Effects of Psychological Contract on the Work-Life Balance

Effects of Psychological Contract on the Work-Life Balance A contemporary analysis of the concept of work life balance and the effects of the psychological contract within the business Aimed towards Retail Terms of Reference To define, explore and critically analyse the extent to which contracted work in the retail business is affected by psychological contract theory Establish from primary and secondary sources the factors which impact on the work life balance for employees, and if any policies and practices are effective. Examine the various ideas from the literature around organisational culture and the psychological contract, in order to determine how Toys R Us fits with these definitions. To draw conclusions around the extent to which Toys R Us has managed to achieve a suitable work life balance for all of their employees without the use of a psychological contract; and to examine possible future changes/ recommendations which could be implemented to create said contract. Literature Review The journal Management Research News (2007) provides a useful starting point, as it looks to review the literature around the psychological contract in order to help develop an understanding around the various unique agreements and the work environment that underlies modern working. As such, the paper is a conceptual paper, and its main aim is to categorise the existing knowledge around the psychological contract in the workplace, as well as to provide practical direction for future research. The results of this investigation indicated that the context of the psychological contract must be reconsidered, due to the nature of the flexible modern working environment where jobs are not always seen as being long term commitments. As such, it is important to consider the impact of organisational justice, rather than looking at potential relationship development (Management Research News, 2007). This is particularly relevant for retail organisations such as Toys R Us, where a large number o f their staff may be students or other short term casual workers. Unfortunately, there has been little research into the levels of job security felt by temporary employees and contract employees, and how this impacts on any psychological contract which may exist. This is addressed to some extent by De Cuyper and De Witte (2006), who examined how perceptions of job security, as well as job satisfaction and organisational commitment, varied from permanent employees to temporary ones. This research was based on the claims of psychological contract theory, which holds that a lack of job security only arises if the psychological contract is violated, and that permanent employees tend to feel stronger psychological contracts that temporary and contracted workers. Their results support this argument, showing that the temporary staff tended not to create strong psychological contracts with their employers, and hence their perceptions of job security did not impact on their overall performance. In contrast, for permanent employees job security was a key pre dictor of both job satisfaction and organisational commitment, indicating that the psychological contract is of greater concern for permanent staff (De Cuyper and De Witte, 2006). Indeed, George (2003) found that the use of temporary and contract workers in an organisation could actually harm the psychological contract which existed between the permanent workforce and the organisation. These finding are based on a detailed study of 256 permanent employees across three organisations, and showed that the extent to which contracting and temporary workers were used, combined with the duration of their use, had negative impacts on permanent employees’ trust in the organisation, as well as the psychological contract with the organisation. These results are explained by the fact that permanent workers see the increased use of temporary and contract staff as indicating that their organisations do not have a strong commitment to their permanent employees. As such, permanent employees begin to see themselves as being less attached to the organisation. The grounded theory approach taken by George (2003) indicates that this is consistent with theoretical prediction s that the use of contract staff acts as a violation of the psychological contract for permanent staff, since contracting makes it harder to permanent workers to advance in the organisation. As such, when attempting to manage this, organisations should look to show strong levels of commitment towards their permanent employees, as this will help counter the perceived violations from the use of contracted staff. Whilst George (2003) claims that this can be achieved through making permanent employees supervisors and trainers of other employees, there is little empirical data to support this, hence it is not clear if this would be a valid method for countering the negative impacts of contracting. Another useful empirical study in this area comes from Ellis (2007) who used the theory of psychological contracting to develop a framework exploring employee reactions to the various promises and contract violations they received from their employer. This is based on the hypothesis that an employee’s status within the organisation may affect their perceptions of promises and contract violations, but this will depend on what the promise is about. This hypothesis was tested using a survey of 163 full time employees working for 25 different organizations. The results supported the hypothesis, showing that supervisory