Impact of Employee Involvement in Workplace Essay

Impact of Employee Involvement in Workplace Essay Introduction The concept of employee participation and involvement has seen a growing interest from different scholars and Human resource management. Many organizations face the challenges of managing and empowering their employees to actively participate in decision making. In this current tumultuous economic environment, organizations require creative and innovative employees who can take initiative, embrace change, stimulate innovation and cope with high uncertainty in the market. Most of the new generation employees want to work in companies that can actively listen and embrace their ideas. To accommodate the demand of the employees, most companies have relinquished their centralized control management with the hope of promoting flexibility and decisiveness as well as subsequent improvement in individual and organizational performance. The concept of employee participation has taken many forms, evolving through the employee participation and involvement decision making concepts into the conte mporary empowerment perspective. The idea of empowerment involves the employees being provided with a significant degree of freedom and flexibility to make decisions relating to work without direct involvement of the top management. This new model of management has significantly disagreed with traditional management techniques that have emphasized hierarchy, control and rigidity. Employee’s involvement and participation thus contribute immensely to how organizations make decision and run their businesses. The employee’s participation and involvement affects both the employees and organization positively and negatively. This paper will discuss how employee’s involvement and participation impact the workplace. Employee Involvement and empowerment Before discussing the impact of employee participation/involvement in workplace, it is imperative to define the meaning of employee participation. According to Ackers, Wilkinson Dundon (2006), employee participation is a process in which decisions in an organization are shared among individuals who are other wise hierarchically unequal. Participatory management practices involve subordinate staff and their managers in sharing information, problem solving and decision making endeavors. Furthermore, employee participation is defined more broadly by McCabe and Lewin (2000), as consisting of two elements. First is the expression of grievances or complaints in a work context by employees to the top management of the organization. The second element is the participation of employees in the decision-making processes of the company or organization. Thus employee participation does not only involve decision making processes but the entire welfare of the employees. Most countries provide poli cies and bylaws to safe guard employees from harassment and exploitation. The trade Unions have for a long time been the voice of employees in many countries (Armstrong, 2001). Most employees voice their concern and mistreatment through their respective trade unions. The trade unions have significantly changed the way employees are treated and participate in daily management of organizations. According to the Industrial Participation Association (IPA), argues that collective voice of employees achieves what the lone voice could never do. Furthermore, IPA argue that representation is the foundation of a partnership that bring together positive result to the business, and it makes the workplace more humane and civilized (Dundon Grugulis, 2007). Millward, Bryson Forth (2000) argued that many companies lacked proper mechanisms to communicate effectively with employees. This had both a conflictual and consensual impact to most companies since employees lacked proper mechanism to express their grievances. Marchington (2004) explains that employee participation could lead to a beneficial impact on productivity, quality and deflect problem that would otherwise explode. Hyman Thompson explains that the lack of effective mechanism to address workers issue lead to the creation of trade unions. The trade unions were seen as the best agent to provide effective voices as they remained independent of the employer. According to Millward et al (2000), different agency for workers to express their grievances became more complex and diverse. Millward identified several approaches that workers used to express their grievances including via trade union membership, representation and recognition, indirect or representative participation mechanisms such as consultations; and finally direct employee involvement. According to a survey conducted by the WERS, trade unions have become less powerful and prominent voice channel for workers. This is attributed to the fact that the membership of trade unions has significantly decreased over the years. The report further shows that joint consultation and collective bargaining has also decreased in popularity in many countries. The third strand, which is employee participation/involvement, has become popular around the world. According to Ackers, Wilkinson Dundon (2006), most companies found it imperative to involve employees to their daily decision making acti vities and running the organization. Human resource management in most companies discovered that employees become innovative and commit themselves to their work if they are actively involved in decision-making. Over the years employee participation has impacted the workplace both positively and negatively. It is widely believed that employee involvement may affect employee productivity, job sanctification and employee commitment to the organization. These factors significantly affect the way an organization or company perform their businesses. Wilkinson, Dundon, Marchington, Ackers, (2004) further explains that employee participation reduces the chances of industrial disputes resulting from poor communication between staff and management. Improvement of decision making processes, increase of creativity, lowers employers stress and ensures better use of time and resources. The next section will briefly discuss the impact of employee participation/involvement in workplace. Impact of employee participation/involvement in workplace The impact of employee participation/involvement is multifaceted