Application Reinforcement Theory By Managers To Shape Employees Behaviours Business Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3137 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? INTRODUCTION The aim of this paper is to explain the application of reinforcement theory by the managers to shape employees behaviors in order to overcome restraining forces of change in an organization. Goal is to explain the managerial aspect of applying reinforcement theory. For better explanation, some basic fundamentals of Organizational Behavior and Organizational Development will be used with special reference to reinforcement theory and how managers should apply strategies in lessening resistance to change amongst employees. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Application Reinforcement Theory By Managers To Shape Employees Behaviours Business Essay" essay for you Create order Purpose is to help us better understand organizational behavior and organizational development techniques and theory and how to implement them in an organization. I will be including all the essential components of reinforcement theory,its principle,its application as how it should be implemented by managers,what are the restraining forces that comes in the way during changes and how management should try to overcome it. Reinforcement is an extremely important principle of conditioning used by managers to influence their employees in an organization. It is the process of shaping behavior by controlling its consequences. Reinforcement theory is sometimes known as operant conditioning as it focuses on th relationship between operant behavior and associated consequences. Continuous reinforcement strategies are implemented to sustain employees desire to work as they loose their interest in work over long period of time. Hence management should use the reinforcement strateg ies and theories to motivate their employees and benefit their organization to achieve desired results. ORGANISATIONAL BEHAIOUR THEORIES Organizational theories helps to motivate workers and employees so that they can perform their jobs in the best possible manner contributing to overall development of the organization. These provide courage and motivation to the employees in order to improve their working skills. There are two best known names for the development of theories :- Parlov who developed theory of classical conditioning and Skinner who developed theory of instrumental conditioning. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Classical Conditioning is the type of learning made famous by Pavlovs experiments with dogs. It is used by trainers to condition (train) autonomic responses, such as the drooling, producing adrenaline, or reducing adrenaline (calming) without using the stimuli that would naturally create such a response; and, to create an association between a stimulus that normally would not have any effect on the animal and a stimulus that would. Classical conditioning reflects how an organism learns to transfer a natural response from one stimulus to another. It is association between two stimuli. This theory is difficult to explain wide variety of observable human behavior, specially issues involving complexity. It does not allow for choice in the response options available to humans and applied in daily life. It deals with cognitive thought process. OPERANT CONDITIONING Operant conditioning forms an association between a behavior and consequences. This process has a wider application than the classical conditioning approach as it provides shaping of behavior in particular patterns. The basic assumption of operant conditioning is that behavior is influenced by its consequences One of the distinctive aspects of Skinners theory is that it attempted to provide behavioral explanations for a broad range of cognitive phenomena. For example, Skinner explained drive (motivation) in terms of deprivation and reinforcement schedules. PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING Some of the important principles of operant conditioning that can aid the manager to influence behavior:- POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT Managers often use positive reinforcer to influence behavior. A positive reinforcer is a stimulus which,when added to the situation,strengthens the probability of a behavioral response. It can be used to improve employees performance. Positive reinforcement is highly effective and used for two reasons. Firstly, it is used for the direction or motivation of the actions of other people and secondly it uses versatile concept of reinforcement as an explanation of behavior. Many organizations uses positive reinforcements to increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and workplace accidents. For Eg. An insurance company offered incentives at end of each month if the agent succeed to reach their target. Another example,chemical bank has set up programs to positively reinforce employee actions that lead to better customer service. Positive reinforcemen t can be monetary rewards as well as non financial rewards such as recognition,merchandise incentives etc. When positive reinforcements are used, the desired outcome is that the behavior is reinforced. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT Negative reinforcement increases the frequency of a response following removal of a negative reinforcer immediately after the response. It strengthens the response as response removes some painful stimulus and enables the organization to avoid it. For example, exerting high degrees of efforts to complete a job may be negatively reinforced by not listening to boss. PUNISHMENT It relates to unpleasant reward for particular behaviors. It is defined as presenting an uncomfortable consequence for a particular behavioral response. It is increasingly used managerial strategy. This forms of reinforcements decreases the occurrence of the behavior in question. Organizations typically use several types of unpleasant events to punish individuals. Int erpersonal punisher are used extensively including frowns,grunts,personal grudges and aggressive body language of an employee. Punishments can also be materialistic i.e, cut in pay, demotion, final punishment can be firing of an employee,transfer to another job,etc For example, punishing a worker who slows down the work may be an economically necessary step to alter behavior, another example can be loss of pay. There can be negative affects of punishment,it can cause undesirable emotional reaction,another problem is control of undesirable behavior becomes restricted to managers presence only. EXTINCTION Extinction can be defined as decline in response rate because of non reinforcement. It refers to stopping of the reinforcement,firstly it leads to reduction n eventually omission of reinforcement. An example would be if an employee is not acknowledged despite of his or her tremendous work,he will finally stop doing so. This form of reinforcement decreases the occ urrence of the behavior in question. An important base for all these important principle is Thorndikes classic law of effect. Managers must strategically balance between the use of pleasant and unpleasant events occurring in an organization in order to meet their desired outcomes. However positive management procedures dominates in any well-run organization. Before applying reinforcements in an organization,managers also need to know as to when reinforcements should be used in order to influence level and rate of continued repetition of desired behavior. For this it is important to know the Schedules of Reinforcement. SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT In an organization it is very essential to time the rewards and punishment and timing of these outcomes is known as reinforcement scheduling. There are different results of timing and frequency of reinforcement. Reinforcement schedules is widely used to explain different process of workplace such as absenteeism,motivation,different payment systems. Continuous and Intermittent Reinforcement Continuous reinforcements means that the behavior is reinforced each time it occurs and is the simplest schedule of reinforcement. If the reinforcement does not occur after each response ,an intermittent reinforcement schedule is being used. Ferster and Skinner argued that there are two basic types of intermittent schedules. First there are those schedules in which reinforcement occurs at fixed number of desired responses,secondly, there are schedules where reinforcements occurs regularly or irregularly. By combining these two ideas four intermittent schedules are made which they believe has different effects on behaviors. Four types of intermittent schedules are :- 1. Fixed Interval Schedule In fixed interval schedule,a constant amount of time should pass before a reinforcer is provided. In other words behavior pattern almost stops after a reward until the next interval . An example may be praise employees performance once a week and not at other times or payment of employees must be done weekly,biweekly or monthly. This is an monetary reinforcement that comes at the specific period of time. 2. Variable Interval Schedule It represents changes in th amount of time between reinforcer. Variable reinforcer varies in time and predictability. Examples of variable interval schedules would be managers giving special recognition to employees for successfully completing projects and promoting them to higher-level positions . If the manager does not changes its schedule,employee would anticipate his tours and adjust their behavior accordingly to be rewar ded. 3. Fixed Ratio Schedule In fixed ratio schedule ,the behavior which you desire must occur number of times specifically before reinforcement takes place. It produces high reinforce rate at closing of reinforcements. For example,paying employees weekly checks that is determined to be paid in expected time. 4. Variable Ratio Schedule Unlike fixed ratio,variable ratio schedule varies in the number of repetitions of desired behavior. There is a high rate of responding in this schedule. Managers often uses variable ratio with praise and recognition. For example ,In an organization bonuses or special awards are given after varying numbers of desired behaviors . Variable ratio schedules produces desired behavioral change which is consistent and very resistant to extinction. ORGANISATION APPLICATION OF BEHAVIOURAL MODIFICATION Organizational behavioral modification is a more general term coined to designate the systematic reinforcement of desirable organizatio nal behavior and the non reinforcement or punishment of unwanted organizational behavior. It is based on an assumption that behavior is more important than psychological causes (needs, values,motives held by individuals)(7) Application of behavior modification in organization follows step by step process:- 1. Managers must define and identify the behavior specifically. When a behavior is observable and can be recorded then it is being pinpointed. To be pinpointed as an important behavior,there must be positive answers to these questions: can it be seen ? Can it be measured? 2. Pinpointed behaviors must be counted by the managers as it provides a clear perspective of the strength of the behavior at the present or before change situation. By graphing these data ,managers can determine whether behavior is increasing or decreasing or remaining at the same. 3. ABC analysis should be conducted any managers of an organization. ABC refers to antecedents (analyzing ante cedents of actual behavior), behavior (pinpointing critical behavior) and consequences (indicates contingent consequences). This helps managers to analyze performance analysis questions significant in programs. Questions may be:- Antecedents Does the employer know what is expected? Have they been communicated? Are they clear about the standards? Behavior Can the behavior be performed? Could the employee do it if his or her life is dependent on it? Does something prevent its occurrence Consequences Are the consequences weighted in favor of performance? Do we note improvement even though the improvements may still leave the employee below company standards? Is the reinforcement specific? 