How to Write a Critical Analysis Essay

If in your studies you have to deal with literature, chances are you are going to be given a task to write critical literary analysis essays more often than not. At first many students are justifiably afraid of dealing with tasks of this kind, but some tips and a little bit of practice will rectify it in no time. So, what should you pay attention to when you have to write an assignment of this kind? Actually, one of the best ways to get a good mark is to be original. If you think that it is easier said than done, you are probably right – at least to some extent. The thing is, you don’t have to actually think of what you write in your analysis – it is much easier to make the interpretation of the text as wild and unusual as possible and then to try to prove your point. Rest assured – any text may be interpreted in ways the author never even dreamed of, and, this being literature and not algebra or physics, there is no way of actually defining who is right a nd who is not. Your theory doesn’t correspond to any way this text has been perceived in the past? It is just the way you see things. Tutors are supposed to support creative thinking – show them what it looks like. Critical Literary Analysis of Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God, a novel by Zora Neale Hurston, is a text that is pretty often used as a material for critical analysis, so it is pretty natural to use it as an example. Study the text’s plot: can it be divided into large meaningful parts? What signifies transitions between different parts? Are there any constant main characters? Do they undergo any character development in the course of the book? What are the main motifs of the text? Are there any stylistic peculiarities that characterize the text as a whole? Or, perhaps, some parts of it? These questions should give you some understanding of what you should ask yourself before you start writing. Don’t leave answering them until later – you should prepare the factual basis beforehand. Writing an Analytical Essay on Janie Crawford Coming back to what has been said earlier, what unusual take on Their Eyes Were Watching God can you think about? Usually this analysis is concentrated around the way the author depicts the life of African American communities in the first half of the 20th century – so this is exactly what you should avoid writing about. Try out other variants – for example, study the characters and their development. Is Janie Crawford really the main character of the book? Maybe the way her life completely changes every time she marries makes her into some kind of a reflection to the specific parts of African American community, or periods of its history? Perhaps they could just as well be three separate characters instead of a single one? It is just an example – you can do the same with almost any text.

Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - 1567 Words

Racism has been a hot subject for many years. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it is the central theme of the novel. When Atticus Finch is asked by Judge Taylor, to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, Atticus accepts and defends Tom to the full extent of the law. Atticus even makes the plaintiff, Mayella Ewell, question how the incident involving herself and Tom Robinson, actually happened. Nevertheless, when Atticus made the case proving that Tom Robinson did not commit the crime he was accused of, a jury of white men all ruled that he was guilty. Furthermore, what does this say about the jury, the defendant, the plaintiff, and the lawyers involved in the trial? Did the jury decide guilty because of the information provided by the lawyers or was it because of the color of Tom Robinson’s skin? When Mayella Ewell is questioned by Atticus Finch during the trial, her story changes several times during the questioning. When Atticus questions Mayella about the night Tom Robinson supposedly beat and raped her, she contradicts herself on multiple occasions. Atticus states when he is questioning her â€Å"You seem sure enough that he choked you. All this time you were fighting back, remember? You kicked and hollered as loud as you could.’ Do you remember him beating you about the face?† (Pg 185). Mayella ponders the statement and then admits that she really couldn’t remember being beaten around the face, but quickly changes to yes, yes Tom Robinson had hit her. Mayella changes herShow MoreRelatedKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1049 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird: How a Story could be based on True Events in Everyday LifeDaisy GaskinsCoastal Pines Technical Collegeâ€Æ'Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Her father was a former newspaper editor and proprietor, who had served as a state senator and practiced as a lawyer in Monroeville. Also Finch was known as the maiden name of Lee’s mother. With that being said Harper Lee became a writer like her father, but she became a American writer, famous for her race relations novel â€Å"ToRead MoreTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee1000 Words   |  4 Pagesworld-wide recognition to the many faces of prejudice is an accomplishment of its own. Author Harper Lee has had the honor to accomplish just that through her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a moving and inspirational story about a young girl learning the difference between the good and the bad of the world. In the small town of Monroeville, Alabama, Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926. Growing up, Harper Lee had three siblings: two sisters and an older brother. She and her siblings grew up modestlyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1290 Words   |  6 PagesHarper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird during a rough period in American history, also known as the Civil Rights Movement. This plot dives into the social issues faced by African-Americans in the south, like T om Robinson. Lee felt that the unfair treatment towards blacks were persistent, not coming to an end any time in the foreseeable future. This dark movement drove her to publish this novel hopeful that it would encourage the society to realize that the harsh racism must stop. Lee effectivelyRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee873 Words   |  4 PagesIn the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates that â€Å"it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird† throughout the novel by writing innocent characters that have been harmed by evil. Tom Robinson’s persecution is a symbol for the death of a mockingbird. The hunters shooting the bird would in this case be the Maycomb County folk. Lee sets the time in the story in the early 1950s, when the Great Depression was going on and there was poverty everywhere. The mindset of people back then was that blackRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee963 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowing up, when older characters give advice to children or siblings.Growing up is used frequently in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Harper Lee uses the theme growing up in To Kill a Mockingbird to change characters opinion, develop characters through their world, and utilizes prejudice to reveal growing up. One major cause growing up is used in To Kill a Mockingbird is to represent a change of opinion. One part growing up was shown in is through the trial in part two of the novelRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1052 Words   |  5 PagesTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama in the late 30s early 40s , after the great depression when poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout the United States. Why is the preconception of racism, discrimination, and antagonism so highly related to some of the characters in this book? People often have a preconceived idea or are biased about one’s decision to live, dress, or talk. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the preconceptionRead MoreHarper Lee and to Kill a Mockingbird931 Words   |  4 PagesHarper Lee and her Works Harper Lee knew first hand about the life in the south in the 1930s. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama in 1926 (Castleman 2). Harper Lee was described by one of her friends as Queen of the Tomboys (Castleman 3). Scout Finch, the main character of Lees Novel, To Kill a Mockinbird, was also a tomboy. Many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird are autobiographical (Castleman 3). Harper Lees parents were Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee. She was the youngestRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1695 Words   |  7 PagesIn To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee presents as a ‘tired old town’ where the inhabitants have ‘nowhere to go’ it is set in the 1930s when prejudices and racism were at a peak. Lee uses Maycomb town to highlight prejudices, racism, poverty and social inequality. In chapter 2 Lee presents the town of Maycomb to be poverty stricken, emphasised through the characterisation of Walter Cunningham. When it is discovered he has no lunch on the first day of school, Scout tries to explain the situation to MissRead MoreKill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1876 Words   |  8 PagesThough Harper Lee only published two novels, her accomplishments are abundant. Throughout her career Lee claimed: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Fiction, and Quill Award for Audio Book. Lee was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. This honor society is a huge accomplishment and is considered the highest recognition for artistic talent and accomplishment in the United States. Along with these accomplishments, herRead MoreKill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee1197 Words   |  5 Pagessuch as crops, houses, and land, and money was awfully limited. These conflicts construct Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Lee establishes the concurrence of good and evil, meaning whether people are naturally good or naturally evil. Lee uses symbolism, characterization, and plot to portray the instinctive of good and evil. To Kill a Mocking Bird, a novel by Harper Lee takes place during the 1930s in the Southern United States. The protagonist, Scout Finch,

