A view from a bridge work book Essay

Dear Miss Fisher, I have finished reading a view from a bridge & put notes on the power point sheets however I then looked back on it & realised it was illegible! So I wrote it up here, is that ok I’m sorry for the inconvenience, & it won’t happen again. Sorry again, Daisy 🙂 A view from the bridge. 15th September. Research tasks: Who was Arthur Miller? Find autobiographical information about the playwright. Arthur Miller, playwright from New York, became a journalist, worked with Italian immigrants during WWII. Which gave him an outlook Into the Sicilian dreams & inspiration for â€Å"A View From The Bridge. † Miller’s first play flopped, but his second; â€Å"All My Sons† was a massive success. He divorced his first wife in 1961 & married Marilyn Munroe, the reason for this is unknown as apparently they were never really in love & divorced in 1963, it is thought Monroe married him for intelligence & milled married Monroe for beauty, Miller then wrote a play â€Å"After The Fall† that is thought to be based on their relationship. Miller died in 2005. Which other plays has Arthur miller written? Do they have any common themes? â€Å"After The Fall†, â€Å"The Prince†, â€Å"The Archbishop’s Ceiling†, â€Å"The Clock†, â€Å"Broken Glass†, â€Å"All My Sons†, â€Å"Death Of A Salesman†, â€Å"Crucible†. A common theme of Arthur Miller’s play was the examining of an individual in relation to their authority; this means the plays are often considered political. Where is Brooklyn? What was it like in the 1940’s? Who lived & worked there? What sort of environment was it? What’s it like now? Brooklyn is a borough of New York; in the 1940s it had a large Italian population due to the ports near the bridge. Brooklyn was split in two it had the middle class areas such as Flatbush & working class areas like Red Hook, the setting for â€Å"A View The Bridge. † In the mid to late 1940s Brooklyn was enjoying a good period the gang violence was, all though easily noticed, small. As Brooklyn reached the end of the 1940s the borough began a period of decline & by the early 1950s gangsters were ripe & until the 1980s it was classed as a bad place to live. People from all over Europe lived & worked in Brooklyn it also had a large African-American community. Brooklyn now has a safer & cleaner track record with very little gang violence & a large business district the 3rd largest in New York State. Which groups of people immigrated to the United States in the 1940’s? What was life like for them when they arrived? The main groups of people immigrating to the United States in the 1940s were European, particularly Italians & Russians. When they first arrived life would be tough they would usually leave their homelands with nothing & have to find jobs & work quickly so they could live out their own â€Å"American Dream†. Find out as much as you can about Italian-American communities†¦ Which television programmes & films include Italian-American characters? How do they talk? Is this community stereotyped? What values can you identify in this community? The most famous film on Italian-Americans would probably be â€Å"Scarface† a movie based on Italian-American gangster Al Capone, the Italian-American community is stereotyped as a very tight family, which it represents in gangs or mobs, the Italian-American dialect is varied through out Brooklyn, Bugs Bunny has an accent based on the Flatbush dialect. Wikipedia – â€Å"Italian Americans are higher in the rate & degree of the tensing & rising of (oh) & (aeh) than that of Jewish American New Yorkers. † The values of the communities of Italian Americans seem as though they all run everything as a family business, & a tight knit friendship group. What is a ‘tragedy’? Find out the main features or conventions of this type of play. Make sure you go right back to Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy is a form of art portraying human suffering causing audience pleasure this form has been modernised to usually end a play in a death where all characters end in despair, or worse off than they were at the beginning. Alfieri’s first speech. What have we learnt about the people who live in Red Hook? We have learnt from the opening speech from Alfieri that Red Hook was the slum of Brooklyn & the gullet of New York, Red Hook is portrayed as very violent with no care for the law, but it is now ore civilised & getting better, people are no longer as scared as they were, as Alfieri says: â€Å"I no longer feel the need to keep a gun† It shows Red Hook at one time was extremely intimidating & bad but now much better. Alfieri goes onto mention how his relatives often tell him not to get involved with cases, this shows the Italian-American-tight knit-family-like-ness & how his business seems to be everyone’s business. What does Alfieri mean when he says â€Å"justice is very important† here? When Alfieri says â€Å"justice is very important here† he is using a bit of sarcasm he is commenting on how people do feel justice is important but their own personal justice not the government’s justice. & How people can commit murder believing it is all right because of there own justice. However you feel a sense of irony as he is a lawyer speaking & he is discussing justice that he may well deal with in court. The fact he is a lawyer also shows there is work for lawyers in Red Hook so some sort of governed justice is important. Now the people â€Å"settle for half† instead of using a gun for justice, what does that mean? Alfieri’s comment â€Å"now the people settle for half† is commenting on now that Red Hook has been cleaned up a bit his services a called on more & although it means the person against the allegations may not be killed he will be brought to governed justice & possible face prison. Eddie’s story is not like the ‘petty troubles of the poor. ‘ Why might he come to see Alfieri? Eddie’s story is not like the petty troubles of the poor because we realise through out the book that aside from the immigrants in his house being illegal, they have actually done nothing wrong & although his allegations against Rodolfo being gay are also wrong, it is not illegal to be gay. Alfieri also deals mainly in family squabbles, evictions & compensation cases, but Eddie’s is different because it’s more about jealousy & revenge.

Health Care Information System Reflection Essay

In my previous job with a medical clinic there were two main technology systems that were used on a daily basis. These systems were CITRIX and MainFrame and were a necessity for the medical clinic in order for all to communicate. Of course there was also email that was used a daily basis throughout the medical clinic. On the CITRIX system is where all the patients’ information was stored from their office visits to the billing information as well as the demographics. All employees that dealt with any of the patient’s information had access to this system and they were able to update it for the patient in real time so that everyone who needed access to the most current information had it. On the MainFrame portion of the main system that the medical clinic used is where the claims were able to be adjusted and all of the billing information was stored. This is also where the employee would be able to transfer medical records or any other information that was needed by the insurance company to the insurance company for further claim processing. There were also other systems that the employee would have to log on to in order to review medical records on a patient but employees had limited access to this health care information system due to the privacy of the patients. This system was the Allscripts system that the medical clinic used. The information within this system was the medical records of any visits that the patient had and also the medications that were prescribed to the patients. Information was shared throughout the organization as all employees that had to receive this information or obtain it would be able to do so from their computer in their office or at their desk. The departments that used these systems the most would be the doctors’ offices and the billing departments. They needed to have access to this information in order to treat the patients correctly and to make sure that the claims were billed properly to the insurance companies  so that the providers could receive reimbursement for their services in a timely fashion. It was also used in order to handle patients calls regarding any issues they may have with the billing information they had received in the mail.

Automobile and Large Mass Essay

There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † â€Å"Pollution? What’s pollution? † asked Lewis, waiting intrigued for his father’s answer. â€Å"Well, for example, it’s that grey smoke you can see above our cars. Cars that run on petrol or diesel give off gasses into the atmosphere, which are very bad for all living beings and the planet too. Today you can see a lot of the grey smoke because it hasn’t rained for a long time,† answered his father. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † â€Å"Pollution? What’s pollution? † asked Lewis, waiting intrigued for his father’s answer. â€Å"Well, for example, it’s that grey smoke you can see above our cars. Cars that run on petrol or diesel give off gasses into the atmosphere, which are very bad for all living beings and the planet too. Today you can see a lot of the grey smoke because it hasn’t rained for a long time,† answered his father. There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a There was once a little boy of 6 years old called Lewis. One day, as he was looking out of the car window on his way to school, he discovered that a large mass of grey smoke was forming just above his dad’s car. Somewhat alarmed, Lewis looked at the other cars on the road to find out if they too had a cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † â€Å"Pollution? What’s pollution? † asked Lewis, waiting intrigued for his father’s answer. â€Å"Well, for example, it’s that grey smoke you can see above our cars. Cars that run on petrol or diesel give off gasses into the atmosphere, which are very bad for all living beings and the planet too. Today you can see a lot of the grey smoke because it hasn’t rained for a long time,† answered his father. cloud of grey smoke chasing them. To Lewis’ surprise, all the cars travelling on the motorway had the grey smoke hovering around them. So Lewis asked his father: â€Å"Dad, what’s that grey smoke above our cars? † Lewis’ father was a little surprised by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † â€Å"Pollution? What’s pollution? † asked Lewis, waiting intrigued for his father’s answer. â€Å"Well, for example, it’s that grey smoke you can see above our cars. Cars that run on petrol or diesel give off gasses into the atmosphere, which are very bad for all living beings and the planet too. Today you can see a lot of the grey smoke because it hasn’t rained for a long time,† answered his father. d by the question, but answered: â€Å"Well, Lewis, it’s called pollution. † â€Å"Pollution? What’s pollution? † asked Lewis, waiting intrigued for his father’s answer. â€Å"Well, for example, it’s that grey smoke you can see above our cars. Cars that run on petrol or diesel give off gasses into the atmosphere, which are very bad for all living beings and the planet too. Today you can see a lot of the grey smoke because it hasn’t rained for a long time,† answered his father. Lewis spent a while pondering on this, and began to put two and two together. If the grey smoke was bad, and it was all because of cars, then why were there so many cars on the road? â€Å"Dad,† said Lewis slowly, â€Å"If the grey smoke is pollution and is bad for us, why are we going to school in a car? † â€Å"So I can get to work on time, son. The bus or metro would make us late,† answered his father. It was Spring. As soon as the cold weather went, it came back again. The sun seemed ashamed to show his smily face for more than the odd morning. To top it all, loads of people were sick. A spectacular chucking-up bug was going around the school. If anyone looked so much as a bit pasty in class, the teacher would grab an empty litter bin and tell them to hold it close by. Minutes later the school secretary would be calling Little So and So’s mother and telling her to get over quickly and collect her sick child. The bug even got poor Isis, who was NEVER off school. Like everything else about her, Isis’s attendance record was usually perfect – but not this week, because there was no way she could come in. She texted Katie: â€Å"Poor me, I feel so rotten! Chucked up 6 times. Is that a world record? † Katie had so far escaped the bug. She was very careful about washing her hands and not going near anyone who coughed or spluttered. She asked her mother what could be done for Isis, and she suggested an ancient witch’s remedy made from mint leaves and mandrake’s root. ‘Sounds great,’ said Katie, â€Å"Why don’t witches cure everyone? ’

The Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine - Essay Example The criticism is based on the possible side effects associated with the use of the vaccine The medical fraternity is in favor of the use of the MMR vaccine but the general public has been conducting Anti-MMR campaigns in order to prevent its use. The reason for the criticism from the general public is the fear that exists among parents over the side effects of the vaccine on their children. Parents fear that the MMR vaccine may be the primary cause of autism among children (Newton, 2013, p. 90) Autism is a mental condition that usually affects individuals from childhood and causes difficulty in communicating and establishing bonds with other people. It also causes slurred speech because using language and abstract expressions becomes difficult. The medical world has not been able to provide an appropriate account on the emerging issues concerning the vaccine. In 2002, Medical Research Council did a review of autism. This review covers matters on the prevalence of autism, its effects, and possible causative factors. The review finally associates a number of factors with the cause of autism but singles out genetic factors as a major cause. According to the report, there is no tangible evidence that can establish MMR vaccine as a causative agent of autism. The report further links autism with environmental and behavioral factors like the exposure to drugs or heavy metals before giving birth. Such an exposure causes genetic susceptibility to autism (Hollins, 2015, p. 1). Evaluation of the controversies has also remained accomplished by independent federal committees such as the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunization. The reports from these committees suggest that the argument that autism is related to MMR vaccine has no scientific basis. Therefore, the committees’ conclusion is that there is no causal link between autism and the MMR vaccine.

