Teaching Literacy
There are lots of different strategies for teaching literacy, and the way you do it will largely depend on your curriculum and the age of the students you are teaching. Some hints I would give you to apply to all grade levels of the primary school include:
Tap student's interest as much as possible. Let them read, write and speak about things that are interesting to them, and you will have greater motivation and therefore a greater effort and finished product!
Play games as much as you can to reinforce spelling, sight words and other literacy concepts.
Laminate all your language resources so you can use them multiple times through the year, over multiple years
When teaching spelling, make sure you focus on the sound of the word, the shape of the word and the look of the word - that means that all learning styles are accommodated and included!
Buddy less capable students with more capable students for support when writing
Have a good supply of kid friendly dictionaries on hand for students to use when confronted with spelling difficulty
Try using a 'Personal Words' list for spelling to keep your program individualized and the students interested
Enlist the support of parents to hear students read each day
Try to get involved in a course called 'Reading Recovery' - it will really help you when working with children who find reading difficult.
Selasa, 22 Juli 2008
Relationship Alert: Discover how this common habit can ruin your relationship By Dr. Richard Nicastro
There are times when it's helpful to use compare and contrast thinking. For example, fifth-grade Social Studies. Remember when Mrs. Dogoody assigned the paper: "Compare and Contrast Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek Civilizations"? (I do; I still have the occasional nightmare about that one.) The logic behind this type of assignment is that we learn about one topic by discovering the similarities and differences between it and another topic (thereby learning about both). Sounds good on paper, right? It may work in school, but you need to drop this way of thinking when you enter a relationship and want to learn about your partner.
The problem with comparing people:
People are always comparing themselves to others. It becomes a habit and is often so automatic that you might not even be aware you're doing it. However, just because it's common, doesn't mean it's good for us. Sages through the years have been warning us that all unhappiness stems from comparing ourselves to others.
Comparing and contrasting yourself to others creates the illusion that you are either inferior or superior. Often the goal of this type of thinking is self-enhancement, where you begin to define and feed your sense of self in relationship to other people. This is a house of cards that will result in your energies being senselessly drained, since you will need to continuously feed your ego with meaningless comparisons. Depression, envy, jealousy, hostility, and chronic feelings of dissatisfaction often result from compare and contrast thinking.
Criticalness: Comparison thinking in disguise
One prominent and overt form of comparison thinking is criticalness. Whenever you criticize another, you are implying that the other person is wrong and that you would never behave that way (therefore you are morally superior and a better person for not behaving in that way). Often the motivation of criticism is an attempt to elevate yourself above another person.
Unfortunately, criticalness often becomes a stubborn part of many marriages and romantic relationships. Marriage researcher John Gottman found that criticalness is one of the important factors that results in marital dissatisfaction.
When one partner becomes critical of another, the person who feels under attack creates a protective shield around him/herself to numb the sting of the critical remarks. This pattern of offense/defense can develop into a chronic cycle of criticism and defensiveness, leading to the erosion of intimacy.
There is a significant difference between disagreeing with your partner and being critical. When you disagree, you are saying that you see things differently from your partner and that you have different viewpoints about something. When you criticize, you attack your partner and take the comparative stance of being better than him/her.
To become aware of the role of compare and contrast thinking in your life and in your relationship, take the following challenge:
I invite you to monitor your thinking for one week. Simply be mindful of the thoughts you are having, especially while interacting with others. To help you stay on task, you can keep a journal of all your thoughts. During this exercise be aware of all comparisons (comparisons are sometimes subtle) that come to mind. I think you'll be surprised by the prevalence of compare and contrast thinking in your daily life.
Becoming truly aware of your mental patterns is the first step in changing your thinking. When you recognize compare and contrast thinking at work in your own mind, talk yourself out of that destructive approach by reminding yourself that it's not your job to judge others or evaluate yourself alongside themâ€"your job is to discover your own inherent self-worth, which will open you up to peaceful and meaningful relationships with others.
The problem with comparing people:
People are always comparing themselves to others. It becomes a habit and is often so automatic that you might not even be aware you're doing it. However, just because it's common, doesn't mean it's good for us. Sages through the years have been warning us that all unhappiness stems from comparing ourselves to others.
Comparing and contrasting yourself to others creates the illusion that you are either inferior or superior. Often the goal of this type of thinking is self-enhancement, where you begin to define and feed your sense of self in relationship to other people. This is a house of cards that will result in your energies being senselessly drained, since you will need to continuously feed your ego with meaningless comparisons. Depression, envy, jealousy, hostility, and chronic feelings of dissatisfaction often result from compare and contrast thinking.
Criticalness: Comparison thinking in disguise
One prominent and overt form of comparison thinking is criticalness. Whenever you criticize another, you are implying that the other person is wrong and that you would never behave that way (therefore you are morally superior and a better person for not behaving in that way). Often the motivation of criticism is an attempt to elevate yourself above another person.
Unfortunately, criticalness often becomes a stubborn part of many marriages and romantic relationships. Marriage researcher John Gottman found that criticalness is one of the important factors that results in marital dissatisfaction.
When one partner becomes critical of another, the person who feels under attack creates a protective shield around him/herself to numb the sting of the critical remarks. This pattern of offense/defense can develop into a chronic cycle of criticism and defensiveness, leading to the erosion of intimacy.
There is a significant difference between disagreeing with your partner and being critical. When you disagree, you are saying that you see things differently from your partner and that you have different viewpoints about something. When you criticize, you attack your partner and take the comparative stance of being better than him/her.
To become aware of the role of compare and contrast thinking in your life and in your relationship, take the following challenge:
I invite you to monitor your thinking for one week. Simply be mindful of the thoughts you are having, especially while interacting with others. To help you stay on task, you can keep a journal of all your thoughts. During this exercise be aware of all comparisons (comparisons are sometimes subtle) that come to mind. I think you'll be surprised by the prevalence of compare and contrast thinking in your daily life.
Becoming truly aware of your mental patterns is the first step in changing your thinking. When you recognize compare and contrast thinking at work in your own mind, talk yourself out of that destructive approach by reminding yourself that it's not your job to judge others or evaluate yourself alongside themâ€"your job is to discover your own inherent self-worth, which will open you up to peaceful and meaningful relationships with others.
