Motivational techniques used by infosys Essay

Staff surveys are usually very helpful in establishing whether staffs in your company are motivated and therefore performing to best effect. Aside from the information that questionnaires reveal, the process of involving and consulting with staff is hugely beneficial and motivational in its own right, (see the ‘Hawthorne Effect’). Whilst your survey will be unique to your company, your staff issues, your industry and culture, some useful generic guidelines apply to most situations. Although not exhaustive, the following ten points may help you cover the relevant subject areas and help towards establishing facts rather than making assumptions about motivation when designing your own questionnaires on employee motivation. Ten tips for questionnaires on employee motivation 1. What is the ‘primary aim’ of your company? Your employees may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business. Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your company’s principles, priorities and mission. 2. What obstacles stop employees performing to best effect? Questionnaires on employee motivation should include questions about what employees are tolerating in their work and home lives. The company can eliminate practices that zap motivation. 3. What really motivates your staff? It is often assumed that all people are motivated by the same things. Actually we are motivated by a whole range of factors. Include questions to elicit what really motivates employees, including learning about their values. Are they motivated by financial rewards, status, praise and acknowledgment, competition, job security, public recognition, fear, perfectionism, results†¦ 4. Do employees feel empowered? Do your employees feel they have job descriptions that give them some autonomy and allow them to find their own solutions or are they given a list of tasks to perform and simply told what to do? 5. Are there any recent changes in the company that might have affected motivation? If your company has made redundancies, imposed a recruitment freeze or lost a number of key people this will have an effect on motivation. Collect information from  employees about their fears, thoughts and concerns relating to these events. Even if they are unfounded, treat them with respect and honesty. 6. What are the patterns of motivation in your company? Who is most motivated and why? What lessons can you learn from patches of high and low motivation in your company? 7. Are employee goals and company goals aligned? First, the company needs to establish how it wants individuals to spend their time based on what is most valuable. Secondly this needs to be compared with how individuals actually spend their time. You may find employees are highly motivated but about the â€Å"wrong† priorities. 8. How do employees feel about the company? Do they feel safe, loyal, valued and taken care of? Or do they feel taken advantage of, dispensable and invisible? Ask them what would improve their loyalty and commitment. 9. How involved are employees in company development? Do they feel listened to and heard? Are they consulted? And, if they are consulted, are their opinions taken seriously? Are there regular opportunities for them to give feedback? 10. Is the company’s internal image consistent with its external one? Your company may present itself to the world as the ‘caring airline’, ‘the forward thinking technology company’ or the ‘family hotel chain’. Your employees would have been influenced, and their expectations set, to this image when they joined your company. If you do not mirror this image within your company in the way you treat employees you may notice motivation problems. Find out what the disparity is between the employees image of the company from the outside and from the inside.  © Blaire Palmer 2004-12.  tips on structure, format and style of employee questionnaires Use the questionnaire guidelines above when creating content and subject matter for your employee motivation and satisfaction questionnaires and surveys. Here are some additional tips about questionnaires and surveys structure, format  and style: Create a clear, readable ‘inviting’ structure. Use ‘white-out’ boxes for answers, scores, and for check-boxes, which clearly show the parts which need completing. Use a clear 11 or 12 point (font) typeface. 10 point is difficult to read for some people. Avoid italics and fancy graphics – they just make the document more difficult and more time-consuming to read. Look at the writing tips and techniques for other useful pointers in creating good printed communications. Apply the same principles if your survey questionnaire form is online (ie., screen-based). Where possible try to use specific questions with multiple-choice answers, rather than general ‘open-ended’ questions. Specific questions improve clarity and consistency of understanding among respondents, and a multiple-choice format enables the answers to be converted into scores which can be loaded into a spreadsheet and very easily analysed. General or vague questions on the other hand tend to lead to varying interpretation (or confusion) among respondents; also, by inviting an open-ended answer you will generate lots of narrative-based and subjective opinions, which might be very interesting, but will be very time-consuming to read, and even more time-consuming to analyse, especially if you are surveying a large group of employees. Here is an example: Open-ended question: What do you think of the Performance Appraisal System? (This will produce varied narrative responses = difficult to analyse.) Multiple-choice question: Rate the effectiveness of the Performance Appraisal System in providing you with clear and agreed training and development: Good/Okay/Not Good/Poor (By asking respondents to check boxes or delete as necessary the multiple-choice answers will produce extremely clear answers to a specific question that can be converted into scores and very easily analysed) Use four options in multiple-choice questions rather than three or five. Three and five options typically offer a middle ‘don’t know’ or ‘average’ selection. Using four, with no middle cop-out will ensure that everybody decides one way or the other: satisfactory or not, which is what you need to know. Mid-way ‘average’ non-committal answers are not helpful, so avoid giving respondents that option. If you go to the trouble of creating, managing and analysing a huge staff survey surely it’s a good idea to produce as much meaningful data as possible. Certain questions are suitable for numerical or percentage scoring by respondents, in which case  use such a system (again ensure you avoid offering scores which equate to ‘average’ or ‘don’t know’). For example: Score-based question: Score the extent to which you enjoy your work: 1-5 = don’t enjoy, 6-10 = enjoy. (By providing a clear differentiation between do and don’t, this 1-10 scoring system gives a wide range of choices, and at the same time a clear result.) Check with a sample of respondents that they understand the draft questions in the way you intend, before you print and issue the questionnaire to all six hundred or however many staff. Designing questionnaires and communications in isolation can produce strange results – not just politicians get out of touch – so check you are actually on the same planet, in terms of your aims, language and meaning, as the people whose views you seek. Make sure you explain to all staff beforehand that you’ll be publishing the survey findings, and then afterwards ensure you do so. And then act on the findings. If your MD/CEO is not fully behind your initiative, then go work for a different company whose MD/CEO properly supports the concept of consulting the folk whose efforts underpin his success (not to mention his share options, second home and Porsche etc.) Allow people to complete the survey questionnaires anonymously. If helpful to you and you have a purpose for doing so, you can ask people to identify