Informatie Management Free Essays

Does Telework increase productivity? Assignment 2: The proposition Bachelor Thesis â€Å" Does Telework increase productivity† Erasmus University Rotterdam Boudewijn Schuitmaker348393bs Robin Kettenes335450rk Marlot Sep 337273ms Bachelor Thesis â€Å"Does Telework increase productivity† Erasmus University Rotterdam Team: Group 6 (BA-02-06) Assignment number: 9 Date: 13-06-2012 Disclaimer: â€Å"This document is written by Marlot Sep, Robin Kettenes and Boudewijn Schuitmaker, who declare that each of them takes responsibility for the full contents of the whole document. We declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. RSM is only responsible for supervision of completion of the work but not for the contents. We will write a custom essay sample on Informatie Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now † Index Summary of the research proposal4 1. Preface6 2. Abstract7 3. Introduction8 4. Literature review12 5. Methods17 6. Results19 7. Discussion26 Appendix28 Bibliography35 * Summary of the research proposal In this chapter a summary of the research proposal can be found. Summary| | Name instructor| Dhr. Nick van der Meulen| Team number| 6| Name student 1| Robin Kettenes| Name student 2| Boudewijn Schuitmaker| Name student 3| Marlot Sep| Proposition| Telework will lead to an increase in productivity| Focal unit| Employees who perform their work at other places than at the office itself, for at least one day a week| Theoretical domain| All employees who work at other places than at the office itself, for at least one day a week, in the Netherlands. | Concept 1 | Telework| Concept 2 | Employees’ Productivity| Type of relation | Causal| Minimum size of the effect for having managerial relevance| The minimal size of effect for having managerial relevance is 20 % increase of productivity. Typical parameter of effect size used in previous tests| Items scales difference in productivity means is used between teleworkers and non-teleworkers. | Range of effect sizes obtained in the replication history| In the replication history on average an effect of productivity increase of 20% is measured by teleworking. (Newman, 1989), (Dubrin, 1991) and (Hartman, 1 992)| Preferred research strategy| Longitudinal survey| Actual research strategy| Considering the research time (two months time) and the context of this research (a Bachelor thesis project) a cross-sectional survey is chosen. | Population that is surveyed, or from hich subjects are recruited| Population that is surveyed are executive employees of the department of Operations Services of the organization of TNT Express Benelux in Houten, the Netherlands. The number of subjects is 22. | Expected pattern (or â€Å"hypothesis†)| The expected pattern for the hypothesis â€Å"teleworking will lead to more productivity† is a regression of 0. 20, meaning that an increase in teleworking will lead to an increase of 0. 20 in an amount of productivity. The expected pattern for the hypothesis â€Å"distraction will have a negative influence on the relation between teleworking and productivity† is a regression of -0. 0, meaning that an increase in distraction will lead to a n decrease of 0. 20 in a amount of productivity, when teleworking. | Observed pattern| The observed pattern for the hypothesis â€Å"teleworking will lead to moreproductivity† is a negative relation with a regression beta score of -1,311,meaning that if the degree of teleworking increases with one unit, the productivity will decrease with 1,311. The observed pattern for the hypothesis â€Å"distraction will have a negative influence on the relation between teleworking and productivity† is a positive relation with a regression beta score of 0,188. Thus, for the increase of one unit distraction, the productivity will increase with 0,188. | Test result| Teleworking has a negative effect on productivity and distraction has a positive relation on productivity. | Non-response bias assessment (worst case analysis)| The number of missing cases is 5. The worst case analysis show that if the five respondents joined the survey, and where very different form the obtained ones, a positive effect of teleworking on productivity (2,775) and a negative effect of distraction on productivity (-0,173) could be found. Your contribution to what is known about the proposition| Our contribution to the proposition â€Å"Telework will lead to an increase in productivity† is that teleworking does not always lead a positive change in productivity such as suggested in many scientific articles. In our research a negative relation is found on productivity when teleworking. | Most important recommendation for further research| The most important reco mmendation is, in order to do a replication study, a longitudinal survey. The longitudinal survey enables the future researchers to measure the change in productivity that takes place at a later point in time when employees telework. In this research the measure of productivity towards teleworking is only done once. | Preface This bachelor thesis is written as part of our studies Business Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. The main subject of this thesis is â€Å"Telework†. We selected this subject out of many other subjects because we wanted to write our thesis about a topical subject and teleworking has become a major hype in the last few years. Many businesses implement teleworking in their company for various reasons. So, is assumed that teleworking will lead to cost reduction, more productive employees and more satisfied employees. But, the main question is does telework provide all these benefits? In this thesis we will look at the effect of teleworking on the productivity of employees. Abstract The relation between teleworking and productivity is of critical concern for organizations that might be planning to implement teleworking of for those who have already done. In this research the relation between teleworking and productivity is examined, controlling for age, gender and family status. The effect of distraction on the productivity of employees was also measured. A survey among 17 teleworkers at TNT express was conducted online to gather data. In result of different multiple regression analysis’, a negative impact of teleworking on productivity was discovered. Furthermore, a slight positive impact of distraction on productivity was found. The results look paradoxical, but there are several reasons to explain these results and shed a new light on the telework-productivity research. Introduction In the last few years there has been an increasing demand for flexible work and flexible organizations. The concept of teleworking offers a solution to this increasing demand. At this moment 20 to 30 million people in the U. S. currently work from home at least one day a week (Telework Research Network, 2011). In the literature several definitions of telework are used. The most common definition of telework defines telework as work performed at home, a satellite office or other places than the office itself, to reduce commuting (Shin, 2000). There are several motives companies could have to adopt the concept of telework. Obvious motives are cost reduction and increased productivity. Additional benefits for teleworking employees are increased job satisfaction and a better work-life balance (Harpaz, 2002). In this thesis a proposition, regarding telework and productivity, will be tested. The proposition that will be tested is: â€Å"Telework will lead to an increase in productivity†. In general this means that this research measures if employees have a higher productivity if they telework, and thus have the opportunity to work besides the office, than if they are office-bound. The increase in productivity is often measured due the comparison of output produced by a given amount of input, often office hours. If the employee, who teleworks, uses exact the same time as an office-bound employee for a job, while delivering a greater amount of work, an increase in productivity due telework can be concluded. The first who formulated the concept of telework in 1973 was Jack M. Nilles from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He defined Teleworking as â€Å"any form of substitution of information technologies for work-related travel† (Madsen, 2003). The one clear motive for the expansion of teleworking, mentioned by Nilles, was the reduction of transportation congestion, particularly in overcrowded urban areas. Although these public benefits were not sufficient enough to implement teleworking. Economic benefits like cost reductions, space savings and reduced rental rates for office space ensured that companies were more likely to introduce the concept of teleworking. According to Nilles productivity will increase as a result of working harder and working more hours per day, because of less distraction, interruptions and stress (Nillis, 1988). After Nilles formulated the proposition that telework increases productivity for the first time, it has often been examined. Some articles stated that telework increased productivity. For example at ATT, a telecommunication company, telework increased productivity with almost 10 percent, according to ATT’s annual telework survey among 1,500 employees. Another example of increased productivity is IBM where 87 percent of the employees report that they believe that their productivity have increased significantly (Apgar, 1998). In fact several articles stated that the productivity of employees is higher when they work at home. Only one research shown a decrease in productivity. However this decrease was later followed by an increase of productivity (Bailey, 2002). Despite several articles have examined the relation between telework and productivity, it is dificult to measure productivity. Like mentioned earlier, productivity is based on the relation between input and output. There have been problems when measuring the productivity of today’s knowledge workers. First of all, most knowledge workers do not produce â€Å"units† per given period (e. . per hour, day or month). Because output is often measured in â€Å"units†, the productivity of knowledge workers is hard to measure. Secondly, there is not a direct correlation between units of labor and units of output for these knowledge workers. Extra input from one additional worker does not necessary lead to more output. The classic defini tion does not enable to measure knowledge workers’ productivity, certainly not when measuring besides the office (Gordon, 1997). In the research on the relation between telework and productivitity a number of methodological weaknesses have been discovered. Most studies use self-report suverys to collect data from teleworkers. These self-report surveys can result in false responses from teleworkers in their productivity evaluations. This so called self-response bias has not been taken into account in many productivity research. Data collection from both, teleworker and manager will be a better way to measure productivity. Next to that sample populations are selected under specific personality and task criterea, which could be related to a higher work motivation and therefore contributes to increased productivity. Another explanation for increased productivity could be the relegation of other tasks to office-bound employees. Higher productivity can also be explained by the increase in working hours, due less commuting (Shin, 2000). Due the difficulties of measuring productivity some articles falsly claim the fact that telework increase productivity. Like mentioned earlier, productivity measurement for knowledge workers has been a dilemma. In measuring input and output the term â€Å"productivity† is inadequate for knowledge workers. Therefore this research measures â€Å"productivity† not only due the quantity of work, but due several concepts. The concepts used in this research to measure productivity are: quantity, quality, timeliness and multiple priorities. The questions how much can be done (quantity), how well it is done (quality), when it is done (timeliness) and how many things can be done at once (multiple priorities) are being covered. Using multiple concepts enables to put the quantity factor in the context of a bigger picture and not just simply focus on an increase in output (Gordon, 1997). As stated earlier, there are several definitions for teleworking. Most definitions focus on the fact that employees have the possibility to work everywhere and not as much on the fact that employees can work whenever they want. In this research the most common definition of Shin, Sheng and Higa will be used. Shin et al. defines telework as work performed at home, a satellite office or other places than the office itself, to reduce commuting (Shin, 2000). Figure 1 Causality Model The causality model of this thesis, shown in figure 1, consist of two concepts: teleworking and productivity. The independent concept in the causality model is teleworking and the dependent concept is productivity. The focal unit of this research theory is the entity of which the range of values of one or more variable attributes is explained by the theory (Hak, 2011). The focal unit consists of employees who perform their work at other places than at the office itself, for at least one day a week. The minimum number of days teleworkers work besides the office is chosen because several instances use this minimum, like the Telework Research Network. The national average number of days a teleworker works besides the office is 2,4 days a week (Telework Research Network, 2011). The productivity of teleworkers is measured due the comparison of their productivity when working besides the office and when working at the office. There is not chosen for the comparison of the productivity of teleworkers and office bound employees, because this is not valid. The variation in productivity between teleworkers and office-bound employees should not necessarily come from teleworking, but can be explained by several other factors for instance by personal ifferences. The theoretical domain of this research, the universe of