Curriculum and Material Development

THE TEACHING PROCESS The focus here is on the teaching practices that occur within a program, how these can be characterized, and how quality teaching can be achieved and maintained. a. Teaching Model and Principles This book has emphasized the curriculum as a network of interacting system involving teacher, learners, materials, school, administrator, and curriculum planners, and choices ay one level affect other elements in the system. Thus the choice of a particular curriculum philosophy or ideology implies a particular model of teaching.Roberts (1998, 103) compares two teaching models implicit in many language program: the operative model and the problem problem-solving model: ? Operative is model the teacher is restricted to meeting the requirements of a centralized system, such as the delivery of a textbook as planned, to a set timescale. Such as limited role, limited to that of curriculum transmission, implies training objectives based of mastery of a set of competencies determ ined by the centralized syllabus. ? Problem solver is model a decentralized curriculum gives teachers greater autonomy in making educational decisions.A diversified teacher to able to diagnose problems and adapt materials and design original learning activities. The former can viewed as a teaching model compatible with a mechanistic model of organization design and the latter to the organic model. In language teaching programs, teaching models are often based on particular methods or approaches. For example: †¢ The communicative approach : the focus of teaching is authentic communication; extensive use is made of pair and group activities that involve negotiation of meaning and information sharing.Fluency is a priority. †¢ The cooperative learning model : students work in cooperative learning situations and are encouraged to work together on common task and to coordinate their efforts to complete task. Rewards system in group †¢ The process approach : In writing class es, student take part in activities that develop their understanding of writing as a process. †¢ The whole-language approach : Students are taught to read and write naturally, with a focus on real communication, authentic texts and reading and writing for pleasure.Rather than drawing approach or method, the teaching model in a program in a program may be based on a coherent set of participles that reflect how teaching and learning should be approached. This is the teaching philosophy of the program and serves as the basis for decisions about classroom methodology. Articulating a teaching philosophy in this way can help clarify decision relating to choice of classroom activities, materials, and teacher evaluation.In the case of a teaching model that is based on an existing teaching model such as communicative language teaching, the philosophy and principles of the model are accepted as givens : teachers are expected to be familiar with them and to put the principles into practic e. Teacher teaching in different ways. Even thought two teachers work toward identical goals they may choose different ways of getting there. Teachers bring to teaching their own personal beliefs and principles and these help to account for how they teach.Teachers principles are a product of their experience, their training and their beliefs. Bellows are the example of teacher' principles cited by Breen are: †¢ selectively focus on the form of the language †¢ selectively focus on vocabulary or meaning †¢ enable the learners to use the language †¢ address learners' mental-processing capacities †¢ make the new language familiar and manageable †¢ monitor learner progress and provide feedback †¢ facilitate learner responsibility †¢ manage the lesson and the group b. Maintaining Good Teaching Quality teaching can't simply be assumed to happen.It results from an active, ongoing effort on the part of teachers and administrators to ensure that good te aching practices are being maintained. This involved the establishment of shared commitment to quality teaching and the selection of appropriate measures to bring it about. The following are strategies that address this issue. 1. Monitoring Information needs to be collected regularly on all aspects of the program to find out how teacher are teaching the course, what is working well or proving difficult and what issues teachers need to resolve.Monitoring can take place through formal and informal mechanism such as group meetings, written reports, classroom visit, and student’s evaluations. 2. Observation Regular observation of teachers by other teachers or supervisors can provide positive feedback on teaching as well as help identify areas that might need attention. Observation may, but need not, involve evaluation. Peer observation can also be used to enable teachers to share approaches and teaching strategies. This might include information on how students complete a learnin g activity or the type and frequency or questions the teacher uses.Teacher can also make use of self observation to see what it tells them about their teaching. 3. Identification and resolution of problems Timely identification of problems in a program is essential to ensure that small problems do not develop into bigger ones. Good communication systems can help ensure that problems are brought to the attention of teachers or supervisors for timely resolutions. 4. Shared planning Teachers often work in isolation and do not always have the opportunities to benefit from the collective expertise of their colleagues.One way to avoid this is to build on opportunities for collaborative planning, as when teachers work together in pairs or groups on course planning, material development and lesson planning. During the process of planning, potential problems can often be identified and resolved. 5. Documentation and sharing of good practices A great deal of excellent teaching goes on in scho ols, but much of it is known only to individual teachers or supervisors. Teachers should be encouraged to report on their positive teaching experiences.For example, teacher might write short case accounts of a successful course they taught and share them with other teachers or post them in the Internet. They could write short articles for an in-house newsletter or teacher' magazine. Classes can be video-recorded to provide input to workshops or teaching-training sessions. Meetings or â€Å"mini-conferences† can be arranged in which teachers report on classroom innovations or other activities they wish to share with colleagues. 6. Self-study of the program Self-study involves a study of a program's practices and values as part of the process of self-evaluation and review.It is part of the process of demonstrating a commitment to quality and to long-term goals and professional development. A self-study should be undertaken every three to five years and involves teachers, admini strator, and students in a process of examining all aspect of a schools' operations (Kelly 1988) self-study involves a study of a program's practices and values as part of the process of self-evaluation and review. It is part of the process of demonstrating a commitment to quality and to long-term goals and professional development.A self-study should be undertaken every three to five years and involves teachers, administrator, and students in a process of examining all aspect of a schools' operations (Kelly 1988). c. Evaluating Teaching If a program seeks to provide quality teaching, it is essential that teachers’ performance be regularly reviewed. An appraisal system may have several different purposes: †¢ To reward teachers for good performance †¢ To help identify needs for further training †¢ To reinforce the need for continuous staff development †¢ To help improve teaching †¢ To provide a basis contract renewal and promotion To demonstrate an int erest in teachers’ performance and development The purpose of the appraisal will determine the type of appraisal that is carried out. 1. Developing the appraisal system An appraisal system is likely to have greater credibility if it represents both teachers and administrators views. It should therefore be produced collaboratively and represent all point of view. However, any appraisal system needs to recognize that there is no single correct way conduct of teaching. Teacher have different styles of teaching, and two teachers may conduct their classes very differently yet both be excellent teachers.Therefore, criteria for the complexity of teaching as well as the fact that it is a uniquely individual activity. In language teaching, there are no universally accepted criteria for assessing teacher effectiveness and several different kind of appraisal approaches are used. Criteria are generally established on an institutional basis, drawing on general principles for teacher effec tiveness and factors specific to the type of program in which the teacher work. Murdoch (1997) contains a questionnaire designed to the perceived qualities and competencies of good English teacher, and organized according to three areas. .The focus of appraisal Although appraisal usually involves observation of a teacher teaching one or more classes, the focus of appraisal may include a number of other aspects of a teacher’s work, such as: a. Lesson plans b. Teacher-made classroom materials c. Course outlines and handouts d. Class assignments e. Participation in profession development activities 3. Conducting the appraisal A teaching appraisal may be carried out by a supervisor, a colleague, the teacher himself or herself, or students. Appraisal by a supervisor: supervisor often assume the role of appraiser, though many teacher find that they prefer appraisal to be carried by someone other than a supervisor.The presence of a supervisor in the classroom may inhibit the teacher from performing to his or her best. In addition, if the supervisor is largely an administrator rather than a classroom teacher, he or she may not have a good understanding of the classroom situation, resulting in misperceptions about different aspect of the lesson. In order to provide some consistency to appraisals, checklists are often used. Appraisal by a colleague: peer appraisal is generally less threatening for a teacher than appraisal by a colleague and may result in more constructive feedback. A colleague will often have a better understanding of the difficulties a teacher faces and perhaps be able to suggest useful easy of addressing them. †¢Self-appraisal : teacher themselves are often in a good position to assess their own teacher and self-appraisal is perhaps the threatening form of teacher assessment. Self-appraisal may take a variety of forms : o Lesson reports : The teacher may use structured descriptions of a lesson whit an evaluation of each component. Teaching journal : The teacher keep a regular journal about his or her class, and describe and reflect on different aspects of planning and teaching the course. o Audio/video recording : The teacher may record a number of lesson of his or her class or arrange to have someone else record them, review the recordings, and comment on the strengths or weaknesses of the lesson. o Student appraisal : Student are in a good position to assess the effectiveness of teaching, although the extent to which they are able to do so depends on the type of feedback instrument they are given.Although students often critical, they usually have a good sense of whether a teacher prepares his or her lesson, teacher relevant content, provides lesson that are engaging, relevant and at an appropriate level of difficulty. 4. THE LEARNING PROCESS Learning is not the mirror image of teaching. The extent to which teaching achieves its goals will also dependent on how successfully learners have been considered in the plan ning and delivery process. The following factors may affect how successfully a course is received by learners. .Understanding of the course Understanding of the course very important to ensure the learners understanding to the goals of the course, the reason for the way it is organized and taught, and the approaches to learning they will be encouraged to take. b. View of learning Learners enter a course with their own views of teaching and learning and these may not be identical to those of their teachers. Al Corso and Kalantzis (1985) found that teacher rates the usefulness of ommunicative activities highly, whereas their learners tended to favor more traditional activities such as grammar exercises, copying written material, memorizing, and drill work. Course may assume a variety of different learner roles, such as:†¢ Manager of his or her own learning †¢ Independent learner †¢ Need analyst †¢ Collaborator and team member †¢ Peer tutor c. Learning Style Le arning styles may be an important factor in the success of teaching and may not necessarily reflect those that teachers recommended. In a study of the learning style, Willing found four different learner types such as: Concrete learners These learners preferred learning by games, picture, films and video, taking in pairs, learning through the use of cassettes, and going on excursions †¢ Analytical learners These learners liked studying grammar, studying English books, studying alone, finding their own mistakes, having problems to work on, and learning through reading newspapers †¢ Communicative learnersThis group liked to learn by observing and listening to native speakers, taking to friends in English, watching TV in English, learning English words by hearing them and learning by conversations Authority-oriented learners These students liked the teacher to explain everything, writing everything in a notebook, having their own textbook, learning to read, studying grammar, and learning English words by seeing them d. Motivation Beside of learning style, motivations also important to find out what the learner’s motivations are for taking the course. e. Support Support mechanism provided for learners are another component of course delivery. These include the kinds of feedback learners will get about their learning and opportunities that are provided for faster or slower learners.CONCLUSION In this paper we are discussed about â€Å"providing for effective teaching† which have four factors, which are: ? Institutional factors Institutional factor has correlation about the institution organizational, institutional quality, good internal communication between administrator and the teacher also professional teacher and opportunities for developing teacher's ability. ? Teacher factors Teacher factor discuss about teacher' skill and qualification, the aspect for supporting teacher to do their responsibility. ? Teaching factorsTeaching process is the way to monitoring process teaching-learning based on the model and principle which chosen by its institution, than maintenance when found the error process and also evaluating teaching. ? Learners factors The last factor to achieve quality teaching is learner factor. Learner factor is the way to know what the learner need, how to choose the appropriate learning style, giving motivation and also support to the pupils REFERENCE Jack C. Richards. 2001. Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press

