What to Do About College Drinking

College is typically viewed as the pathway to gaining the skills and knowledge needed to embark on a successful career. However, it can also be a pathway to the casual acceptance of dangerous levels of alcohol consumption. Drinking is as much of the college experience as studying, sleep deprivation, and junk food. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, roughly 58% of college students admit to drinking alcohol, while 12.5% engage in heavy alcohol use, and 37.9% report binge drinking episodes. Terminology An alcoholic drink typically has 14 grams of pure alcohol, as defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Examples include 12 ounces of beer containing 5% alcohol, 5 ounces of beer containing 12% alcohol, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits containing 40% alcohol. Binge drinking is typically defined as men students consuming five drinks in the course of 2 hours, or women students consuming four drinks in the same time frame. The Problem While college drinking is often viewed as a fun and harmless activity, alcohol consumption among college students is associated with a variety of issues. According to the NIH: Over 1,800 college students die each year from alcohol-related incidents, such as vehicles crashes.Almost 700,000 college students are assaulted each year by someone who has been drinking.Roughly 79,000 college students report being raped or sexually assaulted (when either one or both parties have been drinking). At least 20% of college students develop an Alcohol Use Disorder, which means that alcohol consumption is impulsive and uncontrollable. These students actually crave alcohol, need to increase consumption levels to obtain the desired results, experience withdrawal symptoms, and prefer drinking to spending time with friends or engaged in other activities A full quarter (25%) of students admit that alcoholic consumption causes problems in the classroom, including such behaviors as skipping classes, failing to complete homework assignments, and performing poorly on tests. Too much alcohol can also result in fibrosis or cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, a weakened immune system, and various types of cancers. Prevention Strategies While the natural response is to simply discourage college students from drinking, Peter Canavan, a public safety officer at Wilkes University, and the author of The Ultimate Guide to College Safety: How To Protect Yourself From Online and Offline Threats to Your Personal Safety At College Around Campus, tells ThoughtCo that providing fact-based information on the dangers of drinking to excess is a better approach. â€Å"Education should be the first step to a successful strategy designed to eliminate or limit drinking,† Canavan says. â€Å"Responsible drinking and knowing when you have had too much to drink are important factors to staying safe.† Besides the laundry list of negative effects listed above in this article, Canavan says it’s possible for students to become victims of alcohol poisoning the very first time they drink. Aside from heart-rate and breathing changes, quickly consuming a large amount of alcohol could lead to a comatose state or even death. â€Å"Any time an individual consumes alcohol for the first time, the effects are unknown, but alcohol does cause memory and learning issues, forgetfulness, and bad judgment.† In addition, Canavan says alcohol dulls the senses, which can be catastrophic in an emergency situation.   Canavan provides the following tips to help students stay safe: Regulate your alcohol consumption to reduce the chances of experiencing dangerous outcomes; know your limit.Never leave your drink unattended; it may be compromised with a date rape drug while it is out of your sight.College is a huge investment in your future; dont jeopardize it by making poor decisions as a result of drinking. A drunk driving accident can harm or kill you or your passengers, so dont drink and drive. If you are convicted of a DUI, you may lose your license and be unable to get to college or work. Long-term, a DUI on your driving record could prevent you from getting a good job after graduation since many employers look at that when reviewing job applications. Colleges and communities can also play a role in preventing underage and excessive alcohol consumption by educating students. Additional strategies include reducing access to alcohol through such ways as checking a student’s identification, ensuring that inebriated students aren’t served additional drinks, and limiting the number of places that sell alcoholic drinks.

The Creation Of Life And Everything That Exist - 1393 Words

The creation of life and everything that exist has been debated for centuries. There are people that claim the creation started with the big bang, the explosion of all the matter into what is the current universe. This is a fairly new concept as much of the western world is Judeo-Christian and has believed in the creation story described in the Bible in book of Genesis. The Bible has been a source of knowledge and wisdom for the Christian world for as long anyone can trace. The Bible begins with a story of the creation of the Earth and everything within it. This story has had a huge impact on Christians and starts the faith that is within the religion. The creation story of Genesis creates a relationship between Christians and their God based on love, faith and mercy because of the gift of life in eden, the forgiveness of original sin and the strong faith that is required in today’s scientific world. In six days, God made the world and everything that is in it.On the first day he created light and the formation of the day. On the second day he divided the sky and the waters. On the third day he created land and divided it from water. On the fourth day he created the seasons, the moon and the stars. On the fifth day he created fish and birds. On the sixth day he created animals for the Earth and Adam in his image to rule over everything he created. On the seventh day he rested. This is the short version of the creation story in the book of Genesis that details theShow MoreRelatedWorldviews1183 Words   |  5 Pages(498). A persons’ worldview can be influenced by many things including family, friends, educations, and media. Weider breaks down what a worldview is into three easy points â€Å"a person’s philosophy of life, a framework a person brings to decision-making, and a filter or lens that a person uses to interpret life and the world around them† (59). People may claim that they don’t have a worldview but that isnâ€℠¢t true everyone has a worldview whether they know it or not. A person’s worldview helps them deal withRead MoreBiblical Worldview : The Fall, Redemption, And Restoration819 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstanding of the following questions. What is the meaning of Worldview? What is meant by each of the four primary aspects of the Biblical worldview: creation, the fall, redemption and restoration? How does free enterprise comport with or reject creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration? How does socialism comport with or reject creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration? How does progressivism support or reject Biblical Worldview? This paper will also look at the following four topics:Read MoreA Logical Argument For God s Existence Or Nonexistence1471 Words   |  6 Pageslogical argument for God’s existence or nonexistence is the cosmological argument. William Craig says in his book that there are three statements that give the cosmological argument form. Craig concluded that whatever begins to exist has a cause. The Universe began to exist therefore the Universe had a cause. What that cause was, is widely challenged. The argument against the existence of God includes the Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Model is a broadly accepted theory for the beginning and evolutionRead MoreWhat Is It s One Of The Big Question About Human Existence?875 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Clinton Hinkley 5/31/2015 The meaning of life. It’s one of the big questions in philosophy, one of the big questions about human existence. A big part of the Christians or at least to (Page,2015) Page is to believes â€Å"the meaning of life is to fulfill God’s will, live our lives, have a career, make a family, have fun, and then die at the time God appointed for us to die.† (Page, Pg. 1) To some atheist, their belief is that there’s no meaning to life. They believe in evolution, to survive and reproduceRead MoreWorldview Assignment Essay examples748 Words   |  3 Pagesthinks about life, faith, death, work, values, and morals. As well as â€Å"how we see the big picture.† Say for instances you have to make a decision in ones everyday life, and have to deal with actions of the choices one has chose. According to Sire â€Å"a worldview is a commitment.† For example your commitment to how one believes. Everyone interprets what they see different and some may have th e same views. Depending on how one is brought up in their household. A person philosophy of life, decision-makingRead MoreThe Biblical Cosmogony Is Based On The Provisions Of Genesis1282 Words   |  6 Pagesfact that the universe and all its constituents are creations of a supreme being, in this case called God. The myth clashes with scientific views such as evolution theories because it suggests that God created everything by word of mouth and the work of his hands. The religious creation theory is the foundation of major spiritual convictions, which include Christianity, Judaic and Islam (Blumenthal 1). According to the Christian bible, creation was done in six days contradicting the scientific viewRead MoreThe Story Of Creation And The Fall Of Man1074 Words   |  5 PagesThe Story of Creation and the Fall of Man The story of creation and the fall of man are the mainly studied and more diligently and critically analyzed in the Bible. They are contained in the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. The creation story is highly criticized in light of scientists and other non believers due the controversy that exist between science and religion. While science is subjective, Religion is objective and thus based on opinion. Nevertheless, the Bible appears more correctRead MoreMandala And Sunyata Are Codependent1146 Words   |  5 Pagesrun amuck, activating a psychic separation between a human and their corresponding ego. One Theravada Buddhist teaching, dependent origination, explains that everything is causally connected and is solely existing because of the multiple processes that are occurring at the moment, and have occurred over time. For instance, an apple seed exists only because the apple that existed before it had created and contained a seed within itself. Thus, there was an apple before this one, and one before theRead MoreEssay on Creation737 Words   |  3 Pages Creation The Creation Stories Did the creation of the earth and life begin by itself? Or did God create them? In the beginning, civilization started to question who created earth. There were many different views. In Genesis, Jinasena, and Buddha have their own thinking. There were some differences as well as similarities. In Genesis, it was stated that God created heaven and earth. Everything we saw is Gods work. Even ourselves is come out from him. In one week, Days and Nights; Skies andRead MoreDefine Creatio Ex Nihilo1625 Words   |  7 PagesDefine â€Å"Creatio Ex Nihilo.† In Latin, â€Å"ex nihilo† literally means â€Å"out of nothing.† It often appears along with the concept of creation, as in â€Å"creatio ex nihilo†, meaning â€Å"creation out of nothing.† It contrasts with the phrase â€Å"creatio ex materia† (creation out of some pre-existent, eternal matter) and with â€Å"creatio ex deo† (creation out of God.) Christians all believe that the world is created ex deo, however, whether the universe was created â€Å"ex nihilo† or from already present material is still