instances of the focal unit, consist of all employees who work at other places than at the office itself, for at least one day a week, in the Netherlands. Literature review After Nilles claimed that productivity increased as a result of teleworking in 1973, it has often been examined. In 1982 Olson researched the effect of tele work on productivity. Although there were no measures of performance data, employees and managers pronounced that teleworkers are more productive than office-bound employees. The study also revealed that teleworkers are more responsible and conscientious about schedules, had better documentation and scheduled their time better. Employees felt that they worked more efficiently or produced higher quality work, when working at home. Few employees found the office very distracting and therefore could be more productive at home (Olson, 1982). This results are consistent with Olson’s later longitudinal study of three pilot teleworking programs, which revealed that teleworkers believed that their performance was enhanced due teleworking (Olson, 1989). In 1989 Bailyn also researched the effect of telework on productivity among 89 system developers, including 49 teleworkers. More than a quarter of the software developers reported that their most productive work times fell out of the traditional office days. Bailyn assigned this productivity increase to the fact that teleworkers have individual control over time and the ability to allocate work over all time periods, including the weekends. The survey also indicated that employees needed quiet and privacy to be productive (Bailyn, 1989). Bailyn also noted that only tasks that do not require extensive interaction will benefit from teleworking (Bailyn, 1988). One year later Newman stated that teleworking is ideally for those whose jobs require them to handle a flow of information, like programmers, engineers, speechwriters and business analysts. The personality of the teleworker must include being capable of handling autonomy. According to Newman, experienced workers make the best candidates for teleworking. Similar to Olson, Newman stated that the work-at-home programs often result in increased output from staff, naming eing less distracted meant being more productive. In Newman’s study at the Travelers Insurance Company productivity increased with 20 percent. Despite of the increased productivity, limiting the geographic boundaries of the company’s hiring pool due offering work-at-home arrangements to employees was the prime reason for teleworking (Newman, 1989). In Dubrin’s research the reasons for teleworking were to solve staffing, space, and other business problems including keeping motivated employees away from the distractions of other workers (McKee, 1988). According to Dubrin an implicit assumption about teleworking programs is that employees who work at home will be equally more productive that office-bound employees. Dubrin’s observation of company records suggests that home workers increased their productivity from 5 to 100 percent (Dubrin, 1991). Dubrin tested the hypothesis â€Å" telecommuters are more productive than are employees performing comparable work on company premises† among employees of the NPD Group. The participants in this research were mainly women. The fact that only women are represented in Dublin’s studies makes it difficult to separate findings between males and females. The degree of distraction was measured due different statements in the questionnaires. The questionnaire items ‘Being able to keep busy all the time’ show that telework has a positive influence on the productivity. The work-at-home group scored significantly higher (13. 81) than the group in-house workers (6. 36) at the t-value of 4. 20. The research found that productivity was increased by 30% when projects were moved from company premises to homes. The productivity was measured in transactions per hour, occurred when a project was shifted from in-house to at-home. The results are consistent with findings of Newman. In Dubrin’s research the productivity findings showed that people who worked at home part-time are more productive than those who worked at home full-time. It is concluded that productivity increases when work is structured, repetitive and measurable. In order to conclude evidence that telecommuting increases productivity, it is necessary to move in-house workers into their homes and then measure the productivity changing (Dubrin, 1991). Accoring to Frolick, Wilkes, Urwiler productivity is expected to increase when teleworkers work according to a flexible schedule in an informal setting. The question whether telecommuters are more productive than office-bound employees was researched in a semi-structured telephone interview among 45 individuals in 10 organizations. The average time that each of the interviewees had spent in the telework programs was 2,3 years. The results of the interviews revealed that every teleworker and every telework manager reported that productivity had increased as a result of their telecommuting programs. In each case the respondents stated that teleworker productivity was higher than the productivity of office-bound employees. The average increase of productivity was approximately 20 percent. This result is consistent with other researches like Niles 1990 (Frolick, 1993). Frolick et al. attributed this productivity increase to lack of interruption and the ability of the teleworker to schedule his or her work in a flexible manner. In this study all the teleworkers cited ‘fewer interruptions’ as a contributing factor to their productivity and 17 of them cited ‘greater flexibility’ in performing their jobs (Frolick, 1993). Hartman, Stoner and Arora noticed two fundamental problems in the previous study, namely an extraordinary small sample size and maintaining a broad, non restrictive definition of telecommuting that leads to clouded outcomes and conclusions. In their study telecommuters were selected from 11 different organizations, both public and private, including telecommunications, insurance, banking, publishing, and city an state governmental units. The research was done due a self-report survey among 262 telecommuters. Telecommuting productivity was measured by the respondent’s feeling about how the output per hour was changed, working at the office versus working at home. An overwhelming 84 % reported that productivity was increase while working at home, 12 % reported no change and just 4% reported a lower productivity. Hartman recognized that the self-reported perceptions of comparative productivity might be biased, but the outcomes were consistent with the productivity increase in other studies (Hamilton, 1987)(Moody, 1986). Neufeld and Fang focused on the influence of distraction, gender and family status on teleworker’s productivity. Their research assumed that gender and family status (defined as social factors) are negatively correlated with teleworker productivity. When working at home, the family status is important because family is often around. Therefore they may have a large effect on the teleworkers, and their productivity. The results of the study are obtained by semi-structured interview. For measuring the social factors, direct questions are used (such as do you have children at home? ). For measuring distraction, questions are used like; is your environment distraction free? The results showed that teleworker productivity is not associated with family status and gender, but on the other hand, a distraction free environment was associated with teleworker productivity (Neufeld, 2005). Another study of Derrick J. Neufeld, which examined productivity among four different kinds of organizations, showed that claims of a higher productivity correlated to teleworking are overblown. In this study, productivity is measured among 200 Canadian employees, and the results show that the increase in productivity is statistically insignificant. Cynics predicted that distractions from working at home will reduce productivity. But despite these distractions, productivity is not reduced, but slightly increased. This study of Neufeld shows that teleworking is significantly more correlated with organizational flexibility than with productivity (Cassiani, 2000). Kelley Butler also looked at the relation between distraction and teleworker productivity. Butler stated that the top 6 distractions, while working at home, are household chores, television, pets, errands, internet and children. The data was collected from a CareerBuilder survey. Some of the teleworkers (17%) was so distracted by these factors, that the distraction costs one hour of their working hours (Butler, 2011). Thompson, Vivien and Lim examined the differences in gender on the perception of teleworking. Their data was collected from a questionnaire survey among IT professionals in Singapore. Results showed that males perceived that teleworking improved the quality of life and their productivity in a greater extent than females. Also, in this research productivity increases while teleworking, because an employee can plan the work schedule during the hours when one is most productive. But on the other hand, the study also shows that distractions at home may be harder to solve than distractions at the office. An analysis of the covariance was used to measure the difference between gender, and the relation to the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking. The results show that there is no significant difference in gender (Thompson, 1998). Author| Literature effect found| Olson, 1983| Preliminary evidence from the exploratory study shows that individuals can be as or more productive when working at home| Olson, 1988| Telecommuting experts and practitioners regularly cite at-home productivity gains ranging from 15-25%| Newman, 1989| Work-at-home programs often result in increased output from staff| Newman, 1989| The Travelers Insurance Company productivity increased with 20 percent among 80 commuting staff| Di Martino, 1990| A two-year pilot project (†¦ ) reported productivity gains averaging 43 per cent per participant. Teleworkers (†¦) noted productivity increases varying from 12 per cent to 20 per cent. State employees working at home have been rated (†¦) as 3 to 5 per cent more effective than they would have been if they worked from nine to five in the office. | Dubrin, 1991| Productivity was increased by 30% when projects were moved from company premises to homes| Dubrin, 1991| Observation of company records suggests that home workers increased their productivity from 5 to 100 per cent| Hartman, 1991| A significant negative correlation between the ratio of telecommuting hours to total work hours and telecommuting productivity was revealed. Hartman, 1991| The full-time employed telecommuters reported higher levels of productivity (3. 59) in comparison with part-time employed telecommuters (2. 65). | Hartman, 1992| Telecommuters were asked whether they felt their productivity (output per hour) at home was higher or lower than at the office. An overwhelming percentage (84%) reported highe r productivity while working at home, only 4 % of the telecommuters reported lower productivity, and 12 % reported no change. Frolick, 1993| The findings indicate a significant increase in productivity (20%) among teleworkers| Apgar, 1998| 87 per cent of employees (†¦) report that they believe their productivity and effectiveness have increased significantly| Baruch, 2000| How teleworking influences the way people work after opting to telework were examined (†¦). Compared with previous arrangements of work effectiveness 34 per cent and 42 per cent felt it was much better or better (respectively), totaling a positive impact for 76 per cent, with just 5 per cent suggesting no difference and 3 per cent worse. | Pearlson, 2001| A survey in 2001 of 150 executives in large U. S. companies found that 36 percent saw no difference in productivity levels between telecommuters and onsite employees, while 26 percent felt that telecommuting could compromise job performance| Table 1 Reported effect sized of the effect of Teleworking on Productivity Author| Effect| Olson, 1983| Some of the individuals interviewed cited problems with motivation and numerous distractions at home that made concentration difficult| Newman, 1989| Work-at-home programs often result in increased output from staff, naming being less distracted meant being more productive| Hartman, 1991| Family disruptions and their association with telecommuting productivity and satisfaction, the correlation with productivity is -. 20 (p = . 