and managerial employees placed more value on promises and violations that their manual labouring counterparts. This indicates that, not only will contracted employees have a less significant psychological contract but, in industries where contracted workers are often used for manual labour, this effect will be pronounced by the lower value manual workers assign to organisational promises and violations (Ellis, 2007). When considering the work life balance, Watson (2001) discusses a lecture given by Ewart Wooldridge, the director of the Civil Service College, who claims that many employees are now moving towards a more flexible approach to work. This is in contrast to prior situations, in which work tended to be the dominant feature in many workers’ lives. This is claimed to be largely due to factors such as recession; the reduction in the power of the trade unions; and the rise of a new psychological contract, which is focused on individual employees more than on organisations. As such, Watson (2001) claims that employees will tend to offer less loyalty to their existing employer, whilst attempting to improve their overall employability in an attempt to find a better job with another employer. Whilst they will continue provide their current employer with effective results during this period, they will be less likely to fully commit themselves to their employer. As such, unless their employ er promotes the work life balance they require, there is a chance that the employee will lose faith in the organisation, reducing their effort and hastening their departure (Watson, 2001). However, it should be noted that Watson’s (2001) article is entirely based on theoretical arguments, with not empirical backing. This may reduce its relevance and validity to all situations. In contrast, Conway and Monks (2008) exploration of the relationship between HR practices and employee commitment is based on a case study analysis of three health service organisations in the Republic of Ireland. This research examines how employees perceive HR practices such as work life balance, and how these perceptions affect employee level commitment and perceptions of the psychological contract. These findings indicate that there is a disparity between the HR practices which are valued most highly by employees, and the practices detailed in the HR literature and those which are practiced by organisations. This indicates that organisations need to consider the basic factors underlying the employment relationship and the psychological contract, rather than simply introducing the latest HR practices (Conway and Monks, 2008). However, this research is somewhat limited by the fact that it is only based on one industry, and includes just three organisations. Sturges and Guest (2004) conducted a much larger survey into the factors which affected the perceptions of the work life balance amongst new graduates who had recently started working. They found that the main factors affecting perceptions were conflicts between work and non-work priorities; the number of hours worked; and the degree of organisational and personal commitment shown by the graduates. As such, whilst most graduates tended to look for a good work life balance, their desire for long term career progression tended to lead them to work increasingly long hours in an effort to progress earlier. However, this tendency led to a worsening relationship between the graduates’ perceptions of work, which ultimately acted to harm the psychological contract. As such, Sturges and Guest (2004) argue that organisations need to introduce policies and practices designed to promote a healthy work life balance, showing support for their employees’ lives outside of the workplace , in order to avoid any negative impacts on performance. In addition to this, Sutton and Griffin (2004) argued that the degree to which employees’ expectations prior to starting work were supported by their experiences in the job had a significant impact on their perceptions of their work life balance and the psychological contract. This argument was assessed through a longitudinal study of 235 occupational therapy students who were about to start work, and compared with their views 14 months later. The results showed that if their experiences of work after entering a job were not consistent with their expectations, the employees were more likely to perceive psychological contract violations, and hence lower job satisfaction. In particular, the expectations around work life balance were found to be driven by the recruitment and selection process (Sutton and Griffin, 2004). This indicates that policies aimed at improving work life balance need to take account of, and control, employee expectations at the recruitment stage in order to be effective. Unfortunately, as before, the narrow nature of this study, which only examines one occupation, makes it of limited relevance to the case of Toys R Us. Another factor found to be relevant to the psychological contract, and violations of the contract, is employee personality. Raja et al (2004) carried out a survey of personality types and responses to the psychological contract, finding that personality characteristics such as extraversion, neuroticism and self-esteem were all related to employee perceptions of the psychological contract. In addition, personality characteristics tended to predict employee perceptions of breaches of the contract, as well as when these breaches were perceived as violations. This indicates that, when designing policies, organisations need to pay attention to employee