Effect of Motivation on Employee Training Effectiveness

Effect of Motivation on Employee Training Effectiveness Training is an integral part of workforce development and creation of new competencies within the workforce to ensure that the organization keeps up with the changing needs of the times. Training is related to performance in two ways. Effective training has a direct impact on the performance output and any gap in an individuals performance can sometimes be filled with training. For employees, lack of training also causes a lack of self-satisfaction and productivity. Training is seen as a major cost center in most organizations in India even though its necessity is widely accepted. This negative view can mostly be attributed because of the apparent lack of direct linkage between training and the bottom-line of the company. In todays world, where the HR department needs to justify its expenses, especially in the wake of recession and lay-offs, it is essential that the trainings rendered are of optimum efficiency in achieving the set target and also that it be done at the least possible cost. Hence it is important to understand whether the methods of training employed are yielding the desired results or alternatively if the same results can be attained in more cost effective ways. One major factor influencing the training effectiveness is training motivation, as we have explained in the literature review below. But the attitude of employees towards formal training is another factor which will decide whether it is justified to spend so much money on formal training modules if the same end result can be obtained by informal on the job training if it is preferred by the employees. Hence we explore the links between these constructs. Theoretical Review and Hypothesis: Training Attitude: Development activities like training are significantly affected by attitudes and perceptual variables (Noe and Wilk, 1993).Eagly Chaiken (1998) defined attitude as the psychological tendency to evaluate an entity with a certain degree of favor or disfavor. These attitudes are good predictors of behavior (Ajzen, 1991).We can extend this line of reason to say that a person with a positive attitude to certain entity will show favorable behavioral response towards it and a person with a negative attitude to it will show an unfavorable behavioral response. Training attitude applies the definition of attitude to training. A persons attitude towards training is a measure or reflection of his or her attitude towards the formal process of knowledge and skill acquisition. Thus we can say that training attitude is indirectly a measure of liking an individual has for the formal process of training as opposed to say learning something on-the-job informally. It logically follows that those who ha ve a positive attitude towards training will be more likely to attend the training programs willingly and gain from it as compared to someone who has a negative attitude towards training which is to say, that training attitude determines the motivation with which a person attends training programs, especially in an organizational scenario where training programs are mandatory. Also this very attitude can be linked to how much learning happens in the training. The scale for measuring the training attitude construct was developed by Anupama Narayan and Debra Steele Johnson (2007) for their research. This was a 20 item scale addressing participants evaluation of 2 issues: How relevant and useful they perceived training programs to be. How much they desired to practice acquired skills on job. This scale with 7 point likert type response pattern had a high level of internal consistency (alpha =0.92) However some items were redundant and for the purpose of this research were omitted. The resulting 9 item scale was again tested for internal consistency and displayed a Cronbachs Alpha= 0.91 which is fairly high. The response to the 7 point likert scale was interpreted as a summated score which indicated the degree of positive attitude towards training among the respondents. Training Motivation: Quinones (1997) aptly described motivation to be an individuals choice to dedicate more energy to one set of behavior over others. In the training context, Blanchard Thacker (2004) explain motivation as an inspiration which is directed by trainees personal needs and decision processes they use to satisfy those needs. Or, as Colquitt (2007) puts it , training motivation is the persistence and intensity of learning -directed behavior in the context of training. Training motivation is affected by a diverse set of internal and external factors as suggested by various research papers. Work environment, organizational climate, supervisory support etc are a few of the external factors researched upon whereas the internal factors hypothesized to affect training motivation include self efficacy, personal mental ability and personality (Colquitt et al, 2000). One of the most popular theories to explain motivation is the expectancy theory of how people are motivated by the results of their behavior (Bandura, 1997). We can also view Vrooms expectancy theory as a theoretical framework for examining training motivation. Vrooms model suggests that expectation of an act being followed by a certain outcome often shapes the motivation for doing that act. To extend this to the context of training motivation, if a trainee expects that the effort he puts into attending training programs will yield valued outcomes to him then he will be motivated to attend the same. Hence this research attempts to understand the valence -instrumentality link associated with training. We measure what the trainee values and whether he perceives those things to be outcome of training programs. A 14 item scale, with 7 items each for valence and instrumentality of factors associated with training, was adapted from the research paper by Phyllis Tharenou (2001).The factors of valence included in the scale are Reaching career goals, Pay increase, Job security, Change to workplace, Promotion or advancement, Opportunities for different career paths, Supervisor praise. The responses for these questions were taken on a 7 point likert scale and scores were summated to arrive at the level of training motivation of the respondent. A higher score symbolizes that the respondent values the inherent factors highly and also perceives that training will help him achieve the same. Training Effectiveness: Training effectiveness is essentially a measure of how effective the training imparted was. Many researchers including Ford (1997), Noe (1986), and Tannenbaum (1992) have recognized training effectiveness as a crucial issue for organizations. Employee performance and productivity can be measurably improved if trainings are effective and organizations will be able to avoid wasteful spending on ineffective trainings. Most organizations would want to have a good return on their training investment. According to London (1989) and Noe (1999) training interventions in organizations are going to increase hence the training effectiveness is going to be an important feature in the organizations. Kirkpatricks (1976) four level approach is one of the most extensively used methods for evaluating training effectiveness (Alliger Janak, 1989). This four level approach measures training effectiveness vis-Ã  -vis the trainees reactions to a training program, the extent to which trainees can execute desired behaviors related to the training, the acquisition of skills and knowledge by the trainee and resulting change in the job behaviors of the trainee. It has been a common assumption among researchers that these 4 levels linked in a linear fashion hierarchically. Hamblin (1947) illustrated the cause and effect chain as training leading to reactions which in turn leads to learning and that leads to change in job behavior. But this empirical evidence for this proposed link has been inconclusive. This led Alliger Janak (1989) to conduct a Meta analysis and conclude that the four factors are not necessarily linearly linked. There are several factors like training motivation attitude, context of training and other influences which attenuate the link between trainees reaction and other criterion measures. A four item shortened version of the Kirkpatrick scale was used for measuring the training effectiveness. The measured effectiveness was the perceived effectiveness of the last im parted training program. Sample items in the scale included questions like Did I enjoy the course. The response was obtained on a 7 point likert scale varying from strongly disagree to strongly agree and the summated score of each item response was used as the measure of the training effectiveness and higher the score higher was the perceived effectiveness of the training. Training Attitude and Training Motivation: Individuals disposition or attitude towards formal training programs has been shown to have a direct influence on his training motivation (Ford Noe, 1987). Training attitude also displays his motivation to learn (Tannenbaum Yukl, 1992) and his motivation to attend training (Facteau et al, 1995) as distinct from training motivation. What the above mentioned research suggests is that there is a logical and empirical link between a person liking a training program and being motivated to attend the same. However the extant literature mentions this relationship in a very general and broad format. We would like to hypothesis a more specific relationship. Going back to our definition of training motivation , we have said that it is the perceived valence the trainee associates with certain outcomes and how instrumental he feels attending a training is in order to acquire them .We listed these outcomes as career development, superior praise, promotion or development, pay increase , job secu rity etc. Research suggests that there is very strong link between training attitude and training motivation .Carlson et al.(2000) found a high correlation between training attitude scores and training motivation scores in their research.Now most employees may find that there is a perceived strong connection between attending trainings and achieving these outcomes and hence may attend trainings when they are mandatory rather than volunteer for it. But otherwise, based on his experience he might feel that training programs are a waste of time over all and he learns more on his job. Especially in the context of Indian manufacturing industry where trainings are mandatory, employees might not be predisposed to attending trainings, but will attend them anyways due to perceived benefits. Hence in this research we are testing whether having a positive attitude towards training increases the individuals training motivation and how much is it correlated. Hence, Training Attitude of an individual positively impacts his Training Motivation: Training Motivation and Training Effectiveness: Based on our understanding of motivation, an individual is more likely to expend more energy for a task he is motivated to do and hence is more probable to do that task more effectively than other tasks. Extending this logic forward if a person is motivated to attend training then he is more likely to enjoy the training, learn most from it and apply it on to his job. In other words the effectiveness of the training imparted will be high if the trainees entering the training program are highly motivated for the same. In the organizational context it is imperative that different individuals enter the training with different levels of motivation. These differences in the level of motivation may be an outcome of various factors like personal characteristics and work environments. After studying these effects, Salas et al.1(1992) hypothesized that individuals motivated to do well in training will be the ones who end up learning the content of the program better than their lesser motivated counterparts. Training effectiveness is measured in terms of 4 parameters derived from the Kirkpatricks model. These parameters are namely, Learning, Behavior, Reaction and Applications of skills. Several studies put forth empirical support indicating a link between trainees motivation and learning (Rails Klien, 1991; Clark 1990; Hicks Klimoski 1987; Baldwin et al., 1991).The attention levels and openness to new