Psychology Of The Fraudster Profile Of Fraudsters Criminology Essay

Psychology Of The Fraudster Profile Of Fraudsters Criminology Essay It is important to understand the profile of a typical fraudster, by type of fraud he/she has committed, in order to control and detect a fraud. In case of an asset fraud, the person is generally someone who was not suspected, oftentimes least suspected. The profile of white-collar criminals is very different from blue-collar criminals, or street criminals. This statement makes fraud even more difficult to inhibit or identify. Who Commits Fraud? According to the principles mentioned above, one might conclude that fraud is caused mainly by factors external to the individual that include financial, economic, social, and political factors, and poor controls. But, what about the individuals? Are some people more inclined to to commit fraud than others? And if so, is that a more serious cause of fraud than the external and internal environmental aspects as discussed earlier? Data obtained from criminology and sociology gives the same impression. Start by making a broad view about people: Some individuals are honest all the time. Some individuals are deceitful all the time. Most individuals are honest some of the time. Some individuals are honest most of the time. A study was conducted to ask employees whether they are honest at work. Forty percent said they would not steal, 30 percent said they would, and 30 percent said they might. A part from those overviews about people, what can one say about fraud committers? About Lying, Cheating and Stealing, Gwynn Nettler, suggestions these understandings on cheaters and deceivers: People who have experienced failure are prone to cheat. People who are not liked and who hate themselves are more likely to be more deceitful. People who are thoughtless, capable of being distracted and unable to delay fulfilments are more likely to involve in deceitful crimes. People who have a sense of right and wrong (fear of anxiety and punishment; that is, awareness of disclosure) are more resistant to commit a crime. Intelligent people are more likely to be honest than uneducated people. Middle and elite-class people tend to be more honest than lower-class people. The easier it is to fraud and cheat, the more people will do so. Individuals have different needs and levels at which they will be adequately driven to lie, cheat, or steal. Lying, cheating, and theft increase when people are under stress to attain important objectives. The struggle to survive leads to deceit. Individuals lie, steal and cheat on the job in a variety of individual and administrative situations. The ways that are followed are: Personal variables Skills/abilities Attitudes/favourites Personal requirements/needs Morals/principles Organizational variables Type/scope of the job (meaningful work) Preparation/training provided Credit/acknowledgment system Significance of administration and management Clarity of duties Clarity of job-related objectives Interactive trust Motivational and moral environment (ethics and values of superiors and co-workers) External variables Amount of competition in the industry General financial conditions Social values (ethics of challengers and of social and political role models) The question rises; Why Do Workers Lie, Steal and Cheat on the Work? There are 25 reasons behind employee crimes that are looked by authorities in white-collar crime (criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, auditors, risk managers, police, and security experts): The employee believes he can escape from it. The employee thinks he/she badly needs or desires the money or articles that are stolen. The employee feels unsatisfied or disappointed about some part of the job. The employee feels upset or unhappy about some aspect of his personal life that is not related to job. The employee feels mistreated by the employer and wants to get even. The employee fails to think through the penalties of being caught. The employee thinks: everybody else cheats, so why not me? The employee thinks: theyre so big, stealing a little bit wont damage them. The employee doesnt know how to manage his/her own income so is always penniless and ready to steal. The employee feels that defeating the organization is a contest and experiment and not a matter of financial advantage alone. The employee was economically, socially, or traditionally deprived during childhood. The employee is compensating for an emptiness felt in his personal life and needs love, care, and friendship. The employee has no willpower and steals out of an impulse. The employee believes a friend at work has been subjected to embarrassment or misuse or has been treated unethically. The employee is just simply lethargic and will not work hard to earn enough to buy what he/she desires or needs. The organizations internal controls are so relaxed that everyone is attracted to steal. No one has ever been put on trial for stealing from the organization. Most employee thieves are caught by coincidence rather than by audit or design. Therefore, fright of being caught is not a warning to theft. Employees are not encouraged to discuss personal or financial problems at work or to seek managements advice and guidance on such matters. Employee stealing is a situational phenomenon. Each theft has its own former situations, and each thief has his/her own purposes. Employees steal for any reason the human mind and thoughts can call up. Employees never go to jail or get strict prison punishments for stealing, deceiving, or cheating from their employers. Human beings are weak and susceptible to to sin. Employees nowadays are morally, ethically, and mentally ruined and bankrupt. Employees tend to follow their superiors. If their superiors steal or cheat, then they are most likely to do the same. Laws must be sensible, fair in application and applied quickly and efficiently to be respected and obeyed. Company strategies that relate to employee honesty, like criminal laws in general must be sensible, reasonable, and projected to serve the companys best economic interests. The test of reasonableness for any company fraud policy is whether its terms are understandable, whether its punishments or preventions are appropriate to a real and serious matter, and whether its application is possible in a well-organized and legally effective way. But what particular employee actions are serious enough to be banned and/or punished? Any act that could or does result in significant loss, damage, or destruction of company assets should be forbidden. What is acceptable or considered significant will vary by organization, but wherever the limitations are defined, they must be well conversed, demonstrated by upper management, and applied as essential. The greatest warning to criminal conduct is a guaranteed and impartial justice; that means immediate detection and uneasiness, a quick and fair trial, and punishment according to the crime: loss of civil rights, honours, property, individual freedom, or societal approval. Having said all that, why is it that, regardless of the terrible consequences of criminal conduct, it still happens? Obviously, it is because the rewards obtained frequently go beyond the risk of uneasiness and punishment; that is, the troubles caused by punishment are not as severe as the pleasures of criminal conduct. The latter seems to be mainly true in cases of financial or white-collar crimes. Many times, when a fraud is noticed, the extent of punishment and penalty of the crime is sometimes without even paying back the fraud damages. So while prospective white collar criminals may believe they might get trapped, but still the consequences are below the satisfaction which they get by committing the crime. High-Level and Low-Level Thieves At high levels of administrative life, it is easy to steal because controls can be avoided or bypassed. The amounts that high-level managers steal, therefore, is likely to be greater than the amounts low-level employees steal. For example, according to the 2008 ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) RTTN, executives average about  £834,000 per fraud, managers about  £150,000, and employees about  £70,000. The number of events of theft, however, is greater at low levels of administrations because of the large number of employees found there. The