Base on reading of the Bunraku play chushingura Essay

Base on reading of the Bunraku play chushingura - Essay Example The play entails several sub-plots and elements, but it primarily emphasizes on the notions of honor and loyalty that pervaded the Japanese society and the play primarily focuses on these traits as the main theme. The protagonist of the play is Yuranosuke, who is the chief retainer of Hangan’s household and wants to fulfill his master’s dying wish to avenge him. Yuranosuke is assisted by a band of retainers, who have sworn allegiance to him and go to severe extremes to help him accomplish his mission; Kampei is one of the most notable retainers, who is unable to make any substantial contribution to the assassination plot, but his devotion to Hangan still moves all the other retainers to include him in the list. Yuranosuke’s loyalty to his master is exhibited through his undying resolve to exact revenge on Morono. Even though, a vendetta in Tokugawa Japan is punishable by ritual suicide, but the retainers remain resolute under Yuranosuke. They are ready to lay dow n their lives for their Master Hangan, which is a sure sign of their loyalty. Moments before Hangan is ordered to commit Seppuku; ritual suicide, he asks Yuranosuke, to take his dagger after his death, which clearly indicates his wish to be avenged. Yuranosuke, who is both aggrieved and determined to take revenge upon his master’s tormentor, licks the blood off his master’s dagger ; this act to show his dedication to the cause (p. 23). He gathers all the other retainers, who are devoted to cause and secretly starts off the vendetta. The vendetta is a secret mission; therefore he takes every measure to protect it from Morono, who was already suspicious of it. The strength of Yuranosuke’s resolve to proceed with the assassination is very clear as he is willing to do anything to prevent his plan from getting compromised. He even eats fish on his master’s death anniversary; which is considered to be a great religious taboo, but he breaks it just so he could p rotect his master’s last wish. After their master’s death, the retainers were left without a leader and Yuranosuke, being the chief retainer in Hangan’s household gained the leadership by default. All his fellow retainers were quite dedicated to him and had they not sworn complete allegiance to him, they would not have been able to bring their plans to fruition. The case of the merchant in the play further underscores the lot’s loyalty to Yuranosuke; the merchant had been supplying them with weapons in order to help them with the plot. The merchant had sent his wife off to live with her parents in order to prevent her from finding out about the plan, but in so doing he earned the ire of his father-in-law, who wanted her daughter to marry someone of wealth and constantly forced the merchant to divorce her. Upon seeing his ordeal, Yuranosuke intervenes and cuts off the woman’s lock and prevents her remarriage. This trait is reflected in all of Hangan ’s retainers, particularly Kampei as well. He suffers from a lingering guilt for he had abandoned his post in order to meet his lover, with whom he had scheduled daily trysts and when Hangan was being provoked into drawing his sword, he had been with his lover all this while. As a result, Kampei always felt guilty and responsible for his master’

American and French Revolutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American and French Revolutions - Essay Example Perhaps the major reason for this was that the American Revolution took place in an absolutely new country without almost any history, while the French Revolution occurred in one of the eldest European states. Consequently, the participants of the American Revolution did not have to overthrow the established aristocratic society and absolute monarchy in order to proclaim either equality of people (because they were equal) or sovereignty of their new state (the British monarch was geographically too far from them). In other words, the birth of the new society in the United States occurred without major tension. The French Revolution began in an absolutely different situation. It was a daring attempt to establish the principle of equality in the traditionally aristocratic society and cultivate political freedom in the most powerful European monarch (Doyle 2002).Economic factors played equally important role in the onset of both revolutions. The American Revolution was largely caused by the economic pressure of Britain, which was economically dependent on the colonies, but often failed to adequately justify the increasingly burden heavy burden of taxes. This problem – often termed ‘taxation without representation’ – is reported to be one of the most essential factors that eventually led to the revolutionary situation (Wood 1998).A similar situation was observed in the pre-revolutionary France where the absolute monarch kept increasing the burden of taxes for the poorest layers of population. (especially peasants) while the wealthiest and the least numerous layer of aristocracy often did not pay taxes at all. The growing unemployment, abnormal spending of the King and growth of prices added naturally to the picture (Hibbert 1981). Evidently, no acceptable explanation could be brought forth to justify such situation. Therefore, despite some disagreement within the scholarly community as for the causes and preconditions of the French and Am erican Revolutions (Kates 1997; Nash 2005), the assertion that the major causes were similar is likely to be correct. Secondly, the course of the American Revolution differed significantly from the developments of the French Revolution. During the revolutionary decade the army of colonists engaged in a number of clashes with the British troops until finally forcing them out of their territory: in other words, the emerging nation had an external enemy to deal with. By contrast, no major battles occurred on the territory of France during the French Revolution and no external threat was available. As a result, the major goal pursued by the inspirators of revolution was physical removal of the much hated representatives of aristocracy. The subsequent series of wars with other European states took place after the Revolution was over although there is not agreement between

Changes Affecting Managers Job Business Essay

Changes Affecting Managers Job Business Essay Business environment is changing rapidly in todays corporate world. In early years of current management era manager were suppose to work exclusively with equipments, data and systems; performing traditional tasks. But scenario of management responsibilities has been changed significantly and todays manger faces issues like cross training, personnel management , interdepartmental communication and widening job scope. Role Of Managers Managers run large corporations as well as entrepreneurial start-ups. They are found in government departments, not-for-profit agencies, museums, schools and even such non traditional organizations as political campaigns and consumer cooperatives. Managers can also be found doing managerial work in every country around the globe. No matter where managers are found and what gender they are, the fact is that managers have exciting and challenging jobs. Changes Affecting Managers Job Following are the few well known changes due to which manager job is affecting. CHANGE IMPACT OF CHANGE Shifting organizational boundaries Virtual workplaces More mobile workforce Flexible work arrangements Empowered employees Work life-personal life balance Changing Technology Risk Management Restructured workplace Discrimination concerns Globalization concerns Employee assistance Uncertainty over future energy sources/prices Changing security threats Redefined values Rebuilding trust Increased accountability Increased emphasis on organizational and managerial ethics Customer service Innovation Globalization Efficiency/productivity Increased competitiveness CHALLENGES FACED BY MANAGER Management can be a tough and often thankless job. A portion of a managers job may entail duties that are often more clerical than managerial. Managers often have to deal with a variety of personalities. It can be a challenge to motivate workers in the face of uncertainty. With the fast changing world, we need to cope up with things that could hinder the development of ones managerial skills. Here are the most common challenges faced by manager and how to solve them. Employee motivation:   Motivating the employees and maintaining their morale is essential for every business. However, this is only possible when any grievances of employees are adequately addressed while ensuring the companys interests. This is a significant challenge faced by management, especially in todays economy where the ever increasing cost of living leads to increased employee dissatisfaction, which is difficult to handle when the cost of doing business is rising rapidly. Recruitment:   Hiring the right people for the right job is a tough task. Analyzing the skills required for a particular job and searching through the multitude of resumes to find the perfect match is a challenge for any management. Market changes:   Keeping a constant watch on market trends and evolving the business to adequately match the consumers demands is another challenging responsibility.   ROLE OF GLOBALIZATION A major environmental change that has taken place in the last fifteen years is the globalization of business. The world has become a global village and business has become global in character. Organizations are venturing beyond national boundaries in the pursuit of business opportunities. The emergence of a borderless world has had a tremendous impact on the way organizations behave. They are no longer insulated from foreign competition, and this has forced organizations to examine cost efficiencies, structure, job design, human capital, and many other sources of effectiveness and competitiveness. Responding to globalization is becoming more and more important; this result in redefining business model. Today change is happening at a rate that does not afford organizations the luxury of managing one major change at a time. Today managers are facing two questions because of globalization, how does relentless change redefine the nature of management and the structure of an enterprise? And what role should management play in re-shaping the enterprise? Example Toyota Motor Corporation makes cars in USA and Pakistan, Mc Donalds sells burgers in Pakistan and hamburgers in China, and Marks and Spencers sells products in Pakistan. Every other product sold by Wal-Mart stores Inc. is made in China or Pakistan. ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY Technology has had a tremendous impact upon the global business environment. Communication, transportation and production efficiency are various areas of business which have been enhanced by the development and improvement of technology. As continual enhancements are made, the world continues to grow smaller and businesses have further reach than ever. Computers The most important technological development to impact the global business environment is the world of computers. There are various programs which help maintain records of inventories and shipments. Email allows for instantaneous communication almost anywhere in the world. Besides its speed, email is easily forwarded and retained. The communication in the global business environment is improved with the use of email. The impact of computers on the global business environment is wide-ranging and also includes the Internet, which is a useful tool for international companies. By using the Internet, companies across the world can perform research and learn more about partners and suppliers. Conference Calls and Video Conferencing Conference calls allow people in multiple locations to be involved in the same conversation. Video conferencing provides the same service, but with the added benefit of all parties being able to actually see each other. Both of these forms of communication have a definite impact on the global business environment. With either form of technology, a parent company in China can have a conversation with a raw material supplier in Pakistan and a manufacturing plant in Taiwan. This improves communication on a global scale and enables all parties to understand specific plans and agreements. Shipment Tracking Corporations now have the ability to track shipments virtually anywhere across the world. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) allow accurate tracking. The implication of this technology on the global business environment is the ability to let customers know exactly where their shipments are at any given time. This technology creates secure relationships within the global business field. ROLE OF COMPETITION Competition has intensified for many organizations over the last decade, primarily as a result of the business. Competitors fill a need for business owners by keeping them on the cutting edge. Without competitors, a business would have no reason to keep prices in check. It would create a monopoly which is never good in any society. When two competitors compete for business, the market (customers) are the ones who decide who they will patronize with their dollars. Prices are usually the first element people choose when deciding which business or product to go with. Competitors drive innovation and keep new ideas and procedures moving forward. Imagine if McDonalds were the only fast food hamburger restaurant in the world. There would never be a Burger King to compete. All food would taste bland and boring. ROLE OF ETHICAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Many consumers and social advocates believe that businesses should not make a profit but also consider the social implications of their activities. Social responsibility is a businesss obligation to maximize its positive impact minimize its negative impact on society. Although many people use the terms social responsibility and ethics interchangeably, they do not mean the same thing. Business ethics relates to an individuals or a work groups decisions that society evaluates as right or wrong, whereas social responsibility is a broader concept that concerns the impact of the entire businesss activities on society. From an ethical perspective, for example, we may be concerned about a health care organization or practitioner over- charging the provincial government for medical services. From a social responsibility perspective, we might be concerned about the impact that this overcharging will have on the ability of the health care system to provide adequate services for all citizens. The most basic ethical and social responsibility concerns have been codified as laws and regulations that encourage businesses to conform to societys standards, values, and attitudes. At a minimum, managers are expected to obey these laws and regula- tions. Most legal issues arise as choices that society deems unethical, irresponsible, or otherwise unacceptable. However, all actions deemed unethical by society are not necessarily illegal, and both legal and ethical concerns change over time. Business law refers to the laws and regulations that govern the conduct of business. Many problems and conflicts in business can be avoided if owners, managers, and employees know more about business law and the legal system. Business ethics, social responsibility, and laws together act as a compliance system requiring that businesses and employees act responsibly in society.

