Individual And Situational Factors On Workplace Deviance Psychology Essay

Individual And Situational Factors On Workplace Deviance Psychology Essay Workplace deviance has emerged as a major area of attention among human resource management and organizational behavior researchers (Bennett Robinson, 2000, 2003; Griffin, OLeary-Kelly Collins). It is regularly performed in the workplace by a spectrum of employees ranging from blue collar employees, in both profit and non-profit organisation to white collar employees (Giacalone and Greenberg, 1997). In the perspective of Bennett and Robinsons (2003), organizational deviance research contends a broader conceptualization of deviance which has occurred over the last ten years and an agreement on a definition has been difficult (Kidwell et al, 2005). It has spawned a variety of concepts and related definitions. For example, in Robinson and Bennett (1995), they defined workplace deviance as voluntary behavior of organizational members that violates significant organizational norms, and in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization and/or its members (p. 556), and this definition has been adopted by other organizational research too such as Lee Allen, 2002; Martinko, Gundlach and Douglas, 2002; and Sackett, 2002; Mount, Ilies and Johnson, 2006). Other researchers studied workplace deviance also use different distinct terminology such as retaliation (Skarlicki and Foldger, 1997), aggression (Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Fox Spector, 1999; Neuman Baron, 1997; OLeary-Kelly, Griffin, Glew, 1996), revenge (Bies, Tripp, Kramer, 1997), counterproductive behavior (Spector et al, 2005 and Sackett, 2002), antisocial behaviour (Giacolone Greenberg 1997), dysfunctional behaviour and organizational misbehaviour (Vardi Weitz, 2003). Conceptually, workplace deviance is generally used to describe specific incidences of deviant behaviour in the workplace; therefore, the actions of individual employees serve as the basic unit of analysis (Robinson Greenberg, 1998). For this research the term workplace deviance by Robinson and Bennet (1995) will be use because it appears as one of the popular terms among researchers nowadays in this area. This includes local researcher for example Faridahwati (2003), Samsuddin and Rahman (2006) and Abdul Rahman (2008) who used this terminology. Behaviors labeled deviant include unsafe work practices, drug abuse, stealing, dishonesty, volitional absenteeism, alcohol abuse, destruction of an organizations property (Griffin OLeary-Kelly, 2004), employee theft, withholding effort, violence, insubordination, sabotage, whistle-blowing, poor attendance, misuse of information, alcohol use and abuse, gambling, inappropriate internet use, littering (Mount, Ilies and Johnson, 2006) and harassment (Jixia Yang, 2008). In addition, with technology advancement and internet in the workplaces, browsing the web and checking personal emails are some of the diversity of workplace deviance acts (Nguyen, 2008). Scholars have estimated that up to 75 percent (Harper, 1990), 85 percent (Harris and Ogbonna, 2002), and 95 percent (Slora, 1991) of employee routinely behave in a manner that can be described as deviance (cited in Harris and Ogbonna, 2006). Over the past decade, there has been an increase in attention to workplace deviance including violence, stealing, dishonesty, volitional absenteeism, drug and alcohol abuse many of which have been addressed in this special issue. In Malaysia, the evidence of workplace deviance had begin to soar. KPMG Fraud Survey 2004 (Ngui, 2005) shows 83% of Malaysian public and private limited companies have experienced fraud which is also a form of workplace deviance. This is an increase of 33% from 2002 survey. Another survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Global Economic Crime Survey 2005 (Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2006) reveals that 23% out of 100 Malaysian large companies surveyed have been subjected to fraud, and 70% of the cases reported was committed by employees (Zauwiyah and Mariati, 2008). Other evidence in Malaysia from the public media involve dishonesty and poor work attitude cases (New Strait Times, 2005), fraudulence, (Utusan Malaysia, 2004), underperformed and lazy (Star, October 2009) and the issue of fake medical certificate which these behaviors are labeled under forms of workplace deviance (Utusan Malaysia, 2003 cited from Abdul Rahman and Aizat, 2008). Other forms of deviance including corruption (New Stra its Times, 2009) which is also a growing problem in Malaysia that highly involves employees in the public sector. For example base on a research done by Global Corruption Barometer which was announced by the Transparency International indicates that corruption percentage is high among employees in the public sectors (Berita Harian, June 2009). Deviance act was also reported to the police and 27 disciplinary cases involving the public sector were reported by the Public Service Department (Abdul Rahman, 2008). In the Malaysian Current Law journal from 2000 until 2005 also reported a review of dismissal cases from the Malaysian Industrial Relations Department (Abdul Rahman, 2008). Samsuddin and Rahman (2006) also had highlighted the presence of workplace deviance in Malaysia. Substance abuse for example also becomes a significant problem among public and private organizations in Malaysia. The National Drug Agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Internal Affairs registered a total of 250,045 drug addicts in government and private sectors between January 1995 and February 2005 (Abdul Rahman, 2008). Other forms of deviance behavior including sabotage, threatening a pay cut, antagonising and showing disrespect of an employees religious belief was also reported to the Labour Deparment (Faridahwati, 2004). Whether the deviance is explicit or subconscious, it has negative consequences for the entity and affiliates. It affect organizational performance, safety and health of the employees (Kidwell and Kochanowski, 2005) and enormous costs associated with such behavior (Peterson, 2002). For example, nearly 95 percent of all companies in United States reported some deviance-related experience within their respective organizations (Henle et al., 2005) and the estimated impact of widespread workplace deviance has also been reported to be $50 billion annually on the United States economy (Henle et al., 2005b). It is continue to soar out of control with nearly 95 percent of all companies reporting some deviance-related experience within their respective organizations (Case, 2000; Henle et al., 2005). Infact, employee theft and fraud is the fastest growing type of crime in the United States (Coffin, 2003) Researchers have addressed the consequences of deviant behaviours in some detail. It is reported that workplace deviance gives a financial impact on the organizations and victims of workplace deviance are more likely to suffer from stress-related problems and show a relatively decreased productivity, lost work time and a relatively high turnover rate (Henle et al., 2005). The impact of workplace deviance can also be translated into turnover, lower productivity, employee morale, higher rates of absenteeism and turnover (Hoel, Einarsen, and Cooper, 2003; Keashly and Jagatic, 2003). Therefore, given the growing prevalence of detrimental behaviors and the associated costs, it is beneficial to organizations and researchers to determine which variables contribute to such behavior, or identify potential factors that can predict the occurrence of various types of workplace deviance. Thus, there is great incentive, financial and otherwise, for organizations to prevent and discourage any negative workplace deviance within their walls. For these reasons, it is a great interest in understanding the antecedents of workplace deviance (Hogan and Hogan, 1989; Robinson and Greenberg, 1998; Henle, 2005; Mount 2006). Base on the findings of past empirical research it shows that certain factors are vulnerable