Journal 4 Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Journal 4 This week in class we talked about perception so far hall these topics we've tamed about I can relate to I feel like this class is definitely going to help me in the long wrong. Anyways perception it's how we see things everybody has their own perception of things one person might see something as ok another might see it as really wrong. After I passed my biology test my perception if things has changed at first I was like there's no way imam pass this test but I kept thinking about this class and was like I gotta think positive I gotta believe I'm gonna pass or I'm just not and so I passed now infidel like I can do anything cause I'm really bad at biology so I'm like ok I actually did ok I can actually do this whole college thing. So yea I'm liking college so far I'm liking this class its making me think about things a whole different way.

Critical Review of a Paper Investigating the Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy The WritePass Journal

Critical Review of a Paper Investigating the Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Introduction Critical Review of a Paper Investigating the Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy ) into the application of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB, Ajzen, 1988, 1991) and its effectiveness in predicting intention to carry out health related behaviours. The TPB is a social cognition model, meaning that it seeks to predict intention to carry out a behaviour and to understand why individuals may fail to adhere to a behaviour to which they were once committed. The theory claims that three variables can be used to predict an individual’s behaviour: the individual’s attitude toward the behaviour, the attitude of significant others toward the behaviour and the individual’s perceived control over a behaviour. Perceived control over behaviour is governed by both internal factors such as an individual’s skills or available resources, and external factors such as actual opportunities to carry out the behaviour. Unlike the individual’s attitude toward the behaviour and the attitude of others, perceived control over the behaviour is believed to i nfluence both the intention to carry out the behaviour and the behaviour itself. In particular, the authors were investigating whether the TPB could be used to predict intention to consume alcohol during pregnancy. Previous research has found the TPB to be useful for predicting a range of other health related behaviours (Godin and Kok, 1996) and alcohol consumption behaviours in particular (Marcoux Shope, 1997; McMillan Conner, 2003). The authors focused on the role of TPB in being able to predict the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking during pregnancy is a major health issue. It has been found to influence a number of outcomes for the child including maladaptive behaviours (Sood et al., 2001) and weight at birth (Mariscal et al., 2006). Despite its relation to negative outcomes for the child, up to 54% of women in the UK have claimed to have consumed alcohol during their pregnancy (Bolling et al., 2007). Study Description 130 women based in the Aberdeenshire area returned a questionnaire that was distributed to them at their 20-week pregnancy scan. Of these, analysis was carried out on 116 women. The questionnaire included questions designed to gather information on demographic details, past and present alcohol consumption, and TPB variables. The TPB variables included measuring the participants’ intention to engage in the behaviour, their attitude toward the behaviour, their beliefs about the subjective norm and their perceived behavioural control. The study found that the majority of participants made changes to their drinking behaviour once they found out that they were pregnant, with these changes taking the form of a reduction in alcohol consumption. 64.7% abstained from alcohol altogether during their pregnancy, 34.5% continued to drink to some level and 0.9% did not answer. Of those women who continued to drink during their pregnancy, 13.4% were drinking above the recommended maximum lev els whereas the rest were drinking one to two units between two and four times per month. It was also found that although most participants received information about drinking during their pregnancy, 12.9% received no information. In relation to the TPB theory, it was found that women who abstained from drinking after finding out they were pregnant had significantly higher scores on the intention scale, suggesting that they had a significantly greater intention to quit alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Abstaining participants also had significantly higher scores on the subjective norm scale, indicating that they felt more pressure from what others thought about drinking during pregnancy. Abstainers were also found to have significantly lower scores on the attitude scale, suggesting a much less positive attitude toward the behaviour of drinking during pregnancy. In contrast,, the scale that measured perceived behaviour control did not show any significant differences between those women who abstained and those who continued to drink during their pregnancy. Attitude toward the behaviour and the influence of what others thought of the behaviour were found to be strongly and significantly correlated with intention to carry out the behaviour of abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy. TPB was able to explain 59.3% of variance in intention to drink during pregnancy. Furthermore, the theory was able to correctly classify 91.8% of cases and as a result, was statistically able to distinguish between drinkers and abstainers. The authors concluded that as attitude was found to have the greatest statistically significant contribution to predicting intention and to contribute significantly to predicting actual behaviour, it would be an ideal candidate for intervention focus. As perceived behaviour control was the only TPB component found not to contribute, the authors suggest that the model without this component would be appropriate for predicting intention to consume alcohol during pregnancy. Critical Review The reviewed article addressed an important health issue, namely investigating how drinking alcohol during pregnancy could be reduced by understanding what drives or stops women from having the intention to carry out this behaviour. The finding that attitude toward drinking whilst pregnant has a significant impact on both intention to drink during pregnancy and actual drinking during pregnancy could have wider clinical and educational applications. Nevertheless, the authors are vague in how their findings could be applied in the real world and fail to make useful suggestions based on their data. The finding that some women were not provided with information pertaining to the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is also an important one because it highlights that some health trusts are failing to help women make informed decisions about this subject. However, it is not touched upon in the discussion. The study’s introduction is a little weak in that it does not make an overly convincing argument as to why their chosen topic is important and worth investigating. It makes only a brief reference to the negative impact that alcohol consumption can have on both mother and baby, and the literature to which it refers is quite outdated. This suggests that a thorough and recent literature review may not have been carried out. Furthermore, the study could present a much stronger argument as to why the TPB may be applicable to this health behaviour in particular. There is some justification in that the authors of the paper chose this particular theory on the premise that a socially-based theory such as TPB could highlight risk factors for the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy that could be more easily influenced than previous risk factors that have been identified such as drinking habits before pregnancy and socioeconomic status (Stewart Streiner, 1994; Yamamoto et al., 2008). Risk factors such as these cannot be easily changed. In contrast, risk factors based on attitudes toward a behaviour can be more easily altered through education or government interventions. The discussion does not flow particularly well and the overall conclusions of the study are not entirely clear. An advantage of the TPB is its holistic approach. It attempts to