Economic Crisis in Zimbabwe Essay

Zimbabwe is currently facing the worst economic crisis in its history. The inflationary rates are in an all time high while unemployment rate is more than ninety percent. The current economic crisis has been caused by various factors which can be described as economical, social and political. The land reforms which were undertaken by the government in the early years of this decade have contributed greatly towards economic meltdown in this country. The white owned farms were major producers of the export products in this country which heavily relies on agriculture for its survival. Agriculture and mainly export industry collapsed leading to massive loss of jobs and foreign currency. (Bond, P and Masimba, M, 2002 13) The mismanagement of economy and grand corruption has made Zimbabwe to be shunned by the investors. This has denied the country the much needed direct investment funds which are very crucial in the creation of employment and upkeep of the economy. The prevailing political situation has made the matter worse as the environment is not conducive for investors. Government decision to control prices has made the economic crisis to deepen as producers are have abandoned the manufacturing and production in general in fear of making massive losses due to the government control in an economy which was previously highly liberalized. Natural calamities and diseases have acted as catalyst to the prevailing economic condition as the government spends funds to mitigate these problems. (Richardson, C, 2007 34) Addressing Zimbabwe economic problems may not be an easy task but solutions must be found to save this country from total collapse. Political and economic reforms must be put in place to turn the economic round. Political reforms will go a long way in restoring foreign investors’ confidence helping in bringing in foreign currency and the creation of employment for the people of this country. Inflation need to be tamed down to make this country a haven of investment once again. The government must be committed to implement policies which will work towards turning the economy around. Liberalization of the markets is one policy which might see the economy up again. This will bring competition in the markets something that is crucial towards creating employment and satisfying the local and international demand of the Zimbabwe products. The foreign currency market needs to be freed to address the economic imbalance. Unwarranted printing of the money should be discouraged as a measure to check the inflation. The international financial institutions can save the country from its woes through advancing credit which can help in reduction of inflationary rates. The financial assistance should be properly monitored to ensure that it is used as intended, that means that the government must be accountable to the people as it only through transparency and accountability will progress be realized. Revocation of the land reforms instituted earlier will go along way in boosting commercial farming in this country. The land owners should be guaranteed safety and incentives which will make them undertake the crucial role of providing food for the country and for the export markets. It may take long to bring back the economy on track again but all this can be achieved if there is a will. (Clemens, C and Moss, T, 2005 53) Work Cited Bond, P and Masimba, M, Zimbabwe Plunge, London, Merlin Press (2002) Richardson, C, Linking Rainfall and GDP Growth in Zimbabwe, African Affair, Oxford University Press (2007) Clemens, C and Moss, T, Costs and Causes of Zimbabwe Crisis, Center for Global development (2005)

Animal Farm By George Orwell

Animal Farm By George Orwell Essay Animal Farm by George OrwellCharacters, items, and events found in George Orwells book, Animal Farm, can be compared to similar characters, items, and events found in Marxism and the 1917 Russian Revolution. This comparison will be shown by using the symbolism that is in the book with similarities found in the Russian Revolution. Old Major was a prized-boar that belonged to Farmer Jones. The fact that Old Major is himself a boar was to signify that radical change and revolution are, themselves, boring in the eyes of the proletariat (represented by the other barnyard animals), who are more prone to worrying about work and survival in their everyday life. Old Major gave many speeches to the farm animals about hope and the future. He is the main animal who got the rebellion started even though he died before it actually began. Old Majors role compares to Lenin and Marx whose ideas were to lead to the communist revolution. Animal Farm is a criticism of Karl Marx, as well as a novel perpe tuating his convictions of democratic Socialism. (Zwerdling, 20). Lenin became leader and teacher of the working class in Russia, and their determination to struggle against capitalism. Like Old Major, Lenin and Marx wrote essays and gave speeches to the working class poor. The working class in Russia, as compared with the barnyard animals in Animal Farm, were a laboring class of people that received low wages for their work. Like the animals in the farm yard, the people is Russia thought there would be no oppression in a new society because the working class people (or animals) would own all the riches and hold all the power. (Golubeva and Gellerstein 168). Another character represented in the book is Farmer Jones. He represents the symbol of the Czar Nicholas in Russia who treated his people like Farmer Jones treated his animals. The animal rebellion on the farm was started because Farmer Jones was a drunk who never took care of the animals and who came home one night, left the ga te open and the animals rebelled. Czar Nicholas was a very weak man who treated his people similar to how Farmer Jones treated his animals. The Czar made his working class people very mad with the way he wielded his authority and preached all the time, and the people suffered and finally demanded reform by rebelling. The Czar said ?The law will henceforward be respected and obeyed not only by the nation but also the authority that rules it and that the law would stand above the changing views of the individual instruments of the supreme power.? (Pares 420). The animal Napoleon can be compared as a character representing Stalin in Russia. Both were very mean looking, didnt talk very much but always got what they wanted through force. In one part of the book Napoleon charged the dogs on Snowball, another animal. Stalin became the Soviet Leader after the death of Lenin. He was underestimated by his opponents who always became his victims, and he had one of the most ruthless, regimes i n history. In was not till very many years later that the world found out about the many deaths that Stalin created in Russia during the Revolution. For almost 50 years the world thought that the Nazis had done the killing in Russia, when in fact it was Stalin. (Imse 2). The last characters that are symbolic of each other are the animal Snowball with the Russian leader Trotsky. Snowball was very enthusiastic and was a leader who organized the defense of the farm. He gave speeches and instructions but was not very beneficial. All the other animals liked him, but he was outsmarted by Napoleon. Trotsky and Stalins relationship was very much like Snowballs and Napoleons. Trotsky organized the Red Army and gave speeches and everyone in Russia thought he would win power over Stalin. After Lenins death Trotsky lost all his power to Stalin and was expelled from the communist party. He was at one time considered the second most powerful man in Russia. (Trotsky? Comptons 290). Besides charact ers there are many items that can be compared as symbols in the book and in Russia. The whip that Napoleon used in the farmyard to wield power can be compared to the power that Stalin used on the Russians. Napoleon carried a whip in his trotter. Stalin used his power to starve the Russian people and to have Lenin arrested. Stalins main goal was to maximize his personal power. (?Stalin,? Britannia 576). Stalin ?whipped? his people into shape by collectivizing agriculture, by police terror, and by destroying remnants of individual prosperity. He also led the Soviet Union into the nuclear age (Clarkson 442). Propaganda is another item that was used in the Russian revolution. It can be compared to Squealer in Animal Farm. Squealer brainwashed (a form of propaganda) the barnyard animals into believing that they did not like apples and milk, while he and Napoleon were stealing the food for themselves. In Russia, the Bolsheviks carried out propaganda on the people by passing out leaflets a nd putting stories in the newspapers that were not true. They told workers, soldiers, and peasants to not trust their own hands and to take away land from the landowners. (Golubeva and Gellerstein 80). Another item that is similar in both Animal Farm and Russia are the dogs and the secret police. Napoleon trained his dogs when they were puppies to guard him and to obey his every command. They chased Snowball away. Stalin trained his secret police to do his bidding whenever he issued an order. Stalin had his secret police kill between 60,000 to 70,000 people. These police were called the Checka and the graves filled with bodies stacked upon each other with bullets in each skull were found many years later. (Imse, C2). Another symbolism that exists in the book and in Russia is a similarity to events that took place. The windmill that is present in Animal Farm can be compared with the growth of industry in Russia or the Industrial Revolution. Snowball first introduced the windmill conc ept to the farm but Napoleon disagreed with him and had the dogs chase him away. Napoleon then presented the windmill as a good idea and the animals were presented with hope that things would get better on the farm. When it blew down, Napoleon blamed it on Snowball. Napoleon thought that if he could keep the barnyard animals busy all the time replacing the windmill that they would not realize how bad their living conditions were, and he could blame the destruction all the time on Snowball. The windmill is the only thing that was holding the animals together as a unit. In Russia the growth of factory and industry was very depressing but depended on the obligatory labor of serfs. Russia hoped that by keeping the serfs working all the time and promising them a better world that they would not realize how bad their living conditions were. The Industrialists were pressing their own constitutional demands. (Clarkson 352). None of the social classes were fighting each other because there w ere no classes left. What Russia got working was to make the people think that the prospect of loss of potential improvements in conditions of life of the here and now, could only be attained by stimulating labor to unprecedented efforts. The last event that was similar in the book and in Russia was the animal rebellion on the farm and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Farmer Jones was drunk a lot and would forget to feed the animals on the farm. The withholding of this food is what finally forced the animals on the farm to rebel against Farmer Jones. In Russia, there were many food shortages which caused the people to demonstrate and then the Russian soldiers refused to suppress them and the leaders demanded that Nicholas transfer his power to parliamentary government because everything was getting out of control. Soviet workers and soldiers formed a special committee and established a government. The same day the emperor abdicated. (?Russian Revolution,? Grolier npa). This actually backfired in Russia and the war continued and the people still starved. Many lessons can be learned by reading Animal Farm that can help countries and governments around the world from making mistakes in wielding their power against their people. If a population is suppressed and not allowed to accumulate things for themselves then an overthrow of the government that is suppressing them will be the result. WORKS CITEDClarkson, Jesse. A History of Russia. New York: Random House, 1969. Golubeva, T. and L. Gellerstein. Early Russia The Russie. Moscos, Press Agency Publishing House, 1976. Imse, Ann. Mass Grave Seen as Evidence of Massecure by Stalins Police. ?Hunstsville Times, 13, August. 1990. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Signet 50th Anniversary Edition, Harcourt Brace Company, 1996. Pares, Sir Bernard. The Fall of the Russian Monarchy. New York: A division of Random House, 1939. ?Russian Revolution of 1917.? Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. 1992 ed. ?Stalin, Joseph.? Encyclopedi a Britannica. 1917 ed. READ: Mahatma gandhi Essay