personality characteristics, and their potential impact on the psychological contract. In addition, when considering the nature of the psychological contract, it is important to realise that the contract is a dynamic thing, which can grow and develop over time. As such, organisations need to consider the need to display a level of commitment to shared values, as well as the welfare of their employees, if they are to develop the contract and the level of organisational commitment shown by the employees. Indeed, Barnett and Schubert (2002) claim that a developing psychological contract and employment relationship can have significant benefits for employees and employers alike. Their survey of 194 employees working in a large retail organisation showed that employees valued their employers having strong principles, and showing concern around their employees’ welfare. This indicates that these are key factors to be considered when developing policies and practices aimed at strengthening the psychological contract. Further research in the retail sector comes from DAnnunzio-Green and Francis (2005), who examined how managers’ view of an emotion management leadership programme acted on their perceptions of the psychological contract. The results of this study indicated that the programme led to a shift in perceptions away from a transactional psychological contract, and towards a relational one. This in turn influenced managers’ perceptions around what the organisation’s expectations of them were, as well as what the organisation offered them in return. This effectively led to the construction of a new, ‘trial’ psychological contract, where managers agreed to believe that the leadership programme would create a more favourable work environment, both for the managers and their subordinates. The managers then internalised and tested the contract to determine whether the organisation’s actions lived up to the promises contained in said contract. This indicate s that organisations need to be sure that any new policies enacted do not create unrealistic expectations, as then any benefits from the policies will be undone by the resulting breaches of the trial psychological contract created by the policies (DAnnunzio-Green and Francis, 2005). Finally, Porter et al (1998) carried out a significant study into the extent to which these perceptual gaps between the promises of the contract and the actual behaviour of the organisation had significant explanatory power over and above measures such as employee satisfaction. This was based on a study of 48 executives and 339 employees over four organisations, in an attempt to determine the promises made to the employees, the employees’ perceptions of these promises, and the employee’s perceptions of the actual benefits provided. This showed that the larger the gap between the perceptions of the promises and the perceptions of the actual benefits, the lower the level of employees’ overall satisfaction with the organisation. This effect was found to be significant even after considering factors such as employee satisfaction with their job and their performance. As such, it appears that employee perceptions of organisational promises can have a more significant e ffect than many other factors, including the nature of the employee’s role and their performance within the organisation (Porter et al, 1998). References Barnett, T. and Schubert, E. (2002) Perceptions of the Ethical Work Climate and Covenantal Relationships. Journal of Business Ethics; Vol. 36, Issue 3, p. 279-290. Conway, E. and Monks, K. (2008) HR practices and commitment to change: an employee-level analysis. Human Resource Management Journal; Vol. 18, Issue 1, p. 72-89. DAnnunzio-Green, N. and Francis, H. (2005) Human Resource Development and the Psychological Contract: Great Expectations or False Hopes? Human Resource Development International; Vol. 8, Issue 3, p. 327-344. De Cuyper, N. and De Witte, H. (2006) The impact of job insecurity and contract type on attitudes, well-being and behavioural reports: A psychological contract perspective. Journal of Occupational Organizational Psychology; Vol. 79, Issue 3, p. 395-409. Ellis, J. B. (2007) Psychological Contracts Does Work Status Affect Perceptions of Making and Keeping Promises? Management Communication Quarterly; Vol. 20, Issue 4, p. 335-362. George, E. (2003) External Solutions and Internal Problems: The Effects of Employment Externalization on Internal Workers Attitudes. Organization Science; Vol. 14, Issue 4, p. 386-402. Management Research News (2007) Understanding the psychological contract: a direction for the future. Management Research News; Vol. 30, Issue 6, p. 432-440. Porter, L. W. Pearce, J. L. Tripoli, A. M. and Lewis, K. M. (1998) Differential perceptions of employers inducements: implications for psychological contracts. Journal of Organizational Behavior; Vol. 19, p. 769-782. Raja, U. Johns, G. and Ntalianis, F. (2004) The Impact Of Personality On Psychological Contracts. Academy of Management Journal; Vol. 47, Issue 3, p. 350-367. Sturges, J. and Guest, D. (2008) Working to live or living to work? Work/life balance early in the career. Human Resource Management Journal; 2004, Vol. 14 Issue 4, p5-20. Sutton, G. and Griffin, M. A. (2004) Integrating expectations, experiences, and psychological contract violations: A longitudinal study of new professionals. Journal of Occupational Organizational Psychology; Vol. 77, Issue 4, p. 493-514. Watson, B. (2001) Report: A New Deal? Understanding the Psychological Contract. Public Money Management; Vol. 21, Issue 3, p. 57.