which department/region/office they belong to, assuming such information is genuinely useful to you and you can handle the analysis. KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. Break complex questions into digestible parts. Keep the survey to a sensible length – probably 20 minutes to complete it is a sensible limit of most people’s tolerance. You can always follow up later in the year with another survey, especially if people enjoy completing it, and they see that the feedback and analysis process is helpful to them as well as the employer (see the point about MD/CEO support above). By all means at the end of the questionnaire invite and allow space for ‘any other comments’, or better still try to guide respondents towards a particular question. On which point, wherever it is necessary to ask an open-ended question, use the words ‘what’ and ‘how’ rather than ‘why’, if you want to discover motives and reasons. What and How will focus respondents on the facts objectively, whereas ‘why’ tends to focus respondents on defending themselves. Examples: It’s okay to ask: What factors could be changed to help staff enjoy their work more in the XYZ depot? Whereas it’s not very clever to ask: Why is there such a crap attitude among staff at XYZ depot? The second example is daft of course, but you see the point. managing (just), or leading? In this excellent guide article by motivation expert Blaire Palmer, ten central points (for some, myths) of employee motivation are exposed and explained, many with real case study references and examples. employee motivation principles – a short case study – sounds familiar? When Michael started his own consultancy he employed top people; people he’d worked with in the past who had shown commitment, flair and loyalty and who seemed to share his values. But a few months down the line one of his team members started to struggle. Jo was putting in the hours but without enthusiasm. Her confidence was dropping; she was unfocused and not bringing in enough new business. Michael explained to Jo the seriousness of the situation. Without new business he would lose the company and that would mean her job. He showed her the books to illustrate his point. He again ran through her job description and the procedures she was expected to follow. He told her that he was sure she was up to the job but he really needed her to bring in the new business or they would all be out on their ear. Jo told Michael that she understood. She was doing her best but she’d try harder. But a month later nothing had changed. After an initial burst of energy, Jo was back to her old ways. No matter how experienced a leader you are, chances are at times you have struggled to motivate certain individuals. You’ve tried every trick in the book. You’ve sat down one-to-one with the individual concerned and explained the situation. You’ve outlined the big vision again in the hope of inspiring them. You’ve given them the bottom line: â€Å"Either you pull your finger out or your job is on the line†. You’ve dangled a carrot in front of them: â€Å"If you make your targets you’ll get a great bonus†. And sometimes it works. But not every time. And there have been casualties. Ultimately if someone can’t get the job done they have to go. The granddaddy of motivation theory, Frederick Herzberg, called traditional motivation strategies ‘KITA’ (something similar to Kick In The  Pants). He used the analogy of a dog. When the master wants his dog to move he either gives it a nudge from behind, in which case the dog moves because it doesn’t have much choice, or he offers it a treat as an inducement, in which case it is not so much motivated by wanting to move as by wanting choc drops! KITA does the job (though arguably not sustainably) but it’s hard work. It means every time you want the dog to move you have to kick it (metaphorically). Wouldn’t it be better if the dog wanted to move by itself? Transferring this principle back in to the workplace, most motivation strategies are ‘push’ or ‘pull’ based. They are about keeping people moving either with a kick from behind (threats, fear, tough targets, complicated systems to check people follow a procedure) or by offering choc drops (bonuses, grand presentations of the vision, conferences, campaigns, initiatives, etc). 10 management motivation examples to illustrate that there are better ways to motivate employees Blaire Palmer’s experience has enabled her to work with a wide range of individuals and groups from a variety of backgrounds. Some of these people are highly motivated themselves, but struggle to extend this state of mind to the people they manage. Other people are at the receiving end of KITA motivation strategies that (obviously) aren’t working on them. These people know they ‘should’ be more engaged with their work. Sometimes they fake it for a few months but it’s not sustainable. In this paper Blaire identifies some common assumptions about motivation and presents some new paradigms that can help motivate more effectively. By adding these coaching tools and motivation principles to your capabilities you should find the job of leading those around you, and/or helping others to do the same, more of a joyful and rewarding activity. Instead of spending all your time and energy pushing and cajoling (in the belief that your people’s motivation must come from you) you will be able to focus on leading your team, and enabling them to achieve their full potential – themselves. Ultimately, motivation must come from within each person. No leader is ever the single and continuing source of motivation for a person. While the leader’s encouragement, support, inspiration, and example will at times motivate followers, the  leader’s greatest role in motivating is to recognise people for who they are, and to help them find their own way forward by making best use of their own strengths and abilities. In this way, achievement, development, and recognition will all come quite naturally to the person, and it is these things which are the true fuels of personal motivation. By necessity these case studies initially include some negative references and examples, which I would urge you to see for what they are. How not to do things, and negative references, don’t normally represent a great platform for learning and development. In life it’s so important always to try to accentuate the positive – to encourage positive visualisation – so, see the negatives for what they are; silly daft old ways that fail, and focus on the the positives in each of these examples. There are very many. motivation example 1 – ‘everyone is like me’ One of the most common assumptions we make is that the individuals who work for us are motivated by the same factors as us. Perhaps you are motivated by loyalty to the company, enjoying a challenge, proving yourself to others or making money. One great pitfall is to try to motivate others by focusing on what motivates you. Marie, a director in her company, was being coached. She was a perfectionist. Every day she pushed herself to succeed and was rewarded with recognition from her peers. But she was unable to get the same standard of work from her team members. In the first few weeks of her coaching she would say, â€Å"If only people realised how important it was to put in 110% and how good it felt to get the acknowledgment, then they would start to feel more motivated†. But it wasn’t working. Instead people were starting to become resentful towards Marie’s approach. Acknowledgment was a prime motivator for Marie so to help her consider some other options, she was helped to brainstorm what else might motivate people in their work. Marie’s list grew: ‘learning new skills’, ‘accomplishing a goal as part of a team’, ‘creativity’, ‘achieving work-life balance’, ‘financial rewards’ and ‘the adrenaline rush of working to tight deadlines’. Marie began to see that perhaps her team were indeed motivated – it was simply that the team members were motivated in a different ways to her own. If the leader