Effect of Reward Management on Employee Motivation

Effect of Reward Management on Employee Motivation How can Multi National Companies use Reward management to motivate the Employees of Different Countries? : A Case of Marriott Hotels in UK. Abstract Employees are always considered as people who play a vital role in each and every organisation. The relationship between employee and employer changes frequently through out the years. Several concepts of employees are also varying time by time. Now a days employees are having the bargaining power and they are more concerned about their individual needs and well being of their working environment. This dissertation analyses various factors which motivates an employee to work within an organisation. Employee will stay in an organisation only when their expectations are satisfied or otherwise there is a chance for him/her to leave the company. High employee turnover is a big issue in companies today. Organisations will look forward to retain only the potential key employees who will make real difference to their customers and their stake holders. This dissertation proposes a frame work to retain the employees and to reward those employees for their potential by which they are taking the organisation to a different level. This research has been progressed through literature study on employee concepts, Human Resource Management and Reward management of employees. The data from the primary research has been analysed compared and verified with the findings of secondary research and produced recommendations for the effective management of employee in multi national companies. Introduction Reward management is nowadays considered as an important topic in order to achieve the goals of a company. Employees are considered as the main factor which plays an important role in the organisation. The success of each and every organisation is its dedicated employees .Current world is filled with changes and competition. In order to survive in the current situation companies should be having employees who are loyal and expert in their own field. New technologies are developed constantly and the companies are eagerly trying to catch up those talented employees with right expertise in their own areas. Human resources as an important factor should get increased attention in managing business (Lindergen Paulson ,2008)`. Multinational companies are facing increased challenges from all around the world due to globalisation. 1.1 Reward management Reward system usually means the financial reward on organization gives its employees in return for their labour.The term rewards system, not only includes material rewards, but also non-material rewards. The components of a reward system consist of financial rewards (basic and performance pay) and employee benefits, which together comprise total remuneration. They also include non-financial rewards (holiday trips, moving to large office, recognition, promotion, praise, achievement responsibility and personal growth) and in many case a system of performance management. Pay arrangements are central to the cultural initiative as they are the most tangible expression of the working relationship between employer and employee. Many papers examine the role of organizational culture that is, the demand for monitoring compensation. Such investigations conclude that organizational culture places a significant role in determining the level of economic demands. Recent researches on industrial un rest indicate that reward criteria of the organisations both financial and non-financial rewards have tremendous influence upon the employees and employers performance. Reward is a broad construct that can include anything an employee may value and desire that an employer is able or willing to offer in exchange for employee contribution. A conceptual distinction can be made between the three main constituents of rewardtype, system, and criterion. (Henderson 1989, p.2) Chiang, Flora F.T. ; Birtch, Thomas A (2006) An empirical examination of reward preferences within and across national settings. Management International Review Reward type refers to the nature of the reward itself (e.g., financial and non-financial; extrinsic and intrinsic). Financial rewards include direct (e.g., basic salary) and indirect (i.e., benefits and services) as well as incentive (e.g., variable pay) and non-incentive (e.g., fixed pay) categories. Non-financial rewards, on the other hand, do not benefit employees in a monetary sense and consist of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic non-financial rewards are tangible rewards attached to the job and are given and controlled by a firm. Examples include employment security, promotion, status, relationships, and work conditions. By contrast, intrinsic rewards accrue from performing the task itself and are self-reinforcing. Job challenge, variety, and sense of achievement are good examples of this category. Reward system represents the method or mechanism (e.g., seniority-based, performance-based) by which organizations determine employee reward outcomes (e.g., pay increases). Systems can be either performance or non-performance oriented. Where performance-oriented reward systems compensate employees based on how well they perform on the job, non-performance systems compensate employees based on a different set of criteria, such as seniority/years of service, and skills/competencies. Reward criterion then, refers to the basis of allocation (i.e., individual or group) used to determine the reward. 1.2 Marriott International Marriott International is a leading, worldwide, hospitality company and has more than 2,300 operating units located in the U.S. and 59 other countries and territories. It employs approximately 154,000 workers. Fortune magazine has recognized Marriott as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America (1997-2001), one of the Top 80 Companies for Minorities (2000), and one of Americas Most Admired Companies overall (2001). In addition, Sales and Marketing Management magazine has named Marriott Sales as one of the top 25 sales forces in the U.S. (1997-2000).(mariott.com 13th jan 09) Marriott is and always has been an equal opportunities employer in all aspects of employment. The company is fully committed to providing a good and harmonious working environment that offers equal treatment and equal opportunities for all its associates, and where every associate is treated with appropriate respect and dignity. It is the companys policy that there should be no unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation of any associate, job applicant, customers, providers of service or member of public, whether in connection with recruitment, placement, training, benefits or promotion, either directly or indirectly, on grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, marital or family status(Marriott handbook for employees 2009) Marriott is committed to fair treatment of associates and to providing training and advancement opportunities to all. Marriott has an unshakeable conviction that there associates are the most important assets for them. Marriott always look forward to an environment which will always supports associates growth and development. Marriott is a reputation for employing caring, dependable associates who are ethical and trustworthy and is always keen to give a home like atmosphere and friendly workplace relationships. They always try to achieve a performance reward system that recognizes the important contributions of both hourly and management associates. There are two types of associates as explained above. Hourly associates are those employees who are paid on the basis of the hours they worked. In the other hand management associates are those who are paid a fixed salary on the basis of job content assigned to them. Marriott has been selected for the research as they are having employees from all over the world. They employ people not on the basis of ethnicity, caste and religion but on the basis of experience. As they have employees from different parts of the world their needs will be different. They will be looking forward to different types of reward schemes which will suit to their needs and will satisfy them to stay with the organisation. Research has been conducted by taking Marriott as the company because they are facing a high risk of satisfying the needs of employees who are having different tastes regarding rewards which they are looking forward from the organisation. As stated earlier, Marriott has been recognized as one of the 100 companies to work for in America by Fortune magazine. This states that the employees are satisfied to an extent with the rewards which they are allotted by the organisation. As the reward management plays a role in the organisation it will be worth doing a research on the company who cares and gives equal opportunities to each and every employee in the organisation. 1.3 Current postion 1.3.1Current Policy At present Marriott do not have an existing policy for reward system to their employees. However, their ‘unofficial approach can be viewed below. But they are considering reward management on the basis of â€Å"Spirit to serve†. It is based on the service which the associate delivers to the customer to keep the good will of the firm. The manager will nominate the name of the associate to the Human Res department according to their service. Associates name will be displayed in the notice board and sometimes this is valued more than money as an individual and as an employee. 1.3.2 Current Issues a) There is no documentation for reward management policy. b) There are currently no KPIs (key performance indicators) for monitoring and rewarding for employees performance activities. c) Human resource policy document is rarely provided to employees or its not updated. d) Literature tends to be piecemeal Employee guidelines are a separate document to the job without any details on employee recognition/reward. e) Employee recognition is applied inconsistently. f) Difficult to assess the employee performance and its questionable. g) Employee satisfaction stands at very low rate. 1.4 Expected Results Results are expected by looking through the issues regarding the current policies and try to make changes in order to get it done properly to satisfy the employees. Enhancements are required for the policies for the well being of the relationship between the employees and the employer. After this research it should be helpful for the company to implement activities and to sort out the responsibilities to the concerned parties. Reward management should be monitored and evaluated regularly .Employer should go to the next level to satisfy the reward and needs of the employees to get them done with the job allotted. 1.5 Objectives The objective of this research is to recommend improvements to Marriotts Human Resource policy. Ultimately, the policy will aim to: a) Reduce the dissatisfaction of the employees on promotion criterion, on appraisal system and on salary, bonus and other fringe benefits. b) Improve the work performance and productivity c) Reduce the level of occupational stress that arises from feeling of inequality on reward. d) Describe HRM, IHRM and its importance and various HRM strategies and its importance in the current scenario. e) Identify and analyse various factors that drive employees to dissatisfaction f) Analyse various factors that motivates the employees to stay with the organisation. g) Reduce the perception gap on reward management system and develop a culture of high performance. In order to carry out the above objectives it is necessary to analyse:- >What are the human needs? >What are the organisation various approaches towards employee needs and satisfaction 1.6 Scope The project will cover the following a) Review of all associated literature reward management in service and related industries. b) Review of the front-end activities to understand the extent of the employees work related problems and other dissatisfaction if any. c) Review of current HR policy promises and approach to recognising good work of employees d) Establish links with enhanced HR strategy The project applies to All UK domestic and international employees working in Marriott Both emergency and normal working conditions in and out of the working hours. Establish synergies with employee Performance and HR Policy. Out of scope Developing processes or process mapping. Service delivery project to amalgamate employee and their locations / roles (Including transfers). 