Media Violence and Aggressive Behavior - 1277 Words

Media Violence and Aggressive Behavior Monica Suzanne B. Castro #21856730 Submitted for SSC130BB: Essentials of Psychology January 25, 2014 Research project #05020500 Media Violence and Aggressive Behavior Introduction In the early 1960s Albert Bandura conducted his famous â€Å"Bobo Doll† experiments, in which children were shown videos of someone attacking a plastic clown known as a Bobo doll (Isom, 1998). Many of the children exposed to these videos later imitated the same violence they had seen demonstrated in the video and continued to reproduce that violent behavior even months later (Isom, 1998). These results led Bandura and others to conclude that the children had learned the†¦show more content†¦If there is a large amount of violence in the media, it is only because it is a reflection of the society in which we are currently living. Society dictates that path that media will travel, rarely is it the other way around. Therefore, if children are, in fact, being influenced by the images they view in the media it is merely as an extension of the effect society has had on the media. This can best be illustrated by the preponderance of reality television shows in the media. The se shows purport to show real people engaging in their everyday lives. If that is true, then any violence they demonstrate is part of their normal routine, even in the absence of other media. These shows often depict aggressive behavior and show people lashing out physically at others. The huge ratings these shows pull in further indicate that, rather than ostracizing such behavior, society has begun to accept it. Many will make the counter argument that it is the rise of media that has inevitably led to this increase in violent behavior throughout society. Such an argument completely ignores the fact that there has been violence in the media from its inception. After all this time it stands to reason that there would be a much larger amount of violent and aggressive individuals in the world than currently exist. This is most likely explained by the fact that studies have show that over the long termShow MoreRelatedMedia Violence And Aggressive Behavior986 Words   |  4 Pagesof t he technology, children easy access to the variety of these different media forms, many of which have high levels of violent content. Nowadays, just by clicking on the screen, children observe tons of news regarding to murders, beatings and sexual assaults. Eron and his colleagues conducted the research show that before finishing the elementary school, the child would have witnessed 8000 murders (Eron, 1993). Other media such as movies, video game, the Internet seems to be effective methods ofRead More Television and Media Violence - Is Aggressive Behavior Linked to TV Violence?3420 Words   |  14 PagesIs Aggressive Behavior Linked to Television Violence?      Ã‚   According the Centerwall (1992), the average child aged 2-5 in 1990 watched 27 hours of television per day, or almost 4 hours per day. When much of what is on television, including cartoons and television shows targeted at children, contains violence, it becomes important to know whether watching televised violence can lead to or increase aggressive behavior. Social learning theory tells us that children model theirRead MoreHow Media Violence Related to Aggressive and Violent Behavior672 Words   |  3 Pagesclearly demonstrated that exposure to media violence does have a significant influence on violent and aggressive behavior. This is particularly the case amongst children where fictional media violence has been linked to increased aggression both in the short-term and in the long-term. This text highlights the extent to which media violence is related to violent/aggressive behavior. To What Extent is Media Violence Related to Aggressive and Violent Behavior? As I have already pointed out aboveRead MoreTo What Extent Is Media Violence Related to Aggressive and Violent Behavior?694 Words   |  3 PagesViolence is described in Webster’s dictionary as physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing. Violence on TV has been steadily increasing for the past few years. It’s not very often that you will find a TV show in prime time that doesn’t involve some type of violence. According to Hollywood sex and violence sells. The problem with this is that violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch those programs. As adultsRead MoreThe Criminal Justice System: Media Violence and Social Justice724 Words   |  3 Pagesadults who are exposed to the media are aggressive and violent. According to such articles, violent content provokes aggressive behavior and violence. Ferguson illustrates that watching satanic content, like in Harry Potter, or teaching of witchcraft can lead to Satanism or mental illness. According to Ferguson (2008), books, rock, jazz, television and watching movies in the media, leads to a wave of moral degradation, rebelliousness and violence. They also clam that new media like internet and video gamesRead MoreEssay about The Media And Violence979 Words   |  4 Pages The debate regarding the medias relationship to violence in society has been a hot issue for most of the past century. From the beginning of the wide use of mass media, from films to radio to television, researchers have tried to explain any association or correlation between media effects and violence. Of particular interest and concern has been the issue of violence in the media and the impact that this has on children. Although important research efforts have increased our understanding ofRead MoreThe Effects Of Violent Media On Aggressive Behavior1590 Words   |  7 Pagesviolent media and aggressive behaviors in individuals. This paper represents an effort to provide a source for individuals who are interested to gain information on the effect of violent media on aggressive behaviors. Most of the peer-reviewed and scholary articles used in this paper provided conclusions that violent media have multiply harmful affects on individuals especially children. Krahà © and Mà ¶ller (2011) discussed the relationship between usage of violent media and aggressive behaviors in adolescentsRead MoreMedia Violence And Crime Violence1168 Words   |  5 PagesMedia Violence and Crimes There are few debates that have been contentious for so long as the debate of whether violent medias contribute meaningfully to crimes. Because of the majority of shooting events committed by younger shooters, many politicians regard cultural effects as a potential contributing factor, while others dismiss media as a contributing factor. Within the social science community, a similar division exists (Ferguson, 2015). For example, some professional supporting groups, likeRead MoreMedia Violence And Its Effects1057 Words   |  5 Pages Media violence exposure has been investigated as a risk factor for aggression behavior for years. The impact of exposure to violence in the media the long term development and short term development of aggressive behavior has been documented. Aggression is caused by several factors, of which media violence is one. Research investigating the effects of media violence in conjunction with other predictors of aggression such as; environmental factors and dysfunction within the family household,Read MoreThe Effects Of Violent Media On Children And Youth990 Words   |  4 PagesEssentially since media is more violent than ever, and children and youth are getting more attracted to violent media. Studies on violent media shows a clear evidence that violence on media rises the possibility of aggressive behaviors in both short-term and long-term situations (Rowell Huesmann, Moise, Podolski, Eron, 2003). Most researchers agree that aggressive behaviors are more disposed to the harmful imp act of violence on media. The negative effect is much larger for younger children because

List of the Current Legislation and Codes of Practice Relating to Equality Free Essays

Legislation Purpose Disability Discrimination Act 1995Protects the rights of all those with disabilities. It also places a duty on schools (and other organisations) to eliminate barriers to ensure that individuals can gain equal access to services Disability Discrimination Act 2005 Places a duty for schools to produce a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) and an Access Plan. Schools must encourage participation in all aspects of school life and eliminate harassment and unlawful discrimination Race Relations(Amendment)Act 2000 Outlines the duty of organisations to promote good relationships between people from different races Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Makes it unlawful for educational providers to discriminate against pupils with a special educational need or a disability Children Act 1989 Sets out the duty of local authorities (including schools) to provide services according to the needs of children and to ensure their safety and welfare Human Rights Act 1998 Sets out rights of all individuals and allows them to take action against authorities when their rights have been affected Children Act 2004Sets out the duty to provide effective and accessible services for all children and underpins the ive Every Child Matters outcomes Education Act 1996Sets out the school’s responsibilities towards children with special educational needs. We will write a custom essay sample on List of the Current Legislation and Codes of Practice Relating to Equality or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Act also requires schools to provide additional resources, equipment and / or additional support to meet their needs Equality Act 2010Sets out the legal responsibilities of public bodies, including schools, to provide equality of opportunity for all citizens. This brings together nine equality laws How to cite List of the Current Legislation and Codes of Practice Relating to Equality, Essay examples