understand the behaviour of an individual in the context of both an individual’s attitude toward a behaviour, their perceived control over that behaviour and how they perceive others to judge the behaviour. However, our intentions to carry out a behaviour or not are the result of an incredibly complex process during which many variables are taken into account. Although the limitations of the study’s methodology are touched upon in the discussion, the authors fail to explore the limitations of the TPB and how these may affect their findings. For example, McKeown (1979) argued that negative health behaviours are determined on the individual level by the choices we make to behave in a certain way. Therefore, the theory may place too much emphasis on the importance of what others think of a behaviour. Indeed, in the current study, individual attitudes toward a behaviour were found to be more influential than subjective norms. One criticism of this study is its potential lack of representativeness, both culturally and geographically. Ethnic minorities made up only 6.9% of the sample, meaning that the results may not be generalisable to ethnic minorities. Furthermore, the sample was collected from only one geographic area, although the authors argue that their findings are in keeping with previous studies that used samples from a much wider geographical area (Anderson et al., 2007; Bolling et al., 2007). There may also have been a bias in the way in which participants were recruited. Women were approached by the researchers whilst awaiting their 20 week antenatal scans in hospital. The scans are designed to screen for any anomalies in the baby and to check that development is normal. These scans are not compulsory, potentially creating a bias in the sample. For example, Alderdice et al. (2007) found that women without qualifications or women from areas of high deprivation were significantly less likely to u ptake an offer of a 20 week screen for Downs Syndrome than women from affluent areas or women with degree-level qualification. This suggests that the women who were approached by the researchers in the current study may have been under-representative of women from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Furthermore, the study does not provide detail on the demographic information of the women who responded to the questionnaire, which would have been useful in evaluating generalisability. The measure used to ascertain TPB variables was developed using guidelines for the development of questionnaires designed to measure TPB behaviours (Francis et al., 2004). However, the measurement used was not a validated questionnaire. Furthermore, the authors do not provide examples of how they measured the three variables of intention, subjective norm and perceived behaviour control. This means that the measure cannot be opened up for scrutiny or re-used in later studies to assess its validity and reliability. Before the main study, a small pilot study was carried out with seven pregnant women to ensure that the questionnaire was easy to understand. Pilot studies are essential for establishing a sound study design (van Teijilngen Hundley, 2001). Although, it should be noted that the authors did not report the results of any reliability or validity tests. As part of the test battery, the study did use the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a reliable and valid measure for gathering information on alcohol consumption that was developed by the World Health Organisation (Saunders et al., 1993, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2004). This measurement has been reported to be superior to other measures designed to collect data on the same subject (Reinert Allen, 2002). Self-report measures in themselves have a number of limitations. Firstly, they are subject to social desirability bias. Social desirability bias acknowledges that participants may report carrying out behaviours that are socially desirable or may cover up being involved in behaviours that are frowned on. Based on the finding that subjective norms had a significant impact on both intention and behaviour, social desirability bias may have affected the results of this study. If participants were so influenced by what others thought of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, then they may have been likely to cover up occasions on which they did drink during their pregnancy. This means that the number of participants who did drink during pregnancy may have been higher than the study reported. Recommendations for Improvement and Future Research If this study is to be replicated, it could be improved in a number of ways. Firstly, ethnic minorities must be better represented. Great Britain is now a multi-cultural country and research must reflect this. The authors must provide more information or a copy of the questionnaire designed to measure TPB variables so that reliability and validity can be assessed. A useful future study would be to assess the impact of an intervention designed to change the attitude of women who do not perceive drinking alcohol during pregnancy to be an issue. As attitude was found to be the most important factor in intention to carry out this behaviour, the currently reviewed study would be strengthened if an intervention based around attitude was found to change behaviour. References Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality, and behavior. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Alderdice, F., McNeill, J., Rowe, R., Martin, D. Dornan, J. (2008). Inequalities in the reported offer and uptake of antenatal screening. Public Health, 122(1), 42-52. Anderson, S., Bradshaw, P., Cunningham-Burley, S., Hayes, F. Jamieson, L., MacGregor, A. et al. (2007). Growing up in Scotland: A study following the lives of Scotland’s children. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Executive. Bolling, K., Grant, C., Hamlyn, B. Thornton, A. (2007). Infant Feeding Survey, 2005. Leeds, UK: The Information Centre. Duncan, E.M., Forbes-McKay, K.E. Henderson, S.E. (2012). Alcohol use during pregnancy: An application of the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42(8), 1887-1903. Francis, J.J., Eccles, M.P., Johnstone, M., Walker, A., Grimshaw, J., Foy, R. et al. (2004). Constructing questionnaires based on the theory of planned behaviour: A manual for health service researchers. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Centre for Health Services Research. Godin, G. Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behaviour: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11, 87-98. Marcoux, B.C. Shope, J.T. (1997). Application of the theory of planned behaviour to adolescent use and misuse of alcohol. Health Education Research, 12, 323-331. Mariscal, M., Palma, S., Llorca, J., Perez-Iglesias, R., Pardo-Crespo, R. Delgado-Rodriguez, M. (2006). Pattern of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and risk for low birth weight. Annals of Epidemiology, 16, 432-438. McKeown, T. (1979). The role of medicine. Dream, mirage or nemesis? Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publisher Ltd. McMillan, B. Conner, M. (2003). Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand alcohol and tobacco use in students. Psychology, Health, and Medicine, 8, 317-328. Reinert, D. Allen, J.P. (2002). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): A review of recent research. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(2), 272-279. Saunders, J.B., Aasland, O.G., Babor, T.F., de la Fuente, J.R. Grant, M. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption. Addiction, 88, 791-804. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. (2004). The management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in primary care: A national clinical guideline. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Sood, B., Delaney-Black, V., Covington, C., Nordstrom-Klee, B., Ager, J., Templin, T., et al. (2001). Prenatal alcohol exposure and childhood behaviour at age 6 to 7 years: I. Does- response effect. Pediatrics, 108(2), 34-43. Steward, D.E. Streiner, D. (1994). Alcohol drinking in pregnancy. General Hospital Psychiatry, 16, 406-412. van Teijilngen, E. Hundley, V. (2001). The importance of pilot studies. Social Research Update, 35, 1-4. Yamamoto, Y., Kanieta, Y., Yokoyama, E., Sone, T., Takemura, S., Suzuki, K. et al. (2008). Alcohol consumption and abstention among pregnant Japanese women. Journal of Epidemiology, 18, 173-182.

