Accidents and Catastrophes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Accidents and Catastrophes - Essay Example , meaning depending on the number of casualties and destruction done or according to the nature of the accident, that is whether it was caused by human or natural factors (Quarantelli, 1987). The linear model of classifying accidents uses ‘size’ to categorize and give different names to accidents (UN, 1992). An emergency can be termed as being an unanticipated occurrence that threatens life and property and calls upon immediate and urgent reaction from the relevant authorities within the given social set up. It is to be found that each social set up has its own way of coping with emergencies and, that there are different pre-arranged response depending on the magnitude of the emergency situation (Porfiriev, 1995). A disaster is an occurrence that causes extensive damage to the infrastructure within a given societal set up that is so severe to the extent that the resources available within the society itself are not adequate to function a response. At the same time a disaster jars the day to day activities of the society (Porfiriev, 1995). While a disaster might disrupt the functioning within a social set-up, a catastrophe brings a society to a standstill. A catastrophe throws a community into total mayhem where institutions of leadership may completely disintegrate and other institutions like schools and hospitals may be wholly destroyed. Catastrophes call for international intervention if the society affected is so crippled that it does not have the capacity to help its own survivors and casualties (Quarantelli, 1987). Although there is no unanimous agreement as to how accidents are to be listed using the linear model, it is generally accepted that, from the smallest to the most dire the order is an incident emergency, disaster and catastrophe. There are other terminologies that occur frequently when dealing accidents and their nature. A calamity is an occurrence that, like a disaster brings about large-scale disruptions in the normal functions of a

Management situation in which you are to apply a prominent motivation Essay

Management situation in which you are to apply a prominent motivation theory to improve performance - Essay Example This theory posits that every individual has specific motivational needs, which are the driving factors for their efforts. Vroom (1964) explains this model of motivation (M) based on three components namely, Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy. The Expectancy theory or the VIE theory states that motivation is a product of valence, instrumentality and expectancy (M=VxIxE). Valence (V) refers to the value of an outcome that an individual places on various outcomes of their jobs like pay, incentives, interest in the work, relationships, etc. If an individual values relationships, then he/she would be happy to work where relationships are strong and valued. Instrumentality (I) refers to an employee’s opinion or belief about the extent of efforts required to achieve an outcome. Employees tend to put in efforts to perform a specific job only if they believe that their efforts would result in outcomes they value. The third component, Expectancy (E) refers to the employees’ perception about the extent to which his/her effort will result in certain level of job performance. Expectancy refers to level of confidence individuals possess about a specific action or job (George & Jones, 2008). These components have a strong relationship between each other and on overall motivation. The relationship between effort and performance is referred to as the E-P linkage, which is determined by expectancy. Instrumentality refers to the relationship between performance and outcome, referred to as the P-O linkage. Any limitation in these linkages or in the valence significantly impacts individuals’ motivation because motivation is a product of these three components (Isaac et al, 2001). In the present case two issues have been identified: one is related to the expectancy and the other is about instrumentality. The expectancy of few employees is low as evident from their low confidence because of knowledge and information related issues associated with the new pr ocess. The valence of this group lies in abilities, knowledge and skills. In this case, as suggested by Isaac et al., (2001) the supervisor must diagnose the members’ abilities and their perceptions related to the new process. Secondly, the supervisor needs to train, coach and mentor the members on the new process until they achieve the desired outcomes. The supervisor needs to spend more time with the team and encourage every achievement. Appreciating individuals that achieve the desired outcomes will improve their confidence because the appreciation will act as recognition to their valences. This will slowly improve their confidence and strengthen their expectancy and performance linkage. The supervisor needs to constantly provide support when team members are facing issues in achieving the desired outcomes; moreover, the leader needs to provide constant feedback to the team members in a way that their mistakes are being corrected and their self-confidence is also not being disturbed. Another motivational issue in the present case is with instrumentality, which impacts the P-O linkage. A few members that valued pay were not motivated to work because they believed that the amount of effort required to produce the specific outcome is not worth the pay they were getting. In such situation, the supervisor should talk to the individuals and explain the situation with