The Occurrence of the Southwest Airlines Scandal Research Paper

The Occurrence of the Southwest Airlines Scandal - Research Paper Example Southwest Airlines Co is an US-based public company headquartered at Dallas, Texas. It was founded in the year 1967 (Yahoo Finance, 2012). Originally it was known as Air Southwest. Later it was renamed as Southwest Airlines and commenced its business operations in the year 1971. The shares of the company are traded in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol â€Å"LUV†. Southwest Airlines is engaged in the business of providing scheduled transportation for its customers through the air in the United States. It started its business operations with three of the Boeing 737 aircraft which served the three cities in Texas namely, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. It managed to expand its business on a large scale mainly due to its acquisition of AirTran Holdings in the year 2011 and as at December 31, 2011, the company operated a total of 698 aircraft that includes 88 Boeing 7171s and 610 Boeing 737s (Southwest Airlines Co., 2012a). AirTran Airways is now operated a s one of the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Southwest Airlines. The company is regarded to be one of the lowest fare domestic airlines in the United States and is committed to providing best Customer Services in the airline's industry (Southwest Airlines Co., 2012b). Recently in the year 2008, Southwest Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were accused of presenting false safety reports. The safety reports prepared by Southwest Airlines were meant to comply with the safety regulations related to inspection of its jet aircraft. This falsification of safety reports by Southwest Airlines was confirmed by the United States House Committee.

Reproductive Health Choices For Young Adults with Sickle Cell Disease Essay

Reproductive Health Choices For Young Adults with Sickle Cell Disease or Trait - Essay Example The evidence level of the abstract is III. It is because the research has been conducted from gathering evidences from the case, correlation and comparative studies. The study makes use of the different recognized, experts, peer reviewed and case studies comparison. It is difficult to identify the purpose of the study. However, the problem statement is detailed but the objective of the study still remains blurred and unclear. It seems that the article talks more about the awareness of the issues through the assistance of eBooks rather than emphasizing on the main objective of the issue. The problem statement has not been clarified defined due to which the objective of the research has been blurred. It talks more about the comparison of the intervention and its comparison with the usual care. However, it does not brief well about the main objective of the study aims to attain through the comparison of the intervention but is focuses on the knowledge, intention and behaviors. As the purpose statement of the research has been blurred the research question of the study are also weak. The research does not clearly define the research question, the wording and the sentence of the research question have been merged within the paragraph that makes the research question not clear. The research question for the study is ‘We now report pretest and immediate post-test findings from a randomized controlled trail of the CHOICES intervention for young adults with SCD or SCT’. It shall be noted that the objective of the research question is blurred and does not clarify specify the objective it aims to attain through this research. Yes, the hypothesis is present in the article. The hypothesis for the study is ‘compared with the usual care group, the CHOICES group would report increased reproductive health knowledge, intention, and planned behavior changes consistent with their parenting plan, when pretest scores were controlled’. It is a

Principles of Construction Management

Principles of Construction Management Contents (Jump to) 1. Gulick’ 7 Functions 2. Fayol 3. Management Theories 4. Challenges Managing People in Construction 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography Word Count 2070 1. Gulick’ 7 Functions In 1937, social scientists Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick (Papers on the Science of Administration) describe seven â€Å"major activities and duties of any higher authority or organisation†. Since then, the acronym POSDCORB has been used to describe the 7 functions of managers: This essentially refers to the various steps or stages involved in a typical administrative process. POSDCORB stands for: Planning: This essentially refers to establishing a broad outline of the work to be completed and the procedures required to implement them. Organising: Organising involves establishing a structure of authority, formally classifying, defining and synchronising the various sub-processes or subdivisions of the work to be done. Staffing: This involves recruiting and selecting the right candidates for the job and facilitating their orientation and training whilst maintaining quality in their work and their environment. Directing: This comprises of continual decision making and delegating structured instructions and orders to execute them. Coordinating: This basically refers to arranging and piecing together the various components of the work. Reporting: Reporting involves regularly updating knowledge about the progress or the work related activities. The information dissemination can be through records or inspection. Budgeting: Budgeting involves all the activities that fall under Auditing, Accounting, and Control. POSDCORB generally fits into the Classical Management movement, being classified as an element of scientific management. Gulick’s POSDCORB principles were instrumental in highlighting the theory of span of control, or limits on the number of people one manager could supervise, as well as unity of command to the fields of management and public administration. For Luther Gulick, the central problem of administration was determining how to achieve the coordination and control necessary to accomplish organisational objectives. His solution was to establish a strong chief executive to counter the divisive aspects of increasing specialisation and division of labour. 