Learning Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Learning Journal - Essay Example For a long time I skipped looking at pictures. I was so nervous about getting the reading and writing done on time. Many of the things that I did not understand in the words can be explained by looking at maps, charts and pictures. They are worth looking at before I read because they give me hints about what is going to be said in the book. I like this discovery because it makes my work easier. In class I am finding out that trying to get work done fast just results in mistakes. These journals should not take so long, but they do because I want to do them well. I learned that time management is important for success. There is a story about a small train that goes slowly up the mountain. It does not go fast but it gets over the mountain all the same. I am that small train. I think that everything takes so long and is so hard in school, but I can see that I am learning new things. I just want to be better than I am. The hardest thing about writing is spelling and making the sentences work right. I wish there was a computer that I could speak into so I would not need to type. Then my sentences would come out correctly. This is especially true if I could speak well. Learning to spell is hard, but the spell check on the computer helps a lot. It shows the right way to spell words that I cannot spell correctly. I figure that eventually I will make enough mistakes to see how to spell all of the words I need to spell. Putting sentences in the right order is hard too, but not as hard as spelling. I have learned this week that I am better at listening than reading. I tried to remember everything said in class and went back to write it down. I could remember almost everything. Writing out what happened in class afterwards made me feel like I had learned something. Later I read from a book and tried to write down the things I learned. I could only write a little bit. I learned this week that if I listen

Romanticism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Romanticism - Assignment Example A woman being violated without her knowledge is the scariest thing for a woman. Any man would want to try and protect a woman from demonic rape. This portrait is very scary. The emotions evoked are terror, fear, horror, and sheer disgust. The cultural context factors might have been the poem being written about a nightmare that the art was supposed to depict. b.) Goya’s Inquisition Scene is an oil on canvas dated 1816. This painting deals with many sublime topics such as inhumanity to man, violence, and death. Goya was trying to prove how cruel the Spanish Inquisition was. The dunce cap on the condemned and the blood dripping shows inhumanity and violence. The verdict is already been decided, despite this kangaroo court. The painting’s atmosphere was dark and somber. Goya is trying to show the injustice of the Spanish Inquisition. Goya’s work reflects the Spanish Inquisition although the work was created after the first Inquisition and the second Inquisition. His painting style shows the seriousness of the charges brought in the Inquisition. This is the best Goya

Liabilities and Remedies of Parties in a Contract Essay

Liabilities and Remedies of Parties in a Contract - Essay Example As the paper discusses  there are two contracts existing between the parties. The first contract is between Military Supply Ltd and the British Ministry of Defense while the second contract is between the Military Supply Ltd and Motor Parts plc. The contract between Military Supply Ltd and the British Ministry of Defense is for the purchase and delivery of 500 vehicles which will be used by the Ministry of Defense in its field operations. The second contract on the other hand is a contract of service between Military Supply Ltd and Motor Parts Ltd where the former hire the services of the latter to manufacture the 500 vehicles for the client of Military Supply Ltd which is the British Ministry of Defense. The relationships of the parties are defined and limited by the contracts that they entered into.From the report it is clear that the obligations of the parties in this case vary according to their participation in the transaction. In the case of British Ministry of Defense, its o bligation is towards Military Supply ltd. As buyer of the vehicles, the Ministry of Defense is obliged to deliver payments when the provisions and the objects specified under the contract are satisfied. On the part of Military Supply Ltd, its obligations are towards the Ministry of Defense as well as to Motor Parts. In the case of the Ministry, Military Supply Ltd is bound to deliver the 500 vehicles as per the specifications of the ministry in a timely manner.  

Modern Political Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Modern Political Theory - Essay Example According to Leviathan a person who represents himself is a natural person, such a person representing his own thoughts and actions, whereas an artificial person represents the thoughts and actions of other people. It is possible for a person to alter his actions in different situations. Hobbes defines an actor as a person who is artificial who executes actions of another person whereas an author is someone who is the owner of his own thoughts and words. Hobbes says that a state is an example of artificial person as it cannot express its own actions and thoughts and is controlled by a power known as the Sovereign. It is said that the concept of sovereignty was created with the state in mind during the English Civil War. Thomas Hobbes said that a sovereign represent its people. The actions of the sovereigns are the actions of its people and if any person of the state objects to what the sovereign does then he is actually objecting himself (Machiavelli and Hobbes, 2005) Both Machiavelli and Hobbes both have helped us to get knowledge about political physiology. In order to differentiate between the concepts given by Machiavelli and Hobbes we have to view the methods used by them in their work. Hobbes was a well-known scholar of his time and put forward his political views into scientific forms. According to him if we examine politics from the perspective of science then we can reach to a conclusion and can create a peaceful state. In his book In de Corpore, he presented his views on mathematics, geometry, human nature and physics. He also presented the principles of political science in his book whereas Machiavelli found out how people behave or act in the world. He analyzed the behavior and actions of people and concluded the human nature. He wrote a book named Prince which was written during the Italian war, in which he found out about the selfish behavior of human being. He said that people behave in good manner when it is for their own

Civil War in Georgia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil War in Georgia - Essay Example There were reduced start-up costs for the civil war due to the accessibility of weapons from the Soviet and a ample number of volunteer fighters. In March 1992 and Kitovani was made the Minister of Defence- with this authority, Kitovani then organized the Abkhazia war in order to establish control over the transportation networks and valuable tourism industry of the province. In the end though, there was a total collapse of the informal and formal economy in 1993 which made it impossible to supply the troops effectively and that led to poor organization of military campaigns. Finally, Mkhedrioni and the National Guard were defeated whereas there was destruction of the economic assets they were fighting for. Due to the wars, Georgia lost control over a considerable part of its territory which remained an important difficulty for the nation's state building process as the government is not capable of controlling the smuggling business originating from the two regions. Georgia thus faces a dilemma- if it sets up customs points behind the lines of control, it would advance to identifying them as a border, which is politically unacceptable. On the other hand, if it would not do this, goods will continue to enter tax free into the nation and thus help crime networks and tainted state officials who are proving to be an obstacle in the state building process.

Money supply in the United States Essay Example for Free

Money supply in the United States Essay Money supply in the United States, and indeed any other economy using a central banking reserve system, is controlled and managed by a limited number of private banks working together for their own benefit instead of the benefit of the nation. As Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States allegedly once said, â€Å"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs (Quotations Page). Money supply in the United Stated is expanded in line with a fractional reserve policy. This policy whereby the banks retain a fraction of their total deposits, and are then able to lend the rest means there will always be a constantly expanding money supply, and this will always be a multiple larger than the actual amount of base money that is made by the Federal Reserve. This multiple is known as the money multiplier and is calculated by the Federal Reserve based around its reserve requirement and other fiscal regulations. The importance of financial intermediation cannot be understated, as this is required in order to manage the banking and monetary system and to try and avoid banking panics, to serve as the central bank for the government, and to manage the nations’ supply of money through economic policies which try to maximize employment, minimize taxation, and produce positive gross domestic product. The significance of banker’s taste for excess reserves on the Fed’s ability to expand the money supply shows that the fractional reserve system is not perfect and that to gain maximum control over the money multiplier and the supply of money, reserves are needed to manipulate fiscal information to the banker’s benefit. These assets are counted as reserves due to the fact that they are not necessary for the bank to hold these reserves as collateral against its lending, hence they are considered excess. The banks could use these reserves to aggressively increase loans or investments if they so wish. This is a key factor to consider here, that the banker’s taste limit the power of the Fed, as they may be able to undermine the central banking system of the United States by manipulating the money supply.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Quotations Page. 13 May 2010 http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/37700.html.