Accounting Systems And Information Assurance

Question: Discuss about the Accounting Systems And Information Assurance. Answer: 1. For years know financial service providers have been innovatively introducing new instruments and methods that could enable consumers and businesses to deliver and pay their bills electronically (Kasera, 2013). Hence, it has led to the wide use of electronic bill payment (EBP), and electronic bill presentment and payment system. Therefore, I will distinguish how the two operate and the existing similarities and differences between them. In Electronic bill payment system it operates under the notion of trust and acceptance compared to the traditional settings where consumers could see the product, examine it and then pay. Here, the customer doesnt see the product at time of transaction, and the payment channel that is used is electronic. Hence, this payment system allows payment of goods and services online through use of integrated software and hardware systems. Similar to EBP system, the electronic bill presentment and payment still operates under the notion of trust and acceptance, as bills are created delivered and paid over the internet. Here, this service has applications from many industries, and financial service providers to telecommunication firm and utilities (Kasera, 2013). Looking at the similarities and differences between these two systems: Similarity Difference Electronic bill payment systems and electronic bill presentment and payments systems both work under the notion of trust and acceptance since the clients havent seen the products. In both systems bills are paid electronically via the internet. In EBPP Systems there exist some obstacles of complexity in the billing systems and process that is used by competing banks, as for EBP thats not the case (Kasera, 2013). In EBPP it tends to be expensive and risky for financial institutions because of the complexity in the systems, hence firm prefer using EBP because of its simplicity. In EBPP systems users ability to adapt is low, but for EBP systems their adaptability is high. Still on EBPP, the biller is supposed to develop and in-house EBPP solution for successful usage of the system, but for EBP the billers only require a credit card to clear their bills. 2. In reviewing what the university database contains, I have been able to identify that one transitive dependency which is; instructor number relies of course number, whereas course number relies on course title, and course title relies on students. To effectively analyze the logic underlying in the table and how the university works based on third normal form. First, observations made shows that they have broken the transitive dependencies on the entity diagram. It was okay that the instructor number relied on the course number, but through the use of third normal form breaking of the instructor number to become a foreign key is quite significant for the entity diagram. The instructor number can still remain in the university table database. Hence, the designation of a foreign key by the university still satisfies the third normal form. In a way that there is a relation between the instructor number and name. In undertaking such a step, the university has successfully eliminated the updates anomaly. To better visualize this here is the new course title, instructor number and name tables with data. Course Title Instructor number Instructor name Financial Modeling 1 AARON Accounting information systems 2 KARIN Accounting information systems 5 PAUL Environment accounting 3 HELEN Know the course title instructor number isnt dependent on the course title. Therefore, they two dont rely on each other form values. Their only dependency is only on the primary key (Sampson, 2015). Hence, the entity diagram is quite proficient since it satisfies the requirements of third normal form. In most practical sense this tends to be usually sufficient, but other cases may require further data modeling refinements. 3.Observations done suggest that organizations establish entities for different purposes such as taxes. According to (Dibble, 2010) definition externally entities are the stakeholders who arent found within a business itself, but it cares and is affected by its performance. A good example in our case would include the students. On the other hand, internal entities are those entities found or are affected within the organization. To justify, the correctness of my colleague I will provide the need of having internal entities in and external entities out. The reason as to why internal entities are supposed to be in is for the purpose on management, employee and owners effective analysis (Dibble, 2010). For instance, managers can analyze the organization performance and positions, and effective measures to improve the company results based on internal entities, while on the external environment investors use the external entities to assess the feasibility of them investing in any institution. Therefore, my colleague was correct based on the above discussion that there is need of differentiation. References Kasera, A. (2013).Electronic payment systems. New Delhi, Random Publications. Dibble, R. (2010).Collaboration for the common good an examination of internal and external adjustment. Irvine, Calif, University of California, Irvine. https://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2065696381sid=21Fmt=2clientId=48051RQT=309VName=PQD. Sampson, A. (2015).Generic Design and Modeling Databases: Third Normal Form. https://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=94564.

The Great ha-jin Essay Example

The Great ha-jin Essay Ha Jin has written many unique stories that have influenced a large number of readers. One of his more popular stories, The Bridegroom dealt with the controversial topic of homosexuality and how we, as humans, should deal with this important issue. Jins short stories, The Bridegroom were published in 2000 (Weich).There are twelve short stories in The Bridegroom and three of them were selected for The Best American Short Stories (Thomas).In the title story, he writes about the authors adopted daughter who gets married to a handsome guy but he turns out to be a homosexual (Jin). The Bridegroom is an interesting story because it keeps the reader wondering what will happen at the end of the story. Claire Messud of The New York Times believes that this story was a great pleasure.She also believes that Ha Jin has an excellent storytelling talent.I thought the story was different because of the cultural background.I like the way Jin narrated the story and then suddenly added a twist. The B ridegroom is a very unusual story.The story is based on the authors son-in-law and his adopted daughter.The story starts of with Beina (adopted daughter of the author), who is having a hard time finding a boyfriend (Jin 91).Then, all of a sudden a guy by the name of Huang asks her to marry him (Jin 91).Later in the story, Huang gets arrested for the crime of homosexuality (Jin 95).Huangs father in law decides to put him in a mental hospital with the hope of curing him but it turns out that he can never be cured. Jin describes Huang as very kind and handsome man (92).He also points out that Huang was so handsome that all the girls in the authors factory were jealous of Beina when Huang asked her to marry him (Jin 92). He says that Huang is so handsome that he was surprised when Huang asked his daughter, Bein

The Friars essays

The Friars essays Lawrences works details how the mendicant orders arose before and during the thirteenth century. Europe supported the establishment of the church, implemented change and reform leading to heresy and separation. Lawrence regards the revolutionary situation (page 225), as one resulting partly by the growth of towns and the general population. Due to social changes within medieval Europe itself it sought control and threatened the stability of the Church and of the religious beliefs of the people. In a way, the rise of the mendicant orders at this time is an answer to the problems in this situation. Mendicant orders are seen by Lawrence as a revolutionary answer to a potentially revolutionary situation (page 225) because of the long-term effect to help preserve the church hierarchy. This sometimes was in conflict and even become partly incorporated into that hierarchy themselves. Although, to some extent the mendicant orders were innovative, they cannot be seen as itself revolutionary. In order to be considered revolutionary, they would have had to overthrow the previous church order and perhaps replacing it with a new one. But mendicant order did nothing of the sort. The establishment of monasteries and schools allowed them to later become part of the Catholic Church, government system. The Friars were well trained in theology and pastoral skills which is why they were chosen by the papacy to completely destroy the religious beliefs that opposed the orthodox views (page 188). At this time religion in the West was a relatively new concept. The friars are noted to have had some importance in the Inquisition: suppressing the heresy (Websters New World Dictionary, 249). Developing... out of... measures... to combat the dualist heresies... rampant in France and in northern and central Italy by the middle of the twelfth century. (Page 189). Here the Church used i...

Superorder Dictyoptera, Roaches and Mantids

Superorder Dictyoptera, Roaches and Mantids Dictyoptera means network wings, referring to the visible network of veins present in the wings of this order. The superorder Dictyoptera includes orders of insects related by evolution and features: Blattodea (sometimes called Blattaria), the cockroaches, and Mantodea, the mantids. That being said, the world of science is ever-evolving, and taxonomy is no exception. This branch of the insect taxonomic tree is currently under revision. Some insect taxonomists also group termites in the superorder Dictyoptera. In some entomology references, the Dictyoptera may be ranked at the order level, with the mantids and roaches listed as suborders. Description: Perhaps no other pairing of insects seems as unlikely as cockroaches and mantids of the order Dictyoptera. Cockroaches are almost universally reviled, while mantids, also called praying mantises, are often revered. Taxonomists rely only on physical and functional characteristics to determine groups of like insects, however. Compare a cockroach and a mantid, and youll notice both have leathery forewings. Called tegmina, these wings are held like a roof over the abdomen. Roaches and mantids have long and spiny middle and hind legs. Their feet, or tarsi, nearly always have five segments. Dictyopterans use chewing mouthparts to consume their food, and have long, segmented antennae. Both cockroaches and mantids also share a few anatomical features that you would only see through close examination and dissection, but theyre important clues to establishing the relationship between these seemingly different insect groups. Insects have a platelike sternite near the end of their abdomens, under the genitalia, and in the Dictyoptera, this genital plate is enlarged. Roaches and mantids also share a special digestive system structure. Between the foregut and midgut, they have a gizzard-like structure called a  proventriculus, and in the Dictyoptera the  proventriculus has internal teeth that break down solid bits of food before sending them along the alimentary canal. Finally, in roaches and mantids, the tentorium – a skull-like structure in the head that cradles the brain and gives the head capsule its form – is perforated. Members of this order undergo incomplete or simple metamorphosis with three stages of development: egg, nymph, and adult. The female lays eggs in groups, then encases them in foam which hardens into a protective capsule, or ootheca. Habitat and Distribution: The superorder Dictyoptera contains nearly 6,000 species, distributed worldwide. Most species live in terrestrial habitats in the tropics. Major Families in the Superorder: Blattidae - Oriental and American cockroachesBlattellidae- German and wood cockroachesPolyphagidae - desert cockroachesBlaberidae - giant cockroachesMantidae - mantids Dictyopterans of Interest: Blatta orientalis, the Oriental cockroach, gains access to homes through plumbing pipes.The brown-banded cockroach, Supella longipalpa, is called the TV roach. It likes to hide inside warm electronic appliances.Brown-hooded cockroaches (Cryptocercus punctulatus) live in family groups. Females give birth to live young; the nymphs take 6 years to reach maturity.The Mediterranean mantid takes its scientific name, Iris oratoria from an unusual marking on the underside of its wing. Literally, the name means talking eye, a smart description of the eyespot which is displayed when the mantid feels threatened. Sources: Dictyoptera, Kendall Bioresearch Services. Accessed online March 19, 2008.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, by Eric R. Eaton Kenn KaufmanDictyoptera, Tree of Life Web. Accessed online March 19, 2008.Evolution of the Insects, by David Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel.External Anatomy - The Insects Head, by John R. Meyer, North Carolina State University Department of Entomology. Accessed online November 9, 2015.Unlikely Sisters – Roaches and  Mantises, by Nancy Miorelli, Ask an Entomologist website. Accessed online November 9, 2015.

