Satisfaction Motivation Hygiene

Satisfaction Motivation Hygiene True motivation comes from achievement, personal development, job satisfaction and recognition. This statement constitutes the core proposal of the important theorist we will be discussing. Frederick Herzberg was an important psychologist who became one of the most significant names in management on the 60s. His theories are still recognized as having been crucial to the development of the managerial sciences. The purpose of this paper is to analytically discuss the impact and consequences that his theories have had in the field of modern management. He is most recognized for his work on job enrichment and for his Motivation-Hygiene Theory. Frederick Herzberg was born on April, 19th of 1923 in Lynn, Massachusetts. Herzberg was a student at the City College of New York. He interrupted his studies midway to enlist in the army, returning to graduate in 1946. He died in Salt Lake City in early 2000. Witnessing a concentration camp in World War II, as well as talking with Germans he encountered during the War, were the catalysts he believed to be responsible for his interest in motivation. He expressed this interest in motivation by considering the factors that influence peoples behaviour in organisations. His Motivation-Hygiene Theory or Two Factor Theory of Job Satisfaction was published in 1959. The two factors influencing people according to his theory were: Satisfaction as a result of motivating factors such as: achievement, recognition, promotion, responsibility, growth. Dissatisfaction as a result of hygiene factors including: pay and benefits, company policies, relationship with co-workers, the work environment, job security, employee status, supervision, company assets. (Herzberg, 1959) He deemed that motivating factors will improve satisfaction, but their impact on dissatisfaction will be insubstantial. (Herzberg, 1959) On the other hand, if hygiene factors are not present they will cause dissatisfaction, yet their presence does not significantly affect satisfaction in the long-term. Central to the interpretation of this theory will be the recognition of the existence of factors that truly motivate (motivating factors) and others that could lead to dissatisfaction (hygiene factors). Herzberg considered human needs on two levels: the animal instinct of avoiding pain, and the necessity of personal psychological development. Similarly, long ago, Maslow understood perfectly and endeavoured to instruct managerial principals that even today, many organisations have failed to institute. Herzbergs theory remains as relevant now as it was when it was first published. Excepting the fact that responsibility, justice, fairness and compassion are global standards in contemporary business. Apart from his main theories, it is important to understand that Herzbergs primary concern was the well-being of organisational workforces. He was determined to introduce more humanity and caring principals into the workplace. He focused on explaining how to manage people humanely, in the interest of their comfort. So the question we could pose is: How important are high wages for us to feel satisfied? Intriguingly, the answer will be that although people complain about their earnings constantly, surveys and research have proven that there are factors that have more motivational power than money when making decisions concerning the workplace. In surveys, the reasons that tend to top the list are lack of job stimuli and poor prospect of advancement. Herzberg believed that these motivators would generate positive work attitudes because they satisfy one of Maslows hierarchical needs: the need for self-actualization the ultimate human need (Maslow, 1954). However, the presence of these factors can cause satisfaction, yet when they are not present, it does not lead to dissatisfaction. By contrast, hygiene factors which simply cause temporary results, posses the power of creating great dissatisfaction, but lack of these factors in the workplace does not cause a large degree of satisfaction. For Herzberg, the opposite of satisfaction in the workplace will not be dissatisfaction, just simply lack of satisfaction. Likewise, the opposite of dissatisfaction in your job will not be satisfaction but no dissatisfaction. As a practical example of this assumption: if the college water were to stop running for a week, this would represent a work conditions hygiene factor, and it would give cause for our professors to feel very dissatisfied. However, since our professors are normally accustomed to the water running and working properly, it does not give them reason to feel particularly motivated or satisfied. In 1968, Herzberg presented a work called KITA (a polite acronym for â€Å"kick in the ass†), where he differentiated between motivational and movement factors (Herzberg, 1968) He classified KITA into three different possible types: Negative physical KITA Negative physiological KITA Positive KITA Certainly, in modern society, managers infrequently deal with their employees using negative KITA, which is the use of physical contact on a member of the staff to enforce work. Negative KITA is indeed fairly useless as a tool to motivate workers. Positive KITA conversely can be summarised in the word reward. It is the act of rewarding an action with bonuses or incentives. Although this is a common practice for modern managers, according to