Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883) Essay Example for Free

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883) Essay In the Prologue section of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’, he spoke of a thirty-year-old man named Zarathustra who goes into the wilderness where he stays for ten years taking pleasure in his solitude.   When he decides to be in contact with the people again and ‘go under’, Zarathustra starts to share what he has learned over the past ten years.   He tells about a Superman, saying that man is born to be between a beast and a Superman. Man should be able to overcome this state, yet the road is very dangerous.    He preaches that man should utterly focus on this life and not the life after death.   He should hold in contempt things like happiness, reason, virtue, justice, or pity.   As man is becoming more and more tame and domesticated, then the last man on earth will all be alike like a herd of animals.   They shall be afraid of danger and peril, which will lead to self-destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Zarathustra Prologue, Nietzsche speaks about a crisis that is being shared by the existing humanity—the crisis of being contented with comfort alone; being as comfortable and contented as to resist the utilization of strong, positive goals in one’s existence.   Each section of ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ carries with it essential points to consider, especially the Prologue section and Parts 1-3.   What are these essential points?   How do they all blend together to come up with the whole thought or proclamation of Nietzsche?   In the end, we shall come up with the answers to these questions, together with the essential points that create Nietzsche’s preaching of nihilism.   In this world of materialism and nihilism (as Nietzsche declared), is God really dead? Main Body The Crisis of Existing Humanity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Prologue section of ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra,’ Nietzsche speaks about a crisis that lingers in all of humanity today.   Zarathustra speaks that saints are too proud and love only God and not men, as stated in the lines: â€Å"Now I love God: men, I do not love.   Man is a thing too imperfect for me.   Love to man would be fatal to me† (Nietzsche 21).   He also stated that acts of charity should go after acts of beseech: â€Å"If, however, thou wilt give unto them, give them no more than an alms, and let them also beg for it† (Nietzsche 21).   This points out that acts of charity are done for the sake of pride and self-worthiness.   When Zarathustra speaks that â€Å"God is dead† (Nietzsche 22), he meant that God does not exist in this world anymore, even on people whom we think should have made God more alive. Secondly, Zarathustra speaks that people have made a shame of themselves: â€Å"Ye have made your way from the worm to man, and much within you is still worm.   Once were ye apes, and even yet man is more of an ape than any of the apes† (Nietzsche 22).   He preaches that the way to go is to be the Superman, which Zarathustra speaks as â€Å"the meaning of the earth† (Nietzsche 22) and the â€Å"herald of the lightning, †¦ a heavy drop out of the cloud† (Nietzsche 25). People are in crisis because much of life is centered on life after death and not on the present life on earth.   Happiness, reason, virtue, justice, and pity appear to be useless and should not be centered on, since self-satisfaction of men is being slaughtered, while men cry to heaven for answers to satisfaction, which should only be found on earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thirdly, Zarathustra speaks that â€Å"Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman—a rope over an abyss† (Nietzsche 24).   There is crisis and peril in trying to go through the rope—the present state of man that should be defeated and prevailed over.   Man has succeeded in transforming itself from a beast to a man, yet there is another significant task for a man—to transform itself from a man to a Superman.   However, the people do not yet understand: â€Å"There they stand †¦ there they laugh: they understand me not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Nietzsche 25). For this, Zarathustra starts to speak of the ‘last man’ because people are becoming too content and comfortable with their lives they do not see the need to have strong, positive goals anymore.   Zarathustra proclaims that, if this will not change, time will come when the trees and the soil will bear no trees; when man will not see a reason to long for and dream; and when man will no longer be capable of giving birth to a star (Nietzsche 26). This inability of the last man to create something that is beyond himself would make the earth smaller and smaller, and the last man becoming weaker and weaker†¦ becoming lazier as days go by.   If man is to surpass the crisis that is in the midst, then he should surpass the rope of being a man and learn how to become a Superman. The Principal Parts of the Last Man’s Soul   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Zarathustra, man is not made up of body and soul; rather, that he is composed only of the body that, on the other hand, is made up of the spirit and the ego, which common people call the ‘soul’ (Nietzsche 40-41).   Zarathustra preaches that the ego is—not said—but done (Nietzsche 41).   It is the ego that gives a sense of feeling, while it is the spirit, conversely, that discerns what is to be done considering the ego.    These two, the spirit and the ego, continuously attach to one another over one’s existence: â€Å"What the sense feeleth, what the spirit discerneth, hath never its end in itself† (Nietzsche 41).   Behind the senses of the ego and the spirit is the Self (or the body), which â€Å"seeketh with the eyes of the senses, it hearkeneth also with the ears of the spirit† (Nietzsche 41); yet it appears that the Self is the master of the senses of ego and spirit, as reflected in the following lines: The Self saith unto the ego: Feel pain!   And thereupon it suffereth, and thinketh how it may put an end thereto—and for that very purpose it is meant to think.   The Self saith unto the ego: Feel pleasure!   Thereupon it rejoiceth, and thinketh how it may ofttimes rejoice—and for that very purpose it is meant to think. (41)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      In relation to the crisis, this ordering of the principle parts of the last man’s soul leads one to think that the Self is really in the soul, which is not true, according to Zarathustra (since there is no soul).   The Self is in the body, and for those who say that Self is in the soul, they are called ‘despisers of the body’ who despise because of their esteem (Nietzsche 41).   Through the body, there is spirit; and through the spirit, there is worth and will.   The Self, however, should be made to do what it desires most—to be that which is beyond itself†¦ to be a Superman on earth!   To be a Superman needs a special kind of selfishness—the healthy and holy type of selfishness that â€Å"constrain[s] all things to flow towards you and into you, so that they shall flow back again out of your fountain as the gifts of your love† (Nietzsche 76). In this selfishness there is no lust or craving but true virtue that elevates the body and enraptures the spirit (Nietzsche 76).   This new virtue brings power and knowledge through what he calls the ‘Will to Power’.   This is what drives the powerful into wanting obedience and change.   Zarathustra calls it â€Å"the unexhausted, procreating life-will† (Nietzsche 108), and together with worth and will, this is also what the last man lacks nowadays.   People are unaware of the healthy and holy selfishness, which is why he cannot create beyond himself. The Way to Redemption   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Zarathustra, as a teacher, tries to correct the conflicting understanding of these notions by doing the following: first, by finding his own disciples and teaching them before sending them on their own to find their Will to Power and virtue, which should both be overflowing in order for them to preach or share it with others; and second, by preaching to the most uncommon men (i.e., hunchback, the cripples, the blind men) who live apart from the rest of the people. However, because man has turned his back against the Will to Power, Zarathustra claims that there is suffering on earth as penalty for the negligence: â€Å"Everything perisheth, therefore everything deserveth to perish† (Nietzsche 132).   Yet the past is past.   Even the Will to Power has no power to bring back time; thus, there is suffering.   But there is what is called ‘courage’ that slays giddiness, suffering, and death (Nietzsche 143).   As stated, â€Å"Courage, however, is the best slayer, courage which attacketh† (Nietzsche 143).   By possessing courage, man is on his way to redemption to find his Will to Power and his virtue, for the Self to find its worth and will in the spirit.   At that moment, he will have the power to create beyond himself—a being that even death, giddiness, and suffering is unable to tear down. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"[T]ruth is always on the side of the more difficult.† –Friedrich Nietzsche in his letter to his sister, 1865 (NietzscheKaufmann 29)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nietzsche’s ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra,’ he speaks about a crisis that is being shared by the existing humanity.   There is crisis because of the following essential points: first, the non-existence of God in this world; second, the centering on life after death; third, the suffering of self-satisfaction; fourth, the longing for contentment and comfort; fifth, the lack of strong, positive goals and courage; sixth and last, having a smaller world with weaker men.   With the Self as the master of the ego and the spirit, a man should not despise his body because of esteem, especially that it is the body that builds the spirit, which then builds both worth and will. Without the body, there is no spirit, worth, will, and the ego.   To be a Superman is to be selfish enough to gain in knowledge and in power, yet how can all be possible without virtue and Will to Power?   To have Will to Power in a changing and suffering world, however, there is a drastic need for courage.   This is the way to the redemption of mankind†¦ to have the courage in wiping away suffering and pain, which has been inflicted on mankind as penalty for its negligence.   Despite the past being irrevocable, man will no longer fall to self-destruction, as he has learned to go well beyond himself. Works Cited Nietzsche, Friedrich.   Thus Spake Zarathustra.   Translated by Thomas Common.   University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University, 1999. Nietzsche, Friedrich, and Walter Kaufmann.   The Portable Nietzsche.   New York, NY: Penguin Group, Inc., 1977.