Emergency Management - Risk Management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emergency Management - Risk Management - Article Example Apart from being efficient, it is community-based and gives the locally affected residents to have a voice and directly contribute towards the mitigation efforts. At the same time, Holcombe and Malcolm argue in favor of the community-based landslide hazard mitigation measure since it is cost-effective. It is less cheap as compared with the conventional methods that require a lot of resources to finance. Therefore, it can be done by the available finances availed by the government and all other financiers. Moreover, it is faster and requires a little time to materialize. Therefore, these authors say that it can be relied upon for providing long term mitigation measures for landslides which has been causing a lot of agonies to so many people. It is a good initiative that brings together several players to at least make their contributions towards its implementation. However, for it to be successful, the strategy needs to be appropriately used as planned. First, it should actively involve the support of the residents. If it is supported by the affected communities, it will definitely succeed. This is guaranteed because their contribution makes the initiative to appeal to them. All the other concerned stakeholders such as the government and financiers should be actively involved in the entire process. They are major players whose contributions can not be overlooked. It is for such reasons that these scholars assert that MoSSaiC is much better than the conventional mitigation measures. Actually, this article is properly written. Its depth indicates that it was written by professionals who have got sound research skills to gather information and disseminate it to the users. This is evidenced in the manner the article captures all the important information about the subject. For instance, rather than stating the issue, they go ahead to examine how efficient the new strategy has been in mitigating landslides in different

Issues in Film History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Issues in Film History - Essay Example Issues in Film History Filmography, just as any other art of entertainment, depended on the existing models to sustain the production processes with the aim of producing high quality and relevant films as well as motion pictures. The development of the Edison motion picture and its database reveals just how the progress was. The achievements in the film industry have undergone through a series of sophisticated transformations (Johnson, 2002). This period was characterized by the production of low budget films which were characterized by poor quality. These productions were mainly showcased in theatres for entertainment without any pedagogical purposes. From the analysis of early film producers such as Edwin S porter, it becomes evident that the use of motion pictures as a means of entertainment had previously been existent prior to the nineteenth century. Various films have showcased the progress that has been made in the film industry (Cook, 1991). Back then, producers used magic lanterns and other projec tion devices to relay their pictures on the walls for their audiences. The absence of the modern day camera and editing computer software forced most of the producers to rely on brief single shots of their scenes. In fact, they relied entirely on the sequencing of the films to tell their stories through pictures. This production technique was tiring and discouraged the participation of numerous producers thus resulted in a less appealing industry unlike the modern day’s film industry. ... Porter understood that besides the entertaining aspects of the films, they also communicated ideas to their audience. For his movie to gain relevance among the target audience, therefore, he wrote a simple storyline which addressed familiar themes. Despite the progressive development of the motion picture as a means of entertainment, this aspect of the art has not changed. Works of art communicate to their audience. Consequently, artists are compelled to make productions that are of relevance to their target audience. Porter’s film followed a simple story line in which highway robbers hijacked a train wagon to steal from the passengers. To this day, the twelve minute film is considered the greatest production of the time and a milestone in production. Back then, the only known means of transport was the train; it linked towns and states. The train was the only means of transport that guaranteed the reliability of the modern day planes. However, instances of hijackings and othe r on voyage robberies were rampant. Porter’s film is motivated by the rampant robberies and other uncertainties associated with the journey. As the industry develops through time, other producers of film retain the desire to stay relevant to their audience’s expectations and the only way of achieving this is by developing films that follow familiar themes. However, others stretch the imagination of their audiences but they always provide a connection between the current societies to the imagined setting in their films (Geuens, 2000). A number of factors which include the complexity of the story line and the available means of production influences the timing of films. The Great Train Robbery lasted twelve

Snap Fitness Essay Example for Free

Snap Fitness Essay Why Snap Fitness Is Your Right Choice Starting your own business is a big decision. As you consider options, here are four factors that make us a proven business model with a history of success: The Fitness Franchise Opportunity is a Growing Industry Fitness is in. The percentage of people belonging to health clubs and gyms has doubled over the past 20 years. More growth is expected, fueled by an aging Baby Boomer generation in search of eternal youth and the reality that regular exercise can prevent or control diseases that are driving health care costs relentlessly upward. The 24/7 fitness opportunity is the newest model of fitness centers today. Economically, the health club industry has proven to be recession-proof, averaging an 8% annual growth rate since the early 1990’s across all health clubs and gyms. The gym and health club industrys fastest-growing segment is the 24/7 fitness franchise segment and Snap Fitness is the segments growth-rate leader. Industry Leaders in 24/7 Fitness Franchises [pic] Our fitness franchise concept enables you to offer customers fast, convenient and affordable workouts in clean, comfortable fitness centers just minutes from their homes 24/7. They enjoy the same quality equipment and workout experience offered in traditional full-service gyms but without the crowded parking lots, long waiting lines and inflated monthly dues. In addition, we lead the way in value-added products and services including personal training, tanning, health and wellness programs and much more, helping members to get the best value for their fitness dollar. Our member-friendly policies lead the health club industry we do not require contracts: members pay month-to-month and may freeze their gym memberships when not using them. Best of all, members can work out at any one of our thousands of fitness club locations worldwide, day or night. Combine these amenities with our round-the-clock safety and security system, including in-club surveillance that can be accessed from your home computer, along with panic-button technology and electronic keycard access, and you have a concept unmatched by any of our competitors in the industry. Better Support Systems to Help You Find Success When evaluating the choices for starting your own business our space, youll quickly conclude were the easy decision. From the moment you sign your Franchise Agreement, the support, service and training we provide is unparalleled in the health club industry. Our turnkey operational systems enable you to run your club with as little as one employee, allowing you to be your own boss. Our product lineup extends well beyond what comparable fitness franchises offer giving you more tools to recruit and retain members and create new revenue streams. Whats more, our financial model favors you over the long run. Like us, other franchisors take care of member billing through automated systems. But their monthly fee typically is a percentage of your total dollar transaction the more successful you are, the higher their fee. In contrast, we charge a nominal flat-fee per transaction. The difference can add up to thousands of dollars over a year. It’s your money, why shouldn’t you keep it? If you dont like paying higher taxes simply because you work hard to earn more, youll appreciate our franchisee-friendly financial approach. An Affordable Investment [pic] As outlined in our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) a prospectus-like document every franchisor is legally required to provide to potential investors your total investment in a Snap Fitness will range from $76,113 to $361,695. In addition, we have finance options available to help you achieve your goal of starting your own business or growing your existing business. Best of all, our ongoing royalty and marketing fees are a set flat-rate, as opposed to other franchises that charge you a percentage of your monthly revenues. For more information, contact us now. A franchise enables you, the investor or franchisee, to operate a business. You pay a franchise fee and you get a format or system developed by the company (franchisor), the right to use the franchisor’s name for a limited time, and assistance. For example, the franchisor may provide you with help in finding a location for your outlet; initial training and an operating manual; and advice on management, marketing, or personnel. The franchisor may provide support through periodic newsletters, a toll-free telephone number, a website, or scheduled workshops or seminars. Buying a franchise may reduce your investment risk by enabling you to associate with an established company. But the franchise fee can be substantial. You also will have other costs: for example, you may be required to give up significant control over your business while you take on contractual obligations with the franchisor. Typically, franchise systems have several components. Costs In exchange for the right to use the franchisor’s name and assistance, you will pay some or all of the following fees. Initial Franchise Fee and Other Expenses Your initial franchise fee, which will range from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars, may be non-refundable. You may incur significant costs to rent, build, and equip an outlet and to buy initial inventory. You also may have to pay for operating licenses and insurance, and a â€Å"grand opening† fee to the franchisor to promote your new outlet. Continuing Royalty Payments You may have to pay the franchisor royalties based on a percentage of your weekly or monthly gross income. Often, you must pay royalties even if your outlet isn’t earning significant income. As a rule, you have to pay royalties for the right to use the franchisor’s name. Even if the franchisor doesn’t provide the services they promised, you still may have to pay royalties for the duration of your franchise agreement. Indeed, even if you voluntarily terminate your franchisee agreement early, you may owe royalties for the remainder of your agreement. Advertising Fees You also may have to pay into an advertising fund. Some portion of the advertising fees may be allocated to national advertising or to attract new franchise owners, rather than to promote your particular outlet. Controls To ensure uniformity, franchisors usually control how franchisees conduct business. These controls may significantly restrict your ability to exercise your own business judgment. Here are a few examples. Site Approval Many franchisors pre-approve sites for outlets, which, in turn, may increase the likelihood that your outlet will attract customers. At the same time, the franchisor may not approve the site you’ve selected. Design or Appearance Standards Franchisors may impose design or appearance standards to ensure a uniform look among the various outlets. Some franchisors require periodic renovations or seasonal design changes; complying with these standards may increase your costs. Restrictions on Goods and Services You Sell Franchisors may restrict the goods and services you sell. For example, if you own a restaurant franchise, you may not be able to make any changes to your menu. If you own an automobile transmission repair franchise, you may not be able to perform other types of automotive work, like brake or electrical system repairs. Restrictions on Method of Operation Franchisors may require that you operate in a particular way: they may dictate hours; pre-approve signs, employee uniforms, and advertisements; or demand that you use certain accounting or bookkeeping procedures. In some cases, the franchisor may require that you sell goods or services at specific prices, restricting your ability to offer discounts, or that you buy supplies only from an approved supplier even if you can buy similar goods elsewhere for less. Restrictions on Sales Area A franchisor may limit your business to a specific territory. While territorial restrictions may ensure that you will not compete with other franchisees for the same customers, they also could hurt your ability to open additional outlets or to move to a more profitable location. In addition, a franchisor may limit your ability to have your own website, which could restrict your ability to have online customers. Moreover, the franchisor itself may have the right to offer goods or services in your sales area through its own website or through catalogs or telemarketing campaigns. Terminations and renewal You can lose the right to your franchise if you breach the franchise contract. Franchise contracts are for a limited time; your right to renew is not guaranteed. Franchise Terminations A franchisor can end your franchise agreement for a variety of reasons, including your failure to pay royalties or abide by performance standards and sales restrictions. If your franchise is terminated, you may lose your investment. Renewals Franchise agreements may run for as long as 20 years. At the end of the contract, the franchisor may decline to renew. Renewals are not automatic, and they may not have the original terms and conditions. Indeed, the franchisor may raise the royalty payments, impose new design standards and sales restrictions, or reduce your territory. Any of these changes may result in more competition from company-owned outlets or other franchisees.

