Sunday, January 26, 2020
Awareness And Understanding Work Life Balance
Awareness And Understanding Work Life Balance Chapter 1 Introduction Public awareness and understanding of the term ‘work-life balance has grown dramatically in recent years. The high level of interest among employers, consultants, and the media has generated a healthy business in conferences, websites and guides. It is a growth area in academia too, encompassing diverse disciplines including economics, social policy, feminism, sociology, industrial relations, human resource management, health and psychology. The term Work life balance can be defined as â€Å"employment based on emergent new values, which doesnt discriminate against those with caring or other non-work responsibilities, and which provides an opportunity for people to realize their full potential in work and non work domains†(Lewis, 1996). 1.1 Background of the study Todays life environment has put a great demand on employees time to deliver work and non-work responsibilities. This is a central cause of occupational stress and work-life conflict, which has become a costly problem at both the organizational and individual levels. It might take the form of absenteeism, high staff turnover, lost productive value, increased recruitment and selection costs and medical expenses (Arnold, 2005).  According to a recent study by Georgetown University, employee stress from trying to find time for their children correlates with decreased productivity and increased absenteeism. The study found that unplanned absences were costing some businesses nearly $1 million a year (Georgetown University, 2010). In addition to the financial losses associated with this conflict that are clearly documented, the indirect effects of unsympathetic working conditions can include a decrease in motivation, job satisfaction, trust, job commitment, and other important factors that decrease firm profitability (McHugh, 1997). Therefore, despite the fact that many companies neglecting employee needs, conscious HR specialists are trying in many attempts to overcome these problems by introducing new working strategies that satisfy employees and help them to attain certain balance between work and life. Such strategies give the employee greater flexibility upon the time, the place and the style of work. Thes e include part-time work, job sharing, working from home and flexible working time. This flexibility enhances employees ability to adjust the time or submit the work as completed. It can mean compressing 40 hours into four days, starting and ending workdays at different times, or doing some work at home. The reason may be as simple as wanting to better manage a long commute or choosing to arrive at work later so parents can take their children to school. Some companies may offer these options to retain female employees who might consider leaving their jobs after having children. This research emphasizes particularly on flexible working hours (Flexitime) which is one form of flexibility in the working environment. Flexitime is an arrangement where an employee is able to choose when to start and finish work within a specified period of core hours. The reason for this emphasize on flextime is that, it is the most widespread form of workplace flexibility (Erin, 2008) and most previous studies has shown apparent results upon other working strategies and their good influence on work-life balance, but this was not the case with flextime. Another reason for this spur is researcher observations on many cases of flextime where employee missed the control over work-life balance, and that what inspires the idea of this research.     1.2 Problem statement Organizations which adopted family-friendly working arrangements, found it beneficial to their business. In a study about the efficiency of the family-friendly working arrangements, it was found that 90 percent of managers experiencing those arrangements considered they were cost effective for organizations (Dex and Smith, 2002). However, the literature on flexible working arrangements covering a wide range of policies, declared that only some of which might be deemed to support a work-life balance. Moreover, while there is a discussion about the business case for flexible polices and the potential problems it may create for employers, the assumption is often that these policies are invariably beneficial for employees. This is also reflected in the recommendations of the National Framework Committee for Work-life balance policies in Ireland (Helen et al, 2009). Some flexible working arrangements may actually exacerbate work-life conflict, for example, flexibility in the timing of work may result in employees being asked to work unsocial hours. Thus, it is very important to consider the effects of such practices as experienced by employees. Indeed there is very little research on the impact of flexible working hour on workers ability to balance work and other demands, despite this being a major rationale for such practices (Helen et al, 2009). As many Bahraini organizations nowadays are moving toward flexibility, it would be a significant effort to conduct a study that assesses the determination of such practice. Especially that International evidence on the incidence of flexible working arrangements is limited and tends to come from national surveys which, because they are not harmonized, may not be directly comparable. Another factor that boosts the need to this study is the difference in the demography, culture and peoples life style between Western countries and Bahrain. While the incidence of flexible working hours (flextime) is important information in itself, the key questions for this research is: Does it facilitate work-life reconciliation and does it help to improve employees productivity? Other sub-questions might also arise such as: Is there a difference between males and females, or those who have children among those who do not regarding work-life balance? Does employee prefer to manage his/her time or like to be committed to a specified timing because he/she may not be able to manage time? On this basis, this research brings together material from diverse sources to provide an overview of recent research, current thinking and future debates on the significance of flextime and work-life balance, especially to evaluate constructive practices for employee in Bahrain. 