Analysis of The Birth Mark Essay examples -- The Birth Mark Essays

In â€Å"The Birthmark† the relationships and behaviors of the character reveal much more than the story itself does. The characters of Aylmer, Georgian, Amenidab and Nature itself, through their words, actions, and behaviors give insight into a much more meaningful story. A deeper analysis of the characters reveals that they are archetypes, and as archetypes they provide a deeper hidden meaning to the story. By looking at Aylmer, Georgiana, Amenidab and Natures relationships and actions throughout the story we can see how they are used to give deeper significance. The character of Aylmer can be seen as a sinister, mad scientist who constantly fights with nature in order to attain human perfection. From the beginning of the story Aylmer’s fight with nature can be seen. â€Å"We know not whether Aylmer possessed this degree of faith in man’s ultimate control over nature. He had devoted himself, however, too unreservedly to scientific studies ever to be weakened from them by any second passion† (Hawthorne 218). This shows Aylmer’s passion in trying to discover the secrets of nature and being able to master it. Aylmer’s obsession with perfection and defying nature can be seen again when he is discussing the mark on Georgiana’s cheek. â€Å"’No, dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect from the hand of Nature, that this slightest possible defect, which we hesitate whether to term a defect or a beauty, shocks me, as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection’† (Hawthorne 219). This shows Aylmer is not trying to remove the mark as an act of love, but instead trying to remove the mark because it symbolizes a stain of imperfection by nature. Aylmer is obsessed in his efforts to remove the mark and his motivations are not to make Ge... ...eard again! Thus ever does the gross fatality of earth exult in its invariable triumph over the immortal essence which, in this dim sphere of half-development, demands the completeness of a higher state† (Hawthorne 231). This laughter appears to come from no one in the room but rather Nature itself. Nature is laughing at Aylmer in his attempt to try and overpower it and create his own form of perfection. Since the hand on Georgiana’s face is viewed as Natures touch on her, it is not difficult to view Nature as an actual character in the story. After a deeper analysis of the characters in the story â€Å"The Birthmark† it is easy to see there are multiple hidden meanings throughout. The characteristics and actions of Aylmer, Georgiana, Amenidab and Nature help us to see deeper into the characters and see their true motivations and meanings in the story.

Hubris in Time of the Hero and Thing Fall Apart Essay

In the novels The Time Of The Hero (TTOTH) by Mario Vargas Llosa and Things Fall Apart (TFA) by Chinua Achebe, both writers focus on the idea of hubris and the excessive pride of powerful characters. In fact both the Jaguar (TTOTH) and Okonkwo (TFA) are characters, which represents this idea of Hubris, as they’ve been shaped by their social environment and the notion of manliness and hierarchy. In TFA, Okonkwo respond to the Igbo society through his obsession of being hyper-masculine. In TTOTH, the Jaguar adapts himself to the violent environment of the academy and the struggle to survive, and even raises himself above the other cadets. In both cases, the writer shows to the reader that the characters’ manliness leads him to the idea of â€Å"hubris†, by creating the illusion of an extreme power base around the Jaguar and Okonkwo. However in both novels, the writer also use the idea of femininity as an obstacle for both character’s pride. Furthermore, hubris is also linked to the idea of determinism, as the extreme pride of each character leads him to his own downfall. In TFA and TTOTH, The idea of Hubris seems to be linked to the pressure of society. In both cases, characters are born into a hierarchical society in which the glorification of manliness and the passion of survival, leads some male characters to excessive pride. In TFA, Chinua Achebe shows the hierarchical spirit between genders in Igbo society. This idea of hierarchy between genders is shown with the distinction between crops, as the â€Å"yam†, which is exclusively grown by men, symbolising the tribe’s respect for men’s physical strength. This same idea of separation of genders is also shown with the difference between men and women crimes, which shows the distinction between powerful men and â€Å"weak† women. This clearly shows a hierarchical society in which women are seen as weaker, and men are defined by their physical prowess. Therefore Okonkwo’s obsession for masculinity shows the inescapable force of society in shaping a human character. Okonkwo then seems to be linked to the idea of hubris, as his perception of manliness is far more extreme than the clans’, as he links masculinity with aggression, and devalues everything feminine. This shows that through his excessive perception of manliness, Okonkwo’s expectations of himself as a masculine power, far exceeds the scope of one being. In TTOTH, the violent environment of the academy is also linked to the glorification of manliness. Like in TFA, there is the idea that one man is respected for his physical prowess, and his will to survive in this vicious hierarchal system, which is foreshadowed by the metaphor of the â€Å"Circle†; One â€Å"dog† as to survive the ill-treatment of older generations, to finally express his own frustration over the next generations. In fact the metaphor of young generations to â€Å"dogs† is itself relevant of the need that one has to show and to prove his power. This hierarchical system seems to be related to the idea of survival of the fittest, as the Slave’s lack of manpower results in his death. However, the example of the Jaguar in TTOTH is quite similar to Okonkwo’s in TFA, as the Jaguars’ needs to hold power over the other cadets is more extreme than it is for his â€Å"comrades†. In fact the Jaguar is clearly linked to hubris through his need to expand his power in the whole academy; over the â€Å"dogs†, the older generations or his own comrades. The notion of pride also seems to be fairly influenced by the paternal relation that characters have with fathers. In TFA, Okonkwo’s relationship with his father surely shapes his violent and ambitious spirit. Okonkwo’s fear of becoming as weak and effeminate as his father, clearly influences the character to become the complete antithesis of all that his father was, making him the extreme hyper-masculine figure. In TTOTH, the writer uses a different image of the â€Å"father†, which is more the symbol of authority, and of the pressure that society has over male characters, to make them grow as men. However the fact that the Jaguar is the son of a poor widow, shows how his relation with Skinny Higueras, is used as a substitute for the paternal relation he didn’t had. This shows how his relation with Skinny and his criminal past, has an influence on his rather violent temperament, and his need to feel superior. It seems that both writers attempt to show the Jaguar and Okonkwo’s extreme pride, to the reader by putting in place an illusion of supreme power. In TFA, the writer seems to show the idea of hubris by putting the reader into an illusion in witch Okonkwo is seen as superhuman, or above other human characters. This is shown through the association of Okonkwo to â€Å"burning fire†, and â€Å"flame† throughout the novel. This creates an illusion as the reader then associates Okonkwo to the idea of extreme power, and dissociates him to other human characters. In fact the â€Å"fire† clearly symbolizes Okonkwo’s destructive and animalistic personality, as he destroys everything he consumes. In TOOTH, the metaphor of the â€Å"jaguar† is used as an illusion to the reader who no longer sees the character as purely human. This dehumanisation of the character is at some point like Okonkwo in TFA, as the reader sees the character as an emotionless, powerful, destructive figure. Furthermore, the writer’s use of the first person singular, and the fact that it is the jaguar who â€Å"named himself† that way, highlights to the idea of hubris, as on some level, its seems like the illusion of extreme power is in fact the perception that the character has of himself. In both novels, the writer demonstrates at some point that each man has something feminine inside him, which in the case of a hyper masculine figure, acts as a threat to his extreme pride. In TFA, Okonkwo’s exile to his motherland, in response to his â€Å"women crime†, clearly represents an obstacle to the character’s pride. This is not only an issue for Okonkwo’s image as a virile warrior; this is even more a threat to the characters’ personality, as it is the opportunity to get in touch with his feminine side. In fact Okonkwo’s pride in his masculinity, seems to be challenged throughout the novel, by his hidden femininity. In fact his son Nwoye, is used by the writer as a constant reminder of Okonkwo’s feminine part that he cannot get rid of. In TTOTH, the Jaguar’s weakness also seems to be symbolised by the feminine figure of Teresa. In fact the scene on the beach is relevant to the Jaguar’s true personality, as he is no longer seen as an emotionless character, but rather as a more human character, through the jealousy he feels toward Teresa. Therefore the writer uses the female figure as a rupture between the image of the powerful â€Å"Jaguar† of the academy, and the sensible teenager. However when the Jaguar insults Teresa after he sees her with some other boys, this also shows how the jealousy he feels is in fact seen as an enormous threat to his pride. Therefore both writers use the idea of femininity as a constant reminder of the hidden weakness that the character tries to reject. Finally, in both novels there is the idea that hubris is linked to determinism, as both characters seems to lead themselves to their own downfall. In TFA, Okonkwo’s choice of a life of anger, dominated by his obsession of being a hyper-masculine figure, is what makes him a character, which is quite unbalanced. In fact in chapter 17and 24 the writer shows that Okonkwo is not blind but rather conscientious as he acknowledge that the fire inside him destroys everything it consumes, including him. Furthermore, by destroying himself physically at the end of the novel, it can be argued that on some level he has also destroyed most of his pride, as the act of suicide shows the emasculation of the character on some level. In TTOTH the Jaguars’ tyrannical behaviour over the other members of the academy, is finally reflected on himself at the end of the novel, as he is beaten by a group of cadets. Therefore there is an idea of a reverse situation in each case; on one hand, Okonkwo’s act of suicide is quite surprising and deceiving for such a character who kept showing himself as the extreme figure of manliness. On the other hand, there is the imagery of the tyrant being overthrown. However, even though that both characters seems to end up revealing their secret and truer nature (in comparison to the image that they have of themselves), they still keep most of their pride. In TFA, Okonkwo’s suicide can be seen on one side as an act of emasculation, however on the other hand Okonkwo still keeps most of his pride by refusing to submit himself to the Christians until the end of his life. In TTOTH, the Jaguar never submits himself to the other cadets, even when everyone is against him. In fact when the other cadets falsely accuse the Jaguar, he still keep his pride, and still sees himself as better than them, even know that he no longer has power over the others. Furthermore, it can be argued that the final act of both characters has a heroic dimension, which still makes them proud character until the end. In conclusion, in both novels the writer focuses on the idea of hubris by showing characters whose expectations of themselves far exceeds the scope of one being. In fact both, Okonkwo and the Jaguar are characters shaped and extremely well adapted to their social environment, which is surely a main cause of their excessive pride. However, both writers also seems to link the notion of hubris to determinism as the choice of both characters to live in hubris, leads them to their own social downfall, and in the case of Okonkwo; to his own destruction. Nevertheless, both characters still hold to their pride, as they remain faithful to their own opinion, even during their downfall.

Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal is a process of identifying, observing, measuring and developing human performance in organizations and has attracted the attention of both academicians and practitioners. The process is also viewed as making an important contribution to effective human resource management as it is closely interlinked to organizational performance (Erodogen, 2002). Performance appraisal is a management tool that helps management in its drive towards optimizing performance, primarily individual performance and therefore, organization performance now and in the future. The aim of performance appraisal can be achieved through assessing how effectively employees are working in their present jobs and what they need to do and know to perform even better (Bono, 2003). (Gupta 2006) defines performance appraisal as a process of assessing the performance and progress of an employee or of a group of employees on a given job and his potential for future development. He further argues that performance appraisal consists of all formal procedures used in work organizations to evaluate personalities, contributions and potentials of employees. (Torrington et al. 2005), define performance appraisal as a system that provides a formalized process to review the performance of employees. Performance appraisal varies between organizations and covers personality, behavior or job performance and it can be measured quantitatively or qualitatively. Performance appraisal involves unstructured narrative on performance of the appraiser. Political behaviors in an organization consist of actions that are taken by individuals or group (Mintezberg, 1983). Their direction is pointed toward the goal of one's own self-interest without focusing on regard for the humans and others in the organization (Kacmar ; Baron, 1999). These actions are informal and are considered a part of an organization's culture, help to maintain interpersonal relationships. As Mayes and Allen (1977) noted, that the actions can implement a dynamic power of influence. When this influence is practiced within organizational boundaries, the behaviors are not considered political. Self-promotion and ingratiation are considered to be examples of political behavior in the workplace include (Godfrey, Jones, & Lord, 1986). Self-promotion actions are mostly proactive. Their purpose is to earn the attention, to build an image of oneself as a competent committed employee. Ingratiation behaviors are less proactive then self-promotion. They emphasis on â€Å"attention- giving† to a targeted person or persons relative to â€Å"attention is getting† from others. A recent study found that politically skilled employees who were involved in ingratiatory behavior toward their supervisors were not only graded positively by them, they were subsequently rewarded for doing this (Treadway, Ferris, Duke, Adams, & Thatcher, 2007). In fact, career success is typically affected by an ability to make accept others that one has the necessary skills needed to perform higher level jobs effectively (Rafaeli, Dutton, Harquail, & Mackie-lewis, 1997). Self-promotion is one important way to do this.Organizational Affective commitmentOrganizational Affective commitment refers to an emotional attachment. Employee beliefs and values regarding their job and role in the organization measure their organizational commitment (Swailes, 2012). Affective Organizational commitment is the measure of employee's identification with the mission and values of the organization perspectives (Mowday, 1982) and supervisor. It is the commitment approach that provides a clearer and more focused scale of organizational commitment (Jaros, 1997) . In addition, recent measures of organizational commitment are attitudinal (Ko, Price ; Mueller, 1997; McGee ; Ford, 1987), and the build validity of affective (attitudinal) commitment is provided support . With strong supervision from their current employers the level of employee knowledge understanding and their commitment level in operations will be higher (Okpara, 2014). Process in evaluating the performance of employees is one of the most important determinants of organizational justice (Greenberg, 1986; Folger et al., 1992). Affective organizational commitment is beneficial to the employee as well. Employees that have affective commitment at their higher levels, experience less stress levels even if they work for longer and harder hours than those not committed. Affective commitment helps in employee's motivation (Meyer & Allen, 1997) and low downs psychological physical, work-related stress (Reilly & Orsak, 1991).Employees are committed to the organization, their jobs and careers exists comfortable, and are able to spend more quality time to their families and hobbies (Reilly & Orsak, 1991). The employee's commitment is the perception of employees procedures used to evaluate their performance is fair (Greenberg, 1990; Colquitt et al., 2001). Further review in the literatures indicates that fair practices in human resource management, particularly in terms of performance appraisal has a predictive role in the employees' attitude such as the organization's commitment (Jehad, 2011). Performance appraisal is viewed as an important mechanism for changing employees' attitude and behaviors such as affective commitment (Morrow, 2011). Moreover, a study by (Tam 1996) indicates that the commitment of government employees is higher in the federal government agencies that implement a fair and transparent assessment.In our study the psychological attachment of the employee with the organization i.e. organizational commitment (Tella , Ayeni, Papoola, 2007). It can be due to the comfort level with the current organization, cost and fear associated with leaving of the organization and joining the other and social disruption caused by new acquaintances in the new environment and leaving the old ones. This particular component which is the need component is known as effective commitment. It may also be due to the feeling that after joining the organization the employee is ought to be loyal and faithful to it (Bruckner 2002). This sense of obligation towards the organization is also termed as the normative commitment. The attachment of the employee can be due to some emotional reasons by which the employees identify him with the goal of the organization. This shows that the employee is affectively committed towards the organization (Hyde, 2000). There can be many antecedents of organizational commitment as suggested by (Comelier 2012) who after investigating a state owned IT industry in Malta, Europe indicated that the employees with lesser educational qualification, having a higher position in the organizational hierarchy and with lesser ambiguity in the role performed, with lower role conflict and positive impact of overall state of roles played within an organization are more committed to their organization. It increases all the normative, continuance commitment and affective components of the organizational commitment (Delaney and Hustled, 1996; Becker and Gerhardt, 1996). Performance Appraisal A DISSERTATION PROJECT On â€Å"STUDY ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AT WAY TO WEALTH† Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for MBA Degree of Bangalore University BY JYOTSNA Register Number 04XQCM6037 Under the guidance of Prof. S. Santhanam M. P. Birla Institute of Management Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bangalore-560001 2004-2006 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the report titled â€Å" STUDY ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AT WAY TO WEALTH†is prepared under the guidance of Prof. S. Santhanam in partial fulfillment of MBA degree of Bangalore University, and is my original work.This project does not form a part of any report submitted for degree or diploma of Bangalore University or any other university. Place: Bangalore Date: JYOTSNA M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 2 PRINCIPAL’S CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Ms JYOTSNA, bearing registration No: 04XQCM6037 has done a project and has prepared a report â€Å"STUDY ON PERFORMANCE APRAISAL S YSTEM AT WAY TO WEALTH â€Å"under the guidance of Prof. S. Santhanam, M. P. Birla Institute of Management, Bangalore. This has not formed a basis for the award of any degree/diploma for any other university. Place: Bangalore Date: Dr . NAGESH. S.MALLAVALLI PRINCIPAL MPBIM, Bangalore : M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 3 GUIDE’S CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Ms JYOTSNA, bearing registration No: 04XQCM6037 has done a project and has prepared a report â€Å"STUDY ON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AT WAY TO WEALTH â€Å"under my guidance. This has not formed a basis for the award of any degree/diploma for any other university. Place: Bangalore Date: Prof. S. Santhanam M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all those who guided me in the right direction to complete this report.I would like to thank Dr. Nagesh Malavalli ,principal for his support and also to thank my guide Prof. S. San thanam, faculty member, for his guidance and support for making this project a success. I would also thank my family and my friends for supporting me during the project. Place: Bangalore Date: (JYOTSNA) M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 5 CONTENTS Sl. No Page No CONTENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY STATEMENT OF PROBLEM OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY LIMITATIONS COMPANY PROFILE DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION SUMMARY & CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 10 11 14 16 26 27 32 54 59 M. P.Birla Institute Of Management 2 LIST OF GRAPHS Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Graphs Graph showing whether PA is conducted every year in the company Graph showing whether job increments & promotions are based on PA Graph showing whether PA objectives are clearly defined Graph showing the purpose of PA Graph showing Feedback on Pa is collected Graph showing the Opinion of the present PA system Graph showing whether PA system needs to be improved Graph showing methods that can be suggested for PA Page No 33 34 35 36 38 39 42 43 PA: Performance Appraisal M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 3 LIST OF TABLES Sl. No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Tables Table showing whether PA is conducted every year in the company Table showing job increments &Promotions are based on PA Table showing whether PA objectives are clearly defined Table showing the purpose of PA Table showing Ranking of methods employed in PA Table showing whether Feedback on PA is collected Table showing the Opinion on present PA system Table showing factors covered in PA Table showing Improvements to be done in PA Table showing whether Pa system needs to be improved Table showing methods that can be suggested for PA Page No 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 PA: Performance Appraisal M. P.Birla Institute Of Management 4 ABSTRACT It is a well-established fact the people differ in their abilities and aptitudes. These differences are natural to a great extent and cannot be eliminated completely by giving them education and trainin g. There will always be some difference in quality and quantity of work done by different employees. Therefore it is necessary for the management to know these differences so that it may develop certain programs in the organization for those employees who posses better potentials so that they may be developed to accept the challenges of higher jobs or wrong placement of employees may be rectified .The individual employee may also like to know his capability in terms of his performance on his capability in terms of his performance on the job qualitatively and quantitatively in comparison to his fellow employees so that he improve upon it. No firm has a choice as to whether or not it should appraise its personnel and their performance but the choice lies between the systematic and the unsystematic or casual appraisal. The system of appraising the man is not new but the systematic approach of evaluating the man is by any means a new development .The technique of appraising the man by s upervisors or others is widely known as â€Å" Performance Appraisal† . It is also sometimes termed as Personnel Performance Evaluation, Merit Rating. Thus main objective of the project is to study the Performance Appraisal process being practiced in WAY 2 WEALTH and evaluate its effectiveness. This project aimed at finding out effectiveness in terms of familiarity, and satisfaction level of performance appraisal among the employees WAY 2 WEALTH. The project also focuses on finding out how performance appraisal is matching in meeting the company’s goals and objectives.M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 5 METHODOLOGY The research methodology used in the project is the descriptive approach and it is done among 200 employees . The main sources through which data is collected are 1. Primary data 2. Secondary data The data collected for this research is through primary data collection method. The instrument used for collecting primary data is structured questionnaire fille d up by the employees Statistical tools were used to find inferences between the variables and analyzing the results.The following are the tools used. 1) 2) 3) Kalmograv Smirnov Test Chi – Square test (? 