Information Technology Acts Free Essays

Technology has advanced greatly in the recent years. The internet has made it is easy for people to get any information they want, which in return presents danger to minors. This advance in technology has opened new issues that need to be addressed. We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts or any similar topic only for you Order Now Children depend on adults to protect them from any harm and as a result government passed acts to prevent child abuse on the internet. The two acts being discussed in this paper are the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998. Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is a federal law which was passed by Congress to prevent children from viewing the offensive or harmful content over the Internet (â€Å"FCC†, 2013). CIPA regulates the schools and all public libraries. It makes it mandatory to filter all its computers to stop children from accessing sites that are not appropriate. (â€Å"FCC†, 2013). The (CIPA) was passed in December 2000 and its main priority is to protect children’s innocent eyes from child pornography and other dangers of the internet. CIPA does not require a certain kind of filter system, but rather to make sure schools and libraries have some sort of filters to prevent such activities. There are online predators, inappropriate chat rooms, and sexual content that children are at risk for if this law was not passed. Ultimately, all households, schools, libraries, workplaces, and restaurant have access to the internet and this is a law that needed to be passed. Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA), 1998 The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed in 1998. It specifically addresses children under the age of 13 that navigate thru any sort of internet service. COPPA requires anyone driving a website to have verifiable knowledge and consent from parents of any child 13 and under. Also, the driver has to get the consent of those parents before using any information given to them by the children. Furthermore, whether studying, shopping, surfing or chatting, children are blind to the fact that there are bad people who get their information and use it for all the wrong reasons. Advances in Information Technology The internet is a worldwide tool that is used for many different reasons. The Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 is a product of advances in information technologies. Regrettably, the internet can be used anywhere and anytime. The wireless fidelity, Bluetooth networks, and ultra wide-band network all give access to internet from any cell phone, computers, laptops, or tablets (Rainer Jr. Cegielski, 2007). In addition, this creates a problem for minors because there are many online predators looking for ways to transition children into their world of viciousness. As a result, advance in information technology has created eye openers for every parent around the world. The advance in information technology opened issues that needed to be addressed because Children depend on adults to protect them. The government passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and the Children’s Online Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 as a result of advancement in technology. As a matter of fact, parents should be more cautious as to what their children are using the internet for. Ultimately, the responsibility of a child falls on their parents References FCC.  (2013).  Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act Rainer Jr., K. R., Cegielski, C. G. (2007). Information Systems (3rd Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, INC. How to cite Information Technology Acts, Essays

Journal article critique free essay sample

Usefulness of title of article The title was sufficiently clear for average reader to understand the further content of the article. Usefulness of Abstract The authors used one well-developed, coherent, unified and concise paragraph understandable to a wide audience. The objectives and focus of the article were clearly stated and agreed with the title. The authors introduced the methods of accomplishing the task in general, without any specifications. The abstract was written in accordance with Descriptive abstract qualities (Driscoll, 2013), but the nformation provided in it didnt follow the organization of the report itself. Also, the authors didnt use the keywords to ease the web search of the article on electronic information systems. Usefulness of the Introduction Overall, introductory part was clear and cohesive. In the first introductory paragraph the authors used too many logos and ethos appeals disguised into anecdotal evidence, trying to motivate the reader. But in reality they exaggerated the importance of the issue. We will write a custom essay sample on Journal article critique or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Also in this paragraph the authors could not establish general context and importance of the topic. Place the authors I would avoid many questions in introductory part and strengthen the significance of topic with undeniable facts. The authors emphasized the general approach taken and significance of specific results. But the phrase In this paper we show that would be more appreciated and understood by the reader, while decoding the purpose of the research. Beside this, in the last part of introduction, the authors included the phrase: Irrespective of the work setting, place, people, industry and culture, some golden rules remain intact. , which awakes the interest in readers mind for further reading.. The authors did not give a reader a roadmap for the rest of the paper. Place the author I would have finished my introductory part with: The remainder of this paper is structured as follows Usefulness of Research Methods section The authors sited clear review of literature, but research methods, instruments and development were biased and explained insufficiently. The data was given without citations. Key data and research details are unavailable for review by others. Theory of Communication accommodation was not illustrated fully and evaded the third fragment over-accommodation in addition to convergence and divergence. The population used was concrete, but demographic profile of the participants and research questions was not revealed, making the reader impossible to reach a particular conclusion. The authors used accurate data, but manipulated and misrepresented the information to support a particular conclusion. Alternative perspectives and data were totally ignored. Comprehensive overview of an issue and its discussion in context was provided by the authors. But, place the author I would have done this by referencing books and websites with suitable background information. The authors did not use strong source of evidence by referencing the xperts have approached the issue on. or All major studies have given a holistic view to the very definition of communication Usefulness of Main Research Findings The findings were well organized, but statistics were not included at all. Information was sectioned and divided into separate paragraphs, but place the author I would have included the sequence or itemizing the findings with bullets. The findings were generalized and contained too basic and already existing information. Thus, its applicability and usefulness to the society, in one way or other, was in minimal rate. The results of the research would not be useful neither to develop new research tools and techniques, nor for data collection instruments. The findings should be maintained in such a way that there is no need to change the result in future. Usefulness of Conclusion The conclusions were based on the findings and logically stated according to structure of the article. Concluding part could not maintain a good image of the article, due to lack of the findings with broad-based statements that related to the projects goals. The authors were open and candid about the values and perspectives hey have brought to the task, but as a reader of the article I was not able to understand the context. The concluding part was enough persuasive with implementation of logos and pathos appeals, but place the author I would have based the sentences solely on findings and not on anecdotal evidence. Usefulness of References The reference units chosen by the authors cannot be considered as right or wrong to use for a particular analysis because they are not given in the the article. The works were not cited and bibliography was not included into the article. In introductory part he authors mentioned that research based on different sources reflected different perspectives. However, this source selection affected results of the research. However, contact information of the authors provided to ask for or receive the used sources. Would I recommend the Journal to other students?

An Overview of Fossils and Dinosaurs by State

An Overview of Fossils and Dinosaurs by State Do you know the official state dinosaur and fossil for the state you live in? State fossils or state dinosaurs have been named by 42 of the 50 states. Maryland, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming have named one of each, while Kansas has named both an official marine and flying fossil. Three states Georgia, Oregon and Vermont have fossils of non-extinct species.  There is also the informally named but formally designated Capitalsaurus of Washington, D.C.   The state fossils make a much more consistent list than the state rocks, state minerals and state gemstones. Most are distinct creatures identified by species. On the other hand, some of the dinosaurs are honored as state fossils rather than state dinosaurs.   Dinosaurs and Fossils by State The Adoption Date lists the date that these were adopted as state symbols. The link usually goes to the best existing material from the respective state government or educational institution.  You can look up each of the geologic age terms in  the geologic time scale.   State Scientific Name Common Name (age) Adoption Date Alabama Basilosaurus cetoides Whale (Eocene) 1984 Alaska Mammuthus primigenius Mammoth (Pleistocene) 1986 Arizona Araucarioxylon arizonicum Petrified Wood (Triassic) 1988 California Smilodon californicus Saber-toothed cat (Quaternary) 1973 Colorado Stegosaurus Stegosaurus (Cretaceous) 1982 Connecticut Eubrontes giganteus Dinosaur Track (Jurassic) 1991 Deleware Belemnitalla americana Belemnite (Cretaceous) 1996 Georgia Shark tooth (Cenozoic) 1976 Idaho Equus simplicidens Hagerman horse (Pliocene) 1988 Illinois Tullimonstrum gregarium Tully Monster (Carboniferous) 1989 Kansas PteranodonTylosaurus Pterosaur (Cretaceous) Mosasaur (Cretaceous) 20142014 Kentucky Brachiopod (Paleozoic) 1986 Louisiana Palmoxylon Petrified Palm wood (Cretaceous) 1976 Maine Pertica quadrifaria Fern-like plant (Devonian) 1985 Maryland Astrodon johnstoni Ecphora gardnerae Sauropod dinosaur (Cretaceous)Gastropod (Miocene) 19981994 Massachusetts Dinosaur tracks (Triassic) 1980 Michigan Mammut americanum Mastadon (Pleistocene) 2002 Mississippi Basilosaurus cetoides Zygorhiza kochii Whale (Eocene)Whale (Eocene) 19811981 Missouri Delocrinus missouriensis Hypsibema missouriense Crinoid (Carboniferous) Duck-billed dinosaur (Cretaceous) 19892004 Montana Maiasaura peeblesorum Duck-billed dinosaur (Cretaceous) 1985 Nebraska Archidiskodon imperator Mammoth (Pleistocene) 1967 Nevada Shonisaurus popularis Ichthyosaur (Triassic) 1977 New Jersey Hadrosaurus foulkii Duck-billed dinosaur (Cretaceous) 1991 New Mexico Coelophysis bauri Dinosaur (Triassic) 1981 New York Eurypterus remipes Sea scorpion (Silurian) 1984 North Carolina Carcharodon megalodon Megalodon (Cenozoic) 2013 North Dakota Teredo Petrified Wood (Cretaceous and Tertiary) 1967 Ohio Isotelus Trilobite (Ordovician) 1985 Oklahoma Saurophaganax maximusAcrocanthosaurus atokensis Theropod dinosaur (Jurassic) Theropod dinosaur (Cretaceous) 20002006 Oregon Metasequoia Dawn redwood (Cenozoic) 2005 Pennsylvania Phacops rana Trilobite (Devonian) 1988 South Carolina Mammuthus columbi Mammoth (Pleistocene) 2014 South Dakota Triceratops (Dinosaur) 1988 Tennessee Pterotrigonia thoracica Bivalve (Cretaceous) 1998 Texas Sauropod (Cretaceous) 2009 Utah Allosaurus Theropod dinosaur (Jurassic) 1988 Vermont Delphinapterus leucas Beluga whale (Pleistocene) 1993 Virginia Chesapecten jeffersonius Scallop (Neogene) 1993 Washington Mammuthus columbi Mammoth (Pleistocene) 1998 West Virginia Megalonyx jeffersoni Giant ground sloth (Pleistocene) 2008 Wisconsin Calymene celebra Trilobite (Paleozoic) 1985 Wyoming KnightiaTriceratops Fish (Paleogene) (Cretaceous) 19871994 Edited by Brooks Mitchell