06). Frolick, 1993| Most claims of productivity to date have been attributed to a lack of interruption and the ability of the teleworker to schedule his or her work in a flexible manner. | Baruch, 2000| Better performance was attributed mostly to the elimination of distractions, which are typical at the workplace and subsequently the ability to focus on work. | Young Lee, 2005| The results indicated no significant effect of perceived distractions on perceived performance| Wilson, 2004| Could be more productive without such ‘di stractions’. Fonner, 2010| Results show that working remotely the majority of the time alleviates forms of stress and distraction including acting as a buffer from workplace injustice which may provide a more productive and satisfying work environment| Table 2 Reported effect sized of the effect of Distraction on Productivity Methods The research strategy is to test the proposition that assumed that teleworking will lead to an increase of productivity. The replication history research has indicated that this theory has empirically been confirmed for various populations. If the proposition is true in the domain, then it must be true for the population in the domain. In order to claim whether a proposition is true, empirical evidence is required to show its correctness. This research deduces a hypotheses regarding teleworking, distraction and increasing productivity by an empirical research. Ideally a causal relationship between teleworking, distraction and productivity is measured in a longitudinal survey. The longitudinal survey is defined as a research strategy in which a change in value of the relevant concepts is observed in all members (or in samples) of a population of instances of a focal unit. In a longitudinal survey it is possible to find a population of comparable cases in the theoretical domain in which the value of teleworking (named here as variable X) has changed over time. A causal relation â€Å"X influences Y† (variable Y is employees’ productivity) is observed in the cases, if the value of Y has changed after the change of value X. Considering the research time (two months) and the context of this research (a bachelor thesis), this research uses a cross-sectional design to measure the relationship between teleworking, distraction and employees’ productivity. A scatter plot is a useful tool to show a possible correctness of the proposition. The cross-sectional design enables to concentrate on variations of cases within one particular population. In this research the population is a department within an organisation. The population consists of all executive employees of the department Process ; Policies of TNT Express Benelux in Houten, the Netherlands. The number of employees/cases is 22. #| Name employee:| | | | | 1| Bert Schut | 14| Koos Jansen | 2| Corne Vroegh | 15| Marielle Sitskoorn | | David Roofthoofd | 16| Marina Elegeert | 4| Erik van Duin| 17| Martijn Otte | 5| Geug Leendertse | 18| Maurice Hidma | 6| Guy Gevaers | 19| Mette Kok| 7| Harrie Dasselaar| 20| Michiel Bierman| 8| Henk Jansen | 21| Tessa Koster | 9| Jack Beks| 22| Thomas Goossens | 10| Jan Harmen Hietbrink| 11| Jef Kleinschmidt | 12| John Meisters| 13| John van Oeffel | Figure 2 Employees of the Process ; Policies department at TNT express In the cross-sectional resea rch, qualitative and quantitative data of respondents is collected more or less simultaneously. The self-report survey will be sent out to all cases at the same moment and held during the same time of period. The independent variable (teleworking) is a quantitative variable measured in percentages. The other independent variable (distraction) is a qualitative variable, measured in likert schales with categories like: never, sometimes, regularly, often and always. Productivity is a qualitative variable. The controlling variables are gender, age and family status. Gender is divided into male and female (0=male and 1= female). Family status is measured in four different values, namely single, single with children, married or co-habiting, and married or co-habiting with children. The conceptual model of this research can be found in Figure 3. To test the five different hypothesis based on the conceptual model, a multiple regression analysis will be used. Figure 3 Conceptual Model The hypothesis concentrates on the relation between teleworking and the productivity. Assumed is that teleworking lead to an increase in productivity. This means that employees can do more work, do their work better, schedule their own work and do multiple things at once. The hypothesis is formulated as following: There is a positive relation between teleworking and productivity if the ? is ? 0,20. In the conceptual model age, gender, family status are taken into account as controlling variables. Gender could have an influence on productivity. Women, for example, are better in multitasking and could therefore have a higher score on â€Å"multiple priorities†, which influences the productivity. Family status could have an impact on distraction, therefore it is also used as controlling variable. This also accounts for age. The assumption is that lder employees are less productive compared to younger employees, which are more involved with technology. Two different regression analyses’ with different variables are plotted. * The variables teleworking / gender / distraction / age / family status in relation to productivity. (nain regression) * The variables teleworking / distraction in relation to productivity The main regression model is sh own below: Productivity = ? + ? 1 Teleworking + ? 2 Gender + ? 3 Family status + ? 4 Age + ? 5 Distraction + ? ? ~ iin( 0, ? ) The regression analysis will show which variable will have the highest influence on the dependent variable productivity, corrected for the influences of the other variables. The expectation is therefore that the beta of teleworking will be the highest in the model. Results The data in this research is collected due a self-report survey among employees of the Process ; Policies department of TNT Express Benelux. The self-report survey was conducted online on the Belgian website of â€Å"enquetemaken. be†. A textual version of this survey can be found in appendix 2. A link to this survey was send to the 22 employees of the department by mail. This research chose for an anonymous survey in order to ensure that respondents could be honest about their answers. This would secure the reliability of this survey. Besides that the interview was conducted in Dutch because all employees at TNT are Dutch. The employees filled in questions concerning telework and productivity. Several non-related questions, concerning job satisfaction and work-life balance, were added in order to cover the real purpose of the research. In order to guarantee the reliability and validity of this research, the questions of the survey are based on questions used in other research. The productivity measurement is divided into four determents that are each tested individually. These four determents are quantity, quality, timeliness and multiple priorities (Gordon, 1997). Lee and Brand used questions like â€Å"Compared to my typical work right now, I would rate the quality of my work as† and â€Å"Compared to my typical performance right now, I would rate my job performance as† are being used. In the survey of this research four questions are used in order to measure work productivity. The exact questions can be found in the appendix. The questions in the survey concerning distraction, were like â€Å"How frequently are you unable to concentrate because of interruptions from your family? †. These questions were extended to other factors, like distractions from colleagues, phone calls/e-mails/texts, sounds and other factors (Neufeld, 2005). According to Young Lee ; J. L. Brand, is noise one of the main distractions (Lee et all, 2010). Therefore, we devoted one question on noise. Also, the question ‘I am easily distracted from my work’ is used in their research, which we decided to put in our own survey. In the article ‘from knowledge to distraction’, written by Jonathan Spira in 2007, is stated that knowledge workers are often distracted by e-mails, phonecalls, instant messages etc. For this reason, there is decided to investigate the amount of distractions by these influences in the survey. In this article, also is stated that ‘colleagues popping in’ might be a factor of distraction. This factor is also added to the survey. The last question regarding distraction, is about ‘other distractions’. This is to make sure that there are not any parts of distraction missed. The non-response bias of this survey was 22,7 percent. Five employees did not fill in the survey because they were not available in the two weeks the survey was online. If the non-response bias is very high it can effect the representativeness for the population. A data grid of the results of this survey can be found in table 4. A detailed calculation of the degree of productivity and distraction can be found in appendix 3. Total Work hours| Telework hours| Degree of distraction (1=low, 5=high)| Degree of Productivity (1=low, 5= high)| Gender (1=male, 0=female)| Age| Family status * | 40| 20| 3. 2| 4| 1| 58| 3| 50| 33| 3. 4| 3. 75| 1| 40| 1| 50| 30| 2. 4| 3. 5| 1| 53| 3| 42| 7| 2. 4| 3. 75| 1| 54| 3| 40| 5| 2. 4| 4. 5| 1| 48| 4| 50| 25| 2. 2| 4| 1| 44| 4| 40| 15| 2. 2| 3. 75| 0| 40| 4| 40| 25| 2| 3. 75| 1| 28| 3| 40| 32| 2. 4| 3. 5| 0| 32| 3| 40| 8| 3. 2| 4| 1| 42| 3| 45| 8| 2. 4| 4| 0| 32| 3| 40| 2| 2. 4| 3| 1| 32| 1| 45| 8| 2. 4| 3. 75| 1| 51| 4| 60| 36| 2. 6| 4| 1| 31| 3| 45| 8| 2. 6| 3. 5| 1| 36| 4| 45| 35| 3. 8| 4| 1| 38| 4| 50| 5| 2. | 4. 75| 1| 40| 3| 44. 82353| 17. 76471| 2. 623529| 3. 852941| -| 41. 11765| -| *= (1= single, 2=single with children, 3=married or co-habiting, 4= married or co-habiting with children)| Table 3 Data Grid of the survey at TNT Express The expected pattern Hypothesis 1: Teleworking will lead to more productivity The expected pattern for the first hypothesis â€Å"telew orking will lead to more productivity† is a regression of 0. 20, meaning that an increase of an hour teleworking will lead to an increase of 0. 20 in an amount of productivity. In the literature review several articles reported that teleworking increase productivity. However, there are also articles that claim a negative effect of teleworking on productivity. A summary of the reported effect sizes can be found in table 1 in the literature review section. The effect sizes of the relation between teleworking and productivity, found in the literature, vary from a negative relation to a positive relation. The majority of effects are positive, which means that productivity was increased due to teleworking. Although the majority of effects were positive, the claimed productivity increase ranges from 5 % to 20 %, up to 100 %. There is one article by Hartman (1991) that claims a negative correlation between telecommuting and telecommuting productivity. Derived from the literature review the expected pattern, in which the hypothesis is true, is a regression coefficient of 0. 20 or more. This means that if the degree of teleworking increases with one hour, the productivity will increase with 0,20. The hypothesis 2: Distraction has a negative influence on productivity The second hypothesis is aimed at the independent variable distraction on the dependent variable productivity. The correlation is expected to be -0. 20, meaning that an increase of one unit distraction will have a decrease of 0. 20 in the amount of productivity. In the literature several effects of distraction on productivity are found. A summary of the reporter effects can be found in table 2 in the literature review section. The effects found in the literature review suggest that distraction has a negative influence on productivity. The effects vary from no significant effect on performance to being more productive when distraction is eliminated. The expected effect of distraction on productivity is expected to be negative in this research. The correlation is expected to be -0. 20, meaning that an increase of one unit distraction will have a decrease of 0. 20 in the amount of productivity. The observed pattern Hypothesis 1: Teleworking will lead to more productivity The results of the main multiple regression analysis show that 26 per cent of the variance is declared by the model. The correlation between the observed and expected values of dependent variable is 0,509. In appendix 4 the SPSS output of this research is shown. Surprisingly, the degree of teleworking has a negative influence on productivity. This can be interpreted by the beta of the quantity of teleworking, which is -1,311. This means that if the degree of teleworking increases with one hour, the productivity will decrease with 1,311. The hypothesis 2: Distraction has a negative influence on productivity Another surprising output is the influence of distraction on productivity, which has a beta of 0,188, where a negative beta is expected. Thus, for the increase of one unit distraction, the productivity will increase with 0,188. A partial regression analysis, without the controlling variables gender, age and family status, shows that there is a slight difference in the variance declared by the model and the correlation between the observed and expected values of the dependent variable. These figures fall to 0,259 and 0,067. The betas of the degree of teleworking and distraction fall to -1,287 and 0,148. For this reason, the controlling variables will be added to the other regression analyses. There are several ways to explain the surprising betas of teleworking and distraction. First of all, the results are based on the answers of only 17 respondents. In the partial regression plot (with the variables distraction and productivity) is clear that because of a few amount of outliners, the R2 linear is climbing a little. Without these outliers, there is a large possibility that the distraction beta will be negative, which was expected. Another explanation is that the employees of TNT express do not relate distraction to their productivity. They tend to give themselves a high overall score on productivity, regardless of the degree of distraction and teleworking. Another possibility is that the amount of distraction actually does not influence the productivity. Figure 4: The relation between distraction and productivity Because of the little number of respondents, the few outliers pull the mean of the productivity up. These respondents have a small quantity of teleworking, but tend to give themselves high scores on productivity. Therefore, the linear line of the quantity of teleworking is declining, where it would have been rising without these three outliners. This can be an explanation for the negative effect of teleworking on productivity. But on the other hand, it might be possible that the teleworking does have a negative effect on productivity. In a worst-case analysis, the five missing respondents could dramatically influence the results of the regression analysis. This would be, if the respondents all would score low on productivity and on high distraction (or vice versa), or if degree of teleworking among the employees is high and their productivity is high too (or vice versa). Figure 5: The relation between teleworking and productivity The worst-case analysis of the effect of telework on productivity shows that, when the five missing respondents would have been very different from the ones obtained, there is a positive effect (2,775) of telework on productivity. This positive effect is shown in figure 6. This in contrast with the