Saturday, August 31, 2019

Career Motivation

Abstract Career Motivation is usually examined among young or mid-career workers. The older worker is left alone. Unfortunately, in an environment in which the older person represents the fastest growing segment of the labor force, this critical resource is being frittered away. Examination of current practices suggests a large portion of older workers are persuaded by their employers' actions that their careers are at an end. Alternatives to extend and increase this group's Career motivation are discussed. Research exploring the underlying processes involved in successful mentorships has been lacking.In the present study, the roles of Career motivation explanatory factors were examined. Career motivation mediated the relationship between career mentoring and performance effectiveness. Contrary to prediction, only marginal support was received for career self-efficacy as a mediator between mentoring and indicators of career success. Career motivation is unique in that it was the firs t to reveal linkages between mentoring, career self-efficacy and Career motivation. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed. Index TOPICSPAGE NO. What is Career? What is motivation? What is Career Motivation? ypes of Career motivations Identifying Career Motivation Example of Career Motivation worksheet Ways of Career motivation Career motivation at work References What is Career? Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's â€Å"course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)† By the late 20th century, a wide range of choices (especially in the range of potential professions) and more widespread education had allowed it to become possible to plan (or design) a career: in this respect the careers of the career counselor and of the career advisor have grown up.It is also not uncommon for adults in the late 20th/early 21st centuries to have dual or multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professio nal identities have become hyphenated or hybridized to reflect this shift in work ethic. The progress and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that person's occupations. A career is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished over a long period of time, rather than just referring to one position.While employees in some cultures and economies stay with one job during their career, there is an increasing trend to employees changing jobs more frequently. For example, an individual's career could involve being a lawyer, though the individual could work for several different firms and in several different areas of law over a lifetime. See also career ladder. What is motivation? Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors.It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforce s an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class. What is Career Motivation? In order to motivate yourself towards a successful and rewarding career, you need a combination of several factors to work together in your favor.These factors may inclu de your own ambition and efforts to prosper, backed by the love and inspiration of your loved ones. However, it is important to remember that the ultimate responsibility of excelling in the career of your choice is yours and only you can work towards it to make your dreams a reality. While planning for your career development, you will also need to understand and analyze your talents, qualifications and skills that might help you in getting inspired towards the path of development.Career motivations are what energize and motivate you when you think about what you want to accomplish or work towards in your career. They are concrete descriptions of how you want to engage in your work. They are not job titles and they are not general words or phrases like â€Å"fulfillment, financial security, happiness, work/life balance† etc. Understanding what motivates you can help you find a career direction. It seems possible that career motivation is one factor that can help explain the b enefits from mentoring relationships. areer motivation is theorized as being comprised of three components: career resilience, career insight, and career identity . Career resiliencies the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, even when circum-stances are discouraging or disruptive. It consists of characteristics such as belief in self, willingness to take risks, and need for achievement. Career insights’ the ability to be realistic about ones career and consists of establishing clear, feasible career goals and realizing ones strengths and weaknesses. Career identities the extent that one defines oneself by ones work.It is associated with job, organizational, and pro-fissional involvement, nee career motivation career motivation examined personal and situational correlates of career commitment and found that of the variables investigated, having a mentor was the most robust correlate. It was suggested that mentoring increases career commitment by three means. First, men toring facilitates self-directedness, career involvement, career success, and positive attitudes toward the career. Second, the mentor may demonstrate the rewards that can be attained if an individual sticks with a career.Finally, mentoring helps the development of career commitment because both the mentoring relationship and career commitment revolve around the needs and ambitions of individuals. To promote career motivation employees should be provided with positive reinforcement for good performance, given opportunities for achievement and input, and receive support for skill development support. This can be achieved by encouraging employees to think about the long-term effects of their current work behavior and to develop career plans. Information about career options should be provided and realistic expectations cultivated.Goal setting should be encouraged and fair and accurate feedback provided. Finally, to heighten career motivation, work involvement should be emphasized by p ro-viding job challenges, and by encouraging professional activities and opportunities for leadership and advancement Supporting these suggestions, found individuals were more likely to have high levels of career motivation when their manager was supportive, provided clear performance feedback, encouraged subordinates to set career goals, initiated discussions related to development and career-related issues and made the job challenging.That is, man-ager mentor-like behaviors were associated with higher levels of career motivation among subordinates’. In sum, the existing literature suggests a relationship between mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 1. Mentored individuals will have a higher level of career motivation than those who have not been mentored. Hypothesis 2a. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relationship between psychosocial mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 2b. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relation ship between career mentoring and career motivation.We suggest that career motivation plays a part in the relationship between mentoring and indicators of career success. It seems likely that mentoring relates to career motivation, which in turn relates to career success. For example, London (1983) stated that one aspect of career motivation is the desire for upward mobility. He suggested individuals would establish career paths to further their advancement possibilities, request to be considered for promotions, volunteer for important assignments, request and assume leadership roles, and request salary increases.London also suggested that those high in career motivation might have greater career advancement opportunities since they work harder on projects that affect their career. Career motivation behaviors have been theorized to predict pro-motions and salaries, yet only one empirical study to date has shown career motivation to be as-associated with promotions. We extend this li ne of research in the present study by relating career motivation with both objective and subjective indicators of career success. Past studies have primarily used objective measures such as employee income, promotion rate and job title to define career success.However, solely using objective criteria to determine success may neglect important information. For ex-ample, a managers, who appeared successful by reason of position and income, did not feel successful or proud of their accomplishments. It is important to explore individual’s appraisal of their own success because these perceptions are likely to impact their career. Hypothesis 3. Career motivation will positively relate to objective and Subjective career success. Hypothesis 4a. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between career mentoring and career success.Hypothesis 4b. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between psychosocial mentoring and career success. There are three types of Career moti vations: 1. Core Career motivations: Core Career motivations are what you want to spend your time doing. These include competencies (skills, knowledge and attributes) that you want to develop, specific things you want to create, or passions and causes that you want to pursue. 2. Work environment Motivations: Work environment Motivations is things that are important for you in your workplace.These include aspects of the physical environment, the work culture, the way Work is structured (e. g. hours, schedule, etc. ), and how you like to work with others (e. g. as a leader, Support person, expert advisor, etc. ). 3. Lifestyle Motivations: Lifestyle Motivations are what your career allows you to do in other areas of your life. This could include money, time, travel, relationships, and other parts that make up your work/life balance. All three types are important, but your core Motivations will be most helpful in pointing in a career direction.It can take time to uncover your own Motiva tions, and it can be tricky to separate what you really want from what you feel you â€Å"should† want. It’s a good idea to revisit them from time to time. Sample Motivations †¢ I want to manage information about people (not technical or financial) in a social service or educational setting (core Motivation) †¢ I want to design and manage service-oriented systems, processes and procedures to make systems run more efficiently and help people (core Motivation) †¢ I want to be recognized for making others’ lives easier (core Motivation) I like being in a structured work environment where I have to respond to things that happen unexpectedly (work environment Motivation) †¢ I want to balance the time and energy I use while earning my living with the time and energy I devote to my passion for competitive marathon running (lifestyle Motivation) Identifying Career Motivation Follow these steps to make a list of four to six personal Career motivations : 1. Step 1: Complete the Career motivation Worksheet on page 3. 2. Brainstorm a list of possible career options that includes different type of work and educational opportunities.Review your list and think about why you have chosen your options. Do they connect with the Motivations you included on the Career motivation Worksheet? Add any new insights to the worksheet. 3. Brainstorm a list of â€Å"de-Motivations† that describe what you don’t want in your career. Reflect on your past work and educational experience. Review your list and think about the opposite of each de-Motivation. Do these opposites connect with the Motivations you included on the worksheet? 