Effects of Advertising Essay

Effects of Advertising Essay Free Online Research Papers Advertising promotes more than mere products in our popular culture. Because images used in advertising are often idealized, they eventually set the standard which we, in turn, feel we must live up to. Advertisements serve to show us what the ideal image is, and further tell us how to obtain it. Advertisers essentially have the power to promote positive images or negative images. Unfortunately, most of the roles portrayed by women tend to fit the latter description. The irony lies therein since it is these negative images which have been most successful in selling products. It is easy to understand the appeal which these ads hold for men, as they place women in an inferior role; one characterized by helplessness, fragility, and vulnerability. Certainly one can not deny that visual images serve to create the ideal female beauty within the material realm of consumer culture. The problem is that if one strays from this ideal, theres the risk of not being accepted by men. Advertisers, by setting ideas, not only sell their products but in fact reaffirm traditional gender roles in mainstream America. Women portrayed in sexual ads are depicted as objects and commodities, to be consumed by men for visual pleasure and by women for self-definition. Any depiction of a woman in scant clothing ultimately makes her look vulnerable and powerless, especially when placed next to a physically stronger man. Studies show that advertisements will concentrate primarily on a womans body parts rather than her facial expressions. Also, it was proven that over 50% of commercials portraying women contained at least one camera shot focusing on her chest. Men enjoy these images, and sadly, women tend to try to embody them, regardless of the extent to which they degrade themselves. Perhaps one of the most recent, successful, and controversial ad campaigns of the nineties is that of Calvin Klein. Ironically, in contrast to the normal, objectifying advertisements that deface women altogether, Klein focuses on his models expressions. However, these expressions are similar to those of a scared child. The naked female model, in turn, looks even more vulnerable than when she was faceless. Here, in this ad, Kate Moss is depicted as an innocent scared child. Her fingers touch her lips as if she is not permitted to speak, while her eyes look as if they are bruised. Moss breast is exposed in this image, but instead of appearing voluptuous, Moss appears to be almost prepubescent. She stares vacantly and helplessly into the camera. Again, women see these images as attractive to men and subsequently feel the need to embody them. Unfortunately, the body of Kate Moss is an unrealistic and unattainable ideal for most women. This distorted ideal body image is one of the leading causes of the recent rise of anorexia in young girls. The waif woman image is causing extreme low self-esteem for women in the nineties. The advertisement proves effective because normal women can never, and will never look like Kate Moss. All the hollow attempts will only bring more attention to these marketing strategies, and ultimately more business for Calvin Klein. It is difficult to pinpoint the cause for Kleins overwhelming success despite the nature of his advertisements. Before Calvin Kleins waif image developed, it was thought that concentration on a womans voluptuous physical features was what intrigued men. But this idea of Moss as a helpless child, with no real feminine curves at all, reiterates the argument that the male attraction to certain ads lies in the sexual power it gives them. Women please men in their nudity, their purity, and their body size. Women can never be happy with themselves until their representation in advertising become more reflective of reality. But if the ads become more realistic, then the advertisements arent able to sell their self-help images. Essentially the world of morals and advertising, if the two can logically coexist, form a constant vicious cycle. Research Papers on Effects of Advertising EssayAdvertising EssayJean-Jaques Rousseau EmileImpact of Breast CancerThe Colour PurplePlastic Surgery EssayThe Equal Rights AmendmentSexuality at Different Life Stages EssayFalse AdvertisingThe Fifth HorsemanA Molestation Epidemic Essay

Music research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Music - Research Paper Example As of yet, K Pop musicians have held a plethora of successful concerts internationally in major cities such as Chicago, New York, Paris, London, and Barcelona. With their unique style and multiple talents, two K Pop stars including Psy and the Rain have swept international audiences with their hit music and performances in films. The famous K Pop singer, Psy shot to popularity in 2012 when his single Gangnam Style went hit with over one billion views on YouTube within a few weeks of its release. His single went viral over YouTube reaching millions of international fans with approximately two billion views as of yet (Gruger, n.pag. (a)). Subsequently, his signature dance move to the lyric â€Å"Oppa Gangnam Style† became so popular that sports players, politicians such as Mitt Romney (Perera, n.pag.), and TV hosts could not get away from maneuvering to the renditions of Gangnam Style. The song made new records of worldwide popularity and engagement with international audiences which even earned Psy’s lyric, ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’, an entry in The Yale Book of Quotations as being one of the most famous quotes of the year 2012. Psy’s music video was a huge success all over the world. With its dancy music, hilarious yet interesting dance moves, funny lyrics, and catchy video, the single made it to the top of the charts as a dominant musical entry. The immense popularity of the song and its video reached worldwide audiences taking Psy to new heights of fame and recognition. Another popular K Pop star, Rain is an actor, singer, producer, and model. The Rain is also known as the ‘King of K Pop’ due to his popular music and his influence outside South Korea. The Rain starred in a 2009 movie called Ninja Assassin where he performed a physical role of the assassin belonging to the Ozunu ninja clan. For his role in the movie Ninja Assassin, the Rain even won an MTV Movie

Recruit staff in own area of responsibility Essay

Recruit staff in own area of responsibility - Essay Example My company recognizes the significance of recruiting right people in order to ensure prompt growth and achievement of goals. The company selects and recruits those candidates who can fit well within the values of the company. The range of positions for which human resource would be recruited is sales consultants, team leaders, duty managers, sales managers and also operational coordinators. There are different goals associated with the recruitment of different profiles, all leading towards a common objective. The sales consultant would be recruited with the objective of handling the core sales activities of products and services and also for managing the daily operations of the stores, while the team leaders would be handling a team of sales consultants and monitor their performance and motivate them (Thornton, 2008). The duty managers will be positioned at the locations like airports so that the stores at the airports can be operated because people travelling to different countries are in need of foreign exchange and obviously are the major customers for the company. The position of sales manager in which I am presently working need to monitor the turnover and revenue targets of the company, control expenses, need to handle managerial operations for a number of stores in specific region. The operation coordinators assist the sales managers and take care of operational excellence and administrative skills. All these employees work in close union with one another in order to run the department of sales in a successful manner because the marketing department has several other positions, which are responsible for handling other core marketing functions (Legge, 1995). 1.2 Gaps between current and required human resources to meet objectives The business model of foreign exchange companies are not designed on the framework of information technology (IT) platforms, which enable them to transfer information and documents faster through electronic form. Since the establ ishment, my company has been dealing with documents in physical form for safety, but with the advent and enormous usage of plastic money and dematerialization of not only securities but documents, my company is also venturing heavily towards it. It has been found that expansion on this new IT enable structure has become easier and cost effective. Up till now the sales force in our company were efficient in selling but had least knowledge in handling sales through electronic medium. However, now we will recruit individuals for sales department who have an average or more than average knowledge in online sales, electronic-documentation, etc. In order to eliminate this present gap, human resource would be recruited (Storey, 2001). The motive is not to recruit staff for the entire department because recruitment cost is higher than training cost for the old employees. Few experts at every level would be recruited, so that an on job training can be conducted. Every team will be consisting of few new as well as old employees, so that a learning environment prevails and the new employees adapt themselves to the work culture faster and the old employees learn to work in the technology integrated infrastructure. This will assist in reducing the gap that is prevailing currently (Cascio, 2003). 1.3 Options for human resource requirements to meet objectiv

PTLLS- Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector Essay

PTLLS- Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector - Essay Example The limiting factor with this method is that the learners will rebel to the imposed rules. This willlead tochange in behavior (Gravells, 2010; 63) and the teacher will find it hard to implement the rules. The second more liberal way allows learnersto form discussion groups and come up with their own set of rules. As Clauss- Ehlers (2006; 136) states, learners will be more likely to follow the rules, since they are the ones who created them. Conversely, these rules may be too lenient and leave out important aspects, in addition to taking up more time on the lesson plan. In the third method, the teacher comes up with the rules, shares them with the learners, and the latter make valuable contributions to the rules. This negotiation method ensures that learners feel a sense of ownership and belonging, and are, therefore, more likely to adhere to the rules (Avis, Fisher, & Thompson, 2010; 138). Personally, I would employ the third method in my classroom. I set the rules, and then we discuss with the learners and make necessary amendments.This would ensure proper class management and sufficient learner

