Category: Samples

 

Effect of Incentives and Reward Programs on Employee Performance

By Name

Course

Tutor’s Name

18^th, January 2013

 The human resources department is important in a company, compared to the other departments, as it deals directly with employees and issues affecting them. Employees are the core of a company, and the performance of any company is influenced by the nature of employees it has. Depending on different aspects of employees, a company can be successful or compete unfavourably in the market. Motivated employees are more likely to perform better in their job, hence boosting company productivity. On the other hand, employees with low motivation and poor attitude toward their jobs will lead to the downfall of a company, as their job performance level will be low. The human resources department is therefore, charged with ensuring that employees stay motivated, as well as retaining the company’s best employees. Motivation of employees results from different aspects, including rewards and incentives by the company. The rewards and incentives by a company have a positive influence on employee’s job performance, and companies should invest in these to boost employees’ performance and company productivity.

Danish (2010) notes that motivation is an important factor, as it determines the drive behind people’s work and actions. This comprises different processes that affect people’s behaviour toward the achievement of set goals. This is a crucial factor in today’s world of business, which is full of different goals that companies aim at achieving. With motivation, the employees in a company can be committed and dedicated in their work, thus influencing positively the company productivity. Motivation is dependent on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, which work together to produce committed employees. Incentives that are tangible in nature play a big role in the performance of employees. These also influence employees to work smarter, and produce quality goals in their work. Incentives and rewards are the major factors behind employee motivation. When employees experience motivation, they enjoy doing their jobs, and experience a form of satisfaction in their work. Rewards and incentives are therefore, the major drivers of motivation in employees (Danish, 2010).

A manager ensures that they create a conducive work environment for their employee. This way, their company will meet the needs of its employees, and the employees on the other hand, will meet the company’s needs.  This will result in a successful business environment, where the employees will be motivated to work effectively. Everyone in the company will then work toward the achievement of a common goal. There are different incentives and rewards that a company can offer its employees to motivate them. However, a manager must be sure that the choice of these rewards and incentives are appropriate, accepted, and appreciated by the employees. A manager can therefore, establish the most appropriate rewards and incentives for their employees by getting the employees’ views. This is through conducting surveys, where employees answer questionnaires on the subject.  This gives a manager a chance to come up with a list of incentives and rewards that will be effective in ensuring motivation and job satisfaction of employees.       Different companies have their own ways of motivating their employees. However, it is important that employees are equally involved in the discussion about the various available options of incentives and rewards a company can offer (Pincus, 2004).

When employees are rewarded and given incentives, this boosts their morale, gives them satisfaction in their work, and makes them be more productive in their work.  There are different forms of reward systems and incentives a company can offer its employees. First, there is the aspect of profit sharing. In this case, a company comes up with a profit sharing plan, which is more suitable for the company. The company gathers information about every employee, including their opinions so that the plan is favourable to all employees. Although this is an old-fashioned method, it is still effective at ensuring that employees are motivated, hence increasing their productivity at work (Pincus, 2004).

Providing employees with time off is also necessary as a motivational factor. Time off can be used by companies as a reward and incentive for employees who perform well on the job, since most employees today value their time out of work. This time off still comes with the pay, and is a great instrument of motivating employees. This will lead to job satisfaction, as employees will be happy with their work; thus, get motivated to perform even better. Another form of reward and incentive to employees is trips to exotic locations. Many big companies today take their employees on annual trips, where the company caters for the cost. This motivates the employees to work best and excel at their jobs (Pincus, 2004).

Most employees will appreciate free merchandise offered to them by their employer. This merchandise can include some of the products produced by the company or can be acquired from an external source. Many companies today motivate their employees by offering them free merchandise, some that are found in their catalogues. Additionally, a company may reward the best employee of the month or year. These can be given special rewards for performing beyond the call of duty. These employees can be offered special parking space on the company premises, they can be given special listing in the company newsletter, or even given additional time off. All these will be motivating to the employee, as they will work harder to maintain the position. The other employees will also be challenged to work harder so that they may as well be rewarded. This generally increases the productivity of employees in their jobs (Pincus, 2004).

Rewards and incentives in a company can be in form of money or non-monetary rewards. It is true that money does not mean everything to employees, yet at the same time means everything to them. Employers should therefore, be careful to ensure that they use the most appropriate forms of rewards and incentives when motivating their employees. Salary is in form of money; therefore, employers may include more monetary incentives in addition to their employees’ salaries. A company with an attractive pension or retirement plan boosts employee motivation to greater lengths. Most employees are concerned with their security of their financial future, therefore, a company that secures their financial future, is one that most employees will choose to stick with. Health insurance for employees is also motivational to them. This is affordable by even small companies, as long as the company identifies the most appropriate health plan. Additionally, a company that values employee motivation and their job satisfaction may also choose to offer the employees life insurance. All these will increase employee loyalty to their company, which will be reflected in the increase in their productivity in work (Pincus, 2004).

Tuition reimbursement for employees is an incentive that some companies use to motivate their employees. By reimbursing their tuition, a company shows its support for the intellectual advancement of its employees. This in turn boosts employee job satisfaction and motivation, which will be reflected in higher job performance. Paid vacations are also important incentives. All employees like to have vacations at the end of every year. Most companies offer this to their employees based on their achievements in their work. This makes employees to work harder toward the achievement of their work objectives in the following years. Finally, apart from the official Family Medical Leave, an employer may choose to offer a leave of absence to their employees. There are special circumstances that may require an employee to miss work. An employer can therefore, have this provision for their employees. This will motivate then to perform better in their job as assign of appreciation. All these incentives and reward systems can work in some companies and not in others, depending on different factors. Therefore, before a company decides on the type of rewards system and incentives to offer their employees, it is important for a collaborative consultation to be done between human resources experts and the employees. If companies address the needs of employees while having realistic expectations of them, this ensures a positive relationship between employees and the management, which is a foundation for high employee job satisfaction and work performance (Danish, 2010).

In the current world, the global market is characterized by immense competition among different companies. For any company to therefore, compete favourably in the market, it must identify and adopt the best market strategy, which will be effective in improving the performance of the company. All companies depend on their employees to achieve their objectives and remain competitive in the market. Therefore, these employees must exhibit a high level of commitment and dedication to their work, in a way that will boost the productivity of the company. To achieve this, the employees must first be productive in their work. Their collective productivity will be responsible for boosting the overall productivity of their company. For employees to be productive, they need to be motivated. They can be self-motivated, or draw motivation from external source, and in this case, their company’s reward systems and incentives. Therefore, a company must ensure high employee performance by motivating them by rewards and incentives (Palmer, 2007).