Jumat, 18 Juli 2008
Do You Have An Employee Retention Strategy That Also Increases Employee Motivation? by Bob Urichuck
How to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a WeekHow to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a Week
IdeaMarketers creator, author of 20+ titles, and mother of 6 shares her unique method for getting more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week. Enjoy life, accomplish more and earn more while you do so! Learn More
The common element was people and how management relates to employee retention and employee motivation, no matter what area they worked in.
Everyone agreed that it is the people, and their attitudes that make the difference. Finally, we concluded that it is you, the management team that has to first make the difference in employee retention and employee motivation. Therefore, let's look inside.
You can't have something on the outside if you don't first have it on the inside. In other words you cannot attract good employees if you don't first have the right attitude towards your existing employees, provide a good working atmosphere, tools and growth opportunities.
So take a close look at your employee retention and employee motivation strategies, since they are both under your direct management influence.
Here are some of the team's top answers on employee retention and employee motivation:
Employee Retention ------------------ Keep your promises Build employees self-esteem Good access to management Training and Cross Training Staff events / Team building React on employee suggestions Regular staff meetings, parties Everyone is equal to each other
Employee motivation ------------------- Ongoing staff training Keep employees informed of status Frequent /consistent rewards and recognition for performance Set goals, review, evaluate, feedback Lead by example Mentoring programs Be sensitive to personal issues
When you take a close look at these two areas, you can see a lot of overlap. What you do to increase employee motivation also applies to employee retention and vice versa.
Some of the main areas of employee retention and employee motivation that are commonly overlooked are orientation training, the establishment of team and individual goals, having ongoing reviews and providing constructive feedback.
Without these elements the employee is wandering around aimlessly, and doesn't get any feedback on their performance. How can you expect the employee to meet or exceed your expectations if they don't know what they are or how they are doing in relation to your expectations?
In a previous article that I wrote, I pointed out what motivated employees the most and how employee retention and loyalty faired out based on the results of National research study.
The three top elements were:
1.Full appreciation of work done 2.Feeling of being in on things 3.Help on personal problems
Full appreciation of work done is recognition. Recognition is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement of actions gets those actions repeated. Recognition and praise reinforces our beliefs about ourselves, and helps make us think we are better than we may have thought we were.
Positive reinforcement is what builds our self-esteem. Our self-esteem is the way we see and feel about ourselves either internally, through our own beliefs, or externally through what we accept as the beliefs of others. If we feel good about ourselves and we believe others feel good about us, we perform better than we would when we see the opposite side of the coin.
People perform in a manner that is consistent with how they see themselves conceptually. So, the key is to help people build their self-esteem. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
You cannot motivate another person to do anything. We all know we could only accomplish so much on our own and that everyone is a product of their environment. You have the opportunity to create the environment.
You can only provide the means and the atmosphere in which others motivate themselves. You are the leader and you must set the example by demonstrating appropriate behaviors. Take the time to define the appropriate behaviors you want to see in your employees, then start demonstrating them. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
By bringing all employees together in a room for a meeting you create a team environment. By including them and sharing information with them, you are giving your employees an opportunity to share your perspective.
With inclusion, you are indirectly empowering them to contribute to the success of your whole operation, because it gives them a chance to see and understand the bigger picture. This in turn leads to them taking initiative and improving things in their own area of responsibility, particularly if they are recognized for it.
By sharing the results of the period with them and asking them what went well and what areas could use some improvement, you are obtaining a wealth of information, and including them in the overall success of your operation.
What do you think will happen when it comes time to implement some of their suggestions? Do you think they will object, or, do you think they might take ownership in implementing them beyond your expectations?
This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
What about personal problems, do you take the time to listen, to understand, to show you care?
Personal problems often interfere with work performance. Take the time to help your employee with their personal problems. Coach them to look for solutions and they will feel closer to you. In turn, they will perform better because you showed you care.
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
From this point on you will notice that employees will go out of their way to do a great job, because you took the time to include them, empower them, to thank them and to show them that you care. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
The Bottom Line: Actions that get recognized or rewarded get repeated. Are you demonstrating appropriate behaviours in your employee retention and employee motivation strategies?
IdeaMarketers creator, author of 20+ titles, and mother of 6 shares her unique method for getting more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week. Enjoy life, accomplish more and earn more while you do so! Learn More
The common element was people and how management relates to employee retention and employee motivation, no matter what area they worked in.
Everyone agreed that it is the people, and their attitudes that make the difference. Finally, we concluded that it is you, the management team that has to first make the difference in employee retention and employee motivation. Therefore, let's look inside.
You can't have something on the outside if you don't first have it on the inside. In other words you cannot attract good employees if you don't first have the right attitude towards your existing employees, provide a good working atmosphere, tools and growth opportunities.
So take a close look at your employee retention and employee motivation strategies, since they are both under your direct management influence.
Here are some of the team's top answers on employee retention and employee motivation:
Employee Retention ------------------ Keep your promises Build employees self-esteem Good access to management Training and Cross Training Staff events / Team building React on employee suggestions Regular staff meetings, parties Everyone is equal to each other
Employee motivation ------------------- Ongoing staff training Keep employees informed of status Frequent /consistent rewards and recognition for performance Set goals, review, evaluate, feedback Lead by example Mentoring programs Be sensitive to personal issues
When you take a close look at these two areas, you can see a lot of overlap. What you do to increase employee motivation also applies to employee retention and vice versa.
Some of the main areas of employee retention and employee motivation that are commonly overlooked are orientation training, the establishment of team and individual goals, having ongoing reviews and providing constructive feedback.
Without these elements the employee is wandering around aimlessly, and doesn't get any feedback on their performance. How can you expect the employee to meet or exceed your expectations if they don't know what they are or how they are doing in relation to your expectations?
In a previous article that I wrote, I pointed out what motivated employees the most and how employee retention and loyalty faired out based on the results of National research study.
The three top elements were:
1.Full appreciation of work done 2.Feeling of being in on things 3.Help on personal problems
Full appreciation of work done is recognition. Recognition is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement of actions gets those actions repeated. Recognition and praise reinforces our beliefs about ourselves, and helps make us think we are better than we may have thought we were.
Positive reinforcement is what builds our self-esteem. Our self-esteem is the way we see and feel about ourselves either internally, through our own beliefs, or externally through what we accept as the beliefs of others. If we feel good about ourselves and we believe others feel good about us, we perform better than we would when we see the opposite side of the coin.
People perform in a manner that is consistent with how they see themselves conceptually. So, the key is to help people build their self-esteem. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
You cannot motivate another person to do anything. We all know we could only accomplish so much on our own and that everyone is a product of their environment. You have the opportunity to create the environment.