4. Manager describes action plan and strategies after setting the first three steps. The strategies for strengthening desirable performance and weaken undesirable behaviors are positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers, punishment and extinction. Generally managers tends to use positive reinforcement in applying behavior modification programs but identifying it is not so easy. It can be identified by asking subordinates whats rewarding and another method can be by doing surveys asking about job preferences. 5. The last steps involves evaluation. This step is essential as it tells manager to review changes in behavior before the implementation of the program. Evaluation permits managers to measure performance on an ongoing basis. It also provide feedback to managers which help them to take corrective measures if any. Behavior modification helps to understand workplace behavior by making connections between stimulus,response and contingencies. Reinforcement theory is an important explanation of how people learn behavior. It is often applied to organizational settings in the form of a behavioral modification program. Although the assumptions of reinforcement theory are often criticized, its principles continue to offer important insights into individual learning and motivation. Assessing behavioral modification programmes in an organization has evolved a technique known as meta analysis. This collect studies using different sample sizes and weight them accordingly. One meta analysis of a larger number of studies found a 93 percent success rate which appeared in different target behavior and organizational settings. Organizational behavior modification is used widely among several organizations which includes united air lines,General electric, Proctor and Gamble, Michigan bell telephone etc. Organizational behavior modification is making and can make a positive contribution to organizational behavior. Absenteeism rates,quality of productions and employee safety behaviors appear to improve more often than not when using Organizational behavior modification. Hence a manager should understand that the employees are the most important aspect of an organization success, and towards the realiza tion of its goals and so every employee must be motivated in doing his function. Motivation is significant factor in persuading a certain employee to work at his best . Therefore, it is essential that reinforcement strategies should be continuously conceptualized and implemented in order to sustain employees positive attitude towards his work. Employees tend to loose their interest in their work over long periods of time; so continuous reinforcement strategies are implemented to sustain employees desire to finish their job. The strategies are based on Douglas McGregors two different assumptions (Theories X and Y). There must be continuous coercion and control of employees. They must be directed always on what to do. Continuous monthly reward must be given to employees to boost their self confidence and improve organizations desired outcome. By using certain theories and strategies ,managers can help in reinforcing their employees by fulfilling their needs, giving them bonuses,treating them equitably,making them satisfied ,more goal oriented and focused, resulting in high outputs to an organization. RESTRAINING FORCES BLOCKING IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGE IN EMPLOYEES Kurt Lewin ,developed a management technique known as Force field analysis and is used to overcome resistance to change in an organization. According to Lewin, there are driving and restraining forces which influence any change that may occur in a situation. Driving forces Driving forces are forces that tends to initiate a change and keeps it going. pressure from a supervisor, competition may be some examples of driving forces in an organization. Restraining forces are forces acting to restrain or decrease the driving forces. For example, poor maintenance of equipment may restraining forces against increased production in an organization. In a group process, there are always some forces that favor the change and some forces that are against it. Therefore an equ ilibrium should be established and it is reached when the sum of the driving forces equals the sum of the restraining forces. To make the employees accept the changes, manager should push driving forces and convert or immobilize the restraining forces. HINDRANCES TO OD CHANGE PROGRAMS Uncertainty regarding change Employees resist change due to the uncertainty and ambiguity associated with the old ways of doing things. Generally,people tend to become more independent and active as they grow older and wiser in a firm. They become anxious accepting changes,they have fear of unknown.they are filled with insecurity due to lack of information in new techniques. Threats To Position Power This type of threat is often seen in top management,which threaten them to lower their status or prestige in a group during the process of change. Social Factors Every individual have social needs. While working in an organization employee becomes members of certain informal group a nd so,any change or new adjustment will bring a fear among them. The stronger the group ties,the greater the resistance of change. Threat to specialization. Any change in organization may also threaten the expertise of specialized groups. For example, giving specialized training to all the employees was perceived as a threat by the experts in an organization. Threat to insecurity Safety and security are high priority for every individual. and this is the major factor for resistance to