PlayStation 3 Case †Planning and Strategy Essay

There is very little Sony can do to turn around the sales of the PlayStation 3. It has been nearly six years since its launch, the full lifetime of most gaming consoles. While the Nintendo Wii and Micrsoft Xbox360 have drastically lowered their prices to move existing stock, Sony has only dropped their price in the last 2 years. Now priced at $300, the PS3 is still over $100 more expensive than the competitors. At this point in time, it would be wise for Sony to discontinue the manufacture the sale of the PS3 and focus on its next game console. Sony’s strategic approach to new product development has always been to be a market leader in new, innovative technology. This approach has brought them huge success, but also some notable failures. For instance, the Sony Betamax, which was introduced in 1975, was supposed to be a direct competitor to VHS. It provided higher quality images, but did not offer the longer playtime of VHS. Sony stubbornly refused to change its format for eight years, but eventually switched over to the far more popular and cheaper VHS. Despite this notable failure, the Sony Walkman was one of its greatest successes, with 100 million units sold within its first decade. The key success factors in the video gaming industry today are content, price, availability, and compatibility. These have remained factors since consoles first began emerging in the late 70s. For gamers around the world â€Å"Content is King. † It doesn’t matter how crisp and beautiful the quality of the images if there are only fifteen games, which, coincidently was the number of games with which the PS3 launched. Gamers who rushed out to buy the PS3 quickly realized that the limited number of games made the PS3 little more than an expensive TV attachment. Sony tried to counter this by touting the Blu-Ray capability of the PS3, but gamers weren’t interested in watching movies on their PS3, they wanted to play new games. Another factor in the success in video gaming is the price. At $600, the PS3 was, and still is, the most expensive gaming console ever sold. While the original PlayStation and the PS2 were priced at $299, the PS3 nearly priced itself out of the market. With the Xbox and Wii selling for around $300, the ludicrously expensive PS3 couldn’t possibly hope to live up to the expectations its price was promising. When gamers realized that the PS3 was not better than the Xbox in gaming quality, they quickly rushed back to stores to return them. By 2007, more PS3s were being returned than were being sold. The last two factors in video gaming success, availability and compatibility, are also weaknesses in the launch of the PS3. Initially Sony planning on manufacturing one million consoles. On November 7, 2006, North American retailers had fewer than 200,000 units. By the time retailers had enough units to meet demand; gamers had begun to return their units at an alarming rate. With compatibility, the PS3 initially promised backwards compatibility with the PS2 games. This seemed to vary per unit, with some units, like the upgraded unit being able to play Sony Platform games like Final Fantasy, but the base model not being able to play any PS2 games. The launch of the PS3 was one of the largest in video gaming history. Sony spent over $150 million in advertising that aimed to convince gamers to hold off purchasing an Xbox 360 and wait for the PS3. IN 2006, they developed the slogan â€Å"Play Beyond† for the Electronic Entertaiment Expo . Unfortunately, people soon because spoofing the slogan and replacing it with â€Å"Pay Beyond,† protesting the high cost of the console. The competitive advantage of the PS3 was supposed to be in its superior gaming quality. IT was supposed to be the most advanced, the most practical and the most visually stunning video game platform in history. The PS3 promised free online play, Blu-Ray capability, online surfing ability, and using the PS3 for pictures, videos and music storage. The weaknesses in the PlayStation3 were numerous. There were only 15 games available initially, of which, only about five were interesting to avid gamers. The video quality was equal to the much cheaper Xbox360. The free online play had limited and fairly useless content. The online surfing was cumbersome and useless for users who already owned computers. This was also true of the music, video, and picture storage, which customers could already use on their computers or even their iPods. With their limited initial availability, and spotty backwards compatibility, the PS3 was too much money for too little content. When compared with the marketing program of the Nintendo Wii, the PS3 seemed to target the avid gamer. Traditionally men aged 15-35; these men were interested in serious gaming. They want high quality content and high quality visuals. The Nintendo Wii chose another market, the family. While the PS3 touted its amazing video quality, the Wii emphasized fun and togetherness. They offered fun games for multiple players of all ages who could enjoy the physical activity of using the Wii controller. They put of silly, colorful, low-resolution games at a reasonable price or bundled in with new Wii consoles. Nintendo also had the advantage of two major game legacies, Mario and Zelda, which had been favorites of serious gamers and children alike. While Wii was selling fun, the PS3 was selling serious. Families were much more willing to buy a Wii that the whole family could use for less than $400, than spend over $600 on a gaming system that did not offer a range of games for all ages.

Pilgrimage of Grace

DBQ Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was to protest Henry VIII’s actions such as his Act of Supremacy. This lead to the implementation of new polices such as taxes, the expansion of the royal power in the North of England, the dissolution of monasteries, and the confiscation of Catholic Church lands. These actions took their toll on the country, and led to the Pilgrimage of Grace from October 1536 to February 1537. The Pilgrimage consisted of marches and protests and armed demonstrations. The re-creation of a banner of a marcher depicts God suffering, a plow and a cattle horn.This symbolizes the motivation for the Pilgrimage of Grace. It can represent the peasants who are suffering just as Jesus did (3). Peasants, clergy and gentlemen were involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace. Each of these groups of people had a distinct part in the pilgrimage. Those who opposed the movement killed many of the rebels, as they feared the rebellion of authority. The participants of th e Pilgrimage of Grace were concerned for their country and safety from enemies, and therefore, their goals were more representation, and a restoration of the Catholic organizations such as monasteries.The peasants and clergy were the largest group in the Pilgrimage of Grace, and the most affected by Henry VIII’s actions. Due to the closure of the monasteries by the government, the peasants made a declaration that they must now rely on charity, faith, poverty, and that they must be ready to help one another should thieves or Scots try to rob them (2). This reason for protest contradicts other reasons such as the â€Å"Oath of Honorable Men†, which states that one should not enter the Pilgrimage for wordy gain, but for his love of God (1).The Catholic clergy, who now could not practice their faith in England, had their land taken away and were heavily convicted by the government, as shown in the lyrics to a ballad a monk wrote, â€Å"†¦And held in bonds. Robbed, sp oiled and shorn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (4). The clergy and peasants were concerned for their future in northern England, and protested to get back the land and religion, which the government had taken from them. Gentlemen also were involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace.Some who were members of Parliament did not like Thomas Cromwell’s influence on the King, which took power from the Parliament. In an anonymous pamphlet, Cromwell is called a traitor and that he should be removed from office to restore authority to Parliament (6). Robert Aske gives the goals of all those who participated in the Pilgrimage in his petition to the member of the King’s Council, which includes having the head of the church be the pope in Rome, to have Thomas Crowell punished, and to have the monasteries and church lands restored (5).Throughout the Pilgrimage, there were riots in which both commoners and gentlemen were involved (8). Many of them were arrested and convicted. The closing of the monastery w as a detriment to the country in the eyes of the gentlemen, as can be seen in Robert Aske’s testimony, in which he asks the king to return to the ways of the Catholic Church (11). Although many common people, clergy, and gentlemen supported the Pilgrimage, it was opposed by the creators of these laws, King Henry, and high ranking officials.In Richard Madison’s â€Å"A Remedy for Sedition†, Madison argues that the inferior must be content that the wiser rule them, which is necessary in a commonwealth. If this order isn’t in place, then no one would obey and there would be chaos (7). Nicholas Leche criticizes the gentlemen who did not stand up against the opposition in his testimony (8). Henry VII himself gives a speech pardoning the commoners would have rebelled against him on the grounds of ignorance, so long as they immediately stop protesting and submit to his monarchy (9).In the trials against those involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace, 67 percent of th e gentlemen tried were convicted, and 62 percent of the peasants that were tried were convicted. In comparison, 80 percent of the clergy tried were convicted. This reflects heavy opposition against the clergy, who in the government’s eyes were the cause of the Pilgrimage. In spite of the efforts of the participants of the pilgrimage of Grace, none of their goals were met. England was not reconciled to the Catholic Church, nor did the monasteries reopen. Cromwell’s moves toward Protestantism were final.

