Earning a General Educational Development (GED) credential can have positive results in a student's life including higher wages and better job opportunities. The 2014 version of the GED exam changed the format from a paper-based test to a computer-based test. This change coincided with a 35% decline in the pass rate indicating not all students are prepared to pass the new computer-based test (CBT). The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the influence of a candidate's race and reason for taking the exam on the pass or fail outcome of the new computer-based GED exam. The study used Vroom's expectancy theory as the theoretical framework. The guiding question was to examine the relationship between a candidate's motivation and pass or fail outcome of the CBT. This study used a quantitative approach to analyze available archival data from The Technical College System of Georgia in 2014 and 2015. Two chi-square analyses were conducted on data from 21,641 participants using candidate's race, reason for taking the exam, and GED pass or fail outcome. Results suggested that individually, both a candidate's race and reason for taking the test have a statistically significant effect on the participant's pass or fail outcome. Results from this study may help GED educators and students better understand factors that can influence student success. Integrating career development orientations and remedial computer based technology classes into the GED preparation process were recommended. Implications for positive social change include the potential to increase student motivation, improve the preparedness of both students and educators and subsequently increase the number of people who pass the GED exam.

<p>Vi ställde oss till en början frågan om arbetsledare och anställda har liknande uppfattning gällande arbetsmotivation. Med hjälp av befintliga teorier som vi ansåg som lämpliga ville vi beskriva och utvärdera hur arbetsmotivationen förhåller sig i ett större tillverkande företag samt att undersöka vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan arbetsledarens uppfattning och den upplevda situationen hos de anställda.</p><p>För att ett företag som verkar på en konkurrerande marknad skall kunna överleva och bli framgångsrikt så är produktivitet och effektiv produktion en avgörande faktor. Man måste få de anställda att vilja prestera sitt bästa och motivera dem till att göra detta varje dag. Många företagare brukar ofta påstå att företagets största resurs är dess anställda. Det är svårt att hävda motsatsen då det är dessa människor som i grund och botten utför arbetet på många företag.</p><p>Vi har valt att undersöka arbetsmotivationen på det tillverkande företaget Atlas Copco i Örebro som nyligen flyttat hit tillverkningen av vissa delar av produktionen från olika delar av världen. Detta har inneburit nyanställningar och därmed ett större antal anställda. Atlas Copco i Örebro ansågs därför som ett lämpligt företag att exemplifiera denna problematik på.</p><p>Uppsatsens frågeställningar handlar om vad företagets arbetsledare har för insikt i arbetsmotivationen bland de anställda samt att påvisa likheter och skillnader mellan arbetsledarens uppfattning och de anställdas uppfattning.</p><p>För att samla in våra data valde vi att använda både en enkätundersökning och en djupintervju, således blev data insamlat av både det kvalitativa och det kvantitativa slaget. Totalt så delades 31 stycken svarsenkäter ut och lika många returnerades.</p><p>De delar som utgör den teoretiska referensramen i undersökningen är Expectancy Theory, Hertzbergs tvåfaktorsteori. Detta beskrivs i uppsatsen dels ur arbetsledarens perspektiv och dels ur de anställdas synvinkel.</p><p>Den empiriska delen av uppsatsen består av information från den intervjun som gjorts med arbetsledaren samt information hämtad från enkäter besvarade av de anställda och Atlas Copcos hemsida. De erfarenheter som inhämtats jämfördes sedan med teorin och skillnader och likheter sammanställdes i analysavsnittet.</p><p>Det vi kom fram till genom att göra denna undersökning var att arbetsledaren har bra insikt i de anställdas arbetsmotivation och likheterna i de motiverande faktorerna klart översteg skillnaderna. Vi kom dock fram till några få punkter vi anser vara bristfälliga vilket arbetsledningen bör tänka över. Dessa punkter var att de anställda inte känner att de får någon verklig belöning vid extra bra prestationer samt att förbättra feedbacken till de anställda både i positiv och negativ riktning.</p>

Vi ställde oss till en början frågan om arbetsledare och anställda har liknande uppfattning gällande arbetsmotivation. Med hjälp av befintliga teorier som vi ansåg som lämpliga ville vi beskriva och utvärdera hur arbetsmotivationen förhåller sig i ett större tillverkande företag samt att undersöka vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan arbetsledarens uppfattning och den upplevda situationen hos de anställda. För att ett företag som verkar på en konkurrerande marknad skall kunna överleva och bli framgångsrikt så är produktivitet och effektiv produktion en avgörande faktor. Man måste få de anställda att vilja prestera sitt bästa och motivera dem till att göra detta varje dag. Många företagare brukar ofta påstå att företagets största resurs är dess anställda. Det är svårt att hävda motsatsen då det är dessa människor