change especially on the job front. When employees feel that the security of the job is at the stake due to the change, they resist it. WAYS TO LESSEN RESISTANCE It is very important for the managers to overcome the resistance of change in employees by using some of the following strategies:- Effective Communication: One of the foremost reason for resistance to change is inaccurate information or in other words lack of communication. Thus effective communication program can h elp in overcoming this resistance. Managers should give necessary information about any change, its process and its working through training class and conferences. Reasons for change must also be communicated very clearly among employees. This will help in making employees understand about the necessity of change in an organization. Participation and Involvement: Participation and involvement can help employee to accept changes in an organization. It helps in removing their doubts and to win their cooperation in the change process. This involvement of the workers can obtain personal commitment and increase the quality of the changed decisions. Negotiation and Agreement: Negotiation and Agreement technique is very useful and can make change go much smoothly. For example, union agreement, transferring employee to other divisions etc. Leadership: Leadership plays an important role in overcoming resistance to change. A capable leader can reinforce a climate of psycholo gical support for change. A strong and effective leader can exert emotional pressure on his subordinates to bring about the desired change. (8) Coercion: Managers may choose to coercion if all other methods fail. Coercion may be in form of explicit or implicit threats involving loss of jobs, lack of promotion, etc. Managers sometimes dismiss employees who resist change. It can seriously affect employees attitudes and may also have adverse consequences in the long run. Managers consider change to be an important ingredient to the success of any organization and therefore it is extremely essential for them to overcome restraining forces of change amongst their employees ,using such strategies and techniques. Gaining acceptance of proposed changes is the foremost job of the management as it directly focuses on Organizational Development. It is not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change Charles Darwi n CONCLUSION Reinforcement theory deals with motivating and influencing behavior of employee. It is sometimes also referred as operant conditioning. In order to understand manager and employees perspective it is important to know the organizational behavior techniques and theory. Reinforcement theory shapes individual behaviors and so organization uses this theory to influence their employees. There are several principle of this theory which include positive reinforcement which is in terms of some monetary reward or non financial rewards,negative reinforcement which include dismissal or some kind of negative activity taken by managers, punishment and extinction. Then it is also important to understand as to when this theory should be applied by the management and so its scheduling is also significant aspect. Reinforcement scheduling can be continuous schedule or intermittent schedule. Further this paper focuses on application of this organizational behavior theory by the managers ,explaining managers actions and controls. It also focuses on restraining forces blocking implementation of changed program established by manager and later it also describes how to overcome resistance to these changes.

The Is Terrorism, And What Makes It Offensive - 1492 Words

If you had to pick one word to represent the most offensive word in the English language, what would it be? Chances are that it’s something you wouldn’t say in front of your parents. This is because when we think of something offensive, we think of explicit or malicious language, which goes against how our parents raised us (ethics). However, bad words are not always subject to this specific and often limited criteria. A word, its evolution and its offensiveness are based on many different factors. Perspectives are a major factor with terrorism. Terrorism can be traced back nearly 50,000 years, to the onset of human existence. It has affected every culture, and every gender. Ranging from the Egyptians and the pharos, to the Greek kings.†¦show more content†¦The victim slowly cooks from the inside out, and their screams are translated through a series of brass tubing’s to sounds like an angry bull. The king liked the device so much he would use it at ban quets, and put anyone who challenged him into it. People came from near and far to hear the sounds of the bull- The sounds of humans being cooked alive: for entertainment. Although the time of the brazen bull is long gone, even today we use its implementation for entertainment. This can be best understood by watching the movie Immortals, in which the antagonist uses the bull for the purpose of killing his enemies. To put this into perspective, we watch movies of people being cooked alive, and listen to their screams, once again, for entertainment. The movies producers don’t inform the audience that this was once a real torture device, so we just believe it’s a made up part of Greek mythology. Movies are a part of media, and in order to understand terrorisms’ evolution, we need to comprehend how media has developed, and its impact on human perspectives. Fan fair around forms of mass media started around the 1440’s when the printing press was developed, and people were able to be more politically informed. In 1925, people could see this information through televised silhouette images in motion. Finally, around the 1980’s, APRANET developed the internet, and here we are today, sitting on the brink of

Investigation of Strategic Human Resource Management

