Gamification of the Workplace Essay

The paper examines a new trend in workplace design called â€Å"gamification†. Gamification is defined as using concepts derived from video games and applying them in businesses to enhance motivation, raise productivity and lower turnover. The areas of effect discussed are motivation, cooperation, productivity and employee happiness. The text looks at which characteristics of video games make them so engaging and translates them into examples from the workplace. It presents real examples of companies that have implemented similar techniques. Gamification in the Workplace: A New Way to Think About Work Georgi Ivanov American University in Bulgaria The workforce of today is composed of young, talented and creative people, who despite their potential are less loyal and are always on the lookout for the job that better suits their qualification. As managers continue to search for ways to attract, motivate and keep them they ask themselves what makes this generation different from the previous. One of the things that separate us from other generations of workforce, video game addiction, has become increasingly relevant in the last decade. The college graduates that enter the labor market have played them since kids and consider them a hobby. The older generations learn about them as because of the app store which is a platform for easily accessible casual games. There is something in video games that makes people play them and create them and that something has made the video game industry the fastest growing entertainment industry today. With millions of people playing video games and investingmoney in their hobby, many companies implement video game concepts in an effort to make work more engaging, raise productivity and motivation and lower turnover. The process is known as â€Å"gamification†. To understand why managers would look to video and computer games of all things to improve the work life of their employees we have to understand what makes a video game so appealing to the modern employee and what part of that appeal is relevant to their productivity and satisfaction on their job. We know that some games have bigger audiences than prime time television shows, which means that these people prefer to do something, to be involved, than just sitting there and taking it in. In his book The Game of Work: How to Enjoy Work As Much As Play (1984) Charles Conrad leans on the fact that people will often work harder or even pay money to improve their performance outside of work. He outlines five principles that would transfer part of this to the business environment and empower employees – better scorekeeping, clearly defined goals, frequent feedback, better scorekeeping and consistent coaching. When the book was issued video games were not the object of the author’s discussion, however the concepts are present in today’s most popular video games. It is common have a score number in a corner of the screen showing how you are doing and every action you take changes that score. Taking this one step further is a ladder system that shows your score in comparison to other people’s score. With the popularity of video games today it is evident that people are respond very well to such a system. Through extension, if people are willing to devote so much time and energy into improving their game scores so they can climb the ladder and win intangible rewards, then, if they knew where they stood among their colleagues, they would be more motivated to do better. In her WSJ article Latest Game Theory: Mixing work and play (2011), Rachel Silverman gives a couple of examples of successful â€Å"gamification† of tasks. Live Ops Inc. runs a virtual call center. Th e company awards employees with virtual badges and points for keeping calls short and closing sales with leader boards that allow agents to compare their achievements. According to the vice president, since the system was implemented call time was reduced by 15% in some employees and sales have gone up by between 8% and 12%. I saw this in myself when I worked as a sales representative. When I joined the company it was evident who the top sales people were. Everybody’s numbers were available every day for everyone to see. From the first day that I saw that I imagined my name on the firs position of the day end report on the cash register screen just like I did on my computer screen while playing a favorite game of mine. It helped. I was always eager to keep track of my sales and strive to improve and my boss nurtured that friendly competitive atmosphere in which I thrived. This helped me in the beginning a lot because I did not feel intimidated by the more experienced members’ numbers. One of the most popular types of games today is the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG). The model is basically putting millions of players from all over the world in one universe and to let them progress in this world by developing their skills and handling challenges alone or in teams of other players who have diverse skill sets for different situations. There are player rankings and guild rankings. To climb up the ladder, players need to accomplish tasks or