Investment and portfolio analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Investment and portfolio analysis - Essay Example On the contrary, Sharpe ratio refers to a measure of risk adjustment measure that utilizes standard deviation when computing portfolio returns and inherent risk associated with a particular portfolio (Ctaff, 2012). Empirical research asserts that if Sharpe ratio is higher it implies returns are better. Therefore, by utilizing standard deviation, Sharp ratio assumes that the relevant risk is total risk unlike Treynor ratio which assumes that the relevant risk is systematic (Ctaff, 2012). Both Treyon and Sharpe ratios are similar; however, the two measures differ in terms of how they determine of risk volatility. Whereby, Treyon ration utilizes beta while Sharp ratio tend to utilize standard deviation (Anric, 2013). Information ratio measures the ability of corporate managers to utilize skills/ luck to generate excess returns beyond the established benchmark. This ratio utilizes alpha elements as well as standard deviation to measure volatilities associated with a particular portfolio (Reilly and Brown, 2012). Therefore, information ratio assumes that the relevant risk is total where both systematic and unsystematic risks are combined (Harkins, 2012). Jensen alpha refers to a measure of portfolio returns predicted using capital asset pricing model. In addition, Jensen’s alpha assumes that relevant risk is systematic (Bacon, 2013). On the other hand, Sortino ratio refers to a ratio that helps to determine the difference between good and bad risk in sharp ratio. This ratio tends to be similar with Sharp ratio. However, it utilizes downward deviation making it slight different from sharp ratio. This ratio measures return that can be derived during volatility whereby, standard deviation may be utilized. Therefore, Sortino ratio assumes that relevant risk it total (Feibel and Vincent, 2011). 2. Discuss whether the present value of cash flow approach and the relative valuation approach to security valuation can be considered to be competitive or complementary. T he present value approach may utilize discount rate to discount cash flows generated by a particular project to determine their value. Additionally, the present value approach may be utilized in making valuations of different assets such as shares, real estate properties and even bonds (Feibel & Vincent, 2011). Whereby, a negative net present value indicates that a project may not be profitable. In addition, a positive net present value implies that a project may be profitable and therefore, such project should not be undertaken because it will expose the company at a greater risk. On the other hand, relative valuation approach focuses at valuing company stocks with those of company own historical method of valuation. In addition, relative valuation tends to compare company’s stocks with the market value of other similar assets to determine whether they can be suitable for investments (Feibel and Vincent, 2011). This means that similar stocks of a particular company should be compared with those stocks of companies operating in the same market. However, relative valuation approaches have some limitations. For example, all companies may not utilize the same corporate strategies and hence, great discrepancies may exist between companies (Feibel and Vince

Roe v. Wade or Miranda v. Arizona Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Roe v. Wade or Miranda v. Arizona - Essay Example (Cross & Miller, 165). However, some legal professionals were of the impression that Miranda had been denied his legal rights to remain quiet and to have an attorney during the police interrogation. AUCL helped Miranda to initiate a ‘thirty-six months’ legal battle on the issue and finally, the issue was posted before the Supreme Court. U.S.A. Before and during the Miranda’s case, the accused or the suspect had the constitutional rights to remain silence but the main question was when and how those privileges could be used. Whether the right to remain quiet or silent, which is being guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment’s which bar against self-incrimination be practiced either during the police interrogation at the pretrial stage or only during the trail stage of the case. Were admissions obtained from accused permissible in court if the accused was not reminded of his privilege to remain quiet and other legitimate privileges? (Cross & Miller, 164). These questions were answered in the ‘Miranda v. Arizona1, a milestone judgment by U.S Supreme Court which held that anyone accused of a crime had â€Å"the privilege to remain silent.† Thus, Supreme Court verdict is being referred as ‘Miranda Warning’ that is being applicable every individual who is arrested in U.S.A. Further, Miranda case also unveiled the privileges of the defendant, especially in criminal cases. (Cross & Miller, 164). Fifth Amendment to U.S Constitution offers to safeguard against the self-accusation and a right to have a counsel during police questioning of an accused is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Under the Fifth Amendment, an individual cannot be forced to swear against her or himself or to offer incriminating testimony that can be employed later in a trial. The Sixth Amendment offers the constitutional right to engage a counsel during police questioning. (Cross & Miller, 165). The Miranda Rule demands that an accused or a witness while