4. Review all the statements on your worksheet and identify patterns and themes.Write a set of four to six statements that summarize your key Career motivations, and make sure that at least three or four of your statements describe your core Motivations. Include enough detail to be meaningful. Don’t worry if some of your Motivations conflict with one another, or if they’re not realistic right now—it’s all part of the journey. Example of Career Motivation worksheet What are your interests? Rank the following interests in order of their importance to you. †¢ Working with things, numbers and objects ________ †¢ Contact with people ________ Working with machines ________ †¢ Working with animals or plants ________ †¢ Working to improve social conditions ________ †¢ Detailed, organized, routine work ________ †¢ Studying people or communicating ideas ________ †¢ Scientific or technical work ________ †¢ Directing or organizing ________ †¢ Abstract and creative work ________ †¢ Working on or producing things ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. What interests and activities energize you? ________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the skills that you really enjoy us ing? _______________________________________________________________ 3. What kinds of activities engage you so completely that you get wrapped up in them and lose track of time? 4. What kinds of subject or knowledge areas are you drawn to? ________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the first 2 or 3 sections that you head for when you go to the bookstore? ________________________________________________________________ What are your passions or causes? 1. What causes do you get excited about? ________________________________________________________________ 2.Where is the â€Å"juice† or â€Å"spark† when you think about your career? ________________________________________________________________ 3. If you were independently wealthy, had done everything you wanted to do in terms of travel/leisure and had the total support, understanding and acceptance of your family and friends, what would you choose to do with your time? 4. What would you do if you knew (and were 100% guaranteed) that you would not fail? What type of work environment do you want? Rank the following work environments in order of their importance to you. †¢ Setting your own schedule ________ Influencing people's opinions, attitudes or actions ________ †¢ Variety with many changing duties ________ †¢ Working under stressful situations ________ †¢ Making decisions based on personal judgment ________ †¢ Knowing exactly what is expected of me ________ †¢ Taking responsibility- being in control ________ †¢ Work requiring precision ________ †¢ Freely expressing ideas and emotions ________ †¢ Making decisions based on facts ________ †¢ Working closely with people ________ †¢ Working alone ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. How do you see yourself working with others (e. . leader, support person, expert advisor, etc. )? 2. What type of people would you work well with, and how would you work with them? ________________________________________________________________ 3. What places and environments make you feel engaged and energized? 4. What type of organization would you like to be part of? ________________________________________________________________ What type of lifestyle do you want? 1. What does your career need to provide you with in terms of money and time commitment so that it will fit with and support the other important aspects of your life? _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 2. What kind of income do you have to have in order to support the kind of life that you want to build? ________________________________________________________________ 3. How much time are you willing to devote to your career so that it balances with the rest of your life? ________________________________________________________ Ways of Career motivation Motivation Through RelationshipsThe people who love and care for you can make a great difference in your life in motivating and inspiring you towards a better career. Some of your closest relationships may work as a base of all your career improvements. These relationships might be the best and only reason for which you want to move ahead in your career and do well to provide absolute security and happiness to your family. It is the care and concern that you share in these relationships that might encourage you to achieve your career goals, which in turn helps you to provide the best of everything to your loved ones.Motivation Through Leisure You leisure time activities and associations can also help you in motivating yourself towards your career. It is important to interact with different kinds of people coming from different walks of life and professions. You also need to participate in the hobbies and activities that you enjoy so that your recreational requirements are also fulfilled. These activit ies help you unwind from a long day or a weekly routine and will keep you motivated when you are planning your career.Your entire personality needs to be taken care of in order to motivate yourself. Lack of relaxation and recreation may lead you towards boredom and depression, which in turn can diminish your enthusiasm and energy levels. Motivation From Peers One of the best ways to motivate yourself towards a great career may come from your present workplace itself. Attending seminars, conferences and meetings can help you in acquiring many professional contacts such as career counselors, academic professionals, supervisors and people with similar interests and career objectives.In the process, you may gain invaluable resources and advice from masterminds that might motivate you to a great extent. Seeing other people with the same or similar educational backgrounds and qualifications in higher positions can further motivate you to improve your own career prospects through sharing k nowledge and ideas with them about how you can go about it. Just knowing that you have a great network of resource pool can be sufficient to motivate you. Motivation From Your Mentor Your personal mentor can be the most important person who can motivate you so that you achieve your career objectives.A good mentor can be your friend, philosopher and guide to direct you towards the road of success. A mentor will not only coach you and provide critical advice to support you in your endeavors, but will also introduce you with useful contacts and the right people to further expedite your career development process. The mentor can also measure your success and failure aspects and alter your action plan accordingly. Career motivation at work 1. Clarify your goals Nothing is more demotivating than working haphazardly without having a clear vision, mission and set of objectives for your work.Without a clear vision and knowledge of how your work impacts the big picture you may well end up spe nding a lot of time on urgent unimportant matters rater than tasks that positively impact the big picture. Clarify in no uncertain terms your vision, mission and objectives and focus on them beginning always with the end in mind. It is remarkable what you will achieve once you have honed in on your precise goals and can focus on them and visualize yourself achieving them. 2. Establish a clear game-plan for achieving your goalsOnce you have clarified your vision and goals, formulate a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Break down large complex projects into a series of manageable tasks that are interesting and achievable. Having a blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will also give you a feeling of control over your work and deadlines which largely boosts motivation.The more organized you are and can focus and adhere to accomplishing your goals according to your detailed blueprint for success, the more motivated you will be and the less likely you are to fall into a fit of panic or insecurity and lose confidence and motivation. 3. Ride the Wave of your Successes Success is very stimulating. Work hard enough to achieve successful results and see how motivated you are to achieve further successes as you excel in your performance. Work hard, aim to overachieve your goals and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further successes.Remind yourself that once your vision is clear and you have a set of well-defined, reasonable objectives and milestones to reach, the secret of success is hard work, creativity and perseverance. Aim to ride the wave of each success to further the next success and channel the positive energy to achieving similar superlative performance in your next task or project. It is not always that you can ride the wave of euphoria that arises from a sound succ ess story so make sure you leverage and take advantage of these bursts of energy and motivation to the extent possible. . Reward yourself Reward yourself as you achieve your objectives and/or reach specific important milestones. Plan ahead what forms this reward will take and what tasks/projects/results will be rewarded. This will give you something to look forward to, extra drive to get there and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm when you do attain your desired goals. 5. Keep Things in Perspective It is important to keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why you work.Beside the pay, it is often about realizing your potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in and when times are tough remind yourself of why you do the work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and make a difference in. 6. Maintain a healthy work/life balance It is very easy to lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the work arena.Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential both for your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Make sure you take the time to do the things you like to do outside of work whether it be connecting with friends and family, exercising, reading, taking courses, shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they could be and will also make you more productive at work. . Think positive Negativity is a contagious affliction that drains you of energy, slows you down, saps your enthusiasm and blinds you to the reasons you work. Avoid negative feelin gs at all costs and concentrate on the positive. To do this, listen to motivational tapes, to music that particularly inspires you, read motivational books, talk to inspired or inspiring people, surround yourself with positive stimuli and concentrate on the reasons you work. Find things to laugh at as long as you are not laughing at your peers and count your blessings at every opportunity.Focus on positives regardless of how small or inconsequential they are whether it be a positive remark from a boss or peer, accomplishing your day's goals earlier than usual, overachieving on a small deliverable, working well with people, a looming vacation, completing a difficult task or any other positive stimulus. REFERENCES †¢Business dictionary. com †¢http://www. streetdirectory. com †¢Wikipedia †¢https://passport. baidu. com †¢Worldpress. com †¢R. Day, T. D. Allen / Journal of Vocational Behavior (2003) †¢(Colarelli & Bishop, 1990).London and colleagues (Lon don, 1990; London & Bray, 1984; London & Mone,1987) several suggestions as to how to develop, support and enhance career motivation. †¢Noe, Noe, and Bachhuber (1990) article †¢(Dreher & Ash, 1990; Orpen, 1995; Scandura, 1992; Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991) Article †¢www. careercast. com †¢library. educationworld. ne †¢(London & Bray, 1984). Career motivation can also be enhanced through career 2 R. Day, T. D. Allen / Journal of Vocational Behavior (2003) Article in press †¢(London & Mone, 1987). Article in press Career Motivation Abstract Career Motivation is usually examined among young or mid-career workers. The older worker is left alone. Unfortunately, in an environment in which the older person represents the fastest growing segment of the labor force, this critical resource is being frittered away. Examination of current practices suggests a large portion of older workers are persuaded by their employers' actions that their careers are at an end. Alternatives to extend and increase this group's Career motivation are discussed. Research exploring the underlying processes involved in successful mentorships has been lacking.In the present study, the roles of Career motivation explanatory factors were examined. Career motivation mediated the relationship between career mentoring and performance effectiveness. Contrary to prediction, only marginal support was received for career self-efficacy as a mediator between mentoring and indicators of career success. Career motivation is unique in that it was the firs t to reveal linkages between mentoring, career self-efficacy and Career motivation. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed. Index TOPICSPAGE NO. What is Career? What is motivation? What is Career Motivation? ypes of Career motivations Identifying Career Motivation Example of Career Motivation worksheet Ways of Career motivation Career motivation at work References What is Career? Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's â€Å"course or progress through life (or a distinct portion of life)† By the late 20th century, a wide range of choices (especially in the range of potential professions) and more widespread education had allowed it to become possible to plan (or design) a career: in this respect the careers of the career counselor and of the career advisor have grown up.It is also not uncommon for adults in the late 20th/early 21st centuries to have dual or multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professio nal identities have become hyphenated or hybridized to reflect this shift in work ethic. The progress and actions taken by a person throughout a lifetime, especially those related to that person's occupations. A career is often composed of the jobs held, titles earned and work accomplished over a long period of time, rather than just referring to one position.While employees in some cultures and economies stay with one job during their career, there is an increasing trend to employees changing jobs more frequently. For example, an individual's career could involve being a lawyer, though the individual could work for several different firms and in several different areas of law over a lifetime. See also career ladder. What is motivation? Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors.It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforce s an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class. What is Career Motivation? In order to motivate yourself towards a successful and rewarding career, you need a combination of several factors to work together in your favor.These factors may inclu de your own ambition and efforts to prosper, backed by the love and inspiration of your loved ones. However, it is important to remember that the ultimate responsibility of excelling in the career of your choice is yours and only you can work towards it to make your dreams a reality. While planning for your career development, you will also need to understand and analyze your talents, qualifications and skills that might help you in getting inspired towards the path of development.Career motivations are what energize and motivate you when you think about what you want to accomplish or work towards in your career. They are concrete descriptions of how you want to engage in your work. They are not job titles and they are not general words or phrases like â€Å"fulfillment, financial security, happiness, work/life balance† etc. Understanding what motivates you can help you find a career direction. It seems possible that career motivation is one factor that can help explain the b enefits from mentoring relationships. areer motivation is theorized as being comprised of three components: career resilience, career insight, and career identity . Career resiliencies the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, even when circum-stances are discouraging or disruptive. It consists of characteristics such as belief in self, willingness to take risks, and need for achievement. Career insights’ the ability to be realistic about ones career and consists of establishing clear, feasible career goals and realizing ones strengths and weaknesses. Career identities the extent that one defines oneself by ones work.It is associated with job, organizational, and pro-fissional involvement, nee career motivation career motivation examined personal and situational correlates of career commitment and found that of the variables investigated, having a mentor was the most robust correlate. It was suggested that mentoring increases career commitment by three means. First, men toring facilitates self-directedness, career involvement, career success, and positive attitudes toward the career. Second, the mentor may demonstrate the rewards that can be attained if an individual sticks with a career.Finally, mentoring helps the development of career commitment because both the mentoring relationship and career commitment revolve around the needs and ambitions of individuals. To promote career motivation employees should be provided with positive reinforcement for good performance, given opportunities for achievement and input, and receive support for skill development support. This can be achieved by encouraging employees to think about the long-term effects of their current work behavior and to develop career plans. Information about career options should be provided and realistic expectations cultivated.Goal setting should be encouraged and fair and accurate feedback provided. Finally, to heighten career motivation, work involvement should be emphasized by p ro-viding job challenges, and by encouraging professional activities and opportunities for leadership and advancement Supporting these suggestions, found individuals were more likely to have high levels of career motivation when their manager was supportive, provided clear performance feedback, encouraged subordinates to set career goals, initiated discussions related to development and career-related issues and made the job challenging.That is, man-ager mentor-like behaviors were associated with higher levels of career motivation among subordinates’. In sum, the existing literature suggests a relationship between mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 1. Mentored individuals will have a higher level of career motivation than those who have not been mentored. Hypothesis 2a. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relationship between psychosocial mentoring and Career motivation. Hypothesis 2b. Among those who are mentored, there will be a positive relation ship between career mentoring and career motivation.We suggest that career motivation plays a part in the relationship between mentoring and indicators of career success. It seems likely that mentoring relates to career motivation, which in turn relates to career success. For example, London (1983) stated that one aspect of career motivation is the desire for upward mobility. He suggested individuals would establish career paths to further their advancement possibilities, request to be considered for promotions, volunteer for important assignments, request and assume leadership roles, and request salary increases.London also suggested that those high in career motivation might have greater career advancement opportunities since they work harder on projects that affect their career. Career motivation behaviors have been theorized to predict pro-motions and salaries, yet only one empirical study to date has shown career motivation to be as-associated with promotions. We extend this li ne of research in the present study by relating career motivation with both objective and subjective indicators of career success. Past studies have primarily used objective measures such as employee income, promotion rate and job title to define career success.However, solely using objective criteria to determine success may neglect important information. For ex-ample, a managers, who appeared successful by reason of position and income, did not feel successful or proud of their accomplishments. It is important to explore individual’s appraisal of their own success because these perceptions are likely to impact their career. Hypothesis 3. Career motivation will positively relate to objective and Subjective career success. Hypothesis 4a. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between career mentoring and career success.Hypothesis 4b. Career motivation will mediate the relationship between psychosocial mentoring and career success. There are three types of Career moti vations: 1. Core Career motivations: Core Career motivations are what you want to spend your time doing. These include competencies (skills, knowledge and attributes) that you want to develop, specific things you want to create, or passions and causes that you want to pursue. 2. Work environment Motivations: Work environment Motivations is things that are important for you in your workplace.These include aspects of the physical environment, the work culture, the way Work is structured (e. g. hours, schedule, etc. ), and how you like to work with others (e. g. as a leader, Support person, expert advisor, etc. ). 3. Lifestyle Motivations: Lifestyle Motivations are what your career allows you to do in other areas of your life. This could include money, time, travel, relationships, and other parts that make up your work/life balance. All three types are important, but your core Motivations will be most helpful in pointing in a career direction.It can take time to uncover your own Motiva tions, and it can be tricky to separate what you really want from what you feel you â€Å"should† want. It’s a good idea to revisit them from time to time. Sample Motivations †¢ I want to manage information about people (not technical or financial) in a social service or educational setting (core Motivation) †¢ I want to design and manage service-oriented systems, processes and procedures to make systems run more efficiently and help people (core Motivation) †¢ I want to be recognized for making others’ lives easier (core Motivation) I like being in a structured work environment where I have to respond to things that happen unexpectedly (work environment Motivation) †¢ I want to balance the time and energy I use while earning my living with the time and energy I devote to my passion for competitive marathon running (lifestyle Motivation) Identifying Career Motivation Follow these steps to make a list of four to six personal Career motivations : 1. Step 1: Complete the Career motivation Worksheet on page 3. 2. Brainstorm a list of possible career options that includes different type of work and educational opportunities.Review your list and think about why you have chosen your options. Do they connect with the Motivations you included on the Career motivation Worksheet? Add any new insights to the worksheet. 3. Brainstorm a list of â€Å"de-Motivations† that describe what you don’t want in your career. Reflect on your past work and educational experience. Review your list and think about the opposite of each de-Motivation. Do these opposites connect with the Motivations you included on the worksheet? 4. Review all the statements on your worksheet and identify patterns and themes.Write a set of four to six statements that summarize your key Career motivations, and make sure that at least three or four of your statements describe your core Motivations. Include enough detail to be meaningful. Don’t worry if some of your Motivations conflict with one another, or if they’re not realistic right now—it’s all part of the journey. Example of Career Motivation worksheet What are your interests? Rank the following interests in order of their importance to you. †¢ Working with things, numbers and objects ________ †¢ Contact with people ________ Working with machines ________ †¢ Working with animals or plants ________ †¢ Working to improve social conditions ________ †¢ Detailed, organized, routine work ________ †¢ Studying people or communicating ideas ________ †¢ Scientific or technical work ________ †¢ Directing or organizing ________ †¢ Abstract and creative work ________ †¢ Working on or producing things ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. What interests and activities energize you? ________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the skills that you really enjoy us ing? _______________________________________________________________ 3. What kinds of activities engage you so completely that you get wrapped up in them and lose track of time? 4. What kinds of subject or knowledge areas are you drawn to? ________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the first 2 or 3 sections that you head for when you go to the bookstore? ________________________________________________________________ What are your passions or causes? 