â€Å"quests† and apart from the regular points, they get badges, if they complete the quest not in an efficient or creative manner. As you play your character increases in strength by gaining levels. Each level requires more effort to achieve than the previous and the conditions that have to be met to advance are set in stone and they never change. You know ahead of time what you need in order to progress. Every task you’ve made has an effect on the completion and your progress is clearly visible. If we take this concept to the business world, we’d have a clear employee ranking system and a company ranking system. Each employee will aim for the top places on the scoreboard, but keeping in mind that success is only possible with cooperation. This would motivate employees not only to do their best but also to be more accommodating to newcomers because they know that the better the people in your team/ department are doing, the better they would do. We do have a leveling system in the workplace – raises and promotions – but the conditions are not always as clear. If employees do not know what the requirements are and they have no guarantees that they would reach that threshold why should they work harder? Vendor invoice transactions are a tedious task, but now, with the new reward system, employees can earn points and raise their status among other SAP teams. At the end of the month, a dollar amount is awarded to a charity of the winning team’s choice. This is all done through an upgraded version of their clerk software. It adds extrinsic value to the work, makes employees contribute to a cause they can relate to. We play games because they are fun. Play is not the opposite of work as entrepreneur Steve Keil tells us in his speech â€Å"A Manifesto for play†. It is also supported by Byron Reeves, a communications professor at Stanford University and author of the book Total Engagement (2009), who says that â€Å"The idea that work is work and play is play and never shall the two meet is melting quite a bit†. Games are fun which makes them engaging and we want our employees to be engaged in their work. One of the ways we can do that is by taking down factors that restrain and choke the individual. Once our goals are clearly defined and a scoring and reward system is set up as a frame, why do we need to keep restrictions in the workplace? Changes like making workday more flexible and eradicating fear by establishing an atmosphere of trust and cooperation instead of an authority. Like the millions of gamers around the world we want our employees to feel good when they come to work because that is going to translate into better quality of work, customer service and engagement. In a MMO there is always a comfortable social network system. No matter what they are doing, a level 1 player can contact level 60 players and ask questions. There is a strong sense of community and presence, because it is easy to form contacts. When there is a task that requires 5, 10 or 20 people, the task is divided into smaller tasks and everyone’s progress in visible from start to finish. That accessibility and transparency is not always available in businesses but they would go a long way to improving communication. In his book, Byron Reeves takes this one step further saying that some people will soon do their jobs inside a game. He draws a scenario where a woman would sit on her home computer and log on to a virtual world, in which she is represented by an avatar which she herself customized with badges and clothing, earned as rewards for completed tasks. Then she would take a look at her team’s progress by meeting their avatars. This is gamification in the modern business. When implementing the strategies from above, however there are a couple of things to be mindful of. First of all, managers have to make sure that the atmosphere of friendly competition does not go out of hand. With regard to the company’s mission statement, they have to recognize at what point employees stop working for the company and start working for themselves. The goals to reach thresholds have to be balanced. A task is engaging when it is challenging, yet accomplishable with the skill set that the employee possesses. Some business may not be well suited for gamification concepts. The data on employees will make promotions and layoffs more fair and transparent but it may also undermine the importance of a manager. Certainly the concept of gamification is still young, the interest that companies show towards implementing them points to a new trend. In her article, Silverman quotes the tech industry research firm saying that â€Å"by 1214, some 70% of large companies will use the techniques for at least one business process†. What was until recent years though to be a massive waste of time now changes the way we think about our jobs. Works Cited Rachel Silverman (October 10, 2011) Latest Game Theory: Mixing Work and Play; Retrieved from online.wsj.com Charles Coonradt (September 1, 1984) How to Enjoy Work As Much As Play; Steve Keil (January 2011) â€Å"A Manifesto of Play†; Retrieved from tedxbg.com Byron Reeves (November 2, 2009) Total engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete

Business Research Essay

In today’s society we have found that the best way to find what works for individuals and businesses alike is done through business research. This is not always done in ethical manners though. Some companies tend to ask questions that are inappropriate while others changed the information they have been given to make their product look more appealing. This paper will focus on skewing the research results in the service of selling the drug Neurontin. Neurontin is a brand name for the drug gabapentin and it is manufactured by Pfizer and Parke-Davis (Ramirez de Arellano, 2009). The drug has been approved by the FDA to use in treating neurological conditions such as epilepsy. There have been a large number of off-label uses added to the list that have not been approved by the FDA which has increased the company’s sales. In 2004, Pfizer was found guilty in urging physicians to prescribe Neurontin to patients for off-label uses such as treatment of migraines, bipolar disorder, insomnia, and hot-flashes (Ramirez de Arellano, 2009). This act was an illegal one that cost the company millions of dollars in fines and penalties. That was not the last of the case on Neurontin. Since so many people had used Neurontin for various treatments not approved by the FDA, a large number of companies decided to show an interest in getting some of the off-label uses approved. In order to do this the companies began conducting research to see if the drug really worked for the ailments. If it did indeed work, it could be approved through the FDA. This would in turn help the company make more money selling Neurontin. After the legal case was started in 2004 it opened another door that provided information showing strategies that Pfizer and Parke-Davis used to offset the publication of unfavorable findings. In 2008 reports were released to the public that showed Pfizer and Parke-Davis had delayed reports if no evidence was found in the efficacy of the drug, reinterpreting negative data, and fusing negative data with positive studies to cancel the results, and some researchers saw their work being rewritten by the company’s own medical write to make it sound better than the graph showed it (Ramirez de Arellano, 2009). During the studies done on Neurontin 20 clinical trials were identified and only 12 of those reported in publications, in which 8 of those published trials had different primary outcomes reported than was in the original research protocol (Ramirez de Arellano, 2009). These differences included changing the primary outcome, not distinguishing between the primary and the secondary outcomes, and not reporting all of the primary outcomes. There was 21 primary outcomes for the research and out of those 21 protocols there was 6 not reported and 4 were put as secondary outcomes instead of primary. The changes made in the published reports were done to make Neurontin look favorable for the unapproved indications. In the Neurontin situation of skewing the research done for the medication, affects the people that use the drug along with others that take any medication. It makes the doctors look as if they do not know what they are doing when they prescribe the medication and leaves individuals in an untrusting state to try something new to treat their ailments. It also makes the scientists that develop the drug look bad. Another thing this does is undermines individuals’ trust in published studies and the entire decision-making process. The organization is affected by this unethical behavior in many ways as well. First off the company was faced with a hefty criminal fine for coaxing the doctors to prescribe the drug to the public for off-label purposes. Secondly the company lost accreditation with the public for skewing the research being done to make the drug more appealing in what it could treat. Skewing the research affected society by losing the trust of individuals when it was made public that the research published had been tainted. It is hard to trust again when you find out the information you are being give is all but the truth. Unethical business research could be avoided if companies that do business research would publish all of the truth without changing any of it or doctoring it up to look better than it really is. If the punishment for using unethical business research were harsher it may deter companies from using unethical practices to conduct their business research. Companies that continue to be found guilty of using unethical business research should be humiliated to the point nobody would want to do business with them, forcing them to close their doors. In conclusion it can be noted that the most important part of finding the right treatments today in medicine is through clinical research data and that data has to be 100% undistorted to know whether or not the treatment is one that will do good or one that will do harm. This goes for any type of business research and should be followed with all companies.

Does the Pyrrhonist sceptic have a convincing answer to the challenge that it is impossible to live without opinions?