HR Competitive Strategies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

HR Competitive Strategies - Case Study Example The competitive advantage model is being applied in all the three cases. The competitive advantage model has three parts to it: the innovation strategy, the quality enhancement strategy and the cost reduction strategy. The Benchill & Son's firm adopts the cost reduction strategy; Speke Furnishings adopts the quality enhancement strategy while Thorntree Office Solutions adopts the innovation strategy. The competitive strategy that Benchill and Son's follow is that of a cost advantage. They do not provide very high quality furniture, but their costs are very low when compared with that of their competitors. Their furniture is ideal when customers need to bulk buy and when cost is their major deciding factor.As the production process is very simple, not a lot of training is required for their workforce. The skill of the employee should not be very high because then they would demand higher wages and since the company only competes on price, quality of the work performed is not a major factor for them. Semi skilled employees work fine for them, as they will be cheaper than the skilled employees. The competitive strategy ... Speke Furnishings Speke Furnishings is known for the high quality products that they produce. This is not the only service they provide, they also give their customers delivery and after sales service. Their products are not cheap in the market but have good quality when compared to that of its competitors. Their name has become a brand name in the market and is directly correlated with high quality. They use the best raw material and their products are not defected and will not break down after purchase. The competitive strategy followed by Speke Furnishings is on the basis of quality. The HR approach that Speke Furnishing should follow is the competitive strategy of quality enhancement. The employees should be committed to producing high quality products. They should be highly trained so that they can do this quickly and efficiently. The production process should be changed according to the employees so that it enhances flexibility and improves outcomes. The focus is more on long term rather than short term. Cooperation levels should be high among the workers and they should not be concerned with the number of products they are producing. They should focus on the quality. There is less risk taking activity and the high commitment to organizational goals. The Human Resource department should ensure the policies are fixed and are known by the employees. They should understand them and be clear about the policies. The workers need job security which should be provided by the company if they expect them to produce good quality furniture. Thorntree Office Solutions Thorntree Office Solutions is a specialist furniture company. They produce