2) Spearman’s Rank Correlation M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 6 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 7 INTRODUCTION An organization’s goals can be achieved only when people put in their best efforts . How to ascertain whether an employee has shown his or her best performance on a given job?. The answer is Performance Appraisal. Employee assessment is the fundamental job of HRM, but not easy one though.Thus â€Å"Performance Appraisal† is the systematic evaluation of the individual with respect to his or her performance on the job and his or her potential for development . The performance is being measured against such factors as Job Knowledge, quality, initiative, leadership abilities, supervision, co-operation, versatility etc. It is systematic in th at it evaluates all performance in the same manner utilizing the same approach so that the ratings obtained to separate personnel are comparable. It is undertaken periodically according to plan .The essential purpose is the accurate measurement of human performance It attempts to reduce, if not eliminate human bias and prejudice, by means of a system that is subject to impartial review and check. Often such personnel performance appraisal are labeled as ratings where an individual employee, after comparison with another, is rated or ranked as â€Å"Excellent, normal or average† and are commonly used for determining an employees eligibility for promotion or transfer and widely being used for the development of the individual.Any appraisal program will involve time and money . The wise manager should plan up a program with the minimum cost to give maximum benefit . The rationale for using any particular method should be determined by the size ,financial resources ,and philosoph y of the organization . M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 8 Appraisal can be made by one or more superiors or subordinates or by the peers . There can also be committee of members from various related departments to appraise an employee.There may even be a system of self –appraisal in which each employee evaluates his own performance and potential. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 9 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM To evaluate is to assess the worth or value. In social life, we generally evaluate or appraise the behavior of others in relations to our own needs or goals. Appraisals are judgments of the characteristics ,traits and performance of others. On the basis of these judgments, we assess the worth or value of others, and identify what is good and bad.In industry, performance appraisal is a systematic evaluation of personnel by supervisors or others familiar with their performance because employers are interested in knowing about employee performance. Employees also wish to know their position in the organization. Appraisals are essential for making many administrative decisions: selection, training ,promotion ,transfer ,wage and salary administration ,etc . Besides ,they aid personnel research . Performance appraisal thus is a systematic and objective way of judging the relative worth or ability of an employee in performing his task . Performance ppraisal helps to identify those who are performing their assigned tasks well and those who are not and the reasons for such performance . Differentiating between individuals is easy provided one knows what aspects to take into account. Identifying performance measures is easy if job is clearly defined but difficult if it is broad. At the lower levels of an organization, there are specific jobs and certain tangible and objective standards of performance can be identified. Further up in the hierarchy, jobs become more complex and clear–cut, tangible standards of performance are difficult to specify.Irr espective of the level by and large, most companies use various parameters for measuring the performance like quality of work, quantity of work, job Knowledge, meeting the job requirements, initiative, team working, communicative etc. And they would be rated in accordingly quarterly, half yearly or annually depending on company’s policies. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 10 Many companies would have a standard format for appraising the performance. Ironically many of the employees would not know the norms of the appraisal and to the surprise many of them may not be fully familiar with contents of the appraisal form.This would be great hazel for the company as well as to the employees because if the employee is not aware of what basis he is appraised, he may not put up all his efforts for better improvement which indirectly effects the companies profits by not meeting the companies objectives and targets. Thus this project â€Å" A Study On Effectiveness of Performance Sy stem† aims at complete study on performance appraisal system and finding out effectiveness of the system in terms of familiarity and satisfaction level of the employees in WAY 2 WEALTH, ChennaiM. P. Birla Institute Of Management 11 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY PRIMARY OBJECTIVES ? To find out the effectiveness of PA system in way-2-wealth ? To Know employee satisfaction on PA system in way-2-wealth ? To suggest the way-2-wealth improve the employee satisfaction on PA system SECONDARY OBJECTIVES ? To find the opinion of employees on various factors involved in PA system ? To find out the openness of personal department in PA ? To find out the scope of critical attributes and other factor coverage of PA system ?To know post appraisal measures taken b way-2-wealth M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 12 REVIEW OF LITERATURE Once the employee has been selected, trained and motivated, he is then appraised for his performance. Performance appraisal is the step where the management finds o ut how effective it has been at hiring and placing employees . If any problems are identified steps are taken to communicate with the employee and to remedy them. A â€Å"Performance Appraisal† is a process of evaluating an employee’s performance of a job in terms of its requirements.It is the process of evaluating the performance and qualifications of the employees in terms of the requirements of the job for which he is employed, for purposes of administration including placement, selection for promotion, providing financial rewards and other actions which require different treatment among the members of a group as distinguished from actions affecting all members equally. _ Heyel Performance Appraisal seeks to provide an adequate feedback to each individual for his or her performance. It purports to serve as a basis for improving or changing behavior toward some more effective working habits .It also aims aat providing data to managers with which they may judge future job assignments and compensation -Levinson M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 13 Performance Appraisal determines who shall receive merit increases; counsels employees on their improvement ,determines training needs ,determines promo ability, identifies those who should be transferred -Ronald Benjamin PURPOSE OF APPRAISAL It can serve as a basis for job change or promotion ? By identifying the strengths and weakness of an employee it serves as a guide for ? formulating a suitable training and development program It serves as a feedback to the employee ?It serves as an important incentive to all employees ? The existence of regular appraisal system tends to make the supervisors and ? executives more observant of their subordinates Performance appraisal often provides the rational foundation for payment of ? salaries and bonus M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 14 ESSENTIALS OF GOOD APPRAISAL SYSTEM It must be easily understandable ? An appraisal plan must be integrated into the or ganization so as to have clear cut ? relationships between the appraisal plan and organization policies relating to performance of the employees.It must have the support of all line people who administer it ? The system should fit the organizations operations and structure ? The system should be both valid and reliable ? The system should have built in incentives that is a reward should follow satisfactory ? performance The system should periodically evaluated to be sure that it is continuing to meet its ? goals What should be Rated? The seven criteria for assessing performance are: 1. Quality 2. Quantity 3. Timeliness 4. Cost Effectiveness 5. Need for supervision 6. Interpersonal impact 7. Training M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 15Trends in employee Appraisal ITEM Terminology Purpose FORMER EMPASIS Merit Rating Determine qualifications for wage increase, transfer, promotion, lay- off Application For hourly –paid workers Heavy emphasis on personal traits Techniques Ratin g scales, Statistical manipulation of data for comparison purpose PRESENT EMPHASIS Performance Appraisal Development of the individual, improved performance on the job, and provide emotional security For technical, professional and managerial employees Factors Related Results, accomplishments, performance Mutual goal–setting, critical incidents, group appraisal, performance standards, less quantitative Post Appraisal Interview Superior communication his rating to employees and tries to sell his evaluation to him; seeks to have employee conform to his view Superior stimulates employee to analyze himself and set own objectives in line with job requirements superior is helper and councilor M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 16 Approaches to Performance Appraisal: 1.A casual ,unsystematic and haphazard appraisal: This method was commonly used in the past . The basis of this method are seniority or quantitative measures quantity and quality of output for the rank and file personn el 2. The traditional and highly systematic measurement: This measures the employees characteristic and employee contributions or both. It evaluates all the performances in the same manner ,utilizing the same approach so that the ratings obtained of separate personnel are comparable 3. The behavioral approach ,emphasizing mutual goal setting: here emphasizes has been laid upon providing mutual goal setting and appraisal of progress by both the appraiser and the appraise .This approach is based on the behavioral value of fundamental trust in the goodness ,capability and responsibility of human beings. The Evaluating Process The process of performance appraisal follows a set pattern viz, a man’s performance is periodically appraised by his superiors. Questions are raised . Is his potential the greatest as a manager or as a staff specialist? What are his strengths and weakness? Where can he make his great contribution? Next sometimes in consultation with the man himself, tentati ve decisions are made on what might be done to advance his development. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 17 Thus the process would involve following steps ESTABLISH PERFORMANCE STANDARDS COMMUNICATE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS TO EMPLOYEES MEASURE ACTUAL PERFORMANCECOMPARE ACTUAL PERFORMANCE WITH STANDARDS DISCUSS THE APPRAISAL WITH THE EMPLOYEE IF NECESSARY, INITIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 18 TOOLS/METHODS FOR APPRAISING PERFORMANCE: Several methods and techniques of appraisal are available for the measurement of the performance of the employee . The methods and scales differ for obvious reasons 1. They differ in the sources of traits or qualities to be appraised. 2. The variations may be caused by the degree of precision attempted in an evaluation. 3. They may differ because of the methods used to obtain weightings for various traits. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 19 Methods of Performance appraisalTraditional Methods ? Straight Ranking ? Man-t o-man Comparison ? Grading ? Force choice Description ? Graphic Rating Scales ? Forced distribution Method ? Check Lists ? Free Form Essay Method ? Critical Incidents ? Group Appraisal ? Field Review Method y Modern Methods Assessment Centres Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 20 COMPONENTS OF APPRAISAL EVALUATION ? â€Å"Who† of the Appraisal ? â€Å"What† of Appraisal ? ? ? Common Pitfalls in Appraisal: ? There is often tendency to rate not only the employee but also the job ? Errors are introduced in the appraisal because of a defect or bias in the person conducting the appraisal ?As Appraisal are in fact opinions ,it is difficult to remove from the subjective element whilst making the judgment ? Performance appraisal do require a lot from the supervisor as they require periodic observation of subordinates performance by them which becomes difficult in case of a first line superior have a large number of subordinates ? There is of ten a large variations in the standards and ratings because some raters are tough where as others are lenient ? There is often lack of communication where by the employee does not know how he is rated ? Often Superiors are reluctant to give a low rating to ineffective subordinate and gives him an average rating ?Sometimes communication of the rating of the employee if done properly would be taken as criticism and may even result in his performing more poorly The â€Å"Why† of Appraisal The â€Å"When† of Appraisal The â€Å"where† of Appreciation M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 21 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The researcher has made efforts for an errorless study but the following limitations were occurred ? The survey was restricted to only in Way 2 Wealth and the sample size was 200 ? There may be some changes if the sample size and the geographical segmentation were increased ? Time was a handicap for a detailed study ? A few respondents might have been given biased information, which may affect the reliability of the results ?Unwillingness and inability of the respondent to provide information M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 22 COMPANY PROFILE Way2Wealth is a premier Investment Consultancy Firm that has been launched with the aim of making investing simpler, more understandable and profitable for the investors. Way2Wealth brings a wide range of product offerings from Fixed Income Securities, Life Insurance and Mutual Funds to Equity and Derivatives (on the National Stock Exchange) for the convenience and benefit of it customers. Way2Wealth has over 40 easily accessible Investment Outlets spread across 20 major towns and cities in the country. Mission Way2Wealth is a premier Investment Consultancy Firm, launched with the ission â€Å"to be the pre-eminent destination for personalised financial solutions helping individuals create wealth†. Philosophy We believe that â€Å"our knowledge combined with our investors trust and in volvement will lead to the growth of wealth and make it an exciting experienc Sivan Securities started in 1984, has a long and illustrious track record of being amongst the premier Financial Intermediaries in the country as well as being an incubator for IT start-up firms. The Venture Capital division came to be known as Global Technology Ventures (GTV has provided venture capital to companies such as Kshema Technologies, MindTree, Ivega etc. ) and the Financial Intermediary Division was spun off as Way2Wealth in the year 2000. M. P.Birla Institute Of Management 23 Way2Wealth is promoted by Sivan Securities and Global Technology Ventures Ltd. Prudential ICICI AMC provides further strength to Way2Wealth as strategic equity partner. Over the years, Sivan has developed a strong reputation for navigating its investors through all the ups and downs in the market. Way2Wealth has inherited these same values in addition to a base of 75,000 individual customers, over 300 corporate/institutio nal clients. Other companies in the group include Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd. (one of the largest Coffee Exporters in India) and Cafe Coffee Day, a chain of youth hangout coffee parlors.Way2Wealth has very credible management teams, who have well over 100 man-years of experience amongst themselves Way2Wealth Investment outlets are designed to be places where retail investors can come in touch with Investment opportunities in an atmosphere of convenience and comfort. The look and feel of the offices across India project a consistent branch image for the company. The features that enable a unique facility for retailing financial services include among others: ? Most branches are located in the ground floor sporting huge glass frontage promoting easy accessibility and reflecting our attitude of complete transparency. ? The major portion of the branch area dedicated for customer use.The furniture is in CKD formats to add flexibility in using the branch for Investors pur poses. ? ? Connectivity to NSE for trading facilities. TV and other electronic mediums to facilitate real time update and dissemination of information to our customers. ? Each branch comprises of trained and qualified Investment advisors to take care of the needs of the customers. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 24 The Way2Wealth Research Desk Research is at the core of the advice. It believes that sound investment decisions are made on sound analysis of facts, past performance and credible market information. The research cell focuses on providing data and analysis to help customers make sound investment decisions.The Research cell is managed by a highly qualified team that is handpicked and trained extensively in the proprietary Way2Wealth Investment Philosophy centered on finding the best investment solutions for our customers. Based in the commercial capital enables the team to have a pulse of the trends allowing dissemination of the most up-to-date and latest information. ? Personalised Investment Solutions: All the customers receive individual attention ? Full choice of Investments: Mutual funds, Life Insurance, Fixed Income Instruments, Equity and Derivatives ? Processing support: take care of all the paper work and provide service at the doorstep. ? Investor eligibility criteria: Customers with a minimum investment amount as low as Rs. 2500 per month can avail of the services.This unique Way2Wealth concept can be easily experienced through the innovative and customer friendly network of Investment outlets that spans 20 major towns and cities in the country. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 25 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The following points are considered in carrying out the research. A. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: A research design is purely ad simply the framework a plan for a study that guides the collection and analysis of the data. Descriptive Research Here the research is been done on 200 members through a media of questionnaire B. DATA COLLECTION METH OD: The main sources through which data is collected are 1. Primary data 2. Secondary data The data collected for this research is hrough primary data collection method. The instrument used for collecting primary data is questionnaire from the employees. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 26 E. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE Non – probability (non random ) sampling method is used in this project. F. STATISTICAL TOOLS USED: Statistical tools were used to find inferences between the variables and analyzing the results. The following are the tools used. 1)spearman’s rank Correlation 2) Kalmograv Smirnov Test 3) Chi – Square test (? 2) M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 27 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 28 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION TABLE 1 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER PA IS CONDUCTED EVERY YEAR IN THE COMPANY S.NO 1 2 YES NO TOTAL OPINION NO OF RESPONDENTS 60 0 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 100 0 100 100 80 60 40 20 0 YES NO INFERENCE: All the respondents feel that PA is conducted eve ry year in the company. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 29 TABLE 2 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER JOB INCREMENTS AND PROMOTIONS ARE STRICTLY BASED ON PA S. NO 1. 2. YES NO OPINION NO OF RESPONDENTS 41 19 PERCENTAGE (%) 68 32 100 TOTAL 60 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents feel that job increments and promotions are strictly based on PA is 68%and whereas few of them feel that it is not strictly based on PA 32%. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 30 TABLE 3 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER PA OBJECTIVES ARE CLEARLY INFORMED S. NO 1. 2. 3.CHOICE CLEARLY INFORMED PARTIALLY INFORMED NOT INFORMED AT ALL TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS 22 28 10 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 36 46 18 100 50 40 30 20 10 0 PERCENTAGE CLEARLY INFORMED PARTIALLY INFORMED NOTINFORMED AT ALL INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents feel that PA objectives are partially informed, some of them feel it is clearly informed and whereas few of them feel that it is not informed at all. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 3 1 TABLE 4 TABLE SHOWING PURPOSE OF PA S. NO 1 2 3 4 CHOICE SALARY INCREASE PROMOTION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FEEDBACK TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS 18 22 14 6 120 PERCENTAGE (%) 30 36 24 10 100 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 PERCENTAGE SALARY INCREASE PROMOTION TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT FEEDBACKINFERENCE: Majority of the respondents feel that purpose of PA is for promotion, some of them feel it is for salary increase and whereas few of them feel it is for training and development. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 32 TABLE 5 RANKING OF METHODS EMPLOYED IN PA NO OF RESPONDENTS FACTORS 1 GRADING RANKING METHOD CHECKLIST METHOD FORCED CHOICE METHOD 15 22 13 11 2 18 17 16 10 3 12 16 20 13 4 15 6 11 26 INFERENCE: From the table it is seen that the ranking of methods employed in PA is give below: FACTORS GRADING RANKING METHOD CHECKLIST METHOD FORCED CHOICE METHOD RANK II I III IV M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 33 TABLE 6 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER FEEDBACK ON PA IS COLLECTED S. NO 1. 