and diverse. Determining the most effective employee involvement strategy is determined by specific organizational goals. Different organizations entrust their employees the responsibility to carry out important duty with respect to their qualifications. Some organizations train their employees to accept responsibility and duties delegated to them. According to Webb Webb (1999), some organizations give their employees rewards and recognition for performing their duty diligently. All these methods improve and strengthen the communication between the employees and the top management of an organization. Some of the impacts of employee participation that will be discussed below include job satisfaction, employee productivity and employee commitment. Job satisfaction Employees job satisfaction plays a vital role in the way they carry out their duty and responsibility. Most employees resign from their job since they feel not satisfied with their responsibility or job description. According to Walton (1995), job satisfaction is pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of job experience. Most scholars consider job satisfaction as the discrepancy between what an employee values and what the situation provides. Job satisfaction is viewed by many scholars as the degree of an employee affective orientation toward the work occupied in the organization. Employee participation and job satisfaction has for long time been integrated by Human resource management to enhance productivity and develop human capital (Wood, 1999). Employees feel more pleased and confident when the management trusts their decisions that have effect on the outcome of the business. Through employee participation workers have an opportunity of releasing thei r ideas, stress and concerns about the business. These ensure that the employees become satisfied with their work and decisions that they make in organization. Kalmi, Pendleton Poutsma (2005) explain that satisfied employees tend to understand and utilize the opportunities they are provided with by the organization. Through participation employees become productive, creative and committed to their employers. Employees feel that they are appreciated and considered part of the organization. Human Resource Manager at Scotchem argues that it would be impossible to gain significant improvement without a large element of employee involvement. According to Kruse Blasi (1997), most employees want to do much more than just come to work and perform duties that the management has directed them to do. Employee involvement creates an environment where the workers can share ideas and innovation with the management. Kruse (2004) explains that organizations that lack proper employee involvement usually face shortage of staff and absenteeism of employees is usually very high. According to research conducted by Ackers, Wilkinson Dundon (2006) on employee participation in Britain shows that organizations that do not involve their employees in decision making process, have low job satisfaction. The employees are poorly motivated to carry out their duties and have poor innovation. Most of these employees resign and go to look for jobs in other organizations that offer effective employee relation. Employee productivity Most companies strive to employ and maintain productive employees in their organizations. Productive employees come up with new ideas and strategies to enable the organization survive in this tumultuous economic environment. According to Robinson (2004), productivity is a performance measure that includes both efficiency and effectiveness. Effective and high performing â€Å"organizations have a culture that encourages employee involvement hence employees are more willing to get involved in goal setting, decision-making or problem solving activities that results in higher employee performance† (Robinson, 2004, 47). Employee participation encourages modern style of participatory management, satisfaction, raises employee productivity and lowers the employee compensation rates. Furthermore, employee participation encourages job satisfaction, which increases productivity through bringing high quality motivation and working capabilities at times of implementation. Gall (2004) argue s that participative climate has more considerable effects on workers satisfaction than participation in specific decision. According to Gollan (2002), human resource policies, that encourage employees involvement aim at providing workers with opportunities to have the means to acquire the appropriate skills, incentive to expand discretionary efforts and to have an input in decision making. Employee involvement has significantly affected the productivity of organizations and companies in general. According to a research conducted by the Worlkplace Representation and Participation Survey (WRPS), companies that have effective employee involvement are 17% likely to perform better than companies that lack employee involvement programs in their organizations. The report further shows that employees who work in companies that have efficient employee involvement are more satisfied with their job compared to other workers. Another research conducted by Dundon Grugulis (2007) on more than 18 different organizations on impact of employee involvement and company productivity revealed the same result. Several respondents expressed their belief that there was a correlation between employee involvement and performance outcome. For example, ConsultancyCo has an employee involvement mechanism called â€Å"strategy days† that provides employees with an input to the future strate gic plan of the organization. At these ‘Strategic days’ the company allows employees to come in groups and discuss matters that ranged from market changes, technological changes and report their ideas to a plenary session that takes further action on their findings. The report shows that workers in ConsultancyCo are more satisfied with the management than other companies that have centralized system of making decisions. Another company that has taken the advantage of employee involvement is HiFi Sounds. At HiFi Sounds the management encourages the employees to make suggestions on a whole host of matters including staff recruitment, shop opening and customer care management. Another company that has benefited from this program is