Motivation, Organizational Behavior and Performance :: organizations, business, motivation,

Motivation is an important concept which is critical for understanding of and improvement in organizational behaviour and performance. It is therefore important for the managers to understand motivation. It is an important tool which they can use to get more out of their employees and increase organizational performance. Motivation can be defined as the factors, both internal as well as external which arouse in individuals the desire and commitment for a job (Mele, 2005, p. 15). Organizational performance on the other hand refers to the degree to which the organizational objectives have been achieved. Research has shown that motivation in an employee is an important factor which determines his performance. Motivation is the â€Å"driving force within individuals† (Mullins, 2007, p. 285). It is the concerned with finding out the reasons which shape and direct the behaviour of the individuals. The people act to achieve something so that they can satisfy some needs (Gitman and Daniel, 2008). It is important for the manager to understand this motivation of individual employees in order to inspire them and devise an appropriate set of incentives and rewards which would satisfy the needs that they have individually (Kerr, 2003). Once these needs are expected to be met in return for some specific behaviour or action, they would work more diligently to have that behaviour in them and to achieve that objective (Meyer and Hersovitch, 2001). Since it would lead to early and fuller achievement of the company objectives as the individual would work more diligently, it would lead to bett er organizational performance (Wiley, 1997). It is important for manager to understand that what motivates the individuals. There are different kinds of motivation theories which reveal that individuals are motivated by different factors. For example there is extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1993). Extrinsic motivation refers to the motivation that one has for the extrinsic rewards such as pay, status, power, etc. Then there are intrinsic motivating factors such as the chance to exercise one’s skills, the opportunity to learn and personal development. Research suggests that various factors motivate employees in a different degree depending on their nature. It would therefore be important for the manager to understand that what are the motivating factors for individual employees and then provide them incentives accordingly so that they can work in a more productive fashion. Once the individuals work with greater excitement and vigour it would automatically lead to better performance.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Organizational Commitment: Insight Into Devaraj Agency