som i grund och botten utför arbetet på många företag. Vi har valt att undersöka arbetsmotivationen på det tillverkande företaget Atlas Copco i Örebro som nyligen flyttat hit tillverkningen av vissa delar av produktionen från olika delar av världen. Detta har inneburit nyanställningar och därmed ett större antal anställda. Atlas Copco i Örebro ansågs därför som ett lämpligt företag att exemplifiera denna problematik på. Uppsatsens frågeställningar handlar om vad företagets arbetsledare har för insikt i arbetsmotivationen bland de anställda samt att påvisa likheter och skillnader mellan arbetsledarens uppfattning och de anställdas uppfattning. För att samla in våra data valde vi att använda både en enkätundersökning och en djupintervju, således blev data insamlat av både det kvalitativa och det kvantitativa slaget. Totalt så delades 31 stycken svarsenkäter ut och lika många returnerades. De delar som utgör den teoretiska referensramen i undersökningen är Expectancy Theory, Hertzbergs tvåfaktorsteori. Detta beskrivs i uppsatsen dels ur arbetsledarens perspektiv och dels ur de anställdas synvinkel. Den empiriska delen av uppsatsen består av information från den intervjun som gjorts med arbetsledaren samt information hämtad från enkäter besvarade av de anställda och Atlas Copcos hemsida. De erfarenheter som inhämtats jämfördes sedan med teorin och skillnader och likheter sammanställdes i analysavsnittet. Det vi kom fram till genom att göra denna undersökning var att arbetsledaren har bra insikt i de anställdas arbetsmotivation och likheterna i de motiverande faktorerna klart översteg skillnaderna. Vi kom dock fram till några få punkter vi anser vara bristfälliga vilket arbetsledningen bör tänka över. Dessa punkter var att de anställda inte känner att de får någon verklig belöning vid extra bra prestationer samt att förbättra feedbacken till de anställda både i positiv och negativ riktning.

Submitted by Josiane schunck (josianegschunck@gmail.com) on 2017-01-13T10:11:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Mercadologia - Schunck -Dissertação.pdf: 1017067 bytes, checksum: 12fbc30e8ddb1a94080b4b7fe084f228 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Fabiana da Silva Segura (fabiana.segura@fgv.br) on 2017-01-13T14:06:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Mercadologia - Schunck -Dissertação.pdf: 1017067 bytes, checksum: 12fbc30e8ddb1a94080b4b7fe084f228 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-13T14:12:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mercadologia - Schunck -Dissertação.pdf: 1017067 bytes, checksum: 12fbc30e8ddb1a94080b4b7fe084f228 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-20 / The concept of direct selling is defined as a way of marketing products through personal contact without fixed business location (Peterson & Wotruba, 1996). In the industry of personal care, perfumery and cosmetics direct sales channel represents 25% of total revenue in Brazil, but there are companies that operate with several of them and coexisting distribution models that can go from department stores, drugstore and e-commerce. The representativeness of some of these sales channels begins to grow and, considering the direct selling model, the role of the independent sales representative is fundamental so that Direct Sales companies can access the consumer and remain competitive. DS companies depend on the representative actions, being the reason they have developed initiatives that aim to improve their performance. In this way, studying the role of the sales representative can bring contributions to the literature once in previous studies, although they were done with representatives, it could not observed this new context of the industry. The subject of study of this work was the direct sales representatives who commercialize several brands of cosmetics produced by different direct sales companies. The objective of this research was to understand if there is a causal relationship between the representative satisfaction, the activities she or he does during the sales process such as sales management, channel management and the effort she or he has to. It also aimed, once this effort is identified, to understand the relationship of it with the sales performance and outcome representative. A survey was sent to a group of representatives in Brazil and 1,243 responses were obtained. Based on these responses, Exploratory (AFE) and Confirmatory (AFC) Factorial Analysis and a Structural Equations Model (MEE) was developed to illustrate this relationship among variables. The Expectancy Theory was used to understand the relationship between Effort, Performance and Rewards from the perspective of the representative. The results showed that channel management is the factor that most influences the representative effort, it has a strong relationship with its performance, and outcome, confirming the Expectancy Theory applies for the direct sales business model. The analysis also allowed us to conclude that channel management and sales management are important points, since the representative, who acts as a channel him or herself, is not yet prepared or considered. Direct selling companies need to develop their independent sales representatives as marketing channel, to generate competitiveness in a multichannel environment direct sale is inserted. / O