1.7 Overview This Report analyzed trends of reward management, and its influence in multi national companies in UK. It analyzed various approaches that the industry has taken to reward employees, primarily through literature reviews, and also through the analysis of questionnaire done with the employees from Marriott in UK .This dissertation also produced recommendations for the effective management of reward process for the improved business case. Chapter 1: This is the introductory chapter that explains the Significance of the chosen field, Aims and Objectives, Rationale, The reason for selection of multi national companies especially Marriott , and end with the Overview of the Project Report. Chapter 2: This chapter proceeds with a literature review about various HRM strategies and approaches taken for the reward scheme , and to maintain the needs of the employees in the organisation for the improved product quality and services etc. Chapter 3: This chapter illustrates the characteristics of Marriott, its business nature, global exposure and the various issues that the industry is currently facing in case of reward management Chapter 4: This chapter explains various research methodologies that are used for collecting data and information to carry out various analyses that are required to complete the research and documentation. Chapter 5: This chapter analyses various reasons in order to maintain a good reward management. This is carried out through literature analysis and through data analysis of the Survey conducted on various employees from the Marriott industry in UK. This chapter ends with the findings from the analysis with critical evaluations. Chapter 6: This chapter explains evaluated recommendations for the findings to the reward management of employees, as a management strategy for improving the brand standards. Chapter 7: this chapter gives conclusion about the future development in the industry if the reward management schemes have been allocated properly, which may provide a solution for the future possible issues. Literature Review The basic mantra for the success of any business organization is the appropriate allocation and usage of resources. The most important resources comprise of four Ms man, material, money and machine. The dissertation under consideration deals with the first ‘M that is the manpower or the employees of an organization. They are the backbone as they put every plan into action which is inevitable for the success of a company. So their importance in business cannot be ruled out and they form the backbone of every organization because they determine the success and failure rates. Since the most important set of public for an organization is its workforce which forms the key ingredient of its success, it is a necessary fact that the employees must be kept happy and well bonded. In todays competitive labour market, irrespective of the size of the organization it has become a major concern to attract and retain employees. One of the important reasons underlying the high turnover is low job satisfaction, appreciation and non competitive benefits package. Corporate should keep one point in mind that there is no lack of opportunities for a talented person. So if he/she is not satisfied means they will switch over to some other firm which provides them with more suitable job. So in order to retain the employees and make them happy, there are so many ways like appreciation, recognition, incentives and awards .In addition to that several motivational tools should be implemented from time to time to keep the employees morale high. These promotional items make for a smart tool because they serve as a token of gratitude and also show that you care. It is a great way of thanking the employees for their services .Moreover they are also expecting some sort of recognition from the company and promotional items help to do just that. Making the employees happy as well as a feel that they are cared is very important if the organization wants them to exhibit performance in a desired manner. Promotional items also give a sense of recognition to the employees. Thus it helps in the strong bonding between employees and the employer which ultimately leads to the smooth functioning and a pleasant work environment which is a must for an organization aiming to reach at the top. In the 1920s, the view on a persons role in the industrial working world started to change, the human was beginning to be seen as a subject with potential (Kressler, 2003). As described by Wilson† Technology can be replicated, capital can be acquired, and distribution channels can be created through new alliances, but the actions of people (what they do or fail to do) have become the critical factor in achieving enduring success† (Wilson, 2002, p.15). Todays competitive world demands the firm to invest in people and skills rather than spending huge capital on physical assets, then only they can achieve competitive advantage .Thus its no surprise that a reward strategy can help the organizations to attract and retain the talented ones and to motivate them to led the company to its desired goal . Companies in the service sectors require skilled and committed workforce to exhibit desired performance and also provide good services in a timely manner to their targeted consumers in various countries across the world .Commitment towards job and in return job satisfaction are unavoidable for the successful growth of the companies across the globe. All these facts interested the researcher to select this topic for research to analyze the reasons for the dissatisfaction of job and various factors which helps in motivating the employees of different sectors especially service sector. Kressler, H.W. (2003). Motivate and Reward Performance appraisal and incentive systems for business success. (S. Pearce, Trans). NY: Palgrave Macmillan. (Original work published 1988.) Wilson, T. B. (2002). Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace (2nd Ed.). Blacklick,OH, USA: McGraw Hill Companies. Retrieved 20071108,from http://site.ebrary.com.bibl.proxy.hj.se/lib/jonhh/Top?layout=documentid=10153055?nosr=1 2.1 Employee An employee can be defined as an individual who was hired by an employer to do a specific job(web.01). He has to do a specific job efficiently within a functional area or department to accomplish the goals of the firm. In most of the organizations a performance development planning process is undergone which will define the specific task of the employee as well as their expected performance. Employees trade their knowledge, skill and experience in exchange for compensation from the firm. If they are not satisfied with the compensation means the propensity to switch the company will be high, this will result in high turnover. So its high time to give importance to the rewards. Employees, considered as human resources of the organization are used for the benefit of the organizations, employees and the society. (Aswathappa, 2008). In order to drive the flow of business in the right direction for better results they have to be valued, respected, encouraged and appreciated .These can be done with the help of rewards. In a good working environment with efficient working methods and equipments employees will exhibit a better work performance and in addition to that natural motivation to do a job for an appropriate reward will surely pave the way for improved productivity and high profitability. For service sector employees are the most important factor, so implementation of new reward strategies and techniques are unavoidable for high quality performance of the employees, also to reduce the high turnover rate. 2.1.1 Impact of Changes on Employees Change is an inevitable part of life especially in the fast changing world. Todays commercial climate is compelling companies to implement changes in order to survive and grow in the global market. Changes always uproot a person and alter his lifestyle. The organizations adopt changes in order to meet the current standards; its employees also have to undergo change and should accept the new circumstances. Due to the technological, social and economic changes employees face a lot of insecurity and its the human nature to resist those changes without knowing about its real benefits. Its the duty of the management to handle this delicate situation in a tactful manner. One of the effective ways is to motivate and encourage the employees to put their best effort under the changing circumstances so that the net result will be high profitability and ultimate success of the business. By creating a good working environment and high morale, employees wont be negatively affected by the new changes. In order to cope up with the commercial changes companies need to be competitive and should attract employees to the job as well as should retain the employees. Employee compensation and benefit packages are the backing up factors for many potential employees who may face discomfort in their work environment due to the social, economical and technical changes without financially jeopardizing the success of the business. Today its a necessary fact that irrespective of the changes which companies are undergoing they should keep their employees motivated by providing them with rewards and recognition. So by communicating the change to the employees, by making them clearly understand about its impact on organization and its benefits, the company can encourage them to do the work in an efficient manner and in exchange employees will get the rewards for their expected performance. 2.1.2 Employee Management Engagement Employee management is the key to effective performance management and employee engagement. Employee engagement is the psychological commitment of employees towards their job. As said by Charles Kettering There is a great difference between knowing and understanding†. It holds true in the case of business and employees. Know your employees and make them understand about the goals to be accomplished. Understanding in business means the proper management of the employees and providing them with what they expect in return for their commitment and efficient work. Compensation can take the form of rewards, recognition, and reasonable benefits package. The first and foremost need for the employee management is the right employee for the right job. The keynote tip which helps to exercise a proper employee management are Structure establishment, which means that there should be a well defined structure for bringing out the desires performance from the employees such as setting of deadlines for a specific task etc. Another one is the value for employees. An organizations greatest asset are its employees so they should be motivated as well as their skills, knowledge and effort should be valued. Company should treat employees with respect by providing a positive work environment to the employees which will definitely boost their performance and to encourage them to meet the goals in an efficient manner. Listen to the employees and appreciate them for the effort they put to meet the goals and provide them ways to improve their potential, thereby creating belief that the company is taking care of them. If the organization wants to capture great heights, all it need is an engaged workforce. It is connected to three forces in an organization attrition, productivity and profitability. In order to reduce the attrition rate organizations should take care of the employees by incrementing their salaries, providing necessary incentives and bonus. Engaged workforce are always aware about the degree of expectation of work by the organization which yields high productivity. Thus they will result in an increase in the profitability of a concern which is the relative measure of success of a business. 