Rate Making Formula vs. Bonds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Rate Making Formula vs. Bonds - Research Paper Example The rules will cost $800 million annually until 2014 in addition to $1.6 billion already spent annually under its predecessor, CAIR, in capital investments. The industry players say that the rule is the most costly and burdensome to the business and consumers and analysts say that it is likely to increase consumer bills by an estimated 40 to 60 percent by 2014 . Consumer advocacy groups have also come out to fight the utility rate hikes as well as the CSAPR that are adding the cost burden to their bills. This explains why three dozen lawsuits had already been filed by November 2011 and their adversarial nature . This is just one example of compliance costs struggle that environmental regulations bring . As energy utilities attempt to reach the set compliance standards, whether by capital investment, or adopting different operational strategies, or adopting new and cleaner technologies costs will be incured. Since these costs are associated with environmental compliance, utilities wil l argue that they should be included into rates, and ratepayers will be disinclined to bear costs . Municipal bonds are better alternatives to recoup environmental compliance costs while eliminating cost shifting to consumers and ensuring implementation of environmental regulations in a less adversarial atmosphere. This will eliminate much creditworthiness and the revenue deficiency risk utilities bear from environmental compliance, allowing utilities to operate more efficiently and thus keeping energy prices low.... As energy utilities attempt to reach the set compliance standards, whether by capital investment, or adopting different operational strategies, or adopting new and cleaner technologies costs will be incured. Since these costs are associated with environmental compliance, utilities will argue that they should be included into rates, and ratepayers will be disinclined to bear the costs5. Municipal bonds are better alternatives to recoup environmental compliance costs while eliminating cost shifting to consumers and ensuring implementation of environmental regulations in a less adversarial atmosphere. Currently as a general rule, environmental compliance costs are recoverable in rates because these costs are not costs that an energy utility can chose to incur; they must incur them6. In ratemaking, a PUC may deem that a measure taken by a utility was not the most economical or efficient way to reach compliance, therefore, reject to include the cost into the rate. Using municipal bonds to recoup environmental compliance costs eliminates this cost shifting struggle7. The proposed bond will be a private activity bond which will be issued to recoup short term loans that the county will take from Qualified Energy Conservation Bond (QECB) on behalf of the electric utility company. This is because counties within a state are allocated their amount according to population as stipulated in the QECB Formula Allocations. This will be given in a lump sum upon approval by the Department of the Treasury at low interest rate and which 10% of it will have to be used in the first six months and the rest in two years time8. The county will then issue general obligation municipal bonds to repay for the QECB loan plus interest. This will eliminate much

ITM 301 Mod 2 SLP - Principles of Information Systems in Business and Essay

ITM 301 Mod 2 SLP - Principles of Information Systems in Business and Organizations - Essay Example Likewise, for a person who just lands up in this website who is just willing to give a cursory look at the website can also get interest aroused. Hence, there is more possibility that the person may spend more time in the site. The look of the website is very appealing to the trained eye of an IT person with all the articles about the current IT issues. A cursory look at the range of articles that have been published is very impressive. Every link leads to a further probe into information in depth. The look of the site shows that it is a very loaded one with vast range of articles, blogs and links. For a person who is determined to find an article about a specific issue this site may be very useful. The apparent audience for the website will be the IT professionals, IT students and business managers. For the IT professionals and IT students this site is useful to keep updated about the latest developments and to get ideas with respect to the technological innovations. For the business managers this site is very useful to understand the effective use of technology to increase the efficiency of the various IT tools. For example the cover story for the August, 2008 issue is about whether to buy or build softw are applications1. This article is extremely useful and gives advisory tips for the managers to bring down the IT cost and at the improving the apparent benefits of software implementation. When I browsed this site, I found the IT white papers section very useful. To get a comprehensive idea about the topic of interest this section is indeed a great boon for researchers and business managers. The white papers provide valid data about the various issues and challenges in implementing and maintaining business management of technology. The links that I intended to follow are the news about the various projects. In that the disaster recovery is a very interesting area for me where I found many articles about the ways in which IT can be used in case of adversity.

Employee Scenarios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employee Scenarios - Essay Example This paper analyzes internet abuse, sexual harassment, and substance abuse as fictional scenarios, which employer deals with regarding employees. All these scenarios have effects to the employee and the employer. The employee finds it difficult to cope with such situations in the company. It makes it impossible for the employer, to delegate duties to such workers, because of poor performance. On the other hand, employees find it difficult to cope with work demands, when the scenarios’ affect them. It is important for employers to form and develop regulations within their work place that tend to regulate occurrence of such scenarios within the work place. Technology enables majority of employees to use the internet when undertaking company duties. The internet gives relevance to the type of work an employee undertakes and some irrelevant to his or her work. In both cases, internet plays a crucial role when performing different company duties. In econet wireless company, a company that offers internet wireless services to his customers, Bradley, the companies’ supervisor director, gets into serious problems with his manager, after he is found watching pornographic videos using the company’s internet at work. Clearly, the company has rules and regulations that regulate internet usage of the employees. The rules and regulations seem not right to Bradley and he decides to abuse the rules by going to unpleasant sites to watch the videos. According to his employer, this becomes a gigantic scenario as the company’s rules and regulations violation. Regular conduct of job examination studies and certification of the resul ts helps guard employers from unfair treatment (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012, p.153). Bradley’s manager positions himself as a perfect employer because he had the regular examination, but Bradley had not taken it seriously. However, the company still