Factors Affecting Labour Turnover Commerce Essay

Factors Affecting Labour Turnover Commerce Essay This proposal is on the factors that affect labour turnover of Life insurance Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell and service its Life insurance products to enable it make profit from the Life policy. The exit of an Agent affects the servicing of the policies sold with negative impact on Companys profitability and investable fund for the nations economic development. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the factors, find out how and to what extent they affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. It will also seek to find solution to the problem and make recommendations. This study will benefit the management and Agency Managers of the company, other Life Insurance companies, current and potential investors in Life insurance companies as well as government and its Agencies. The study will make use of descriptive research design which will involve field survey of targeted respondents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. The target population will be the regional managers, sales managers and the Agents at its branches in Nairobi numbering about 200. A sample of 15% will be taken using simple random sampling technique. The data will be collected by the use of questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics which will include tables, charts, diagrams and frequency distribution measurements such as mean, mode and median. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS Life Insurance Life Assurance is an aspect of Financial Planning which provides for the payment of a capital sum to the dependants of a policy owner on his death or to the policy owner on survival to policy expiration, in consideration of the payment of a smaller, often regular, amount to the Life office Life Insurance Sales Agent Life insurance agents specialize in selling policies that pay beneficiaries when a policyholder dies. They also sell other varieties of Life insurance products such as annuities that promise a retirement income, Health insurance and short-term and long-term-disability insurance policies. Agents may specialize in any one of these products, or function as generalists, providing multiple products to a single customer. They earn commission and other benefits for their effort. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS LIMRA Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association AKI Association of Kenya Insurers IIAA- Independent insurance Agents of America COP Certificate of Proficiency OMLAC Old Mutual Life Assurance Company CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This chapter will focus on background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, the hypothesis or research questions, significance, scope and limitation of the study. 1.1 Background to the study Life Insurance is an aspect of Personal Financial Planning which enables somebody to provide for his future financial needs at old age and that of his or her dependants in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Such unforeseen circumstances are premature death, Total Permanent disability resulting from Accident or Critical illnesses which may reduce or terminate a persons income earning capacity. The risk of premature death is one of the major personal risks faced by most individuals. The financial consequences resulting from the death of a breadwinner before adequate resources have been established for dependents can be severe. Life insurance is a major source of financial protection against premature death. There are three main sources of life insurance protection which are individually purchased, Employer-sponsored and Government sponsored life insurance coverage. The dependable source is the individually purchased Life insurance protection because the other two may not be available to an individual. Life Assurance is a service premised on a promise to pay a certain amount of money in future in the event of the occurrence of a stated contingency which usually depends on the duration of human Life. Hence, the best form of selling this service is one on one personal selling through a Sales Person traditionally called an Agent. One major problem facing Life insurance Companies in selling their products and hence, profitability is the high rate of labour turnover of their Agents. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell its Life insurance products. These products are usually long tern going for a minimum of five years in duration. The profitability of a policy to the Life insurance Company depends on the consistent servicing of that policy by the Agent. When an Agent leaves an insurance Company when the policies he sold are still in their early years, such policies will no longer be serviced. Hence, the Company will lose in terms of future in-flow of investible funds, lost of commission that has been paid in advance to the Agent and payment of surrender values arising from lapsed policies. This situation threatens the survival of Life insurance companies and it has attracted the attention of some writers and researchers. According to Leverett et al (1977), the death of the independent Agency system as it exists today has been predicted for several years. Increased competition from newer sources, such as the entrance of Life insurance companies into the property-liability field, as well as traditional competition from the direct writers of insurance, tends to reinforce the foundation for such a prophesy. The attraction and retention of new agents into the independent agency system is vital to the continued successful existence of that system. A number of studies have indicated that the retention rate for agents recruited into the Life insurance industry is very low. According to one study, the two year and five year retention rates for 13 large life insurers in the United States were 39 and 13 percent respectively. Furthermore, the retention rate for smaller life insurers was found to be even less than for their larger counterparts. These figures are not totally unexpected given the lack or inadequacy of training and educational programs offered to new life insurance recruits. LIMRA (2009) points out that, it has been of great concern to many managers, the fact that only 5% of sales representatives who join the industry remain in the industry and become successful sales representatives. Out of the 5% only 2% become high achievers in the industry. Despite the fact that those on commissions earn more than majority of the salaried people, it has remained a very challenging field especially for the young people from college and university who would wish to earn good money easily and fast. Burand (2010) notes that over time, agents retention in the life insurance industry remains a perennial challenge for companies operating within the traditional career agency system. According to LIMRA (2010), 68% of agents leave companies within their first two years. Many managers presuppose that retention rates correspond with a companys effectiveness in building its sales and Organization in general. Company bottom lines would benefit substantially from increased retention rates. 1.1.1 Background to the Scope of Study Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya belongs to an International long-term savings, protection and investment Group. The Group provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance in 33 countries (Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia). It has over 15 million customers and approximately 55 000 employees. The vision of the group is to be their customers most trusted partner passionate about helping them achieve their lifetime financial goals. The group was founded in 1845 and has expanded from their origins in South Africa in the last decade through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. It is listed in the UK, South Africa and three other African exchanges. Old Mutual Kenya (OMK) started doing business in Kenya in the late 1920s. The vision of the company is the same as its parent company but limited to East Africa. The mission statement of the company is as follows through understanding and meeting our customers needs, we will profitably expand our market for wealth accumulation and protection in Kenya. 1.1.2 Background to the Population Area and organizational Chart Old Mutual has 16 retail marketing outlets throughout Kenya including 4 in Nairobi. The retail marketing arm is under the jurisdiction of the Head of Sales who is at the head office. The head of sales is part of the executive management who reports on the activities of the sales force. The head of sales is assisted by head of channels who oversees the activities of the Branch managers in different locations. Under the Branch Manger are Sales managers who manage the Agents. 1.2 Problem Statement The Insurance industry has suffered astronomical losses resulting from high rate of labour turnover among Agents especially the new agents. The new agents are the sales representatives who have been with the company for less than four years. Annual report published by LIMRA international in 2004 pointed out that four year agents retention has not been able to move above 13 percents. This translates to 87 percent of the new agents in the insurance industry leaving their respective companies within the first four years of signing the contract. An agent in the insurance industry especially life insurance starts becoming profitable only after the third year of their contract in the company. This is because the initial years are characterized by huge training cost, initial allowances which are not tied to production and forward-earning commission system. This results in high expenses for the firm in the early years of recruiting an Agent with the hope of recouping the cost gradually from the future earnings of the Agent. This implies that most of the insurance companies have been incurring huge losses because of consistently poor retention rate of the new agents. Insurance agents retention has become a matter of concern as the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) highlighted in the 2011 report concerning developments of the tied agents in the insurance industry in Kenya. AKI report (2010) observed that lack of personal development of many Agents who join insurance industry is an issue that requires attention by the industry if the industry is to remain relevant in the country. Lack of personal development among the agents has been cited as an important factor that affects agents retention in the industry. A Life insurance company relies on a stable Agency force to sell its Life insurance products. These products are usually long tern going for a minimum of five years in duration. Agents are paid commission for any policy sold. The commission is structured in such a way that a substantial percentage up to 50% of the premium is paid in the first year and between 10% to 40% is paid in subsequent years up to the fifth year or sometimes end of the policy term. The profitability of a policy to the Life insurance Company depends on the consistent servicing of that policy by the Agent. If an Agent leaves an insurance Company when the policies he sold are still in their early years, such policies will no longer be serviced. Hence, the Company will lose in terms of future in-flow of investable funds, loss of commission paid in advance for future services of the Agent and an early lapse of such orphan policies. The economy also suffers because it will be starved of investable funds which aid the economic development of the nation. Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya has experienced a drop in its number of Agents in the past years. While it had 500 Agents in 2010, they currently have about 200. This has also reflected in the revenue of the company from the individual life Insurance segment of the company. The premium income generated by the Agents for the past four years is represented in the following table. Table 1. Premium Income of Agents in Old Mutual Life Ass. Co. Kenya (2008 2011) Year Premium Income (Kshs 000) Difference Percentage Difference 2008 386,367 2009 378,056 (8,311) (2%) 2010 376,496 (1,560) (0.41%) 2011 349,429 (27,067) (7.18%) Source: OMLAC (2012) The graphical representation of the above situation is shown below. Figure 1. Premium Income of Agents in Old Mutual Life Ass. Co. Kenya (2008 2011) Source: OMLAC (2012) Life insurance premium from the sales Agent should increase in geometrical progression with positive cumulative effect on the revenue of the company. If the premium from new policies sold is added to the premium of existing policy holders, it should lead to increase in premium income from year to year. However, the reverse is the case in Old Mutual where premium income from Life insurance Agents has declined from Kshs 386 million in 2008 to Kshs 349 million in 2011. This represents a drop of 9.56% in premium income in 2011 compared to 2008. It is against this premises that this study will focus on factors affecting labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents in Old mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. 1.3 Objectives of the study The objective of the study will include the following: 1.3.1 General Objective To investigate the factors that affect labour turnover of Life insurance Agents in the Life insurance industry in Kenya. 1.3.2 Specific Objectives To find out how remuneration affects the turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To determine the effects of training on the turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To investigate how physical work environment affect labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To establish to what extent job satisfaction affects labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. To determine to what extent level of education affects labour turnover of Life Insurance Agents of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. 1.4 The Research Questions The study will seek information to answer the following research questions: To what extend does remuneration affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? To what extent does training affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? How does physical work environment affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? How does job satisfaction affect turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? To what extent does level of education affect labour turnover of Agents in Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited? The Significance of the Study The findings from this study will benefit the organization and its stakeholders, the life insurance industry, government and other researchers in this field. The top management of Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Limited consisting of the Managing Director, the head of sales and head of channels who are likely to use the findings to understand the reasons behind labour turnover of Agents in the company. It will also help the Regional and Sales managers of Old Mutual Life Assurance Kenya to improve on their management techniques towards reducing labour turnover of Agents in their region and sales unit. The Sales Agents will also benefit from the study by using the recommendations to improve on their sales performance and create the personal willingness to stay with the company The findings of the study will also be of immense benefit to the government, especially the ministry of finance, and the commissioner of insurance who will use it to formulate policies that will improve retention of Agents in the Insurance industry. The stakeholders of Old Mutual Life Assurance Limited which include customers, investors and the public will also benefit from the study by understanding the factors that affect labour turnover of Agents in the company. Lastly, it will also benefit other researchers in this field who may use this report for further studies. 1.6 Scope of the Research Study The scope of this study will be found in the Life Insurance industry of Kenya. However, due to time and limited resources, the focus will be on Old Mutual Life Assurance Company Kenya. Since this study is on factors affecting labour turnover of Agents, the research will concentrate on the Agency force of the company which has about 200 Agents nationwide. For the same reasons above, the study will concentrate on the Agency force in Nairobi which is about 100 in number. The researcher will take sample from the research population. The period of study will be up to 30th September 2012. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter will critically analyze literature related to the study. This will include the issue of labor turnover in general and its effect, special attributes of Agents engage in selling services and Agent turnover in Life insurance industry. 2.2 Labor Turnover Labor turnover is the ratio of the number of employees that leave a company through attrition, dismissal, or resignation during a period to the number of employees on payroll during the same period. One of the 14 principles developed by Henri Fayol is stable labor turnover. He postulated that there should be stability of tenure of personnel in an organization. This is because a high labor turnover is harmful to the organization. Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave jobs in a company and are replaced by new hires. A high employee turnover rate implies that a companys employees leave their jobs at a relatively high rate. Employee turnover rates can increase for a variety of reasons, and turnover includes both employees who quit their jobs and those who are asked to leave. Average employee turnover rates differ among industries; for example, in 2006, average turnover rates in the United States varied between around 15 percent annually for durable goods manufactu ring employees to as high as 56 percent for the restaurant and hospitality industry, according to Nobscot Corporation. According to a freelance writer, Shelley Frost, Employee turnover is a natural part of business in any industry. Excessive labour turnover decreases the overall efficiency of the company and comes with a high price tag. Understanding the effects of losing a high number of employees serves as a motivator to work toward reducing the labour turnover rate for higher profits and a more appealing work environment. The writer identified some cost associated with labour turnover as follows. Each employee who resigns costs the company money. All of the money invested into that employee through training, education and licensing walks out the door with the employee. When you hire a replacement, the company spends money on those same areas to prepare the new hire for the position. The company also pays to advertise the vacancy and may incur costs for drug testing, physicals and moving expenses. The company could pay 1/3 of the yearly salary of the new employee in costs. Labour turnover rates cost the company time in addition to money. Managers or human resources staffs spend time conducting exit interviews, advertising the job, recruiting candidates and interviewing. Supervisors and colleagues are often left to cover until a new employee is hired and begin working. The new employee may take several months to fully learn the job and achieve competency in the position. When the staff changes frequently, the employees who stay have a difficult time building a positive team dynamic. A group of employees learns to work well together, only to have one or more members leave. This leaves the staff in limbo until a new employee starts. The personality and work ethic of the new employee may vary significantly from the previous employee. Labour turnover can hurt overall morale of employees. The overall productivity of the workplace tends to decrease with high turnover. Since a new employee has a period of adjustment, he wont complete tasks as quickly as the person he replaces. Group projects that rely on the new team member may slow down, which affects experienced employees productivity levels. The loss of momentum when an employee resigns may also affect morale. A high turnover rate affects the continuity of service to clients and other employees. This is particularly difficult in an industry that relies heavily on relationships with clients. For example, a client who purchases products from a company on a regular basis may grow tired of getting a new salesperson or customer service contact every few months. Consistent relationships with clients help build a stronger loyalty to the company. The company is also better able to provide consistent, high-quality service with well-trained staff that doesnt change often. 