2.2 Human Resource Management The overall management process represent five basic functions for the managers to perform: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. This research focuses on one of those functions the staffing which is the personnel management or human resource management (HRM) function. Human Resource Management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising and compensating employees and of attending to their labour relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns (Dessler, 2008pg 2). Heathfield, (2008) defined â€Å"Human Resource Management (HRM) as the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization†. This can be further explained as â€Å"Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training†(Heathfield, 2008). HRM is vital to the organization. It is the function which focuses its direction towards the management of people working in an organization. Dessler and Chiat (2009) states that, ‘Without HRM, organizations may find themselves in different kinds of unwanted situations, such as hiring the wrong people, getting fined by government ministries for unsafe practices, finding out that people are not giving their best, or even over/under- paying their employees. The most valued asset of an organization is its employees because improved quality and productivity can be achieved through trained, motivated and committed employees. The function of HRM is nothing but to train, motivate and provide the employees with opportunities to be more productive and effective. Since each and every objective of business is achieved through its effective workforce, the needs of the employees should be satisfied. 2.2.1 HRM Models HR systems and the organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with organizational strategy (hence the name ‘matching model) (Armstrong, 2006). They further explained that there is a human resource cycle, which consists of four generic processes or functions that are performed in all organizations (Armstrong, 2006 pg 10). 1. Selection matching available human resources to jobs. 2. Appraisal performance management 3. Rewards the reward system is one of the most under-utilized and mishandled managerial tools for driving organizational performance; it must reward short as well as long-term achievements, bearing in mind that ‘business must perform in the present to succeed in the future. 4. Development developing high quality employees. 2.2.2 Nature and Scope The role of HRM has grown broader and more strategic over time. In the earliest firms â€Å"personnel† first took over hiring and firing from the supervisors, ran the payroll department, and administered benefit plans (Dessler, 2008pg 12). As technology in areas like testing and interviewing began to emerge, the personnel department began to play an expanded role in employee selection, training and promotion. Today globalization, technological and nature of work trends mean that human resource managers have taken on several new responsibilities (Dessler, 2008pg 12). Human resource management involves all management decisions and action that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and its employees-its human resources (Armstrong, 2006). Human Resource Management is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises. Its focus is on results rather than on rules. HRM helps employees to develop their potential fully.HRM try to help employees develop their potential fully and to encourages employees to give their best to the organization. It is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results. It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well-motivated employees. It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various levels in the organization. It is a multidisciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from, for example psychology and economics. The Human Resource Management activities extend from selection to layoff of an employee in an organization. This includes the fixation of remuneration, training, motivation and induction of employees. Thus it helps to develop other industrial relations for employees to acquire more skills and competencies (Aswathappa, 2008).The functional diagram of HRM is given in 2.2 which clearly defines the interrelation between various functions which enable the organization to achieve its objectives by providing guidance and support on all matters relating to its employees. The scope of HRM can be limited to three aspects: 1. Personnel which mainly deals with the selection, recruitment, manpower planning, placement, promotion, training, development, remuneration, incentives, productivity, layoff and retrenchment. (web 02) 2. Welfare which is concerned with working conditions and amenities such as crà ¨ches, canteens, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities. (web 02) 3. Industrial aspect that covers union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary procedures, settlement of disputes, etc. (web 02) Web 02- http://expertscolumn.com/content/human-resource-management-nature-scope-objectives-and-function 2.2.2 Objectives of HRM The objectives of HRM are to help the organization to reach its goals, to ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resources, to ensure respect for human being, to identify and satisfy the needs of individual, to ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization, to achieve and maintain high morale among employees, to provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees, to increase the employees job satisfaction and self-actualization to the fullest, to develop and maintain a quality work life, to be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society, to develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect, to enhance employees capabilities to perform the present job, to equip the employees with precision and clarity in transaction of business and to inculcate the sense of team spirit, team work and inter-team collaboration. The above mentioned aims can be summarized as â€Å"the overall aim of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people† (Armstrong, 2006 pg8) 2.2.3 HRM Functions In order to achieve the above objectives, Human Resource Management undertakes some functions; some of them are Human resource or manpower planning, recruitment, selection and placement of personnel, training and development of employees, appraisal of performa Effect of Reward Management on Employee Motivation Effect of Reward Management on Employee Motivation How can Multi National Companies use Reward management to motivate the Employees of Different Countries? : A Case of Marriott Hotels in UK. Abstract Employees are always considered as people who play a vital role in each and every organisation. The relationship between employee and employer changes frequently through out the years. Several concepts of employees are also varying time by time. Now a days employees are having the bargaining power and they are more concerned about their individual needs and well being of their working environment. This dissertation analyses various factors which motivates an employee to work within an organisation. Employee will stay in an organisation only when their expectations are satisfied or otherwise there is a chance for him/her to leave the company. High employee turnover is a big issue in companies today. Organisations will look forward to retain only the potential key employees who will make real difference to their customers and their stake holders. This dissertation proposes a frame work to retain the employees and to reward those employees for their potential by which they are taking the organisation to a different level. This research has been progressed through literature study on employee concepts, Human Resource Management and Reward management of employees. The data from the primary research has been analysed compared and verified with the findings of secondary research and produced recommendations for the effective management of employee in multi national companies. Introduction Reward management is nowadays considered as an important topic in order to achieve the goals of a company. Employees are considered as the main factor which plays an important role in the organisation. The success of each and every organisation is its dedicated employees .Current world is filled with changes and competition. In order to survive in the current situation companies should be having employees who are loyal and expert in their own field. New technologies are developed constantly and the companies are eagerly trying to catch up those talented employees with right expertise in their own areas. Human resources as an important factor should get increased attention in managing business (Lindergen Paulson ,2008)`. Multinational companies are facing increased challenges from all around the world due to globalisation. 1.1 Reward management Reward system usually means the financial reward on organization gives its employees in return for their labour.The term rewards system, not only includes material rewards, but also non-material rewards. The components of a reward system consist of financial rewards (basic and performance pay) and employee benefits, which together comprise total remuneration. They also include non-financial rewards (holiday trips, moving to large office, recognition, promotion, praise, achievement responsibility and personal growth) and in many case a system of performance management. Pay arrangements are central to the cultural initiative as they are the most tangible expression of the working relationship between employer and employee. Many papers examine the role of organizational culture that is, the demand for monitoring compensation. Such investigations conclude that organizational culture places a significant role in determining the level of economic demands. Recent researches on industrial un rest indicate that reward criteria of the organisations both financial and non-financial rewards have tremendous influence upon the employees and employers performance. Reward is a broad construct that can include anything an employee may value and desire that an employer is able or willing to offer in exchange for employee contribution. A conceptual distinction can be made between the three main constituents of rewardtype, system, and criterion. (Henderson 1989, p.2) Chiang, Flora F.T. ; Birtch, Thomas A (2006) An empirical examination of reward preferences within and across national settings. Management International Review Reward type refers to the nature of the reward itself (e.g., financial and non-financial; extrinsic and intrinsic). Financial rewards include direct (e.g., basic salary) and indirect (i.e., benefits and services) as well as incentive (e.g., variable pay) and non-incentive (e.g., fixed pay) categories. Non-financial rewards, on the other hand, do not benefit employees in a monetary sense and consist of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic non-financial rewards are tangible rewards attached to the job and are given and controlled by a firm. Examples include employment security, promotion, status, relationships, and work conditions. By contrast, intrinsic rewards accrue from performing the task itself and are self-reinforcing. Job challenge, variety, and sense of achievement are good examples of this category. Reward system represents the method or mechanism (e.g., seniority-based, performance-based) by which organizations determine employee reward outcomes (e.g., pay increases). Systems can be either performance or non-performance oriented. Where performance-oriented reward systems compensate employees based on how well they perform on the job, non-performance systems compensate employees based on a different set of criteria, such as seniority/years of service, and skills/competencies. Reward criterion then, refers to the basis of allocation (i.e., individual or group) used to determine the reward. 