Human Resource at Mcdonald’s Essay

I. Introduction In today’s intensely competitive and global marketplace, having a highly committed or competent workforce is one of the most critical factors in maintaining a competitive advantage (Millmore et al., 2007). Therefore, in a growing number of organizations, strategic human resources management (SHRM) is now viewed as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management is designed to help companies meet the needs of their employees while promoting company goals. As an important aspect of strategic human resource management is employee development, organisations have to consider employees may want or need and what the company can reasonably supply (Baker, 2009a; Tarique and Schuler, 2010). This research paper tries to discuss how organisations achieve this mission. We will discuss about two very important aspects of SHRM, strategic international HRM (SIHRM) and employment relationship. Although these two fields will be analysed separately, we can see the link bet ween them when we apply them to the case McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). In each section, we will discuss about the theories and models relating to each of those aspects and how these theories showed up in McDonalds’. II. McDonalds’ and Strategic International HRM II.1. Literature review of SIHRM and its frameworks The main trend of recent studies on changes in the business environment is the growth of internalisation, for example Ferenbach and Pinney (2012); Hitt et al. (2012); and Zain and Kassim (2012). As businesses become more and more global, SIHRM plays an important role in the development and success of multi-national corporations (MNCs) (Festing et al., 2012; Smale et al., 2012; and Stahl et al., 2012). According to Briscoe (2012) international human resource management (IHRM) can be defined as set of managerial tools for managing organizational human resources at international level to achieve organizational objectives and competitive advantage over competitors, both domestic and international. IHRM, therefore, includes typical HRM functions such as recruitment, selection, training and development, performance appraisal and rewards and punishment done at international level and additional activities such as global management skills, expatriate management and so on (Millmore et al., 20 07). Milliman et al. (1991) developed a SIHRM framework based theory of â€Å"fit and flexibility†. The concept of â€Å"IHRM fit† included external and internal side. External IHRM fit indicated the MNCs’ capability to deal with the cross-national environment, which includes the social, legal, political and cultural factors of diversified foreign countries where they operate. On the other hand, internal IHRM fit stressed on the management ability to ensure appropriate control and co-ordination between corporate and foreign subsidiaries. In addition to â€Å"fit† concept, â€Å"flexible† was also important as it specified the organisational capability to smoothly implement changes and adapt to diverse circumstances. Zheng (2013) commented on the framework that in today’s open global environment in which information and knowledge is transferred freely and quickly, an integration of fit between internal HRM and external functions is required and sho uld not be treated as two separate functions. The SIHRM framework of Schuler et al. (1993) seems to implement this point (Figure 1). The framework constituted of two major elements: inter-unit linkages and internal operations. Inter-unit linkages showed the MNC’s ability to differentiate its operating units thorough the world while, at the same time, keep them well coordinated and controlled. Internal operations indicated the fit between each unit’s confines of its local environment, laws, politics, culture, economy and society and its own strategic objectives given by the corporation. Schuler et al. (1993) framework’s limitation is to ignore the role of human-beings (managers and staff) which is widely considered as a very important constituent of SIHRM (for example Briscoe et al., 2012; Shi and Handfield, 2012; and Sanchez-Arias et al., 2013). The SIHRM framework of Taylor et al. (1996) stressed on how smoothly top managers can transfer the parent company’s SIHRM orientation to affiliate’s HR M system, then to impart organisational values and top managers’ belief to specific employees within the affiliate (Figure 2). Although Taylor’s model (1996) can complement the limitation of Schuler’s framework (1993), we still need a more detailed and practical model to apply in the real business world. This is the point at which the framework for global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) comes in handy. In the next section, we will discuss about the framework in details and in the case of Mc Donalds’ (Figure 3). II.2. The framework for global talent management and the case of McDonald’s a.Global Talent Challenges for McDonalds’ The major driver of global talent challenges for McDonalds’ is the globalisation. Although globalisation enables firms to employ workers in the developing economies of the world at much lower wages than is possible in the developed economies of the world (Wise and Covarrubias, 2012), it also leads to increasing competition in fast food industry (Asif et al., 2011; Gupta, 2012; and Royle, 2012). In such circumstance, global competitive advantage is only for those multinational firms that succeed in locating and relocating its workforce over the world, adapting to local differences, learn continuously, and transfer knowledge more effectively than their competitors do (Molinsky, 2013; Steers et al., 2013). Therefore, human recourse becomes more and more important in maintaining competitive advantage at MNCs. In addition, as McDonalds’, like other MNCs, expand its business into many other countries, its consumers continue to have very different buying patterns from region to region. The organisation therefore must have a talent management