Herzberg, positive KITA is not motivational. Positive KITA will make movement much faster, encouraging the worker to perform at his best in a certain task. However, he considered that there were no facts to prove that the effects of this reward were going to have long-lasting results. He believed that individuals were not actually motivated to work harder after completing the task, as a consequence of a reward. He judged that the workers were merely temporarily moved, and hence their performance did not persist once the bonus was received. So he considered rewards to be a mere movement factor. Referring to the motivational factors previously cited in this essay, he concludes that only the achievement of these factors can create long-lasting satisfaction for the employees, and therefore a better work attitude. Additionally, when the workforce finds this stimulation internally in the workplace, they will perform more efficiently. Herzbergs theory has been criticized by the theorist, Locke. (Locke, E. 1976) He proposed alternate sources for the generation of job satisfaction. He believed the mind and the body to be inextricably related. And therefore, the objective should be to satisfy them both. As an example, he gives the biological need of hunger, and he specifies that an act like eating can serve not only to quell hunger pangs, but also as pleasure for the mind. Herzberg placed emphasis on the number of times a particular factor was cited in reaching his conclusions, believing that those more encountered on the lists were the most satisfying or dissatisfying factors. However, even if a dissatisfying factor was registered numerous times, it does not necessarily follow that this was a major problem or even that the employees found it more irritable than infrequent problems, which tend to create higher levels of dissatisfaction for them. Conversely, Locke suggests the prioritisation of intensity over frequency. He recognized that an employee could reach his maximum levels of intensity when either achieving or failing a task. (Locke, E. 1976) Analysing the statements in Herzbergs theories, it becomes clear that they are rather simplistic. One might easily imagine that what gives cause for motivation to one person, could well be the cause of dissatisfaction in someone else. For example, the enlargement of responsibilities can be a clear motivator for some people as they can thereby develop in their careers. At the same time, it can be dissatisfying for other people, especially if their wages are not proportionally linked to the responsibilities that they have assumed. It might be necessary to consider the reality that employees should not be seen as an homogeneous group, but as a compilation of individuals, of whom only a proportion will be motivated by any given factor. It will therefore be prudent upon every manager to take the time to try to determine the unique characteristics of each member of his workforce. Thus, will he comprehend what is necessary to gain the satisfaction of his employees. Although Herzbergs Motivation-Hygiene Theory, when analysed deeply, might seem somewhat incomplete or basic, it is impossible to disregard that it is given credence and has been studied from shortly after its initial publication up until the present day. Consequently, it can be affirmed that, even with its faults, there is a lot of truth in the theory, and that the different factors he cited are generally more likely to cause satisfaction/dissatisfaction to the workforce of an organisation. Undoubtedly, Frederick Herzbergs main contribution to modern management has been his recognition of the factors that could motivate or dissatisfy a workforce. It was through his ideas and research that we now know that people endeavour to get â€Å"hygiene needs† merely as a reaction of discomfort, caused when the factors to achieve those needs are absent. Then and now, unsuccessful organisations fail to understand that it its very difficult to truly motivate their staff by concentrating on meeting their hygiene needs. At the same time, people are truly motivated, and hence perform at their best, when the motivational factors are achieved (i.e.: personal growth, development, etc.) which come to differentiate themselves from the hygiene factors because of the self-fulfilment they create for individuals. In the analytical study of the details of Herzbergs theory, we might consider an actual example drawn from daily life. Lets take the example of someone who inherits a large amount of money from a relative, enabling that person to live a comfortable life thereafter. For some people, this will represent the opportunity of a lifetime, since they can stop working and start enjoying a pleasant lifestyle, making use of their new wealth. However, there will be other people who, though giving-up their old jobs, will take the opportunity to create their own business. According to Herzbergs theory (and not really questioned today), these people who begin working on perusing their own desires will be satisfied and truly motivated, regardless of the money which they make, or that which they have already. People achieve these kinds of goals when they are truly motivated by factors such as: personal growth, responsibility, attainment, etc. If we examine the situation, it appears most certain that these people are not solely motivated by mere monetary desires. Since the venture of creating a new business, especially