1.2 Marriott International Marriott International is a leading, worldwide, hospitality company and has more than 2,300 operating units located in the U.S. and 59 other countries and territories. It employs approximately 154,000 workers. Fortune magazine has recognized Marriott as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America (1997-2001), one of the Top 80 Companies for Minorities (2000), and one of Americas Most Admired Companies overall (2001). In addition, Sales and Marketing Management magazine has named Marriott Sales as one of the top 25 sales forces in the U.S. (1997-2000).(mariott.com 13th jan 09) Marriott is and always has been an equal opportunities employer in all aspects of employment. The company is fully committed to providing a good and harmonious working environment that offers equal treatment and equal opportunities for all its associates, and where every associate is treated with appropriate respect and dignity. It is the companys policy that there should be no unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation of any associate, job applicant, customers, providers of service or member of public, whether in connection with recruitment, placement, training, benefits or promotion, either directly or indirectly, on grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, marital or family status(Marriott handbook for employees 2009) Marriott is committed to fair treatment of associates and to providing training and advancement opportunities to all. Marriott has an unshakeable conviction that there associates are the most important assets for them. Marriott always look forward to an environment which will always supports associates growth and development. Marriott is a reputation for employing caring, dependable associates who are ethical and trustworthy and is always keen to give a home like atmosphere and friendly workplace relationships. They always try to achieve a performance reward system that recognizes the important contributions of both hourly and management associates. There are two types of associates as explained above. Hourly associates are those employees who are paid on the basis of the hours they worked. In the other hand management associates are those who are paid a fixed salary on the basis of job content assigned to them. Marriott has been selected for the research as they are having employees from all over the world. They employ people not on the basis of ethnicity, caste and religion but on the basis of experience. As they have employees from different parts of the world their needs will be different. They will be looking forward to different types of reward schemes which will suit to their needs and will satisfy them to stay with the organisation. Research has been conducted by taking Marriott as the company because they are facing a high risk of satisfying the needs of employees who are having different tastes regarding rewards which they are looking forward from the organisation. As stated earlier, Marriott has been recognized as one of the 100 companies to work for in America by Fortune magazine. This states that the employees are satisfied to an extent with the rewards which they are allotted by the organisation. As the reward management plays a role in the organisation it will be worth doing a research on the company who cares and gives equal opportunities to each and every employee in the organisation. 1.3 Current postion 1.3.1Current Policy At present Marriott do not have an existing policy for reward system to their employees. However, their ‘unofficial approach can be viewed below. But they are considering reward management on the basis of â€Å"Spirit to serve†. It is based on the service which the associate delivers to the customer to keep the good will of the firm. The manager will nominate the name of the associate to the Human Res department according to their service. Associates name will be displayed in the notice board and sometimes this is valued more than money as an individual and as an employee. 1.3.2 Current Issues a) There is no documentation for reward management policy. b) There are currently no KPIs (key performance indicators) for monitoring and rewarding for employees performance activities. c) Human resource policy document is rarely provided to employees or its not updated. d) Literature tends to be piecemeal Employee guidelines are a separate document to the job without any details on employee recognition/reward. e) Employee recognition is applied inconsistently. f) Difficult to assess the employee performance and its questionable. g) Employee satisfaction stands at very low rate. 1.4 Expected Results Results are expected by looking through the issues regarding the current policies and try to make changes in order to get it done properly to satisfy the employees. Enhancements are required for the policies for the well being of the relationship between the employees and the employer. After this research it should be helpful for the company to implement activities and to sort out the responsibilities to the concerned parties. Reward management should be monitored and evaluated regularly .Employer should go to the next level to satisfy the reward and needs of the employees to get them done with the job allotted. 1.5 Objectives The objective of this research is to recommend improvements to Marriotts Human Resource policy. Ultimately, the policy will aim to: a) Reduce the dissatisfaction of the employees on promotion criterion, on appraisal system and on salary, bonus and other fringe benefits. b) Improve the work performance and productivity c) Reduce the level of occupational stress that arises from feeling of inequality on reward. d) Describe HRM, IHRM and its importance and various HRM strategies and its importance in the current scenario. e) Identify and analyse various factors that drive employees to dissatisfaction f) Analyse various factors that motivates the employees to stay with the organisation. g) Reduce the perception gap on reward management system and develop a culture of high performance. In order to carry out the above objectives it is necessary to analyse:- >What are the human needs? >What are the organisation various approaches towards employee needs and satisfaction 1.6 Scope The project will cover the following a) Review of all associated literature reward management in service and related industries. b) Review of the front-end activities to understand the extent of the employees work related problems and other dissatisfaction if any. c) Review of current HR policy promises and approach to recognising good work of employees d) Establish links with enhanced HR strategy The project applies to All UK domestic and international employees working in Marriott Both emergency and normal working conditions in and out of the working hours. Establish synergies with employee Performance and HR Policy. Out of scope Developing processes or process mapping. Service delivery project to amalgamate employee and their locations / roles (Including transfers). 1.7 Overview This Report analyzed trends of reward management, and its influence in multi national companies in UK. It analyzed various approaches that the industry has taken to reward employees, primarily through literature reviews, and also through the analysis of questionnaire done with the employees from Marriott in UK .This dissertation also produced recommendations for the effective management of reward process for the improved business case. Chapter 1: This is the introductory chapter that explains the Significance of the chosen field, Aims and Objectives, Rationale, The reason for selection of multi national companies especially Marriott , and end with the Overview of the Project Report. Chapter 2: This chapter proceeds with a literature review about various HRM strategies and approaches taken for the reward scheme , and to maintain the needs of the employees in the organisation for the improved product quality and services etc. Chapter 3: This chapter illustrates the characteristics of Marriott, its business nature, global exposure and the various issues that the industry is currently facing in case of reward management Chapter 4: This chapter explains various research methodologies that are used for collecting data and information to carry out various analyses that are required to complete the research and documentation. Chapter 5: This chapter analyses various reasons in order to maintain a good reward management. This is carried out through literature analysis and through data analysis of the Survey conducted on various employees from the Marriott industry in UK. This chapter ends with the findings from the analysis with critical evaluations. Chapter 6: This chapter explains evaluated recommendations for the findings to the reward management of employees, as a management strategy for improving the brand standards. Chapter 7: this chapter gives conclusion about the future development in the industry if the reward management schemes have been allocated properly, which may provide a solution for the future possible issues. Literature Review The basic mantra for the success of any business organization is the appropriate allocation and usage of resources. The most important resources comprise of four Ms man, material, money and machine. The dissertation under consideration deals with the first ‘M that is the manpower or the employees of an organization. They are the backbone as they put every plan into action which is inevitable for the success of a company. So their importance in business cannot be ruled out and they form the backbone of every organization because they determine the success and failure rates. Since the most important set of public for an organization is its workforce which forms the key ingredient of its success, it is a necessary fact that the employees must be kept happy and well bonded. In todays competitive labour market, irrespective of the size of the organization it has become a major concern to attract and retain employees. One of the important reasons underlying the high turnover is low job satisfaction, appreciation and non competitive benefits package. Corporate should keep one point in mind that there is no lack of opportunities for a talented person. So if he/she is not satisfied means they will switch over to some other firm which provides them with more suitable job. So in order to retain the employees and make them happy, there are so many ways like appreciation, recognition, incentives and awards .In addition to that several motivational tools should be implemented from time to time to keep the employees morale high. These promotional items make for a smart tool because they serve as a token of gratitude and also show that you care. It is a great way of thanking the employees for their services .Moreover they are also expecting