Spring Symposium on UR and Community Engagement

Over the past decade, there has been greater interest in engaging and retaining employees. Despite this research, many businesses are baffled about how to best motivate their employees. Job growth and competition for talent demands employers to engage, motivate and retain their work force. Firms that can motivate their employees without additional compensation may save on labor costs. Studies about motivating employees date back to classic psychologists such as Herzberg. Therefore, this project’s research question explores academic research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation through a meta-analysis of recent literature. The literature suggests that employees who are intrinsically motivated with autonomy and purpose may be more engaged in their work. The literature also shows that employees who feel connected to other employees and are encouraged also may have more loyalty to an organization. The literature review includes scholarship on job attractiveness, motivating employees, reducing employee turnover, and engaging employees. The review includes employees in a variety of different occupations and shows that employees may be motivated differently depending upon their industry, skill level, and the company culture. Additionally, this paper proposes that employees with greater motivation are potentially of greater value for an organization.

An emerging outdoor activity is sporting clays shooting. Many current ranges meet safety and noise level acceptable standards. However, the data does not meet professional standards.  In January 2018 a request was made to test a sporting clays site. The purpose of this paper is to document noise levels, to use professional equipment, and to verify methodology.  Shooting stations were examined on two days (sample size: 170 shots).  Pairwise comparisons were made and verified. Mean noise level was μ = 60.9 dBA (σ = 6.40 dBA).  The loudest group of 4 stations closest to the closest home was significantly greater than the other 11 stations (μ = 63.7 dBA (σ = 6.66 dBA)).  This group is well below OSHA and International Standards Organization (ISO). Recommendations were made to reduce noise levels in the interest of community relations.