Cold War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cold War - Research Paper Example Beginning in 1947 and lasting until 1991, the Cold War can be defined as the sustained state of military, as well as political, tensions that existed between western hemisphere countries and their NATO allies and the Eastern hemisphere that was dominated by countries in the Warsaw Pact dominated by the USSR1. Following the success of the wartime alliance formed temporarily against Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the only two superpowers in global affairs were the United States and the Soviet Union. However, these two countries had profound differences in their political and economic ideologies, and this led to the beginning of the Cold War. The Second World War had a profound effect on global politics, with the early efforts of leaders in the US and the USSR attempting to shape the international system that was emerging after the war. In my opinion, the beginning of the Cold War can be traced from encouragement made by the Europeans, especially the British. Their encouragement of the U nited States to make their policy tougher towards the USSR was vital in the beginning. From my reading of the article, The Origins of Post War America, I believe that former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill reinforced this policy during his iron curtain speech2. As Americans, we decided to pursue this policy because it would advance our interests, which resulted in the French, British, and other Western European countries joining us in the sphere of influence. Free elections in these European countries worked towards ratifying the support of Western Europe governments for us. However, the CIA, through its support for anti-communist intellectual organizations and labor unions, did manipulate the outcomes somewhat. From being egged on by the Europeans, we as a country took over the resistance to the communist Eastern Bloc to head it and influence the European powers3. For those European countries that immediately were not up to standard such as Turkey, Greece, and Spain, we us ed economic leverage. As a country, we projected an image of minimal constraint, economic robustness, and civility that highly contrasted with that of imperial USSR, and so began the Cold War in earnest. Following the devastation that was meted on Europe and large parts of the Soviet Union by the war, our country’s promise of democracy reverberated across the world. The United States emerged from the war as the only major country that had escaped massive damage. While we faced a period of reconversion, our European allies faced a period of reconstruction4. The war had completely overturned the old order and two countries arose from the rubble, the US and USSR. Together, we were eager to seize the opportunity to extend our influence, and we clashed over policies of occupation in Korea, Austria, Japan, Italy, and Germany. This led to a new bi-polar structure, which ensured that the decisions we made determined the manner in which other countries made their decisions. However, t he bi-polar nature of the world was more of an asymmetry than a balance, as we held predominant power that enabled us to build up even more5. Our economy was also much stronger than all the rest and our power as a country arose because all other nations were weakened. The atomic bomb, which effectively ended the Second World War, ensured that the nuclear race continued to destabilize the world during the Cold War as we and the USSR looked for, ways to deal with it as atomic development programs spurred on. The bomb throughout the Cold War period was uncontrolled, copied, and envied, making it a major obstacle to getting peace in the postwar international system6. The issue of how to control to use, spread and development of the atom bomb dogged the entire period. Our government was worried that our monopoly would end with an increase of nuclear proliferation. These fears were further intensified with the successful trial of an atom bomb by the USSR in 1949. The weapon turned to be a way for various countries to pry concessions or deter

Project Reflection - Walmart's CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Reflection - Walmart's CSR - Essay Example Social corporate activities may be mush or the destinations may be several. In this case the firm has to make weighed decisions on what to accomplish, the rank of accomplishment based on priorities, when to perform and the methods that will be involved to achieve different objectives and activities. Walmart Company is one of the famous firms whose activities in relation to social responsibility are sustained and recognized. In order to improve the corporate social responsibilities Walmart Company use different methods. These activities vary from monetary donations and money given to the poor and the unfortunate to community activities by non-governmental organizations to improve the lives of those within (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2011). The firm acts with an aim to reduce qualms that are associated with the bad interactions with the external communities. Operations are performed in such a way that the communities in the outside are comfortable and enjoy the services. The company is involved in the protection of the environment and engages in many activities relating to environmental sustainability such as planting trees, teaching individuals living nearby on good control of water, ways to reduce soil erosion and proper farming activities. The company is involved in many activities that promote the living standards of people and that encourage the works of various classes of people like the students. Not only do the neighboring communities benefit from its availability, but also, the far and reachable places benefit based on the donations that the company sends. I continuously argue that the firm is a good corporate citizen. The ability to be involved in most activities relation to the external environment by an organization varies among firms and is influenced by many factors. Not all firms are able to work with the societies in which they live or even donate funds towards the

Questionaire Desgin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questionaire Desgin - Essay Example There is a complete process in questionnaire design, over which the questions to be asked are decided, the steps are: specifying the information needed, specifying the type of interviewing methods, determining the content of individual questions, designing the questions to overcome the respondents inability and unwillingness to answer, deciding upon the question structure, determining the question wordings, arranging the questions in a proper order, identifying the form and layout, reproducing the questionnaire and last as the pretesting of the questionnaire. Regarding the question's design, there are few important points need to be focused upon, as a poor design can provide a poor data. There are many types of questions such as unstructured questions that are need to be answered in own words of the respondents, they should be as minimum as possible as the respondent's time is also important and people also hesitate to provide personal information. There are structured questions as well such as multiple choice, which should be used the most, dichotomous questions, which are having only two answers "yes" and "no" or even "don't know", they also should be used frequently to save respondents time and making it easier for the respondent to answer.

Lawful Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lawful Discrimination - Essay Example Having a mind of one's own is a selfish act which could result to discrimination, even lawlessness and chaos. As what a national government implements laws to a country, a state should all the more impose and adhere to the laws put forward by the national government since the general welfare has to be taken care of. A state should not create its own set of rules that strays away from the established law. Neither is she allowed to break it in favor of personal gains. Thoreau noticed this as he mentioned the governor in his speech, of whom the state recognizes as her center of authority. The governor is responsible that the laws of the land are being enforced but according to Thoreau, he is the exact opposite since he is permissive enough to let the laws of the state "go unexecuted." A law clearly doesn't exclude anyone. It applies to all, no matter what race a human being belongs to or whatever the skin color he has as long as he is a recognized citizen of the land. With respect to the established law, judicial decisions, too, should be based from a recognized set of rules and should be strictly observed. The freedom and liberty of a person, whether a human being that is being tried is either free or a slave, depends upon the judge's decisions. In Thoreau's speech, an act known as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 states that "any official who doesn't arrest a suspected runaway slave could be fined $1,000." This brings pressure to any officer to act or else risk being fined. After capturing, the slave is tried and then returned to his or her rightful owner. How many times have officials captured a suspected runaway slave or remained indifferent to others but ended up capturing or letting go of the wrong person Anthony Burns experienced being tried in the courts of human beings. This act also has its tendencies to make a slave out of a free soul. An example of this is Thomas Sims. Even then, there are already resentments against this law as what was expressed by Thoreau. And then, there are those who are against racial discrimination. Plessy is recognized as a legitimate citizen of the United States and is entitled to equal rights and privileges being enjoyed by a white American. Yet, despite paying for first class train ticket, he was not only forcibly ejected out of an East Louisiana Railway train but also ended up being imprisoned in a parish jail in New Orleans. Just because sitting in an area reserved for whites even though he has every right to do so, he suffered this predicament. The reason that he was different from the whites made his situation even worse. Clearly, racial discrimination even after the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified. A law can neither be of use to the general public if an institution doesn't at all observe it. By modern standards, the East Louisiana Railway did not recognize the ratified Fourteenth amendment because of the Plessy case. The constitution forbids "making or enforcing any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." However, equality isn't observed since a railway companies such as the East Louisiana had been instructed either to provide additional coaches or

Assignment IB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Assignment IB - Essay Example International management recruitment and selection mechanism are exposed to various risks which the organizations are required to manage and select appropriate hedging techniques. The management plays the pivotal role in managing the risks faced by the organizations. Political risks are one of the important risks which the multinational firms quite often face. â€Å"Political risks are any governmental action or politically motivated event that could adversely affect the long-run profitability or the value of a firm† (Deresky, 2006, p.30). In order to manage the political risks identification of the risks is crucial. The risks faced by the firms may be firm-specific risks that affect the firms at the corporate level with conflict between the firm and the host government. In order to manage these risks the firms enters into negotiation of an investment agreement to purchase investment insurance and guarantees, to modify operating strategies in production, logistics, marketing, finance, organization, and personnel at the corporate level. Cultural and institutional risk evolve from host country policies with respect to ownership structure, human resource norms, religious heritage, nepotism and corruption, intellectual property rights, and protectionism. Managing cultural and institutional risks requires the MNCs to understand the differences, take legal actions in host country courts, support worldwide treaties to protect intellectual property rights, and support government efforts to create regional markets (Foreign Investment Decisions, 2005, p. 460).Closely connected with the political risks is the economic risk of the country. Various approaches are adapted by the mangers to manage the economic risks. The quantitative approach is devised to assign different weights to economic variables in order to produce a composite index used to measure the country’s creditworthiness over time and also to make comparisons with other countries. The problem of t his approach is to do not incorporate different stages of development among the countries it compares. The qualitative approach estimates the economic risks of a country by assessing the capability of its leaders as well as analyzing the types of policies they are likely to implement. The future dimension of the economy of the country can be estimated from this approach. In another approach which is the checklist approach, the researchers develop several vulnerability indicators that categorize the countries in terms of their ability to withstand the economic volatility. Majority of the corporations try to use the combination of all these approaches to manage the economic risks faced by the organization (Deresky, 2006, p.34). Repatriate turnover not only results in a loss of human capital investment for the MNC in general but also increases the risks the possibility of losing this investment to a direct competitor. To reduce the risk of repatriate turnover, MNCs will emphasis on the structuring of the short-term oriented HR practices inculcated with longer-term instruments such as integrating international assignments into individual career paths. Research has focused that the short-term assignees may fail to expand helpful relationships with local colleagues and customers at the same time facing increased risks of marital problems. One of the staffing policies in this case is