results of this research, without the missing five respondents, where a negative effect was discovered. If the five missing respondents participated in this research and were very different from the ones obtained they could have a drastic impact of the results of this research. The expected positive effect of telework on productivity could be discovered in this scenario. Figure 6: Worst-case analysis of the effect of telework on productivity The worst-case analysis of the effect of distraction on productivity shows that, when the five missing respondents would be very different from the ones obtained, there is a negative effect (-0,173) of distraction on productivity. The worst-case analysis is shown in figure 7. This negative effect corresponds to the expected effect of distraction on productivity, but not to the observed effect in this research. This means that if the five missing respondents participated in this research, the outcomes of this research could be dramatically different and the expected negative effect of distraction on productivity could be measured. Figure 7: Worst-case analysis of the effect of distraction on productivity Overall can be concluded that if the five missing respondents participated in this survey they could have changed the outcomes of this research dramatically. The expected effects of this research could be found when adding the five missing respondents. Discussion The test results found in the multiple regression analysis? , claim roughly that TNT express should increase the distraction among employees, and decrease the degree of teleworking. But, as shown in the results chapter, the results only show a slight negative relation. Which can be easily influenced by the missing data, as shown in the worst case scenario analysis?. Therefore, the results should be interpreted as if distraction does not have a high influence on the productivity of employees. There is not a valid relationship in the test results showing that distraction has a positive influence on productivity, because of the very low negative beta (as a result of the regression analysis’) and the possible influence of the missing values on the test results. The relationship between teleworking and productivity did show a large coherency. This large coherency was interpreted as if teleworking is not productive for TNT express. Thus, in this research, distraction is recommended and teleworking is discouraged. But it is recommended to keep in mind that the worst case scenario analysis’ (showing the missing values can turn around findings as much as possible) presume a positive influence of teleworking on productivity, and a negative influence of distraction on productivity. For further investigation it will be recommended to use more respondents, as much as possible. When more respondents are used, the results will be less influenced by outliers. A very low response bias is also recommended, so that a worst case analysis’ are not necessary and therefore will not show complete opposite results compared to the research. In this research, the response bias was 28 per cent. Another recommendation would be to make a connection between distraction and productivity for the respondents themselves. In this research, the respondents did not link distractions to their productivity (which can explain the divergent relation between distraction and productivity). When questions are formulated with the factors of distraction and productivity in one sentence, the link is automatically made for the respondents. Theorems for example like ‘when I am distracted by phonecalls, I feel like I can do less work’. Besides that all respondents report that they were very productive, even if they suffered from a lot of distraction. A solution for this self-response bias, that often occurs in self-report surveys, is to involve the opinion of the manager of the respondents in the research as well. Because of time constraints this was not possible in this research, but it will be a good way to eliminate the self-response bias in future research. In previous research, many positive effects of teleworking on productivity were found. This research contradicts this and reveals a negative effect. Although the worst case analysis showed that there could be a positive effect, when the five missing respondents were very different from the ones obtained, the observed negative effect could also be an indication that there really is a negative relation between teleworking and productivity. In 1991 Hartman also claimed a negative correlation between teleworking and productivity. Because the research of Hartman also reported this negative effect, it could be true that teleworking has a negative impact on productivity. This would generate a new insight into the telework-productivity research, in which was assumed that teleworking increased productivity. In contradiction to earlier research on the effect of distraction on productivity, this research shows a slightly positive effect of distraction on productivity. The fact that more distraction leads to more productive employees seems contradictory, but interruptions are not necessarily bad. Little interruptions, for example, could provide a fresh new insight into someone’s work. Therefore the observed positive effect could be real and is interesting to further investigation. Because the observed effect is slightly positive and in the worst case analysis slightly negative, it could also be an indication that distraction has no effect on productivity. This is supported by the research of Lee and Brand, which indicated that there was no significant effect of perceived distractions on perceived performance. This finding could also contribute to the research on the effect of distraction of productivity. In conclusion the findings of this research do not fully correspond to the main findings in the literature. This is actually very interesting because a new insight in the research on teleworking and productivity is generated. It can be questioned if the main findings in the literature are true. Maybe teleworking is not good for the productivity of employees and distractions are not as bad as everybody’s thinking. In order to do a replication research towards the effect of teleworking on productivity in the future a replication strategy is useful. The preferred replication strategy for the future is a longitudinal survey. The longitudinal survey enables the future researchers to measure the change in productivity that takes place at a later point in time when employees telework. In the longitudinal survey all members of a focal unit can be observed over time. Additional theoretical insight is advised in order to determine how much time should elapse between the change in value of productivity and the subsequent change in the value of teleworking. * Appendix Appendix 1: Several definitions of Telework and/or Productivity | Author(s)| Definition of telework| Definitions of productivity| 1| Newman (1989)| Working home with the aid of computers, modems and facsimile machines. | | 2| Dubrin (1991) | Performing job-related work at a site away from the company, then electronically transferring the output to another location| | 3| Frolick, Wilkes, Urwiler (1993)| | The number of tasks effectively completed in a given timeframe| 4| Har tman, Stoner and Arora (1992) | Work arrangement where organizational employees regularly work at home or at a remote site one or more complete workdays a week instead of working in the office. Telework managers reported using ‘deadlines’ or ‘agreed upon deadlines’, and ‘on-time work and quality’ to manage and measure teleworker productivity. | 5| Nilles (1975)| Telework is any form of substitution of information technologies for work-related travel| | 6| Mokhtarian (1991)| Telework is defined as the use of telecommunications technology to partially or completely replace the commute to and from work. | | 7| Sing, Sheng, Higa (2000)| Telecommuting is the reduction of commuting distance by working home, in nontraditional satellite offices, in telecottages, or in neighborhood offices. | * Appendix 2: Self-report survey at TNT express. Onderzoek Het Nieuwe Werken bij TNT express. Voor onze bachelor thesis, onderdeel van de studie bedrijfskunde, doe n wij onderzoek naar Het Nieuwe Werken bij TNT Express. Dit onderzoek is onderdeel van ons afstuderen aan de Erasmus Universiteit te Rotterdam. Voor ons onderzoek willen we graag uw medewerking vragen door middel van het invullen van een vragenlijst. Het invullen van de vragenlijst zal ongeveer 5 minuten duren. Deze vragenlijst is geheel anoniem. Alvast bedankt, Robin Kettenes, Boudewijn Schuitmaker en Marlot Sep __________________________________________________________________________ Het Nieuwe Werken is een breed begrip voor het tijd en plaats ongebonden werken, als gevolg van het gebruik van moderne communicatie technologieen. In ons onderzoek spitsen wij ons echter alleen toe op het plaatsongebonden werken. Het plaatsongebonden werken houdt in dat u zelf kunt bepalen waar u werkt. ___________________________________________________________________________ 1) Hoeveel uur werkt u over het algemeen per week? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. uur 2) Heeft u de mogelijkheid om buiten  kanto or te werken? Ja Nee ) Hoeveel uur per week werkt u over het algemeen buiten uw kantoor ? †¦. †¦.. uur 4) Op welke plaatsen werkt u als u buiten uw vaste werkplek werkt? Thuis Onderweg Internet Cafe Elders 5) Waar vindt u het het prettigst om te werken? Op kantoor Buiten kantoor 6) Ik ben makkelijk afgeleid van mijn werk Nooit Soms Regelmatig Vaak Altijd 7) Ik word tijdens mijn werk afgeleid door geluid Nooit Soms Regelmatig Vaak Altijd 8) Ik word tijdens mijn werk afgeleid door telefoontjes/e-mails/berichten etc. Nooit Soms Regelmatig Vaak Altijd 9) Ik word tijdens mijn werk afgeleid door collega’s Nooit Soms Regelmatig Vaak Altijd 10) Ik word tijdens mijn werk afgeleid door andere factoren Nooit Soms Regelmatig Vaak Altijd 11) Ik zou de hoeveelheid werk dat ik kan opleveren werk beschrijven als Erg veel Erg weinig 12) Ik zou de kwaliteit van mijn werk beschrijven als: Erg goed Erg slecht 13) Ik heb mijn werk altijd op tijd af Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 14) Ik ben in staat meerdere taken tegelijk uit te voeren Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 15) Ik vind het erg fijn om op kantoor te werken Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 6) Ik vind het erg fijn om thuis te werken Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 17) Ik vind het prettig werk en prive gescheiden te houden Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 18) Het is makkelijk voor mij werk en prive gescheiden te houden als ik op kantoor werk Helemaal juist Helemaal onjuist 19) Kunt u een schatting geven van de verhouding tussen de tijd dat u op uw  op kantoor  werkt en de tijd dat u buiten  kantoor werkt? (Bijvoorbeeld; 40-60 / 50-50 ) â € ¦. / †¦. 20) Wat is u geslacht? Man Vrouw 21) Wat is u leeftijd? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. jaar 22) Wat is u burgerlijke staat? Alleenstaand Alleenstaand met kinderen Getrouwd/samenwonend Getrouwd/samenwonend met kinderen Appendix 3: Detailed calculation of the degree of productivity and distraction Calculation: The Degree of Distraction|   |   | 3| 3| 4| 3| 3| 3. 2| 3| 4| 4| 4| 2| 3. 4| 2| 3| 3| 2| 2| 2. 4| 2| 2| 3| 3| 2| 2. 4| 2| 2| 3| 3| 2| 2. 4| 2| 2| 2| 3| 2| 2. 2| 2| 2| 3| 2| 2| 2. 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 4| 2| 2| 2. 4| 4| 3| 3| 3| 3| 3. 2| 2| 2| 3| 2| 3| 2. 4| 3| 2| 2| 3| 2| 2. 4| 3| 2| 2| 3| 2| 2. 4| 3| 2| 3| 3| 2| 2. 6| 3| 2| 3| 2| 3| 2. 6| 4| 4| 3| 4| 4| 3. 8| 3| 2| 4| 2| 2| 2. 6| 2. 647059| 2. 11765| 3| 2. 705882| 2. 352941| 2. 623529| Calculation: The Degree of Productivity|   | 4| 4| 3| 5| 4| 4| 5| 2| 4| 3. 75| 4| 4| 2| 4| 3. 5| 5| 4| 2| 4| 3. 75| 4| 4| 5| 5| 4. 5| 4| 4| 3| 5| 4| 3| 4| 4| 4| 3. 75| 4| 4| 3| 4| 3. 75| 4| 4| 2| 4| 3. 5| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 3| 3| 3| 3| 4| 4| 3| 4| 3. 75| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 3| 3| 3. 5| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 4| 5| 5| 5| 4. 75| 3. 941176| 4. 058824| 3. 294118| 4. 1 17647| 3. 852941| * Appendix 4: The SPSS Ouput Model Summaryb| Model| R| R Square| Adjusted R Square| Std. Error of the Estimate| 1| . 509a| . 259| -. 078| 1. 64400| a. Predictors: (Constant), SumDistr, Leeftijd, Status, MateTelewerk, Geslacht| b. Dependent Variable: SumProductiviteit| Coefficientsa| Model| Unstandardized Coefficients| Standardized Coefficients| t| Sig. | | B| Std. Error| Beta| | | 1| (Constant)| 10. 929| 3. 105| | 3. 519| . 005| | MateTelewerk| -1. 311| 1. 749| -. 212| -. 750| . 469| | Geslacht| . 288| 1. 177| . 071| . 244| . 811| | Leeftijd| -. 002| . 052| -. 013| -. 042| . 967| | Status| . 764| . 474| . 448| 1. 613| . 135| | SumDistr| . 188| . 193| . 287| . 972| . 352| a. Dependent Variable: SumProductiviteit| * Bibliography Apgar, M. 1998, â€Å"The alternative workplace: changing where and how people work†, Harvard Business Review May- June, , pp. 121-136. Bailey, D. E. ; Kurland, N. B. 2002, â€Å"A review of telework research: findings, new directions, and lessons for the study of modern work†, Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 23, pp. 383-400. 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S. 2001, â€Å"There’s No Place like Home: Managing Telecommuting Paradoxes† The Academy of Management Executive, vol. 5, no. 2, pp 117-128 Spira, J. 2007, From knowledge to distraction, KM World 16, pp. 1-32 Telework Research Network, The latest telecommuting statistics2011, [Homepage of Telework Research Network], [Online]. Available: http://www. teleworkresearchnetwork. com/research/people-telecommute [2011, 3/5]. Thompson, S. H. Vivien, K. G. 1998, â€Å"Factorial dimensions and differe ntial effects of gender on perceptions of teleworking†, Gender in Management, vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 253-263. Wilson, 2004, â€Å"Gender and teleworking identities in the risk society: a How to cite Informatie Management, Papers