Advantages And Disadvantages In Cross Culture Communication Cultural Studies Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages In Cross Culture Communication Cultural Studies Essay Managing across culture. Its impact on people and business. Summary about Various levels of culture. Topic compared on Cross culture communication and Quality management a cross culture outlook. This topic include communications between different cultures and quality of work depending on cross culture and findings of some advantages and disadvantages in cross culture communication and few bias in impact of culture in quality management Introduction: Culture is nothing but the values and beliefs. Its an action of information assign by group of people. In somehow culture matters a lot for many people in different cultures and community. Its a communication of group .Its also a cultivated behaviour of religion. Communication includes a groups, information, belief, principles and reasons. Sum of learned persons conduct of a number of people that considered generally a tradition of that individual and are communicate from generation to generation. Culture is ethnology must be handled carefully. Modern era it is much often used word. Its like group of people in same community and also people from different community performing activity. Every People in this world have their own values and beliefs which resembles their cultural activities. Main problems is that the use of the word as a cross culture- is very wider sense. There is wider difference between notions to nations culture, their nations activities in such a way that individual from different nations hard to understand and also its takes lots of time adopt and also there is a chance to that person may not adjust to culture of different country which causes CULTURS SHOCK. It is easy to talk about culture, but real problem comes when its faced. To find out problems of a particular group of different culture one person must know the dos and donts particular culture. Every cultural groups act differently, thinks differently. There is no standard rule that different culture group have identical features there may have some features but all the way. Knowing culture among groups person must adopt other group culture. It, Stills, calls for decision when handling with different groups. Findings: There are two different to topic like Cross cultural communication and impact of cross culture in quality management. Each topic has their own definitions Says Cross Culture Communication is the communication between two sects or more in order to exchange their views ideas emotions feelings etc Cross Culture shows a big emphasis on quality management on the business organisations Here are the some of the findings of cross culture communication Cultural Knowledge Assembling different cultures Worldwide involvement Inter Culture awareness Education system Cultural Knowledge: Before giving international assignment, it is best known ones cultural activities and good to know the cultural differences among the existing country and home country. If the bias exist, one must give conclusion how much extent the person can adopt changes. There are few accepts which are common where people can easily accept (like greeting), and some other accepts May gets some adjust (like problem solving). To find the solution of cultural knowledge is no easy task it some so much of time to solve. Its better to provide continuous theory classes, Video classes in order adopt cross culture activities Assembling different cultures: Gathering different culture in one place so that they can exchange views, ideas, thought so that it makes them to adjust with each other that help the cross culture people mingle. There may be some disturbance of thought because of cross culture behaviour but that are to come extent only. The data that collected from congregate may helpful for further assistance World Involvement: In past 20th century they are some organisation who are not much concentrated in culture activity because they are more concern with inner- country development. In modern era every business forms has changed a lot they are more concern diversifying there business that directly impact on the behaviour and activity of a perticular of a country. In order to sustain the business they must aware Cultural activities of the country. So that they can make good profit in the organisation Inter Culture awareness: Every culture more to say every religion has its own coustom of doing thing. As culture is group of religions performing the similar activity of their own away. In that sense one group may have domination and other may not. Domination religion has power of judgement that was followed by other too.So knowing of cultural activity of a purticular or all in whole it will be easy to act like a intar cultural person. That make the person or a group to adjust and it is one of the best way to avoid cultural shock Education system: World is divided based on geographysical sector. Every country individually has more cultural reasons. So if our education system teach about culture behaviuours of different country that makes easy to an individual to adjut with cultural behaviours Impact of Quality Management by Cross Culture Behaviours: There are different studies done bye the researchers know what activity in the organisation impacting more on the quality management. They said developing countries industrial sector not developed when that compaired to developed countries. All the difference formed on various aspect in that one of the specific one is Culture Bias. Lots of argument made on Culture activities. Some conculded that behaviour and cultural aspect of a perticular individual is going to effect TQM (Total quality Managemet) of an organisation. Below are the some of the findings of Demostic Business and cultural impact on it Demostic Business Operation International Operation Effects on TQM Ad hoc Culture Demostic Business Operation: Every organisation has to own individual operation who are concentrated on particular set of people. Here cultural behaviour does find much impact on business. As the business is viewing on group of people. Here the individualism can act a major picture. Individual decision can be admitted as the business is concerntated on particular group. In this point of view quality management will be apporiate International Operations: If the Demostic business wants to diverse. The major research will comes to picture is cultural behaviour of foregin country. All the levels of business will be carried on foregin country where there is limited scope of foregin managerial fuction to carry. Basing on cultural behaviour on foregin people function must me made so that organisation is going to have good quality business# Effects on TQM: There are various difference of cultural activities carried out from one country to the another because of diversification. And every cultural behaviour impact on total quality management. Every country has there own ways of implemenations of TQM. Home country business we can well come individualism but when its come to global business individualism will not be considered if its is done so that effect the quality management vice versa Ad hoc Culture: If the organisaton carrying out there operation for a specific purpose and selected a set of religious people say like Haleem makers they select group of people of there own religion and market the product here culturally concentrating groups so obsicouly quality management will be high Conclusion: Your Way, My Way, Our Way. Individual Group Cultural behaviour, Different Group Cultural behaviours the both are two different boats having their own character. Many researcher conducted great research on Cultural aspect that are effecting to organisational business. Each have their own disadvantages say like Individual group individualism impacts more. Desecion made by one dominative group which as to follow by others. Even though judgement may not like by the others but they have to follow. Inorder avoid this inter cultural communication must be nessary. If we takes different view thats helps for better desecion making that effect organisational profit. When come to group culture every culture is superior than the others. They are some people who not intrested to adopt the different cultural behaviours that people are good loss to the organisation. Human are such a creatures where cultural and relegious behaviour impact a lot because they are social animals they have to obey the rules and regulations of purticular. Their society made rules such like that where thay can adjust and have a happy living. Organisation has to form the managerial function such a way that they dont disturbe individual cultural and group culture as well Every Culture in the world made by values and traditions. Values may concern with Individual values or group values. In this business world pesonal and group values palying a vital role. If the orgatiation protecting the values all the groups and people that result very huge profit to the organisation. Human Resource are the major factor of production to an organisation. So the organisation has to protect the Values, Culture, traditions etc of human resource that result optium resultVice Versa

Challenges facing the Mauritian economy due to globalization

Challenges facing the Mauritian economy due to globalization Government Drivers -Government in almost all developed countries over the world have promoted free trade and reduced trade barriers and the European Union has also liberalised capital flows in 1992 which has contributed towards globalisation. Furthermore, there has been a decline in the role of government as producers and consumers and large private firms have been seeking a physical presence in many major countries. It has truly transforming itself, slowly, into a Global system of governance, not so much by the use of raw independent power, but through the consensus of its most powerful members, and key players, increasingly multinational Corporations and International financial institutions, both formal and informal. This trend would continue, slowly almost imperceptibly to most Americans, though not to the world at large. In the past decade there has been also increasing participation of China and India in the global economy which has added towards globalisation. 5 Competitive Drivers is the fourth factor that has contributed towards globalisation. Analysts hold that globalisation has a multi-causal dynamic involving the interrelation of several forces such as growth of global networks making countries interdependent in particular industries that they are becoming universally centred rather than nationally centred. For instance, in UK the personal savings of its citizen are now internationally diversified, making them less dependent upon the future success of Britain. Instead, the UK citizens are amassing shares in the developing countries. 6 Global Aspect of Globalisation in the Current World Globalisation is a historical process rather than political or economical. It is the result of human innovation and technological progress. Globalisation has shown the increasing integration of economics around the world. It has taken a greater aspect in the world particularly, through trade and financial flows. Globalisation has covered the broader culture, politics and environmental dimensions of globalization. Today, globalization is well known topic across the world. The word has taken a common term. It is referred as the extension beyond national borders of the same market forces that have operated for centuries at all levels of human economic activity_ village markets, urban industries or financial centers. Global markets promote efficiency through competition and the division of labour _ the specialization that allows people and economies to focus on what they do best. Global market offer greater opportunity for common people also to tap into more and larger markets around the world. In the global market, people can access more capital flows, technology, cheaper imports and larger export markets. Today, commerce and finance are more developed and deeply integrated in global world. The global era has raised many questions related to social, political and workers. Does globalization harm workers interest? Many theoreticians dont believe in this question. However, this is right question. Globalisation is the parallel world between the rich and the poor. Capitalist globalization is always very harmful for workers. In global world, only big giant can survive. Globalisation has given the theory of third world countries also. In the financial world globalization is known as the basic elements of periodic crisis of an inevitable consequence of globalization. National Sovereignty question is also related to the globalization question. In the financial market national sovereignty is never followed however, the question always has taken place in political era. Questions: What are the factors that have contributed towards globalization? (10) How globalization is influencing the business culture? (10) According to you what are the impact of globalization on the Mauritian Economy. (20) What are the factors that have contributed towards globalization? (10) There are four main factors that have contributed towards globalisation. These can be listed as follows: Cost Drivers is one aspect which has led towards globalisation. At the heart of globalisation lies the rapid decrease in transportation cost and revolution in information technology. The cost of moving products around the world has significantly reduced over the last decades. Furthermore, capitalists have also contributed towards globalisation since they allow production facilities to be located wherever costs are lowest and profits greatest. Furthermore, global accounting practices enable prices and taxes to be calculated in ways that raise profits. Global connections like telecommunications and electronic finance create major opportunities for profit making. Finally, emergences of newly industrialised countries like China and India with productive capability and low labour costs are establishing in foreign markets. Market Forces is another factor that has contributed towards globalisation. The world trade and investment have grown rapidly, with many attractive market places opening up in China, India and Eastern Europe and elsewhere thus leading to the growth of global companies. Transnational corporations have begun to behave as global customers and establishing world brands, for instance, McDonald, Gap and Wal Mart have become globally prominent as a result of great marketing prowess. Organisations are also developing global advertising as Reebok, for example, to launch its Instapump sneakers has used the same advertising compaign in 140 countries. Furthermore, people are travelling more in the last two decades and they are becoming aware of different prices and quality of goods over the world and their lifestyles and tastes are changing accordingly. Many markets are also globalising for instance, as some tastes become universal to young people; we can see the same designer jeans and leather jackets in virtually all countries. Government Drivers -Government in almost all developed countries over the world have promoted free trade and reduced trade barriers and the European Union has also liberalised capital flows in 1992 which has contributed towards globalisation. Furthermore, there has been a decline in the role of government as producers and consumers and large private firms have been seeking a physical presence in many major countries. It has truly transforming itself, slowly, into a Global system of governance, not so much by the use of raw independent power, but through the consensus of its most powerful members, and key players, increasingly multinational Corporations and International financial institutions, both formal and informal. This trend would continue, slowly almost imperceptibly to most Americans, though not to the world at large. In the past decade there has been also increasing participation of China and India in the global economy which has added towards globalisation. Competitive Drivers is the fourth factor that has contributed towards globalisation. Analysts hold that globalisation has a multi-causal dynamic involving the interrelation of several forces such as growth of global networks making countries interdependent in particular industries that they are becoming universally centred rather than nationally centred. For instance, in UK the personal savings of its citizen are now internationally diversified, making them less dependent upon the future success of Britain. Instead, the UK citizens are amassing shares in the developing countries. Finally, it can be said that today no country can remain in isolation and has to take part in the global economy where people from all countries will become more integrated and aware of common interests and shared humanity. 2. How globalization is influencing the business culture? (10) Culture and globalisation are two different concepts. According to David (2002), from the culture point of view, globalisation is the process of harmonizing different culture and beliefs. It can also be said that cultural globalisation have accelerated again late in this century, after almost 50 years of regression. More and more, countries are now integrated into a single global marketplace through trade, finance, production, and a dense web of international treaties and institutions. Globalization is a sword with two blades for the business culture and this can be discussed as follows. Some critics argue that globalization really means Americanization as more people around the world are exposed to the American culture and lifestyle in the food they eat, the stores they shop, and television shows and movies they watch, the more they lose their individual cultural identities. Moreover, Mauritian teens watch TV series Hannah Motana and ask their parents for westernized clothes and schools bags of pictures of Hannah Montana. Some consider such imported culture a danger, since it may replace the local culture, causing reduction in diversity. Globalisation is also influencing schools. Schools work on culture to improve the sociological bases in agreement with the technological advancement. Therefore there has been an obvious move from lecture-based activities towards more student-centred activities as teaching and learning styles are changing. Under such a circumstance, schools need to go for the cooperative, collaborative, participatory, integrative and inclusive processes and approaches of learning and school organisation. For instance, in Mauritius our children have to attain standard of knowledge, skills and competence as is the case in leading countries of the world so that they are able to keep pace in the globalised economy. At Primary and secondary level, new textbooks have been designed so that learners are aware of the changes in the world. Besides, changes have been made in the primary books itself as more emphasis has been put on ICT and tourism sectors rather than agricultural sectors. Furthermore, cultural products with widely recognized icons are shared globally. For example, American companies like Mc Donalds are very flexible and adapt to different cultures as its menu in Bombay and Delhi do not have beef in it. Worldwide fads and pop culture such as Pokà ©mon, Sudoku, Numa Numa, Origami, Idol series, YouTube, Orkut, Facebook, and MySpace are accessible to all those who have Internet or Television around the world. It is also subjective to say that globalization is bad, or vice versa. For one thing, it helped to highlight a nations culture, draw on the strong points of other cultures and contribute the cultural diversity in the business world. It can also be said that it is because of globalisation that consumption in the world has increased exponentially which requires an infinite number of resources. Since consumption demands exceed what the earth is able to restore, very soon the earth would be too small to meet the basic needs. Governments and businesses talk so much about safeguarding, saving the environment; and at the same time, invent, develop and produce the very things that destroy the environment. Ultimately it can be said that up to now globalisation has helped the business sector more than the people. Only the capitalists acquire the wealth generated by globalization whereas the mass populations have to work harder. With globalisation, teenagers tend to neglect their culture and education to concentrate on the new register globalisation has brought along through media as media persuade them to consume some products they do not really need to succeed in life 3. According to you what are the impact of globalization on the Mauritian Economy. According to the Financial Times Special Report March 2009, Mauritius enjoys the second most improved economy over the past years. Mauritius has also one of the highest standards of living in Africa. Globalisation has opened the door to many benefits for the Mauritian Economy. It has promoted open societies and open economies and encouraged a freer exchange of goods, ideas and knowledge, create employment, have more quality goods but on the other hand, economic performance has also suffered, resulting from its loss of preferential access to the EU sugar and textile markets. Globalisation is a mixed blessing for the Mauritian Economy. Benefits of the impact of globalisation on the Mauritian Economy can be listed as follows: Create Employment Large investment of foreign capital has created job opportunities in the IT/BPO sector that has benefitted unemployed persons. Even unskilled persons have been able to get gainful employment. Furthermore, the number of companies in the IT/BPO sector has increased from less than 100 in 2004 to over 400 in 2010 with the industry employing around 18,000 professionals from world over in Mauritius. In the past four years, its IT/BPO industry has sustained an annual growth rate of 25 percent and the sector has generated revenues of 5.7 percent of GDP, according to Board of Investment, Mauritius. In the global competitiveness Index 2008-09 of World Economic Forum, Mauritius is ranked 57th in the list of 134 nations.  Another sector which has benefited from globalisation in Mauritius is the tourism sector. About 17,111 people are employed in the tourism sector, 65 percent of these in the hotel industry in February 2010. The forecast tourist arrival in 2015 is 2 million which eventually wil l create more employment for Mauritian people. Improvement in living Standard With lifting of quantity restrictions on imports and reduction in import duties, Mauritian customers are getting quality goods at reasonable prices. One example is the Chinese electronic goods- which are both better quality and low priced, have flooded the Mauritian markets. The availability of imported quality goods at low rates has lead to improvement of living standards of Mauritian people. Even common people are enjoying goods and services that were beyond their reach earlier. Political Politically, globalisation has brought Mauritius with more nations into the decision-making process on international issues. For instance, Mauritius is a member of different international organizations namely the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and World Trade Organisation (WTO). This has led to better understanding of philosophies by people of different cultures. Furthermore, there are diplomatic ties between Mauritius and European countries, African countries, India and China. For instance, political ties between China and Mauritius date back to 1972. In his recent visit to Mauritius the prime minister of China has signed an economic and trade co-operation agreement with Mauritius worth about $9 million, including a $6 million grant and $3 million interest-free loan. The two governments are relying on this promising trend to further strengthen the ties in cultural exchange, education and tourism between the two countries. The Mauritian government paired up with the Chinese government invests in the construction of commercial, residential and leisure facilities in order to become an international center with a global expatriate population similar to countries such as Dubai, Malta and Singapore. The Shanxi Tianli Enterprises business park the is the largest ever injection of foreign cash into Mauritius that is around $750 millions. Given the problems in other areas of the economy, this project could partly contribute either directly or indirectly to reduction of the unemployment problem and could also generate economic growth. Drawbacks of the impact of globalization on the Mauritian Economy can be listed as follows: Weak labor unions The surplus in cheap labour together with an ever growing number of companies in transition has caused a weakening of labour unions in Textile factories in Mauritius. Unions in Mauritius do not have the same value as their membership begins to decline. As a result unions hold less power over Textile companies that are able to easily replace Mauritian workers with Bangladeshi or Chinese workers, often for lower wages, and have the option to not offer unionised jobs anymore. Even large companies are employing Indian software engineers on contract basis than local professionals due to lower costs. Interestingly, Mauritius has been making intensive use of imported labour from China and India. The number of foreigners working in large establishments in Mauritius has been increasing continuously since 1990. More consumption than saving With globalisation, the world of international business has progressed at a fast pace and a new standard has been created. But foreign companies often employ unfair means to get hold over the market. They offer better bargains, gifts, and spend huge sums of advertisement and publicity. Wide advertising of consumer goods, together with easy loan facilities encourage Mauritian people to spend rather than saving their money. Furthermore, markets for automobiles and computer systems are increasing drastically over the past decades. With finance companies ready to offer soft loans, Mauritian people are buying such goods not because of any real need but only as a status symbol. It can be said that Mauritian people are leading a materialistic lifestyle and see consumption as the path to prosperity. For instance, the savings had fallen to 18.3% in 2009 from 22.7% in 2008 and this has cause concern for the GDP growth as well as for the inflation rate. Deficit in Balance of Payments Besides Mauritius is facing a deficit in its current accounts in the balance of payment as published by the Bank of Mauritius fiscal year 2007-08. Mauritius are importing more goods and services from Asian countries rather than exporting. Sugar production averages 650,000 per year and was exported to the European Union at preferential rates through the ACP/EU Sugar protocol and Special Preferential Sugar (SPS). However, the EU has decided to remove the preferential rates in 2008. This cut had translated into lower earnings of approximately 4 billion rupees. Mauritian sugar producers are finding it difficult to compete on the international market because their production costs are much higher than the world market price. In fact their cost of production is twice that of the most efficient ACP suppliers, and even higher when compared to Brazilian prices. Coupled with the above the elimination in December 2004 of the global quotas on clothing under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement has expose d the local textile sector to competition from other exporting countries, including those in Asia and South America as they are producing at lower costs. Conclusion To conclude we can say, the long-term challenges facing Mauritian economy due to globalization are daunting. The local agricultural and manufacturing industries are lagging behind and there is a fear that globalisation may one day wipe out the sectors. Thus, Mauritius may become dependent on foreign countries.

