Workers Motivation

Workers Motivation Since this day many theories have been developed trying to identify what lies behind the motivation of workers. What is it that pushes workers to improve their performance, increase their effort and ultimately feel part of an organisation? Motivation is a conscious decision to perform one or more activities with greater effort than other competing activities (Roberts and Corbett, 2009, Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 p.240). It could be interpreted that motivation being a conscious decision cannot be forced, but only be triggered by managers using certain methods. However, even today many managers refuse to give up Taylorism and the use of the scientific management. As a result the idea of the rational economic man still exists and managers still treat the workers as cogs in a machine presumed that they are motivated only by pay. This essay will argue that today job has come to be a way to make a living, and pay is just the mean for a better living but not what motivate s people to work (Gostick and Elton). Pay itself does not motivate people to improve their performance or increase their effort. What people desire beyond their material well-being, that pay can offer, is self-fulfilment and a sense of belonging. To begin with, the effectiveness of the scientific management has been challenged many times but the first blow was the Hawthorne Studies conducted by Elton Mayo in the 1920s. Until then workers had mostly no saying on the decision-making or work process, and based on McGregors Theory X, were seen as genetically lazy, with no real ambitions. With his experiment Mayo wanted to show the relation of productivity and the poor working conditions and how this could be controlled by alternating some factors of the working environment. However, productivity was increasing whatever the working conditions, leading to the conclusion that workers wanted to perform better in return of the interest that the managers had shown to them. The results of this study challenged the established conception of the rational economic man and brought the era of the social man and McGregors Theory Y. Workers are still human beings when they enter the factory door with feelings and ambitions, in search of self-a ctualisation. So this leads to the conclusion that motivation is affected by social factors as well, and sometimes workers place more importance to these than pay itself. Self-actualisation needs were what Maslow considered to be the highest level in his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow supported the view that people must firstly satisfy each before they can move on to the higher-order needs. It is believed that self-actualisation is what continuously motivate workers as it is never fulfilled but always pursued. However, what managers must understand is that once they offered to workers the taste of self-achievement and freedom it is difficult to then remove them.   Also self-actualisation is not only achieved through work and individuals progress in this pyramid. It is achieved at different times by individuals and using different methods by their managers (Fincham and Rhodes). FIGURE 1.1-Source: Lecture Notes Herzberg further developed this idea in his Two Factor Theory where he presented job satisfaction to be a result of the motivators and job dissatisfaction as a result of the hygiene factors. Therefore it was assumed that different factors let to either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.   Ã‚   Motivators Hygiene Factors Achievement Company Policy Work itself Supervision Responsibility Work conditions Advancement Pay FIGURE 1.2-Source: Lecture Notes It can be argued that there are similarities with Maslows Hierarchy of Needs as motivators satisfy the top needs of the pyramid whereas hygiene factors fulfil the basic human needs. Pay here is assumed to be a factor that leads to job dissatisfaction when is not met and thus included in the hygiene factors. It is broadly believed that workers with a satisfied pay will not necessarily be encouraged to perform better but only manage not to be dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the work itself is challenging and there is a potential of recognition, this is more likely to keep workers motivated and devoted to the organisation. That is why Herzberg talks about job enrichment, a means to encourage motivation by building greater responsibility and variety into a job (Roberts and Corbett, 2009, Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 p.248). After all, as he argued, the very nature of motivators, as opposed to hygiene factors, is that they have a much longer-term effect on employees a ttitudes (Herzberg, 2003, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? p. 70). Therefore it can be assumed that pay is just a short-term solution to the motivation problem since when they reach a satisfies economic position then they will turn their attention to the social factors. However, Herzbergs Theory did not come about without criticisms that compromise its effectiveness in motivating the workers. It is argued that his research was not objective as it only included accountants and engineers, occupations that were considered to be profitable. In addition, as it is clearly illustrated by Heiders Attribution Theory people tend to attach successes to internal factors and externalise any failures. As a result the interviewees blamed the managers for feeling dissatisfied from their job and on the other hand, recognised themselves as the main factor leading to job satisfaction. Another strong criticism involves the fact that the workers may not have been honest of what really motivates them, offering therefore a reason why pay is included as a hygiene factor (Fincham and Rhodes). It was argued that this behaviour may exist because workers want to be socially accepted and thus portrait themselves to be motivated by a more noble factor than pay (Rynes, Gerhart an d Minette). Recent studies still draw the same conclusions as the one carried out by Herzberg more than 50 years ago. Workers are more likely to contribute to the work process if they feel comfortable in the work environment, close to their managers and have a sense of achievement. Once more, pay did not play a major role in motivating people