can tap into and support the team members’ own motivations then the leader begins to help people to realise their full potential. motivation example 2 – ‘no-one is like me’ Since the 1980’s, research has shown that although we know that we are motivated by meaningful and satisfying work (which is supported by Herzberg’s timeless theory on the subject, and virtually all sensible research ever since), we assume others are motivated mainly by financial rewards. Chip Heath, associate professor at Stanford University carried out research that found most people believe that others are motivated by ‘extrinsic rewards’, such as pay or job security, rather than ‘intrinsic motivators’, like a desire to learn new skills or to contribute to an organisation. Numerous surveys show that most people are motivated by intrinsic factors, and in this respect we are mostly all the same. Despite this, while many leaders recognise that their own motivation is driven by factors that have nothing to do with money, they make the mistake of assuming that their people are somehow different, and that money is central to their motivation. If leaders assume that their team members only care about their pay packet, or their car, or their monthly bonus, this inevitably produces a faulty and unsustainable motivational approach. Leaders must recognise that people are different only in so far as the different particular ‘intrinsic’ factor(s) which motivate each person, but in so far as we are all motivated by ‘intrinsic’ factors, we are all the same. motivation example 3 – ‘people don’t listen to me’ When some people talk, nearly everyone listens: certain politicians, business leaders, entertainers; people we regard as high achievers. You probably know people a little like this too. You may not agree with what they say, but they have a presence, a tone of voice and a confidence that is unmistakable. Fundamentally these people are great sales-people. They can make an unmitigated disaster sound like an unqualified victory. But do you need to be like this to motivate and lead? Certainly not. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the only people who can lead others to success and achieve true excellence, and are the high-profile, charismatic, ‘alpha-male/female’ types. This is not true. James was a relatively successful salesman but he was never at the top of his team’s league table.  In coaching sessions he would wonder whether he would ever be as good as his more flamboyant and aggressive colleagues. James saw himself as a sensitive person and was concerned that he was too sensitive for the job. James was encouraged to look at how he could use his sensitivity to make more sales and beat his teammates. He reworked his sales pitch and instead of focusing his approach on the product, he based his initial approach on building rapport and asking questions. He made no attempt to ‘sell’. Instead he listened to the challenges facing the people he called and asked them what kind of solution they were looking for. When he had earned their trust and established what they needed he would then describe his product. A character like James is also typically able to establish highly reliable and dependable processes for self-management, and for organising activities and resources, all of which are attributes that are extremely useful and valued in modern business. When he began to work according to his natural strengths, his sales figures went through the roof. Each of us has qualities that can be adapted to a leadership role and/or to achieve great success. Instead of acting the way we think others expect us to, we are more likely to get others behind us and to succeed if we tap in to our natural, authentic style of leadership and making things happen. The leader has a responsibility to facilitate this process. motivation example 4 – ‘some people can’t be motivated’ While it’s true that not everyone has the same motivational triggers, as already shown, the belief that some people cannot be motivated is what can lead to the unedifying ‘pep-talk and sack them’ cycle favoured by many X-Theory managers. Typically managers use conventional methods to inspire their teams, reminding them that they are ‘all in this together’ or that they are ‘working for the greater good’ or that the management has ‘complete faith in you’, but when all this fails to make an impact the manager simply sighs and hands the troublesome employee the termination letter. The reality is that motivating some individuals does involve an investment of time. When his manager left the company, Bob was asked by the site director, Frank, to take over some extra responsibility. As well as administrative work he would be more involved in people management and report directly to Frank. Frank saw this as a promotion for Bob and assumed  that he would be flattered and take to his new role with gusto. Instead Bob did little but complain. He felt he had too much to do, he didn’t trust the new administrator brought in to lighten his workload, and he felt resentful that his extra responsibility hadn’t come with extra pay. Frank was a good manager and told Bob that he simply had to be a little more organised, and that he (Frank) had complete belief in Bob to be able to handle this new challenge. But Bob remained sullen. So Frank took a different approach: He tried to see the situation from Bob’s point of view. Bob enjoyed his social life, but was no longer able to leave the office at 5pm. Bob was dedicated to doing a good job, but was not particularly ambitious, so promotion meant little to him. Bob was also expected to work more closely now with a colleague with whom he clashed. Then Frank looked at how Bob might perceive him as his boss. He realised Bob probably thought Frank’s hands-off management style meant he didn’t care. To Bob it might look as if Frank took no direct interest except when he found fault. Finally, Frank looked at the situation Bob was in to see if there was anything bringing out the worst in him. He realised two weeks of every month were effectively ‘down-time’ for Bob, followed by two weeks where he was overloaded with work. Having set aside his assumptions about Bob and armed with a more complete picture from Bob’s point of view, Frank arranged for the two of them to meet to discuss a way forward. Now the two were able to look at the real situation, and to find a workable way forward. While there is no guarantee that this approach will always work, ‘seeking to understand’, as Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ puts it, is generally a better first step than ‘seeking to be understood’. It’s easier to help someone when you see things from their point of view. motivation example 5 – ‘but I am listening’ We are always told how valuable listening is as a leadership tool and encouraged to do more of it. So, when we remember, we listen really hard, trying to catch every detail of what is being said and maybe follow up with a question to show that we caught everything. This is certainly important. Checking your email, thinking about last night’s big game and planning your weekend certainly stop you from hearing what is being said. But there is another important aspect to listening and that is: Listening Without  Judgement. Often when an employee tells us why they are lacking motivation we are busy internally making notes about what is wrong with what they are saying. This is pre-judging. It is not listening properly. Really listening properly means shutting off the voice in your head that is already planning your counter-argument, so that you can actually hear, understand and interpret what you are being told. See the principles of empathy. This is not to say that ‘the employee is always right’, but only when you can really understand the other person’s perception of the situation are you be able to help them develop a strategy that works for them. Listening is about understanding how the other person feels – beyond merely the words that they say. motivation example 6 – ‘if