ideas is increased by pre-training motivation. Hence theoretically trainees who are more motivated should be more ready or primed to learn and apply their learnings. Also a person motivated to attend the training will be more likely to enjoy it thus displaying a positive reaction. Whereas a person who is unmotivated to attend training will not learn much from the training even if he ends up enjoying the experience (Mathieu et al., 1992). Consequently we also hypothesize a direct relation between how much the trainee learns and how much he is motivated about the training to how much of the learned skills he will apply in his job. Thus training motivation can be hypothesized to bring about change in behavior of the trainee as well. Based on the above reasoning we state out second hypothesis as, Training motivation positively impacts training effectiveness Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. Hicks and Klimoski (1987) attempted to study the effect of choice of attending the training program with effectiveness of the training program. They hypothesized that if trainee had a choice of attending a training program then he will be more satisfied by it than otherwise. Ryman and Biersner (1975) also studied the effect of choice on training outcome. They found that giving a choice to attend the training program resulted in lesser dropouts from the program and greater training success. In a slight variation of this experiment, Baldwin, Magjuka and Lober (1991) reported that when trainees received their top choice from the available training programs they reported higher pre training motivation and. They also learned more as compared to other trainees who did not get their top pick. Tannebaum et al. (1992) showed by way of their research that individuals who nominate themselves for training actually attach a greater instrumentality to the program and report higher training motivat ion than others. This in turn leads to greater training effectiveness. The same was researched upon and confirmed by Gormley, Collins et al. (2009) on their study on Medical students undergoing E-learning programs. In our research we would like to extend the above findings to the context of training attitude. Training attitude can be seen as the pre disposition of the individual towards attending training. If the individual has a positive attitude towards training then he will choose to attend the same whereas if he has a negative attitude towards training he will not attend it or attend it grudgingly if forced to the same. Hence incorporating Tannenbaums findings, we can say that people who attend training against their choice will not undergo an optimally effective training. Hence we hypothesize that only people who choose to attend the training by way of their positive attitude towards it will be more motivated about the training and hence consequently the training imparted to them will be effective. No previous research has aimed to study this mediating effect of training motivation on the relationship between Training attitude and training effectiveness and this is the gap we propose to fi ll by means of our research. We hypothesize that Training effectiveness is impacted by Training Attitude of the individual via the mediating variable of training motivation. Training attitude positively affects training effectiveness. Training Motivation acts as the mediating variable on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. Moderating Effect of Prior Work Experience: Goldstein (2002) stated in his research that training transfer happens more effectively if tasks in the training environment are congruent with those in the actual work environment. Typically the young Indian professional fresh out of college will prefer the formal training programs as he is not exposed to any other way of learning. However as we have talked about training attitude it is important to study the effect of previous trainings on the individuals attitude. Employees who have undergone much training and have worked for enough years in the organization may have seen other methods of learning their job or skill apart from formal training programs to form different attitudes about training than those who have very little work experience. Learning On -the-job takes place within the workplace while the employee is doing actual work in the actual work environment under normal working conditions. This is important because it ensures that skills taught in such informal training can be readily transferred to the job (Kleiner Read, 1996). Work based learning focuses on reviewing and learning from experience and is cantered on learning from action rather than simply developing competencies (Dymock Gerber, 2002). Since the employee is trained in normal working condition, there is a high sense of relevance and validity to the employee (Clifford Thorpe, 2007) and is a tool to increase the productivity (Jain, 1999). Learning on the job happens on an individual level and the greatest advantage of this is that it enables each participant to determine the speed with which learning can proceed, at the same time providing a high level of feedback and trainee involvement (Kleiner Read, 1996). Other advantages are that the employee is being productive during training, and thus the associated costs may be less (Kleiner Read, 1996); this training may be given to more people than it is possible at a training institution (Jain,1999). Thus we can see that on the job learning may be perceived to be more effective than formal trainings by employees with greater years of work experience behind them. This could also possibly affect their attitude towards formal training programs and its utility. Hence the effect of training attitude on training effectiveness may be moderated by the prior work experience of the individual. We hypothesize that more is the prior work experience of an individual the more likely he has understood how to perform on his job and how to acquire skills on the job and hence the more it is likely that he will not have a favourable attitude towards formal training programs. Thereby the effectiveness of training programs on such individuals will be subdued. Thus, in this research we will aim to study the moderating effect of Prior work experience on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. The prior work experience of individual has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. We would also like to study whether the Mediating Effect of Training Motivation on the relationship between Training attitude and Training effectiveness is valid for different groups of people with varied work experience. For this purpose we propose to study the said relationship by dividing the data set into groups of people with differing work experience. According to our theoretical study we expect to observe a more significant mediated relationship between training attitude and effectiveness for people with lower work experience than those with higher work experience. For people with lower work experience the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness mediated by training motivation is more significant. Methods: Sample: Around 200 participants from various manufacturing organizations were contacted in person and via e-mail and the questionnaire was administered. Out of the 200 people contacted 122 (61%) people chose to participate. Most of the participants were chosen from the technical background who have undergone some sort of training at their work place. To maintain anonymity the questionnaire did not contain any identifiers. The researchers themselves administered the questionnaire and they themselves collected the responses. Measures: All the scale used to measure the various constructs were measured using a 7 point Likert scale ranging from 1(Very Strongly Disagree, Very Strongly Unlikely) to 7(Very Strongly Agree, Very Strongly Likely). Training Attitude: Training attitude was measured using a 9 item scale developed by Anupama Narayanan and Debra Steele-Johnson (2007). A sample item is I enjoy participating in training programs offered at work. Training Motivation: Training motivation was measured using a 14 item scale developed by Phyllis Tharenou (2001) which was adopted from Noe and Wilk (1993) 17 item scale. This scale was based on the valence instrumentality expectancy theory and had 7 items each for valence and instrumentality. A sample item for instrumentality is How likely you will obtain a pay increase from KSA from TD. A sample item for valence is How important is obtaining pay increase to you. Training Effectiveness: The training effectiveness was measured through a 4 item scale. This scale was a shortened version of the Kirkpatricks scale and was developed by Alan Chapman. The training effectiveness was measured on different parameters namely reaction, learning, behavior and productivity. Prior Work experience: The prior work experience was measured using a single question to the participants asking them of the number of years of prior years of work experience. Analysis: The study was intended to find the mediation effect of training motivation between training attitude and training effectiveness. The procedure followed to study the mediation effect was adopted from the study by Baron and Kenny (1986). Further the researchers also studied the moderation effect of years of prior work experience on the direct relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. This was done through a 2 model approach using the standardized multiplied values for training attitude and years of prior work experience. All the analysis was done using SPSS software. Further the entire sample of respondents was divided into 2 classes based on the work experience, one having work experience more than the median and one having less than the median. The median value was ignored and the mediation analysis was carried out using the Baron and Kenny model (1986). Results: The means, standard deviations and correlations .All the variables were found to be significantly correlated with each another. It can be easily seen from the table 1 that the correlation among all the variables is very high. To test the internal consistency of the scales measuring the constructs, the Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient was calculated and it was found that all the scales were reliable as the Cronbachs Coefficient was greater than 0.7. The results of the measures of internal consistency. Again it can be seen that the Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient is very high indicating that the internal consistency of the scales is very high. Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlations: Measures of internal consistency Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient: In this research we have primarily hypothesized the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness with training motivation as the mediating variable. Apart from the mediation effect, the moderation effect of number of years of prior work experience on the direct effect of training attitude on training effectiveness has been studied. The results of the mediation effect of training motivation on the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness. The mediation effect was studied using the 4 step Baron and Kenny model of regression analysis. In the first step, the independent variable training attitude was shown to affect the outcome variable i.e. training effectiveness significantly. In the next step, the independent variable was shown to affect the mediator variable i.e. training motivation significantly. In the third step, the mediator variable was shown to have a significant effect on the dependent variable. These steps showed that the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness was mediated by training motivation. In the 4th step, the mediation effect was calculated through a regression analysis in which the mediator and the independent variable were the predictors and the criterion variable was the dependent variable. Regression results to study mediation effect: The mediation is significant and the mediation effect was calculated to be 0.923 standard deviations. Also in the fourth step, since the effect of training attitude on training effectiveness becomes insignificant we can safely infer that full mediation is present. The step I shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the criterion variable and the training attitude was taken as the independent variable. From this step we saw that training attitude was significantly related to the training effectiveness. Here the value of R2 was found to be 0.796 with F = 468.143 at p The step II shows the regression results when training motivation was taken as the dependent variable with training attitude as the predictor variable. In this step it was seen that training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness. The R2 value was found to be 0.883 with F = 904.66 at p The step III shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable with training motivation being the predictor variable. In this step it was found that the training motivation is significantly related to training effectiveness. The R2 value was found to be 0.909 at p The step IV shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the criterion variable with both training motivation and training attitude as the predictor variables. From this step we could conclude that training motivation was significantly related to training effectiveness and also we see that training attitude loses the significance of its effect that it had on training effectiveness in step I. The R2 value was found to be 0.909 at p The above 4 steps show that the mediation effect of training motivation between training attitude and training effectiveness is a full mediation effect as the independent, variable training attitude, becomes insignificantly related to the criterion variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). The steps I, II and III are used to test the first 3 hypothesis. In step I it was shown that training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness hence H3 is accepted. Similarly in the step II it was shown that training attitude was significantly related to training motivation and hence H1 is accepted. In the third step, it was found that training motivation was significantly related to training effectiveness and hence H2 is accepted. Training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness in the first step and to training motivation in the second step but it was non-significantly related to training effectiveness in the fourth step. From this we could infer that training motivation fully mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. Thus H4 is supported. The Sobels test was used to just verify the mediation effect. The test showed that the mediation effect is statistically significant (Mediation effect = 0.923; Z-score = 8.68; p In addition to the above mediation analysis, we also tried to understand the role of work experience on the mediation analysis. Hence 2 more mediation analysis were carried out in which the entire data set was broken down in 2 sets, one with respondents having 2 or more years of work experience, second with respondents having less than 2 years of work experience. This was so done because the median work experience of the sample studied was 2 yrs. Impact of years of work experience on the mediating role of training motivation on training effectiveness was studied. First we take the case of respondents having less than 2 years of work experience. The same steps as stated above according to the Baron and Kenny Model were repeated and the results. Regression results to study mediation effect on respondents with work experience of less than 2 years: Again as we can see that training motivation fully mediates the relation between the training attitude and training effectiveness. In the first step we used training effectiveness as the criterion variable with training attitude as the predictor variable. The relation was found to be significant and positively related with R2 = 0.468; p In the next step, training motivation taken as the criterion variable and training attitude was taken as the independent variable. This relation was again found significant and positively related with R2 = 0.639; p In the third step, training motivation was now taken as the predictor variable and training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable. It was found that this relation was significant with R2 = 0.660; p In the last step, both training attitude and training motivation were taken as the predictor variables and training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable. In this step, the relation between training attitude on training effectiveness became insignificant hence it was proved that training motivation fully mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. The mediated effect was found to be 0.592 and the overall mediation was found to be significant using the Sobels test. Using the Sobels Test the Z score was found to be 4.7498. Thus showing that the mediation effect of training motivation on the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness is significant. Another mediation analysis was done to test the mediation effect of training motivation on the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness for respondents having more than 2 years of work experience. This was again a 4 step analysis as per the Baron and Kenny model and the results. As we can see in the table 5, in the first step it was found that training attitude significantly affect training effectiveness. In the second step it was found that training attitude significantly affects training motivation. In the third step, it was found that training motivation significantly affects training effectiveness. And in the fourth it was found that training motivation significantly affects effectiveness but impact of training attitude on effectiveness becomes insignificant. This showed that training motivation mediates the relation between attitude and effectiveness. Regression results to study mediation effect on respondents with work experience of more than 2 years: From the fourth step we can see that training motivation mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness fully. The overall significance of the mediation was checked using the Sobels test. Effect of Motivation on Employee Training Effectiveness Effect of Motivation on Employee Training Effectiveness Training is an integral part of workforce development and creation of new competencies within the workforce to ensure that the organization keeps up with the changing needs of the times. Training is related to performance in two ways. Effective training has a direct impact on the performance output and any gap in an individuals performance can sometimes be filled with training. For employees, lack of training also causes a lack of self-satisfaction and productivity. Training is seen as a major cost center in most organizations in India even though its necessity is widely accepted. This negative view can mostly be attributed because of the apparent lack of direct linkage between training and the bottom-line of the company. In todays world, where the HR department needs to justify its expenses, especially in the wake of recession and lay-offs, it is essential that the trainings rendered are of optimum efficiency in achieving the set target and also that it be done at the least possible cost. Hence it is important to understand whether the methods of training employed are yielding the desired results or alternatively if the same results can be attained in more cost effective ways. One major factor influencing the training effectiveness is training motivation, as we have explained in the literature review below. But the attitude of employees towards formal training is another factor which will decide whether it is justified to spend so much money on formal training modules if the same end result can be obtained by informal on the job training if it is preferred by the employees. Hence we explore the links between these constructs. Theoretical Review and Hypothesis: Training Attitude: Development activities like training are significantly affected by attitudes and perceptual variables (Noe and Wilk, 1993).Eagly Chaiken (1998) defined attitude as the psychological tendency to evaluate an entity with a certain degree of favor or disfavor. These attitudes are good predictors of behavior (Ajzen, 1991).We can extend this line of reason to say that a person with a positive attitude to certain entity will show favorable behavioral response towards it and a person with a negative attitude to it will show an unfavorable behavioral response. Training attitude applies the definition of attitude to training. A persons attitude towards training is a measure or reflection of his or her attitude towards the formal process of knowledge and skill acquisition. Thus we can say that training attitude is indirectly a measure of liking an individual has for the formal process of training as opposed to say learning something on-the-job informally. It logically follows that those who ha ve a positive attitude towards training will be more likely to attend the training programs willingly and gain from it as compared to someone who has a negative attitude towards training which is to say, that training attitude determines the motivation with which a person attends training programs, especially in an organizational scenario where training programs are mandatory. Also this very attitude can be linked to how much learning happens in the training. The scale for measuring the training attitude construct was developed by Anupama Narayan and Debra Steele Johnson (2007) for their research. This was a 20 item scale addressing participants evaluation of 2 issues: How relevant and useful they perceived training programs to be. How much they desired to practice acquired skills on job. This scale with 7 point likert type response pattern had a high level of internal consistency (alpha =0.92) However some items were redundant and for the purpose of this research were omitted. The resulting 9 item scale was again tested for internal consistency and displayed a Cronbachs Alpha= 0.91 which is fairly high. The response to the 7 point likert scale was interpreted as a summated score which indicated the degree of positive attitude towards training among the respondents. Training Motivation: Quinones (1997) aptly described motivation to be an individuals choice to dedicate more energy to one set of behavior over others. In the training context, Blanchard Thacker (2004) explain motivation as an inspiration which is directed by trainees personal needs and decision processes they use to satisfy those needs. Or, as Colquitt (2007) puts it , training motivation is the persistence and intensity of learning -directed behavior in the context of training. Training motivation is affected by a diverse set of internal and external factors as suggested by various research papers. Work environment, organizational climate, supervisory support etc are a few of the external factors researched upon whereas the internal factors hypothesized to affect training motivation include self efficacy, personal mental ability and personality (Colquitt et al, 2000). One of the most popular theories to explain motivation is the expectancy theory of how people are motivated by the results of their behavior (Bandura, 1997). We can also view Vrooms expectancy theory as a theoretical framework for examining training motivation. Vrooms model suggests that expectation of an act being followed by a certain outcome often shapes the motivation for doing that act. To extend this to the context of training motivation, if a trainee expects that the effort he puts into attending training programs will yield valued outcomes to him then he will be motivated to attend the same. Hence this research attempts to understand the valence -instrumentality link associated with training. We measure what the trainee values and whether he perceives those things to be outcome of training programs. A 14 item scale, with 7 items each for valence and instrumentality of factors associated with training, was adapted from the research paper by Phyllis Tharenou (2001).The factors of valence included in the scale are Reaching career goals, Pay increase, Job security, Change to workplace, Promotion or advancement, Opportunities for different career paths, Supervisor praise. The responses for these questions were taken on a 7 point likert scale and scores