...way that they feel socially acceptable. Given this problem, various methods of measuring attitudes have been developed. However, all of them have limitations. In particular the different measures focus on different components of attitudes – cognitive, affective and behavioral – and as we know, these components do not necessarily coincide. Attitude measurement can be divided into two basic categories * Direct Measurement (likert scale and semantic differential) * Indirect Measurement (projective techniques) Semantic Differential The semantic differential technique of Osgood et al. (1957) asks a person to rate an issue or topic on a standard set of bipolar adjectives (i.e. with opposite meanings), each representing a seven point scale. To prepare a semantic differential scale, you must first think of a number of words with opposite meanings that are applicable to describing the subject of the test. For example, participants are given a word, for example 'car', and presented with a variety of adjectives to describe it. Respondents tick to indicate how they feel about what is being measured. In the picture (above), you can find Osgood's map of people's ratings for the word 'polite'. The image shows ten of the scales used by Osgood. The image maps the average responses of two groups of 20 people to the word 'polite'. The semantic differential technique reveals information on three basic dimensions of attitudes: evaluation, potency (i.e....
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...the Minister from Michael Banner, Chair of the Animal Procedures Committee 17 June 2003 Dear Ms Flint ANIMAL PROCEDURES COMMITTEE: RECOMMENDATIONS ON COST-BENEFIT ASSESSMENT UNDER THE ANIMALS (SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURES) ACT 1986 On behalf of the Animal Procedures Committee I enclose the Committee’s report on cost-benefit assessment. In it we address the adequacy of the current cost-benefit assessment performed in the course of evaluating project licence applications. We have sought to look at the many issues which arise in relation to this important element of the regulation of the use of animals, but would draw attention to three particular aspects of our work. In the first place we have addressed the fundamental question as to scientific validity of the use of animals. We believe that our considerations and conclusions offer an important clarification of the debate and fulfil the request made by your predecessor, Mike O’Brien, to provide advice on this issue. Secondly, while we conclude that some uses of animals may yield scientific knowledge, we argue that this does not settle the question of justification. We go on to elucidate the full range of factors which must be considered for there to be a rigorous application of the cost-benefit assessment. Thirdly, we also consider how the practice and process of cost-benefit assessment can be enhanced so that it can be, and be seen to be, critical and comprehensive. This includes a discussion of the future use of the severity limit and...
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...Research Question Gaining Access to Interview Young Female Offenders within a Secure Establishment reconnoitres the methodological challenges encountered by researchers and highlights the key principles in gaining access for a research project. The reflection of methodological issues emanates from a desire to investigate the re-offending behaviour of young girls in the Youth Justice System. With girls and young women entering the Criminal Justice System in growing numbers, this research aims to promote the importance of hearing the views of young girls first hand to reduce their invisibility and re-offending through qualitative methods. Drawing from the understanding of key methodological issues presented in a research project, this research...
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...Test Scores used for indicating a School’s Competency Student’s test scores are regarded as a pivotal means of evaluating an institution’s progress relative to all other institutions. Traditionally, students securing high scores are considered as the apple of everyone’s eye and all the schools view them as their prized resources that are a means of enhancing the reputation of the institute (Astin, 5). This essay caters with a meticulous account of the extent to which test scores are beneficial in assessing a school’s competency. It highlights the factors affecting the evaluation based upon assessments of school competency level linked to student test scores. It also presents some alternative methods in deploying the use of test scores in a more accurate way in order to measure school competency thoroughly. Test Scores Indicate Proficiency of Learning at School Test scores are a useful tool in evaluating the performance of schools provided they are interpreted very carefully, keeping in mind the reasons and objectives of tests. A single test can only reflect a sample of skills; therefore, every score involves error to some extent. Majority of factors influence scores, particularly validity and reliability. If reliable tests are taken at regular intervals, they yield consistent results. Valid tests like the ones testing reading decoding skills of students are helpful in sorting out the weak and strong students. Due to this reliable and valid tests are extremely beneficial in sorting...
