Understanding the Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown through the Perspective of Human

The 21st century will not only be defined by technology but also by the existence of complex organisations that leverage advances in the field of information technology, computers, and advanced management techniques. This is the reason why a corporation can have a main office in London but can do business all over the globe 24 hours a day and seven days a week.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Understanding the Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown through the Perspective of Human specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Aside from that the needs of a growing population such as urban centres that can hold tens of millions of people also necessitate the creation and maintenance of complex and gigantic structures such as those that deliver water, electricity and gas. The intricate systems that these structures contain multiply the probability of errors. Although there is a system of checks in place these types of faciliti es cannot afford malfunction or human errors. One good example is the nuclear facility in Three-Mile-Island that experienced a meltdown. The cause of the malfunction is linked to what managers now call as â€Å"human factors† and a clear understanding of what it means can help prevent future problems of this magnitude and potential consequence. Human Factor Before going any further it is imperative to get a clear understanding of the impact of human factors on the organisation, technology, and work and safety aspects of a nuclear plant. An excellent backdrop for this study is the definition for this concept as seen below: Human factors is a multidisciplinary field that draws on the methods, data, and principles of the behavioural and social sciences, engineering, physiology, anthropometry, biomechanics, and other disciplines to design systems that are compatible with the capabilities and limitations of the people who will use them. Its goal has been to design system that use human capabilities in appropriate ways, that protect systems from human frailties, and that protect humans from hazards associated with operation of the system (Moray Huey, 1988). This definition was the by-product of assiduous work in the field of nuclear regulatory research. This is research initiative, prompted no doubt by mishaps and other problems encountered by those working under the U.S. nuclear program. The compact definition has to be unpacked in order to appreciate the multidisciplinary aspect of human factors research.Advertising Looking for assessment on other technology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Firstly, all of the supporters of human factors research are in agreement that it simply impractical and unwise to focus on one or few fields when it comes to designing a safe and efficient system, especially when it comes to critical operations such as those that can be found in aviation or nuclear facilities. Se condly, it is not enough to simply increase the scope of study. There is a good reason why they included not only the integration of social and behavioural sciences; they also found the link between these fields and those of engineering, physiology, anthropometry, and biomechanics. Human factors research looks at the people behind the organisation as well as the technology required to accomplish what seems to be a humanly impossible task such as the monitoring and maintenance of critical systems. And finally, the definition suggests that no matter how technology has advanced there will always be a need for human expertise, the human touch is required to keep an operation to run smoothly. But this has another side to it. Due to the participation of humans in the creation, implementation and upkeep of a complex systems such as a nuclear power plant then that particular system is prone to error. Therefore, the purpose of human factors research is to design systems that are well-suited to the capabilities and limitation of the staff and operators handling and maintaining that system (Moray Huey, 1988). This is expounded even further by the realisation that human talents, perception, expectation must be considered into the design or training strategies to prepare those who will use the system. Another major purpose of human factors research is to develop a system that is protected from human frailties (Moray Huey, 1988). It is an acknowledgment that although humans can sometimes outperform machines, for example machines only do what they are programmed to do but can never make adjustments to changing conditions – but at the same time there are limitations to what the human body can do. Machines are not prone to fatigue but humans have limits that can be measured and factored into the design of the system.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Understanding the Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown through the Perspective of Human specifi cally for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Finally, human factors research is not only limited to manufacturing high-quality products and services but it is also about protecting humans from the inherent hazards of a particular system (Moray Huey, 1988). In the case of Three-Mile-Island the potential hazard is the radioactive material within the two nuclear reactors. If radioactive radiation leaks into the atmosphere the first group of individuals who will suffer from contact with radioactive materials are going to be the staff and operators and then if there is a nuclear meltdown then the whole community near the nuclear plant and so their safety must also be included in the overall design. Three-Mile-Island: Review of Facility In September 1978 the people of Pennsylvania took notice of a dedication ceremony for the newly completed nuclear power plant built in an island accessible through the Susquehanna River and it was called after the name of its location and known hereafter as the Three-Mile-Island Nuclear Power Plant (Derkins, 2003). It is located a mere 15 kilometres away from Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania (Derkins, 2003). Americans are used to such announcements and it can be argued that no one had a premonition of what would follow; before the tragic event that would occur months later, a nuclear power plant is deemed safe and efficient. There was usually no drama involved. But this one is different. The said nuclear power plant is comprised of two units, two reactors and designated as follows: TMI-I was constructed at the northern end of the island in 1968 while TMI-2 was constructed just south of the first unit and it was started in 1969 (Derkins, 2003) The first unit, TMI-1, was completed in 1974 and immediately began to generate electricity but for the second unit, TMI-2 encountered construction delays and did not start generating electricity until 1978 (Derkins, 2003). It should have been a warning for t he operators but this was not uncovered because of the absence of an effective HRA tool. The Control Room and Plant Equipment Design The control room was designed in such a way that it will alert the operators if there were problems but in 1979 a complex system like this one can only do so much. So in the midst of an impending crisis a loud horn was heard by the operators and the control panels began to light up like a Christmas tree.Advertising Looking for assessment on other technology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More But there was no way to differentiate what was trivial and what was critical, the flashing lights added to the confusion but never guided the operators to the real cause of the problem. If only they knew that a critical component a relief valve has malfunctioned. This valve controls the pressure of the reactor coolant and by staying open it reduces the amount of reactor coolant in the system. However, the only way for the operators to know this is to walk behind a seven-foot high instrument panel to discover that the coolant was dangerously low but it was not convenient and practical to keep on walking back and forth from the centre of the control room to the back of the control panel and so it was easy to miss it (Walker, 2004) The operators relied on a less reliable system. They installed a signal light in the control panel and when it is lighted then it means that the relief valve was open and if it was not lighted then they assume that the relief valve was closed (Walker, 2004). The operators were unaware of the failure of the relief valve and so they made the assumption that the pressure in the reactor was still high and therefore there was enough coolant within TMI-2 (U.S. NRC, 2010). This is the reason why the reactor generated tremendous amounts of heat that at the end melted the core. Aside from the human factor and the complex operation requirement needed to run the nuclear plant, another major factor that has to be considered in order to understand why the Three-Mile-Island debacle occurred is the use of a technology called â€Å"pressurized water reactors† also known as â€Å"PWR† (Walker, 2004) This type of technology was most common in all the reactors built before the 1980s (Walker, 2004). But for Babcock and Wilcox the reactor manufacturer commissioned to build TMI-1 and TMI-2 there is no other way to build a reactor other than the use of PWR (Walker, 2004). This is significant because there is a critical part of the design which is called the Pilot-Operated-Relief-Valve (â€Å"PORV†) and it can be found on top of a forty-foot high container called a pressurizer but when it malfunctioned there was nothing that was installed to alert the operators that it has stayed open or stayed close (Walker, 2004). In other words it was the weak link in the design. This is how the PORV was supposed to work: if the pressure in TMI-2 rises rapidly so the pressurizer is overwhelmed by the sudden build-up and so it was designed to open to release cooling water and therefore reduce the pressure build-up (Walker, 2004). At first this is what happened when other parts of the system malfunctioned at about 4:00 AM, March 28, 1979 (Walker,2004). However, ten seconds later when the pressure and heat levels were back to normal the PORV was supposed to close as designed but in this case it did not close and coolant was oozing out of the reactor (Walker, 2004). The problem with this scenario is that this was not the first time t hat a PORV was stuck open, especially in TMI-2 and yet no one took time and effort to fix the problem or redesign the whole system. It was revealed later that this type of problem is common in nuclear reactors designed by Babcock and Wilcox. In fact what happened in Three-Mile-Island was replicated two years earlier in a similarly designed system at a nuclear plant named Davis-Besse (Walker,2004). The only difference is that in that case an operator was aware that there was a problem with the PORV because it stayed open and so he immediately took action to close the relief valve (Walker, 2004). In the case of TMI-2 no one knew about this problem if they did then they would have automatically went to the PORV monitor and closed the relief valve when needed. Due to the error there was no adequate cooling for the reactor and as a result the nuclear fuel overheated and the core began to melt (U.S.NRC, 2010). Human Error Types and Models There are three types of errors based on psycholog ical error mechanisms and these are listed as follows: 1) error of omission; 2) error of commission; and 3) psychological error (Verma, Ajit, Karanki, ) This is a good starting point for understanding human errors because it clearly differentiates error based on what the person did while working in a nuclear facility and the third one is the error due to lapses in memory, attention failure, and perception failure (Verma, Ajit, Karanki, 2010). These explains some of the basic errors committed in the workplace, factory or even in a nuclear facility. It is also helpful in designing a fail-safe system for planners to be acquainted with the different types of actions based on work complexities (Verma, Ajit, Karanki, 2010). These are widely known as: 1) Skill based actions; 2) Rule based actions; and 3) Knowledge based actions (Verma, Ajit, Karanki, 2010). If these are linked to human errors then slips and lapses usually occurs when it comes to skill-based actions, during routine well -practiced tasks that does not require conscious effort (Strauch, 2004). In addition there are also rule-based mistakes and knowledge-based mistakes. In the case of the former, the operator or manager applied the wrong rule. In the case of the latter the operator or manager did not posses the correct knowledge and did not have the experience to deal with a novel situation presented to him or her (Strauch, 2004). The last one can explain what happened to the Three-Mile-Island accident. The Three-Mile-Island Accident is not the result of error of commission. There was no deliberate act that resulted in failure in fact the operators had no idea what was going on, they were inundated with information and system signals that they do not know what was trivial and what was critical so that they could be guided to do the next crucial step. The incident was also the result of error of omission because the operators are all competent engineers and workers who had a clear understanding of how the system works. For instance if a supervisor told them that the relief valve was stuck and needed to be closed they would immediately know that the PORV should be closed to restore the correct amount of coolant in the reactor. But they were not privy to this information. Thus, the Three-Mile-Island incident was the result of a psychological error in the sense that it was a failure in perception. The engineers and operators thought that they were dealing with loss of water, clogged condenser etc. but the truth is there was only one critical problem that they had to address and everything could be reset to normal and yet they were unaware, the limitations of their knowledge about the Wilcox and Babcock designed nuclear plant brought them to the edge of a major disaster that could have taken hundreds even thousands of lives. Human Reliability Analysis The best HRA tool that is best suited to analyse the weakness, potential problems of a nuclear power facility is what is commonly know n as the Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction because it combines task and event tree analysis and more than that it was originally designed for the nuclear industry (Attwood Crowl, 2007). The effectiveness of THERP is seen in how it thoroughly evaluates the task at hand as well as help in developing an event tree analysis that will map out for the managers and operators of a nuclear facility what will happen if this particular steps is omitted or if a particular function failed. An event tree analysis which also serves as visual aid in the mastery of complex systems will provide an overview of the nuclear facility and its various operations. This simply means that THERP will predict what will happen in the event that a particular action is committed or omitted or if a fail-safe system did not function as designed. Other HRA tools are also effective but there are some that are reactionary in the sense that it makes recommendations based on what has happened in the past. For ex ample one HRA established a formula wherein he said that for every 10 near misses there will be an accident (Hughes Ferret, 2005). This gives the impression that managers will have to look at patterns and recognise the problem. This may work in other fields but should not be recommended for use in a nuclear facility. In a nuclear power plant something wrong can happen without precedent – it is sudden and catastrophic – there would be no time to evaluate and then make recommendations. The risk is too high to be entrusted to an HRA tool that is not as thorough as THERP. Human Factor Integration The Human Factor Integration is an important step because it is the systematic process for identifying and tracking as well as resolving human factors related issues so that planners and system engineers can create a system that balances the impact of human talents and limitation and technology (Strauch, 2004). In the case of the Three-Mile-Island incident a correctly done HFI wo uld have prevented the problem. An event tree analysis as well as task analysis was completed so that even if the operators were confronted by a novel problem they would still be able to solve the problem and not overwhelmed with various signals and information that did not make sense to them. They would have designed a control room that allow them to see every instrument and every signal that needed their attention should be displayed prominently. The HFI Plan Babcock and Wilcox, the firm that was contracted to build the Three-Mile-Island nuclear power plant should have created a human reliability analysis and the tool that they should have adopted is the THERP. If this was accomplished then they would have created a task analysis and at the same time an event tree analysis. They were able to train the support group, the operators and engineers on what to do in case of major failures but there was no system in place to deal with novel problems. And the reason for that was simple; t here was not HRA that was conducted that could have predicted human error and other forms of mechanical failure. Using an event tree analysis the operators would have known what would happen every step of the way. They are not only aware of the major components of a complex system but they would have been made familiar with the sequence of events and how the failure of one component will lead to what kind of effect. The use of THERP would have exposed the weakness of the system. In the case of the Three-Mile-Island accident the weak link is the design of the PORV signal. The signal was basic, a light that was turned on signified that the valve was open and when the light is not on then it means that the valve was close. The engineers who designed the system did not consider the possibility that the signal light may fail. They also did not consider the possibility that the operators will simply assume that that the valve was closed based on the absence of light coming from the instru ment monitoring the PORV. The one who designed the system did not consider what would happen in the event of multiple malfunctions and what it would look like inside the control room. The control room was supposed to be the eyes and ears of the engineers with regards to what is happening within the nuclear reactor. Yet it was poorly designed. A good HRA tool will determine not only the effectiveness of the control panels to convey data but to transmit data in a way that could assist the operators to deal with the most critical issue and the most critical issue during that time is not the problem with the heaters or the mechanical failure of some components of TMI-2. The most critical issue is the lack of coolant inside a super-heated reactor. Conclusion The Three-Mile-Island incident could have been easily avoided if an effective HRA tool was used even before construction of the nuclear plant was given the go signal to proceed. By using an HRA tool such as the THERP the engineers an d operators would have known that a very simple valve would play a crucial role in the meltdown of the reactor. This means that the signal that is coming from this valve should have been displayed prominently in the control room. Aside from that there should have been a more sophisticated means of alerting the operators that the valve has malfunctioned. They should not be made to rely on a simple mechanism just like the light signal coming from an obscure mechanism situated behind the control panels. The THERP would have given them a heads up when it comes to unprecedented events. They would have predicted the probability of human errors and mechanical failure so that they could create system to deal with potential problems. For instance, the signal connected to the PORV should not be a simple light bulb it should be a gauge that provides an accurate reading and it must be displayed prominently in the control room. Thus, a quick glance of the controls will immediately alert the oper ators that coolant was leaking out of the reactor. References Attwood, d. D. Crowl. (2007). Human Factors Methods for Improving Performance in the  Process Industries. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Dekker, S. (2005). Ten Questions About Human Error: A New View of Human Factors and  System Safety. New York: Routledge. Derkins, S. (2003). The Meltdown at Three Mile Island. New York: Rosen Publishing. Hughes, P. E. Ferret. (2005). Introduction to Health and Safety Work. Oxford: Butterworth- Heinemann. Moray, N. B. Huey. (1988). Human Factors Research and Nuclear Safety. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. U.S. NRC. (2010). â€Å"Backgrounder on the Three-Mile-Island Accident.† Retrieved from https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html Strauch, B, (2004). Investigating Human Error: Incidents, Accidents, and Complex Systems. UK: Ashgate Publishing. Verma, A. S. Ajit, D. Karanki. (2010). Reliability and Safety Engineering. London: Springer. Walker, S. (2004). Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective. CA: University of California Press. 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ENGL 100 20 Star Essays - Existence Of God, Philosophy Of Religion