when you do not need it, involves persistent effort and a considerable level of commitment. Following the logic that the project has no guarantee of success, it would be erroneous to believe that they were motivated by potential income alone. Without resting importance on the value of money, we would consider it highly probable that the life of the person who stopped working would become rather empty and monotone. And at the same time, if the person does not know what to do with their money, it could easily vanish. On the other hand, if someone takes the opportunity to do whatever he enjoys or is good at, it is likely that he is going to achieve success. So based on this example, we can opine that the money itself will not be a significant motivator. Also for us as students, Herzbergs theory provides a pattern for us to follow. We certainly need some sense of satisfaction in order to be interested and feel motivated in our studies. It is always fulfilling when professors (our managers technically) endeavour to implement factors which might encourage motivation (i.e. feedback, advice, etc.) In opposition, when our hygiene needs are not meet: (i.e. deteriorated classrooms, unusable computers, etc.) , it can be a great cause of dissatisfaction. However, when these factors are in order, it is not a cause for us to show appreciation. In conclusion, at first glance it might appear that Herzbergs theory is simple and rather incomplete. Yet all critics agree that his theory encompasses a number of facts that were ignored before Herzberg came into play. He discovered certain fundamental problems that needed to be addressed in order to maintain employee well-being in a company. Herzberg contributed tremendously to the understanding that managers could create an hygienically effective environment, and he provided them with the important factors that he considered to be fundamental to the pursuit of improvement in staff performance. Even though his theory is a general one, focusing as it does on the frequency rather than on the intensity of problems, it certainly provides an excellent guide for managers in their aim of discovering and setting standards in factors that, if present, would benefit their business. Obviously, as discussed earlier, each person or company will react differently to any given action or situation. For this reason, rather than applying Herzbergs theory textually, managers should dedicate some time to investigating and understanding the individual reasons that might motivate or could cause dissatisfaction to a member of their staff. Putting this strategy into practice, managers could easily identify the problems that might be affecting the staffs well-being, as well as directly make use of those factors which they reckon might improve employee performance. Following on from this idea, it should also be easy to satisfy the hygiene needs of their employees. In case of a shortcoming in these f actors, managers should work together with their staff to address and resolve these deficiencies. Equilibrium and well-being is best achieved through striving always for a constant balance when making our decisions. Hence, every person must evaluate their own individual reasons and fulfilment factors to give a meaning to their lives. Managers, in addition to finding these individual meanings, must in order to be successful, take-on the responsibility of establishing the best possible working circumstances, both for themselves and for their employees. Applying the basis of Herzbergs theory, certainly has the potential to create harmony, and hence a workforce motivated and satisfied with their jobs. It is highly probable that the output of the organisation will thereby be optimised as well. References Ajzen, I. Fishibein, M (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behaviour, Pentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ Hertzberg, Frederick (1959) The Motivation to Work, New York. Herzberg, F. (1987) ‘One More Time: How do you motivate your Employees? New York. Locke, E.A. (1970) ‘The supervision is a motivator, Washington DC Locke, E. A. (1975) ‘The nature and cost of job satisfaction Chicago, Illinois. Maslow, A.H (1954) ‘Motivation and Personality, Harper Row Publisher, New York, NY. www.businessball.com 04 Nov 16:30 www.mftrou.com â€Å"Management for the rest of us† 15 Nov 12:00 www.emeraldasight.com 26 Nov 14:30

Brain Hiccup (Ocd)

Brain Hiccup Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior. OCD is an illness that really makes an impact in the lives of the people. This disorder traps its victims in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. This debilitating disorder called OCD exhibit obsessive thoughts linked to compulsive behaviors and causes symptoms that are difficult to treat, but medications and cognitive behavioral therapy helps control the outbursts, enabling OCD people to live a fairly normal but challenging life.According to Dr Robinson, OCD is like a needle getting stuck on an old record. Basically he is portraying how OCD works in the brain and causes people to get stuck on a certain idea or urge. By this happening it causes the effects of being trapped in an endless cycle. This cycle is caused from recurring and distressing thoughts, fears, or images that the person is stuck on and can’t control . This makes it impossible to control, which becomes an obsession, and causes anxiety from not having control of the