Ella Baker Essay Example For Students

Ella Baker Essay Ella BakerElla Josephine Baker was born in Virginia, and at the age of seven Ella Baker moved with her family to Littleton, South Carolina, where they settled on her grandparents farmland her grandparents had worked as slaves. Ella Bakers early life was steeped in Southern black culture. Her most vivid childhood memories were of the strong traditions of self-help, mutual cooperation, and sharing of economic resources that encompassed her entire community. Because there was no local secondary school, in 1918, when Ella was fifteen years old, her parents sent her to Shaw boarding school in Raleigh, the high school academy of Shaw University. Ella excelled academically at Shaw, graduating as valedictorian of her college class from Shaw University in Raleigh in 1927. After her graduation from Shaw University, Baker migrated to New York City on the eve of the Great Depression, determined to find an outlet for her intellectual curiosity and growing compassion for social justice. She was deeply moved by the terrible conditions she witnessed on the streets of Harlem during the 1930s; scenes of poverty, hunger, and desperation. The first political organization she joined after moving to Harlem was the Young Negroes Cooperative League (YNCL), founded by writer George Schuyler in December 1930. The expressed purpose of the group was to gain economic power through consumer cooperation. The YNCL was headquartered in New York City. In 1931 Baker was elected to serve as the groups first national director. Another important experience that helped to shape Bakers evolving political consciousness during the Depression was her employment with the Workers Education Project (WEP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program designed to equip workers with basic literacy skills and to educate them about topics of concern to members of the work force. During the 1930s, Baker also began to grapple with the issue of womens equality and her own identity as an African-American woman. She supported and worked with various womens groups, such as the Womens Day Workers and Industrial League, a union for domestic workers ; the Harlem Housewives Cooperative; and the Harlem YWCA. Baker refused to be relegated to a separate womans sphere, either personally or politically. She often participated, without reservation, in meetings where she was the only woman present, and many of her closest political allies over the years were men. Similarly, in her personal life Baker refused to comply with prevailing social norms about womens place or womens behavior. When she married her longtime friend, T. J. Roberts, in the late 1930s, the marriage was anything but conventional, which typified her rebellious spirit. Baker never assumed her husbands name, an unusual act of independence in those days. Also, even though she was married for over a decade, she never framed her identity as a woman around that of her husband and apparently never allowed domestic obligations to interfere with her principal passion, which was politics. While in Harlem in the 1930s, Baker also worked as a reporter and editor for a variety of publications, including the West Indian News and the National News, a short-lived publication run by her close friend George Schuyler. In 1935 she coauthored an investigative article that exposed the plight of African-American domestic workers in New York during the Depression, which was published in the Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP. Among her political friends and associates in Harlem during this period were labor leader A. Philip Randolph, Lester Granger of the National Urban League, Communist Party lawyer Conrad Lynn, and George Schuyler. The next important phase of Bakers political career, which further solidified her evolving views of political struggle and social change, was the beginning of her involvement in the NAACP in 1940. Throughout her relationship with the NAACP, first as a field secretary and later as director of branches (194346), Baker remained on the staff of the NAACP until 1946, when, fed up with bureaucratic structure of the organization and its legalistic strategy for social change, she resigned as director of branches. Another factor that influenced her resignation was the added responsibilities she assumed when she took custody of her nine-year-old niece, Jackie. Baker continued to work with the NAACP in a volunteer capacity as the president of the New York branch, the

Battle of Jutland Essay Example

Battle of Jutland Essay Example Battle of Jutland Essay Battle of Jutland Essay Battle of Jutland Prelude The Battle of Jutland was fought on May 31 June 1, 1916, in the North Sea near Jutland (a mainland north of Denmark). The battle itself was between Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer commander of the High Seas Fleet of the Kaiserliche Marine (part of German Fleet), and Admiral Sir John Jellicoe commander of the Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy. The overall goal of the German fleet was to trap and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet due to insufficient numbers to engage the entire fleet at one time. Keep in mind this was part of a larger strategy to break the British naval blockade so they may once again allow German merchant ships to operate again in the North Sea. On the other hand the Royal navy focused to destroy the High seas fleet or keep the German force bottled up and away from British shipping lines. Setting The Battle took place in the Northern coast of continental Europe in between the southern flanks of Norway and Sweden and north of Denmark. Most of the battle occurred during the night, in the middle of the North Sea where 250 ships attended the battle. Forces, Commanders and Strategy Each fleet had two main Admirals, Admiral Franz Hipper and Reinhard Scheer led the High Seas Fleet, and Admiral David Beatty and John Jellicoe led the Royal Navy. The Royal battle force had a strength of twenty eight battle ships, nine battle cruisers, eight armored cruisers, twenty six light cruisers, seventy eight destroyers, a minelayer and a sea plane carrier (151 ships in total). The High Seas battle force had sixteen battleships , five battle cruisers, six dreadnaughts, eleven light cruisers, and sixty one torpedo boats (99 ships in total). The German strategy was to divide and conquer: by staging raids into the North Sea and bombarding the English coast, they hoped to lure out small British squadrons and pickets which could then be attacked and destroyed by superior forces or submarines. What they intended was to send out submarines of the British Naval Port, then send out a fast battle cruiser force to attack the British coast, if all went well the British response to the attacking force would be weakened by the submarine ambush and hoped the British destroyers would be incapable to operate for anti-submarine operations. Not knowing the Germans objective, The Royal Fleet positioned themselves to cut any attempt by the Germans to enter the North Atlantic, or the Baltic through the east, by taking up a position off Norway where they could possibly cut off any German raid into the shipping lanes of the Atlantic, or prevent the Germans from heading into the Baltic (southern part of North Sea). The Battle Both fleets sailed in a similar formation, with a scouting squadron of battle cruisers sailing ahead of the main battle fleets. The battle falls into five main phases. The first came when Admiral Beatty, commanding the British battle cruisers encountered their weaker German equivalent under Admiral Hipper and chased them south towards the main German fleet. The second phase saw Beatty flee north, pursued by the German Dreadnoughts. So far, both sides thought the battle was going to plan, although a design flaw led to the destruction of two British battle cruisers. Now, in the third phase the Germans. ere involved in a chase that would end with the destruction of the British battle cruisers, however they found themselves under bombardment from Jellicoes battle fleet, which they had thought to be too far north to intervene. The heavy British guns quickly forced Scheer to order a retreat, but then Scheer made what could have turned into a grievous error, turning back, possibly hoping to pass behind Jellicoe, and escape into the Baltic. However, Jellicoe had slowed down, and the German fleet found themselves crossing in front of the British fleet, and in ten minutes of gunfire suffered twenty seven heavy hits while only inflicted two. Once again, Scheer ordered a retreat. Finally, in the last phase of the battle, in a night of intense fighting, German lighter ships covered the retreat of the German battleships, while Jellicoe lost time after turning to avoid a potential torpedo attack. Aftermath After the battle the Royal Navy lost six thousand ninety four men, five undred ten wounded, and one hundred seventy seven captured. Lost three battlecusiers, three armored cruisers, eight destroyers, about one hundred fifteen and twenty-five tons of ships sunk. At the end of the battle the Royal Navy had maintained their numerical superiority, and had over twenty dreadnoughts and battle cruisers still able and ready to fight, while the Germans had ten. The Germans fleet lost two thousand five hundred fifty one men, and five hundred and seven wounded. Lost one battle cruiser one dreadnaught four light cruisers and five torpedo boats, about sixty one thousand one hundred and eighty tons of ship sunk. Jutland was the last, and largest, of the great battleship battles. Neither submarines nor aircraft played any part in the battle, despite the plans of both sides. Never again did battle fleets meet again in such numbers. While the Royal Navy suffered more loses, the battle effectively ended any threat from the High Seas Fleet, which now knew it could not contest control the North Sea with the Royal Navy. Impact / Significance The Battle of Jutlandwas was the only major naval battle of World War I; it became the largest sea battle in naval warfare history in terms of the numbers of battleships and battle cruisers engaged, bringing together the two most powerful naval in that time. The great fleet which Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany’s last Kaiser) had been obsessed with, and which had done so much to sour relations between Britain and Germany had proved to be a blunted weapon. Despite that, the battle disappointed Britain, and the hard fought draw at Jutland was not appreciated until much later, while the Kaiser claimed a German victory.