ENGL 100 20 Star Essays - Existence Of God, Philosophy Of Religion The idea of science and religion are merging to lend a hand to mankind, who is seeking for universal knowledge was explore in "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke. Religion has always been there to provide humanity a reason for its existence in this world, and science has developed into a way to test religious beliefs. The question if mankind can handle the truth when they attain the knowledge and it doesn't match their expectation is talked about in the story. On the search for proving God's existence, the narrator faces a predicament. He begins to question himself about his faith at the point where science and religion merge. Clarke demonstrates the narrator's trouble because of the significance of the nebula's scientific and religious. The narrator's uncertainty comes from his inability to acknowledge that humanity is not the center of religion or the universe. The name of the narrator and Phoenix Nebula have a huge significance impact on the story. The narrator is a Jesuit-astrophysicist who name is unknown. Even though we do not know his name, this suggests that the author wants to identify him as a whole with humanity rather than a specific person. The Phoenix Nebula, later known to be the Bethlehem star, became the symbol for the birth of Jesus and religion. The idea that Christianity rises from the death of the star and eventually another civilization is similar to the animal Phoenix. The narrator is forced to see the possible outcome that awaits him when he remembers the similarities in the other civilization, resembling human civilization. His search to prove God existence allows him to notice a wide range of possibilities. He believes in them but was unaware of how his fate will be determined by the hand of God just like how he was unaware of how the quest for knowledge could have an impact on him. The narrator couldn't rid of the image, because it reflected his own personal emotions toward the beginning and his inevitable downfall. A civilization, similar to human civilization was sacrificed in order for Christianity to be born shows how humanity will end up with the same fate because the glory of God surpasses the glory of humanity or any existence. The narrator finds himself admitting that his findings did not reject God's existence. In the end, the narrator does not question faith but rather on what it means for mankind in the universe. However, he still does not accept the fact that humanity is rest in the hands of God. Ultimately, the "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke does not question the presence of God but the question of man's arrogance. It is neither justifying or falsifying that God made the narrator to question himself about faith, but him realizing that he is not at the center of everything including religion anymore. Mankind is left with the decision on choosing what to do with the newly inquire knowledge for humanity and its future.

