Expectancy Theory of Motivation - 670 Words

Expectancy Theory of Motivation In a business, what motivates employees to do their best? One theory that may explain the reasons why some employees seem more motivated than others is the Expectancy theory of motivation. The Expectancy theory operates under the assumption that employees will perform well based on self-belief and how much they desire the rewards their actions will render. Three key components and relationships in this theory determine how motivated an employee will choose to be: expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Expectancy, as it relates to organizational behavior, is an employee’s belief that they can put high levels of effort into a task and accomplish it successfully. An employee’s belief that they can†¦show more content†¦There is a low expectancy level for those employees who do not feel they have enough dexterity to perform well with the new production process. To correct this, Supervisor A can motivate these employees by appealing to their need for growth. The novices can also be partnered up with other employees that have mastered the process so that they can vicariously learn. Any other activities or explicit forms of training that will help the employee grow in their self-awareness and confidence would also help to increase productivity. Employees perceive that no matter what level they perform all the employees will be compensated in the same way, which exhibits a low level of instrumentality. Supervisor A could increase this level by creating a policy for the compensation and disciplinary actions that the company will take for achievement or failure of accomplishing company goals. In this policy, employees that meet company goals will be compensated at a lesser level than those that exceed the goal and those employees that don’t meet company goals will be given additional training and disciplinary action if they still fail to meet company goals. This policy will give the employees a level of control over how they will be compensated which will also increase instrumentality. The way the compensatory system is structured in the scenario leaves little room for the employees to be highly motivated. The employees feel theShow MoreRelatedThe Expectancy Theory of Motivation670 Words   |  3 PagesIn todayâ€℠¢s workforce there are many reasons why individuals get up every day and go to work. For most it is because they have bills to pay and this leads to their motivation to work is for the outcome of a paycheck. That is true for most, but how does motivation apply to an individual once they are at work and must perform their daily duties? No matter that is painting houses or a high level CIO building the backbone of a fortune 500 company, these individuals’ performances are based on their expectationsRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation714 Words   |  3 PagesExpectancy Theory of Motivation, an approach to improving performance. Mark R. Mattox Western Governors University Expectancy Theory of Motivation â€Å"Expectancy Theory - A theory that says that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.† (Judge 07/2012, p. 224) Explanation of the Three ComponentsRead MoreMotivation Theory And Expectancy Theory Of Motivation1742 Words   |  7 Pagesplace. This problem mainly occurs in organisation when there is lack of motivation, lack of organisational justice, negative culture and low morale. The purpose of this case study is to give brief view about, why employees had to face these problems and how to make positive culture and what and where the changes are required for the WA force. This report introduces MARS motivation theory and Expectancy theory of motivation for improves officers’ behaviours towards force, with that how can they fillRead MoreThe Expectancy Theory Of Motivation917 Words   |  4 Pages3.2 Theories Victor H. Vroom’s Theory (1964) developed the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. This theory is a behavioral theory that one behavior of an individual will be chosen over another type of behavior when positive performance will lead to desirable rewards. Figure 3.3 will illustrate the three components to this theory: expectancy, instrumentality, and valance, and show how the variables of Vroom’s theory is designed. Expectancy is the expectations how people perceive to meet the performanceRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation Essay652 Words   |  3 PagesThe expectancy theory of motivation, which was first produced by Victor Vroom, has become a generally accepted theory for explaining how individuals make decisions concerning different behavioural alternatives. According to Vroom to motivate someone mere offer a person something to satisfy his important needs will not be adequate. In order for the person to be motivated, he must also be convincingly sure that he has the ability to obtain the reward. An employee’s motivation increases when he valuesRead MoreThe Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory Essay763 Words   |  4 Pagesbeen some lack of motivation from Paul. According to Robbins, S. P. Judge, (184). Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal. In this paper, I will use the Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory to explain Jeannine Savaria’s motivation and what can her supervisor do to improve her motivation. Savaria’s motivation can be supported through the Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory. This theory links the performanceRead MoreThe Expectancy Theory Of Employee Motivation868 Words   |  4 Pages This approach of recognizing and rewarding employees for their performance was first introduced by Victor Vroom in 1964 known as the Expectancy Theory. When employees are engaged they will exceed organizational expectations and function with a sense of ownership in their place of employment (Malik, (2012). Hema and Washington (2014) state, employee motivation is gained when subordinates are empowered; giving staff power and authority to make the choices without having to wait for management’sRead MoreMotivation, Self Determination Theory, And Expectancy Theory863 Words   |  4 Pages(2001-2016). Motivational theories can help support an employee to progress in the workplace; a few theories such as Extrinsic Motivation, Intrinsic Motivation, Acquired Needs Theory, Self -Determination theory, and expectancy theory relate to my professional life. I will explain if I agree/disagree with my PsyCap self-assessment and some developing strategies to advance in my career using my strengths. Also, I will talk about how I can employ goal-setting to increase motivation, and how my engagementsRead MoreExpectancy Theory of Motivation at Use in the Workplace1229 Words   |  5 Pages1 EXPECTANCY THEORY OF MOTIVATION AT USE IN THE WORKPLACE Leadership Concepts and Applications LET1 Student#: March 30, 2012 2 What is Motivation? Motivation is a word popularly used to explain why people behave as they do. Some psychologists and scientists view motivation as the factor that determines behavior, as expressed in the phrase â€Å"all behavior is motivated† (World Book, 1992). Some scientists view motivation as the factor that energizes behavior. According to this

Essay about The Question of Free Will Versus Fate - 910 Words

The question of free will--the idea that we are free to make decisions unhindered by external forces--is very disconcerting to deal with because most people are not willing to accept that we are not in control of our lives. It is also controversial because it wrestles with the idea of a world possibly without moral responsibility. If there is no free will how do we hold a person responsible for molesting someone or for stealing? If someone actually didnt decide to do either of those things but rather was just going through the motions then it doesnt seem right to hold them culpable. Consider the concept of free will in the example of walking on the street and find a wallet with $200 inside of it. Do you sent it back to the†¦show more content†¦A common argument is that any final choice we make is simply a feeling inside of us that makes the conclusion on whether to take the wallet or not. The external and internal factors may lean us toward a decision but ultimately we have the last say. Yet, still questions arise to this such as why do we make this final decision if not from these factors? Where did these morals or whatever the case may be come from? It is difficult to argue for the concept of fate or determinism and say this was all planned out from the beginning of time knowing some things in nature happen randomly-- meaning given the same circumstances two opposite results can and often do happen (Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle). One factor of thisprinciple is illustrated with the example that if you throw a ball against a wall it will bounce off in the same direction each time. However, if you take an atom and throw it off a wall there are endless directions it ricochets when repeated. If one argues that a decision they made came from nowhere, nothing affected a man/woman to have them and are completely random, then they are not ones choices at all--just a roll of the dice which the person has no control over. The same problem arises if the arg ument comes up that either our decisions or personalities come from God. The first problem would be proving the existence of God. The second and more prevailing argument is that even if it is found our attributes and/orShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Fate In Oedipus708 Words   |  3 Pagesthat fate has led him to be ignorant of his the fact that those he considers his parents are not really his biological parents. The play portrays Oedipus as a man with much love for his family. Though he wishes