some sort of recognition from the company and promotional items help to do just that. Making the employees happy as well as a feel that they are cared is very important if the organization wants them to exhibit performance in a desired manner. Promotional items also give a sense of recognition to the employees. Thus it helps in the strong bonding between employees and the employer which ultimately leads to the smooth functioning and a pleasant work environment which is a must for an organization aiming to reach at the top. In the 1920s, the view on a persons role in the industrial working world started to change, the human was beginning to be seen as a subject with potential (Kressler, 2003). As described by Wilson† Technology can be replicated, capital can be acquired, and distribution channels can be created through new alliances, but the actions of people (what they do or fail to do) have become the critical factor in achieving enduring success† (Wilson, 2002, p.15). Todays competitive world demands the firm to invest in people and skills rather than spending huge capital on physical assets, then only they can achieve competitive advantage .Thus its no surprise that a reward strategy can help the organizations to attract and retain the talented ones and to motivate them to led the company to its desired goal . Companies in the service sectors require skilled and committed workforce to exhibit desired performance and also provide good services in a timely manner to their targeted consumers in various countries across the world .Commitment towards job and in return job satisfaction are unavoidable for the successful growth of the companies across the globe. All these facts interested the researcher to select this topic for research to analyze the reasons for the dissatisfaction of job and various factors which helps in motivating the employees of different sectors especially service sector. Kressler, H.W. (2003). Motivate and Reward Performance appraisal and incentive systems for business success. (S. Pearce, Trans). NY: Palgrave Macmillan. (Original work published 1988.) Wilson, T. B. (2002). Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace (2nd Ed.). Blacklick,OH, USA: McGraw Hill Companies. Retrieved 20071108,from http://site.ebrary.com.bibl.proxy.hj.se/lib/jonhh/Top?layout=documentid=10153055?nosr=1 2.1 Employee An employee can be defined as an individual who was hired by an employer to do a specific job(web.01). He has to do a specific job efficiently within a functional area or department to accomplish the goals of the firm. In most of the organizations a performance development planning process is undergone which will define the specific task of the employee as well as their expected performance. Employees trade their knowledge, skill and experience in exchange for compensation from the firm. If they are not satisfied with the compensation means the propensity to switch the company will be high, this will result in high turnover. So its high time to give importance to the rewards. Employees, considered as human resources of the organization are used for the benefit of the organizations, employees and the society. (Aswathappa, 2008). In order to drive the flow of business in the right direction for better results they have to be valued, respected, encouraged and appreciated .These can be done with the help of rewards. In a good working environment with efficient working methods and equipments employees will exhibit a better work performance and in addition to that natural motivation to do a job for an appropriate reward will surely pave the way for improved productivity and high profitability. For service sector employees are the most important factor, so implementation of new reward strategies and techniques are unavoidable for high quality performance of the employees, also to reduce the high turnover rate. 2.1.1 Impact of Changes on Employees Change is an inevitable part of life especially in the fast changing world. Todays commercial climate is compelling companies to implement changes in order to survive and grow in the global market. Changes always uproot a person and alter his lifestyle. The organizations adopt changes in order to meet the current standards; its employees also have to undergo change and should accept the new circumstances. Due to the technological, social and economic changes employees face a lot of insecurity and its the human nature to resist those changes without knowing about its real benefits. Its the duty of the management to handle this delicate situation in a tactful manner. One of the effective ways is to motivate and encourage the employees to put their best effort under the changing circumstances so that the net result will be high profitability and ultimate success of the business. By creating a good working environment and high morale, employees wont be negatively affected by the new changes. In order to cope up with the commercial changes companies need to be competitive and should attract employees to the job as well as should retain the employees. Employee compensation and benefit packages are the backing up factors for many potential employees who may face discomfort in their work environment due to the social, economical and technical changes without financially jeopardizing the success of the business. Today its a necessary fact that irrespective of the changes which companies are undergoing they should keep their employees motivated by providing them with rewards and recognition. So by communicating the change to the employees, by making them clearly understand about its impact on organization and its benefits, the company can encourage them to do the work in an efficient manner and in exchange employees will get the rewards for their expected performance. 2.1.2 Employee Management Engagement Employee management is the key to effective performance management and employee engagement. Employee engagement is the psychological commitment of employees towards their job. As said by Charles Kettering There is a great difference between knowing and understanding†. It holds true in the case of business and employees. Know your employees and make them understand about the goals to be accomplished. Understanding in business means the proper management of the employees and providing them with what they expect in return for their commitment and efficient work. Compensation can take the form of rewards, recognition, and reasonable benefits package. The first and foremost need for the employee management is the right employee for the right job. The keynote tip which helps to exercise a proper employee management are Structure establishment, which means that there should be a well defined structure for bringing out the desires performance from the employees such as setting of deadlines for a specific task etc. Another one is the value for employees. An organizations greatest asset are its employees so they should be motivated as well as their skills, knowledge and effort should be valued. Company should treat employees with respect by providing a positive work environment to the employees which will definitely boost their performance and to encourage them to meet the goals in an efficient manner. Listen to the employees and appreciate them for the effort they put to meet the goals and provide them ways to improve their potential, thereby creating belief that the company is taking care of them. If the organization wants to capture great heights, all it need is an engaged workforce. It is connected to three forces in an organization attrition, productivity and profitability. In order to reduce the attrition rate organizations should take care of the employees by incrementing their salaries, providing necessary incentives and bonus. Engaged workforce are always aware about the degree of expectation of work by the organization which yields high productivity. Thus they will result in an increase in the profitability of a concern which is the relative measure of success of a business. 2.2 Human Resource Management The overall management process represent five basic functions for the managers to perform: planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling. This research focuses on one of those functions the staffing which is the personnel management or human resource management (HRM) function. Human Resource Management is the process of acquiring, training, appraising and compensating employees and of attending to their labour relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns (Dessler, 2008pg 2). Heathfield, (2008) defined â€Å"Human Resource Management (HRM) as the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work in the organization†. This can be further explained as â€Å"Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training†(Heathfield, 2008). HRM is vital to the organization. It is the function which focuses its direction towards the management of people working in an organization. Dessler and Chiat (2009) states that, ‘Without HRM, organizations may find themselves in different kinds of unwanted situations, such as hiring the wrong people, getting fined by government ministries for unsafe practices, finding out that people are not giving their best, or even over/under- paying their employees. The most valued asset of an organization is its employees because improved quality and productivity can be achieved through trained, motivated and committed employees. The function of HRM is nothing but to train, motivate and provide the employees with opportunities to be more productive and effective. Since each and every objective of business is achieved through its effective workforce, the needs of the employees should be satisfied. 2.2.1 HRM Models HR systems and the organization structure should be managed in a way that is congruent with organizational strategy (hence the name ‘matching model) (Armstrong, 2006). They further explained that there is a human resource cycle, which consists of four generic processes or functions that are performed in all organizations (Armstrong, 2006 pg 10). 1. Selection matching available human resources to jobs. 2. Appraisal performance management 3. Rewards the reward system is one of the most under-utilized and mishandled managerial tools for driving organizational performance; it must reward short as well as long-term achievements, bearing in mind that ‘business must perform in the present to succeed in the future. 4. Development developing high quality employees. 