ACFE RTTN has gathered a profile of fraudsters based on the information collected from CFEs (Certified Fraud Examiner) in its assessments. The more expensive frauds, in terms of cost or losses, are committed by fraudsters who (a) have been working with the company for a long time, (b) receive a high earnings, (c) are males, (d) are above 60 years of age, (e) are well educated (the higher the educational degree completed, the higher the damages), (f) work in groups rather than alone, and (g) have never been accused with anything criminal. The most common frauds, however, are done by fraudsters with a different profile. These fraudsters (a) have been a worker for about the same amount of time as the high-level thieves, (b) earn much less, (c) could be either male or female (sex doesnt matter), (d) are between the ages of 41 and 50, (e) have completed high school, (f) work alone, (g) and have generally not been charged with any criminal conduct. Hall and Singleton provide a similar profile for a usual fraudster in general. These criminals are (a) in an important position in the company, (b) are usually male, (c) are over 50 years old, (d) are married, and (e) are well educated. This profile is similar to the one from the ACFE RTTN, and leads us to this general conclusion: A white-collar criminal does not look like a criminal! Who Is Victimised By Fraud Most Often? Measures to protect against fraud by either organization insiders or outside dealers, suppliers, and contractors must be sufficient; that is, they must achieve the goal of control-cost-feasible protection of assets against damage, loss, or destruction. Cost-feasible protection means minimal expenses for full protection. Generating an organizational police state would be too much control. A sensible viewpoint on controls and countermeasures is the best, and may require involving staffs in creating control policies, plans, and procedures. A well-adjusted viewpoint considers the costs and benefits of the proposed new controls while developing a trusting culture that includes loyalty and honesty. A distrusting culture is often associated with frauds. However, complete trust with no answerability is the main cause of fraud. Fraud is therefore most widespread in organizations that have no controls, no trust, no ethical values, no profits, and no prospect. Similarly, the more these situations exist, the higher the risk of fraud. Observed evidence shows that the most common factor in all frauds committed is the lack of setting apart of duties with no compensating control- a situation commonly presents in small business units. Small businesses and establishments (e.g., charities) have a higher risk of fraud than any other size business, because they are more likely to have one accountant, no isolation of duties, and no compensating control, and those factors are the most common in fraud. Start with the amusing hypothesis that most people are honest. Its a nice way to look at the world, and it recalls childhood memories about learning that honesty is the best policy and George Washington telling his father, I cannot tell a lie. Unhappy to say, human past and human nature tell a different story, and so do the statistics that study them. While most societies clearly dislike violent crime and physical harm, many societies hold financial fraud, whatever its scale, as a less disgraceful offense. Charles Ponzi, creator of the Ponzi scheme, was famous in some regions as a folk hero and praised by many of the people he helped. Investors and executives, whose frauds can upset thousands or tens of thousands of lives, have historically been punished with comparatively light punishments or serve their time at a low-security federal tennis camp. Some scholars have called this attitude toward white-collar crime a falsification of our general societal admiration for intelligence. During much of the past century, psychologists and sociologists worked hard to understand the inner workings of people who commit white-collar crime. Edwin Sutherlands White Collar Crime, the most significant work in the field argued in 1939 that an individuals personality has no relevance to a tendency to commit such crimes. Somewhat, he said, economic crimes create from the situations and social bonds within an organization, not from the biological and psychological features of the individual. Sutherland also made the useful and obvious, observation that criminality is not limited to the lower classes and to social misfits but spreads out, particularly where financial fraud is concerned, to upper-class, socially well-adjusted people. Over the many decades since White Collar Crime was published, convincing studies have concluded that two aspects should be kept in mind while analysing the psychology and personality of the fraudster: The natural abilities of an individual, which differ widely and influence behaviour, including social behaviour The social abilities that are derived from people and in turn shape how the individual deals with other people From these studies of psychology, two common forms of financial fraudster have been noted: Calculating criminals who want to compete and to affirm themselves Situation-dependent criminals who are anxious to protect themselves, their families, or their businesses from a disaster Since these studies were published, a third form of criminal has appeared out of disastrous business failures and humiliations. We will call them power brokers. Calculating Criminals Calculating criminals are hunters. They tend to be repeat criminal acts, they have higher-than-average intellect, and theyre relatively well educated. They typically start their careers in crime later in life than other criminals. These hunters are generally motivated to risk taking-no surprise there-and they lack feelings of anxiety and sympathy. A correlated view, somewhat different in its prominence, was offered in a 1993 study of Wall Streets insider-trading scandals by a team of psychologists who proposed that individuals eager to commit such crimes had an external locus of control-that is, they do not have inner direction, self-confidence, and self-respect and were driven by their desire to fit in and be accepted. Additionally, the study found that they describe success by others standards. Situation-Dependent Criminals But the main bulk of corporate criminals are not hunters at all. They are situation-dependent offenders: apparently ordinary people who commit crimes without the intending to harm others. This is significant in understanding white-collar crime, because nearly all news reporting and much of the scholarly literature in the area focuses on shocking, highly publicized, and largely a typical cases and ignores the more common and ordinary criminals and offenses that account for most white-collar crimes. Typical White-Collar Criminal Older (30+ years) 55% male, 45% female Appeared to be from a stable family Above-average (postgraduate) education Less likely to have criminal record Good mental health Position of trust Comprehensive and full knowledge of accounting systems and their weaknesses Previous accounting experience Source: ACFE At the start of an investigation, the forensic accounting investigator often sits down with the client and examines the organizational chart. The forensic accounting investigator and the client talk about each employee one by one, about each employees work, and about what is known of the lifestyle of each. What about Amanda? the forensic accounting investigator might say, pointing to an employee on the chart. No, it could not be Amanda. She has been with us for 20 years, the client responds. She is always helping others with their duties. She is nice and rarely takes time off. My wife and I have been to her home. Our sons are on the same football team. The client may believe that what he knows, or thinks he knows, about Amandas character and removes her from the list of suspects of fraud. In fact, an experienced forensic accounting investigator will understand that Amanda fits the profile of a white-collar criminal. This is not to propose that all nice people are criminals but, rathe r, that most white-collar criminals give the appearance of being nice people, thereby fitting the exact profile of Amanda. Power Brokers Many of todays highly placed corporate criminals show features of each of the previous two