As seen earlier, incentives can be in the form of monetary and non-financial incentives. These affect employee performance differently, basing on various factors. However, most companies today have used the financial incentive to motivate their employees. Like other incentives, the financial incentive aims at increasing the performance of employee. Most employers believe that the higher the value of this motivational tool, the higher the level of employee performance. However, apart from the role of incentives and rewards as motivational tools, most contemporary theories argue that motivation should also be inherent. Therefore, employees must as well experience internal motivation in order to equally experience motivation from their external environment. Internal motivation is greater and of more value than external motivation such as rewards and incentives (Danish, 2010).

According to Deadrick and Scott, financial incentives in most cases serve to increase the employee performance. This is through the various effects these have on the employees’ attitude and perception of their job. For instance, the PT. Telkom, one of the largest telecommunication companies in Indonesia, uses financial incentives to motivate its employees. This has transformed employee attitudes and perceptions of their job, thus increasing their work performance.  This company offers its employees both individual and group incentives. Individual incentives offered include employee bonuses, best employee, best innovator, employee premium, among others. The group incentives this company offers include most disciplined units, best cash collectors, and best innovators, among others. Results show that these incentives have had a positive impact on the performance of employees in this company, as the perspectives of employees on their job have changed over time. This was established using questionnaires on employees as they answered questions relating to their views on the reward system and incentives employed by the company. The questionnaires also aimed to establish if the incentives had any impact on employee behaviour and discipline. All the 30 employees interviewed agreed that the incentives and rewards offered make them perform better in their work, be more discipline, and uphold strong work ethics. This research conducted by Deadrick and Scott also established that the program of Merit Pay has considerably lowered the rate of absenteeism among employees by 35 per cent.  This case of PT. Telkom shows that incentives and reward systems, if used by companies can have a positive influence on employee performance. In this company of study, the incentives and rewards used had a 96 per cent positive effect on employee performance (Deadrick & Scott).

Financial incentives do not work in the same way in all companies to produce similar results. These require different important conditions in order to work effectively. In addition, some financial incentives cannot be applied and work in certain companies or public sector. Regarding incentives on the public sector, a research was conducted to determine how these work. The research confirmed that financial incentives have a positive impact on the employee task performance. This impact varies from moderate to significant. However, they also affirmed that the effectiveness of the incentives highly depends on the conditions of the company. Only the right organizational behaviour will lead to a positive impact of the incentives on employees (Simon & Propper, 2004). In this research, it was noted that individual incentives are not effective in the traditional public sector settings. Individual incentives only cater for a significant motivation of an individual employee. This is due to the lack of sufficient funding, absence of organizational characteristics, and managerial characteristics, which can pay for performance work in traditional government settings. Their third discovery in their research was that the group incentives are effective, though their impact on the public sector is not clear. The lack of measures of organizational performance in the public sector settings limits the effectiveness of group incentives to be determined (Simon & Propper, 2004).

According to Palmer (2007), not all incentives are going to work, as these also depend on a variety of factors. He identified cases where incentives may fail to achieve results in employees, or achieve only little results. First, when the employee lacks the capacity to achieve a desired goal, no matter the amount of incentives they are given, their work productivity will remain poor. Another case is when the employee in question does not have the important skills or knowledge needed for the accomplishment of a task.  In this case, for the performance of the employee to increase, they will need the necessary skills and knowledge, and not incentives and rewards. Finally, some incentive and reward systems are complicated such that an employee may fail to understand the clear-cut boundary between their work performance and their rewards. In such a case, the employee will not perform to their best because their rewards are not well defined. For this, it is therefore, important that companies clearly define their reward systems to their employees and faithfully adhere to them. These cases point to the fact that incentives and reward systems in companies affect individual employees, as well as the company in different ways. The job performance of an employee and the overall productivity of a company can be influenced negatively or positively with the introduction of incentives and reward systems. Organizational behaviour and the design of the incentives and reward systems must be considered to ensure positive effects on employee performance. Incentives and reward systems must be well designed to ensure effectiveness as poorly designed rewards and incentive programs lead to negative results and fail to produce motivation in employees. This in turn is detrimental to the company considering the time and cost incurred in developing the reward systems (Palmer, 2007).

Based on employee performance, incentives and rewards can be given to those individual employees and groups of employees who exhibit high ability, good attitude, and accomplishment in their work. However, different companies base on different aspects while rewarding employees in relation to performance. Some companies tie the performance with the company goals, while others tie this to employees’ individual accomplishments. For instance, a company that rewards in relation to its goals and objectives may offer its sales representatives incentives in order for them to have good customer relations, as good customer service is one of the company’s objectives. By linking rewards with organizational goals, employees take full ownership of their job and positions, thus boosting their morale and job performance (Danish, 2010).

Rewards and incentives are popular among companies that are highly involved with sales and marketing. This kind of job is demanding, and requires employees to be enthusiastic and have a high drive. Sales work therefore, is among the jobs that need a high level of motivation for employees due to their nature. Most companies today offer a salary and commissions for their sales people, unlike in the past, where only commissions were offered. Non-monetary rewards and incentives as compared to monetary rewards are believed to produce higher levels of motivation in employees. These include employee trainings, provision of a flexible work schedule, and conducive work environment, among others. Therefore, companies must balance between monetary rewards and incentives and the non-monetary rewards and incentives. The nature of employees also matters in deciding between monetary and non-monetary incentives. If a company strikes a balance and identifies the best rewards system, it will be a satisfying program capable of boosting employee performance and company productivity, since the needs of employees and those of the company will have been met appropriately (Danish, 2010).

Today, some of the most competitive companies have highly invested in their employees, as these are the main force behind company productivity. Google Company is a well performing company that is known to have the best strategies that ensure its employees find satisfaction in their jobs. Google ensures that its employees are highly motivated in order to work effectively. This company does this in a variety of ways, including the provision of both rewards and incentives to its employees. These incentives vary to comprise both monetary and non-monetary incentives. The monetary incentives Google offers its employees include a death benefit scheme, which is considered the best in all companies. Here, 50 per cent of a deceased employee’s salary is still payable to them for the next ten years after death, in addition to separate benefits for the spouse and each child (Casserly, 2012).  Google also offers non-monetary incentives to its employees. These include flexible working periods, and trainings for the employees. The employees at Google consider Google as the best company in the world, and are satisfied with their work. All these have resulted in increased work performance by the Google employees, thus influencing the productivity of the company, as it ranks among the top companies globally. This is a strong reward system that Google utilizes, and this shows the level of commitment, value, and interest the company has in its employees’ job performance, as it goes extra miles to motivate them (Casserly, 2012).

In conclusion, incentives and reward systems are important aspects that boost employee job performance. Therefore, a company requires to include this in its marketing strategy to see to it that its employees are motivated and perform better in their jobs, consequently raising the company level of productivity. However, different companies will use different incentives and reward systems as these cannot have a similar effect in all companies. Both monetary and non-monetary incentives are important to boost employee motivation; therefore, companies should equally use these. However, companies must strike a balance between these two categories of incentives, to avoid over-reliance on one category, as these have different effects on the employee and company productivity. Investing in employee performance by offering incentives and rewards is worthy for employers, as this will in return result in increased productivity of their companies. Nonetheless, wise companies realize this fact, and consider investment in work performance of their employees as their greatest priority.