Theories and Stages of Memory

Theories and Stages of Memory BATHSHEBA SHEMA BAGGAI 1.0  Introduction Our memory is part of being human. It is also an indicator that we experienced and lived to this day. Theoretically, according to Mastin (n.d.), memory is our ability to encode, store, retain and consequently recall information and past experiences in the human brain. In other words, past experiences influenced our present and future behavior. When the outcome is negative we tend not to repeat what caused it, but if the outcome is positive we do the opposite. For example, as you go to work, you use a certain road every time. However, that route is always experiencing traffic jams that cause you to be late for work. By chance, one day you used another smaller road and you found that it is less congested and thus you arrive earlier to work than usual. From that day onwards since the smaller road benefits you more you will use it more frequently. This means, you used your previous experience and act accordingly the next time you go through the same situation again. In this paper, we will discuss and delve into more about memory as a whole. We will first discuss on the stages of the Multi-store model of memory which was founded by two researchers, Richard Atkinson and Richard Shriffin. The next section consists of what Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory are and their differences. This second section is a direct continuity of Memory Stage which is in the first section. The last section of the contents is in a different direction altogether. It consists of my own conceptualization the functions of memory system in human interaction model The references for this paper are mainly research journals and also website articles. Since there are a number of them, they are put in the References section. 2.0  Stages of Multi-Store Model and Memory One of the most used memory models by psychologists and non-psychologists alike is the Multi-Store model by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). They describe memory in terms of information flowing through a system. There are three stages of learning and memory of the Multi-Store model. The three stages which are processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval (McLeod, 2007). The first stage, which is also the most important stage in creating new memory is called Encoding. It is the process which allows the information collected to be transformed or converted into a form that can be stored within our brains to be recalled later on. The process of Encoding is done in four different ways which are: Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding (Mastin, n.d.). Acoustic Encoding is the encoding (remembering and understanding) of the sounds that you hear: especially the sounds of words. When you repeat information rhythmically it is considered as Acoustic Encoding. For instance, learning the â€Å"ABC†. The alphabets of the â€Å"ABC† are put into a song similar to the nursery rhyme song â€Å"Baa Baa Black Sheep†. Other than making the learning of ‘ABC’ more enjoyable, children will remember them faster. It is the same case for the learning of the multiplication timetable. When reciting multiplication timetable, many can recite â€Å"six times six equals to thirty-six† rhythmically. This is due to the fact that the sound of the number â€Å"six† was highlighted three times. When Acoustic Encoding is the encoding of sound, Visual Encoding is the encoding of image. Visual Encoding relates to visual sensory information which is stored within the iconic memory (temporarily) first and later transferred into the long-term storage (permanent). One of the vital elements in visual encoding is the amygdala, which is a complex structure of neurons. Visual input as well as other systems’ input are accepted in the amygdala where the conditioned stimuli are then encoded into positive or negative values. As an example, if you are shown a list of words for one second. You would find that you will be able to remember if there was a word which is written in different color, or if there was a word written in bold or underlined. Visually encoded information is very fleeting and we forget them easily. We remember better when the information is encoded acoustically. The next type of Encoding is Semantic Encoding. Semantic Encoding is the processing of meaning, especially of words, though not exclusively. Most of the time it works hand in hand with Visual Encoding. For instance, when someone says â€Å"animal, grey and large† you will build a mental image on what he/she are referring to which is most probably an elephant. The last of the them is Tactile Encoding. It is based on the encoding of feeling especially touch. In a nutshell, each of the types of Encoding(s) starts with stimulus which gives out impulses/signals (nerve) which later will be processed and encoded. Paying attention is important when our memory is to be properly encoded. Thus, not all stimuli will pass through our conscious awareness, instead some will be filtered out. After the Encoding Stage comes the Memory Stage. According to Atkinson and Shriffin’s (1968) â€Å"Memory Stage Model†, there are three distinct stages in the Memory Stage itself. They are Sensory Memory/Store, Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory. All three differ in terms of capacity, function and duration. Sensory Memory which is at times called Iconic Memory holds information only for a few seconds (brief storage information). For instance, while flipping through a magazine we see eye-catching wordings of an advertisement, but after flipping to next the page we cannot remember what was actually written. This stage implies that something perceptual takes place. A stimulus might already be gone but we may still perceive it after even for just a brief moment. The next two stages of the Memory Stage will be discussed it Section 2.0. .The information people received which is stored in sensory memory is just long enough to be transferred to short-term memory The last stage of the stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model is the Retrieval Stage/Memory Retrieval. It is a process of getting or recalling information from your Storage Memory. For instance, if you can remember what you bought yesterday, information is successfully recalled from your memory into your conscious mind. The process of Retrieval is stimulated by the Retrieval Cues that includes mood and associations. If one cannot retrieve an information the cause may simply be because they did not pay attention enough, thus only some were encoded in the memory or it might be something as serious as having an amnesia. Ultimately, the role of short-term memory is to file information for temporary usage. If it is not consolidated, it is discarded. This process of discarding is important to make room for learning and new memories. But once a memory is stored in the long-term memory bank, it is stored there forever. It may not feel like it is stored there forever. Sometimes, you may not be able to recall something that is stored in the long-term memory bank—nevertheless, it is there. Because once memory is stored, it is permanent. 