categories, but they are different enough in their methods and motives to possess a category all their own: power brokers. Like many of us, you have read about their excesses and asked yourself how respected business leaders could have been so fooled as to believe that they could grab the financial and human resources of their companies to line their own pockets and deceive a wide range of investors, including their own employees. Are the U.S. corporate leaders now facing criminal charges, which began their careers with the intention of creating a company that would enrich themselves while finally destroying the dreams and plans of thousands of innocent victims- are employees and investors alike? Were all of them hunters? Probably not. But a combination of hunter characteristics and the circumstances of their positions led them to commit financial crimes. Fraudsters Do Not Intend To Harm Generally speaking, situation-dependent criminals carry out their frauds with no purpose to harm any one. A high-ranking executive of Westinghouse Electric Co. who was accused of price-fixing in 1961 was asked whether he thought his behaviour was illegal. He responded: Illegal? Yes, but not criminal. Criminal action means hurting someone and we did not do that. It is critical to an understanding of the psychology of such people to accept this key point: most of them carry out their frauds with no intention of doing harm, and they believe-they are able to convince themselves-that what theyre doing is not wrong. These people may even convince themselves that what theyre doing is for the good of the company and everyone associated with it, including employees, investors, creditors, and other constituencies. Or they may believe that they deserve the spoils they seize because they rationalize their crimes as immaterial, innocent, or deserved-but not wrong. In most cases, they start small, but with time as the fraud grows in size, usually encompassing more than one scheme. Kinds of Rationalization In many admission-seeking interviews, suspects confess to their crimes, but rarely do they say, I stole the money. Instead, they bring up their rationalization for the crime. Such rationalizations can be of many kinds: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It was a loan, and I had every intention of paying it back. See (pulling out a spreadsheet), I kept track of all my loans so that I could pay it all back one day. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ That accounting rule is confusing and subjective. Accounting for the transactions in the manner I chose is entirely acceptable. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ My boss has been cheating on his taxes for years. Im just getting my share. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Everyone in this industry takes kickbacks. Im sure my employer is aware of it, and thats why they dont pay me very much. They expect me to supplement my income with gifts from our suppliers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Im the hardest-working employee here, and I know my boss would give me a substantial raise if he could do it without other people knowing. Instead, I take a little bit, but Im actually saving the company money because only I get the raise.' à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What do you expect me to do? You give me no health insurance coverage, and I need to provide for my children and my parents. They depend on me, and I cant let them down. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There are a lot of good people here. If I didnt make up a few entries to give the appearance to corporate that we were making budgeted income, they would close our division and put 50 people out of work. I did it to save their jobs. In sum, rationalization enables a person to take that final step toward crime. Motivations for Fraud à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..In a 2001 article, The Psychology of Fraud, the authors noted that fraud, like other crime, can best be explained by three factors: a supply of motivated offenders, the availability of suitable targets and the absence of capable guardians-control systems or someone to mind the store. Financial motivators obviously have a big impact on the cause of financial crime. These can range from an employee with an inability to pay her domestic bills to a senior executive under financial strain because he knows that market factors have adversely affected the business and analysts will be watching the latest results with eagerness. In this case, the strain may go beyond pure financial impact, but also to stature and reputation. Take the recent case of Computer Associates and its former CEO, Sanjay Kumar, and two other company executives. The governments indictment noted, Computer Associates prematurely recognized $2.2 b illion in revenue in FY 2000 and FY 2001 and more than $1.1 billion in premature revenue in prior quarters. The government also noted that the SEC alleges that from 1998 to 2000, Computer Associates routinely kept its books open to record revenue from contracts executed after the quarter ended in order to meet Wall Street quarterly earnings estimates. Computer Associates agreed to settlements with the SEC and the Justice Department to the tune of $225 million and agreed to reform its financial accounting controls. Some theorists have taken a big-picture approach and argued that white collar crime is the inevitable outcome of the competitive ethic of capitalism. According to this theory, competition is the field on which egotism and recklessness can have full play. We are constantly bombarded by images of the wealth and success that can be achieved through winning in the great experiment in social Darwinism in which we live. The inevitable result of such competition is the recognition of the economic inequality of winners and losers, which can be internalized as the constant fear of failing. This discontent may be sufficient to make a person see white-collar crime as the great equalizing act. The drive for money and the trappings of success are, therefore, the motivators of the act. The situation in which the potential white-collar offender finds him- or herself plays a most significant role in determining whether a crime will be committed. The corporate culture lived daily at the workplace can often create enormous pressures to commit criminal acts. Examples are common in the famous cases of price-fixing, bribery, and manufacture of dangerous products that occurred throughout the last century. A corrupt corporate culture can lead to the inversion of all values. Loyalty can easily slip into complicity. Criminal behaviour becomes normal. Team-playing becomes conspiracy. Fear of dismissal, ostracism, or losing the favour of superiors can be compelling forces in the world of a department or small company. In such an atmosphere, one learns criminal behaviour in association with those who define such behaviour favourably, as Sutherland contended. These acts cannot be explained by a personal history of instability and deviance since stability and conformity are the principal characteristics of these criminals lives. Even while committing the crimes, white-collar offenders are able to lead their conventional lives, which are, indeed, their camouflage. Their conventionality and stability are the foundation of the trustworthiness that gives them the opportunity to commit the crime in the first place. It is this life of conventionality that gives the criminal act the character of an aberration. It is, however, the white-collar criminals power of rationalization that is one of the most amazing aspects of their behaviour. They are able to behave normally and aberrantly at the same time without feeling conflict. This behaviour is possible through the use of techniques of neutralization. These are acts of mental deftness that allow persons to violate behavioural norms without simultaneously seeing themselves as deviant or criminal. Such self exculpating explanations can occur both before and after the commission of a criminal act. The most common rationalization noted several times already in this unit is that financial crimes do not hurt other people. Embezzlers commonly tell themselves they are merely borrowing the money and intend to return it later without anyone else being affected. Many embezzlers