obsession. This leads OCD victims to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines that called compulsion.The whole purpose of a compulsive ritual or routine is an attempt to prevent or make the obsessive thoughts go away. This anxiety disorder is a mental illness that really affects and makes those who have it suffer. Obsession is one of the components that an OCD person will experience by having this disorder. The obsessions are involuntary uncontrollable thoughts, impulses, or images that occur over and over again in their mind. In the beginning they don’t understand the obsession and why it’s happening. Over time, they will experience it more and more, which causes them to associate it with a fear and disabling anxiety.They can be may obsess about not shaking hands or touching public doorknobs because of fear of contaminated. Those who fear h urting others will obsess about their actions and the consequences of them hurting someone. Those who fear that things need to line up or be perfect are obsessed furniture arrangement, eating habits, or cloth. This obsession causes the most anxiety for OCD people. Another obsession is inappropriate sexual thoughts, pornographic images, violent emotions, and violent thoughts. The most common obsession in OCD is hoarding, because they fear something bad will happen if they throw away things.Typical examples of things people hoard are useless items, like outdated catalogs or clothing. Obsession can be demonstrated in many ways for OCD suffers, and really impact their daily lives. The second component that is caused from OCD is compulsion. Compulsions are certain acts of behavior that people do to get rid of the anxiety that was caused from the obsession. They do so by performing certain behaviors, which are rules or routines that they have made up. OCD people display compulsive behavio r that is derived from the obsession they have.For example, those obsessed with contamination or germs will compulsively wash and clean their hands till their raw. They can be compulsive in making sure towels are all the same brand and arranged correctly. Another compulsive behavior OCD people portray is checking locks on door multiple times, for instance six times before leaving the house. People with counting and arranging obsessions have compulsive behavior in ordering and arranging things to be perfect. These compulsive behaviors can become so time consuming from the routine they need to do in suppressing the anxiety.Which can really impact a person’s life, making it hard for them to live a normal daily life Even though OCD is a disease that doesn’t have a cure for those who have it. But there is treatment for this disease and it consists of medications and therapy. Basically both of these things working together in trying to help in minimizing the obsessions and c ompulsions that OCD victims have a hard time dealing with in daily life. Because after awhile it becomes consuming and to some it takes over there life and this is why treatment is so important in focusing on using both antidepressant and Cognitive behavioral therapy.Both of these treatments give an OCD patient the chance to live a fairly normal life. The first type of treatment is medicine, which consists of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). The type of SSRI medication: Celexa, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft. The reason why SSRI is the medication used to treat OCD people is they have an imbalanced amount of serotonin in their brain. So by taking SSRI type of medications are very helpful for OCD people with dealing with the main issue of the disorder, anxiety.This medication is designed to treat and maintain that problem of keeping the serotonin level at a correct amount. The According to Dr Robinson, the main reason why SSRI are used in OCD pe ople, because they have less side effects than other forms of antidepressants, less withdrawal symptoms, less danger in the event of an overdose and overall are considered safer that other types of drugs. The Second type of treatment is Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a multiple of different therapy types, but the most important for OCD is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).This has been shown to be very effective in psychotherapy for this disorder. The reason why it is so effective is because of the technique used in this therapy that really helps OCD people. The reason why this therapy works for OCD is by person being exposed multiple times to a situation to trigger the obsessive thoughts. By doing this helps and trains them in being able to tolerate the anxiety and resist the urge of performing the compulsion. This is very helpful because people with OCD have probably confronted their obsessions or obsessions.By them trying to confront it and stop themselves perfor ming they compulsive behavior it actually back fires and makes their anxiety go way up. The only effective way is seeking help and being committed to trying to stop this disorder taking over. This anxiety disorder is such a devastating and burden disease for those who are suffering from it. They really face a very difficult and struggling disease. Even though it’s an anxiety disorder, but it’s a disorder that has control over them, having involuntary thoughts, which causes them to have compulsive behaviors. The only way to control it is through treatment because there is no cure for it.