 

 

References

Casserly, M. (2012). “Here’s What Happens To Google Employees When They Die,” Forbes, 8

August,2012 Retrieved 18 January 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2012/08/08/heres-what-happens-to-google employees-when-they-die/

Danish, R. (2010). “Impact of Reward and Recognition on Job Satisfaction and Motivation: An

Empirical Study from Pakistan.” International Journal of Business and Management. 5: 2(159-167).

Deadrick, D. & Scott, D. (n.d). “Employee Incentive In Public Sector: A National Survey of

Urban Mass Transportation Authorities.” Performance Development International Inc.

Retrieved18 Jan. 2013.

http://www.pdii.net/docs/24_Employee_Incentives_In_Public_Sector_National_Survey_Urban_Mass_Transit_Authorities.pdf&gt

Pincus. M. (2004). Managing Difficult People: A Survival Guide For Handling Any Employee.

New York: Adams Media.

Palmer, W. (2007). “Incentives & Disincentives: Will They Affect Performance?” Retrieved 18

Jan. 2013 http://retailnotes.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/incentives-disincentives-will-they-affect-performance/>.

Simon, B. & Propper, C. (2004). “Incentive in Public Sector: Evidence from a Government

Agency.” Retrieved 18 Jan. 2013.

http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/3/3521/papers/burgess.pdf&gt

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Draft

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Customer Relationships

1. a. How do you feel about being sold to or managed? What techniques do sales people use that irk you? What techniques really resonate with you? 

                Like many other people, I prefer to buy things rather than being sold to or managed. Encounters with sales people trying to sell to me make me feel that they are trying to convince, manipulate, and lure me into buying their products. Being sold to therefore, makes me feel I did not make the buying decision by myself, as the sales person had a greater influence on my buying decision, when they sit me down and talk to me about their products. They therefore, manipulate my decision.

Sales people have different selling techniques they use to get buyers. Some of these are annoying, while others are just good. Sales people who waste a lot of time on building rapport irk me. I prefer a sales person who values and respects the time of their clients understand their clients’ business needs and offer them good solutions. I also dislike cold calling, as I may not be sure about the caller, and sometimes it is hard to create a connection with a stranger. A good sales person to me is one that approaches me in a way that makes me feel that I am not being sold to, but I am buying. This kind will discuss my needs or desires, and may put in a way to show how the product benefits me. This way, I will feel that their aim is to offer me a solution to my needs, and not just interested in my money.

b. Imagine yourself as a service rep for an automobile company. You work with customers who have bought one of the cars for the dealer to take care of warranty issues, i.e. the routine things that come due periodically. What are some of the techniques that you would use to build confidence with that customer?
What method of communication are you most attentive to? How does this fit with or changing world of communication?
I am more attentive to face-to-face type of communication. This is because it gives me an opportunity to build rapport with the person I am communicating with. Additionally, this form of communication helps me know the reaction of the person, whether they agree with what Iam telling them, whether they dislike it, or whether they are attentive and interested in what I am telling them or not. This is the only communication form that helps me read the body language of people, unlike the other forms where feedback lacks. However, this is rapidly changing as more people today embrace technology. Communication has moved from physical to virtual, where people communicate in chat rooms. 

d. Do Short Reply/response to this:
At times, I received call and/or emails associated with the business that I’m doing business with. Most companies do a better job of allowing the option to release your info being phone number and/or email, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. Now, you’re receiving calls from someone trying to find out if you’re interested in this or want to try that. I probably would have wanted them to show up at my door instead. 

This is a case of cold calling, which is common in the business world today. Different people respond to this differently. However, I would prefer if the caller came physically and addressed me. This way, I would get to know all the information about the business, and would help me make important judgements whether to accept or decline the proposal. Important decisions cannot be made over the phone, as this is shallow.
2.a. What’s the difference between hearing and listening? Do you prefer email, voice mail, texting, or talking to a live person? Are things changing?
            There major differentiating factor between hearing and listening is the aspect of attention. While listening requires paying attention to the speaker, hearing lacks attention, as it is passive and voluntary. I listening, the person is actively engaged in the conversation, and has a purpose for engaging in it. in addition, listening is a skill, as not all people are capable of this. This is the reason some people are good at following instructions while others cannot listen and comprehend important instructions.

b. Do Short Reply/response to this: To me hearing is when someone is just standing in front of you looking at you and seems to be hearing what you are saying but they aren’t actually following or taking in what you are saying. Listening is more personable. When a person is listening they are actually comphrending what is being said to them and can respond by repeating some of what you said to let the speaker know they are actually listening. For me, I prefer talking to a live person. I market for the rehab facility I work for and I find it best when I can actually talk to the patient or family member about our facility face to face versus over the phone. 

Despite the rise in communication technology, face-to-face communication remains the most valuable communication form. This helps to build strong business relationships with clients and also allows for social bonding with clients, allowing for a social opportunity. Here, one can make use of non-verbal communication to determine the attention and interest level of the client. Physical communication is also the best avenue for sales people for persuasion and engagement of the clients, without which, the marketing process becomes futile.

c. Do Short Reply to this:
I can talk to someone that hears me but that individual is not paying attention to what I am saying. When someone is listening, they are actively paying attention to what the other person is saying. It’s unfortunate that in today’s world people hear us but only a few listen. I believe that things are changing more and more people rather text or email instead of talking to a live person. I spend at least 8 hours a day if not more in a call center in which I supervise other associates that are on the phone all day long. All of our interaction with the customers is all done via phone and email. In fact our building is not open to the public.

                As noted earlier, meaningful and strong business, relationships are only possible when face-to-face communication is utilized. This company has therefore adopted a rather poor strategy. This denies the chance to bond with clients and create a stronger rapport. In addition, since non-verbal communication lacks on phone, one may not know if the client has understood the message or not, as body language and facial expressions cannot be read or analysed.

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Thought on Writing

By Name

Course

Instructor

Date

   The author said, “Anyone can become a writer. The trick is staying a writer.” This statement is true, and at the same time not true, if addressed from different perspectives. The first part of the quotation, “Anyone can become a writer,” is not true, because of varying reasons. The main reason is that, not all the people have the same ability, talent, or skills. Writing is a skill and talent, therefore, not all people can write, as skills and talents vary among people. For this reason, if the same topic is given to a group of people to write about, there will be an un-uniform performance, as some will score higher than others. Aspects of grammar, organization of the paper, or the supporting idea of the subject will be the differentiating factors between the resulting good and bad papers.