justify it because they had to do it to pay mounting family bills. Everybodys doing it is frequently heard as an argument for systematic wrongful company behaviour. Corporate offenders often consider laws as an unjust or unnecessary form of government interference disrupting free market forces. They may even argue that breaking the law was necessary for the survival of the company. Employees frequently offer a moral justification for their thefts with the argument that their employer owed them the money. Fraud simply expressed their grievance. For example, they feel exploited and underpaid or hurt after receiving a smaller-than-expected bonus. Many feel justified after being passed over for promotion; others feel they can do the job just as well as, if not better than, the person with the higher education. Personal antipathies, anger after a reprimand from the boss, and the like can all be self-serving explanations for fraud. In rare cases, mental illness can drive a person to commit fraud through a wish to damage the company. Others can be motivated by pure egotism; they commit fraud just to show how smart they are. Yet others are driven by anti capitalist ideologies and think they are destroying the system from within. Auditors Need to Understand the Mind of the Fraudster In the introduction to Why Smart People Do Dumb Things, Mortimer Feinberg and John J. Tarrant begin: If you are of above average intelligence-and if you have mastered the use of high intelligence to solve problems and achieve goals-it is the premise of this book that you are at risk [of perpetrating a fraud] because of the strength of your cognitive equipment. The book recounts tale after tale of successful professionals and politicians who did something dumb and ruined their lives. It is also a book that can help auditors understand the mind of the white-collar criminal. Because auditors, within the time at their disposal, cannot verify every transaction, they must make assumptions based on audit evidence gathered until the point of the decision. The more auditors understand about why criminals do what they do, the better prepared they may be to determine the nature, timing, and extent of audit procedures relative to the risks identified during the planning stage and modified, as may be warranted, on the basis of the audit evidence found. Professional skepticism is the attitude that must drive the financial statement audit. If we lived in a perfect world in which no one made mistakes, or lied, or cheated, or stole, audits would be unnecessary. But we dont, and so audits are required. Even with effective auditing, at the end of every audit and forensic accounting investigation, uncertainty will remain. As auditors continue to focus on the fact that smart people do dumb things and on the conditions under which white-collar criminals may act, auditors may be able to better select transactions worthy of expanded testing and know also how to evaluate the results of those tests. The so-called fraud triangle, offers three conditions that tend to be present when frauds occur: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Incentive or pressure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Opportunity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rationalization and attitude Conclusion As auditors focus on the number of people they encounter in the course of an audit, they would probably agree that a great many of those people would no doubt have opportunities to commit fraud. How many others also have the undisclosed incentive and ability to rationalize that are demonstrably part of the fraud triangle? There is no easy way to judge this. In the design of controls to prevent financial crime and in the performance of audit procedures, it is important to keep in mind the expression, Locks on doors keep out honest people. Predators, as noted earlier, have a good chance of circumventing most of the controls a company puts in place. Fraud deterrence and detection controls are designed, theoretically, to stop everyone else, but they wont, because it is unrealistic to expect controls that can be designed to stop everyone. Collusion, for example, may well defeat a well-designed control and may not be detected in a timely manner by individuals performing daily control activities. The best fraud deterrence mechanism is simple: create the expectation in your organization that wrongdoers will be caught and that punishment will be swift and commensurate with the offense. The emphasis on expectation is important. It can be brought about in a number of ways. Effective training and education on the importance of ethical conduct, background checks on all employees, regular fraud audits by forensic accounting investigators, and a strong internal control system are among the means. To create that perception, employees must also be well aware that their activities are being monitored, and all employees with access to financial assets and transactions must have a healthy respect for the robustness of the control system. If employees believe they will be caught and punished for wrongdoing, that belief may be enough to keep them from adding rationalization to incentive and opportunity.

Pros and Cons of Organisational Mergers

Pros and Cons of Organisational Mergers Abstract The purpose of this paper was to take a look at a topic of our choosing and determine how it relates to a human resource management issue. The topic that was decided to discuss was what the pros and cons are of organizational mergers. We also planned on looking at how organizational mergers affect both the success of the organization and the employees within the organization involved in the organizational merger. Lastly, we went on to look at whether this issue has an HR relationship of if it more of a management issue. Overview So for my topic project I came up with a proposal to investigate what the pros and cons are of organizational mergers. I also planned on looking at how organizational mergers affect both the success of the organization and the employees within the organization involved in the organizational merger. Therefore, we will start by creating an outline of what we will be looking for followed by the research needed to answer the questions asked by the outline. Once we have completed this we will look at a Q A from a human resource professional’s point of view. Lastly, we will conclude by determining whether the pros of organizational mergers outweigh the cons of organizational mergers and if there is any kind of success that comes from organizational mergers for the organization and the employees. Outline Now to begin the following is the outline we will use to start our topic project. WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF ORGANIZATION MERGERS (Moadhadi, 2015)? What are the pros of organizational mergers (Moadhadi, 2015)? The first pro of an organizational merger is a larger network of economies (Moadhadi, 2015). The second pro of an organizational merger is an increase in research and development (Moadhadi, 2015). The third pro of an organizational merger is all the other economies of scale (Moadhadi, 2015). The fourth pro of an organizational merger is that it allows for the avoidance of duplication (Moadhadi, 2015). The last pro of an organizational merger is that it helps with the regulation of monopoly for the industry (Moadhadi, 2015). What are the cons of organizational mergers (Moadhadi, 2015)? The first con of an organizational merger is that there can be higher prices (Moadhadi, 2015). The second con of an organizational merger is that consumers now have less choice (Moadhadi, 2015). The third con of an organizational merger is that there can be job losses (Moadhadi, 2015). The last con of an organizational merger is that the larger organization can suffer diseconomies of scale (Moadhadi, 2015). WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF MERGERS THAT ORGANIZATIONS CAN GO THROUGH (Moadhadi, 2015)? The first type of organizational merger is a horizontal merger (Moadhadi, 2015). The second type of organizational merger is a vertical merger (Moadhadi, 2015). WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF MERGERS ON THE ORGANIZATIONS (Moadhadi, 2015)? A merger can cause employees to display a new attitude (Moadhadi, 2015). Mergers may cause employees to disapprove of the new regulations (Moadhadi, 2015). Mergers may cause concerns with whether the current benefits and compensations for each of the employees will stay the same (Moadhadi, 2015). There may be employee resistance to the new integrations (Moadhadi, 2015). WHAT KIND OF RESISTANCE TO ORGANIZATIONAL MERGERS CAN EMPLOYEES HAVE (Moadhadi, 2015)? The first reaction is because they have a fear of control loss (Moadhadi, 2015). The second reaction is because there can be excess uncertainty (Moadhadi, 2015). The third reaction is because it may have been a surprise for them (Moadhadi, 2015). The fourth reaction is because the work environment is becoming different (Moadhadi, 2015). The fifth reaction is because there are changes in the way the work is completed (Moadhadi, 2015). The sixth reaction is because they may have competency concerns (Moadhadi, 2015). The seventh reaction is because there may be added responsibilities (Moadhadi, 2015). The eighth reaction is because the employee may have new risks on their company investments (Moadhadi, 2015). The ninth reaction is because the current work may be affect by unsettled matters prior to the merger (Moadhadi, 2015). The tenth reaction is because there may be a risk of the company downsizing due to economic losses (Moadhadi, 2015). Research Before we discuss what the pros and cons are of organizational merger we have to know what a merger is first. So what is a merger? A merger is a chosen fusion of two or more organizations with approximately equivalent stipulations into a single organization (Merger. 2015). Now that we know what a merger is so we can now begin to look at what are the pros and cons of organization mergers. We can begin by looking at what the pros of organizational mergers. There are five major pros to an organizational merger. The first pro to an organizational merger is a larger network of economies (Pettinger, 2012). Basically, this means that by merging the new company now has a much broader network to cater to. The second pro to an organizational merger is there is an increase in research and development (Pettinger, 2012). This basically means that the new company is able to come up with better top of the line inventions or designs. The third pro to an organizational merger is all the other economies of scale (Pettinger, 2012). This is basically dependent on what type of merger has taken place. If it is a horizontal merger it will be much larger than if it was a vertical merger which will still expand, but it will be less than that of a horizontal merger. The fourth pro to an organizational merger is that tit allows for the avoidance of duplication (Pettinger, 2012). This basically means that the market is no longer over populated and that the market is now only influenced by one company instead of two. The last pro to an organizational merger is that it helps with the regulation of monopoly for the industry (Pettinger, 2012). This basically means that the government limits the new company’s pricing so that the consumers do not get hurt. The pros of an organizational merger do so much for the new organization so what do the cons of an organizational merger limit the new organization too? There are four major cons of an organizational merger. The first con to an organizational merger is that there are higher prices (Pettinger, 2012). This basically means that now that there is only one choice in the market that they can make their prices less competitive which will make the new prices of the company become a little bit more expensive. The second con to an organizational merger is that consumers now have less choice (Pettinger, 2012). This is really straightforward in the sense that the consumer can no longer chose between the two rivaling companies now they can only chose the one company. The third con to an organizational merger is that there can be job losses (Pettinger, 2012). This is also straightforward in the sense that if the new company is considered as an aggressively merged take over than the employees may h ave to fear the loss of their jobs in under preforming departments. The last con to an organizational merger is that the larger organization can suffer diseconomies of scale (Pettinger, 2012). This basically means that with the merger that the new company may not be able to maintain control and with such problem may lose the ability to motivate their employees. Now these are just a few of the pros and cons of organizational mergers. We will also look into two types of mergers that organizations can go through (Merger. 2015). Earlier I mentioned two types of mergers which we will now explain. The first type of mergers is an organization to organization merger known as a horizontal merger. The second type of mergers is an organization to supplier merger known as vertical merger (Merger. 2015). Now the last things we will look into is how these types of organizational mergers affect the individuals that work within these organizations. With a merger of organizations the employees may begin to show some new attitudes (Kokemuller, 2015). Another issue that may occur is that the employees may not approve of the new regulations (Kokemuller, 2015). There may be concerns with whether the current benefits and compensations for each of the employees will stay the same (Kokemuller, 2015). Lastly, there may be resistance with the integrations of each of the organization’s employees. These are just a few issues that could arise within a newly merged organization (Kokemuller, 2015). With more research we can understand this so much better. Now the last issue is slightly inevitable but there are ways to make the resistance to these changes a little bit more manageable (Bolognese, 2002). By keeping in mind these top ten reasons why the organization’s employees are resistant the organization can limit the amount and length of their employee’s resistance to the new merger (Kanter, 2012). The first reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because they feel they have loss control (Kanter, 2012). The second reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because there is a new excess uncertainty (Kanter, 2012). The third reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because it may have been a surprise for them (Kanter, 2012). The fourth reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because everything seems to becoming different (Kanter, 2012). The fifth reason an organization’ s employees might be resistant to the merger is because the way things used to be done are gone (Kanter, 2012). The sixth reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because they have concerns about their competence (Kanter, 2012). The seventh reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because there may be more responsibilities (Kanter, 2012). The eighth reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because it may affect their organizational investments (Kanter, 2012). The ninth reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because not everything from before the merger was settle appropriately and may cause issue for everyday work (Kanter, 2012). The final reason an organization’s employees might be resistant to the merger is because the new organization might be downsizing due to a loss of funding instead of expanding (Kanter, 2012). With this in mind we can better understand how mergers impact the organization and their employees (Kanter, 2012). Now that we know what the pros and cons are of organizational mergers and how they can affect the newly established organization and their employees let us look at how a human recourse professional is made. Interview of an HR Professional The follow Q A is of my interview with Judy Whimmer an HR professional of 15 years. With CSL Plasma 1) How did you meet the requirements for a human resource administrators status? Answer: The function of a human resource administrator requires somebody that is able to relate with others on a private level and aids them in meeting their goals, while at the same time obeying the companys guidelines (Whimmer, 2015). With that said, I believe that with my 15 years of skills I am more equipped to interact with both employees and consumers (Whimmer, 2015). Since my previous job allowed me to understand what the guidelines of a human resource administrator are (Whimmer, 2015). I now know that human resource administrators have to remain aware of these guidelines while operating (Whimmer, 2015). 