The Subordinate Role of Reason in Hume's Moral Philosophy Essay

The Subordinate Role of Reason in Hume's Moral Philosophy - Essay Example Hume thought that what we perceive become images, and these images or pictures of reality are manipulated by reason. But, there is no manipulating these perceptions without the prior perceptions or sensations first: â€Å"I shall endeavor to prove first, that reason alone can never be a motive to an action of the will; and secondly, that it can never oppose passion in the direction of the will† [Cahn and Markie, Ed., 244]. What Hume is arguing, can be described as presenting a very sharp or definite distinction between â€Å"reason† which he calls â€Å"utterly impotent† when contrasted with the â€Å"passions† [Cahn and Markie, Ed., 247]. And, unlike the images that can be manipulated by reason, the relationship between the â€Å"passions† and â€Å"actions† is a direct one or as he phrases it: â€Å"morals excite passions, and produce and prevent actions ... the rules of morality, therefore, are not conclusions of our reason† [Cahn a nd Markie, Ed., 247]. Most might maintain that reason and the senses have a more connected or inter-twined relationship. It is important to stress that reason is only connected to 'necessary' types of truths like mathematical equations. That is, truths that are valid regardless of sense experience. Or, truths that are valid because of the rules themselves: â€Å"reason is the faculty judges of truth and falsehood† [Cahn and Markie, Ed., 687]. One of the effects or consequences of this model is that there are actually no irrational actions. If the actions or the relationship between passions and actions are separate or only interact with each-other rather than reason, then this interaction cannot be said to be one that has any rationality. As is summarized by Cahn and Markie: â€Å"If the only possibility Hume means to be putting forward here, is the possibility of action based on false belief about causes and effects, we get a curious result ... people never act irrationally † [Cahn and Markie, Ed., 687]. They cannot act irrationally, precisely because 'action' in-itself is not a rational thing either in its manifestation as an actual sensible activity or event, and not rational in the sense that it was motivated by an 'impulse' or a 'sensation'. It is the reaction to a sensation. 'General Statement' of the Role of Reason as subordinate to the Senses: Thus, for Hume, morality is inseparable from the sentiments or a form of sentimentality. The â€Å"only possible source of motivation† for Hume, is to â€Å"satisfy† a â€Å"passion† [Cahn and Markie, Ed., 685]. The role of reason is to evaluate only the rules that are abstracted from sense experience, which means that all human motivation and all human action is one driven by passions. Thus, Hume resolves that problem in his discussion of benevolence and justice by establishing a theory of sentiments at the core of moral decisions. Sentiments are measured in terms of the greater pleasure or conversely, the greater harm that results. And, therefore, a just society is one that functions in harmony with the avoidance of the sensation of pain and the increase of pleasure. Again, it is important to stress that this connection with justice is one that is grounded in 'sense experience' but also the reasoning about it to – as is the nature of laws. Finally, it is possible to put forward a straight forward example to illustrate the notion of 'benevolence' and 'justice'. Just as a sensation can cause an increase in pleasure, so too with

Why might democracies be more peaceful in their relations with each Essay

Why might democracies be more peaceful in their relations with each other than with states that are not democracies - Essay Example The democratic government is chose by the people. The democracy in a state or a country works for the people. This fundamental of democracy had continued initially from the era of Roman Empire up to now. The autocracies even led to wars in the ancient times also. The principle of autocracy had been discontinued from that time only. The people at that time elected their own representatives for their benefits. The individualism had significant role from the past up to now. The rulers in the past followed the individualism but in today's era there is democracy in all the parts of the country. Thus there were huge amount of wars which were causing destruction only. In today's era, the democracy has changes the trend towards political and economic liberalization over the past century. The dynamic relations all over the world are quite important for the countries today. The democracy has enabled the different countries to make peaceful relations with each other. The democratically formed rules have enforced the government to work accordingly, thus making worthy relations with other countries. Thus the countries having democracies are maintaining themselves for development of their own as well as of the world. The countries which had not been a democracy today are deferring immensely in development and are threatening other countries. Thus they are not maintaining the peaceful relations. Iran, whose Supreme Leader is a religious figure unfettered by popular elections, and threatens to develop nuclear weapons and potentially wants to dominate the Middle East. The relative lack of attention to variation in the international behavior of non-democratic states represents a startling omission. There are many other countries also which are only having the one party rule like the China and others, but are really maintaining the excellent coalition with other countries. The countries which are not having democracy are having either one party rule or either the dictatorship like the recent one in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Thus these countries never had been on the road of development, relations with other countries, but instead they threatened other countries for wars. The plane attack on plane America on 9th September, 2001by the militants was result of that only. Thus the individualism is neither better for a country nor for the world. So the countries must have a democratic form of government. From the example of Syria it had been clear that democracy is quite important. If the democracy will not exist in a particular country, then it will be under a single person or party, thus these countries are responsible for the wars as conceded from the past also. These countries will cause a threat to other countries and there will be a war like the dictatorship in the past in the Germany, the Italy, and the Japan was responsible for

Compare and contrast save the children uk and actionaid uk Essay

Compare and contrast save the children uk and actionaid uk - Essay Example Within just 10 years it was able to stretch in many other countries such as Spain, France, Italy and Ireland. (ActionAid, 2010) Recently, it has reached 40 countries worldwide fighting poverty and helping over 13 million people. ActionAid is working with a motive to end poverty and providing children with quality education. It helps the poor in organization against injustice and to demand the entitlement of their rights from their government. (ActionAid, 2010) They have partners all over the world from large to small entities forming international networks and national alliances, working together for justice, giving education, working for women rights, working against diseases and imposing solutions for the currently faced organizations. Save the children is a UK based charity organization, set up for the rights of children and saving lives in emergencies. It also campaigns for the rights of children and providing a helping hand in their future. (Save the Children, 2010) Save the Children was set up 90 years ago, in 1919, by a women Eglantyne Jebb. (Save the Children, 2010) It was based in the UK. The organization has now extended to about 50 odd countries throughout the world and has been able to reach over 6 Million children worldwide. Governance refers to the operations and management of an organization or a country. It is governed by the board of trustees which is headed by Andrew Purkis, who has been the chair of three well known charities. (ActionAid, 2010) It has few of the most competent people taking prominent places in the board are responsible for the major decisions. The board works on the principles of accountability, transparency and honesty for the interest of the people. It operates with a framework of good governance as it tries to attain the concept of globalization by participating along with some of the famous organizations such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary fund and World

Decade of Corporate Greed Essay Example for Free

Decade of Corporate Greed Essay Ascended in the 1980’s he reinvented Republican policies that favored deregulation and the growth of business in America. These Ideas markedly opposed the views of the governmental interventionist policies of the 1960’s and 70’s with these ideas Reagan hoped to decrease government Involvement and heavy taxes. With these tax cuts Reagan’s thinking was that many new businesses would spawn and that it would have a trickledown effect by not only empowering businesses to grow and hire more people which in the end would benefit all from those on top in the corporate world all the way down to the lowest person in the company in which everyone benefits. This was welcome news not only to the Republicans but also the â€Å"lunch bucket democrats† who were working class democrats who predecessor Jimmy Carter of whom they thought they were ignored by. As a result of this many government services were slashed and created ideas of the government being the problem. With this many republicans encouraged individuals to do good for themselves for the government would not do this for them. With this encouragement of business growth and economic prosperity for as many people as possible individualism became a way of life in the 1980’s. The acquisition of wealth and indicators of it really helped to drive this decade in the 1980’s where it seemed most important to acquire as much â€Å"material† goods as possible. These ideas were also shown in the pop culture world as the artist Madonna made a hit song in the 80’s called â€Å"material girl† a song of the times basically about greed and gaining as material things as you possibly could with no shame of this greed. Also Gordon Gekko the fictional business tycoon in the film â€Å"Wall Street† stands up at board meeting to stress and states â€Å"Greed is good†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Greed will not only fix this malfunctioning corporation called Teldar paper, but also the other malfunctioning corporation called the U. S. of A. † There were even excesses being taken in sports, as Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds had greed of singles, doubles and stolen bases, also greed in gambling cost him his spot in Major League Baseball. It was also in this decade baseball experienced â€Å"free agency† destroying loyalties and players selling themselves to the highest bidder as player contracts doubled from just the decade before. Once these Republican policies had trickled down to popular culture it almost seemed to validate this style of politics, it seemed as if the Republicans ascendance to power had spawned this culture and decade of greed that was so actively embraced by the American public. With this these politicians simply stated that they were just acting in accordance to what the public’s wishes were. With this success that Reagan had in the 80’s America had once again began to reassert itself on the world stage after a challenging decade of struggling in the 1970’s. Reagan is thought to be responsible also for the victory in the cold war that had lasted for decades before his term. The new thinking in the 80’s was not that this was greed but more of what the Republicans called prosperity and success. Some of the negatives of these changes were Reagan deregulated everything which in effect destroyed competition and this created oligopolies. Some examples of these are in the airline industry he deregulated the industry causing every airline in the country, except 2 to become bankrupt, as the deregulation in the broadcast industry resulted in just a few major players like Disney and Clear Channel dominating the playing field. As for under the Reagan administration money in politics became more strong then ever and that still holds true today in the world of politics for it seems like we no longer have elections, we more like have auctions for where it seems the candidate who has the most money to spend on getting their name out is usually the one who wins in these political battles, especially for the Presidency. What this does now and back then in the 80’s where it started is a corporation who might want certain laws or tax breaks passed to better help their needs funds that candidate to get elected and then in turn expects them favors to be returned when that candidate is elected. This new concentration of wealth created a whole new class of millionaires, however on the downside for every millionaire there were several hundred homeless people. With this came more negativity that came with the corporate greed of the 80’s. For these people who became homeless and poor due to these millionaires greed were blamed for dragging down the economy by Republican politicians and their mouthpieces in the media, while the truth we found out later is that indeed it was these rich people who were ripping us off and actually were responsible for dragging down the economy. Going as far to blaming the poor the city of Los Angeles installed a fingerprint system to guard against welfare fraud that cost the city and hardworking tax payers 30 million dollars, and for all of this it caught one cheater. While at the same time â€Å"White collar† crime was rising and costing us more than street crime cost, also doing more damage and arguably causing more deaths. Reagan also had a deregulation of the savings and loans industry which was a total debacle and ended up costing Americans 500 billion dollars which is part of the still current banking problem that is going on today. Unfortunately Reagan also began the practice of sending American manufacturing jobs overseas, another move that made the rich even more rich and greedy and made the poor have even less than they did before. Despite all these negatives it can be argued that Ronald Reagan was the most important and influential President of the last 60 years, loved by the Republicans and loathed by the liberals. Reagan turned half a century of political and economic orthodoxy and turned it on its head. It can be argued that he turned those who were Roosevelt democrats. So whether you loved or hated Reagan there is no doubt that administration and the greed of 80’s is still alive today. My though would be if your rich, you like the corporate greed and excessiveness that took place in the 80’s, however if you are poor you are wondering why this turned out like it did.