to see his parents, he vows not to return to his home in Corinth for fear of falling into fate’s hands. Had he known who his parents are beforehand, he never would have slain his father and married his mother. His actions are noble and meant for the greater good however, twist of fate corruptRead MoreThe Themes Of Ambition In Shakespeares Macbeth853 Words   |  4 Pagesare many different themes displayed in Shakespeares famous play Macbeth. Many of these themes play with nature, the supernatural, and fate. From ghosts to horses eating each other the play uses symbolism, language, and characters to portray these themes. During the play the audience learns of several themes such as ambition, guilt, fate versus free will, nature versus the unnatural, and how things are not always as they seem. Anyone who has read or seen Macbeth knows that his great undoing was hisRead MoreFate Vs Fate Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesFate can be thought about as life being predetermined for the entirety of your days. From the early writings from Homer, specifically in the poem, The Iliad, there is a clear representation of whether it is free will or fate after all. Although we may never know whether there is a predetermined path or rather just free, it can only make one wonder. For most Greek Mythology, it is been evident that most of people’s decisions were not free will but rather fate itself. While people think they have freeRead MoreFree Will : Ancient Literature1536 Words   |  7 PagesConcept of Free Will: Ancient Literature in the West Free will is considered to be a philosophical term for a course of action among many possible options. It is a topic that almost every philosopher has debated for over two millennia. â€Å"Free will is defined as the ability to select a course of action as a means of fulfilling some desire† (O’Connor, 2002). Many philosophers think that free will is closely associated with moral responsibility as well as freedom of action. Free will is a human necessityRead More Fate Versus Free Will Essay1746 Words   |  7 PagesFate Versus Free Will Fate, as described in the Oxford English Dictionary, is â€Å"The principle, power, or agency by which, according to certain philosophical and popular systems of belief, all events, or some events in particular, are unalterably predetermined from eternity.† To the western world, fate is perceived as â€Å"a sentence or doom of the gods† (Oxford). They often sought prophecies of the gods, especially from Apollo, the god of knowledge. The Greeks would seek prophecies usually whenRead More Fate and Free Will in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay1232 Words   |  5 PagesFate and Free Will in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart   Ã‚  Ã‚   The tragic story of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart offers many examples of Igbo beliefs regarding free will and fate. Religious life for the Igbo was thoroughly intertwined with secular life. According to the text, the Igbo believed in fate; that nothing happened by chance as every happenstance was the result of Chukwu or Gods will. Yet the Igbo also believed that ancestors, lesser gods, and their own chi or personalRead More Adam in Miltons Paradise Lost Essay1603 Words   |  7 PagesParadise Lost: Fates Ruler - and Subject A central problem in John Miltons Paradise Lost in the theological issue of free will versus fate, a traditionally much-debated question. Free will is the condition of having control or direction over fate or destiny; the individual shapes his life and future through his actions. The opposing view, complete lack of free will (made famous by John Calvin), is predestination, which expresses the idea that our futures have been foreseen long before ourRead MoreDiscourse on Metaphysics by Leibniz Essays612 Words   |  3 Pageshappens in the world. With such a reality there would be no use for free will and whatever fate succumbs an individual is the will of the Most High; in other words, being destined. But for Leibniz, this is not the determined reality of humanity. Leibniz asserts, that it is God and only God, who has the insight of mans greatest reality. And man is unable to derive all of what he is, and is to become. For only God can foresee his fate. Leibniz suggest it is the perfect and good outcome, that God hasRead MoreSimilarities Between Oedipus Rex And The Kite Runner1391 Words   |  6 PagesFate versus Destiny: Is divine justice righteous when fate or destiny is present? Oedipus Rex and The Kite Runner are both profound works of literature that share two immensely universal themes, those themes being fate/free will and divine justice. These two themes are quite prominent throughout both pieces of writing and serve to facilitate a very humanistic connection between the audience and the story. Although both of these stories consist of the two themes mentioned, they each express themRead MoreCandide, Macbeth and Oedipus Rex1525 Words   |  6 PagesIn Candide, Macbeth and Oedipus Rex, fate and free will are always two opposing themes reflect on major characters. Fate is a belief that the future is predetermined, and it’s truly impossible to convert the consequence. No matter how people endeavor, the same thing will happen because that is what is supposed to occur. It’s also the philosophy that everything happens for a reason or relates to the God, things don’t happen â€Å"just because†. Free will is a constant concept tha t people act freely upon