they leave I’ve failed’ What happens if, at their meeting, Bob admits to Frank that he doesn’t see his future with that company? What if he says the main reason he is demotivated is that he isn’t really suited to the company culture, and would be happier elsewhere? Has Frank failed? Not necessarily. It’s becoming more widely accepted that the right and sustainable approach is to help individual employees to tap in to their true motivators and understand their core values. Katherine Benziger’s methodologies are rooted in this philosophy: Employees who ‘falsify type’ (ie., behave unnaturally in order to satisfy external rather than internal motives and drivers) are unhappy, stressed, and are unable to sustain good performance. Effort should be focused on helping people to align company goals with individual aspirations. Look at Adam’s Equity Theory to help understand the complexity of personal motivation and goals alignment. Motivation and goals cannot be imposed from outside by a boss – motivation and goals must be determined from within the person, mindful of internal needs, and external opportunities and rewards. Sometimes the person and the company are simply unsuited. In a different culture, industry, role or team that individual would be energised and dedicated, whereas in the present environment the same person doesn’t fit. Sometimes ‘success’ doesn’t look the way we expect it to. A successful outcome for an individual and for a company may be that a demotivated person, having identified what sort of work and environment would suit them better, leaves to find their ideal job elsewhere. You  succeed as a leader by helping and enabling people to reach their potential and to achieve fulfilment. If their needs and abilities could be of far greater value elsewhere, let them go; don’t force them to stay out of loyalty. Helping them identify and find a more fitting role elsewhere not only benefits you and them – it also enables you to find a replacement who is really suited and dedicated to the job. True leaders care about the other person’s interests – not just your own interests and the interests of your organization. motivation example 7 – ‘the same factors that demotivate, motivate’ When asked what brought about lack of motivation at work, the majority of people in research carried out by Herzberg blamed ‘hygiene factors’ such as working conditions, salary and company policy. When asked what motivated them they gave answers such as ‘the sense of achievement’, ‘recognition’, ‘the opportunity to grow and advance’ and ‘greater responsibility’. Herzberg’s findings about human motivation have been tested and proven time and gain. His theory, and others like it, tell us that the factors that demotivate do not necessarily motivate when reversed. The conventional solution to dissatisfaction over pay levels would be to increase pay in the belief that people would then work harder and be more motivated. However, this research shows that whilst increasing wages, improving job security and positive working relationships have a marginal impact, the main factors that characterise extreme satisfaction at work are: achievement, recognition, interesting work, responsibility, advancement and growth. So it follows that leaders who focus on these aspects – people’s true motivational needs and values – are the true leaders. Help people to enrich their work and you will truly motivate. motivation example 8 – ‘people will rise to tough challenges’ Many managers hope to motivate by setting their people challenging targets. They believe that raising the bar higher and higher is what motivates. Tracey was an effective and conscientious account manager. Her boss habitually set her increasingly tough objectives, which Tracey generally achieved. However, in achieving her targets last month Tracey worked several eighteen-hour days, travelled extensively overseas, and had not had a single weekend break. Sometimes Tracey would mention to her boss that the effort was taking its toll on her health and happiness. When Tracey handed in her latest monthly report, her boss said, ‘You see? It’s worth all the hard work. So, don’t complain about it again.’ Her boss’s belief was that Tracey would get a sense of satisfaction from completing an almost impossible workload. He was relying on her sense of duty – which she had in bucket-loads – to get the job done. But this is the KITA style of motivation. It doesn’t really acknowledge a dedication to the job or a sense of pride. Its leverage or ‘motivation’ is simply a lack of choice. Job enlargement is different to Job enhancement. Herzberg’s research shows that improving the ‘meaningfulness’ of a job (see also motivation example 7) has the motivational impact, not simply increasing the amount of pressure or volume of the tasks. Achievement for achievement’s sake is no basis for motivation – a person’s quality of life must benefit too. motivation example 9 – ‘I tried it and it didn’t work’ When you try new things – new motivational ideas, especially which affect relationships and feelings – it is normal for things initially to get a little worse. Change can be a little unsettling at first. But keep the faith. People are naturally sceptical of unconventional motivational approaches. They may wonder why you have suddenly taken such an interest in them. They may feel you are giving them too much responsibility or be concerned that changes in the way they work may lead to job losses. Herzberg’s research is among other evidence, and modern experience, that after an initial drop in performance, people quickly adjust and respond to more progressive management and motivational attitudes. Supporting and coaching people through this stage of early doubt is vital. Encourage and help people to grow and develop, and performance improvement is inevitable. motivation example 10 – ‘this type of motivation takes too much time’ If you’ve absorbed the ideas above, you might wonder where you would find the time to motivate people using these approaches. It is true that this style of leadership, sustainable motivation, commitment and focus is in the beginning more time consuming than ‘KITA’ methods; this is bound to be,  since KITA methods require far less thought. Engaging fully with your staff, understanding their wants, desires and values, getting to know them as individuals and developing strategies that achieve a continuous release of energy is more intensive and takes time to work. But consider the advantages. This investment of time means you will eventually have less to do. Instead of constantly urging your people along and having to solve all the problems yourself, you’ll be the leader of a group performing at a higher level of ability and productivity, giving you the chance to step back from fire-fighting and to consider the bigger picture. Herzberg was not alone in identifying that leaders need invest in the development of their teams, and also of their own successors. See leadership theories. Douglas McGregor’s X-Y Theory is central too. So is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, from the individual growth perspective. And see also Bruce Tuckman’s ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing’ model. All of these renowned theories clearly demonstrate the need for teams, and the individuals within them, to be positively led and developed. Your responsibility as leader is to develop your team so that it can take on more and more of your own responsibility. A mature team should be virtully self-managing, leaving you free to concentrate on all the job-enhancing strategic aspects that you yourself need in order to keep motivated and developing. The technical content of this article was provided by UK-based expert in organizational development Blaire Palmer, which is gratefully acknowledged. Name:- Sunil Kumar Sharma EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project is an attempt to give knowledge about Motivational technique of Tata steel company on their employees. It aims to make its reader well versed with each and every aspect of Kingfisher Airlines. It throws light on the following:- 1. In 1st Chapter you will find the objective of doing the project on Tata Steel 2. In 2nd Chapter of this report, you will find that the research methodology of the report is mentioned. 