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...Appreciative Inquiry as a Team Development Intervention: A Controlled Experiment Gervase R. Bushe Ph.D. Graeme Coetzer MBA Faculty of Business Administration Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6 (604) 291-4104 FAX: (604) 291-4920 email: bushe@sfu.ca An edited version of this paper was published in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1995, 31:1, 13-30 Gervase R. Bushe (Ph.D. Case Western Reserve) is Associate Professor, Organization Development in the Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5A 1S6. Graeme Coetzer (MBA Simon Fraser University) is a doctoral student in organization development in the Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University. Appreciative Inquiry as a Team Development Intervention: A Controlled Experiment ABSTRACT In a controlled laboratory experiment the effects of a team development intervention based on the theory of appreciative inquiry was compared with task oriented team development and lectures on group processes, outcomes and performance. 96 undergraduate students in two semesters of an introductory organization behaviour course participated in 4 person teams and had 13 weeks to complete a task worth 25% of each member's final grade. One third of teams received an appreciative inquiry intervention, another third received a task oriented team development intervention and the final third received a lecture on group...
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...Varying Perspectives on Brand Equity By Jonathan Knowles 20 ❘ MM July/August 2008 Yo u s a y t o m a y t o a n d I s a y t o m a h t o . I started business life in finance (at the Bank of England in London), and in those early days I did not give brands a second thought. My life was dominated by financial facts and figures. And for the first 10 years of my career, I believed that these metrics were essentially all that were needed to manage and run a successful business. This view survived my transition into management consulting—at least initially. But the more I worked on developing value-based business strategies for companies, the more I came to appreciate the need to expand beyond a purely financial approach. If (as management consultant Peter Drucker famously observed) the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer, then strategy necessarily involved understanding and catering to the functional and emotional needs of customers. MM July/August 2008 ❘ 21 EXECUTIVE Brand equity is a widely accepted concept—but its definition is frustratingly elusive. Here we’ll explore the different perspectives that marketing, finance, and accounting have on the topic— and how these can be reconciled. Doing so is important because of the critical role that brand briefing equity plays in the demonstration of marketing accountability. This article puts forward four arguments that marketers can use to show how brand equity is a critical measure...
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...does each approach emphasize? What kinds of constraints on the process of doing research does each approach highlight? How are the two approaches alike and different in other ways? What are the likely pitfalls of viewing the research process from only one of these two viewpoints? Define (and discuss important features or issues concerning) the following constructs of Philosophy and Logic of Science. (Define any four terms). 1. Null hypothesis 3. Paradigm 4. Independent variable 5. Operational definition 6. Nomological network 8. The fallacy of affirming the consequent 9. Theory 2. Logical empiricism (positivism) 7. Modus tollens A4. Organizational Studies may be described as either a basic or an applied discipline. From your point of view, is Organizational Studies a basic discipline or an applied discipline, or both? What should it be? When answering this question, be sure to define distinctions between these two types of disciplines. Provide evidence from the...
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...(SMEs) have been given due recognitions especially in the developed nations for playing very important roles towards fostering accelerated economic growth, development and stability within several economies (Yitzhaki, 2006). They make-up the largest proportion of businesses all over the world and play tremendous roles in employment generation, provision of goods and services, creating a better standard of living, as well as immensely contributing to the gross domestic products (GDPs) of many countries (OECD, 2000).Over the last few decades, the contributions of the SMEs sector, the development of the largest economies in the world have beamed the searchlight on the uniqueness of the SMEs; and this have succeeded in overruling previously held views that SMEs were only ―miniature versions‖ of larger companies (Al-Shaikh 1998; Gaskill et al. 1993). And although Small and Medium Enterprises have been at the center of the policy debate for quite some time in both developed and developing countries, little analytical work has been undertaken in this area.The dearth information that exists among researchers on Small and Medium Enterprises however provides a sense of how important this sector is for sustainable development in emerging economies (Medina, 2001). For instance, recent studies conducted by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concur that SMEs are: laborintensive, providing more opportunities for low-skilled workers, correlated with lower income distribution...