2. Fayol Gulick and Urwick built their ideas on the earlier 14 Principles of Management by Henri Fayol in his book General and Industrial Management (1918). Fayol defined theory as â€Å"a collection of principles, rules, methods, and procedures tried and checked by general experience† (Fayol 1918) Fayols 14 Principles Division of Work Authority and Responsibility Discipline Unity of Command Unity of Direction Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest Remuneration of Personnel Centralisation Scalar Chain (line of authority with peer level communication) Order Equity Stability of Tenure of Personnel Initiative Esprit de Corps Fayol’s influence on Gulick is evident in the 5 elements of management discussed in his book. Fayol clearly believed personal effort and team dynamics were part of an â€Å"ideal† organisation. Planning – examining the future and drawing up plan which areas of action Organising – building up the structure (labour and material) of the undertaking Command- maintaining activity among the personnel Co-ordination – unifying and harmonising activities and efforts. Control – seeing everything that occurs conforms with policies and practices. Fayol’s five principle roles (Plan, Organise, Command, Co-ordinate, and Control) of management are still actively practiced today. The idea of giving authority with responsibility is also widely commented on and is well practiced, though his principles of â€Å"unity of command† and â€Å"unity of direction† are not adhered to in the structure of choice in many of today’s companies. 3.0 Management Theories There are several important management theories which basically classified are as follows: The Scientific Management School such as the works of Frederick W. Taylor and Lillian Gilbreth’s motion study, The Classical Organisational Theory School such as the works of Henri Fayol’s views on administration, and Max Weber’s idealised bureaucracy, The Behavioural School with the work of Elton Mayo and his associates. Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims (Koontz and Weihrich 1990, p. 4). Theories provide an understanding of what we encounter. A theory provides criteria for what is relevant. Theories enable us to communicate effectively and develop more and more complex relationships with other people. Theories make it possible to keep learning about our professions with continuous development. Management Theories Since the late 1800’s management theories and scientific approaches have been produced by a number of people such as Henri Fayol, Fredrick Taylor, Elton Mayo, Henry Gantt and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. These people introduced the classical and scientific approaches and over the years developed these principles through their working careers. These styles have changed, merged and stayed the same depending of the person implementing their ideas and the type of company they work for. The traditional classical approach started around the beginning of the 19th century and mainly focused on efficiency together with bureaucratic, scientific and administrative styles of management. The bureaucratic style of management tends to rely heavily on a structure of guidelines such as rules and procedures. While the scientific approach to management mainly focuses on â€Å"the best way to do a job† and the administrative style really emphasises the flow of information in the operation of the organisation. Later towards the end of the 20th century the empowerment style was developed and as a result helped give the employee a sense of responsibility. This was done by offloading some of managements work onto the shop floor and turn gave the employee a sense achievement and direction at work. Modern Theories of Management, Human Relations Douglas McGregor (1906-1964): Who is best known for his formulation of two sets of assumptions- Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor argued that managers should shift their traditional views of man and work (which he termed Theory X) to a new humane views of man and work (which he termed Theory Y). According to McGregor, A theory X attitudes man was lazy and work was bad were both pessimistic and counterproductive. Theory X assumes that people have little ambition, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility, and need to be closely supervised to work effectively. Theory Y, proposed that man wanted to work and work was good. Theory Y offers a positive view, assuming that people can exercise self-discipline, accept responsibility and consider work to be as natural as rest and play. McGregor believed that Theory Y encompassed the true nature of workers and should guide management practice.   Ã‚   Fig 1. Douglas McGregor Theory X and Y. Scientific management – This type of management was introduced by Frederick Taylor and focuses on the worker and machine relationship and as a result of this approach helps increase productivity by increasing the efficiency of the production processes and as a result of his research, Ford Motor Co. embraced this style of management. This type is also designed so that each member of staff has a specified, well controlled task that can be performed as instructed. Time and motion – Frank and Lillian Gilbreth developed this method by focusing on identifying the individual motions of a task. These motions were combined to form both the methods of each operation and the time it took to carry out each task. They believed it was possible to design and time the method of each task in advance, rather than relying upon observation of trial and error. Administrative Management – Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart, which is used for scheduling overlapping tasks over a period of time. Gantt charts have since become a common technique for representing the phases and activities of a working project and break down the structure so they can be understood by all. Gantt’s management approach focused on motivational schemes and as such emphasised heavily on rewarding staff for good work as opposed to disciplining them over poor work. He also looked at the quality of management skills in building effective industrial organisations. Motivation – Abraham Maslow developed the human relations and behaviour theory in the 1950/60s by distinguishing between what motivates people to do certain activities. His theory suggested that people had to satisfy one level of need before moving onto the next and this in turn resulted in what ultimately motivates people / staff. This is shown in the pyramid illustration as shown below. Fig 2 . Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Empowerment – This style of management is a modern theory and was developed in the early 90’s and basically gives the employee a sense of power at work. This is carried out by the employee being authorised by their superior to carry out certain duties without the need to seek approval from above. This type gives the employee a sense of responsibility and achievement while helping to reduce the workload of their boss and in turn cuts down the amount of work the manager has to do as they have delegated certain responsibilities. 