conceito de venda direta é descrito como um meio de comercialização de produtos através de contato pessoal sem um ponto fixo (Peterson & Wotruba, 1996). Na categoria de higiene pessoal, perfumaria e cosméticos (HPPC) a venda direta representa 25% das vendas, porém, existem empresas que operam com diversos modelos de distribuição que variam desde lojas especializadas, venda em farmácias, drogarias e supermercados até o e-commerce. A representatividade de alguns desses canais começa a crescer, e no modelo de venda direta, o papel do revendedor é fundamental para que as indústrias possam acessar o mercado consumidor e continuar competitivas. As empresas dependem da atuação do revendedor, e por isso têm proposto iniciativas que objetivam a melhoria do desempenho deste agente independente de vendas. Portanto, estudar o papel do revendedor pode trazer contribuições para a literatura, uma vez que estudos anteriores, apesar de estudarem o revendedor, não puderam observar este novo momento para o setor. O objeto de estudo desse trabalho foi revendedores de venda direta que comercializam marcas de cosméticos fabricadas por diferentes empresas de vendas diretas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi entender se existe relação de causalidade entre satisfação do revendedor, e as atividades que ele desempenha no processo de vendas e como intermediário, como por exemplo, gestão de vendas, canal e o esforço, e identificado o esforço, qual a relação desta variável com o desempenho e o resultado do revendedor. A pesquisa foi enviada para todo o país e foram obtidas 1.243 respostas. Com base nessas respostas foram realizadas Análise Fatorial Exploratória (AFE) e Confirmatória (AFC) e gerado um Modelo de Equações Estruturais (MEE) desta relação. A Teoria da Expectância foi utilizada para entender a relação entre Esforço, Desempenho e Recompensa na visão do revendedor. Os resultados mostraram que a gestão de canal é o fator que mais influencia o esforço do revendedor, que tem forte relação com seu desempenho, confirmando a teoria da Expectância também na venda direta. As análises permitiram concluir também que a gestão de canal e a gestão de vendas, são pontos importantes, pois este revendedor que desempenha o papel de canal, ainda não está preparado e nem sendo tratado como um canal. As empresas de venda direta precisam se desenvolver na gestão deste agente como um canal, para gerar competitividade em um ambiente multicanal ao qual a venda direta está inserida.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related violence has been firmly established in a wide array of studies concerning various forms of violence including intimate partner violence, domestic violence as well as sexual assault. One factor which has been highlighted as having a moderating effect on the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression is the specific aggression-related alcohol expectancies concerning the effects of alcohol consumption on aggressive behaviour. In light of the prevalence of alcohol-related violence in South African communities it becomes important to examine the specific factors that moderate the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression and violence. The aim of this study was to examine aggressionrelated alcohol expectancies as a moderating factor in the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression and to examine the possible influence of exposure to community alcohol-related aggression in the formulation of aggression-related alcohol expectancies. The main objectives of this were to examine aggression-related alcohol expectancies as well as exposure to community alcohol-related aggression as domains for intervention to prevent alcohol-related violence. / South Africa

Employee absenteeism costs organizations in the U.S. restaurant industry more than 15% of profits each year. Some restaurant managers lack strategies to reduce employee absenteeism. Using the expectancy theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies that restaurant managers use to reduce employee absenteeism. The target population was managers of a single restaurant, known for successfully implemented strategies to reduce employee absenteeism, located in the Baltimore-Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 3 managers and a review of company archival documents such as memorandums, training documents, employee records, and employee performance reviews. Data were analyzed using inductive coding of words and phrases from the interviews and noted from the company archival documents. The findings revealed themes that represented restaurant managers' strategies for reducing employee absenteeism including communication, consistent enforcement of management policies, and a positive environment. Managers who used the strategies of communication, consistent enforcement of management policies, and a positive work environment reduced employee absenteeism, which might increase productivity and profitability in the restaurant industry. The implication for positive social change is that restaurant managers might reduce employee absenteeism through implementation of these effective strategies and, in turn, encourage new or sustained employment opportunities, organizational sustainability in the community, and sustained financial well-being of employees and their families.