2.2.2 Nature and Scope The role of HRM has grown broader and more strategic over time. In the earliest firms â€Å"personnel† first took over hiring and firing from the supervisors, ran the payroll department, and administered benefit plans (Dessler, 2008pg 12). As technology in areas like testing and interviewing began to emerge, the personnel department began to play an expanded role in employee selection, training and promotion. Today globalization, technological and nature of work trends mean that human resource managers have taken on several new responsibilities (Dessler, 2008pg 12). Human resource management involves all management decisions and action that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and its employees-its human resources (Armstrong, 2006). Human Resource Management is pervasive in nature as it is present in all enterprises. Its focus is on results rather than on rules. HRM helps employees to develop their potential fully.HRM try to help employees develop their potential fully and to encourages employees to give their best to the organization. It is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results. It helps an organization meet its goals in the future by providing for competent and well-motivated employees. It tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various levels in the organization. It is a multidisciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from, for example psychology and economics. The Human Resource Management activities extend from selection to layoff of an employee in an organization. This includes the fixation of remuneration, training, motivation and induction of employees. Thus it helps to develop other industrial relations for employees to acquire more skills and competencies (Aswathappa, 2008).The functional diagram of HRM is given in 2.2 which clearly defines the interrelation between various functions which enable the organization to achieve its objectives by providing guidance and support on all matters relating to its employees. The scope of HRM can be limited to three aspects: 1. Personnel which mainly deals with the selection, recruitment, manpower planning, placement, promotion, training, development, remuneration, incentives, productivity, layoff and retrenchment. (web 02) 2. Welfare which is concerned with working conditions and amenities such as crà ¨ches, canteens, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities. (web 02) 3. Industrial aspect that covers union-management relations, joint consultation, collective bargaining, grievance and disciplinary procedures, settlement of disputes, etc. (web 02) Web 02- http://expertscolumn.com/content/human-resource-management-nature-scope-objectives-and-function 2.2.2 Objectives of HRM The objectives of HRM are to help the organization to reach its goals, to ensure effective utilization and maximum development of human resources, to ensure respect for human being, to identify and satisfy the needs of individual, to ensure reconciliation of individual goals with those of the organization, to achieve and maintain high morale among employees, to provide the organization with well-trained and well-motivated employees, to increase the employees job satisfaction and self-actualization to the fullest, to develop and maintain a quality work life, to be ethically and socially responsive to the needs of society, to develop overall personality of each employee in its multidimensional aspect, to enhance employees capabilities to perform the present job, to equip the employees with precision and clarity in transaction of business and to inculcate the sense of team spirit, team work and inter-team collaboration. The above mentioned aims can be summarized as â€Å"the overall aim of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people† (Armstrong, 2006 pg8) 2.2.3 HRM Functions In order to achieve the above objectives, Human Resource Management undertakes some functions; some of them are Human resource or manpower planning, recruitment, selection and placement of personnel, training and development of employees, appraisal of performa

Education and Girls Essay

This strategy is a first step to get us back on track. It acknowledges that we all need to do substantially more to help girls get into school. It reminds us of the value of education for lifting nations out of instability and providing a more promising future to their people. And regardless of whether they live in a wealthy or poor country, nothing has as much impact on a child’s future wellbeing as their mother’s level of education. We do not need complex international negotiations to help solve the problem of education. We just need to listen to governments, local communities, children, parents and teachers who know what challenges remain. And we need to provide them with enough funding to put their ideas on education into practice. To this end, we plan to spend at least ? 1. 4 billion over the next three years. This money will provide additional support to governments and more resources to strengthen international efforts to coordinate action on girls’ education. The example set by countries like Malawi, where the Minister for Education announced free schooling and immediately increased enrolment rates, shows just what can be achieved when there is a clearly defined plan of action and enough political will to implement it. In 2005, the UK will hold the Presidencies of the G8 and the EU. We will use our leadership role to make achieving gender parity in education a priority for the international community. iii Girls’ education: towards a better future for all As Meda Wagtole’s words make clear, keeping our promise on girls’ education will not just give girls better prospects; it holds the key to giving their families, communities and countries a better future as well. Rt Hon Hilary Benn, MP iv Contents Foreword iii Summary 1 1. Introduction 2 Education matters 2. Education is a right – but it is still beyond the reach of many 3 A timely strategy 4 What prevents girls from getting a quality education? 6 Educating girls is costly for families 7 Girls may face a poor and hostile school environment 9 2. Women have a weak position in society Conflict hurts girls most Tackling girls’ education on the ground 12 12 Making girls’ education affordable 15 Making schools work for all girls 17 Charities, religious and other voluntary organisations are good for girls 18 Supporting policies that work 19 Focusing international efforts on girls’ education. 21 More resources are needed 21 Donor actions in support of country-led development 22 International organisations need to work together for girls’ education 23 Civil society’s role in building global momentum and local support 5. 11 Political leadership and empowerment of women matter 4. 11 Tackling social exclusion 3. 10 24 Towards a better future for all 27 Annexes 29 Endnotes 33 v vi Summary There are still 58 million girls worldwide who are not in school. The majority of these girls live in subSaharan Africa and South and West Asia. A girl growing up in a poor family in sub-Saharan Africa has less than a one-in-four chance of getting a secondary education. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to get as many girls as boys into primary and secondary school by 2005 is likely to be missed in more than 75 countries. We need to make much better progress. There is growing international commitment and consensus on what can be done to improve girls’ education. This strategy sets out the action DFID will take and the leadership we will provide, with others in the international community, to ensure equality of education between men and women, boys and girls. †¢ We will work to narrow the financing gap for education. Over the next three years, DFID plans to spend more than ? 1. 4 billion of aid on education. †¢ We will work with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen its capacity to co-ordinate action on girls’ education. †¢ We will use the UK’s Presidencies of the G8 and EU and our role as co-chair of the Fast-Track Initiative (FTI) to push gender equality in education up the political agenda. †¢ We will support the efforts of governments in developing countries to produce plans that prioritise girls’ education. This will include providing financial help to those wanting to remove school fees. †¢ We will work with our development partners to increase educational opportunities for girls; civil society will be a key partner in this work. †¢ We will increase our efforts to promote awareness within the UK of girls’ education in poor countries. Educating girls helps to make communities and societies healthier, wealthier and safer, and can also help to reduce child deaths, improve maternal health and tackle the spread of HIV and AIDS. It underpins the achievement of all the other MDGs. That is why the target date was set as 2005. That is also why in 2000, at the Dakar Conference, donors promised that every country with a sound education plan would get the resources it needed to implement it. Progress has been hampered by a number of factors: a lack of international political leadership, a global funding gap of an estimated $5. 6 billion a year for education, a lack of plans and capacity within national education systems to improve the access to and quality of schooling for girls, and locally many poor families who simply cannot afford to send their children to school. This paper marks a new phase in the UK’s support to girls’ education. Now is the time to act. 1 1 Chapter One Introduction Education matters In September 2000, 188 heads of state from around the world signed the Millennium Declaration and established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). While most goals aim to achieve significant progress in development by 2015, one goal was to be achieved by 2005 – gender parity in primary and secondary education. But, more than 75 countries are likely to miss this goal. We are falling well short of our promise. Women are at the heart of most societies. Regardless of whether they are working or not, mothers are very influential people in children’s lives. Educating girls is one of the most important investments that any country can make in its own future. Education has a profound effect on girls’ and women’s ability to claim other rights and achieve status in society, such as economic independence and political representation. As the following examples demonstrate, having an education can make an enormous difference to a woman’s chances of finding well-paid work, raising a healthy family and preventing the spread of diseases such as HIV and AIDS. †¢ †¢ 2 An educated woman is 50 per cent more likely to have her children immunised against childhood diseases. 3 †¢ †¢ An infant born to an educated woman is much more likely to survive until adulthood. In Africa, children of mothers who receive five years of primary education are 40 per cent more likely to live beyond age five. 2 †¢ A South African girl at her high school graduation. ( © Giacomo Pirozzi/Panos) Women with at least a basic education are much less likely to be poor. Providing girls with one extra year of schooling beyond the average can boost their eventual  wages by 10 to 20 per cent. 1 If we had reached the gender parity goal by 2005, more than 1 million childhood deaths could have been averted. 4 For every boy newly infected with HIV in Africa, there are between three and six girls newly infected. Yet, in high-prevalence areas such as Swaziland, two-thirds of teenage girls in school are free from HIV, while two-thirds of out-of-school girls are HIV positive. In Uganda, children who have been to secondary school are four times less likely to become HIV positive. 5 Introduction. Education is a right – but it is still beyond the reach of many For all these reasons, girls’ education has long been recognised as a human right. Past international commitments include addressing gender equality within the education system, the first step to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women (see Annex 2). This right to education is denied to 58 million girls, and a further 45 million boys, even at the primary school level. 6 More than 75 countries are likely to miss the 2005 MDG target for gender parity in primary and secondary enrolments. 7 One-third of these countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. On current trends, more than 40 per cent of all countries with data are at risk of not achieving gender parity at primary, secondary or both levels of education even by 2015. Figure 1. 