strategy in place that continually assesses whether employees have the ability to address the particular needs of a diverse customer base (Podsiadlowskia et al., 2013). In 2011, Manpower Group conducted research among nearly 25,000 companies across 39 different countries and territories, which shed light on that 32% of American companies were looking for foreign workers, higher than any other area (that number of the whole world was 24%). This raises the demand for workers with competencies and motivation considerably high, especially for American companies. While the demand was getting higher, the foreign labour supply for MNCs was not so abundant. The research of Manpower (2011) showed that 74% of American employers (among 5,820 surveyed companies) found it difficult in recruiting foreign labours. In addition, Pearson (2012) believed that high employee turnover is a threat for today’s businesses. These issues made the labor market more competitive for employers, especially operates in an industry whose the rate of employee turnover is as high as fast food industry (Harris, 2012). For McDonald’s and other fast food restaurant, there is another specific obstacle. According to Sharma and Kiran (2012), employees nowadays do not only look for organisations offering high wage but also those â€Å"whose philosophies and operating practices match with their own principles†. This might create an issue for McDonalds’ to compete in recruiting best talents as fast food restaurants usually have bad reputation of causing ethical healthy issues such as obesity (Fraser et al., 2012; Jeffery and Utter, 2012). Tarique and Schuler (2010) summarised global talent challenges as too little needed talent and too much unneeded talent, or rather â€Å"the needed talent is available in the wrong place†. b.McDonalds’ Human Resource Actions to Address Global Talent Challenges Talent management initiatives can only be effectively successful when linked to the strategies of the organization. Since 2005, McDonald’s global workforce strategy has been designed to be aligned with and support the execution of its business objective, which is â€Å"to become everyone’s favorite place and way to eat† (Harkins et al., 2005). Interestingly, the global talent management practice initiated by McDonalds’ nearly ten years ago was very similar to the Tarique and and Schuler’s framework (2010). Prior to 2001, McDonald’s developed its performance assessment system comprised of six â€Å"performance drivers† (Figure 4) on which managers and staffs’ annual performance will be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it (Goldsmith et al., 2009). However, when it was rolled out globally in 2003, it was clear that certain elements of the new system re-design were not suited for the foreign cultures and legal structures that existed in certain countries. As a result, all of its affiliate and franchising stores were given flexible to make certain changes to adapt local requirements. This manager’s initiative reflected the â€Å"fit and flexible† concept of Milliman et al. (1991) as discussed in the last section. In 2003, McDonalds’ introduced its Global Talent Review Process of which main purpose is to train and develop next generation of leaders and managers and in 2006, the organisation added a more in-depth analysis of who needs development moves to enhance their experience and a process that facilitates this movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The initiative allowed potential leaders of next generation to move more freely to various organizational departments in order to realise development job opportunities with support of their peers and develop their own talents (Brown and Lent, 2012). With the intention of attracting and retaining high-performing talents, The McDonald’s Leadership Institute and the Global Leadership Development Program were introduced in 2006 (McDonald’s, 2013). The Institute was a virtual community that provides a culture of learning and development and to which anyone from any geographic location can accessed. The Global Leadership Development Program focused on preparing participants for broader leadership responsibilities and building a strong peer network that will support these individuals in developing their leadership path. The qualitative impacts of these initiatives were managers and staffs became much more aware of the strengths and talent gaps in each area, so they can recognise their own development needs and develop their talents more effectively. In addition, as the number of cross-organizational movement increased, organisation had better selections for all tasks. Schuler et al. (2010) pointed out several barriers of talent management to which McDonalds’ and other MNCs should pay attention. First, managers at all levels rather spend time on their own pressing tasks than on talent management programs. Second, organizational structures might inhibit collaboration and the sharing of knowledge across boundaries. Finally, HR departments might be short of â€Å"the respect of other executives whose cooperation is needed to implement appropriate HR actions† and might not be able to deal with the global talent challenges. III. McDonalds’ and Employment Relationship III.1. Literature review of employment relationship and new ERM model In last section, we discussed how important talent management is for McDonalds’ to maintain its competitive advantage in today’s widely open business. Although McDonald’s already has a quite complete talent management program, the organisation should be noticed that its workforce strategy could not be successful without great employment relationship. Gospel and Palmer (1993:3) define employment relationship as â€Å"an economic, social and political relationship in which employees provide manual and mental labour in exchange for rewards allotted by employers.