Level 3 Research Statistics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Level 3 Research Statistics - Assignment Example Online journal articles Websites of the regulatory bodies Medical websites Reliability and Validity of information Printed information Oral information Electronic information Based on facts Data collection procedure explained Analysis made open to verification Concurs with other independently published material. Cross verify by asking multiple individuals Verify against previously ascertained data Based on facts Data collection procedure explained Analysis made open to verification Concurs with other independently published material. 5. Introduction: The effects of alcohol on various cognitive processes are well documented. There is evidence that even at low BAC’s there can be significant impairing of key psycho-motor functions that are implicated in driving, including vision, perception, tracking, attention and information processing. The effects of alcohol are also affected by habit, gender, age, weight and emotional state. Burns and Moskowitz (1977) have found that chronic drinkers show less impairment on the surface as compared to occasional drinkers. The same alcohol consumption leads to differing BAC levels depending on the weight of the drinker. Women are more likely to show impairment as compared to men with the same amount of alcohol consumption (Howat et. al.; 1991). ... Vision is significantly impaired by alcohol consumption, in that there is a tendency to focus centrally, with less use of peripheral vision; such that the ability to us peripheral vision is impaired (Buikhuisen and Jongman, 1972). Apparently, alcohol consumption causes a narrowing of the field of vision. Other data has shown that this impairment, though significant, is not enough to account for crashes. Other evidence suggests that the problem is more explainable by the impairment of perception. Alcohol reduces the individuals’ ability to process perceptually complex information. This may explain why simple driving conditions are not particularly impaired, as compared to complex conditions brought about by multiple stimuli present on city streets (Adams and Brown, 1975). Tracking – in driving conditions the steering of the vehicle – is a very complex activity under the best of circumstances. Even minor impairment seems to have significant effects of steering beha viour as it requires activation of multiple faculties (Drew et al., 1959). The mind stores information under different classifications, creating a complex mental structure. When requires, activation of the relevant parts of this structure allow us to use the necessary information. Alcohol inhibits this ability of the brain to access information; and also makes the interpretation of presented information more difficult (Attwood, 1978). It has been found that response times lengthen under the effect of alcohol, an effect seen more prominently as the number of stimuli keeps increasing (Boyd et al., 1962). Attention is among the first of the psycho-motor abilities to be affected by alcohol, making the task of gathering information more

Case Analysis Report Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Analysis Report - Case Study Example With reference to the case, it is observed that GMCR has established a business venture with Starbucks for K-Cup portion package of their coffee for use in ‘Keurig Single cup brewing technology’. The key players or officers as mentioned in the case study are Howards Schultz, the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of Starbucks Corporation, Jeff Hansberry, President of Starbucks Global Consumer Products Group, the then CEO and President of GMCR Lawrence J. Blanford and Nigel Travis, the CEO of Dunkin Brands and President of Dunkin’ Donuts among others (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2009). The current CEO and President of GMCR is Brian Kelly. The company’s total sales for the year 2012 were USD 3,859,198 and the total profit was USD 1,269,399 (Yahoo! Inc., 2013). One of the major events in the GMCR’s history was in the year 2006 when GMCR made acquisition of Keurig, a maker of single-cup brewing machines. Moreover, in the year 2010, the company’s stock rose to an all time highest figure, placing it in the number one position in the Best Corporate Citizen criteria. In 2011, GMCR’s decision to enter into a venture with Starbucks was another important phase of the company (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2009). ... It has a wider reach to the customers created through joint venture with the top most coffee houses in the coffee industry. It is the only manufacturer of single brewer machine (Wile, 2013). Weaknesses The main factor which may be weakness for the company is its financial performance is dependent primarily on the sales of K-Cups. Increased cost and decreased of raw materials may have keen impact on the future production of the company (Wile, 2013). Opportunities Owing to the reason that GMCR is the only manufacturer which provides single serve brewing machines and K-Cup, its brand name is getting promoted with joint ventures formed with well known companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts resulting in attraction of more companies to form a venture with them (Wile, 2013). Threats With the new trend of globalization, the world has become a much smaller place and GMCR is facing significant competition from companies manufacturing similar products (Wile, 2013). SWOT Matrix An alysis Via Porter’s Five Forces Model Porter’s five force model is a business strategy tool used to analyze the value of an industrial structure, capturing the vital rudiments of competition. Threat of new entrants GMCR is the only company which provides a wide selection of coffee products, the number of competitors competing for the same section of customers and resources is limited. Thus, threat of new entry can be deemed to be low as the company possesses exclusive offerings which can be quite hard for new competitors to imitate (Vitalsource.com, 2013). Bargaining power of buyers GMCR, being the only manufacturer of K-Cup, has a large number of buyers resulting in quite limited bargaining influence by the customers having a positive impact on the company (Vitalsource.com, 2013).

In what way is the historical and political context of Thucydides and Essay

In what way is the historical and political context of Thucydides and Machiavelli relevant for an interpretation of their writings - Essay Example Contemporary foreign policies and the disregard for law were the reflections of the Thucydides and Machiavelli’s political powers and their emphasis on the US foreign policies. They wanted to carve a niche for themselves in the American history and they achieved this by exhibiting it in their writings. Their writings were closer to reality and this paved the way for their success. Realism is not a new concept and this was adopted by the authors who emphasize on the historic incidents and happenings. This was held by Thucydides and Machiavelli which helped them in proving themselves a realist author. Thucydides and Machiavelli were considered to be the most popular historians and the reason was the way in which they treated law and political aspects of the government. Each and every part of their writings focused on the disregard for law and ethics that was followed in a country. This created a wave of fear among the residents of almost all the countries and the neighboring countries also felt the impact of the problem. Though they lived several decades before the independence of most of the nations, they are still popular due to their contribution to the history of their respective nations. Their political life also influenced other countries apart from their native countries. Their influence is still felt in most of the nations were their principles and political ideologies are being followed. Thucydides and Machiavelli are considered to be the fathers of political realism as they showed the political system of a country in a different dimension. The way they balanced a country’s government and political system and exertion of power made them the most sought after leaders of the country. They turned in to realist authors only after proving their mettle in the political system. (Thucydides, 1985). Their writings purely reflected their political experience and the way in which they dealt with the political problems and