Cell Phones are Dangerous - 785 Words

Cell Phones are dangerous Cell phones have consistently evolved both in function and design ever since Dr.Martin Cooper first invented the wireless handset in 1973. In those days, cell phones were merely used to make calls and store numbers. Contemporarily, the cell phone has evolved into a multifunction device with heterogeneous functions added including video camera, text messenger and so forth. As a result, this has changed in the way people use the cell phone. Despite all the obvious benefits these functions provide, this essay aims to argue that cell phones are dangerous specifically on crimes, distractions and health threats. Firstly, cell phones are easily used as crime devices as they are very mobile friendly. This†¦show more content†¦This recent study suggests that when cell phones are in use, there is considerable oxidative stress on the glands and tissue it is in contact with. The damage it caused linked to cellular and genetic mutations which cause the development of tumour such as the case of Tiffany Frantz, who had breast cancer at the age of 21 as she carried her cell phone in her bra every day ( KTVU, 2012). However, it could be argued that other electronic devices such as computers are more dangerous. This is true as 70% of adults and 30% of children and adolescents have reported musculoskeletal symptoms in different parts of the body in relation to the use of electronic devices (Science Daily, 2013). However, cell phones are the most frequently used among other devices and its use requires direct contact to the skin near the head and ear. Therefore, it is relatively a health hazar d. In conclusion, although the benefits of cell phones vary in many aspects, the dangers it caused are seemingly intense. Therefore, society should be aware of current findings that emphasizes itsShow MoreRelatedAre Cell Phones Dangerous?1907 Words   |  8 PagesAre Cell Phones Dangerous Toddra Pamplin English Composition II Dr. Janice Brantley March 12, 2013 Sentence Outline Thesis: Cellular phones are the world’s most popular mobile device used by Americans today, but cell phones are said to be the leading cause of traffic accidents, they are used for cyber bullying, give off electromagnetic radiation that is harmful to our bodies and more; therefore we ask ourselves are cell phones really dangerous? I. Texting and Driving A. Cell phonesRead MoreAre Cell Phones Dangerous?2205 Words   |  9 PagesIntroduction In this project, I am going to investigate the question ‘are cell phones dangerous’. I will show how a cell-phone works and how radiation caused by cell-phones may affect you, I will show you different viewpoints from different sources and go through identifying key points and evaluate their arguments I will then give you my own opinion based on the facts and research I have conducted. What is the electromagnetic spectrum? The electromagnetic spectrum is a range of different ElectromagneticRead MoreCell Phones Can Be Dangerous2056 Words   |  9 PagesDriving can be very dangerous on its own without distractions but when you add driving while using a cell phone in the mix you have the perfect ingredients for a disaster. I believe cell phones are very dangerous while driving by using them for voice and especially texting and should be banned. Some reasons I believe this is when a driver is talking on the phone they are focusing more on the conversation than driving. The second reason is when your texting you are looking down and also not focusingRead MoreAre Cell Phones Dangerous to Your Health?1504 Words   |  7 PagesThe number of mobile phone subscribers in the Philippines has soared from over 22.5 million in 2003 to over 57.3 million in 2007. It continues to rise daily at a very fast clip, allowing us to maintain our dubious claim as the text capital of the world. On the other hand, statistics in the United States show just how deeply ingrained cell phones have become in people’s lives: Fully 78 percent of all American adults own them, including 86 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds and 55 percent of those whoRead MoreIs Cell Phone Use The Most Dangerous Distraction?1939 Words   |  8 Pagestime a driver gets in a vehicle and decides to use a cell phone to have a conversation, either talking or texting, they put themselves and others lives