† Rose (2004) clarified that rewards can be not only economic but also social and psychological. Millmore et al. (2007) believed that psychological reward is an indispensable part in employment relationship. They went on to define two key strategic concepts that were labour – management partnership and psychological contract. According to Millmore et al. (2007), key values of a successful labour – management partnership included share of goals, culture, knowledge, effort and information. Armstrong (1996) discussed that the labour – management partnership initiated when employees provide skill and effort to employers and the employers provide the employee with a salary in return. However, the employment relationship can also be expressed in terms of a psychological contract defined by Rousseau (1994, cited by Millmore, 2007:448) as â€Å"the understanding people have regarding the commitments made between themselves and their organisations†. Noe (1999, p. 290) states, â€Å"a psychological contract is the expectation that employers and employees have about each other†. According to CIPD (2006), psychological contract breach occurs when employees believe that the organization has failed to deliver its promises or obligations. There were many research works about psychological contract and its importance in employment relationship, for example Robinson and Morrison (2000); Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000); Guest and Conway (2002); Turnley et al. (2003); Conway and Briner (2005). These works however did not point out a model that is practical and easy to apply and measure in the workplace. In addition, because of globalisation and today’s fast changing business environment, the needs of organizations and workers’ expectations changed significantly (Burke and Ng, 2006). Therefore, the traditional psychological contract might not work as well as it had been. Besides, most of the research in the past has emphasised the employee, while it should be on both employees and employers’ perspectives (Baker, 2009a). Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship that enables corporations to attract good staff and retaining talented employees in toda y’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition. In such a business environment the traditional perspective on employment relationship such as that of Gospel and Palmer (1993) might not work. According to Baker (2009a), the new employment relationship model must base on the workers’ needs with organisational outcomes. He then provided core attributes of the model including flexible environment, customer-focus, focus on performance, project-based work, human spirit and work, loyalty, learning and development and open information. In next section, we will discuss about these core attributes with the illustration of McDonalds’. III.2. McDonald’s and the application of new employment relationship model The first aspect of the relationship is flexible employment which defined by Baker (2009a) as organisation policy to encourage workers to work for other units or departments. In 2006, McDonalds’ conducted an in-depth analysis of which staffs could be potential leaders and managers, what skills and experience they needs, to which units they should be moved to get these skills and knowledge, and how to facilitate the movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The implementation of flexible employment strategies can create opportunities for workers to develop their career beyond the confines of their specific specialization. Kappia et al. (2007) proved these career development opportunities could be more motivating than monetary rewards. The concept of customer-focus, which becomes more and more important in business techniques (Bharadwaj et al., 2012; Idris, 2012; Kanti, 2012), is the second attributes of new employment relationship model (ERM). The concept of customer-focus places empl oyees in the â€Å"unique position of answering to two bosses†, the organisation and the customer (Baker, 2002). Baker (2009b) believed that a successful customer-focused strategy depend on managers and workers’ good communication with external sources such as local communities and culture. Related to the case of McDonald’s, its customer-focused â€Å"Plan to Win† relies on local talent to develop a deep connection between McDonald’s and the local communities in which it operates (Goldsmith et al., 2009). According to Baker (2009a), the concept of focus-on-performance suggests that customers should focus on the achievements of their job and the way they achieve them instead of job specifications. Organisations, on the other side, should link rewards and benefits with performance rather than organisational policies and rules. Moreover, new ERM suggests that an effective â€Å"multidimensional performance system† promotes workers to contribute beyond their regular task while organisations can utilise and reward workers for these non-job contributions (Baker, 2009b). Since 2001, McDonald’s redesign its performance measurement system with six â€Å"performance drivers† for which employees ‘be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The system also enable top managers to signal the importance of needed culture change in which employees are encouraged to be more innovative and contribute more than merely doing their regular tasks. The fourth aspect of new ERM is project-based work. As business environment is increasingly uncertain and unstable, project-based work gains more interest from both corporations and employees (Watson, 2012). This initiative includes several forms such as temporary and fixed term contracts, outsourcing, flexible time, part-time working, overtime, job rotation, or functional mobility, which provides job flexibility (Peirà ³ et al., 2002) The project-based work is also widely applied in McDonalds’ as the senior managers often depend on peers’ assessment in providing employees development job opportunities (Goldsmith et al., 2009). With the increase in market competition and dynamic work environment, many employees are suffering from work overload that could seriously affect the organisational