90s :: essays research papers

Music in the nineties can be simply described as diverse. Diverse meaning that music has been segregated into hundreds of groups. This report will refer in detail to three genres of music: Alternative Country, Rap, Alternative Rock. It will also cover certain aspects indicative of the 90's. Alternative Country Music In 1990, a band called Uncle Tupelo from Belleville, Illinois, released their debut album. Titled No Depression, it featured a rough mixture of punk-rock songs, but it also added something different: several toned-down, acoustic ballads that had a distinct country flavor. A few years later, that simple little song and album title became the name of an internet fan club and chat group. It didn't stop there, in 1995, a magazine of the same name went into publication, and "No Depression" soon became the leading title for a progressive alternative country movement. Other names include "insurgent country" "Americana," or simply "alt.country," the latter is a reminder of the role the internet has played in the growth and publicity of this movement. For the most part, No Depression or alt.country bands aren't much of a threat to the sales figures of mainstream Nashville country artists. But the speed with which this music has caught on has shown that a substantial number of people have grown weary of the overproduced pop trends of 1990's mainstream country music, and the limited range of styles and sounds that are typically played on country radio stations. Rap Music Rap of the late 70's and 80's, commonly called "old school", was made by DJs scratching records and playing drum loops, with MCs rapping over the resulting rhythms. As the genre progressed, hard-rock guitars and hard-hitting beats were introduced by Run-D.M.C., the first hardcore rap group, and the scratching techniques were replaced by sampling. With their dense collages of samples, beats and white noise, Public Enemy took sampling to the extreme, and they helped introduce a social and political conscience to rap. This faded in the '90s, as gangsta rap, originally introduced by NWA, who used Public Enemy's sound as a template, became the dominant form. By the '90s, gangsta rap, which originally was in direct opposition to such pop-oriented rappers as MC Hammer, had become smoothed over and stylish, and consequently was more popular than ever, as evidenced by the success of pop-gangsta Puff Daddy in the late 90's. Alternative Rock Music Alternative pop/rock is essentially a catch-all term for post-punk bands from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s. Though there is a variety of musical styles within alternative rock, they are all tied together since they originally existed outside of the mainstream.