Open Work Space Research Essay

The Study Recently in the work space, there seems to be a shift from this traditional cubicle style to a more open environment for the employees. This shift has me questioning why are innovative companies shifting towards this more open environment? It seems that these companies are looking not only for a change in scenery, but a change in the how there employees utilize the environment.During this study, I will use a variety of sources in order to understand a comma NYSE work space environment and other information pertaining the architectural design of a company. The questions especially want to explore are: How does the open workspace effect the collaboration between employees? How does this work space attempt to foster an environment for creativity and innovation? Informational Sources The sources have used ranged from a variety of places.The information I collected from Kidders Studio and Kramer Design Group was a large group interview which was required for a summer class where we studied cultures of creativity in Detroit, Michigan. These two interviews took place on August 24, 2013. The large group interview also included a tour of both companies to actually see the working environment firsthand. Field notes were also taken to help record detailed descriptions of the environment at both companies. Another source used for this research included an online magazine called 991. . This magazine publishes research in a condensed and easy to understand format for the general public. It described research on how to build a collaborative work space. I read this to help better my understanding of what a collaborative work space might look like and what re some key components for a creative work space. Also watched a video created by Wall Street Journal on Google's New York work space because, have never been there. This video allowed me to visually see the environment where Google employees work.Another source utilized was a prCICS completed from an article called Building Research and Information. It included research done in this area which helped me orient myself with prior research already completed on this topic. Previous Research Completed on Work Space Environment One research prCICS I looked at included the importance of collaboration in the work space. They looked at three behaviors that contribute to effective collaboration: â€Å"awareness, brief interaction, and collaboration (working together)† (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 2).This term awareness means to understand what is going on in the environment around you. You are able to process this through â€Å"spatial features that promote awareness† and organizational factors that allow you to see other employees (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, pars. 4-5). They noted Some benefits to this ‘high awareness' Were rapid information sharing and ability to recognize when other employees were struggling Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 6). However there are some concerns for ‘high awareness' in a collaborative environment also.It can be distracting, noisy from employees talking, and create a loss of privacy for the workers (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 7). Another term discussed was ‘brief interactions' which means unplanned and short discussions you have with other employees. This results in â€Å"spatial features that promote interaction† and organizational factors that allow you to run into other employees (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, pars. 9-10). Some benefits include improved information flow, increased learning, and increased development Of friendships (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 1). There are, however, some drawbacks which include a high potential for stress, an increase in distractions, and the potential for over communicating with employees (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 12). The ot her term discussed in the prCICS was collaboration. Collaboration in the work space can result in organizational factors that allow employees to work in project rooms (Hangmen, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, ears. 18-19). Some benefits from these project rooms are quicker answers, access to other team members, and better project tracking (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 0). Despite these benefits, there are some concerns including the possibility for information overload, a shorter amount of time on certain tasks, and less privacy for employees (Hearing, Compromisers, Powell, and Loftiness, par. 21). Evaluating Google and Two Outside Innovative Companies Google is the company which typifies an open work space concept. However, I needed to use Kidders Studio and Kramer Design Group in Detroit, Michigan because they were local and accessible. Both of these companies were much smaller than Google.However, there are innovative and utilize the open work space con cept. Google is known for their web search engine and try to make information easily accessible to the users. The Google New York campus occupies an entire floor and parts of other floors in a building covering an entire â€Å"city block in Manhattans Chelsea neighborhood† (Alter, par. 7). This campus has grown from around 2,000 employees to nearly 3,000 and hiring in the areas of media and advertising (Jordan). Due to the arrival of additional employees, the newly hired have had to move from floor to floor (Jordan).In this campus as opposed to Silicon Valley, it is less tech focused and gives the employees a more natural working environment (Jordan). Google's competitive and innovative nature attracts many young employees to their