1: Prospects for gender parity in primary enrolments Progress towards the target Gender parity in primary enrolments At risk of not achieving by 2015 Likely to achieve by 2015 Likely to achieve by 2005 Achieved in 2000 (20) (14) (13) (78) Source: Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2003-04. Grey shading indicates lack of data. These figures hide significant variation across continents, across countries, and across communities. †¢ There are 23 million8 girls out of school in sub-Saharan Africa, distributed across more than 40 countries. A further 22 million out-of-school girls are in South and West Asia, yet the majority of these are concentrated in just two countries: India and Pakistan. †¢ In Niger, less than one-third of all school-aged girls are enrolled in primary school. By contrast, in Rwanda more than four out of every five girls are enrolled in primary school. †¢ In Mali, the proportion of girls enrolled in primary school is around six  times higher in the city of Bamako than in the more remote areas of Mali. 3 1 Girls’ education: towards a better future for all There is an alarming difference between the numbers of girls attending primary and secondary school. The vast majority of school-aged girls in sub-Saharan Africa are not enrolled in secondary school, because the relatively high costs of secondary education are acting as a major disincentive for poorer parents. In Pakistan, the gross enrolment rate for girls in secondary education is 19 per cent. 9 In Niger, Tanzania and Chad it is only five per cent. There are exceptions to the rule, but generally in countries where girls fare poorly in primary education compared with boys, they do even worse in secondary education, as illustrated by the graph in Annex 3. Nevertheless, countries are making progress, sometimes dramatically so. †¢ In Bangladesh, equal numbers of girls and boys now enter secondary school. In 1990, there were only half as many girls as boys in secondary education. †¢ Nepal has nearly nine girls for every ten boys enrolled in primary school, compared with seven girls for every ten boys in 1990. †¢ In Kenya, over 1 million extra children have enrolled in primary school since the removal of school user fees in 2003. A timely strategy This paper is a first step to identifying – and implementing – the actions that will allow us collectively to keep the promises we made. 10 It serves as a reminder for us to speed up the work we are doing in education. Examples of our work in education include: †¢ Supporting education in Nigeria where there are 7. 3 million children of primary age out of school, of whom 62 per cent are girls. 11 The federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria is implementing an education programme with support from UNICEF and DFID to achieve gender parity and universal basic education. DFID is providing a ? 26 million grant, which will directly benefit girls as well as boys in six northern states. †¢ Allocating ? 10. 8 million to the government of Kenya initiative SPRED III (Strengthening of Primary Education), which aims to reduce the burden of the cost of primary education on parents. In the first year of this programme, enrolments increased from 5. 9 million to over 7 million and are still rising. Listening to local people has been an invaluable way of identifying the main constraints that keep girls from entering school, remaining in school, and learning effectively. Our country experience is also providing us with concrete evidence of how governments are overcoming these challenges. We are using this evidence of what works as the basis for the actions we intend to take to speed up progress on girls’ education. 4 Introduction DFID’s experience in tackling girls’ education is drawn from the 25 priority countries where our work is focused. Our education effort in these countries is aimed at supporting governments to provide education for all, particularly for girls. These 25 countries contain nearly three-quarters of all girls who do not have access to basic education as shown in Figure 1. 2. Global support for development, while on the rise, remains well below what is needed to make achieving the MDGs a reality, particularly in countries that are unable to work towards poverty reduction. International bilateral support for education amounts to about $4 billion a year, with much of this money going towards secondary and university schooling. International support for basic education is less than $1 billion a year – less than $2 a year for every school-aged child in the developing world. We need to do better. And we can do better. Figure 1. 2: Distribution of girls out of school in DFID’s 25 priority countries Outside DFID’s 25 priority countries 28% DFID’s 25 priority countries 72% India Rwanda Lesotho Cambodia Malawi Zimbabwe Zambia Vietnam South Africa Nepal Mozambique Ghana DRC, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda (separate data not available) Kenya Indonesia Bangladesh Pakistan Sudan United Republic of Tanzania Afghanistan China Ethiopia 5 2 Chapter Two. What prevents girls from getting a quality education? In many countries and communities in both the developed and the developing world, parents can take it for granted that their daughters receive a quality education. Yet in many other places around the world, providing every child with an education appears to be beyond reach. There are five main challenges we identify that make it difficult for girls to access education. These include: †¢ the cost of education – ensuring that communities, parents and children can afford schooling; †¢ poor school environments – ensuring that girls have access to a safe school environment; †¢ the weak position of women in society – ensuring that society and parents value the education of girls; †¢ conflict – ensuring that children who are excluded due to conflict have access to schooling; and †¢ social exclusion – ensuring girls are not disadvantaged on the basis of caste, ethnicity, religion or disability. These challenges are not exhaustive, but they are recurrent themes in many countries. They constitute additional hurdles girls need to overcome to benefit from quality education. As donors, we need to support countries in meeting these challenges. Ours is a supporting role, not a leading role. And our support works best if it is based on countries’ own national strategies to reduce poverty and make progress in education. In particular we need to support countries to have in place the essential elements of quality education for girls (see Box 2. 1). 6 What prevents girls from getting a quality education? Box 2. 1 Essential elements of quality education for girls †¢ Schools – is a school within a reasonable distance; does it have proper facilities for girls; is it a safe environment and commute; is it free of violence? If not, parents are unlikely to ever send their daughter to school. †¢ Teachers – is there a teacher; are they skilled; do they have appropriate teaching materials? Is it a female teacher? Are there policies to recruit teachers from minority communities? If not, girls may not learn as much at school and drop out. †¢ Students – is she healthy enough; does she feel safe; is she free from the burden of household chores or the need to work to supplement the family income; is there a water source close by? If not, she may never have a chance to go to school. †¢ Families – does she have healthy parents who can support a family; does her family value education for girls; can her family afford the cost of schooling? If not, economic necessity may keep her at home. †¢ Societies – will the family’s and the girl’s standing in the community rise with an education; will new opportunities open up? If not, an education may not be in the family’s interest. †¢ Governments – does the government provide adequate resources to offer sufficient school places; do salaries reach the teachers; do teachers receive quality training; is the government drawing in other agencies to maximise the provision of schooling; is there a clear strategy and budget based on the specific situation faced by girls? If not, the conditions above are unlikely to be fulfilled. †¢ Donors – are donors supporting governments to provide adequate resources; do donors contribute to analysing and addressing the challenges girls face; are donors conscious of local customs and traditions; are donors prioritising the countries’ needs rather than their own agendas or existing programmes? If not, governments may simply not be in a position to provide a reasonable chance for all girls to get a quality education. Educating girls is costly for families. The education of girls is seen as economically and socially costly to parents. Costs come in four forms: tuition fees and other direct school fees; indirect fees (such as PTA fees, teachers’ levies and fees for school construction and building); indirect costs (such as transportation and uniforms); and opportunity costs (such as lost household or paid labour). These costs have a significant impact on whether and which children are educated. 7 2 Girls’ education: towards a better future for all. Educating girls can incur extra direct costs, such as special transport or chaperones for safety and ‘decency’. The price of attending school for the 211 million economically active children may be the family losing vital income. 12 An education may actually reduce girls’ marriage prospects and raise dowry payments to unaffordable levels. Investing in sons, rather than daughters, is perceived as bringing higher financial returns for families as boys are more likely to find work and be paid a higher salary. The high cost of education is the biggest deterrent to families educating their daughters. Many of the countries DFID prioritises for support have removed tuition fees or are working towards their removal. For example, there are no tuition fees in our Asia priority countries except Pakistan, and a number of Africa priority countries have recently removed school fees. In Africa, school fee removal has led to a dramatic increase in enrolments. A girl does her homework on the blackboard painted on the wall of her house in Ghana. Her older sister, with baby on her back, checks her exercise book. ( © Sven Torfinn/Panos) But it has also increased the cost of education for governments. For example, in Uganda, it is projected that there will be a 58 per cent increase in the total number of primary school students between 2002 and 2015, requiring more than double the number of teachers. Given that teachers’ salaries are the single biggest cost in education budgets, this represents a high burden. Most governments have increased both their education budget and the share that is allocated to primary education to finance these extra costs. But the challenge remains to find enough money to sustain an education of sufficient quality – while simultaneously reducing other costs that prevent children from poor families, especially girls, from enrolling. 8 What prevents girls from getting a quality education? Box 2. 2 AIDS – making the household economics worse Girls are often the first to be taken out of school to provide care for sick family members or to take responsibility for siblings when death or illness strike. 13 A sudden increase in poverty, which accompanies AIDS in the household, undermines the ability to afford school. The fear of infection through abuse or exploitation in or on the way to school particularly affects girls and may reduce attendance. Orphans seem to be at greater risk of exploitation. In the worst cases, girls may resort to prostitution to provide for themselves and the family. In Zambia, the majority of child prostitutes are orphans, as are the majority of street children in Lusaka. 