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...ASSESSING HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES ALIGNMENT: A CASE STUDY HERBERT G. HENEMAN III AND A N T H O N Y T. M I L A N O W S K I Research has established the link between HR practices and organizational performance, suggesting that the HR system has great strategic potential to drive organizational effectiveness. To capitalize on this potential, the organization must design and deliver HR practices that focus on necessary employee performance competencies, creating an HR system with vertical and horizontal alignment around those competencies. Doing this requires that the organization first assess how its HR practices are currently aligned and then develop ideas for improving HR practice that will be alignment enhancing. We call this diagnostic process Human Resource Alignment (HRA) assessment. We describe an HRA assessment process we developed and applied in a large public school district for the key job of teacher. The assessment was based on the district’s formal teacher performance competency model used, and was conducted by a group of human resources and instructional job experts from the district. These experts rated the degree of vertical and horizontal alignment and then developed suggestions for HR practice changes that would improve alignment. After describing the process and results, we present a series of lessons learned and directions for future research. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: strategic human resource management, human resource alignment assessment ...
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...Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS This chapter introduces the fundamental elements of qualitative research methods, beginning with a definition of qualitative of research, followed by discussion on the evolution of qualitative research methods and how it is different from quantitative research methods. Also discussed is the importance of ethical considerations when doing qualitative research. Just like all research, qualitative research is a type of research that seeks answers to a question; is systematically conducted and involves the collection of evidence. However, the uniqueness of qualitative research is that you may produce findings that were not determined in advance and also the findings may be applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study. It is especially effective if you want to obtain culturally specific information about the subjects involved; i.e. the values, behaviours, and opinions of a particular population. However, the term qualitative research is a general definition that includes many different methods used in understanding and explaining social phenomena. The following are some definitions by prominent scholars in the field: • According to Denzin and Lincoln (1994), qualitative research focuses on interpretation of phenomena in their natural settings to make sense in terms of the meanings people bring to these settings. Qualitative research...
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... . . . . page 3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4-6 Article Summaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6-15 Critical Evaluation of a Psychological Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 15-17 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 17-20 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 21-23 Abstract The purpose of this literature review is to determine if the Myers-Briggs Types Indicator possesses the necessary validity and reliability to be considered an appropriate tool for use in industrial/organizational settings. Some research has disputed the accuracy of its psychometric properties, including Furnham (1990) who asserts that the MBTI is too vulnerable to individuals who falsify their answers. Another critic is Pittenger (2005), who believes that the inventory’s lack of continuous scales for personality classification render it unreliable and invalid. Finally, Michael (2003) asserts that not only is the MBTI lacking in psychometric properties, he also states that it does not serve a valuable role in matching suitable job candidates with positions. He suggests that the situation rather than one’s personality...
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...Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS This chapter introduces the fundamental elements of qualitative research methods, beginning with a definition of qualitative of research, followed by discussion on the evolution of qualitative research methods and how it is different from quantitative research methods. Also discussed is the importance of ethical considerations when doing qualitative research. Just like all research, qualitative research is a type of research that seeks answers to a question; is systematically conducted and involves the collection of evidence. However, the uniqueness of qualitative research is that you may produce findings that were not determined in advance and also the findings may be applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study. It is especially effective if you want to obtain culturally specific information about the subjects involved; i.e. the values, behaviours, and opinions of a particular population. However, the term qualitative research is a general definition that includes many different methods used in understanding and explaining social phenomena. The following are some definitions by prominent scholars in the field: • According to Denzin and Lincoln (1994), qualitative research focuses on interpretation of phenomena in their natural settings to make sense in terms of the meanings people bring to these settings. Qualitative research...