The Damage Of Theft To A Company Business Essay

The Damage Of Theft To A Company Business Essay Employee theft is always been costly to any business. This is still more appropriate in case of big retail chain organizations. The enhanced security arrangements in the recent times have made this topic more important than ever. This research is conducted to investigate the possible reasons for employee theft in supermarkets in Malaysia. It identifies the relationship between various factors with the employee theft behavior. It aimed to develop a model to help big retail chain organizations to design effective internal control systems to prevent/reduce employee theft. This chapter covers the following sections: 1. Background to the research 2. Malaysian retail industry and retail shrinkage 3. Research problem, issues and objectives 4. Justification for research 5. Whats new in this research? 6. Organization of this thesis 7. Definition of terms and 8. Summary 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH Retailing crime continues to be a challenge for businesses in the USA and elsewhere (National Retail Security Survey, 2003). Retailing crime is financial loss attributable to a combination of various factors like customer theft, employee theft, internal error (administrative or process error) and supplier-vendor frauds. The recent worldwide shrinkage survey revealed 42.4% of the retail shrinkage was due to customer theft, 35.3% due to employee theft, 16.9% due to internal error and 5.4% due to suppliers-vendors frauds. Total global shrinkage in the 42 countries surveyed costs retailers U.S. $107.3 billion ($107,284 million), equivalent to 1.36% of retail sales: a serious threat to retailers bottom lines particularly at a time when many retailers are beginning to feel the pinch of an economic downturn. A key point to be noted is that the cost of shrink is ultimately borne by not only retailers, but also by consumers and society at large. Here Shrinkage or shrink refers to an accountan cy figure, reflecting the difference between the financial revenue the business should have received (based upon inventory and purchases) and the amount actually received. (The Global Retail Theft Barometer, 2010). The Barometer further confirms that retail shrink is a global issue: it is a common problem across all countries, regions and market sectors. The Barometer further points out that In 2010, thieves stole a very wide range of merchandise, but tended to focus on expensive popular branded items including: razor blades/shaving products; cosmetics/face creams and perfumes; smart phones and electrical gadgets; alcohol; fresh meat/expensive foodstuff; electric toothbrushes, electronic monitoring devices; infant formula and coffee; DVDs and electronic games; fashion (especially branded items, leather, handbags and accessories); sports-branded goods and sports shoes; electronic goods; branded sunglasses and watches. The survey tells that over 6.2 million customer and employee thiev es were apprehended last year. Employee theft is second major component of retail shrinkage due to the huge retail space in supermarkets and big size retail organizations. Employee theft can be defined as the theft of anything of value from the retailer by an employee or accomplice. The term anything of value includes cash, merchandise, property, services and information. Employee theft occurs mostly at the checkout area followed by the sales area and the customer desk/courtesy area (Hollinger and Clark, 1983). The theft methods include stealing merchandise, stealing cash, retaining receipts to show stolen items were paid for, voiding a sale or making a no-sale after a customer has paid and pocketing the cash, overcharging, shortchanging, coupon stuffing, credits for nonexistent returns and sliding product through the lane without charging. Other examples include warehouse personnel stealing stocked items, and cleaning and maintenance personnel removing valuables with the trash. Employee theft also takes place at the point-of-receipt of merchandise and includes losses due to payment for goods not received. Employee theft is any use or misuse or stealing of employers assets by the employees without permission to do so (Justice J. Walsh, 2000). Money is the most common asset that is stolen from employers. Theft of time happens when an employee is paid for the time which he/she did not work. Usually this happens by falsifying of time records. Technically, theft of time also includes employees who are not working while on the job, although legally this is very difficult to prove. Theft of supplies is another usual form of employee theft. Examples of this form of theft are office supplies (computers, papers, cabinets, etc.) and restaurant supplies (food, silverware, condiments, etc.). Another example of theft of company property is product displays. Overcharging the customers and subsequently pocketing the extra cash can totally affect a business credibility, because it affects not only the employer but also the customers. If the customers find out that a business is overcharging, it can hu rt that business growth. This is very familiar in restaurants because many restaurants do not keep a close eye on their employees actions. Stealing information is perhaps the most damaging form of theft. Familiar examples of this nature are theft of trade secrets and product designs. A number of studies have been conducted in United States, Canada and in European countries about the employee theft in retail organizations and super markets. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates that US employers lose $20 billion to $40 billion a year due to employee theft. It also states that 30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft (David J Shaffer and Ronald A Schmidt 2006). For every dollar stolen, supermarkets need to sell at least $50 more of goods to make up the loss (George H Condon, 2003). Happy employees steal less in United States (Jennifer Korolishin 2003). Shrink losses due to employee theft can equal the profits in Canada (George H Condon 2003). 1.2 MALAYSIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY AND RETAIL SHRINKAGE Malaysias retail trade touched at RM122.54 billion for the year 2009, up 106.37 per cent from 2005. Growth has averaged 26.59 per cent yearly from 2005 to 2009. Retail sales touched RM59.38 billion during 2005, increased to RM71.69 billion during 2006, gone up to RM95.67 billion in 2007, improved to RM116.10 billion during 2008 and risen to RM122.54 billion in 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, it touched the ever seen highest amount of 32.33 billion (Department of Statistics, Malaysia). From 2006 to 2008, increased urbanization and education saw Malaysians become even more sophisticated and demanding with their shopping experiences. This brought about the development of quality, world-class malls across the country in this period, such as 1Borneo; these malls house a strong array of international brands which are uniquely suited to the discerning needs of consumers. Therefore, new lifestyle retail concepts have become more popular in Malaysia, with retailers offering unique merchan dise to cater to the needs of specific consumers. For instance, Robinsons Malaysia has 50 to 60 exclusive brands for shoppers, whilst Tangs in the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur claims to be the Generation Three Tangs store, a store that encompasses Tangs signature shopping concepts alongside being localized to meet the needs of Malaysian consumers. Store-based Retailing Achieves a Better Performance Inevitably, store-based retailing maintained its dominance from 2006 to 2008, with slightly stronger growth than non-store retailing. The development of shopping malls across the country from 2006 to 2008, especially in secondary towns, such as the opening of The Spring in Sarawak and East Coast Mall in Kuantan, further boosted the performance of store-based retailing. Direct selling continued to dominate non-store retailing, with internet retailing exhibiting the strongest current value growth, albeit from a small base. Interestingly, non-store retailer Dell also opened its first physical counter at Tec Asia in early 2008, representing an increased crossover by non-store retailers in an effort to expand their growth. Employee retail theft in select retail businesses in Malaysia during 2009-2010 The Global Retail Theft Barometer was released in October, 2010 for the period between July, 2009 and June, 2010. In Malaysia, 19 retailers with a combined sale of US$1.974 billion participated in the survey. The findings of the survey reveal that as a percentage of total sales, retail shrinkage in Malaysia was 1.53 per cent. In this, the customer theft amounts to 51.6% (US$132.10 million) This was followed by employee theft at 22.3 % (US$57.09 million) and supplier or vendor theft at 5.9% (US$15.19 million). The remaining 20.2% of financial loss amounting to US$51.71 million was due to administrative errors. As per the findings of The Global Retail Theft Barometer, the methods of employee retail theft in select Malaysian retail businesses are as follows: Table 1.1 Main methods of employee retail theft in select retail businesses in Malaysia: Cash, coupons and vouchers 18.6% Merchandise 38.3% Refund fraud, false markdown 27.3% Large financial frauds 6.9% Collusion 8.9% Total 100 Source: The Global Retail Theft Barometer, 2008 RESEARCH PROBLEM, ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES It is a difficult job to correctly approximate the amount of revenue lost through employees theft by way of cash, goods, and services because much of these activities remain undetected, unnoticed or unpublicized. It has been estimated that as much as 75% of losses attributable to employee theft is undetected because of the difficulty in separating inventory shrinkage into its major internal (theft) and external (shoplifting) component parts (Green, 1997). Like the Global Retail Theft Barometer, many other studies have also made an attempt to identify the base rate for employee theft (see Ash, 1988; Brooks and Arnold, 1989; Jones et aL, 1990; Slora, 1989; Wimbush and Dalton, 1997). The results have shown a wide-range of estimates ranging from 3 to 62 percent. Thus it could be seen that employee theft is an expensive problem for an organization; it has been reported as 10 times as costly as Americas street crime (Greenberg, 1997). The amount of property theft alone has been estimated to be $40 billion per year (Shapiro, Trevino, Victor, 1995), and about one third of employees admit that they steal from their employers (Kamp Brooks, 1991). Researches on antecedents and other correlates of employee theft have focused on two broad categories of factors: individual (personality) factors and situational factors. Both of these factors are important and have practical implications for businesses. Individual factors are variables that employers mostly cannot control; employers may only be able to respond to them. Situational factors such strong policies about theft, safeguards, etc., are much more under the control of employers. The central objective of this research is to investigate the key research problem: What are the factors contributing to workplace theft behavior of the employees of retail floor of super markets in Malaysia and how the internal control systems help to prevent/reduce the workplace theft behavior in case of the employees of Supermarkets in Malaysia. The following are the research objectives to investigate this key research problem: Objectives: a) General objective: To study the various factors contributing to the intention to steal in the supermarkets in Malaysia and also to study the relationship between the internal control systems and workplace theft behavior in the supermarkets in Malaysia. b) Specific objectives: 1) To identify the possible reasons leading to the intention to steal by the employees in supermarkets in Malaysia. 