1.3 objectives of the study The objective of this study is to put emphasis on the importance of work-life balance for Bahraini employees, and to evaluate its effect on both individual and organizational levels. In addition, this study attempts to assess the impact of adopting flextime working option on employees work-life balance and organizations productivity.   A careful review of research questions led to the development of the following specific research objectives: To explore the existence of a relationship between flextime and work-life balance. To examine the relationship between flextime and productivity. To explore the relationship between work-life balance and productivity. To examine the impact of some demographic variables such as gender, marital status and having children on the work-life balance. 1.4 Significance of the study This significance of this study is its potential contribution to both the theoretical and practical fields. At the theoretical level, the present study is expected to bridge a research gap as most studies focus on either work-life balance or flexible working polices in general. However there is a very little research on the impact of flexible working on work-life balance (Helen et al, 2009). Moreover, it was recommended by some researchers to examine the relationship between specific types of flexible working practices like the flextime and productivity. For the practical contribution, this study is expected to make contribution to Bahraini private and public organizations as it reveals employees preferences on the subject of flexible working time, in addition to exploring the benefits that flextime provides for employers and employees, thus aiding management decision upon adopting such working option. Another feature which grants strength to this study is that the study spots the light on both, the importance of work-life balance and its implications on the organizational and individual levels in the first place, besides exploring the existence of a relationship between flextime and the work-life balance as recommended in previous literatures. 1.5 limitations of the study The greatest limitation to this study is the non-probability sampling technique used; hence the results cannot be generalized on the whole population. Another limitation is that the study was entirely based on self-reported data. Although this is the best way to assess the work-life balance of an employee as it requires some privacy, this method has been criticized that the respondents may give socially desirable answers and bias results (Sackett, Burris, and Callahan 1989). However, anonymity and confidentiality assurance might be the key to make respondents more truthful. Finally, the questionnaire was developed for employees, thus it reflects employees point of views, while it passes over the management respective. Hence it would be a great achievement to combine other research methods such as case studies and focus groups to strength this study. 1.6 organization of study This report is organized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the introduction, significance and limitations of the study. Chapter two provides an extensive literature review and background information on the variables of the study, which are flextime, work-life balance and productivity. The third chapter identifies the research methodology, the sampling technique and the data collection procedure. Chapter four presents the results of data analysis. And the last chapter provides the discussion, a conclusion and recommendations for further studies.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Police Professionalism Essay
Professionalism refers to the skill, competence or standards expected of a member of a profession. It involves the adoption of a set of values and attitudes by members of an occupation that are consistent with a professional ideology. Professionalization is a process of legitimization an occupation goes through as it endeavors to improve its social status.            The various characteristics of a profession include the following (Roberg and Kuykendall, 1993). A well developed body of professional literature materials. A high degree of generalized and systematic knowledge with a theoretical base. This is achieved through research. A high degree of self control of behavior governed by a code of ethics. The code of ethics is a statement of values ensures a high quality of serving. It   also guarantees competency of membership, honor and integrity. The code is a direct expression of the profession’s principles of service orientation. It emphasizes no personal gain and protection of the client. Membership in professional organizations and associations. Dedication to self-improvement. Existence of a unique, identifiable academic field of knowledge attainable through education. There is a system of testing the competence of members.  Police professionalism has been a focal point in the past for police reformers. The ambiguity of the role of the police has however seriously hampered efforts to professionalize the police because deciding on the proper role of the police is a necessary step to outlining steps towards professionalism.            