2.2.3 Life Insurance Agent According to Independent insurance Agents of America (IIAA) (2009) an agent is a person who performs services for another person or an organization under an express or implied agreement and who is subject to the others control or right to control the manner and means of performing the services. The other person is called a principal. Rosenberg (2004) expresses the same opinion in different words by saying that, Insurance agents are sometimes referred to as insurance sales agents whose main obligation is to help clients choose insurance policies that suite their needs. There are two types of agents as classified by LIMRA (2007), some agents are captive or tied agents who mainly work for an insurance company and only sell that companies products, the other category of agents called independent or free lance Agents, are those who work for various insurance companies and sell insurance products of many insurance companies. The independent or free lance Agents are usually registered and licensed companies popularly referred to as brokers. 2.2.4 Qualification for becoming an Insurance agent Frankas (2010) says that, for Insurance sales agents job, most companies and independent agencies prefer to hire college graduates-especially those who have majored in business or economics, high school graduates are occasionally hired if they have proven sales ability or have been successful in other type of work. In fact, many entrants to insurance sales agent jobs transfer from other occupations. According to LIMRA (2007), College training may help agents grasp the technical aspects of insurance policies and fundamentals and procedures of selling insurance. As per the recommendation of AKI (Association of Kenya Insurers) regulations, every insurance agent must have done C.O.P (Certificate of proficiency in insurance) which is a proficiency certificate to transact insurance business in Kenya. Various employers are also placing greater emphasis on continuing professional education as the diversity of financial products sold by insurance agents increases. (Holt, 2010). An Insurance sales agent who shows ability and leadership may become a sales manager in a local office. As noted by U.S Bureau of Labor statistics (2010) a few advance to agency manager. However, many agents who have built up good clientele prefer to remain a sales agent. Some particularly in the property and casually field-establish their own independent agencies or brokerage firms. 2.2.5 Resourcing strategies George (1990) has pointed out that before selecting an agent there has to be a great process than just interview. He asserts that pre-hire assessment like testing and call center simulations have become essential tool in the industry. Tett (2000) of employment Technologies Corporation says that, for the insurance industry to succeed in improving agents retention there has to be simulation centers where the applicants would be given the opportunity to experience what they expect to find in the field and how sales are like. According to Ashly (2000) it is good to control; the flow of less-interested candidates before they reach the interview stage. Sometimes the applicant knows better than the hiring specialist that he or she is not the right sampling the job. Tom (2009), and Peter (1999) agree that accepting agents without checking their interests in the initial selection stage leads to poor retention of the agents. Nevertheless Srivivas (2003) warns against relying too heavily on the simulation. He says that simulation can be very effective for providing people with some exposure to what the job is likely to be. On the same note Banks (2010) disputes the other authors by pointing out that simulation are too artificial such that good candidates get left behind because they do poor simulations Wright (1992) asserts that simulation is only good to give a job presentation. 2.2.6 Agents Remuneration According Armstrong, (2006) Remuneration is the compensation an employee receives in return for his or her contribution to the organization. Luthans (1992) asserts that Remuneration occupies an important place in the life of an employee, his or her standard of living and status in society. Groholdt (2001) points out that, Motivation, loyalty, and productivity depend upon the remuneration he or she receives. For the employer too, employee remuneration is significant because of its contribution to the cost of production, besides, many battles (in the form of strikes and lock outs) are fought between the employer and the employees on issues relating to wages or bonus. Life insurance sales professionals typically earn all or most of their income through commission, which means that they get a certain percentage of every sale they make as well as residual income when clients continue to make payments. For this reason, an agent has the potential to earn much more than he would at an average hourly job. As with any other commission-based job, if an agent fails to perform, he will not be able to earn anything. Even if he does sell a substantial amount of insurance one month, he may not be able to sustain these sales numbers from month to month, and this may result in an unstable level of income. Cravens, Ingram, Loforge and Youngs, (1993), explored the relationships between compensation/control systems and performance and retention. Their results indicate that the type of control system, that is management control versus commission control, is correlated to several measures of success and agents retentions. They found out that sales performed and agents retention was more affected by commission control than by management control. 2.2.7 Agent Training Employee development is something that most people imagine as intrusive all-day group training sessions. Unfortunately, this dreaded approach to employee development is just the opposite of how employee development should occur and feel to employees. Employee development can manifest itself in many forms of training, evaluations, educational programs, and even feedback. If executed correctly, the effects of training on agent performance can often encourage growth within the worker and the organization itself. One of the larger aspects of developing Agents skills and abilities is the actual organizational focus on the Agent to become better, either as a person or as a contributor to the organization. According to Organizational Behavior by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kiniki, (2009) its been shown that employees that receive regular, scheduled feedback, including training, along with an increase in expectations, actually have a higher level of worker output. Kreitner and Kiniki refer to this as the Pygmalion Effect. The hope is that agents who receive training in line with their individual or organizational goals will become more efficient in what they do. Organizations should look at the positive effects of training on agent performance, and consider agent development as a targeted investment into making the front line worker stronger. More importantly, development plans that include train-the-trainer (training that trains agents to become trainers of a skill) can provide exponential benefits to the organization. This training can be anything from how agents can do their own jobs better to these agents being groomed to replace their supervisor. In addition, agents who are invested as a trainer might be further inclined to stay with the organization, and possibly reduce agent turnover. Along with supporting the organization, agents might recognize that most types of agent development provide them benefits. Agent development programs that range from certifications to education reimbursement, to even basic sales skills training, have a certain cost to the organization that can easily be considered a benefit to the agent. Such awareness on the part of the agent can also lead to greater loyalty to the organization as well as enhanced job satisfaction. Training and education that can be added to the agents resume are big ticket items in terms of compensation plans, and should be treated as such. Beyond agent training and certification courses, evaluations and counseling sessions are another form of agent development. They provide performance feedback and allow agents to be aware of changes to both their work goals and the overall objectives of the organization. Agents who do not receive feedback on a regular basis usually end up feeling as though they might be forgotten by their supervisor, and this pattern may even lead to feelings of dissent among the Agency force. Going back to the Pygmalion Effect, agents who have consistent knowledge of their levels of performance, and who feel that their supervisors are placing expectations on them, generally perform better on an individual basis. Agents are required to attend meetings, seminars and programs to learn about new products and services, learn new selling skills and receive technical assistance in developing new accounts. Churchill, Ford, Hartley, and Walker, (1998) explored role variable, skill, motivation, personal factors, aptitude, and organizational/environmental factors in the retention of agents. The study found that, on average, single predictors or sales performance accounted for less than 4% of the variation in salesperson performance. Aptitude accounted for less than 2% skill levels slightly more than 7%, motivation accounted for 6.6% role perceptions was by far the best predictor, accounting for as much as 14% of the variation in performance. Personal variables (age, height, and sex, completion, and dressing) accounted for 2.6% while organization and environmental factors accounted for about 1%. They concluded that personal characteristics, while important, are not as important as the influencing factor s such as, training, company policies, skill levels, and motivation. 2.2.8 Physical Work Environment The physical work environment can be identified as a place or location where somebody works. Performance experts agree that the physical work environment has a significant impact upon employee performance and productivity. By physical work environment we mean the building structures, office layout, tools, furniture, space, noise level and surrounding of