The Oxford English dictionary definition of a sceptic is â€Å"a person inclined to question or doubt accepted opinions†. Scepticism is a doctrine that was followed seriously first by Pyrrho, who believed that the true way to find peace was to avoid dogmatising and to live life with no set beliefs. Nussbaum sums this up in The Therapy of Desire as the belief that ‘to every argument another argument of equal strength is opposed'. Therefore it is impossible to decide on one argument, and true inner peace is found by accepting this and allowing yourself to simply exist, acting only on your instincts and senses. A Sceptic would not assert â€Å"the sky is blue† but rather would say â€Å"the sky appears to be blue†. However, even Pyrhho struggled to stick to scepticism, saying that we would have to â€Å"altogether divest ourselves of the human being† to live completely as a Sceptic. So the question must be asked: is it impossible to live without opinions? From the outset it seems that society, particularly modern society, is built on the assumption that we all have beliefs, even if only fundamental ethical beliefs, for example the assumption that murder is wrong. We are brought up with set ethical beliefs before we are old enough to philosophise for ourselves, and it is this social conditioning that allows us as humans to live without the constant threat of being murdered hanging over our heads. Indeed, those that choose not to live by these fundamental social rules are often institutionalised, either in mental facilities or in prisons. Although these beliefs change and vary over time and in different world cultures (for example, it was common for promiscuous girls to be mentally institutionalised in the 1960s, whereas now that practice would be shocking to most) most societies define themselves by their beliefs, either religious or cultural. The most strong and consistent belief system that has spanned over time and continents is the belief that without strong ethical principles, the world would turn to chaos. Moreover, it is impossible to ignore that life often depends on making decisions. We must almost every day decide on what would be the best course of action. When we wake up we decide whether to stay in bed for the rest of the day or to wake up and carry out whichever activities we had planned. After breakfast we decide whether to do the washing up immediately or to leave it for later. Sceptics argue that we must be led by our senses and instincts, as well as by necessity and the laws and customs of our land. This addresses concerns about the possibility of the world collapsing into anarchy without any set ethical beliefs, but then if the whole world practiced scepticism, there would be no laws and customs of the land to adhere to. If someone in this sort of society felt a natural instinct to murder every day, there would be nobody who would decide that this was wrong and so find a way to stop this person from killing. After the fall of Baghdad to coalition troops in the Iraq war widespread looting took place. This sort of natural, instinctive reaction to the absence of strict laws and belief systems shows all too clearly the impossibility of a universal imposition of pyrrhonian principles. Another important factor to remember when discussing Scepticism is the thought that, by asserting that scepticism is the best way to live, sceptics themselves are dogmatising. â€Å"Sextus cannot have a single definite procedure without having some values†-, â€Å"How can Skeptism be anything, one might ask, if the Skeptic has no beliefs? â€Å"- Nussbaum) Sceptics counter this with the idea that Scepticism isn't a fixed doctrine, but a natural inclination, an instinct. They are flexible in their beliefs, allowing them to be questioned too. Therefore they escape the accusation that Scepticism in itself is a belief system. However, it is still difficult to apply this theory to the average human being. We would have to un-learn our tendency to be dependent on our beliefs and re-condition ourselves in the ways of Pyrrhonism. This would take time and demand motivation and rigid training of the mind- far from a natural instinct. However, it is also possible to argue that, regardless of the difficulty, it is impossible in this world to find peace without having sceptical beliefs. Take the example of a fictional dogmatic. He is confused about how best to find happiness, and so takes up philosophy in the hope of discovering the truth and therefore live a happy life. After many months of enquiry, he comes to a conclusion and so sets out a guideline for himself, to help him work out on a daily basis what to do to keep himself happy. He happily carries on his life under these new guidelines, until he comes across someone who argues with him about the way he lives his life. A seed of doubt is placed in his mind and he is confused and angry. He is now no longer happy. Scepticism would mean that our man would never have had to go through this cycle. He would have inquired into happiness but kept an open mind. Now imagine that the guidelines that he had decided on in the first place had been wrong and after many months of living by them he was not happy at all, though he thought he was because he had never experienced true happiness. By not dogmatising he could have avoided becoming arrogant for no reason. Another argument for scepticism is that of human suffering. It cannot be denied that humans, dogmatists and sceptics alike, will experience suffering in their lives. However it is their reaction to it and the significance they place on it that determines how much the pain affects them. Pyrrho believed that, by theorising about pain and suffering, and imagining it as some kind of evil, people increased the level to which they felt their pain. Sceptics accept that they feel pain and that this is natural, but do not have any particular theories about it, and therefore achieve peace. However, although the benefits of scepticism seem ideal, this does not remove the difficulties of applying it to every day life. As an ideology, a level of scepticism applied to every day life would perhaps make people happier and better adjusted. People would be less prepared to accept false theories dogmatically, always remembering that an apposing argument could be just as valid. They would not be fixated on their suffering and try to create reasons for it, but instead would â€Å"relax and let life happen to [them]†, and by relaxing would live happier, more fulfilled lives. But scepticism applied fully would be impractical, as we could have no assurances of safety, and the effort it would take to re-condition our entire way of life would be too great.