Police professionalism can mean different things in different places and at different times making agreement on the requirement for a professional police force unlikely. Police professionalism may refer to police organizations as police officers, or both. Some police administrators refer to tangible improvements such as latest technology like computers and weaponry, as signs of professionalism. However this is not true in reference to the characteristics of professionalism.            Currently the police are struggling to meet the requirements of a profession. Clearly there is a growing body of professional literature on the police. Some Journals like police studies and America journal of the police contain reports of police research. There are also penodicals and a rapid expanding number of government reports on police that contribute more information on police operations and organizations.            A code of ethics for the police has been developed and modified by the International Association of heads of police. Although some police may be unfamiliar with its contents, indications show that many officers know the code exists. However the code of conduct offers little control over the police. This is because there is no professional standards committee that reviews and sanctions police for the violation of their own code. (Gaines, kappeler & Vaughn, 1999).            There are a number of professional policed associations especially for chief executive officers. Organizations like Fraternal Order of the police are oriented toward rank-and-file officers as well but they have typically served as organizations and collective bargain agents. In recent years there has been expansion of professional organizations among police planners, investigators and others.            On dedication to self-improvement, currently there are no national minimum standards for either departments or police personnel. Many states do not even allow training on a constant basis after completion of the basic training program. However among the progressive police personnel, there is an increased interest in establishing high police officer standards.            A study in police has lately emerged. Many college-level academic programs in policing and criminal justice have emerged. Regardless of the quality of the programs and consensus on the topics covered in these programs, there is increasing number of officers earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in police science, law enforcement, and criminal justice programs.            Regardless of these achievements however, attainment of police professionalism remains an elusive goal. Dedication to the attainment of professional standards exists among some police executives and totally lacks among many others.            Many officers resist this pursuit of professionalism on the basis that their jobs are blue collar shift works that involve little need for advanced education. This reduces dedication to self-improvement. In addition unionization of police officers sometimes inhibits progress toward professionalism. Therefore there cannot be a universal number that will accurately reflect the police personnel needs of all jurisdictions. There are various ways of determining the appropriate number of police personnel for a given jurisdiction (Roseberg & Kuykendall, 1993). These include; Intuitively. Comparatively. By workload. The intuitive approach involves little more than an educated guess and is often based on tradition (personnel numbers from previous years). The approach is based on the number of crimes cleared or total number of arrests. These means, many administrators may demand more police officers be hired as crime rates increase. However it is noted that differences in crime rates should not be attributed to variations in the number of police. The research conducted by Bayley, 1994 found out that increases in the number of police closely parallel increase in crime rates. People tend to hire more police when crime rates increase, but this has no effect on the rate of crime increase. Comparative approach involves comparing one or more urban centers like cities using the ratio of police officers per one thousand population units. If the comparison city has a higher ratio of police to population, it is assumed that an increase in personnel is justified to at least the level of the comparison city (Roseberg & Kuykendall, 1993). The exclusive use of this method to compute police personnel needs is not recommended. Communities have unique characteristics concerning areas covered, crime rates, economic strength, mile of roads and others. These have an impact on the quantity of personnel required to fulfill service requests.            Workload requires a clear information system, expressed performance standards, well-elaborated community expectations and prioritization of police activities (Roberg & Kuykendall, 1993). The workload analysis of patrol usually involves various steps which include documenting total patrol workload occurring. Determining the time taken to handle the workload, translating the data into number of patrol officers required, determining the number of patrol officers needed on different days and times and how best to assign patrol officers to various areas (Cordner & Sheehan, 1999).            The computation of patrol workload is complicated by the issue of uncommitted crime. Sometimes measurement of police demand services can be based on â€Å"work generating†variable like citizen calls for police service and others.            Although the workload analysis has been shown to be methodologically sound, few jurisdictions use this form. Administrators cite the cost, complexity of the formula and extensive data collection as the limitations that hinder using the workload formula. References Bayley, D. (1994). Police for the future. USA: Oxford University Press. Cordner, G. & Sheehan, R. (1999). Police Administration. USA: Anderson Pub. Co. Gaines, L., Kappeles, V. & Vaughn, J. (1999). Policing in America. USA: Anderson Pub. Co. Roberg, R., Kuykendall, L. (1993). Police and Society. USA: Wadsworth Pub. Co.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Choosing Summary Response Essay Example