Employee performance recognition techniques on customer satisfaction

Employee performance recognition techniques on customer satisfaction Now a days service industry is dominating the business world. In developing countries it is observed that the largest growing area of business is service industry. Worldwide company cultures and in business the cross culture encounter ship encouraged service sector to grow in developing countries. In Restaurant industry a part of the offering is a service and it is very popular industry in Pakistan. Chains of restaurants are not only the primary source of food in most cities of Pakistan even many local chains of restaurant with a very unique taste at low cost are competing with the international chains of restaurant. In Pakistan Restaurant industry is highly competitive in terms of quality of service provided by restaurants as a quality of services has significant effects on the profitability and success of restaurants. The Fast Food Restaurant Market is a growing industry in Pakistan relying heavily on the changing lifestyle patterns, population growth of the target age group and the related increase in employment of women. With todays hectic lifestyles, time-saving products are increasingly in demand the most obvious being the fast food. The rate of growth in consumer expenditures on fast food has led most other segments of the food-away-from home market for much of the last one decade. Restaurant is consisting of a group of people that are linked with one another to satisfy a single objective to satisfy the customers. If these group of people those are called internal customers are satisfied than they try more and more to satisfy the actual external customers which ultimately increases the profit of the restaurant. And for this it is very necessary to satisfy internal customers and many restaurants are expanding much of their earnings in satisfying them by providing them different rewards that may be just a Thank-you Letter or formal award in annual function of organization. In restaurants the concept of internal customers is most suitable for front line staff because customers satisfaction is largely depends on them. In a restaurant customer and employee contact is the first representation of a service and on that basis customer perceived the service of customers. All businesses remain healthy if their employees are healthy and wellbeing and that contribute to a e xcellent performance and that makes successful (MacDonald, 2005). It is necessary for restaurant to recognize their employees positive contributions and achievements even though these are very small. Nothing can motivate employees more than the receiving award. Recognition of employees can be in many forms like, pay increments, appreciation letter, employee awards, physical and verbal support and promotions etc. it is suggested by many authors to recognize employees in front of other employees because this will motivate employees behavior and also motivate other employees to work hard to receive such an appreciation in front of all other employees. Every employee never wants only monetary compensation they also need recognition and for this the recognition of employees is more common in corporate world, Nelson (2005) in his book 1001 ways to reward employees gave so many evidences and ways to recognize employees. It is the common understanding that if employee is motivated that will work more and satisfy more customers and if customers are satisfied that will ultimately increases the profit of organization and thats main objective of any business. It has been observed that person visit a restaurant at first time on anothers recommendations and he/she is satisfied from the services than it is likely to revisit the restaurant in future and do the recommendations to others in future. In attracting and retaining the customers restaurant industry is one of the highly competitive industry and for this restaurant managers and operators have a clear picture about the customers needs, wants and perception of customers that will finally decide about the success and failure of restaurant. To understand customers needs and wants and factors that influence them will provide a clear idea to the restaurant managers and operators to make, design, develop and deliver the right offerings to the customers that will make customers more satisfied (Syed, Conway, 2006). It is observed that if loyal customers increase by 5 to 10% that will increases the profit up to 100%, and this is the reason for which many restaurants make themselves customer ori ented and make their objective customer first and for this reason they are getting success and increasing their profits. Problem Statement: To study the relationship between employee performance recognition techniques and customer satisfaction in restaurant industry. Hypothesis: Relationship: The measure of what kind of relation does employee performance recognition techniques have with customer satisfaction in restaurant industry. H1: There is positive relationship between employee performance recognition techniques and customer satisfaction. Outline of the Study: Restaurant industry is very fast growing industry in Pakistan which is partially service oriented and in service industry it is observed that if employee is recognized against its performance than customers are more satisfied from that employees service. The aim of this study was to how employees are recognized in service industry and how these employee performance recognition techniques are related or associated with customer satisfaction in restaurant industry of Pakistan. Definitions: Employee performance recognition: Employee performance recognition is essentially a positive feedback to let employee know that their performance and efforts are valued and appreciated by coworkers and the organization. Employee performance recognition techniques: These are just tools or rewards by which employee performance is recognized. Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is a measure of customer expectation either it meets or surpass about the product or service supplied by the company. CHAPTER 2: LITERTURE REVIEW Restaurant Industry: This has been observed since decades that the business world has been dominated by services. Now a days service industry is largest, rapidly growing and more profitable industry in the developing countries due to the reason of cross culture encounter ships of business and worldwide company cultures. The only industry which even survives in recession was the restaurant industry. The result for restaurant industry to boom is, people dont have to cook and they eat out. Now days, people have meal outside not only on planned occasions even more as an afterthought (Mogelonsky, 1998). Changing life style of people of Pakistan has resulted in the expansion of hotel and restaurant industry and due to the reason this industry is very popular among people of Pakistan. Chains of hotels, restaurants and fast food are not the only or even the primary source of food in Pakistan. The hotel/ restaurant industry of Pakistan has become highly competitive due to the quality of services provided by them and the quality of service in this industry has direct relationship with the profitability and success, this is the reason for which many local fast food chains and restaurants are competing international fast food chains and restaurant in Pakistan that provide good quality of services and unique regional tastes and habits at low cost (Siddiqi, 2007, p. 15). The restaurant industry is growing in Pakistan rapidly which rely heavily on population growth, increase in employment of women and changing life style patterns. In todays changing lifestyle the demand of time saving product s is increased and the top of list among them is fast food. Many organizations nowadays focusing on improving quality of a service because they recognize that service is the only crucial element in their environment by which customers can be gained and retained and service also serve as competitive advantage. Service is not only important for purely service based organization; the production based industry having a mix of production and service is much focusing on buyer and seller interaction which also termed as Service Encounters and service encounters decide customers to sustain or not (Gro ¨nroos, 1994). For a mix between service and production restaurant is matching example, where customers get meal which is primarily production outcome during this he/she communicates with waiter which is operational or process related or service element of restaurant. Restaurant owners and managers should have a clear understanding of needs, perceptions and wants of customers if they want to attract and retain customers, because customers are the one who choose their existence and this makes restaurant industry more competitive (Gregoire, Shanklin, Greathouse Tripp,1995). Extreme competition observed in restaurants with regard to differentiated services (Koo, Tao and Yeung, 1999; Sundaram, Jurowski and Webster, 1997). In comparison to past years, an increase in the spending of people on fast food, other sectors of food are taken away from home market. Restaurants to bring in the full potential of employees value, they should change the current philosophy; this can be done through understanding the relationship of competitive advantage and high performance work practice (Murphy Olsen, 2008). Employee Performance Recognition Techniques: There is no business in the world which is not striving or a good and healthy state. Only contribution of successful performance of employees can make organization successful (Economic and Social Research Council, 2006; MacDonald, 2005). It has been noticed that firms to sustain competitive in the market they have a constant focus on improvement of service quality (Stevens, Khutson and Patoon, 1995; Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml, 1991). Human resource processes are directly associated with employee attitude and that will in return produce job satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Rainey, 1991), and job satisfaction produces motivation which affects employee work efforts and productivity that ultimately affects customer satisfaction (Lawler, 1994). All employees have given responsibilities and they also have moral responsibilities and they are supposed to act in a directed way (Fisscher, Nijhof and H. Steensma, 2002). This somehow subjective morality which is more concerned about common-sense, but actual responsibility may be beyond role morality. Pointing out demands and responsibilities of ones role to be filled is role morality (Werhane and Freeman, 1999). Every organization is focusing on measuring and evaluating performance of employees by using different tools like balanced score cards to motivate employees according to their performances (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). This has been observed that performance measurement procedures not always give clear results in measuring elements like motivation, decision making or goal directed behavior; both positive and negative results appeared. Result of one performance measurement tool is positive in measuring one particular situation while it gives negative result in measuring other particular situation. In restaurant industry this is easy and more reliable way to get the feedback from customers or involving customers in evaluating the performance of employees (Hopkins, 2005). Employee should not only be assessed by responses to work role rather it should be assessed in social contexts that how it shape attitudes and wants (Salancik and Pfeffer 1978), and emotions expressed in organization (Raf aeli and Sutton 1989). This way of measuring employee attitudes has opened many different areas to be studied at organizational level such as depression, liking, positive and negative effect, happiness and optimism (Staw, Sutton Pelled, 1994). To get desired results from employees it is necessary to recognize employees for their work. Employee recognition is the best way to get satisfaction among employees, this sometimes known as thank you category. For employees nothing more important than just a simple thank you for job that performed well by employee. It is necessary to recognize employees on their good work, positive contributions and achievements even though that should be too small. Recognition doesnt mean just to say thank you, that could be in many forms such as promotions, company awards, pay raises, physical support, verbal guidance etc. what recognition is given to employee is not necessary but employee is recognized is the real recognition. It is to be suggested by man y researchers that recognition should be given publicly because nothing can more motivate employee than to achieve an award or honoring achievement in front of the whole company formally. This may also give motivation to other employees that they should also be honored for quality of work and achieving high results. It is also observed that none of the factor can be more motivating than to receive an award (Hopkins, 2005). Sometimes rewards are treated as psychological management which believes that when employee comes to know that their customers are satisfied then these employees will work hard more effectively because they themselves will be satisfied. Sometimes the rewards are also act as implicit. It is belief of management that a long run satisfied customer is more profitable for organization. Management motivates employees by communicating this belief that if the firm is more profitable than employee will remain employees and even ear more wages. In some organization employee wages/salaries are directly stick with the customer satisfaction or quality measures (Hauser, Simester, Wernerfelt, 1994). Clive Mettrick, an executive of the company once said: to reward and to recognize positive results of employees is important factor in employee retention. To retain qualified employees to engage them in customer satisfaction, resource management and performance improvement organization should maintain reward and recognition programs (Freed, 1999). Akerlof and Kranton (2005) quoted: If an organization is going to function well, it should not rely solely on monetary compensation schemes. In his book 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, Nelson (2005) gives plenty of proofs and multiple awards used in companies. Employee considering award as incentive assume recognition as important source of motivation (for example, by receiving award). Employee put all his efforts not to demolish award with the money that went with it. Awards are valuable for the employees because they convey appreciation and recognition on behalf of colleagues and the public. Award may give a feeling of commitment because it creates an emotional bond by connecting the winner with the institution (Bruno Susanne, 2009). Reward and recognition is the way of telling employees that organization value employees efforts (Evans and Lindsay, 2003). It is seen that many of the companies through billions of dollars for employees reward and recognition processes but the results showed that such processes are not of value for them even these create de-motivation among employees (Spitzer, 196). Coveys (1994) term begin with the end in mind is may be used in designing Reward and Recognition system for employees, before developing the system it is necessary to consider the key objectives that organization has to achieve. McAdams (2000) suggested attaching rewards with business goals and objectives which, he recommended, are: revenue financial return, growth, customers satisfaction and reducing operating expenses. Any organization may make as many rewards as possible but sometimes they become of no use because they create a feeling of being controlled, the best solution of this is to involve employees in developing reward and recognition system of organization (George and Weimerskirch, 1994). Employers and Managers should not recognize employees as they want but recognize employees as they want to be recognized (Branham, 2001). For employees performance measurement customer feedback plays a vital role, if servers provide good/bad service to customer so customer will provide good/bad feedback about employees. So, more emphasis should be on quality of employees service, customers will get more satisfaction (Johnson, 1996; Schneider and Bowen, 1985). This concept should be well understood that if organization is providing employees with quality service then it is likely to be notices that customers will receive higher quality service (Lukas and Maignan, 1996). Some service executives claimed that frontline service employees are actually communicating with customers so; they create the level of perceived service quality of that organization. The first representation of service firm is interaction between employee and customer and customer usually perceived organization on the basis of interaction between employee and customer (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985). Therefore, it is vital that frontline custome r contact employees must be focused on customers needs and wants (Kelley 1992). Customer Satisfaction: Since many years, service quality and customer satisfaction have become a major area of attention to researchers because it was found that both have impact on organization performance and customer behavior. Service quality gives higher profitability (Gundersen, Heide and Olsson, 1996), and also it gives customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997), and customer satisfaction spread positive word of mouth (Sà ¶derlund, 1998). A satisfaction based on outcome or process is also termed as customers satisfaction. Customer satisfaction can simply be defined as judgment of a post consumption of a particular product or service (Gundersen, et al., 1996). Some studies also showed that customer satisfaction has direct or indirect impact on organization results. Many authors also concluded that organization profitability is directly affected by customer satisfaction (Anderson, Fornell Lehmann, 1994; Yeung, Ging Ennew, 2002; and Luo and Homburg, 2007). All these authors also found that customers satisfaction produces customer loyalty that increases repurchase intentions which spread positive word of mouth. Knutson (1988) discussed the factors that are important for customer satisfaction like convenience of location, safety and security, prompt service, and friendliness of employees. Barsky and Labagh (1992) is of the view that location and employee attitude are the factors which can easily influence customers satisfaction. Service quality is considered very complex in nature its meaning is different from customer to customer but the most common definition could be that comparison between customer expectations and customer perceptions of the service received by customers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berry, 1988; Grà ¶nroos, 1982). Some authors are of the view that customer satisfaction represents a sign of service quality (Carman, 1990; Bolton and Drew, 1991). Other authors argue that service quality is a sign of customer satisfaction (Churchill and Suprenant, 1982; Anderson et al., 1994; Oliver, 1997; Oh, 1999; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003; Jamali, 2007). These authors agreed that service quality is cognitive evaluation which may give satisfaction to the customers. So it may be concluded that service quality produces results of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction should be measured on criteria of the quality service that is provided to the customers by the services that are attachà © with the product/ service (Vavra, 1997). Word of mouth recommendations and repeat purchase behavior are the major reasons for which customers satisfaction is thought of having a great importance in all type of organization (Berkman and Gilson, 1986). Factors affecting service quality and customer satisfaction guide owners and restaurant managers to develop and deliver the right offerings. Only a part of an offering of a restaurant is service that is intangible and heterogeneous and success of all other parts is dependent on the quality of service that is provided to the customers (Syed, Conway, 2006). It has been observed that a satisfied customer from service provided by restaurant is likely to visit again in the restaurant even recommend to other friends and relatives (Kivela, Reece and Inbakaran, 1999; Pettijohn, Pettijohn and Luke, 1997). Restaurants net profits can be doubled if a restaurant loyal customers increases from 76 to 81% (Mattila, 2001). Social contacts play an important role in selection of a restaurant; almost 44% of customers visit a restaurant first time on recommendation of friends where as only 10% visit restaurant first time with former customer (Smith, 1996; Stevens, Khutson, and Patoon, 1995). Most of the restaurants make themselves customer oriented where they have the belief that customer and customers interest comes first without ignoring other stake holders like owners, managers and employees, to make organization long run profitable (Hartline , Michael D., Maxham III, James G., McKee, Daryl O. 2000). Because of intangible, hetero and inseparable nature of service, in service firms customer orientation plays a vital role (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry 1985). Firms applying customer orientation earn more profitability and perform better service quality than those firms who apply other orientation in their processes (Kelley, 1992). Satisfaction is generally viewed as a broader concept . . . service quality is a component of satisfaction (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003, p. 85). Satisfaction cant be driven from one source it always be driven from many sources, Bitner and Hubbert (1994) explain satisfaction in two ways: service encounter satisfaction, this satisfaction or dissatisfaction arrives from specific service encounters and overall satisfaction, this satisfaction based many/ multiple service encounters and experiences, experienced by customer. It shows that service encounter satisfaction at each service encounter develop overall service satisfaction. Olivers (1997) defined customer satisfaction as fulfillment of response. Satisfaction in a very low time grows moldy with overall customers attitude (Oliver, 1997). From the above perspective of customer satisfaction this can be stated that, Service quality can be viewed as whole family picture album, where as customer satisfaction is just one snapshot. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Method of Data Collection A questionnaire survey consisting of 2 questionnaires, 1 for managers of restaurants (consist of 3 pages) and other for customers (consist of 2 pages) of each restaurant were used to collect the data (Primary) from respondents from restaurants across Pakistan. The survey was done in the following manner. Personal meeting by taking an appointment with the managers of the restaurants Personal meetings with customers those were available in restaurant at that time. 3.2 Sampling Technique Convenience sampling was done to carry out the research. 3.3 Sample Size There are two types of data used by researchers to do research, primary and secondary. In primary research questionnaires are used to collect the data that can be qualitative or quantitative. Since every organization is using different techniques to recognize their employees so there was need to use questionnaires to collect the primary data. It is very difficult to reach every restaurant and collect the data because many of restaurants were not willing to share accurate information. Total sample size was 420 which include 20 restaurant managers and 400 customers, 20 customers from each of 20 restaurants. 3. 4 Instrument of data collection Two different questionnaires were developed to collect the data, among which first questionnaire was based on employee performance recognition techniques used in restaurant and the other questionnaire was based on the service characteristics and the service provided by employees and received by customers. Demographics were also asked in both instruments (questionnaires). SPSS was used as tool to analyze the data. 3.4.1 Validity and reliability test The questionnaire was conducted to determine the errors in the design and instruments. Pre-test refers to testing of the questionnaire on a small sample of participants to identify and get rid of potential problems. This has been done to evaluate the questionnaire for clarity, bias, and issues vague, and its importance to the research. Reliability analysis, measurement scales and the things that makes studying the properties to make them. Reliability analysis procedure is used in many cases the number of procedures to calculate the level of reliability and the relationship between the items listed in the individual level provides information about. Table 3.1 Reliability Statistics Cronbachs Alpha Cronbachs Alpha Based on Standardized Items N of Items .761 .762 14 3.5 Research Model Developed Restaurant industry is a mixture of service industry and production industry, if any one of them is not up to the standards or customers perception it directly affect restaurant business, so for restaurants it is necessary to make and serve the products as per standards. Service part of restaurant industry is very critical and to cope up with this restaurants recognize their employees by providing them different rewards to motivate them and they motivated these employees work more and in an efficient way and this will directly affect customer satisfaction. This study focused on how restaurants in Pakistan recognize their front employees and how recognizing employees affect customer satisfaction. Every restaurant has different recognizing techniques to recognize employees and do these recognizing techniques have any relationship with the customer satisfaction. The following model has been developed with the help of supervisor. Employee Performance Recognition Techniques: Employee of the Week/Month/Year Cash Certificate of Appreciation Write-up in the newsletter Praise in the meetings Nominating for out of station Training Paid vacation (Time-off) Job redesign Company shares Promotions More power in the job Figure 3.2 Employee Performance Recognition Customer Satisfaction 3.6 Statistical technique: General Linear Model and ANOVA statistical techniques have been used for the study keeping in view the nature of the hypothesis and the data collected. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 4.1 Findings and Interpretation of the results: H1: There is positive relationship between employee performance recognition techniques and customer satisfaction. Parameter Estimates Dependent Variable:Total Customer Satisfaction Parameter B Std. Error t Sig. 95% Confidence Interval Partial Eta Squared Lower Bound Upper Bound Intercept .702 .858 .819 .413 -.985 2.389 .002 [cs_maritalstatus=1] .834 .171 4.866 .000 .497 1.170 .058 [cs_maritalstatus=2] .883 .172 5.119 .000 .544 1.222 .064 [cs_maritalstatus=3] 0a . . . . . . [res_emp_month=0] 1.656 .475 3.484 .001 .721 2.590 .031 [res_emp_month=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_cash=0] -.166 .084 -1.981 .048 -.331 -.001 .010 [res_cash=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_certificate=0] -.395 .077 -5.118 .000 -.547 -.244 .064 [res_certificate=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_meetings=0] .669 .233 2.876 .004 .212 1.127 .021 [res_meetings=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_training=0] .961 .273 3.522 .000 .425 1.498 .031 [res_training=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_job_redesign=0] .389 .124 3.142 .002 .146 .632 .025 [res_job_redesign=1] 0a . . . . . . [res_power=0] -.221 .090 -2.454 .015 -.398 -.044 .015 [res_power=1] 0a . . . . . . [HRM_Policy=1] 3.277 1.043 3.143 .002 1.227 5.328 .025 [HRM_Policy=2] .481 .347 1.385 .167 -.202 1.163 .005 [HRM_Policy=3] -.916 .323 -2.838 .005 -1.551 -.282 .021 [HRM_Policy=4] 0a . . . . . . [Fin_Policy=2] -.949 .239 -3.962 .000 -1.420 -.478 .039 [Fin_Policy=3] 0a . . . . . . [Fin_Policy=4] 0a . . . . . . [Mkt_strategies=1] -.891 .385 -2.315 .021 -1.647 -.134 .014 [Mkt_strategies=2] -1.160 .453 -2.562 .011 -2.050 -.270 .017 [Mkt_strategies=3] 0a . . . . . . years_operations .321 .125 2.574 .010 .076 .567 .017 a. This parameter is set to zero because it is redundant. Interpretation: Customers having marital status single and married have sig value 0.000 it means marital status is significant, while there Beta values are 0.834 and 0.883 respectively which shows married respondents are most satisfied. Employee performance recognition technique Employee of the month/week/year has sig value of 0.001 which is significant but Beta value 1.656 suggested that customer satisfaction is low where Employee of the month/week/year recognition technique is applied.