3. In 3rd chapter you will find an  overview of Tata Steel, in which you will find it’s the history of Tata Steel, current destination, departments, motivational technique, steps dose HR manager takes to manage employee of organization. In it you will also find about the Events, Awards, about the Management Team. 4. In 4th Chapter you will find conclusion and suggestion on the project on Motivational Technique of Tata Steel 5. In 5th Chapter you will find some of the limitations of project being face by me. 6. In 6th Chapter you will find the various sources I referred for gathering information. This project is overall an attempt to make you aware or to cover every possible aspect of Tata Steel in Delhi. OBJECTIVE 1. To understand the importance of employee motivation in Tata Steel 2. To analyze the monetary method of motivating employee 3. To analyze the non-monetary method of motivating employee 4. To understand the difficulties/challenges found in caring out the strategies 5. Finally, to recommend how Tata Steel can improve its motivational strategies LIMITATION 1. The data could be gathered from secondary source thus any error in the information would have also got replicated in this report 2. Time constraint was the major limitation faced by the researcher 3. Another problem was knowledge constraint and this report was an attempt to gather as much of relevant data as possible 4. Another constraint was the lack of information regarding proper route map by the organization due to which it could not be included in the project report 5. Difficult to meet right people at Tata Steel for project concern 6. Very expensive CONCLUSION AND SUGESTION After doing a study of this project representing on Motivation technique of leading company Tata Steel, I have come to a conclusion that Tata Steel is one of the largest and most widespread of the manufacturing company and well planned in motivational tools, Tata Steel have adopted various technique for all different level of management In all Tata Steel Organization, new approaches to motivation are being used. In many territories, the strategies  are manual but, as automated methods become more pervasive, those mechanisms that support its use will assume greater popularity Whatever the strategies selected for use, the objective is to motivate employees and make him more qualified, committed individuals into the organizations and ensure that the provision of Tata Steel to the their employee is timely and effective, that the goods are of consistent high quality and that the organizations achieve the objectives for which they have been established Tata Steel also manage their Monetary and non monetary methods of motivation system between all level of management according to their preference RECOMMENDATION 1. From the above research on motivational technique of Tata Steel they should be categorized their employee according to their motivational methods and make a research on it that which employee wants monetary method of motivation and which employee prefer non monetary method of motivational technique 2. Most probably all employee should be motivated by both method somehow that create a balance between employees thinking 3. There are many levels of management in Tata Steel organization I prefer him to take care of separate department 4. Tata Steel needs to undertake aggressive motivational technique at a time of emergency 5. New approaches should be identified and rewarded so that it serves as example for others Motivation Techniques at Microsoft Motivation Techniques at Microsoft With more than 4,000 of its 27,000 employees already millionaires, Microsoft faces the challenge of figuring out how to motivating its employees though means other than pay raises. While this problem is not unique to Microsoft, the circumstances under which this problem evolved however, are. As a company that must caters to the needs of the ‘professional’ worker, Microsoft’s motivational strategy should center around recognition of individual employee achievements, the work itself, responsibility, growth, and other characteristics that people find intrinsically rewarding. By simple virtue of its position as a high-tech company – where highly trained, highly skilled ‘professional’ workers account for the vast majority of its  employees – under normal circumstances money factors would play only limited role in actually motivating employees. As a company composed of ‘paper millionaires,’ Microsoft is in a unique position – while many Microsoft employees may be labeled ‘professional’ employees, the company’s financial position will play a special interest to many of its employees. As Microsoft stock-holders, the average Microsoft millionaire (the so called paper millionaire’) has a vested interest in helping the company succeed and advance its financial position. This is true because the stockholder will directly correlate the amount of money they earn with the perceived worth to the organization. Driven by the idea that their financial success or failures are directly related to the performance (as well as public image) of the company, these employees will work with great vigor to maintain the success of their company. Until their financial position no longer depends on the company’s stock performance – that is, until theses employees sell their stock and secure their fortunes – the Microsoft millionaires will likely view themselves as masters of their own destiny. Hard work, they are likely to reason, will translate into better company performance which in turn, will translate into steady (if not increasing) stock performance. Clearly, money plays an important role in motivating job performance. But as mentioned earlier, money has its limitations as a motivator, especially in the world of the ‘professional’ worker. In the work of management theorist Frederick Herzberg, a fair salary is considered a â€Å"hygiene† factor – something people need as an incentive to do the jobs they are hired to do. Hygiene factors include adequate workspace, light and heat, and the necessary tools such as a computer or telephone. Without any of these items, employees will be demotivated and unable to do their jobs. Having all of these items, however, will enable employees to do their jobs but will do nothing to help them do the best job possible. Getting people to do their best work is more a function of what Herzberg call â€Å"motivators.† These include praise and recognition, challenging work, and growth and development opportunities. As ‘professional’ workers Microsoft’s employees have, for the most part, meet their hygienic needs. Microsoft employees are largely skilled workers who derive satisfaction from their work itself. Such workers possess a strong sense of commitment to not only their field of expertise but also to their employer as well. As such, Microsoft’s employees will want to identify with the success of their profession and their organization. Since professionals often enjoy the challenge of problem solving, some of the rewards of their job will likely come from the work itself. This implies that managers should provide professionals with new assignments and challenging projects. Managers should give the professional autonomy to follow their interests and allow them to structure their work in ways they find productive. Professionals should be rewarded with recognition and educational opportunities that allow them to keep current in their fields. Recognition boosts employees’ esteem and performance. Recognition, on the other hand, is what you do above and beyond what people are paid to get the best effort from employees. Compensation is a right, but recognition, however, is a gift which validates the importance of their work.