Choosing Summary Response Essay Example The Summary Response Essay Example Cover Up Importantly, writing an academic reaction paper differs because you've got to deliver a high excellent paper for grading. Like a superb public speaker, you've got to be persuasive. It's interesting that numerous students write introduction after they've written the full paper. Obviously, you'll also learn a few techniques that you could apply to your own writing. Regardless of the sort of paper, understanding the necessities of the essay underlies the important aspect to a fast and effortless management of your script. School Response Essay Writing isn't a breeze. Make certain your thesis statement reflects the idea of the paper and is associated with the subject of the reader response. Knowing the sections of an essay can't get you quite far though. A response essay enables a learner to react to an idea or information in an official way. Even though the response may start to deal with the assigned task, it provides no development. It must still provide the reader with a clear and effective understanding of the message contained in the original, while responding to it. Thus, it is adequately developed and satisfactorily organized to show how the argument depends on questionable assumptions. Quite simply, you want to demonstrate that you comprehend the text and then present your take on it, in your words. It is possible to use quotes or paraphrase regions of the text in order to add evidence. An outline is particularly important if writing a summary analysis since there are lots of parts to keep an eye on. Possessing an outline permits you to organize your ideas and provide you an idea of direction on how your paragraphs should flow into one another. Sometimes utilizing a hook statement can be effective, but it's not required. Some of your point may also be explained in the conclusion part, especially once you learn that you have accomplished the content of your physique. This kind of essay is comparable to the formal review, the only difference being that you've got to write in first individual. In summary, it requires you to look at the smaller parts of the work to help shed light on the larger picture. If you look at any summary essay example, you will see that the structure is always precisely the same. There's an endless number of different essay topics that may be analyzed. There's also no particular number of quotes needed in your essay. Make certain your paragraph flows. Each individual paragraph should concentrate on a specific facet of the thesis. Figure out how the composed text is structured in your work. The number can fluctuate, based on the intricacy of the assignment. Response papers permit you to do something which other assignments don't. Utilizing hands-free headsets won't work because it's the call that is distracting, not holding the telephone. The Foolproof Summary Response Essay Example Strategy Well, it isn't virtually mashing the 2 forms of essays together and hoping everything works out. If you are thinking about how to compose a response essay, you've come to the proper spot. This kind of essay must be written from the very first person standpoint. The next thing you ought to learn in regards to a crucial response essay is the way you start it. The Battle Over Summary Response Essay Example and How to Win It The intro duction usually starts out with some kind of background info. You should offer information which is pertinent to your thesis. Check with your instructor to identify what publishing information is essential and where it ought to be placed. Write an informative review of the material. Paragraph 4 considers several explanations for why river clean-up plans might not be successful (the plans could be nothing more than campaign promises or funding might not be adequate). A summary grid is a beneficial tool for helping students to pull main ideas from a text before organizing them in a bit of writing. As a consequence, the state expects that water sports increase. Therefore, the proposal to boost funding for riverside recreational facilities might not be justified. Each paragraph within the body of this perceptive essay identifies and examines an unstated assumption that is essential to the argument. An overview of the work is subsequently offered in order to provide the reader a feeling of what the text is all about. Such an essay is essentially an answer to some work by the author. Although it is considered the simplest in terms of structure, a really good work is a complex interplay of facts and personal emotions. The essay ends off with a conclusion that brings together all your statements in a style that supports the major argument. Supporting ideas talk about the evidence, which the author uses to back their arguments. First off, an introduction is utilised to establish your primary argument about the work analyzed. The author utilizes substantial scientific proof to back up her argument and provides a personal opinion to emphasize the fundamental value of individual option.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
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