2) What are your strong suits and weak points as a human resource professional? Answer: As I deal with an employee’s dilemmas I have a tendency to get overly involved in their problems (Whimmer, 2015). Yet, I believe that this aspect has allowed me to understand their dilemmas better (Whimmer, 2015). After understanding their problems I am able to suggest to them possible solutions while remaining within the company’s limits (Whimmer, 2015). I have come to understand that experiences like this have helped shaped my attitude towards problems that my staff has had in the past and has allowed me to help them while remaining loyal to this company (Whimmer, 2015). 3) According to you, what are the qualities that a human resource administrator must have? Answer: I feel that an administrator has to have understanding, instinct, adaptability, elasticity, concentration, and above all an employee needs to be in touch with what has to be done on a daily bases (Whimmer, 2015). 4) Why did you choose a human resource career? Answer: It was because I enjoyed being involved when new employees are hired (Whimmer, 2015). The reason I enjoy this because human resource administrator are able to help recognize the right people and how they will fit in the company (Whimmer, 2015). It was as a recruitment officer that I found that I enjoyed the human resources field and adopted a human resource profession (Whimmer, 2015). 5) What are the major roles and responsibilities of a human resource administrator? Answer: The role of a human resource administrator is to care for the strategic and functional responsibilities of all of the human resource disciplines they work with (Whimmer, 2015). 6) What are the responsibilities of a human resource administrator? Answer: The responsibilities of a human resource administrator can include, but are not limited to staffing, education, structural progress, interaction, operation progress and administration, income and benefits, crew development, developing staff relationships, forming directions, motivational trainings, evolving company rules and processes, and handling health care programs for employees (Whimmer, 2015). 7) Why did you decide to get into HR after you graduated? Answer: I was looking for a job when I got my first opportunity as a human resource administrator (Whimmer, 2015). I picked it up and gradually realized that I had a liking for it (Whimmer, 2015). I improved my skills by remaining up to date on any new advances in the field (Whimmer, 2015). I also went and acquired a professional degree in the human resource field. It was one of the best choices in my life (Whimmer, 2015). Conclusion So now we have looked at an outline of what we will be researching, we have conducted our research, and we have even chatted with a real life HR professional we will now take the time to determine whether the pros of organizational mergers outweigh the cons of organizational mergers and if there is any kind of success that comes from organizational mergers for the organization and the employees. To begin the amount of pros to an organizational merger are much more significant than the amount of cons an organization merger has. I also feel that what an organization gains from a merger is much more rational than what may potentially occur to both the consumers and the employees. I also feel that the pros to an organizational merger are better than the minimal issues that may come from the cons of an organizational merger. Now with this said we also have to look at if there is any kind of success that comes from organizational mergers for the organization and the employees. To answer th is it solely depends on a few things. The first thing is to determine what kind of merger we have on our hands. For example if the merger is horizontal than the success of the merger is dependent on whether the merger takes well by the employees and the consumers. So let us say we have two hospitals that merger this is a great example of a horizontal merger and can have some major recourse in the sense that the doctors may now fear the loss of their jobs and may even resent the new changes or even management and their decision to merger in the first place. We will now look at the other side. For example if the merger is vertical than the success of the merger is dependent on whether the merger takes well by the consumers. So let us say we have a retailer and a third party soda vendor that decide to merger. The retailer now has to make sure that the inventory of their newly merger supplier takes well versus that of the sodas of other non-merged vendors. With all of this said the succ ess of a merger is really dependent on a handful of situations and if they are not the right situations than the successfulness of an organizational merger tanks rapidly. Therefore, I have to conclude that the pros of organizational mergers do outweigh the cons of organizational mergers and the any kind of success that comes from organizational mergers for the organization and the employees is dependent on situational factors and depend on how well the merger is taken by all the parties involved. I also feel that the effects of organizational merger can be controlled by HR Professionals such as the one we interviewed. References Bolognese, A. (2002). Employee Resistance to Organizational Change. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.newfoundations.com/OrgTheory/Bolognese721.html Kanter, R. (2012, September 25). Ten Reasons People Resist Change. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from https://hbr.org/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang.html Kokemuller, N. (2015). Post-Merger HR and Cultural Issues. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/postmerger-hr-cultural-issues-14400.html Merger. (2015). Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/merger.html Moadhadi, S. (2015). Merger Proposal. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from https://api.turnitin.com/dv?o=545723293u=1007168898s=3student_user=1lang=en_ussession-id=e954f4cc236d3d4b1434f6533eb8d641 Pettinger, T. (2012, February 22). Pros and Cons of Mergers. Retrieved May 26, 2015, from http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5009/economics/pros-and-cons-of-mergers/ Whimmer, J. (2015, June 5). Human Resource Professional Analysis [E-mail interview].

The Cult You’re In Essay -- Literary Analysis, Kelle Lasn

Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of â€Å"The Cult You’re in† and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of â€Å" The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch†. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers â€Å"Dream†, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers. What is The Dream we all have? Think about the main things that you strive for in life. Well everyone else in the world has the same dream because companies or â€Å"cults† in bead this dream to pull you in to their â€Å"cult†/ group. They make it seem that you will be happy with having this dream and they can help you get close to it by you buying their stuff. Lasn specifies on this dream everyone as he said â€Å"Dream by definition, are supposed to be unique and imaginative. Yet the bulk of the population is dreaming the same dream. It’s a dream of wealth, power, fame, plenty of sex, and exciting recreational opportunities† ( lasn, 380). This dream is feed to us by the peopl... ...teens can shop elsewhere ‘In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not so cool kids,’ he says† (Denizet-Luis, 369). So if your different then there target audience you don’t belong in the group which would consider you a type of slacker. All and all, we are all in a consumer cult if we want to or not. If you go to the store all you see is brands and you need to buy one no matter what. But what you can do is stop over buying things you don’t need that you think will make you happy. The companies are manipulative in many ways because they show you this â€Å"dream† of a life by buy their stuff, once you are hooked on it they recruit you, bring you in to the cult, make you do stuff you don’t want to, and then if you become a slacker they alienate you away from the other â€Å"cut† members so you can’t influence them to become a slacker too.