You can only provide the means and the atmosphere in which others motivate themselves. You are the leader and you must set the example by demonstrating appropriate behaviors. Take the time to define the appropriate behaviors you want to see in your employees, then start demonstrating them. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
By bringing all employees together in a room for a meeting you create a team environment. By including them and sharing information with them, you are giving your employees an opportunity to share your perspective.
With inclusion, you are indirectly empowering them to contribute to the success of your whole operation, because it gives them a chance to see and understand the bigger picture. This in turn leads to them taking initiative and improving things in their own area of responsibility, particularly if they are recognized for it.
By sharing the results of the period with them and asking them what went well and what areas could use some improvement, you are obtaining a wealth of information, and including them in the overall success of your operation.
What do you think will happen when it comes time to implement some of their suggestions? Do you think they will object, or, do you think they might take ownership in implementing them beyond your expectations?
This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
What about personal problems, do you take the time to listen, to understand, to show you care?
Personal problems often interfere with work performance. Take the time to help your employee with their personal problems. Coach them to look for solutions and they will feel closer to you. In turn, they will perform better because you showed you care.
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
From this point on you will notice that employees will go out of their way to do a great job, because you took the time to include them, empower them, to thank them and to show them that you care. This is an important employee retention and employee motivation discipline.
The Bottom Line: Actions that get recognized or rewarded get repeated. Are you demonstrating appropriate behaviours in your employee retention and employee motivation strategies?
Four Steps To Greater Motivation At Work by Trevor Hill
How to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a WeekHow to Get More Done in a Day than Most Accomplish in a Week
IdeaMarketers creator, author of 20+ titles, and mother of 6 shares her unique method for getting more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week. Enjoy life, accomplish more and earn more while you do so! Learn More
It can seem that 'other people' are the problem. Without them we think we would be more organised, more productive and more satisfied. We would get all the important things done and there would be no distractions.
It is certainly true that we need to be flexible enough to accommodate other working styles and to communicate with people different to us. Yet we do have a responsibility to ourselves to honour what we believe is really important - our true agenda. Blaming other people is a way of ignoring this responsibility.
If this true agenda gets hidden away, we can be very busy without being consciously aware of what has happened. Instead we might feel vague uneasiness, tension or dissatisfaction without knowing why.
On the other hand, if we are aware that our true agenda is on hold, we tell ourselves that we will return to it when we have finished everything else. This approach does not work because we never completely finish 'everything else'.
Balance is critical here, just as it is critical in the natural world. Our physical body moves by dynamic balance: tension in some muscles alternating with relaxation in others. We need a certain balance of sugar in the blood to function but too much sugar will kill us. More broadly, balance is essential in how we spend our finite personal resources: our time and energy (and money) are not unlimited.
At this point we need to be wary of the commitments we make. Commitment is what makes the difference between intention and action. It transforms the mental activity of creation into living reality. Yet committing to one thing inevitably excludes others, so it is wise to choose carefully. How often do you say 'No'?
Here's a practical strategy to apply these principles:
1. Create a list of what you think is really important. This can be single words or phrases, general or specific. Spend as much time as you need to create a list that covers all that is important. Here are some other questions that may help you:
What do you care about? What do you really want? What makes life worth living?
What makes you frustrated or angry? What is it you can't live with? What principles are being violated?
When you have finished, keep your list in a safe place. This is the essence of your true agenda.
2. Against each item on the list put a value between 1 and 10 to indicate how much you currently honour it with your own resources (time, energy, money)
3. Review the list, particularly noting the items with the lower scores. Choose one item (or more if you like) where you want to increase your resources spent on it. What do you want to achieve by doing this?
4. Make a commitment to balance this increase in resources (time, energy, money) by trimming a less important area (preferably one that is not on your list at all!). Give this commitment a time frame and a review date so you can check the balance again then.
You can return to your list anytime you like and repeat steps 3 and 4.
As you regain your true agenda, watch what happens to your motivation.
IdeaMarketers creator, author of 20+ titles, and mother of 6 shares her unique method for getting more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week. Enjoy life, accomplish more and earn more while you do so! Learn More
It can seem that 'other people' are the problem. Without them we think we would be more organised, more productive and more satisfied. We would get all the important things done and there would be no distractions.
It is certainly true that we need to be flexible enough to accommodate other working styles and to communicate with people different to us. Yet we do have a responsibility to ourselves to honour what we believe is really important - our true agenda. Blaming other people is a way of ignoring this responsibility.
If this true agenda gets hidden away, we can be very busy without being consciously aware of what has happened. Instead we might feel vague uneasiness, tension or dissatisfaction without knowing why.
On the other hand, if we are aware that our true agenda is on hold, we tell ourselves that we will return to it when we have finished everything else. This approach does not work because we never completely finish 'everything else'.
Balance is critical here, just as it is critical in the natural world. Our physical body moves by dynamic balance: tension in some muscles alternating with relaxation in others. We need a certain balance of sugar in the blood to function but too much sugar will kill us. More broadly, balance is essential in how we spend our finite personal resources: our time and energy (and money) are not unlimited.
At this point we need to be wary of the commitments we make. Commitment is what makes the difference between intention and action. It transforms the mental activity of creation into living reality. Yet committing to one thing inevitably excludes others, so it is wise to choose carefully. How often do you say 'No'?
Here's a practical strategy to apply these principles:
1. Create a list of what you think is really important. This can be single words or phrases, general or specific. Spend as much time as you need to create a list that covers all that is important. Here are some other questions that may help you:
What do you care about? What do you really want? What makes life worth living?
What makes you frustrated or angry? What is it you can't live with? What principles are being violated?
When you have finished, keep your list in a safe place. This is the essence of your true agenda.
2. Against each item on the list put a value between 1 and 10 to indicate how much you currently honour it with your own resources (time, energy, money)
3. Review the list, particularly noting the items with the lower scores. Choose one item (or more if you like) where you want to increase your resources spent on it. What do you want to achieve by doing this?
4. Make a commitment to balance this increase in resources (time, energy, money) by trimming a less important area (preferably one that is not on your list at all!). Give this commitment a time frame and a review date so you can check the balance again then.
You can return to your list anytime you like and repeat steps 3 and 4.
As you regain your true agenda, watch what happens to your motivation.