2) To find out the relationship between the individual factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia. 3) To find out the relationship between the organizational factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia. 4) To find out the relationship between the intention to steal and the workplace theft behavior of the employees of supermarkets in Malaysia. 5) To determine the moderating effects of internal control systems between the intention to steal and workplace theft behavior of the employees in supermarkets in Malaysia. 6) To identify the effective internal control systems to prevent/reduce employee theft in supermarkets in Malaysia. The research issues and related objectives to investigate the research problem are described in Table 1.2 Table 1.2 Research Issues and Objectives Research issue Research objective 1. What are the reasons contributing intention to steal by the employees in retail floor of supermarkets in Malaysia? To identify the possible reasons leading to the intention to steal by the employees in supermarkets in Malaysia. 2. What is the relationship between theindividual factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia? To find out the relationship between the individual factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia. 3. What is the relationship between theorganizational factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia? To find out the relationship between the organizational factors and the intention to steal in supermarkets in Malaysia. 4. What is the relationship between the intention to steal and the workplace theft behavior of the employees of supermarkets in Malaysia? To find out the relationship between the intention to steal and the workplace theft behavior of the employees of supermarkets in Malaysia. 5. What are the moderating effects of internal control systems between the intention to steal and workplace theft behavior of the employees in supermarkets in Malaysia? To determine the moderating effects of internal control systems between the intention to steal and workplace theft behavior of the employees in supermarkets in Malaysia. 6. What are the effective internal control systems to prevent/reduce employee theft in supermarkets in Malaysia? To identify the effective internal control systems to prevent/reduce employee theft in supermarkets in Malaysia. Employee theft in a retail organization can be defined as the theft of anything of value from the retailer by an employee or accomplice. The term anything of value includes cash, merchandise, property, services and information. In retail organizations employee theft occurs mostly at the checkout area followed by the sales area and the customer desk/courtesy area (Hollinger and Clark, 1983). Methods include stealing merchandise, stealing cash, retaining receipts to show stolen items were paid for, voiding a sale or making a no-sale after a customer has paid and pocketing the cash, overcharging, shortchanging, coupon stuffing, credits for nonexistent returns and sliding product through the lane without charging. Other examples include warehouse personnel stealing stocked items, and cleaning and maintenance personnel removing valuables with the trash. Employee theft also takes place at the point-of-receipt of merchandise and includes losses due to payment for goods not received. US reta ilers have recognized for years that employee theft is a huge and growing problem (Mathews, 1997). These losses were, on average, 1.72 percent of retail sales, comparable in magnitude to retail profit margins as a percentage of sales. Surveys by UKs Center for Retail Research (2001) and the Retail Council of Canada (2001) broadly corroborate these figures and demonstrate that concern about retail shrinkage is not restricted to US retailers alone. Together, with the amounts stolen, the cost of preventing theft imposes a substantial burden on retailers. Employee theft has been cited as a primary factor in 30 percent or more of all business failures (Snyder et al., 1991). Theft from retailers can result in bankruptcy or near closure. It results in lost raises and bonuses if not layoffs for employees, and higher prices for customers as the following quote argues: A store operating at 3 percent profit on sales would have to sell $1,216.66 worth of merchandise a year to make up for the da ily loss of a ten-cent candy bar. Just to cover a yearly loss of $1,000 in thefts, a retailer would have to sell each day over 900 candy bars, or 130 packs of cigarettes, or 380 cans of soup. Faced with such unreasonable selling volumes most small business people are forced instead to raise their prices and lower their ability to compete (Verril, 1999). Researchers and employers appear to agree generally on how to define employee theft. Researchers studying this phenomenon have defined employee theft broadly as an employees unauthorized taking, control, or transfer of money, goods, and/or services of an employer committed during the normal course of work activity (Merriam, 1977). Organizations create policies that fit this general definition and further identify the specific types of behavior considered to be theft in their particular context. By enacting such policies, organizations seek to shape the employee perceptions of inappropriate behavior. However, these policies often fail to generate a common perception among employees as to the types of behavior considered employee theft. While most employees agree that some types of behaviors (such as stealing cash) are theft, other types of behaviors are seen by employees as more ambiguous. For example, the unauthorized taking of food by restaurant workers would be included in the above definition of theft, but some employees may consider such stealing a perk of the job. Indeed, researchers suggest that employees are unlikely to share common definitions of employee theft (J. Greenberg, 1998; L. Greenberg Barling, 1996; J. Greenberg Scott, 1996; Hollinger Clark, 1983; Tatham, 1974). Hollinger and Clark (1983) found that several types of employee theft occur in organizations and that social norm consensus did not exist among the employees they interviewed with respect to acceptable and unacceptable (theft) behavior. Social norm consensus represents the amount of agreement among coworkers as to whether a specific type of behavior constitutes theft. This research also is consistent with Mischels (1973) work on cognitive social learning, which suggests that situations vary in the degree to which they determine and limit individuals attitudes and behavior. That is, situations with a high degree of social norm consensus serve to limit individuals to specific thoughts and actions. Social norm consensus is likely to play an important role in labeling an ob served behavior as theft. Although some theoretical work (J. Greenberg, 1998) indicates that lack of agreement among organizational members as to what is considered theft and non-theft is likely to affect whether a particular individual defines a specific incident as employee theft, this has not been empirically demonstrated. There has been some previous research on the matter of retail employee theft, although in recent times there seems to have been a dearth of interest in this topic. For example, Tatham (1974) conducted a survey of retail employees to determine their perceptions of theft from their employers. They classified the respondents into two groups: non-takers, that is, those who do not steal from their employers; and takers, those who engage in stealing. An interesting finding was that, though non-takers were less reluctant than takers to report fellow employees who engaged in stealing, in general, there was much reluctance by employees to report fellow employees who stole. Tatham also found that there was little effect of the value of the item taken on the employees admission to stealing. Hair et al., (1976) conducted a survey of some 254 retail employers to assess their perceptions of, and responses to, employee theft. They found that employers were likely to underestimate the level of emplo yee theft. As did Tatham (1974), they also found that the value of the item taken by the employees had little effect on the employees admission of stealing; however, it had a substantial influence on the employers perceptions of what constituted stealing. While Tatham (1974) found that some 50 percent of employees reported stealing from their employers, about 80 percent of retailers in the Hair et al.,(1976) study believed that employee theft accounted for less than 2 percent of their total shrinkage and that no more than 2 percent of their employees stole. Other researchers engaged in this stream of research have looked at such issues as: personnel selection and its contribution to reduction of employee theft (Brown and Pardue, 1985; Jones et al., 1990); the impact of product identification and posting of losses from shrinkage on employee theft rates (Carter et al., 1988); and the use of internal control procedures to stem employee theft (Kennish, 1985; Snyder et al., 1989). In more recent