gary Nash essay essays

gary Nash essay essays In the essay written by Gary Nash, he argues that the reason for the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but that of material conditions of life in America were not very favorable and that social and economic factors should be considered as the driving factor that pushed many colonists to revolt. The popular ideology which can be defined as resonating most strongly within the middle and lower strata of society and went far beyond constitutional rights to a discussion of the proper distribution of wealth and power in the social system had a dynamic role in the decisions of many people to revolt. The masses ideas were not of constitutional rights, but the equal distribution of wealth in the colonies that many felt that the wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population in the colonies. The Whig ideology that was long established in English society had a main appeal towards the upper class citizens and had little to say about changing social and economic conditions in America or the need for change in the future. The popular ideologies consisted of new ways of changing the distribution of wealth. Nash in his essay continued to give good evidence to prove his point that the American Revolution was not caused by the defense of constitutional rights and liberties, but by improper distribution of wealth. During the pre-American Revolutionary times, the top five percent of Bostons taxpayers controlled 49 percent of the taxable assets of the community, whereas they had held only held only 30 percent in 1687. As evident by this statistic, it is clear that the wealthy were getting wealthier and controlling more of the taxable assets of the community. As the wealthy increased their assets in the cities, at the same time, a large class was impoverished city dwellers. A huge contrast between the wealthy ...

Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Abortion - Essay Example Using abortion as a tool of gender selection is immoral from the point of view of Western cultures which support diversity and gender equality. India is not the only place where people are ready to do everything to have a boy; in China the situation is close to this. As far as gender inequality is a local cultural tradition, many years should pass before anything changes. This tradition is not only discriminatory; it is also harmful for demographical situation in the country because the number of men in the country significantly exceeds women. Knowing that a child will suffer from incurable mental or physical condition after birth, I will think twice depending on my ability to care about such a special child. I cannot give a definite answer in the case because this decision depends on many factors. Some of mental and physical condition can be cured and some are not. Special children require more attention and special treatment, so I would consider whether I can provide all these things to support and develop a child with special needs before making the final

Chinese Christian History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Christian History - Research Paper Example There is a current interest in Chinese Christianity studies owing to what many quarters see as an upsurge in the number of Christians in the country in recent times, with some estimates putting the number of Chinese Christians at anywhere between 25 million to 200 million, said to be the highest those numbers have ever been in China, with prospects for more growth in the number of new entrants to Christianity moving forward. This, in spite of a history of Christian persecution and persecution and suppression of religious expression by the government authorities in China through time, making it difficult to come up with accurate assessments of the state of Christianity in the country at any given time. The implication is that the persecution must drive some of the Christian activities underground, so that at any given time in history, one can say that the official numbers belie an even larger underground population of Chinese Christians who choose to remain incognito rather than face the wrath of the Chinese bureaucratic machine. That said, the history of Chinese Christians is interesting, given that at even today’s conservative estimates, the number of Chinese Christians attending Sunday service now dwarf the total number of European Christians, with a large potential upside. This paper basically traces the historical roots of this present-day phenomenon of the meteoric rise in the numbers of Christians in China (Gardam; Kelman; BillionBibles.org; Liqiang and Yinan; Christians in China; Moll; Orso; Yao). II. Chinese Christian History A. How Chinese Christianity Developed The earliest form of Christianity that took root in China had its origins in what is called Nestorian Christianity, which is a form of Christianity introduced by Alopen, a Nestorian \Christian from Syria, who came into China in 635 during the time of the Tang Dynasty. The religion was perceived and received by the local Chinese Buddhists as a variant of Buddhism itself, and via this asso ciation was received positively by the Chinese at the time, calling the religion of Alopen a brilliant religion worthy of admiration. The Chinese from the Tang period had a curious stance towards Western religion at the time, and this version gained some traction and toleration for some period of time, before it was rooted out of mainland China during the purge of the 9th century, when its perceived association with Buddhist precepts made it a candidate for purging. Several other waves of Christianity met with some mild success but failed to take root as well, from the 13th all the way to the 18th centuries, before a fourth Christianity wave that occurred during the 19th century developed sturdier roots in Chinese society. During this time, coercion on the part of the western powers allowed Christianity as advanced by missionaries to gain ground even with the corresponding advance of western economic and political interests resulted in Christianity being perceived as part of this dr ive, and so was resisted in some measure by the Chinese. The backlash from all this was the targeting of Christian groups in China in 1919, and the further withering of the roots of Chinese Christianity in the ensuing years due to the pressures exerted on it by the budding Communist Party. During this tim

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 12

History - Essay Example According to this treaty Germany forced to accept sole responsibility for causing the war and to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay heavy reparations to certain countries. Around 132 billion Marks which are roughly equivalent to US$ 385 billion at present were levied upon Germany as the compensation amount which really hurt the Germans. Moreover, this treaty presented for German leaders to sign on May 7, 1919, forced Germany to concede territories to Belgium (Eupen-Malmà ©dy), Czechoslovakia (the Hultschin district), and Poland (Poznan [German: Posen], West Prussia and Upper Silesia)† (Treaty of Versailles, 1919). In short, "The Versailles Treaty system was intended to be a peace agreement between the Allies and a defeated Germany and the Central Powers, instead it created political and economic chaos, contributing directly to the rise of Mussolini and Hitler. This paper briefly analyses the role of The Versailles Treaty system in contributing to the rise of Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent World War 2. One of the major aims of the peace treaty â€Å"The Treaty of Versailles† in 1919, which ended the World War 1 between Germany and allied forces, was the disarmament of Germany. However, Germans always had a feeling of superiority in their minds. The conditions they succumbed to accept as part of this treaty were intolerable to their pride and superiority feeling. When Hitler came into the power he has taken every step to regain the lost prides of the Germans. He deliberately started to violate the conditions of The Treaty of Versailles. In 1922, Benito Mussolini and his Fascist Party succeeded in capturing the power in Italy. Fascism and Nazism have more similarities than differences which helped Hitler and Mussolini to work together against the allied powers. Fascism and Nazism were entirely different from capitalism, communism and democracy. Fascism was driven by a sense of belligerent

Africa by Maya Angelou Analysis

Africa by Maya Angelou Analysis Thus she had lain sugar cane sweet deserts her hair golden her feet mountains her breasts  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 two Niles her tears. Thus she has lain Black through the years. Over the white seas Rime white and cold  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   10 Brigands ungentled icicle bold took her daughters Sold her strong sons churched her with Jesus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15 bled her with guns Thus she has lain. Now she is rising remember her pain remember he losses  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   20 her screams loud and vain remember her riches her history slain now she is striding although she had lain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   25 [Explication] Maya Angelou, an African American poet, wrote the poem Africa about the tragic events held by the European men who invaded Africa. Angelou uses rhyming techniques as well as imagery and metaphors to describe the actions made in African history. With those techniques she helps us with an image of what it was like to live in Africa during this time period. The poem is separated into three stanzas and twenty-five lines. Each stanza contains vivid words to give a certain image in your head.   Angelou uses metaphors to compare the continent, Africa, to a healthy woman. This comparison between continents and women are used a lot to describe the state or well being of it. Each stanza shows slight variations to show the transitions of tone. Within those twenty-five lines, Angelou uses the rhyme scheme ABCB. The rhyming of this poem helps with how it is structured. In the first stanza, the woman is being brought into character. She is being described as different landmarks in Africa with the use of metaphors. Angelou uses landmarks such as mountains (5), deserts (3), and the Nile River (6) to give the woman vivid description of her physical appearance. Two Niles her tears (6) in this line she is comparing the way her tears flow to the way the Nile River flows. The use of imagery is used throughout this stanza. The first four lines in the second stanza, Angelou uses rime (10) and cold (10) to give us a brief description of the setting when the brigands (11) came to Africa ready to take away from the land. The next four lines are the about the actions the brigands (11) done to the women in Africa. Lines 14 and 15 state, took her young daughters / sold her strong sons to give us off the idea of slavery. This transition of tone gives the unpleasant and unwanted aspect of this part in the poem. At the end of this stanza, line 17 just like the first stanza, line 7 Thus she has lain which shows the uncomfortable effect to what the white men did to her. In the last stanza, she talks about her overcoming the obstacles. Even though all the harshness she has been through, now she is striding. This stanza is in present tense unlike the other stanzas. This shows her progress from the pain she has endured. The tone in this stanza is more of accepting the fact and embracing what the white men did. In lines 19 and 20, she uses the word remember twice so that we remember what happened to her. The ending of this stanza states the same line, although she has lain in reference to her overcoming all the bad that she encountered. This line also helps us see that she is moving forward from everything that has happened. In conclusion, African American poet, Maya Angelou, uses descriptive detail and convincing evidence to convey her thoughts about the country of Africa. Within this poem holds three stanzas which contain the explanation of the various usage of color imagery, metaphors, and other forms of literary elements. As we begin to journey into the poem with the first stanza, this is where Mrs. Angelou compares the likeness of a woman to the geological structures of the country itself. As in the second stanza the writer provides bits of imagery while explaining how the land was taken over as well as the actions taken upon women during this time. Finally, she comes to conclusion in the last stanza to show all the country has fought for and being able to overcome the obstacles set on their paths.