Animal Testing Research Paper

Abstract With animal testing, the killing and harming innocent animals, being around for centuries with little change, will exploiting the facts that the public does not know about, help put an end to all the product and medication testing on animals? Introduction Animal testing has been around for centuries, when it really should be one of those â€Å"cruel memories† of things we have done in the past, but will not let in happen again in the future. Rats, Mice, Rabbits, and a whole slew of other animals are forced to endure massive quantities of testing substances or endure pain by having harmful chemicals applied to their bodies, even though the testing may have nothing to do with anything relatable for human use. My purpose for this subject is to let people think twice about buying a product, or hopefully helping put this inhuman testing to an end. When did animal testing originate? The history of animal testing goes back to the writings of the Greeks in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Erasistratus (304-250 BC) were among the first group of people to perform experiments on living animals. A physician in 2nd-century Rome, dissected pigs and goats and is known as the â€Å"father of vivisection†, when his real name is Galen. Avenzoar, whom is also a physician but of Arabic, also practiced dissection in 12th-century Moorish Spain, and introduced animal testing as an acceptable experimental method of testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients. (Cohen Loew, 2013) What is animal testing? Animal testing, a phrase that most people unsure of exactly what is involved but have heard it before. There are many names, animal testing, animal experimentation or animal research, it all refers to the experimentation carried out on animals. Its main purpose in why it is used, is to assess the safety and effectiveness of everything from medication to cosmetics. We also use it to help find a better understanding of how the human body works. Supporters believe it is a necessary practice and obliteration to animals for our bettering and the deaths of the animals are well worth the cause. Then there are those opposed to animal testing because they believe it involves the torture and suffering of innocent animals (Ian Murnaghan BSc (hons), 2011) Who does animal testing affect? Animal testing affects everyone in the modern world today. It is primarily used to help save lives. The testing is performed so that there is a better understanding of what reactions drugs may have, so that we can figure out which drugs help which diseases, as well as observe how certain drugs affect conditions such as pregnancy and other side effects they may cause like cancer. Another part of animal testing is to help promote a product or to understand the effects of those products and the percentile of which those effects may cause. This might include testing makeup, lotions, or food products. Animal testing main support is from those people that believe the animals in our world today, are a close link to humans, and therefore allow them to be tested to see what effects drugs, products, or foods have on our society. A second opinion humans have, is that animal testing is a cruel and inhumane, torturous act, and should not be done to anyone or anything, no matter what the benefit might be to the human species (Contributor, 2012). Animal Testing Funds The United States government spends up to the sum of $14. 5 billion in a year in any research involving experimentation on animals. These experiments will often lead to death or unwarranted consequences for the animals involved. Some projects are funded for decades by the siphoning of the US taxpayers dollars and resulting in cruel treatment and deaths of an unfathomable number of animals. About 47% of research grants have an animal research-based component according to NIH, National Institutes of Health, and documents. The number has been very consistent over the last decade (Newcomer, 2013). Where do companies get money for testing? Many companies today get their funding for research from the NIH. Other companies also receiving money from the NIH are numerous colleges around the U. S. A. whom are primarily receiving grants to experiment on animals. The NIH is a biomedical research facility located in Bethesda, Maryland. They are part of the United States department of Health and Human Services. These agencies are primarily used to do biomedical and health-related research. NIH uses the Intramural Research Program to conducts scientific research through. 80% of the NIH funding, is used as research grants to outside researchers. They give approximately 500,000 grants to an approximate 325,000 researchers that consists of more than 3000 institutions. In 2010 alone, NIH spent around $10. 7 billion on just clinical research. On top of that, they also spent $7. 4 billion on genetics-related research, $6. 0 billion on prevention research, $5. 8 billion on cancer research, and $5. 7 billion on biotechnology research which almost all include the torture of other species on Earth (Health, 2013). How much does it cost? Each year in the United States, there are approximately 100 million animals that are tormented and killed in experiments conducted to better humans. Much of this cruelty is highly supported by the National Institutes of Health, and the United State government, since the NIH is a department of the government. The NIH allocates a minimum of 40% of its annual research budget just towards animal experimentation. Based on the NIH’s 2010 budget, this accounts for more the $16 billion in US taxpayer money alone (PETA, 2013). Substitutes for Animal Testing There are nearly 50 different alternative methods and testing strategies that have been developed, validated and/or accepted by international regulatory authorities. These non-animal methods usually take less time to complete then using the crude, archaic methods animal testing that they meant to replace. In addition, these methods cost only a fraction of what animal experiments burn through, cash wise, and are not affected by a species differences from humans that make applying test results to humans difficult or impossible (PETA, Alternatives to Animal Testin, 2013). Corrositex Testing Corrositex is a non-animal alternative toxicology test. Although this is not a classical â€Å"in vitro† style test, Corrositex uses a synthetic membrane-based detection system to determine the UN packing group classification of chemicals, consumer products, or other hazardous materials. The results, expressed as a break-through time, correlate well with rabbit dermal corrosively tests. In the Corrositex testing system, a glass vial filled with a chemical detection fluid and is capped by a proprietary bio-barrier membrane. This membrane is designed to mimic the effect of corrosives on living skin. Corrositex measures the time required for a test article to pass through a hydrated collagen matrix and supporting filter membrane (Corrositex, 2010). Technological Advancements The NIH has recognized that animal models do not always accurately predict a drug efficacy in people, and they are starting to support the generation of more reliable and predictive models. The use of different human cell types, in series of combinations, will help generate micro-sized physiological systems which can â€Å"talk to each other† and better address the biological complexities of whole living organisms. This â€Å"human body chip† technology would start to allow scientists to look for specific profiles in cells and would help identify human safe compounds to allow testing on people. This technology represents significant advantages over animal models because it relies on human cells which is more like what they are going to be applied to then the use of a completely different species, and is more likely to be predictive of what happens in people in the product or drugs current form (Society, n. d. ). What happens during testing? The government describes an animal experiment as a â€Å"procedure† that is ‘likely to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. ’ Many experiments cause extreme suffering, often to the point of the animal’s death. Even when they are not being experimented on, animals suffer stress in laboratories where they are typically kept in barren containers or kennels, often in solitary confinement. After the animals have been used in experiments, they are usually killed to prevent being released and causing an evolutionary process in the wild that was created in the lab (Aid, 2013). Killings Injuries According