Senin, 14 Juli 2008
Motivation
Motivation is a piviotal concept in most theories of learning. It is closely related to arousal, attention, anxiety, and feedback/reinforcement. For example, a person needs to be motivated enough to pay attention while learning; anxiety can decrease our motivation to learn. Receiving a reward or feedback for an action usually increases the likelihood that the action will be repreated. Weiner (1990) points out that behavioral theories tended to focus on extrinsic motivation (i.e., rewards) while cognitive theories deal with intrinsic motivation (i.e., goals) .
In most forms of behaviorial theory, motivation was strictly a function of primary drives such as hunger, sex, sleep, or comfort. According to Hull's drive reduction theory, learning reduces drives and therefore motivation is essential to learning. The degree of the learning achieved can be manipulated by the strength of the drive and its underlying motivation. In Tolman's theory of purposive behaviorism, primary drives create internal states (i.e., wants or needs) that serve as secondary drives and represent instrinsic motivation.
In cognitive theory, motivation serves to create intentions and goal-seeking acts (see Ames & Ames, 1989). One well-developed area of research highly relevant to learning is achievement motivation (e.g., Atkinson & Raynor, 1974; Weiner). Motivation to achieve is a function of the individual's desire for success, the expectancy of success, and the incentives provided. Studies show that in general people prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty. In addition, students with a high need to achieve, obtain better grades in courses which they perceive as highly relevant to their career goals. On the other hand, according to Rogers, all individuals have a drive to self-actualize and this motivates learning.
Malone (1981) presented a theoretical framework for instrinsic motivation in the context of designing computer games for instruction. Malone argues that instrinsic motivation is created by three qualities: challenge, fantasy, and curosity. Challenge depends upon activities that involve uncertain outcomes due to variable levels, hidden information or randomness. Fantasy should depend upon skills required for the instruction. Curiosity can be aroused when learners believe their knowledge structures are incomplete, inconsistent, or unparsimonious. According to Malone, instrinsically motivating activities provide learners with a broad range of challenge, concrete feedback, and clear-cut criteria for performance.
Keller (1983) presents an instructional design model for motivation that is based upon a number of other theories. His model suggests a design strategy that encompasses four components of motivation: arousing interest, creating relevance, developing an expectancy of success, and producing satisfaction through intrinsic/extrinsic rewards.
References:
Ames, C. & Ames, R. (1989). Research in Motivation in Education, Vol 3. San Diego: Academic Press.
Atkinson, J. & Raynor, O. (1974). Motivation and Achievement. Washington: Winston.
Keller, J. (1983). Motivational design of instruction. In C. Riegeluth (ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Malone, T. (1981). Towards a theory of instrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science, 4, 333-369.
McClelland, D. (1985). Human Motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 616-622.
In most forms of behaviorial theory, motivation was strictly a function of primary drives such as hunger, sex, sleep, or comfort. According to Hull's drive reduction theory, learning reduces drives and therefore motivation is essential to learning. The degree of the learning achieved can be manipulated by the strength of the drive and its underlying motivation. In Tolman's theory of purposive behaviorism, primary drives create internal states (i.e., wants or needs) that serve as secondary drives and represent instrinsic motivation.
In cognitive theory, motivation serves to create intentions and goal-seeking acts (see Ames & Ames, 1989). One well-developed area of research highly relevant to learning is achievement motivation (e.g., Atkinson & Raynor, 1974; Weiner). Motivation to achieve is a function of the individual's desire for success, the expectancy of success, and the incentives provided. Studies show that in general people prefer tasks of intermediate difficulty. In addition, students with a high need to achieve, obtain better grades in courses which they perceive as highly relevant to their career goals. On the other hand, according to Rogers, all individuals have a drive to self-actualize and this motivates learning.
Malone (1981) presented a theoretical framework for instrinsic motivation in the context of designing computer games for instruction. Malone argues that instrinsic motivation is created by three qualities: challenge, fantasy, and curosity. Challenge depends upon activities that involve uncertain outcomes due to variable levels, hidden information or randomness. Fantasy should depend upon skills required for the instruction. Curiosity can be aroused when learners believe their knowledge structures are incomplete, inconsistent, or unparsimonious. According to Malone, instrinsically motivating activities provide learners with a broad range of challenge, concrete feedback, and clear-cut criteria for performance.
Keller (1983) presents an instructional design model for motivation that is based upon a number of other theories. His model suggests a design strategy that encompasses four components of motivation: arousing interest, creating relevance, developing an expectancy of success, and producing satisfaction through intrinsic/extrinsic rewards.
References:
Ames, C. & Ames, R. (1989). Research in Motivation in Education, Vol 3. San Diego: Academic Press.
Atkinson, J. & Raynor, O. (1974). Motivation and Achievement. Washington: Winston.
Keller, J. (1983). Motivational design of instruction. In C. Riegeluth (ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Malone, T. (1981). Towards a theory of instrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science, 4, 333-369.
McClelland, D. (1985). Human Motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 616-622.
Motivation & Leadership
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. - Explorer Ernest Shackleston in a 1890 job ad for the first Antarctic expedition. A person's motivation is a combination of desire and energy directed at achieving a goal. Influencing someone's motivation means getting them to want to do what you know must be done. A person's motivation depends upon two things:
The strength of certain needs. For example, you are hungry, but you must have a task completed by a nearing deadline. If you are starving you will eat. If you are slightly hungry you will finish the task at hand.
The perception that taking a certain action will help satisfy those needs. For example, you have two burning needs - The desire to complete the task and the desire to go to lunch. Your perception of how you view those two needs will determine which one takes priority. If you believe that you could be fired for not completing the task, you will probably put off lunch and complete the task. If you believe that you will not get into trouble or perhaps finish the task in time, then you will likely go to lunch. People can be motivated by such forces as beliefs, values, interests, fear, and worthy causes. Some of these forces are internal, such as needs, interests, and beliefs. Others are external, such as danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one. There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep a open viewpoint on human nature. There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. In addition, if the same forces are steering two different people, each one may act differently. Knowing that each person may react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.
As a leader you have the power to influence motivation. The following guidelines (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973) form a basic view of motivation. They will help guide your decision making process:
Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization. Nearly everyone is influenced by the needs for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers and/or leaders. They are also influenced by internal forces such as values morals, and ethics. Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs. Ensure that your team is trained, encouraged, and has opportunities to advance. Also, ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in others. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your team will be dishonest to you, for that will be the kind of people that you will attract.
Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small and insignificant, they can be powerful motivators. The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say something general, such as "for doing a good job," rather cite the specific action that made you believe it was indeed a good job. In addition, help those who are good. We all make mistakes or need help on an occasion to achieve a particular goal.
Set the example. You must be the role model that you want others to grow into.
Develop moral and esprit de corps. Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have an impact on your organization. You should always be aware how your actions and decisions might affect it. Esprit de corps means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit of the organization or collective body (in French it literally means "spirit of the body"). It is the consciousness of the organization that allows the people within it to identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from; or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?
Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process. This helps with their development and allows you to coach them. Secondly, it motivates them -- people who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it, thus it gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. thirdly, communication is clearer as everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team. Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization -- they are now part of it! Finally, recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.
Look out for your team. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem of no importance to you might be extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling, which means "to feel with", or the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own. The Sioux Indian Tribal Prayer reads, "Great Spirit, help us never to judge another until we have walked for two weeks in his moccasins." Also note that empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.
Keep them informed. Keeping the communication channel open allows a person to have a sense of control over their lives.
Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make each feel like an individual in a great team...rather than a cog in a lifeless machine. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.
Counsel people who behave in a way that is counter to the company's goals. All the guidelines before this took the positive approach. But, sometimes this does not always work. You must let people know when they are not performing to an acceptable standard. By the same token, you must protect them when needed. For example, if someone in your department is always late arriving for work and it is causing disruptions, then you must take action. On the other hand, if you have an extremely good department and once in a while they are a few minutes late, then do the right thing...protect them from the bureaucracy!
Counseling
Counseling has a powerful, long-term impact on people and the effectiveness of the organization. Counseling is talking with a person in a way that helps him or her solve a problem. It involves thinking, implementing, knowing human nature, timing, sincerity, compassion, and kindness. It involves much more that simply telling someone what to do about a problem.
Leaders must demonstrate the following qualities in order to counsel effectively.
Respect for employees - This includes the belief that individuals are responsible for their own actions and ideas. It includes an awareness of a person's individuality by recognizing their unique values, attributes, and skills. As you attempt to develop people with counseling, you must refrain from projecting your own values onto them.
Self-Awareness - This quality is an understanding of yourself as a leader. The more you are aware of your own values, needs, and biases, the less likely you will be to project your feelings onto your employees.
Credibility - Believability is achieved through both honesty and consistency between both the leader's statements and actions. Credible leaders are straightforward with their subordinates and behave in such a manner that earns the subordinates' respect and trust.
Empathy - or compassion entails understanding a subordinates situation. Empathetic leaders will be better able to help subordinates identify the situation and then develop a plan to improve it. The reason for counseling is to help employees develop in order to achieve organizational goals. At times, the counseling is directed by policy, and at other times, leaders should choose to counsel to develop employees. Regardless of the nature of the counseling, leaders should demonstrate the qualities of an effective counselor (respect, self-awareness, credibility, and empathy) and employ the skills of good communication.
While the reason for counseling is to develop subordinates, leaders often categorize counseling based on the topic of the session. Major categories include performance counseling, problem counseling, and individual growth counseling (development). While these categories help leaders to organize and focus counseling sessions, they must not be viewed as separate and distinct types of counseling. For example a counseling session which mainly focuses on resolving a problem may also have a great impact on improving job performance. Another example is a counseling session that focuses on performance may also include a discussion of opportunities for growth. Regardless of the topic of the counseling session, you should follow the same basic format to prepare for and conduct counseling.
Steps for counseling
Identify the problem. Ensure you get to the heart of the problem. The Japanese use a practice called the Five Whys. They ask "why" five times when confronted with a problem -- by the time the fifth why is answered, they believe they have found the ultimate cause of the problem.
Analyze the forces influencing the behavior. Determine which of these forces you have control over and which of the forces the worker has control over. Determine if the force has to be modified, eliminated, or enforced.
Plan, coordinate, and organize the session. Determine the best time to conduct the session so that you will not be interrupted or forced to end too early.
Conduct the session using sincerity, compassion, and kindness. This does not mean you cannot be firm or in control. Your reputation is on the line...the problem must be solved so that your department can continue with its mission. Likewise, you must hear the person out.
During the session, determine what the worker believes causes the counter productive behavior and what will be required to change it. Also, determine if your initial analysis is correct.
Try to maintain a sense of timing of when to use directive or nondirective counseling (see below).
Using all the facts, make a decision and/or a plan of action to correct the problem. If more counseling is needed, make a firm time and date for the next session.
After the session and throughout a sufficient time period evaluate the worker's progress to ensure the problem has indeed been solved. There are two type of counseling - directive and nondirective. In directive counseling, the counselor identifies the problem and tells the counselee what to do about it. Nondirective counseling means the counselee identifies the problem and determines the solution with the help of the counselor. The counselor has to determine which of the two, or some appropriate combination, to give for each situation. For example, "Put that cigarette out now as this is a nonsmoking area," is a form of directive counseling. While a form of nondirective counseling would be, "So the reason you are not effective is that you were up late last night. What are you going to do to ensure that this does not effect your performance again?"
Hints for counseling sessions:
Let the person know that the behavior is undesirable, not the person.
Let the person know that you care about him or her as a person, but that you expect more from them.
Do not punish employees who are unable to perform a task. Punish those who are able to perform the task but are unwilling or unmotivated to succeed.
Counseling sessions should be conducted in private immediately after the undesirable behavior. Do not humiliate a person in front of others.
Ensure that the employee understands exactly what behavior led to the counseling or punishment.
Do not hold a grudge. When it is over...it is over! Move on!
Performance AppraisalsThe performance appraisal or evaluation is one of the most powerful motivational tools available to a leader. It has three main objectives:
To measure performance fairly and objectively against job requirements. This allows effective workers to be rewarded for their efforts and ineffective workers to be put on the line for poor performance.
To increase performance by identifying specific development goals. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there" - Lewis Carrol. The appraisal allows the worker to target specific areas for job growth...it should be a time to plan for better performance on the job.
To develop career goals so that the worker may keep pace with the requirements of a fast paced organization. More and more, every job in an organization becomes more demanding with new requirements. Just because a worker is performing effectively in her job today, does not mean she will be able to perform effectively tomorrow. She must be allowed to grow with the job and the organization. A lot of people consider giving performance appraisals as being quite uncomfortable. However, it is not the judging of people that is really uncomfortable, rather it is the judging of bad performance that is uncomfortable. Thus, eliminate poor performance in the first place, and performance appraisals become a lot more pleasant to give. Now of course you are not going to eliminate poor performances completely, however, with a little bit of planning they can be greatly reduced.