in danger. The convenience a cell phone and the capabilities they offer have made them a substantial distraction and a cause of significant source of vehicle accidents and fatalities. There are three different types of distractions: visual, manual and cognitive. Cell phone use is the most dangerous distraction because it involves all three differentRead MoreRole Of The Phone Addiction Causes Dangerous Actions Involving The Cell Phone1034 Words   |  5 Pagesbut can be dangerous. It is commonly believed that majority of cell phone users, especially smartphone users, are addicted to their phone. The role of the phone addiction causes dangerous actions involving the use of the cell phone. Using a cell phone, especially texting and driving, puts not only the driver but those around in serious danger. Driving is not an instance where multitasking is good. When drivers are trying to multitask by driving and using their cell phones to text, theRead More The Use of Cell Phones While Driving is Dangerous Essay1808 Words   |  8 PagesAlthough cell phones have not been around for a very long time, they have become a key part of our lives. People use their cell phones for just about everything such as: texting, talking, schedule planning, internet surfing, etc. Sometimes we can even do two or more of these things at the same time. Unfortunately, people are also choosing the wrong time to be using their cell phones: while they are driving. As a society , we have become so focused on how much we can do at one time that we areRead More Cell Phones And Driving: Dangers Involved with Cell Phone Use While Driving1036 Words   |  5 Pagesoften. Talking on the cell phone and driving has become a very popular thing these days. Technology is coming out with the newest phones that can do everything for you and people are attracted to that. There are people that don’t have hands free and drive their car with only one hand, people that text and totally take their eye off the road and type conversations to each other. Bluetooth is another technological breakthrough where you wear an ear piece and can receive phone calls by one touch ofRead MoreCan Cell Phones Harm our Health? Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesIs there dangerous radiation coming from our cell phones? Over the past few years there has been concern about our health when it comes to cell phones. Some people say that cell phones are dangerous because there is harmful radiati on coming from them. Others say that cell phones are safe. However, cell phones emit 900-1800 MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic fields during calls which effects the protein structures in mice and humans (Eid 573). Therefore, cell phones can be dangerous to humans. MostRead MoreUse Of Cell Phones While Driving860 Words   |  4 PagesAmericans rely heavily on cell phones to perform daily activities. Cell phone are used for phone calls, email, sending text messages, surfing the internet, and performing other tasks. It is unfortunate that many of these daily activities occur while a person is driving. As a result, an increase of accidents and fatalities have occurred because of the use of cellular phones while driving. Using a cell phone while driving is an epidemic that has taken our nation by storm. Most drivers believe they

The Magus free essay sample

Maurice Conchis – Wealthy intellectual who is a main player in the masques. * Lily de Seitas – Young woman who is involved in the masques and with whom Nicholas falls in love. Other * Joe – young black man, involved in the masques. * Maria – Conchiss maid. * Demetriades – Fellow teacher at the school. * Lily de Seitas (older) – Lilys mother. Rose de Seitas – Lilys  identical twin sister * Benji de Seitas – the older Lily de Seitass young son. * Kemp – Unmarried woman who rents Nicholas a room in London. * Jojo – Young girl whom Nicholas pays to accompany him. The Magus  is told from the point of view of Nicholas Urfe, who is bored with life. Having attended Oxford and taught for a year at a public school, he decides to take a position as the English teacher at the Lord Bryon School in Greece, on the island of Phraxos. Nicholas looks up a former teacher there, and is warned to Beware of the waiting-room, without explanation. Nicholas is not deterred, but during the last few weeks before he leaves, he meets Alison Kelly, an Australian girl who is about to begin training as an airline stewardess. They are both sophisticated about sex and somewhat cynical, but each experiences some regret as they go their separate ways. During his first six months on Phraxos, Nicholas finds the school claustrophobic but the island beautiful. He realizes that he cannot write good poetry and that he is having difficulty forgetting Alison. In a funk, he visits a brothel in Athens and contracts a venereal disease. He seriously contemplates suicide. The first of the novels three