ADP FALL 2011 ID 49801 Senior Project: Management Ms. Linda Title: The effect of job satisfaction on organizational commitment: Insight into Devaraj Agency VIJAY MUTHU RAJAH A/L ANNAVI SCSJ-0005836 Table of Contents No| Description | Page| 1| Objective | 1| 2| Methodology| 2| 3| Introduction| 3| 4| Literature Review| 4-6| 5| Findings| 7-19| 6| Result of the findings| 20-21| 7| Limitation| 22| 8| Recommendation| 23| 9| Conclusion| 24| 10| Reference | 25| 11| Appendix| 26-28| Objective The objective of this project is to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment among insurance agents in Devaraj Agency. The focus of this study is to analyze the general behavior of insurance agents towards job satisfaction, which may build higher levels of organizational commitment. This study is done based on Herzberg’s two- factor theory and more specifically, on Motivators factor. The findings of this project will help agency manager to understand the current level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of agents towards their agency. Besides that, suggestions also will be given based on the result of the findings. If the satisfaction level and organizational commitment of insurance agents is low and then many suggestion will be given to solve the problem. If it is otherwise, suggestion will be to maintain or improve further the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents. By this, the agency manager gets suggestions to solve job satisfaction and organizational commitment problem if any or to improve them further. Methodology Numerous of methods are to be used to identify the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents. The method are as followed: Survey A survey was done with insurance agents from Devaraj Agency. The purpose of this survey is to find out the current level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the insurance agents. The survey would had 56 questions related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Interviews An Interview has been held with agency manager and few insurance agents. The purpose of interviewing agency manager is to get information about the human resource strategy, annual turnover rate and his perception on agent’s job satisfaction and organizational commitment. External sources The external sources were used in this research. The external sources were Internet and printed materials. These materials were very useful in doing literature review about job satisfaction, organizational commitment and the relationship of them. Introduction Devaraj Agency is one of the oldest Indian insurance agencies in ING Company. The main role of this agency is to sell the insurance as well as investment products of ING Bhd through direct selling techniques. Up to now, 100 over people working as insurance agents in this agency. However, there was no attempt has been taken to measure the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the agents in this agency. Job satisfaction means ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. (Locke, 1976). According to Porter (1968), organizational Commitment is a willingness of employees to exert high levels of effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to remain in the organization, and an acceptance of the organization’s major goals and values. It is important for Devaraj Agency to learn about job satisfaction and organizational commitment of its insurance agents because if agents satisfied with their job, they will have high commitment on their agency and that translate into high job performance and low absenteeism. Literature review Job satisfaction and organizational commitment receive considerable attention from industrial and organizational psychologists, management scientists, and sociologists. Three thousand studies had been done on job satisfaction alone by the time Locke prepared his study nearly 20 years ago (Locke, 1976). The interest of analyzing job satisfaction and organizational commitment stems from the concern of the behavioral consequences that hypothesized result in job satisfaction and/or organizational commitment. Among other topics, job satisfaction and/or organizational commitment have been shown or argued to be related to productivity, attendance at work, turnover, retirement, participation, labor militancy, sympathy for unions, and psychological withdrawal from work. Job Satisfaction According to Locke (1976, p. 300), job satisfaction is ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. There are many researchers found that Herzberg’s Two-factor motivation Theory is related with employees’ job satisfaction when apply intrinsic motivator (Cesare and Sadri, 2003;Hellriegel and Slocum, 1998; Slocum and Helliegel, 2009). The intrinsic or motivator factors consist of responsibility, recognition, advancement, ach ievement, and work itself (Slocum and Helliegel, 2009; Furnham et al. , 2009). Intrinsic motivator factor is one of the variables that use to find out the positive relationship with job satisfaction (Bhuian and Mengue, 2002). Shaffer et al. (2000) suggested that the satisfaction of work itself relate with job satisfaction while see job satisfactions itself as an individual enjoys on their job which is very much related on the classification of nature of work itself (Pool and Pool, 2006; Couger, 1988 cited in Thatcher, et al. , 2002). Besides this, Herzberg stated in his two factors theory that there are two categorizes of motives for the employees known as satisfiers and dissatisfiers. He related intrinsic factors with job satisfaction and extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction (Gagne, 200; Sarmad, 2007). Organizational Commitment Organizational commitment has been defined more pragmatically by Porter (1968), who holds that it consists of a willingness of employees to exert high levels of effort on behalf of the organization, a strong desire to remain in the organization, and an acceptance of the organization’s major goals and values. Organizational commitment of the employees has been measured in several different ways and it has been related with many job related variables. Allen & Meyer (1990) developed a measure of organizational commitment with three major components: Affective component of organizational commitment refers to employees’ emotional attachment, identification and involvement in the organization; the Continuance component refers to commitment based on the costs that employees associate with leaving the organization; and Normative commitment reflects an employee’s feeling of obligation to remain with the organization. Link between job satisfaction and organizational Commitment Job satisfaction has been associated with organizational commitment (Boles, et al. 2007; Pool and Pool, 2007; Brown and Peterson, 1993), which is broadly defined as the â€Å"psychological bond between people and organizations† (Buchanan 1974; Tett and Meyer, 1993). The study of Klaus, et al. , (2003) found that there is an effect of work challenging (intrinsic motivation) as a work nature, which can impact on affective organizational commitment . According to Steinhaus & Perry (1996) committed and satisfied employees are unlikely to indicate low performance and are normally highly productive who identify with organizational goals and organizational values (Churchill et al. , (1993). Similarly, if employees are highly satisfied with their work, promotion chances and that derive high level of overall job satisfaction with their jobs they are more likely to be committed to the organization than if they are not satisfied. The focus on this concept was not over stated because job satisfaction and commitment are primary determinants of employee turnover, performance, and productivity (Opkara, 2004). Beside that, Balfour and Wechsler (1996) pointed out that overall organizational commitment is an appropriate and significant aspect to focus for organizational productivity and performance. Ayeni and Phopoola (2007) also have found that there is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. According to them Job satisfaction is mostly determine how well the organization meets employees expectations. According to Cote & Heslin (2003). Findings The job satisfaction and organizational commitment survey has been done with the insurance agents in two weekly meetings held in ING Damansara office and ING Klang office. All insurance agents attended the meeting participated in this survey. In total, the survey form had 47 questions including three demographic questions. It was divided into three sections. The first section was contained 36 questions about job satisfaction. The second section contained 8 questions about organizational commitment. The third section contained 3 questions about demographic. All questions of job satisfaction in this survey were originally derived from the job satisfaction survey form developed by Paul E. Spector. The survey form contained 36 questions of both motivator and hygiene factor. The questions related to motivator factor ware given utmost importance in this survey compared to the questions of hygiene factors because motivator factor leads to job satisfaction but hygiene factor does not and it leads to job dissatisfaction. The question number 2,5,8,11,14,17,19,20,24,27,31,32,33 and 35 in the survey had been identified as motivator factor related questions while the other questions were related to hygiene factor. The rating scale used for job satisfaction survey was a 6-point scale which ranging from â€Å"disagrees very much† to â€Å"agree very much†. The survey questions of organizational commitment were taken from the affective commitment related questions in Allen and Meyer’s Organizational Commitment Scale. Allen and Meyer’s organizational commitment scale’ original 7 point scale has been modified in this survey to 6 points scales by removing neither agree or disagree option. It is to get more accurate answers from the participants. The modified scale ranging from (1) disagrees very much to (6) agree very much. Findings of demographic In total, 56 insurance agents participated in this questionnaire. Out of 56 espondents, 36 respondents were male while 20 respondents were female. The majority of the respondents participated in this survey were aged between 30 to 39 years old. The age of other respondents were 16 respondents were between 20 to 29 years old, 12 respondents were between 40 to 49 years old and 12 respondents were between 50 to 59 years old. The race of participants did not ask in this questionn aire because Deveraj Agency is the Indian agency and all agents should be Indians. Majority of respondents (16 respondents) said their income range was between RM 4,100 to RM 5,000. The income range of others was 12 respondents was between RM2,100 to RM3,000, 8 respondents was between RM 3,100 to RM4,000, 8 respondents was more than RM5,000 and 4 respondents was between RM1,000 to RM 2,000. Findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor The findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 2| There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. | 28| 5| 3| 4| 7| 9| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. 0| 0| 0| 5| 9| 42| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. | 23| 10| 0| 7| 16| 0| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 4| 7| 9| 0| 5| 31| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 16| 17| 3| 18| 0| 2| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 4| 0| 0| 2| 14| 36| 19 | I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 24| 10| 7| 3| 8| 0| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 7| 0| 9| 16| 19| 17| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 6| 6| 2| 22| 5| 15| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. 0| 3| 0| 0| 34| 19| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 2| 11| 0| 26| 9| 8| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. | 25| 12| 4| 4| 5| 6| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 0| 0| 0| 12| 10| 36| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 0| 8| 0| 3| 10| 35| The findings of Job satisfaction on motivator factor| No| | Agree| Disagree| 2| There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. | 34%| 66%| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. | 100%| 0%| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. 33%| 67%| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 64%| 36%| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 36%| 64%| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 93%| 7%| 19 | I fee l unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 27%| 73%| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 71%| 29%| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 75%| 25%| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. | 93%| 7%| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 71%| 29%| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. 29%| 71%| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 100%| 0%| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 86%| 14%| The findings of the statements that related to motivator factors in the job satisfaction survey as followed: 2) There is really too little chance for promotion on my job. Higher percentage of respondents (66 percent) said disagrees to the statement if compared to the number of respondent said agree (34 percent). The large number of respondents (28 respondents) said they â€Å"disagrees very much† to the statement. 5) When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. For this statement, the 100 percent of respondents said that they agree that when they do a good job, they receive the recognition that they should receive. The higher number of respondent (42 respondents) said they â€Å"agree very much† to the statement. 8) I sometimes feel my job is meaningless Percentages of respondents (67 percent) disagree to the statement, which was higher than the percentages of respondents agree (33 percent). From the 67 percent of respondents said agree, the highest number of respondents (23 respondents) responded as â€Å"disagree very much† 11) Those who do well on he job stand a fair chance of being promoted. The percentage of respondent agree and disagree to the statement was (64 percent) agree and 36 percent of respondent said disagree. So, the percentage of respondents who said agree was higher than the percentage of respondent said disagree. Most number of respondent (31 respondent) said that they â€Å"agree very much† to the st atement. 14) I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. For this statement, 64 percentage of respondents said that they disagree while 36 percentage of respondent said agree. So the percentage of respondents who disagree that they do not feel that the work they do is appreciated was higher than the percentage of respondent who agree. 17) I like doing the things I do at work. The majority of respondent in percentage said they agree that they like the things they do at work were 93 percent. Only 7 percentage of respondent said that they disagree to the statement. â€Å"Agree very much† option received most number of responses from the respondents (36 responses) if compared to the other four options. 19) I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. For this negative statement, higher percentage of respondents (73 percent) disagree if compared to the percentage of respondent (27 percent) agree. The large number of respondent who said disagree were disagree very much (24 respondents). 20) People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. The response for this positive statement was positive where 71 percent of respondent said agree. The percent of respondent said disagree was 29 percent. The highest number of respondent answered to the statement as they agree moderately and that followed by agree slightly and agree very much. 4) I have too much to do at work. For this statement, the percentage of respondents (75 percent)who said, â€Å"Agree† is higher than the percentage of respondents(25 percent) who said, â€Å"Disagree†. The highest number of respondent (22 respondents) responded as â€Å"agree slightly†. 27) I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. The large percentages of respondents (93 percent ) said agree to the statement while only small percentages of respondents (7 percent) disagree to the statement. So when compare the response received to the five scales for this statement, the scale â€Å"agree moderately† received highest response. 1) I have too much paperwork For this negative statement, higher percentages of respondent (71 percent) said agree that they have to do too much paperwork. Only lower percentage of respondents (29 percent) said that they disagree to the statement. Most respondent agree to this statement were agree slightly (26 respondents). 32) I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be For this statement, higher percentages of respondent disagree to the statement than agree. The percentage of disagree and agree was 71 percent and 29 percent respectively. The high response of respondents for â€Å"disagree† was received for â€Å"disagree very much†(26 responses). 33) I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. All responses received for this statement was positive where the percentage of respondents who said agree was 100 percent. None of the participant disagree to this statement. The high response of respondent for â€Å" agree† was received to â€Å"agree very much†(36 respondents) 35) My job is enjoyable. For this statement, the percentage of respondent who agree was (86%) which is far higher than the percentage of respondent (14%) who said disagree. The majority of respondent (35 respondents)who said agree, responded as â€Å"agree very much†. Findings of job satisfaction on hygiene factor The findings of hygiene factor related questions were also included in this paper. This finding was not used in this paper to discuss about job satisfaction because they are not related to job satisfaction but instead they are related to job dissatisfaction. But, this finding was used to identify the job dissatisfaction level of the insurance agent in Devaraj Agency. Based on the outcome, recommendation will be given if there are any hygiene factor related problems. The findings of Job satisfaction for hygiene factor| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 1| I feel I am being paid a fair amount for the work I do. | 8| 0| 0| 8| 8| 32| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 4| 0| 5| 3| 24| 20| 4| I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 30| 0| 8| 14| 0| 4| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. | 4| 12| 7| 9| 14| 10| 7| I like the people I work with. 3| 0| 0| 13| 8| 32| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 0| 0| 0| 8| 8| 40| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 24| 12| 0| 0| 16| 4| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. | 32| 0| 12| 8| 4| 0| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 4| 15| 0| 5| 20| 12| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 16| 8| 8| 12| 12| 0| 16| I find I have to work harder at my job because of the incompetenc e of people I work with. | 8| 0| 0| 8| 16| 24| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. 35| 4| 0| 8| 7| 0| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 34| 7| 2| 7| 6| 0| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 0| 0| 14| 2| 16| 20| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. | 3| 16| 1| 27| 4| 5| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 0| 4| 0| 12| 12| 28| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 26| 7| 3| 13| 3| 4| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 0| 4| 0| 8| 12| 32| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. 8| 5| 12| 14| 10| 7| 30| I like my supervisor. | 2| 0| 0| 7| 5| 42| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. | 20| 13| 2| 7| 3| 11| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 16| 17| 4| 4| 12| 3| | | | | | | | | The findings of Job satisfaction for hygiene factor| No| | Agree| Disagree| 1| I feel I am being paid a fair amount f or the work I do. | 48| 8| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 47| 9| 4| I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 18| 38| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. 