Performance has often been described as "purposeful work" -- that is, a job exists to achieve specific and defined results. And what bad performers really do is perform "work activities" (busy work), rather than activities that contributes to effective performance.
The first step in performance planning is to determine the results that you want the performer to achieve. After all, workers generally want to know what they need to do, how well you need them to do it, and how well they are actually doing it (feedback).
In addition, a worker should not walk blindly into a performance appraisal. Past counseling sessions, feedback, and one-on-ones should give her a pretty clear understanding of what to expect from the appraisal. If you blind-side her, you have not done your job as a leader. Helping your team grow is not a once or twice yearly task, but a full-time duty.
The appraisal should be a joint effort. No one knows the job better than the person performing it. By turning the appraisal into a real discussion, rather than a lecture, the leader may learn some insightful information that could help boost his or her performance in the future. Before the meeting, have the worker complete her own self-appraisal. Although you might think they will take advantage of this by giving themselves unearned high marks, studies have shown that most workers rate themselves more critically than the leader would have.
Should Performance Appraisals be Scrapped?There has been some talk of completely doing away with performance appraisals as they sometimes do more harm that they cause. Yet performance appraisals are tools and like any other tool, they can be used correctly or incorrectly. Part of the problem might be with its name -- "Performance Appraisal", which has sort of a judgmental sound to it; perhaps "Performance Planning and Review" might be a better term for it.
Part-time employees at Trader Joe's are reviewed every three months, which is an unusually frequent rate of evaluation (Speizer, 2004). In addition, the part-time employees of Trader Joe's are paid higher wages, as are their full-time workers, than what you will find in the normal grocery store (an average of $16 per hour vs $12).
What is interesting about all of this is that they have been bought three times, and NOT because they are losing money -- they make more money per square foot of business than the average grocery store. The new leadership teams have never said that they need to pay them what the rest of the industry pays. Why? Because they see the value in their workers! Rather than giving lip-service to "employees our are most valuable asset", they actually walk-the-talk.
Yet, one of the arguments for scrapping performance appraisals is that ALL workers' pay should be aligned with the labor market -- they do not deserve annual pay raises as it inflates the wage and salary structure.
Traditionally, roles have remained the same while goals change (Buchen, 2004). Yet, due to the rapid changes that occur on a day-to-day basis, the roles are actually changing, even though they might remained fixed on paper. Performance appraisals often fail to factor in the changing relationships between goals and roles that are often in a high state of metamorphosis. That is, our attention remains fixed on steadfast goals, while ignoring ever-changing roles.
This type of thinking shows up in a lot of industries as they view their workers' jobs as set roles, even though the world is rapidly changing. For example, the 2004 grocery strike in California forced many shoppers to look at alternatives, thus they started shopping at Traders Joe's (who were not part of the strike). And many of these shoppers never went back to their regular stores (who see their employees playing traditional roles) because they enjoy the experience they have at Trader Joe's. Yet Trader Joe's was not always like this -- it started out more like a Seven-Eleven, but because of the competition it went in search of its present niche and recognized along the way that its employee's roles also needed to change. So even though they still deal in the same commodity as the larger grocery stores -- food -- they not only changed the way they bought food (goal), but also in they way they deliver that food to the customer (role).
Thus, the real argument is not really about scrapping PAs, but rather ensuring that once goals are set, that all roles are properly accounted for so that the target can indeed be met.
Reference[Tags: Motivation Performance Counseling ]
Buchen, Irving. Upgrading Performance and Targeting Learning. Chief Learning Officer July 2004.
Craig, Robert L. (1996). The ASTD Training and Development Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eliza G. C. Collins & Mary Anne Devanna (1990). The Portable MBA. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Speizer, Irwin Recruiting and Staffing. Workforce Magazine. September 2004, pp. 51-54.
U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Return
The strength of certain needs. For example, you are hungry, but you must have a task completed by a nearing deadline. If you are starving you will eat. If you are slightly hungry you will finish the task at hand.
The perception that taking a certain action will help satisfy those needs. For example, you have two burning needs - The desire to complete the task and the desire to go to lunch. Your perception of how you view those two needs will determine which one takes priority. If you believe that you could be fired for not completing the task, you will probably put off lunch and complete the task. If you believe that you will not get into trouble or perhaps finish the task in time, then you will likely go to lunch. People can be motivated by such forces as beliefs, values, interests, fear, and worthy causes. Some of these forces are internal, such as needs, interests, and beliefs. Others are external, such as danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one. There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep a open viewpoint on human nature. There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. In addition, if the same forces are steering two different people, each one may act differently. Knowing that each person may react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.
As a leader you have the power to influence motivation. The following guidelines (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973) form a basic view of motivation. They will help guide your decision making process:
Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization. Nearly everyone is influenced by the needs for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers and/or leaders. They are also influenced by internal forces such as values morals, and ethics. Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs. Ensure that your team is trained, encouraged, and has opportunities to advance. Also, ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in others. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your team will be dishonest to you, for that will be the kind of people that you will attract.
Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small and insignificant, they can be powerful motivators. The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say something general, such as "for doing a good job," rather cite the specific action that made you believe it was indeed a good job. In addition, help those who are good. We all make mistakes or need help on an occasion to achieve a particular goal.
Set the example. You must be the role model that you want others to grow into.
Develop moral and esprit de corps. Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have an impact on your organization. You should always be aware how your actions and decisions might affect it. Esprit de corps means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit of the organization or collective body (in French it literally means "spirit of the body"). It is the consciousness of the organization that allows the people within it to identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from; or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?
Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process. This helps with their development and allows you to coach them. Secondly, it motivates them -- people who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it, thus it gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. thirdly, communication is clearer as everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team. Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization -- they are now part of it! Finally, recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.
Look out for your team. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem of no importance to you might be extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling, which means "to feel with", or the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own. The Sioux Indian Tribal Prayer reads, "Great Spirit, help us never to judge another until we have walked for two weeks in his moccasins." Also note that empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.
Keep them informed. Keeping the communication channel open allows a person to have a sense of control over their lives.
Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make each feel like an individual in a great team...rather than a cog in a lifeless machine. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.