Little Egypt Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Little Egypt There is a place where not far from my hometown, which, since my childhood, still holds the secrets to life. It was a place where we were free. Free to do whatever we wanted to do, say whatever we wanted to say, it was our place, our river. It was a simple place, no paved or asphalt roads for the commotion of busy traffic, no tall buildings to block out the sunlight, no sense of time to feel rushed or anxious, no effects from the outside world. It was a beach on the coast of Lake Sakakawea called â€Å"Little Egypt.† I grew up on a small farm just east of Williston, ND, which is located on the far western side of the state. This area of North Dakota is well-known for its beautiful badlands and rolling hills of buffalo grass. Most popular, is the great Lake Sakakawea with its luscious landscapes and sandy beaches of plenty. Recreational areas around the lake are unlimited and always welcoming. The lake was named after the Shoshone Indian woman who had aided the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark of 1805. The purpose of the expedition was to map the unknown area of the Missouri River and find a possible water route for trade and travel to the Pacific Ocean. Soon settlements were constructed within the valleys of the Missouri River. â€Å"Energy sources beginning with hydropower, and later lignite fired generating plants, came into being in the 1940’s and began with the federal government’s construction of Garrison Dam on the ‘Big Bend’ of the Missouri† . The length of the dam expanding over 2 miles had multiple purposes. Farmers downstream were provided with flood protection, the Lake of Sakakawea was formed providing many recreational purposes f... ... a little tired from the events of the day, but we would always leave Little Egypt fulfilled. It never really had to be the sandy beaches at Little Egypt, it was just being together with my two best friends. That was all that mattered. Time stood still when we were together, ten minutes for us three was two hours for the rest of the world. Where did all the time go, I’m not really sure. I am sure that those days at the Little Egypt with Leslie, Becca, and my brothers were some of the best days of my life. Looking at our society and my busy life filled with tests, deadlines, work schedules, and demands for my time coming at me from every direction, I almost with I could go back to that place where time and concerns for the outside world were of little or no consequence. How I love to remember, to relive the memories of my adolescence. My world was perfect then.

Domestic Violence and Abuse in Australia :: Violence Against Women Essays

Domestic violence is a significant social issue that has a major impact upon the health of women in society. Discuss this statement and identify the factors that may contribute to domestic violence. Domestic violence is known by many names including spouse abuse, domestic abuse, domestic assault, battering, partner abuse, marital strife, marital dispute, wife beating, marital discord, woman abuse, dysfunctional relationship, intimate fighting, male beating and so on. McCue (1995) maintains that it is commonly accepted by legal professionals as "the emotional, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse perpetrated against a person by that person's spouse, former spouse, partner, former partner or by the other parent of a minor child" (although several other forms of domestic violence have become increasingly apparent in today's society). Whatever name is used to refer to it, however, domestic violence is a very grave and difficult problem faced by Australian society. Although domestic violence can include the abuse of parents, children, siblings and other relatives, it predominantly involves violence against sexual partners with women being the most common victims and men being the 'aggressors' (Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce 1991). It is inadequate to view domestic violence as an aspect of the normal interpersonal conflict which takes place in most families. According to McCue (1995), many families experience conflict, but not all male members of families inevitably resort to violence. It is not the fact of family disputes or marital conflict that generate or characterize violence in the home. Violence occurs when one person assumes the right to dominate over the other and decides to use violence or abuse as a means of ensuring that domination (Family Violence Professional Education Taskforce 1991). Although all forms of domestic violence are pressing issues of equal importance, this essay is more specifically directed at spouse abuse and aims to delve deeper into the issue of domestic violence by examining its causes with respect to the socioeconomic status of the particular family and its effects upon women in Australian society. The FACS (Family and Community Services) booklet (1995), defines domestic violence as follows: 'when a woman suffers persistent physical, verbal, economic or social abuse from her partner with the result that she suffers a sustained emotional and, or psychological effect.' Domestic violence is the most common form of assault in Australia today. However, it remains a hidden problem because it occurs within the privacy of the home and those involved are usually reluctant to speak out (Healey 1993).