were summated to arrive at the level of training motivation of the respondent. A higher score symbolizes that the respondent values the inherent factors highly and also perceives that training will help him achieve the same. Training Effectiveness: Training effectiveness is essentially a measure of how effective the training imparted was. Many researchers including Ford (1997), Noe (1986), and Tannenbaum (1992) have recognized training effectiveness as a crucial issue for organizations. Employee performance and productivity can be measurably improved if trainings are effective and organizations will be able to avoid wasteful spending on ineffective trainings. Most organizations would want to have a good return on their training investment. According to London (1989) and Noe (1999) training interventions in organizations are going to increase hence the training effectiveness is going to be an important feature in the organizations. Kirkpatricks (1976) four level approach is one of the most extensively used methods for evaluating training effectiveness (Alliger Janak, 1989). This four level approach measures training effectiveness vis-Ã  -vis the trainees reactions to a training program, the extent to which trainees can execute desired behaviors related to the training, the acquisition of skills and knowledge by the trainee and resulting change in the job behaviors of the trainee. It has been a common assumption among researchers that these 4 levels linked in a linear fashion hierarchically. Hamblin (1947) illustrated the cause and effect chain as training leading to reactions which in turn leads to learning and that leads to change in job behavior. But this empirical evidence for this proposed link has been inconclusive. This led Alliger Janak (1989) to conduct a Meta analysis and conclude that the four factors are not necessarily linearly linked. There are several factors like training motivation attitude, context of training and other influences which attenuate the link between trainees reaction and other criterion measures. A four item shortened version of the Kirkpatrick scale was used for measuring the training effectiveness. The measured effectiveness was the perceived effectiveness of the last im parted training program. Sample items in the scale included questions like Did I enjoy the course. The response was obtained on a 7 point likert scale varying from strongly disagree to strongly agree and the summated score of each item response was used as the measure of the training effectiveness and higher the score higher was the perceived effectiveness of the training. Training Attitude and Training Motivation: Individuals disposition or attitude towards formal training programs has been shown to have a direct influence on his training motivation (Ford Noe, 1987). Training attitude also displays his motivation to learn (Tannenbaum Yukl, 1992) and his motivation to attend training (Facteau et al, 1995) as distinct from training motivation. What the above mentioned research suggests is that there is a logical and empirical link between a person liking a training program and being motivated to attend the same. However the extant literature mentions this relationship in a very general and broad format. We would like to hypothesis a more specific relationship. Going back to our definition of training motivation , we have said that it is the perceived valence the trainee associates with certain outcomes and how instrumental he feels attending a training is in order to acquire them .We listed these outcomes as career development, superior praise, promotion or development, pay increase , job secu rity etc. Research suggests that there is very strong link between training attitude and training motivation .Carlson et al.(2000) found a high correlation between training attitude scores and training motivation scores in their research.Now most employees may find that there is a perceived strong connection between attending trainings and achieving these outcomes and hence may attend trainings when they are mandatory rather than volunteer for it. But otherwise, based on his experience he might feel that training programs are a waste of time over all and he learns more on his job. Especially in the context of Indian manufacturing industry where trainings are mandatory, employees might not be predisposed to attending trainings, but will attend them anyways due to perceived benefits. Hence in this research we are testing whether having a positive attitude towards training increases the individuals training motivation and how much is it correlated. Hence, Training Attitude of an individual positively impacts his Training Motivation: Training Motivation and Training Effectiveness: Based on our understanding of motivation, an individual is more likely to expend more energy for a task he is motivated to do and hence is more probable to do that task more effectively than other tasks. Extending this logic forward if a person is motivated to attend training then he is more likely to enjoy the training, learn most from it and apply it on to his job. In other words the effectiveness of the training imparted will be high if the trainees entering the training program are highly motivated for the same. In the organizational context it is imperative that different individuals enter the training with different levels of motivation. These differences in the level of motivation may be an outcome of various factors like personal characteristics and work environments. After studying these effects, Salas et al.1(1992) hypothesized that individuals motivated to do well in training will be the ones who end up learning the content of the program better than their lesser motivated counterparts. Training effectiveness is measured in terms of 4 parameters derived from the Kirkpatricks model. These parameters are namely, Learning, Behavior, Reaction and Applications of skills. Several studies put forth empirical support indicating a link between trainees motivation and learning (Rails Klien, 1991; Clark 1990; Hicks Klimoski 1987; Baldwin et al., 1991).The attention levels and openness to new ideas is increased by pre-training motivation. Hence theoretically trainees who are more motivated should be more ready or primed to learn and apply their learnings. Also a person motivated to attend the training will be more likely to enjoy it thus displaying a positive reaction. Whereas a person who is unmotivated to attend training will not learn much from the training even if he ends up enjoying the experience (Mathieu et al., 1992). Consequently we also hypothesize a direct relation between how much the trainee learns and how much he is motivated about the training to how much of the learned skills he will apply in his job. Thus training motivation can be hypothesized to bring about change in behavior of the trainee as well. Based on the above reasoning we state out second hypothesis as, Training motivation positively impacts training effectiveness Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. Hicks and Klimoski (1987) attempted to study the effect of choice of attending the training program with effectiveness of the training program. They hypothesized that if trainee had a choice of attending a training program then he will be more satisfied by it than otherwise. Ryman and Biersner (1975) also studied the effect of choice on training outcome. They found that giving a choice to attend the training program resulted in lesser dropouts from the program and greater training success. In a slight variation of this experiment, Baldwin, Magjuka and Lober (1991) reported that when trainees received their top choice from the available training programs they reported higher pre training motivation and. They also learned more as compared to other trainees who did not get their top pick. Tannebaum et al. (1992) showed by way of their research that individuals who nominate themselves for training actually attach a greater instrumentality to the program and report higher training motivat ion than others. This in turn leads to greater training effectiveness. The same was researched upon and confirmed by Gormley, Collins et al. (2009) on their study on Medical students undergoing E-learning programs. In our research we would like to extend the above findings to the context of training attitude. Training attitude can be seen as the pre disposition of the individual towards attending training. If the individual has a positive attitude towards training then he will choose to attend the same whereas if he has a negative attitude towards training he will not attend it or attend it grudgingly if forced to the same. Hence incorporating Tannenbaums findings, we can say that people who attend training against their choice will not undergo an optimally effective training. Hence we hypothesize that only people who choose to attend the training by way of their positive attitude towards it will be more motivated about the training and hence consequently the training imparted to them will be effective. No previous research has aimed to study this mediating effect of training motivation on the relationship between Training attitude and training effectiveness and this is the gap we propose to fi ll by means of our research. We hypothesize that Training effectiveness is impacted by Training Attitude of the individual via the mediating variable of training motivation. Training attitude positively affects training effectiveness. Training Motivation acts as the mediating variable on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. Moderating Effect of Prior Work Experience: Goldstein (2002) stated in his research that training transfer happens more effectively if tasks in the training environment are congruent with those in the actual work environment. Typically the young Indian professional fresh out of college will prefer the formal training programs as he is not exposed to any other way of learning. However as we have talked about training attitude it is important to study the effect of previous trainings on the individuals attitude. Employees who have undergone much training and have worked for enough years in the organization may have seen other methods of learning their job or skill apart from formal training programs to form different attitudes about training than those who have very little work experience. Learning On -the-job takes place within the workplace while the employee is doing actual work in the actual work environment under normal working conditions. This is important because it ensures that skills taught in such informal training can be readily transferred to the job (Kleiner Read, 1996). Work based learning focuses on reviewing and learning from experience and is cantered on learning from action rather than simply developing competencies (Dymock Gerber, 2002). Since the employee is trained in normal working condition, there is a high sense of relevance and validity to the employee (Clifford Thorpe, 2007) and is a tool to increase the productivity (Jain, 1999). Learning on the job happens on an individual level and the greatest advantage of this is that it enables each participant to determine the speed with which learning can proceed, at the same time providing a high level of feedback and trainee involvement (Kleiner Read, 1996). Other advantages are that the employee is being productive during training, and thus the associated costs may be less (Kleiner Read, 1996); this training may be given to more people than it is possible at a training institution (Jain,1999). Thus we can see that on the job learning may be perceived to be more effective than formal trainings by employees with greater years of work experience behind them. This could also possibly affect their attitude towards formal training programs and its utility. Hence the effect of training attitude on training effectiveness may be moderated by the prior work experience of the individual. We hypothesize that more is the prior work experience of an individual the more likely he has understood how to perform on his job and how to acquire skills on the job and hence the more it is likely that he will not have a favourable attitude towards formal training programs. Thereby the effectiveness of training programs on such individuals will be subdued. Thus, in this research we will aim to