166* 22 2.6 35* B $1, 251 24* 1.5* 26.7 The projects A and B will have an NPV of 4166 and 1251 respectively. According to the decision rule of NPV, the finance manager should select the investment gaining the higher NPV regardless of the size of the original investment. In this case, the Project A is the preferred option (University of London External System). The rationale for the method NPV is described to be straightforward which is why NPV is the most utilized method in the financial management and give signals to the management regarding the decision. An NPV of zero signifies that the projects cash flows are exactly sufficient to repay the invested capital and to provide the required rate of return on that capital. If a project has a positive NPV, then its cash flows are generating more than the required return, and since the return is fixed, the extra return accrues solely to the firms stakeholders (Brigham, Gapenski, 1997). This suggests that B is a good project because there is a shorter payback period. Payback period is the expected number of years in which the investment can recover the original investment. This is also considered as the first formal method in evaluating the capital budgeting projects. The concept that lies in this method is the idea of the shorter the payback, the better (Brigham Gapenski, 1997). In ARR approach, the Project A is the preferred project because of the higher rate. Meanwhile the IRR chose the project B. Since all of the results are in contrasts in each other, the NPV is once again emphasized. In the practicality, the finance managers are advised to master the capital budgeting process and provide the post audit procedure and compare with the actual results with the predictions for the chosen project. In addition, there is a great chance that there are discoveries on certain areas that needs to be improved such as the operations (University of London External System). Again, in the process of capital budgeting, most of the finance managers are in favor of NPV because it has a direct relationship with the Economic Value Added (EVA). It means that, when the project during the year indicated a positive NPV then over time its cumulative EVA should rise to the by the sum of the projects NPVs. Things will never work out this way because investors cannot determine the expected NPVs all of the firms projects. Still, over time positive NPVs should translate into positive EVAs, and to a positive market value added (MVA), or the access of the firms market value over its book value. The reward system that compensates the managers for producing positive EVA will lead to the use of NPV for making capital budgeting decisions (Brigham Gapenski, 1997). Conclusion Eventually, both internal and external stakeholders must have the information that they need to make better decisions and the information should be in quality, reliable, relevant, and credible.