Counsel people who behave in a way that is counter to the company's goals. All the guidelines before this took the positive approach. But, sometimes this does not always work. You must let people know when they are not performing to an acceptable standard. By the same token, you must protect them when needed. For example, if someone in your department is always late arriving for work and it is causing disruptions, then you must take action. On the other hand, if you have an extremely good department and once in a while they are a few minutes late, then do the right thing...protect them from the bureaucracy!
Counseling
Counseling has a powerful, long-term impact on people and the effectiveness of the organization. Counseling is talking with a person in a way that helps him or her solve a problem. It involves thinking, implementing, knowing human nature, timing, sincerity, compassion, and kindness. It involves much more that simply telling someone what to do about a problem.
Leaders must demonstrate the following qualities in order to counsel effectively.
Respect for employees - This includes the belief that individuals are responsible for their own actions and ideas. It includes an awareness of a person's individuality by recognizing their unique values, attributes, and skills. As you attempt to develop people with counseling, you must refrain from projecting your own values onto them.
Self-Awareness - This quality is an understanding of yourself as a leader. The more you are aware of your own values, needs, and biases, the less likely you will be to project your feelings onto your employees.
Credibility - Believability is achieved through both honesty and consistency between both the leader's statements and actions. Credible leaders are straightforward with their subordinates and behave in such a manner that earns the subordinates' respect and trust.
Empathy - or compassion entails understanding a subordinates situation. Empathetic leaders will be better able to help subordinates identify the situation and then develop a plan to improve it. The reason for counseling is to help employees develop in order to achieve organizational goals. At times, the counseling is directed by policy, and at other times, leaders should choose to counsel to develop employees. Regardless of the nature of the counseling, leaders should demonstrate the qualities of an effective counselor (respect, self-awareness, credibility, and empathy) and employ the skills of good communication.
While the reason for counseling is to develop subordinates, leaders often categorize counseling based on the topic of the session. Major categories include performance counseling, problem counseling, and individual growth counseling (development). While these categories help leaders to organize and focus counseling sessions, they must not be viewed as separate and distinct types of counseling. For example a counseling session which mainly focuses on resolving a problem may also have a great impact on improving job performance. Another example is a counseling session that focuses on performance may also include a discussion of opportunities for growth. Regardless of the topic of the counseling session, you should follow the same basic format to prepare for and conduct counseling.
Steps for counseling
Identify the problem. Ensure you get to the heart of the problem. The Japanese use a practice called the Five Whys. They ask "why" five times when confronted with a problem -- by the time the fifth why is answered, they believe they have found the ultimate cause of the problem.
Analyze the forces influencing the behavior. Determine which of these forces you have control over and which of the forces the worker has control over. Determine if the force has to be modified, eliminated, or enforced.
Plan, coordinate, and organize the session. Determine the best time to conduct the session so that you will not be interrupted or forced to end too early.
Conduct the session using sincerity, compassion, and kindness. This does not mean you cannot be firm or in control. Your reputation is on the line...the problem must be solved so that your department can continue with its mission. Likewise, you must hear the person out.
During the session, determine what the worker believes causes the counter productive behavior and what will be required to change it. Also, determine if your initial analysis is correct.
Try to maintain a sense of timing of when to use directive or nondirective counseling (see below).
Using all the facts, make a decision and/or a plan of action to correct the problem. If more counseling is needed, make a firm time and date for the next session.
After the session and throughout a sufficient time period evaluate the worker's progress to ensure the problem has indeed been solved. There are two type of counseling - directive and nondirective. In directive counseling, the counselor identifies the problem and tells the counselee what to do about it. Nondirective counseling means the counselee identifies the problem and determines the solution with the help of the counselor. The counselor has to determine which of the two, or some appropriate combination, to give for each situation. For example, "Put that cigarette out now as this is a nonsmoking area," is a form of directive counseling. While a form of nondirective counseling would be, "So the reason you are not effective is that you were up late last night. What are you going to do to ensure that this does not effect your performance again?"
Hints for counseling sessions:
Let the person know that the behavior is undesirable, not the person.
Let the person know that you care about him or her as a person, but that you expect more from them.
Do not punish employees who are unable to perform a task. Punish those who are able to perform the task but are unwilling or unmotivated to succeed.
Counseling sessions should be conducted in private immediately after the undesirable behavior. Do not humiliate a person in front of others.
Ensure that the employee understands exactly what behavior led to the counseling or punishment.
Do not hold a grudge. When it is over...it is over! Move on!
Performance AppraisalsThe performance appraisal or evaluation is one of the most powerful motivational tools available to a leader. It has three main objectives:
To measure performance fairly and objectively against job requirements. This allows effective workers to be rewarded for their efforts and ineffective workers to be put on the line for poor performance.
To increase performance by identifying specific development goals. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there" - Lewis Carrol. The appraisal allows the worker to target specific areas for job growth...it should be a time to plan for better performance on the job.
To develop career goals so that the worker may keep pace with the requirements of a fast paced organization. More and more, every job in an organization becomes more demanding with new requirements. Just because a worker is performing effectively in her job today, does not mean she will be able to perform effectively tomorrow. She must be allowed to grow with the job and the organization. A lot of people consider giving performance appraisals as being quite uncomfortable. However, it is not the judging of people that is really uncomfortable, rather it is the judging of bad performance that is uncomfortable. Thus, eliminate poor performance in the first place, and performance appraisals become a lot more pleasant to give. Now of course you are not going to eliminate poor performances completely, however, with a little bit of planning they can be greatly reduced.
Performance has often been described as "purposeful work" -- that is, a job exists to achieve specific and defined results. And what bad performers really do is perform "work activities" (busy work), rather than activities that contributes to effective performance.
The first step in performance planning is to determine the results that you want the performer to achieve. After all, workers generally want to know what they need to do, how well you need them to do it, and how well they are actually doing it (feedback).
In addition, a worker should not walk blindly into a performance appraisal. Past counseling sessions, feedback, and one-on-ones should give her a pretty clear understanding of what to expect from the appraisal. If you blind-side her, you have not done your job as a leader. Helping your team grow is not a once or twice yearly task, but a full-time duty.
The appraisal should be a joint effort. No one knows the job better than the person performing it. By turning the appraisal into a real discussion, rather than a lecture, the leader may learn some insightful information that could help boost his or her performance in the future. Before the meeting, have the worker complete her own self-appraisal. Although you might think they will take advantage of this by giving themselves unearned high marks, studies have shown that most workers rate themselves more critically than the leader would have.