The 3 Models of Criminal Justice

Compare the three models of the criminal justice process (the Wedding Cake, the Funnel and the Net Models) The criminal justice process is very complex process and varies from state to state. Three models of the criminal justice process as discussed and reviewed in chapter 9 of out textbook are the funnel, wedding and net. (Meyer, Grant 2003) In this essay I will compare these three models of the criminal justice process and give my opinion on which model I think best describes the criminal justice system as it is today.I will also give you a rationale for the choice that I choose. The first model I will discuss is the funnel model. This model looks at how decisions are made at each level in the criminal justice process and sort out those people and cases that it feels should not go through the entire process from those whom it feels should. This process is used as a means of limiting the number cases to a small percentage of cases that have to be resolved by trial advocacy and incar ceration. The process limits the amount of offenders in court and incarcerated at any given time.The benefit of this model is it prevents the criminal justice system from becoming backed up. The truth is the criminal Justice system is already backed up, and crimes are increasing on a daily basis. A common misconception of the funnel process is that it â€Å"lets criminals off,† however this is not true. Most cases are often dismissed or pleas are bargained due to lack of evidence. The truth is that there is not enough money, to prosecute every crime. It is up to the State (States attorney), or The Attorney general which crimes are worth prosecuting, and which one’s need to be thrown out, or plea bargained.The Next model that I will discuss is the wedding cake model; it is referred to as a wedding cake because with this model criminal justice officials decide how to deal with cases according to their informal discretionary definition of â€Å"seriousness. † This model was developed by Samuel Walker, a scholar who analyzed the judicial system. This model divides the criminal justice system up into four different categories: celebrated cases, serious felonies, lesser felonies and misdemeanors this model looks at the seriousness of the charge, the past criminal record of the offender, as well as the relationship of the victim to the offender. At the very top of the cake, the smallest layer represents famous (or rather, infamous) cases that attract a lot of publicity and, unfortunately, often contribute to public misinformation about the criminal justice. † (Meyer, Grant 2003) Lastly I will discuss the nets model. This model allows some offenders to exit the system and go free at certain stages during the criminal justice process; whereas some criminal struggle unsuccessfully to get free and often end up further entangle in the system.This model is designed to give the police desecration to use some criminals as informants to assist them in catching the ring leader. This model is also used as a plea bargaining tool whereas defendants with little information to trade with the prosecutor may get less attractive plea deals than their accomplices in crime that have more knowledge with which to bargain ((Meyer, Grant 2003). This model has become more familiar to me as I was growing up, in Chicago, IL. I knew several guys who would go out and commit crimes together, and brag about it.They would eventually get caught, and end up telling on each other to get lesser time. They also tell about other crimes, to save their skins. I guess it’s a great model to use to get the big guy, or big fish, but I do not agree to turn a blind eye to crime, whether it’s small or big. In my opinion the model I think best describes today’s criminal justice system is the wedding cake model. Much like this model in today’s criminal justice system is broken down into layers. With the first being celebrated cases or cas e that receive much media attention.Than in today’s system we look serious felonies these are cases where bail maybe revoked. The third layer of the cake in this model is lesser felonies’ often in these cases pleas are taken. The final layer is misdemeanor cases. This model gives us a basic understanding of cases is categorized today. Reference The Wedding Cake Model Theory of Criminal Justice; Copyright  © 1999-2011Demand Media, Inc. ; By. Mike Broemmel; retrieved fromwww. howe. com The Courts in Our CriminalJustice System, by Jon’a F. Meyer and Diana R. Grant.Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc Reference the Wedding Cake Model Theory of Criminal Justice; Copyright  © 1999-2011Demand Media, Inc. ; By. Mike Broemmel; retrieved fromwww. howe. comThe Courts in Our Criminal Justice System, by Jon’a F. Meyer and Diana R. Grant. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Courts in Ou r Criminal Justice System, by Jon’s F. Meyer and Diana R. Grant. Published by Prentice-Hall. Copyright  © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Moral issues in like water for chocolate