since the pursue of self-actualisation remains the major concern of workers and their ultimate goal (Bassett-Jones and Lloyd). Moreover, pay has a major role in Adams Equity Theory where workers are presented to be motivated by pay   in relative terms rather than in absolute. Money can be measured and thus it allows comparisons to be made leading to the importance of equity and fairness as a factor of motivation. Therefore it is argued that workers are more likely to improve their performance if they consider their pay to be fair relative to the effort they had put and the effort of the others. This idea is supported by the experiment held out by Adams where the students who they receive higher pay relative to their efforts were motivated to work harder in order to restore equity in the exchange (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, Principles of Organisational Behaviour p.203). However, there is the risk that conflict maybe arise because workers and managers have different perceptions of what the effort the workers must be and the pay that is considered to be fair for that effort.      Beyond the theories the managers can put in practice, they must firstly realise that the workers are individuals with different needs, values, experiences, that have an impact on what finally motivates them. As said before, people are on different levels on the Hierarchy of Needs pyramid and place different value on different hygiene factors and motivators (see figures 1.1 and 1.2). In order for this obstacle to be overcome the managers must concentrate on the individuals who work in the organisation. What drives the motivation of the each worker may change, because of different circumstances. Known the worker on a personal level gives the advantage to change the behaviour towards them. It is true that with the current crisis and the growing fear of the unemployment many workers do not have the feeling of security in their job. Thus this is their motivation for the specific time and what the managers must try to restore. However it could be argued that in this decision-making process the workers must have the chance to be heard and a compromise decision to be reached in order for any organisation to have a brighter future. On the other hand, inter-group conflict may be aroused because of managers expectations concerning certain groups. What managers expect of subordinates and the way they treat them largely determine their performance and career progress (Livingston J.S, 2003, Pygmalion in Management p.176). Therefore if a manager expects a group to perform baldy and not be able to reach a certain target, this demotivates the individuals of the group and their performance is declined as expected. However, this may not always be the case since the individuals desire to prove the manager wrong may drive them to improve their performance and thus raise the expectations which the manager previously had. It could be argued that the conflict is sometimes desirable as it changes the behaviour of the workers to the best which it is in line with the interactionist approach. In this example pay did not play the major part in motivating workers even though it could be claimed that the individuals improve their pe rformance in order to receive a better reward. However Herzbergs followers would argue that what really motivated the group was the job that became more challenging and gave the opportunity of self-achievement and recognition. Of course, the behaviour of the workers is affected by the organisations structure and culture. According to Maslow workers pursue their self-actualisation through work and therefore it could be argued that the organisational performance will depend ultimately on the extent to which individuals are provided with the opportunity to satisfy their own goals by contributing to the goals of the organisation (Mullins J., 2008, Essentials of Organisational Behaviour p.355). People are more likely to be motivated and feel part of an organisation when they share the same values, beliefs and attitudes. Therefore the organisation policy may focus on the pay as a measure to reward better performance and to the individual needs of the workers. It is true that some workers will be motivated through this but for the wrong reasons. The organisations structure encourages them to behave unethical in order to gain a raise in their pay or a promotion (Luecke, 2006). Indeed the ideas that people work for money and that more money rewards mean better performance are only just myths. As argued before, people look for something deeper in doing their work and managers who ignore that and continue to bribe their employees   in fact they pay the price in a lack of loyalty and commitment(Pfeffer J., 2003, Six dangerous myths about pay p.99). Of course the policy of the organisation and its structure depends on which country it operates as there are different perceptions of what motivates people. This is evident from a survey in 2000 where among eight countries   U.K valued good pay the highest. However, this is a result of the different methods used in these countries from which British companies may learn in order to rely less on pay to motivate their workers. In conclusion, pay does motivate people but this will not last in the long-run. Money is the means for a better life but is mostly seen as a condition to work rather than related to particular effort (Handy C., 1993, Understanding organisations p.52). Once the workers achieve their material well-being they will try to satisfy their desire for self-fulfilment. As a result pay does motivate to some extent and mostly at the beginning of someones career but then he/she will pursue recognition, achievement and finally self-actualisation. Therefore managers must strive to learn their workers on a personal level, consider their worries and needs in order to discover what ultimately motivates them to give their best effort. The Tandem Computer took this step, and moved away from offering money for better performance to being more concerned of keeping their workers satisfying through the work itself. Therefore it would not even tell you your salary before expecting you to accept the work (Pfe ffer J., 2003, Six dangerous myths about pay p.93). More organisations must take this difficult step in order to depend less on money and offer their workers greater opportunities for personal growth. Bibliography Roberts, Ashley and Corbett, Martin,2009. Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 Warwick Business School: McGraw-Hill Custom Publishing Fincham, Robin and Rhodes, Peter,2005. Principles of Organisational Behaviour Fourth Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press Mullins Laurie J.,2008. Essentials of Organisational Behaviour Second Edition. Harlow: England; New York: Financial Times/Prentice Hall Timpe Dale. A, 1986. Motivation of Personnel. Aldershot: Gower Publishing Company Limited Gostick Adrian And Elton Chester, 2009. The Carrot Principle. London: Simon Schuster UK Ltd Handy Charles, 1993. Understanding Organisations Fourth Edition.   London: England; Penguin Group Grey Chris, 2009. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Studying Organizations Second Edition London: SAGE Publications Ltd Herzberg Frederick, Mausner Bernard, Snyderman Barbara Bloch, 1993. The motivation to Work Second revised Edition. New Brunswick: New Jersey; Transaction Publishers Latham Gary P., 2007. Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks: California; Sage Publications, Inc. USB!!!!!!!!!!! LECTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Manville Brook and Ober Josiah, 2003. Beyond Empowerment: Building a Company of Citizens Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp. 48-53 Fryer Bronwyn, 2003. Moving Mountains Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp. 41-47 Herzberg Frederick, 2003. One More Time: How to you motivate Employees? Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp.86-86 Luecke Richard, 2006. Harvard Business Essential: Performance Management. Boston: Massachusetts; Harvard Business School Press Kerr Steve, 2003. The Best-Laid Incentive Plans Harvard Business Review, 81(1), pp.27-37 Nicholson Nigel, 2003. How to motivate your problem employees Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.57-65 Livingston Sterling. J, 2003. Pygmalion in Management Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.97-106 Levinson Harry, 2003. Management by whose objectives? Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.107-116 McClelland David C., Burnham David H., 2003. Power is the great motivator Harvard Business Review, 81(1) pp.117-126 Goleman Daniel, 2000. Leadership that gets results Harvard Business Review, 78(2) pp.78-90 Manzoni Jean-Franà §ois, Barsoux Jean-Louis, 1998. The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome Harvard Business Review, 76(2) pp.101-113 Pfeffer Jefferey, 1998. Six Dangerous Myths About Pay Harvard Business Review 76(3) pp.109-119 Goffee Rob, Jones Gareth, 1996. What holds the modern Company together? Harvard Business Review, 74(6) pp.133-148

Can You Imagine a Life Without Computer?

Imagine before the Christ when people communicated with the smoke of wood fire which even is not used to warm up in today or an ambassador travelled by a horse for a long time to provide communication between the two kings. These are strange for us who are the slaves of the computer era, are not these? Do you realize that computers have become a main part of your lives in time, too? It is amazing to see how computer come into our lives in just several decades. It is impossible to imagine a day without working on our computers or spending time with the computers.Mainly there are two reasons regarding for this enormous change because of the rising popularity of computers. The most important reason is that it makes our lives easier. First, we experienced this ease in the education life. When students research on the Internet instead of going to the library, they can reach enormous resources easily so they save time. For example, if they are reading an essay, they can change the language of the essay or reach the references with only one click instead of searching a lot of books. In addition, they can study easily thanks to the variety of programs.For instance, since some computer programs calculate basic mathematical operations faster than human brain, these are beneficial for study. Second, we experienced this ease in the business life. To illustrate, online banking has brought to ease for businessmen so they do not have to go to a bank and wait for a long time. They can also store enormous knowledge such as contracts, knowledge of customers and statistics in the hard disc. Thus, they do not need huge area or effort to store these. Furthermore, businessmen can attend their meeting in different place at the same time thanks to the online conference communication.Thus, they can gather when they want easily. Another reason why computers become so popular is that it provides opportunities for leisure time activities. Computer plays a great role in the communication a spect of our lives. Social Network is the most common area in which the computer is used in communication. The fact that you can not find anyone who has not got a facebook account is the clearest example how online communicating has become so popular with facebook. In addition to facebook, some other websites such as twitter and instagram started to be more and more popular in time.Everyday millions of people are engaged in these websites and share their activities, feeling and photographs so that other people can follow them in their leisure time. Besides, people can spend their free time on the computer to recreate. For example, Second Life which is an online game has millions of members. In this game, people create avatars and direct them. As the avatars represent how they wish others to perceive them, they can spend their all leisure time enjoyable. Moreover, people can archive both music and film in the computer.In other words, computer enables us to keep both music and film. T hus, they can reach the archives and listen to music or watch the film anytime and anywhere. All in all, since computer makes our life easier by doing something faster than us and gives a lot of chances to communicate and recreate, its popularity is increasing. In the future, it will develop even further. However, if the popularity will go on to increase, all of us will be computer addicted. These machines will be an inseparable part of our lives. We can not do anything without computer as life without air.