Call of the Wild :: Free Essay Writer

Call of the Wild I recently read a really good book. It is called Call of the Wild, by Jack London. It has 104 pages and is a fiction book. The Call of the Wild has a very interesting plot. It is centered around a St. Bernard and Scotch Shepard mix, named Buck. At home, which was a large house called Judge Millers Place, in the sun kissed Sanata Clara Valley, he ruled over all dogs. Buck was Judge Miller's inseperable companion, until a man named Manuel, who was the one of the gardener's helpers, commited a treacherous act. Manuel, to cover his Chinese lottery gambling debts, stole Buck from his sound sleep and brought him to a flag station called College Park. There, the exchanging of money took place. It was simple. Manuel needed money to pay off his gambling debts, and Buck was a prime candidate. Buck was loaded onto an express car to Seattle. When he got there, he was bought by two men named Perrault and Francois. He was loaded onto a ship called the Narwhal and tooken to the Yukon, where he was to be trained as a sled dog. There were other sled dogs that Buck came to know well, each with their own unique personality. After only a short time of training, Buck was a sled dog, traveling with the team of huskys and mix breeds from Dyea Beach, to the town of Dawson. After several trips with Perrault and Francois, Buck was traded to a know nothing, gold seeking family. they knew nothing, or hardly nothing, about managing a sled team. There trip began with a very bad start. The family had loaded up their wagon with too much unneded baggage, and it was top heavy. as the dogs began to pull away and pull around a curve, the baggage tipped over along with the sled and thus the unnecessary baggage was discarded, and the trip was barely completed because of harsh weather, inadequate supplies, and poor management skills of the dog handlers. All except a man that went by the name of John Thornton, perhaps the only sane one in the group. After on e of the men repeatedly beat on a dog, Thornton became enraged. He threatened to kill the man, and shortly after, he unhooked the beaten Buck from the sled, the rest of the family left John Thornton.