Impacts of Tourism in Vancouver Essay -- Tourism

Tourism is an endeavour sought by an individual or a party of individuals, which leads to a movement from one place to another with the idealism of a specific task, to visit a place or several places with the primary purpose of achieving entertainment and increasing knowledge of countries, cultures, and their history. The expression ‘largest industry in the world’ is universally used with mention to tourism, ensuring its recognition as the largest generator of wealth (over 11.7% of the global gross domestic product) and employment (7% of the world’s jobs); this shows that tourism is indeed an important industry that depends on culture and legacy.(Budeanu, 2002) Vancouver is feasibly one of the most prevalent tourist destinations in Canada due to many factors, from white-capped mountains to high-energy entertainment, and by recalling the most recent major event that occurred in Vancouver, the Olympics; it is evident that this city unquestionably has something for e veryone. Vancouver is considered a developed country; many people come to this city to become inspired by its beauty, but there is a rising concern that tourism expansion is leading destinations, such as Vancouver, to squander their cultural identity. By catering to the apparent needs of tourists they appear to forget their own roots and the culture that they were once proud of. The concern is the latent conflict between the economic and cultural interests, leading to traditions and customs being sacrificed for reasons of promoting tourism; creating a supplementary economic value at the expense of exhausting a cultural value. Tourism is a method to demonstrate the community’s pride and to teach others of their wonderful culture. Although tourism is astronomically i... ...-7 6e3dfcd8c82%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29w Z T1zaXRl#db=bth&AN=48793830#db=bth&AN=48793830 Morrison, (2003. Vancouver real estate market trends, news and outlook: Retrieved November 17, 2010, from: http:// www.realestatevancouver2010.com/market.html Ryan, C. (1991). Tourism and marketing - a symbiotic relationship? Retrieved November 17, 2 2010, from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V9R-4 5TVFH6-4 1&_cdi=5905&_user=1067211&_pii=026151779190064Z&_origin=search &_coverDate=06%2F30%2F1991&_sk=999879997&view=c&wchp=dGLzVtb-zSk Wb&md5=73d880153e08b4913ee7d601f49f60fb&ie=/sdarticle.pdf Schloegel, C. (2007). 'Sustainable tourism', journal of sustainable forestry. 247 — 264(3). Retrieved November 17, 2010, from: http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/314885_770885140_902240910.pdf

Free Fall Lab

Free Fall Lab Natalie Soria Lab Partners: Ryan Michaely Iqra Haji Yan Huang 1. Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the acceleration due to gravity by observing the motion of a free falling object. 2. Equipment Used: A. Timer Switch B. Time-of-Flight Accessory C. Control Box D. AC adapter E. Drop Box F. Steel ball G. Solid gold ball H. Big plastic ball 3. Method Used: 1) Place the steel ball on the drop box. 2) Set the timer to â€Å"Time: Two Gates† mode. 3) Measure the distance between the bottom of the ball and the plate and record in table 4) Release the ball using the timer switch and record the time it takes to fall. ) Change the distance and repeat step (4) until table is complete 6) Repeat steps (3) – (5) with solid golf ball 7) Repeat steps (3) – (5) with big plastic ball 4. Diagram: Time-Of-Flight Accessory Time-Of-Flight Accessory Timer Switch Timer Switch Timer Timer DROPBOX DROPBOX 5. Data: STEEL BALL Table 1: Determining the accel eration of the steel ball dropped Distance (M)| Time(S)| Time(S2)| 0. 80m| 0. 4074s| 0. 166s2| 0. 75m| 0. 3969s| 0. 1575s2| 0. 70m| 0. 3809s| 0. 1451s2| 0. 65m| 0. 3692s| 0. 1363s2| 0. 60m| 0. 3546s| 0. 1257s2| 0. 55m| 0. 3438s| 0. 1182s2| SOLID GOLF BALLTable 2: Determining the acceleration of the solid golf ball dropped Distance (M)| Time(S)| Time(S2)| 0. 80m| 0. 4044s| 0. 1635s2| 0. 75m| 0. 3906s| 0. 1526s2| 0. 70m| 0. 3785s| 0. 1433s2| 0. 65m| 0. 3643s| 0. 1363s2| 0. 60m| 0. 3494s| 0. 1257s2| 0. 55m| 0. 3390s| 0. 1182s2| PLASTIC BALL Table 3: Determining the acceleration of the plastic ball dropped Distance (M)| Time(S)| Time(S2)| 0. 80m| 0. 4111s| 0. 169s2| 0. 75m| 0. 4026s| 0. 1621s2| 0. 70m| 0. 3849s| 0. 1481s2| 0. 65m| 0. 3698s| 0. 1368s2| 0. 60m| 0. 3553s| 0. 1262s2| 0. 55m| 0. 3382s| 0. 1144s2| 6. Calculations: Determining Avg. Time for each trialWith formulas:With numbers: T1+T2+T3 = Avg. T (S)(. 4072s) + (. 4078s) + (. 4073s) = Avg. T(S) 33 .4074s = Avg. T (S) Determinin g T2 With formulas:With numbers: T = S2 T = (0. 4111s)2 T = 0. 169s2 7. Conclusions: The objective was to determine acceleration due to the effects of gravity. Gravity stayed constant through the whole experiment. Source of error could be due to measuring between ball and mat inaccurately. Answers to questions (1) Using our kinematics equations and the concept of a straight line (y=mx+b), show that the graphs made in part (7) should indeed be a straight line.What should the theoretical values for the slope and y-intercept be for this graph? (2) What are the actual values of the slope and y-intercept for the three graphs. Compare these to the theoretical values. Calculate the gravitational acceleration for all three balls from this information. (3) Comment on why the acceleration due to gravity is less for the plastic ball than the others. Give some ideas why you think this particular ball would behave like this and the other balls would not. The gravitational acceleration due to gra vity is the same for every object, the total acceleration is not.Acceleration is reduced a bit by the particular mass of the ball. In cases where â€Å"m† is large (like the steel ball and golf ball), the factor will be small and therefore falling at almost the same acceleration. But in the case where â€Å"m† is small (like the plastic hallow ball) the factor could be large, and therefore the balls acceleration could be significantly less due to the hollowness of the ball. Although the plastic ball is bigger in size, its mass is lighter. (4) A ball is thrown upward. While the ball is in the air, does its acceleration increase, decrease, or remain the same?Describe what happens to the velocity of the object from when it is thrown until when it returns. While in the air, the balls acceleration would remain the same. When the ball is thrown, its velocity is positive and decreasing as it’s going up, and at the highest point, the velocity is zero. When it’s c oming back down, the velocity is negative and increasing. (5) Explain conceptually (without using equations) what the shape of Distance vs. Time would look like for a ball falling to the ground. Use kinematics to explain why it would be like this. The falling ball is moving at a constant rate ( 9. 80 ms-2 )