performance (Altaf and Awan, 2011) and many researchers believes that workplace spirituality is one way to deal with this problem (Karakas, 2010). Baker (2009a) also mentioned human spirit and work as a function of new ERM. The effectiveness of the workplace spirituality on work performace, however, is still criticised by several researches and hypothesis tests, for example Bell et al. (2012) and Weitz (2012). There is also no evidence that this concept has ever been applied at McDonalds’. Another aspect of new ERM doubted to be effective and not applied at McDonalds’ is open information. Loyalty and commitment, on the other hand, has no doubt to be a so important attribute of new ERM. According to Baker (2009b), these aspects should come from both sides. Employees’ loyalty is to enhance organisational outcome rather than processes, while organisational commitment is to improve employees’ personal objectives and development. McDonald’s has paid significant attention to its employees for years. McDonald’s has its Commitment Survey to assesses employee satisfaction with the support and recognition they receive, the extent to which their skills are utilized and developed, the degree of their empowerment, working condition and their compensation (Goldsmith et al., 2009). A manager’s scores on the Commitment Survey are one of many important factors considered in assess employees’ effectiveness and potential for advancement. Much related to this aspect is learning and development. As discussed in last section, McDonalds’ initiated its The Leadership at McDonald’s Program, which aimed at identifying developing high potential talent, in 2004 (Goldsmith et al., 2009). Having been accessed as qualified candidates of the program, employees will be granted for many individual learning opportunities. First, each participant will have a coach to discuss progress against objectives and receive objective feedback and developmental coaching throughout the program. They also have opportunities to work closely with McDonald’s high potential peers throughout the program and with talented management peers from other companies/industries as part of the Thunderbird Program in order to build strong internal and external peer networks ( Goldsmith et al., 2009). The application of these attributes brought McDonalds’ several positive signs. As of mid-2006, 34% of the 104 graduates of the LAMP Program have been promoted while only 4% of the them have left the company for other opportunities. It is a key objective of the program for its participants to know they are highly regarded and that the company will continue to invest in their ongoing development. The program also made itself a strong brand identity and equity within the organization and more and more employees want to join the program (Goldsmith et al., 2009). IV. Conclusion As SHRM becomes more and more important for organisations, it is critical for managers to understand not only its related theories and concepts but also discover and invent the most practical models for which they can apply to their organisation. As businesses become more and more global SIHRM and the model of global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) plays an important role in the development and success of MNCs. Even when organisations already have a quite complete talent management program, they should notice that its workforce strategy could not be successful without good employment relationship. Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship in today’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition and he introduced the new ERM. The case of McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009) has shed the light on how practically successful these models could be when appropriately and effectively applying in an organisation. This is, however, just the beginning of these relatively young models and the question of whether these models can create sustainable competitive advantage will need more academic and practical researches in the future.

Acids, Bases Buffers Essays

Acids, Bases Buffers Essays Acids, Bases Buffers Paper Acids, Bases Buffers Paper To measure the buffering capacity of two types of Isotonic drinks. Introduction: There are acid-forming. Basic forming and neutral food, however the acid or alkaline properties of a food is unable to judge by the actual acidity of the food itself. For example, citrus fruits such as lemon are acidic, but they are alkaline-forming when we consume and digest it. Therefore the food acidity or alkalinity only can determined when it is break down and digested. To maintain a healthy diet, acid- ease balance diet is very important. An acid-base buffer is a solution that lessens the impact on pH from addition of acid and base. The essential feature of a buffer means that it consists of high concentrations of the acidic (HA) and basic (A-) components. When small amount of HUH+ or OH- Ions are added to the buffer, they cause a small amount of one buffer component to convert Into the other, which change the relative concentration of the two component. For any weak acid, HA, the dissociation equation and Aka expression are: The final expression of pH obtained after logarithms applied to both side. Buffer capacity is a measure of the ability to resist pH change and depends on both the absolute and relative component concentration. The buffer capacity is affected by the relative concentration of the buffer component which the buffer capacity in increasing with the concentration of the components of a buffer. For a given addition of acid or base, the buffer component concentration ratio change less when the concentration are similar than what they are different. Materials: Acetic acid (MM=60 g/mol), Noah solution (0. MM), HCI solution (0. 001 M), calibration buffer (pH. 5 and pH 5. 