Question: Discuss about the Investigation of Strategic Human Resource Management. Answer: Introduction: The strategic human resource management (SHRM) can be considered as one of the critical dimensions of influencing the organisational performance. An SHRM plan emphasises on aligning the organisational objectives with the individual performance of the employees (author). Eventually, adherence to broader organisational goals and responsiveness to the external environment can be maintained. However, author contradicted the fact and stated that to meet short-term business goal and greater return on investment (ROI), the majority of the firms fail to manage the strategic HRM activities within the workforce. Thus, meeting long-term business sustainability becomes a complex task as well. Considering the SHRM process as pivotal for the organisational success, the current study aims to examine the HRM-performance in followed by Toyota Motors. A few challenges faced by Toyota have been identified in the previous part of the assignment. Based on the outcome, a range of strategic recommendations would be discussed in the current assignment. Also, a reflection of the researcher regarding the lesson, acquired from the transfer would also be considered in the later part of the study. The current HRM performance of Toyota Motor can be evaluated considering the framework of the High-Performance Work System (HPWS). An HPWS prioritises firstly on the employee selection process, as effective employee selection helps to meet the long-term organisational goals in a flexible way. The current HRM performance regarding the selection parameter generates issue as Toyota Motor Corporation fails to hire more sophisticated and potential employees within the workforce. On the other hand, the author stated that HPWS employs hiring young talents along with the experienced personnel to maintain diversified job environments. Paauwe (2009) also reported that the current HR staff lack from offering a possible job definition to the employees, thus, failing to retain skilled employees as well. Therefore, it can be stated that there exist integration between the human capital and the organisational commitment. Thus, Toyota is failing to retain efficient employees. An in-depth analysis also indicates that the HR directors have incorporated a complex communication protocol within the workforce. Thus, the lack of adequate leadership approach and potential communication process can be considered major HR issues of the firm. Supporting to this fact, Shen (2015) stated that although Toyota has employed a centralised system, the headquarter management fails to communicate with the local or regional offices potentially. Among all these issues, employee engagement, communication and hiring process get higher priority that needs to be resolved by the management as early as possible. The lack of communication within the management and employees fails to identify the primary need of the employees meeting higher organisational goals (Subramony, 2009). Also, comparing the current HRM practices of Toyota Motor Corporations with the HPWS, it can be inferred that Toyota is imposing greater expectation towards the employees. At the same time, the brand lacks maintaining a comprehensive plan related to the training, development, appraising and rewarding employees. Thus, Toyotas organisational commitment needs to be revised to improve the impact of SHRM on the overall corporate performance. Focusing more on the human capital improvement would help Toyota Motors to enhance the overall organizational performance. Therefore, developing the strategic synergy has become crucial for the contemporary organisations. A strategic fit between the varied human resource functions in different corporate level could improve the overall synergy of the HRM functions. Thus, the recruitment process could become more flexible, and the conventional HRM practices could experience a strategic shift as well as the brand competitiveness. Supporting to this fact, Misiak (2010) stated that strategic fit helps the brand to diversify the way of managing and leading people with a cross-cultural work environment. This situation can be achieved by making each HRM practices coherent and complement to each other. The employment of strategic fit could help Toyota Motor Corporations to make a correlation within the regular HRM practices and other associated systems within the firm.In addition, implementing a high commitment management system within the existing HRM practices has also become a crucial factor for the leaders. As the majority of the issues is coming from the current HRM perspectives of Toyota Motor, a high commitment management (HCM) system can be employed by the HR director to increase the engagement between the employees and the management. In this regards, Demirbas and Yukhanaev (2011) stated that the HCM process is the contrast practices against the Tayloristic form of the organisations. The HCM system could increase employee satisfaction using the improved reward management system and training facilities across all hierarchical levels. Supporting to this fact, Ferreira and Almeida (2015) stated that HCM practices could deploy a two-way communication process, which could help Toyota employing diversified training and development models within the workforce. Thus, the concept of hiring only experienced candidates would be destroyed, and new recruits can also be able to deliver eye-catching performance within the workforce. In addition, introducing a diversified reward strategy within th e HRM practices could bring better sustainability and competitiveness within the firm. A diversified compensation strategy against expanded responsibilities can enable the employees to make full use of the efficacy and job abilities. In this context, Arshadi (2011) stated that a comprehensive reward management strategy could help Toyota developing a trust factor and motivation within the workforce. Thus, the existing employee retention index can be improved. Also, the comprehensive SHRM could also