White lies and integrity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

White lies and integrity - Essay Example In the political arena, it is particularly unacceptable for elected officials to hide facts from the people as they would prevent them from making informed decisions on public affairs and policy. In the personal sphere, some people may find white lies more justifiable. A common example is a loving family member who attempts to hide the negative prognosis of her dying relatives, fearing that the bad news will further aggravate the relative’s health. Although such a lie may sound more like an act of love, it remains a violation to another person’s autonomy as it takes away her chance to evaluate the decision and make the best decision for herself. Every person has the natural right to freedom and each rational human being should be the most capable person to determine what his/her best interest is. Thus, not only are white lies dishonest and lack integrity, they may be self-defeating in the sense that they may at the end harm instead of protect the person. Returning to the example of the dying relative: if the relative has known that she is dying soon, she would have ended the hospital treatment and spend the remaining of her life relaxing at home; however, since she does not know the true prognosis, she continues the hassle of going to the hospital every day. In this case, her health may be harmed by the white lie. She would be better off if her relative tells her the truth and allow her to decide for herself. Projecting this line of argument to the bigger picture, we as Americans may be hurt by the so-called white lies government officials present to us. This issue is especially controversial as the concern towards national security and international terrorism is severely heightened. After the 911 attack, it appears that the Bush Administration was allowed to conduct every operation in the â€Å"war of terrorism† under the name of homeland

Global Marketing - Automotive Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

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Wireless technology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wireless technology - Coursework Example Compared to the positive impacts, negative impacts of wireless technology on the environment are dependent on prolonged exposure linked to long-term use in moving people and goods, offering public services, powering the future, and nourishing people. In addition, wireless technology has made way into home, workplaces, and schools increasing concerns over the impacts on the environment in all these areas. This section focuses on both the negative and positive impacts that wireless technology has on the environment. The areas of study include hazards to humans, resources depletion, inventions’ discovery, and impact on wildlife, pollution of air and water, and short-lived and long-lived waste disposal impacts. Other areas of study include endangering of species, spotted owl and deforestation, and positive impacts like the case of Alaskan pipeline. In terms of public health, mobile phones and other wireless telecommunication devices involve information transmission using radio waves. Radio frequency waves are non-ionizing and this implies that they are not as strong to affect the atomic structures that they contact (U.S environmental Protection Agency, 2014). This is to say that RF waves neither break any chemical bond within human body nor cause any human atom to charge negatively or positively. Radio frequency waves linked to wireless technology arise from fixed network of antennas or base stations, industrial sources like cell towers, personal and domestic appliances, commercial surveillance systems, WLAN, WiFi, and WiMAX networks. According to Sage & Carpenter (2009), RF waves form the main element of wireless communications and have the capacity to increase the information volume transferred with time. As a result, multiple frequency bands are in use for wireless communication. However, RF is electromagnetic fields and

Group reference Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Group reference - Essay Example The readings also provided knowledge about the importance of modern social networking as a method of reaching new consumer audiences. Sites such as MySpace and many others provide even more weight to the concept of reference groups and are therefore important especially in cultures like the UAE that have very group-minded collectivist values. According to Beckstrom (2010) the UAE is the largest user of the Internet in the Middle East where 74.1 percent of the population had access to broadband connections or mobile phones. It is a lifestyle activity for the UAE (Beckstrom). This is important for companies such as the Carrefour hypermarket that has recently launched its own online store offering many non-food items to customers in an environment that is convenient to the buyer segments (dubaifaqs.com, 2011). With the use of social networking tools, customers can have a more interactive experience with the brand and also satisfy their social reference group needs in an environment prov iding similar opinion and values. The UAE is also a culture that does not accept uncertainty easily, in areas of buying behavior and also in terms of the social structures that guide the nation. People in cultures such as this are intolerant of conflicting opinions and value group harmony over individual expression (Donnison, 2008). In the UAE, it is predictable that customers of hypermarkets will want detailed pricing guidelines and clear choices related to their purchases. Therefore, this has significance to marketers trying to predict buyer behavior and develop a system of advertising and product variety that is clear so that buyers understand exactly what they will experience in-store. For the female shopper in the UAE, it is important to identify that there are still many prejudices and stereotypes present that impede their progress toward higher social class status. Therefore, social stratification does not necessarily allow female buyers to move from lower-end class status to more influential status due to the high presence of male-controlled attitudes and political structures. However, the female shopper, across the globe, is usually the most important decision-maker in buying decisions which makes it difficult for companies like Carrefour or Lulu hypermarkets to appeal to the woman buyer. Men have more opportunity for changing their social class and therefore are more mobile. Word-of-mouth communication, as identified by the readings, is still important to the success of a brand or company. Again, the social networking capabilities of Carrefour hypermarkets is changing the interactivity between buyer and the organization which provides new opinion leadership that can change buyer behaviors. It seems that the UAE and especially the hypermarket stores are capitalizing on these new low-cost capabilities by providing products online so that consumers in the same social class with the same values can discuss their positive experiences with Carrefour or Lul u markets. The high instance of mobile phone usage and the lifestyles associated with UAE Internet usage give these markets new visibility and maybe even be able to appeal to the market maven. Since it has been recognized that women in Arab countries enjoy the shopping experience together as part of the group,

Marketing environment Essay Example for Free

Marketing environment Essay Product Offerings Kellogg’s is in the breakfast cereal market. It principal products are related to ready-to-eat cereals. In addition to this the company also manufactures and sells many convenience foods such as crackers, cereal bars, veggie foods, frozen waffles, toaster pastries, fruit snacks cookies etc. As of 2009, the manufacturing of these products took place in 19 countries across the world and were sold in over 180 countries. The company’s brands include Kellogg’s, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos. The company also has several brand names attached to its products such as: Apple Jacks, Mueslix, Pops, Corn Pops, Cruncheroos, Bran Buds, Cocoa Krispies, special K, Smacks etc in US; Suchrilos and related products and Zucharita and related products in Latin America; Vive and Vector in Canada; Optima, Choco Pops, Muslix, Honey Loops, Country Store, Ricicles etc in Europe; Cerola, Sultana Bran, BeBig, Chex, Frosties etc. in Asia and Australia (Kellogg’s Investor Information). Following is the market share for the different cereal brands over the past 14 years. Fig – 12 Most Popular Cereal Brands (Topher, 2008) Target markets Customers Kellogg’s has separated its business into two segments: North America and International. The company generates two thirds of its revenues in North America which consists of United States and Canada. These are shown in the figure below. Fig – 13 Kellogg’s market sales by region, in millions (wikinvest, 2009) In United States, the biggest retail consumer of Kellogg’s are the Wal-Mart Stores that accounts for about 20% of its net sale. In fact no other consumer accounts for more than 10% of its net sales. Kellogg’s revenue in North America is further divided into different sections based on product types such as cereals, snacks and frozen and specialty categories. This is shown in the figure below. Fig – 14 Kellogg’s sales by Product Category (wikinvest, 2009) Competition The company faces competition for sales of all of its principal products in its major markets, both domestically and internationally. The Companys products compete with advertised and branded products of a similar nature as well as unadvertised and private label products, which are distributed at lower prices, and also with other food products with different characteristics. Principal factors for competition include new product introductions, product quality, composition, and nutritional value, price, advertising and promotion (Kellogg). The primary competitors of Kellogg’s are General Mills and Kraft which sells breakfast cereal under the Pos brand. Among this the revenues of Kraft are triple as compared to the other two brands with its leading segment being snacks. However, both Kellogg’s and General Mills receive more of their revenues from the cereal segment. The table below shows the company comparison. Company Net Revenues (in millions) International Revenues as % of sales Gross Margin % Kellogg’s $ 10,906 32. 6% 44. 2% General Mills $ 12,442 17% 36% Kraft $ 34,356 32. 4 36. 1% Table – 15 Company Comparison (wikinvest, 2009) Supply chain As mentioned, Wal-Mart accounts for about 20% of the company’s product sales in United States. The company uses both its sales force as well as business arrangements with brokers and distributors to sell its products. The products are eventually resold to consumers in retail stores, restaurants and other food service establishments (Kellogg’s Investor Information). The figure below gives the different types of distribution channels of the company. Fig – 16 Kellogg’s distribution Channels (http://www. docstoc. com/docs/3584505/Kellogg%EF%BF%BDs-Marketing-Strategy-and-Marketing-Plans ) Market position Product Sales Regardless of the bad moments it has faced over the year, especially thorough the 1990s, Kellogg’s still the market leader in the US cereal market. Despite increasing competition Kellogg’s has slowly increased its share in the market and control about 1/3rd of the market. This is followed by General Mills and Quaker and Post. In addition to this, Kellogg’s controls as much as 50% of the market for new cereals in the United States with the introduction of more new cereals than either of its competitors. The figure below shows the 2008 US cereal market. Fig – 17 US Cereal Market Share (wikinvest, 2009) The figure below shows the market share trends for the top cereal producers over the past 10 years. Fig – 18 Market share trends for the past 10 years (Topher, 2008) Employment Financial statistics The company employs about 32400 employees worldwide which its latest figures as of 2009. It has generated about 12. 8 billion in net worldwide sales of which its earning were $ 1. 1 billion. The company keeps low sales targets for its internal net sales since it is a mature market. The figures are between 1-3 %. The company exceeded this target with a net sales growth of 9% in the year 2008 and a growth rate of 5. 4. The targets for internal operating margins are between 4-6% which the company achieved by reaching a figure of 4. 5%. The net earnings per share target for the company is between 7-9%. The company achieved a diluted earning per share grew by 8% which the currency neutral EPS grew by 10% which was more than its target. The figure below shows the financial highlights of the company for the past 3 years. Fig – 19 Kellogg’s 2008 financial highlights (Kellogg’s Investor Information) Since one of the major draws of the company is the innovation of its products,, the company sets aside a considerable budget for RD. The expenditure figures for this head were $181 million in 2008. The corresponding budget was $ 171 million in 2007 and $191 million in 2006. Marketing Advertising The company has an excellent marketing team which has used varied channels for sales and promotion of its products. These include: Mass Advertising – popular characters like Tony the TigerTM and Snap! Crackle! Pop! TM, on TV; Direct Promotions: Coupons; Trade Promotions: In-store displays, Samples; Personal Selling: Prime-account reps, Area reps; Penetration Chain stores, Independent wholesalers; Sales Channel Brand equity; Logistics Finished goods warehouse centers or independent warehouses (Kellogg’s Company – Products).