Relation of Group Performance to Age

Journal of Applied Psychology 2008, Vol. 93, No. 2, 392– 423 Copyright 2008 by the American Psychological Association 0021-9010/08/$12. 00 DOI: 10. 1037/0021-9010. 93. 2. 392 The Relationship of Age to Ten Dimensions of Job Performance Thomas W. H. Ng The University of Hong Kong Daniel C. Feldman The University of Georgia Previous reviews of the literature on the relationship between age and job performance have largely focused on core task performance but have paid much less attention to other job behaviors that also contribute to productivity.The current study provides an expanded meta-analysis on the relationship between age and job performance that includes 10 dimensions of job performance: core task performance, creativity, performance in training programs, organizational citizenship behaviors, safety performance, general counterproductive work behaviors, workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism. Results show that although age was largely unrelated to core task performance, creativity, and performance in training programs, it demonstrated stronger relationships with the other 7 performance dimensions.Results also highlight that the relationships of age with core task performance and with counterproductive work behaviors are curvilinear in nature and that several sample characteristics and data collection characteristics moderate age–performance relationships. The article concludes with a discussion of key research design issues that may further knowledge about the age–performance relationship in the future. Keywords: age, aging, older workers, job performance, meta-analysisAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of the American workforce has been increasing over the last 30 years—35 years old in 1980, 37 years old in 1990, 39 years old in 2000, and 41 years old in 2006. This trend is also evident worldwide. For instance, International Labor Organization (2005) statistics indi cate that young adults between the ages of 20 and 24 were the largest segment of the working population in 1980. However, by 1990 the 30 –34 age group was the largest segment of the working population, and today the largest segment of the world’s working population is the age 40 – 44 cohort.Older workers are becoming an increasingly important concern for organizations for reasons beyond their sheer numbers. The shift to an older workforce has caused many organizations to spend more money on succession planning, pension benefits, health insurance, and medical benefits (Beehr & Bowling, 2002; Paul & Townsend, 1993). In addition, numerous organizations have concerns (and/or stereotypes) that older workers may exhibit lower productivity (Avolio & Waldman, 1994; Greller & Simpson, 1999; Hassell & Perrewe, 1995; Lawrence, 1996).For instance, compared with younger workers, older workers are stereotyped as being less physically capable, as more likely to have problems g etting along with coworkers, as preferring to invest more time in their families than in their jobs (Fung, Lai, & Ng, 2001; Paul & Townsend, 1993), as less technologically savvy, and as less willing to adapt quickly in volatile environments (Isaksson & Johansson, 2000; Riolli-Saltzman & Luthans, 2001). Thomas W. H.Ng, School of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; Daniel C. Feldman, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Thomas W. H. Ng, School of Business and Economics, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email  protected] hku. hk 392 Previous research has produced mixed results, however, regarding the precise relationship between age and job performance.In the three most-cited quantitative reviews of this literature, one found a moderate-sized positive relationship between age and performance (Waldman & Avolio, 1986), one found that age was largely unrelated to performance (McEvoy & Cascio, 1989), and the third found that the age–performance relationship took an inverted-U shape (Sturman, 2003). We believe that one reason for these mixed results is that much of the previous research on the age–performance relationship has focused rather narrowly on the performance of core task activities.As a result, past research has not closely examined the broad spectrum of behaviors that comprise â€Å"job performance† and the multiple ways in which age is related to work effectiveness. Over the past 2 decades, organizational researchers have been examining numerous other job-related behaviors that also legitimately fall under the rubric of job performance. These include the following: creativity, performance in training programs, organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), safety performance, counterproductive work behaviors, on-the-job substance use, workplace aggression, tardiness, and absence.Although mos t of these job behaviors could not be called core task activities per se (Organ, 1988), they do significantly affect organizational productivity by shaping the organizational cultures and environments in which core task performance takes place (Borman & Motowidlo, 1997). As such, examining a broader and more inclusive set of job performance measures may help clarify the complex relationship between age and performance. Mixed results on the age–performance relationship may also be partially attributable to the differing nature of research samples and data collection characteristics (Lawrence, 1996; S.R. Rhodes, 1983). For instance, research samples may vary in terms of the types of jobs workers perform, and as such, results may vary depending upon which skills older workers are required to utilize. AGE AND JOB PERFORMANCE 393 Similarly, because the nature of the work environment has changed substantially over the past 30 years, studies on the age–performance relationshi p conducted in the 1970s may have yielded very different results than studies conducted more recently. In addition, there may be differences in results depending upon whether data were collected cross-sectionally or longitudinally.For example, the effect of intraindividual aging on performance observed in longitudinal studies may be smaller in magnitude than the effect of broad age group differences observed in cross-sectional studies at any one point in time. Thus, examining the potential moderating effects of sample and data collection characteristics is not only important for research methodology purposes but for theoretical and practical reasons too. It allows us to identify the conditions under which age is likely to have positive, zero, or negative associations with various components of job performance.In the following section of the article, then, we briefly address some definitional issues, consider the results of previous quantitative reviews of the age–performance relationship, and discuss how the current study extends these previous reviews. Next, we present the results of an extended meta-analysis and provide evidence on the relationships between age and 10 performance dimensions. In the subsequent section, we examine the moderating effects of sample and data collection characteristics and also explore potential curvilinear relationships between age and performance dimensions.Finally, in the concluding section, we discuss the implications of our findings for future research and the management of older workers. Theoretical Background Definitional Issues Age versus aging. Age is a continuous variable and is used as such in our analyses. When we refer to age differences, we are referring to group-level differences between individuals at one age and individuals at another age. It is important to note here that, similar to previous quantitative reviews in this area of research (McEvoy & Cascio, 1989; Waldman & Avolio, 1986), the goal of the curr ent meta-analysis is not to isolate the effects of aging per se.That is, we are not directly examining the intraindividual aging process itself and how it relates to job performance. Instead, our goal is to examine the relationships between age and job performance dimensions across different cohorts and research contexts. For instance, is age, on average, related to job performance after taking into consideration different sample characteristics and research conditions? Is the relationship between age and core task performance stronger or weaker than the relationship between age and citizenship behavior? These are the kinds of questions we attempt to address here.Older workers. Who is considered an â€Å"older worker† has been debated in the literature for quite some time. In the retirement literature, older workers are often identified by having reached retirement age or by years until reaching retirement age (Beehr, 1986; Doeringer, 1990). Moreover, as Cleveland and Shore ( 1992) have noted, age can be defined in terms of an employee’s chronological age, the employee’s subjective age (the individual’s self-perception of age), the employee’s social age (others’ perceptions of the employee’s age), and the employee’s relative age (the egree to which the individual is older than others in the work group). Thus, the meaning of â€Å"old† depends, to some extent, on the demographic profiles of an organization or occupation (Shore, Cleveland, & Goldberg, 2003). Another definition that is frequently used in this literature is the legal definition of â€Å"older worker† provided by the U. S. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). This act prohibits discrimination against workers who are 40 years old or above.Although our data analyses use continuous measures of age wherever possible, in our discussion of â€Å"older workers† in the text, we generally rely on the ADEA definition for a variety of reasons. First, previous meta-analyses of age in the applied psychology literature have also utilized 40 years old as the cutoff age (Thornton & Dumke, 2005). Second, unlike authors in disciplines like gerontology and sociology (e. g. , Lindenberger & Baltes, 1997) who use high cutoff ages to make fine distinctions between the â€Å"young elderly† and â€Å"old elderly† (e. g. under and over age 85), scholars in the organizational sciences are particularly attuned to the fact that the age range in the active workforce is typically 16 – 65 years old (International Labor Organization, 2005). Thus, at least in terms of making a dichotomous split in the workforce, 40 years old appears to be an acceptable cutoff to distinguish between younger and older workers. Third, careers researchers have observed that age 40 typically marks the end of career establishment stage and the start of career maintenance stage (Super, 1980).As such, the chronological ag e of 40 often represents a major transition in career stages as well. Finally, defining older workers as 40 or above has some practical benefits because it directly aligns research findings regarding older workers to management implications regarding ADEA compliance in hiring, termination, performance evaluation, and promotion decisions. Undoubtedly over time, the definition of â€Å"older worker† will change. For example, the amendment of ADEA (by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991) to prohibit mandatory retirement ages may ultimately push back the age t which people retire (although labor statistics have not indicated any increases in retirement age as of yet). Even more likely, gains in life expectancy will change our conceptions of who is â€Å"middle-aged† and who is â€Å"old. † For our current purposes, though, the definition of older workers as being age 40 or older is consistent with both previous research and legal definitions and has the benefit of being â€Å"objectively† determined and verifiable across researchers and contexts. Previous Reviews of the Age–Performance RelationshipThree major quantitative reviews of this literature have been published in the last 25 years. Waldman and Avolio’s (1986) review is the earliest meta-analysis in this area. The authors identified 13 empirical studies containing 40 samples. They found that age was positively related to productivity measures of job performance (. 27). On the other hand, age was weakly but negatively related to supervisor ratings of job performance ( . 14). Furthermore, Waldman and Avolio found that the relationship between age and supervisor-rated job performance was stronger for nonprofessionals ( . 8) than for professionals ( . 05). Peer ratings of job performance were related to age at . 10. In sum, Waldman and Avolio (1986) illustrated that the sign of the relationship between age and task performan ce varies depend- 394 NG AND FELDMAN ing upon which measure of performance is being utilized, who does the performance ratings, and what kinds of jobs workers hold. To the extent that there is a drawback to this meta-analysis, it is the lack of availability of a large number of studies at that time.Meta-analyses that include too few cumulative studies may contain second-order sampling errors (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990). Addressing this drawback, McEvoy and Cascio (1989) identified 65 empirical studies (containing 96 samples) conducted on the relationship between age and performance. Across these 96 samples, the authors found that the mean correlation between age and job performance was quite low (. 06) and that the confidence intervals contained the value of zero. Unlike Waldman and Avolio (1986), McEvoy and Cascio found that type of performance rating (productivity vs. upervisory rating) and job type (professional vs. nonprofessional) did not moderate the relationship between age and performance. The different results observed in these two meta-analyses may be attributable to the different sets of studies the researchers considered, as McEvoy and Cascio located a wider range of empirical studies than Waldman and Avolio had included. Sturman’s (2003) meta-analysis hypothesized that the relationships of performance with three age-related variables (chronological age, job experience, and organizational tenure) were in the form of an inverted-U shape.With respect to the age–performance relationship, Sturman found that the corrected effect size across 115 empirical studies was . 