3.0  Short Term Memory Versus Long Term Memory In Section 2.0, we have discussed about the Memory Stage with one of its memory store which is Sensory Motor. In this section, we will further delve into the Memory Stage by dicussing about the other two stores which are Short Term and Long term Memory and its differences in terms of their storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms. Short Term Memory (STM) has a limited storage capacity. Only about seven (plus or minus two) unrelated chunks of items can be held with a time duration of 20-30 seconds at once (Mohs, 2007). For example, remembering a phone number until it is keyed into a mobile phone. After a few seconds you might not remember the set of phone numbers anymore if no effort is made to retain them. However, by using memory strategies, we can somewhat increase our memory capacity. Take for instance a ten-digit number such as 9006783456 may be too long for the use of Short Term Memory. For the set of number to stay in your STM and long enough for you to key in your mobile phone is to break it into chunks like 900-678-3456. On the other hand, Long Term Memory (LTM) has an unlimited storage capacity for information. In Short Term Memory, information remains as long as we think about it and will be discarded once we stop. In LTM, information is permanently stored in human memory. To retain information in LTM, a relation should be made between the new information to the ones we already know. This process is known as coding as information. Short Term Memory lacks this coding process, thus information is fleeting. If an information is important enough in the STM, it will be transferred to LTM. If there is an effort in retaining information like repetitively going through the information again and again (reviewing) we can remember it permanently. The more repetition and reviewing of information is made, the brain makes more neuronal connections (stronger neural pathways). At the same time, between the two neurons, the synapses become stronger because of more frequent signals passed between them. It is also im portant to realize that for memory to be consolidated there should be no interference present. In addition, when it comes to consolidation of memory and learning, sleeping plays an important role for both of them. This is proven by the founding that during sleep, the genes of rats are more expressive. In the hippocampus, the displayed activities during spatial learning is replayed. The next aspect that would be highlighted is their forgetting mechanism. In both STM and LTM a loss of information can be experienced. However, their forgetting mechanism differs from one another (Walton, 2010). In STM, loss of information can happen when there is interference. Interference happens when old information interferes with the learning of the new information. This thus makes the stored information irretrievable. Besides the Intereference Theory, there is also the Decay Theory. Decay happens when information is gradually forgotten as time goes by. It is important to note that it is not because of the effects of replacement as the Interference Theory. In contrast, Long Term Memory, loss of information is due to retrieval failure and not loss of the information. When information is not encoded correctly, our Long Term Memory will discard it out of the system. However, our memory can retrieve information if the cue matches the cue present during encoding time on the condition that loss of information is not because of brain trauma from accidents or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. 4.0  Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions Diagram 1 Concept Model of the Functions of Memory System in Human Interactions There are many ways to conceptualize the functions of memory system in terms of human interactions. However, in the following is my own conceptualization of the mentioned topic. In my concept, the functions of memory (in human interactions) is divided into two: Social Function and also Experiential Learning (which are shown in Diagram 1). The first one that will discussed is Social Function. Good social environment is vital for strong social bonds which is necessary for our well-being; mentally as well as physically. According to Perry et al (2011), our memories are projected onto other people understand them better and to empathize their experiences. Our memory is constructive in nature where past experiences emerge together. In a certain way, this lets us to be in other people’s shoes; imagining what their experiences are like (Hassabis et al., 2013). Furthermore, this too promotes understanding and being more social. When we are experiencing the social world we must often recall, maintain, exploit and lastly update on the knowledge we have about others. People tend to react to certain social situations based on their prior experiences. According to Ciaramelli et al. (2013), we humans tend to empathize on people who are in the a similar situation that experienced in the past. However, these are in exception of amnesiacs. They do not maintain social bonds like other normal people. They too tend to have a smaller social circle. According to Beadle et al. (2013), Adult-onset hippocampal patients who suffers from amnesia are reported to have lower levels of understanding and no increase in prosocial behaviours. Besides Social Function, there is Experiential Learning. Both of these do overlap with each other, but they differ in settings. Experiential learning is more to workplace human interaction while Social is more to less professional relationships. Experiential Learning, in general is the process of learning through experience that we store in our memory. Since the dawn of time, humankind has gone through various trials and tribulations. We are what we are today because from our ancestors up to us in the present time learn to not repeat our mistakes, but vice versa when it comes to something positive. However, how can Experiential Learning relate to human interactions? Learning through experience is often used in workplaces. Let us take soccer players as an example. During practice sessions the team members will learn and practice the strategies of blocking, getting, passing the ball and catching it. However, the most important aspect they will practice on is teamwork because soccer is not a one man show. Coaches will see their individual talents and blend all them together to create a powerful team. One player’s talent may complement another player’s so they need to function together collectively. These practice sessions act as a simulator of the real game. By the time the players are joining in a real game, they would already have enough experience to ‘read’ their teammates present and next move which is crucial to score a point. This is similar in the corporate world. Members of a team need to develop a composite image of itself through discussions that develops the capacity to reflect their experiences. These discussions will pin-point the differences of experiences in team members that will then be blended together (Adams Kayes, 2010). According to Baker, Jensen Kolb (2002), â€Å"Members need to respect and be receptive to differing points of view; to take time to reflect on consequences of action and the big picture; and to desire growth and development.†As time goes on, even negative factors associated with teamwork can be overcome when teams become able to learn from experience. 5.0  Conclusion In summary, we have gone through the three stages of learning and memory of the multi-store model. These processes are called Encoding, Storage and Recall or Retrieval. Encoding which is an information procession into our memory is further broken down to different types of ways to encode which are Acoustic, Visual, Semantic and Tactile Encoding. In addition to those, Storage stage is where we store information in our memory and Retrieval is process of recalling them back to conscious mind. Besides Sensory Memory in our Storage, the other two which are Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory is explained in the next section. We have discussed how different they are in terms of storage capacities and forgetting mechanisms Short Term Memory has limited amount of storage capacity as compared to Long Term Learning which is unlimited. Their forgetting mechanisms, in other words loss of information also differ with STM due to loss of information and LTM due to retrieval failure. My conceptualization model of functions of memory system in terms of human interactions is divided into two which are Social Function and also Experiential Learning. They differ only in social settings and they overlap greatly with one another. In conclusion, in my opinion, we barely scratched the surface of our knowledge on human memory. I believe there is more to learn and discover than Atkinson’s and Shriffin’s Multi-Store model. With that being said, I hope researchers continue the journey in knowing how our memory truly works. Knowing how memory works is one step closer to knowing how the human mind works and consequently how humans work are as a whole. REFERENCES Adams, A., Kayes, D. (2010). Experiential Learning In Teams. Simulation Gaming, 330-354. Retrieved from http://learningfromexperience.com/media/2010/08/experiential-learning-in-teams.pdf Atkinson, R.C.; Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). Chapter: Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In Spence, K.W.; Spence, J.T. The psychology of learning and motivation (Volume 2). New York: Academic Press. pp. 89–195 Beadle J. N., Tranel D., Cohen N. J., Duff M. C. (2013). Empathy in hippocampal amnesia. Front. Psychol. 