33| 23| 7| I like the people I work with. | 3| 52| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 56| 0| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 20| 36| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. | 12| 44| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 43| 13| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 24| 32| 16| I find I have to work harder at my job because of the incompetence of people I work with. | 38| 8| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. 15| 41| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 13| 43| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 46| 10| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. | 36| 20| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 52| 4| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 20| 36| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 52| 4| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. | 33| 23| 30| I like my supervisor. | 54| 2| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. 21| 35| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 19| 37| Overall, job dissatisfaction of insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is low. The evident is that the respondents responded positively to 22 statements in the hygiene related job satisfaction questionnaire but only for 3 statements they respondent negatively. Findings of Organizational Commitment Findings of Organizational Commitment Survey (Affective Commitment)| No| | Disagree very much| Disagree moderately| Disagree slightly| Agree slightly| Agree moderately| Agree very much| 1| It would e very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 2| 0| 5| 7| 10| 32| 2| I do not feel any obligation to r emain with my current employer| 24| 13| 7| 0| 0| 12| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 0| 0| 4| 0| 7| 45| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 5| 0| 3| 9| 15| 24| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 6| 6| 0| 5| 24| 15| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 0| 0| 3| 12| 24| 17| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 16| 14| 4| 12| 7| 3| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 16| 2| 0| 25| 7| 8| Findings of Organizational Commitment Survey (Affective Commitment)| No| | Agree| Disagree| | It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 88%| 12%| 2| I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer| 21%| 79%| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 93%| 7%| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 68%| 32%| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 79%| 21%| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 95%| 5%| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 39%| 61%| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 29| 71%| For the first question of organizational commitment, 88 percent of respondents said that they wound not leave the agency right now even if they wanted but only 12 percent of respondents said they would. The large numbers of respondents (32 respondents) â€Å"agree very much† that they would not leave the agency if they wanted also. The next question was â€Å"I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer†. 79 percent of respondents said that they disagree to the statement and said that they do have the feeling of obligation to remain with their current employer. The number of respondents who â€Å"disagree very much† to the statement (24 respondents) was higher than the total number of respondents who said they â€Å"agree slightly†, â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much†. For the statement â€Å"I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency†, 93 percentage of respondents said agree while 7 percent of respondents said disagree. So, the number of respondents who said agree is higher than the number of respondents who said disagree. Out of the 93 percentage of respondents, the highest numbers of respondents (45 respondents) â€Å"agree very much† than agree slightly or agree moderately. The statement â€Å"Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now† received higher number of agree as response than disagree from the participants. The percentage of respondents who said agree and disagree was 68 percent of respondents said agree and 32 percent of respondents said disagree. Most respondents â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much† to the statement. The fifth statement in the organizational commitment questionnaire â€Å"I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own, 79 percent of respondent said they agree they do feel the agency’s problem as their problem while 21 percent of respondents said they do not feel so. Thus, the number of respondent agree to the statement is higher than the respondents who disagree. Similar to the previous statement, most respondents â€Å"agree moderately† and â€Å"agree very much† to this statement. The next statement was â€Å"Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire†. For this statement also the majority of respondents said that they agree that staying with this agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire. The percentage of respondent who said agree and disagree was 95 percent of respondents said agree while only 5 percent of respondents said disagree. Of 95 percent of respondents, the largest number of respondents said that they agree moderately and that followed by â€Å"agree very much† and then â€Å"agree slightly†. For the statement â€Å"I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency, the number of respondents who disagree is higher than the respondents who agree. 39 percent of respondents and 61 percent of respondents said agree and disagree respectively to the statement. The number of respondents â€Å"disagree very much† to the statement. The last statement was â€Å"I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency†. Higher percent of respondent (71 percent of respondents) answered as disagree and said that there are many options available out there to consider if they wanted to leave the agency but 29 percent of respondents said disagree and support the statement. However, most respondents just â€Å" agree slightly† to the statement. Findings from interview Based on the interview with Mr Devaraj, the information of the average agents’ performance, overall agency’s performance and turnover rate has been collected. The average agent’s performance level from January 2011 to 9 November 2011 was 69 percent. He also said that the major contributor for the higher average agent’s performance level was a small number of high performers. Besides that, he said the overall agency’s performance was 71 percent. It enabled Deveraj Agency to still hold on the title of top Indian agency in Klang Valley, which it was defending more than 5 consecutive years. Besides that, he said turnover rate of insurance agent was a major problem. The average annual turnover was 6 % percent. The major contributor to this turnover was new insurance agent because when they find hard to sell insurance products, they quit the job. The turnover of senior agents was not even 0. 5 percent of annual turnover. Result of the findings The relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proven once again through this research. According to the findings, the job satisfaction of the insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is high. The proof is the result of motivator factor questions in the job satisfaction questionnaire. There was 13 motivator factor related questions in the questionnaire. Out of the 13 questions, for 11 questions the insurance agents responded positively while only for 1 question they responded negatively. Positive response means the insurance agents agree to the positive statement about job satisfaction and disagree to negative statement. Example of positive statement in this job satisfaction questionnaire is â€Å"I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. † The overall response of respondents to this positive statement was positive means they gree to the statement. Negative response means the insurance agents disagree to positive statement and agree to negative statement. Example of negative statement in job satisfaction questionnaire that received positive response from respondent s was â€Å"I have too much paperwork†. It means the respondent agree to the negative statement. Overall, positive response to the questionnaire is higher than the negative response. It means that insurance agents were highly satisfied with their job. As the respondents responded positively to the job satisfaction questionnaire, the same way they responded positively to organizational commitment questionnaire. In the organizational commitment questionnaire, there were 8 statement related to affective commitment. Out of the 8 statements, the respondents responded positively to all the statements. An example of positive statement and positive response was â€Å"It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to† is the positive statement and the positive response is 85. 7% of respondents said agree to the statement. Similarly, the example of negative statement and negative response is I do not feel any obligation to remain with my current employer was the negative statement and negative response was 78. 6% of respondents said disagree to the statement. The negative statement and negative response shows positive response toward organizational commitment. Based on job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire result, it is proven that there is a strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. So, if job satisfaction of an employee is high, the organizational commitment also high. It is what happened in Devaraj agency; the job satisfaction of the insurance agents was high so the organizational commitment also high. Due to the higher organization commitment, the average job performance of the insurance agents was as high as 69% and average agency performance was as high as 87% and turnover rate was as low as 6% low annually. So, the high organizational commitment of an insurance agent will result in higher job performance, higher overall agency performance and lower turnover rate. Limitation There were two limitations in my research. The first limitation was that not all insurance agents in Devaraj Agency have taken the job satisfaction and organizational commitment survey. The survey only have been done with the agents attended the meeting. So the result of the survey could not be guaranteed, as 100% accurate as the views of the insurance agents who did not attend meeting were not taken. The second limitation in my research was that the connection of job satisfaction leads to organizational commitment could not be proven through the help of job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire. But the relationship of job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proved in a way that if job satisfaction of an employee is high, the organizational commitment is also high and it is otherwise if the job satisfaction is low. Recommendation Recommendations were done based on the problem identified through job satisfaction and organizational commitment questionnaire. 1) Hiring more clerical staff Based on the job satisfaction questionnaire, most insurance agents responded that they have to do too much paperwork. It may affect the agents’ job satisfaction. So Devaraj Agency should hire more clerical staff to help the insurance agents to do the paperwork. 2) Revise current code of procedure Many respondents said through the questionnaire that they are not happy with their current rules and procedures because they make their job difficult. So, the agency manager should bring this issue to ING management and find ways to solve this problem. Revising current rules and procedure would be ideal solution. 3) Introduce more monetary benefits Many insurance agents expressed their concern that there are benefits they do not have which they should have. The benefits such as petro allowance and toll allowance is given to sales people from other company but ING Bhd do not give such benefits to its insurance agents. So Devaraj Agency should bring this issue to ING management. Conclusion The relationship of job satisfaction and organizational commitment has been proved through literature review and from my research on Devaraj Agency. The result showed that there are strong relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Overall, the job satisfaction of insurance agents in Devaraj Agency is high and organizational commitment is also high. There was also relationship between organizational commitment and job performance, turnover rate and agency performance. It was also proved where the job performance, turnover rate and agency performance was high because the organizational commitment of insurance agents was high. Reference Appendix JOB SATISFACTION SURVEY| PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. | Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 1 | I feel I am being paid a fair amount for the work I do. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 2| There is rea lly too little chance for promotion on my job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 3| My supervisor is quite competent in doing his/her job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 4 | I am not satisfied with the benefits I receive. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 5| When I do a good job, I receive the recognition for it that I should receive. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 6| Many of our rules and procedures make doing a good job difficult. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 7| I like the people I work with. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 8| I sometimes feel my job is meaningless. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 9| Communications seem good within this organization. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 10| Raises are too few and far between. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 11| Those who do well on the job stand a fair chance of being promoted. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 12| My supervisor is unfair to me. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 13| The benefits we receive are as good as most other organizations offer. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 14| I do not feel that the work I do is appreciated. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 15| My efforts to do a good job are seldom blocked by red tape. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 16| I find I h ave to work harder at my job because of the incompetence of people I work with. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 17| I like doing the things I do at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 18| The goals of this organization are not clear to me. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. | Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 19 | I feel unappreciated by the organization when I think about what they pay me. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 20| People get ahead as fast here as they do in other places. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 21| My supervisor shows too little interest in the feelings of subordinates. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 22| The benefit package we have is equitable. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 23| There are few rewards for those who work here. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 24| I have too much to do at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 25| I enjoy my coworkers. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 26| I often feel that I do not know what is going on with the organization. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 27| I feel a sense of pride in doing my job. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 28| I feel satisfied with my chances for salary increases. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 29| There are benefits we do not have which we should have. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 30| I like my supervisor. 1 2 3 4 5 6| 31| I have too much paperwork. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 32| I don't feel my efforts are rewarded the way they should be. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 33| I am satisfied with my chances for promotion. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 34| There is too much bickering and fighting at work. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 35| My job is enjoyable. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| 36| Work assignments are not fully explained. | 1 2 3 4 5 6| ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT SURVEY| | PLEASE CIRCLE THE ONE NUMBER FOR EACH QUESTION THAT COMES CLOSEST TO REFLECTING YOUR OPINIONABOUT IT. Disagree very muchDisagree moderatelyDisagree slightlyAgree slightlyAgree moderatelyAgree very much| 1| It would be very hard for me to leave my agency right now, even if I wanted to| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 2| I do not feel any obligation to remain with m y current employer| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 3| I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career with this agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 4| Even if it were to my advantage, I do not feel it would be right to leave my agency now| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 5| I really feel as if this agency’s problems are my own| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 6| Right now, staying with my agency is a matter of necessity as much as desire| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 7| I do not feel a strong sense of â€Å"belonging† to my agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| 8| I feel that I have too few options to consider leaving this agency| 1 2 3 4 5 6| Demographic questions Personal Particulars Are you Male or Female? (a) Male (b) Female What is your age? (a) 11 to 19 years old (b) 20 to 29 years old (c) 30 to 39 years old (d) 40 to 49 years old (e) 50 to 59 years old (f) 60 years old and above What is your income? a) Less than RM1000 (b) RM1000 to RM2000 (c) RM2100 to RM3000 (d) RM 3100 to RM4000 (e) RM4100 to RM5000 (f) More than RM5000 Reference 1) Noor Harun, A. K. & Noo r Hasrul N. M. N. (2007). Evaluating the psychometric properties of allen and meyer’s organizational commitment scale: A cross culture application among Malaysian academic librarians. Malaysian Journal of Library & information science, 11(1), Retrieved from http://myjurnal. um. edu. my/filebank/published_article/2034/360. pdf. 2) Price, James L & Mueller, C. W. (1997, October). Measures of job satisfaction Retrieved 7 October 2011 from http://home. ubalt. edu/tmitch/641/jsscales. htm ) Shrivastava. A and Purang. P. (2009). Employee Perceptions of job satisfaction: Comparative study on Indian banks. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 14(2), Retrieved from http://web. usm. my/aamj/14. 2. 2009/AAMJ_14. 2. 4. pdf. 4) Shrivastava. A and Purang. P. (2009). Employee Perceptions of job satisfaction: Comparative study on Indian banks. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 14(2), Retrieved from http://web. usm. my/aamj/14. 2. 2009/AAMJ_14. 2. 4. pdf. 5) Sangroengrob. T. Techachaicherd choo. The impact of employee’s satisfaction, organization commitment and work commitment to turnover intention: A case study of IT outsourcing company in Thailand. Retrived from http://bai-conference. org/files/BAI2010%20Proceeding/Papers/7. OB&HRM/7204. pdf 6) Samad. S, (2011). The Effects of Job Satisfaction on Organizational Commitment and Job Performance Relationship: A Case of Managers in Malaysia’s Manufacturing Companies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 18(4). Retrieved from http://www. eurojournals. com/EJSS_18_4_11. pdf 7) Padala. S. R,(2011). Employees’ Job Satisfactions and Organisational Commitment in Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, India. International Research Journal of Management and Business Studies, 1(1). Retrieved from http://interesjournals. org/IRJMBS/pdf/2011/February/Padala. pdf