Causes of Ketamine Addiction

Causes of Ketamine Addiction Psychology of Drug Addictions Stephanie Boaz ABSTRACT Ketamine was first discovered in 1961 but not synthesized until 1962 by a man of the name of Calvin Stevens that worked with Parke Davis Labs ( http://azarius.net/encyclopedia/39/Ketamine ). Stevens discovered Ketamine when searching for a replacement for PCP anesthetics. It was not until 1965 that Ketamine was later used as a relational drug which was discovered by Edward Domino ( http://azarius.net/encyclopedia/39/Ketamine ). Ketamine is considered to be a fast acting, dissociative anesthetic ( http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Ketamine ). Ketamine is not like your customary anesthetics it works by blocking the brains activity from the body. Without stimulation the brain’s perceptions increase causing the brain to start a hallucinogenic state of mine also known as the emergence phenomena ( http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Ketamine ). Ketamine has the chemical name: 2-(2-chlorophen yl)-2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone ( http://azarius.net/encylopedia/39/Ketamine ). How Does a Person Get Hooked on Ketamine Ketamine is used in many different ways. It is used an anesthetic on humans it is primarily used on children or the elderly and people of third world countries due to the emergence phenomena ( http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Ketamine ). When using Ketamine as a recreational drug is comes in many forms such as powder, tablet, or in a liquid form which are taken orally, anally, snorting, or injected in the muscle or veins. Once administered intramuscularly it takes roughly two minutes to take effect (Julien, Advokat, & Comaty, 2011, pg.530). If snorted it takes about 5-10 minutes to take effect, peak times are different according to the way the drug is administered ( http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Ketamine ). With the use of Ketamine it has psychic sensations that may occur such as mood state and body images, floating sens ations, vivid dreams or illusions and the occasional frank delirium ( http://ceaccp.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/2/59.full ). Ketamine is also known as Special K on the streets. It has the similar effects as to what PCP would have on a person. Once the drug is ingested the body can feel the effects for up to 24 hours after ( http://casapalmera.com/uses-symptoms-and-effects-of-ketamine ). Special K is also a drug that is very well known for its use in date rape. This drug is both odorless and has no taste at all. There are many street names for this drug that include: ( http://casapalmera.com/uses-symptoms-and-effects-of-ketamine) . Special K K Super Acid Kit kat Vitamin K Jet Honey oil Purple Cat Valium Ketamine or Special K has many signs and symptoms that accompany the use of this drug which consist of and are not limited to ( http://casapalmera.com/uses-symptoms-and-effects-of-ketamine ): Hallucinations Poor vision Amnesia Strange heart rate patterns Nausea Identity confusion Elevated heart rate Numbness Out of body experiences Delirium Rash Confusion of time Depression Poor coordination Seizures Realistic dreams There are many long term side effects from the use of Ketamine/Special K ( http://casapalmera.com/uses-symptoms-and-effects-of-ketamine ): Permanent memory loss Anxiety Respiratory complication Neuroses Inability to pay attention Poor learning ability Night terrors Mental disorders PTSD Increase in blood pressure Flashbacks Loss of consciousness Depression Insomnia Once Ketamine /Special K is used on a regular basis the drug begins to build up in the person body thus forming a tolerance to the drug. Once this is done it requires that more and more of the drug be utilized in order to feel the high that the person is seeking. Once the drug has been used for a long period of time the effects may take many years to overcome. In order to completely overcome the addiction it requires the use of drug rehabilitation ( http://casapalmera.com/uses-symptoms-and-effects-of-ketamine ).