The Accumulation of Capital Essay Example for Free

The Accumulation of Capital Essay Joan Robinson (1903-83) is one of the leading economists of the 20th century and the only woman among the great economists. Her writings on economic development show a strong sense of the historical context of social change and a concern with economic organization and institutions rather than resource allocation. The existence of al living beings has the character of certain economic relationships. For example, in her work The Accumulation of Capital (1956) Robinson shows how from the economy’s point of view a human being can practice the behavior of an ordinary robin, and proceeding from this comparison she notes that economic life of humans is incomparably more complicated and needs very profound analysis. According to Robinson a group of people who specialize and co-operate are more likely to produce far greater results than the sum of their independent efforts. Basing on this simple fact, she continues, human economies develop into very intricate complexes of specialized activities. The method of distribu ¬tion of the product of interlocking activities then becomes important. After the distribution of the products the notion PROPERTY comes to light. There are a great number of societies on the planet, which live in accord with different types of economies. For example, there is slave economy, capitalist economy, socialist economy, etc. The methods of distribu ¬tion of the product of interlocking activities in each of these economies are cardinally different. Robinson claims that no actual economy conforms to a pure type. For example when she speaks about the economies, which are predominantly capitalist, she states that they contain many elements of production for home consumption, many elements of artisan production and many elements of socialism. This book deals predominantly with capitalist economy. It explicates certain capitalist rules, under which anyone who has suffi ¬cient purchasing power, or finance, and knows how to set about it, can become an employer of labor or entrepreneur. Then on the explanation of what entrepreneur is and how entrepreneurship developed is provided. For example, she compares the historical and modern notion of entrepreneur – in the early days of capitalism the typical entrepreneur was an individual who had invested his own finance in a business which he managed himself and bequeathed to his heirs as a going concern. The entrepreneur in modern conditions is a very amorphous conception; in brief, it is decision-taking entity, embodying the policy of a firm. The capitalist rules of the economy encourage large-scale produc ¬tion and the use of elaborate techniques. This raises output per man much above what an artisan can achieve. Thus, one of the tasks of entrepreneur is, in fact, to organize his employees in such a way to reach the highest possible output. In the following chapters Robinson presents the traditional categories in which the sources of income are usually divided like wages, rent, interest and profits. She also provides very clear and complete explanation of each of these categories. According to Broadly, economic wealth is the command over goods and services that are desired, or consuming power for short. The significance of production lies in the consumption, which it makes possible. The motive of each individual is to get command over money, and a flow of goods and services suitable to meet human wants emerges as a by ¬product of their efforts to do so. Thus the purchasing power of individuals and groups is the major influence on their consuming power. The purchasing power in real terms of a sum of money consists in a list of all the possible goods and services that it might buy. Purchasing power must be examined, so to say, in two layers the command of an individual or group over money, and the command given by a unit of money over goods and services. She states her position that the marginal productivity theory is not appropriate to explain the distribution of the national income between capital and labor, because, as she explains it is impossible to measure capital independently of labor. When assessing purchasing power we cannot do without such notion as money. Generally, money and its function is one of the central notions of economy. The economy is monetary, because there is specialization and exchange between different groups. Robinson underlies the importance of presenting the price level in terms of money, but she does not leave aside the importance of labor invested in the product. As she observes, many contracts besides the wage bargain are made in terms of money, and changes in the purchasing power of money bring about opposite changes in the real benefit and the real cost of the payments concerned so long as the contract holds. But in the long run all contracts are revised, so that a change in the real value of money becomes just a change in words. Over the long run the important price level is the price level in terms of labor time, for this expresses the distribution of the total product of the economy between work and property. Robinson concludes her book with the chapter which deals with the importance of equilibrium in economic relations. She presents different models of economic cooperation and comes to conclusion that an economy, which existed in a state of tranquility, lucidity and harmony, would be devoted to the production and con ¬sumption of wealth in a rational manner. She emphasizes the necessity to describe these conditions to see how remote they are from the states in which actual economies dwell. Traditionally she resorts to the showing the real example on capitalist model, which could never have come into existence in such conditions, for the divorce between work and property, which makes large-scale enterprise possible, entails conflict; and the rules of the game have been developed precisely to make accumulation and technical progress possible in conditions of uncertainty and imperfect knowledge. Yet too much disturbance, deception and conflict would break an economy to pieces. The persistence of capitalism till to day is evidence that certain principles of coherence are imbedded in its confusion, concludes Robinson in her work. The models of economic concepts in Joan Robinsons The Accumulation of Capital are very easy to understand and provide insight into the fundamental elements of an extremely complex process of economies. By concentrating on the purely economic strands in the process of development we can provide a practical guide to understanding history, and indicate to people how best they might set about their task. The Accumulation of Capital deals with money, credit, finance, interest rates, and banks. Joan Robinson exhibits her clear comprehension of the complexities of the financial world. Moreover, she appears to be able to provide a novelty of comprehensive view of the relations between the financial system and the macroeconomy. This book is a perfect source of valuable information on money, credit and finance. Reference: Robinson, Joan (1956), The Accumulation of Capital, Macmillan, London.