Bet.com. Following briefing session between employees and the management, Bet.com decided to implement bets from customers over the phones. The result of that initiative saved the company thousand of pounds. From this statistics it is clear that employee participation in management of company improves productivity and employees job satisfaction (Dundon, Wilkinson, Marchington Ackers, 2004). Employee commitment Most scholars argue that employee commitment to the goals of an organization is paramount for successful business. Guest (2001) explains that employee commitment refers to congruence between the goals of the individual employee and the organization whereby the individual identifies with and extends effort on behalf of the goals of the organization. According to Guest Hoque (1994), most employees commit themselves to decisions and goals that they have taken part in formulation. Employees feel that they have thier own goal and objective; that they have been actively involved in formulation. Employee involvement ensures that workers commit themselves to the responsibility and duties assigned to them. Wagner (1994) explains that employees commit themselves to goals of organization if they are allowed to come up with ideas and strategy for the organization. Workers perform their duty not only because they are supposed to do that, but because they have passion and commitment towards the t ask. All this can only be achieved if companies can take the initiative and involve employees in decision-making, goal formulation and policy formulation of the company. According to a research conducted in Britain by Ackers, Wilkinson Dundon (2006), most employees were found to commit themselves to company goals when they were actively involved in formulation process. The report further shows that employees who were not actively involved in decision-making were less likely to commit themselves to the goals of the company. This clearly shows that employee involvement plays a critical role in daily management and running of organization. Without proper mechanism to commit employees to the goals of the company it would be hard for the organization to successfully meet their target. The issue of employee committing themselves to projects and responsibility has a great effect on companys efficiency and work output (Yousef, 1998). Better use of time and resources Most companies are faced with the challenge of managing their resources and time to get maximum output. According to Wagner (1994), resources encompass employees, physical material and financial capability of the organization. Many managers are provided with minimum resources to reach maximum result for the organization. Managing the minimum resources requires innovation and efficient communication between the employees and the management. This can only be achieved through efficient employee involvement mechanism, which will ensure, that all the employees participate in decision making process. Yousef (2000) explains that employees are responsible for using over 90% of companies resources and time. It is imperative for the management to involve the employees to come up with effective use of resources that will enable the organization to save cost of transacting business. According to Vroom (1999), employee participation ensures that the company resources are well utilized to provide maximum profit. According to a research conducted by Dundon, Wilkinson, Marchington Ackers (2004) on Bet.com Company, employee involvement can significantly reduce the cost of doing business. The company had several sessions with employees on ways they can improve the procedure for taking bets from consumers over the phone. The company saved a lot of money since the employees were able to discover that some customers were able to place bets after the results were known. The employees were able to come up with innovation that stopped customers from placing bets after the result was known. Less industrial disputes Hyman Thompson (2003) explain that employee involvement has significantly reduced industrial dispute in many organizations. This is attributed to better communication between management and employees. Most organizations have given employees freedom to express issues that affect them both in the workplace and at home. Some organizations have gone a step further to provide psychologist to assist workers to deal with work pressure. This has significantly reduced the cases of strike in many organizations around the world. Most organizations have come up with strategy that allows them to communicate directly with employees without involving trade unions. At Weaveco, the management provided model of partnership where management actively constructed a collective voice strategy which was less reliant on the trade unions. This was an attempt by the management to provide communication channel beyond union channels through a disclosure of partnership and teamwork. Weaveco replaced its traditio nal quarterly union-centered JCC with monthly departmental meetings. Other company that followed the same system includes Southern Shoe EWC. The company came up with a strategy that allowed the management to communicate effectively with the employees directly rather than using the union. The direct meeting with employees resulted in low levels of absenteeism, better staff retention and productivity improvement (Dundon, Wilkinson, Marchington Ackers, 2004). The next section will briefly discuss the obstacles for effective employee involvement in organization. Obstacle to effective employee involvement Many scholars argue that most organizations fear to switch from their traditional autocratic rule to democratic rule. They view democratic rule as a threat to their authority towards employees. Patterson et al (1997) explains that fear of change is a major factor that has prevented most organizations from embracing democratic style of rule. Another factor that has impeded employee involvement is failure to respond to employee recommendation. Failure to respond to employee is another sure way to kill an employee involvement. Towers (1997) explains that if the management cannot acknowledge employee efforts, staff will conclude that the management has no interest in the welfare of employees. The management should take a step to recognize the improvement of employees even if it is small.

