Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Essay on Employee Motivation - 1738 Words

Employee Motivation Motivation is an important aspect in many organizations. In our organization motivation is a key to the success. When evaluating administrative staff, sales people, and production workers, each department works well utilizing different theories. One theory could not work adequately for all three; therefore, three theories were used. Production workers utilize the Two-factor theory; sales people use Vrooms expectancy theory and the Equity theory works for the administrative staff. Combining all three theories into one organization helps the organization run smoothly, while gaining successful motivation on all levels. Sales People Sales people rely on motivation that is accomplished through a process; this†¦show more content†¦The third phase of Vroom?s expectancy theory is setting their rewards. This phase is also referred to as the valence phase (2003, p.21). Managers in this phase need to take a look at different motivators that will help the sales person achieve higher performance. The manager should take into consideration the different cultures, and groups that are within the organization. According to Schermerhorn, Osborn and Hunt, researchers have defined two separate types of rewards. They are extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards (2003, p.22). Extrinsic rewards are when the reward is of monetary value. The sales person is motivated by a possible promotion, or an increase in salary. Intrinsic rewards are positive work outcomes that the individual receives directly as a result of their performance. They have a feeling of achievement or satisfaction, which is recognized by his or her managers . Sometimes this type of reward can be of monetary value, such as a trip or added time off. Whatever the reward, the manager should be sensitive to the different groups so that they are able to maintain high performance levels. When combining all three aspects of Vroom?s expectancy theory, the outcome will be good if the manager takes into consideration each work effort. If any one of the three factors is low, then motivation in the team or group will be low. The manager needs to clearly define expectations, set standards, recognize individualShow MoreRelatedThe Motivation And Employee Motivation1584 Words   |  7 PagesThe central problem that always employers and employees face is the employee motivation. The workers who put no effort to do their best in their jobs which will lead to low quality of work and give no benefit to the organization are the one who are not motivated (Amabile 1993). On the other side, employees who are apparently to be very intelligent, action oriented, ambitious, autonomous and always put an effort and sacrifice their time to put the organization at the ease are the one who feel motivatedRead MoreEmployee Motivation886 Words   |  4 PagesThis is a dissertation abstract on E mployee Motivation: Why study motivation? To state it simple you need to know motivation to be a better leader to accomplish your business goals. Employees are like sheep you need to lead them to accomplish the mission. It is much easier to lead a group of individuals when they have a vested interest to accomplish it. You create that interest through motivation. The key to a successful organization in many ways is motivation. It is one of the most difficult tasksRead MoreEmployee Motivation 1164 Words   |  5 Pages Bauer and Erdrogen (2009) define motivation as â€Å"the desire to achieve a goal or a certain performance level, leading to goal–directed behavior† (p.97). McConnell (2006) argues that true motivation is self motivation. Today, health care organizations place a lot of emphasis on production and performance. However, motivating employees is a common challenge faced by health care managers and Bauer and Erdrogen (2009) state it is also one of the factors that greatly affect performance. McConnell (2006)Read MoreMotivation of Employee2476 Words   |  10 PagesMotivation of Employee People join and work in organization to satisfy their needs. They are fascinated to organizations that have the funds of rewarding their wants. These wealth are called â€Å"incentives (compensation, benefits)† (M. Maccoby, 9) of rewards; organizations use them to initiate people to contribute their efforts on the way to achieve organizational goals. The continued existence of an organization depends on its capability to attract and stimulate people to accomplish these individualRead MoreEmployee Motivation2339 Words   |  10 PagesEmployee Motivation A question often asked by first-line supervisors and managers is â€Å"How do we motivate our employees?† Effectively motivating employees to achieve a desired outcome is one of the most important functions as a supervisor or manager. There is evidence to show organizations are facing challenges retaining employees due to limited opportunities for advancement and the current competitive labor market. It does not appear things will get any better in the future. The loss of employeesRead MoreEmployee Motivation9463 Words   |  38 PagesInsights Into Employee Motivation, Commitment and Retention Barbara J. Kreisman Ph.D. Research/White Paper Insights Denver February, 2002 The Leadership Journey is a supervisory, management, and leadership training system consisting of 24 courses delivered on DVD, CD-ROM, VHS, and Online. Call 1-800-541-7872 or visit www.btedemo.com to preview courses. Page 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 W hy Employee Retention and Motivation Is Important†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 Turbulence In The Work Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreMotivation Theories And Motivation Of Employee Motivation Essay1517 Words   |  7 Pagesour control and some that are not. Employee motivation is something that can directly affect an organizations production. It is no secret that un-motivated employees equates to un-productive workers, but how can we combat this? In order to better understand this concept we will look at the definition of employee motivation, some of the motivation theories and some motivation techniques that could be useful in our organizations. What is employee motivation? Motivation is a word used quite often in manyRead MoreMotivation And Efficiency Of Employee Motivation Essay2331 Words   |  10 PagesMotivation is defined as â€Å"the process that account for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Robbins Judge, 2016, p. 126). It is a flat out need to keep employees motivated in the workplace and boost them to perform beyond expectations. In addressing what elements of employment result in both motivation and efficiency, this paper briefly sketches some of the theories of motivation applied in workforce and analyses how these theories are appliedRead MoreEmployee Motivation And Motivation Theory1878 Words   |  8 Pagesvaluable resources for companies and them could be competitive advantages for modern companies. It is important for modern companies to improve employee satisfaction and performance so that they can improve their organisational performance and competitiveness (Armstrong, 2006). As a result, Employee’s motivation management is significantly for companies. Motivation is a cognitive process to guide, initiate, direct and maintain goal-oriented activities. It can also be defined as the driving forces directingRead MoreMotivation Strategy For Employee Motivation Essay2082 Words   |  9 Pagesthe strength and weaknesses of at least two theories of motivation. With the rapid changes of modern business environment, the competition between organizations becomes more and more fierce. In order to be competitive enough to stand out from the rest, businesses try to enhance their competitiveness by improving different area in the management aspect. In addition to, as service sector has become the most dominant industry nowadays, employee?s performance become more crucial as it can directly affect

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Sexual Assault And Its Effects On College Campus - 1090 Words

Sexual assault is something that is increasingly common on college campus’, 1 in 4 women are assaulted at some point during their university career. Some might say â€Å"are you serious? That’s some feminist propaganda!† But this is the truth, and is the reality of universities across the US and beyond. When you see a promotional video about Harvard University, they don’t show you the statistics of sexual assault/misconduct. They show you an idealized view of university, they want to show you how you can achieve the American dream! Harvard, as the top dog of ivy league universities, has one of the highest numbers of sexual assault and misconduct. They are top in education, and in crime. It’s time we address this hushed up crime, the crime that no one dares to speak of. The perpetrators are usually those you know; the one’s you have classes with or those you meet at a party. Parent’s often have an attitude where when you drop your child off to college, the college will do the right thing and help keep the student safe, but this is not the case regarding sexual assault. More than 16% of women are sexually assaulted while in college, 88% of those who are assaulted do not report because of the culture of victim blaming. When victims come to a school official for help, they are usually bombarded with statements like â€Å"what were you wearing?† â€Å"were you drunk?† â€Å"what could YOU have done differently?†, you would expect a university to care about its students and provide them withShow MoreRelatedSexual Assault On College Campuses1314 Words   |  6 Pagesthe issue of sexual assault on college campuses have been gaining popularity in the public. Campus sexual assault have been a recurring subject throughout h istory and it seems to only get bigger. People would think that college campuses will be safe due to the advance security on the campus. Hundreds of women and men are sexually assaulted on campus everyday. Many organizations have started to form in order to help victims and prevent such tragic, heinous acts from happening on campus. One of theRead MoreThe Safety Of College Campus892 Words   |  4 Pagesappropriate college can be a difficult task. Not only must one consider the cost of tuition and housing, but another consideration is the overall safety of the campus and the surrounding area. While colleges are a place of higher learning, they also have many of the similarities of the city in which the college is located. Considering the crime within the city may help determine the safety of the college. While cities must evaluate proper crime control techniques and preventions, college campusesRead MoreSexual Assault Awareness On College Campuses1607 Words   |  7 PagesBay lee Adair Mrs. Orsini English 4 8 February 2016 Sexual Assault Awareness on College Campuses One out of four women are raped each year on a college campus. College is supposed to be a time for education, freedom, and finding an identity; however, now college women have to worry about being sexually assaulted. As time progresses, the numbers keep increasing of college women being raped. Many rape cases are difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in the justice system and women areRead MoreSexual Assault On Campus : Opposing Viewpoints Essay1180 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction to Sexual Assault on Campus: Opposing Viewpoints. Sexual Assault on Campus. Ed. Jack Lasky. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. The article introduces sexual assault to readers as a problem that is in line with other forms of violence such as domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. It gives a figure of 19% undergraduate women who have reported a complete or attempted sexual assault while in campus and worthRead MoreSexual Assault Is Becoming A Big Problem On College Campuses1570 Words   |  7 Pageslives at college. Never in a million years would a student expect their college experience to turn into a nightmare. Never would they have thought that their campus would not be safe enough to walk around alone at night without carrying their keys in between their fingers like knives. A student goes to school to learn, not to get assaulted or raped. Sexual assault is becoming a big problem on college campuses, and school officials are under reporting and trying to cover up the assaults because thereRead MoreShould College Promote A Rape Culture?1594 Words   |  7 PagesCollege. It is labeled as the be st four years of anyone who is granted the opportunity to attend any university. It is a time where an individual can decide who they are and what they want to become. While this is an accurate piece of information, it also raises the question, does college promote a rape culture that is seen in society today? Often with sites, such as I’m Shmacked and others, who posts videos of college drinking, presumably of underage students. These sites promote the damagingRead MoreThe Hunting Ground, Directed By Kirby Dick1557 Words   |  7 Pagesspecifically female Penn Staters. Sexual assault is something that is frequently occurs at every university, especially this one. â€Å"At Penn State’s campus alone, since the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, almost 30 sexual assaults have been reported to local and off-campus police departments† (Thomas par. 2). Penn State University has a rich history that dates all the way back to 1855, but that history has since be en marred by the night life here in State College. Sexual assault is an extremely hot topicRead MoreThe Effects Of Binge Drinking And Sexual Assault On College Campuses1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States is a country of freedom. Most of people can find their lives which they want. Especially, the college students can join in some activates and clubs. Their campus lives are always fulfilling. However, there are still some dangers among the campus, and most is from the students themselves. Recent survey estimates provided by Fisher, Cullen, and Turner (2000) revealed that for every 1,000 women attending institutions of higher education, there may well be 35 incidents of rape in aRead MoreA Brief Note On The Common Violent Crime On American College Campuses Today1451 Words   |  6 PagesVictoria Harding October 12, 2014 WRT 205: Unit 2 Essay Clery Act at Work Rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses today. (Sampson, 2003.) Statistics from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network show that â€Å"every two minutes in the United States, someone is raped, and the chances of being that victim are four times greater for a female college student than for any other age group† (Burnett, 2009). In September of 2013, I was drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternityRead MoreSexual Assault On College Campuses998 Words   |  4 PagesWebster defines sexual assault as an illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent or who places the assailant in a position of trust or authority. Most common types of sexual assault are â€Å"acquaintance rape† and â€Å"date rape†, which both take place on college campuses but go unnoticed. There are several incidents that occur on college campuses that students that attend that particular college or university

Monday, December 9, 2019

Organization Behavior Case Study

Questions: 1.What are the Impact of Intergeration Model on overall Behavior and Attitude of existing Employees of XYZ energy 2.Recommended Strategies to Management of Big Energy for dealing with Issues faced by Employees. Answers: Introduction: The scenario depicted in the given case study analyzes the presence of cultural conflict between two groups of employees after the acquisition of XYZ energy by Big Energy. Case study intends to understand the effect of integration model which is employed by Big Energy on vales, behavior and overall attitude of individual as well as group of individual or employees in XYZ energy. After the acquisition of government organization by one of its private competitors, the impact of this restructuring is analyzed on the behavior, personality and employees performance (Aninkan and Oyewole 2014). It is depicted in the given case study that although both the organizations belong to same industry, there is an increased reluctance by management if Big energy in increasing their communication with the existing employees of XYX energy. This lead to conflicts among employees and management of both the groups. Restructuring of XYZ energy by way of acquisition has resulted in failure of acquiring comp any to maintain integrity among the employees and leading to change in attitude and behavior staffs. The given case study has been executed by analyzing the impact of integration model on followed by Big energy on behavior and attitude of staffs of XYZ energy. Later part discusses about recommendation to be provided to Big energy for dealing with the emerging issues identified in the case study. Body: 1.Integration Model Impact on Overall Behavior and Attitude of existing Employees of XYZ energy: Integration model define the process and terms with the help of which the two group of organization forms a single entity at the corporate level. Absorption of XYZ energy by Big energy incorporates synthesizing of former employees into the corporate culture of later organization. There is quite possibility that the acquired culture may be essentially the integrated company culture. In light of establishing unified system by way of acquisition, it is essential that acquired employees should adopt to newer attitude, culture and behavior (Arvinen-Muondo and Perkins 2013). Financial aspects of the organization might be impacted in good sense due to restructuring, the existing employees of XYZ energy might lack sense of importance. Overall impact of acquisition is reflected on the productivity, performance, personal values of employees. This changes from the sense of motivation and optimism to uncertainty and state of resentment. Acquisition of XYZ energy by Big energy has resulted in several adverse impact on the employees performance and behavior. Soon after the absorption of Big Energy, its core management team was removed and functional business members were made redundant. It also intended to remove majority of staffs as early as possible. In regard to this, the morale of employees of XWZ energy fell sharply and frustration arose. This was because Big Energy was more focused on maintaining its competitive position in the market by speeding up the integration rather than focusing on long-term benefits and quality. Implementation of integration model in the business of both the organization lead to increasing redundancies and dwindling of staff members (Awadh and Alyahya 2013). Therefore, the integration model has several impact on the XYZ employees values, behavior and attitude. Impact on values- Status quo of the company is challenged by the integration model, mainly in situation of XYZ employees who are anticipating their uncertainty about future. Initial impact of model has the broad range of uncertainty concerning downgrading their position, losing their jobs and their immediate managers. Every group of Big energy has employees from different culture, attitude, personality, loyalty of work toward organization. Due to the acquisition by Big energy, there is degradation in moral values of employees of XYZ energy. It is clearly evident from the given case study that employees skills are not judged by their skills and security of jobs is not determined by performance factor. Job security of employees is getting hindered resulting in degradation of moral values due to adoption of integration model (Bosman 2014). There is reducing integrity among the employees which is increasing conflicts among them and the resultant impact would be poor performance, decrease d loyalty towards the organization and increasing tendency of being absent from work. Integration of two groups has severe impact on development and growth of employees (Baker and Parkinson 2016). This reflect the lack of management in human relation skills. Prior to acquisition, XYZ Energy used to compete for their work based on merits but after it was acquired by Big energy, the employees were demotivated and lost their motivation. Impact on attitude- Attitude is regarded as the state of mind that is developed through experience or due to prevailing circumstances. Since the core management team and functional members were made redundant after acquisition, existing employees of XYZ felt demotivated and they have the anticipation that they would be struggling to make their existence in the company on merit basis. Attitude related analysis depicts that employees are facing issues due to the combined environment of both the organization, which has resulted in their changed behavior (Heine et al. 2016). Senior management of Big Energy hardly visit remote office to engage with the existing employees of XYZ and newly acquired staffs, which is impacting their attitude. Impact on behavior- Existing employees had changed behavior because of their falling morale. Value of XYZ energy resides in the loyalty of staff members which impacted the growth. However, the integration model has impacted the organization by way of diminishing of growth due to changed employees behavior. Reasons attributable to the frustration of employees was the little effort by senior management of Big energy in looking after employees welfare, quality and long-term benefits. On the other hand, it solely focused on integration process. Many employees were demotivated due to changing attitude toward organization and working conditions. Acquisition was intended to strengthen the ability of group but in the given case, there are some negative impacts leading to changed behavior of employees (Judge and Robbins 2014). 2.Recommended Strategies to Management of Big energy for dealing with Issues faced by Employees: Integration model adopted by Big energy amid acquisition aims at gaining competitive advantage that would help them in reaping profits in long run. Integration rate is the main focus of acquiring organization rather than focusing on long term benefits and quality. Management of Big energy needs to be efficient in addressing value, behavior and attitude of individual. They need to follow behavioral model of organizational efficiency, which makes the assessment about the application of managerial skills and knowledge of people examining behavior of individual. Organization is made by confidence upon the leadership, their value system (Martin 2017). The behavior of existing employees of XYZ energy should be managed by Big energy by way of understanding, controlling, describing and predicting their behavior. Under the authority, the senior management of Big energy should describe individual behavior by recognizing their attitude. Situation of organization should be kept under check by pointing the behavior. When employees are electing to leave the organization and losing enthusiasm, management of Big energy should understand behavior of employees depicting the way employees are behaving. They should accordingly take measures to bring situation under control and stabilize the environment. It is mentioned in the case study that senior management of Big energy rarely visit remote office with existing staff members and new team. Incorporating behavioral model would lead to have frequent interactions of the management with team which would assist them in identifying personality of employees (Muneer 2013). It would help management in spotting prompt employees and imbibing them to generate higher yield by properly channelizing their work. Since the Big energy is not concentrating on quality of work being generated and benefits derived and integration process is their sole motive for gaining competitive advantage. There is a need to break this concentration and they should devote themselves to development process and training their employees. It should be intended to redirect the enthusiasm of employees toward goal of organization. Work environment should be controlled by organization so that it provide proper platform for enabling employees to work them effectively and efficiently contributing to higher benefits and production (Rao 2013). Management of processes and inter dependence is very vital for creating higher job satisfaction among employees and higher productivity. Therefore, it should be ensured by Big energy that morale of employees are always kept high. Managerial sayings and dictums should be used by them. Prior to integration, morale of employees plummeted and they felt demoralized and hopeless about their future. Big energy should portray right behavior and high level of value system should be uphold by organization. Incorporating this feature would help them in building such culture that would be suitable to the current integrated organization. It should seek to bind all employees to such cultural relationship that is mutual. Desired goal of organization is achieved by integrating human resources with other resources, which is the fundamental of management (Somech and Drach-Zahavy 2013). Big energy should not only confine its resources in building up the integration process but it should also make some effort toward developing human resource department for keeping the attrition rates at lower level and keeping employees intact. Decisions should be taken by management of Big energy after understanding the nature of organization. Environment during change should be investigated for employing the model that is best suited for the organization to deliver better results. For integrated organizations, some of the recommended model to be incorporated are as follows: System model- Trust and self-motivation is pedestal of this model and it helps in improving employees performance. This model is suitable in case of restructuring as employees are motivated for accomplish goals of organization and they are obligated to their job (Venkatakrishnan and Perumal 2016). Remaining employees needs to be convinced by management of Big energy that they form an integrated part of organization so that they do not lose their morale. Supportive model- Leadership form the basis of this model. Say, for example, official and managers of Big energy should have encouraged and supported the remaining employees for performing well in their job. Incorporation of this model would help in stimulating performance of employees and delivering better results. Big energy is also recommended to employ McGregor theory of Y as in the given case, employees are self-motivated. At the same time after acquisition, their talent and capabilities seems to be underutilized. It is required by management to build employees potential and help them in achieving their professional goal by aligning with the goals of organization. An atmosphere of encouragement and trust should be created intending to develop employees. This would help in reducing disparity between subordinates and superior by communicating well (Vivek 2016). Autocratic model- This model depicts the roles, power and responsibility of employees who are part of Big energy. It focusses on describing the authority and power of employees already working in organization and for employees who are new to organizations (Wilson 2013). Authorized should be described to new and old employees for minimizing the adverse impact in long-run. Conclusion: From the above discussion and analysis of case study, it is concluded that major challenge faced by Big energy is select the best model and examining its effectiveness suiting to integrated organization. Big energy should work on boosting employees morale for performing them in coordination. Since immediately after acquisition, organization began experiencing lower self-esteem and increasing level of value system should be the first priority of Big energy. Growth of XYZ energy have been supported by motivating employees and after acquisition, organization have been faced with loss of employee retention and motivation. In this regard, it is advised by manager of strategy department to reconsider the integration model and revisit priorities for leveraging competitive advantage and preserving existing and newly acquired key staffs. Recommended models would help in fulfilling needs of employees. Identifies issues is mainly attributable to the difference in culture and business structure of both the organization. The acquired organization is a public company and acquiring organization is private company, although core business structure of both organizations are similar. Mani issues is concerning the human recovers and which is explained by incorporating various organization behavioral model. References: Aninkan, D.O. and Oyewole, A.A., 2014. The influence of individual and organizational factors on employee engagement.Int. J. Dev. Sustain,3, pp.1381-1392. Arvinen-Muondo, R. and Perkins, S.J. eds., 2013.Organizational behaviour. Kogan Page. Ashraf, A.M., 2014.Organizational Behaviour. Regal Publications. Awadh, A.M. and Alyahya, M.S., 2013. Impact of organizational culture on employee performance.International Review of Management and Business Research,2(1), p.168. Baker, M.J. and Parkinson, S.T., 2016.Organizational buying behaviour: purchasing and marketing management implications. Springer. Bosman, J.P., 2014. Organizational behaviour. Heine, I., Beaujean, P. and Schmitt, R., 2016. Conceptual Framework for Analyzing the Fit between Organizational Strategy and Culture.Procedia CIRP,51, pp.79-84. Judge, T.A. and Robbins, S.P., 2014. Essentials of Organizational Behaviour (12e Uppl.). Martin, A., 2017.Organizational Behaviour-Verhalten in Organisationen. Kohlhammer Verlag. Mukhopadhyay, S., 2014. Organizational Behaviour. Muneer, S., 2013. Culture and Organizational Behaviour (Second Printing 2010).South Asian Journal of Management,20(3), p.200. Rao, K.S., 2013. Understanding Organizational Behaviour.Review of HRM,2, p.318. Somech, A. and Drach-Zahavy, A., 2013. Organizational citizenship behaviour and employee's strain: Examining the buffering effects of leader support and participation in decision making.European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology,22(2), pp.138-149. Venkatakrishnan, C. and Perumal, R., 2016. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR.International Journal of Scientific Research,4(9). Vivek, S.A., 2016. Impact of organizational citizenship behavior on managerial effectiveness.Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management,9(2), pp.7-18. Wilson, F.M., 2013.Organizational behaviour and work: a critical introduction. Oxford University Press.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Predator Prey Lab Report Essay Example

Predator Prey Lab Report Paper An adaptation aids survival by either decreasing a preys chance of being eaten, or y increasing a predators chance of obtaining food to survive and reproduce. Predators must fight for food. They face density-independent factors which are factors that limit resources, but they cannot be controlled; an example would be bad weather or wildfires. Density-dependent factors are things that can be controlled such as the amount of competition in an environment. For example, if a preys traits allow it to run faster, the predator must also have the characteristics to allow it to run fast enough to catch its prey. Many people confuse adoptions with evolution, but they are not the same. Adoptions are changes in an animal that happen in one generation, while evolution occurs over many generations (Modern Biology, 2006). Charles Darwin had a theory that was the opposite of adaptations. Charles Darnings theory of natural selection was basically survival of the fittest. When organisms reproduce and exceed the carrying capacity, the competition in the environment increases. Because of this, some organisms will not survive (Theory of Natural Selection). It was then that Darwin realized those organisms who were most suited for the environment were the ones who will live on and produce (Darnings Theory of Evolution). For example, picture two birds in an environment. One bird has a long beak and the other has a short beak. The bird with the long beak is able to reach into the holes in the ground and eat the seeds, but the other cannot. The bird populations with the long beaks will be able to survive and reproduce while the population of birds with the short beaks will thin out and eventually go extinct (Modern Biology, 2006). We will write a custom essay sample on Predator Prey Lab Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Predator Prey Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Predator Prey Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Problem: Which predators will be able to survive and reproduce based on their characteristics, adaptations to the environment, density-dependent factors such s competition for food, and density-independent factors such as bad weather or wild fires? Hypothesis: The spoon will be the predator that survives, reproduces, and dominates the population. If there is a competition between predators over a prey, then the spoon will easily be able to use its bowl-like shape to easily scoop up the prey. If the prey is hidden in the grass, then the spoon will be able to slide through the grass and scoop up any prey hiding. Materials: . 300 pieces of corn 2. 300 pieces of black beans 3. 300 pieces of lima beans 4. 100 pieces of pinto beans 5. Plastic forks with one tongue removed (Broken Forks) . Plastic forks 7. Small plastic knives 8. Plastic spoons 9. Tweezers (forceps) 10. A grass field approximately 15 meters square or a carpeted area about the same size. 11. Styrofoam 6-8 oz. Cups 12. Stop watch Procedures: 1. Distribute 100 pieces of corn, lima beans, and black beans onto the field. 2. Divide the class into 5 groups that are as close to equal as possible. . Give each member of one group forks, of another group spoons, of another group broken forks, of another group knives, and the last group forceps. (If there are no forceps available, the lab can be demonstrated with only 4 groups. 4. Every student gets a Styrofoam cup. 5. Instruct the students that they are individual predators with structural variations. The beans and the corn are the prey. The prey must be picked up with the feeding mechanism (forks, knives, spoons, broken forks, and forceps) and placed in the model mouth (cup). No scraping or pushing of the prey in the mouth is allowed the cup may not touch the ground area. The predators may, however, dash in and pick up any prey being pursued by another predator. Do not hesitate to intrude, any hungry natural predator would not. Hunting time will be 5 minutes. When the teacher or the wildfire comes around and touches any of the students, they must step out of the playing area for fifteen seconds. When told to stop, each student will tally up his kills. If a predator is in the process of capturing a prey when told to stop, he must drop it. 6. Repeat this process for each generation and make the proper adjustments required for each. 7. At the end of the lab, share your data with the class and add up the number of prey killed. Observations: In certain parts of the field, the grass was very tall and the prey that were in that area were very difficult to find. Because of this many predators ignored the grassy areas which caused a lot of competition for prey in the other areas of the field. Certain prey such as the corn was easily concealed in the grass because of its small size. However, in the dirt area, the color of the corn really made it stand out. Therefore, the spoon population was able to reproduce while the other populations began to thin out because they were not as well adapted to the environment, and they were not able to reproduce. Their populations decreased steadily and we can infer that they will eventually go extinct. Fig. 5 shows predator consumption. This graph corresponds to the Predator Population graph. In both graphs the spoon population increases while the others decrease steadily. Again, this is because the spoons were well adapted to the environment and they were able to get more food and reproduce. Another reason was the fact that when some predators starved to death or consumed fewer than five preys they became part of the spoon population. This was done to show how populations that cannot get enough food die off, and those who can continue to live and reproduce. It proves the theory of natural selection. Fig. 6 shows the population of prey. In all cases except for the lima beans, the populations increased. This is because the lima beans were the easiest prey to catch and all the redactors went after them in the first generation. Their population immediately decreased at a drastic level. Because of this, no more lima beans were thrown on the field to show they were no longer able to reproduce. However, for the second generation, the black beans and the corn population increased by one- hundred. This is because there were enough of them left to reproduce. In the third generation you see the corn population increase by one-hundred once again. This is because they were able to reproduce again. However, the black bean population did not increase, but a pinto bean population started at one- hundred. This was because the pinto beans were an invasive species and took over the black bean population. This caused the black beans to not be able to reproduce and their population size stayed the same. Conclusion: This lab was done to show how natural selection affects a predator-prey relationship. Only the strong and most adapted species can survive. The hypothesis was correct because the spoon population was the most adapted and over time became the dominate population. The spoon population was best adapted because it was able to easily scoop up and hiding prey and it was able to scoop up the prey easily in a competition. The spoons were the best adapted at capturing prey as well. The knife and broken fork populations went extinct because they were not well adapted to the environment or catching prey. It can also be inferred that all but the spoon population will also go extinct because they are declining steadily. In human examples, men are able to adapt to the heat by air condition and water. They can adapt to the cold by wearing heavy clothing and heaters. There should be funding to continue to save certain species because there are many species that cannot fend for themselves, but they are incredibly important to the environment. Letting natural selection wee out these species could cause great harm to humans and other animal. Reproduction allowed the spoon population to grow and dominate. It also allowed the corn survive and provide food for the predators. In this lab the experimental group was the predator and prey populations decreasing and increasing based on natural selection. The control variables was the area because it was not tested, as well as the time, and the fact that when you died you became part of the spoon population. The independent variables were the changes in population and prey consumption for each generation.