help Toyota in identifying the instrumental consideration and the ideological concerns as well (Dragoni, 2016). Therefore, a simple compulsion approach could help Toyotas management, reducing the influence of trade unions towards the existing workforce. On the other hand, Alonso and Garcia-Muina (2014) stated that Toyota employs an equitable reward management system as indicated by Adams. However, the diversified employee base has become more enthusiastic to take new challenges and the incentive scheme as well. Hence, a diversified reward strategy can be employed using a simp le compulsion approach. Thus, the individual goal and organisational performances can be achieved. The management of the Toyota Motors would require adopting some policies to ensure that all of the employees of the firm would be treated in a fair way. In the opinion of Diamandis (2015), it is required for the aToyotas management to discontinue the employee discrimination from the workplace. Adding to this, the human resource management of the firm would need to follow compulsory rules and regulations to uphold a fair employee culture within the workplace. According to the opinion of Jaqua (2013), the organisation would need to employ a legal entity to resolve the workplace issues in an appropriate way. Toyota Motors would need to concern about the employees health and safety to increase employee satisfaction. Considering the view of Dragoni (2016), the physical and mental well-being of the employees would also be helpful to improve the organisational productivity. The loyalty index of the employees would be increased if the management of the firm could provide a better quality of life to the employees (Shen, 2015). Furthermore, health and safety policy of the firm would be more effective as the families of the employees would receive similar treatment from the company. Hence, this valuable strategy would be advantageous to improve the employee lifestyle and preserve an effective employee contribution to the organisation. Furthermore, adopting a performance appraisal process using a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach is also essential to manage the organisational reward system policy. The Balance Scorecard is a performance management tool, which would help to measure the financial actions of the firm. In this, industrial age, the company would get the facilities of the investment, employee relationship services and the other long-term capabilities to preserve the success. As per the opinion of Diamandis (2015), the balanced scorecard would be helpful to determine the employee remuneration as per the performance. Hence, this would be helpful to create future value for the organisational process and the employee performance. The study has helped me to understand the fundamental practices of the strategic human resource management. I got the practical understanding of SHRM and the employee performance on the automobile firm, Toyota Motors. After evaluating the study, I perceived the integrated human resource practices of the firm which is focused on the teamwork, recruitment and an effective employee reward system. Adding to this, employee empowerment and an attractive appraisal system are also highly beneficial to improve the SHRM strategies. The implementation of high commitment management system in Toyota Motors helps me to understand the way to increase employee satisfaction throughout all the hierarchical levels. The preliminary analysis of the study indicates that the strategic human resource management (SHRM) strategies of Toyota Motors. The study has also identified the HRM-performance chain of the chosen firm. The framework of the High-Performance Work System (HPWS) of the firm indicates that communication is the foremost priority to improve employee loyalty index as well as the organisational productivity. Furthermore, the recommendation such as reward strategy, health and safety programs and the employee relationship strategy has been provided to improve the organisational performance. Therefore, the policies of the strategic human resource management are essential for an organisation to improve the overall organisational performance. References: Alonso, A. and Garcia-Muina, F.E. (2014) Talent management: Working lines and key processes, Intangible Capital, 10(5), pp. 2025. Arshadi, N. (2011) The relationships of perceived organizational support (POS) with organizational commitment, in-role performance, and turnover intention: Mediating role of felt obligation, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, pp. 11031108 Demirbas, D. and Yukhanaev, A. (2011) Independence of board of directors, employee relation and harmonisation of corporate governance, Employee Relations, 33(4), pp. 444471 Diamandis, E.P. (2015) Support staff: Build reward system for ace technicians, Nature, 519(7544), pp. 414414. Dragoni, D. (2016) Reward ideas and strategies, International Journal of Complementary Alternative Medicine, 3(5), pp. 2125 Ferreira, L. and Almeida, C. (2015) Employee turnover and organizational performance: A study of the Brazilian retail sector, Brazilian Business Review, 12(4), pp. 2756 Jaqua, S. (2013) Case study: Rebuilding a radiation safety program, Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 20(3), p. 43. Misiak, S. (2010) Ethical system for employee performance appraisal in practice, Economics Sociology, 3(2), pp. 101113 Paauwe, J. (2009) HRM and performance: Achievements, methodological issues and prospects, Journal of Management Studies, 46(1), pp. 129142 Shen, J. (2015) Principles and applications of multilevel modeling in human resource management research, Human Resource Management, 1, pp. 230245 Subramony, M. (2009) A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between HRM bundles and firm performance, Human Resource Management, 48(5), pp. 745768 Toyota Motor Corporation Global Website (2009) Available at: https://www.toyota-global.com/ (Accessed: 14 September 2016).