The second part of the quotations, “The trick is staying a writer,” is true.  This is because, having the ability, skill, and the talent of writing does not guarantee one to be or stay good, and be a successful writer all the time. For one to stay a good writer, they must put in a lot of effort and sacrifice. They must have focus in their writing. For example, they should always update their word processor for up-to-date writing, and should also control their emotions and not let their feelings and emotions draw their focus away from the writing process.

In conclusion, writing is not a skill that everyone can have. There exist numerous differences in the writing abilities of different people based on aspects of grammar, language mastery, and organization and flow of work. In addition, only those skilled in writing and are focused, hardworking, and dedicated to their writing will stay writers. This is the most tricky and challenging part.

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

3 A’s of Awesome by Neil Pasricha – A Reflection

            I live my life differently today because of my childhood experiences with my parents and siblings. My parents played an important role in transforming me from a stubborn child into a person who adheres to rules and regulations. Considering the fact that they uphold high moral standards, this is what they desired to pass down to their children, hence, they put a lot of efforts in making me be the kind of child they would be proud of. Therefore, today I am a strong-willed person who also adheres to rules and norms in society, as I know what roles these play.

According to Pasricha, the three A’s of awesome include attitude, awareness, and authenticity. I believe I have different attitudes to different situations I face in my life and academics, as these call for different ways of dealing with them. For instance, when I perform extremely well in my tests, I consider it as a platform to work even harder, instead of relaxing. On the other hand, a good attitude has been important in maintaining relationships with my coursemates. This way, I am in a position to withstand even the meanest people whom nobody wants to interact with. Awareness manifests in me, as I am always keen in learning and discovering new concepts in my academics. Just like a child, I am curious and inquisitive, in both the social and academic contexts. This has increased my knowledge in different aspects of my life, and enhanced my intellect. Finally, authenticity makes me love being me, and doing things that I am comfortable with. This includes the choice of my friends, and doing my academic tests and assignments by myself. Having confidence in myself has helped build my personality, and prevented me from being involved in exam irregularities.

All my life has been awesome, and I can look back and smile. Making it to this point of my life shows how much I have accomplished. The school grades I have covered, the mistakes I have learnt from, and the people I have influenced positively, all make me awesome. I love life and all the hurdles it brings, and so like Pasricha, I can talk to people about life, and encourage them to hold onto it despite the challenges it presents to them. This video has motivated me to become an even better person by learning from life itself. I will therefore, consider each event in my life as an opportunity for learning.

Changing lives is my passion. If there were only 100 years left for the world, I would motivate people to appreciate and enjoy life for the remaining period. People facing different life challenges lack happiness and allow gloom to be part of them. I would tell them to appreciate the negative part of life, face it, and learn from it. Seeing people live happy lives despite their bad experiences would be my legacy. One thing about me is that I am awesome because I always try to face life, and avoid being life’s victim. Once everyone discovers this, they will make their life happen and not just let their life to happen without their influence.

 

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Public Statements on Controversial Issues

The society today comprises different issues, some that are controversial, and some that are widely accepted. The controversial issues in society are sensitive; therefore, addressing such requires caution to ensure that no party is offended in the process, and in a way that could lead to sanctions. In the United States, these issues are common, and various public statements on most controversial issues have elicited immense public reaction. This paper will analyse the context of the statements of Chic-fil-A’s president on his personal stand on same-sex marriage, as well as his company’s stand on the same in mid-2012.

The president and CEO of Chic-fil-A made anti-gay remarks on two major occasions. First, while the Biblical Recorder, a Baptist journal, was interviewing him in July 2012, he claimed that him and his organization support the family unit and consider the traditional, biblical marriage and family as ideal. On another occasion, during a radio interview in June 2012, CEO Dan Cathy claimed that America was welcoming God’s judgement by allowing same-sex marriages. According to Dan Cathy, by choosing same-sex marriage, Americans think they know better than God knows, and so go against God’s laid down rules. These remarks evoked a lot of controversy among Americans, and some chose to take actions of registering their disgust at this CEO’s remarks. While the same-sex couples arranged for kiss-ins in the Chic-fil-A restaurants, others planned to buy their food en-masse, and others planned for boycotts. This however, should not have appeared strange to Americans, as the Chic-fil-A has in the past funded organizations fighting same-sex marriages (Hopkins).

This is a case of discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Chic-fil-A’s CEO takes part in a form discrimination against the gay people. Although he does not discriminate against them in actions, for example forbidding them to eat at his restaurants, he discriminates them verbally. When he declares his stand and his organization’s stand against gays, he clearly shows that he does not like their practice, and would rather they change and become heterosexuals. This becomes discriminatory as his remarks show that he does not prefer gays (Hopkins).

In relation to Chic-fil-A’s CEO anti-gay remarks, an offended man took the steps to publicly register his anguish about the whole situation. He however, used the wrong channel when he went to one of the Chic-fil-A restaurants and yelled at an innocent employee, then went ahead to post a video of this on the internet. This was inappropriate, as the employee was not in any way connected, neither did she influence her boss’ remarks. This qualifies as a case of bullying and harassment, which is liable to prosecution. In this case, this bully intimidated and manipulated an innocent employee. Although this employee later forgave him after announcing his apologies in public, the man could not evade facing the responsibilities for his misguided action, as his company later had him sacked on the grounds of public misconduct (TheYoungTurks).

Public statements made for, or against a specific group of people will evoke public reactions, depending on the nature of the group in question. Therefore, before the pronunciation of such statements, the speakers must be careful to ensure that this does not evoke controversy. In the context of companies, it is beyond doubt that whether they support or do not support same-sex marriage, voicing their stand will most likely evoke public reactions. However, as much as this does not qualify as hate speech or verbal abuse and harassment, then it is right for the practice of freedom of speech. Nonetheless, organizations must be cautious as their public statements on sensitive issues may affect their business adversely.

Social networking today plays a great role in connecting people across the globe. However, despite the benefits it carries, there are vital issues that individuals should watch out for when using social sites such as Facebook. An example is the disclosure of one’s personal information. Availing the date of birth, place of birth, address, among other personal information could be risky to the user. This is like trusting one’s information in the care of others, who could be strangers, as well as third parties. Once gone, privacy never can be retrieved. In addition, posting personal views and opinions that are controversial may get one into problems at their school or workplace. For instance, the man who yelled at the Chick-fil-A’s employee posted his video on the internet, which later went viral, and got him into negative publicity, then losing his job. This is a lesson about what the internet can do. Additionally, not putting personal information may protect one from hackers, kidnappers, robbers, and stalkers (TheYoungTurks).

In conclusion, sensitive and controversial issues in society must be addressed with immense caution. This is because the public will judge one’s sentiments and may use it against them. Therefore, individuals should be cautious of what they speak in public so that it does not qualify as hate speech or discrimination against a specific group. Likewise, company representatives should do the same to prevent involving the company name in controversies that might have detrimental effects on it. Additionally, the internet and social networking is another way through which people exercise their freedom of speech and expression. However, abusing this freedom by engaging in negative acts will lead to sanctions. Therefore, caution and good practice is also required in online communication.