Do Comedies Beginning in Turmoil but Ending in Harmony Celebrate Life? Essay

This is not the best essay (it’s rubbish but take from it what you will) To some extent, the statement is true as proof lies in many plays and novels. An example of this is Shakespeare’s comedic plays. The play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ begins in Athens where there is turmoil in the sense that Egeus’ daughter, Hermia, does not want to marry Demetrius. At the time of writing the play, these kinds of issues where the epitome of turmoil, parents were desperate to have their daughters married off, the disobedience of this tradition would have caused disharmony and embarrassment, which at the time of writing the plot was abhorrent, demonstrating the turmoil referred to in the question. By the end of the play, the characters fall in love with their respective partners, thus the play ends in harmony. This can mean that the Shakespearean comedy celebrates life as it demonstrates the hardships that the characters faced and how they overcame them. This shows the audience that they can also overcome the situations that they are facing as the audience could relate to the characters. This provided the audience with reassurance and a motive to remain positive, they know that their problems will be solved eventually. The comedy in this sense is celebrating life’s pain, harmony and ability to overcome. However, many comedies that begin in turmoil and end in harmony fail to ‘celebrate life’. Examples include Heller’s ‘Catch 22’. This novel includes the main character Yossarian trapped in the middle of World War II. It is soon revealed that Yossarian seems to think that everyone is trying to kill him, and so takes the war on a personal level. This situation appears quixotic and so the reader is subsequently unattached from the novel and the improbable storyline. Readers are unable to feel a connection to Yossarian, and the plot of the novel means that readers are unable to draw parallels from their own lives to Yossarian’s or any other characters, consequently the story does not celebrate life of the readers or the characters, even if the novel ends in harmony. The novel being set in World War II and the audience reading in the 1960s up until today suggests that life would have been completely different. This includes the fact that in the 1960s and to today turmoil is perpetual, especially recently with all sorts of problems regarding the recession, politics and personal issues such as rises in divorce and dealing with depression. Consequently, the issues dealt with in ‘Catch 22’ concerning the war are completely different to what people arerecently dealing with thus making it progressively difficult to relate to, and so the comedy does not celebrate life in this sense, the two lives differ enormously. However, it could be argued that the distorted image of life that Heller has put across in ‘Catch 22’ could be celebrated. Although the novel contains improbable situations and unlikely events, the readers are still able to somewhat relate to the characters through their personalities and can develop a connection with certain characters they feel they may relate to. ‘Catch 22’ ends in harmony, at which point the readers would be able to joyous for the fictitious characters and the obstacles they’ve overcome, the comedy in this sense is celebrating life of the fictional characters. Other comedic texts, such as Pride and Prejudice celebrate life as Jane Austen writes the book to be metaphorically representing life at the time of writing. In the novel, a mother is desperate to have her daughters married; this was very common in the 1800s. Along with this, PP deals with issues regarding manners, education and upbringing; all of which were important in the audience at the time because of the society that they were in. This in itself celebrates life of the people of that generation as the novel metaphorically represents the lives of the readers, the hardships they face to do with class, marriage, education, how these are overcome and prospective happy ending. The readers may not necessarily achieve the same happy ending, or a happy ending at all, but the fact that Austen has employed the happy ending allows the readers to feel resonance, and also happiness for the characters and because through Austen’s writing style, they have been so closely connected to, almost like friends. Thus the life of the characters is celebrated as well as the readers, whether or not they gain the same outcome.