study the moderating effect of Prior work experience on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. The prior work experience of individual has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between Training Attitude and Training Effectiveness. We would also like to study whether the Mediating Effect of Training Motivation on the relationship between Training attitude and Training effectiveness is valid for different groups of people with varied work experience. For this purpose we propose to study the said relationship by dividing the data set into groups of people with differing work experience. According to our theoretical study we expect to observe a more significant mediated relationship between training attitude and effectiveness for people with lower work experience than those with higher work experience. For people with lower work experience the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness mediated by training motivation is more significant. Methods: Sample: Around 200 participants from various manufacturing organizations were contacted in person and via e-mail and the questionnaire was administered. Out of the 200 people contacted 122 (61%) people chose to participate. Most of the participants were chosen from the technical background who have undergone some sort of training at their work place. To maintain anonymity the questionnaire did not contain any identifiers. The researchers themselves administered the questionnaire and they themselves collected the responses. Measures: All the scale used to measure the various constructs were measured using a 7 point Likert scale ranging from 1(Very Strongly Disagree, Very Strongly Unlikely) to 7(Very Strongly Agree, Very Strongly Likely). Training Attitude: Training attitude was measured using a 9 item scale developed by Anupama Narayanan and Debra Steele-Johnson (2007). A sample item is I enjoy participating in training programs offered at work. Training Motivation: Training motivation was measured using a 14 item scale developed by Phyllis Tharenou (2001) which was adopted from Noe and Wilk (1993) 17 item scale. This scale was based on the valence instrumentality expectancy theory and had 7 items each for valence and instrumentality. A sample item for instrumentality is How likely you will obtain a pay increase from KSA from TD. A sample item for valence is How important is obtaining pay increase to you. Training Effectiveness: The training effectiveness was measured through a 4 item scale. This scale was a shortened version of the Kirkpatricks scale and was developed by Alan Chapman. The training effectiveness was measured on different parameters namely reaction, learning, behavior and productivity. Prior Work experience: The prior work experience was measured using a single question to the participants asking them of the number of years of prior years of work experience. Analysis: The study was intended to find the mediation effect of training motivation between training attitude and training effectiveness. The procedure followed to study the mediation effect was adopted from the study by Baron and Kenny (1986). Further the researchers also studied the moderation effect of years of prior work experience on the direct relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. This was done through a 2 model approach using the standardized multiplied values for training attitude and years of prior work experience. All the analysis was done using SPSS software. Further the entire sample of respondents was divided into 2 classes based on the work experience, one having work experience more than the median and one having less than the median. The median value was ignored and the mediation analysis was carried out using the Baron and Kenny model (1986). Results: The means, standard deviations and correlations .All the variables were found to be significantly correlated with each another. It can be easily seen from the table 1 that the correlation among all the variables is very high. To test the internal consistency of the scales measuring the constructs, the Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient was calculated and it was found that all the scales were reliable as the Cronbachs Coefficient was greater than 0.7. The results of the measures of internal consistency. Again it can be seen that the Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient is very high indicating that the internal consistency of the scales is very high. Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlations: Measures of internal consistency Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient: In this research we have primarily hypothesized the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness with training motivation as the mediating variable. Apart from the mediation effect, the moderation effect of number of years of prior work experience on the direct effect of training attitude on training effectiveness has been studied. The results of the mediation effect of training motivation on the relationship between training attitude and training effectiveness. The mediation effect was studied using the 4 step Baron and Kenny model of regression analysis. In the first step, the independent variable training attitude was shown to affect the outcome variable i.e. training effectiveness significantly. In the next step, the independent variable was shown to affect the mediator variable i.e. training motivation significantly. In the third step, the mediator variable was shown to have a significant effect on the dependent variable. These steps showed that the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness was mediated by training motivation. In the 4th step, the mediation effect was calculated through a regression analysis in which the mediator and the independent variable were the predictors and the criterion variable was the dependent variable. Regression results to study mediation effect: The mediation is significant and the mediation effect was calculated to be 0.923 standard deviations. Also in the fourth step, since the effect of training attitude on training effectiveness becomes insignificant we can safely infer that full mediation is present. The step I shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the criterion variable and the training attitude was taken as the independent variable. From this step we saw that training attitude was significantly related to the training effectiveness. Here the value of R2 was found to be 0.796 with F = 468.143 at p The step II shows the regression results when training motivation was taken as the dependent variable with training attitude as the predictor variable. In this step it was seen that training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness. The R2 value was found to be 0.883 with F = 904.66 at p The step III shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable with training motivation being the predictor variable. In this step it was found that the training motivation is significantly related to training effectiveness. The R2 value was found to be 0.909 at p The step IV shows the regression results when training effectiveness was taken as the criterion variable with both training motivation and training attitude as the predictor variables. From this step we could conclude that training motivation was significantly related to training effectiveness and also we see that training attitude loses the significance of its effect that it had on training effectiveness in step I. The R2 value was found to be 0.909 at p The above 4 steps show that the mediation effect of training motivation between training attitude and training effectiveness is a full mediation effect as the independent, variable training attitude, becomes insignificantly related to the criterion variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). The steps I, II and III are used to test the first 3 hypothesis. In step I it was shown that training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness hence H3 is accepted. Similarly in the step II it was shown that training attitude was significantly related to training motivation and hence H1 is accepted. In the third step, it was found that training motivation was significantly related to training effectiveness and hence H2 is accepted. Training attitude was significantly related to training effectiveness in the first step and to training motivation in the second step but it was non-significantly related to training effectiveness in the fourth step. From this we could infer that training motivation fully mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. Thus H4 is supported. The Sobels test was used to just verify the mediation effect. The test showed that the mediation effect is statistically significant (Mediation effect = 0.923; Z-score = 8.68; p In addition to the above mediation analysis, we also tried to understand the role of work experience on the mediation analysis. Hence 2 more mediation analysis were carried out in which the entire data set was broken down in 2 sets, one with respondents having 2 or more years of work experience, second with respondents having less than 2 years of work experience. This was so done because the median work experience of the sample studied was 2 yrs. Impact of years of work experience on the mediating role of training motivation on training effectiveness was studied. First we take the case of respondents having less than 2 years of work experience. The same steps as stated above according to the Baron and Kenny Model were repeated and the results. Regression results to study mediation effect on respondents with work experience of less than 2 years: Again as we can see that training motivation fully mediates the relation between the training attitude and training effectiveness. In the first step we used training effectiveness as the criterion variable with training attitude as the predictor variable. The relation was found to be significant and positively related with R2 = 0.468; p In the next step, training motivation taken as the criterion variable and training attitude was taken as the independent variable. This relation was again found significant and positively related with R2 = 0.639; p In the third step, training motivation was now taken as the predictor variable and training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable. It was found that this relation was significant with R2 = 0.660; p In the last step, both training attitude and training motivation were taken as the predictor variables and training effectiveness was taken as the dependent variable. In this step, the relation between training attitude on training effectiveness became insignificant hence it was proved that training motivation fully mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness. The mediated effect was found to be 0.592 and the overall mediation was found to be significant using the Sobels test. Using the Sobels Test the Z score was found to be 4.7498. Thus showing that the mediation effect of training motivation on the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness is significant. Another mediation analysis was done to test the mediation effect of training motivation on the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness for respondents having more than 2 years of work experience. This was again a 4 step analysis as per the Baron and Kenny model and the results. As we can see in the table 5, in the first step it was found that training attitude significantly affect training effectiveness. In the second step it was found that training attitude significantly affects training motivation. In the third step, it was found that training motivation significantly affects training effectiveness. And in the fourth it was found that training motivation significantly affects effectiveness but impact of training attitude on effectiveness becomes insignificant. This showed that training motivation mediates the relation between attitude and effectiveness. Regression results to study mediation effect on respondents with work experience of more than 2 years: From the fourth step we can see that training motivation mediates the relation between training attitude and training effectiveness fully. The overall significance of the mediation was checked using the Sobels test.