An Analysis of the Contemporary Hollywood Film The Avengers Essay

In this analysis of The Avengers, a recent Marvel’s superhero blockbuster, we will be discussing a few of this films’ film narratives that are representative of contemporary Hollywood film. The Avengers is a 2012 American superhero film that was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The Avengers is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgà ¥rd and Samuel L. Jackson (Neumaier). In the film, Nick Fury, the director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor’s adoptive brother Loki from defeating Earth in an alien invasion with the aid of a mystical alien cube weapon known as the tesseract. The team has to learn to work out their problems, both personal and within the group, and band together and save the world, which proves to be extremely difficult as the movie progresses. In this analysis of The Avengers I will be discussing the following film narratives of star actors; character driven stories; how the film takes place in a known, quintessential, American, real world setting; and how the film follows a specific genre formula. â€Å"For all the many strengths of â€Å"The Avengers,† there’s one important element that writer-director Joss Whedon can’t take credit for: the casting. Of the main characters, only one, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, hasn’t appeared in one of the previous five Marvel movies that have led to this point. Of course, for the most part, it’s to be expected: while there are a few newcomers in the mix, the principle cast have close to a century of experience in the movies between them, and countless great performances in their back catalogs† (Scott). The film narrative of star actors is a very prominent aspect in this movie. The Avengers is a movie with one of the biggest collections of star actors since the beginning of the contemporary Hollywood cinema era. Every main character  in this film can be and is considered a star actor. From Robert Downey Jr. who plays Iron Man, the rich, playboy, genius, to Scarlett Johansson who plays as The Black widow, a special ops spy, to Samuel L. Jackson, who plays as Dr. Nick Fury, the leader of the team. In a movie like this, having star actors is a crucial factor in the films success. By having these star actors in The Avengers, they achieved the fan bases of each individual actor on top of the fan base already revolving around the story line and the comics. Because of this, The Avengers has the third highest worldwide grosses made so far, coming in at $1,511,757,910 (Marvel’s). The only reason that this movie was such a success was due to it being a very character driven story. Each individual character had their own input in how the storyline progressed. They are all connected, yet also independent throughout the movie. In the beginning of this film the director made sure to focus on each individual character before intertwining them all. Due to Loki stealing the tesseract, Dr. Fury decides that its time to enact the Avengers program. So Phil contacts Natasha, aka The Black Widow, while she is working undercover, which introduces us to her character and some background information about her. He sends her to go find The Hulk in India, where he’s been hiding out, so that she can â€Å"recruit† him. This then introduces us to his story and starts the intertwinement between the individual characters. The next hero to be introduced is Captain America. Dr. Fury himself goes to â€Å"recruit† the captain and we are shown a preview of where he’s from and some of his backstory. The next character to be initiated is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and my personal favorite. The scene starts of with him and his girlfriend Pepper opening up the Stark tower with clean energy, when Phil comes to recruit him as well. All of the Hero’s, except for Thor, are introduced to each other when Loki attacks a crowd in Germany and they defeat and capture him. On the plane ride back to base, Thor captures Loki from the rest of the team, introducing his character and the relationship and background between the two brothers. The beginning of the movie is only one of the many examples of how this film is a character driven story. It goes into much further detail and continues to intertwine even more as the movie progresses. The next film narrative that was represented in The Avengers was how the film takes place in a known, quintessential, American, real world setting.  Ever since September 11th 2001, Hollywood has been portraying the United States being attacked again in many of their films, whether by terrorists or by alien invaders like in this movie. â€Å"These movies are reflecting a need to look back at why these other events started, to show American history in a more heroic light when it looks quite dark now† (Sà ¡nchez-Escalonilla). The last quarter of this movie is based in Manhattan, New York, one of the same cities as the 9/11 attacks. It revolves around an alien invasion destroying the city and killing hundreds of people, which can be representative of the 9/11 attacks. By the end of the movie, the Avengers, and specifically Iron man, save the city from both the alien attack and also from our own country bombing it with a nuke by guiding the nuke into space and destroying the invading alien army. Many people believe that these ending scenes are representative of the statement above how â€Å"American History is shown in a more heroic light† (Sà ¡nchez-Escalonilla), due to the heroic actions of the Avengers and the countless lives that they saved by protecting the city and eliminating the alien invaders. The last film narrative that I noticed in The Avengers was that this film follows a very specific genre formula of a classic, action filled Superhero movie. â€Å"Marvel’s The Avengers is awesomeness squared. It’s the apotheosis of the modern age of comic-book superhero movie, the epitome of everything that Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor were and were trying to be† (Greydanus). The Avengers is the first movie to combine all of the different Marvel’s Comic’s superheroes into one intense, action packed film. This movie was so well thought-out and planned that certain characters were mentioned and even appeared in other hero’s movies and at the end of each specific hero’s movie, there was a scene that connected them all to The Avengers. This movie is one of a kind and redefines the genre of the â€Å"superhero† film. â€Å"The Avengers makes superhero movies new again† (Neumaier). In conclusion, this film is a great representation of the contemporary Hollywood film of our time. The Avengers symbolizes all of the best film narratives of our era, such as Star Actors, like Robert Downey Jr., character driven stories, how the film takes place in a known, quintessential, American, real world setting, like New York, and how the film follows a specific genre formula of being a â€Å"Superhero movie.† This film is going to be considered a classic and a twenty-first century treasure, in the same way that Singing in the Rain, The Godfather, Grease  and The Wizard of Oz are considered of their film eras. Works Cited GREYDANUS, STEVEN D. â€Å"‘The Avengers’ Takes the Superhero Genre to Whole New Level.† NCRegister. EWTN News, n.d. Print. 08 May 2013. â€Å"Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) – Box Office Mojo.† Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) – Box Office Mojo. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2013. . Neumaier, Joe. â€Å"Movie Review: ‘The Avengers'† Daily News [New York] 30 Apr. 2012: 16-17. Print. 08 May 2013. Sà ¡nchez-Escalonilla, Antonio. â€Å"Hollywood And The Rhetoric Of Panic: The Popular Genres Of Action And Fantasy In The Wake Of The 9/11 Attacks.† Journal Of Popular Film & Television 38.1 (2010): 10-20. Print. 08 May 2013. Scott, A. O. â€Å"Robert Downey Jr. in ‘The Avengers,’ Directed by Joss Whedon.† NYTimes.com. New York Times, 03 May 2012. Web. 07 May 2013. .