Human resource management and Employee Voice

Human resource management and Employee Voice Employee Voice Ensures Effective Performance Introduction Talking from the perspective of Human Resource Management (HRM), Employee Voice (EV) signifies the involvement of employees in organizational decision making. EV is an offshoot of the Participative Management Model which aims at achieving corporate goals through management-employee harmony. The chief ingredients of EV are Employee Participation and Employee Involvement. From the works of many management scholars it has been observed that though EV is a growing management concept, it has to go a long way before being universally accepted as a management practice. According to a research report, very few managers consider EV from the viewpoint of collective representation, though many are of the opinion that it contributes towards organisational performance (CIPD, 2001 P. 19). The concept is based on collective decision making by management and employees. Though its very difficult to implement this idea in a bureaucratic structure, a participative management can very well adopt it provided it is open to the idea of sharing decision making status with subordinates. In the course of this report I will try to justify the premise whether Employee Voice is a prerequisite to ensure effective performance of employees as well as that of organisations. Definition of Employee Voice Though it doesnt have any formal definition, Employee Voice has been explained in different ways by various scholars. While some of them have opined that it is a collection of employee activities that intend to forcefully modify the management policies and practices, others have suggested that it is a voluntary expression of employees ideas that aim at influencing organisational activities (Greenberg Edwards, 2009 P. 25-26). As has been conceptualised by some managers, EV may be defined as enhanced employee communications that facilitates exchange of opinions and ideas and upward problem-solving through collective representation and commitment (CIPD, 2001 P. 20). Purposes of Employee Voice The general purposes that Employee Voice serves in an organisation are as the following:  § Expression of employee dissatisfaction. This helps in solving problems with the management and also helps in maintain good relations.  § Collective expression helps in providing management with countervailing power.  § Employees contribute to the decision making process thereby make their requirements clear to the management.  § Mutual harmony is harnessed through EV. This in turn secures viability of the employees as well as the organisation (Armstrong, 2006 P. 808). From the purposes mentioned above, it is clear that EV contributes towards the overall growth of the organisation and also helps in enhancing its development in terms of work environment, quality and, above all, productivity. Owing to these facts, EV should be patronised by the management and it should also be ensured that employees feel free to voluntarily express their ideas and expectations on a regular basis. The management should also take measures to put the information generated from EV to the best use of the organisation in order to develop it on a regular basis. Classification of Employee Voice Employee Voice has immense corporate significance from the perspective of Industrial Democracy (ID) (Hyman Mason, 1995 P. 1-2). Generally, EV stems into two organizational phenomena Employee Participation (EP) and Employee Involvement (EI). Employee Participation Employee Participation can be conceptualised as the management initiatives which attract the employees to participate voluntarily in organisational activities through various awards and rewards. EP is manifested in the following ways: Employee Ownership Through various schemes, employees can hold shares of the organization and thus enjoy the usual rights of a shareholder (Lee, 1991 P. 2-5). This enhances the mutual responsibilities of both the organization and employees. On account of being shareholders, employees perform optimally towards greater scales of organisational success as that would reflect in their individual value as well. â€Å"ESOPs in the U.S. and U.K. are frequently cited as having a triad of objectives: to broaden the ownership base, stimulate investment and improve performance† (Lee, 1991 P. 4). Profit Sharing This is generally done in the form of payment of bonus in proportion to the organizations annual profit. This is a form of employee incentive which intends to enhance employees commitment (Lee, 1991 P. 5-6). Employee Involvement As the name suggests, the objective of Employee Involvement is to involve employees to a greater extent in the administrative activities of the organization. This helps in empowering the employees and also enlightens them to understand the corporate policies and activities in a better light. EI facilitates the psychological divide between employer and employees and endows the latter with some degree of decision making capacity. It has two major benefits firstly, through empowerment and decentralization the management is relieved of some portion of its administrative responsibilities and secondly, on being empowered the employees responsibility for organizational success increases and so does their accountability and commitment. EI also helps in uplifting employee morale and job satisfaction. Thus it enhances performance (Schafer Economic Policy Institute, 1996 P. 126-128). Workers Participation in Decision Making This is a self explanatory method of Employee Involvement in which a decentralised and participative management seeks employees contribution towards organizational decision making. It increases transparency and also enables both the employer and employees to identify and respect their mutual expectations. The objectives of EI are manifested through Quality Circles, Production Teams, Employee Directorship and Workers Council (Lee, 1991 P. 7). Employees Perception of Voice Employees generally feel threatened by a common notion that the management uses them as mere resources without any concern for their personal enrichment. They are also driven by the fear of losing their jobs. It is irrespective of the size and nature of the organisation, that employees are worried about job security and career development. EV gives the employees a common platform for uniting and conveying their views. Hence, employees primarily perceive EV as a mode of expression which helps them in sending across their message to the management. Managements View towards Employee Voice Though Employee Voice has been conceptualised through the works of various management authors, it is yet to gain global importance. The success of EV depends to a great extent on the management style (Dundon Rollinson, 2004 P. 57). Managements openness towards accepting EV as a developmental tool is crucial in shaping its outcomes. If and only if management encourages employees to voice their opinions and fosters a feeling of interdependence, the employees can express their ideas. The managers should also utilize the voice mechanisms in order to making their decision making easier. It is apparent that unless a proper participative management model is implemented in an organization, it is difficult for the managers to fully appreciate the importance of EV. It can come into being only when a company works towards achieving industrial democracy (Boxall, Boxall, Purcell Wright, 2007 P. 231-233). United We Stand, Divided We Fall This is the fundamental paradigm behind Employee Voice. The management should brace itself to decentralise power and control and should take employees ideas into serious consideration because the latters contribution toward organisational throughput is immense. Owing to fact that employees are invaluable resources, it is just to empower them so that they may provide the management with finer ingredients to enhance performance. It has been largely suggested that healthy labour relations plays an important role in shaping organisational productivity (Pfeffer, 1998 P. 228). Participative management has been proven to be the healthiest of management styles owing to the fact that it though employee empowerment, it enhances the speed of communication and thus other organisational processes are also enhanced proportionally. Employee Voice and Organizational Performance Generally, lack of proper communication leads to organisational conflicts. Employee Voice helps in bettering employer-employee relationship through information flow. It has been observed that though different measures of Employee Participation and Employee Involvement are necessary for organisational performance, management employee interrelationship plays an equally important role in enhancing job satisfaction and hence in enhancing organisational productivity (Brown Heywood, 2002 P. 103). In the context of EV, we may also analyse the psychological contracts that are involved with employment. Management employee interrelationships are largely based upon exchange of services and compensation. This often leads the employees psyche to be uncooperative with the managements growth strategies. The situation can be made favourable through a synergistic relationship that will exist in a wider â€Å"zone of negotiability† (Anderson, Ones, Sinangil Viswesvaran, 2002 P. 133-136). Though EV ensures better performance, the management must take proper initiatives in order to make it a sustainable trend. We should appreciate EV as a collective manifestation of good management practices, industrial democracy and employee unity. The management should introduce self management training modules for the employees. Training and education helps in developing the value system and perceptions of individuals. The voice of developed employees will be in sync with that of the management in issues related to organisational development and profitability, or at least they wont feel alienated and exploited during such discussions (Smither London, 2009 P. 377-379). Since 1980s, employee relationships have undergone a lot of change in the U.K. mostly there have been emphasis on non-union employee representation (NER) and partnership. These have also been developments whereby the management has to inform the employees in regular intervals matters pertaining to organizational performance as well as strategic planning (Gollan, 2005 P. 238-239). It is worth noting that high performance comes with high levels of commitment. The same concept also applies to employees. Highly motivated and committed employees tend to identify with the organisation and hence perform optimally. It goes beyond saying that enhanced commitment is a result of employee satisfaction. Thus, a goal oriented organisation should continually try to empower its employees through various ways patronising EV being one of them (Beer, 2009 P.276). Another study shows that unionised employees show lesser trends of attrition. EV imparts a sense of collective security to the employees and thus management faces lesser problems regarding their retention (Barrett Mayson, 2008 P. 468). Again, thinking more practically, we find that in general productivity and performance are not the primary interests of employee unions. They are more concerned about compensation and benefits, employees rights, etc. According to Kelley and Harrison, increased productivity is a by product of unions and is different from their central goals (Kaufman, Kleiner Industrial Relations Research Association, 1993 P. 191). Various works in the recent decades have suggested ways to reduce employee anxieties such as job security, which can be adopted by the management. Restrictions on downsizing the employee base may enhance employee loyalty which in turn will have positive effects on job satisfaction and performance (Cooke, 2003 P. 76). Apart from being provided with alternative arrangements such as flexible working hours, job sharing and telecommuting, employees should also form an integral part of the performance appraisal system. A successful performance appraisal system should be participative and transparent (Nelson, 2007 P. 173-174). Irrespective of the organisational size and the state of unionisation, employees tend to deliver their best when they have a proper knowledge about their duties and rights and also have an opportunity to address their views to the management. As management structures are becoming increasingly flatter, it is important for each employee to have a comprehensive knowledge as to how to be sel sufficient at work (Gennard Judge, 2005 P. 185). As a matter of fact, when management employee interrelationship operates at a high level thereby strengthening the process of communication, the organisation will be able to solve nearly all its internal issues without any third part involvement. This enhances the integrity of the organisation (Schafer Economic Policy Institute, 1996 P. 127). Communication can be successful only when EV is patronised. Communication is largely a managerial function and responsibility. The managers should ensure that information flows both in the upward as well as downward directions and also through collective channels. Staff communication policy should be formulated and improvised as per requirements (Brewster, Hegewisch, Price, Waterhouse Co. Cranfield School of Management, 1994 P. 163-165). Another way to enhance EV is through harmonisation whereby differences in status are reduced. This encourages employees to freely express their ideas (Marchington, Wilkinson, Sargeant CIPD, 2002 P. 187). This measure calls for the flattening of management structure and also requires counselling across hierarchies to make the change acceptable. As it is being greatly clear that successful EV is an outcome of well coordinated communication, it is important to minimise the common barriers to communication and to develop a general climate that advocates as well as facilitates communication across hierarchies (Roodman Roodman, 1973 P. 57). EV endows employees with the right to control their career. This is a basic human need which needs to be satisfied in order to ensure commitment to work. At the same time it also reduces the supervisory responsibilities of the management and allows them more time for strategising (Pendleton, 2001 P. 108-113). This is reflected in the words of the Production Director, Weaveco, â€Å"it probably started by preaching to our employees, then we started talking to them but then the next thing is to start listening, and I think the listening is more through the DITs where they get involved in solving problems† (Stuart Martinez-Lucio, 2005 P. 33). Participation is further enhanced though employees representation in the Board of Directors. This consolidates the stand of the employees as an inseparable element in organisational success. Apart from this the corporate policy should support individual self determination, codetermination and collective bargaining for employees to voice their ideas and necessities. There should be a symbiotic association between the management and employees to work towards a common goal (Wilkinson, Gollan Marchington, 2010, P. 487 496). Employee participation in any organisational activity tends to increase with their personal involvement. With an increase in involvement the employees naturally perform optimally thereby proving that EV is of immense importance in enhancing organisational performance and productivity (Kirkman, Lowe Young, 1999 P. 42). According to a research by the U.S. General Accounting Office Employee Ownership, together with Employee Participation in organisational decision making, can improve the overall performance of the organisation (Harris, National Research Council (U.S.), Committee on Human Factors, National Research Council (U.S.) Panel on Organizational Linkages, 1994 P. 83). Thus it is justified that employees being key elements in the organisational processes should be taken into serious consideration from the perspective of management decision making for the betterment of organisational practices. This helps in widening the spectrum of decisional alternatives and facilitates the process through the collective approach. Management employee harmonisation also helps in bringing the two entities closer and the mutual understanding thus achieved, helps in identifying common goals. Negative Impact of Employee Voice Unabated EV, if not monitored carefully may lead to an upsurge of collective emotions and employees try to devise outrageous mechanisms to vent out the same. To avoid such eruptions, the management should by empathetic in listening to the employees on a regular basis and also allow room for collective bargaining in order to arrive at moderated conclusions wherever possible. Otherwise, EV may take to hostility against the organisation and disrupt its operations through non cooperative activities such as strikes, etc. Conclusion In the course of the report we have found that EV plays an important role in shaping the organisational processes and enhancing the overall efficiency, performance and productivity. It is a tool which can best be used by a participative management model wherein it is the aim of the management to empower the employees through providing certain degree of autonomy in terms of decision making. Thus EV also reduces the managements decision making burden. In flattened organisations it is highly necessary that individual employees have voice. This is necessary because it helps the employees to express their dissatisfactions too the management. Any corrective response by the management acts as a grievance management tool, increases employee job satisfaction, enhances their morale and commitment and thereby helps in enhancing organisational performance. Through the enhanced flow of information, administrative and process related activities become faster. It also enhances overall coordination among departments and across hierarchies. References Anderson, N., Ones, S. D., Sinangil, K. H. Viswesvaran, C. 2002. Handbook of Industrial, Work Organizational Psychology: Organizational Psychology. 2nd ed. SAGE. Armstrong, M. 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 10th ed. Kogan Page Publishers. Barrett, R. Mayson, S. 2008. International Handbook of Entrepreneurship and HRM. Edward Elgar Publishing. Beer, M. 2009. High Commitment High Performance: How to Build a Resilient Organization for Sustained Advantage. John Wiley and Sons. Boxall, F. P., Boxall, P., Purcell, J. Wright, M. P. 2007. The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management. Oxford University Press. Brewster, C., Hegewisch, A., Price, Waterhouse Co. Cranfield School of Management. 1994. Policy and Practice in European Human Resource Management: The Price Waterhouse Cranfield Survey. Routledge. Brown, M. Heywood, S. J. 2002. Paying for Performance: An International Comparison. M. E. Sharpe. CIPD. 2001. Management Choice and Employee Voice. CIPD Publishing. Cooke, N. W. 2003. Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies. Greenwood Publishing Group. Dundon, T. Rollinson, D. 2004. Employment Relations in Non Union Firms. Routledge. Gennard, J. Judge. G. 2005. Employee Relations. 4th ed. CIPD Publishing. Gollan, J. P. 2005. Voice and Non-Union Workplace. 27th vol. 3rd issue. Emerald Group Publishing. Greenberg, J. Edwards, S. M. 2009. Voice and Silence in Organizations. Emerald Group Publishing. Harris, H. D., National Research Council (U.S.), Committee on Human Factors, National Research Council (U.S.) Panel on Organizational Linkages. 1994. Organizational Linkages: Understanding the Productivity Paradox. National Academies Press. Hyman, J. Mason, B. 1995. Managing Employee Involving and Participation. SAGE. Kaufman,E. B., Kleiner,M. M. Industrial Relations Research Association. 1993. Employee Representation: Alternatives and Future Directions. Cornell University Press. Kirkman, L. B., Lowe, B. K. Young, P. D. 1999. High-performance Work Organizations: Definitions, Practices, and an Annotated Bibliography. Center for Creative Leadership. Lee, W. B. 1991. Should Employee Participation be Part of Privatization? World Bank Publications. Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Sargeant, M. CIPD. 2002. People Management and Development: Human Resource Management at Work. 2nd ed. CIPD Publishing. Nelson, B. 2007. The Management Bible. Wiley India. Pendleton, A. 2001. Employee Ownership, Participation and Governance: A Study of ESOPs in the UK. Routledge. Pfeffer, J. 1998. The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First. Harvard Business Press. Roodman, H. Roodman, Z. 1973. Management by Communication. Taylor Francis. Schafer, T. Economic Policy Institute. 1996. Reclaiming Prosperity: A Blueprint for Progressive Economic Reform. M. E. Sharpe. Smither, W. J. London, M. 2009. Performance Management: Putting Research into Practice. John Wiley and Sons. Stuart, M. Martinez-Lucio, M. 2005. Partnership and Modernisation in Employment Relations. Routledge. Wilkinson, A., Gollan, J. P. Marchington, M. 2010. The Oxford Handbook of Participation in Organizations. Oxford University Press. Bibliography Armstrong, M. Stephens, T. 2005. A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Beaumont, B. P., Hunter, C. L. CIPD. 2003. Information and Consultation: From Compliance to Performance. CIPD Publishing. Bennett, T. J. Kaufman, E. B. 2002. The Future of Private Sector Unionism in the United States. 7th ed. M. E. Sharpe. Gospel, H. Pendleton, A. 2006. Corporate Governance and Labour Management: An International Comparison. Oxford University Press. Marshall, F. R. Marshall, R. F. 2000. Back to Shared Prosperity: The Growing inequality of Wealth and Income in America. M. E. Sharpe. Nicotera, M. A. 1995. Conflict and Organizations: Communicative Processes. SUNY Press. Winstanley, D. Woodall, J. 2000. Ethical Issues in Contemporary Human Resource Management. Palgrave Macmillan. Wunnava, V. P. 2004. The Changing Role of Unions: New Forms of Representation. M. E. Sharpe.