parts ends at this point. The mysteries begin as Nicholas goes swimming and someone leaves a book of poems, evidently meant for him to find. As he looks in the woods nearby, he finds a gate to a villa with a nearby sign  Salle DAttente, French for waiting room. One of his colleagues at the school explains that the villa is owned by a rich recluse named Maurice Conchis. Nicholas decides to look him up and finds, inexplicably, that he is expected. After some conversation, as Nicholas is leaving, he finds an old-fashioned glove on the path and surmises that someone has been watching them. Invited back for the next weekend, Nicholas is astonished by Conchis collection of art and by his claim to be psychic. After dinner, Conchis tells Nicholas about an episode in his boyhood when he was fifteen and met a fourteen-year-old girl named Lily Montgomery, whose image haunted him afterward. They were both musically inclined and fell in love, but in 1914, she led him to feel that he ought to volunteer for the army. Conchis explains that he deserted at the battle of  Neuve Chapelle, and offers Nicholas a chance to gamble with his own life by rolling a die and promising that he will take a cyanide pill if the die comes up six. It does, but Nicholas refuses to take the pill; Conchis seems to approve his decision, and reveals that the die was loaded against the rolleras was World War I against the soldiers. That night, as Nicholas is going to sleep, he hears voices singing a war song and smells a foul stench. The next day Conchis encourages Nicholas to read a pamphlet by Robert Foulkes, written as he was waiting to be hanged in 1677. Nicholas takes it with him on a walk, falls asleep, and awakes to see a man in 17th-century dress staring at him from across a ravine. The man disappears before Nicholas can reach him. At dinner that night, Conchis tells of his wartime pretense to be on leave so that he could return to England to visit Lily. As Nicholas retires, he hears a harpsichord accompanied by a recorder, and investigates, to find Conchis and a beautiful girl dressed in Edwardian clothes, but he declines to interrupt them. The next weekend Lily joins them after dinner and speaks in the language of the early 1900s. Their conversation is interrupted when a horn sounds, a spotlight illuminates a nymph who runs by, pursued by a satyr, and another woman seems to shoot the satyr with an arrow. Nicholas is bewildered but decides that Conchis must be re-creating masques for his own amusement. Lily refuses to explain, and Conchis talks in parables. He describes an attempt to found a Society for Reason after the war, and he tells the story of a rich collector whose mansion is burned by a resentful servant. Nicholas begins to fall in love with Lily, who professes to be as mystified by what Conchis may be up to as Nicholas is. Conchis explains that she is a schizophrenic whom he indulges by letting her manipulate men in the controlled environment at Bourani, but that Nicholas must not believe what she tells him. For the weekends culminating experience, Conchis hypnotizes Nicholas, who experiences the separateness of himself from everything else. Nicholas leaves eager to return for more adventures. Alison has invited Nicholas to Athens the next weekend. Nicholas finds the villa closed up, so he meets her and falsely tells her that he is suffering from syphilis. They have an enjoyable weekend climbing in the mountains, at the end of which, back in Athens, Nicholas confesses his lie and tells her about Bourani and Lily. Alison is hurt, and gives him an ultimatum: She will quit her job and join him on Phraxos, or she will leave him. When Nicholas hesitates, a violent argument ensues, and she refuses to let him back in their hotel room. When Nicholas returns to the villa, Conchis drops the pretense that Lily is a schizophrenic and tells him that she and her twin sister are actresses named Julie and June, whom Conchis has hired for a theatrical experiment. The first evening, Conchis tells Nicholas the story of Henrik Nygaard, a blind madman who believes that he talks with God. Afterward, Nicholas goes to a passionate rendezvous with Julie in the woods, where he is shocked to discover that Julie has sent her twin sister instead. June explains that they feel like prisoners, always watched by Conchis black valet, Joe, repeatedly told to learn lines and to prepare for improvisations, but never told what it all means. The next day the twins tell Nicholas their backgrounds and show him documents to support their statements. After a day of being shadowed by Joe, even while they are inside an empty chapel, the twins leave with Conchis on his yacht, vowing to insist that he begin to be forthright with them all. The next Wednesday the yacht returns, and Julie meets Nicholas at night to assure him that there will be no more pretense of schizophrenia; however, Nicholas is to join the twins in the