03. Although this effect size is very small, he did find that this relationship was indeed an inverted-U shape. That is, age was positively related to job performance when age was low but was negatively related to job performance when age was high ( 49 years old). Below, we highlight the main evidence supporting these three different perspectives on the age–performance re lationship.Whereas earlier research on older workers largely focused on the negative relationship between age and task performance (S. R. Rhodes, 1983), more recently researchers have been examining the ways in which age can facilitate task performance or, at the minimum, not adversely affect it (Ebner, Freund, & Baltes, 2006; Kanfer & Ackerman, 2004). As a result, we have a much richer picture now of how age is positively or negatively related to core task performance but not as complete a picture of how age relates to a broad spectrum of other performance measures. unctions, that is, monitoring and controlling attention, suppressing irrelevant information, utilizing analytical reasoning, and updating information in working memory. Older individuals were found to perform much more poorly on this test battery than their younger counterparts. In general, M. G. Rhodes’s results suggest that older individuals may have more difficulties with complex tasks that require a high leve l of executive functioning. Indeed, there is also cumulative empirical evidence to indicate that older individuals do not do as well as younger individuals when performing multiple complex tasks simultaneously (Verhaeghen, Steitz,Sliwinski, & Cerella, 2003). Another area in which age appears to have negative association with performance is memory capacity. Previous meta-analyses have demonstrated a significant negative relationship between age and memory. For instance, older adults were found to have poorer recognition and recall memory than younger adults (La Voie & Light, 1994; Spencer & Raz, 1995; Verhaeghen, Marcoen, & Goosens, 1993). Moreover, as a result of these memory differences, employees are less likely to trust the memories of older coworkers.In an experimental study of attribution theory, for example, Erber and Danker (1995) found that participants expected memory-related performance problems of older workers to continue longer than those of younger workers and were les s likely to recommend training when â€Å"problem† employees were older. Above and beyond these differences in aptitudes and short-term memory, researchers have also found that older individuals may have less intense work motivation than their younger colleagues (S. R. Rhodes, 1983). For instance, Ebner et al. 2006) found that younger individuals are more likely to frame their goal orientations in terms of striving for gains (e. g. , I want to improve my fitness), whereas older individuals are more likely to frame their goal orientation around maintaining the status quo or preventing loss (e. g. , I do not want my fitness to deteriorate). These changes in motivation may also be linked to lower productivity on the job. Evidence Supporting Positive or Neutral Relationships of Age With Performance The above literature paints a rather pessimistic view of the relationship of age with job performance.Nonetheless, a strong case can also be made that older workers may exhibit at leas t the same, if not greater, job performance as their younger colleagues (Greller & Simpson, 1999). The rationale most frequently cited to support this case is that older workers substitute lengthy job experience and greater general expertise for speed of information acquisition and information recall. This wisdom and expertise, accumulated over the course of a career, may be sufficient to compensate for productivity losses due to any changes in cognitive and physical abilities (Baltes, Staudinger, Maercker, & Smith, 1995).Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) have emphasized that older age is often accompanied by increases in â€Å"crystallized† intelligence (experiential knowledge). Indeed, experimental evidence provides robust support for Kanfer and Ackerman’s assertion. For instance, Allen, Lien, Murphy, Sanders, and McCann (2002) found that older participants could multitask as effectively as younger participants, albeit at a slower pace. Artistico, Cervone, and Pezzuti (2003 ) found that older adults’ performance in solving problems exceeded that of younger adults when the problems were familiarEvidence Supporting Negative Relationships of Age With Performance Numerous studies have found support for the proposition that age negatively relates to cognitive functioning. For instance, in a large sample of 20,000 American workers across multiple occupational groups, Avolio and Waldman (1994) found that age was negatively related to several types of aptitudes, including general intelligence, verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude, spatial aptitude, form perception, clerical perception, motor coordination, finger dexterity, and manual dexterity.Thus, for jobs in which general cognitive abilities, visual-perceptual abilities, and psychomotor abilities are important components for superior job performance, Avolio and Waldman have suggested that age is negatively related to job performance. Furthermore, M. G. Rhodes (2004) found that there was a strong and s ignificant difference between older and younger adults in performance on a test battery measuring individuals’ executive AGE AND JOB PERFORMANCE 395 and representative of tasks frequently encountered.ColoniaWillner (1998) found that the best performing older employees had higher levels of tacit knowledge than their younger employees. Studies using different research designs have also found that professional expertise, developed over years of practice and experience, can attenuate potential negative relationships between age and performance dimensions (Hess & Auman, 2001; Lindenberger, Kliegl, & Baltes, 1992; Morrow, Leirer, Altieri, & Fitzsimmons, 1994; Thornton & Dumke, 2005; Wilson, Li, Bienias, & Bennett, 2006).Taken together, the research described above suggests that, after a slower pace of initial learning, older workers can reach the same performance levels as those of their younger colleagues and can multitask effectively. Moreover, when older workers are asked to sol ve familiar problems, higher self-efficacy beliefs are activated, and these beliefs can accelerate performance. Thus, although fluid intelligence, short-term working memory, and cognitive speed may decrease with age, deductive reasoning and professional expertise are likely to increase (Masunaga & Horn, 2001).Moreover, increased wisdom and judgment gained over years of service may increase older workers’ effectiveness in contextual performance activities as well. Creativity Creativity is the extent to which employees generate new and useful ideas for improving organizational productivity (Anderson, De Dreu, & Nijstad, 2004). For many jobs, creativity might be considered as a separate element of job performance, particularly when creativity relates to organizational adaptability and flexibility.For instance, some researchers have emphasized the importance of employees’ creativity as a critical component of an organization’s ability to adapt to rapidly changing bu siness environments (A. De Jonge & De Ruyter, 2004; Johnson, 2001). Consistent with this view of creativity as a key element of job effectiveness, a major study of performance evaluation systems found that some organizations evaluated employees on their innovativeness as well as on their core task performance (Welbourne, Johnson, & Erez, 1998). Performance in Training ProgramsOlder workers are often stereotyped as being somewhat resistant to change and slow in learning new material. For this reason, researchers have examined older workers’ performance in training programs as an element of job effectiveness (Martocchio, 1994). As Tracey, Tannenbaum, and Michael (1995) have suggested, organizations typically provide training to employees on the basis of the assumption that the short-run costs of the design and execution of training can be recouped through employees’ increased productivity in the long run.However, if employees do not perform well in training programs, it is highly unlikely that they will transfer that new knowledge to real work settings. Furthermore, when employees fail to learn in training programs, the expenses associated with training are wasted as well (Winfred, Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003). Expanding the Domain of the Performance Construct Previous reviews of the age–performance relationship have primarily focused on the performance of core tasks.According to Borman and Motowidlo (1997), core task performance is concerned with â€Å"the effectiveness with which job incumbents perform activities that contribute to the organization’s technical core† (p. 99). In addition to core task performance, however, we also examine nine other performance dimensions that comprise the two broad categories of job behaviors identified by Hunt (1996) as independent of the core job role, namely, citizenship behaviors and minimum performance behaviors.Citizenship behaviors are those extra behaviors engaged in by employees, ove r and above their core task requirements, that actively promote and strengthen the organization’s effectiveness (Organ, 1988). In this study, the first category is represented by such dimensions as employee creativity, performance in training programs, citizenship behaviors geared to different beneficiaries, and safety performance. In contrast, minimum performance behaviors are those that employees have to engage in (like attending work) or refrain from engaging in (like theft) to keep their jobs (Hunt, 1996).This second category is represented by such dimensions as general counterproductive work behaviors, workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism. Conceptually, there are certainly other behavioral dimensions that could be included under these two categories. For example, working long hours and demonstrating effective leadership are examples of additional citizenship behaviors that might be considered, whereas refraining from sexual harassmen t and manipulating stock prices are additional examples of minimum performance variables that could be considered.Empirically, however, a metaanalysis is constrained by the number of previous studies conducted on a specific relationship, and here we have included the nine dimensions identified above as the ones on which the most empirical studies are available. We discuss each of these additional nine dimensions of job performance in more detail below. OCBs Researchers have documented the importance of OCB for organizational functioning over the last 2 decades (LePine, Erez, & Johnson, 2002; Organ, 1988).OCBs (sometimes called prosocial behaviors or extrarole behaviors) are not job-specific but rather support the broader organizational environment in which core performance takes place (Motowidlo & Van Scotter, 1994; Organ, 1988). Examples of OCB are compliance with organizational norms, not complaining about trivial matters, and helping coworkers. Employees’ aggregated OCBs f requently benefit group, unit, and organizational productivity (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Paine, & Bachrach, 2000). Safety PerformanceSafety performance is the extent to which employees comply with safety rules and demonstrate safe behaviors in the workplace (Parker, Axtell, & Turner, 2001). This performance dimension is particularly important in industries that require employee contact with hazardous materials, operation of heavy machinery, and extensive highway driving (Clarke & Robertson, 2005). Poor safety performance can have two distinct negative consequences for firms’ effectiveness. At the individual level, inattention to safety behaviors contributes to employee injuries; these injuries result in lower worker productivity and time lost from work.At the orga- 396 NG AND FELDMAN nizational level, poor safety practices contribute to potentially costly litigation. These claims create substantial financial burdens for firms in the event of serious employee accidents, dismember ments, and death (Hofmann & Morgeson, 1999). Both directly and indirectly, then, employee safety behaviors are an important component of job performance. General Counterproductive Work Behaviors Whereas research investigating OCB concentrates on what workers can do to romote smooth organizational functioning, research on workplace deviance examines how the lack of counterproductive work behaviors is essential to maintaining smooth organizational functioning (Neuman & Baron, 1998). Counterproductive work behaviors are intentional employee acts that harm organizations’ legitimate business interests (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Examples of counterproductive work behaviors include working on personal matters instead of assigned tasks, neglecting supervisors’ instructions, stealing property, starting or repeating rumors and gossip, and using unprofessional language.It is easy to see the multiple ways in which these counterproductive work behaviors can reduce both individual and group performance. Moreover, Dalal (2005) found that employees who frequently engaged in counterproductive work behaviors were also less likely to demonstrate OCBs. son, 2000; Martocchio, 1989). Researchers have documented numerous negative effects of employee absence on organizational productivity (Harrison & Martocchio, 1998). When employees are absent from work, the completion of their own work is slowed down.Coworkers are often called upon to cover for absent employees, thereby distracting them from completing their own assignments. In cases in which task interdependence among a group of workers is high, the whole team’s progress may be affected when an employee is chronically absent or absent for extended periods of time. As with tardiness, frequent absences can also adversely affect organizational productivity by creating an â€Å"absence culture† in which more and more employees consider being absent acceptable (rather than counterproductive) behavior (Johns & Xie, 1998).Summary. Before we can draw strong conclusions about the relationship of age to job performance, then, it is important to consider citizenship behaviors and minimum performance behaviors in addition to core task performance. In light of the above literature review, we include 10 dimensions of job performance in the current meta-analysis: core task performance, creativity, performance in training programs, OCB, safety performance, general counterproductive work behaviors, workplace aggression, on-thejob substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism.From this point on, we use the phrase â€Å"job performance† to represent these 10 dimensions collectively. Specific Counterproductive Work Behaviors In addition to general counterproductive work behaviors, four specific forms of counterproductive work behavior have been discussed separately and extensively in the literature. We also examine these four specific counterproductive work behaviors— workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism—in the present meta-analysis. Workplace aggression.Workplace aggression consists of employees’ efforts to harm others with whom they work, harm the reputation of their current employers, or harm former colleagues and previous employers (Lapierre, Spector, & Leck, 2005). Acts of workplace aggression can cause bodily harm to employees, pose physical danger for customers, create public relations crises, and harm the business reputation of the firm as a whole. On-the-job substance use. On-the-job substance use involves drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs at work or during work time (Frone, 2003).Researchers have found that on-the-job substance use hampers individuals’ decision-making abilities; increases the frequency of dysfunctional job behaviors; and puts coworkers, supervisors, and customers at increased risk of injury (Lehman & Simpson, 1992). Tardiness. Tardiness is lateness for work (Blau, 1994; Koslo wsky, Sagie, Krausz, & Singer, 1997). Employee tardiness is likely to create both direct financial costs to organizations (e. g. , decreased time on productive activities) and indirect financial costs (e. g. , time lost by coworkers waiting for late colleagues. . Left unchecked, numerous cases of tardiness can lead to a â€Å"culture of tardiness† (Koslowsky et al. , 1997) in which employees come to see being late as an acceptable behavior rather than as a deviant one. Absenteeism. Skipping work has also been conceptualized as a form of employee counterproductive behavior (Bennett & Robin- Moderator