to deviant behaviors by employees such as job stressors (e.g.. Fox et al, 2001), organizational frustration, (e.g., Spector, 1975), lack of control, over the work environment (e.g., Bennett, 1998), weak sanctions for rule violations (e.g., Hollinger and Cjiark, 1983), and organizational changes such as downsizing (e.g.Baron and Neuman, 1996). Some researchers had suggested that situational or organizational factors might be responsible for workplace deviance. Appelbaum et al. (2005) suggested that operational environment rather than individual personality characteristics is a good predictor of employees engaging in negative deviant workplace behavior. This is opined by Henle (2005) that employees will commit deviant behavior in the organization depending on the situational environment in workplace regardless of their individual characteristics. However, Martinko (2002) suggested that individu al difference variables is an important antecedent to workplace deviance because of the influence these individual differences are likely to have on attribution process. Previous research also has demonstrated that there are meaningful linkages between employees individual characteristics and deviant behavior at work (e.g., BennettRobinson, 2003; Dalal, 2005; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002). However, Robinson and Greenberg (1998) point out that no clear picture emerges of a deviant personality type and that personality traits seem to only account for a small percentage of the variance in predicting deviant behaviour (Browing, 2008). Previous empirical research however did demonstrated that certain organizational factors also make companies more vulnerable to deviant behaviors by employees such as joh stressors (e.g.. Fox et al, 2001), organizational frustration (e.g., Spector, 1975), lack of control over the work environment (e.g., Bennett, 1998), weak sanctions for rule violations (e.g., Hollinger and C;iark, 1983), and organizational chauges such as downsizing (e.g.Baron and Neuman, 1996). Thus, base on this perspective, only indicates that deviant acts at work depending on the work environment regardless of their individual characteristics. Base on various researchers perspective, there has been a controversial either individual characteristics or situational environment of the organization contributes to workplace deviance. In fact, there are also other researchers that suggested that various antecedents of workplace deviance from situational and individual difference. There are findings indicated that there are meaningful linkage between personality characteristics and workplace deviance (e.g., Bennett and Robinson, 2003; Dalal, 2005; Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002). This issue had been continue to be controversial and there had been little disagreement on the antecedent correlated to workplace deviance and consensus regarding which situational and individual differences correlated to workplace deviance. However, Colbert et al. (2004); Henle (2005) suggested that future research should identify both situation and person-based explanations of workplace deviance so that organizations could predict and ultimately, minimize the occurrence of workplace deviance. Even, more than a decade, apparently still very few studies have assessed both personal and organizational correlates (actual or self-reported) workplace deviance (Lefkowitz, 2009). In Malaysia itself, studies on workplace deviance had been done previously by Shamsudin (2003), Faridahwati (2004), Razali (2005), Radzi and Din (2005), Sien (2006) and Abdul Rahman (2008). Various studies had been done using various units of analysis, for example, studies on workplace deviance done by Faridahwati (2004), Samsuddin (2003) and Sien use hotel employees as sample, Radzi and Din (2005) in a high technology multinational companies in the northern region, Razali (2005) focus on production workers in Penang and Abdul Rahman (2008) use production employees in manufacturing companies in various states in Malaysia. Base on this comparison, the existing local studies however fall short using public sector employees as unit of analysis. 2.0 Problem Statement There is a growing problem of workplace deviance in the workplace that should not be ignored. Evidence from newspapers and other public media indicates various forms of workplace deviance exists in Malaysia such cases of dishonesty, poor work attitudes, fraudulence, and the issue of fake medical certificate (Abdul Rahman, 2008). A number of regional Labour Department in Malaysia also had indicated that at least twenty to 30 cases in a month have been reported by employees and employers. Findings from Faridahwati (2003) revealed that saying hurtful things and making fun of someone at work stands out to be common forms of deviance act in workplace. In addition, the acts of deviance behavior at workplace had been documented increase in the number of reported incidents in workplace (Faridahwati, 2004). For example, corruption (Utusan online, October, 2009), theft, sabotage, harassment, cursed someone at work and publicly being embarrassed at workplace (Kosmo, October 2009), putting little effort at work (Utusan, August 2009), taking breaks during office hours which had become a culture among public sector employees (Arkib, 2008). All these behaviors are various forms of deviant behavior that had been reported by published media in public sectors. Apparently, there are proofs of problems rooted in the poor performance among the public sector employees (Johari et al., 2009). This is supported by Siddique (2006), who claimed that public service agencies in Malaysia has long been criticized for its inflexibility, ineffective accountability, and poor performance among the officials. The bleak picture is evident when the Malaysian Public Service has recorded 58 percent increase in formal complaints from the public (Siddique, 2006). In 2005, a total of 2,707 complaints were received with regard to the public service poor performance, such as delays in service provision, unfair actions/decisions of the administrators, abuse of power, misconduct of the officials, and failure to enforce rules which all these are forms of deviant behaviors.. Added to this, the chief secretary of the Malaysian government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan (2009) mentioned that the number of disciplinary cases against civil servants is on the rise. For example, there were 3,383 such cases last year compared with 2,159 in year 2007. Such form of deviant cases being reported are absenteeism, tardiness and sexual harassment. This is also opined by Abdul Rahman (2008) that disciplinary cases involving employees in the public sector had been highly reported. Absenteeism which also a form of workplace deviance had become a significant issue where there are cases of employees in public sectors did not turn up for work for almost three months without the knowledge of their supervisors and employers (Ministry of Human Resource, 2009). A report from January till September 2009 indicated that 129 public employees in Selangor were absent without reason or permission and 49% of the 129 public sector employees are from the support staff level (Bernama, 13 Septe mber, 2009). This was also supported by Cuepecs Secretary, Ahmad Shah (2009) that most of them are in the category of supporting staff and is station outside the office. It also had been reported that absenteeism had been the four highest principal of offense cases which 7,688 cases or 55 percent, followed by code of conduct and prohibition case, court cases and abuse or dangerous drug ownership (Utusan, June 2007). Apart from the above, there has been an increase of 36.2% offense cases from public sector employees at various levels in year 2009 and 3,383 offense cases are committed compared to 2,159 cases in year 2007 (Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, Utusan dated October, 2009). Added to this, rules violation cases involve officers from the public service were reported to be increasing each year and as many as 2,955 in year 2006 compared to 1,943 at 2002 (Utusan, June 2008). Vardi and Weitz (2004) stated that there are two major costs that come with workplace deviance , financial costs (e.g., destruction of organizational property, violation of laws, codes and regulations, etc.) and social costs (e.g., destructive political behaviors, harassment, and sustained suboptimal performance) (Griffin OLeary-Kelly, 2004). Thus, the pervasiveness of workplace deviance in public sector made it an important area to study. Apart from the above, despite the increasing forms of workplace deviance reported in the public sector, there had been little studies or no attention to investigate workplace deviance in the perspective of public sector employees. In fact, workplace deviance had been received less attention among organizational scholars (Vardi and Weist, 2004; Abdul Rahim and Abdul Rahman, 2008). 