5), 7-UP, 100 Plus. Based on El Chatterer principle, the equilibrium of the system will shifts to the left to suppress the acid from dissociating as much as it would in water and causes the [HUH+] decreased. Therefore higher pH (less acidic) obtained with increasing of the sodium acetate added. This is because the common ion effect that acetate ion CHOC- play the role as common ion for both the acetate acid and the sodium acetate solution. Buffer by 1 unit for acetate solution is the highest and for the 0. MOM HCI is the lowest. Same case goes with their buffer capacity that have been calculated. This implies that the more concentrated the buffer, the greater its capacity, and the larger the resist of pH change. For the 7-JP and citrate buffer is present in the solution which in the form of sodium citrate. The percentage error obtained in this experiment is considerable high for both buffer and HCI acid solution. There are several factors that may be possible lead to the occurrence of error: The solution is not homogeneous because not stirred well before adding sodium acetate Systematic error maybe happened especially acetic acid measurement taking for 2 decimal places by using a ml pipette. For the titration between HCI and Noah solution is strong acid and strong base titration. They will both fully dissociate, which mean all the molecules of acid and base will completely separate into ions. Therefore, the Noah solution needed to change the pH of HCI solution is lesser than the titration of acetate buffer with Noah solution. HCI + Noah attach + H2O Recommendations: The error of the experiment can be reduced by using microcomputer for the 2 decimal place volume of acetic acid that need to take, instead of pipette which has ml. Besides, the glass rod may hit the pH meter bulb and it is unable to let the solution keep stirring, therefore the magnetic stirrer bar is recommended here to be used in order to have constant stirring to ensure the solution is homogeneous. Question and Answer: 1. Based on the results in the experiment, which beverage (7-up or 100-Plus) shows a better buffer capacity? Why? Answer: In this experiment, 100-Plus has better buffering capacity than the 7-JP. Buffer capacity is the measure of this buffer ability to resist pH change and depends on both the absolute and relative component concentrations. The greater the buffer capacity of the buffer system, the more acid or base is required to change the pH of the buffer system. In this experiment, the average volume of Noah solution used to increase 1 unit of pH is higher in 100-plus. 2. What are the chemical components in 7-JP and which are involved in determining the buffer capacity of these soft drinks? Answer: The chemical components involved in determining the buffer capacity of 7-up and 100-plus are iatric acid, its conjugate base, citrate, carbon dioxide and its conjugate base carbonic acid.

pKb Definition in Chemistry

pKb Definition in Chemistry pKb is the negative base-10 logarithm of the base dissociation constant (Kb) of a solution. It is used to determine the strength of a base or alkaline solution. pKb -log10KbThe lower the pKb value, the stronger the base. As with the acid dissociation constant, pKa, the base dissociation constant calculation is an approximation that is only accurate in dilute solutions. Kb can be found using the following formula: Kb [B][OH-] / [BOH] which is obtained from the chemical equation: BH   OH−  Ã¢â€¡Å' B H2O Finding pKb from pKa or Ka The base dissociation constant is related to the acid dissociation constant, so if you know one, you can find the other value. For an aqueous solution, the hydroxide ion concentration [OH- follows the relation of the hydrogen ion concentration [H] Kw [H][OH- Putting this relation into the Kb equation gives: Kb [HBKw / ([B][H]) Kw / Ka At the same ionic strength and temperatures: pKb pKw - pKa. For aqueous solutions at 25 ° C, pKw 13.9965 (or about 14), so: pKb 14 - pKa Sample pKb Calculation Find the value of the base dissociation constant Kb and pKb for a 0.50 dm-3 aqueous solution of a weak base that has a pH of 9.5. First calculate the hydrogen and hydroxide ion concentrations in the solution to get values to plug into the formula. [H] 10-pH 10-9.5   3.16 x 10–10  mol dm–3 Kw   [H(aq)] [OH–(aq)] 1 x 10–14  mol2  dm–6 [OH–(aq)]   Kw/[H(aq)] 1 x 10–14  / 3.16 x 10–10   3.16 x 10–5  mol dm–3 Now, you have the necessary information to solve for the base dissociation constant: Kb   [OH–(aq)]2/[B(aq)] (3.16 x 10–5)2  / 0.50   2.00 x 10–9  mol dm–3 pKb   –log(2.00 x 10–9)   8.70

The economy of the Republic of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The economy of the Republic of China - Essay Example It has ensured that the resources in the nation are well galvanized to ensure they are projected towards the interest of the state and, in this case, to spur economic growth. However, the same regime has been put into the limelight by Western media of its unethical practices, especially in trade operations. China is accused of undervaluing its currency to ensure its local companies receive an undue advantage over their competitors in the global front. Locally the state runs almost 60% of the manufacturing firms; those enterprises are often favored to ensure they are advantaged over private companies in terms of government regulation and other elements (International Economic Association, Aoki, and Wu, 2012).Economic analyst and policymakers at the People’s Bank of China have been working to come up with an elaborate strategy that will see the country make a ‘safe landing’ once its economic growth rate subdues. It is a mitigation effort that is meant to prevent the nation from past economic catastrophes that had hit it back in 1985-1989 and 1992-1994 when the constant growth that China was undergoing drastically dropped thus affecting the economic system with massive inflation (Knight and Ding, 2012). It is prudent that trade in the modern world is market-driven; The Chinese government is relaxing its grip on the economy allowing litigations that are aimed to transform the economy to be market-based to ensure it naturally survives economic conditions in the future.