4. Challenges Managing People in Construction As highlighted in numerous government and academic reports (Latham, 1994; Egan, 1998, Fairclough, 2002), the construction industry is a sector of the economy which faces many challenges, especially in terms of performance. There are many challenges facing a construction manager. Many challenges are a result of construction operations, while others are a result of indirect activities. A number of challenges are not construction related issues but must be addressed and managed by the construction manager. These issues include workforce/labour considerations, safety, time, and the changing nature of construction work. The construction industry in general is a labour intensive industry and the role of construction manager is to manage people in a strategic and tactical way. One way of managing people would be a classical theory on human behaviour / relations such as Elton Mayo’s on motivation, as a group working dynamics will always have an impact on the projects performance. The term group working dynamics refers to the attitudes, energy and interaction of its group’s members and leaders. The groups working dynamics will always be dependent on the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the project depending on the coordinated efforts of staff working together as a team. Human resource is the most valuable asset in construction industry. Human resource practices are generally concerned with gaining value through increased skills, productivity, contribution, and cost consciousness and productivity are the important factors affecting the overall success of any construction project. Human resource management is the process of finding out what people want from their work, what an organization wants from its employees, and then matching these two sets of needs. Construction projects depend on the knowledge and skills of planning and executing the work. The quality of this most important resource: people, which is what differentiates one team or company from another. Having talented management on board to guide and direct a project is paramount. Having the right balance of skilled and unskilled workers to perform the work is a basic necessity. Finding and recruiting sufficient numbers of skilled, talented people is becoming increasing difficult. There are many reasons this is a problem. One of which is construction is generally viewed as being one of the least desirable industries in which to work. By nature construction is dangerous, dirty, hard work. Other industries out there offer preferred work environments that are cleaner, safer, and generally more desirable. Consequently, there is a severe shortage of talented people willing to work in construction. In order to maximise long term performance, it is important to provide the training necessary to enlighten your workforce. Leadership must be developed among the workforce to aid in effectively coordinating work activities by providing communication links between management and labour. This provides the opportunity for upward mobility and gives motivated people the chance to advance professionally. Empowerment leads to high levels of commitment, enthusiasm, self-motivation, productivity, and innovation. Benefits of this include feelings of appreciation, belonging, and heightened self-worth. Empowerment enables employees to make decisions for which they are accountable and responsible. Empowerment of workforce is one of the keys to improving construction performance. 5. Conclusion – The management theories that have been discussed, important as they are, have to be translated in practice by construction managers, For practicality, all construction managers must develop three sets of skills, namely; conceptual, technical, and human ( Fleet and Perterson 1994, p. 25). A good construction manager should also be able to see members of the organisation as human beings who have needs and psychological feelings and emotions. The development of management theory involves the development of concepts, principles, and techniques. There are many theories about management, and each one ad to our knowledge of what managers should do. Each one has its own characteristics and advantages as well as limitations. The operational, or management process combines each and systematically integrates them. The styles of management best suited to construction are a blend of all described above whilst trying to motivate staff using both the autocratic and democratic approaches because of the need to be one type of boss with one employee and another with somebody else. This is extremely prevalent when dealing with health and safety where and autocratic authoritative style is a prerequisite to the success of reducing the risk of accidents on site. Therefore a manager who makes definitive attempts to translate theory into practice is more likely to increase productivity than a manager who chooses to use the trial and error method of management. 6. Bibliography Egan, J (1998) Rethinking construction: report of the construction task force on the scope for improving the quality and efficiency of UK construction, DETR, London. Fairclough, J., (2002), Rethinking construction innovation and research: A review of government RD policies and practices, Department of Trade and Industry, London Fayol, H. (1949). General and Industrial Management. (C. Storrs, Trans.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman Sons, LTD. (Original work published 1918) Fryer, B. (2004) The Practice of Construction Management, 4th Ed, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Gulick, L. H. (1936). Notes on the Theory of Organization. L. Gulick L. Urwick (Eds.), Papers on the Science of Administration. Koontz Harold and Weihrich Heinz (1990) Essentials of Management, Fifth Edition, McGraw-Hill. Latham, M., (1994), Constructing the team, HMSO, London Oxley, R. And Poskitt, J. (2007) Management Techniques Applied to the Construction Industry, 5th Ed, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Winch, G.M. (2008). Managing Construction Projects, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Websites Figure 1 taken from Beta Codex Network (2008) The Way People Are [Online] available from http://www.betacodex.org/de/node/508 [Accessed February 2014] Figure 2 taken from Maslows hierarchy of needs [Online] available from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslows_hierarchy_of_needs [Accessed February 2014] S150-943

The Importance of Olivia in Twelfth Night Essay -- Twelfth Night essay

The Importance of Olivia in Twelfth Night      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Olivia, in Twelfth Night, is the character who unifies the play by her involvement in each of the three plots.   Olivia is loved by Orsino, but she loves Cesario.   Olivia plays a vital role in the plot to gull Malvolio, although she is unaware of it.   Olivia also has an active role in the plot to dupe Sir Andrew because he is jealous of her attention towards Cesario. In conlusion Olivia is the one who inifies the play the best.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Olivia is involved the the love plot more then any other plot in which she is involved in.   Olivia is loved by others, and she is also in love with others.   The Duke Orsino is in love with Olivia.   Although he has not really seen or actually talked to her about this subject.   Sir Andrew is also in love with Olivia, he has been with Olivia for quite some time before and during the play.   Malvolio is thought to be in love for a small period of time.&nbs...