3.0 Research Objectives The purpose of this study is to contributed to the workplace deviance literature by adopting an interaction approach to empirically examine how both person- and situation-based variables interact to explain workplace deviance. The research objectives are as follows: i) To identify typical forms of workplace deviance that exists in the public sector. ii) To investigate the determinants of workplace deviance that exists in the public sector. iii) To measure workplace deviance behavior in the public sector. iv) To determine whether individual variables (gender, negative affectivity, trait anger) influence workplace deviance in the public sector. v) To determine whether situational variables (job sastisfaction, work group norms and organizational justice) influence workplace deviance in the public sectors. 4.0 Significance contribution This research makes contributions to both the theory and practice of management. Although scholars have recognized that deviance can be socially constructed, there has been a death of research that has specifically addressed this issue especially in the perspective of public sector employees. Further to this, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the workplace deviance literature by adopting an interactional approach to empirically examine how both individual-and situation-based variables interact to explain workplace deviance. On the implication, it benefits the superiors and managers. This study will contribute to a better understanding on deviant behaviors in the workplace and contributed to the literature examining complex antecedents of workplace deviance. Furthermore, there is paucity for empirical study of workplace deviance especially in the context of public sector in Malaysia. Also, looking at the perspective of academic level, the result of this study will give more insight in the contribution and development of knowledge in the areas of human resource management and public administration concerning workplace deviance. It is also expected that the result from this proposed study will assist policy makers and practitioners to reduce the occurrences of workplace deviance issues related to organizational and individual factors. By understanding, the factors that influence workplace deviance, the government would also in a better position to plan and implement complementary and an integrated of publi c administration policies and practices to enhance the effectiveness of the employees in the public sector thus reduce the existence of workplace deviance. The result of the study is also expected to assist government sectors to use the information from the study to implement training and development related to this issue. It will also contribute to all fields which in turn enhance the theoretical and academic integration of several branches (organization behavior and human resource management) and their mother field of public administration. Finally, the most ultimate objective is to reduce workplace deviance which contributes tangible and intangible costs to the victims and organization. 5.0 Scope of study This study is an explanatory in nature and adopts a cross-sectional design. This study will targeted the support staff as sample. Support staff was chosen as it had been reported in the media that 10,438 civil servants had been given disciplinary action from year 2003 till 2006 and 92 percent are from the support staff (Utusan, June 2007). Moreover, it has been suggested that those who have the lower status may be the most prone to exhibiting deviant behavior (e.g., Gilligan, 1996; Wicklund Gollwitzer, 1982). Employees from the Royal Malaysian Custom department will be chosen as sample as this department interact and liaise widely with various customers. The study will fill the gap in terms of providing research findings that integrate the respondents perception on situation variables (job satisfaction, workgroup norms and organizational justice) and individual variables (Gender, trait anger and negative affectivity) which all were conceptualize as independent variables. The focus of this study is to determine the individual and situational factors of workplace deviance in a public organization. 6.0 Operational Definition: Workplace Deviance: Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing threatens the well-being of an organization, its members, or both. This definition includes non serious (e.g. tardiness) as well as more serious types of workpalce deviance (e.g. theft of cash and harassment) (Robinson and Bennet, 1995). Trait Anger: Trait anger is described as a disposition to experience state anger overtime and context overtime (Speilberger, 1996). Negative affectivity: Negative affectivity reflects the extent to which individuals experience distressing emotions such as hostility, fear, and anxiety (Watson Clark, 1984). Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction reveals the degree to which an employee is content with their job as a whole and encompasses multiple aspects of ones job ranging from the work itself, the quality of interpersonal relationships, compensation and career advancement opportunities (Bruck, Allen Spector, 2002). Work Group Norms: Group Norms are informal rules that group adopts to regulate and regularize group members behavior (Fieldman, 1984). Organizational injustice: Three types of fairness perceptions: distributive, procedural, and interactional injustice. Judgements concerning distributive revolve around the employees evaluations of outcome fairness, that is, whether the individual has received a fair share of rewards given his or her relative contribution to a societal exchange (Adam, 1965). Distributive injustice typically refers to fairness evaluations regarding work outcomes such as pay, benefits, promotions, and so on. Procedural injustice includes judgments about the processes and procedures used to make decisions and to determine ones outcome (Greenberg, 1990, Lind Tyler, 1988). Chapter 2 Review of Literature 2.0 Introduction A large body of literature on the topics of workplace deviance and its antecedents provides will be reviewed in this chapter. An extensive search process was conducted by utilizing numerous database. This chapter will provide contemporary literature regarding workplace deviance as discussed in the previous chapter. 