 

 

Works Cited

Hopkins Jamie Smith. “Chick-fil-A president’s words on gay marriage spark tempest.”  The

Baltimore Sun. July 30 2012. Retrieved <http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-07-30/business/bs-bz-chick-fil-a-marriage-flap-20120730_1_gay-marriage-gay-rights-groups-gay-rights>

TheYoungTurks. “Chick-Fil-A Drive-Through Bully Hassles Employee And Gets Fired.” Aug 3,

2012. Retrieved <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqhjFkfDbcg>

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

 

THE BRITISH AND THE SAUDI MONARCHY

Name

Course

Tutor’s Name

16^th, January 2013

    Human beings are political by nature. Therefore, in order to tame this nature, and to maintain balance and order, it is important that rules and regulations be set up as a way of coercing people to achieve this order. Most countries have different laws that govern them to ensure stability. These are in form of a constitution, which is the representation of the virtues a country upholds. Different countries have different constitutions, meaning that some virtues that are valuable to one country may not mean much to another. Nonetheless, a constitution brings order in a country as it contains laws that all citizens must adhere to, as the violation of the constitution leads to sanctions. Basing on the nature and function of a constitution, this essay will compare the role of constitution in the governance of monarchies, with reference to the monarchy of England and the Saudi Arabia monarchy.

There are different classifications of types of constitutions. One important classification is the codified and the uncodified constitution. These however, do not differ in great essence, as a codified constitution is one that exists in a codified or written form, and is a document, while the uncodified constitution is one that is not documented. Today, the codified type of constitution is the most popular among countries, while the uncodified is rare. An example of a codified constitution is the United States constitution, while the British constitution is an example of the uncodified constitution (Wood, 1982).

There are different theories that attempt to trace the exact origin of the constitution. While some claim it originated from the ancient Greece, others have argued that the idea of the constitution was first experienced in Runnymede, as others relate the origin of the constitution with the English people. However, the idea of the constitution began in 1760’s during the imperial crisis. America had a significant influence in the shaping of concept of the modern constitution. During the period between the years 1763 and 1803, America experienced great constitutionalism. Americans developed a modern conception of the constitution as a written document, and defined the limits of the powers of government, developed strategies for constitution amendment and ratification, as well as the process of judicial review. Therefore, these forty years were crucial to America, and other countries, which were influenced by America’s shaping and defining of the constitution to fit into a modern context (Wood, 1982).

The codified constitutions have a provision for their own amendment. Constitutional amendment is vital, as it is a reflection of the various changes that have happened in a country. This makes the constitution to be dynamic and flexible. However, considering the nature of the constitution as being the supreme law, its amendment will differ with the amendment process of other laws. The amendment of a constitution involved special procedure, which is provided in the constitution itself. Constitutional courts, as well as the process of judicial review, are important in a country, with regard to its constitutional matters. The practice of judicial review involves the measurement of ordinary legislation against the fundamental law of the constitution by judges. In the United States, the Supreme Court conducts judicial review by hearing and addressing cases challenging the constitutionality of law (Wood, 1982).

Constitutions can be classified further as monarchal or republican. A republican constitution provides for the position of a president, but with varying powers in different countries. Monarchal constitutions are unique, and adopted by United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, where they play different functions. As seen earlier, the British constitution is monarchal and uncodified. This means that it lacks an official documentation, like other countries. The queen is the head of state and reigns according to the country’s constitution, and not her free will, meaning her power is limited. The queen is required to remain politically neutral, even if the government changes. The sovereign plays the role of advising the ministers, appointing the prime ministers, bestowing state honors, as well as approving new legislation. As the head of the armed forces, the sovereign is expected to conduct official and ceremonial duties separately from the party politics, as provided by the constitutional monarchy (“The British Monarchy,” 2008).

             The government in Saudi Arabian is considered a monarchy as the king heads the state, and the constitution of this country bases fully on Islamic laws found in the Qur’an. Since almost all the Saudi population is Muslim, no secular law has been adopted for the country’s governance. The country lacks a clear political party system, and the king and Islamic leaders are the major decision-makers in the country, with the last say on important aspects of the country. The year 1953 saw the formation of a central government in Saudi Arabia. This included a council of ministers and a prime minister. The council of ministers is responsible for introducing new rules and regulations, but these require the approval of the king. The king also appoints a consultative assembly, which has limited power in the legislative department of the country. In addition, although the Supreme Judicial Council is responsible for the selection of judges to the Sharia courts, the king approves of their selection. The king plays the role of the court of appeal, despite the fact that Sharia courts and the judicial council can perform this. In this monarch therefore, all the powers are bestowed on the king, making it resemble an authoritarian state (Khan, 2012).

The Saudi government and the British government are both monarchies, with a monarchal constitution. Therefore, there lie considerable differences and similarities in the way these monarchies function, in terms of their roles, power, and rights. Even though these two governments are constitutional monarchies, Saudi Arabia can be described well as an absolute monarchy, while Britain is the ideal definition of a constitutional monarchy. Whereas the monarch in Saudi holds absolute power, the monarch of England is a hereditary monarch. The king in Saudi Arabia rules with absolute power, like a dictator, while the queen in England reigns with limited power, as she acts in accordance with the constitution. In addition, the king in Saudi is responsible for all state decisions, while in England, the queen makes decisions together with the parliament. The prime ministers of the two monarchies have unequal power. In Saudi Arabia, the prime minister does not exercise effective political power, as the case in monarchy of England (“Le Point.fr,”2012: Khan, 2012).

In conclusion, the constitution is a paramount aspect of any country, as it brings about governance. Based on the constitution a country employs, a state can qualify to be a monarchy or a presidential state. The monarchy of England is the most common and oldest constitutional monarchy, as most countries are presidential states. However, the Saudi Arabia is another monarchy, though with different political and legal aspects from those of the monarchy of England. While the monarchy of England is considered strong and established, the Saudi monarchy cannot be compared with this, based on its political malpractices. Authoritarian states are less likely to succeed, and many Saudi Arabians today know that their government is on the verge of deterioration. Factors point out that their present king seems to be coming to the end, and so there is a high probability of near-future power struggles among the royal family and the other Sauds on who becomes the next king.