Abolish or Reform? :: essays research papers

Throughout the world, students are encouraged to attend high school and continue their education. However, many students find it worthless and become uninspired. They blame the faculty, school policies, and fellow students, when they should be blaming themselves. Unchallenging course work is most likely a sign that the student isn’t taking a hard enough course. During my high school experience, students had the opportunity to take college courses through our high school. This gave the more advanced students a chance to practice the same routine as â€Å"normal† students, but still challenge and educate themselves. Abolishing high school would not solve any problems in our educational system. There are many ways to improve upon our school system; however, we need to start at the beginning. In an essay by Harley Tong, high school is portrayed as â€Å"a waste of time and a struggle to remain interested in schoolwork.† He continues to describe his own experiences and how they led him to begin his college career two years earlier than most students. He complains of the way that he was physically and verbally abused by other students, which is the case in many high schools. High school is not only a cognitive learning environment; it is also a social learning environment. Students learn how to communicate with fellow pupils, teachers and administrators. They find out how to come independent from their parents and how to prepare for the rest of their lives. I believe that Harley Tong was simply too advanced for his surroundings. He most likely found the other students immature and didn’t fit in with them. In his case, he found a solution to attend a community college instead of his high school, which I commend him for. Many students in his situation would simp ly drop out, and that is not the answer. George F. Will’s â€Å"College President’s Plan: Abolish High School† conveys ideas that had never crossed my mind. He states, â€Å"For various reasons, some rooted in American history and others reflecting recent developments, education has become, for the moment, the most salient social concern and therefore the most potent political issue.† Will introduces Leon Botstein, who doesn’t actually option to abolish high school, just to change the structure of our schools in general. Botstein says that high school was created for 15- to 18-year-olds who were still children. In today’s society, those children are now young adults who are physiologically and psychologically more advanced.