4:69 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00069 Ciaramelli E., Bernardi F., Moscovitch M. (2013). Individualized Theory of Mind (iToM): when memory modulates empathy. Front. Psychol. 4:4 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00004 Hassabis D., Spreng R. N., Rusu A. A., Robbins C. A., Mar R. A., Schacter D. L. (2013). Imagine all the people: how the brain creates and uses personality models to predict behavior. Cereb. Cortex. [Epub ahead of print]. 10.1093/cercor/bht042 Mastin, L. (n.d.). What Is Memory? The Human Memory. Retrieved from http://www.human-memory.net/intro_what.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Multi Store Model of Memory Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/multi-store.html McLeod, S. A. (2007). Stages of Memory Encoding Storage and Retrieval. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html Mohs, R. (2007, May 8). How Human Memory Works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/human-memory.htm Perry D., Hendler T., Shamay-Tsoory S. G. (2011). Projecting memories: the role of the hippocampus in emotional mentalizing. Neuroimage 54, 1669–1676 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.08.057 Walton, J. E. (2010, June 15). Long-term vs. Short-term Memory How to Maximize Both. Retrieved from http://thelatherapist.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-term-vs-short-term-memory-how-to.html

The Wave :: essays research papers

Nazism The wave is about a history teacher whose name is Ben Ross. His class was starting to study the time that Hitler began making all the Jewish people stay in camps. Ben Ross could not find a way to get his class interested into this time period, so he decided to try to make a group, He would play like a Hitler type scenario and his class would be the Jewish people. He would make this group open to the whole school. Ben Ross told his idea to his class. He announced the group, and he had a pretty good turnout. They called the group that wave and they made a handshake, and a symbol. Laurie a girl in Ben Ross's class joined the wave at first and was in it for a while, but she saw that it was becoming way too serious. She decided to drop out of the wave. The wave became so popular that almost all the school was in the group. Ben Ross started to dress in suits, instead of his usual jeans and a nice shirt. He started to dress like a dictator. Ben Ross had the kids in his group sit with very good posture, and if they wanted to talk they had to address him as sir and they Stood up and talked very crisp and clear. When they were through talking they had to sit back down the proper position. Ben Ross thought that his experiment was going really good. All the kids were really taking it serious and he was enjoying it too. Laurie who quit the group saw that everyone was in the wave and she was on the staff of the Gordon Grapevine the school newspaper she decide to write and article about how everyone was taking this wave thing way to serious. Her article in the paper was published and everyone saw what she wrote. This made all of the group members very upset, they started to threaten her, and make her feel left out because she had quit the wave. Laurie had a boyfriend David who was in the wave, kept telling her that she should join the wave again, he didn't realize that why she didn't want to be in the group. This was splitting them apart. Laurie and David were talking one night and David brought up that she still was not in the wave, and she needed to join the wave. Laurie told him that she did not want to be involved in it, it was getting way to serious. People were getting hurt. David got really mad and The Wave :: essays research papers Nazism The wave is about a history teacher whose name is Ben Ross. His class was starting to study the time that Hitler began making all the Jewish people stay in camps. Ben Ross could not find a way to get his class interested into this time period, so he decided to try to make a group, He would play like a Hitler type scenario and his class would be the Jewish people. He would make this group open to the whole school. Ben Ross told his idea to his class. He announced the group, and he had a pretty good turnout. They called the group that wave and they made a handshake, and a symbol. Laurie a girl in Ben Ross's class joined the wave at first and was in it for a while, but she saw that it was becoming way too serious. She decided to drop out of the wave. The wave became so popular that almost all the school was in the group. Ben Ross started to dress in suits, instead of his usual jeans and a nice shirt. He started to dress like a dictator. Ben Ross had the kids in his group sit with very good posture, and if they wanted to talk they had to address him as sir and they Stood up and talked very crisp and clear. When they were through talking they had to sit back down the proper position. Ben Ross thought that his experiment was going really good. All the kids were really taking it serious and he was enjoying it too. Laurie who quit the group saw that everyone was in the wave and she was on the staff of the Gordon Grapevine the school newspaper she decide to write and article about how everyone was taking this wave thing way to serious. Her article in the paper was published and everyone saw what she wrote. This made all of the group members very upset, they started to threaten her, and make her feel left out because she had quit the wave. Laurie had a boyfriend David who was in the wave, kept telling her that she should join the wave again, he didn't realize that why she didn't want to be in the group. This was splitting them apart. Laurie and David were talking one night and David brought up that she still was not in the wave, and she needed to join the wave. Laurie told him that she did not want to be involved in it, it was getting way to serious. People were getting hurt. David got really mad and

Judgement Day :: Free Essay Writer

Judgement Day â€Å"They’re freaks.† These words, however small, were used to abuse two young men in life, and denounce them in death. After years of inner turmoil and over twelve months of meticulous planning, 17 year old Dylan Klebold and 18 year old Eric Harris unleashed a rampage that would cause over 5 million dollars worth of damage, ruin the lives of countless people, and send the entire nation into a state of shock. April 20 1999 started out as a normal day at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The only thing that seemed out of place was a cryptic message displayed at the end of the Columbine video announcements, reading â€Å"I bet you wish you weren’t here today-4-20-4-20-4-20†. At the time, students thought nothing of it. Now, the mention of this message will send chills up the spines of students as they picture what this warning foreshadowed. At 11 AM, Dylan and Eric carried two 20-lb propane tank bombs into their school cafeteria. The plan was to have these explosives go off at 11:17, the start of the first lunch period, and send students fleeing into the parking lot, where Dylan and Eric would be waiting with guns ready. Instead, the explosives did not go off at all. The two gunmen were frustrated that their original plan had failed, and they began to arbitrarily shoot in the cafeteria, killing three. 11:27 AM. Eight minutes had passed since the first shots were fired. Dylan and Eric entered the school library. Students huddled in fear under tables. A teacher called 911 but dropped the phone. The dispatcher listened for the next nine minutes as Dylan and Eric shot round after round. The sound of the gunmen’s laughter could be heard of the steady stream of gunshots. After killing 7 students, Eric and Dylan left the library and returned to the cafeteria. The two young men fired their guns at the bombs, trying to set them off. At 11:57 the boys returned to the library. Here this tragedy will come to an end. After placing their last bomb on a table, Eric Harris pointed the gun at himself and fired. Seconds later, Fate’s vengeful eye turned on Dylan Klebold as he shot himself in the left temple, his Red Sox hat galling on Harris’ legs. Official time of death: 12:03 PM. After the deaths of Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and 13 victims, investigators searched the young men’s rooms.