Leadership and Organizational Psychology

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), a discretionary behavior that contribute to organizational effectiveness ( like helping coworkers) but are not part of an employees formal job description, is said to be determined by a number of individual differences and situational determinants (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.25). According to the studies conducted in OB, satisfied employees are more prone to go beyond their call of duty because they want to reciprocate their positive experiences to their co-workers or customers, in service oriented organizations. They would seem more likely to talk positively about the organization, help others, and go beyond the normal expectations in their job (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.25). The most important factor that is believed to be a large contributory to OCB, and in fact identified as its major determinant, is Job Satisfaction. In layman's term, job satisfaction is simply linked with an employee's favorable attitude towards his work. It has major facets namely: the work itself, pay, advancement opportunities, supervision and coworkers enjoying the work itself. These factors almost always have the strongest correlation to high levels of overall job satisfaction (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.23). In other words, most people prefer more challenging and stimulating work the predictable and routine ones. Common questions explored by researchers deal with the relationship of pay to job satisfaction. An interesting relationship between salary and job satisfaction reveals a correlation of the two for people who are poor or those who live in poor countries. However,   once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living ( in the United States, that occurs at about $ 40,000 a year, depending on the region and family size), the relationship virtually disappears. In fact, findings of one study show that people who earn $ 80,000 are on average, no happier with their jobs than those who earn close to $ 40,000. This means that overall job satisfaction is not only linked with pay but with other factors as well (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.23). One identified area where satisfaction might differ concerns an individual's personality. Some people are predisposed to like almost anything, and others are unhappy even in the seemingly greatest jobs. According to research findings, people who have a negative personality, those who tend to be grumpy, critical, and negative, are usually less satisfied with their jobs. One study, using the Neutral Objects Satisfaction Questionnaire,   found that nurses who were dissatisfied with the majority of the items on the list were also dissatisfied with their jobs and this is not surprising (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.24). The effects of an employee's satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace manifest when employees like their jobs and when they do not. A review of 300 studies suggested that the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance is pretty strong. Moreover, when the organization level was explored by comparing satisfaction and productivity data, results revealed that organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than organizations with fewer satisfied employees (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.24). How one perceives an organization is also a determinant of OCB. If an employee perceives it as supportive, he is more likely to show positive attitude towards work. According to research findings, an organization is considered as supportive when the rewards are deemed fair; employees have a voice in the decision making, and when their supervisors are seen as supportive. An employee may engage or involve himself more openly in the organization's undertakings and show more enthusiasm for the work he does, if he has felt and experienced the organization's support, if he sees the availability of resources and the opportunities to learn new skills, if he feels that his work is important and meaningful and if he considers his interactions with his coworkers and supervisors as rewarding (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.21). Several studies have tried to link high job involvement with high job satisfaction. Similarly, they have tried to explore the correlation of high perceived organizational support with strong organizational commitment. Evidence suggests that these attitudes are highly related, perhaps to a troubling degree. The correlation between perceived organizational support and affective commitment is very strong but, is feared also to be a result of. redundancy in predictive variables. While there is some measure of distinctiveness among these attitudes, they do overlap greatly and the overlap may exist for various reasons, including the employee’s personality. Some people are predisposed to be positive or negative about almost everything. For example, if someone tells you she loves her company, it is also possible that she is positive about everything else in her life. It is also possible that the overlap is due to the fact that some organizations are just all around better places to work than the others (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.22). Early discussions of OCB assumed that it was closely linked with satisfaction. However, more recent evidence suggests the other way around. Job satisfaction influences OCB, but through perceptions of fairness. In fact, a modest overall relationship exists between job satisfaction and OCB, but satisfaction is unrelated to OCB when fairness is controlled for. This means that basically, job satisfaction comes down to conceptions of fair outcomes, treatment, and procedures. For example, if you do not feel that your supervisor, the organizations procedures, or pay policies are fair; your job satisfaction is likely to be significantly affected. However, when you perceive organizational processes and outcomes to be fair, you develop trust and when you trust your employer, you are more willing to voluntarily engage in behaviors that go beyond your formal job requirements (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.25). In service jobs where employees often interact with customers, job satisfaction and customer satisfaction is closely linked. Since the management of service organizations is concerned with pleasing their customers to increase loyalty, values linked with customer satisfaction are being introduced, instilled and strictly implemented among employees. Especially for frontline employees who have regular contact with customers. Research  Ã‚   evidence indicates that satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. This is because in service organizations, customer retention and defection are highly dependent on how frontline employees deal with customers. Satisfied employees are more likely to be friendly, upbeat, and responsive to customer’s needs, which customers themselves appreciate. Because satisfied employees are less prone to turnover, customers are more likely to encounter familiar faces and receive experienced service.   These qualities build customer satisfaction and loyalty.   Similarly, dissatisfied customers can increase an employee’s job dissatisfaction.   Employees who have regular contact with rude, thoughtless, unreasonably demanding and often irate customers adversely affect the employees’ job satisfaction (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p.26). OCB, based on the related literature, is determined by several factors namely: the employee's level of job satisfaction, his personality, how he perceives the organization and his actual experiences at work. References Robbins, Stephen P. and Timothy A. Judge. (2007). Essentials of Organizational Behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (9th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.      

Competition and Happiness by Theodore Rubin Free Essay Example, 1750 words

According to Rubin, the central point of focus in one s life during a competition is fundamentally from without one s self. It is our competition and not us and our exact needs that determine how we spend our energy and time. As a result, our sense of personality gets weakened, and to make up for this ever-rising feeling of worthlessness and susceptibility we continue competing, inculcating a self-depleting cycle (Rubin 1). After enough depletion has occurred to rule out any possibility of more successful competition, one is hit by the feeling of hopelessness and futility, and then the individual s life appears purposeless. Rubin goes ahead to state that race originated and can be traced back to a primitive past and cannot be in any way claimed to be genetic leftover (Rubin 1). It is handed down to us by means of training within the society from one generation to the other. The training is always initiated at very early stages in the members of the society, which is evidently see n from the sibling rivalry that starts at very tender ages. Sibling rivalry, as is proposed by Rubin, is not instinctual, rather it is instigated by the parents who themselves are caught in a similar trap spending large amounts of energy and time trying to outdoor others. We will write a custom essay sample on Competition and Happiness by Theodore Rubin or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now It has even been observed that several children are forced into the Little League, or any other comparable competitive structures with the excuse that such activities will encourage the self-development of the children, their well-being, and their general health (Rubin 1). In the real sense, these organizations and activities virtually always act as vicarious channels set to satisfy the parental desire for competitive success. Individuals raised up in this manner would feel left out if they are unexpectedly plunged into such situations where there is a little competitive tension (Rubin 1). Owing to the fact that they are brought up just to compete and have lost their sense of living, when presented with the new situation, they make up hierarchies and gimmicks to supply the incentives they require going on with life, even if such inventions are in the end disparaging to the inner peace and individual health.