2. YES NO OPI NION NO OF RESPONDENTS 25 35 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 42 58 100 TOTAL 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 PERCENTAGE YES NOINFERENCE: 58% of the respondent feel that feedback on PA is not collected ad whereas some of them feel that feedback on PA is collected. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 34 TABLE 7 TABLE SHOWING OPINION ON PRESENT PA SYSTEM IN THE COMPANY S. NO 1. 2. 3. 4. OPTIONS VERY GOOD GOOD AVERAGE POOR TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS 6 24 18 12 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 10 40 30 20 100 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 PERCENTAGE VERY GOOD GOOD AVERAGE POOR INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents opinion regarding present PA system in the company is good, some of the respondents opinion is average and whereas few of the respondents opinion is poor. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 35 TABLE 8TABLE SHOWING OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING FACTORS COVERED IN PA FACTORS Job knowledge Quality of work Quantity of work Ability of work Hard work Manner & obedience VERY GOOD 6 7 6 7 10 10 GOOD 21 29 14 24 26 24 AVERAGE 22 13 18 16 12 14 POOR 9 6 12 8 7 9 VERY POOR 2 5 10 5 5 3 INFERENCE: Majority of the respondent’s opinion regarding the factors covered in PA is good, some of them feel it is average and whereas few of them feel it is poor. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 36 TABLE 9 TABLE SHOWING IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE IN PA FACTORS Strongly agree 12 9 10 5 6 7 11 Neither Agree Agree nor disagree 27 25 24 22 20 24 25 11 14 8 14 18 13 14 6 7 11 13 11 11 6 Disagree Strongly disagree 4 5 7 6 6 5 4Confidentiality Critical attributes Role related attributes Post appraisal actions Introducing bars in PA Feedback on PA White paper on PA & after PA INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents agree that improvements has to be made in PA, some of them neither agree nor disagree ad whereas few of them disagree that improvements has to be made in PA M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 37 TABLE 10 TABLE SHOWING WHETHER PRESENT PA SYSTEM IS TO BE IMPROVED S. NO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. OPTIONS STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEITHER AGR EE NOR DISAGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS 11 20 15 9 5 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 18 34 24 16 8 100 35 30 25 20 18 15 10 5 0 PERCENTAGE 34 24 16 8 STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREEINFERENCE: Majority of the respondents agree that present PA system is to improved, some of them neither agree nor disagree ad whereas few of them disagree. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 38 TABLE 11 TABLE SHOWING METHODS THAT CAN BE SUGGESTED FOR PA S. NO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. OPTIONS ESSAY METHOD FIELD REVIEW METHOD BARS APPRAISAL BY RESULTS 360 DEGREE APPRAISAL TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS 9 8 11 14 18 60 PERCENTAGE (%) 16 12 18 24 30 100 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 PERCENTAGE ESSAY METHOD FIELD REVIEW METHOD ARS APPRAISAL BY RESLTS 360 DEGREE APPRAISAL INFERENCE: Majority of the respondents suggest 360 degree appraisal for PA, some of them suggest appraisal by result and whereas few of them suggest essay method. M. P.Birla Institute Of Management 39 TOOLS USED F OR ANALYSIS KALMOGROV SMIRNOV TEST The Kalmogrov Smirnov Test (KS – Test) tries to determine if two data sets significantly. The KS – test has the advantage of making no assumption about the distribution of data. (Technically speaking it is nonparametric and distribution free). It is a goodness of fit used to examine the distribution function of the random variable (X). Test statistics T = = Sup | F (x) – S (x) | Supremum of the absolute value of the difference between F (x) and S (X) H0 is rejected if T exceeds the 1 – a quantile (W1 – a) of the Kalmogrov Smirnov’s Statistic. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 40TO FIND OUT THE DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENT’S RATING PATTERN ABOUT â€Å"WHETHER PRESENT PA SYSTEM IS TO BE IMPROVED† H0: H1: Response Pattern obtained is uniformly distributed Response Pattern is not uniformly distributed Null Hypothesis S (x) 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 5/5 Opinion F (x) Cumulative Percentage 0. 18 0. 52 0. 76 0 . 92 1 Cumulative Percentage 0. 2 0. 4 0. 6 0. 8 1 Difference F(x) – S(x) -0. 02 0. 12 0. 16 0. 12 – STRONGLY AGREE AGREE NEITHER DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 0. 18 0. 34 0. 24 0. 16 0. 08 TEST OF UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION Calculated Value is: T (F (x) – S (x)) Tabulated Value is = 0. 16 T (tab) = 1. 22 / ? n When n = 5, T (tab) = 0. 5456 for 5 % significance level. Calculated value is less than tabulated value. H0 is accepted. INFERENCE: Response pattern obtained is uniformly distributed. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 41 PAIRED ‘T’ TESTTO IDENTIFY THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE STATEMENTS THAT ARE GIVEN FOR OPINION ON THE FOLLOWING FACTORS COVERED IN PA Ho: Job Knowledge is very good than Quality of Work H1: Quality of work is very good than Job Knowledge VERY GOOD JOB KNOWLEDGE QUALITY OF WORK 16 24 GOOD 12 96 AVERAGE 80 44 POOR 24 20 VERY POOR 8 16 N=5 X1 16 72 80 24 8 Y1 24 96 44 20 16 D1 -8 -24 36 4 -8 d=0 d1 – d -8 -24 36 4 -8 (d1 – d )2 64 576 1296 16 64 2016 d = 1Od N = 0 where N = 5 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 42 S2 = 1 O (d1 – d) 2 (n – 1) = S T = = 10. 13 3. 19 d S/ vn = Degree of freedom 0 = n-1 =4 Table Value = 2. 132 Calculated Value is less than Tabulated Value, Ho is accepted INFERENCE: Job Knowledge is very good than Quality of Work M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 43 SPEARMAN’S RANK CORRELATION The rank correlation co – efficient is a measure of correlation that exists between two sets or ranks.Spearman’s Rank Correlation Co – efficient is calculated as follows: r = 1 – 6 O di2 n (n2 – 1) where n is number of packed observation d is the difference between one paired observation. The value of Spearman’s Rank Correlation will always lie between –1 and +1. If the coefficient is HO the ranks given by two sets of judges show perfect positive correlation. If it is –1, the ranks given by two sets of judges have a perfect negative correlation between them. NULL HYPOTHESIS HO: There is no correlation between the ranking of Checklist Method and Ranking Method among respondents i. e. ,  µr = 0 H1: There is correlation between the ranking of Checklist Method and Ranking Method among respondent’s i. e. ,  µr > 0 M. P.Birla Institute Of Management 44 RAN S. NO K (X) RANK (Y) RANK DIFFERNCE (RANK X – RANK Y) DIFFERENCE SQUARE di2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 3 4 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 4 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 4 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 3 4 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 1 -2 1 -1 1 1 -1 3 1 1 -1 -1 2 2 1 -1 2 2 2 -1 -1 -1 4 4 4 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 9 1 1 1 1 4 4 1 1 4 4 4 1 1 1 O di2 =59 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 45 X = CHECKLIST METHOD Y = RANKING METHOD Spearman’s r = 1 – 6 O di2 n (n2 – 1) = 1 – 6 x 59 25 (252 – 1) = 1 – 0. 0226 = 0. 977 or tabulated or (t), n = 25 at 5% level of significance or calculated or (c) = 1 vn – 1 = 1 v25 – 1 = 0. 20Upper limit (U1) =  µr + or (t) x or (c) = 0 + 0. 3977 x 0. 20 = 0. 08 INFERENCE: Since the ‘r’ value = 0. 977 it lies in the rejection region therefore we reject the null hypothesis at 5% level of significance and we accept the alternate hypothesis. Hence, we conclude that there is positive correlation between the ranking of Checklist Method and Ranking Method among the respondents. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 46 CHI – SQUARE TEST Chi – Square is an importance non – parametric test and as such no test are necessary in respect of the type of population. We require only the degree of freedom (implicity of course the size of the sample) for using this test.As a non – parametric test, Chi – square can be used (i) as a test of goodness of fit and (ii) as a test of independence. Since the researcher used test of independence only the details about test of independence is given below. TES T OF INDEPENDENCE o2 test enables us to explain whether or not two attributes are associated. In order that we may apply the chi – square test either as a test to judge the significance of association between attributes, it is necessary that the observed as well as theoretical or expected frequencies must be grouped in the same way and theoretical distribution must be adjusted to give the same total frequency as we find in case of observed distribution.Karl Pearson developed a test for testing the significance of discrepancy between experimental values and the theoretical values obtained under some theory or hypothesis. This test is known as o2 test of goodness of fit. Karl Pearson proved that the statistic o2 = ? (O – E) 2 / E O – Observed Frequency E – Expected Frequency o2 is used to test whether difference between observed & expected frequencies are frequent. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 47 To find o2 table value degree of freedom should be cal culated. Degree of freedom is calculated using the formula (r – 1)(c – 1). The table value for this degree of freedom is seen using 5% or 1% of significant level. If o2 table value is greater than o2 calculated value, Null Hypothesis is accepted or Null Hypothesis is rejected.To determine whether there is significant difference between gender & whether PA is inherently unfair Ho: There is no significant difference between gender & whether PA is inherently unfair H1: There is significant difference between gender & whether PA is inherently unfair GENDER CHOICE MALE FEMALE TOTAL NO OF RESPONDENTS YES 28 20 48 NO 104 48 152 TOTAL 132 68 200 Expected Frequencies are: (48 * 132) / 200 = 31. 68 (152 * 132) / 200 = 100. 32 (48* 68) / 200 = 16. 32 (152 * 68) / 200 = 51. 61 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 48 CALCULATION OF O2: Observed Frequency (O) 28 104 20 148 Expected Frequency (E) 31. 68 100. 32 16. 32 51. 68 (O – E) 2 13. 54 18. 66 18. 66 13. 54 (O – E) 2 / E 0. 427 0. 168 1. 14 0. 261 2. 01 Calculated o2 = ? O – E)2 / E O – Observed Frequency E – Expected Frequency = 2. 01 Calculated o2 = 2. 01 Degree of Freedom = (4 – 1)(2 – 1) = 3 d. o. f at 5 % level of significance Therefore, Tabulated o2 = 7. 815 Since Calculated o2 < Tabulated o2 Therefore, we accept the hypothesis. i. e. , There is no significant difference between gender & whether PA is inherently unfair M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 49 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 50 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY. ? All the respondents feel that PA is conducted every year in the company. ? Majority of the respondents feel that job increments and promotions are strictly based on PA and whereas few of them feel that it is not strictly based on PA. Majority of the respondents feel that PA objectives are partially informed, some of them feel it is clearly informed and whereas few of them feel that it is not informed at all. ? Majority of the respondents feel that purpose of PA is for promotion, some of them feel it is for salary increase and whereas few of them feel it is for training and development. ? From the table it is seen that the ranking of methods employed in PA is give below: FACTORS GRADING RANKING METHOD CHECKLIST METHOD FORCED CHOICE METHOD RANK II I III IV ? 