2.1 Workplace deviance Researchers have given these behaviors many different names including workplace deviance (Bennett and Robinson, 2003), counterproductive behavior (Mangione and Quinn, 1975), and antisocial behavior (Giacolone and Greenberg, 1997). In essence, behavior is deemed deviant when an organizations customs, policies, or internal regulations are violated by an individual or a group that may jeopardize the well-being of the organization or its citizens (Robinson and Bennett, 1995). This proposed study will used the definition of workplace deviance by Robinson and Bennett (1995) as voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and in so doing threatens the well-being of an organization, its members, or both. Organizational norms in this definition assume a managerial orientation about expectations of employee behaviors without excluding adoption of this perspective by other employees. This definition also focuses on violations of norms that apply across a broad spectrum of employees, rather than violations of norms around specific duties. Employee deviance, then, consists of acts that violate norms encouraging respect for organizational property and norms that encourage respect for other individuals. Workplace deviance ranges from a milder forms, such as rudeness and tardiness, to more extreme forms, such as theft, workplace deviance is considered part of the performance domain (Rotundo Sackett, 2002; Sackett, 2002; Viswesvaran Ones, 2000). .Behaviors that have been identified as deviant in previous research include subtle expressions of rebellion (e.g., gossiping, taking unapproved breaks), as well as more aggressive actions (e.g., theft, verbal abuse; Robinson Bennett, 1995). Keashly, Trott, and MacLean (1994), in their study of abusive behavior in the workplace which is also a form of workplace deviance found that, found that all participants had experienced at least one incident of nonsexual, nonphysical abusive behavior. Relatedly, 32% of participants in Bjorkqvist, Osterman, and Hjelt-Backs (1994) study of harassment (also one of the forms of deviance) at work reported that they had observed others being mistreated. Workplace deviance can be divided further into two subcategories (Bennett Robinson, 2000; Robinson Bennett, 1995). The first category, referred to as interpersonal deviance, consists of acts that inflict harm upon individuals (e.g., verbal harassment, assault, spreading rumors). Organizational deviance is defined as acts directed against the company or its systems (e.g., sabotaging equipment, theft, wasting resources). The prevalence and costs of deviance in the workplace make its study imperative (Robinson and Lawrence, 2007). Psychological reactions to workplace deviance include feelings of depression and anxiety (Bjorkvist et al., 1994). Psychosocial problems (Kaukiainen, Salmivalli, Bjorkqvist, Osterman, Lahtinen, Kostamo, Lagerspetz, 2001); emotional exhaustion (OBrien Vandello, 2005; Tepper, 2000); life dissatisfaction (Tepper, 2000); and decrements in emotional well-being (LeBlanc Kelloway, 2002; Schat Kelloway, 2000), self-esteem, and self-confidence (Price Spratlen, 1995) are other psychological strains. Work-related psychological reactions are job dissatisfaction, work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict (Tepper, 2000), and decrements. in job-related affect (Schat Kelloway, 2003), normative commitment, and affective commitment (Tepper, 2000). Physical reactions include physical symptoms (Kaukiainen et al., 2001) and decrements in psychosomatic well-being (LeBlanc Kelloway, 2 002; Schat Kelloway, 2003). Due to the impact, workplace deviance has increasingly received researchers attention, in part because of the alarming statistics indicating its pervasiveness in the workplace. The financial and non financial costs associated with workplace deviance warrant attention from both researchers and practitioners. Much research attention has been given to the damaging effects of workplace deviance within organizations. However, as yet, little research has been conducted to try to understand whether and how the presence of workplace deviance is associated with a deterioration in public administration. Research regarding workplace deviance often investigates personality (e.g., Douglas and Martinko, 2001; Salgado, 2002) or situational (e.g. Greenhcrg, 1990; Skarlicki and Folger, 1997) predictors while neglecting the interaction between the personality and situational variables. Consistent with other research areas and calls to examine the joint influences of situational and individual variables on deviant workplace behavior (Sackett DeVore, 2001), some researchers have begun to empirically investigate interactionist hypotheses in the deviance literature (e.g., Colbert, Mount, Harter, Witt, Barrick; 2004, Henle, 2005). Colbert et al. (2004) noted that future research should examine the joint relationship of perceptions of the work situation and personality with both organizational and interpersonal deviance. As suggested by Mickaulay (2001) that understanding the independent effects of situational and individual variables may lead to more effective control of workplace deviance. Th erefore, this proposed research will look into the situation and personality as well as the interaction between the two as empirical research on this dynamic between the individual and situation has been limited (Mickaulay, 2001). 2.2 Individual and situational factors of workplace deviance Workplace deviance is influenced by situational as well as individual factors (Colbert et al., 2004; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Individual factors may have a direct effect on workplace deviance. For example, Douglas and Martinko found that a combination of individual difference measures (e.g., trait anger, attribution style, and self-control) accounted for 62% of variance in self-reported workplace aggression which is also a form of workplace deviance (Tang et al., 2008). Other individual characteristics are related to workplace deviance (e.g., conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability; Colbert et al., 2004). Workplace deviance is also influenced by situational as well as individual factors (Colbert et al., 2004; Douglas Martinko, 2001; Marcus Schuler, 2004). Individual factors may have a direct effect on workplace deviance. .For example, Skarlicki et al. (1999) found that negative affectivity interacted with perceptions of distributive and interactional justice in the prediction of retaliatory behaviors. When situational factors investigate deviant behaviors, individual factors may amplify this effect (as in the case of trait anger; Hepworth Towler, 2004) (as in the case of self-control; Brown et al., 2005). Base on the above perspective on individual and situational variables towards workplace deviance, this study contributed to the workplace deviance literature by examining the importance of situation- and person-based explanations in addition to their interactions. Although many have advocated for an interactional approach to studying deviant work behaviors, few studies have done so (Henle, 2005). The organizational and social psychology literature demonstrate that individual differences constitute an important explanation for workplace deviance. However, it appears that workplace deviance cannot be attributed to individual traits alone. Langton et al. (2006) also assert that no single factor or theory that can account for each and every occurrence. For example, even an employee working in the same company and having the same demographic characteristics, are not both necessarily going to commit workplace deviants act. As such, Langton (2006) opined that there must be internal traits that predispose a worker to workplace deviance. It is also more likely that deviant behavior may be best predicted based on a combination of individual variables and the situational nature of the workplace situation (Peterson, 2002). For this research, individual variables (gender, trait anger and self control) and situational variables (job satisfaction, stress (work stress and general life stress ), work group norms and perceive justice) will be used as independent variables for this study. 2.3 Individual variables 2.3.1 Gender Various researchers had indicated that male tend to be more deviant behavior at work (Baron et al., 1999), absenteeism (Johns, 1997), theft (Hollinger and Clark, 1983), substance abuse (Hollinger, 1988), and vandalism (DeMore et al., 1988). Researchers also

Negative Influences of Media

Negative Influences of Media The Negative Influences of Media â€Å"Each year, the average American spends 1550 hours of TV, listens to 1160 hours of radio, and spends 290 hours reading newspapers and magazines,† (Workingpsychology). Media comes in all shapes and sizes: television, radio, magazines, internet, music, video games, advertisements and movies. Media is all around us; in our homes, cars, markets and even schools. Teens and young children are easily influenced by media, which affects their character and behavior (Debatepedia). Parents should take actions to save their child from losing their morals. According to Workingpsychology, TV is the most popular form of media. Statistics say that, â€Å"Television is the best studied medium and the average teenager watches it for more than three hours a day,† (NYTimes). With all the TV that kids watch, it is no wonder as to why some kidsdisplay inappropriate behavior. Parents constantly tell their children to stop doing what they see on television, but wouldnt it be easier for th em to simply censor the things they watch? Also, the â€Å"cool† things that media glorifies influence teens to want things that are not essential (Buzzle). Teens are also very active on the internet which has negative effects on their young immature minds. Media from all these sources can also mature a child too fast. Things such as sexual activities should be taught when the time is right, not when a child stumbles upon it (NYTimes). Media is everywhere you turn and kids are constantly influenced by it. With all this exposure to media, teens and children are susceptible to negative influences; therefore, parents should censor what their children watch and hear. Teens and kids are negatively influenced by Hollywood movies, magazines, and videogames. According to Debatepedia, â€Å"Hollywood films glorify sex and violence, attacking the moral values of all societies and leading their young astray.† Teens that constantly watch movies that are not censored can easily lose theirmoral values. They also believe that the characters† actions are acceptable, so they imitate them. Celebrities that are constantly in the media, such as Amy Winehouse, glorify the use of drugs and alcohol (Buzzle). Some teens believe that celebrities are ideal role models and feel that it is okay to emulate their actions. This is wrong since celebrities are usually in the mediadue tosex scandals and drug usage. Kids and teens look at these celebrities and say that they want to be exactly like them (NYTimes). Most popular video games which many teens play also demonstrate violence (Buzzle). Parents should pay attention to the rating of the games in order to pr event the minds of their child from being corrupt. Parents and guardians should be aware of the movies and magazines that their children view to preserve their character and morals. Teens are widely influenced by music and advertisements. Almost all teens and kids listen to music; however, some lyrics that kids listen to are not appropriate for their age (NYTimes). Kids that are only 10 or 11 years old listen to songs about sex. This is immoral, due to the fact that kids at that age are premature and should not be exposed to that kind of influence until they are ready. Also, advertisements on TV and billboards are displayed to children and teens daily. According to NYTimes, â€Å"Teens are showed an estimated amount of 50 advertisements per day.† Most advertisements that kids and teens see are regarding weight loss. By seeing the advertisements, kids are motivated to lose weight by enduring unhealthy diets and unhealthy techniques (NYTimes). When teens cannot afford the item that is being advertised, they find other ways to lose weight such as Bulimia (Buzzle). Teens are influenced into doing things that can potentially kill them. Advertisements on TV als o influence kids and teens to want things that are not essential (Buzzle). This wastes their parents money and creates a character that is spoiled and not knowledgeable. The influence of advertisements has proven to be negative because of the things that they promote. Both advertisements and music has a possibility of dehumanizing and corrupting a young adults mind. Parents should censor the music that has bad influences. Parents should also teach and censor their young ones from believing advertisements. By far, teenagers and children are the ones who are mostly influenced by internet and television. As years go by, the internet is becoming more and more popular among the teenagers. However, if an immature teenager or child stumbles across inappropriate things such as pornography, it can artificially age them (NYTimes). Logically, children and teens should mature at their own paces. Instead of accidentally coming across these inappropriate things, students should learn about this at school. Instead of simply letting kids go on the computer, parents should censor inappropriate websites. Another culprit of media influence is television. Television is popular among kids; in fact, â€Å"Television is the best studied medium, and the average teenager watches it for more than three hours a day,† (NYTimes). Some believe that television is just used for entertainment, but they are oblivious to the negative influences. The shows that teens watch such as â€Å"Laguna Beach†, glor ify sex and alcohol, which for some ages is not appropriate (NYTimes). These shows can contribute to negative behaviors of teens. Most teens take what they see on TV and reenact them in order to be â€Å"cool† (NYTimes). Also, most television shows that revolve around comedy make fun of nationalities and races (The CuteKid). This encourages kids to become discriminative towards others which can corrupt them and possibly turn them into racists (The CuteKid). As parents, they should either block certain channels or shows; or watch the shows with their children. If not handled properly, kids and teens can be corrupted by society. Although the negative influences of media is widely recognized, some believe that media has positive influences on teens and children. Some argue that, â€Å"Media has enhanced overall knowledge,† (Buzzle). However if children and teens have knowledge of things that are not suitable for their age group, they can very well age too quickly which will affect their growth as adults. Others might argue that media is a good resource because it helps teenagers embrace technology (Buzzle). Although kids embrace technology, such as the internet, they are distracted from their school work and their other priorities. If kids take in too much too fast, they can be overwhelmed and be consumed by it. Others, might also plead that media informs kids about drugs, sex, smoking and alcohol (Buzzle). In response, children and teens that are informed to early about unjustifiable actions, can affect their aging process. Also, some kids, although informed not to do drugs and alcohol, are too young to understand the consequence; and in the state of being immaturity, might try it to be cool or to fit into the â€Å"in† crowd. With this vital information, it is evident that the negative influences outweigh the positive influences. With all the negative influences in the world, teens should not fall into the trap of the media. Media can create a void inside a young adults life that can be irreversible (Buzzle). Teens and kids should age at their own pace, not by listening and watching the media. Parents should do their kids a favor and censor the things they view. If parents do so, they can be a proud to know that they tried their best to raise an adult with good morals and ethics. Works Cited Brody, Jane. Children, Media and Sex: A Big Book of Blank Pages. The New York Times Breaking News, World News Multimedia. 31 Jan. 2006. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . Debate: Hollywoods Influence Debatepedia. Welcome to Debatepedia! Debatepedia, Debatepedia the Wikipedia of Debates. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . Media Influence Bad Influence of Media on Children. TheCuteKid. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . Media Effects on Teenagers. Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. . Rhoads, Kelton. Everyday Influence and Persuasion: the Media. Working Psychology: Applying Psychology to Influence, Persuasion Teamwork. Web. 21 Jan. 2010. .