Fast Food America Essay

Fast food has become a major phenomenon here in America. According to Eric Schlosser, he writes in the New York Times, on average $301,369,863 is spent a day on fast food. As Schlosser shows, American people are abusing fast food. In accordance with fast food binging, obesity has become a widespread epidemic. According to Joseph Mercola M. D. , on a personal website states obesity is, â€Å"A chronic condition that develops as a result of an interaction between a person’s genetic makeup and their environment. † Here Dr. Mercola expresses how obesity is directly related to an individual’s environment. Today it is not uncommon to find major fast food chains with in a short distance from residential areas. With so many choices for fast food, Americans turn to the fast food as an alternative to the healthy home cooked meal. The reason for so many Americans eating out is simply because they are in a hurry or unable to cook and just want something fast and easy. A majority of these people get into the habit of constantly eating at these fast food chains. According to Morgan Spurlock, in his documentary Super Size Me, he quotes Elliot Bloom, a young marketing wiz for Taco Bell, â€Å"The fast food chains were sustained by a large group of diners who ate out more than twenty times a month. A big chunk of this group, about 30% of customers, were considered to be â€Å"heavy users† and accountable for bringing in a whopping 70% of total revenue. † These numbers show how important fast food has become to Americans daily eating habits, and further demonstrates the connection between fast food eating and the increases in obesity. Accordingly, excessive amounts of fast food can be very damaging to ones body, and there is proof to back up this claim. Director Morgan Spurlock, set out to document a strictly fast food diet, â€Å"I am trying to prove, fast food makes someone fat. † Spurlock closely documented his thirty-day McDonalds binge, eating only foods and beverages served at the one of the many â€Å"Golden Arches. † Over the thirty-days, he underwent some amazing conditions that even the doctors and health care professionals could not have predicted. Besides the usual changes which included skyrocketing cholesterol and a major increase in body fat, his liver was showing signs similar to that of a smoker. Though the symptoms that Spurlock experienced were on a very drastic scale, this is what is slowly damaging many Americans who are unable to control their fast food cravings. Research has shown the severity of obesity since the late 1980’s, and the studies show the common health problems related with obesity are Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Osteoarthritis. However, little is known publicly about the dangers of obesity, and the future repercussions if obesity. According to Nanci Hellmich, writing in the USA Today, she states that, â€Å"Overall, employers and privately insured families spent approximately $36. 5 billion on obesity-linked illnesses in 2002, up from an inflation-adjusted $3. 6 billion in 1987. † Hellmich’s statistics show a tenfold increase in obesity spending over a span of fifteen years. If obesity continues to increase at this rate, in the future obesity may become the deadliest disease in America. Hellmich goes on to say, â€Å"On average, treating an obese person cost $1,244 more in 2002 than treating a healthy-weight person did. In 1987, the gap was $272. † As Hellmich shows in her quote, there exist a connection between obesity and increasing health care cost. Since the majority of Americans pay for health care, the epidemic spreads beyond those affected directly, and raises prices for the healthy Americans too. Hellmich shows there is a cause for concern, simply because obesity has predominately increased over the past two decades. The problem starts with the media which influences Americans eating habits on a daily basis. Today Americans have numerous choices in fast food as compared to five to ten years ago. As well as more commercials there exists the convenience of eating fast food. Within minutes, fast food is ready to serve at most fast food restaurants, and for relatively cheap. Besides the fact food preparation is fast, every year thousands of commercials can be seen on TV. According to Spurlock, on average a single person watches about 10,000 different commercials per year, most of them being junk or fast food products. These influential commercials broadcast smart slogans and offer