 

References

“The British Monarchy.” (2008). Retrieved 16 January 2013 http://www.royal.gov.uk/

“Le Point.fr.” (2012). What is the Queen of England? Retrieved 16 January 2013

http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/a-quoi-sert-la-reine-d-angleterre-02-06-2012-1468577_24.php

Khan, A. (2012). The Future of the Saudi Monarchy. Retrieved 16 January 2013

http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/analysis/middle-east/15122-the-future-of-the-saudi-monarchy

Wood, G. (1982). The Origins of the Constitution. Retrieved 16 January 2013

http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/OriginsofConst.pdf

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

 

 

STOP AND FRISK

 

Name

Course

Tutor’s Name

15^th, January 2013

 

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is popular for the stop-and-frisk practice, as its officers perform this on people across the New York City streets. The issue of stop-and-risk became a public concern in the year 1999 when police officers in the NYPD’s Street Crimes Unit shot dead one Amadou Diallo. This raised the question of racial profiling and raised controversy on the stop-and-frisk practice by police officers. After public protests, the New York State Attorney General’s Office was compelled to undertake a research on NYPD’s stop-and-frisk activity. Consequently, the New York City Council enacted a legislation requiring the Police Department to provide quarterly reports about stop-and-frisk activity (“New York Civil Liberties Union,” 2012). Sadly, this human rights issue has not been addressed to date, as people are still being stopped and frisked on the streets today. Basing on a report by the Center for Constitutional Rights released in July 2012, this essay will prove that, apart from being a controversial issue, and a constitutional question, the practice of stop-and-frisk is detrimental to relations between the police and different communities, thereby painting a negative image of the city’s public policy.

Despite the fact that the stop-and-frisk practice by police officers in New York was investigated and even legislation enacted requiring the issuance of quarterly reports on the issue, this seems to have not borne fruits at all. Evidence from recent reports point out that the number of times police officers stop and frisk people in the New York streets has been skyrocketing over the years. Data from the NYDP shows that stop-and-frisk was conducted about 685, 000 times in the year 2011, and was expected to reach over 700, 000 in the year 2012. This police practice is conducted in all the wrong ways, using profiling, and carrying it out in a rather aggressive manner toward the frisked individuals. This has detrimental effects including psychological, physical, social, and economic effects, among others, on the affected individuals, groups, and different communities in New York City (“Center for Constitutional Rights,” 2012).

The Center for Constitutional Rights conducted interviews among the New Yorkers who have ever been stopped, and frisked by police officers. They found out that the number of those affected daily was vast, ranging in thousands. The aspect of profiling by the police in this process was also evident, as it was noted that most of the affected people were Latinos and Blacks. However, the marginalized groups such as religious minorities, LGBTQ/GNC people, the homeless, and the low-income earners in the other communities were equally affected. Most people living in New York confessed that they disliked the presence of the police among them as this makes them feel they are living under bondage, without freedom (“Center for Constitutional Rights,” 2012).

There are numerous impacts of this process on individuals, on communities, and on neighborhoods. Respondents agreed that police officers touched them inappropriately, qualifying as sexual harassment. Some victims were asked to remove their clothes in public, while others had their genitals touched by the officers. Police also treat people brutally during this process. Some reported having been slapped or physically injured by the police. All these lead to humiliation and trauma among the affected people, as well as making everyone in the city live in fear of the police. Today, people have become extra-cautious, while some have adopted strategies of avoiding contact with the police on streets. The use of profiling in this police practice makes most victims feel discriminated against. In addition, the unnecessary arrests of innocent low income earners has devastating economic effects on their families, as they may lack basic needs when their breadwinners are detained (“Center for Constitutional Rights” 2012).

In conclusion, from the experiences of the interviewees in this report, it is clear that the stop-and-frisk practice continues to have adverse effects on individuals, communities, and neighborhoods in New York. This results in both psychological and physical harm of many people. This is in addition to social and economic effects this has on New Yorkers. Since the police base on discriminatory aspects such as gender, race, sexuality, income, immigration status among others, to conduct this practice, the marginalized groups are most affected, especially emotionally and psychologically. Basing on these facts, it is paramount that the NYPD stops this practice, or if necessary, perform it within the right context. Instead of basing this on profiling, the police should conduct this only when they genuinely suspect someone of criminal activity. Unless the various flaws in the stop-and-frisk practice are addressed explicitly, the already ailing relationship between the police and New Yorkers will only get even worse, and this will probably have deadly repercussions on the city.

 

References

“Center for Constitutional Rights.” (2012). Stop and Frisk: The Human Impact. Retrieved from http://stopandfrisk.org/the-human-impact-report.pdf

“New York Civil Liberties Union” [NYCLU]. (2012). Report: NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Activity in

2011 (2012). Retrieved from http://www.nyclu.org/publications/report-nypd-stop-and-frisk-activity-2011-2012

 

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

A Reflection on my Writing

This semester has exposed me to different types of essays. I feel this has helped me improve my writing skills as the various essays I wrote introduced me to a variety of new concepts in writing. The essays I have been wring in this semester range from descriptive essays to narrative and argumentative essays. I have as well registered an improvement in the basics of the writing process. First, I can now organize my work better than before. Even though I have not perfected this, more practice will be helpful for my perfection. Additionally, I realized the importance of having someone help me scrutinize my work. Previously, I did not consider this, and ended up with numerous mistakes even after my own proofreading and revision. Nonetheless, as I look back, I can see the progress that I have made. I have also discovered my strengths and weaknesses in the writing process, which I will build and work on to be a better writer in future.

One of the weaknesses in my essays is lack of strong introductions and conclusions. Presently, this remains my goal that in future, I master the writing of good introductions and conclusions. In addition, I feel that my essays portrayed good organization, as shown in their structures. However, I feel I need further improvements on my sentence transitions between paragraphs. Redundancy is another aspect I should work on in my future essays. In two of my essays, I noted that I tend to repeat some ideas in an unacceptable manner. Finally, the objectivity aspect in the essays was well above average. In most of my essays, I focus on the topic I am supposed to address, without deviating to a different course, or beating around the bush. However, I feel I need to perfect on this aspect since it is core to the writing process.

During this semester, we have widely discussed the issue of human rights in the world. This issue is real and is given great attention in most countries. Each one of us was asked to choose a topic associated with the human rights issue and write an essay addressing the solutions to the problems that arise from this issue, as well as the effects of the problems in society. Choosing a topic was not hard for me, so I quickly identified peace and racial conflicts as my topic. This essay was engaging as I was required to research on this issue in different countries in order to establish the presence of this issue in those countries, as well as the possible solutions to the problems the issue presents in those countries. This particular essay was instrumental in sharpening my research skills in writing. I sought information from different sources, but relied on the most authoritative sources.

Apart from enhancing my research skills, this essay also introduced me to the concept of annotated bibliography, which was previously not my common practice. I wrote the annotated bibliography as an independent project, standing on its own. In writing the separate annotated bibliography, I mainly gave an account of the research I had done, and of everything else I had addressed in my essay. I learnt how to summarize all the sources I had used and to comment on their relevance on the topic, in addition to assessing them. This was a great experience and I continue to practise writing annotated bibliographies so that I am perfect in this area. The essay about peace and racial conflicts also gave me an opportunity to be informed about what is happening in various countries in terms of racism and peace. This is one of the major issues in governance, and so this essay made me develop an interest in the political and social issues of different countries.