Roles of the Housekeeper and Nursemaid in Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre essays

Roles of the Housekeeper and Nursemaid in Bronte's Jane Eyre    Just as servants played an essential role in Victorian England, they also played an essential role in the novel Jane Eyre. Bronte uses servants in a variety of ways. For example the housekeeper is used to bring terror and utter rejection on Jane. The nursemaid is used to teach Jane to love and nurture without neglecting discipline. The housekeeper was most often a widow, working for her kin (Hill 119). Mrs. Fairfax falls under the category of the widowed older lady working for her kin (107; ch. 11). It is Mrs. Fairfax who responds to Jane’s ad and hires her (96; ch. 10). It is also Mrs. Fairfax who warns Jane before her wedding to Rochester that she should not trust him. Being the housekeeper as well as kin Mrs. Fairfax knows a lot about Rochester. She suggests that Jane "keep Mr. Rochester at a distance: distrust yourself as well as him" ( 263; ch. 24). Bronte uses the stern housekeeper in the novel to influence Jane. The stern and disproving Mrs. Fairfax signifies the distress and turmoil that is soon to take place with the pending wedding. The housekeeper was often a terror to other servants in the home, and is the character of many stories haunting (Huggert 33). Mrs. Fairfax adhering to her role as housekeeper attempts to stir terror in Jane about marrying Rochester by telling her to distrust him (263; ch. 24). We find that Mrs. Fairfax’s warning does indeed take a toll on Jane’s behavior toward Rochester. After treating Rochester coolly for weeks, Jane says, "Mrs. Fairfax, I saw, approved me" (272; ch. 25). The same kind of attributes are displayed by Hannah the housekeeper at Moor House. The same kind of close loyal bond is also displayed by Hannah. When Jane knocks on the door of Moor House , it is Hannah who answers and turns her away. Hannah’s loyalty to the family causes her to distrust strangers and attempt to protect their interests. She refuses to allow Jane to even speak to her mistresses (329; ch. 28 ). Jane continues claiming she will die if turned away. Hannah responds: Not you. I’m fear’d you have some ill plans agate, that bring you about folk’s houses at this time o’ night. If you’ve any followers- housebreakers or such like- anywhere near, you may tell them we are not by ourselves in the house; we have a gentleman, and dogs, and guns.

Success and Failures of Low-Cost (Rdp) Housing Post- Apatheid.South Africa

Introduction According to Tonkin (2008), low –cost housing is dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed affordable to a group of people within a specified income range, low cost housing includes social housing and low income housing. In South Africa these houses have been provided through the Reconstruction Development Program (RDP). Since 1994, the government has been implementing this program to address the housing backlog which is continuously increasing. The post-Apartheid has era has been enlightened by different successes and failures of low cost housing.Some of the successes include provision of housing to the poor at affordable rates and failures include that it promotes continuous segregation of people in accordance with economic class and race (Tonkin, 2008). The main purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the successes and failures of low cost housing (RDP). The Successes of Low-Cost housing in Post-Apartheid Low cost housing has brought attentio n of excellence to South Africa by different countries in the world. South Africa has been classified as the world‘s leading country in relation to the provision of houses and its inspiration to eliminate informal settlements.Researchers have suggested that South Africa by 2011 had build-up 2 million houses for the poor. South Africa has been identified on the international arena as a country leading by example in relation to the initiatives it takes to provide low cost housing (Tonkin, 2008). Furthermore, Tonkin (2008) suggests that low-cost housing has managed to provide housing to the poor who could not afford housing on the market. The market forces could not provide for choice and selection for these people to have housing of their preferred choices. Low cost housing has played a role of making equitable selection for those who cannot afford housing.This has helped in improving the living conditions for these poor households. In addition, jobs have been created due to the low cost housing provision process. Low cost housing has played the role of job creation strategy. South Africa has been hit by massive unemployment rates since 1994, which has made most to survive on nothing, due to no shortage of employment opportunities (Tonkin, 2008). Moreover, Tonkin (2008) indicates that the historically black population, which has been supressed by the apartheid system, have been catered for, by low cost housing.Back under the apartheid blacks were not allowed to have accommodation especially in towns. Exclusionary zoning was the ordinance which dominated the housing allocation, favouring those with money and those who are racially deemed acceptable. Low cost housing has been a catalyst in addressing this issue. Lastly, low cost housing has made availability of cheap labour especially in areas, where low cost housing is located near heavy industries. The availability of the labour has made industries to operate on low cost strategies and help them utilize th eir resources more efficiently and effectively.In addition expenses for these industries reduce especially in relation to wage expenses (Tonkin, 2008). Failures of Low-Cost housing in Post-Apartheid On the other hand, Low cost housing has had its failures . One of the failures of low cost housing is that a small number of the population have benefited from the program. In South Africa a larger share of the total population lives in informal self-built houses. In reality low cost housing has failed to benefit large groups of people (Zhang, 2008).To add more, Zhang (2008) clarifies that low cost housing has even made lives of the poor to become more difficult, this is because the (RDP)s have been characterised by the issue of being of low quality. Reports have made variously about their lack of quality by occupiers. Some of the issues raised include that the roofs in some instances are always leaking when it rains, another issue has been of the material used which can be easily get da maged by wind or other elements of nature. Furthermore, low cost housing has been responsible for the failure to link efficiently and effectively people to employment areas (Zhang, 2008).Land near the central business district is mainly expensive, therefore cheaper land is found in the outskirts of towns and that’s where low cost housing is built. This has made people to travel longer distances to their employment areas, eventually people will be forced to fork out large sums of money. Tonkin (2008) has highlighted that most (RDP) houses have become residential dormitories because most beneficiaries choose to rent their homes and move back to informal settlements or other housing closer to work. In addition, Tonkin (2008) suggests that low cost hosing has een unable to create or provide integrated development. Segregation of the poor households still exists and in some racial segregation is also present. Therefore this perpetuates marginalisation of the poor and does not cont ribute to the compaction, integration and restructuring of the apartheid city (Zhang ,2008) This segregation has made South African cities to be identified as some of the least dense cities in the world and eventually in the end low cost housing does not allow mixed housing as an alternative solution.According to Zhang (2008), (RDP) housing in some instances has promoted violent clashes amongst different groups of low cost housing recipients, the main reason is that housing has not been adequately distributed effectively enough to cover the whole section of those who cannot afford it. Housing delivery process has been poor. It is estimated that the 2million+ houses which were built by the government, only offered accommodation to 5 million people out of the total of the total 12million people who have been identified to have no proper housing (Tonkin, 2008).In addition, the major part of the land where the houses for RDP are built was once used as mainly farm land (Zhang, 2008). Pro duction in the agriculture sector has been affected because land as a factor of production has been reduced. Food production has been affected by this move. The country has been forced to go through a lot of expenses to balance this situation. The use of genetically modified technologies which promote quick growth of food crops, in the same time being harmful to the human body have been adopted as options by the government (Tonkin, 2008).Low cost housing has been responsible for this effect in agriculture production. Moreover, low-cost housing has failed to leverage growth in the economy. The main reason is that government has been the main actor alone in the delivery and the private sector has only put in little effort. The Gross Domestic Product has not benefited much from the low cost housing, because of lack of investments and clarifications of the benefits of low cost housing entrepreneurship (Tonkin, 2008).Lastly, low cost housing has not been able to combat crime but rather h as promoted the rate of crime to increase (Zhang 2008). The main reason is that the services within the vicinity of the housing have not been distributed efficiently and effectively . Another cause of crime is that most people are overcrowded and do not have ways to sustain their lives. Statistics in South Africa suggest that areas associated