the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in 2006 there were about 670,000 animals that were used in procedures which did not include more than a momentary pain or distress. About 420,000 were used in procedures in which pain or distress was relieved by anesthesia, while there were 84,000 which were used in studies that would cause pain or distress that would not be relieved. In the UK, research projects are classified as mild, moderate, and substantial which is measured in terms of the suffering that they, the researchers conducting the study, say they may cause. There is also a fourth category of â€Å"unclassified†, which means the animal was anesthetized and killed without recovering consciousness, according to researchers (Ryder, 2013). Subjected to horrible unsafe procedures Research reveals that only 5% to 25% of the animal tests and human results are agreeable! Most of the drugs passed by animal tests are discarded due to the fact that they are useless to humans. The conditions under which the animals are subjected to these human experimentations, have caused tumors in rodents, while the animal test results were declared to be of little relevance for humans! The only explanation being offered for this declaration, is the mere fact that there are anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans. It is important to note that even though animals are almost always used in cancer research, they never get the human form of cancer which also affects membranes like the lungs. With all that research being done that only yield maybe 5% success, almost 9% of the anesthetized animals in the laboratory die. These animals have a better chance of dying then actually helping us develop something successful. Most medical experts agree that data from animal test cannot be extrapolated safely to human patients without any altercations to the drugs (Buzzle, 2013). Companies using and not using animal testing There are a lot of companies that test on animals that we buy from every day. Some of these companies are 3M, Air Wick, Almay, Band-Aid, Blue Buffalo, Febreze, and the list goes on. There are some companies though that do not test on animals such as Abercrombie Fitch, Absolute Green, Aloe Vera of America, and more. It seems like all the companies we know and buy from use some form of animal testing for their product, and yet there are others companies that we have not have hardly heard of, don’t test on animals. Companies use the warning labels saying â€Å"animal tested† Animal testing by manufacturers seeking to market new products may be used to establish product safety. In some cases, after considering available alternatives, companies determine that animal testing is necessary to assure the safety of their product or ingredient. FDA supports and adheres the provisions of applicable laws regulations, and policies the governing animal testing. FDA supports the developments and uses of alternatives to whole-animal testing, as well as adherence to the most humane methods available with the limits of scientific capabilities when animals are used for testing the safety of cosmetic products (FDA, 2006). Types of animals being tested on, and what is tested on them Researchers use many different types of animals, mice, rabbits, dogs, ferrets, and fish to name a few. The type of animal selected for study often depends solely depends on a combination of factors; previous research involving that animal type, scientific relevance, accessibility, and practical aspects of implementation of the product or item being tested. Government agencies also require that any drugs used in humans needs to be tested in at least two different types of animals, one of which is not able to be a rodent. The reason is that a drug can have very different effects on different species of animals (Nordin, 2009). All the animals used in testing/studies Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages in an unfathomable number of laboratories across the country and even the world. Exact numbers are not available because mice, rats, birds, and cold-blooded animals- who make up over 95% of creatures used in experiments, are not covered by even the minimal protections of the Animal Welfare Act and therefore go uncounted (PETA, Animal Testing 101, 2013). Types of products used on animals during testing Mice and rats are forced to inhale toxic fumes, dogs are force-fed pesticides, and rabbits have corrosive chemicals rubbed onto their skin and eyes. Many of these tests are not even required by law, and have often produced inaccurate or misleading results that were pointless towards the end affect when the results had to be tossed and started over for being inaccurate towards the desired end result. Even if a product harms animals, it can still be marketed to consumers. Cruel and deadly toxicity tests are also conducted as a part of the massive regulatory testing programs that often funded by USA taxpayers’ money without them even knowing (PETA, Animal Testing 101, 2013). Conclusion Animal testing should not be something that is taken lightly, where as innocent animals are being tested with harmful products, and it is not fair to them. With our advancements in technologies every day, why are we still using innocent animals to test our products on which in turn may not even give us the results needed or give us false results which makes the tests of those animals useless and obsolete? With people knowing what many of these animals go through, would they sign their own pets up to go through that? Having a heart on this issue is what will end it, animals have lives, should be able to live it in their nature desired ways that is unaffected by humans.

Colonialism & Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Colonialism & Empire - Essay Example As the study declares to begin the debate, one first needs to examine what imperialism fundamentally means, both in terms of the American Empire and in general. Generally examined, Imperialism basically refers to the practice of a nation controlling, or seeking to control, another nation, either through military means or otherwise, and whether in terms of geographical influence or political policies. Imperialist expansion in its traditional form and sense aimed mainly to seek a political, geographical or military advantage to benefit the expanding state, or it was viewed as such, but in recent times, these definitions seem to be changing, with the focus more on the benefit towards the influence country, rather than the inverse. Countries that aim to excise this influence may be referred to as an empire as they henceforth shall be. In the modern day world, America and Russia can be considered to be empires, considering their political influence over regions and countries past their bo rders. While the days of kings and queens is generally over, and we don’t seem to have empires as we traditionally imagine when we hear the word, when viewed from a technical standpoint, and in terms of today’s changing world, an empire is basically a geographically extensive dominion controlled by a singular source point. This paper outlines that considering the political influence America has all over the world, and in particular on certain countries such as Iraq or Afghanistan, as well as other countries like the Philippines or Spain in the past – from which the idea of American Imperialism first sprang up – America too can be, and should be, considered an empire as vast as any historical empire, or a nation-empire, that is, a nation extending its influence to a particular nation or region, individually or in alliance with other nations. Therefore, while the United States might not be an empire in the extremely traditional sense of the world, when considering the modern definition and the central role America plays in the world’s politics, including its considerable influence on them, America does indeed fulfill the definition of an Empire, and therefore, it can be said to have a considerable imperialistic influence as well. The United States first demonstrated imperialism and i ts existence as an empire in the Spanish war of 1898, where the Americans aimed to free Cubans from Spanish Atrocities. This is perhaps similar to the influence the Americans had on the Iraqi people in the war on Iraq, where it aimed to free the people of Iraq from the tyrannic rule of their then leaders. Perhaps it should therefore be said that the modern day word for an Empire is a Superpower, with expansion being referenced to as occupation, and policies that imperialism is originally based upon being termed as tools to help build a nation.  