Psychological development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Psychological development - Assignment Example As the reproductive organs grow, the individuals begin to explore their sexuality. A very common result of this is heightened self-awareness. Some adolescents tend to compare their pattern of development with that of others that leads them to self-consciousness whereas others who exhibit perfect growing signs like height develop self-confidence. Adolescents become aware that the changes in their physique that they are noticing are also witnessed by people around them. Such changes include increase of height, and change of voice etc. In their attempt to grow ideally during the puberty, many adolescents experiment with their looks by changing their hairstyles. Since the adolescents are looks-conscious during this stage, such physical changes as acne and increased body odor can cause embarrassment in the adolescents. Gynecomastia is another commonly occurring condition in boys during puberty which is very embarrassing for them. They might not want to socialize with their friends in such condition and some even become isolated. Such boys avoid swimming and are shy of taking their shirts off in public places. The depression experienced during puberty can form mental scars for a

Critical Analsysis Paper on Black Panther Party Essay

Critical Analsysis Paper on Black Panther Party - Essay Example Police brutality was a national issue especially among the black community in the United States in the years preceding 1966 thus leading to the formation of the party. The party sought to arm civilians thereby equipping them in order to monitor the behavior of law enforcement agencies. Police killings and arbitrary arrests became a major concern in the country. Such tendencies continued even after the formation of the party a feature that enhanced the development of the party throughout the United States. The party’s rapid development enhanced brutality against the police a feature that compelled the Federal Bureau of Investigation to devise ways of countering its effect with the view to ending it. Under the leadership of Edgar Hoover, the FBI formulated a system that sought to use police harassment, dedicated surveillance, perjury and infiltration to overcome the party. The tactics later succeeded thereby culminating in the disbandment of the party. Police brutality against the black community heightened as the FBI waged war against the party. Police reigned both terror and repressions against the black community with most confrontations between the African American population and the police ending up in deadly police shootouts. On April 6, 1968 for example, the police killed a 17-year-old boy, Bobby Hutton in West Oakland. The police had set Hutton’s house ablaze thus forcing the teenager to run out of the house only to run into a fire of bullets. The police shot the young boy ten times in a portrayal of the intense brutality the police employed. Two days after the murder of the boy, the police killed Martin Luther King who was beginning to change his stance from non-violent ways of addressing oppressions to radical alternatives (Bloom and Waldo 76). On August 5, 1968, the police killed three panthers at a gas station in Los

Exemplification - Stereotyping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exemplification - Stereotyping - Essay Example This essay assesses the cognitive approach that classification is an important cognitive process that unavoidably leads to stereotyping in the media and gender. Adverts are created with a specific audience in mind. In spite of being designed to appeal the bigger majority in the target audience, there is no finance, resource or capability to market each unique person. Advertisers mostly exploit stereotypical types of genders with the aim of producing advertisements that have the biggest appeal. For instance, in the vast part of the United States, it is believed that men are more aggressive than women. With that mentality, men are mostly used in adverts with the intention of such adverts appealing to a bigger audience (Hawkins-Dady, 2012). It is therefore, important to distinguish between gender, sex and stereotype for research purposes. As a matter of fact, sex is the biological difference between males and females. For gender, it is the social, psychological and cultural characteristics of being a male or a female. In such a case, stereotype comes as a standardized image or conception of specific group of individuals or objects. For example, Bond and Desoto adverts show some exaggerated masculine. The men in the advert seem to be strong, tough and free. The coca cola adverts portray women as caring mothers, socially refined and serving housewives. Additionally, the Levi advert portray women as being sexually promiscuous. Also, the Hitachi telephone portray women as secretaries (Faust, 2013). Coming to the United States made me realize that women are today portrayed as being confident, independent and successful. Most adverts in the papers in United States portray the mentioned qualities, but beauty in women is still linked to being successful. Although, there is a move from this notion as noticed in one Dove advert. This advert seems to go against the norm which portrays women as thin model. The advert uses a fat woman in advertising the