14 Programmes of support are often not targeted to these most vulnerable groups. Girls may face a poor and hostile school environment A school environment that may be acceptable to boys may be hostile to girls. The physical and sexual violence against women that is common in many societies is reflected in the school environment in a number of countries. Physical abuse and abduction are not only a major violation of girls’ basic human rights, they also present a major practical constraint in getting to school. Parents feel a duty to protect their daughters and may decide to keep them at home if they feel the school is too far away. Violence against girls and women has been identified as a key barrier to girls’ education in many DFID programmes. In South Africa, DFID supports Soul City, an educational television soap opera that raises public awareness of violence against girls and women. Within developing countries, better recruitment procedures and working conditions need to be adopted to help increase the number of women teachers, who often become important role models for the young women they teach. Teachers need training to be effective in supporting girls and to intervene when violence is threatened. When teachers themselves perpetrate violence, early response systems need to be implemented to prevent such violence continuing. Alongside training to combat all forms of discrimination in the classroom, there needs to be an effective monitoring and inspection system that engages teachers, especially where there are violations of teacher authority. Governments also need more education officials and teachers who have the knowledge, understanding and status to ensure that girls have access to quality education. 15 Expertise is required to assess the problems and solutions for the education system according to the country context and real need, rather than the trends of the development agencies. 9 2 Girls’ education: towards a better future for all Women have a weak position in society Within communities, girls have to overcome many obstacles before they can realise their right to an education. DFID’s recent partnership with UNICEF to support the federal government of Nigeria will help overcome many of the problems girls have in gaining access to school and remaining there. Before girls can attend school and benefit fully from their education, a number of major social constraints have to be addressed. Girls often have limited control over their futures. Early marriage is a reality for many, where families wish for the social and economic benefits this brings. In Bangladesh and Afghanistan, more than 50 per cent of girls are married by age 18. 16 Adolescent pregnancy almost always results in girls halting their education. Girls are also more likely to drop out of school because of their domestic responsibilities, and are often discriminated against in terms of the quality of the schools they are sent to, and the costs parents are willing to pay for their education. Despite the progress being made, gender equality is likely to take generations to achieve. The UK’s own history illustrates the relationship between women’s position in society and the demands for better education for girls. One reinforces the other, but change comes slowly. Box 2. 3 Progress on gender equality in education in the UK Until the 1960s, many British girls were directed towards the commercial and technical streams in secondary school, and did not acquire qualifications for higher paying employment. Until the mid-1980s, for instance, it was still relatively unusual for girls to do well in or continue studying subjects such as mathematics or science to university level. However, the 1990s saw a sharp rise in girls’ performances at school. This has been linked to a range of factors, including families’ prioritisation of their daughters’ education, a shift in perceptions of gender linked to the women’s movements in the 1960s and 1970s, government policies on comprehensive schools, promoting further education and reform of the exam system and gender equality strategies in local education authorities and schools. Policies such as, areas in schools just for girls, strong anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies, and the promotion of science and mathematics for girls were put in place. In addition, growth in the service sector facilitated demand for girls in the labour market. Currently there is concern about why improved academic performance for girls has not translated into equality in employment opportunities and earning power. 17 10 What prevents girls from getting a quality education? Conflict hurts girls most Girls are particularly vulnerable to abuse and unequal access to schooling in fragile states. States can be fragile for a range of reasons, including conflict, lack of resources and people, high levels of corruption, and political instability. What sets these countries apart is their failure to deliver on the core functions of government, including keeping people safe, managing the economy, and delivering basic services. Violence and disease, as well as illiteracy and economic weakness, are most intensively concentrated in these areas. Of the 104 million children not in primary school globally, an estimated 37 million of them live in fragile states. Many of these children are girls. 18 Girls’ absence from school may be due to fears of violence or due to the reliance on their role as carers in the family. In Rwanda, for example, it is estimated that up to 90 per cent of child-headed households are headed by girls. 19 For girls who have been victims of violence in conflict situations, trauma can impair their ability to learn. More than 100,000 girls directly participated in conflicts in the 1990s, yet they are often invisible in demobilisation programmes. 20 Our humanitarian support and education support programmes in Rwanda have demonstrated the importance of education in promoting peace and protecting human resources in countries emerging from conflict. Our work in these environments is a reminder of the need to link education with attempts to build democracy, provide better health systems, offer social protection to the very poorest and develop multilingual and multicultural policies. Tackling social exclusion Social exclusion is an additional barrier to girls going to school. Certain groups of girls are more likely to be excluded from school on the basis of caste, ethnicity, religion or disability. In Nepal, Dalit girls are almost twice as likely to be excluded from school as higher caste girls. In Malawi, Muslim girls are more likely to be excluded than their non-Muslim counterparts. Disabled children, and among them disabled girls in particular, constitute a significant group that is denied access to education. In a recent World Bank report it is estimated that only about 1-5 per cent of all disabled children and young people attend schools in developing countries. 21 At the World Conference on Special Education Needs in Salamanca, 92 countries and 25 international organisations committed themselves to providing educational opportunities for disabled people. The challenge is to support governments to act on this commitment, and provide quality education for excluded groups. In India we have worked with the government to address social exclusion in the government of India’s SSA (Education for All) plan. 11 3 Chapter Three Tackling girls’ education on the ground As outlined in the previous chapter, countries wanting to develop and implement a policy of promoting girls’ education face a number of challenges. But for every challenge, there are examples of promising good practice that should form the basis of the way ahead. DFID will support governments to: †¢ strengthen political leadership and empower women; †¢ make girls’ education affordable; and †¢ make schools work for all girls. We will also support NGOs, religious and other voluntary organisations. This support will enable governments to develop poverty reduction strategies and education sector plans to improve girls’ access to quality education. And we will provide increased and flexible funding to support the development and implementation of national plans. 22 DFID’s bilateral funding commitments for basic education averaged at ? 150 million a year up to 2001. Since the World Education Forum at Dakar and the Millennium Summit in 2000, the UK has significantly increased its new commitments for education programmes and we will continue to do so. As a result, we expect to spend an average of ? 350 million a year on education (a total of over ? 1 billion) over the period 2005-06 to 2007-08. This would roughly double the resources going directly to education programmes in developing countries since we first adopted the MDGs. In addition to our bilateral contributions, we expect to spend ? 370 million through multilateral agencies, bringing our total funding for education over the next three years to over ? 1. 4 billion. 23 Political leadership and empowerment of women matter We will support governments in their efforts to create political leadership for women’s empowerment. We know that national leaders who speak out against gender inequality can have a significant impact. Heads of government in Oman, Morocco, China, Sri Lanka and Uganda have advocated strongly in support of girls’ education. Women leaders have been particularly effective. Ethiopia has benefited from the long-standing involvement of the Minister of Education, who has also been chair of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Successes in Ethiopia demonstrate the importance of local leadership, as in Yemen, Mexico, India, and Egypt. However, political leadership needs to be accompanied by demand for change at the grassroots level. Without it, new initiatives may have little support, and policy makers may divert the resources earmarked for girls to other purposes. The example in Box 3. 1 shows sustained political support to girls’ education. 12 Tackling girls’ education on the ground Box 3. 1 Supporting political leadership: the case of Yemen Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and has high gender disparities in education. Gross enrolment rates for girls are only two-thirds as high as those for boys at primary school and only half as high at secondary school. In 2003, the Yemen government committed itself to full primary enrolment by 2015, with a special emphasis on gender equity. Girls’ education is now a central element of Yemen’s poverty reduction strategy and the Basic Education Development Strategy. Some of the factors, which made this possible include: †¢ personal commitment from prominent Yemenis, for example the first Minister for Human Rights in the 2000 government; †¢ sustained donor commitment, UNICEF’s support to the 2000 Girls’ Education Strategy being a prominent example; and †¢ the establishment of Girls’ Education Units in the Ministry of Education at central and local levels since the 1990s. This led to Yemen becoming one of the countries to receive support under the global Education for All Fast-Track Initiative. DFID has been a partner in this process, providing ? 15 million towards the government’s US$121 million Basic Education Development Project alongside the Netherlands and the World Bank. Empowering adult women – building their confidence and education levels – can have a powerful impact on enrolling more girls in schools. Evidence from countries such as Uganda, Nepal, Bangladesh and Ghana24 shows that women who participate in literacy classes are more likely to send their children to school, keep them there, and watch their progress closely. 13 3 Girls’ education: towards a better future for all Box 3. 2. Supporting women’s empowerment and demand for girls’ education in India: Mahila Samakhya in India Mahila Samakhya, a programme implemented by the government of India in several states, is concerned to transform women’s lives through education. The programme facilitates the establishment of Samoohs (women’s groups) which provide women benefits such as education, health schemes and savings and credit. A large number of Samoohs have run campaigns for girls’ education, which have increased girls’ access to education. Many Samoohs have also built Jagjagis, non-formal education centres, often.

The Hidden Truth About College Essay Outline Samples

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