Organizational Objectives and Total Compensation in Different Markets Essay

Total compensation encompasses all of the resources available to employees such as money, benefits, and services that reward the employee for their services with the company (Virginia Tech). A total compensation package covers may aspects such as extrinsic and intrinsic compensation. Extrinsic compensation is more of the monetary or legal means behind paying employees. Intrinsic compensation is the quality of life at work such as job variety or management feedback. Companies can use their compensation packages to attract certain types of employees and also retain them for an extended period of time. However, the reward of total compensation to attack and retain employees has not always been the manner in which companies treated their staff. For more years in history than not, companies would work their employees incredibly hard resulting in employees putting forth much of their life’s to work and receiving very little in return. Laws and Regulations The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) had a significant impact in the manner in which employees are to be rewarded for their work. FLSA set a minimum wage for employees to be paid, it established an overtime premium of time and a half for hours beyond 40 in a seven day period, and it set guidelines for how much minors were able to be worked (DOL, 2015). Equal Pay act of 1963 said that employers were not allowed to segregate their wages based on employee’s gender. This act created an historic definition of equal work; requiring both sexes are to receive equal opportunity for compensation. Women have generally always been paid less than men for doing the same jobs and the Equal Pay Act has been enforced to remedy the issue. Furthermore, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 went on to make sure that no person was discriminated against for race, color, sex, national origin, or  religion. This would include areas such as the hiring process; employee reviews, working conditions, promotion opportunities (National Archives). This act was the forefront of dissimilating discrimination not only in the work place but also in all business and educational establishments whether an employee, customer, student, or teacher. Taking the HR Consultant Role There are many things to consider within each company when it comes to creating a total compensation plan. Hiring a federally contracted employee in the government technology requires a different approach than hiring cashiers at a locally owned shop. While work related laws are pertain to all working individuals not all business are required to function in the same manner. For example, all working individuals are protected from discrimination. They must also earn overtime when deemed necessary according to FLSA. However, not all employers are required to provide medical leave to their employees. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, only employers with 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius must provide this to employees (SHRM, 2010). The Davis-Bacon Act requires that federally contracted employees be paid a fair salary based on the current salary in the area. There are several varieties in total compensation available for employers to present a favorable plan to a perspective employee. These rules and regulations maintain some type of standardization from a governmental perspective. The laws and regulations mentioned about were implemented to provide a standard level fairness between employers and employees. They prevent individuals having to be put through high levels of extreme conditions from doing so without being properly rewarded for that tedious work. Without these laws and regulations companies would have complete control over their company and have the availability to to abuse their power. The establishment of such laws also created a competitive edge for companies when it comes to hiring and retaining employees. Much of today’s successful companies are top competitors because they are employee focused companies. They aim to please the employees because they are aware that if the employees are happy the customers are happy. Resources DOL. Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/ National Archives. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/ SHRM (2010). Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.shrm.org/legalissues/federalresources/federalstatutesregulationsandguidanc/ ages/familyandmedicalleaveactof1993.aspx Virginia Tech. Total Compensation. Retrieved April 19, 2015, from http://www.hr.vt.edu/compensation/total_compensation/index.html

Students’ Paid Employment and Academic Performance at Carrick Institute of Education, Sydney Campus

STUDENTS' PAID EMPLOYMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT CARRICK INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, SYDNEY CAMPUS Blaga, Sorin. Review of Economic Studies and Research Virgil Madgearu5. 1 (2012): 5-22. Turn on hit highlighting for speaking browsers Show highlighting Abstract (summary) Translate Abstract Thispaper identifies aspects of ‘students' academic performance, in the Hospitality Department at Carrick Institute of Education, Sydney campus, Australia. The academic performance of these students is thought to be negatively affected by participation in paid employment and the language mostly spoken in their work place.The research finding s show that students are deliberately engaged in paid employment for exactly the same reasons identified by the previous researchers, even though the students know that their academic performance may suffer. The paper also looks at how the languages spoken at their work place influence their academic performance. Most of the students at Carrick Institute of Education are international students and the language spoken at their workplaces often coincides with the students' country of origin.In spite of these negative effects, students continue to work even if they are financially independent, in order to build their work experience. The jobs are mainly in the Hospitality Industries. The research finding s open the way for future pedagogical and managerial research in the education sector. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Full Text * Translate Full text Turn on search term navigation Headnote Abstract: Thispaper identifies aspects of ‘students' academic performance, in the Hospitality Department at Carrick Institute of Education, Sydney campus, Australia. The academic performance of these students is thought to be egatively affected by participation in paid employment and the language mostly spoken in their work place. The research finding s show that students are deliberately engaged in paid employment for exactly the same reasons identif ied by the previous researchers, even though the students know that their academic performance may suffer. The paper also looks at how the languages spoken at their work place influence their academic performance. Most of the students at Carrick Institute of Education are international students and the language spoken at their workplaces often coincides with the students' country of origin.In spite of these negative effects, students continue to work even if they are financially independent, in order to build their work experience. The jobs are mainly in the Hospitality Industries. The research finding s open the way for future pedagogical and managerial research in the education sector. Key words: academicperformance, course difficulties, paid employment, tuition fee, language JEL Classification: I20, I23 1. Introduction There is evidence of a growing trend in many countries for college and university students to combine their academic studies with paid work.In the United Kingdom, for example, the number of students who are engaged in paid work has been reported by a number of researchers and shows a continuous growth beginning from the early nineties. For example, Sorensen and Winn (1993) reported that 27% of university students are engaged in paid work. In research carried out in the UK and the US Ford et al. (i995) reported that 29% of university students took a part-time job; three years later in the UK, Lucas and Lammont (1998) reported that 31% of students also took a paid job. Hunt et al. 2004) found that in 1999, 38% of students were engaged in paid employment and he also he reported 49% of students undertook paid work in 2001. Curtis and Shani (2002) reported that 55% of students had a paid job in 2002 and 59% in 2003. In summary, one can say that in the UK during the years 1993-2003, the number of students taking a part time job increased from 27% up to 59% which is an increase of over 100%. From the 1990s a similar trend has been reported in the Un ited States by Stern and Nakata (1991) who found that the proportion of full-time students employed increased from 29% in 1959 to 43% in 1986.Other evidence emerged at the end of the millennium (Luzzo et al. 1997; Hammer et al. 1998) which indicated that the work participation rate amongst United States students exceeded 50%. In continental Europe, ‘The Euro Student' (2000) report found that student employment rates in Europe ranged from 48% in France to 77% in the Netherlands. In Australia, Anyanwu (1998) reported that 75% of full time students took up to 30 hours of paid work to support their studies.In early 2000, a national survey conducted by Long and Hayden (2001) revealed that 72. 5% of full-time students were in paid employment. Applegate and Daly (2006), in a study conducted at the University of Canberra, Australia, showed that the impact of paid work on the academic performance of students did not have a large impact on students' grades, and a slight improvement of s tudents' academic performance was even noticed in students employed in some jobs; however, working more than twenty hours per week had a negative effect.Applegate and Daly's survey found out that of the 78% of students who had a job, 40% of them worked over the legal limit of 20 hours per week. There is clear evidence showing that the phenomenon of students combining their study with paid work is wide-spread. The succinct literature review cited above, suggests possible reasons for this trend: the availability of jobs in service industries (the hospitality industry, in particular), rising student tuition fees over the years, changes in students' personal lives, and family and community expectations (Stern and Nakata 1991; Ford et al. 995). The aim of this present research is to reveal the nature and extent of full-time college students undertaking paid work and the relationship of this work experience with their academic performance at the Carrick Institute of Education, Hospitality Department. Carrick Institute of Education is a private Australian education institution, which has been established since 1987, and provides vocational and academic education to over 5000 students1 from all over the world in campuses situated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.One of the most popular vocational choices, among international students, is the Hospitality Department. The Hospitality Department enrolls over 2980 students in their Sydney campuses alone, in all forms of education. The popularity of hospitality courses can be explained by the relatively low level of course difficulty, and relatively high levels of part-time and full- time job availability in hospitality businesses, as confirmed by the following researchers Ford et al. (1995), Mclnnis and Hartley (2002) and Bradley (2006).Most of the time these businesses are owned by students' fellow countrymen who are more willing to offer them employment and make them feel more comfortable in the work place. Th e hospitality courses are also one of the most popular choices among international students as, later on, they offer the opportunity to apply for Permanent Residency in Australia. Many students, for various reasons, are not able to balance the work load they take on and the academic performance required by the Australian Qualification Framework and Vocational Education and Training regulatory body. This brings significant consequences.As a result of the high number of hours in employment, students' academic results are being affected and they perform poorly in the classroom. The high number of students deemed Not Yet Competent (NYC), which means failed in different stages and in different subjects, was 40132 and reflects students' low ability in balancing paid-work and their studies. Another aspect of interest, addressed in this paper, is the possible relationship between the language spoken in the work place, international students' slow improvement in their English Language skills , any adverse consequences in academic performance and later employability.This research is significant as there have not been studies to address these issues in the area of Vocational Education in Australia for a significant period of time; certainly no studies have been undertaken in Carrick Institute of Education. There is an empirical understanding of the problems among management and therefore the research findings will offer a solid scientific base upon which to improve College policies and practice in respect of students' undesirable academic results. 