This thesis explores what motivates women in a leadership position, in a sales role and in the technology industry. The field lacks previous research on this specific subject. Using one need-based and one process-based work motivation theory, the study aims to identify and map motivational factors that are regarded by women. A holistic conceptualization of work motivation and prominent research is presented. Implications for motivation are researched with a theoretical approach that integrates Herzberg’s hygiene-motivator factor theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. The study uses abductive reasoning with a qualitative research strategy. Empirical evidence is primarily gathered by semi-structured interviews. 10 women in tech sales working for Nordic branches of various companies were interviewed. Pattern matching and thematic analysis generated a number of aggregated themes consistent in having a contribution to motivation: the role and work tasks, inner motivation, the organization and lastly, the people and relationships. The study both conforms to and adds new layers to the theoretical framework, and further concludes a number of important motivational factors for the women. The result shows that both hygiene and motivator-factors have the potential to impact the rational process leading to motivation, thus the components in the expectancy theory.

I denna studie var syftet att undersöka medarbetarnas självuppfattade faktorer till motivation att arbeta. Vidare var syftet också att undersöka huruvida dessa faktorer skiljer sig mellan män och kvinnor. Studien genomfördes på en organisation som verkar inom lagerbranschen. En enkät med sju frågor, samt frågor om bakgrundsvariablerna kön och ålder, skickades ut till ca 140 medarbetare, varav 107 medverkade. Frågorna handlade om inre och yttre faktorer till motivation till arbete. Vårt resultat visar till största del att de motivationsfaktorer som togs upp i enkäten ansågs vara viktiga för majoriteten av respondenterna. De två faktorer som stack ut mest var frågan om lön och trygg anställning, där majoriteten av respondenterna ansåg dessa som viktigast. Trots att det inte förekom några statistiskt signifikanta skillnader i frågan vad gäller skillnader på män och kvinnors svar, kan man ändå dra den intressanta slutsatsen att enligt enkäten så tenderade kvinnorna att uppleva de inre motivationsfaktorerna som viktigare än vad männen gjorde. / In this study the aim was to investigate employees' self-perceived factors for motivation to work. Furthermore, the aim was also to investigate whether these factors differ between men and women. The study was conducted at an organization operating in the warehouse industry. A survey with seven questions, as well as questions about the background variables gender and age, was sent out to approximately 140 employees, of which 107 participated. The questions were about internal and external factors for motivation to work. Our results show that the motivational factors our survey covered were considered important for the majority of respondents. The two factors that stood out the most were salary and secure employment, which the majority of respondents considered to be the most important. Despite the fact that there were no statistically significant differences regarding the difference between men's and women's answers, one can still draw the interesting conclusion that according to the survey, a tendency could be seen that women considered the internal motivation factors more important than men.