work, Oliphant and Oliphant (2001) used a behavior-based method in an effort to determine the level of shrinkage in a drug store outlet in the USA, and to assess reliability of the employers estimates of the level of shrinkage. Rather than posting shrinkage information on individual targeted items in the employee break and lunch area, the researchers posted the total dollar amount of shrinkage and the number of items missing due to shrinkage. During the eight-week period of their study, the store achieved an 82 percent decrease in the number of items stolen each week and a 74 percent decrease in monetary loss. Working in conjunction with the retail store, these researchers were able to assist with identification of and reduction in theft of store merchandise by employees. Bamfield (2004) surveyed 476 major European retailers regarding shrinkage and found variations in the shrinkage rates across countries. European retailers ranked employee theft second among the sources of shrinkage (29 percent), in contrast to the USA, where employee theft was perceived by retailers to be the leading source of shrinkage (47 percent). Though retail employee theft can take many forms (for example, giving of unauthorized discounts, theft of cash, theft of merchandise, time theft, violation of sick leave and time-off policies, and so on), the theft of cash and merchandise is most profound, and, so, is the focus of our attention. Retailers continue to struggle with this issue and continue to use a number of different policies in an effort to avert, or minimize, the problem. Among the policies are: pre-employment screening; policy and procedure manuals; loss prevention awareness programs; human resources programs, including decent retail wages and employee incentives; as w ell as various detection procedures (National Retail Security Survey, 2003). In spite of these factors, retail employee theft still continues to be the factor that contributes most to retail shrinkage in the USA. Hence, there should be focus on efforts to understand retail employee theft. The idea of employees stealing is such a difficult concept for many managers to comprehend that they do not use the words, theft or stealing, to describe the deviant actions of employees. Euphemistic or politically correct words such as inventory shrinkage, spoilage, pilferage, shortage, unaccounted loss, or defalcation are more commonly used to describe employee theft, which reflects an attitude of denial and avoids the image of criminal activity. Because an employee is considered part of the family, it is hard to accept that someone you hired and worked with would steal from you. When caught, employees are often treated less harshly than someone not employed who steals from the firm (Kennish, 1985). Many employers consider employee theft as an unpreventable, unpleasant situation which is just part of doing business (Kennish, 1985). They expect employees to steal. The problem of employee theft is further exasperated by what constitutes employee misconduct. Some employers believe a pencil here and there, use of the copier for personal use, or five dollars worth of long distance calls per month on the office phone are acceptable. When employers exhibit such an attitude, it establishes an organizational atmosphere that management condones employee theft (Kamp and Brooks, 1991). Thus, employees view stealing from the company as an acceptable and justifiable behavior. It also makes it difficult to prosecute stealing, since it is difficult to determine what level of stealing is unacceptable. Employers face the prospects of going out of-business if they cannot control the costs of lost services, cash, and products. Statistics provided by the US Chamber of Commerce indicate that 50 percent of all small business failures in the first year of business can be attributed to employee theft (Business Strategy, 1995). Insurance companies estimate one-third of all business failures can be attributed to employee theft (Miner and Capps, 1996; Snyder and Blair, 1989; Snyder et aL, 1989; Bourke, 1992). The alternative is to develop anti-theft measures (i.e. honesty tests, surveillance devices) to prevent employees from stealing which then add costs to doing business. The employer must decide which costs are greater; to catch a thief, or to accept it as the inevitable (Taylor, 1986) and pass these costs on to the consumer by raising the prices. However, to determine a cost benefit analysis, one must know the amount of employee theft being conducted. As stated earlier, it is difficult to determine the amount of business losses attributed to employee theft. For example, in the retail sector, shrinkage losses are attributed to shoplifting, employee theft, administrative error, and vendor fraud. Distinction among these categories is difficult to calculate. Most companies cannot measure the amount of employee theft accurately and the amounts that are calculated are at best, informed guesses (Baker and Westin, 1987). Robinson and Bennett (1995) used a broad category of deviant workplace behaviors within which theft may be investigated. Two dimensions of deviance, ranging from minor (m) to serious (s) and organizational (o) to interpersonal (i), can be combined to form four counterproductive behavior categories: property deviance (s, o), production deviance (m, o), political deviance (m, i), and personal aggression (s, i). In this study, they focused on the model dimensions of serious and minor incidents of organizational deviance, or production deviance and property deviance. These categories subsume specific behaviors of time theft (production deviance) and physical theft (property deviance). Property deviance includes employee behaviors that involve the unauthorized taking, control, or transfer of money or property of the formal work organization by an employee, either for the employees own use or for sale to another, during the course of occupational activity (Greenberg, 1997; Hollinger Clark, 1983b). It includes behaviors such as misuse of employee discounts; taking merchandise, supplies, or information for personal use or sale; filching money or production materials; and falsifying time records. The boundaries of employee theft as defined here do not include theft of coworker property. Production deviance includes what has been referred to as work withdrawal behavior. These behaviors can take the form of reduced productivity, increased absenteeism and tardiness, low job involvement, and low organizational commitment (Hanisch, Hulin, Roznowski, 1998). The production deviance construct also includes behaviors such as leaving work early and taking unauthorized breaks (Blau, 1998). Individuals engage in these behaviors to maximize or maintain social and organizational roles. When these motives conflict with formal job responsibilities or when employees are dissatisfied, individuals minimize time spent on formal job tasks (Hanisch Hulin, 1991). Production deviance behaviors that result in the reduction of time working (e.g. tardiness, absenteeism, abuse of sick time, unauthorized breaks, socializing, loitering) are considered to be time theft. Many researchers use attitudes such as dissatisfaction to predict deviant employee behavior (Bolin Heatherly, 2001). According to Murphy (1993), satisfied individuals tend to exhibit pro-social behaviors, whereas unsatisfied individuals tend to commit acts of property and production deviance. Hanisch and Hulins (1991) definition of work withdrawal assumes that dissatisfaction is the catalyst for behaviors such as time theft. Individuals involved in employee theft also are often involved in other deviant behaviors (Murphy). Hollinger and Clark (1983b) found relations between job dissatisfaction and property deviance among samples of retail and hospital employees, but not manufacturing employees. They also found a significant relation between job dissatisfaction and production deviance (i.e., work withdrawal or time theft) in all three industries. Differences between the strength of relation between satisfaction and property deviance and satisfaction and production deviance could occur because of perceived differences in organizational sanctions for these behaviors. Johns (1998) suggested that work context may constrain the exhibition of one withdrawal behavior while allowing the expression of another theoretically related behavior. Hanisch et al. (1998) suggested that the set of withdrawal behaviors that manifests as a result of negative job attitudes is a function of the situation and job constraints. These sanctions and constraints would be communicated by an organizations climate for theft. According to Murphy (1993), many researchers have acknowledged the importance of situational factors to employee deviance, but few have examined this relationship. Boye and Jones (1997) suggested that the effect of specific aspects of climate for theft should be examined. Climate for theft includes the opportunity to steal and the perceived and communicated norms of the organization, management, and work group. Included in these norms is the attitude toward theft, perceived extent of coworker and management theft, perceived certainty of sanctions for theft, and perceived severity of sanctions for theft. Hollinger and Clark (1983a) examined the conditions under which employees commit theft. They found that the perception of certainty and severity of organizational sanctions were related to employee theft. The perceived certainty of sanctions had a stronger relation with theft than did the perceived severity of sanctions. The least theft occurred in situations in which sanctions were p erceived as severe and certain. Greenberg (1997) suggested that norms, unwritten rules that guide behavior and contribute to an organizations climate, often condone or encourage employee theft. For example, managers who engage in theft may establish a norm that such behavior is tolerated. Managers also may encourage theft by allowing employees to use equipment and materials for personal use or rewarding extra behaviors with free or highly discounted products (Greenberg). If steal-friendly norms have been established and the organizational climate is perceived as permissive to such actions, employees may steal to fit in or get along with their coworkers. Consistent with this climate-based influence, Hollinger and Clark (1983b) found that the influence of coworker attitudes on theft behavior was stronger than that of management sanctions or employee fear of reprisal. Thus a number of studies are availa