2. Aims and ExpectationsThe academic literature review shows clearly that paid employment is a normal component of contemporary student life (Curtis and Shani 2002). Student participation in the workforce has a number of positive consequences: students receive pay, become independent, learn to manage money, make social contacts, build self-confidence in acquiring a job, and learn generic skills which increase their employability . Some research, however, has documented a range of negative outcomes such as fatigue, lack of autonomy, social isolation, low pay, and high stress (Lucas and Lammont 1998; Mclnnis and Hartley 2002).The aim of this study is to identify the extent and relationship between students' paid employment and their academic performance at Carrick Institute of Education in the Hospitality department, taking into consideration the students needs to balance their personal life with work participation and academic performance. The researcher tested the following two hypotheses: Hypothesis i. The researcher expects that the excessive work load is a key cause of students' performing poorly academically and explains the high number of NYCs. This situation could be created by many variables which will be clearly identified and analysed in the research.To some extent these NYCs cannot be reasonably managed, resulting in an even more difficult situation for the students, such as cancellation of their student visas in extreme cases. Hypothesis 2? is expected that there is a relationship between the languages most spoken at the work-place and students' slowness in improving their English language skills. It is assumed that poor English language skills are associated with poor academic performance and low employability. 3. Methodology used 3. 1 Sample selection The sample for this study comprised 70 students enrolled at Carrick Institute of Education, Sydney campus, Australia.For practical reasons the participants were selected using a quota system, randomly selecting the students from each class according to their respective stages, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The researcher ensured the proportions of males and females sampled were representative the population of students enrolled at Carrick Institute of Education. Data was obtained from 34 females (49 per cent), and 34 males (49 per cent). Ages varied from 20 to over 30 years (Mean = 22. 4; SD = 5. 8). 3. 2 Questionnaire development A ques tionnaire containing 14 questions was developed for use in this research.The questionnaire was developed through a series of tests and peer group discussions at the University of Technology, Sydney. The final version comprised three sections. The first section contained five closed-ended questions relating to the respondent's paid work. Questions pertained to the extent of work performed, reasons for working, and perceived benefits of working. There was an illustrative question linking the study profile with the work performed, as a factor contributing to the education taken, and a question showing the students' ability in finding paid employment in the field of their studies.Two questions directly related to students' academic performance (measured by their NYCs): students' perception of the consequences of poor performance; and student perception of the College's involvement in helping them to overcome these undesirable outcomes. In this case, negatively worded items were reverse- scored and responses to all items measuring common constructs were averaged to form a composite scale. The second section contained questions related to the second assumption and attempted to identify the students' country of origin, language spoken at work and academic performance.This section also contained a Likert-rype item aimed at identifying students' perception of College involvement in helping them to overcome negative academic performance. The questionnaire contained an open ended question which was intended to identify students' enthusiasm for the study they took and their future plans. The last section contained items seeking demographic information, including gender and age. 3. 3 Data Collection Research data was collected by distributing the questionnaires to four classes.One class from each stage in the final year of study was selected to cover the whole range of students in the campus in the Hospitality Department. The respondents were chosen randomly based on their arrival time in class. Time allocated for responding to the questions was at the teachers' discretion and the questionnaires were collected by the end of the day. Secondary data related to students' academic performance was obtained from the College administration. 4. Results and analysisThe rate of subjects' participation in this project was 87. 5 per cent; 80 surveys were distributed and 70 were filled in. From those 70 surveys, two were incomplete, representing 2. 85 per cent of the total participants and generating the No Answer percentage. For analysis purposes the following matrix was created: As revealed in Table 1, the researcher found that 84% of the students had a paid job which is well above the national average of 72. 5% of full-time students engaged in paid employment (Long and Hayden 2001). The increase of 11. % can be explained by the specificity of studies taken (hospitality) by students, and curriculum requirements that students should take paid works to gain work e xperience in the field of their studies. There was also strong pressure on students to take jobs in the hospitality industry from the Immigration Department, as a student qualifies for Permanent Resident (PR) visa requirements at the conclusion of their studies. Availability of part-time jobs in the hospitality industry may be another explanation for this phenomenon.The survey revealed a low number of students with no job (13%) which gives invites speculation on their reasons for not taking employment: the students may be not the principal applicant for PR, or they may have gained the minimum number of hours required. This issue needs more investigation but is outside the scope of this research. The research gained more strength from further examination the work load taken by students. 15% of students took over 20 hours of work per week and, from private discussions, the researcher found that some students took paid jobs well beyond this limit.To further explore the possibility that students' grades dramatically deteriorated if they took over 20 hours of work per week is difficult as further development of the issue could lead students to self-incrimination. Immigration Department regulations stipulate that students on a study visa may only take 20 hours of paid work per week. In support of our findings, research by Greenberger and Steinberg (1986), Professor Warren Payne (2003) from Victoria University, Melbourne, and others, demonstrates that work interferes with academic performance only when students undertake in excess of 20 hours of work per week.These findings were taken on board by Carrick's policies and reflected in Australian Immigration Department requirements. Beyond thispointphysicalandintellectual resources are rapidly depleted and academic performance declines dramatically. The research shows that, apart from the need to earn money because insufficient funds were provided by their family, as declared by 53% of the participants, reasons for engag ing in paid employment were to gain work experience (31. 