Report of investing in London office market Essay

Report of investing in London office market - Essay Example fully analyse different elements influencing the market before investing in it in order to make sure that the investment is profitable in long run (Ball, Lizieri, and MacGregor, 1998). For this purpose, the economic, political, institutional, social, legal, and many other factors are explored and investigated to understand and comprehend the future implications for the London office market. Apart from this the supply and demand and other important elements like property planning and pipeline projects with reference to the different regions and breakup of the overall London office market have been explored and analysed in order to get better understanding of the overall market and industry. London is considered as major financial hub not only of UK where major business giants are operating their businesses. It is considered as one of the command sector of the global economy. This feature of London makes it more appealing city for foreign investors. London economy can be best measured through Gross value added (GVA) which demonstrates the contribution of not only individual industries or sectors but also the individual producers present and working in the boundaries of London. The GVA also measured the income generated from employment by production of goods and services. The latest data of Gross value added produced by ONS in December 2011, London contributed 21% of the whole UK and per head which is around  £35,026 (more than  £15,000 than UK average) in 2010 (The Guardian, 2012). According to the research conducted by the city group, London is likely to have more GDP than any other city in the world from by 2025 due to its exceptional growing financial service. Currently it is the one of the tenth largest GDP contributor in the world in term of US dollar. A recent research conducting for London offices shows that almost 60% of the commercial property investment in central London was made by foreign investors from 27 countries in 2011 which is considered as

Motivation to study and its implication in academic excellence Essay

Motivation to study and its implication in academic excellence - Essay Example Many theories have attempted to define and explain motivation as a basic drive to minimise physical pain and maximise pleasure, the pursuit of a state of being, an ideal or altruistic concept amongst other drives. Motivation is important to teaching and learning because it lays a crucial role in the student’s approach to learning, as understanding their motivation can potentially predict levels of interest and effort placed on the process of learning and consequently academic results. Stipek (1988) proposed a variety of reasons for lack of motivation and behaviours associated with high academic achievement; he specifically found that encouraging intrinsic motivation helped to improve learning outcomes. Intrinsic motivation, however, often requires more effort to generate than extrinsic motivation. To decide if it is worth this extra effort, the degree to which improvements occur has to be quantified to see if results compare favourably to more direct motivational methods, such as high-stakes examinations. Personality profiling may also offer an additional advantage given the widening participation agenda, as different types of motivation may be shown as more effective for students at r isk of failure. This research may consequently lead to suggesting alterations in teaching practice and support mechanisms which enhance the learning process for specific types of students. Following ethical approval, 120 first-year medical students from a single institution were invited to complete an online survey. Response anonymity was ensured through use of a third-party website which collected responses without requesting information which could be used to identify individuals. Ritchie & Lewis stress the need to demonstrate any potential reciprocity when seeking participants so as to ensure a positive relationship with research in general and to make the immediate proposition

Violent Video Games in Society

Violent Video Games in Society 53 percent. That is the number received from all adults included in a survey asking their thoughts on whether they thought children got more or less violent after being introduced to violent video games. The majority believed it was fine to let the children play such content as studies have not yet proved violence in youth has a direct correlation to video games. VIdeo gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry bringing in more money than both movies and DvDs young people love getting their hands on a controller and the feeling of being thrown into a whole immersive new world. Some people might compare the feeling to reading a book but a lot better due to the graphics and dialogue. Video games have been shown to be a natural teacher to young people and that fact cannot be diminished, however with the increasing violent nature of our society more and more violent video games can be almost guaranteed in the markets. Although these might spark controversy, seeing real life events unfold in front of a childs face is more likely to make them violent than playing a video game in the comfort of their own home. According to Video Games and Crime Michael