Flanking in a Price War Article Summary Essay -- Economics Prices Econ

Flanking in a Price War Article Summary The article begins by giving a brief analysis of a study that was conducted in Quebec in the early 1980’s involving the grocery industry. It discusses a point of time before the leader in market share, Steinberg, Inc., initiated a price war. One of the authors of the article, Roger J Calantone, was involved in an experiment with one of the smaller grocery chains, IGA. The experiment was designed to see what IGA should do so as to retain profitability if their main competition launched an all out price war. The main premise was that certain goods, if prices were lowered, would have more favorable price demand elasticity than other goods. This would enable the grocer to not have to slash prices across the board, rather only cut prices on specific goods so as to retain profitability during a price war with the other competitors. During this time, the other competitors combined had dominant market share. The piece gives a background of the Quebec grocery market between 1950 and 1983, and discussed the main players in the market in this time period. It specifically discusses Steinberg, Inc. This grocery chain, as previously mentioned, was the market leader for most of this time until 1980 due to some questionable pricing strategies it had implemented as well as some political changes that occurred in the late 1970’s. The next point of the article was to discuss a pricing experiment IGA and the author chose to follow to help combat a price war initiated by its competitors. The premise of the experiment was to ascertain if certain goods were reduced in price, while others maintained or increased price, what would happen to overall demand elasticity as well as specific goods’ demand elasticity. The goods were divided into two key components and these were: stock-up goods (non-perishable items that could be bought in bulk) and nonstick-up goods (perishable items). The method ology and results of the experiment was discussed in this treatment. The results ultimately fell in favor of IGA and thusly they were able to effectively fight and win a price war with its major competitors in 1983. Pricing Experiment Design The experiment used a â€Å"covariance design within a Bayesian decision framework† to determine that stock-up goods have a different demand elasticity than nonstock-up goods. (Calantone, et al, 1989, p.1) Bayes... ...sis. It also learned that given a price war it could even raise prices of nonstock-up goods to offset the lowering of the stock-up goods prices and not affect the elasticity of demand on the nonstock-up goods in a negative way. What Did I Learn? I learned that in an ogopolistic market it might be wiser to collaborate with competitors rather than aggressively attempt to drive them out of the market. The Steinberg grocery chain, due to its aggressive pricing strategy, effectively cost itself market share and profitability. Rather than engage in this type of behavior, Steinberg should have attempted to remain at market equilibrium as it was the dominant player. They should have considered the ramifications of eliminating competition, and what scenarios could potentially occur if they continued on with their current strategies. Bibliography Calantone, R., Droge, C., Litvack, D., Di Benedetto, C. (1989). Flanking in a Price War. Interfaces, 19, 1-12. Wessels, W.J., Economics (3rd ed.) Joyce, J., "Bayes' Theorem", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2003 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/bayes-theorem/>.

Module 4 Website Review

The website enTarga.com is a website offering consultancy services for the strategic planning for the business of the future. This website is owned by ROSS A. WIRTH who is acclaimed professional and academician. This website offers consultancy services for the change management within any organization of any size. It works â€Å"to support the development of internal expertise to develop a culture that is conducive to organizational learning and change processes. (enTarga.com)† Website Review: This website is excellent in its content and very simple to use and maintain. The home page has clearly defined sections under name Organisational Change, Strategic Planning, HR Planning, Marketing Planning and organisational complexity. The mission of the website as appeared on the home page is as follows: â€Å"Helping organizations establish change processes that align with their unique culture and business needs – enabling the adaptive business of the future.   Harnessing the power of organizational learning and self-leadership for emergent organizational change with strategic visioning providing the collective purpose.   Turning theory into practice; working today to build the organization of the future.   This is our mission.† It offers white papers and other source materials for the users. These materials are well organized and written. The website offers interactivity through Yahoo Groups. There are different Yahoo Groups made for different topics and people can interact, discuss and solve there issues. These groups are active and involvement of Ross Writ makes it interesting and interactive. These groups have no national, academic or industrial boundaries. Anyone who is interested in the relevant topic can register himself and become member of the group. The process is simple and has better chances of attracting people of like minds. As defined on the website enTarga has its unique meaning. It is as follows: En- to make; cause to be made to resemble. Targa- A type of shield carried on the forearm for protection, related to target â€Å"Look and feel† and apparent target audience The look and feel of the website is very simple, rather below average, but the content of website makes it much better than any other website with excellent look and no content. However if more efforts are done towards improving the look of website, it will attract more audience. Search Engine optimization and similar strategies will also help in increasing popularity of the website. So far it seems to be attracting people on the word of mouth basis. This website provides me loads of information without any requirement of being member or paying anything. Apart from this the permission to use the material published on the website and acknowledging the author (Ross Writ) is another attractive feature. The site does not have any commercial feel in it; rather it looks as a pure academic website. On the Organisational Change page ChangeAgent yahoo group is available for the viewers to participate in the relevant discussions. This webpage introduces the viewer to the organisational change process. It provides information on the change agents, resistance to change, points of leverage and organisation culture with respect to change. It also offers another link to the resources of organisational change. The resources available are of free of cost. Strategic Planning webpage provides information on the Strategic planning process in any organisation. It gives information on benefits, pitfalls, implementation problems and key influencing factors as separate web links. It provides information on the Steps in the strategic planning process, business performance management and offers other planning resources on the website as different links. The yahoo group for this section is OrgComplexity. The third web link is HR Planning. Here viewer gets information on Human resource issues, employee engagement, and strategic readiness of the organisation, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and resources for human resource planning. This also has a yahoo group named ChangeAgent as its discussion list. Marketing Planning provides information on customer analysis, marketing strategy questions, planning resources on the internet, associated marketing topics like Integrated marketing communications, relationship marketing, brand marketing topics on the internet, creating a brand strategy and development guidelines for internet marketing. The yahoo discussion group for the website is ChangeAgent. Organisational Complexity provides information on organisational complexity and related issues. The yahoo discussion group for the same is OrgComplexity. Apart from the above mentioned main categories of strategy information, it also has Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning as a separate webpage that provides information on knowledge management, barriers, Requirements for spreading a best practice across the organization, organisational learning and other resources. The yahoo groups are active and have different members fro across the world. The groups initiate different topics for discussions. Anytime any member joins a new group receives a welcome.doc which contains welcome message and the current topic of discussion and requests the new member to introduce himself to the group. Once the member posts his message the message is moderated in the prohibition period. This is done in order to control spamming and spammers. Once the new member proves his authenticity, he participates in the group discussion and information sharing without any restrictions. Conclusion It will not be appropriate to criticise this website with such comprehensive and well written content for the looks and feel. But it will be an excellent website if some efforts are done to improve its look. Being a management professional I find it really useful for my continuous education and improvement and helpful in getting support in the form of suggestions in the yahoo groups. For me the attractiveness of this website is the active yahoo groups. Any new article published on the website will be notified in the yahoo groups. This will keep the members informed. If interested, members can visit the website for reading the article free of cost. This makes the website interactive and keeps the users engage in the activities. There are various issues on the day to day problems of business world. Many a time individuals do not get any kind of platform or experienced people to guide them. The information available on the website deals with various issues that can help individuals to handle particular situations and take appropriate actions. This attractiveness is unique selling proposition for the website and this will attract me to go back to the website again and again. Reference: Lisa Hoecklin. (1995).Managing Cultural Differences: Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Wokingham:Addison-Wesley Publisher Ltd. Levitt, T. (1983), The Marketing imagination, New York, The Free Press Mà ¶ller, K. and Wilson, D. (1995), Business Marketing: An Interaction and Network Perspective. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell.   