Relationships Another way in which the present study contributes to the literature is by investigating how different sample and design characteristics moderate the relationship between age and job performance.Many of these characteristics have been discussed in the literature as variables that can affect age–performance relationships (Lawrence, 1996; S. R. Rhodes, 1983; Sho re et al. , 2003; Sturman, 2003) and as potential explanations for inconsistent research findings in the area. Sample Characteristics In this study, we examine the potential moderating effects of the average age, age dispersion, job tenure, and organizational tenure of research samples.Testing for average sample age as a moderator essentially examines whether the form of the relationship between age and performance is linear or curvilinear (see Sturman, 2003). Testing the moderating role of age dispersion associated with the sample (operationalized as the standard deviation of age in the sample) assesses whether the age–performance relationship varies across samples with different degrees of age homogeneity. Testing for average job tenure and average organizational tenure examines whether the age–performance relationship varies across samples with different (average) tenures.In general, these four sample characteristics might influence authors’ definitions of â €Å"old† in a particular setting. We also examine the potential moderating effects of job complexity. The job complexity of the sample is important to consider here because it influences the extent to which the specific job skills required on jobs are associated with age-related performance problems. For the same reason, we also consider two related variables, namely, proportion of college degree holders and proportion of AGE AND JOB PERFORMANCE 397 managers in the sample.It is likely that older workers with more education or who hold managerial roles may have greater ability to substitute accumulated knowledge and judgment for precise technical skills. As such, the results of research on age–performance relationships may vary across samples with different mixes of college graduates and managers. In a more exploratory fashion, we also examine the effects of proportion of women and proportion of Caucasians in the sample. Gender and race have frequently been studied as i ndependent or control variables in previous research on aging, but here we consider their potential moderating effects instead.Examining these two â€Å"proportion† moderators assesses whether the age–performance relationship varies across samples with different proportions of women and Caucasians. of 1993 may have changed the ways in which organizations distinguish between â€Å"absence† and â€Å"leave† before and after that year. Similarly, the amended ADEA prohibits mandatory retirement ages, which might have changed the relationship between age and performance over time because of a potential change in the proportion of older workers in the labor force.Collectively, then, these changes may have affected the context in which older workers perform and thus the relationship of age to performance as well. Method Literature Search We performed a comprehensive search for those articles published during or before December 2006 that examined the relationship between age and job performance. Other published studies that did not aim at investigating this specific relationship but reported their effect sizes nonetheless were also included. We also searched for unpublished studies and dissertations to reduce the â€Å"file-drawer problem† (Rosenthal, 1979).We began our literature search by using the following keywords: age, job performance, task performance, productivity, creativity, innovation, training effectiveness, training performance, contextual performance, citizenship behavior, prosocial behavior, extrarole behavior, safety, injuries, accidents, counterproductive behavior, deviance, deviant behavior, aggression, aggressive behavior, violence, violent behavior, substance use, drinking, alcohol, drug, tardiness, lateness, absenteeism, absence, and job complexity.We searched in numerous research databases, including Dissertation Abstracts International, EBSCOHost, Emerald, Factiva, JSTOR, Oxford Journals, Proquest, PsycINFO, Sc ienceDirect, Sage Full-Text Collections, and several Wiley InterScience databases. Furthermore, the reference lists of recent meta-analyses that focused on criterion variables of interest were examined carefully to locate other relevant articles. These included, for instance, reference lists from meta-analyses on OCB (LePine et al. , 2002), absence (Martocchio, 1989), task performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001), work injuries (Clarke & Robertson, 2005), and ounterproductive work behavior (Dalal, 2005). Such metaanalyses contained comprehensive and current reference lists in their respective research fields. Four inclusion and exclusion criteria were set prior to the start of the article search. First, we included field studies in which the age–job performance relationship occurred naturally, whereas laboratory studies were excluded. It is much more difficult to gather measures on performance dimensions besides core task performance in experimental settings (e. g. , lateness and absence).In addition, we had some concern that core task performance observed in laboratory studies might be partially attributable to the strength and form of the experimental manipulations themselves. Second, studies that examined age or performance only at the team level or organization level were excluded because our focus in this research is on individual behavior rather than group-level performance. Third, to avoid double counting, we excluded those studies in which authors used the same data set and reported the same correlations as in their other published studies.Fourth, we included studies that involved four types of performance ratings: ratings by Data Collection Characteristics We examine the moderating effects of two data collection characteristics in particular: (a) whether data were collected longitudinally or cross-sectionally, and (b) the publication year of articles. Both these moderators address the role of time in the age–performance relati onship. Cross-sectional data collection allows researchers to examine the extent to which there are group-level age differences (between different age cohorts) in job performance across different samples and research contexts.In contrast, longitudinal data collection helps shed light on the extent to which intraindividual aging is related to job performance (Baltes, Schaie, & Nardi, 1971; Schaie & Hofer, 2001). Results may vary, then, depending upon how the data in a study were collected. For instance, the effect of intraindividual aging on performance may be subtle and gradual, but the differences in performance between broad age groups at one point in time can be quite large. Thus, we examine the distinction between cross-sectional and longitudinal data collection as a potential moderator here. It should be noted that to truly examine the effect of aging on erformance, it would be ideal to focus the meta-analysis on longitudinal studies alone. However, there are too few articles a vailable to conduct a meta-analysis on only longitudinal studies; in fact, only 12% of the articles on this topic have been longitudinal in nature. Further, even if we tried to examine only longitudinal studies, the time period examined in those studies does not exceed 5 years, and the average period of time examined in those studies is only about 1 year. Thus, these studies generally do not use long enough time spans to capture intraindividual aging either.Thus, our database here largely consists of cross-sectional studies, allowing us to get an overall picture of the strength of various age–performance links, considering the variation in the specific performance measures, sample characteristics, and data collection characteristics. We revisit the limitations of cross-sectional data collection in conducting research involving age in more detail later in the article. The year a particular study was published is used here as a rough proxy for the nature of the work environment at the time a study was conducted.For instance, the last 2 decades have seen increased reliance on career self-management (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996), which may have loosened workers’ attachment to long-time employers and increased workers’ willingness to change careers later in life. The introduction of the Family and Medical Leave Act 398 NG AND FELDMAN supervisors, ratings by others (peers, subordinates, and customers), self-ratings, and objective measures. This allowed us to examine the moderating role of sources of rating in the age–performance relationship.With the above search criteria, our search yielded a total of 380 empirical studies, which collectively contain 438 independent samples. Thirteen studies were unpublished dissertations. Of the studies, 14% were published before 1990, 30% of the studies were published between 1990 and 1999, and the remaining 56% were published between 2000 and 2006. The average age across all samples that provided age info rmation was 36. 6 years old (ranged between 17 and 59 years old with a standard deviation of 8. 8 years). The list of studies is provided in the Appendix. Measures of Key ConstructsCreativity. Previous studies have measured creativity either via self-ratings or ratings by others; we used these two categories in the meta-analysis as well. Sample items of typical Likert-scale measures of creativity include the following: â€Å"creating new ideas for improvements†; â€Å"searching out new working methods, techniques, or instruments†; and â€Å"generating original solutions to problems† (Janssen, 2001). It should be noted that we did not differentiate between creativity and innovation (Anderson et al. , 2004); both types of measures are included in our study.Performance in training programs. Here, we focused on studies that involved training of adults on tasks that have at least some relevance in organizational contexts. Furthermore, only studies that had an explici t training intervention and had measured posttraining performance, competence, or learning were included. Measures of training performance consisted of either ratings given by supervisors or performance on posttraining tests. Studies that assessed employees’ participation in computer usage training are representative of the kinds of research articles included in this meta-analysis (e. . , Martocchio, 1994). Other example studies include training programs that teach specific competences or subject-related knowledge (e. g. , law or health care). Although our decision to include only studies that measured posttraining performance gave us a consistent perspective on the effects of training on performance, as we discuss later, the resulting set of studies was likely overrepresented by technology training programs in which older workers might be less likely to excel. OCBs. We included two types of OCB in the meta-analysis.The first set of studies examined general OCBs and did not d ifferentiate among beneficiaries of those OCBs. The second set of studies examined OCBs geared to three specific beneficiaries: other people on the job, the employer organization as a whole, and the tasks themselves. These subtypes have been identified by previous researchers as reasonable groupings of behaviors in this domain (LePine et al. , 2002). According to LePine et al. (2002), examples of OCB directed to others are helping colleagues with their work and orienting newcomers.Examples of organization-directed OCB are compliance with organizational norms and not complaining about trivial matters. Examples of task-directed OCB are spending extra effort and persistence on the job and trying hard to improve personal and group performance. It should be noted, too, that within each of these three subtypes, we further differentiated self-ratings from ratings by others. Safety performance. With respect to the measurement of safety performance, three major indicators have frequently bee n used in previous research and were included in the present metaanalysis.First, some studies have measured the frequency of work injuries via archival industrial health records. For instance, Hofmann and Morgeson (1999) measured workplace injuries by using the company’s archival records of injuries or accidents that occurred in the previous 12-month period. Second, other studies have utilized self-report measures of frequency of work injuries. A third set of studies have measured self-reported levels of compliance with safety procedures and practices. A sample item from this kind of measure is â€Å"Occasionally I bend the safety rules when I know it’s safe to do so (reverse coded)† (Parker et al. 2001). General counterproductive work behaviors. Most studies have measured general counterproductive work behaviors without differentiating targets, that is, without specifying the target of the counterproductive behavior. A few studies have differentiated between co unterproductive work behaviors directed at specific others and those directed at the organization as a whole (e. g. , Liao, Joshi, & Chuang, 2004). However, because of the small number of studies making this distinction, the current meta-analysis did not differentiate between these two categories of studies.In those few studies that reported both interpersonal and organizational counterproductive work behaviors, we averaged the correlations to obtain an estimate of general counterproductive work behavior. Sample Likert items of measures of general counterproductive work behaviors include the following: â€Å"I keep important information away from my boss† and â€Å"I openly compromise with others but delay implementing the compromise until my own objectives are accomplished† (Duffy, Ganster, & Shaw, 1998). Here, too, we differentiated between self-ratings of counterproductive work behavior and ratings by others.Workplace aggression. As mentioned above, four specific ty pes of counterproductive work behaviors have frequently been measured in previous research on this topic, and therefore we examined these four specific types of counterproductive behavior in more depth. Measures of workplace aggression typically ask respondents to indicate the frequency of occurrence of aggressive behaviors, such as yelling, swearing at others, damaging others’ property, and fighting (Glomb & Liao, 2003). All the studies we located utilized self-reported measures.On-the-job substance use. These measures typically ask respondents to indicate the frequency of on-the-job use of alcohol or drugs (Frone, 2003). Here, too, all the studies identified utilized self-ratings. Tardiness. Tardiness is typically measured in two ways. In the first, employees are asked self-report questions like â€Å"How often are you late from work? (never to constantly)† (Hanisch & Hulin, 1990). In the second, archival measures of lateness are obtained directly from personnel reco rds (Conte & Jacobs, 2003).We included both self-report and archival measures of tardiness in the meta-analysis. Absenteeism. Absenteeism has been measured in three different ways in previous research. The first group of studies measure general absenteeism; these studies do not differentiate between when employees are absent because of sickness or for purely discretionary reasons (Xie & Johns, 