Financial Analysis of the G4S Company The WritePass Journal

Financial Analysis of the G4S Company Executive summary: Financial Analysis of the G4S Company Executive summary:Financial adaptability:PROFITABILITY RATIOS:Return on capital employed (ROCE)2007Gross profit margin:Net profit margin:Short term liquidity ratios:Current ratio:Acid test ratio:Operating efficiency ratios:Inventory turnover period:Trade receivables collection period: Trade payables payment period:Capital structure ratios:Gearing ratio:Interest Cover Ratio:Solvency Ratio:Fair value accounting:Equity approach:Income Approach:Full fair values:Argument for fair value Accounting:Fair Value Accounting Advantages:  Comparability of financial information:  Argument against fait value accounting:Fair Value Accounting Disadvantages:ReferencesRelated Executive summary: The G4S Company is the largest security services provider in the United Kingdom  Ã‚  Ã‚   that specialises in all aspects of security, including the deployment of security officers, monitoring, crisis management, planning and training, and security advice. It is part of Group 4 Securicor PLC and was established from the merger between Securicor and Group 4 Flack’s security businesses. The company provides specialist security services to more than 5,000 customers across a range of sectors, including commercial services, events, facilities management, industrial, financial and professional services, public sector, retail and transport. It also manages the security for 41 companies in the FTSE 100 and provides real solutions to customers, including Woolwich Building Society, IBM, Virgin Atlantic, and Bridgnorth Aluminium.The company is a member of British Security Industry Association (BSIA), Security Industry Authority, National Security Inspectorate (NSI), SITO, IATA, AOA, Fi re Protection Association (FPA), Confederation of British Industry (CBI), British Quality Foundation, and European Aviation Security Association.   G4S plc collectively with its subsidiaries and joint venture companies primarily supplies range of business services that encompass secure solution and cash solutions to both government agencies and commercial businesses.   Though first joined the stock market in 2004, G4S plc currently floats in the London Stock Exchange as one of the top 100 companies listed in the London Stock Exchange in 2007 (G4S Company) Financial adaptability: G4S has strong operating activities; this is due to significantly increase in cash inflow generated from operating activities, from  £373m in 2008 to  £ 509m in 2009. The firm has also invested heavily on financing investment; consequently this has had a negative effect on the cash and cash equivalent, this may have contributed to the fall in the cash equivalent from  £56m to  £38m.   The firms have decided to spend less on investing activities; consequently the net cash inflow from investing activities has fallen down significantly from  £504m in 2007 to  £184m in 2009. Therefore since the firm can generate revenue from operating activities, this will enable the firm to adapt to any new business venture. PROFITABILITY RATIOS: Return on capital employed (ROCE) 2007 2008 2009 8.83 % 6.81 % 8.22% G4S ROCE is with the median range compare to other firm in the same sector. The ROCE slightly fell in 2008 from 8.83% to 6.81%. This was due to increase in capital employed from  £2148.3 million in 2007 to  £3402.6 million in 2008. Also contributing to the fall was the increase in profit before interest and tax from  £217m to  £264m However G4S ROCE slightly increased in 2009 to 8.22%. This was due to the fall of fixed asset from  £3402.6 million in 2008 to  £3316.5 million in 2009. This may contributed to the increase in ROCE. Furthermore PBIT has increased from  £264m to  £303m. Gross profit margin: 2007 2008 2009 22.38% 92.99 % 21.91% G4S gross profit margin plummeted in 2008 from 22.38% to 92.99%. This was due mainly to the increase of gross profit from  £ 1,005 m to  £ 5,527m, compare to the slightly increase in revenue from  £ 4,490.4m to 5,942.9m. This indicates the firm is relatively depended on cost of sales to generate profits. However G4S gross profit margin fell significantly in 2009 from 92.99% to 21.91%. This was due to the fall of gross profit from  £ 5,527m in 2008 to  £ 1,536m in 2009. Even though revenue increased from  £ 5,943m to 7,009m in 2009, this did not affect the fall in the gross profit margin. Since the firm is operating exceptionally in relation to generating profit through gross profit activities. This indicates the firm is profitable since it can generate profit from its own activities. Net profit margin: 2007 2008 2009 4.83 % 4.45 % 4.32 % G4S net profit margin has fallen in the last three years.G4S net profit margin slightly reduced in 2008 from 4.83% to 4.45% this was due to the increase in profit before tax the company had to pay compare to previous year. G4S paid interest in 2008 of  £ 264m compare to 2007 of  £ 217m. Also the revenue significantly increases in 2008 from  £ 4,490m to  £ 5,943m. The ratio fell again in 2009, once again contributing to the fall in net profit margin was due to increase in tax and interest G4S had to pay from  £264m to  £303m. The fall in the ratio may be due to the fall in cost of sales, since, despite the significant increase in revenue from  £5,943m to  £ 7,009m, this did not affect the fall in the ratio. This indicates the firm is profitable since the revenue has increased in the last 3 years. Short term liquidity ratios: Current ratio: 2007 2008 2009 1.25 1.28 1.25 G4S current ratios were lower in 2007 compare to 2008, this indicates the firm have financial problem in the short term. However G4S current ratio has slightly increased in 2008 from 1.25 to 1.28, this was due to increase in current assets from  £ 1,528m to  £ 2,174m, and current liabilities increased from  £ 1,220m to  £ 1,694m. Since current asset are higher than current liabilities, this implies the firm has no financial difficulties in the short time. However the ratio fell in 2009 from 1.28% to 1.24% this was due to decrease in current assets from  £ 2,174 m to  £ 1,847m; this was mainly due to fall in bank and deposits from  £562m to  £308m.   Also the current liabilities fell down from  £ 1,694m to 1,482m. This was mainly due to reduce of bank overdraft from  £283m to  £183m. Acid test ratio: 2007 2008 2009 1.19 1.23 1.21 G4S acid test slightly increased in 2008 from 1.19 to 1.23, this was due to the increase of inventory from  £57.1m to  £85.5m. The actuality that the differences between the current and acid test ratios is not too high this indicates that G4S stocks are not that high. The stocks are worth around  £85.5m; but since current assets are  £ 1527.5, that’s not a huge level of stock holdings. Also the increase in current asses and current liabilities contributed to the increase in current ratio. However the ratio fell down in 2009 from 1.23 to 1.21, this was due to descend of inventory the firm holds from  £85.5m to  £ 77.8 m. also contributing to the fall was the reduction of current assets from  £ 2,174 m to  £ 1,847m.   Additional this indicates that G4S has good financial situation that it had before. Operating efficiency ratios: Inventory turnover period: 2007 2008 2009 78.64 69.51 90.08 G4S inventory turnover ratio has fallen in 2008 by 9 days. This indicates efficient management of inventory because the inventories are frequently sold. Moreover, revenue significantly increases in 2008 from  £ 4,490m to  £ 5,943m. Furthermore this indicates the firm requires high level on inventory in order to operate the business. Since the inventory has increased from  £57m to  £86m. The ratio increased significantly in 2009 by 20 days.   This was due to the high increase of revenue from  £ 5,943 m to  £ 7,009m, also the inventory fell down from  £86m to  £78m, and this was due to reduction on holding stock from  £23m to  £16m. Trade receivables collection period: 2007 2008 2009 62 72 59 In 2009, the trade receivable increased from 62 days to 75 days. This was mainly due to significant increase in trade debtors from  £ 763 m to  £1,171m. This may indicate the firm policy is to allow more credit in order to generate more sales. This contributed in fall in cost of sales from  £ 3,485m to  £416 m. However G4S trade receivable collection fell down in the year 2009 from 72 days to 59 days this shows the firm policy of efficient management to reduce debt. The increase could be due to slightly increase in trade debtor collection from  £ 1,171 m to  £1,127 m Trade payables payment period: G4S trade payable payment period fallen down in 2008 from 11 days to 12 days, this was due to the increase in payment period form  £137.m to  £197m this resulted in the increase of 1 day payment period. This indicates the firm policy is to collect the creditors too quickly. Since the firm revenue increased in 2008 from  £ 4,490m to  £ 5,943m, the firm should allow more time for collection from creditors.Trade payables payment period: However in 2009 the firm reduced the trade payables payment period from 12 to 10 days, this resulted in reducing the payment to creditors from  £197m to  £192 m. is clear that G4S has efficient control of its creditors. Although G4S may miss out on extra cash discounts from the creditors for paying late. Although the revenue increased from  £ 5,943m to 7,009m, this did not affect the ratio to fall down. Capital structure ratios: Gearing ratio: 2007 2008 2009 144.98% 193.48% 176.43% G4S gearing ratio has a higher gearing ratio compare to other industry. The gearing ratio dramatically increases in 2008 from 133.98% to 193.48%. This was due to significant increase in long term loan from  £ 1,369m to  £ 2.455m, which affected the increase in creditors in order to finance the business. However the ratio fell down in 2009 to 176.43%, this was due to reduction in long term borrowing, also contributed in fall of gearing was due to reduction in   current liabilities from  £ 1,694m to  £ 1,482m. This indicate the firm is too dependent on borrowing in order to finance the business, since the firm has high gearing ratio, therefore the firm could enter liquidation if they don’t solve its debts. Interest Cover Ratio: 2007 2008 2009 2.48 2.40 2.54 In 2008 the interest cover was slightly reduced from 2.48 to 2.40, this was due to a dramatic increase in interest charge from  £ 217 m to  £264 m. However the interest cover ratio reduced slightly in 2009 from 2.40 to 2.54, this was due to the increase in PBIT from  £264m to  £303 m, which the business incurred. However the interest cover slightly increased from 2.40 to 2.54, this was due to profit before interest slightly increased from  £ 454m to  £499m. G4S has a low interest cover which may not be enough to pay off its interest in difficult economical times and could consequence face bankruptcy. Solvency Ratio: 2007 2008 2009 29.57% 25.59% 27.24% G4S solvency ratio reduced in 2008 from 29.75% to 25.59%. This was due to increase in total asset from 3,676m to 5,577m. Also the increase of share holders’ funds from  £1,087m to  £1,427m contributed to fall in the ratio. This indicates the firm is too dependent on borrowing in order to finance their business. However the ratio fell down in 2009 to 27.24%, this was due to slightly fall in total assets from  £ 5,577m to  £ 5,164m; this was due to reduction of current assets from  £2,174m to  £1,847m and also the fall in shareholders’ funds, from  £1,427m to  £1,407m, may have   contributed to increase in solvency ratio. This indicates the firm is solvent, since it has higher total assets compare to total liabilities. Fair value accounting: â€Å"Fair value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a liability settled between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction†. (IAS 39)   Starting out from the idea that the best estimation of the fair value is the market price of the asset or liability in quires, and attitude in mind that this price does not exist for all items, or if it does exist it may not always be reliable, it is essential to lay down some ordered procedure that institution can follow when making their estimates. Based on IAS 39. The continuation of published prices in a dynamic market is the best indication of fair value and when it exists, should be used to value the financial asset or liability. A financial instrument is deemed to be quoted on an dynamic market if the listed prices are regularly and easily available If the market for a financial instrument is not active, the financial institutions should find out the fair value using a valuation technique incorporate all the factors that participant in the market would consider when establish the price and which is familiar with accepted economic way used to set the prices of financial instruments. In a perfect market, fair value equals practical market price. If there is no active market, fair value is an estimate of value in use. The IASB differentiates between three levels for estimating fair values: Using quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets whenever that information is available (market values); If quoted prices are not available for similar assets or liabilities, fair value should be approximated using quoted prices of similar assets or liabilities with market equivalents. If quoted prices of identical or similar assets or liabilities are not available or not objectively determinable, fair value should be estimated using valuation methods based on present value techniques of future earnings, or cash flows and valuation techniques. Fair value of an asset usually is based on the judgment of future cash flows of the entity, which means that the same asset can be measured differently for two companies because of different borrowing rates and managerial appraisals. Thus, the reliability of fair value estimates declines with the shift from liquid markets to non-traded items. Botosan et al. (2005) provided a concise summary of the extant academic literature on The relevance and reliability of fair value estimates in financial statements. They suggest (Citing Barth, 1994, Petroni Wahlen, 1995, and Nelson, 1996, amongst others, in Support) that: â€Å"The evidence generally shows that fair values obtained from actively traded markets are more reliably associated with share prices than those derived from thinly traded markets or internal estimation models .Supporters of fair value accounting argue that, the fair value accounting measurement is relevant than the historical cost accounting as it provides up to date information in line with market and it takes in to account to economic adjustments to the acquired cost. Many accounting academics’ argue that the fair value method shows the economic realities that are avoided by the historical cost accounting†. Calculating fair value of an asset or liability Equity approach Mixed approached Income approach Full fair value approach Equity approach: All unrealized fair value changes are admitted in a revaluation reserve when transaction is realized. According to IAS 116 realized holding gains do not affect the income statement. Mixed approach: Changes on unrealized fair values are transferred into revaluation reserve however; changes on realized fair values are reflected in income statement instead of equity according to IAS 39. Income Approach: Gains or losses resulting from changes in fair values are usually reflected in the income statement. Full fair values: Changes made in every fair value are recorded in the income statement including internally generated goodwill. Self produced goodwill is the difference between the equity values of the firm and book value of the firm. Argument for fair value Accounting: Supporters of the market value accounting argue that the fair value accounting measurement is relevant than historical cost accounting as provides as up to date information constant which market with market and it takes in to account economic adjustment to the acquired cost. Many accounting academics argue that is method shows the economics reality that is avoided by historical cost accounting. Valuing all financial instruments by their fair value will allow stakeholders of the financial statements to gain a fair and true view of the companys true financial conditions as only fair value shows the economic situation and the changes in them. However, historical cost-based accounting indicates the conditions that happened when the transaction took place and any possible changes in the price do not appear until the asset is realized. Although, the well-known application of fair value offers a more as good as and consistent valuation Framework, as financial instruments are valued at the same time and according to the same standard. The Traditional model, on the other hand, does not allow comparisons easily made. Companies similarly financial instruments, with the same cash flows and risks, can show different values on their Financial statements according to the moment in time when they purchased the Justification of the full fair value model is draws upon the criticism that may be leveled against the mixed valuation model, where some instruments are recorded at historical cost and others according To their fair value. In the mixed model the criterion for valuing an instrument at its cost or market value Do not depend on the character of the instrument but on whether the companies intends to hold it Long term or trade it; this is strictly related to the difference between the instruments to old banking activity and the asset trading portfolio. Thus, if the mixed model is applied, similar instruments may be valued differently and have a Different result on the financial position and the income statement. Moreover, the difference between, the credit portfolio and the trading portfolio may vary from one company to the next, and therefore Make it difficult to compare financial statements. Lastly, the mixed model creates advantages for a degree of accounting principles that, The categ orization rules might be interpreted so as to categories assets and liabilities so that it is possible to apply the most advantageous valuation criterion, in detriment to the quality of the information And, in short, the ability of financial statements to show the economic reality of the company Reliably and objectively, Fair Value Accounting Advantages: Market value measurement is more important to stake holders are it reflects market price of the asset and the liabilities It provides more transparency for the users if all financial instruments can be measured at fair value stake holders can achieve grade advantages (Jackson 2000) Reliability of fair value accounting Financial information’s must be   reliable when it   must show faithful   economic reality of the transactions, regardless of its legal form, as well as being prudent, free and complete   from errors. For this reason fair value should not be applied to all financial instruments as it is not possible to get reliable values for some as important as loans   and deposits acquired, as there are no active markets for most of them, nor are there adequate valuation techniques allowing them to be estimated reliably.   Comparability of financial information: Stakeholders of the financial information should able to investigate a companys financial statements timely basis and compare them with similar industry to analyses the companys financial position, Changes in its financial position and performance in similar terms. Familiar situations and events must therefore be treated in a similar way. Whereas the mixed model may head to conditions in which similar instruments are given different Valuations because they were bought at different times, the results obtainable by this method are parallel and similarity comparable with one another. However, applying fair value would, in many cases, involve a degree of bias in the preparation of these financial statements which would make assessment more difficult. Given that companies may use different models with considerably different assumption to find out the fair value of different financial instruments, both the fair Value and the implication for the income statements of different companies coul d be very difficult to compare. Although, users of financial information are familiarized to the mixed model and understand it Perfectly well, having developed technique that use the historical cost information to assess the Company’s situation and estimate future cash flows.   Argument against fait value accounting: There are wildly held views on fair value accounting that the suitability of applying the criteria of fair value to instruments held in asset management. However, this method is vigorously rejects for the valuation of the non current asset and financial liabilities. In order to be useful as the basis for rational economic decision-making, financial information must be reliable, comparable and relevant. The criticism mainly on these features and the force obtaining the advantages of the fair value process would have constancy of the system as a whole Fair Value Accounting Disadvantages: Fair values and invaluable it is subjective of managers and directors and agency theory indicates that managers and directors usually keep their advantages of un very volubility to the manage financial report ( Ramanna Watts 2007)   when fair value on asset liability is not available fair value is measured based estimated by using best   available   information and technique available in the circumstances however most oven difficult occur when choosing estimated of fair value by using in appropriate models. E.g Cash in hand or using assumptions that is not reflect the risk of asset (Jackson 2000) References cemla.org/pdf/acp/dp-0607-bde-eng.pdf. accessesed 5th of may 2011, time. 23:43 Melville, A international financial reporting practical guide. ACCA global   reviews Fame G4S financial analysises.