British Air Essay

Strategy: In this context, strategy is to be taken as the nature and also the direction a company can take in light of the choices which are at its dispose. Therefore, from this definition of strategy, strategic responses can be inferred to mean the responses that an organization takes in achieving its strategies and hence strategic responses. Nature: refers to the very essence of the company, for instance BA is an airline and hence in the airline industry. Direction: refers to where the organization in question (BA) is headed and hence strategic responses. Pestle Analysis: It refers to a methodology whereby the macro environment is analysed. It will be used to analyze the political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental forces affecting the airline industry under which BA operates and to which this forces impacts on the strategic making of BA. Abstract The airline industry is in the service industry which experiences very volatile changes all over the world and hence companies have to keep up with the changes as well as plan for future changes and challenges in the service industry of airlines through strategic making. Strategy making is an important aspect in the organization in light of the organization succeeding in the environment it is operating in. Though the airline industry is changing like any other typical service industry, it does not mean that the airline industry can afford to lag behind or sleep in terms of making strategies suitable for the now markets tastes and the then (future) markets tastes. Therefore the paper critically reviews the corporate strategy of British Airways (BA), the company’s competitive strategies through critical appraisal of the company’s strategy, industry and company analysis. However, an overall industry analysis is undertaken before any analysis of the company’s strategy through analysis of a three dichotomies impact in the company and in the context of three paradoxes in the company and the perspectives which are applicable to the paradoxes. Industry Analysis Overview BA is a renowned airline in the UK and among the largest airlines in the world, facts which are derived from fleet size of the airline, the number of passengers carried and the number of international flights made by the airline. It was established in 1971 with the motives of gaining control of BOAC and BEA which was the then nationalized airlines alongside other two airlines, which were Cambrian Airways and the Northeast Airlines. The merger of the four companies that formed the presently BA airline was effected in 1974 and become a state owned company. However, the company was later privatized in 1987 and its expansion was gained through acquiring the British Caledonian together with Dan Air in 1992. BA is currently trading in the UK Market share as the largest airline in terms of the fleet size and boasts of being in 2nd position in terms of its market share (IATA 2012), trading under the name of International Airlines Group following a merger in 2011 with Iberia. In the global arena, the presence of BA is felt through the company being 5th largest airline in terms of the passengers who are flown using the BA airline (See; Figure 1, position of BA in the global arena). Current and Future Key Issues Affecting the Airline Industry In researching on the current and future key issues affecting the airline industry together with researching the trends and the competitive forces that are affecting the airline industry in the modern times, in light of BA strategy making and the influences that are to effect on BA, a pestle analysis, SWOT analysis and the Porter’s Five Force Analysis are the tools that are going to be utilised. However, for greater specificity, the focus of the pestle analysis is the European Airline Industry. Pestle Analysis Political Issues Having state owned airline, which are owned by governments and therefore enjoys government protection resulting to regulated competition. This classic example of government regulation of international air was seen in BA in the merger of British Caledonian together with Dan Air in 1992, to combat competition on long haul routes. Development of aviation policies which are politically generated, for instance, the Aviation policy in UK of increasing the capacity at Heathrow, which according to Civil Aviation Authority are only short term measures that would do Europe no good in terms of competing with other global competitors for instance USA, China and India. The idea is to have more capacity through building other airports (Reals n.d.). In UK, airlines’ belonging to another country are not allowed to operate within the route of another country (cabotage) and hence eliminates competition in the airline industry in the UK for there is no competition from the non – European countries. Increase in APD (Air Passenger Duty) by 8% for which all airlines have to comply and which can translate to less travels to the UK for ADP ultimately increases the cost of travels (BBC News 2012, 1st April). Airlines constrains in terms of adhering to government policies for instance the pledge by the UK government to reduce carbon emissions by 60% reflected in the UK Climate Change Bill. Economic Factors Severe crisis in world economics where financial systems have been destabilized and paralyzed and therefore needs to be restored to stability, otherwise translates to less travels by air. Stiff competition in the airline industry in the UK due to presence of competitors who even offer low fares flights. Competition was brought about by the deregulation of the Airline Industry in UK Socio – Cultural Factors UK’s ageing population which is approximated to rise over the years. Projections in UK’s populations estimates that there would be more elderly people than there are presently (see; Figure 2 and Figure 3 for the projections) Accessibility of airline travels by the lower social groups in the UK Technological Factors Development of cleaner engines in the aviation industry which means that airlines like BA have to adopt the new technologies and also in light of the pledges in support of government’s policies to reduce carbon emissions. New operating procedures which can be as a result of sudden changes in weather patterns The use of Bio – fuel by the airline industry is the various developments in the world of technology that the airline industry has to deal with. Environmental Factors Development of environmental policies for instance the UK Climate Change Bill Health scares which mostly are as a result of the changes in climate and weather patterns for instance earth quakes and bird flues. Emissions policy in the UK, for instance the move to have airlines charged for their share of green house gas contribution on flights that are to and fro Europe. Legal Factors Open sky agreement ending the protection of national carriers and introducing completion in the airline industry. EU regulatory changes; for instance the increased call for better care of the customer US regulatory changes; for instance the ban on liquids and gels past the screening checkpoints affects the customers of air transport mode who may be in possession of such goods (liquids and gels). BA’s SWOT Analysis Strengths A Strong Brand Global appeal Established Fleet Operations Latest fleets that provide the calm to its customers Innovativeness in the development of products and services by the company Strong analytical and marketing skilfulness Weaknesses The organization’s culture (the â€Å"us† culture) Decline in operations efficiency Unhealthy financial performance Lack of provision of competitive customer packages Poor marketing strategies that are to reinforce competitiveness of the company to the standard of its competitors Opportunities Global tourism, which continues to increase due to globalization Technological advancements in the airline industry UK’s ageing population Corporation tax reductions Threats Competition from low fares airlines (e.g. British Airways Low Cost Airline {BALOW}) Increase in ADP by 8% Oil price volatility Increase in regulatory conditions and laws which are varying Substitute means of transport like electric trains and buses The ever changing customer behaviour which is hard to predict Porter’s Five Force Analysis Porter’s Five Forces study is important in order to check whether BA’s proposed strategies are to become profitable to the organization (Porter 2008). Diagram illustrating a simplified 5 Forces Model By Micheal Porter; adopted from http://www.brs-inc.com/porter.asp, Analysis distinct to BA as provided below: Degree of Rivarly BA operates both the small and the long flights BA is different in policies and terms with their competitors in the airline industry Other companies like Virgin Atlantic criticisms of some of BA’s strategies for instance the merger of BA with AA and thus disregarding the company’s strategies to its customers. Threat of Entry Competitors are discouraged from entering the market by; Existing firms in the airline industry having a competitive advantage Changing new technlogy Transformed government policies Threats of Substitutes Internal substitutes include;busses, cars, electric trains External substitutes include; international airlines like EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic Buyer Power Availmability of the internet to consumers increases the consumer’s conciousness and exposes the consumers to BA competitors. Supplier Power Supplier’s makes use of trade unions to have a high bargaining power Market characterised by suppliers having a high power BA has only two supply manufacturers of its aircrafts and a sole fuel supplier The Paradox of Markets versus Resources The airline industry being a very volatile industry has to survive through tough financial times, for instance economic recessions. In light of all the changes that occur in the airline industry, an organization has to continuously adapt to the environment in which it is operating in. In light of BA’s environment, i.e. the service industry, it is paramount that the organization’s strategic thinkers acknowledge that imitation of what other companies are doing in the market may not always produce the same results and hence BA needs to constantly study the market to identify the asymmetries that keeps emerging in the service industry and hence develop the asymmetries to capabilities for the organization. This therefore proposes that the organization has to keep in touch with the market for instance through continuous research and development of the organization’s products and services and in light of the company’s strategy of becoming an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium. BA differentiation from its competitors is seen through continuous research and development of the industry which can be inferred through the analysis of the SWOT, PESTLE and the Porters Five Forces tool, continuous improvements of the company’s products and services to its customers for instance through maintaining the organization’s networks in the long, short and cargo segments. In addition, BA as a front-line in the airline industry has an advantage over its competitors due to its long presence in the industry which dates to the years where it was a state owned airline. This clearly shows that in adopting some strategies for instance the acquisition of Iberia, BA tries to make its presence felt in the global arena. In addition, the organization resources allows the organization to apply the inside out logic as compared to its competitors who may not have a good command of resources at their dispose and therefore making BA have a competitive advantage. The inside out logic follows that for a firm to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors, it must have the capability of converting the processes of production in a quick and cheap way and which BA has exhibited and continues to exhibit through its various acquisitions of other airlines and through mergers formed with other airlines. BA’s strategy that is consistent with achieving its strategy of being an airline of choice to customers of long and short haul premium is through acquisition of other airlines so that all customers are within in its reach enabled through the mergers and the acquisitions. While the theories of completive advantage suggest that for an organization to gain competitive advantage, the organization must establish a cost effective way of attaining its strategies. This means that the company’s operational costs are lowered and this leads to the company having a competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore, BA’s strategy of mergers and acquisitions is geared or leans towards the company having a global presence in the world and hence