1. What causes do you get excited about? ________________________________________________________________ 2.Where is the â€Å"juice† or â€Å"spark† when you think about your career? ________________________________________________________________ 3. If you were independently wealthy, had done everything you wanted to do in terms of travel/leisure and had the total support, understanding and acceptance of your family and friends, what would you choose to do with your time? 4. What would you do if you knew (and were 100% guaranteed) that you would not fail? What type of work environment do you want? Rank the following work environments in order of their importance to you. †¢ Setting your own schedule ________ Influencing people's opinions, attitudes or actions ________ †¢ Variety with many changing duties ________ †¢ Working under stressful situations ________ †¢ Making decisions based on personal judgment ________ †¢ Knowing exactly what is expected of me ________ †¢ Taking responsibility- being in control ________ †¢ Work requiring precision ________ †¢ Freely expressing ideas and emotions ________ †¢ Making decisions based on facts ________ †¢ Working closely with people ________ †¢ Working alone ________ Now use your rankings to answer these questions: 1. How do you see yourself working with others (e. . leader, support person, expert advisor, etc. )? 2. What type of people would you work well with, and how would you work with them? ________________________________________________________________ 3. What places and environments make you feel engaged and energized? 4. What type of organization would you like to be part of? ________________________________________________________________ What type of lifestyle do you want? 1. What does your career need to provide you with in terms of money and time commitment so that it will fit with and support the other important aspects of your life? _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ 2. What kind of income do you have to have in order to support the kind of life that you want to build? ________________________________________________________________ 3. How much time are you willing to devote to your career so that it balances with the rest of your life? ________________________________________________________ Ways of Career motivation Motivation Through RelationshipsThe people who love and care for you can make a great difference in your life in motivating and inspiring you towards a better career. Some of your closest relationships may work as a base of all your career improvements. These relationships might be the best and only reason for which you want to move ahead in your career and do well to provide absolute security and happiness to your family. It is the care and concern that you share in these relationships that might encourage you to achieve your career goals, which in turn helps you to provide the best of everything to your loved ones.Motivation Through Leisure You leisure time activities and associations can also help you in motivating yourself towards your career. It is important to interact with different kinds of people coming from different walks of life and professions. You also need to participate in the hobbies and activities that you enjoy so that your recreational requirements are also fulfilled. These activit ies help you unwind from a long day or a weekly routine and will keep you motivated when you are planning your career.Your entire personality needs to be taken care of in order to motivate yourself. Lack of relaxation and recreation may lead you towards boredom and depression, which in turn can diminish your enthusiasm and energy levels. Motivation From Peers One of the best ways to motivate yourself towards a great career may come from your present workplace itself. Attending seminars, conferences and meetings can help you in acquiring many professional contacts such as career counselors, academic professionals, supervisors and people with similar interests and career objectives.In the process, you may gain invaluable resources and advice from masterminds that might motivate you to a great extent. Seeing other people with the same or similar educational backgrounds and qualifications in higher positions can further motivate you to improve your own career prospects through sharing k nowledge and ideas with them about how you can go about it. Just knowing that you have a great network of resource pool can be sufficient to motivate you. Motivation From Your Mentor Your personal mentor can be the most important person who can motivate you so that you achieve your career objectives.A good mentor can be your friend, philosopher and guide to direct you towards the road of success. A mentor will not only coach you and provide critical advice to support you in your endeavors, but will also introduce you with useful contacts and the right people to further expedite your career development process. The mentor can also measure your success and failure aspects and alter your action plan accordingly. Career motivation at work 1. Clarify your goals Nothing is more demotivating than working haphazardly without having a clear vision, mission and set of objectives for your work.Without a clear vision and knowledge of how your work impacts the big picture you may well end up spe nding a lot of time on urgent unimportant matters rater than tasks that positively impact the big picture. Clarify in no uncertain terms your vision, mission and objectives and focus on them beginning always with the end in mind. It is remarkable what you will achieve once you have honed in on your precise goals and can focus on them and visualize yourself achieving them. 2. Establish a clear game-plan for achieving your goalsOnce you have clarified your vision and goals, formulate a detailed strategy for getting there and chart your progress on a regular and ongoing basis. Break down large complex projects into a series of manageable tasks that are interesting and achievable. Having a blueprint for success that is composed of clear, sensible milestones and achievable interesting tasks will greatly simplify and lend meaning to your daily routine and will also give you a feeling of control over your work and deadlines which largely boosts motivation.The more organized you are and can focus and adhere to accomplishing your goals according to your detailed blueprint for success, the more motivated you will be and the less likely you are to fall into a fit of panic or insecurity and lose confidence and motivation. 3. Ride the Wave of your Successes Success is very stimulating. Work hard enough to achieve successful results and see how motivated you are to achieve further successes as you excel in your performance. Work hard, aim to overachieve your goals and ride the momentum of each success to achieve further successes.Remind yourself that once your vision is clear and you have a set of well-defined, reasonable objectives and milestones to reach, the secret of success is hard work, creativity and perseverance. Aim to ride the wave of each success to further the next success and channel the positive energy to achieving similar superlative performance in your next task or project. It is not always that you can ride the wave of euphoria that arises from a sound succ ess story so make sure you leverage and take advantage of these bursts of energy and motivation to the extent possible. . Reward yourself Reward yourself as you achieve your objectives and/or reach specific important milestones. Plan ahead what forms this reward will take and what tasks/projects/results will be rewarded. This will give you something to look forward to, extra drive to get there and a surge of excitement and enthusiasm when you do attain your desired goals. 5. Keep Things in Perspective It is important to keep things in perspective and always remind yourself of why you work.Beside the pay, it is often about realizing your potential, feeling alive and useful, feeling connected, making a difference in the world, expressing creativity, expanding your skills and abilities, helping others and contributing to the community. List the reasons you entered the field you are in and when times are tough remind yourself of why you do the work you do. Also remind yourself that work is work and that you have a life outside of work to look forward to, enjoy and make a difference in. 6. Maintain a healthy work/life balance It is very easy to lose yourself at work and forget what awaits you outside of the work arena.Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is essential both for your general motivation level and your overall wellbeing. Make sure you take the time to do the things you like to do outside of work whether it be connecting with friends and family, exercising, reading, taking courses, shopping or other hobbies and activities that channel your creativity and energy. Having something to look forward to after work will see you through moments of drudgery at work when your motivation and energy levels are not as high as they could be and will also make you more productive at work. . Think positive Negativity is a contagious affliction that drains you of energy, slows you down, saps your enthusiasm and blinds you to the reasons you work. Avoid negative feelin gs at all costs and concentrate on the positive. To do this, listen to motivational tapes, to music that particularly inspires you, read motivational books, talk to inspired or inspiring people, surround yourself with positive stimuli and concentrate on the reasons you work. Find things to laugh at as long as you are not laughing at your peers and count your blessings at every opportunity.Focus on positives regardless of how small or inconsequential they are whether it be a positive remark from a boss or peer, accomplishing your day's goals earlier than usual, overachieving on a small deliverable, working well with people, a looming vacation, completing a difficult task or any other positive stimulus. REFERENCES †¢Business dictionary. com †¢http://www. streetdirectory. com †¢Wikipedia †¢https://passport. baidu. com †¢Worldpress. com †¢R. Day, T. D. Allen / Journal of Vocational Behavior (2003) †¢(Colarelli & Bishop, 1990).London and colleagues (Lon don, 1990; London & Bray, 1984; London & Mone,1987) several suggestions as to how to develop, support and enhance career motivation. †¢Noe, Noe, and Bachhuber (1990) article †¢(Dreher & Ash, 1990; Orpen, 1995; Scandura, 1992; Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991) Article †¢www. careercast. com †¢library. educationworld. ne †¢(London & Bray, 1984). Career motivation can also be enhanced through career 2 R. Day, T. D. Allen / Journal of Vocational Behavior (2003) Article in press †¢(London & Mone, 1987). Article in press

Friday, August 30, 2019

Foundation and Empire Acknowledgments