with low cost housing are prone to crime and that’s were the highest crime rates are situated in the country (Tonkin, 2008). ConclusionIn a nutshell, low cost housing has been a controversial issue where it has been characterised by successes and failures. The main drawback which makes RDP housing to be a failure is the legacies of the post-apartheid system which hinder success. RDP housing has been helpful in providing accommodation for the poor and at the same time it has been of low quality making lives even difficult for the users. Reference page Guy, A 2000, The New South Africa, Macmillan Press, London. Tonkin, A 2008, Sustainable Medium Density Housing: A Resource Book, Development Action Group, Cape Town.Tonkin, A & Muthambi, L 2012, ‘’ Challenges for interest groups and their advocacy campaigns: The case of sustainable medium density housing† , in Thuynsma H A (ed. ), Public Opinion and Interest Groups Politics: South Africa’s Missing Links? , Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria. Watson, V 2002, Change and Community in Spatial Planning: Metropolitan planning in Cape Town under political transition, Routledge, London. Zhang, X Q 2008, Housing Finance System in South Africa, UN-HABITAT, Nairobi. Success and Failures of Low-Cost (Rdp) Housing Post- Apatheid.South Africa Introduction According to Tonkin (2008), low –cost housing is dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed affordable to a group of people within a specified income range, low cost housing includes social housing and low income housing. In South Africa these houses have been provided through the Reconstruction Development Program (RDP). Since 1994, the government has been implementing this program to address the housing backlog which is continuously increasing. The post-Apartheid has era has been enlightened by different successes and failures of low cost housing.Some of the successes include provision of housing to the poor at affordable rates and failures include that it promotes continuous segregation of people in accordance with economic class and race (Tonkin, 2008). The main purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the successes and failures of low cost housing (RDP). The Successes of Low-Cost housing in Post-Apartheid Low cost housing has brought attentio n of excellence to South Africa by different countries in the world. South Africa has been classified as the world‘s leading country in relation to the provision of houses and its inspiration to eliminate informal settlements.Researchers have suggested that South Africa by 2011 had build-up 2 million houses for the poor. South Africa has been identified on the international arena as a country leading by example in relation to the initiatives it takes to provide low cost housing (Tonkin, 2008). Furthermore, Tonkin (2008) suggests that low-cost housing has managed to provide housing to the poor who could not afford housing on the market. The market forces could not provide for choice and selection for these people to have housing of their preferred choices. Low cost housing has played a role of making equitable selection for those who cannot afford housing.This has helped in improving the living conditions for these poor households. In addition, jobs have been created due to the low cost housing provision process. Low cost housing has played the role of job creation strategy. South Africa has been hit by massive unemployment rates since 1994, which has made most to survive on nothing, due to no shortage of employment opportunities (Tonkin, 2008). Moreover, Tonkin (2008) indicates that the historically black population, which has been supressed by the apartheid system, have been catered for, by low cost housing.Back under the apartheid blacks were not allowed to have accommodation especially in towns. Exclusionary zoning was the ordinance which dominated the housing allocation, favouring those with money and those who are racially deemed acceptable. Low cost housing has been a catalyst in addressing this issue. Lastly, low cost housing has made availability of cheap labour especially in areas, where low cost housing is located near heavy industries. The availability of the labour has made industries to operate on low cost strategies and help them utilize th eir resources more efficiently and effectively.In addition expenses for these industries reduce especially in relation to wage expenses (Tonkin, 2008). Failures of Low-Cost housing in Post-Apartheid On the other hand, Low cost housing has had its failures . One of the failures of low cost housing is that a small number of the population have benefited from the program. In South Africa a larger share of the total population lives in informal self-built houses. In reality low cost housing has failed to benefit large groups of people (Zhang, 2008).To add more, Zhang (2008) clarifies that low cost housing has even made lives of the poor to become more difficult, this is because the (RDP)s have been characterised by the issue of being of low quality. Reports have made variously about their lack of quality by occupiers. Some of the issues raised include that the roofs in some instances are always leaking when it rains, another issue has been of the material used which can be easily get da maged by wind or other elements of nature. Furthermore, low cost housing has been responsible for the failure to link efficiently and effectively people to employment areas (Zhang, 2008).Land near the central business district is mainly expensive, therefore cheaper land is found in the outskirts of towns and that’s where low cost housing is built. This has made people to travel longer distances to their employment areas, eventually people will be forced to fork out large sums of money. Tonkin (2008) has highlighted that most (RDP) houses have become residential dormitories because most beneficiaries choose to rent their homes and move back to informal settlements or other housing closer to work. In addition, Tonkin (2008) suggests that low cost hosing has een unable to create or provide integrated development. Segregation of the poor households still exists and in some racial segregation is also present. Therefore this perpetuates marginalisation of the poor and does not cont ribute to the compaction, integration and restructuring of the apartheid city (Zhang ,2008) This segregation has made South African cities to be identified as some of the least dense cities in the world and eventually in the end low cost housing does not allow mixed housing as an alternative solution.According to Zhang (2008), (RDP) housing in some instances has promoted violent clashes amongst different groups of low cost housing recipients, the main reason is that housing has not been adequately distributed effectively enough to cover the whole section of those who cannot afford it. Housing delivery process has been poor. It is estimated that the 2million+ houses which were built by the government, only offered accommodation to 5 million people out of the total of the total 12million people who have been identified to have no proper housing (Tonkin, 2008).In addition, the major part of the land where the houses for RDP are built was once used as mainly farm land (Zhang, 2008). Pro duction in the agriculture sector has been affected because land as a factor of production has been reduced. Food production has been affected by this move. The country has been forced to go through a lot of expenses to balance this situation. The use of genetically modified technologies which promote quick growth of food crops, in the same time being harmful to the human body have been adopted as options by the government (Tonkin, 2008).Low cost housing has been responsible for this effect in agriculture production. Moreover, low-cost housing has failed to leverage growth in the economy. The main reason is that government has been the main actor alone in the delivery and the private sector has only put in little effort. The Gross Domestic Product has not benefited much from the low cost housing, because of lack of investments and clarifications of the benefits of low cost housing entrepreneurship (Tonkin, 2008).Lastly, low cost housing has not been able to combat crime but rather h as promoted the rate of crime to increase (Zhang 2008). The main reason is that the services within the vicinity of the housing have not been distributed efficiently and effectively . Another cause of crime is that most people are overcrowded and do not have ways to sustain their lives. Statistics in South Africa suggest that areas associated with low cost housing are prone to crime and that’s were the highest crime rates are situated in the country (Tonkin, 2008). ConclusionIn a nutshell, low cost housing has been a controversial issue where it has been characterised by successes and failures. The main drawback which makes RDP housing to be a failure is the legacies of the post-apartheid system which hinder success. RDP housing has been helpful in providing accommodation for the poor and at the same time it has been of low quality making lives even difficult for the users. Reference page Guy, A 2000, The New South Africa, Macmillan Press, London. Tonkin, A 2008, Sustainable Medium Density Housing: A Resource Book, Development Action Group, Cape Town.Tonkin, A & Muthambi, L 2012, ‘’ Challenges for interest groups and their advocacy campaigns: The case of sustainable medium density housing† , in Thuynsma H A (ed. ), Public Opinion and Interest Groups Politics: South Africa’s Missing Links? , Africa Institute of South Africa, Pretoria. Watson, V 2002, Change and Community in Spatial Planning: Metropolitan planning in Cape Town under political transition, Routledge, London. Zhang, X Q 2008, Housing Finance System in South Africa, UN-HABITAT, Nairobi.