Effective Performance Appraisal Essay

In spite of this fact, however, there are some elements which are common to all effective performance appraisal systems, regardless of the actual method(s) used in the system. These elements will be discussed shortly. However, before examining these common links, a brief overview of performance appraisal as it is currently practised in American organisations is in order. Current Trends in Performance Appraisal As previously noted, controversy over the â€Å"best† performance appraisal system continues. The dilemma was highlighted in the 19 May 1980 issue of Business Week where the editors concluded that managers want a system â€Å"that will pinpoint specific marginal behaviour that should be reinforced or discontinued, serve as a personnel development tool, provide a realistic assess ­ ment of an employee’s potential for advancement, and — a particularly hot issue in the 1980s — stand up in court as a valid defence in discrimination suits. † Has the search for a â€Å"best† system affected what companies actually do in performance appraisal? A study conducted by Taylor and Zawacki[2] in 1981 set out to answer this question y sending a mail questionnaire to 200 firms located throughout the United States — these companies were selected at random from the Fortune 1000. Eighty-four (42 per cent) were returned and used in the study. The size of respondent firms ranged from less than 1,000 employees (nine), 1,000-5,000 employees (63), and more than 5,000 employees (12). Non-respondent firms did not vary significantly in terms of size. This study, which duplicated a previous one conducted in 1976, asked what kind of performance appraisal system was used for management and blue-collar employees. It also asked for the interval between ratings, productivity and employee reaction to the appraisal system, anticipated changes and respondent satisfaction to the present system. While it is not possible to go into all the detailed findings of this study, some of the most pertinent information is summarised below. ? While in 1976 43 per cent of the respondent firms had used a traditional performance appraisal system (e. g. , forced distribution) and 57 per cent had used a collaborative system (e. g. , MBO), in 1981 these figures had changed to 53 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. In other words, the proportion of companies using a traditional approach to performance appraisal had increased while the proportion of those using a collaborative approach had decreased. Several respondents provided written comments stating that they had changed to quantitative (i. e. traditional) systems in recent years in reaction to legal challenges to their previous collaborative system. In 1981, 39 of the 41 organisations using a traditional system used a graphic rating scale. Of the collaborative forms, 23 firms used MBO and 11 used a BARS system. The percentage of firms not satisfied with their current appraisal system increased from only nine per cent in 1976 to 47 per cent in 1981. In addition, those with collaborative systems were more likely to be satisfied, while the majority of firms with traditional systems expressed dissatisfaction. As far as the effect of the type of system used on employee attitudes went, 37 per cent of the ? IMDS January/February 1988 13 ? companies using a traditional approach felt that it had improved employee attitudes while 63 per cent felt it had not. Of those companies using a collaborative approach, 77 per cent felt it had improved employee attitudes and 23 per cent felt it had not. ? Of the 22 firms indicating that they anticipated changing their performance appraisal system in the near future, 12 were moving from a collaborative system to a traditional system. This is especially interesting in light of the fact that, in the 1976 study, the majority of firms indicating that they were considering a change said that the move would be from a traditional to a collaborative approach. While the 1981 study did not delve into the reasons behind this shift in attitude, Taylor and Zawacki conjectured that it was due to governmental and legal pressures for precise (i. e. , quantitative) measures which overwhelmed a desire to help people develop and grow towards becoming more effective employees. Of the firms surveyed, 49 per cent felt that their performance appraisal system had improved employee performance (roughly the same proportion found in 1976). However, the number of firms that did not believe employee performance had improved as a result of the appraisal process had gone from four per cent in 1976 to 19 per cent in 1981 — and none of these firms anticipated changing their system! (5) The appraiser should be given feedback regarding his/her effectiveness in the performance appraisal process. (6) The performance appraisal system, regardless of the methodology employed, must comply with legal requirements (notably, Equal Employment Opportunities guidelines). Since the factors listed above are consistently highlighted in the literature as essential elements of an effective performance appraisal system, each of them warrants individual attention. Performance Goals Must Be Clearly and Specifically Defined Special emphasis should be placed on this phase of performance appraisal, since the lack of specifically defined performance goals will undoubtedly undermine the effectiveness of the entire performance appraisal process. The key performance areas need to be identified, assigned priorities and stated in quantifiable terms whenever possible. The mutual goal-setting process between a manager and subordinate associated with Management by Objectives is a particularly beneficial way to foster acceptance and internal motivation on the part of the employee[3]. As is often the case, if multiple goals are established, they should be ranked so that the employee has a clear understanding of which areas may warrant more attention and resources than others. Furthermore, every attempt should be made to describe performance goals in terms of their time, quality, quantity, and monetary dimensions. This will reduce the opportunity for misinterpretation about what is to be accomplished and what limitations there are. The quantification of goals will also make it easier for the manager and the employee to measure the employee’s progress towards achieving the objectives. The need for quantifying objectives is succinctly summed up by George Ordione: â€Å"If you can’t count it, measure it, or describe it, you probably don’t know what you want and can often forget it as a goal. There is still too much, ‘do your best’, or ‘I’ll let you know when it’s right’, going around in today’s organisations. If you can’t define the desired type and level of performance in detail, then you have no right to expect your subordinate to achieve it. â€Å"[4] ? To summarise, it would appear that while most firms wish to use a collaborative form of performance appraisal, they feel thwarted by outside forces (notably Equal Employment Opportunities requirements) in their attempts to implement such a system within their organisations. The dilemma, then, is finding a workable solution which will meet both constraints. The remainder of this article will take a look at these two seemingly conflicting areas (effectiveness vs. efensiveness) and how they can be integrated into a meaningful performance appraisal system. Elements of an Effective Performance Appraisal System While various authors use different names and modified descriptions for them, the following factors seem to be universally accepted by most authorities on the subjects as requisites for an effective performance appraisal system : (1) Performance goals must be specifically and clearly defined. (2) Attention must be paid to identifying, in specific and measurable terms, what constitutes the varying levels of performance. 