The Mr. T. Experience, Yo La Tengo, and The Knitting Factory?...Oh... :: Free Essays Online

The Mr. T. Experience, Yo La Tengo, and The Knitting Factory?...Oh... "Tonight at Tramps, Chisel, Fuzzy and Velocity Girl, seven dollar cover, all ages." Before I became indie rock literate I would not have been able to understand the above quote from a concert flier. Someone who is indie rock illiterate might read it as an add for a brothel, featuring the use of tools, and hairy fast women of all ages. On the other hand, someone who is indie rock literate would know to read it as "tonight at the concert venue called Tramps there will be a show featuring the bands Chisel, Fuzzy and Velocity Girl, it costs seven dollars to get in and you may be any age to attend." I used to watch my friends Mike and Zoe with awe and jealousy. They had found a way into the seemingly elite world of indie rock (independent rock music). They bought the records, wore the clothes, and most importantly they spoke the language. The language was one that sounded a lot like English, but it was filled with words and phrases like "Brownie's," "Bikini Kill," and "all ages show". It was clear that although these could be taken as normal English words they had other meanings, meanings with which I was not familiar. I wondered how these friends of mine had managed to obtain their passports into this land of mystery, wonder, and seven-inch singles. I now know that there is not a secret handshake that gets a person into the indie rock scene. Nor is there a panel of ultra-cool guardians hiding out in rock clubs deciding who's in and who's out. There is merely a certain type of literacy that one eventually picks up if one observes and listens and lets oneself become part of the scene. Just like any other kind of literacy, nobody is born with it, it needs to be learned. My transition from illiteracy to literacy in this area has become something of a blur for me. I'm not sure when or how I became indie rock literate, but I am now. One of the most important aspects of this form of literacy is that it enables me to talk to people about something that I am interested in. Being indie rock literate, it is easier to clearly convey thoughts and ideas that have to do with the world that particular subculture within American popular culture.

The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Plannin

The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Planning INTRODUCTION Human population growth, overpopulation, and earth’s biological carrying capacity have been concerns of scientists for many years. In 1679 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek estimated that the maximum number of people Earth can support is 13.4 billion and estimates have continued to vary drastically since then (Cohen, 1995). There are many ecological indicators, including desertification and water problems, which point to the likelihood that we are approaching our limit. There are many sub issues within this overall problem that must be addressed in order to work towards solving this problem, including sustainable living, water shortages, etc. However, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the idea of population control as one possible starting point for a solution. CARRYING CAPACITY It is important to remember that carrying capacity can change with new technology, different use of resources and better resource management. Carrying capacity can also change in the opposite direction due to a catastrophic event or overexploitation of resources. As was mentioned previously, there have been many estimates made on Earth’s carrying capacity since 1679. Estimates have varied greatly, ranging from 1000 billion. Currently the UN’s projection is that Earth can support around 9 billion people (www.prb.org). It is expected that the human population will reach that size by 2050. The current world population is around 6.3 billion. So, many believe that this is becoming, and has been, an imminent problem. According to Cohen, there have been six different methods that have been used to estimate Earth’s human carrying capacity.... ...eved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org. Haub, C. & Herstad, B., (July, 2002). Sterilization World’s #1 Contraceptive Method. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org. Meulenberg, C., (Sept./Oct. 2004). {Definitely}Probably One: A Generation Comes of Age Under China’s One-Child Policy. World Watch, 17, 31. Roudi-Fahimi, F., & Moghadam, V.M., (November, 2003). Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau. www.prb.org. UNFPA, (2004). State of the World Population: The Cairo Consensus at Ten: Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: www.unfpa.org. Zi, L., (2004, July 8). Population Planning Paradox. Beijing Review, 47, 22. The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Plannin The Problem of Population Growth and the Solution of Population Planning INTRODUCTION Human population growth, overpopulation, and earth’s biological carrying capacity have been concerns of scientists for many years. In 1679 Antoni van Leeuwenhoek estimated that the maximum number of people Earth can support is 13.4 billion and estimates have continued to vary drastically since then (Cohen, 1995). There are many ecological indicators, including desertification and water problems, which point to the likelihood that we are approaching our limit. There are many sub issues within this overall problem that must be addressed in order to work towards solving this problem, including sustainable living, water shortages, etc. However, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the idea of population control as one possible starting point for a solution. CARRYING CAPACITY It is important to remember that carrying capacity can change with new technology, different use of resources and better resource management. Carrying capacity can also change in the opposite direction due to a catastrophic event or overexploitation of resources. As was mentioned previously, there have been many estimates made on Earth’s carrying capacity since 1679. Estimates have varied greatly, ranging from 1000 billion. Currently the UN’s projection is that Earth can support around 9 billion people (www.prb.org). It is expected that the human population will reach that size by 2050. The current world population is around 6.3 billion. So, many believe that this is becoming, and has been, an imminent problem. According to Cohen, there have been six different methods that have been used to estimate Earth’s human carrying capacity.... ...eved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org. Haub, C. & Herstad, B., (July, 2002). Sterilization World’s #1 Contraceptive Method. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau www.prb.org. Meulenberg, C., (Sept./Oct. 2004). {Definitely}Probably One: A Generation Comes of Age Under China’s One-Child Policy. World Watch, 17, 31. Roudi-Fahimi, F., & Moghadam, V.M., (November, 2003). Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: Population Reference Bureau. www.prb.org. UNFPA, (2004). State of the World Population: The Cairo Consensus at Ten: Population, Reproductive Health and the Global Effort to End Poverty. Retrieved October 31, 2004 from: www.unfpa.org. Zi, L., (2004, July 8). Population Planning Paradox. Beijing Review, 47, 22.