Personal Narrative: A Personal Essay -- Narrative Essay Writing Englis

â€Å"The inside of the shell looks to me like a sore throat mouth,† is the sentence I wrote on paper eighteen years ago. It was my first day of an expository writing class and I was a freshman in college. Assorted objects were placed in the center of a table, around which twenty students and I sat around. Professor H asked us to describe the objects. What I saw was a seashell, a piece of driftwood and a black and white framed photo of an old man and a silver pocket watch. I wanted to sketch the still life in opposition to writing. I looked around me and observed all the students writing. At the end of our allotted ten minutes, I finally scribbled down my single sentence. Professor H asked us to read aloud what we had written, and as I listened to each student’s long prose, I was amazed. They drew the objects using words. When it was my turn I read,â€Å"The inside of the shell looks to me like a sore throat mouth.† The class laughed as I blushed. â€Å"Brilliant†, exclaimed Professor H with his Welsh accent. I looked down at my single sentence with relief. That was the beginning of my understanding that everyone’s perception of something, may it be an inanimate object or experience is unique. The end of class he assigned us to write an essay about a personal experience, to be due the following week. He also asked us to bring copies to distribute to all the class. The days prior to the due date, I recalled many experiences, but when I attempted to write them down on paper, I was not able to portray them successfully. The sharpest memories I could recall were incidents I was ashamed to write about, much less to share with the class. I feebly tried to write about a family trip to Arizona. When I read over what I had written, I was disa... ...and waved her hands frantically and shook her head like a crazed Beatle fan. As I continued to write, I once again became an eight-year-old child who sat with her older sister in the back of our Dad’s station wagon. When I was finished and read the essay several weeks later, I understood how profoundly the experience of having a sister with disabilities has affected my life. That experience affects how I write and interpret others’ writing. If I had not written this particular essay, I am not sure how clear my understanding of this reality would be, even today. Today, as I pull out this essay, I see on the bottom H’s comment. He wrote, â€Å"Once again Liza, with remarkable verbal precision and economy you evoke rich layers of meaning, feeling, and suggestion. There is not a word wasted in this piece-all comes over with the stated immediacy of a flash-photo.†

Sstill Seperate Still Unequal

In Kozol’s article â€Å"Still Separate, Still Unequal-America’s educational apartheid,† kozolool describes the reality of urban public schools and the isolation and segregation the students there face today in the American system. Jonathan Kozol illustrates the grim reality of the inequality that African American and Hispanic children face within todays public education system. In this essay, Kozol shows us with shocking statistics and percentages, just how segregated Americas urban schools have become.He also brings light to the fact that suburban schools, with predominantly white students, are given far better funding and a much higher quality education, than the poverty stricken schools of the ubarn neighbourhood He show us how we even built several new schools in mostly white neighbourhoods, hoping that the close proximity of the school would encourage white parents to send their children to those schools.Instead, when parents see that mostly African America ns and Hispanics attend these schools, they pull their children out of them and send them to private, white institutions. But never the less all this is not a proper justification of the gap that still exist between black an white in the education system and in the active live. In this article the author point the fact that money is the key for a good education, By trying to compare the curriculum of student from private with student from public school.The community school that my niece went was somewhere around 98% black and and Hispanic I would say they had a pretty good percentage in the of success for a school. Now she is attending college even that her parent is poor she take loan to go to school and she use her financial aid to be able to go to school as other. During the 100th anniversary celebration of the NAACP the president declares: â€Å"We've got to say to our children, yes, if you're African American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher.Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that somebody in a wealthy suburb does not have to face. But that's not a reason to get bad grades — that's not a reason to cut class — that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school. No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands — you cannot forget that. That's what we have to teach all of our children. No excuses. No excuses. You get that education; all those hardships will just make you stronger, better able to compete. Yes we can. †

renaissance architecture essays

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Yea Or Nay essays Dear honorable gentleman, the strenuous road to full and virtuous independence has come to an ultimate crossroad. We, representing all New Yorkers, have been given the vital decision regarding the ratification of the proposed Constitution. We have pledged to promote what is best for our people, and the optimum way to proceed in this manner is by voting yea to the Constitution. The Constitution provides a plethora of benefits that the current Articles of Confederation failed to furnish; the most important of the benefits is the superbly constructed plan for the division of power between branches of government. In addition, many other lesser powers were granted to the government that have the potential to promote this country to the zenith of world powers in a relatively short time. Quite simply, the Articles of Confederation failed miserably at distributing powers properly. Authoritarianism is reached when too much power is given; on the other hand, with too little power anarchy is created (Doc 1). The major flaw of the Articles of Confederation was that the creators of it were exceptionally frightened by authoritarianism, therefore they essentially chose the other extreme, anarchy, and established a government that left the window of possibility for lawlessness wide open. This must be changed, and one of the primary focuses of the Constitution is on the balancing between authoritarianism and anarchy. The Constitution correctly distributes the powers that each branch of government needs to operate efficiently, while establishing a system of checks and balances to prevent one branch from becoming overly powerful. The current Articles of Confederation do not provide the federal government the power of taxation, one of the most basic powers of any federal g overnment. Benjamin Franklin boldly stated, It is absurd the pretending to be Lovers of Liberty while they grudge paying for the Defence of it (Doc 2). The C...

Literature synopsis project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Genre Analysis a Key to a Theory of ESP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

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