The date was August 1, 1941. World War II had been raging for two years. France had fallen, the Battle of Britain had been fought, and the Soviet Union had just been invaded by Nazi Germany. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was four months in the future. But on that day, with Europe in flames, and the evil shadow of Adolf Hitler apparently falling over all the world, what was chiefly on my mind was a meeting toward which I was hastening. I was 21 years old, a graduate student in chemistry at Columbia University, and I had been writing science fiction professionally for three years. In that time, I had sold five stories to John Campbell, editor of Astounding, and the fifth story, â€Å"Nightfall,† was about to appear in the September 1941 issue of the magazine. I had an appointment to see Mr. Campbell to tell him the plot of a new story I was planning to write, and the catch was that I had no plot in mind, not the trace of one. I therefore tried a device I sometimes use. I opened a book at random and set up free association, beginning with whatever I first saw. The book I had with me was a collection of the Gilbert and Sullivan plays. I happened to open it to the picture of the Fairy Queen of lolanthe throwing herself at the feet of Private Willis. I thought of soldiers, of military empires, of the Roman Empire – of a Galactic Empire – aha! Why shouldn't I write of the fall of the Galactic Empire and of the return of feudalism, written from the viewpoint of someone in the secure days of the Second Galactic Empire? After all, I had read Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire not once, but twice. I was bubbling over by the time I got to Campbell's, and my enthusiasm must have been catching for Campbell blazed up as I had never seen him do. In the course of an hour we built up the notion of a vast series of connected stories that were to deal in intricate detail with the thousand-year period between the First and Second Galactic Empires. This was to be illuminated by the science of psychohistory, which Campbell and I thrashed out between us. On August 11, 1941, therefore, I began the story of that interregnum and called it â€Å"Foundation.† In it, I described how the psychohistorian, Hari Seldon, established a pair of Foundations at opposite ends of the Universe under such circumstances as to make sure that the forces of history would bring about the second Empire after one thousand years instead of the thirty thousand that would be required otherwise. The story was submitted on September 8 and, to make sure that Campbell really meant what he said about a series, I ended â€Å"Foundation† on a cliff-hanger. Thus, it seemed to me, he would be forced to buy a second story. However, when I started the second story (on October 24), I found that I had outsmarted myself. I quickly wrote myself into an impasse, and the Foundation series would have died an ignominious death had I not had a conversation with Fred Pohl on November 2 (on the Brooklyn Bridge, as it happened). I don't remember what Fred actually said, but, whatever it was, it pulled me out of the hole. â€Å"Foundation† appeared in the May 1942 issue of Astounding and the succeeding story, â€Å"Bridle and Saddle,† in the June 1942 issue. After that there was only the routine trouble of writing the stories. Through the remainder of the decade, John Campbell kept my nose to the grindstone and made sure he got additional Foundation stories. â€Å"The Big and the Little† was in the August 1944 Astounding, â€Å"The Wedge† in the October 1944 issue, and â€Å"Dead Hand† in the April 1945 issue. (These stories were written while I was working at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.) On January 26, 1945, I began â€Å"The Mule,† my personal favorite among the Foundation stories, and the longest yet, for it was 50,000 words. It was printed as a two-part serial (the very first serial I was ever responsible for) in the November and December 1945 issues. By the time the second part appeared I was in the army. After I got out of the army, I wrote â€Å"Now You See It-† which appeared in the January 1948 issue. By this time, though, I had grown tired of the Foundation stories so I tried to end them by setting up, and solving, the mystery of the location of the Second Foundation. Campbell would have none of that, however. He forced me to change the ending, and made me promise I would do one more Foundation story. Well, Campbell was the kind of editor who could not be denied, so I wrote one more Foundation story, vowing to myself that it would be the last. I called it â€Å"-And Now You Don't,† and it appeared as a three-part serial in the November 1949, December 1949, and January 1950 issues of Astounding. By then, I was on the biochemistry faculty of Boston University School of Medicine, my first book had just been published, and I was determined to move on to new things. I had spent eight years on the Foundation, written nine stories with a total of about 220,000 words. My total earnings for the series came to $3,641 and that seemed enough. The Foundation was over and done with, as far as I was concerned. In 1950, however, hardcover science fiction was just coming into existence. I had no objection to earning a little more money by having the Foundation series reprinted in book form. I offered the series to Doubleday (which had already published a science-fiction novel by me, and which had contracted for another) and to Little-Brown, but both rejected it. In that year, though, a small publishing firm, Gnome Press, was beginning to be active, and it was prepared to do the Foundation series as three books. The publisher of Gnome felt, however, that the series began too abruptly. He persuaded me to write a small Foundation story, one that would serve as an introductory section to the first book (so that the first part of the Foundation series was the last written). In 1951, the Gnome Press edition of Foundation was published, containing the introduction and the first four stories of the series. In 1952, Foundation and Empire appeared, with the fifth and sixth stories; and in 1953, Second Foundation appeared, with the seventh and eighth stories. The three books together came to be called The Foundation Trilogy. The mere fact of the existence of the Trilogy pleased me, but Gnome Press did not have the financial clout or the publishing knowhow to get the books distributed properly, so that few copies were sold and fewer still paid me royalties. (Nowadays, copies of first editions of those Gnome Press books sell at $50 a copy and up-but I still get no royalties from them.) Ace Books did put out paperback editions of Foundation and of Foundation and Empire, but they changed the titles, and used cut versions. Any money that was involved was paid to Gnome Press and I didn't see much of that. In the first decade of the existence of The Foundation Trilogy it may have earned something like $1500 total. And yet there was some foreign interest. In early 1961, Timothy Seldes, who was then my editor at Doubleday, told me that Doubleday had received a request for the Portuguese rights for the Foundation series and, since they weren't Doubleday books, he was passing them on to me. I sighed and said, â€Å"The heck with it, Tim. I don't get royalties on those books.† Seldes was horrified, and instantly set about getting the books away from Gnome Press so that Doubleday could publish them instead. He paid no attention to my loudly expressed fears that Doubleday â€Å"would lose its shirt on them.† In August 1961 an agreement was reached and the Foundation books became Doubleday property. What's more, Avon Books, which had published a paperback version of Second Foundation, set about obtaining the rights to all three from Doubleday, and put out nice editions. From that moment on, the Foundation books took off and began to earn increasing royalties. They have sold well and steadily, both in hardcover and softcover, for two decades so far. Increasingly, the letters I received from the readers spoke of them in high praise. They received more attention than all my other books put together. Doubleday also published an omnibus volume, The Foundation Trilogy, for its Science Fiction Book Club. That omnibus volume has been continuously featured by the Book Club for over twenty years. Matters reached a climax in 1966. The fans organizing the World Science Fiction Convention for that year (to be held in Cleveland) decided to award a Hugo for the best all-time series, where the series, to qualify, had to consist of at least three connected novels. It was the first time such a category had been set up, nor has it been repeated since. The Foundation series was nominated, and I felt that was going to have to be glory enough for me, since I was sure that Tolkien's â€Å"Lord of the Rings† would win. It didn't. The Foundation series won, and the Hugo I received for it has been sitting on my bookcase in the livingroom ever since. In among all this litany of success, both in money and in fame, there was one annoying side-effect. Readers couldn't help but notice that the books of the Foundation series covered only three hundred-plus years of the thousand-year hiatus between Empires. That meant the Foundation series â€Å"wasn't finished.† I got innumerable letters from readers who asked me to finish it, from others who demanded I finish it, and still others who threatened dire vengeance if I didn't finish it. Worse yet, various editors at Doubleday over the years have pointed out that it might be wise to finish it. It was flattering, of course, but irritating as well. Years had passed, then decades. Back in the 1940s, I had been in a Foundation-writing mood. Now I wasn't. Starting in the late 1950s, I had been in a more and more nonfiction-writing mood. That didn't mean I was writing no fiction at all. In the 1960s and 1970s, in fact, I wrote two science-fiction novels and a mystery novel, to say nothing of well over a hundred short stories – but about eighty percent of what I wrote was nonfiction. One of the most indefatigable nags in the matter of finishing the Foundation series was my good friend, the great science-fiction writer, Lester del Rey. He was constantly telling me I ought to finish the series and was just as constantly suggesting plot devices. He even told Larry Ashmead, then my editor at Doubleday, that if I refused to write more Foundation stories, he, Lester, would be willing to take on the task. When Ashmead mentioned this to me in 1973, I began another Foundation novel out of sheer desperation. I called it â€Å"Lightning Rod† and managed to write fourteen pages before other tasks called me away. The fourteen pages were put away and additional years passed. In January 1977, Cathleen Jordan, then my editor at Doubleday, suggested I do â€Å"an important book – a Foundation novel, perhaps.† I said, â€Å"I'd rather do an autobiography,† and I did – 640,000 words of it. In January 1981, Doubleday apparently lost its temper. At least, Hugh O'Neill, then my editor there, said, â€Å"Betty Prashker wants to see you,† and marched me into her office. She was then one of the senior editors, and a sweet and gentle person. She wasted no time. â€Å"Isaac,† she said, â€Å"you are going to write a novel for us and you are going to sign a contract to that effect.† â€Å"Betty,† I said, â€Å"I am already working on a big science book for Doubleday and I have to revise the Biographical Encyclopedia for Doubleday and -â€Å" â€Å"It can all wait,† she said. â€Å"You are going to sign a contract to do a novel. What's more, we're going to give you a $50,000 advance.† That was a stunner. I don't like large advances. They put me under too great an obligation. My average advance is something like $3,000. Why not? It's all out of royalties. I said, â€Å"That's way too much money, Betty.† â€Å"No, it isn't,† she said. â€Å"Doubleday will lose its shirt,† I said. â€Å"You keep telling us that all the time. It won't.† I said, desperately, â€Å"All right. Have the contract read that I don't get any money until I notify you in writing that I have begun the novel.† â€Å"Are you crazy?† she said. â€Å"You'll never start if that clause is in the contract. You get $25,000 on signing the contract, and $25,000 on delivering a completed manuscript.† â€Å"But suppose the novel is no good.† â€Å"Now you're being silly,† she said, and she ended the conversation. That night, Pat LoBrutto, the science-fiction editor at Doubleday called to express his pleasure. â€Å"And remember,† he said, â€Å"that when we say ‘novel' we mean ‘science-fiction novel,' not anything else. And when we say ‘science-fiction novel,' we mean ‘Foundation novel' and not anything else.