The History of the Nutcracker Ballet :: essays research papers

The History of The Nutcracker Ballet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we think about The Nutcracker today, we see a memorable story about a girl (Marie) receiving a magical gift at a Christmas party from her mysterious Uncle Dosselmeyer. The gift is a nutcracker. Later that night, the nutcracker ends up turning into a Prince after defeating the Mouse King and saves Marie. Then, he takes Marie to a land called The Kingdom of Sweets where she is greeted by the Sugarplum fairy. This story is one of the most recognized ballets across the globe. However, what we do not think about is the way this ballet was created and how no one believed in the story as a great ballet. Following the success of The Sleeping Beauty, Ivan Alexandrovitch Vsevolojsky, the director of the Imperial Theaters, wanted to make another ballet with choreographer Marius Petipa and composer Pete Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Vsevolojsky suggested a story based on a book called Nussknacher und Mausekonig (The Nutcracker and the King of the Mice) by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffman. Hoffman’s story was first published in 1816. It was a part of a collection of children’s fairy tales titled Kindermarchen. This story, however, had a dark twist to the end of it that none of them liked. Because of this, Vsevolojsky decided to pick a nicer version of the story. He found a book that was based on Hoffman’s book. It was written by Alexandre Dumas and it was called L’Historie d’un Casse Noisette (The Story of a Hazelnutcracker).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Petipa and Tchaikovsky still did not like the story and refused to work on the project. Petipa did not think the story was right for ballet dancing. He did not feel that Marie, the main character, was a strong enough character to dance. He did try to write a scenario for the ballet, but he could not think of anything past the scene of what we know of as the kingdom of snow. After Petipa gave up, Vsevolojsky begged and persisted with Petipa to try again. He convinced Petipa and this time he created a new character called the Sugarplum fairy. This character was not in either of the original stories. She was to be the main character, rather than Marie, and she would be the ruler of the Kingdom of Sweets. Petipa felt that this character could dance the big scenes better than the character Marie.

How does Alfieri justify his ‘love’ for Eddie Essay

Alfieri is a middle-aged lawyer who has seen his share of clients and listened to their problems as they sought his advice, a Italian-American who understands and has witnessed both countries’ interpretations of law. Having been brought up in the Sicilian way where pride and honour predominate, and being an exponent of American law he also respects how civilised American law is. Alfieri acts as the narrator of ‘A View From The Bridge’, similar in many ways to the choruses found in ancient Greek tragedies, who used to comment on the plays at regular intervals. Alfieri likewise recounts this story to us (in which he plays a part) and reflects on the actions of the characters and the obviousness of the outcome. Eddie had always lived by the Italian law but saw its helplessness when dealing with Rudolpho. Hoping that he could use American law to stop Rudolpho marrying Catherine, Eddie visits Alfieri to ask his advice and to see what could be done about Rudolpho. After meeting with Eddie, Alfieri knew what Eddie would do but ‘was so powerless to stop it. ‘ Alfieri also realizes Eddie’s shameful agenda that he tries to disguise by protesting that he is looking out for Catherine. Alfieri is aware of his limitations as a lawyer, recognizing the fact that no legal system delivers absolute justice for only God can give that. Neither is he deluded into thinking that the American legal system solves all of peoples’ personal problems. However he knows that Eddie will stop at nothing to make sure that Rudolpho does not have Catherine, and indeed that no one else has her. By being himself and disregarding what other people thought of him to get what he wanted, Alfieri grows to respect Eddie. By the end of the play Alfieri reflects on how easily Eddie could have avoided his fate. He realises that Eddie pursued his fate because although he knew that he would have to pay the price to get Catherine, he wanted her so badly he charged on, accepting what came. Alfieri says that it is better to compromise between getting what you want and what you can have. As a Sicilian-American he has ‘settled for half’ and accepted American justice as a way of life because it is safer for him to do so. Yet Eddie will not ‘settle for half’ letting himself to be known as he truly was. So what we are left with is an honourable, concerned, intelligent man sympathising with a man who turned his back on everything he knew – his wife, his way of life, his honour and his life-in the vain hope that he could keep his niece for himself. Like a hero in a modern tragedy, Eddie is a strong character who is destroyed by his weakness-Catherine. As the only character who can reflect on the play’s events objectively, Alfieri realizes that Eddie’s death must seve as a reminder to others to ‘settle for half. ‘ However his alarm stems from the fact that while this will keep you safer if you follow this code, ultimately it means compromising peoples’ hopes, desires and sense of justice.

How far do you agree that Jane Austens novel Pride and Prejudice is no more than an entertaining study of the surface of polite society?