appealing to its customers and reduction of operational costs. The reality of the environment that the organization operates in is realised through the SWOT, PESTLE and analysis of Porters five force (Fine 2009). In as much as an organization has to adapt to the environment for instance through continuous development of services and products to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer, the resources that are at the dispose of an organization in light to adapting to the current trends, tastes and preferences of the consumers in the industry can indicate otherwise. A company’s resources refers to the tangible and the intangible resources for instance land, money and materials which are tangible while the intangible resources include the rational resources for instance the relationships and reputation and the competencies which include the knowledge and capabilities. One of BA’s strategies is becoming an airline of choice to customers of long haul premium and which is counter acted by strategies for instance through continuous research and development in order to identify the tastes and the preferences of the customers, continuous improvements in products, services and networks and through maintaining its presence in the long, short and cargo segments. However, these strategic responses are evaluated against a background of whether the market needs of the consumers are the once to guide the strategy making process of the firm or the firm is the one to leverage the strategies that BA is to take owing to the fact that whether there are adequate resources to respond to the needs of the markets so identified through the research and development process in order for BA to attain its strategy of becoming the airline of choice to customers of the premium long haul (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2008). BA’s markets versus Resources The strategic responses put forth by BA illustrates its commitment towards attaining it strategy of becoming an airline of choice to customers of premium long haul which is achieved through BA building a terminal which increased the operations of the airline. In addition, BA also appeals to customers through transforming the customer’s service in that the customer service exceeds punctuality and hence customers are more satisfied which represents the rational resources of the company. BA has also continued to grow in order to meet at the crossroads with the needs of the customers through launching of routes from London to St Kitts, launch of the open skies and also flights from continental Europe to countries in North America. In addition, BA also made L’Avion and started to fly from London to NY JKF. The expansion is made in the efforts of BA coordinating its efforts to have a more international perspective that is cable of meeting the demands of the customers. BA Plc (2010), recognises that there are 5574 BA resources oversees and approximately 35, 920 in the UK. However, greater specificity is to be achieved through coordinating the resources and market availability (Schneider, Gunnarson & Niles-Jolly 1994). BA’s commitment to the needs of the customers is seen through the purchases of aircrafts which are modern which are also in the effort of appealing to customers. Other ways through which BA appeals to its customers is through being corporate responsible through its commitment in reducing carbon emissions (Johnson, Scholes, & Whittington 2008). Therefore BA is driven by the outside – in logic other than the inside – out logic for the balance between the company’s resources and the markets availability will always indicate a different shift where the company strategies are more bound towards meeting the demands of the market and hence the outside – in logic prevails. The Paradox of globalization versus localization Globalization is a strategy that is being adopted by international corporations in order for them to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. Strategic tensions that a company for instance BA has to face in light of globalization revolves around the concept of globalization that is to be adopted in light of achieving strategic goals. For instance, one of BA’s strategy is to increase its global presence with the strategic tensions in attaining this objective being whether global is to be taken in the terms of a worldwide scope that is to refer to the geographic presence of BA in the world, worldwide similarity of the BA’s products for instance, using the word global to refer to the homogeneity of BA’s products around the world or whether globalization (Thompson, Strickland & Stappenbech 1994) would be in the context of the integration of the operations of BA, that is linking the world as a system through its services (See Figure 5 for illustrations of the di mensions of globalization). A different tension lies in whether BA is to respect the differences that exist between markets defined by national boundaries which can be done through designing products and services that meet the needs of customers in different countries. The paradox of globalization and localization is a challenge that BA has to address in light of its strategy of having a global presence with questions ranging on how the company can address the globalization synergies and at the same time remain relevant in addressing the local synergies. BA’s Globalization and Localization To begin with, one of the ways through which BA’s strategy of global presence is achieved is through the strategic response of having a global connectivity for all the customers and this is achieved through BA establishing tier in most of the major cities in the world or through expansion which is gained through BA partnering with other airlines for instance the low fares airlines or through mergers for instance the merger of BA with Iberia, code sharing with Kingfisher carrier in India (in 2010) and the recent acquisition of BMI from Lufthansa in 2012. In addition, BA is one of the largest airlines in the UK a position that the company has gained through having a large fleet size, flies to over 300 destinations in the world and has shareholdings in BA city Flyer, Comair, Flybe, Open Skies, AIG, ICCR and BMI. In addition, the global presence of BA is felt through BA being the 5th largest airline by scheduled passengers. Without much further ado, the paradox of globalization versus localization for BA is congruent with the dichotomy of whether BA develops a business model distinctively different from its competitors or whether industry logic is the one that largely determines the firm’s strategy. In analysis, the drivers of globalization are market drivers, government drivers and competitor’s drivers which have less to do with BA developing a business model that is distinct from its competitors. As a major airline in UK, BA enjoys economies of scale and understands that it must have the oligopoly characteristics where firms operating in an oligopoly market cannot act independently on their own (De Wit& Meyer 2010) and hence disputing the fact that BA can develop a business model distinct from its competitors (Porter 1985). Owing to the drivers that make a firm to be globalised, BA’s strategies are interdependent with its competitors. For instance, deregulation brought new agreements for example the EU – US Open Skies agreement in 2008 which brought a shift to competition in Transatlantic Routes and as a result the US Carrier Deltas, US Airways and the Continental started operations at Heathrow in 2009. Therefore, it is less convincing to claim that BA develops a business model distinct to it for clear facts exists to establish the claim that it does not act independently of its competitors and one of the ways it does so is through the strategy of having a global presence in response of what its competitors are achieving (the operations of other airlines which are taking advantage of deregulation to coin agreements and operate in other countries) (Roth & Ricks 1994). The paradox of Responsiveness and Synergy This paradox brings into focus a company’s dilemma of how to respond to the competition in the industry and whether the company can match the demands of the market and at the same time maintain the responsiveness of the business. In order to have synergies in an organization there is need for a company to unify the different activities carried out in the organization which in some instances may make a company lose its business responsiveness. For a company to attain synergies and at the same time attain responsiveness (Mintzberg, Quinn & Ghoshal 2002), the organization must draw out clearly its corporate scope for instances of how many businesses the company should have, corporate distribution, for instance the weight that is to be placed on each business unit in the organization, integrated mechanisms for instance of how the synergies in the company’s business should be achieved and the management mechanisms that ensures that the synergies so developed are a reality to the company. The meeting point of a business responsiveness and the synergies so created, results to the paradox of responsiveness versus synergy. Business demands presents a business to forces that pull it apart while the synergies pul ls the company into an integrated whole. BA’s Responsiveness versus Synergy One of BA’s strategies is to meet the ever changing needs of the consumer for instance meeting the needs of the ageing population which requires the company to provide more value to the products offered to this market segment, reinforce the company’s brand, development of new products and also through enhancing customer loyalty (Mintzberg & Ahlstrand 1998). For the company to achieve the above strategy through the strategic responses discussed above, there is need to coordinate the various units of the organization into a functional whole whereby units so entrusted with the development of new products, researching on upcoming market trends are an integrated whole of the organization and hence the synergies. For instance, the finance department of the organization needs to avail funds to the research and development of the organization so that proper research on upcoming trends is conducted effectively. This principle is consistent with making the parts an integrated par t of the whole for the whole to function as one unit, that is the organization (Raynor 2005). The paradox of responsiveness and synergy can be best achieved when the management and the leadership style demonstrates control or managed chaos. In a controlled leadership, a company attains responsiveness (Porter 1996) and at the same time attains synergies because the management of the organization is organized in such a way that the different businesses or the department in the organization are headed by leaders who have the same goals. In a leadership where there is chaos, the synergies and the business responsiveness losses focus for the management is not organised to attain the responsiveness and the synergies (Mintzberg & Ahlstrand 1998). . Conclusion In light of the volatility of the airline industry, the strategies that BA has put in place are best achieved when the paradoxes of globalization versus localization, markets versus resources and responsiveness versus synergies are analysed in the context of the dichotomies applicable to paradoxes. In so doing, BA will not only maintain its current position as being the best airliner in the UK, but also attain competitive advantage over other airliners who are its competitors and also potential entrants (McGahan & Porter 1997). Bibliographies Reals, K. n.d., UK will Suffer Unless Long – Term Aviation Policy is developed: CAA. Retrieved from; http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-will-suffer-unless-long-term-aviation-policy-is-developed-caa-366738/, Retrieved on 28th May, 2012. De Wit, B. & Meyer, R. 2010, Strategy Process, Content, Context. New York; Cengage Learning. 4th Ed. Clegg, S., Kornberger, M. & Pitsis, T. 2008, Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. New York; Sage Publications. Fine, L. 2009, The Swot Analysis: Using your Strength to Overcome Weaknesses, Using Opportunities to Overcome Threats. New York; CreateSpace Publishers. Mintzberg, H. B. Ahlstrand, J. L., 1998, Strategy Safari, New York; Free Press. Schneider, B., Gunnarson, S.K., Niles-Jolly, K. 1994, Creating the climate and culture of success. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1), 17-29 Roth, K. & Ricks, D. A. 1994, â€Å"Goal Configuration in a Global Industry Context.† Strategic Management Journal; 15, 103 – 120 Porter, M. E. 1996, â€Å"What is Strategy?† Harvard Business Review. pp. 61 – 78. Porter, M. E. 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York; Free Press.