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...European Journal of Marketing 30,1 8 Received October 1994 Revised April 1995 SERVQUAL: review, critique, research agenda Francis Buttle Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK SERVQUAL: a primer SERVQUAL provides a technology for measuring and managing service quality (SQ). Since 1985, when the technology was first published, its innovators Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, have further developed, promulgated and promoted the technology through a series of publications (Parasuraman et al., 1985; 1986; 1988; 1990; 1991a; 1991b; 1993; 1994; Zeithaml et al., 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993). The ABI/Inform database “Global edition”, (September 1994) reports that service quality has been a keyword in some 1,447 articles published in the period January 1992 to April 1994. By contrast SERVQUAL has been a keyword in just 41 publications. These publications incorporate both theoretical discussions and applications of SERVQUAL in a variety of industrial, commercial and not-for-profit settings. Published studies include tyre retailing (Carman, 1990) dental services (Carman, 1990), hotels (Saleh and Ryan, 1992) travel and tourism (Fick and Ritchie, 1991), car servicing (Bouman and van der Wiele, 1992), business schools (Rigotti and Pitt, 1992), higher education (Ford et al., 1993; McElwee and Redman, 1993), hospitality ( Johns, 1993), business-tobusiness channel partners (Kong and Mayo, 1993), accounting firms (Freeman and Dart, 1993), architectural services (Baker and Lamb, 1993), recreational...
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...European Journal of Marketing 30,1 8 Received October 1994 Revised April 1995 SERVQUAL: review, critique, research agenda Francis Buttle Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK SERVQUAL: a primer SERVQUAL provides a technology for measuring and managing service quality (SQ). Since 1985, when the technology was first published, its innovators Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, have further developed, promulgated and promoted the technology through a series of publications (Parasuraman et al., 1985; 1986; 1988; 1990; 1991a; 1991b; 1993; 1994; Zeithaml et al., 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993). The ABI/Inform database “Global edition”, (September 1994) reports that service quality has been a keyword in some 1,447 articles published in the period January 1992 to April 1994. By contrast SERVQUAL has been a keyword in just 41 publications. These publications incorporate both theoretical discussions and applications of SERVQUAL in a variety of industrial, commercial and not-for-profit settings. Published studies include tyre retailing (Carman, 1990) dental services (Carman, 1990), hotels (Saleh and Ryan, 1992) travel and tourism (Fick and Ritchie, 1991), car servicing (Bouman and van der Wiele, 1992), business schools (Rigotti and Pitt, 1992), higher education (Ford et al., 1993; McElwee and Redman, 1993), hospitality ( Johns, 1993), business-tobusiness channel partners (Kong and Mayo, 1993), accounting firms (Freeman and Dart, 1993), architectural services (Baker and Lamb, 1993), recreational...
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...Mattel Toy Recall Case 1) What were the primary causes of Mattel’s recall problems? Where these related to outsourcing? Mattel had two direct concerns that led to the August 2007 recalls of millions of toys worldwide. The first was the use of paint with excessive lead content on a variety of toys manufactured by Chinese firms contracted to Mattel. The second concern, which led to a vast majority of the recalls during this period, was due to a design defect that could result in magnets becoming dislodged and ingested by children. A highly placed Mattel official “confirmed that the vast majority of the recalled toys, 17.4 million, had been due to [defective design], while … 2.2 million were related to [lead paint].” Although the public outcry that resulted from these recalls centered on poor quality control in Chinese manufacturing operations, the statistics seem to indicate that the outsourcing to China may have not been the biggest problem in this particular set of recalls. That said, some of the recalls relating to the magnet design issue may have resulted from “excessive” caution, according to statements made by Mattel, therefore the true percentage of the recalls caused by lead content rather than significantly dangerous product design is difficult to determine. The proximate cause of the manufacturing recalls, however, was lax oversight of published policy and poor adherence to established guidelines. Chinese manufacturers have historically been extremely low...
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