Ideas of Descartes, Plato, and Hume Essay - 880 Words

Ideas of Descartes, Plato, and Hume The immediate starting-point of Platos philosophical speculation was the Socratic teaching. In his attempt to define the conditions of knowledge so as to refute sophistic skepticism, Socrates had taught that the only true knowledge is a knowledge by means of concepts. The concept, he said, represents all the reality of a thing. As used by Socrates, this was merely a principle of knowledge. Plato took it up as a principle of Being. â€Å"If the concept represents all the reality of things, the reality must be something in the ideal order, not necessarily in the things themselves, but rather above them, in a world by itself† (Chaput, C. p.2). For the concept,therefore, Plato substitutes the†¦show more content†¦This is the task of philosophy. â€Å"Philosophy, therefore, consists in the effort to rise from the knowledge of phenomena, or appearances, to the noumena, or realities† (Chaput, C. p. 4). Hume’s beliefs of philosophical ideas was that there is a considerable difference between the perception of the mind, when man feels the pain of excessive heat, or the pleasure of moderate warmth, but then anticipates that this is caused by his imagination. These ideas may seem to be the same as a person’s sense, but they can never reach the origin of thought. Hume strongly believes that when these senses fall upon us, we could say that we almost feel or see it. According to Hume, when we reflect our past sentiments and affections, our thought is a faithful mirror, and copies its objects truly. He now feels that we may divide all the perceptions of the mind into two classes or species, which are distinguished by their different degree of force. The less forcible and lively are commonly noted as Thoughts or Ideas. The other species want a name in the language, and others not to have any specific purpose in philosophy. â€Å"Therefore we can use a little freedom, and call them Impressions; employing that word in a sense somewhat different from the usual† (Hume, 316). Impressions are distinguished from Ideas, which are less lively perceptions, when we reflect on any of those sensations or movements above mentioned. At first sight, nothing may seemShow MoreRelatedKant vs Aristotle1314 Words   |  6 PagesEmpirical Way of Thinking Philosophical Inquiry Section ON22 Erich Grunder Jim Cook 3/2/2007 During the 17th and 18th century two philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, arose carving for themselves a trench in the philosophical world. We can see the biggest distinction between the two in their theories of how we know things exist. The traditions of Plato and Aristotle have been dubbed rationalism and empiricism respectively. Under these traditions many well known philosophers have formed their ownRead More Descartes And Hume Essay545 Words   |  3 Pagesgreat teachers such as Aristotle and Plato, and through skepticism the modern world began. The French philosopher, Renà © Descartes who implemented reason to find truth, as well as the British empiricist David Hume with his usage of analytic-synthetic distinction, most effectively utilized the practices of skepticism in the modern world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Renà © Descartes was the first philosopher to introduce the intellectual system known as â€Å"radical doubt.† According to Descartes, everything he had learned beforeRead MoreThe Philosophers Who Contrubuted to the Development of Behaviorism891 Words   |  4 PagesBCE), Plato (427-347 BCE), and Aristotle (385-322 BCE) are often spoken of together due to the unique relationship they shared. Aristotle was the student of Plato, who was intern the student of Socrates, and it is their developments in philosophy, a precursor to modern psychology, that begin to lay the seeds for what would one day develop into behaviorism. Socrates began by teaching the need to examine in order to know truth, and contributed greatly in the development of ethics. From here Plato, a RationalistRead MoreThe Republicn and a Brief History of Philosphy1763 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosopher-king, soul, and truth. Plato uses justice though as the folk point and the remaining five trac e back to justice. Socrates defines justice as â€Å"that one man should practice one thing only, the thing to which his nature was best adapted† (Plato 123). Socrates then goes to discuss the three parts to the soul, â€Å"A man reasons, we may call the rational principle of the soul, the other†¦ may be termed the irrational or appetitive† and then there is the spirit (Plato 130). Kant proposes that justiceRead MorePlato And Aristotle s Views On Philosophy1107 Words   |  5 Pagestwo men have intertwined their way into the philosophers to follow. The two men were followers of Socrates; thus, technically, Socrates can take some of the credit. These two men are Plato and Aristotle. The Platonic and Aristotelian ideas of philosophy are contradicting but equally represented in their influence. Plato believed that to find truth, one must look to the metaphysical world beyond reality. He believed this because he thought the physical world was only a mirror of the rea l world. WhileRead MoreThe True Knowledge Of Knowledge2300 Words   |  10 Pagespossession of information, facts, ideas, truths, or principles.