company. Despite Google's great benefits, there is still a high turnover rate, which means they have a limited amount of time with their employees. Kidders Studio is an innovative company which is a part Of the creative community in Detroit, Michig an. Since 1 959, Kidders Studio has earned a beatable name for solving problems with designs.They started off solving problems by designing logos for the automotive companies in Detroit. In 201 1, Kidders moved to their new location on Broadway Street near the Detroit Tigers Stadium. Their diverse team of 25 office employees design logos and websites for advertisements, but their goal is to create the extraordinary (Patrick). They started with 16 employees and are looking to expand to 35 employees. Some of their biggest clients are Dave and Buster's, Detroit Tigers, and Andiron Restaurant. At Kramer Design Group in Detroit, they specialize in designing the interiors of buildings.There are about 18 to 28 people that work at the office, because there are only 28 desks available. When they work with their clients, they focus on creating a particular environment in order to invoke a certain feeling (Kramer). They strive for listening to the client. However, sometimes the client does not know what they want until you show it to them. This company provides swatches of materials to help visualize the production or prototype built. They are known for creating traditional architecture, hotels, and presidential lofts. They have completed such projects in Detroit like theMadison Building, Broodier Towers, and Whitney Building (Kramer). Kramer Design Group is starting to pick up some business throughout the state. Kramer Design Group and Kidders Studio Work Space Company ices are redesigning offices in order to get a more spacious working environment for their employees. This open work space is intended to foster creativity and innovation. Designing a place to enhance creativity takes a lot of work not only on the companies half, but on the architects half as well. It is important the architect works in collaboration with their client to create a specific environment.In this case, the architect needs to create an environment that is not only functional to the employees, b ut pleasing to the customer. Open office spaces seem to fuel this creativity through the collaboration of diverse groups of people, the flexibility of the work space, and the atmosphere of the room with numerous examples from Detroit, Machine's Kidders Studio and Kramer Design Group. A key component to this creativity and innovation is allowing the mixture of diverse groups of people to work together in an open area.To define diverse, this word is meant to describe how individuals with various job titles and functions can ark cohesively together. Providing people an open environment encourages informal connections to be made and ideas to be bounced off one another (Patrick). For example, at Kidders Studio, their work place fosters an environment where colleagues can collaborate with each other (Patrick). The studio is set up with no doors on any of the offices, even the Coo's office. Over the years, the company has developed this process to be successful.During their meetings, they encourage administrative workers, designers, marketers, and writers to brainstorm ideas for projects (Patrick). These brainstorming sessions involve everyone in the company to work on a project where titles mean nothing (Patrick). Sometimes, disagreement can be a bad thing. But it has become a useful tool because, it encourages ideas to be explored and defended by the creator (Patrick). The end result is a better thought out solution which provides the customer with an outstanding product.Creating flexibility in the work space seems to be another crucial element which allows this creativity and innovation to flourish. Kramer Design Group utilizes the portability and disability of the room to create an environment where creativity is maximized. The portable chairs in the lunch space allow the user to rearrange the space. The emphasis on designing a flexible work space allows people to freely converse amongst one another (Kramer). It also gives the workers an environment which allows easy access to coworkers (Kramer).Some of the offices have glass walls to give the illusion of a more open space (Kramer). One thing that stands out is there are few private offices. Private offices close workers off from the company and do not allow for ideas to be exchanged while the open spaces help stimulate creativity. In an open space, the atmosphere plays an important role in the minimization of creativity and innovation. Kramer Design Group's office is designed with a level of sophistication and professionalism to illustrate their knowledge in the design field (Kramer).The minute you step into the office, it is meant to create a feeling bigger than meets the eye. There is wall to wall glass to give an expansive feeling to the area and it makes the ceiling appear taller (Kramer). In the hallway, there are columns spaced equal distances apart and a white strip on the carpet to give the illusion of a never ending hall (Kramer). Even the lighting plays into the comfortable ambia nce of the room with their modern looking lights which use some incandescent lighting. Their office provides a creative, yet comfortable environment.It allows their employees to think freely in the office with the respect of their fellow colleagues. Google's Innovative Design Google's New York campus has a similar goal in their office design like Kidders Studio and Kramer Design Group. â€Å"All of the design is meant to encourage interaction between structurally separate teams† (Jordan). By implementing this open work space, it