Learning and Behavior

Learning and Behavior Introduction Learning is a continuous process and has proven to be an important aspect in the lives of human beings. By definition, Akers loosely describes learning as the process through which human beings gain knowledge, skills and expertise that can be applied in day-to-day endeavors (32).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Learning and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Considering the importance of learning, theorists have over the years developed various models that try to explain how different individuals learn and the thought process behind each learning model. As such, these learning theories propose mechanisms that account for the changes that occur as a result of our learning experiences. Learning theories such as the social and constructivist theories have resulted in the identification of mechanisms through which experiences in the environment would alter and sustain changes in behavior. These change s are of a relatively permanent nature and Akers and Gary affirm that the changes in human behavior are as a result of human being’s extensive capacity for learning (64). Both these theories are among the most popular learning theories. They have been reviewed and applied in many areas and has helped in understanding how consequences can invariably affect or shape an individual’s learning. This study will utilize the assumptions forwarded by these theories to further our understanding in regards to the extent to which consequences derived from a behavior can shape our learning. To this end, this discussion shall aim to answer the following question: Does a consequence have to follow behavior in order for any learning to occur? A scenario whereby these theories could be applied in real life situations will be given and a detailed description of how one would implement operant conditioning demonstrated. Description of social and constructivist theories MacKeracher assert s that learning refers to the content of thought or to what we acquire through the learning process and that learning styles explicitly refer to how we have acquired such knowledge or skill (74). Learning styles are achieved by combining a number of learning strategies to come up with particular learning styles. Individuals can implement several strategies of learning but often prefer to rely on the strategy they know best. It is widely agreed by educators all over the world that individuals who actively engage in the learning process are likely to achieve greater success. This assertion is backed by numerous education literature which reveals that once individuals are engaged in a particular learning process that suits them, they feel empowered and their propensity for higher personal achievements significantly rises.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The significance of lea rning styles springs from the fact that each individual has personally preferred strategies for processing information and for learning (MacKeracher 79). It is these strategies that determine the manner in which an individual goes about the learning task. The constructivist theory of learning is one of the most well-known and applicable models of experiential learning. While this theory is not specific to behavioral studies, its applicability in the consequence-behavior paradigm remains relevant. Mulligan Griffin theorize that the reason why the constructivist theory is most applicable in deciphering learning is because it has been found successful in explaining how individuals learn. This model argues for a dialectical relationship between learner and environment in which two diametrically opposed modes of knowing provide the means through which we appropriate our experience and transform it (Gelfand 17). Scenario for learning theory Application The case provided presents a classi c example of a child whose underlying desires to have some chewing gum forces him to steal a packet after the caretaker refuses to buy them for him. While the shop owner insists that spanking the child for the wrong done is the only solution that can guarantee deterrence from such an act, the caregiver argues that there are better and more effective ways of finding resolve in regards to the situation at hand. Using the aforementioned theories as the basis for this debate, the caregiver can irrefutably support his stance against spanking. For example, in Bandura’s social learning theory, Bandura proposes that people often acquire their social skills through observation, imitation and modeling (Akers 18). He states that in as much as we acquire intellect through class work, the social skills that we have are learnt from other people. As such, Ben’s actions can best be explained by the fundamental components behind this theory.Advertising We will write a custom es say sample on Learning and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first component of this theory is behavior potential. According to Bandura, this refers to the probability of adopting a particular behavior in a given situation. Behavior potential explores the likelihood of an individual to exhibit particular behaviors as a result of past experiences or behaviors and can be used to explain how habits are developed. Considering Ben’s age, the likelihood of him behaving the way he did is very high because as a child, his desire for the chewing gum surpasses his perception of the risks or consequences that may arise if caught with the stolen gum. As such, spanking him after being caught would only be viewed as a punishment for being caught and not for stealing. What this means is that the likelihood of Ben doing it again would remain high simply because he can reinvent his habits to ensure that he steals without being caught. The second component is expectancy. Expectancy as explained by Bandura refers to the probability that a particular behavior will yield a desirable outcome. In this case, Ben’s decision to steal the gum was mainly influenced by the fact that the outcome would be favorable for him. As such, since his expectancy was high in regards to attaining a favorable outcome, his confidence in relations to the outcome was boosted. This means that the likelihood that his stealing habits are to continue is relatively high. Thirdly, Bandura argues that a behavior is strengthened by how desirable its outcome or consequence is. This assertion brings about the concept of reinforcement value. As such, if an individual considers the outcome of a behavior to be positive, then the behavior is likely to continue and invariably, sustain itself. However, if the consequence is negative, there is a high probability that the occurrence of the behavior will decrease. The fourth and final component is the psych ological situation. It is a known fact that people differ in regards to how they perceive and interpret situations. This concept lays a great foundation for the ‘locus of control’ concept. This concept refers to belief that an individual determines his/her life experiences.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are two categories of this concept; the internal loci which focuses on the belief that individuals success or failure is as a result of their own efforts and the external loci which focuses on the belief that consequences and outcomes of a persons behaviors are controlled and shaped by other people. In the later case, factors such as fate, luck and destiny among others play a pivotal role. Discussion In light of the social learning theory, spanking Ben for his behavior would not be the most viable solution since it does not address the primary cause of his action. Using the explanation provided above, it is evident that stealing as a habit involves a series of thought processes and the mere fact that Ben was caught is enough to deter the habit since it is a negative consequence to the act. In addition, Bandura asserts that learning of a behavior depends on the environment and social interactions. As such, the best solution would be to monitor these aspects and ensure that Ben associates himself with positive peers and is in an environment that offers positive reinforcement to good behavior. In so doing, the care giver will have deterred the undesired habit without necessarily applying any negative reinforcement or punishment. Conclusion This study set out to discuss one of the major learning theories; social learning model. To this end, a description of the theory of social learning and its functioning has been given. Further on, a demonstration of how classical conditioning can be used in a practical situation to elicit desired behavior has also been provided. From the discussion, it is evident that spanking as a consequence for bad behavior may not suffice in shaping and facilitating positive change to an individual facing various social and environmental influences. Akers, Ronald. Social learning and social structure: a general theory of crime and deviance. USA: Transaction Publishers, 2009. Print. Akers, Ronald and Gary F. Jensen. Social Learning Th eory and the Explanation of Crime. USA: Transaction Publishers, 2007. Print. Gelfand, Donna. Social learning in childhood: readings in theory and application. New York: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co., 1975. Print. MacKeracher, Dorothy. Making Sense of Adult Learning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004. Print.