In Pride and Prejudice thither certainly is a great need of drollery, and will appeal to m whatever readers for what Claire Tomalin calls its genial placedy, its sunny heroine, its dream denouement. The twain briny characters appear to be part of what Vivien Jones calls a typical rags-to-riches love tommyrot, maintaining happiness aft(prenominal) a series of vicissitudes, which might hunt readers to think it rather superficial.The critic talks about the muster up trivia of Austens society, which jut outms to counterbalance b bely of balls, scarlet coats and Muslin gowns, only she probes downstairs the surface of her society, and contacts herself with the real confinement of the lives of women in her period. Jane Austen explores how women were victims of a patriarchal society, by presenting the unjustness of the entail. She presents Mr. collins as a fool, by bluntly stating done the critical aim narrative that he was non a sensible man.By this we see that it is c rackbrained that such an imbecile should be able to turn out the two wise sisters Jane and Elizabeth from their own home, since should they not be conjoin they could be facing the same options as Jane Fairfax in Austens Emma, left to the governess trade, with its grim ricochet of the slave trade. Also, and perhaps more than importantly, she explores not only how women were victims in society, just through Wickham how they were antecedentless, direct victims of men.The unsettling story of him and Georgiana Darcy shows women as quite a powerless, as he exploited her artlessness and memory, beca handling her affectionate heart retained a strong impression of his sortingness to her as a child. Her guardians would amaze been her only resistance at Ramsgate, and even they could not be trusted, as the scheme was un headably by design of Mrs. Younge, its mephistophelian epitomized by the calculation of the scheme to potency Georgiana into the lifelong trap of marriage. Georgia na was only fifteen, and the story line of the serial philanderer Mr. Wickham exposes a very dark and therefore often deeper side to the young, as he moves abutting onto Miss King with her i10,000 draw, then in conclusion onto 16 year old Lydia whom he also sets out to bump. Much unlike the typical villain of a surface comedy Wickham ascertains no lesson, after Georgianas distress likely not have developed any moralistic scruple as he continues to prey on clean(a) girls go a expressive style A. G. Sulloway to conclude Wickham is not capable of moral learning. As he sets out to ruin Lydia, very much echoing Austens Frederick Tilney of Northanger Abbey with his treatment of Isabella Thorpe, he puts her whole familys reputation in danger.Had he succeeded their fates would certainly have looked bleak, which relates Pride and Prejudice to David Diaches musing that Austens novels ar usually described as social comedies, but the situation is that more or less come close to tragedy , and in fact, though it did end with the best reason scenario for Lydia, she was left to spend her life detain in a loveless marriage, as his affection for her soon sunk into indifference. Mr Collins proves there are much more to even the preposterous characters than their surface politeness.His actors line in his letter go baded him to be pompous, all the way vein and a snob as he boasts of his connection to Lady Catherine, proudly declaring it shall be my earnest endeavour to humiliate myself with grateful respect towards her ladyship, and his platitudes of wishing to regain the breach, offer an olive branch and establish the goodwill of peace in all families reveal his vanity. His roe as a unmatched figure come through as Austen treats him with scathing irony, especially when exposing his sycophancy as the first thing he is report of saying in the novel is that he had heard much of their the Bennet sisters beauty, but ame had fallen short of the truth. Aust en tells us this valor was not much to the taste of close to of his readers, set offing his obsequiency with the objective narrative. However, his proposal to Elizabeth reveals something much crueler and darker beneath this facade. He knows of the magnificence of specie in a narrow, desperate, feminine existence of financial constraint (Robert Polhemous), he and plays on this by ex apparent(a)ing that he would not ask for any money from Mr Bennet, reminding her I am come up aware that it could not be complied with.In the same way Charlotte finds herself in a position of little choice, and because of her little fortune she finds herself forced to marry the fool, as it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune. Jane Austen points out the cruelty of this home with a scathing tone of unfavorable judgment of her society, using move up evaluative wrangle to emphasise her point that however indeterminate of giving happiness, marriage moldi ness be their pleasantest protective from want.Once more Collins ceases an hazard to exploit financial dependency, and Robert Polhemus states that Charlottes cast must concern anyone who thinks seriously about the biography of women, summarising her situation as a kind of socially respectable prostitution. Mr Bennets jokes against his wife highlight him also as a comic figure, as from the beginning of the novel we learn that he frequently teases her with amused contempt, as he asks What sens be the consequence of that emphatic exclamation? of her distress, knowing perfectly well what is troubling her. There is a dry whit in his characteristically sarcastic tone, and his weapon against her is irony, which on the surface amuses the reader, but there seems something more to him. later on Elizabeth reflects on this, and imbedded within the objective narrative, in the free indirect style offers a careful analysis of Mr Bennets faults, using abstract nouns to emphasise the rational ity of her disapproval of his continuous breach of conjugal obligation and decorum.The fibber suggests that where he exposes his wife to ridicule, he should have at least preserved the respectability of his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife. here(predicate) Austen points to the importance of education, and her serious tone points to the importance of ethics in her novel, show by parents who set no example for their children, leadership A. G. Sulloway to go so far as to call them parents who are morally supreme towards daughters. Mrs. Bennet tidy sum also ca-ca us laugh with her illogical, trivial mind, which Austen reveals to us with her characteristically ironic coloured narrative, as she was more alive to the disgrace, which the want of new clothes must reflect on her daughters nuptials, than to any sense of shame at her eloping and living with Wickham, a fortnight earlier they took place.This also misleads her daughters, as there can be no s urprise Lydia ends up, as Robert Polhemus observed a shallow materialist, but her character is worth more to the novel than just a silly char or bad parent, in fact she also illustrates more serious aspects of the novel, as the situation with the entail leave her struggle to get five daughters married as soon as possible.We almost intent pathos for her with this stress, as immediately we are told the business of her life was to get her daughters married, with the use of the word business underlining its necessity. Jane Austen does not only concern herself with marriages which entrap poor or plain girls, but also explores how an individual can receive personal fulfillment. As our protagonist, Vivien Jones sees that Elizabeth believes n individual happiness as a legitimate goal in marriage, and this leads her to refuse two proposals before obtaining enough evidence that it is proper(a) for her to settle with one man. Henry Tilney of Jane Austens Northanger Abbey say Man has the advantage of choice, women only the power of refusal, and exerting this power came completely unexpectedly to Mr. Collins, whom believed she did on the Q.T. mean to accept, Mr Darcy, who we are told had no doubt of a favourable answer.Elizabeth insists in both cases this because of a lack of desire, proving her search for a husband also one for rational happiness, an idea which Austen presents as the only way for Claire Tomalins dream denouement. To gain happiness he also demonstrated a eveloement throughout the novel, as he was educated from dress and prejudice to his own rational happiness. This is demonstrated as he goes from seeing her family connections as a degradation to allowing Mr Gardiner, the Uncle in trade, to become unceasingly on the most intimate terms come the end of the novel.So, through development of morals and search that delves below surface trivialities our protagonists are allowed their happy ending, which is much in strain to those characters with little choice of few morals. We see that through the use of her comic characters Austen very demonstrates a much more sinister side to her society, and the constraint felt by women of the time is evidence that she is reporting on much more than just a polite society.