influences the way groups of Google's collaborate. Google's intention by using an open work space is to create an environment specifically for the interaction between the workers.A fun design plan Google's architects implemented is the vertical ladder chutes between floors, because the elevators are never known to be on time. This vertical ladder chute promotes unplanned collaborations (Alter, par. 7). Another touch Google added was giving the employe es a bag to place their laptop in while climbing up the ladder (Jordan). This bag helped Google's minimize the chance of dropping their laptops. When workers causally intermingle, it encourages informal connections to be made among colleagues. Senior software engineer, Mike Labels moved from Google's Silicon Valley to Google's New York campus.At Google's Silicon Valley, their offices are created as an individual place with their own unique perks and specific design, which help the worker relate to their environment Road). Since Labels has transferred to Google's New York office, he feels that coming to work here you will not mistake you are in some room at an ordinary building; you will know you are at Google in New York (Jordan). It seems Google's New York office has created their own city within their building. Even some of their conference rooms are designed as a New York apartment to create a close environment for colleagues to collaborate within.Directly outside these conferenc e rooms, it is setup like city with a fire hydrant, subway grates on the floor, and a narrow hallway with a cityscape on the wall (Jordan). This use of schematics throughout areas of their building makes it seem like the real New York City outside of the building. Collaboration is a good thing, but too much can also be a bad thing sometimes. There are many places to get away from the hustle and bustle of the office area. These areas include a reflecting room, a library, a private hone booth, and more. The library is dotted with Victorian photos from Star Wars hanging on the walls (Jordan).There are also secret door bookcases leading to refection or reading rooms (Jordan). Throughout the library are many books to help employees on coding, programming and working with different types of computers (Jordan). One of the coolest features is the virtual wall of books where employees can download books to their phones (Jordan). Theses rooms are meant to give the workers a place to escape to when they get stressed at work. Google jobs can cause high stress because Of all the work demands. They can stop by the library and pick out a book or even download one from the virtual wall.By creating this comfortable environment, it gives the employees a place to relieve their stress. Regional facilities manager, Laura Gimped mentioned with groups growing in Google how proprieties and juxtaposition effect the workers interactions (loran). Laura understands generally information and ideas are shared with co-workers who are nearby. This is part of the reason that Google has positioned their offices no more than 150 feet away from food to enhance informal interactions between its employees. So at any office location there s a micro-kitchen, a restaurant, or cafeteria nearby.This place encourages fellow Google's to go grab a bite to eat whenever and where ever they may be in the building (Jordan). Their set up enables employees to â€Å"bump into coworkers from different teams with in the† work space (Alter, par. 8). She has taken into account the growth of the company with an eye towards this idea of casual collision in the work space (Jordan). This allows fellow Google's to have the opportunity to discuss an idea with someone they normally do not work with (Jordan). Some of the greatest ideas are inspired from unexpected inventions between people.Findings Coming from an architectural background has enabled me to see rooms differently from other people. However, after this research, I was able to look at a room and see the choices and decisions the architect had to make in designing the room. For example, their placement of furniture, walls, doors and windows in a room plays a critical role in how the work space is used. The way an architect designs a room actually plays an important role for what the customer ultimately wants. Each of the companies I research ultimately had a similar goal through using the open work space concept.Kidder's goals was to create the extraordinary through logos and design. Their office design fostered their employees to be creative. Kramer Design Group specialized in interior designing. Their open work space also did the same by providing their employees with a creative environment. Both of these places were designed, so the employees interacted regularly in order to get their ideas. Through my research even though did not actually visit, Google, the above examples helped me visualize what I could not see at Google. I have come to greater appreciate the open work space concept and its purpose atGoogle is to maximize its employees creativity. Through my research on open work spaces at Google, I have come to understand the choices the architects had to make while designing Google's New York office. They choose to design the environment with many unique features to enhance the collaboration between employees. I have now come to see that through creating an open work space it results in good ideas from em ployees. Essentially, these good ideas are able to be obtained through creating these unexpected conversations and casual collisions. This new understanding can help companies understand ways to obtain ideas from their employees.Through creating this type of environment similar to Google, companies will be able to design an