Review Of Motivation In Volunteering Commerce Essay

Review Of Motivation In Volunteering Commerce Essay The objective of this literature is to attempt some discussions of Motivation in Volunteers, a complex difficulty, facing the NGOs and Humanitarian Aid Agencies of today. Studies specifically relating to this area started in the early years to the present day. The actual dissertation will go through a much more comprehensive literature scan. In the concerned world economy and wide blow stricken regions of the world today, Volunteerism seems more relevant today than the more frequently employed tools relating to Typical Employment methodologies of the past and present. In the last century preceded by the great Industrial Revolution and followed by the great Information Age, much has been said and done regarding employee motivation and the ways to augment or harness it to achieve superior organization goals. It started with the Hawthorne Studies of the 1920s (McCarney R, Warner J, Iliffe S, van Haselen R, Griffin M, Fisher P (2007) which in detail were initially carried out to determine the effects of Light on employee output, however by the way reflected the importance of working as a group, having a concerned supervisor and work credit were indeed the real drivers of efficiency. Thus started the long research in Human Motivation, culminating in such great works as Maslows Hierarchy Theory (A.H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 1943) and Herzbergs (1959) motivational hygiene theory to name a few. However it wasnt until the 1970s that work on Motivation in Volunteers began. while having much in common with motivation in employees if compared particularly to Herzbergs motivational hygiene theory, there are indeed some unique factors such as reciprocity, self esteem, personal growth, recognition and social understanding (Developing the Volunteer Motivation Inventory to Assess the Underlying Motivational Drives of Volunteers in Western Australia, a research project carried out by Dr Judy Esmond et-al; 2004). Notable work (other than those cited in the quoted study) on this was Motivation of volunteers (Wiehe, Vernon R.; Isenhour, Lenor Journal of Social Welfare. Win 1977, 73-79. Of 490 persons contacting a volunteer recruitment and referral center requesting to be referred to a group of people agency for post as volunteers, 249 questionnaires were returned asking them to spot t heir motivation for seeking to be volunteers. Four categories of motivation were ordered by partakers in the research on the basis of most to least important: personal satisfaction, self-improvement, altruism, and demands from outside. Implications for the assignment and recruitment of volunteers are noted. Motivation is the fundamental element of the theme of this research. The investigation of motivational factors in a group, individual in public sector surroundings is central to developing ways to better performances in an organization. The motive why motivation should be investigate in generic organizational behavior terms as well as public service and volunteer terms for this research is that there are some aspects of motivational theories that are related irrespective of the sector and industry. An understanding of motivation in broad terms, public service terms and volunteer terms in the literature review will go a long way in making sure that there can be a constructive influence on the public sector volunteer workers performance levels. Terpstras model of motivation (1979) drew its inspiration from the motivational model presented as the hierarchy of need laid down by Maslow (1954). Maslow talked about five need levels in a motivational framework known as the physiological need, the safety need, the social need, the ego need and the need for self actualization. According to this model, the most essential needs had to be fulfilled before the next need of the human being comes into the play. Terpstra looked into this theory of Maslow from the angle of the industrialized age. Maslow assumed that the most vital need was the physiological need. It is only after the accomplishment of this particular need that the role of other factors comes to the equation. In the case of our research of the volunteer fire fighters, the want for safety as laid behind in the need hierarchy holds significance. The individual mind and senses are more motivated to do better in an environment where the safety measures are good. This is why the primary research of the fire fighter volunteers and their motivation will also consider the element of safety in their work environment and job design. Gidron (1978) carried out a wide research in an understanding of volunteering motivation. For this reason he based his research on the studies and theories of Herzberg two factor theories. This two factor theory, as reviewed above, focused on both the intrinsic as well as extrinsic motives behind a working person. Gidron was one of the first researchers who believed that extrinsic factors might be found in the general drive to work in volunteers. He believed that volunteers were working for either the intrinsic motives which focused on self accomplishment and working towards the growth of a positive relationship with the society or towards things that are extrinsic, in an indirect way. This might comprise the need to gain some work experience that may come in handy in the future. For this reason he carried out a study which involved 317 volunteers across four different institutions. The call for was to be able to spot the co relationship that might exist between different motivation factors and the age of the individual. He rounded it up that volunteers who were grown-up were actually more interested in volunteer work for intrinsic factors and it was the younger volunteers where work experience and indirect extrinsic factors also played some part on the whole motivation . To better know how to attract and retain volunteers, it is imperative to identify key motives of individual volunteers and their effect on pro-social attitudes toward helping behavior (Bussell and Forbes 2002). (Reed, Aquino, and Levy 2007), theories of altruism and helping behavior suggest that intrinsic rewards and satisfaction from helping others are primary motives for volunteering The theory laid down by Vroom with respect to the performance of employees, efforts made and returns seen is also highly relevant (Vroom, 1964). Vroom believed that the prize that is seen at the end of an effort is the root of motivation in a human being in the work setting. This compensation may come in different forms. A positive compensation will reinforce the behavior of better efforts in the work setting. This compensation may or may not be financial. A compensation can also be something intangible such a recognition of services or a public acknowledgement of the efforts made by an individual. Brewer et al. (2000) built up their research on the grounds of the 40 articles listed down by Perry and verified motivational attributes. They came up with four categories of motivation in the public services two of which are highly relevant in our study as well i.e. humanitarians and communitarians. The subject that often revolves around Public service motivation is whether it can be actually used for the good of positively influencing the motivation level of employees in public service. This work now more looks into the way the human resource management and higher performance could be ensured through better thoughtful of motivational factors in public service. Basics such as recruitment, selection, screening, retention, job performance and satisfaction are important to understand in public service context as per the research scope of this paper. In the case of nonprofit organization, more than 60 percent employees in a research carried out by Paul (2002) said that they worked in the organization with the motive to make a difference in the community. The lesser the economic incentive for working in an organization, the more probability there is that the intrinsic factors constitute the motivational force for the workers. His research concluded that workers in such environments e mphasize on making a difference as well as a shared vision of the work place (Paul, 2002). Compared to workers in the private sector, these employees and workers were more responsive to factors such as being of help to the public, being able to make a difference to the community and doing a job which has meaning. As all these entail commitment to serve the community. The role of fire fighter entails a commitment to doing a job: fighting fires and taking care of communities. Jules Naudet (2002), a filmmaker who filmed the fire command activity in the World Trade Centre, said, Theyre fire fighters, theyll put the fire out, that is what they do. Fire fighters did their job on September 11 because it was their job. They identified with the job and with the role the job of fire fighter imposed on them; they were committed to that identity, and it predicted their behavior. Commitment is a multidimensional construct that links individuals in varying ways to a superior, to a work group, to an organization, and finally, to a served community. We will test this four-dimensional measure of commitment on a small sample of firemen. This study suggests a direction for research into the connection between commitment and behavior. In the CBS documentary 9/11, a probationary fire fighter comments on his very small payroll check, saying that if he wanted money, he would have been a lawyer, but I wanted something that I could live with for the rest of my life. I can live with this. In the same documentary, a fire chief says that when he gets up in the morning he wants to feel good and to look in the mirror and know that I am doing something with my life. Dennis Smith (2002) reports a story about a retired fire marshal who bemoaned the death of a fellow fire fighter who was repelling when a rope broke. Another fire fighter responded by saying, Remember this, its part of the job (50). Fire fighters commit to an identity that requires heroic behavior. Identity theory dictates that they act altruistically because that is what is expected. Fire fighters do their job in order to maintain internal congruence and because others expect them to act as their job requires.1 In these cases, we see commitment directed toward the role-most notably, a job that entails responsibility to safeguard the welfare of others. Fire fighters are not the only professionals in this category. We include other public-sector careers, such as police officers, teachers, and military personnel, and private-sector occupations, such as flight attendants and doctors. These jobs require the person to uphold a higher standard, and they are expected to do what is required to maintain the safety of their charges. They do well because it is their job to serve the community. Volunteerism also plays a critical role in the functioning of marketing systems, and therefore investigating volunteer activities on an individual level has important micromarketing implications (Laverie and McDonald 2007). During the year ended September 2006, 61.2 million Americans volunteered for an organization at least once, representing 26.7 percent of the population (U.S. Department of Labor 2006). In Australia, 5.2 million people (or 34 percent of the Australian population) participated in voluntary work in 2006 by contributing 713 million hours to the community (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007). These volunteers now recognize they have the freedom, capabilities, and confidence to address chronic social problems in their societies, such as inadequate health systems, entrenched poverty, environmental threats, and high-crime rates among other social ills (Bornstein 2004). For example, volunteer numbers at the Olympic Games have gone from almost zero in the 1980s to 40,917 accredited volunteers used in conducting the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Green and Chalip 2004). In retrospect, researchers have concluded that without these volunteers, the Sydney Olympic Games could not have been produced. An additional dimension for societies that host special events such as the Olympics is that such events are now used in the economic and social development strategies of cities, regions, and countries to win positioning as a favourable destination for business, investment, and tourism. It is well understood that volunteering can also have a positive impact on the volunteer themselves, as well as on society as a whole. Volunteers live longer, have better mental health, have higher occupational prestige, and have greater employment opportunities than those who do not volunteer (Wilson and Musick 1999). Brooks (2008, 183) notes that charity brings happiness for psychological reasons because it gives individuals a sense of control, while volunteering time can provide an important way to mentally reboot and redirect energy away from personal problems. These benefits translate into reduced health care costs, greater productivity, and higher QOL, directly benefiting society as a whole. DECLINING VOLUNTEERS The National Association of state foresters [1993] affirmed that since the early 1970s, state and local governments have been concerned with the decline in volunteer firefighters. A 1993 study published by the National Association of State Foresters reported a national drop in active volunteer firefighters from 884,600 in 1983 to 815,500 in 1993, an 8 percent decline in 10 years. Explanations for declines in volunteer firefighters have been attributed to national social changes, difficulties in finding new volunteers, and problems with retaining existing volunteers. According to a 1998 National Volunteer Fire Council and United States Fire Administration report, Retention and Recruitment: Problems and Solutions, 11 factors have contributed to reductions in the number of men and women joining and remaining in the volunteer fire service. These 11 factors included time demands, training requirements, increasing call volume, changes in the nature of the business of firefighting, changes in urban and suburban populations, changes in sociological conditions (two-income families and time demands), leadership problems, federal legislation and regulations, increasing use of combination departments, higher cost of housing (in affluent communities), and aging communities. The Pennsylvania fireman [2004] asserted that the impact of these and other factors has made it more difficult for VFCs to recruit and retain members. A 1992 survey by the Pennsylvania Department of Community Affairs (now the department of Community and Economic Development) found that 79 percent of the responding VFCs reported problems with recruiting, 51 percent reported active membership declines in the prior decade, and 37 percent reported no growth in membership over the prior decade. One implication of this decline was that 61 percent reported problems with insufficient volunteers responding to Monday-to-Friday daytime emergencies. The study concluded: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.requirements on volunteer time has increased. If there are no more or even fewer volunteers, then there are fewer people bearing a larger share of the workload. Prolonged situations like this lead to disenchantment and burn-out. The 1998 National Volunteer Fire Council and U.S. Fire Administration report, mentioned previously, also found that volunteer fire service is a tradition in many generations of firefighting families, but that, unfortunately, it is also a tradition in danger of weakening and possibly even dying out. The report also says: Fire departments can no longer count on the children of current members following in their parents footsteps. Nor can they count on a continuous stream of local people eager to donate their time and energy to their volunteer fire department. Departments