Searching for a Hero in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Essay Example

Searching for a Hero in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Essay The famous play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen has been variously interpreted during the past century and a half, and the main character of Nora and Torvald Helmer have been studied and portrayed literally thousands of times, by thousands of performers throughout the world. It was Ibsen’s first â€Å"modern tragedy, a domestic drama that dealt with concrete problems of modern life† (Shepherd-Barr 21-22). Looking at each character separately, and then comparing their actions throughout the play, we can begin to understand their personalities and what drives them to act the way that they do. Historically, there has been a transition from viewing Torvald as the protagonist when the play was first written, to Nora being viewed as a modern day heroine, with Torvald as the possessive and condescending husband who creates a fantasy world in which the two of them live; however, in closer examination we can see heroic qualities in both characters, and perhaps more easily find the faults which have helped build the doll’s house in which Nora feels she lives.An examination of Nora and Torvald’s personalities gives us better insight into the narcissistic and selfish sides to both of them. From the beginning of the play it is obvious that Torvald is the head of the Helmer household, that he, and only he, is able to do the finances right, that only he can be reasonable and keep things in order, and he feels Nora is not capable of being able to do what he does (Ibsen 1055-1058). His family must live up to the expectations he places on them, and he especially places this burden upon his wife. We see this show of narcissism particularly in the final scene, after he discovers that Nora borrowed money for their trip to Italy from Krogstad and that she has forged her father’s signature. At this revelation he goes from the gentle (if condescending) husband to a man whose first and only worry is their appearance to the outside world, â€Å" From now on there can be no question of happiness.All we can do is save the bits and pieces from the wreck, preserve appearances†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ibsen 1103). He views her not as the wife he loves anymore, but as someone who has â€Å"ruined [his] entire happiness, jeopardized [his] entire future† (Ibsen 1102). The moment she no longer lived up the expectation he placed on everyone in his life, she became only a problem to him and not someone worth loving or helping. â€Å"Torvald’s self-righteous vision of a structured, organized, and fair world, in which he is the master of his house, conflicts with the reality around him† (Shideler). Nora may not share this trait of narcissism, but her childish selfishness is evident throughout the entire play (Drake). She forges her father’s signature, but does not think about how it would affect herself or her family later, she spends money that they don’t have and ignores her husband’s warnings, she uses her husband’s view of her as a child as a means to manipulate him and get what she wants, and in the final act of the play, she leaves her children behind so she can â€Å"try to educate† herself (Ibsen 1105-1109).Nora has traditionally been considered the most beloved of Ibsen’s characters in A Doll’s House, in stark contrast to Torvald’s image as a quiet, but consistent, antagonist to Nora’s protagonist, largely due to the way they are both portrayed throughout the play. Though Nora’s depiction as a disobedient child throughout most of the play may seen strange to the modern reader, it was perhaps simply a means for Ibsen to prove a point about the subordinate position women held in society during the time of his life. By showing the resourcefulness Nora possesses, and then contradicting it with showing the personality she had to acquire to survive in a male-dominated society, we are led to believe that if she only had the chance t o prove herself in the world, she would be able to. Throughout the play Nora consistently shows that she is torn between the woman she is supposed to be according to her husband and society, and the woman she wants to be (Schwarez). In understanding the point Ibsen was trying to make we can begin to see the reason why so many people have grown an affection for her character, despite her faults, and viewed Torvald as a domineering and chauvinistic husband (Drake).While Nora’s faults are often overlooked so that the overall moral of the story can be appreciated, very few have found any redeeming qualities in Torvald, largely due to the symbolic value of his character in the story. His treatment of his wife throughout the entire play shows him restricting what she eats, what she spends, and even how she feels about herself. Through Torvald’s treatment of Nora Ibsen asks his audience to reexamine traditionally ‘happy’ marriages and the way in which men general ly treat women (Schwarez). Again, we see a situation