R. Ward states Relatedly, it is possible that violent games are particularly attractive to otherwise violent individuals. Independent of whether violent video game play causes a behavioral change in which individuals become more violent, it could substitute for the time spent in violent activities thereby decreasing the total amount of violence. Referring to the idea that people that play video games are so absorbed into the activity that they will spend more time playing than actually going out and pursuing violent activities. Although these facts are quite persuasive, many attempts have still been made by a few parties to reduce violence among children and teens such as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) which bases gaming content upon alphabetical lettering. Every letter means something different and varies from EC to AO. Games have a small box located on the cases on the bottom left of the front cover. EC referring to games a ppropriate for Early Childhood. E10+ Referring to games appropriate for everyone ages 10 and up. T for teens. M for mature. And finally AO for games only appropriate for adults. Although this system is not foolproof it has been shown to reduce the amount of violence in children since the late 1990s. Reality games have been a huge game changer in the gaming community. Things such as Life Simulator, Job Simulator and so much more have effectively changed the perspectives of most young people. Showing more things about life than they would normally learn in school, Paying Bills. Reading house notes. Getting up and ready for a job and even to the point of having a wife and kid. These have been purposely made to mimic real life events to show people how life can be if they have never experienced something like that before. As the real world evolves, so do the games we play as many of them are based upon true or real world events. War. Theft. Death. Destruction. Many of these things have been included in new and even more realistic video games. Although many can be beneficial, games such as these are very surreal. Imploring the audience to realize how very horrible the world is or even visualize these situations. Even at this point these games are beneficial allowing the community to see and (if the game is immersive enough) feel how heartbreaking the loss of a friend can be. People who have bought new software such as a PlayStation (PS2, PS3, PS4) or XBox (Xbox-360 or Xbox One) have been able to play online with friends from around the world. Whether Youre defending humanitys last hope as a cyborg in the first person alien killing game Halo on XBox, or youre Defending a city with mystical powers against a pack of monsters in the addictive role-playing game known as EverQuest on Playstation. In many ways Video games are a whole new social platform. One of the biggest in fact, According to a state of the industry report by Spil Games about 1.2 billion people around the world play games alone, and over 700 million play online! Finding friends online, meeting new people and helping them out is what we all do on a day to day basis, and with video games you can do all of this in the comfort of your own home. A study, conducted by Tsung-Yen Chuang and Wei-Fan Chen and published in the April 2009 edition of Educational Technology Society concluded that more research needs to be done and that games to enhance learning need to be thoughtfully created, but they also concluded that from the results of this study, computer-based video games could function as powerful tools in assisting childrens cognitive processes. In this world it is important for everyones children to learn as quickly as possible. This is the most technologically advanced the world has ever been and with that being said everyone has unlimited information available at all times. People just have to make it all count for the future of our society, video games can change the future There are many many precautions that come along with the evolution of video games, but the fact remains that although some might be too violent for certain children studies have shown that they still retain important information than they usually would in school. These gaming platforms have become a basis upon which we teach our children the basic concept of imagination. Showing them that anything can be possible as long as you put your mind to it and have the willingness to do something. Instead of getting rid of games altogether, I suggest that we rather provide more information about life into them.. Works Cited Video Games and Children: Playing with Violence. Video Games and Children: Playing with Violence, June 2015, www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-and-Video-Games-Playing-with-Violence-091.aspx. Accessed 2 February 2017. Ward, Michael R. Video Games and Crime. Contemporary Economic Policy, vol. 29, no. 2, 2011, p. 261. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONEsw=wu=j020902v=2.1it=rid=GALE|A254245440asid=d06c35b32a0b773bc5e32d73b8f946dd.ÂÂ   Accessed 5 February 2017 Video Games. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999329/OVIC?u=j020902xid=6398fb1e. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017 Video Games. Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999329/OVIC?u=j020902xid=6398fb1e. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.