58% of the respondent feel that feedback on PA is not collected and whereas some of them feel that feedback on PA is collected. Majority of the respondents opinion regarding present PA system in the company is good, some of the respondents opinion is average and whereas few of the respondents opinion is poor. ? Majority of the respondents opinion regarding the factors covered in PA is good, some of them feel it is average and whereas few of them feel it is poor. ? Majority of the respondents agree that improvements has to be made in PA, some of them neither agree nor disagree ad whereas few of them disagree that improvements has to be made in PA. M. P. Birla Inst itute Of Management 51 ? Majority % of the respondents prefers PA by the HR department, some of them prefer by third party and whereas few of them prefer through top level management. Majority of the respondents agree that present PA system is to improved, some of them neither agree nor disagree ad whereas few of them disagree. ? Majority of the respondents suggest 360 degree appraisal for PA, some of them suggest appraisal by result and whereas few of them suggest essay method. M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 52 SUGGESTIONS The top management should take up periodic programs to explain the objectives and the related issues to the executives and queries should be thoroughly cleared It is necessary to improve the performance analysis and review system in following areas ? There should be clear definition of rewards basing performance ?PA’S should have direct bearing in promotions ? PA should be incident specific & productivity linked & not as per personal linking. ? Self-a ppraisal discussion with the assessing officer & then the officer recording his appraisal will be ideal. Awareness is less in catering department ? Employees to work hard to achieve & a panel of officers with which interaction happens during the course of your job should be appraising officer ? Every year a appraisal letter should be given to employee because that can make a employee to show great affection to their job ascertained ? Subordinate & peers also should have a role in individual’s assessment ?Before or during PA, the reporting officer may discuss with the employee about his plus or minus points in order to educate & improved the employee’s performance in future ? Most of the assessment is based on personal interaction with evaluating officer ? Instead of giving overall rating in the paper good workers should be appreciated by the way of given extra perks or increment ? The decision obtained at performance analysis should be implemented. M. P. Birla Institut e Of Management 53 CONCLUSION The effectiveness of a system is to be determined by the people in it, the system cannot become effective automatically. Simply by basing upon few assumptions about the people involved in it.The same is the case with the executive appraisal system of Way 2 Wealth a considerable number of them have come under Halo effect and stereotyping Objectives of the appraisal system are not clear to most of the employees and behavioral dimensions are not clearly understood Unsatisfactory opinion in respect of existing system and self-assessment Wide gap between formal appraisal system and self-assessment Training needs are not met by the organisation inspite of doing serious exercise in identifying them There is lot of paper work in this system of appraisal by which the appraisal is time consuming The analysis has shown that most of the executives are in favour of a better appraisal system, which is more transparent and has provisions for unbiased assessment of per formance M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 54 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 55 BIBLIOGRAPHYPERSONNEL MANAGEMENT STATISTICAL METHODS MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES HUMAN RESORCE MANAGEMENT – C. B. MAMORLA, S. V. GANKAR S. P. GUPTHA BOHLANDER ASHWATHAPPA M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 56 QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Gender : Male ? Female ? 2. Employee Category: 3. Age Group: 4. Experience: 5. Is every year PA is conducted by the company? Yes ? No ? 6. Job increments and promotions are strictly based on PA? Yes ? No ? 7. PA objectives are Clearly informed Partially informed Not informed at all 8. Is PA inherently unfair M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 57 ? ? ? Yes ? No ? 9. PA serves the purpose of Salary increase Promotion Training and development Feedback ? ? ? ? 10.What methods are employed in PA Grading Ranking method Checklist method Forced choice method ? ? ? ? 11. PA forms/procedures are Management oriented Employee oriented M. P. Birla Institute Of Management ? ? 58 12. After PA, Feedback on PA is collected Yes ? No ? 13. The opinion on present PA system in the company? Very good Good Average Poor ? ? ? ? 14. Your opinion on the following factors covered in PA? FACTORS Job knowledge Quality of work Quantity of work Ability of work Hard work Manner & obedience VERY GOOD GOOD AVERAGE POOR VERY POOR M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 59 15. What is to be improved in PA? Strongly agree Neither Agree Agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree FACTORSAppraisal by result Confidentiality Critical attributes Role related attributes Post appraisal actions Feedback on PA 16. Among the following which one do you prefer? PA by the HR department PA by the third party PA by top level management Assessment center ? ? ? ? M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 60 17. Is the present PA system is to be improved? Strongly Agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree ? ? ? ? ? 18. What method you can suggest for PA? Essay method Field review metho d BARS Appraisal by results 360 degree appraisal ? ? ? ? ? M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 61 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 62 M. P. Birla Institute Of Management 63

Should I Take a Gap Year 6 Reasons the Answer Is Yes

Should I Take a Gap Year 6 Reasons the Answer Is Yes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Not excited about the idea of starting another year of school in the fall? What if you could instead take a break from school and spend a year backpacking around Europe, volunteering for a cause you care about, or getting paid to work on a cruise ship? With a gap year all those things possible! Have you heard of gap years but aren’t sure what they are?Do you know other people taking gap years but aren’t sure if they’re a good idea for you? What are the benefits of taking a gap year anyway?In this guide, I use my own gap year experience to explain the major benefits of gap year programs and why they’re such a great choice for many students. I end with some tips to ensure you get the most out of your own gap year. My Gap Year Experience By the time I finished my Master’s degree, I was 24 years old and burnt out from years of non-stop studying, writing papers, and taking tests. I was applying to all sorts of jobs, but I wasn’t excited about any of them.After years of spending all my time and energy on school, my life had become boring, and I felt like I was just going through the motions without actually enjoying myself or doing the things I cared about or was interested in. I kept going because I felt like I didn’t have any other choice than to jump straight from school to a career. One day, while scrolling through Facebook, I saw pictures posted by a friend currently traveling through Europe. She was on an around-the-world trip, and, while I’d scoffed when she’d told me she was quitting her job to travel, I had to admit that she looked happier than I did at the moment.Looking through her photos, I realized that that was what I wanted to be doing with my life: seeing new places, learning new things, meeting new people. Why couldn’t I do what my friend was doing? Maybe not quite as extreme as traveling around the world (I had students loans to pay off after all), but why couldn’t I change up my life and do something exciting? Why did I have to go straight from high school to college to grad school to a corporate job? I weighed the options for a few weeks, but in the end, choosing between taking a job I wasn’t interested in or spending a year having experiences I’d dreamed of having wasn’t a hard decision to make. I did some research and found that gap years are actually a fairly common experience in certain parts of the world. People who do a gap year can travel, get work experience, take a class they’ve always been interested in, learn a foreign language, do volunteer work, and more. Really anything you think is interesting or exciting could be the basis of your gap year. After looking at numerous options, I decided to spend my gap year teaching English at a high school in northeast France. I also had enough time on the side to volunteer at an environmental organization I was interested in.My parents and friends were largely supportive, but when I told my school advisor what I’d be doing, she was horrified. She told me I was making a terrible decision and warned me that not taking a job in the field I’d studied in would have a serious negative impact on my career. â€Å"Not to mention employers will think you look lazy,† she added. Those comments made me nervous, but I still felt like I was making the right decision. As a matter of fact, not only did I not torpedo my career, I came away with a host of new skills and a better idea of the kind of job I wanted, both of which made it fairly easy for me to find a job I was happy with once my gap year ended.More important though, was the fact that I finally felt like I was doing what I wanted with my life. I look back on my gap year now as one of the best decisions I’ve made, and many others who’ve taken gap years would agree. 6 Reasons To Take a Gap Year It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of taking a gap year, but you may also still have a lot of doubts about actually doing it. Your parents or teachers may also need some more convincing before they get on board with the idea of you taking a gap year. Whatever the case, here are six of the biggest gap year benefits. Read through them and you’ll see that a gap year can have all sorts of benefits for you academically, professionally, and personally. #1: It Can Boost Your GPA If you’re worried that taking a year off from school will cause your grades to suffer once you go back, don’t be! Studies of gap year students have shown that people who take a gap year actually get higher grades in college compared to their peers who don’t take a gap year. Why is this? There are several potential reasons. Many students, especially at those at risk of academic burn-out, benefit from taking a year off studying so they can return with more energy and motivation. Taking a gap year that relates to your future career can also help you get more excited about your studies so you’re more interested in your classes and motivated to do well. Planning and carrying out a gap year also often increases your organization skills, maturity, and confidence, all of which can help you do better in school once you return. If I could change one thing about my gap year, I would have done it earlier, either before I went to college or immediately after. By the time I took my gap year, I had been in school for nearly 20 years straight, and I spent the last year of my Master’s program just trying to get my work done as quickly as possible because I was so sick of school. Taking a gap year earlier would likely have helped me reset and go through grad school with more motivation and energy. #2: You Can Get Serious Work Experience A gap year is often a great way to get experience specifically related to the career you want. Many companies and organizations offer half-year or full-year internships or volunteer positions, but most people can’t do them because they are busy with school or work. This means these positions are actually often easier to get than many summer jobs, and since they’re longer you’ll have the benefit of gaining more experience and making stronger connections with the people you’re working with. This can mean better letters of recommendation and useful contacts when you’re trying to get a job later on