2000). Other studies in this line of research measure either the number of days absent from work in a given period (absence duration) or the frequency of AGE AND JOB PERFORMANCE 99 absence spells in a given period (absence frequency). Because these indices are all closely related (Conte & Jacobs, 2003), they are aggregated together in the present meta-analysis. A second research stream includes studies that measure sickness absenteeism. As an example, J. De Jonge, Reuvers, Houtman, and Kompier (2000) computed sickness absence as the number of separate spells of sickness absence during 1 full c alendar year. Researchers have traditionally viewed absenteeism due to sickness as involuntary absence (Dalton & Todor, 1993).The third, and last, group of absence studies consists of those that measure nonsickness-related absenteeism. For instance, Vigoda (2001, p. 1499) asked respondents to report â€Å"their estimates of days missed work (during the previous year) for reasons other than sickness. † As another example, Deery, Erwin, and Iverson (1999) obtained personnel records of frequency of nonmedically certified absences during the prior 12-month period. In contrast to sickness-related absence, researchers have generally viewed nonsickness-related absence as an indicator of voluntary withdrawal behavior (Dalton & Todor, 1993).Meta-Analytical Procedures Hunter and Schmidt’s (1990) meta-analysis technique, which requires corrections for both measurement error and sampling error, was used. Because there is no theoretical reason to believe the measurement of age woul d contain measurement error, we followed the practice of previous researchers (Martocchio, 1989) and did not disattenuate the measurement of age in individual studies. On the other hand, the behavioral measures of job performance did require disattenuation to remove the influence of measurement errors.Disattenuation of core task performance. Some researchers have reasoned that it is more appropriate to use interrater reliability to correct for imperfect measurement when task performance is rated by others (i. e. , not by oneself; Judge et al. , 2001; Schmidt & Hunter, 1996; Viswesvaran, Ones, & Schmidt, 1996). In contrast, other researchers argue that measures of intrarater reliability (that is, alpha coefficients or internal consistency estimates) are more appropriate in this regard (Murphy & De Shon, 2000).In light of these different perspectives on disattentuation, we disattenuated the observed correlations for either imperfect intrarater reliability or imperfect interrater relia bility. We first corrected studies for the lack of perfect intrarater reliability in the measurement of core task performance. Because different studies may measure the same construct using different scales, this disattenuation process also adjusts for the different levels of measurement error contained in different scales (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990).This type of correction requires the use of alpha coefficients (i. e. , internal consistency estimates) reported in individual studies. If no alpha value was reported for a particular scale in a study, an average alpha value calculated from the rest of the studies using the same scale was taken as a substitute (Judge et al. , 2001). The above procedure for correction for imperfect intrarater reliability was performed on all self-report measures and on all measures provided by supervisors, peers, and customers.We corrected studies for imperfect interrater reliability when core task performance was measured via ratings by others (i. e. , not via self-reports). This type of correction required the use of interrater reliability estimates. Unfortunately, many studies included in the meta-analysis did not report these estimates. Therefore, following Judge et al. (2001), for studies that used supervisors as the rating source, we disattenuated the correlations using the metaanalytical estimate of the reliability of supervisor-rated job performance provided by Viswesvaran et al. (1996).For studies that used peers to rate job performance, we disattenuated the correlations using the meta-analytical estimate of the reliability of peer-rated job performance. Because there is a lack of research on interrater reliability associated with less frequently-used raters (i. e. , customers, subordinates, students, or spouses), in these cases we utilized as a proxy estimate the average of the meta-analytical estimate of the reliability of supervisor-rated performance and that of peerrated job performance. As noted earlier, several studies utilized objective measures of core task performance (e. g. quantity of output, sales volume, errors made). Although the notion of interrater and intrarater reliability does not apply to objective measures, it should be noted that these objective measures are still likely to contain some measurement error and might vary depending upon the job complexity of the sample (Sturman, Cheramie, & Cashen, 2005). Because studies seldom reported any kind of reliability estimates for objective measures of core task performance, as a substitute we adopted the meta-analytical estimate of the test–retest reliability of the objective measure of job performance provided by Sturman et al. 2005). Sturman et al. calculated two separate estimates of the reliability of objective task performance, one for jobs of low complexity (e. g. , secretary) and one for jobs of high complexity (e. g. , engineer). For those studies that sampled mixed job complexity types, we used the average value of Sturman e t al. ’s two estimates as the proxy. Disattenuation of other performance measures. The disattenuation of the observed correlations between age and the remaining dimensions of job performance largely followed the protocols outlined above.For instance, for self-ratings of creativity, OCB, counterproductive work behaviors, workplace aggression, tardiness, and absence, we corrected for imperfect intrarater reliability using either alpha coefficients (if provided) or an average alpha value based on the remaining studies that used the same scales (if alpha was not provided). For nonself ratings of these performance dimensions, in addition to correcting for imperfect intrarater reliability using the above procedure, we also corrected for imperfect interrater reliability using Viswesvaran et al. s (1996) metaanalytical estimates of the reliability of job performance. Finally, for performance measures that were objective in nature (e. g. , training test scores and company records of w ork injuries, lateness, and absence), we used Sturman et al. ’s (2005) meta-analytical estimate of test–retest reliability of the objective performance measure as a substitute. Corrections for sampling errors. The second step in the metaanalysis was correction for sampling errors. Here, we calculated the sample size-weighted corrected correlation. A corrected correlation was judged to be significant at . 5 when its 95% confidence interval did not include the value of zero. Moderator Analyses Subgroup moderator analyses. Two approaches to moderator testing were used. The first one was subgroup analysis; this ap- 400 NG AND FELDMAN proach was taken when the moderator variables were categorical in nature (e. g. , longitudinal vs. cross-sectional data collection). The coding of most of these categorical moderator variables is self-explanatory. The coding for the job complexity and age moderators, though, requires some further explanation.In the case of job complexity, two researchers were responsible for the coding. The coding process was guided by previous metaanalyses that also coded job complexity (e. g. , Avolio & Waldman, 1990; Salgado et al. , 2003; Wood, Mento, & Locke, 1987). Specifically, the two raters classified each sample occupation into high and low job complexity according to the general intelligence, verbal ability, and numerical ability required to perform the job (Avolio & Waldman, 1990). Interrater agreement was 93%. In situations in which there was disagreement, discussion was used to reach consensus.The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (1991) was used to assist in these discussions, too, because jobs in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles are coded and classified according to several dimensions (e. g. , data, people, and things) that reflect job complexity (Avolio & Waldman, 1990; Salgado et al. , 2003). Examples of â€Å"high complexity† jobs are researchers, accountants, business consultants, psychiatrists, engineers, managers/executives, financial analysts, nurses, IT professionals, and teachers. â€Å"Low complexity† jobs include clerks, restaurant workers, highway maintenance workers, truck drivers, and receptionists.In those cases in which we needed to examine the differences across different age subgroups, we sorted studies into four groups on the basis of the average age of the sample: less than 30 years old, 31–35, 36 – 40, and over 40 years old. The reason underlying this categorization is four-fold. First, it approximately equalized the number of studies contained in each group. Second, previous research on life-span development has suggested that the time before 30 years old is often a period within which individuals explore careers, whereas the time after 40 years old roughly marked the end of establishment years (Super, 1980).Third, ADEA also uses 40 as the â€Å"cutoff age. † Last, much of the previous research on age and job performance has used decade o r halfdecade benchmarks. Regression-based moderator testing. In other cases, the original studies did not provide sufficient sample information with which to categorize moderators. For these moderator variables, therefore, regression-based moderator testing was used. To illustrate the statistical procedures, we utilize the example of â€Å"proportion of women† (i. e. , gender).We tested the plausibility of gender as a moderator by investigating the effect of the percentage of women in the sample (which was a continuous variable) on the observed relationship between age and job performance (cf. Ng, Eby, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2005). In essence, we used the percentage of women in the sample as an independent variable, in a weighted least squares multiple regression, to predict the correlation coefficients for the age–job performance relationship. If the percentage of women in the sample as a significant predictor of a relationship between age and a dimension of job perform ance, then it would suggest that gender moderated that relationship. It should be noted that, among the eight sample characteristics on which we applied this regression approach, only average age, age dispersion, average job tenure, and average organizational tenure of the sample were truly continuous variables per se. The remaining characteristics (proportion of degree holders, managers, women, and Caucasians) were proxies for sociodemographic variables that are typically measured as categorical variables at the individual level.Nonetheless, this regression technique for testing for moderators in meta-analyses has been found to be more reliable and robust than alternative methods for dealing with this analysis challenge (Steel & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2002). Results The meta-analysis results for the relationships between age and the 10 performance dimensions are presented in Table 1. Relationships Between Age and Job Performance Core task performance. We found that age was largely unrel ated to core task performance. It was related to supervisor-rated task performance at . 02 (. 03 when corrected for interrater reliability), objective measures of task performance at . 3, and self-rated task performance at . 06. Age was unrelated to core task performance as rated by peers and others. Creativity. Age was not significantly related to creativity. Age was neither related to employee creativity as rated by supervisor (. 01; . 02 when corrected for interrater reliability) nor to selfreports of creativity ( . 01). Performance in training programs. We found that age had a weak, negative relationship with performance in training programs ( . 04). That is, older workers’ performance in training programs was found to be slightly lower than that of younger workers. General and specific types of OCB.On the other hand, age demonstrated significant and positive relationships with OCB. With respect to general OCB (i. e. , OCB that did not differentiate among or specify targe ts), age was related to ratings by others at . 06 (. 08 when corrected for interrater reliability) and to selfratings at . 08. Examining studies that differentiated targets of OCB revealed some interesting results. With respect to OCB directed at others, age was related to ratings by others at . 05 (. 06 when corrected for interrater reliability) and to self-ratings at . 07. With respect to OCB directed at organizations, age was related to ratings by others at . 6 (. 08 when corrected for interrater reliability) and to selfratings at . 14. With respect to OCB directed at tasks, age was related to ratings by others at . 21 (. 27 when corrected for interrater reliability) and to self-ratings at . 13. Safety performance. Age also demonstrated significant relationships with safety behavior. Specifically, age was positively related to self-rated compliance with safety rules and procedures at . 10. Furthermore, it was negatively related to objective frequency measures of work injuries at . 08 and to self-rated frequency of work injuries at . 03.General counterproductive work behavior. Age was significantly and negatively related to general counterproductive work behaviors. Most studies have measured general counterproductive work behaviors without differentiating targets. Age was negatively related to these ratings of counterproductive work behaviors given by others (supervisors/peers) at . 09 ( . 12 when corrected for interrater reliability) and to self-ratings at . 12. Specific counterproductive work behaviors. Moreover, older workers appear to engage in less workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, and tardiness in particular. Age was negativelyAGE AND JOB PERFORMANCE 401 Table 1 Meta-Analytical Relationships Between Age and Job Performance Variable Core task performance Supervisor-rated (Corrected for interrater reliability) Rated by peers and others (Corrected for interrater reliability) Objective measures Self-rated Creativity Rated by supervisor or obj ective measures (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Performance in training programs Rated by supervisor or objective measures OCB General (undifferentiated targets) Rated by supervisors, peers, or others (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Directed at othersRated by supervisors, peers, or others (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Directed at organization Rated by supervisors, peers, or others (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Directed at tasks Rated by supervisors, peers, or others (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Safety performance Self-rated compliance with safety rules Objective frequency of work injuries Self-rated frequency of work injuries General counterproductive work behavior (undifferentiated targets or types) Rated by supervisor or peers (Corrected for interrater reliability) Self-rated Self-rated workplace aggression Self-rated on-the-job substance use Tard