environment to maximize the productivity of workers. Conclusion Google is known as the gold standard for innovation and creativity. Their architects have used the open work space to help them achieve this goal. Through the design of the open work space, Google's from different teams or backgrounds bump into each other casually throughout the day. The intent is for these Google's to discuss an idea with someone they may not work with daily. This chance interaction may be the catalyst for a new and creative idea.This new open work space approach is intended to inspire its employees and support creativity where new ideas can be developed and new discoveries made. Fu rther Questions If another research paper was completed, it may be interesting to see how other innovative companies like Apple, Paxar, and Twitter are set up in regards to their work space design. It would be interesting to see how these companies layout their work space, because there could be similar correlations to how their employee's collaborate like Google. In order to answer this question, you would need to look at the interactions between the errors of the company.Since work spaces are always being remodeled by companies, it would be interesting to track innovative companies over the next five year to see how their work space changed over time. It would be ideal to interview employees throughout the change of the work space to see how it has effected them. It may be interesting to also speak to the management to determine whether there were more ideas generated in the newer work space than in the current type work space. This could help understand the reason behind why comp anies design a creative environment for their workers.

Essay about How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed

How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, written by Croatian author Slavenka Drakulic, details the daily lives of people living under communist rule. She recalls a multitude of personal experiences she has had growing up under a communist regime, and the transition from communism to democracy in the late 1980s. Drakulic seems to have a general dislike for the way the communist government treats its people, and strives to relate these feelings to the reader. She opens her book with a passage about a friend of hers who killed herself by asphyxiating on gas fumes from her oven. Shortly before that she had written an article comparing the ideology of the communist state to that of a pinball machine, Her article, naà ¯ve as it seems today,†¦show more content†¦The most striking economic shortage detailed in the book is that of toilet paper. When toilet paper, a basic part of everyday life in the United States, is considered a luxury item, you know a problem exists. Drakulic s tates, Progress in communism was marked by better and better quality toilet paper. (Drakulic 72) Families were forced to use newspaper as toilet paper, revealing the resourcefulness that the people were reduced to just to survive. Finding an apartment for your family was incredibly hard, with waiting lists of up to three years for a small two-room apartment. Most people had to live with their mothers no matter what how old they were, I have trouble recalling younger people or people of my generation who dont liveÂ…with their parents, even if they are past forty. (Drakulic 86) Communism was on a downward slope, and it would not be long until democracy appeared in Eastern Europe. Although communism officially ended when the democratically elected presidents took power, there was little immediate change in policy or the peoples general attitude toward the government. A major change, which would seem like a simple thing in any free society, was the institution of a yellow line in the post office that gave the citizens a sense of privacy that they had never experienced before. The former communist government had their eyes on everyone, and the idea of a private life was laughable. Even with the newly created post officeShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book How We Survived Communism And Even Laughed 1190 Words   |  5 PagesSlavenka Drakulic, a highly respected journalist and commentator on culture in Croatia, published the book How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed in 1991, which was a collection of essays that comprised of the stories of many women’s lives throughout Eastern Europe that lived in a communist society. Drakulic wanted to capture wome n’s stories and share them with others, because these were women who suffered from carried the biggest burden of life, living at the bottom tier of their society. AsRead MoreEssay on Cold War Book Review670 Words   |  3 Pagesfull understanding of the effects of such government. Slavenka Drakulic produced How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, an appealing work with this fresh social approach. This nonfiction work combines the authoramp;#8217;s own recollections with the stories of other women of the Eastern Bloc. Drakulic, a renowned journalist and writer, utilizes her keen eye for detail and truth in this quest that shows how communism has devastating effects on the common citizen. She provides insight into the conditionsRead MoreWomen s Rights Of Women1149 Words   |  5 PagesOurika by Claire de Duras, How We Survived Communism Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulic, and Things Fell Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader can see that the characters in these stories who are women are seen as minority, people judged by society, people who do not deserve the same rights as men, and they are seen as minority compared to anyone else. 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