cannot even rely on members staying active in the volunteer fire service for long periods of time. Recognizing that many VFCs are facing a recruitment problem, the council noted that recruitment solutions must begin with an assessment of VFCs staffing needs and the volunteer skills and abilities most needed to maintain VFC performance. The report found that person-to-person recruiting by active volunteer firefighters was the most successful recruiting method and that many retention problems could be traced to the following sources: demands on volunteer time and the need for increasing firefighter training requirements, additional call volume, changes in economic and social conditions in suburban and rural areas, and VFC leadership problems and internal conflicts within the fire company. Participants targeted leadership issues as the most important problem for retention across the country. This sentiment was echoed in numerous other studies that pointed to poor leadership and management practices as one of the main reasons volunteers left the fire service. An unpublished State University of New York at Buffalo Ph.D. Dissertation (Sargent, 1992) on satisfaction and retention of volunteer firefighters found that altruism ranked first as the most satisfying reason for volunteering. The eight top reasons for active firefighters to stay on the job were altruism, skills, thrills, work environment, management, social relations, material issues, and recognition. Retention policies identified as important by the active volunteers were management quality and skill development, quality of the work environment, and altruism. The researcher also noted that the lack of VFC leadership and management skills might be retention issues worthy of further investigation. Fire service reports written over the past 30 years indicate Pennsylvania VFCs were experiencing increased difficulties in recruiting and retaining sufficient active fire company members. Furthermore, there is a distinct risk that some rural VFCs lack sufficient active firefighters to adequately respond to all emergency service calls. The Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institutes 2001 report, Funding for Pennsylvania Emergency Services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Beyond 2001, stated a concern that VFCs were experiencing a steep and steady decline in the number of volunteers attracted to these vital services in Pennsylvania. The continuing decline in the number of active rural volunteer firefighters may eventually force Pennsylvanians to pay directly for fire protection. In July 1999, DCED reported that the average wage and benefit compensation for a paid firefighter was $55,000. The Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute (2001) calculated that staffing 2,000 fire companies would cost municipalities about $2.2 billion. Fire service studies [1994] suggested the most serious fire company problems involve recruitment, retention and volunteer availability to respond to calls, followed by a lack of funding sources, absence of community support, issues involving insurance costs, training requirements, and government regulations. Rural VFCs vary greatly in their ability to recruit and retain volunteer staff. To encourage recruitment and retention, most published reports suggested financial benefits be used to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters. While volunteer fire chiefs and firefighters encourage public and private financial incentives to support their firefighting mission, financial benefits represent only one part of a complex story. According to the volunteer fire service [1998] although money may assist and encourage volunteer firefighters to join and remain active members in their VFC, financial benefits are not the primary reasons why individuals choose to become and remain volunteer firefighters. While many fire service reports reviewed provided policy suggestions, these reports did not prioritize their suggestions. Furthermore, no field tests were conducted to discover which recruitment and retention policies were most effective in influencing individuals to become volunteers and remain active. Therefore, little empirical data concerning volunteer firefighter motivation exists. Todays Volunteer Fire Companies According to the U.S. Fire Administration [2005], in 2005, there were 17,438 all-volunteer fire companies in the U.S., or 72 percent of the nations 24,294 fire companies. The states with the most VFCs were Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas, each with more than 950 VFCs. On a per capital basis, however, the states with the most VFCs were North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont, each with more than 25 VFCs per 100,000 residents. Nationally, Pennsylvania ranked 17th in the number of VFCs per capital. United States Fire Administration [2001] data showed there were nearly 431,500 volunteer firefighters nationwide. Forty percent of these volunteers were found in Pennsylvania and the six surrounding states of Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. On a per capita basis, the most volunteers were in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont, each with more than 450 volunteers for every 100,000 residents. Nationally, Pennsylvania ranked 8th in the number of active volunteer firefighters per capital. Throughout the U.S., the average VFC had 25 active members. The states with the most active firefighters per VFC were Delaware, New York and Maryland, each with more than 50 active members per VFC. Among the 50 states, Pennsylvania had 33 active members per VFC, or the 8th highest number in the nation. Benefits Provided to Volunteer Firefighters According to National volunteer fire council [1998] among the 50 states, volunteer firefighters received a variety of benefits. Benefits were grouped into five categories: workers compensation, death benefits, retirement pension, property or income tax rebates, and health care benefits. According to data from several sources, 44 states, including Pennsylvania, provide workers compensation benefits for volunteer firefighters injured or killed while on duty. Twenty-seven states provide death benefits, and 20 states provide retirement pensions. Seven states provide income tax or property tax rebates and only one state, Louisiana, provides volunteers with health care benefits. It is important to note that not all benefits were mandated and some VFCs do not participate. According to national fire protection association [2001] survey of State Fire Officials through the interviews with 41state fire officials in 32 states, the researcher found general agreement about the increasing problem of finding volunteers who would respond to Monday-to-Friday daytime emergencies. For example, an official from Illinois estimated that 25 percent of VFCs sometimes were unable to respond to daytime emergency calls, while officials in Delaware, Nevada, and Texas said up to 50 percent of VFCs were sometimes unable to respond during weekdays. To solve this problem, an Ohio official said that his state is looking into paying part-time firefighters to cover trouble areas during weekdays, but funding may be a problem. When asked why there were not enough firefighters available during the weekday, the officials said that in rural areas more volunteer firefighters must commute long distances to their jobs and thus are unavailable for daytime fire emergencies. Current critical issues Willing [1994] asserted that state officials suggested that volunteerism, in general, was decreasing, and thereby negatively effecting recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Other critical issues included funding, firefighter deaths by heart attack, increased firefighter training and qualification requirements, and new responsibilities for homeland security. State officials also mentioned the need for additional technical training for new hazards, such as biological and chemical spills. Many state officials suggested that communication with local community and municipal leaders needs to be improved. Firefighter Training According to the interviews, most states required little or no formal training or qualifications to serve as a volunteer firefighter. Officials explained that since most states do not fund firefighting training, they have no power to enforce any training requirements. VFCs are community-based and do not pay much attention to state training requirements unless there are financial incentives. Most states had a formal state fire academy that provided free or discounted training and certification for volunteer firefighters. State fire academy courses were offered free in 18 states, including Pennsylvania. Other states offered training at low or reduced costs. One of the more innovative education programs was in Kentucky, where a fleet of trucks delivers free comprehensive firefighter training to local VFCs. This mobile fire academy provides local training without the expenses of travel, food, and lodging. Pennsylvania has an Academy on the Road program that has prove d quite popular with rural VFCs. Volunteer Firefighter Incentive Benefits Officials said they believe nonfinancial incentives are more effective at motivating and retaining volunteer firefighters than financial benefits. A common opinion was that financial benefits do not motivate volunteers; however, constant fire service related expenses made it difficult for volunteers, especially those with lower incomes, to continue their volunteer service. One of the most essential research methodologies and survey was done by McEwin and Jacobsen-D`Arcy in 1992. The research methodology and principle will also aid in the research work in assessing motivation of fire fighters as volunteers. The research carried out by McEwin and Jacobsen consisted of around 280 volunteers who came from a wide array of organization. The research was based on three separate stages. The first stage was focused on 40 volunteers who came from two organizations. They were given checklists, asked open ended questions and given the liberty to explain why they volunteers as well. On the basis of the participants and a literature review, there was the development and formulation of the final questionnaire with 15 categories. In the next stage, this survey was distributed to over 200 volunteers based on which the volunteer motivation inventory was developed consisting of forty statements. They came up with 8 motivational factors on a 5 point Likert scale which the research have decided to use in this research work. The eight motivational factors that were utilized include values, career, personal growth, recognition, hedonistic, social, reactive and reciprocity. Let us look into each one of this factor for a better understanding of the inventory Values: The individual might have strong personal or family values which have a relationship with volunteering. Every human being has a set of values and volunteering might be a constituent of this set Career: The individual might be taking part in volunteer services for the purposes of acquiring experience and field. These volunteering services might in the end help them in their professional career or help them in finding jobs Personal Growth: The individuals personal growth needs are often met by the volunteering services Recognition: The individual might be motivated by the ultimate recognition that might be received for the volunteering services that are given. This means a satisfaction of the recognition of contributions that are made to the society Hedonistic: This is associated with the happiness that might come with the act of being of assistance to the community Social: This a way of finding a pleasant feelings in the social construct of volunteering where they interact amongst each other and build their personal relationship network Reactive: The individual might be taking part in volunteer services as a reaction to a past incident. Therefore, this act might in fact be a need to address a personal past issue Reciprocity: The individual might see it as an equal exchange and views it as an act of higher good Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Companies According to a 2005 report by the Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, there are 2,354 VFCs in Pennsylvania; 40 percent are located in rural counties. Fire Chief Interviews The researcher interviewed 35 fire chiefs from across rural Pennsylvania. The chiefs were asked to comment on volunteer firefighter retention, recruitment, training, certification, leadership, female firefighters, financial support, and municipal relationships, and to offer recommendations for fire company best practices. The chiefs identified career requirements as the main factor affecting the retention of volunteers. Firefighters who move away for job pursuits or who must commute long distances for work affect volunteer turnover the most. Adding to the turnover rate is the realization of how much time is required to obtain training and assist with fundraising. These requirements put too many time constraints on firefighters and keep them away from their families. Several chiefs offered that both good and poor leadership would affect retention of volunteers. Successful recruitment often stems from a new volunteer having a family member or friend already involved in the fire company. The chiefs offered that active firefighters must make a concerted effort to recruit new community residents and not simply rely on existing residents. Some also noted their success in recruiting college students. The chiefs expressed some skepticism about recruitment programs that rely too heavily on newspaper ads, open houses, or apparatus demonstrations. A personal one-on-one approach was cited as the best recruitment method. A wide variety of perspectives were offered with regard to female firefighters. Some chiefs expressed concerns about the physical demands of the job, while others were confident of a womans ability, citing active and successful recruitment of women. Many volunteer fire companies recruit members in the 14-to-18- year-old age bracket as a result of visiting local schools and youth groups, such as the Scouts. Some chiefs also mentioned that a number of volunteers referenced presentations made while they were in elementary school as having a lasting impact. For many VFCs, part of the recruitment screening effort involves an interview, a criminal background check and, for some VFCs, a drug test. The degree of screening varies among fire companies from a written process to a personal interview. Oftentimes, members vote to accept or reject new recruits. Chiefs said that during the selection process, it is imperative to present a realistic description of the demands of volunteer fire service, including the need to complete the 88-hour training requirement. All chiefs cited the need for physical conditioning and many did not view age as an issue. The cost of maintaining a fire company is of great concern to the chiefs participating in the interview. They said volunteers understand that active service costs money, since many must purchase their own safety gear. This prompted statements about the need for financial support to cover the cost of firefighter training. Chiefs said that while most volunteers do not want to be paid for their services, they would like to have funding for new apparatus and equipment. Some chiefs suggested state income tax credits, educational tuition assistance, a pension program, and free license plates as legitimate incentives and rewards for people to serve as volunteer firefighters. It was evident from the interviews that some rural VFCs have mixed relationships with municipal officials. Some chiefs enjoyed strong working relationships that included significant financial support. Others stated that municipalities within the VFC service area do not accept any responsibility for funding. The chiefs discussed conflicts over how