Understanding Personality In Order To Improve Communication

Understanding Personality In Order To Improve Communication New Britain Oils is a Palm Oil manufacturer who specialises in fully sustainable Palm Oil. The organisation is a subsidiary of New Britain Palm Oil Limited which has been around since the 1980s. The organisation consists of a number of site across the globe with the main plantations growing in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands covering 82,000 hectares and employing over 10,000 workers. There are only two refinery, one in Papua New Guinea and the second is in Liverpool. Liverpool is the only site outside of Australasia and had an opening employment count of 26 in 2010, this number currently stands at 78 in 2016. The Liverpool Refinery opened in 2010 starting with bulk oil supply into 28 tonne road tankers. In 2012 the Packing Facility was opened, this plant converts some of the bulk oil into industrial margarine and other bakery fats. Since opening in 2010 New Britain Oils is now the number one supplier of sustainable Palm Oil in the UK. With the rapid growth of the Liverpool site came an increase in employees and inevitably the dynamic of the working environment changed with it. Some employees left the organisation, who have since been replaced, and new departments have been created to cope with the growth of the business. Consequently this instability has affected the productivity in some areas. This issue couldve been exacerbated by the management teams failure to recognise this variation and react accordingly. Bringing in new workers will bring in differing psychological preferences and according to Jung (1971) preferences influence our choice of careers, ways of thinking, relationships, and work habits. Richard L. Hughes et al. (2015) stated that our preferences play a role in the characteristic and unique ways we behave from day to day. Consequently, could increasing the management awareness of their teams individual preferences promote better relationships, through improved communication, within the organisati on? Mary Uhl-Bien and George B. Graen (1995) discovered that higher quality Leader-Member Exchange relationships have very positive outcomes for leaders, followers, work units, and the organisation in general, the same research also found that the development of Leader-Member Exchange relationships is influenced by characteristics and behaviours of leaders and members. This assignment will first outline what can affect the effectiveness of a leader and why increasing the value of relationships could increase the effectiveness of a leader. Using existing research it will look at why communication is a crucial tool for a leader and how an understanding of how differing personality types interact, prefer to receive information and what drives their decision making,   can enable leaders to communicate more effectively.   A recognised psychological test will be used to gather data about the psychological preferences of some of the employees across different areas of the business with the objective being to identify potential differences in preferences. The overall aim of the research is to increase the management teams awareness of some of the differing personality types within their department and understand the differences between these types. The intention is to educate the management team and give them the opportunity to adapt their leadership s tyle to promote better quality relationships through a better understanding of the individuals within their team. Literature Review Leadership Leadership has been the subject of research for a long time. Burns (1978) stated that due to its importance in human groups, the concept of leadership is one of the organisational topics that have most intrigues researchers for centuries. As a result, attempts to define leadership have proved to be an ambiguous. Leadership as simply a complex form of social problem solving (Miller and Ross 1975), leadership is directing and coordinating the work of group members (McCall Jnr et al. 1988), leadership is creating conditions for a team to be effective (Reason and Mycielska 1982). Powell and Pirsico (rev. ed. 2003) defined leadership as the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. All of the definitions stated have a connection which is the reference to a group or team. This implies that leadership would not exist without individuals to lead. The definitions detailed show the variation in concepts of leadership and this is reflected in the research. Some leadership researchers have focused on the leader-follower relationship and Geoff Thomas et al. (2013) stated that the reason we focus on the leader-follower relationship is because research shows that the quality of this relationship is reliably linked to follower well-being and performance. Other researchers, such as John Adair, looked at how the situation can affect the way leaders act. Adair identified that leadership is affected by three things. The task, the team and the individual and leaders need to balance their time equally between the three areas and at certain times one of the areas will dominate, but over the long run a balance would be achieved (John Adair 1982). Figure 1. shows John Adairs concept of action centred leadership. In different situations the circles will be overlapping different amounts showing which the dominant factor is. Figure 1. John Adair (1982) Researchers have studied the behaviours of the leader and what behaviours are associated with an effective leader. Leadership is earned and it is not granted by role or rite of passage (Lloyd l. Sederer 2012) and through our interactions humans sustain the effect of leadership and we interpret it even though we may not be aware that we do so (Kempster and Parry 2011). This means that leaders could be established by displaying a distinct set of behaviours which followers associate with a leadership role. Research shows that there are behaviours that can be attributed to an effective leader. These are known as The Six Cs of Leadership Credibility (Bamford, 2016) Figure 2. David Bamford (2016) Communication would fall under the Character umbrella and plays a crucial fundamental role in every business. The quality of the communication can be affected by the relationship between two individuals and a key element of the quality of the relationship is the interaction between the personalities. Different personalities and give out information in different ways and how this information is interpreted can affect the quality of the communication.   Leaders who have calm dispositions and do not attack or belittle others for bringing bad news are more likely to get complete and timely information from subordinates than are bosses who have explosive tempers and a reputation for killing the messenger (Hughes et al. 2015). Personality Many theories have been developed to explain what causes individuals to behave the way they behave and why they behave differently to other individuals. The term personality is among the most comprehensive of those in the psychologists vocabulary, clarification of its connotation to the satisfaction of a majority, even of psychologists, is difficult (John K. McCreary 1960). This view begins to explain the range of opinions as to what personality means to people. McCreary goes on to describe some the definitions as experimental, calling for criticism and inviting agreement. This belief is quite ambiguous as all definitions would fall under one of those three categories. Robert Hogan (1991) had a different approach and he stated that the term personality is fairly ambiguous and has at least two quite different meanings rather than a definition. The first meaning implies that personality is the impression a person makes on others. The second meaning is less obvious and focusses more on the unseen processes within a person which explains why we behave the way we behave. These internal processes have been categorized as traits by some researchers. Personality traits as useful concepts for explaining why people act fairly consistently from one situation to the next (Hughes et al. 2015). Traits are characteristics or habits which are specific to an individual. Traits can have one of two outcomes, such as extroversion and introversion however, individuals are not categorized into one these traits but rather they sit on a scale which may show a preference towards one of the two oppositions. If we attempt such scaling, we should remember that we are likely to constrain personalities unnaturally fitting them into one mould (Allport and Odbert 1936) Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert were theorists the idea of traits and trait names. They explored two comprehensive dictionaries and identified 17,953 trait-names in the English language. They reduced the list down to 4500 adjectives. They reported that the unfamiliarity of a large proportion of the trait-names in our list proves that our practical vocabulary is inadequate to the task of representing the complex phenomena of human nature (Allport and Odbert 1936). They arrange the traits into a hierarchy of three: Cardinal Traits the dominant trait Central Traits general characteristics Secondary Traits not obvious, such as attitudes Raymond Cattell further explored the work completed by Allport and Odbert by taking the list of 4500 adjectives and reducing it down to 171 by removing all the synonyms. Cattell was the first to collect data regarding personality traits. The outcome of the data he collected allowed him to come up with 16 personality factors which he used to come up with an assessment called the 16PF. This was one of the first attempts to measure personality. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Measuring personality is difficult because personality cannot be seen but some psychology researchers have devised tools that can be used to give results owing to an individuals psychological preferences. The most commonly used tool is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This tool evolved over a period of 5 decades and was based on the work carried out by Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung who spent a lot of his career researching personalities within individuals. Jung defined two opposing tendencies in personality: introversion and extroversion and while both tendencies are present in all individuals, one tends to dominate the other (Almerinda Forte 2005). Along with the two opposing tendencies for personality, Jung also identified four functions relating to personality which are thinking, feeling, sensing and intuiting. Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers both had an interest in individual differences which they brought together, including the work done by Carl Jung, which resulted in the development of the MBTI. The MBTI is a very popular tool used worldwide mainly for psychiatric patients but also the MBTI has been in extensive use in personal and management development since the early 1970s (Leary et al. 2009). The MBTI is based on the principle that the differences in behaviour from one person to another can be expressed in terms of preferences between the polarities (Amel Behaz and Mahieddine 2012) and the MBTI focuses on two primary human activities: how people gather information and how they make decisions (Richard J. Daisley, 2011). However, note that measurement is only possible if we blindly insist that people are comparable in respect to each common trait (Allport and Odbert 1936) Allen et al. (2002) adapted the Four-Part Framework developed by Susan Brock to demonstrate the difference between each of the oppositions. This is shown below: Figure 3. Allen et al. (2002) In completing the MBTI each of the individuals will demonstrate a preference for one of the two oppositions. For example the introvert/extrovert scale is based how the individual get their energy whilst the sensing/intuitive scale considers how people interpret data. The thinking/feeling scale looks at the factors people take into account when making decisions and the judging/perceiving scale considers the amount of information an individual needs before making a decision. Yuval Cohen et al. (2013) described each of the bipolar oppositions in their paper based on personality types of project managers. Figure 4. Yuval Cohen (2013) The first opposition is the most commonly associated when thinking about differing personalities: Introversion or Extroversion. There are three main differences between introversion and extroversion. Energy creation is noted as the most important difference, but the response to stimulation and the approach to knowledge are also different (Heidi Eve-Cahoon 2003). Introverts are energized by the internal world of ideas, impressions, and emotions, whereas extroverts focus outside of themselves and are energized by activities, people, and things of the outside world (Heidi Eve-Cahoon 2003). Extroverts are often seen as possessing the desirable set of personality traits for success in todays fast-paced world, on the other hand, introverts bring a whole host of desirable personality traits to the table, which need to be equally valued, nurtured, and utilized (Shelley J. Schmidt 2016). Samples for the United States suggest that 55 to 60 percent of all people are extroverts (Gardner and Martinko 1996). Fretwell et al. (2013) highlighted some data (Filbeck et al. 2005, Fox-Hines and Bowersoch 1995) relating to each of the four dimensions, which demonstrates the preferences of the U. S. population. This data agrees with other research that a greater percentage of individuals have an extroverted preference. Results of this study will demonstrate any direct correlation to the results of the U. S population. Figure 5. Fretwell et al, (2013) A similar study was documented in Training and Coaching Today (2007) which showed the findings from a recent MBTI study of 1634 individuals in the UK. Figure 6. Training and Coaching Today (2007) As New Britain Oils is situated in the UK, it is predictable that the results from this study will correlate to the results from the study of the UK individuals. As there are four bipolar oppositions for MBTI, this means that there are sixteen possible results which could be given based on the responses to the questions and the scores obtained on the bipolar scale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Figure 7. One downside to having so many possible outcomes and factors involved is that it takes interest and effort to remember ones type (William A. Lynagh 2006). Psychology researchers and advocates of personality preferences maintain that no one type is better than the others because a team benefits from the presence of varied personality types (Cynthia Plonen 2015). The best way to think of it is that neither set of traits is better or more valuable than the other rather, they are different, often complementary, and both are needed to make the world go round, so-to-speak (Shelly J. Schmidt, 2016), however many more leaders are ISTJs, ESTJs, and ENTJs than other types (Hughes et al. 2015). Gathering data from the management team will be able to demonstrate a positive or negative correlation to this statement. Methodology The data collection process involved 25 employees from a number of departments and all of the employees who completed the questionnaire did so voluntarily. Results were obtained from 100% of the employees in two departments along with 50% of employees from another department. Shift patterns limited one department but a representative sample of 65% was obtained to provide data. In addition, 57.14% of the management team were included in the study to determine the range of the personality preferences amongst the management team. Figure 7 shows the structure of the organisation. Figure 7. Despite there being question marks over the integrity of personality measurement instruments, they are still widely used in organisations. A Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test, based on the MBTI, will be used to gather the data for this study. The questionnaire consists of 64 multiple choice questions which will result in a four letter type based on the Myers-Briggs 16 types. The Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test was selected because the results will correlate directly to the MBTI theory and also this method is more accessible for employees and allows for more data to be collected. The purpose of the questionnaire is to begin to develop an understanding of the personality types that exist within some departments of the organisation because personality questionnaires are ideal for describing personality (Luke D. Smillie 2008). The MBTI has been used widely across a number of business sectors for decades. The instrument has been extensively tested for reliability and validity (James C. Lampe 2004) and the extensive research on the instrument since its development supports its reliability and validity (Moore et al. 2004). Over 2 million copies of the instrument are sold each year (Pittenger 1993) and the MBTI is the most widely used instrument for non-psychiatric populations (A. J. DeVito 1985). Despite its depth of validation there are still many sceptics of the MBTI itself as a viable instrument and future research must use more rigorous designs before greater confidence can be placed in the results (Gardner and Martinko 1996). It has been speculated that subjects of the instrument can falsify their responses in an attempt to achieve different results. This wary approach, when questioning the validity of the responses, could be considered when the instrument is used as part of an organisations recruitment process as subjects could change their responses in an attempt to become more appealing to an employer. The organisation has 78 employees and a sample of 32% were included in the study but statistical generalisation is difficult owing to the low number of cases (Bamford et al. 2003). Some correlations can be made between the existing literature and the results of the MBTI used in the organisation but this cannot be reflective of the organisation as a whole. Findings Key Findings The key findings from the research showed that there are a range of personality types present within the organisation and out of the 16 possible personality types the individuals from the organisation fell into 9 of those types. Over 50% of the results from the individuals who took part in the study fell into 3 of the possible 16 personality types. All 3 of the common personality types included a preference for thinking rather than feeling and judging rather than perceiving. This means that 68% of the individuals included in the study prefer to be analytical, critical and make decisions objectively but those individuals only require a minimal amount of information to make decisions and as a result they can make poor decisions. ISTP ISFP ISTJ ISFJ 7 ESTP ESFP ESTJ ESFJ 1 5 3 INTP INFP INTJ INFJ 1 ENTP ENFP ENTJ ENFJ 1 1 4 2 Figure 8. Introvert/Extrovert Preference As mentioned previously, one of the dimensions that then MBTI specifically looks at is where individuals prefers to focus their energy. This dimension has two bipolar oppositions, introversion and extroversion. The data gathered shows that 68% of the individuals who took part in the research had a greater preference for extroversion. This means that more than half of the employees at the organisation prefer to work in larger groups, get their energy from people and activities. The management team could use this data to adapt their leadership style to suit some of the personality preferences within their team and using a collective approach to problem solving may prove to be more effective. Customer Service Team Personality Types 75% of the customer service team have a preference for extroversion and this would fit well with their role and responsibilities as they obtain their energy from interacting with people. Having this preference could help them to build better relationships with customers and suppliers. 100% of the customer service team had a preference for thinking which means they are more concerned with operational considerations and are able to detach themselves from the decisions they make which is a good characteristic to have relative to their role. Engineering Team Personality Types          50% of the engineering department contributed to the research and 100% of the employees who contributed showed a preference to extroversion so using team meetings when tackling engineering issues would give the extroverts the forum to think out loud, share ideas with each other and has the potential to be very effective. The Engineering Manager showed a preference to introversion and so he would prefer to take the information gathered from the team meeting and spend some time thinking about in order to come up with the most effective solution. This approach to engineering issues has the potential to be very productive by considering the individuals preferences in order to maximise their input and provide the Engineering Manager with lots of information before making decisions. Shift Workers Personality Types The responses from the shift workers presented a large amount of variation, however, 69.23% of the shift workers, who completed the questionnaire, showed a preference for extroversion. This outcome is reasonably foreseeable in having a higher number of extroverts in this department as all of the individuals work on a shift consisting of four employees. Individuals with a preference for introversion would be less attracted to work which would include them working within shifts, although only having four employees on a shift would be more attractive than organisations with high numbers of employees on each shift. 92.3% of the shift workers showed a preference for judging rather than perceiving and individuals with this preference only require a minimal amount of information before making a decision. Shift workers operate on a 24 hour rotation system therefore they work outside of normal hours and so they are expected to make quick decisions independently. Individuals who have a preference for perceiving like to intake as much information as possible before making a decision and so too many perceivers on one shift could delay decisions and corrective action which could result in reduced output from that shift. Management Team Personality Types 57.14% of the organisations management team took part on the study. The data shows that the management team fall into three different personality types: ISTJ, ESTJ and INTJ. The results showed that 50% of the individuals who contributed had a personality type of ISTJ which displays characteristics which would typically be associated with someone who is in a senior position, such as being serious, practical and realistic. 75% of the management team, which would equate to 42.8% of the total management team, demonstrated a preference for introversion rather than extroversion and these members of the management team are responsible for technical, engineering and the safety department. All of these departments are smaller, in team size, than all of the other departments and each of these members of the management team have their own individual office and so it is foreseeable that they would have a preference for introversion. The extroverted individual from the management team is responsible for a large team consisting of 20 shift workers and their workspace is located in the production area and so having the extroverted preference is advantageous to their ro le. All of the members of the management team showed preferences for thinking and judging rather than feeling or perceiving respectively. This again is a predictable outcome given their position within the organisation as this indicates that they prefer to be analytical, approach decisions objectively and pay careful attention to any potential operational impacts. Discussion The first of the four dimensions provides data on the individuals preferences towards introversion or extroversion. Samples from the United States suggest that 55 to 60 percent of all people are extroverts (Gardner and Martinko, 1996). The data obtained from this study appear to validate this statement as 68% of the individuals showed a preference for extroversion. The data in the study by Fretwell et al. (2013) noted that 70 75% of individuals in the U. S. have a preference towards extroversion and that data would correlate more closely with the data obtained in this study. The study of the U. K. showed only 52.6% of the individuals have a preference towards extroversion which is contradictory to the results of this study. Consequently more than half of the employees, involved at the organisation have a personality focused on the outside world, get motivation from interaction with other people and by doing things (Yuval Cohen, 2013). The data could be used by the management team in order to improve productivity by using groups sessions allowing the individuals share ideas. Comparison to Existing Research The data previously mentioned in the study by Fretwell et al. (2013) and the data shown in Training and Coaching Today (2007) showed results for individuals in U. S. and U. K respectively and some of those results are closely correlated to the results of this study. Dimension U.S. U.K. New Britain Oils Extrovert 70-75% 52.6% 68% Introvert 25-30% 47.4% 32% Sensing 70-75% 76.5% 60% Intuition 35-30% 23.5% 40% Thinking 60% males 40% females 45.9% 68% males 36.6% females Feeling 40% males 60% females 54.1% 32% males 33.3% females Judging 55% 58.3% 88% Perceiving 45% 41.7% 12% The similarity of results for the extrovert and introvert dimension has already been discussed but there are similarities with results for the other dimensions. The sensing and intuition dimension results are similar to the results from the studies of the U. S and U. K. albeit closer to the results from the U. S study, as there is a greater preference towards sensing. This means that the individuals prefer concrete details of a situation and rely on the five senses to observe facts or happenings (Fretwell et al. 2013)This also means that they tend to be practical, orderly, and down-to-earth decision makers (Hughes et al. 2015). When comparing the thinking and feeling dimension, the results are more closely correlated with the results for the study of the U. S. population. 72% of the individuals, in this organisation, showed a preference to thinking, however in the study of the U. K. the majority of the individuals showed a preference to feeling. This means that individual from this organisation prefer to assume a more objective approach to decisions and show more consideration to operational factors. Individuals who show a greater preference towards thinking are associated with careers such as consultants, lawyers, executives and engineers. (www.similarminds.com). The results for the final dimension show that overall the individuals from the organisation have a much greater preference for judging rather than perceiving. These results compare with the studies from the U. S. and U. K., in terms of the majority of the individuals showing a greater preference towards judging, however nearly 90% of this organisation shares this preference as were the other studies show just over 50%. This could impact the organisation because individuals with this preference tend to make up their minds quickly and as a result can make poor decisions (Hughes et al. 2015). The management team in the organisation presented results which partially correlated with the work done by Hughes et al. (2015), who stated that more leaders are ISTJs, ESTJs, and ENTJs than other types. In this organisation, the management team demonstrated personality types matching ISTJ and ESTJ however there were no ENTJ personality types from the results collected. 50% of the management team showed a personality type of ISTJ and this preference would be associated with behavioural characteristics such as being responsible, organised and punctu