Another exciting element in writing, which I have learnt, is the use of visuals in writing. In most of my previous writings, I did not attempt to use visuals in my essays. However, the essay on peace and racial conflicts introduced me to this concept. It was interesting to see how  texts and visuals can merge to enhance the understanding of the argument and ideas in the essay. In my essay, I used visuals to prove the existence of racial conflicts in different parts of the world, and to prove the adverse effects of these conflicts on the affected populations and the country’s economy as a whole. I remember using a picture showing an Indonesian armed officer perpetrating racial conflicts by shooting on people of a different race. This helped me prove that racism is present in Indonesia. I also used a picture of a grave in Germany. This grave bore the remains of a victim of racism. This therefore helped me prove that racism can result in death of victims. Finally, to point out solutions to racism, and what countries are doing to stop this, I used a picture of peaceful demonstrators in Italy campaigning against increased racism in the country. From this, I have learnt that integrating visuals in texts makes the message clearer and realistic. This is a concept I find exciting and hope to use it in future writings too.

Conclusively, writing is indeed a process, which involves gradual learning steps. Personally, I have covered many steps already, especially in this semester. The essays I wrote this semester have been instrumental in elevating me to a higher position in my writing. Today, I am more familiar with all the basics in writing, including referencing and page formatting. However, I owe this semester’s classes for my experience with annotated bibliography, use of visuals in writing, as well as advanced research skills, which I previously was not accustomed to. Nonetheless, I stand as a writer who can control their writing and capable of doing commendable papers. I hope to learn more and continue developing my writing skills in future, since writing is a continuous learning process with no limits.

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Economic Factors

Poverty is a characteristic of a poor economy. When governments and private bodies combine efforts to alleviate poverty, this boosts the economy of a country. Eradication of poverty must however, comprise personal development of the people in order to ensure full economic independence. This must as well observe gender balance so that there is balanced development of both genders. In addition, the diversity of the country must be embraced so that the different races in a country also benefit from the country’s economic development. The greatest issue affecting economy of countries today is the feminization of poverty due to the imbalances in the economic prowess of men and women. Different economic factors in the US contribute to or minimize the gender gap in state economy.

Government Policies for Poverty Eradication

In 1935, the government policy, Aids to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was implemented and its main target was the single mothers and the low-income families. The conditions for qualification of this aid were that, the identified families had to be poor, except the single mothers who were all considered. This policy involved aid to such families. The aid came in the form of financial assistance, provision of free medical care, food donations, and subsidies on housing. This policy however raised a number of controversies. It was thought to result in an increased dependency of the poor in society. This would also discourage the poor from looking for employment and means of self-dependence. Finally, this would discourage people from getting marriage and thus increasing the number of single mothers. This was proved ineffective in ensuring a poverty-free society. Nonetheless, this policy was beneficial to women during its short operational period.

In 1996, another policy of poverty eradication was implemented as a replacement of the AFDC. This was the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This policy was funded by different states, unlike the AFDC, which was wholly funded by the federal government. In 2008, this policy was amended and required all single mothers to work a minimum of thirty hours in a week. The main argument for this proposition was that, most mothers in dual –income families went to work, therefore, the single mothers too were expected to work. In addition, unlike the AFDC, this policy had a time limit of five years. Since this program was temporal, it aimed at equipping the low-income families with enough resources to help them solve their financial problems and establish themselves financially in the future. Unlike ADDC, this program had strict requirements for qualification. For instance, US citizenship for whole family was mandatory, the children were to be aged below 18years, in addition to the parents earning a minimal monthly salary, and being in possession of a social security number. The aid was in form of financial support for the families, employment programs, and childcare, among others. This policy supported women but discriminated against non-Americans. Additionally, the Child Care and Development Block Grant by the government to states involves finances for states to expand day care services for poor families, and those on welfare. This boosts the quality and supply of day care. These policies were instrumental in bridging the economic gap between men and women since the government relieves women of some of their childcare responsibilities.

Government Taxation Programs

The Earned Income Tax Credit was set up in 1975 to help boost national economy. It mainly applied to households and based on their earnings. This was an incentive for people to work harder, as this tax credit on family income was refundable. This way, it served to raise family income, as well as the family’s purchasing power. On the low-income earners, credit increased with earnings, while on high-income earners, reduced with earnings.

In Marriage Penalties and Bonuses, married couples are entitled to different income tax schedules. They can gain high income with lower taxes. Marriage penalty is higher for individuals than for married couples. Since women are the pillar of their families, these tax subsidies help them save their money for other uses. Additionally, on relationship between race and taxes, different races may belong to different economic classes in a country. This affects distribution of government support, tax relief, and tax credits. The lower economic class might get tax deductions, unlike the upper class. This is in an effort to level the economic gaps between the different classes (Humez & Dines 54).

Role of Women in Economy

Women play the major role in their families. These also have jobs, and so juggle between nurturing their families, and performing well in their jobs. However, women’s contribution to the labour market is not valued, as men’s. This has led to disparities in men and women’s salaries, as men are paid much higher than women are. Therefore, women have to work extra hard in order to reach the salary levels of their male counterparts. In addition, the women who are married, with children, receive a lesser salary, compared to the single women.

In most countries, the housework performed by women is not valued in monetary terms, so it is unpaid. This is why unemployed mothers persist in poverty. This scenario has forced most women to take up double jobs, which is the household job, and the labour market jobs in order to strike a life balance. To some extent, women in society are naturally disadvantaged as their biological functions and processes deter them from working continuously. During pregnancy, women go on maternity leaves, and this affects their salaries and positions. Today, in this harsh economic climate, more women have second thoughts about motherhood, as this would lower their independence level.

Unlike men, it is harder for women today to balance between household duties and their jobs. Men are better placed in the economic market because of their few roles in household duties. Although men agree to share domestic work with their partners, this is not the case for many families. Therefore, women are still burdened with double work. This instance has led to the assumption that married women are less productive at work because of the extra burdens they bear at home. This has resulted in some cases of discrimination in employment on the women’s side, basing on marital status. Employers do not like to employ married women, considering them less productive at work than men and the single women. This has resulted in lower economic status of women, and the general feminization of poverty in the world.

Government Policies for Families

            In order to address the feminization of poverty in a country, governments should undertake the initiative of coming up with policies, which favour families, since this is where the married women are. Some of the US family policies do not allow for this. For instance, the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which was adopted by the government in 1993, does not fully address the economic imbalance between women and men, which result from the overburdening of women with both domestic work and their jobs in the labour market. Under this act, the twelve weeks’ family leave is not paid. The government does not also cater for childcare arrangements. This is unlike countries such as Sweden, France, and Denmark, which offer free childcare to families. However, health insurance and other company benefits remain in this program. Children are beneficial to the country and so should be protected and provided for by their respective governments. When governments support children economically, they grow up to be responsible adults, who will participate in nation building, therefore boosting the economy of their country. Therefore, governments need to provide childcare for children in the nation. This will also relieve women of healthcare expenses they incur in the process, thus making them poorer.