Essay on Jane Eyre’s character Essay

From her troubles with the abusive Reed family, her friendships at Lowood, her love of Mr Rochester and her time with the Rivers family, Jane’s character remains strong and vigilant despite the hardships she endures. Through the course of the novel, Jane’s character changes slightly but moreover reinforces itself as Jane uses people, situations and her personal experiences to gain knowledge, and assist her gaining her full character. From when she was a child, Jane had forthright values of herself and an example is when she reprimanded John Reed for attacking her with a book, Wicked and cruel boy! I said. You are like a murderer you are like a slave driver You are like the Roman emperors! She was exiled and alienated by the Reed family, creating a very independent spiritHer character is more quick to concise and imaginative whilst also being perceptive. I was a discord in Gateshead Hall. I was like no one there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs Reed or her children or her chosen vassalage. She knew that the Reed family strongly dislike her and the reason behind it. Justice and principle was also seemingly very important to her then. At Lowood School, there was a harsh and strict environment but the environment was eased for Jane by friends such as Helen and Miss Temple who treated her with respect and care. Miss Temple is described by Helen as Miss Temple is very good, and very clever ; she is above the rest because she knows far more than they do. This is also the way that Jane feels about Miss Temple due to her understanding of the children’s feelings and needs. This was contrasted with Mr Brocklehurst who was a hypocrite and treated Jane and the rest of the students with contempt. Jane became to understand of the many different types of people with different characters who would come into her life. She rejects the extremist model of Helen’s character but uses it to become more understanding as she learned to balance conflicting aspects throughout the rest of the novel. It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil actions will extend to all connected to you.. Helen believes in strongly enduring the pain and from Jane’s rebellious and angry spirit, a development of  understanding and endurance contrives. Although Jane is changed, she never really accepted the full model of Helen and still believed in justice and principle. Jane’s character was afraid of rejection, as so had been done throughout her previous years with the Reed family. Mr Rochester’s proposal had been as stepping-stone for her to overcome the troubles she carried in her past. Mr Rochester was Helen’s first love yet her character hindered her from dependency. She merely wanted freedom and independency in a form where she would be able to love as well as find a balance between her values. Leaving Thornfield was her search for the independency and freedom that she needed to have as part of her character and Jane here struggled hard with her love and need for independency after discovering Mr Rochester’s previous wife. But then a voice revered me that I could do it; and foretold that I should do it. I wrestled with my own resolution†¦ Jane wants to be weak and just love Mr Rochester and be with him yet her character was strong, leading her away from Thornfield and into a whole new perspective of the world. Penniless and hungry, Jane is forced to sleep outdoors and beg for food and this shows how her sense of autonomy is so much ardent than her sense of pride. To find that the Rivers family were cousin related to her; This was a blessing , bright, vivid and exhilarating; not like the ponderous gift of gold. Jane was overjoyed to find that she had family whom she loved and she valued this over the inheritance that she was given. Another part of the love she had been searching for had been fulfilled and through this, Jane’s character’s became more loving and was ready to let go of some of the self-sufficiency she valued so much. As she did to Helen, Jane rejects the extremist model of St John although she still respected him and the freedom that he had offered were still not suited to her needs for self reliance. She knew there was no love or passion between her and St John therefore would not go as his wife, showing that love was still important in her character. This triggered the need to go see  Mr Rochester, and finding him dependent of her believed that this was the solution and happiness she had been searching for. The development of Jane Eyre’s character is central to the novel and as she keeps escaping the surroundings and people around her to find the balance of freedom and love that her character values. Through situations, Jane remains vigilant in character and it develops from a rebellious orphan to a mature independent woman so that she eventually finds contentment. Bibliography: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Carib Notes

TOPIC Dancehall music STATEMENT OF PROBLEM An investigation into the impact of dancehall music on the values and attitudes of teenagers between the ages 14-18years at Manchester High School. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. What is dancehall music? 2. What effects does dancehall music have on the attitudes and values of youth at Manchester High School? 3. Where dancehall music has a negative effect on the attitudes and values of teenagers, what measures can be implemented to alleviate this problem? 1) Male Female 2) Age: 13- 15 16- 18 19- 21 22- 24 25- 27 28- 30 3) Do you listen to dancehall music?YES NO 4) Which of the following options best describes your reason for listening to dancehall I enjoy it The music speaks about reality I don’t know I grew up hearing it Other ________________________________________†¦ 5) How often do you listen to dancehall music? ________________________________________†¦Ã‚   6) Who is your favourite dancehall artist _______________________________ _________†¦ 7) What is your favourite dancehall song ________________________________________†¦ 8) Do you have a job? YES NO 9) How would you describe your performance in school?Excellent Good Average Fair Satisfactory Unsatisfactory 10) Are you sexually active? YES NO 11) Do you believe that sexual content of some dancehall songs influence your sexuality   Agree Strongly agree Disagree Strongly Disagree 12) What do you think about homosexuality ________________________________________†¦ 13) Do you think that Dancehall music perpetuates crime and violence within the Jamaican society? YES NO   14) Do you believe that most dancehall songs degrade women? YES NO   15) Do you believe that dancehall music strongly impacts your view of gender roles within the society? YES NO 16)