Should Performance Appraisals be Scrapped?There has been some talk of completely doing away with performance appraisals as they sometimes do more harm that they cause. Yet performance appraisals are tools and like any other tool, they can be used correctly or incorrectly. Part of the problem might be with its name -- "Performance Appraisal", which has sort of a judgmental sound to it; perhaps "Performance Planning and Review" might be a better term for it.
Part-time employees at Trader Joe's are reviewed every three months, which is an unusually frequent rate of evaluation (Speizer, 2004). In addition, the part-time employees of Trader Joe's are paid higher wages, as are their full-time workers, than what you will find in the normal grocery store (an average of $16 per hour vs $12).
What is interesting about all of this is that they have been bought three times, and NOT because they are losing money -- they make more money per square foot of business than the average grocery store. The new leadership teams have never said that they need to pay them what the rest of the industry pays. Why? Because they see the value in their workers! Rather than giving lip-service to "employees our are most valuable asset", they actually walk-the-talk.
Yet, one of the arguments for scrapping performance appraisals is that ALL workers' pay should be aligned with the labor market -- they do not deserve annual pay raises as it inflates the wage and salary structure.
Traditionally, roles have remained the same while goals change (Buchen, 2004). Yet, due to the rapid changes that occur on a day-to-day basis, the roles are actually changing, even though they might remained fixed on paper. Performance appraisals often fail to factor in the changing relationships between goals and roles that are often in a high state of metamorphosis. That is, our attention remains fixed on steadfast goals, while ignoring ever-changing roles.
This type of thinking shows up in a lot of industries as they view their workers' jobs as set roles, even though the world is rapidly changing. For example, the 2004 grocery strike in California forced many shoppers to look at alternatives, thus they started shopping at Traders Joe's (who were not part of the strike). And many of these shoppers never went back to their regular stores (who see their employees playing traditional roles) because they enjoy the experience they have at Trader Joe's. Yet Trader Joe's was not always like this -- it started out more like a Seven-Eleven, but because of the competition it went in search of its present niche and recognized along the way that its employee's roles also needed to change. So even though they still deal in the same commodity as the larger grocery stores -- food -- they not only changed the way they bought food (goal), but also in they way they deliver that food to the customer (role).
Thus, the real argument is not really about scrapping PAs, but rather ensuring that once goals are set, that all roles are properly accounted for so that the target can indeed be met.
Reference[Tags: Motivation Performance Counseling ]
Buchen, Irving. Upgrading Performance and Targeting Learning. Chief Learning Officer July 2004.
Craig, Robert L. (1996). The ASTD Training and Development Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Eliza G. C. Collins & Mary Anne Devanna (1990). The Portable MBA. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Speizer, Irwin Recruiting and Staffing. Workforce Magazine. September 2004, pp. 51-54.
U.S. Army Handbook (1973). Military Leadership. Return
Weight Loss Motivation - Approaching Weight Loss With a Positive Attitude By Jackle Reid
If you are just entering a weight loss program you might find that you are overwhelm with information and not sure where to start but do not be discouraged.
The wealth of information on weight loss is good because it guarantee that you will never be without information to reach your weight loss goal.
Weight loss as with any other thing that you desire, to take on in life but be done with a positive attitude going in. Don't think that you will get on a weight loss program and you will lose weight and you will never have any weight loss challenge.
One of the reasons why some people become a weight loss success is because they plan for the time that they will have a set back and put in the necessary actions in their weight loss plan so that when a challenge comes they are already prepared to deal with it.
However, when you start on a weight loss plan you must realize that you will need some tools to help your along your journey. The first thing that you will need is a weight loss journal. This journal will become your biggest friend. Some of the things that you will be recording in your weight loss journal includes:
1. Take a before picture of yourself. You will never really remember what you looked like before your weight loss journey.
2. Measure yourself. This step is quite important because though you take a picture, a picture will not tell you what the measurement of your waist was before you start your weight loss program.
3. Set a weight loss goal that you want to achieve. For example lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Once you have your weight loss goal, give it a start date and an end date
4. Make a commitment to yourself that you will start on the date that you said you would and end on the date that you would. Sign it and date it. You have now made a commitment with yourself
5. Start writing down all the foods that you are eating through the day. Every piece that goes in your mouth.
6. Write down when you are eating, you might find that you might be an emotional eater and eating when you are angry, upset or stressed and not because you are hungry
7. Block out some time to go over your writing and see where you can make improvements on your food choices.
Once you start writing in your weight loss journal you will begin to see patterns in how you eat, what you eat and when you eat. Spend time making adjustment to your eating habits and seek a support system that will get you to lose the weight. Your weight loss journal will be your first buddy system but by joining some type of weight loss support group you will find that you are able to stay on the course and get to that weight loss goal that you desire.
The wealth of information on weight loss is good because it guarantee that you will never be without information to reach your weight loss goal.
Weight loss as with any other thing that you desire, to take on in life but be done with a positive attitude going in. Don't think that you will get on a weight loss program and you will lose weight and you will never have any weight loss challenge.
One of the reasons why some people become a weight loss success is because they plan for the time that they will have a set back and put in the necessary actions in their weight loss plan so that when a challenge comes they are already prepared to deal with it.
However, when you start on a weight loss plan you must realize that you will need some tools to help your along your journey. The first thing that you will need is a weight loss journal. This journal will become your biggest friend. Some of the things that you will be recording in your weight loss journal includes:
1. Take a before picture of yourself. You will never really remember what you looked like before your weight loss journey.
2. Measure yourself. This step is quite important because though you take a picture, a picture will not tell you what the measurement of your waist was before you start your weight loss program.
3. Set a weight loss goal that you want to achieve. For example lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks. Once you have your weight loss goal, give it a start date and an end date
4. Make a commitment to yourself that you will start on the date that you said you would and end on the date that you would. Sign it and date it. You have now made a commitment with yourself
5. Start writing down all the foods that you are eating through the day. Every piece that goes in your mouth.
6. Write down when you are eating, you might find that you might be an emotional eater and eating when you are angry, upset or stressed and not because you are hungry
7. Block out some time to go over your writing and see where you can make improvements on your food choices.
Once you start writing in your weight loss journal you will begin to see patterns in how you eat, what you eat and when you eat. Spend time making adjustment to your eating habits and seek a support system that will get you to lose the weight. Your weight loss journal will be your first buddy system but by joining some type of weight loss support group you will find that you are able to stay on the course and get to that weight loss goal that you desire.
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