3) To be effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. (4) The supervisor and employee should jointly identify ways to improve the employee’s performance, and then establish a development plan to help the employee achieve his/her goals. The Varying Levels of Performance While setting performance goals is a crucial first step in the process, managers also need to concentrate more attention on identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance. If the organisation uses the typical â€Å"poor, fair, good, very good and excellent† scale of performance, the manager has a responsibility to identify at the beginning what levels of performance will produce a â€Å"very good† or â€Å"excellent† rating. However, setting specific goals for organisational performance is not enough — managers also need to relate performance to the individual’s rewards. Agreeing on what is to be accomplished and what varying levels of performance represent in terms of evaluation and rewards is crucial for the performance appraisal process to be effective[5]. Since the first two steps of this process (i. e. , defining performance goals and setting performance standards) IMDS January/February 1988 14 are closely connected, an example of how these steps might be achieved is warranted. A prerequisite for setting performance goals is to establish job tasks. To measure performance realistically, objectively and productively, we must base our reviews on job content rather that job constructs. Constructs are broad, often self-evident terms which describe a general task, activity or requirement. Richards refers to them as â€Å"garbage words† in terms of their usefulness as performance standards). An example might be â€Å"communication skills†. While few would argue the need for skills in communication for many employees, the problem is how to define the term in light of the requirements of the specific job in question. Will the employee be required to: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Write memos? Write letters? Conduct interviews? Deliver public speeches? Present proposals to clients? Describe features and benefits of a product? Resolve face-to-face conflicts? Handle customer complaints? Write job descriptions? Describe and define job standards? Manage meetings? Present ideas to top management? Initiative: Resourceful in taking necessary or appropriate action on own responsibility. Unsatisfactory Poor A routine Often waits unnecessarily worker; usually for direction. waits to be told what to do, requiring constant direction. Satisfactory Good Excellent Seeks and gets added tasks for self; highly selfreliant. Assumes responsibility. Does regular Resourceful; work without alert to waiting for opportunities directions. or Follows improvement directions with of work. little follow-up Volunteers suggestions. Table I. drinks per bottle, etc. In turn, these indicators should be broken down into measurable standards, as shown in Table II. As shown, when identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance, we need to decide what we can expect in terms of outstanding performance, what is satisfactory and what is the minimum level of perfo rmance we can tolerate. One could argue that these are subjective determinations, and this is of course true. What is important, however, is that once these determinations have been made, performance can be measured objectively against the standard. It is important to keep in mind that standards should be set based on what we require or need in the performance of a job and not on our assessment of a specific individual’s ability to do the job. Unless we specify the behaviour we want in the context of job content requirements, it will be near impossible objectively to measure someone’s performance under the generic construct of â€Å"communication†. We must determine the sort of communicating the job requires of the employee. Some organisations attempt to aid supervisors by providing rating scales which are anchored to descriptions of performance (i. e. , the BARS approach), such as the one shown in Table I. While this type of scale is certainly a vast improvement over those that offer no anchors (rating descriptions) at all, we could still argue over the ratings. The standards are subjective and unmeasurable, both undesirable traits in any performance appraisal system. To overcome these problems, the job should be broken down into responsibilities, with a series of performance indicators provided for each responsibility. In turn, these indicators should be accompanied by objective and measurable performance standards. An example will help illustrate the process. A bartender’s job can be broken down into several responsibilities, including mixing drinks, cost control, inventory control, house keeping, safety, law enforcement, supervision, customer relations, etc. In turn, each of these responsibility areas can be broken down into several performance indicators. For example, performance indicators of the job responsibility â€Å"mixing drinks† might include complaints, returns, brands used, appearance, speed, number of Personal Rewards and Organisational Performance To be truly effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. Too many reward systems are based on time on the job, are divided evenly among employees, or offer too little incentive to increase motivation significantly. As noted by Harper[3], performance appraisal systems need to be designed with the three â€Å"E’s† of motivation in mind. The first † E † refers to the exchange theory, which states that people tend to contribute to the organisation’s objectives as long as they believe they will be rewarded. The second † E † refers to the equity theory, which states that motivation is tied to the relative, rather than the absolute, size of the reward. For example, if person A does 25 per cent better than person B, but gets only five per cent more in a â€Å"merit† increase, then person A is likely to feel that management has actually punished him or her for doing noticeably better than person B. The third † E † is the expectancy theory of motivation, which asserts that motivation is a combination of the person’s perceived probability (expectancy) of receiving a reward and the worth of the reward. Even when the reward is great, motivation may in fact be quite low if the employee does not believe that he or she has a reasonable chance of achieving the necessary level of performance to get the reward. Conversely, if the employee believes that the probability of receiving the reward is high, there will be little motivation if he or she does not need or value the reward. IMDS January/February 1988 15 Job: Bartender Job responsibilities Mix drinks, etc. Indicators Complaints Returns Measurements used (recipe) Brands used Appearance Time No. of drinks per bottle, etc. feedback to managers about the quality of their performance appraisal ratings would seem to have several advantages: ? ? It is relatively inexpensive and easy to develop and implement. The feedback is based on ratings made by each manager as part of the formal performance appraisal process. This enables the feedback to be tailored to the individual. The feedback can provide managers with a basis upon which to compare their ratings with those made by other managers. This normative type of feedback is rarely available to managers; as a result, there is very little information upon which they can evaluate how lenient or strict they are. A feedback system should help to ensure comparability of ratings among managers, which in turn may increase employee satisfaction with the appraisal process. That is, employees are more likely to perceive that their performance has been evaluated equitably since managers are using the same standards when evaluating performance. ? Job: Bartender Standards Job responsibilities Mix drinks Indicators Minimum Complaints 4/week Satisfactory 2/week Outstanding 0 ? Table II. In summary, then, for a performance appraisal programme to be successful in this area, it must: (1) Tie rewards to performance (2) Offer a high enough level of reward (3) Have the level of reward reflect the relative differences in the various levels of performance (4) Tailor the rewards to the needs and desires of individual employees. Development Plans Ideally, the performance appraisal programme should be comprised of two separate sessions between the manager and the employee. In the first session the manager and employee review the level of performance from the previous period — what went well, what did not, and why. This session also identifies the employee’s strengths as well as the areas that need to be improved. The manager then encourages the employee to prepare a development plan to be discussed at the second meeting. The development plan is intended to identify areas that should be improved upon during the coming period. The subordinate should be encouraged to: (1) Concentrate on those areas that will affect results (2) Select three or four particular areas for improvement rather than an unrealistic and unmanageable number (3) Set improvement goals that are specific and measurable[6]. Whatever the end result happens to be, the employee needs