† Now we all know that philosophers define knowledge as justified true beliefs, as a working model. But because knowledge is so challenging to define and come to an agreement on, there have been certain philosophers that stand out over the course of history. Some which believe in true knowledge such as Plato, Rene Descartes, Pythagorean, and Kant. As well as the one which did not believe; Hume, the ideas of skepticism as well as realismRead MoreInnate Ideas Essay1444 Words   |  6 Pagesfind truth, Descartes used only his logic to identify his existence. He also proved that there is some type of knowledge that we are born with. â€Å"Some of our ideas seem to be â€Å"born with me,† some â€Å"invented† by me, whereas others â€Å"come from without† (Descartes, 2008, p. 211). Which means Descartes believed tha t we enter this world with some innate ideas that overtime helps us to develop understanding of our sense (invented by me) and through our experiences (comes from without). Descartes was a dualist;Read MorePhilosophy C100 Quiz 121572 Words   |  7 Pagesstatements about Plato and Aristotle are/were true?    | They were interested in practically every subject then known. |    | They spoke (and wrote) intelligently on philosophical topics. |    | One or the other (or both) formed the metaphysics for Christian theology up to the present day. | X   | All of the above. | 16.   According to the text, the first comprehensive theory of knowledge was developed by    | Aristotle. |    | the Sophists |    | the Cynics |   X | Plato | 17.    In PlatosRead MoreMax Hallmans Traversing Philosophical Boundaries3864 Words   |  16 PagesThere is No Personal Identity by David Hume illustrate the various opinions that have been expressed through history regarding how humans define themselves and how human beings as a whole group create and individuate identity. Other essays in the text which focus on conceptions of the self include Cicles by Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Nature of the Soul and Its Relation to the Body by Plato, and On the Real Distinction Between Mind and Body by Rene Descartes. In the former two essays, the authorsRead More300 - Rationalism vs Empiricism - Summary and History2194 Words   |  9 PagesRationalism vs. Empiricism – History and Summary What is reality really like? A current running through much of the philosophical thinking around the time of Socrates and Plato was that there is a difference between how the world appears and how it is. Our senses reveal one layer of reality but it is our minds that penetrate deeper. The world of appearances is a world in flux but underneath there must be a stable reality. For there is much that is unchanging. We recognise kinds of things – badgers

A Study Survey on Home Building Industry Free Essays

This paper will briefly explore how recent economic indicators such as record low interest rates for mortgages and housing starts should motivate house builders to strategize for continued economic growth. At this time while the housing bubble has not burst, it is important for such companies to focus on strategy in order to remain competitive when the bubble does burst. This type of boom in originations has spawned tremendous economic growth with regards to employment rates, re-urbanization, new home building, consumer spending and confidence and made hundreds of billions of dollars for the players involved. We will write a custom essay sample on A Study Survey on Home Building Industry or any similar topic only for you Order Now The housing boom kept this country afloat during the darkest moments after September 11, 2001 when other industries like travel, hospitality, entertainment, energy and telecommunications seemed uncertain. One can argue that such a relationship is cyclical; what comes around goes around in the manner of economic trends such as recession and depression but this is not the case with this correlation. People will always need housing. Below are strategies housing providers can implement to continue stimulating growth. Bennett Hecht writes that economic strategies for housing begins on the local level. He writes, â€Å"Housing development is a site-specific, self-sufficiency strategy designed to help developers create jobs and other income-generating opportunities for residents of their properties† (p. 1). This economic development strategy is founded on four objectives: (1)Decrease Cash Outflows from Housing Developments. Whenever possible, developers should purchase goods and services from sources within their housing developments, instead of â€Å"importing† them from other communities. This promotes local growth and activity. (2)Better Use of Space. Housing developers should use available space to sponsor the delivery of much needed services or facilities, such as child care, GED classes, or a convenience store. (3)Increase Cash Inflows. Nonprofit developers should also use available space to increase income to the property and residents by leasing space to paying commercial tenants, by entering into profit-sharing ventures with commercial tenants, or by providing services and products to outsiders. (4)Build Contracting Capacity. The ability to increase cash inflows is directly related to the ability of businesses to compete for work outside of the housing developments. By controlling the awarding of contracts, the developer can â€Å"incubate businesses† by awarding work to residents over a period of time until they can develop the work and contract management experience to, among other things, secure bonding necessary to compete for larger contracts. The beauty of these objectives is that they can be implemented at both the urban and suburban levels. In this respect all parties benefit from the strategy during a time when many housing companies are not planning for the future but riding out the wave of present economic growth. How to cite A Study Survey on Home Building Industry, Essay examples