45%), for social interaction and pocket money (13. 5%) and other reasons such as enjoyment, boredom, and the like (3%). Working and non-working respondents were not distinguished in terms of age, gender or marital status as these factors were not relevant to the topic of research. As expected, the number of students working in the Hospitality Industry was 79% which is in line with the College policies and government regulations. A surprising result emerges when the students revealed that they obtained employment without assistance (67%) and just 31% declared that they got help from family and friends in getting paid employment.College student services which offers employment opportunities was not mentioned at all in this respect which raises serious questions about the purpose and efficiency of this department. In terms of academic results, 60% of the participants declared that they had no grade of NYC, which overall, is not a very good academic performance. Also 13% of participants declared they had one NYC, 10% stated they had two NYCs, 3% of students declared that they had three NYC, and 3% acknowledged they had four NYCs and a further 3% declared they five NYCs.The most questionable category is that of 5% of participants declaring that they had over 10 NYCs which brings the total proportion of students with NYCs to 39%. The research findings strongly supported hypothesis 1 confirming the existence of a strong relationship between students' work load and academic performance. As the Table 1 shows, 30% of students work in businesses where the spoken language is Mandarin and Cantonese; 35% of them work in businesses where Hindi or other languages from the Indian subcontinent is spoken; and only 26% of students declared that the language spoken in the workplace is English.The last statement needs more clarification as ‘English language spoken in the workplace' could imply that English was the only means of communication between employees and customers, or that English was the only means of communication between employees as a result of diversity in the work place. These findings do not clearly support hypothesis 2 as a research question and do not confirm there is a strong relationship between language spoken in the workplace and slow improvement of students' English skills, with consequent detrimental results in academic performance and employability.Because of the time constraint, the researcher has no ability to further investigate this issue. In terms of support received from the College to overcome the undesirable academic results, 73% of the participants declared that they had been helped to get over the situation, and 23% stated there had been no support for them. If we correlate the total number of students with NYCs (38. 5%) and those who declared that they did not receive adequate support (23%) we can assume that they are the same individuals or that there is some o verlap.As an organization Carrick Institute of Education is viewed as a very good educational institution by 10% of participants, good by 34%, neutral by 43%, bad by 4% and very bad also by 4%. The findings reveal a high number of students with an indifferent attitude to services and the quality of education offered. This will be a good question for management to investigate further. The researcher declines any further analysis of the issue which does not fit into the purpose of the topic.The open ended question related to students' future plans revealed an entire range of plans which can be categorized as: getting a good job (20%); embarking upon further studies (9%); starting a small business (7%); becoming a manager and chef (about 7%); getting PR (7%); and what is most intriguing, 29% of respondents declared that, ? Do Not Know'(IDNK). The analysis of this issue is beyond the scope of this paper. Data was obtained from 34 females (49%), and 34 males (49%). Ages varied from 20 to over 30 years (Mean = 22. 4, SD = 5. 8). 5. Discussion and ConclusionsThis paper identifies aspects of academic performance thought to be negatively affected by participation in paid employment and the language mostly spoken in the work place. This research as well as that of Greenberger and Steinberg (1986) and Payne (2003) demonstrates that work interferes with academic performance only when students undertake in excess of 20 hours of work per week which was taken on board by Carrick Institute of Education and the Immigration Department as a threshold. The mean number of hours worked by students at Carrick Institute of Education is 15 hours per week and is similar to the averages reported in previous studies.The jobs were mainly in the Hospitality Industries, similar to those reported by (Ford et al. 1995; Mclnnis and Hartley 2002). Indeed, in situations where jobs and study programs are closely aligned, positive effects may even be evidenced, because job experiences provide stud ents with opportunities to develop values and skills that are transferable to their current studies, and the context of their future careers (Luzzo et al. 1997). Similar findings are reported by Hammes and Haller (1983) and Hay et al. (1970).Findings in relation to the language spoken at the workplace shows that: 30% of students work in businesses where the spoken language is Mandarin and Cantonese; 35% of them work in businesses where Hindi or other languages from the Indian subcontinent are spoken; and only 26% of students declared that the language spoken in the workplace is English. These findings do not support Hypothesis 2 and do not confirm there is a strong relationship between the language spoken in the workplace and slow improvement of students' English skills with detrimental results in academic performance and employability.In clarifying this research question further work have to be done. This research was limited by the relatively small sample of participants and very limited time allocation. Future research should be carried out to obtain in-depth longitudinal data to enable temporal and causal relations between numerous other variables which need to be more clearly understood. This research is significant as there have not been studies to address these issues in the area of Vocational Education in Australia for a significant period of time and certainly no studies have been undertaken in the Carrick Institute of Education.Footnote 1 The numbers of students enrolled at Carrick Institute of Education, in different forms of education, were correct at the time of the survey. 