Hamlet Essay -- ESSAYS

Hamlet Each major character of Shakespeare’s Hamlet has a major flaw, which destroys him or her. The King, Queen, Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius all have these flaws but Horatio does not. He is Shakespeare’s ideal man. Claudius’ fatal flaw is ambitiousness. Claudius kills his brother King Hamlet and then takes the throne by marrying King Hamlet’s wife: â€Å"Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen†¦have we (as ‘twere with a defeated joy, with an auspicious and a dropping eye, with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole) taken to wife†(I.ii.10-14). Claudius admits to killing the King in a confessional prayer: â€Å"O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven; it hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, a brother’s murder†¦O, what form of prayer can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder? That cannot be, since I am still possessed of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. May one be pardoned and retain th’ offense?’ †(III.iii.40-43, 55-60). Another ambition of Claudius is he wants to have Hamlet murdered in England: â€Å"I like him not, nor stands it safe with us to let his madness range. Therefore prepare you. I your commission will forthwith dispatch. And he to England shall along with you†¦hazard so near ‘s as doth hourly grow out of his brows† (III.iii.1-7). The fate of the King is fatal. His deceitfulness kills him when he challenges Laertes and Hamlet to duel, he poisons the tip of Laertes sword and in a cup of wine he puts a poisonous pearl: Hamlet: The point envenomed too! Then, venom, to thy work. King: O, yet defend me, friends! I am but hurt. Hamlet: Here, thou incestuous, *murd’rous,* damnà ©d Dane, d... ...s some danger (III.iv.26-30, 38-40). Shakespeare’s ideal person is Horatio. In the beginning of the play, Horatio, when he sees the ghost decides to tell Hamlet: â€Å"So have I heard and do in part believe it†¦Break we our watch up, and by my advice let us impart what we have seen tonight unto young Hamlet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (I.i.180-185). Horatio is ruled by reason and Hamlet recognizes and comments on this: â€Å"Give me that man that is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him in my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart, as I do thee†(III.ii.76-79).. Horatio does not have a fatal flaw and does not die. Shakespeare gives his main characters flaws that destroy their lives. The King, Queen, Hamlet, Ophelia, and Polonius all have flaws and die in the end, but Horatio, Shakespeare’s ideal character, does not have a fatal flaw and lives. Bibliography: Hamlet, William Shakespeare

Developing Teams in Business Assignment Essay

What is a Team? A team is individuals whom are moulded into a group who work together to achieve an objective or task. Benefits of a team Being in a team is very beneficial as every individual has their own opinions and views , a whole team can manage to gather information and materials much easier than an individual , also within a team there is more creativity which is a benefit as there isn’t only one brain but more than one. Furthermore being in a team enables individuals to gain skills such as communication skills, listening skills and being able to be open willingly and share opinions. Team Recruitment Recruiting the right team members is the key to the success of your team. When the leaders of any group recruit new members, there are a number of skills, qualities needed as well as a process that each member has to go through in order for them to be an successful addition to the team. This process is called job analysis from where a person specification is drawn up and following all the qualifications and qualities that a new team member would be expected to have. There are different types of teams which consist of: Formal Informal Different size teams Temporary Permanent What is a formal team? A formal team is a team where individuals are put together for a specific  reason, each individual within the team is given a specific role. Formal teams are mostly permanent teams, for example within the supermarket Tesco they would have different formal teams likes, customer services team, marketing team, human resources these teams also have sub teams such as groceries and the butchery. All these teams work effectively to reach their objective What is an informal team? An informal team is a team which is less structured compared to a formal team, theses times are about the individuals within the team, the team its self has minimal rules and expectations compared to a formal team. This type of team would hold social events , have irregular meeting maybe at break times the team does not have a specific leader all team members are equal and take on the same role therefore there is no co-ordination. What is a different size team? A different size team is basically what the name of the team is, it is a team that has different sizes of team members. The size of team varies on the task that needs to be completed. Temporary teams A temporary team is a team that is set up for a short period of team, the team is not long lasting, the team would come together for their objective and as soon as their objective is completed they would split up. Permanent teams A permanent team is a team that works together continuously, the team is long term and work is reoccurring. What type of teams would Tesco use? As Tesco is a large company they would use all the above types of teams such as: Formal team: E.g.: The customer service team at Tesco represent  customers this team may consist of over 5 member it also may most likely be a mixed gender team. The team members would have all the same skills such as communication skills, attentiveness, positivity, the ability to read customers and a calming presence. Together the team should form a well-rounded team as individual has the skills for the position they are given. Informal team: E.g. A team of trainees at Tesco may hold informal sessions to track their progress within the company and their development within the company these meetings may not be compulsory and may not be happen all the time all the members in the team would be on the same level so in this case they would all be trainees within the company. Within the team they may talk to each other about their progress and what they think they could do better, but it wouldn’t be a case where the team would have a manager sit them down and speak to them. Different size team: E.g. Tesco could have a team of HR that could consist of 3 members but then they could also have a team of customer service employees that team could consist of 6 members. Initially in a team 5 is the magic number even though 5 is an odd number it is a good size for a team as the team is also small enough to involve all members in addition to that if a decision needs to be made having an odd team helps. Temporary teams: E.g. Within Tesco 8 different employees may be put together for a project for example to market a new product coming out within the company , therefore the members would all work together to put I’m ideas to market the product , after the product is published the team will disperse. Permanent teams: E.g. The administration team for Tesco would be a permanent team as that team helps the business function, this team would classify as a permanent team as it is a team that the business needs in order for it to function well. What is a leadership? A leader is a person who leads a group of people, an organisation or a team, being a. Leader doesn’t necessarily mean you do this but also being able to be a leader is a trait of leadership. A leader is being able to think on behalf of your group, being able to fix a crisis if one rises without hesitation, a leader is someone inspirational, confident, and assertive. Being a leader is not taught. Whereas being a mange can be taught. A leader  knows it’s members strengths and weaknesses for example a manager at Tesco could know that one of his/she’s employee is not as confident on tills but is good speaking to customers the leader would know to not put that employee on the sales team but with customer services where the employee feels comfortable. Leadership styles 1.Autocratic leaders : These leaders make decisions without consulting their team members, even if their input would be useful. Although these leaders do not consult their members this type of leadership can also be advantage for example when a decision needs to be made quickly/instantly the leader can make the decision without the input of members. On the other hand this role can also be demoralizing 2.Democratic leaders: These leaders are the ones who make the final decisions, but they would consult their team members and include their opinions in the decision-making process. They encourage creativity, and people are often highly engaged in projects and decisions. As a result, team members tend to have high job satisfaction and high productivity. This is not always an effective style to use, though, when you need to make a quick decision. 3.Participative leadership: This is a way leadership in which it involves subordinates in the goal setting with the problem solving team building. As well as retail the final decision making authority 4.Laissez-faire: These types of leaders give their team members a lot of input in how they do their task and how they set their deadlines. These type of leaders do not get involved but do support their team and offer advice if the team needs it. This type of leadership can damage a team as they do not have a lot of guidance as some members may lack time management, knowledge, skills or self motivation. Leadership skills and attributes What skills and attributes are needed to be a good / effective leader? A good leader must have the skills applicable to lead a team, these characteristics encourage members to follow the team leader. Within Tesco  the leader of sales has to have the right attributes and skills to control their team if they didn’t the team would not functional properly these skills consists of: Communication Effective team leaders communicate clearly. Quality verbal and written communication skills allow leaders to present expectations to team members in a way workers can understand. Effective communication skills also allow team leaders to listen to the input of others. Organization Effective team leaders possess exceptional organizational skills. Organizational skills help team leaders plan objectives and strategies, which allow team members to perform optimally. Organized team leaders put systems in place that maintain order and guide team members toward meeting company goals and objectives. Confidence An effective team leader is confident in his abilities, as well as confident in the abilities of his team members. A confident leader is secure in the decisions he makes that affect his team. A self-confident team leader also reassures team members of his authority within the organization. Respectful A quality team leader is respectful of his team members. A respectful leader empowers employees by encouraging them to offer ideas about decisions that affect them. This lets team members know that the leader respects their input and opinions. Fair A quality team leader treats team members fairly. He is consistent with rewards and recognition, as well as disciplinary action. A fair leader ensures all employees receive the same treatment. Integrity An effective team leader is honest and open with his team members. Leaders who possess integrity gain the trust of team members because he does what he says he will do and treats others the same way he wants to be treated. Influential Influential leaders help inspire the commitment of team members to meet  company goals and objectives. Influential leaders also help manage change in the workplace by gaining the confidence of workers through effective decision making and communication. Delegation Effective team leaders know how to share leadership through delegation. Delegating certain tasks to trustworthy team members allows the leader to focus on improving workplace functions and production. Facilitator Effective team leaders are powerful facilitators. As a facilitator, team leaders help workers understand their goals. They also help organize an action plan to ensure team members meet their goals and objectives more efficiently. Negotiation Team leaders utilize negotiation skills to achieve results and reach an understanding in the event of a workplace conflict. Team leaders who negotiate effectively streamline the decision-making process, as well as solve problems for the best interest of everyone involved. (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/10-effective-qualities-team-leader-23281.html