Research Paper †Sex Education in Public Schools free essay sample

Research Paper – Sex Education in Public Schools It’s been a number of days since I’ve written here, and for that I have to answer that there have been a number of projects under works that I’ve had to tend to. For now, I will take the time to show you a research paper I’ve spent most of the day writing for my Comp I class. Sex Education in Public Schools Sex education in public schools here in the United States has, for at least the past decade, supported and utilized abstinence-only sex education programs to be taught throughout both intermediate schools and high schools. Though during the entire time that abstinence-only programs have been used, there has been a constant debate among both parents and educational authorities how to approach a better way of conducting sex education. The question has risen of whether or not abstinence-only programs actually aid the decrease of teen pregnancy, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, or are giving children the education that their own parents would have wanted them to have on the subject matter. Comprehensive sex education seems, after evidence presented, to be the more effective method in aiding these issues. First, the issue of whether sex education should even be taught in schools. During a recent poll, results showed that only about 7% of Americans do not want sex education being taught in schools at all, while the other majority percentage clearly stated that they believe at least some information about sex education should be taught in schools (aâ‚ ¬? Sex Education in Americaaâ‚ ¬? ). Many have asked the question, or made the implication, however, that perhaps sex should not be talked about in public school, but only at homes with the children and their parents. Another ironic point also shows that most parents are uncomfortable talking to their children about sex and sexuality. Personal experiences are documented in a number of places in regards to the experiences of both the children and the parents feeling uncomfortable when the subject of sex is discussed. Still, many also say that even through both the discomfort in the discussions, as well as the education that is received in schools, parents take on a large role in helping to solve the future generations and their involvement with societyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sex education problems. Ellen Goodman of The Boston Globe writes on parents: For a long time, parents of teenagers have been cast as the beleaguered, hapless characters whose voices are barely heard and rarely respected in a cacophony of peers, pop culture, and body piercers. Mothers and fathers, we are told, are road kill on the way to adulthood. [. . . ] But the study went through all the research on the role parents play in the teenagersaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ lives and what impact they have on their childrenaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sexual activity. It turns out that parents are a remarkably effective antipregnancy program. The greater the closeness of parent and child, the lower the pregnancy rate. (18) Given this information, it would make sense to infer that the more information the populace is given in regards to sex, and especially in parents to give to their children, the better off the children will be in their sexual health. Teen pregnancy rates in the United States exceed rates in nearly all other industrialized nations, aâ‚ ¬? The U. S. still leads the fully industrialized world in teen pregnancy and birth rates aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" by a wide margin. In fact, the U. S. rates nearly double Great Britainaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, at least four times those of France and Germany, and more than ten times that of Japanaâ‚ ¬? (Espejo 80). This being said, there is an ongoing slew of research which points to both a change of mindset to something more prominent of what was seen in the past, as well as more information being given to teens to be prepared for making intelligent decisions. Maggie Gallagher writes in The Age of Unwed Mothers: The teen pregnancy problem in our society is inseparable from a much larger marriage problem. Changing adult ideas about marriage and its relationship to procreation have directly guided the entire cluster of trends in teen behavior aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" including rising rates of unmarried sex, weak motivation to use contraceptives, rising ages of marriage, and sharp declines in both legitimation and adoption aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" that we currently describe, somewhat misleadingly, as our crisis of teen pregnancy. (91) Teen pregnancy rates have seen both falls and climbs in the past number of decades, and much of the time it has been difficult to pinpoint the cause of these rate changes. When the pregnancy rate decreases, both sides of the argument often take credit, one side saying that it was because of a lack of abstinence-only sex education, another side saying it was because of a reinforcement or fulfillment in abstinence-only sex education. In