† On February 5, 1981, I signed the contract, and within the week, the Doubleday accounting system cranked out the check for $25,000. I moaned that I was not my own master anymore and Hugh O'Neill said, cheerfully, â€Å"That's right, and from now on, we're going to call every other week and say, ‘Where's the manuscript?'† (But they didn't. They left me strictly alone, and never even asked for a progress report.) Nearly four months passed while I took care of a vast number of things I had to do, but about the end of May, I picked up my own copy of The Foundation Trilogy and began reading. I had to. For one thing, I hadn't read the Trilogy in thirty years and while I remembered the general plot, I did not remember the details. Besides, before beginning a new Foundation novel I had to immerse myself in the style and atmosphere of the series. I read it with mounting uneasiness. I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever did. All three volumes, all the nearly quarter of a million words, consisted of thoughts and of conversations. No action. No physical suspense. What was all the fuss about, then? Why did everyone want more of that stuff? – To be sure, I couldn't help but notice that I was turning the pages eagerly, and that I was upset when I finished the book, and that I wanted more, but I was the author, for goodness' sake. You couldn't go by me. I was on the edge of deciding it was all a terrible mistake and of insisting on giving back the money, when (quite by accident, I swear) I came across some sentences by science-fiction writer and critic, James Gunn, who, in connection with the Foundation series, said, â€Å"Action and romance have little to do with the success of the Trilogy – virtually all the action takes place offstage, and the romance is almost invisible – but the stories provide a detective-story fascination with the permutations and reversals of ideas.† Oh, well, if what was needed were â€Å"permutations and reversals of ideas,† then that I could supply. Panic receded, and on June 10, 1981, I dug out the fourteen pages I had written more than eight years before and reread them. They sounded good to me. I didn't remember where I had been headed back then, but I had worked out what seemed to me to be a good ending now, and, starting page 15 on that day, I proceeded to work toward the new ending. I found, to my infinite relief, that I had no trouble getting back into a â€Å"Foundation-mood,† and, fresh from my rereading, I had Foundation history at my finger-tips. There were differences, to be sure: 1) The original stories were written for a science-fiction magazine and were from 7,000 to 50,000 words long, and no more. Consequently, each book in the trilogy had at least two stories and lacked unity. I intended to make the new book a single story. 2) I had a particularly good chance for development since Hugh said, â€Å"Let the book find its own length, Isaac. We don't mind a long book.† So I planned on 140,000 words, which was nearly three times the length of â€Å"The Mule,† and this gave me plenty of elbow-room, and I could add all sorts of little touches. 3) The Foundation series had been written at a time when our knowledge of astronomy was primitive compared with what it is today. I could take advantage of that and at least mention black holes, for instance. I could also take advantage of electronic computers, which had not been invented until I was half through with the series. The novel progressed steadily, and on January 17, 1982, I began final copy. I brought the manuscript to Hugh O'Neill in batches, and the poor fellow went half-crazy since he insisted on reading it in this broken fashion. On March 25, 1982, I brought in the last bit, and the very next day got the second half of the advance. I had kept â€Å"Lightning Rod† as my working title all the way through, but Hugh finally said, â€Å"Is there any way of putting ‘Foundation' into the title, Isaac?† I suggested Foundations at Bay, therefore, and that may be the title that will actually be used 1. You will have noticed that I have said nothing about the plot of the new Foundation novel. Well, naturally. I would rather you buy and read the book. And yet there is one thing I have to confess to you. I generally manage to tie up all the loose ends into one neat little bow-knot at the end of my stories, no matter how complicated the plot might be. In this case, however, I noticed that when I was all done, one glaring little item remained unresolved. I am hoping no one else notices it because it clearly points the way to the continuation of the series. It is even possible that I inadvertently gave this away for at the end of the novel, I wrote: â€Å"The End (for now).† I very much fear that if the novel proves successful, Doubleday will be at my throat again, as Campbell used to be in the old days. And yet what can I do but hope that the novel is very successful indeed. What a quandary!

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Capital Budgeting Techniques and Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analysis can be understood as research of the uncertainty within the production of a mathematical model or system that can be allocated to several uncertainty sources within its inputs (Ai, Croce and Li 2013). Sensitivity analysis serves as techniques employed for determining the ways in which several values of certain variable impact on a a dependent variable within a specific cluster of assumptions. Sensitivity analysis is generated for analyzing the impact that the great range of variables has on the desired outcome. This analysis is relied on the variables effecting valuation that a financial model can indicate through employing the price and EPS variables (Borgonovo and Plischke 2016). For instance, Apple Inc employs sensitivity analysis along with the consideration of long-term cost of capital. Sensitivity analysis that is employed by Apple Inc serves as a technique of evaluating alterations in particular project’s NPV or the IRR for the given change within one of the variables. This signifies the extent to which a project is NPV or IRR is sensitive for a considered change in one among the variables (Fujimori et al. 2014). Apple Inc considers that the more the NPV of a project is sensible the more critical can be the variable. The following steps are deemed associated with the implementation of the sensitivity analysis that is mentioned under: Sensitivity analysis of the efficiency criteria for the purpose of investment project analysis serves as the calculating technique of researching and deciding the impact of changes in the individual values considered on the investment project analysis (Gospodinov, Kan and Robotti 2014). Apple Inc stated that strong implementation of the sensitivity analysis within the investment decision-making under certain uncertainty situations includes numerous major input parameters like the income, investment value, costs, discount rate in accordance with the impacts and effects of the alterations of these parameters (Kuehn, Simutin and Wang 2016). This is on the values of numerous basic criteria that can be considered as investment decision-making process namely the criteria of internal rate of return, net present value and the payback period. Sensitivity analysis serves as major criteria for the evaluation of investment projects serves as extremely complex process. With the help of the sensitivity analysis, the investors will be capable to obtain a great number of information regarding the impact of the input parameters on the criteria those are examined for conducting effective investment decision-making (Lee and Su 2014). Apple Inc stated that information can also be gathered regarding the impact of input parameters based on the criteria value that can further enhance investment decision making. Capital budgeting serves as a process though which investors determine which projects to select. Sensitivity analysis offers superior insight for the investors to take effective business decisions. Scenario analysis serves as the technique of evaluating likely future events through taking into account certain alternative possible outcomes. For this reason, for Apple Inc. scenario analysis can serve as a technique that can be the major form of projection, which does not attempt to indicate one accurate picture of the future (Mà ¸nster et al. 2014). Scenario analysis acts as a technique of anticipating the expected portfolio value that is in response to certain unfavorable event and might be employed to analyze theoretical worst-case circumstances.   Moreover, scenario analysis serves as a process in order to ascertain and evaluate the likely events that can take place in the upcoming years. This serves as a vital tool that is increasingly used in making projections over the upcoming years (Rangvid, Santa-Clara and Schmeling 2016). Scenario analysis is increasingly associated with capital budgeting techniques. An investment’s scenario analysis might include the followin g steps: Revealing the best-case output within most suitable value for all the inputs is an option of scenario analysis. For instance, Apple Inc considers that at the time of calculating net present value, the most suitable value for discount rate is used along with considering likely cash flow growth along with lower tax rate (Tian 2013). With implementation of effective capital budgeting techniques such as NPV and IRR, it can be stated that scenario analysis is a model output that is calculated for over an ample scenarios. Scenario analysis is widely employed in order to estimate proper investment value in several situations. Scenario analysis is greatly used in taking investment decisions through implementation of capital budgeting techniques like NPV and IRR (Zabarankin, Pavlikov and Uryasev 2014). For Apple Inc, scenario analysis was deemed most vital techniques for evaluating risks associated with the investment projects. The scenario analysis served as the techniques those are used by investors along with using the discount rates must be used for projects with several risks. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a model employed for theoretically determining suitable asset based rate on return in order to make decisions regarding adding assets within an efficiently diversified portfolio. Capital asset pricing model explains the prediction of the relationship that can be observed within the risk associated with asset along with its expected return (Ai, Croce and Li 2013). Taking into consideration that the Capital Market Line (CML), the market portfolio is deemed to encompass segmentation of all the risks assets. This is done through employing the market value of the assets in order to determine the weights (Borgonovo and Plischke 2016). The CML line is deemed to be arrived from CAPM that decides the anticipated return at numerous risk levels. In the capital asset pricing model, CML is only applicable only in case of an investor’s final portfolio and in the world of CAPM; the investors are likely to hold portfolios that rely on the CML. In CAPM, the capital market line is deemed higher than the efficient frontier as it focuses on the consideration of the risk-free asset within a portfolio (Fujimori et al. 2014). The capital asset pricing model signifies that market portfolio is majorly the efficient frontier. The assumptions of CAPM are deemed unrealistic and such reality simplification is vital for preparing useful models. Tolerance of the CAPM model’s assumptions that facilitates derivation of a well built, idealized through a model of manner within which the financial markets gauges risk and changes it within anticipated return. The capital asset pricing model indicates that the market portfolio serves as efficient frontier (Rangvid, Santa-Clara and Schmeling 2016). Within the CAPM, the securities are priced so that the anticipated risks counterbalance the decided returns. There are two aspects within the CAPM model, which requires generating Capital Market