Medication in the History of Mental Disorder Essays

Medication in the History of Mental Disorder Essays Medication in the History of Mental Disorder Paper Medication in the History of Mental Disorder Paper Cornelius L. E. Katona, and David Taylor. Use of Drugs in Psychiatry: The Evidence from Psychopharmacology. 5th ed. London: RCPsych Publications, 2002. Diller, L. H. (2006). The Last Normal Child: Essays on the Intersection of Kids, Culture, and Psychiatric Drugs. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group. Shorter, Edward. A History of Psychiatry: From the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac. 2nd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 1997. Sperry, Len, and Prosen, Harry. â€Å"Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas in Psychology: Cosmetic Psychopharmacology and Managed Care. † American Journal of Psychotherapy 52 (1998): 54-63. Thompson, Marie L. Mental Illness. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Wright, Robert. â€Å"The Coverage of Happiness. † The New Republic (1994): 24-29.

Research Findings Report Does speeding up the Music Tempo increase Task Performance

Research Findings Report Does speeding up the Music Tempo increase Task Performance Running head: Research Findings Report Customer Inserts His/her NameAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Research Findings Report: Does speeding up the Music Tempo increase Task Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 10th June 2011 Outline Abstract Introduction Method Participants Materials and Measures Procedure Description of the Experimental music Completing the Mazes Questionnaires Results Discussion Limitations of the Study Abstract Findings from previous research have established that various features of music have profound effects on human behavior particularly the mood and endurance in exercise and sports domains. This research aims at determining how music tempo affects human performance in specific tasks. To examine this concept, the current study, involved 28 participants grouped into two categories, the experimental group with 15 participants and the control group with 13 participants, who were required to complete three mazes before filling out questionnaires. The experimental group listened to fast music while the control group only listened to low tempo music. The results showed that the control group, on average, completed the mazes at a significantly lesser time than the experimental group. This indicates a correlation between the effects of music upon the subjects’ lives and task performance. These findings have potential implications for labor force in enhancing labor productivity and sports psychology and training. Understanding how the tempo of music affects the speed of performing a task is not only helpful in keeping work schedules but also increasing physical productivity.Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Introduction The effect of music upon human behavior has aroused much in terest in psychology. Most of previous researches centered on aspects of human behavior such as mood, emotional responses, and personal preferences. Edworthy and Warring (2006), established that faster music elicits happier responses and can influence the mood (p. 597). In contrast, slower music or lyrics produce unhappier emotional responses. Music, therefore, elicits emotional responses, which in turn influence the human perception of speed. These emotional responses perhaps relate to people’s perception of time and speed. Webster and Weird established that people who listen to faster music, have much happier moods, thought they talked faster and conversation subjects progressed much faster than people who listened to slower music (2005, p. 196 ). Since listening to music alters the mental states that influence human activity, various structural aspects of music can also alter the physical speed. The effect of music on athlete’s performance offers important insights on the influence of music on speed and endurance. Most athletes listen to music during workouts and prior to competitions as a motivational tool that makes them work harder. Music tends to distract one’s attention from the present task, which makes the individual less focused on the physical activity (Crust, Clough, 2006, p. 191). Diverting attention to music leaves no room to focus on tension or pain produced by the exercise. Consequently, the perception about the exertion or complexity of the task is lower. This increases the people’s endurance as well as efforts in performing tasks. Music, therefore, increases endurance making people to work harder though subconsciously. The high efforts expended, when people are listening to music, speeds up the completion of the specific task. However, much of the previous studies do not show how different music tempos influence speed of a physical or mental activity. This research uses a combination of slow and fast tempo music w to investigate people’s speed when performing specific tasks. The purpose of this study is to examine how the different music tempos affect the levels of human activity with other factors such as habits held constant. This research will test the following hypotheses: Firstly, music with fast tempo will lead to fast completion of the mazes. From the literature review, fast music elicits happier emotional responses, which improves the speed of task performance. Secondly, the research will test the alternative hypothesis that a faster tempo will make a participant stressed out, perform the task poorly, and as a result, take longer to complete the task.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Research Findings Report: Does speeding up the Music Tempo increase Task Performance specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Method Participants This study involved 28 male and female college students. The participants were grouped into two categories; experimental and control groups. The grouping was random, that is, there was no specific criterion used to place the participants into either of the group. The research involved manipulating the tempo of music using a classical piano piece called Chopin’s love with the experimental group listening to high tempo music as they completed three mazes. The control group listened to the piece of music only at the original tempo. Materials and Measures This study involved 28 participants divided into two groups. There was a provision of sheets of paper to each of them upon sitting down. The papers contained instructions on how to complete the three mazes. The instructions demanded that the participants had to inform the timekeeper before starting and after completing a maze. The participants were required to complete three mazes while listening to music of varied tempo. They recorded their respective times of completing each maze. After the exercise, the participant s were required to complete a questionnaire to provide information regarding their experience during the exercise. Procedure Description of Experimental Music: The music selection used involved a classical piano piece known as Chopin’s love as composed by Nakamura Yuriko. The control group listened to the piece of music at the original tempo, BPM of 108.42 according to mix Meister BPM analyzer. For the experimental group, researcher increased the tempo of the same piece of music to 185 BPM using a Garage Band program. The two groups listened to the piece of music at a constant volume from an apple Mac laptop through large headphones covering their entire ears. Completing the mazes: Once the seated, the 28 participants had to read a sheet of paper containing instructions about the exercise. The research then grouped them into two categories: the control group (n=13), who only listened to the piece of music at the original tempo and the experimental group (n=15), who listened t o the music at a higher tempo at 185 BPM.Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The two groups were to put onto the headphones and once the music begins playing, count five seconds aloud. The two groups listened to the music through headphones. Once the music started playing, the participants counted loudly for five seconds before informing the timekeeper to start timing. After finishing each maze, the participants were required to shout â€Å"STOP† and again count five seconds before proceeding to complete the next maze. The procedure required the participants to repeat these instructions until they completed the three mazes. Questionnaire: After completing the mazes, participants were then asked to fill out a Questionnaire with questions about the role of music in their lives, their experience during the maze completing exercise, their familiarity with the music played and whether they have any hearing impairments. This aimed at determining whether the impact music had on the participant’s lives correlated with the effect the piece of music had on the participant’s speed in completing the maze. The researcher recorded all the respective data. Results The analysis of the results focused on the hypothesis that fast tempo music elicits positive emotional responses that would make the participant to complete the maze faster. Table below records the mean of the participant’s maze completion time (in seconds) and the standard deviation (SD) for the two groups (the experimental and control groups); Mean = Summation of the time taken to fill the mazes/Sample size Standard deviation=√∑ (each value-mean)2/Sample size Maze Completion time (seconds) Mean (M) Standard Deviation (SD) Fast Tempo (Experimental group) 52.1703 13.57 Low Tempo (Control group) 55.50 18.86 Table 1: Means for control and Experimental groups The preliminary results indicated that the questionnaire items had less effect on the speed at which either group completed the maze. The table 1 shows the means and the standard deviatio ns for each treatment. The results conformed to the hypothesis that high tempo music the participants making them to complete the mazes faster than their counterparts subjected to low tempo music do. On average, the participants in the experimental group completed the mazes 3.34seconds faster compared to the participants in the control group. Because the participants in the experimental group completed the mazes much faster compared to participants in the control group, the results were consistent with the first hypothesis. To understand the results of maze completion, the research sought to find out if there is any correlation between the questionnaire items and the speed of completing the mazes. Overall, no participant reported having any hearing impairment, six participants never listened to music while working, and five rarely listened to music, 12 sometimes, five usually with no participant always listening to music when working. These results indicated that the participantâ₠¬â„¢s previous music life or habit had no significant effects on the participant’s speed of completing the mazes. Discussion The major purpose of this study was to find out whether the music tempo has an effect on the speed of task performance. Previous research had established that music elicits emotional responses. These emotional responses then influence the perception of speed, which makes people to perceive that an action progresses faster when subjected to fast tempo music (Edworthy, Warring, 2006, p. 604). In addition, previous research has shown that music influences the efforts that people put into a task, particularly sporting activities (Crust, Clough, 2006, p.194). Based on this evidence, the present study hypothesized that the high music tempo would make people complete involving tasks such as maze completion much faster than in conditions of low tempo music., the results obtained were consistent with the hypothesis but supported the alternative hypothesis that high music tempo makes people perform involving tasks at a much faster rate. The experimental group, on average, completed the maze at a faster rate compared to the control group under conditions of low tempo music. From these results, it is justifiable to conclude that fast tempo music stimulates physical and mental activity when performing specific tasks, which increases the speed of performing the task. This research also aimed at identifying the specific characteristics that predict the extent that the effects of music tempo had on people. However, the items, which included the music life of the participants, hearing impairments and the music genre that participants frequently listened to, did not correlate with the speed of completing the maze. This indicates the inapplicability of these items in prediction of the speed of completing performing tasks. Although the items tested in the questionnaire had less overall impact on the participant’s speed, the lack of hearing i mpairment among the subjects suggests clearly that speed correlated with music tempo. This design of this study aimed to explore the relationship between music tempo and cognitive speed. Usually, when many factors are involved, it is difficult to find results without any external influences. However, this research overcame these obstacles by using a common activity (maze completion) and a piece of music popular among the participants. The intention of the questionnaires items was for better interpretation of the results obtained from the two groups. The findings of this research that high tempo music has a distractive effect, allow for further investigation into the role music plays in enhancing human performance in competitive situations such as athletics or sports. Further research is essential to find out why and how music tempo influences human performance. Limitations of the Study One limitation of this study was that few participants participated in the research, which made it difficult to collect a large amount of data for each treatment. Another limitation of this study was that the participants could not have known the purpose of this study and consequently provided wrongful information when filling out the questionnaires. Future research should explore the effect of both music synchrony and lyrics on the speed of human performance, particularly in physical activities. References Crust, L., Clough, P. (2006). The influence of rhythm and personality in the endurance Response to motivational asynchronous music. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24, 191-196. Edworthy, J., Warring, H. (2006). The effects of music tempo and loudness level on Treadmill exercise. Ergonomics, 49, 597-604.