The Criticisms of Scalon's Millan Principle Essay

The Criticisms of Scalon's Millan Principle - Essay Example The Millian principle on Liberty simply means that certain harms may have had no probability of occurring if, not for some expressed actions. However, once these harms occur, the perpetrators may not justify their actions by legally restricting the actions. These harms include; those that originate from certain acts of expression, which include deceiving the individuals into having false beliefs and acts of expressions, which lead people into acting in ways that may lead to harmful consequences, especially in situations where there is a correlation between the act of expression and the succeeding harmful consequences. This correlation simply includes a mere fact that the act of expression facilitated the agents’ belief or led them to believe that it would be worthy performing the acts. Scanlon defended this principle by illustrating that it was a consequence of a certain idea regarding limits of justifiable political authority. That the government’s legitimate powers ar e restricted to people that can be protected on incompatibility grounds, with the citizen’s authority Scanlon (1979, p. 529). However, Scanlon does not fully agree with this principle. In his criticism, Scanlon argues that the Millian principle aimed at ruling out censorship arguments to which Mill was responding. The principle did this by declaring that the harmful consequences appealed by this argument cannot count as prospective justification for lawful restrictions of expression. However, Scanlon argues that there are supplementary ways of arriving at policies that would seem incompatible with freedom of expression. Freedom of expression refers to the participant’s right not to be prohibited from expressing themselves Bosmajian (1988 p. 122). Scanlon argues that the principle obtains what seems to be an implausible consequence in certain instances. He says that it would be difficult to see how this principle squares laws against misleading advertising on television . In this respect, Scanlon articulates that probably the regulation policies violate the freedom of expression Scanlon (1979, p.534). However, if the policies are acceptable, then they could be paradigms of paternalism. In Scanlon’s view, if anyone could take the first clause of the Millian principle as a restriction set aside in instances where rational capacities are rigorously diminished, it would constitute a dismissal of paternalism. An adequate justification doctrine of paternalism must consider certain factors such as the value associated with the ability for an individual to make their own decisions, the costs of making these decisions and the risks associated with empowering the government to make decisions on people’s behalf. These factors are unique to every case, and may be applicable even in cases where there is no common loss of rational capabilities. However, Scanlon argues that the problems associated with the Millian principle are not only limited to j ustification of paternalism. The principle also protects the interests of important audiences. These interests include the interest of choosing their beliefs and reasons to act on their beliefs. These interests rely not only on the freedom of expression, but also on means of accessing information, education and other issues critical to decision making. Sometimes, supplementary information is

To What Extent Was the Advent of Renaissance Architecture in Britain a Essay

To What Extent Was the Advent of Renaissance Architecture in Britain a Result of the Stuart Court and Monarchy - Essay Example The renaissance took place at different times in different parts of the world. Whenever Renaissance is mentioned, it must be remembered that it has to do with the conscious revival of certain aspects of the cultures of ancient Greek and ancient Roman societies. In terms of timeframe and order of occurrence, renaissance architecture came after Gothic literature. Some of the distinguishing features of renaissance architecture (like classical architecture) include precision of measurement and proportion and symmetry. All these features also took place during the British Renaissance. Renaissance got to Britain during the reign of Elizabeth I. Its advent in Britain can be said to have been influenced by Stuart courts and Monarchy. One must not however fail to realize that although renaissance Britain was the rebirth of classical culture, the purposes of the architecture peculiar to both of them are for different reasons. One of the most memorable attributes of the Stuart monarchy is that they brought to Britain, during their reign, influences from all over Europe and even influences from outside Europe. The implication of this is that, when one wants to consider their influence on British Architecture, it means indirectly that one is to consider the influence of other cultures on British Architecture. When the Stuarts were ruling Britain, the country became a floodgate for the architectural designs that were started in other parts of the world. In actuality, renaissance was not to the British. The rebirth that took place in Britain was only the direct consequence of the events that had taken place and happened earlier in Italy and France. In the first place, if there was never the Greek or Roman civilization, there would never have been anything like Renaissance in any part of the world, let alone in Britain. 1 The essence of all that has been aforementioned is that if the Stuarts rulers had not been so friendly to the arts or if they had not welcomed the architectu ral designs from other parts of the world, the notion of renaissance Britain may not have been possible in the first instance. 3 Some of the influences that the Stuarts took on include those from the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. Then, the influence of other climes was so much that in a single building the building designs of more than one country can be combined. For example, the design of the French and the Italians may be combined in the British Renaissance Architecture design style and this is due to the fact that the Stuarts actually combined the designs of the French and the Italians in moulding the British Renaissance Architecture into what it became. The influence of the Stuart monarchy may be said to be most eminent during the Elizabethan period which marked the beginning of Renaissance in Britain. The round arch which was one of the ensigns of the architecture that emerged during the reign of the Stuart monarchy also resurfaced during the Elizabethan period.1 Yet it does not negate the fact that the Elizabethan period itself had features that were self-generated. One of the features of the architecture of the Elizabethans that shows that not all the architectural structures of the period were a direct influence of the Stuart monarchy is the fact that most windows and doors during the period were round-headed. On the other hand, as it was during

Economic Effects of Consumerism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic Effects of Consumerism - Essay Example The purpose of any economic system should be to meet the basic inescapable demands of its members in an affordable and sustainable manner. However, when the aspect of consumerism comes into effect with its emphasis on conspicuous consumption, the system gets thrown out of gear. The production-consumption cycle becomes a vicious spiral that is difficult to break. Some of the economic effects of consumerism are: Planned Obsolescence / Dissatisfaction. Rather than striving for a state of equilibrium, consumerism dictates that there must be an exponential increase in demand. Hence the advent of the 'disposable' culture which is aimed at increasing demand, as well as sustaining it. This is coupled with advertising which creates a felt need where none existed before by projecting existing products obsolete. This encourages the viewers to 'junk' his old model and buy a new one. These two factors combined serve to promote consumerism to unhealthy levels, but at the same time promote growth and competitiveness. Environmental Effects. ... overcome these limits, most inventions and discoveries have sought to promote consumption rather than trying to rein in consumption in order to bring consumption (demand) and production (supply) into a state of equilibrium. The economic costs of environmental degradation are never factored in as they would make products un-competitive. Promote Inequality. The most glaring drawback of consumerism, however, is that it promotes inequality, by widening the gap between the world's rich, confined to a few countries and the world's poor, spread out all over the globe. "Globally, 20% of the world's people in highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditure - the poorest 20% a miniscule 1.3% " (UNDP). As demonstrated by these figures, consumption is a game of the rich. Increased production therefore does not in any way help to ameliorate the plight of the poor, but rather to satisfy the egos of the rich. In economic terms such a pattern is un-sustainable in the long term and will only result in a social revolution. Since the effects of consumption drive most economies world-wide its effects are also global in nature. The ill-effects of consumerism are well-known and documented; but economic imperatives often over-ride more pragmatic considerations in attempts to move towards a sustainable economic model. Consumerism though promoting growth is nevertheless, not only undermining the environmental resource base but it is also exacerbating inequalities. References Shah Anup, Behind Consumption and Consumerism. Retrieved from www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Consumption.asp United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report 1998 Overview Wikipedia, Consumerism. Retrieved from

Distribution and Graphs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Distribution and Graphs - Essay Example that there will be no introduction of new study ideas, and if we as former high school classmates happen to rank poorly in relation to our colleagues, we could at best retain the lowly performance, and remain on the left tail of the plotted histogram- the poorly performing lot. Even if we ranked well in relation to classmates, it would still be necessary to distribute ourselves among the groups, to attract diversity of views and fresh study styles. Therefore I would favor a group not dominated by my former high school classmates. My choice of a study group may affect my scholastic standing in my chemistry class in the following instances: 1) If my score ranks low and I join a study group that has got brighter students, I will score better in the next exam and move to a position further right in the histogram. 2) If I rank higher than most of my group members, my score is likely to be influenced downwards, which would lead to a shift of my standing further left on the normal distribution plot, an undesirable result. 3) If the study group I join has no implication whatsoever on my score, my position remains the same and there is no right or left shift in my standing on the normal distribution