Esquivel’s creates loose morals in several ways. First, she begins with the title â€Å"Like water for chocolate.† A locution which translates as â€Å"Water to the boiling point,† and is used as a simile in Mexico to describe any event or relationship that is so intense, hot, and extraordinary that it can only be compared to scalding water on the verge of boiling point. The second is the relationship between Pedro and Josephina, known as Tita. Born the youngest, of the three sisters, she is destined by Mexican culture to take care of her tyrannical righteous mother, Mama Elena, until she dies. The mother-daughter relationship is fraught with difficulty from its inception, when Tita is brought into the world prematurely after her father’s sudden death. Mama Elena is the opposite of a nurturer, never forging any bond with Tita. Tita, as a result develops a relationship with food that gives her power later. Tita’s oldest sister Rosaura marries Pedro after Mama Elena orders her too. Pedro agrees, and a heartbroken, angry Tita, begins to find her strength in her cooking, using it to express her sadness, love, joy, and anger. Her emotions and passions are impetus for expression and action, not through the normal means of communication, however through the food she prepares which begin to affect the people she feeds. It especially affects her sister’s husband’s Pedro, leading them to an affair. Only then she is able to consummate her love with Pedro through the food she serves. This is clearly much more than communication through food or mere aphrodisiac; this is a form of sexual release whereby the rose petal sauce the quail recipe represents Tita’s body. The revelation that Mama Elena had an adulterous affair with an African American, and her second daughter, Gertrudis is the offspring of that relationship is an important thematic compliment to Tita’s deprivation. This transgression of the norms of proper behavior remains hidden from public view, although there is gossip, however it is only when Mama Elena dies when Tita learns Gertrudis, is her half-sister. The life long tyranny of the mother toward Tita is a result of Mama Elena’s shame and lost love. The reaction of these women to Mama Elena’s predicament helps delineate their differing characters. Mama Elena is angry and punishes everybody else for her loss of love turning her into a sinister and domineering mother to her daughters meanwhile Tita, takes her sadness of her lost love, making it work for her through her cooking. The oldest daughter, Rosaura never questions her mother’s authority and tries to follow her dictation submissively. After she is married she becomes a pale comparison of Mama Elena, lacking the strength, skill, and determination of her mother. She therefore tries to live the model, invoking her mother’s authority because she has none of her own. Gertrudis does not challenge her mother but instead responds to her emotions and passions in a direct manner unbecoming a lady. This physical directness leads her to adopt an androgynous life-style and leaves home and her mother’s authority escapes from the brothel and becomes a general of the Revolutionary army, taking a subordinate as a lover. She returns home as a dominant sexual, being dressing like a man, and giving orders like a man. Tita, the youngest of the three sisters, speaks out against her mother’s authority arbitrary rule but cannot escape until she temporarily loses her mind. She induces sadness, and physical discomfort through her cooking by keeping Rosaura, fat, having bad breath, and frequently breaking nauseating wind, therefore keeping Pedro from having sexual  relations with her and becomes pregnant with Pedro’s child. Thus we get to know these woman as persons however, above all, becomes involved with the embodied speaking subject from the past, Tita, represents by her grand-niece (who tells the story) and her cooking. The reader receives verbal food as an imaginative refiguration of one’s woman response to the model that was imposed on her on her by accident of birth. The body of these women is in the place of the living. It is the dwelling place of the human subject. The essential questions of health, illness, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual, and morals are tied together very directly in the novel to the emotional and physical needs of the body. The preparation and eating of food is thus a symbolic representation of living. Mama Elena