Life in Colors :: essays research papers

How do colors depict lifestyles? I use colors in every part of life. Color is described as a property that surfaces have when light falls on them and is reflected or absorbed. Colors are the basic way that I describe my life. The colors blue, silver, and gold represent a favorite color, an event and or extracurricular activity, and the future that will be committed to after high school. The color blue which represents the time from when I came into this world up to the years before high school. The color blue started the first day of kindergarten when the teacher said lets go over our colors. As she went through them and then said, â€Å"Well, let’s use your favorite color from the one’s we have just gone over.† Of course, the color that went in my hand was the color blue. A few years down the road when I started to pick out clothes, the color blue was in every item that I bought. And to this day the color blue has been my color of choice as long as I can remember. It will always be that color blue that will be in my fancy wardrobe as long as I live. Silver as a dime, nickel, or quarter is the color that makes up the high school years since starting in the ninth grade. Silver is the color of the star on the uniform for the brigade which I serve proudly. The color silver did not become appealing to me until that night when we (the band) were in Statesboro, Georgia, at the first competition, and we (the band) marched out on the field for our performance and the crowd went crazy. That night when the awards were announced and we came in second out of twenty-two bands, that color silver was the most awesome color ever. Then, we came home and the next weekend we went to Palatka, Florida, and did the same placement. The next year came around, same results. Then it was my junior year and a moment that will never be forgotten. We left on Saturday morning around 9:00 am for Inverness, Florida, and performed the preliminary show at 1:15 pm. The scores came in and that color silver became even more meaningful: we were in first place. That ni ght around 9:30 pm, we entered the field for finals competition. We finished the show, the hats of the directors came off their heads, and the crowd went wild.