the Introduction to the Opposing Viewpoints seriesaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Teen Sexuality: Defenders of traditional sex education programs point to these statistics and argue that Congressaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s proposed changes to sex education are unnecessary. However, a second study by another Michael Resnick of the University of Minnesota provides another explanation for the drop in teen sexual activity. According to Resnick, parents who spend time with their children and make their values clear are more likely to have children who forgo sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and violence. aâ‚ ¬? Itaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s more than the physical presence of parents, the number of hours a day theyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re in the home,aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Resnick contends. aâ‚ ¬? Its their emotional availability. â‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (13-14) The more information and supportive relationships from the important authoritative figures in teensaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ lives will allow them to make more beneficial decisions in regards to sex teen pregnancy. Perhaps one of the largest concerns in teen sexual activity and what method of sex education would be best in preventing it, is that of sexually transmitted diseases, or aâ‚ ¬? STDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Abstinence-o nly programs usually do not give out free condoms in addition to their teachings, as many often view this as contradictory. Through a number of studies it was said, aâ‚ ¬? The big change was that the sexually active boys were more likely to be using condoms, and virgins were much more likely to plan to use condoms when they have their first vaginal intercourseaâ‚ ¬? (Roleff 16). And while some would claim that contraceptives only encourage more sexual activity than would take place without contraception, another study showed that the rate of sexual activity for aâ‚ ¬? both sets of teens was about 50 percent. â‚ ¬? Clearly the decision to encourage the use of contraception when sexual activity occurs would be the ideal choice, given this information. By definition, abstinence states that you should abstain from all sexual activity, and abstinence-only programs stress that this is the only 100% safe way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, but it is implied in increased use of condoms that there will be a decrease in the transmission of STDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. While some have claimed that condoms can often fail in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, Ceci Conolly of the Washington Post wrote in the article Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, aâ‚ ¬? Among the falsehoods cited by Waxmanaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s investigators: Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control Centers has said, aâ‚ ¬? Laboratory studies have demonstrated that latex condoms provide an essentially impermeable barrier to particles the size of STD pathogensaâ‚ ¬? aâ‚ ¬? 10 Reasons to Use a Condom, Any Condomaâ‚ ¬? ). While many abstinence-only education programs teach the consequences of these programs, not all schools using abstinence-only education speak in full truth about condoms or speak in encouragement to using condoms even though they have proven to be effective in preventing the spread of STDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. While schools do need to h ave a role, the cultural and societal shift seen in parental involvement has presented a change in sexual health among teens. The high rate of teen pregnancy in the United States can better be improved through comprehensive information given to teens, the availability of contraceptives, and once again aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the relationship children have to their parents. Condoms can aid in the prevention of spreading sexually transmitted diseases, yet too few schools offer both the availability of condoms nor information on condoms themselves. Abstinence-only education serves well to emphasize that abstinence is the only certain way to prevent pregnancy and STDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. However, comprehensive sex education can include an emphasis on abstinence while still equipping teens to make intelligent decisions about sex, reducing the teen pregnancy rate, and reducing the spread of STDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. Works Cited aâ‚ ¬? 10 Reasons to Use a Condom. Any Condom. aâ‚ ¬? Trojan Brand Condoms. Trojan Condoms. 26 November 2006 Conolly, Ceci. aâ‚ ¬? Some Abstinence Only Programs Mislead Teens, Reports Say. aâ‚ ¬? WashingtonPost. com. The Washington Post. 6 November 2006 Espejo, Roman. Americaaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Youth. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Gallagher, Maggie. The Age of Unwed Mothers:Is Teen Pregnancy a Problem? New York: Institute for American Values, 1999 Goodman, Ellen. aâ‚ ¬? Why Teen Prengnancy is Down. aâ‚ ¬? The Boston Globe. 24 May 1998. Roleff, Tamara L. ed. Teenage Sexuality. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001. aâ‚ ¬? Sex Education in America. aâ‚ ¬? NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School. The Kaiser Family Foundation. 26 November 2006