Line. The capital market line indicates the investment returns of an investor for a particular portfolio. The capital market line employs the CAPM formula in order to calculate the anticipated return of a portfolio or security (Rangvid, Santa-Clara and Schmeling 2016). CML serves as the graphical representation of the CAPM formula. It explains the relationship between the systematic risk and expected return related with a portfolio. The CAPM formula that consists of formula on capital market line is helpful in deciding whether a security can be considered for effective investment decision making. The association between the CAPM formula and capital market line are indicated in the formula below:   is deemed to denote the point associated with the market portfolio (M). All the portfolios selected by a rational investor are deemed to have a point   that relies on the capital market line (Mà ¸nster et al. 2014). Considering this formula, it can be said that the CAPM model can be employed in order to measure the systematic risk associated with a single share. Moreover, the transformation line, which remains tangential to the efficient set along with having intercepted within risk-free rate Rf, is the capital market line. This defines that a particular composition of the risky assets those investor wishes to hold. This is deemed as market portfolio (M). Moreover, CML serves as the transformation line, which is observed to be tangential with the efficient frontier (Mà ¸nster et al. 2014). Capital Market Line (CML) serves as a line that connects returns with no-risk investments along with overall market returns (Zabarankin, Pavlikov and Uryasev 2014). The difference between efficient frontier and capital market line is that capital market line involves less risk investments ad all the portfolios within it are efficient frontiers. Capita market line is employed in order to analyze the performance of portfolio. Certain points below any other point within the line will offer decreased returns along with similar risks and for such reasons these are not ideal. Capital market line is deemed a measure used to analyze performance of portfolio. Capital Market Line (CML) is a graph used within the capital asset pricing models in order to signify rates of return within the market portfolio (Borgonovo and Plischke 2016). Capital market line explains rates of return for the effective portfolios those are relied on the degree of risk along with risk free rate of return for a particu lar portfolio. Capital Market Line initiates from considering the assumption that all the company’s investors needs to possess market portfolio. Intensity of risk is deemed to be positively correlated to the anticipated return (Zabarankin, Pavlikov and Uryasev 2014). The Capital Market Line serves as the linear combinations of the risk-free asset and portfolio. Portfolios under the capital market line are deemed inferior that indicates new efficient set. Capital Market Line is observed to remain within the capital asset pricing model in order to indicate the rates of return for efficient portfolios likely to face the risk level for a market portfolio along with risk-free return rate (Borgonovo and Plischke 2016). The capital market line is generated through drawing a tangent line from the point of intercept on the efficient frontier to the situation where the expected return on a holding is similar to the risk-free return rate. The capital market line facilitates the investor in taking into account the risks of several additional assets within the remaining portfolio. The capital market line results from the association with the market portfolio along with the risk-free asset (Zabarankin, Pavlikov and Uryasev 2014). All the points in consideration to CML have increased risk-return profiles to certain portfolio within the efficient frontier with the exception of the market portfolio that serves as point within efficient frontier within which capita market line is a tangent. From the CML perception, such portfolio encompasses all the risky assets and has less holding on the risk free assets. As per CAPM, market portfolio signifies efficient frontier and this can be gathered as cluster of portfolios (Lee and Su 2014). The market portfolio in combination to the risk-free asset is able to produce an increased return than the efficient frontier. Therefore, it can be said that the combination of the market portfolio along with the risk-free asset leads to emergence of capital market line. The major techniques employed for project analysis are the NPV and IRR analysis. Sensitivity analysis considers the NPV and IRR of an investment project at the time more than one variable alterations (Lee and Su 2014). The idea that exists based on all the variables except the one evaluated and analyze the way sensitivity of the NPV or the IRR are to changes within that variable. Ai, H., Croce, M.M. and Li, K., 2013. Toward a quantitative general equilibrium asset pricing model with intangible capital.  Review of Financial Studies,  26(2), pp.491-530. Borgonovo, E. and Plischke, E., 2016. Sensitivity analysis: a review of recent advances.  European Journal of Operational Research,  248(3), pp.869-887. Fujimori, S., Kainuma, M., Masui, T., Hasegawa, T. and Dai, H., 2014. The effectiveness of energy service demand reduction: A scenario analysis of global climate change mitigation.  Energy policy,  75, pp.379-391. Gospodinov, N., Kan, R. and Robotti, C., 2014. Misspecification-robust inference in linear asset-pricing models with irrelevant risk factors.  Review of Financial Studies,  27(7), pp.2139-2170. Kuehn, L.A., Simutin, M. and Wang, J.J., 2016. A labor capital asset pricing model. Lee, M.C. and Su, L.E., 2014. Capital Market Line Based on Efficient Frontier of Portfolio with Borrowing and Lending Rate.  Universal Journal of Accounting and Finance,  2(4), pp.69-76. Mà ¸nster, J.G., Samuelsson, J., Kjeldsen, P., Rella, C.W. and Scheutz, C., 2014. Quantifying methane emission from fugitive sources by combining tracer release and downwind measurements–a sensitivity analysis based on multiple field surveys.  Waste Management,  34(8), pp.1416-1428. Rangvid, J., Santa-Clara, P. and Schmeling, M., 2016. Capital market integration and consumption risk sharing over the long run.  Journal of International Economics,  103, pp.27-43. Tian, W., 2013. A review of sensitivity analysis methods in building energy analysis.  Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,  20, pp.411-419. Zabarankin, M., Pavlikov, K. and Uryasev, S., 2014. Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) with drawdown measure.  European Journal of Operational Research,  234(2), pp.508-517.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Discussion 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion 8 - Essay Example This is Heyman’s first element for a proactive organization. In fact, prior to our meetings the person who is to preside over the meeting is expected to send, 24 hours before the meeting, a copy of the sequence of topics for discussion. In the meetings, the scope of the agenda is carefully observed and side topics for further discussion are tabled for another meeting. In the agenda, an item is always included that requests for contribution from all participants in the meeting, and before the meeting is adjourned all participants are clarified on the accomplishments they must fulfill and report for accountability at the next meeting. Rasler (2010) also notes that as far as marketing is concerned, a proactive approach does more than fulfill a need, but rather it aims at creating a need – that is, to explore new markets and new untapped customers who would benefit from the company’s products. This is a direction our company has been taking with our lineup of medical equipment and supplies; rather than targeting the usual hospitals and clinics, we have begun to market to homes and patients who have special interests in certain types of equipment. References Heyman, P (12 Dec. 2012) ‘Is Your Organization Proactive or Reactive?’ Bridging Associates. Available at http://www.bridgingassociates.com/wp/2012/12/12/is-your-organization-proactive-or-reactive/ Rasler, K (27 Dec 2010) ‘Run a Proactive, Not Reactive, Business.’ ACHR News. Available at http://www.achrnews.com/articles/run-a-proactive-not-reactive-business 2.What adaptive challenges face your industry in the next five years?   How equipped is your company / organization to deal with them? There are at least two major challenges that I see in the next five years for the market in medical devices and equipment, the industry in which my organization, St. Luke’s Medical, operates in. One challenge involves the technological changes that are expected to take pla ce, of which there are three key trends. These are: (1) the miniaturization of devices; (2) the development of diagnostic technology capable of earlier and more accurate diagnoses; and (3) advances in IT and e-health technologies (Ford, 2013). The first challenge therefore has to do with keeping the staff and promotional literature current with the new developments. While the staff has good background in the past and current medical technologies, newer, revolutionary medical devices will be operating under new mechanisms and therefore may not be within the understanding and competence of our staff who are more marketing-educated and trained. They will have to see the new equipment in use and understand how they operate so that they (the staff) may be competent to answer the questions of customers. The second major challenge is the developing demographics, the forthcoming changes in the health care legislation, and their implications on the demand for medical devices. This is more di fficult to address than the first challenge because of the uncertainties particularly in the soon-to-be-implemented affordable health care legislation. One of the implications is the 2.3% medical device excise tax which has taken effect as of the start of 2013. While the tax is supposed to be paid by the manufacturer or importer, since this is a cost of doing business the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis of an Organizational Website Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of an Organizational Website - Essay Example These include latest movies that are produced in Hollywood and videos as well as top stories on top actor lifestyles. The website meets its aim by using a simple and professional design. It uses an artistic design to the name of their website that is well colored to draw the reader’s attention. This is appealing to the eye, and at a glance, one is able to know the website’s name. According to Hunt (2011), a reader is likely to revisit a website if it contains all the information it claims to contain and does not provide or refer to unsolicited information. The Hollywood website has user-friendly navigation; there are clear links to the various sections as described in the initial outline on the homepage. The content is arranged categorically in such a way that whatever one is looking for can be obtained at a glance, hence aiding to achieve its goal. Websites should be created with the viewer in mind, this implies that the time for browsing should be minimal and the content should be simple and easy to interpret and understand by the targeted viewers. Its simplicity in design of the Hollywood website has contributed immensely to its popularity among the young people (OConnell, 1994). For instance, if one is looking for movies, they would go directly and click on the so-named icon, hence getting the desired item. On other websites, there are many popup windows and links to unrelated websites which not only waste the viewer’s time but also contribute to infection of personal computers by internet viruses. Lawrence, & Tavakol, (2007) in their book â€Å"Balanced Website Design: Optimizing Aesthetics, Usability, and Purpose.† Propose that the use of carefully designed graphics on websites makes them more appealing and easier to browse than those with text.

Monday, August 26, 2019

First Amendment Protection for Spam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

First Amendment Protection for Spam - Essay Example The concern for spam is however growing all around the globe. Around forty percent of bulk e-mail consuming is posing problem for the internet users along with internet service providers. They complain of having their mailboxes full of annoying e-mails or mails that are offensive. However, a number of users refer spamming to the commercial advertising. 3 Since internet is the fasted way to contact people all around in the world with millions of people, internet advertisers has realized for using internet as a tool for advertising through spam. They choose many different ways for advertising such on the World Wide Web, but the easiest way for them is to advertise through e-mail spamming. Internet advertising are divided into two groups, either they can be intrusive or passive. Passive way for advertising is the most common way of advertising on internet. It is a way on which the internet user seeks out for the advertisement and accesses it himself. Though, the most widespread passive advertisement is done on the websites. On the other hand, intrusive advertisement is one on which the user receives e-mails from the seller for example posting electronic mails. Intrusive advertisement is also known to be an unwanted advertisement and will be discussed in this paper. All together, the concern for spamming has grown to compromise the valu e of e-mails and finally towards the internet.4 Section one of this paper will examine details and problems held by intrusive or unwanted advertisement/spamming together which the current laws to solve this problem. Section two of this paper will discuss the standards of First Amendment, applicable to the problem. Finally, the third section will highlight whether the Congress pass on other constitutional laws to protect users from internet spamming. Issues and Problems Related to Intrusive Spamming/Advertising In this section, the question arises of how to define spam Spam is described as the most unwanted or unsolicited electronic mail which is usually delivered in bulk form to millions of internet users. However, due to the unlimited debates held in the online community, a series of rules on how to use internet was introduced which was known as "Netiquette quickly developed". It established that the advertisers who are willing to advertise online should detain their activities on the websites that welcomes advertisements. Unfortunately, as the online internet community was small, the violators of Netiquette were punished. Intrusive spam has been mostly been associated with schemes such to get rich in a quick manner, is changing by time. As more and more e-businesses are getting involved in cyberspace, major advertisers and other organizations have started to rely on bulk e-mails or have created their own web sites on World Wide Web for the reason to sell out their products as quickly as possible. Vendors who rely on spam maintain that this storm as a whole is blown out in parts by perfectionists who really want to see spamming out from the internet. However, the opponents of spam argue that in some way, spam robs the internet users from the resources and dishonors the internet just a piece of litter found in the physical environment. There are number of examples that portray about the problems created by spamming. Such as, the most disastrous was the one which

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Analyzing Fed Policymaking 1996-1998 Term Paper

Analyzing Fed Policymaking 1996-1998 - Term Paper Example With upward rising of the aggregate, there are favorable conditions to drive economic growth such as high job creation, high production, and business expansion. The Federal Reserve policies between 1996 and 1998 were aimed at stimulating growth in ensuring increased productivity, which resulted in increased employment and reduced inflationary rates through control of interest rates. A report by Federal Reserve Board (1999) showed that, economic growth between 1996 and 1998 was remarkable and stronger than many had expected. The economy growth was more than 3.5% in 1997 and between 2.5 and 3.0 % in 1998. By 1998 the real GDP growth was at 3.5%, and was expected to rise further in the following years (Lewis, 1998). According to Lewis, at the start of October 1998, the S& P was abnormally high having risen from about 1000 in earlier years to about 1400 by July 1999. The Fed had to impose a 40% increase in the S &P by hiking interest rates from 4.75 to about 6.5 in the following years. T his rise resulted from an â€Å"irrational exuberance’ where too much money was being injected into the booming internet and technology industries (Lewis, 1998). Figure 1 portrays the general trend of interest rates during this period, Figure 2 portrays the relations between money supply and price levels between 1950 and 2008, while figure 3 shows the dollar performance compared to German’s in 1998. The major driver of the U.S economy that resulted in a high economic growth between 1996 and 1998 was capital spending. Many organizations continued to invest heavily in information technology and modernizing communication equipment to improve their productivity (Lewis, 1998). The market interest rates affect borrowing and lending policies, which affect the production and consumption of goods, products and services. The Federal Reserve Board (1999) explains that, these factors largely influence employment and job creation; high interest rates will discourage investors henc e low job creation opportunities. For example, during this period, Fed decided not to hike the interest rates to control the exponential market growth in preventing the economy from tending to inflation. This is observed in graph 1. In the year 1996, it was expected that inflation and interest rates would be on the rise towards the end of that year, but it turned otherwise (Federal Reserve Board, 1999). As Mishkin (115) explains, the demand for money and interest rates are inversely related using the opportunity cost aspect. This is the expected return sacrificed by an investor by not holding the alternative asset, which refers to a bond in this case. Moreover, demand for money is determined by the wealth or income and the price levels in the market (Mishkin, 116). The federal authority polices during this period were aimed at robust growth in employment, recovery and strengthening of the dollar, and regulated interest rates, which increased wealth and lowered the interest rates mak ing the demand of money to increase. There was a general fall of the domestic interest rates and national debts over this period (Mishkin, 11). In the third quarter of 1998, uproar in financial market globally resulted in a sharp drop in value of the dollar, having dropped from DM 1.7993 to DM 1.6718, which could have shifted the economic growth as well as interest rate policies towards encouraging more borrowing. Low interest rates contributed

4.How convincing is Porters model of national competitive advantage in Essay - 1

4.How convincing is Porters model of national competitive advantage in explaining the characteristics and performance of the business systems of major economies - Essay Example This paper will shed some light on how the nations achieve competitive advantage by using Porter’s Diamond model. This model highlights the influencing factors of national competitive advantage. The paper will discuss about the issues and loop holes of the Porter’s diamond Model and how they fail to answer certain circumstantial problems. Porter (1990) explained the competitiveness of a nation based on the four different parameters, which are factor conditions, demand conditions, supporting or related industries and firms’ strategy, structure and rivalry. Factor Conditions: The factor conditions include the production factors of a nation, like human resources and human capital, physical resources, knowledge base, financial strength. The quantity and quality of the available human resources determine the national production capabilities. Physical resources like availability of raw materials, power supply, etc increase the competitive advantage by reducing the operating cost of production. Moreover, the skills and overall knowledge base of the country helps it to involve in innovative product development. Demand Conditions: The demand conditions explain the level of demands of products in the home country. The higher level of demand influences the pace of product innovation and improves service quality. Porter (1990) described that the home demand level is based on three major factors: needs of the customers, growth rate of the customers’ needs and transferring domestic preference in the foreign market. A nation can thus achieve competitive advantage if the domestic demand trend can be predicted by the domestic suppliers faster than the foreign ones. This as a result will allow them to cater to the needs of the domestic customers thereby improving the national economic structure of the country. Firms’ Strategy structure

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Pinocchio and the Liar Liar Movies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pinocchio and the Liar Liar Movies - Essay Example Fletcher spends ample time with his son and the ex-wife though every promise he makes to the son, Max, happens without being fulfilled. This portrays the theme of dishonesty, in this movie. Fletcher has adopted the habit of giving superiority to his job while giving false statements on his declining nature to take good care of his son after his divorce with the wife. This research paper compares and contrasts the Pinocchio and Liar Liar movies in relation to their dishonesty thematic settings. One of the significant themes that are portrayed, in these films, is dishonesty. Both Pinocchio and Liar Liar movies portray their characters to be of an ever-lying nature thus making these movies inappropriate for children without parental guidance. Lastly, this paper explores the thematic differences in these two movies and their impacts on the viewers. Pinocchio’s kidnapping, being caged and threats for destructions leave him with no option, but to lie in order to be rescued in any ca se his parents refuse to turn up. The Liar Liar movie, on the other hand, portrays Fletcher as an ever-lying parent who even misses his son’s fifth birthday party. The son makes an ironical wish that, on his fifth birthday party, his father would not lie for the whole day. The father finally turned him down by not attending the birthday party. Pinocchio and Fletcher seem to have neglected their parenting responsibility by leaving the whole upbringing aspect of the socialization process to the mothers. This is evident in Fletcher and Audrey case where they even got divorced as a result of his irresponsible character. In the Pinocchio movie, Pinocchio’s friend, Lampwick, introduced him to cigar smoking, but he denies it. He is dishonest of the drug abuse they carry out together, and when their parents find this out, they are severely punished. The punishment should be carried out in the dishonest cases especially to bring back the norms into the existence within the dish onest individuals. This becomes one of the reasons why Lampwick and Pinocchio are punished for them to comply with social norms. Morality, in these two movies, becomes the key point of view in dishonesty as a thematic setting in both films. Gambling and smoking are the order of the day between Pinocchio, Lampwick and the other boys they find on their way to Geppetto’s house. This brings closely the relationship between dishonesty and morality in the Pinocchio dismay pictures (Pinocchio). These characters, in addition, get drunk and vandalized Jiminy’s dismay because of deviance and dishonest behaviors, which are exhibited by Pinocchio and his friends. This is due to the lack of rules and authority to deter them from these dishonest behaviors. In the Liar Liar movie, on the other hand, moral issues are as well pictured where Fletcher indulges in the extramarital sex before and even after he divorced his wife (Liar Liar). Fletcher is immoral, and he finally confesses thi s through a series of embarrassing moments. He says to his wife that he just had better sex with Miranda, his boss than he did with her, which makes him unable to tell a lie (Liar Liar).Â