2 The number is valid for August 2008. References References 1. Anlezark, A. (2005), ‘An aid to systematic reviews of research in vocational education and training in Australia', Journal ofVocational Education Research, Vol. 11, Issue 3. 2. Applegate, C. and Daly, A. 2006, ‘The impact of paid work on the academic performance of students: a case study from the Univer sity of Canberra', Australian Journal of Education, Vol. 0, Issue 2, pp. 155-166. 3. Anyanwu, C. (1998), ‘Is internationalisation in the classroom a reverse discrimination on Australian students? ‘ In Black, B. and Stanley, N. (Eds. ), Teaching and Learning in Changing Times, pp. 17-21. Proceedings of the 7th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. 4. Barling, J. , Rogers, K. and Kelloway, E. K. 1995, ‘Some effects of teenagers' part-time employment: the quantity and quality of work make the difference', Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 143-154. 5. Baron,R. M. and Kenny, D. A. 1986, ‘The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 51, Issue 6, pp. 1173-1182. 6. Barone, F. J. 1993, The effects of part-time employment on academic performance. NASSP Bulleti n, Vol. 76, Issue 549, pp. 67-73. 7. Bella, S. K. and Huba, M. E. 1982, Student part-time jobs: the relationship between type of job and academic performance. Journal of Student Financial Aid, Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 22-27. 8. Biggs, J. B. 987, Student approaches to learning and studying, Australian Council for Educational Research, Melbourne. 9. Bradley, G. , 2006, Work participation and academic performance: a test of alternative propositions. Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 19, Issue 5, pp. 481-501. 10. Curtis, S. and Shani, N. 2002, The effect of taking paid employment during term-time on students' academic studies. Journal of Further and Higher Education, Vol. 26, Issue 2, pp. 129-138. 11. Euro Student, 2000, Socioeconomic living conditions of students, viewed 17 February 2010, http://www. his. de/Abt2/ Auslandsstudium/Eurostudent/index. tm. 12. Ford, J. , Bosworth, D. and Wilson, R. 1995, Part-time work and fulltime higher education. Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 20, Iss ue 2, pp. 87-202. 13. Graham B. 2006, Work participation and academic performance: a test of alternative propositions, Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 19, Issue 5, pp. 481-501 14. Greenberger, E. and Steinberg L. 1986, When teenagers work: the psychological and social costs of adolescent employment. Basic Books Inc. , NY. 15. Hammer, L. B. , Grigsby, T. D. and Woods, S. 1998, The conflicting demands of work, family, and school among students at an urban university.Journal of Psychology, Vol. 132, Issue 2, pp. 220-226. 16. Hunt, A. , Lincoln, I. and Walker, A. 2004, Term-time Employment and Academic Attainment: Evidence from a Large-scale Survey of Undergraduates at Northumbria University, Journal of Further Education, Vol. 28, Issue 1, pp. 3-18. 17. Johnson, K. and Lucas, R. 2002, Student Employment Within Services: A UK, Central and Eastern European Perspective, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, Vol. 10, Issue 1, pp. 53-67. 18. Lucas, R and Lammont, N. 1998, C ombining work and study: An empirical study of students in work in school, college and university.Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 41-56. 19. Long, M. and Hayden, M. 2001, Paying their way: a survey of Australian undergraduate university student finances, 2000. Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee, viewed 17 February 2010, . 20. Lounsbury, J. W. ; Gibson, L. W. ; Sundstrom, E. ; Wilburn, D. ; Loveland, J. M. (2004), An Empirical Investigation of the Proposition that ‘School Is Work': a comparison of personality-performance correlations in school and work settings. Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 7, Issue 1, pp. 119-131. 21. Lucas, R. and Lammont, N. 1998, Combining work and study: an empiricalstudy of full-time students in school, college and university, Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 41-56. 22. Luzzo, D. A. , Hitchings, W. E. , Retish, P. and Shoemaker, A. 1999, Evaluating differences in college students' career decision making on the basis of disability status. Career Development Quarterly , Vol. 48, Issue 1, pp. 142-156. 23. Mclnnes, C. and Hartley, R. 2002, Managing Study and Work, DEST website, viewed, August 2009, ;http://www. dest. gov. au;. 24.Paton-Saltzburg, R. and Lindsay, R. 1994, The effect of paid employment on the academic performance of full-time students in higher education. Oxford, UK. 25. Stern, D. and Nakata, Y. 1991, Paid employment among U. S. college students: Trends, effects, and possible causes. The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 62, Issue 1, pp. 25-43. 26. Sorensen, L. , and Winn, S. 1993, Student loans: a case study. Higher Education Review. Vol. 25, Issue 3, pp. 48-65. 27. Trochim, W. M. K. 2006, Ethics in Research, viewed 14 February 2010, ;www. socialresearchmethods. net/kb/ethics;. AuthorAffiliationSorin BLAGA* AuthorAffiliation * Carrick Institute of Education, Australia. E-mail address: [email  protected] net. au. Word count: 4095 Copyright Babes Bolyai University 2012 Indexing (details) Cite Subject Academic achievement; College students; Core curriculum; Language; Tuition Company / organization Name:Carrick Institute of Education-Sydney AustraliaNAICS:611310| Title STUDENTS' PAID EMPLOYMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AT CARRICK INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, SYDNEY CAMPUS Author Blaga, Sorin Publication title Review of Economic Studies and Research Virgil Madgearu Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 5-22Number of pages 18 Publication year 2012 Publication date 2012 Year 2012 Publisher Babes Bolyai University Place of publication Cluj-Napoca Country of publication Romania Publication subject Business And Economics ISSN 20690606 Source type Scholarly Journals Language of publication English Document type Feature Document feature Tables;References;Graphs;Charts ProQuest document ID 1024823717 Document URL http://search. proquest. com. libraryproxy. griffith. edu. au/docview/1024823717? accountid=14543 Copyright Copyright Babes Bolyai University 2012 Last updated 2012-07 -14 Database ProQuest Central