lingers on in partial madness until long after an attack on the hacienda by outlaws; convinced that Tita is trying to poison her. She cuts her death short to one sudden violent episode and having her visage returns to taunt Tita by cursing the child she is carrying and to renounce her heritage. Tita defeats the ghost by telling her that she knows Gertrudis is illegitimate and hates Mama Elena for everything she never been to her. The rigidity and harshness of Mama Elena is overwhelmingly sociocultural and not peculiar to Tita as a victim. The cook Nacha, who is the only one who gives Tita the love she always wanted from her mother, represents a symbol of integrity. She is the one who teaches Tita how to express her feelings through cooking. Tita herself is a symbol of integrity in the beginning of the book. The writer shows her as a victim of archaic cultural rules keeping her from her one true love. It is only until she realizes her power through her cooking when she loosens her moral integrity to take revenge at the people who have hurt her.   So, this makes Tita a hero fighting against the tyranny of Mama Elena. Tita’s magic are all related to food, with the exception of the kilometer long bedspread she knits during lengthy nights of insomnia. Tita’s cooking controls the pattern of those living in the household because the food she prepares is an extension of her. The vomiting and moroseness at Rosaura’s wedding, is the result of the guests eating the cake of Tita’s tears. Likewise, the sexual frenzy that compels Gertrudis to leave the ranch is occasioned by the transmission of Tita’s passion for Pedro into the dish she prepares for dinner. These incidents suggest a simultaneous and uncontrollability of emotion; food is a potent force in the world of the novel, and lets Tita assert her identity through immorality like her sisters and mother. Esquivel extends the religious–mythical morals of magical realism to the everyday world of the domestic realm of a female-dominated household. This strategy leads the reader to also explore the feminist properties of â€Å"Like water for chocolate†, which are also evident in the depictions of Tita’s struggle for independence and develop her identity through her immorality. In creating this female-centered cast of characters, Esquivel imagines a world in which men are physically present occasionally, though the legacy of sexism and the confinement of woman to freely express their emotions to the domestic sphere persist. Esquivel does not offer readers the vision of a Utopian sisterhood, Esquivel instead brings insight into the way women are restricted by standards of societal propriety perpetuated by other woman. Reference site: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel                                                                                                                                                

The Odysseus as an epic hero - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 296 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/10/10 Did you like this example? There are several characteristics that Odysseus had qualifying him to be an epic hero. These characteristics include the fact he was so courageous and also his wholesome when he went on his epic journey. He also has very superhuman strength. He shows this in several ways and different times during all his experiences. For these two major reasons, he can be considered to be an epic hero. Odysseus is very wholesome especially when sticking to his own values. He would not be found doing anything that he considered to be wrong. Additionally he did not disrespect any human being, or any east or god: this was despite the fact they might have wring him in one way or the other. It is because of his courage that I believe that he can be an epic hero. He displays his courage in almost everything that he does as well as everything that he says. There was no any single time that he backed down from a task or a fight that he was supposed complete. He had a remarkable knowledge on how to handle fights and a lot to shoot the bow and the arrow. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Odysseus as an epic hero" essay for you Create order Being a superhuman could also make him an epic hero. He was able to face some villains who are weigh too ugly and evil. During his human weaknesses, he is helped by the gods to overcome them. This is so a perfect characteristics that qualify his to be an epic hero. In the modern world, an epic hero must be a person who has several villains but overcomes them and emerges a winner even in very tough situations. They are courageous and do not fear anything and anyone. They are great warriors who go to war and fight especially for other people.