cheap food to attract customers. In a recent survey, at the Brea Mall Food Court, when asked if they ate on a daily basis, 28 % of males said yes, while 25% of women said they too ate out daily. A surprising portion of people, 30% said they enjoyed the taste and quality, while majority about 46% said there was no time to cook at home because of work or hectic schedules. With so many great food specials and a plethora of commercials, its no wonder Americans turn to fast food for meals. Fast food is practical, quick, and reasonably cheap, though unhealthy many seem to no care. The first signs of concern came in 2003 when legislation was passed by Congress to help to slow obesity among children. The new law banned all junk foods from public schools and enforced new cafeteria food requirements. Robert Colin Carter a medical researcher from the John Hopkins School of Medicine showed that the meals served prior to changes by school cafeteria’s exceeded the newly established limits for total and saturated fats, set by the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program. Here Carter shows the importance for the legislation, as well as exposing children to healthier foods. In a recent interview, with Sonya Dravenstatt, a School Nutrionist, she stated, â€Å"The new menu now consists of vegetables, low calorie pizzas, and salads. The unhealthy items such as Tatter-tots and French Fries have been substituted with corn, green beans, and fruit cocktail. † As Mrs. Dravenstatt mentioned, the meals are better for the students and follow the limits recently established by NSLP and NSBP. As well as healthier foods in cafeterias, there has been a fairly recent ban of â€Å"unhealthy† foods and drinks in public school vending machines. The soda selection has been exchanged with Dasani water, Minute Maid Juices, and various PowerAde flavors. As for food, all candy and snacks high in fat and sugar have been replaced with healthy low fat alternatives. As well as the changes Spurlock noted in his documentary, there has also been recent public out cry for fast food restaurants to create healthier portions. â€Å"In 2004 McDonald’s forever banished their Super Sized soft drinks and fries, and in 2005 Arby’s abolished their Giant Size offerings. While removing these bigger portions from the menu, food chains like McDonald’s now offer healthier portions and substitutions. For example french fries can be replaced with a side of apple slices or mini salad and instead of soda a variety of juices are offered† (Spurlock). These healthier changes need to be continued due to the fact fast food is a major contributor to obesity. However, the change must begin with the consumers. The numbers show that people are dining out too often and it is affecting their physical health. Since a majority of Americans are either unaware or uninformed on how to prevent obesity, the solution should be enforced by the Government. By issuing a plan of action for fast food companies, a majority of unhealthy food can be exchanged with healthier portions. If the Government passed legislation subjecting fast food chains to restrictions on what consumers can purchase, maybe then fast food consumption could help the obesity epidemic. Fast food companies need to abide by nutrition laws, in the same way schools do, to protect naive consumers. The creation of a program could strictly regulate the unhealthy content commonly found in fast food. A program with capabilities to regulate big corps such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken would be a major success in terms of stopping the widespread disease. Americans need to wake up and face the facts. Consumers must take the initiative to learn the facts on healthy dieting. The problem needs to be dealt with now, and not in the future. Obesity is affecting millions of Americans each year and is a major threat to American children’s future health. If parents and children are not held accountable now, obesity will continue to shorten lives and cost billions of dollars in health care. Hellmich, Nanci. â€Å"Health Spending Soars for Obesity. † USA Today on the Web 26 June. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005 < http://www. usatoday. com/news/health/2005-06-26-health-spending-obesity_x. htm> Mercola, Dr. Joseph. Home page. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005. Schlosser, Eric. â€Å"Fast Food Nation, The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. † New York Times on the Web 2000. 18 Oct. 2005.

Analysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery - 880 Words

Shirley Jackson uses irony as a theme to create this almost perfect story where there is an unexpected twist. Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery† is sickening, horrific and intense. This shocking story is about a small town that has all the members’ participate in an annual lottery. Unlike all normal lotteries the winner receives death by stoning rather than a cash prize, as the story advance Tessie places her children in danger to have a better chance at survival. This lottery seems to have no limit of age. Jackson starts off the story by telling us, what a beautiful day it was Jackson seems almost luring us and, only creating this false presentation. She uses irony rather flawlessly to create an element of surprise. â€Å"The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o clock;â€Å" (Jackson) Occasionally this wouldn’t seem odd, what’s odd is that other villages are also participating in this type of lottery. As you continue reading you are able to acknowledge that these villager’s are rather civilized since they have a post office and bank. It’s rather unusual that they would participate in, lotteries such as those. Another eye catching ironic detail the short story also reveals that this event takes place right after the children are finished with school for the year. â€Å"School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them†¦;( Jackson). The students seem to be gloomy almost as ifShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery Essay878 Words   |  4 PagesMichael Espinoza English 1302-5003 Professor Johnson June 22, 2015 Research-Based Argument Essay Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† Born on December 14, 1916, in San Francisco, California, Shirley Jackson was an American author whose novels and short stories are still relevant today. Jackson grew up in California and moved East with her family when she was 17 years old. She began her college career at the University of Rochester, withdrew for one year to practice her writing skills at homeRead MoreAn Analysis Of Shirley Jackson s They Lottery 878 Words   |  4 Pagesstory, â€Å"They Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, the absence of tradition can make some uneasy. The story reflects conformity by the villagers with a bizarre ritual that suggests how dangerous tradition can be when people follow it blindly. Every June 27th, the villagers of a quaint town believe the prize of winning an annual lottery is sacrificing one of their own to ensure a good harvest. They are so blasà © about the event they agree to â€Å"get it over with† so they â€Å"can go back to work† (Jackson 92). TheRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery 1883 Words   |  8 Pagescheer by following the festivities of tradition. Whether it is decorating a tree, lighting up the menorah or preparing for the karamu feast, these events serve as a celebration for the end of the year and preserve their culture. In Shirley Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery†, the villagers from an unknown town perform an action to preserve their culture. This small, homely and rural area believe that if they commit a certain deed annually, good crops will be bestowed upon them. The event happens onRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery 894 Words   |  4 Pagesinto something magnific ent is what author Shirley Jackson achieved with her short story â€Å"The Lottery†. The short story is a brilliant view on tradition. What is normally thought to be a game of joy and winnings is turned into a horrifying ritual that has been blindly executed throughout the years with little reasoning behind it. Though multiple themes tend to arise in stories such as this, the theme â€Å"Fear of change† is the most obvious idea that Jackson seemed to want to get across to the audienceRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery Essay1463 Words   |  6 Pages Shirley Jackson is able to convey a deeper understanding of sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, and various gender roles implied by society through the illustration of a corrupt tradition. By breaking down these core concepts in a way which the reader can better comprehend, both Gayle Whittier and Fritz Oehlschlaeger are able to emphasize misogyny and the unfair treatment of women within the short story â€Å" The Lottery.† The patriarchal society is pronounced in the very first few paragraphs of the taleRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jackson s The Lottery, And Kurt Vonnegut Jr. s Harrison Bergeron1604 Words   |  7 PagesA common theme of placing societal influences over personal values and beliefs can be found in Shirley Jackson’s, â€Å"The Lottery†, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†. These short stories describe situations in which the citizens allow the superiors to have full control, without thinking twice about the laws and traditions that require their submission. 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The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the â€Å"winner† was the member of the town who was not sacrificedRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1438 Words   |  6 PagesWriter Shirley Jackson was born in 1916 in San Francisco, California. Among her early works was The Lottery.Do not be fooled by this name.The Lottery was the highly controversial and famous tale about a village that partakes in an annual death ritual. On June 26, 1948, subscribers to The New Yorker received a new issue of the magazine in the mail. There was nothing to outwardly indicate that it would be any different, or any more special, than any other issue. But inside was a story that editorsRead MoreFiction Essay - Young Goodman Brown and the Lottery1051 Words   |  5 PagesFICTION ESSAY WRITING STYLE USED: APA OUTLINE I. THESIS: A thorough analysis of Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† and Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† reveals that different literary elements, such as tone and setting, are used to convey the characters’ arrival at dark, sinister places. II. INTRODUCTION III. SHIRLEY JACKSON’S â€Å"THE LOTTERY† A. Setting the tone: Peaceful and relaxing B. Irony: Even though the mood is relaxing, there is a premonition of something bad to