John Jay, Founding Father, Supreme Court Chief Justice

John Jay, Founding Father, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay (1745 to 1829), a native of New York State, was a patriot, statesman, diplomat, and one of America’s Founding Fathers who served the early United States government in many capacities. In 1783, Jay negotiated and signed the Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolutionary War and acknowledging the United States as an independent nation. He later served as the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and as the second governor of New York State. After helping to draft the U.S. Constitution and secure its ratification in 1788, Jay served as the chief architect of U.S. foreign policy for much of the 1780s and helped shape the future of American politics during the 1790s as one of the leaders of the Federalist Party.  Ã‚   Fast Facts: John Jay Known for: American founding father, first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and second governor of New YorkBorn: December 23, 1745 in New York City, New YorkParents: Peter Jay and Mary (Van Cortlandt) JayDied: May 17, 1829 in Bedford, New YorkEducation: King’s College (now Columbia University)Key Accomplishments: Negotiated the Treaty of Paris and Jay’s TreatySpouse’s Name: Sarah Van Brugh LivingstonChildren’s Names: Peter Augustus, Susan, Maria, Ann, William, and Sarah LouisaFamous Quote: â€Å"It is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that nations in general will make war whenever they have a prospect of getting anything by it.† (The Federalist Papers) John Jay’s Early Years Born in New York City on December 23, 1745, John Jay hailed from a well-off merchant family of French Huguenots who had migrated to the United States seeking religious freedom. Jay’s father, Peter Jay, prospered as a commodities trader, and he and Mary Jay (nà ©e Van Cortlandt) had seven surviving children together. In March 1745, the family moved to Rye, New York, when Jay’s father retired from business to care for two of the family’s children who had been blinded by smallpox. During his childhood and teen years, Jay was alternately homeschooled by his mother or outside tutors. In 1764, he graduated from New York City’s King’s College (now Columbia University) and began his career as an attorney. After graduating from college, Jay quickly became a rising star in New York politics. In 1774, he was elected as one of the state’s delegates to the first Continental Congress that would lead to the beginning of America’s journey on the road to revolution and independence. During the Revolution   Though never a loyalist to the Crown, Jay first backed a diplomatic resolution of America’s differences with Great Britain. However, as the effects of Britain’s â€Å"Intolerable Acts† against the American colonies began to mount and as war became increasingly likely, he actively backed the Revolution. During much of the Revolutionary War, Jay served as American Foreign Minister to Spain on what proved to be a largely unsuccessful and frustrating mission seeking financial support and official recognition of American independence from the Spanish Crown. Despite his best diplomatic efforts from 1779 to 1782, Jay succeeded only in securing a $170,000 loan from Spain to the U.S. government. Spain refused to recognize America’s independence, fearing its own foreign colonies might in turn revolt. The Treaty of Paris In 1782, shortly after the British surrender at the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Yorktown effectively ended fighting in the American colonies, Jay was dispatched to Paris, France along with fellow statesmen Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to negotiate a peace treaty with Great Britain. Jay opened the negotiations by demanding the British recognize American independence. In addition, the Americans pressed for territorial control of all North American frontier lands east of the Mississippi River, except for British territories in Canada and Spanish territory in Florida. In the resulting Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, Britain acknowledged the United States as an independent nation. Lands secured through the treaty essentially doubled the new nation’s size. However, many disputed issues, such as control of regions along the Canadian border and British occupation of forts on U.S.-controlled territory in the Great Lakes area remained unresolved. These and several other post-revolution issues, specifically with France, would eventually be addressed by another treaty negotiated by Jay- now known as Jay’s Treaty- signed in Paris on November 19, 1794. The Constitution and the Federalist Papers During the Revolutionary War, America had functioned under a loosely crafted agreement among the colonial-era governments of the 13 original states called the Articles of the Confederation. After the Revolution, however, weaknesses in the Articles of the Confederation revealed the need for a more comprehensive governing document- the U.S. Constitution. While John Jay did not attend the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he strongly believed in a stronger central government than that created by the Articles of the Confederation, which granted most governmental powers to the states. During 1787 and 1788, Jay, along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, wrote a series of essays widely published in newspapers under the collective pseudonym â€Å"Publius† advocating the ratification of the new Constitution. Later collected into a single volume and published as the Federalist Papers, the three Founding Fathers successfully argued for the creation of a strong federal government that serves the national interest while also reserving some powers to the states. Today, the Federalist Papers are often referred to and cited as an aid to interpreting the intent and application of the U.S. Constitution. First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court In September 1789, President George Washington offered to appoint Jay as Secretary of State, a position which would have continued his duties as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. When Jay declined, Washington offered him the title of Chief Justice of the United States, a new position which Washington called â€Å"the keystone of our political fabric.† Jay accepted and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 1789. Smaller than today’s Supreme Court, which is made up of nine justices, the chief justice, and eight associate justices, the John Jay Court had only six justices, the chief justice and five associates. All of the judges on that first Supreme Court were appointed by Washington. Jay served as chief justice until 1795, and while he personally wrote the majority decisions on only four cases during his six-year tenure on the Supreme Court, he greatly influenced the future rules and procedures for the rapidly developing U.S. federal court system.   Anti-Slavery Governor of New York Jay resigned from the Supreme Court in 1795 after being elected as the second governor of New York, an office he would hold until 1801. During his tenure as governor, Jay also ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States in 1796 and 1800. Though Jay, like many of his fellow Founding Fathers, had been a slaveholder, he championed and signed a controversial bill in 1799 outlawing slavery in New York. In 1785, Jay had helped found and served as president of the New York Manumission Society, an early abolitionist organization that arranged boycotts of merchants and newspapers involved in or supporting the slave trade, and provided free legal assistance for free black persons who had been claimed or kidnapped as slaves. Later Life and Death In 1801, Jay retired to his farm in Westchester County, New York. While he never again sought or accepted political office, he continued to fight for abolition, publicly condemning efforts in 1819 to admit Missouri to the Union as a slave state. â€Å"Slavery,† said Jay at the time, â€Å"should not to be introduced nor permitted in any of the new states.† Jay died at age 84 on May 17, 1829, in Bedford, New York and was buried in the family cemetery near Rye, New York. Today, the Jay Family Cemetery is part of the Boston Post Road Historic District, a designated National Historic Landmark and oldest maintained cemetery associated with a figure from the American Revolution. Marriage, Family, and Religion Jay married Sarah Van Brugh Livingston, the eldest daughter of the New Jersey Governor William Livingston, on April 28, 1774. The couple had six children: Peter Augustus, Susan, Maria, Ann, William, and Sarah Louisa. Sarah and the children often accompanied Jay on his diplomatic missions, including trips to Spain and Paris, where they lived with Benjamin Franklin. While still an American colonist, Jay had been a member of the Church of England but joined the Protestant Episcopal Church after the Revolution. Serving as vice president and president of the American Bible Society from 1816 to 1827, Jay believed that Christianity was an essential element of good government, once writing: â€Å"No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely doomed.† Sources The Life of John Jay Friends of John Jay HomesteadA Brief Biography of John Jay From The Papers of John Jay, 2002. Columbia UniversityStahr, Walter. â€Å"John Jay: Founding Father.† Continuum Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-1879-1.Gellman, David N. Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom, 1777–1827 LSU Press. ISBN 978-0807134658.