improvisation the next weekend, after which all will be explained. Julie again avoids sex with Nicholas, pleading her menstrual period. On his way back to school in the dark, Nicholas is stopped by a patrol of soldiers in Nazi uniforms, who proceed to beat up a captured partisan. To Nicholass dismay, he receives a letter on Friday that he will not be welcome, after all, at the villa that weekend. Nicholas receives two letters the next Thursday, one from Julie indicating that Conchis has told her that Nicholas was sick and the other from Alisons roommate telling Nicholas that Alison has committed suicide. He does not reveal this to Conchis the next weekend, but demands to know the truth. Conchis explains that he is experimenting with a new form of theater, without audience, in which everyone is an actor. Conchis continues the supposed story of his life with the narrative of the German occupation, when he served as mayor of Phraxos. A crucial event, interpreted differently by different characters in the novel, occurred after the killing of three Austrian soldiers by guerrillas. Conchis was told that the lives of eighty villagers about to be executed in reprisal would be spared if he would club the guerrilla leader to death; he refused, and took his place with the hostages, but managed to survive the mass execution. Conchis then explains that Julie is his mistress and that they are all about to leave. When Nicholas tries to confront Julie, she disappears, playfully demonstrating one of their hiding places in an old bunker. Inside, she denies what Conchis has said, but as she climbs out of the bunker, she is grabbed and Nicholas locked in. When he gets out, he finds the villa shut up and a skull and a doll hanging from a nearby tree. Nicholas does not know what to think and returns to school. Several nights later, June appears at the school in distress, concerned about Julie. She says that they have lied to Nicholas and falsified documents about who they are. Nicholas explains that their games have cost the life of Alison. She apologizes, and explains that Conchis is really a psychiatrist doing research and that Julie is at his house in the village, to which June offers to take Nicholas. When he arrives, Nicholas and Julie make passionate love, after which she tells him that Julie is not really her name, and walks out. Three men walk in and restrain Nicholas as they administer an injection that makes him lose consciousness. Some days later, Nicholas revives, is dressed in ritual garb, and is taken to a chamber decorated with symbols, where he is seated on a throne facing 12 figures in bizarre costumes. As they unmask, they are introduced as psychiatrists, including the former Lily as Dr. Vanessa Maxwell, who reads a clinical diagnosis of Nicholass psychological problems. She is then stripped to the waist and tied to a flogging frame, as Nicholas is handed a cat-o-nine-tails and invited to judge herand the othersby choosing to flay her or not. He declines. Then Nicholas is tied to the frame, to watch Lily and Joe make tender love in front of him. Afterward, he is again made unconscious. Nicholas awakens on the mainland, alone. He returns to the school and gets himself fired. He goes back to the villa and searches for clues. Although he finds a typescript of a story about how a prince learns to become a magician by accepting that life is full of illusion, Nicholas goes on looking for expla- nations. The second part of the book ends with his discovery that Alison is still alive, her supposed suicide evidently part of the charade. In the last part, Nicholas continues his research. Nicholas finds no record of Conchis supposed credentials in psychology. He interviews one of his predecessors at the Lord Byron School, now living as a monk in Italy, but the monk is not interested in helping Nicholas. He finally succeeds in locating a house in which a Montgomery lived during World War I and the inhabitant directs him to one of the Montgomery daughters, a Mrs. Lily de Seitas. At first, she toys with Nicholas, but when he finds out that she has twin daughters of her own, she admits that she is a friend of Conchisand of Alison. Nicholas is angry, partly over her refusal to tell him where Alison is, but he gradually overcomes his resentment and they meet again. Nicholas begins to appreciate what has happened, and even declines to discuss it with his immediate predecessor at the Lord Byron School. Finally, Alison appears when he least expects her, and they have a confrontation in Regents Park, where he at first imagines that they are being watched from Cumberland Terrace. Nicholas issues her an ultimatumthem or me. She rejects the ultimatum, and Nicholas walks away from her. When she follows him, he slaps her without understanding why. Then he realizes that they are unobserved and asks forgiveness. The novel ends at that point, with their future relationship uncertain.