為了探討注意力與年齡因素對計時行為的影響，本實驗選用事前知道計時派典（prospective paradigm）與不涉及人為時間單位之知識的計時複製方式。針對注意力的因素，本研究採用雙重作業以操弄注意力資源集中或分散，檢測其對計時作業的影響。另針對年齡的因素，本研究比較低年級小學生、高年級小學生、及大學生成人三種不同年齡組的受試。 本研究利用四種計時作業，針對三個不同年齡層的受試進行對兩種不等的時距計時資料收集。計時作業及年齡因子的實驗設計採受試者間設計，而時距因子則採受試者內設計。研究結果發現（1）低年級組的計時準確性較高年級組或成人組差；（2）受試在雙重作業的計時表現的確較單一作業差，這個計時受干擾的結果，在複雜的雙重作業又較在簡單雙重作業明顯，且年紀愈小的受試所受干擾影響愈大；（3）三年齡層受試在雙重作業中皆有低估目標時距的現象，其中以低年級在複雜雙重作業中的低估程度最明顯；（4）低年級組的計時能力之穩定性較高年級或成人組低；（5）在無需對不斷出現之無意義刺激作偵測反應時，三年齡受試的計時準確性未受影響。 這些結果顯示計時的誤差的確隨著注意力需分派於非時間作業的增加，受試所複製的時距也隨之縮短。這項由於注意力分散所致的計時誤差在國小低年級組最明顯，但隨著年齡的成長及腦發展愈臻成熟，這項影響效果愈趨式微，致使計時的表現愈正確。 關鍵詞：時間複製、年齡與發展、雙重作業、注意力、小學生、純量計時 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the attention and age on time estimation based on the prospective timing paradigm. Four timing tasks, with different degrees of attentional requirement, were utilized to test timing of reproducing the target intervals in three groups of different ages including the lower-grade (M= 7.5 years), higher-grade (M= 11.2 years) elementary school students and adult (M= 20.1 years). The subjects in this work were asked to estimate a stimulus duration lasting for 7 or 14 s, during which they are required to either do or do not perform a concurrent non-temporal task. Thus, the experimental design for the present study was mixed with between-subject factors (age and task) and a within-subject factor (target interval). The results showed (1) the lower-grade children performed less accurate than the higher-grade children; (2) all subjects had worse timing performance in the dual-task condition than the single-task or control condition, which effect was most evident in the lower-grade children; (3) all subjects reproduced shorter interval as compared to the target interval, which effect was most apparently observed from the dual-task for the lower-grade children; (4) the lower-grade children had less reliability in timing; and (5) the effect of age on the single-task and control condition is not significant. Together, these data indicate that concurrent non-temporal task cause temporal reproduction shorter, especially under high attention demand in lower-grade children. In addition to the influence by the task complexity, the accuracy of timing estimation depends on the age. Keywords: time reproduction、age and development、dual task、attention、elementary school student、Scalar expectancy theory(SET)

Denna studie syftar till att bidra med kunskap om hur anställda upplever motivation i samband med användandet av ett spelifieringsprogram. Detta har konkretiserats med hjälp av frågeställningarna ”På vilket sätt påverkar spelifieringen de anställdas motivation?” och ”Vilka konsekvenser upplever anställda att spelifieringen har för deras arbetssituation?” För att behandla frågeställningarna har åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda genomförts hos ett företag som använder sig av ett spelifieringsprogram. Vår empiri tolkas med hjälp av Vrooms (1964) Förväntansteori och Ryan och Decis (2000) Self-Determination Theory. Resultatet visar att spelifieringsprogrammet som deltagarna i studien använt har bidragit till yttre motivation hos vissa av de anställda. Ojämlik möjlighet till belöningar samt abstrakta mål har dock begränsat spridningen av denna motivation. Spelifieringsprogrammet har i mycket liten utsträckning påverkat de anställdas arbetssituation. Det har också i låg grad påverkat hur de anställda upplever sin motivation på arbetsplatsen överlag. I stället ser vi att det fyller en funktion som någonting kul och ”extra” för vissa anställda. / The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how employees experience motivation when using a gamification program. This has been concretized by the following research questions: “In what way does the gamification affect the motivation of the employees?” and “What consequences do the employees perceive the gamification has on their work situation?” To inquire into these questions eight semi-structured interviews with employees at a company that uses a gamification program have been conducted. Our empirics have been analyzed with the help of Vroom’s (1964) Expectancy Theory and Ryan and Deci’s (2000) Self-Determination Theory. The results show that the gamification program used by the participants in the study has contributed to extrinsic motivation for some of the employees. Unequal opportunity for rewards, as well as abstract goals, has limited the spread of this motivation. The gamification program has to a low degree affected the employees work situation. It has also to a low degree affected how the employees perceive their motivation at the workplace in general. Instead it serves as something fun and “extra” for some of the employees.