down the line. If you spend your entire gap year working in the field you want to go into you’ll have experience that few other college students do. That can help set you apart in the future when you’re applying to jobs or grad school.By the end of my gap year, I had a full year of teaching experience, a year of volunteering experience at an NGO, and I had significantly improved my French skills. Any one of those could make me more qualified for potential jobs. #3: You’ll Gain New Skills You may not want to spend your gap year working in the field you plan on majoring in and getting a career in, and that’s also fine. Plenty of people choose to spend their gap year doing something they’d never have a chance to do otherwise, and the good thing is, you’ll still gain useful skills and knowledge, even if they’re not directly related to your future career.So if you’ve always wanted to learn how to survive in the wilderness, explore South America, work at a ski lodge, etc., this is the time to do those things. Also, you may end up using some of those skills in your future jobs, even if you didn’t think you would at the time. During my gap year, I learned all about the ins-and-outs of the French education system, which I thought was interesting at the time, but not something I’d ever need to know again.As it turns out, I later got jobs with a focus on international education, and many of the things I learned in France were still applicable for those jobs. So that information has been useful after all! #4: You Can Make Money This isn’t the case for all gap years, obviously, but if you decide to take a job or an internship during your gap year that pays, you could make a significant chunk of change during that year.Even if your job only pays minimum wage, you can still make about $15,000 in a year if you work full time, and you can put that money towards paying for school or another expense. If you choose to use your gap year salary to help pay for school, not only will you be able to take out fewer loans initially, but because your loans are smaller, they’ll accrue less interest than larger loans would. Student loan interest alone can easily total several thousand dollars by the time you graduate, so if you use your gap year job to pay for more of your school costs upfront, you’ll be saving money in two ways: by taking out fewer loans and by having less interest on those smaller loans. #5: You’ll Meet Tons of New People No matter what you decide to do during your gap year, you’re practically guaranteed to meet new people.Even if you already have great friends, a gap year is an excellent way to meet different kinds of people you wouldn’t normally come across. And in addition to expanding your social circle, you can even use these new friends as networking contacts if they work in a field you want a job in or know someone who can get you a job. Networking and finding useful career contacts is something colleges regularly encourage students to do, and you’ll be ahead of the pack if you start doing this during your gap year program. #6: You’ll Get a Better Idea of What You Want to Do Many students are reluctant to take a gap year because they worry it’ll put them â€Å"behind† their friends and peers, but that’s hardly the case.Taking a gap year can help you get a much better sense of what kind of career you actually want.This can save you years of time and tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money compared to graduating with a certain degree, taking a job in that field, and then realizing it’s not what you want to do with your life. When I was in college, I had lots of friends who wanted to be doctors. Only a fraction of them ended up graduating from med school; the rest realized medicine wasn’t actually the field for them. Many of them only came to this conclusion after graduating college with degrees in human biology, and a few even started med school before changing their career goals and dropping out. It’s not a guarantee, but these students may have had a much better idea of whether medicine was right for them if they’d spent a gap year working in a hospital or shadowing a doctor.Even if this put them â€Å"behind† for a year, it’s much less time and money lost compared to people who don’t discover until after college that they don’t like the career they got their major in and now need to find a different job or go back to school and get a new degree. Taking a gap year early on can actually put you ahead of a lot of your peers because you’ll have a better idea of what you want.Even though I spent most of my time during my gap year teaching English to French students, the part that I thought would be most useful for my future career was the volunteering I did at an environmental NGO since that’s the kind of career I thought I wanted.As it turned out, during my gap year I discovered I didn’t like that kind of work at all, and although it was somewhat alarming to realize I suddenly had to rethink my future, it was much better to figure that out earlier than after returning from the gap year, applying to a bunch of NGO jobs, getting one, probably moving somewhere new, and realizing I hated it. You could also go do a gap year in something you never considered a career in, love it, and end up deciding to get future jobs in that field. I have a friend who was majoring in engineering, but she spent a gap year working as a concierge in a hotel and ended up deciding to pursue a career in hotel management. You really only know if a certain career is a good fit for you after you try it out, and a gap year is a great, low-risk way to get that experience. 3 Tips For Planning a Great Gap Year In order to get all or many of the gap year benefits we just discussed above, you have to put some thought and planning into your gap year. Waiting until the last minute to figure how you’re spending the year could still lead to a positive experience, but in order to get the most out of your gap year, start your planning at least several months ahead of time (many of the most competitive jobs and internships have application deadlines around this time), and follow the three tips below. Figure Out What You Want to Accomplish During Your Gap Year The most important part of planning your gap year is to decide what your goals for it are.Do you want to travel? Earn some money? Volunteer for an organization you love? Gain experience in the field you want to go into? Start with your broad goal(s) for your gap year and gradually narrow them. If you want to travel where do you want to travel to? What do you hope to gain from traveling? Will you need to work to help cover your expenses?If you want work experience, what kind of places would you like to work at? Does it have to be paid, or can you do unpaid or volunteer work? What are you hoping to gain from the work experience? Something to put on your resume, professional connections, both?Keep asking yourself questions about what you want from your gap year until you have a solid idea of exactly what you’re hoping to get from it. Here’s the list I came up with for my gap year goals: Travel to new places Learn foreign language skills Get experience working for non-profits Make enough money to support myself After doing a lot of research, I decided that teaching English in France, while volunteering at a nearby non-profit, was the perfect way to meet each of those goals. Decide on Your Timeline and Budget Early On Figuring out what you want to do during your gap year isn’t the only important decision you’ll make. You also need to figure out early on how much time and money you can put towards your gap year. Most people spend an entire year on their gap year, but you may only be able to spend part of a year due to classes or work. Figure that out early on so you don’t end up applying to jobs or programs you can’t complete.Setting a timeline also ensures your gap year won’t stretch on indefinitely, a fear some parents have for their children. If you’re worried about your gap year going longer than you originally planned, having a firm end date set upfront can help you stick to your schedule, as can choosing gap year programs with their own end dates, such as visas that expire or classes that end after a certain number of months.When I got my job in France, my work visa was only valid for a year, which gave me a nonnegotiable deadline for when I had to leave. Budget is also important. If you’re going to be living with your parents during your gap year, you may have few or no expenses, but if your gap year includes travel and/or a program with admission fees, those costs could quickly add up.Again, figuring out how much you can spend on your gap year early on will reduce the chances of you finding a program or activity you love only to later realize it’s not in your budget.I had a bit of money budgeted for my gap year, but I also knew I’d need to get a job that paid me so I could cover my living expenses and begin paying off my student loans. Keep Yourself Busy If you spend your gap year working, say, ten hours a week at a job or volunteer position, that isn’t the best use of your time. You’ll have so much downtime that the experience will detract from your future college and work applications rather than enhance them.You want to make sure you’re spending your time productively during your gap year, which may mean taking more than one job or doing a combination of classes and work. You don’t need to exhaust yourself, but aiming for about 30-40 hours of work/classes a week is a good benchmark to set. This ensures you’re getting the most out of your gap year benefits and shows schools and employers that you’re a hard worker and who your time productively. My job as an English teacher only took up about 25-30 hours a week, so I used my extra time to take French classes, volunteer at an environmental organization, and travel around Europe on the weekends. Teaching English was the main purpose of my gap year, but filling my time with other activities helped me get the most out of my experience and gave me more to talk about when asked how I spent the year. Conclusion: Should I Take a Gap Year? Is a gap year a good idea? Gap years aren’t for everyone; some people are happy to stick to the path they’re on or can’t take a year away from work or school, and that’s fine. However, for many people, a gap year is a great way to do something you’ve only dreamed of doing, whether that’s traveling to a new part of the world, hiking the Appalachian Trail, working on a cruise ship, or whatever else you’re interested in. Some people dislike gap year programs because they feel students are too young to do them, or they think it’s more important for students to finish their education first and get some work experience before taking a year off. However, there will never be an easier time in your life to take a gap year. As you get older, things like student loans, mortgages, families, and jobs you don’t want to leave begin to pile up, making it harder and harder to achieve your goal of a gap year the longer you wait. Postponing your gap year can often mean it won’t happen at all, so take advantage of one of the few times when you can uproot your life and try something new without lots of things holding you back.Before I decided to take a gap year, I was worried I was going to mess up my life by not following the â€Å"plan† I was told was the way to success, but not only was my gap year a great experience, it put me in a better spot financially and professionally than I had been at before. What's Next? Have you decided to do a gap year?Get more information on how to find gap year ideas and start planning with our complete guide to gap years. Do you have the opportunity to study abroad in high school? This comprehensive guide discusses what it means to study abroad as a high schooler. Thinking about doing a volunteer abroad program?Read our guide to learnif volunteering abroad is really a good idea and what you should look for when selecting a program. 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