College Fairs How To Get the Most Out of Them

College Fairs How To Get the Most Out of Them SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Every year, there are college fairs across the country. These fairs can be valuable tools to help you as you try to figure out which colleges you want to apply to, and eventually, which college you want to attend. In this article, I'll explain what a college fair is, how to find college fairs, and what you should do to get the most out of theexperience. What Is a College Fair? A college fair is an event where representatives from colleges come to a school, convention center, or other location to talk to high school students about the colleges they represent and answer questions. Some college fairs have been described as being like flea markets. Each college usually has its own booth, and the representatives are trying to get you to come to their booths. They give out brochures and try to convince you why you should be interested in attending their college. College fairs are a great opportunity to get information about the colleges that are represented. The representatives can answer specific questions about academics, campus life, or financial aid. Also, you can make relationships with the campus representatives. Sometimes students exchange information with the representatives, and the students are able to get further guidance and help with the college admissions and selection process after the fair is over. There are general college fairs in which all types of colleges are represented. Also, there are more focused college fairs, like college fairs in which all of the represented schools are performing arts colleges or HBCUs. Why Should You Attend a College Fair? College fairs can be beneficial in helping you find the college that will be the best fit for you. You can ask specific questions to college representatives who are knowledgeable about the admissions process and the schools they represent. You can get guidance about how to make yourself a qualified candidate for admission, and you can learn about the opportunities that various colleges can provide you. Furthermore, college fairs can expose you to colleges you may have not previously considered. Often, students are not aware of all of their college options, and fairs provide students with a good opportunity to learn about different schools. There are literally thousands of colleges, but in my experience, many students try to limit their college options to only a handful before doing adequate research. Finally, sometimes admissions officers are there representing the schools they work for. While most representatives won't remember the vast majority of the students they interact with at the fair, if you have a pleasant conversation and exchange information, you may make a positive impression on somebody who will be reading your application. How Do You Find a College Fair? There are a few ways to find a college fair you can attend. First, I recommend talking to your counselor. Your counselor may be able to help you find a local college fair or may be able to set up a fair at your school. Also, each fall and spring the National Association for College Admission Counseling holds freecollege fairs in cities across the country. To find local fairs, you can also google â€Å"college fairs† and your state or city.If you can’t attend a college fair in person, you can still get the experience virtually at collegeweeklive.com or collegefairsonline.com. What to Do Before You Go Before you go to a college fair, you should be prepared.Do your research! Find out the schools that will be attending. Research the schools from their websites, guidebooks, college finders, and ranking lists. Determine which schools that will be attending the fair interest you the most.Write a list of questions, and putsome thought into your questions. The more specific and well-written your questions, the better you’ll come off to the college reps, and you’ll be more likely to get the information you’re seeking. Instead of asking â€Å"How are the parties?†, you can ask about the prominence of Greek life on campus or the frequency and types of on-campus events for students.If possible, come up with a few questions that show you’ve done your research.For example, you can ask about a specific recent on-campus event. You can reference a statistic or some information you learned in your research. Write questions related to the most important factors for you in picking a college. Ideally, the answers you receive will help you narrow down your list of schools and aid you in the college selection process.Bring a pen, paper, and a bag to hold all of the brochures you’ll be getting. Make sure the e-mail address you’ll be providing doesn’t sound too silly or unprofessional.Even though justinsbae@aol.com is a lovely address, college admissions officers may judge you negatively for it. Research the schools that will be at the college fair. What You Should Do at the Fair At a college fair, have a general game plan before you start aimlessly walking from booth to booth.You’ll only have a limited amount of time, so map out a route to ensure that you’ll be able to visit the booths from the colleges that interest you the most. Some of these fairs are in huge convention centers. Some fairs will provide a map, and at other fairs, you’ll have to scan the room to locate the booths you’re looking for. Then you should visit the booths and speak to the college reps.Ask the questions you’ve prepared, but also be willing to have a conversation with the representatives and ask additional questions based on the information they provide.Be professional and courteous. Make eye contact while the representatives are talking and thank them for answering your questions. While I believe you should always try to be considerate, you especially want to make a good impression at a college fair. Many of these representatives are admissions officers or have close ties to the admissions offices at the colleges they’re representing. Also, if you make a positive impression, the representative is more likely to want to be helpful. Some students correspond with representatives via e-mail after a college fair, and the students get additional guidance or answers to any remaining questions. However, if a booth is very crowded, you may just get an opportunity to listen to the representative give her pitch or answer questions from other people. After you’re done at a booth, jot down any pertinent information you received or your impressions of the college before going to the next booth. Make sure you’re able to visit the booths of the colleges that interest you the most, but be willing to go to other college booths, too.You may learn about a college you’re less knowledgeable about, and you may spark an interest in a school that you hadn’t previously considered. Additionally, some college fairs offer information sessions. Usually, the information sessions will have a specific focus like filling out college applications or financial aid. If possible, I recommend attending one of these sessions. Go to the session that's most relevant to your needs and you anticipate will offer you the most helpful information.If you're comfortable with the application process, then going to the information session on filling out applications may not be the best use of your time. You want to try to take advantage of all of the resources available to you at a college fair and make sure you're getting as much out of the experience as possible. EducationUSA International Virtual College Fair/Flickr What You Should Do After After you get home from the college fair, try to figure out which colleges made the best impression on you.Reflect on your conversations with the college representatives.Did the representative say anything that excited you about the college? Did you hear anything that made you feel like that school was a place you could see yourself at?Review your notes you took during the fair. Also, organize and review the material you collected.Make a folder or file for each college you’re considering to help you stay organized. If you decide that you’re definitely not interested in a school, get rid of its material. You can avoid clutter and focus on the schools you’re interested in. Then, continue to research the colleges that interest you.You can discuss your college options with teachers, counselors, and parents. If you know any current students or alumni from the colleges, talk to them about their experiences. You can also useNiche, a website that provides college rankings, offers student reviews of colleges. The reviews are about every aspect of the college, including financial aid, academics, parties, and the overall experience. Finally, if possible, plan campus visits.If you’re able to visit a college, you can get an official campus tour and often schedule a meeting at the admissions office. Sometimes you’re even able to sit in on a class.There’s really no better way to determine if you’ll enjoy attending a specific college than by actually spending time there. Attending a college fair is a good step to decide which schools you want to visit. What's Next? If you're still trying to decide what you're looking for in a college, check out these articles on the most diverse colleges, party schools, and whether you should attend a school in an urban, suburban, or rural area. If you're in the process of finalizing your list of schools to apply to, review these posts on reach and safety schools. Also be sure to check out our nifty infographic on how to apply for college. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: