Unilever Pakistan: Motivation From HRM

Unilever Pakistan: Motivation From HRM Introduction: There is no doubt that organizations in the modern world have placed great importance in the development of the human resource management. This is because organizations seek to select, hire, retain and staff the best talent to the workforce. Rewards strategies are one of the main functions of human resource management. Indeed, these functions are set to increase the motivation of their workforce and avoid any dissatisfaction that may occur to the employees. Different theories of motivation were thought of to explain and analyze the behavior of employees. In addition, many reward strategies were practiced in order to increase the motivation of employees and allure them. The main aim of this paper is the chance to explore how multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan increases the motivation of their employees and deal with any dissatisfaction through the use of reward systems as Unilever Pakistan facing HR problem of lack of proper reward system for the motivation of employee s and supervisors. Since the constraints of the situation are demanding that the research is conducted through the HR managers of Unilever Pakistan to be included in the research it has been decided that Maslow Hierarchy of Needs is the most appropriate vehicle for testing the impact of rewards. In Unilever Pakistan HR managers are responsible for assessing levels of motivation in the workforce and this will normally be a subjective assessment of levels by groups and not by individuals we feel that this reinforces the choice of Maslows theory for the purpose of the research. Background of Unilever Pakistan: Unilever Pakistan Limited is a multinational organization. Unilever PLC London is its parent group. Unilever is a European based company with command center in London, and their shares are quoted at the stock substitute of several European countries. They deal in all kinds of harvest from animal foodstuff to foods and detergents plus other personal and consumer products. The organizational structure of Unilever Pakistan consists that Unilever has its subsidiaries in over 80 countries of the world, to which it spreads its vast understanding and resources.Unilever has 500 working companies in 80 countries. It has 0.3 million employees and proceeds of sales in 23000 million pounds. Unilever has around 2000 employees in Pakistan. Interventions: The interventions relevant to the situation of reward system in Unilever are as follows: LINK BETWEEN MOTIVATION AND REWARD: To assess the link between motivation and reward of multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan. The results indicate that there is an enormous link between motivation and reward. At Unilever Pakistan the best way to ensure continuous growth in peoples performance is to constituent a Reward system and the reward system must emphasis on positive reinforcement as it is the most successful mean to motivate preferred behavior. By positive reinforcement at Unilever Pakistan people put in more effort in work so that they may achieve a reward of their hard work and reward system ensure that their hard work doesnt go uncompensated. So it clearly indicates that at Unilever Pakistan there is an enormous link between motivation and reward. A well planned and efficient reward system when managed effectively would result into smooth organizations change process hence positive reinforcement of the desired behavior would enhance the performance which proves our research objective of extensiv e link between motivation and reward. Whenever the word Motivation is used, the first theory that hits the thought is the Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs. He investigated the human behaviors and pointed out five basic needs of human psychology and existence in a hierarchy. These basic needs (physiological, safety, social, self esteem and self actualization or self fulfillment) can be considered basic goals for any human. These basic needs or goals have been prioritized into ranking and elaborate the pattern in which humans go for these in their lives (Goble, 2004). Mans foremost struggle arises for its existence and as per Maslow, physiological (hunger, sleep, sex etc.) and safety or protection needs reflect the same efforts. As first need is satisfied the demand for the next one arises and gradually the aim is shifted through these needs one by one and finally reaches self actualization. Although, virtually all of these five needs exist in every one, but the realization of the need only comes when the human fulfils the general criteria to get qualified for that specific need. In-fact, the real variable that builds the ground for the qualification is the satisfaction of previous needs. According to the study, Job satisfaction of Employees Horticulture Case studies in Michigan, it has been proved that the supervisors and non supervisory employees differ regarding their satisfaction with job components. Supervisors see job security, attainment, interpersonal relations and supervision as the most satisfying factors at workplace. They perceive the job itself and the company as ambiguous factors while the compensation and working conditions as the hygiene factors. Supervisors are apt to be less displeased with their rewards (Sara , Barry Kathleen, 2004). One of the most rejoiced solution of this HR problem is that rewards by the employees at Unilever Pakistan can be awarding them with paid leave by their supervisors as the acknowledgement of their commendable performance. Along with that Supervisors must be rewarded with salary increment within the approved salary range of their positions. Organization at Unilever Pakistan must facilitate their supervisor to have an authority to reward their employees with annual merit increment due to their praiseworthy work which has brought about considerable benefit to the organization or department. Key words: Positive reinforcement, behavior, reward, motivation REWARDS STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MOTIVATION: To assess the extent to which organizations attempt to use their reward strategies to increase motivation of their supervisors at multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan. Unilever Pakistan implementing performance management process must also not lose track of variables which are critical for its success and evaluate them at pre defines regular intervals. Feedbacks must be depicted in charts in timely manner; performers must be valued through some token of appreciation. Performers reviews must be use as an opportunity to reflect how winning can be possible in achieving goals and which practices must be adopted and these reviews must be as frequent as possible so that the learning is fortified. Always set many closely achievable milestones instead of quarterly achievable milestones and whenever those milestones are attained celebrate them. There must be some other source of feedback other than annual performance appraisals. Keep in mind while designing your organizations pr ogram to be as original and unique as possible and avoid the design to just comprise of forms. (Reference: Pinder. C.:(1984) Work and motivation; University of brutish Columbia;, Foresman and company. ) Three assumptions formulate Adams equity theory. First, beliefs that are developed by people hold that the fair they receive is equitable to the contributions they made for their work. Secondly, the theory suggests that employee compare their input and output with and the benefit they received with other employees input and output. Finally, if an inequality is existed then this will lead to the dissatisfaction of the employees (Pinder 1984). Therefore, this theory gives HR manager some guidelines in to design a reward system that can be perceived as equable by employees and avoid any dissatisfaction (Richard, 2008). Hertzberg provided five motivators in the workplace: recognition, achievement, advancement, responsibility and the work itself. He differentiated motivators and hygiene factors by suggesting that motivators aim achieving job satisfaction in the long run but hygiene factors are focused on short term satisfaction of the employees (GÃ ³mez Crowther, 2007). HR managers use different strategies to reward different class of employees depending upon their job nature, competencies, skills, knowledge, performance and their contribution in the productivity of the organization. In terms of best practice, different policies of HR are only suitable in different circumstances (thrope and Homan 2000). Following are some general practices in this regard: These rewards may be monetary as well as nonmonetary (Nelson, 2005). Longevity pay plans Pay for performance strategies Pay work skills and knowledge Team based pay packages to promote team efforts Individual pay plans Compensation plans for Executives Incentives Profit sharing in terms of merit based bonuses or by giving ownership share through stocks Offering perks and fringe benefits Providing healthy job environment, flexible working hours, interpersonal and recreational activities etc. Rewards are given to emphasize or reinforce the certain attributes like performance and loyalty etc. depending upon the strategic goals of the organizations. The nature of attributes and rewards varies from organization to organization. Key words: Motivation, reward, physiology RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POSSIBLE CHANGES: REWARDING AND MOTIVATION: To make recommendations for possible changes to practice at multinational organization of Unilever in Pakistan. Certain sets of criteria are designed keeping in mind all the salient aspects which are needed to be catered in designing and evaluating programs. Specific: Ambiguity emerges when there are unclear instructions about the rewards and their required actions and this creates a negative sense for the organization in the heart and mind of the people. Keeping it simple, clear and specific helps remove ambiguity and hence strengthening the overall program. Meaningful: Rewarded achievements should carry a significant return over investment for both the performer and the organization. The rewards must be specified for an achievement which has any significant impact on organizational progress as well as performers personal or professional life. Achievable: If goals are unrealistically high to achieve then those propagates negative reinforcement within the employees so while setting the goal for any individual or group of employees it should be kept in mind that those goal must fall within the boundary of achievable. Reliable: The program designed must follow its rules and procedures accordingly. Any Exceptions must be dealt with certain pre-defined steps which are specified in the programs design. Timely: Time factor is very keen in positive reinforcement. The Reward system heavily relies on rewarding the performers at the right time for their hard work so that they can feel esteemed. Certain intervals must be specified onto which the performers would be rewarded. At Unilever Pakistan supervisors appraisal are top of the list when it comes to positively reinforce and motivate the employees. Supervisors at Unilever Pakistan must acknowledge employees contribution both verbally and in written either personally or with an electronic aid although the personal interaction is much more effective and employees feel valued and recognized for their effort and contribution. Another solution is that supervisors at Unilever Pakistan must be provided with opportunity to increase their professional expertise and skills by letting them participate in educational programs and workshops. It is very important for professional growth and development opportunities at Unilever Pakistan. As employees at Unilever Pakistan would develop new skills, organization can have additional benefit from it. (Reference: Bruce, Anne Pepitone, James S.(1998) Motivating employees., McGraw-Hill Professional,.) Bruce and Pepitone (1998) provide that motivation is the inner drive that compels a person to behave in a particular pattern. People have different needs which they require to satisfy through different means. People are motivated when their needs are satisfied. When people are in need they seek opportunities which can satisfy them. The urge to get satisfaction drives a person to achieve something. Therefore, the existence of needs motivates individuals to work hard to achieve goals and objectives. Various theories of motivation explain the influence of rewards on the behavior of individuals and teams (Armstrong 2002). Motivation determines the performance of activities within the organization. The behavior of individuals is shaped by the motivators since people seek factors which improve their work conditions. Satisfaction of one need leads to the demand for another need according to Abraham Maslow (McClelland, 1987). There are both intrinsic and extrinsic factors which motivate an i ndividual to behave in a particular manner. Intrinsic factors emanate from within the person and give a person the will to achieve more. Extrinsic factors originate from the environment in which a person lives (Goble, 2004). Bruce and Pepitone (1998) were of the opinion that there are two categories of motivational factors: Intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors refer to the inner feeling that a person has about the place of work. Extrinsic factors are the external factors which motivate an employee. Extrinsic factors include rewards, promotion, recognition and others. Employees work harder when their welfare is put into consideration by their managers. According to Bogardus (2009) employees are not only motivated by the wages they receive from the organizations but also motivated by many other factors within the environment of the organization. Therefore, in an organization the employees have different personalities, attitudes, responsibilities and views. Employees require different motivation strategies to ensure they improve their performance and work for a long duration of time (GÃ ³mez Crowther, 2007). Finally, reward systems are developed to cater the requirements of any organization in a specific manner because it is considered that they directly affect the efficiency of employees by motivating or de-motivating them (Sara, Barry Kathleen, 2004). Further to the discussion, the later part of the review will cover the various theories of motivation. Key words: Motivation, reward, performance Conclusion: I analyzed that to achieve Unilever Pakistan goals and to bring out the required results from the employees it is highly necessary that they are kept highly motivated and should be provided with such an environment in which their motivation is not only keep intact but also flourish. To attain this environment and to stimulate their motivation I figured out that positive reinforcement through rewards and performance appraisal system can prove very much beneficial. While above we discuss what kind of rewards could be employed and what criteria should performance appraisal system must abide to enhance motivational environment of the organization, here are list of few steps that a manager can take himself apart from all the organizational process and procedure to keep a clear check, balance and knowledge about the motivating factors of his employees. Dont just stick to theory. Implement it practically because just reading the articles or research wont help until it is put in practice. Analyze your own set of factors that keeps you motivated in the organizations. This would help you understand other employees factors as well. Identify the factors and then take input from the employees. It can also be done through a survey forms. Work with each employee to include their motivational factors into the reward system. Improve your interpersonal relationship with each employee and try to nurture the skill to delegate in every employee. Rewards must not be lingered for long. They must be awarded as soon as the desired behavior or the reward criteria is achieved by the employees. Late rewards have negative impact on motivation of the employees.

SNC Reaction Paper

What was it spent on? Who were the recipients? Investigations suggested that the money was used to pay bribes to unknown North African agents in order to sanction mufti-million dollar future projects. This was possibly done to maximize company revenue, but the deed is still questionable with Demise's grey past. The archbishop Of Milan, SST. Ambrose once said, â€Å"When in Rome, do as the Romans. † Does this translate to Zinc's actions in North Africa? Doing business in different parts of the world can be a difficult game because of varied cultural and professional differences.What may seem wrong in North America may be an everyday occurrence in another part of the world. Bribery is one such act. A bribe, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is â€Å"money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust†. From personal experience, in some countries, not paying a bribe or not â€Å"giving a gift' may pro long or delay work, and in some cases even create a roadblock and completely stop the project. In some countries, offering a bribe is legal while in others it is considered a felony.The question forever is, is bribery ethical? Ethics, in my opinion, are culture specific and, as the professor mentioned in class, time specific. Slavery, for example was an integral part of a perfectly normal society in ancient times but now is considered a heinous crime. Pierre Daytime bribed officials to influence their decision in choosing SYNC Laving for construction projects. But even after investigations, it is not known what this bribe was used for. Daytime and Ben Sass were also linked to illegal activities like money laundering with the controversial Miramar Godhead of Libya.Keeping in mind his past history and the act of bribery itself positions me to believe that Daytime acted unethically. I also believe that bribery, in any form, is morally wrong irrespective of where one does business. In t his case, Daytime, the board of directors, the agents and the officials in North Africa are the active agents. The shareholders, potential and current clients, the employees of SYNC Laving as well as their competitors are the passive agents. Let's analyses the ethical issues in this case using a few models.Virtue Based Moral Reasoning expects en to maximize certain virtues like honesty, integrity, fairness and transparency. Daytime in his actions exhibited dishonesty and dishonor by bribing and laundering money. These actions were unfair to the shareholder as they were and still are unaware about where their money was spent. Lack of transparency creates a loss of trust amongst employees and stake-holders as well. Demise's actions were, therefore, unethical. Next, let's look at it through a Communitarian's approach. This method stresses that contracts, implicit and explicit, should be respect and not breached under any resistance.Daytime had a fiduciary duty towards the corporation, which he breached as the company lost its reputation as a result of this bribery debacle. He had also signed an implicit contract with the employees of the organization which was breached when he paid no heed to company ethics before making his decisions. Falsifying accounts by using terms like â€Å"project consultancy costs† and â€Å"project commercial costs† for the money spent towards bribes is equivalent to lying to shareholders as these statements are finally sanctioned by the CEO. Thus we see that SYNC Laving and Daytime acted unethically on the basis of Communitarian's.However, if you look at the decision through a Consequentiality perspective, an approach where only the consequences of your actions matter, Daytime, while making this decision was actually right. He paid a small price (in the form of a bribe), which in turn would bring in business worth billions and increase the company's revenue. He believed that ends justified the means. However, after the en tire incident unfolded, SYNC Laving not only lost a lot of money through trials and fines, but also lost something more important, trust and reputation.Thus, I believe that this act was unethical even through a consequentiality approach. If Daytime was acting under a veil of ignorance, he would definitely not authorize these payments. SYNC Laving could have been a company that has lost out to a lucrative contract just because another company was willing to bribe their way to the contract. Here we see that through a Rawlins Liberalism approach, Daytime was unethical. According to Graham Tucker's theory, an ethical decision should positively answer all his five questions. Daytime and SYNC Lapin's board fails to answer these questions positively.Was their decision profitable? Definitely not. SYNC Lapin's profits reduced from $76 million to $67 million in the first quarter of 201 2 itself. Secondly, bribe giving is illegal in Canada which negatively answers his second question, is it le gal? He then goes on to ask if it is fair. If you look at this from their competitors perspective, their decision was unfair to the competitors who missed out on deals as they refused to pay bribes. This decision was also not right as this money was paid to unnamed and unknown recipients to influence the company's goals.Finally, it fails to positively answer if paying bribes ensures sustainable development. Such acts result in recurrence of ill doing which in turn can backfire on the corporation. Most successful organizations usually boast of having a clean slate and usually do not indulge in such acts. Bribery may be a quick fix but is definitely not a permanent solution. Informs CEO and my former boss, Nary Murphy once suggested, â€Å"If bribe giving, and not bribe taking, is made legal then the bribe giver shall indeed cooperate with the authorities to expose the bribe taker.This seems o be an interesting idea and think it should be implemented†. Such a policy will encour age victims to blow the whistle on bribe takers fearlessly and in turn help combat corruption. In my view, businesses can very well flourish even in the harshest situations. Informs is a great example; an organization which flourished ethically in an environment which was not very welcoming to entrepreneurs with a conscience. Their vision was not to just build a profitable organization, but a respectable one. In 1984, Informs imported a supercomputer and the customs official at the airport refused to clear it without a bribe.Any delay was unacceptable and the only alternative was to pay a customs duty of 135% and then appeal for a refund. Murphy borrowed money and paid the duty. He believes that at the end of the day, a clear conscience is the softest pillow on which you can lay down your head at night. Firmly believe that bribery is an evil which eventually leads to corrupt business and political environment. Even though it is viewed differently in different cultures, morally it st ill is wrong and unethical. I'd rather not do business in a market which enforces bribery than silence my scruples and indulge in a social evil.

Reflection in Higher Education Learning Essay

Personal development planning (PDP) can involve different forms of reflection and reflective learning. Much has been written and said about reflection in recent times, but for many, it remains a somewhat mysterious activity – or is it a capacity? Whatever it is, if the titles of modules and courses, and references in QAA benchmark statements are anything to go by, we are using it extensively in a range of contexts in learning and professional development in higher education. This paper is intended to provide a background to reflection and reflective learning for the development of PDP within the higher education sector. It will provide a brief guide to current thinking about reflection, a discussion of its application in higher education learning and some practical support for the use of reflective activities. Developing a conception of reflection Like many topics in higher education, the notion of reflection has encouraged both a theoretical and a practical literature. The focus of this paper is primarily on the practical uses of reflection but a brief discussion of theoretical approaches will locate the thinking in an academic context and it will facilitate further study of the topic where this is required. The aim in this section is to produce a conception of reflection that takes account of the theory but that can be applied practically and usefully in formal and informal learning contexts. But we start from where we are†¦.. Starting from where we are†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦a common-sense view of reflection There is no point in defining reflection in a manner that does not relate to the everyday use of the word if further confusion is not to be created. ‘Reflection’ a word we use in everyday conversation. What might we mean by it? In common-sense terms, reflection lies somewhere around the notion of learning. We reflect on something in order to consider it in more detail (eg ‘Let me reflect on that for a moment’). Usually we reflect because we have a purpose for reflecting – a goal to reach. Sometimes we find ourselves ‘being reflective’ and out of that ‘being reflective’, something ‘pops up’. There has been no conscious purpose as such – but there is a useful outcome and there may have been a subconscious purpose. It is also apparent that we reflect on things that are relatively complicated. We do not reflect on a simple addition sum – or the route to the corner shop. We reflect on things for which there is not an obvious or immediate solution. Often the latter will be instigated by or associated with a range of feelings and the experience of such reflection may be emotional or spiritual. We return to issues concerning emotion and reflec tion later. It would seem that reflection is thus a means of working on what we know already. We put into the reflection process knowledge that we already have (thoughts, ideas, feelings etc), we may add new information and then we draw out of it something that accords with the purpose for which we reflected. A simple definition of reflection might be: Reflection is a form of mental processing – like a form of thinking – that we use to fulfil a purpose or to achieve some anticipated outcome. It is applied to relatively complicated or unstructured ideas for which there is not an obvious solution and is largely based on the further processing of knowledge and understanding and possibly emotions that we already possess (based on Moon 1999): Some theoretical approaches to reflection Reflection is theorised in so many different ways that it might seem that we a looking at range of human capacities rather than apparently one. To start with, we review briefly several of what might be called the ‘classical’ approaches. John Dewey wrote on the educational implications of a range of human mental functions over the earlier years of the twenty first century. His work was based on keen observation of the functioning of others and reflection on his own processes. Dewey’s interest in his own processes makes his writing particularly interesting in the current context. It appears that somewhere in the middle part of this century education researchers forgot that they are people too with, between their finger-tips, an amazingly useful resource from which to learn about human functioning. The return to this understanding could be seen to be an important benefit of the interest in reflection. The legitimacy of ‘I’ and ‘my functioning’ is being re-established and the role of personal development planning will also carry this forward in the near future. Dewey saw reflection as a specialised form of thinking. He described it as: ‘a kind of thinking that consists in turning a subject over in the mind and giving it serious thought’. His definition of reflection is that it is: ‘Active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and further conclusions to which it leads†¦it includes a conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief upon a firm basis of evidence and rationality’ (Dewey, 1933). Jurgen Habermas (1971) focused on the way in which humans process ideas and construct them into knowledge. Reflection plays a role in this process. Habermas talked about three kinds of knowledge –  instrumental knowledge – where we know ‘how’ or ‘that’ and where the concern of the knowledge is to understand and thereby function within, and control our human environment. – knowledge that is concerned with the interpretation of human action and behaviour. We largely ‘interpret’ in the social sciences in order to better our understanding of society and human behaviour. – knowledge that is a way of working with knowledge, acting on the first two forms of knowledge. This form of knowledge is developed through critical or evaluative modes of thinking and leads towards the emancipation or transformation of personal, social or other situations. It concerns the quality of the bases on which we make judgements. There is some disagreement about the role of reflective processes in the development of instrumental knowledge – given that the development of sophisticated science can match this form of knowledge. However, it certainly has an important role in the interpretation and comparisons of understanding in the second level and in the critical and evaluative modes of the third. David Kolb (1984) is well known for his development of the Kolb cycle – or cycle of experiential learning. The cycle is drawn in many different ways using different words that sometimes seem to affect its meaning. It is depicted below in a simplified manner that it is not too far from Kolb’s words: Concrete experiencing (have an experience) Active experimentation Reflective observation (try out what you have learned)(reflect on the experience) Abstract conceptualising (learn from the experience) The cycle revolves with new learning undergoing active experimentation and ‘recycled’ through new experiencing. In this way what was a cycle becomes a spiral (Cowan 1998). Thus Kolb considered reflection as a mental activity that has a role in learning from experience. In the Kolb cycle, reflection features as a development of the process of observation – and apparently it occurs before a person has learnt. Others would see reflection as part of learning and part of the processing of material already learned, having a  kind of cognitive ‘housekeeping role’ as well as generating new learning (Moon, 1999a). The notion of reflection as part of the means of learning something new seems to conflict with the common-sense use of the term (above). There is a massive literature on experiential learning, much of which is based on the Kolb cycle, and much of which perhaps over simplifies what is an immensely complex activity. While the cycle does have has value, it may say more about how we manage the learning of others, than about the process of learning per se (ie. it is more about the teaching process). Donald Schon focused on reflection in professional knowledge and its development (1983, 1987). He suggested that there is a crisis in the professions related to a mis-understanding of the relationship of theory to practice and of the kind of theory that a professional uses to guide her practice. The espoused theory – as learnt in formal institutions and in professional training – is not the theory that proficient professionals eventually use to guide practice. They build up an expertise from their practice (theory-in-use) by being reflective. Schon noted that the theory in use tends to be tacit. Professionals are not necessarily able to describe the basis on which they act. A particular role of professional development is to make this ‘knowing-in-action’ explicit so that it can be the subject of further reflection and conscious development. Schon suggests that there are two types of relevant reflection. Reflection-on-action is the reviewing that occurs after an event while reflection-in-action is part of the processing of an effective practitioner while actually acting. There are doubts expressed about the existence of a form of reflection that occurs while an individual is acting (eg Eraut, 1994) and sometimes Schon has been inconsistent in his writing. However he has had great influence in stirring up debate on the nature of professional knowledge and the role of reflection in professional education. Many others have written about reflection, most developing ideas from those mentioned above. Examples are Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985; Boud and  Walker, 1998; Cowan, 1998, and Brockbank and McGill, 1998. Much of the material in this paper is derived from Moon, 1999 which takes a broader and sometimes more critical view of reflection and focuses on its relationship to learning. We thus have described a common-sense view of reflection and those of four influential theorists but we could be reviewing four different human activities that happen to have the same name – reflection. Might there be a common idea lurking there, or an explanation as to how the ideas could fit together? Moon (1999) suggests that the differences in approach are accounted for largely by different focuses – either on the process of reflection, on the purpose for it or the outcomes of reflection – in effect, how it is used. Schon, for example, is concerned about reflection as a mechanism for professional and perhaps personal development while Habermas is concerned with its role in the building of theory. Kolb explores the role of reflection in learning – setting a context for it, but referring relatively little to reflection itself. Dewey is exceptional in taking a holistic view of reflection as a process – a view that accords with the common sense definition above. Before we pull these ideas into a summarising model there is one more stray factor that some, but not all of the approaches to reflection mention and that is the role of emotion in reflection. Some theorists see the role of emotion in reflection as very significant and frequently neglected (eg. Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985). However, there are questions to be asked. Is the emotional content of reflection always present and influential? We would seem to be able to reflect on a number of ideas without emotional content to the reflection. Then – are emotional effects the subject matter of the input and output of reflection (like other ideas on which reflection occurs), or do they steer the process of reflection (acting as a kind of milieu in which reflection takes place). Could they be part of the process of reflection? If they are part of the input and / or outcome – is it ‘knowledge of how I feel’ or is it the actual feeling that is part of the  input and / or outcome? All of these seem to fit experiences of reflection and there is no clear answer in the literature. A relatively simple input – outcome model of reflection seems to summarise the variety of approaches to reflection in the literature. It locates the approach of Dewey and the common-sense definition as concerned with the input and the actual psychological event of reflecting with others largely concerned with the outcomes of reflection. In other words, it suggests that reflection is a simple process but with complex outcomes that relate to many different areas of human functioning. Fig 1 provides a summary of these ideas and a basis for the consideration of reflection in PDP. Broadly it adopts the definition for the process of reflection on page 2 but recognises that there are different contexts for reflection that often influence our understanding of its meaning.Fig 1 An input / outcome model of reflection The relationship between reflection and learning What is the relationship between reflection and learning? Much has been written about both reflection and learning and there seems to be an assumption that reflection is related to learning – but what is the relationship? We explore it in this section (there is more detail in Moon, 1999) Reflection and the learner’s approach to learning One set of ideas that seems to be significant to unravelling the relationship between learning and reflection within the process of learning seem to be the research on approaches to learning (Marton, Hounsell and Entwistle, 1997). This research suggests that there is a fundamental difference in success in learning between adopting a ‘deep’ approach and a ‘surface’ approach to a learning task. A deep approach is where the intention of the learner is to understand the meaning of the material. She is willing to integrate it into her existing body of previous ideas, and understandings, reconsidering and altering her understandings if necessary. The new ideas are ‘filed’ carefully and integrated. In contrast, a surface approach to  learning is where a learner is concerned to memorise the material for what it is, not trying to understand it in relation to previous ideas or other areas of understanding. It is as if the new ideas need to be retained f or the moment, but not ‘filed’ for any lasting purpose. These approaches to learning are not ‘either or’ situations, but at extremes of a continuum and the same learner may choose to learn differently according to the task at hand. The conception of a continuum of approaches to learning allows us to hypothesise a hierarchy of stages of learning along the continuum that characterise surface and then progressively deeper approaches to learning. This is a useful device when we attempt to locate reflection in the process. It is important to note that we cannot actually see that learning has occurred, we can see only the results of learning which can be termed the ‘representation of learning’. The same area of learning might be represented in different ways – writing, oral account, graphic display and so on and it is through the description of the representation of learning that we identify the stages of learning. The stages are as follows: Noticing, – the least detailed form of learning – you cannot learn something if you do not notice it at some level (which could be unconscious). Representation is of the material is as memorised, modified only by the degree to which it is forgotten. Making sense – getting to know the material as coherent – but only in relation to itself. Facts may be fitted together like a jigsaw but not related to previous understandings. Representation is coherent reproduction, but not related to other ideas and not processed. Making meaning – the beginnings of deep approach – there is a sense of meaningfulness but there is not much evidence of going beyond the given. Representation is of ideas that are integrated and well linked. There is the beginning of development of a holistic view. Working with meaning – a sense now of going beyond the given, linking into other ideas. There is the creation of relationships of new material with other ideas. Representation is reflective, well structured and demonstrates the linking of material with other ideas which may change as a result. Transformative learning – evidence that the new learning has transformed current understandings in reflective processes. Representation demonstrates strong restructuring of ideas and ability to evaluate the processes of reaching that learning. There are creative / idiosyncratic responses. On the basis of this model, There are at least three ways in which reflection might be seen as relating to learning. a) Reflection has a role in the deeper approaches to learning – the last three stages described above, but not in surface approaches to learning (the first two stages); b) We learn from representing learning – when we write an essay or explain something or draw a picture of it, we represent it to ourselves and learn from the re-processing (Eisner, 1991). This is a reflective process; c) We ‘upgrade’ learning. For example, we can go back to ideas learnt only to the stage of ‘making sense’ (eg in the form of facts – bits and pieces) and can reprocess those ideas through reflection, integrating them with current understandings (Vygotsky, 1978). This might be conceived as a kind of ‘chewing the cud’ exercise – or cognitive housekeeping (see earlier). These forms of learning from reflection are commonly exploited in the patterns of higher education pedagogy. In the case of the first (a), there is much literature on the encouragement of students to take a deep approach to learning (Marton et al, (1997). At the same time, there is acknowledgement that nature of current higher education may inhibit these attempts (lack of contact with students, the ‘boxed’ nature of learning in a modular system etc). In particular it is worth remembering that assessment tends to drive student learning and if students (can) perceive that a deep  approach is the manner in which to succeed in a learning task, they are more likely to adopt such an approach. In terms of learning from the representation of learning (b), we ask students to reprocess their learning into essays, examinations, reports and explanations in tutorials. It is interesting to consider the implications of Eisner’s suggestion that we learn differently from different forms of representation. In different forms of representation we exploit reflection differently. We probably do not fully enough exploit the representation of learning as a means of enhancing learning in current higher education. A well functioning tutorial system is an example of a means by which we encourage students to upgrade their learning (c). A student lecture is not ideal ground for taking a deep approach to learning. It seems likely that the attempt to get notes down on paper would interfere with the processing involved in taking a deep approach to learning. Preparation for and involvement in a tutorial is the opportunity for many students to reflect on and process their learning into a more meaningful state – in other words, to ‘re-file’ it. Revision for examinations is another opportunity for review of previous learning such that understanding is deepened (Entwistle and Entwistle, 1992). It is interesting to note that the value of the Kolb cycle (see above), and the whole notion that learning is enhanced through experimentation or ‘doing’ is explained by a) and b). If learners are required to represent their learning in some meaningful activity, they will have have been forced to adopt a deep approach to the learning in the first place – or to upgrade their surface quality learning (c ) into more meaningful material. Reflection provides the right conditions for learning We have suggested above some ways in which reflection is immediately related to the learning process, but there also seem to be other forms of this relationship that are usefully described in the notion that the activity of reflection provides the right conditions for good learning (Moon, 1999a).  We summarise these ideas below, continuing the lettering system from above since these are more ways in which learning and reflection are interrelated. d) Reflection slows down activity, giving the time for the learner to process material of learning and link it with previous ideas. There is evidence that when a lecturer pauses in a lecture, the ‘wait time’ enables students to learn better (Tobin, 1987). We could more often stop and ask students to think about an issue that has arisen in a lecture (etc). e) Reflection enables learners to develop greater ‘ownership’ of the material of learning, making it more personally meaningful to themselves and improving their grasp of it (Rogers, 1969). It will also enhance the student’s ‘voice’ in her learning (Elbow, 1981). f) A particularly important means by which reflective activity generally supports learning is through the encouragement of metacognition. Metacognition is the awareness of one’s own cognitive functioning – in this case, learning. There is evidence that good learners have better metacognitive processes than poor learners (Ertmer and Newby, 1996). Study skills programmes that support learner’s awareness of their learning processes seem to be more successful than those that focus on techniques (Main, 1985). g) We suggested above that reflection occurs when we are dealing with material that is relatively complicated – or ill-structured. If we are encouraging students to reflect, we are, in a sense, challenging their learning. There is evidence that it is by challenging learners with ill-structured material of learning, that they improve their cognitive ability (King and Kitchener, 1994). 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