in which the characters are representations of something greater than just a single person and a single situation.Looking at both characters, it is hard to assign either of them the title of hero. Both possess qualities that would automatically be viewed as faults and not something to be viewed as heroic; however, history and such movement as feminism have claimed Nora as the ultimate hero, a woman who, in discovering that she is in no way independent from her husband, progresses during the course of the play, eventually to realize that she must discontinue the role of a doll and seek out her individuality (Drake). Nora’s struggle to break free opens up doors to her that were at one time closed. From her quiet defiance of her husband by eating the macaroons, to the final scene in which she finally stands up for herself and forces Torvald to see her as a woman and a person, and in so doing Nora realizes that she is worthy of more than what society, and her husband, have given her (Schwarez).From Nora’s faults we see emerge a strong and independent woman whose final actions are heroic in the eyes of modern society, yet the heroic qualities that Nora expects Torvald to exhibit never come to pass. At the end of the play Nora says, â€Å"For eight years I have been patiently waiting. Because, heavens, I knew miracles didn’t happen every day. Then this devastating business started, and I became absolutely convinced the miracle would happen† (Ibsen 1107). Nora admits that for eight years she had been expecting Torvald to prove that he loves her and has kept her secret dream of being saved by Torvald. She was hoping that, in the midst of all her trouble, Torvald’s love for her would bring heroic qualities to the surface, that he would step forward and miraculously prove his true character:Torvald is characterized by his preoccupation with himself and his failure to recognize and re turn the kind of love that Nora has given him. And Nora’s love is characterized by sacrifice and devotion – and by the fact that her kind of love must be kept secret in their society (Bo 2).For the once selfish Nora, to be willing to sacrifice everything because she did something wrong to save her husband’s life is certainly a step towards her own empowerment. Nora becomes willing to sacrifice all of herself for her husband and his honor, but in the end, despite the fact that Nora was hoping for a miracle, Torvald is not willing to sacrifice anything for Nora. The hero Nora had been hoping for does not come to the rescue, and so she realizes that the only way for her to go on will be to develop heroic qualities herself (Shideler). Unfortunately, in doing so Nora must leave behind the life she has created, her home and her children, perhaps the only actions of Nora’s in that final scene that makes her seem less than heroic (Ibsen 1107-1109). Yet, these act ions are a product of the oppressive, male-dominated society in which Nora lives, a society where she cannot even feel qualified enough to raise her own children without her husband’s guidance. Nora’s character verbalizes this when she speaks to Torvald in the final scene:On the contrary, you were quite right. I’m not up to it. There’s another problem needs solving first. I must take steps to educate myself. You are not the man to help me there. That’s something I must do on my own. That’s why I’m leaving you (Ibsen 1106).In this final act Nora is seen as â€Å"the incarnation of the will to reach self-fulfillment through liberation from oppression and self-deceit† (Schwarez).The characters of Nora and Torvald are both extremely flawed. Both of them are the products of their time, a time when women were overpowered by men, when a marriage was a reflection of the male-dominated society in which they were born, and both act accor dingly. Yet, when the opportunity arises for both of them to either abandon the repressive standards placed on them or to stay in their comfortable home, play-acting the roles of husband and wife, Torvald does not stand up to the occasion. It is Nora, who in the midst of her doll’s house, realizes that in order to be saved, she must save herself (Shideler). Nora is not a hero because of the way she has lived her life, or because she is perfect, but because she was the one that found the strength to deny the patriarchal world that has denied so many women the right to realize that they are human beings as well, a realization that Torvald is not willing to accept (Ibsen 1107-1108).   As Ibsen stated himself, his mission when writing Nora’s exit was â€Å"to awaken individuals to freedom and independence—and as many of them as possible† and in so doing he created a heroine, not for the women of his day, but for women of ours (Shepherd-Barr 21). Nora is not a heroine of the play because of her strengths or because she is perfect, but because she is real. She has faults like everyone else and yet is able to recognize that there is something greater out there for her in the world than a loveless marriage, and a life without educating herself. This is what makes her a heroine.