to be the principal author (although the manager should offer help and suggestions) since people tend to be more motivated to accept and implement a plan of their own making. IMDS January/February 1988 16 Indications of the usefulness of such a feedback system were documented in a study by Davis and Mount[7] in which managers were provided feedback vis a vis the ratings they gave to employees. In response to a questionnaire distributed one week after they had received feedback regarding the quality of their performance ratings, 79 per cent of the managers indicated they were either satisfied (seven per cent) or very satisfied (72 per cent) with the feedback; 93 per cent said they considered it when making subsequent performance evaluations; 70 per cent said it influenced their ratings either appreciably (47 per cent) or substantially (23 per cent), and 79 per cent said the feedback had utility for making managers’ ratings more comparable. The test results from this study indicated that the feedback also significantly reduced the presence of leniency error (the tendency to skew the rating distribution towards the higher rating categories) in the managers’ ratings. This is significant from an organisational perspective because of the multiple uses of performance ratings in organisations. Often, performance ratings are the criterion on which selection tests are validated and often provide the basis on which merit pay increases are determined. According to Davis and Mount, improving the psychometric quality of the ratings may enable the tests to be validated more effectively and provide a more equitable method for distributing pay increases — an important consideration, as previously discussed. Conforming to Guidelines Obviously, in addition to the other factors which have already been discussed, another practical consideration which must be taken into account is that any performance appraisal system, regardless of the methods employed, must comply with all Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. While a complete discussion of this important area is beyond the scope Feedback Regarding Effectiveness It is surprising how infrequently organisations provide their managers with information about their performance appraisal ratings. However, providing of this article, the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, put together by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several other agencies in 1978, deserve special mention. These procedures were meant to clarify the exact requirements which appraisal and other selection systems must meet, and include the following points: (1) To continue using an appraisal system that has adversely affected one or more protected groups, the company must demonstrate that the system is â€Å"valid†, that it is job related, and that it accurately measures significant aspects of job performance. (2) The company must establish that there is no other available method of achieving the same necessary business purpose that would be less discriminatory in its effects, and none can be developed. According to the courts, the plaintiff (employee), rather than the defendant (company) must show the availability of the alternatives. The EEOC has told employers what they cannot do, but it has not provided them with definitive guidelines for solving the performance appraisal puzzle. However, some help in this regard was provided in the Autumn, 1980 issue of EEO Today[8]. (1) Base your appraisal on a comprehensive job analysis. EEOC guidelines dictate that you measure job performance against specific, clearly defined standards of performance. The performance you appraise, says the EEOC, â€Å"must represent major critical work behaviours as revealed by a careful job analysis. † Without a clear, written statement of job responsibilities, you increase your risk of EEO liability. (7) Submit the appraisal to several reviewers, especially if it is negative. To prevent conscious or unconscious bias from creeping into the appraisal process, develop a multilevel review system. Have your superior review and sign the appraisal. This system of checks and balances will reduce the risk of losing a court action. Final Comment As can be seen from the foregoing discussion, an effective performance appraisal system involves much more than a mere annual or biennial evaluation of an employee’s past performance. Nonetheless, astute managers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their human resources, viewing them as an investment rather than merely an expense or overhead to be minimised. Accordingly, many organisations are taking the time and effort necessary to develop an effective performance appraisal system in order to help their people achieve their personal goals, which in turn allows the organisation to meet its own objectives[9]. Unfortunately, many managers still object that they just do not have the time to make performance review and development an ongoing process. However, if management is defined as â€Å"the ability to get things done through people†, and if we accept the fact that an effective performance evaluation process helps in getting the most important and productive things accomplished, then what else should managers spend their time doing? References 1. Fletcher, C. , â€Å"What’s New in Performance Appraisal? â€Å", Personnel Management, February 1984, pp. 20-2. 2. Taylor, R. L. and Zawacki, R. A. â€Å"Trends in Performance Appraisal: Guidelines for Managers†, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 71-80. (2) Know the details of your company’s 3. Harper, S. C. , â€Å"A Development Approach to Performance nondiscriminatory policies. You and every other Appraisal†, Business Horizons, September-October 1983, pp. manager in the company should aim for the 68-74. uniform application of all appraisal guidelines. 4. Mellenhoff, â€Å"How to Measure Work by Professionals†, Management Review, November 1977, pp. 39-43. (3) Avoid subjective criteria. According to the Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody decision, subjective 5. Richards, R. C. , â€Å"How to Design an Objective PerformanceEvaluation System†, Training, March 1984, pp. 38-43. supervisory appraisals of job performance are 6. Kellogg, M. S. , What to do About Performance Appraisal, inherently suspect if they produce adverse impact American Management Association, New York, 1975. against a protected group. To stand up to the 7. Davis, B. L. and Mount, M. K. , â€Å"Design and Use of a scrutiny of the courts, these judgements must Performance Appraisal Feedback System†, Personnel be considered fair and job-related. Administrator, March 1984, pp. 1-7. 8. Block, J. R. , Performance Appraisal on the Job: Making it (4) Document! Keep records. That is the only way Work, Prentice-Hall, Inc. , Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981. you can support whatever subjective judge ­ 9. Butler, R. J. and Yorks, L. , â€Å"A New Appraisal System as ments creep into the appraisal process. (They Organizational Change: GEà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Task Force Approach†, are inevitable. ) Personnel, January-February 1984, pp. 31-42. (5) Aim for a group of appraisers who have common demographic characteristics with the group being appraised. This criterion was established in Rowe v. General Motors. When only white males appraise blacks, Hispanics, women and other protected groups, the courts question the fairness of the. system. Once a system is challenged and shown to have adverse impact, the company must prove its validity. (6) Never directly or indirectly imply that race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, or veteran status was a factor in your appraisal decision. Making any disciminatory statement, orally or in writing, will make your organisation subject to court action. Additional Reading Kaye, B. L. and Krantz, S. , â€Å"Preparing Employees: The Missing Link in Performance Appraisal Training†, Personnel, May-June 1982, pp. 23-9. â€Å"Performance Appraisal: Curre. † Practices and Techniques†, Personnel, May-June 1984, pp. 5799. Heneman, R. L. and Wexley, K. W. , â€Å"The Effects of Time Delay in Rating and Amount of Information Observed on Performance Rating Accuracy†, Academy of Management Journal, December 1983, pp. 677-86. â€Å"The Trouble with Performance Appraisal†, Training, April 1984, pp. 91-2. Gehrman, D B. , â€Å"Beyond Today’s Compensation and Performance Appraisal Systems†, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 21-33. IMDS January/February 1988 17