In order to ensure that all families receive childcare, the government should be the main provider of both health insurance and childcare to families. When this responsibility is left to the firms and companies only, there will be adverse selection as not all employers will provide these services, and if provided, they will vary. This results in imbalances in benefits for women.

Employer Policies for Workers

            Some employer policies in the US favour women in the job market. For instance, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act protects the pregnant women at work. This bars other employees from treating pregnant employees differently. This way, the rights of these women are protected. Additionally, the employers are prohibited from discriminating against women based on their gender and their pregnancy situations.

Today, most employers offer alternative work schedules. These include different types of employment modes such as part-time employment, flexitime, home-based employment, job sharing, and non-standard work schedules. All these mostly work in favour of women who can choose to balance between home and work, allocating each a convenient time. As observed, the gender gap will be bridged if more policies ensured gender balance in the economy of a country.

 

Works Cited

Humez, Jean & Dines, Gail. “Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader.” 2010. New

York: Sage Publications.

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Jazz Improvisation Combo Fall Concert

The performance in this concert was by talented jazz improvisers, who mainly performed traditional combo jazz from the hardbop period. They also played new jazz compositions, in addition to the original compositions.

1. The Music Experience

a)      Instruments used to create the music

The jazz band incorporated different musical instruments in their performance. These instruments were mainly horn players, bass instruments, percussion, and chordal instruments. These specifically included trumpets, saxophones, violins, drum sets, trombones, and double basses. All these were core to the whole performance and blended to result in a soothing classical sort of performance, which was thrilling.

b)      The Singers

In this group performance, there was a mixture of both sexes, therefore observing the aspect of gender balance. In total, there were about seven men and two women. All the men worked on instrumentation, while the two women were mainly involved with the vocalization. These women vocalists employed the alto tone in their different solo presentations. This number is quite appropriate for a jazz band as there is maximization in both instrumentation and vocalization, thereby balancing the music performance.

c)      Singers’ Arrangement on Stage

The performers were not arranged in any special style. The men playing the instruments performed while standing, except the one man on the drums, who performed while sitting. There arrangement on stage did not exhibit any scenery and there was nothing special about it. This portrayed calmness in the performance, which is good; but also to some extent was boring, due to the lack of spontaneity in the performers’ positioning on stage.

 

 

d)     Dressing

The performers, unlike in most pop culture performances, did not dress in special or striking apparel. Instead, they all spotted casual-official wear. The men simply dressed in semi-official shirts and pants. On the other hand, the women were dressed in simple, small dresses, which however, were brightly coloured. This presented a big extent of simplicity in the performance, going by the simple fashion choice of the performers for this specific concert. Somehow, such simplicity is common in classical music.

e)      Dance and Rhythmic Movements

The whole performance was void of dance and movements. The musicians, while playing the instruments maintained their positions and did not dance to a single tune. However, the women vocalists exhibited slight body movements during their actions. This lack of dance moves made the performance to be more soul-minded, shifting focus from the body, due to lack of rigorous physical movements.

2. The Music and Lyrics

a)      Kind of Music Presented

The music presented was purely jazz music. Each composition was played in its own unique way to avoid repetition of compositions; this is a characteristic of jazz music. The performers frequently altered melodies, tones, and harmonies deliberately. This created in the audience a different feeling and experience, which was exciting.

b)      Nature of the Music Pieces

There was a mixture of long and short music pieces. However, the short pieces were more than long pieces. This mixture of pieces allowed for breaks on the performers’ side and on the audience side as well, thus breaking the monotonous element that could have been present with only one type of piece.

c)      Organization of the Concert

The concert was mainly performed by a jazz group, which undertook different approaches in their performance. Instrumental pieces took a greater part of the concert. There was a combination of long and short pieces of different music pieces. On the other hand, there were two main vocal presentations by the two women in the band. These solo presentations were accompanied by instrumentations. The solo presentation made the concert deviate from instrumentation, therefore presenting to the audience a new experience of vocalization. This was essential in striking a balance between vocalization and instrumentation, as well as breaking the monotony of pure instrumentation.

d)     Description of the Music

The music was simple, rhythmic, and flowed harmoniously. The musical instruments were well played, with great expertise, to bring out a perfect rhythm. There was no repetition of music pieces, as each one was unique. Thus, the music was engaging and did not give room for deviation of the concentration of the audience.

e)      Nature of Lyrics

The solo vocals done by the women comprised lyrics in the English language. These were mainly poetical, integrated with everyday speech. The rhythm was slow, while the tone was equally low. This experience was like listening to a kind of music that spoke to the soul. This is due to the lyrics meaning, and the way they were articulated and performed.

f)       Music Classification

This was a perfect example of a classical jazz presentation. The music was classic, smooth, and soothing. One word, the performance set an easy, soothing and relaxed mood.

3. Context of the Music

In this concert, a variety of music from different composers was performed. However, I will focus on my favourite music piece that was played, which was “Careless Whispers.” Only the instrumentation of this piece was played without the vocals.

a)      Composer

George Michaels, born in 1964, originally wrote this piece of music, when he was twenty. Michael came up with this music one day while working as a cinema usher in Watford. He claims to have composed the saxophone riff of the music while he was on a bus heading back home (“bio”).

b)      Creation Period of the Music

Michael created this music in 1984. During this period, Michael was part of the Whimp! Band in UK, and had just started his music career. This was the first single of Michael.

 

 

c)      Composer’s Life in Relation to the Music

Although Michael has argued that this music does not relate to his life, and that it was just a random piece, one may think otherwise. First, Michael’s life was full of controversies, mainly regarding his sexual orientation, which he hid for many years. If this music is closely analysed, one can find out that it addresses an aspect of Michael’s life.

d)     Historical Events During Composition Period

There was no major historical event at the time of this music composition, which relates to the music. Nonetheless, this is sad music, at least going by the confession of most people, in addition to the lyrics. However, Michael confessed that this music had no connection whatsoever to his emotional development or life experiences. It was just some random music he composed, but he is amazed how many people came to love it, though he did not put all his efforts in the piece (“bio”).

e)      Function of the Music

This music primarily addresses infidelity in relationships, including the guilt borne by the cheating partner, even if their partners do not discover them, knowing that one day, their partners will acknowledge their infidelity. This music was therefore purposed to serve different functions other than religious ones, including concert performance, and for general listening.

 

Works Cited

“bio.” George Michael Biography. nd. Web. Retrieved 6 December 2012.

<http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/george-michael.html>

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]