Health Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup :: Sugar HFCS Artificial Sweetener Food

Health Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup Abstract: What is high fructose corn syrup? Is it some kind of disease making machine? High fructose corn syrup is causing many problems in the United States and two of the main problems are obesity and type two diabetes. There are also many other diseases that branch off from these two main diseases, like liver and heart disease. In this paper, the reason why high fructose corn syrup is becoming such a huge problem in the United States will be explored. The Japanese first developed high fructose corn syrup. When they saw that it is more cost effective than other sugars, other companies started to use high fructose corn syrup in their products. High fructose corn syrup is a sugar made of fifty-five percent fructose and forty-five percent glucose. Compared to normal table sugar, which is fifty percent fructose and fifty percent glucose, it doesn?t seem like much. Yet the fructose in high fructose corn syrup is less attached from normal sugar. This fructose that is free from the glucose part is more harmful to the body. It was first introduced in 1970 but it hasn?t been actively used until the late 1900?s. Yet because we started to use high fructose corn syrup, it is now causing a lot of problems. It has many negative side effects after consumption, and most of the consuming is done in the United States. Two of the main problems caused by high fructose corn syrup are obesity and type two diabetes. Some of the other branches of these problems are liver and heart disease, osteoporosis, an increase in triglycerides, and many other kinds of health problems. Since high fructose corn syrup is very common in our daily diets, ranging for drinks to desserts, it is becoming a huge problem. (Severson, K. 2004) One of the main problems of high fructose corn syrup is obesity. Eating high fructose corn syrup is like eating fat. Fructose isn?t absorbed the large intestine or the first part of the small intestine. Fructose is absorbed in the jejunum at a much higher rate than normal glucose. After it is absorbed, it goes to the liver, where it is converted to fatty acids. When someone consumes too much fructose, the liver is unable to convert all of it so it can be absorbed improperly.

johnny tremain essay :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book starts in the pre-revolutionary time. At the beginning of the book, Johnny Tremain, is working as an apprentice to Mr. Lapham. Mr. Lapham is a blacksmith. Johnny’s parents died in a fire several years before, and this is why he lived with the Laphams. He worked there with enthusiasm for several years until he hurt his arm, scolding it in hot metal. After the accident, Mr. Lapham told Johnny that he needs to find a different profession, but he can stay with the laphams.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Johnny, after a lot of searching, finally finds a job delivering papers. While delivering papers he meets Rab, who works with him. Rab introduces him to the rebel underground. At that point Johnny agrees to deliver messages between the groups of rebels.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book is a very interesting read, if you have some self discipline. I mean that you need some self discipline because this book didn’t really captivate me in the sense that I couldn’t put it down. But after reading it for a while, I started to appreciate the author’s way of describing the characters and actions in this book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several things that I like about this book. First off, I love historical fiction, and this is the genre of this book. Also, despite the author being too descriptive, the book went at a steady pace. For me, pace usually determines whether I will read the book or not, and I never really hesitated, or thought about changing books.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book was interesting to me, but I think that anyone older than I would find this book a slight bit easy, despite the fact that the author, Ester Forbes does use old English words that are no longer used. So I would recommend this book for anyone between the ages of 12-14, and strongly recommend it at that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Despite the book being well written, there are several parts that I would re-write; here I will describe two of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first one is when Johnny hurts his hand by pouring hot metal on it.

Arck Systems Case Analysis Essay

This paper will discuss the history and background of Arck Systems and its merger with Lux Software. I will then examine, discuss, and analyze the nuances of the merger and the resulting issues that arose with different compensation packages for each company’s sales team. In my analysis, I will address the intended and unintended consequences of incentive compensation plans. Finally, I will offer my recommendations to Arck Systems. Background Arck Systems Arck Systems was a medium-sized manufacturer of network computers used by many corporations to manage data. Customers used the serves to run software that helped them manage finances, compensation & benefits and customer accounts. This hardware was integral to ensuring the success of the corporation. In addition to the hardware it produced, Arck also developed and distributed an operating system with its servers; however, third party software companies provided the software applications. Arck Systems’ Merger with Lux Software, Inc. In order to strengthen and expand its software business, Rob Chatterji strategically decided to acquire Lux Software, Inc. Lux Software, Inc was a leading provider of middleware. Middleware is software that acts as an intermediary between different software applications. More companies need middleware as enterprise software applications become more complex making middleware a rapidly growing product and industry. Middleware Purchasing Lux was an ingenious move on Arck’s part because it provides a surefire way for them to develop the software side of their company in addition to enhancing the operating system they’ve developed for their hardware. Arck was able to purchase Lux Software, Inc rather quickly in order not to disrupt the flow of business. The merger/acquisition contained provisions that provided incentives for engineers and software developers to stay with Arck after the acquisition. This ensured that the talent and skill stayed with the company for at least three years. However, no provisions were made to keep the Lux Software sales team on board for the long term. Immediately after the merger Lux’s executive vice president of sales announced that he would be leaving Lux Sales and taking the sales management team with him. Fortunately, no key sales people left. Arck’s CEO Chatterji was not concerned. Similarities in Sales Management However, Arck’s Executive Vice President of Sales, Bryan Mynor, seemed concerned about having to manage Lux’s sales team. Although Mynor had successfully managed Arck’s sales team and doubled the company’s sales since becoming vice president, he was unsure about the most effective way for managing Lux’s sales team. Lux and Arck operate their sales force under different methods, targeting different decision makers within a company. Arck salespeople tended to target the CIO or CTO, who would be concerned about the performance specifications of the servers. Lux focused selling to the finance or administrative divisions of company, or those who would be interested in the implementation of the software. Hence, Mynor is used to managing a sales team that is much more technically oriented sales force. So as to not disturb the flow of business as usual, Mynor decided to keep the two sales teams separate until he could figure out how to merge them. After a conversation with Synder, former EVP of sales for Lux, Mynor was assured that both Arck and Lux utilized similar approaches to sales management, including: †¢Salespeople dedicated to territories based on geography and industry †¢Levels of organization were the same (district & regional managers, head of sales and EVP of sales) †¢Sales people could set discounts at their own discretion †¢Similar sales dynamics (avg. sale was approx. $350,000 for both) However, Snyder described Lux’s compensation plan as â€Å"aggressive† and â€Å"standard for the industry. † Mynor was not worried about the compensation; his main goal was to build a close relationship with Sharon Esteves, the most senior sales executive to stay with the company after the merger. Differences in Sales Compensation It wasn’t until Mynor began to review the compensation plan for Lux salespeople that he realized that he may have more of challenge managing the Lux sales team. The Lux Sales compensation package was vastly different than the Arck’s. Lux’s compensation package included accelerators, which increased the percentage commission a salesperson could earn based upon quarterly sales. A salesperson could potentially earn 24% commission. Arck’s compensation package included a standard 9% base commission paid after the quota was met. There was also a $50,000 bonus if the $6 million sales cap is reached. The Critical Issue The critical issue facing Arck Systems is attempting to figure out how to best manage the Lux sales team. While reviewing the plan, Mynor noticed that â€Å"top guns† at Lux make 30 times more than the average salesperson. Whereas the best sellers at Arck make only 4 or 5 times more than the average salesperson. He understands that the sales approach differs from Arck because it requires a more personable approach, rather than a technical one. If he decides to change the compensation plan, he needs to be able to anticipate how the sales people react. And predicting or anticipating reactions is a near impossible task. Analysis The ultimate goal of incentive compensation packages is to attract and retain employees, specifically well or high-performing employees in dispensable roles. The incentives should be designed in such a way that continuously motivates employees and recognizes both effort and achievement. Incentive compensation plans come with inherent tradeoffs; they are also excellent individual motivators for employees to succeed in the workplace and contribute significantly to the financial gain of the company. Incentive compensation packages also act as a tangible form of gratitude, ensuring that employees are properly rewarded for their diligence and dedication. Unfortunately, these incentive plans do not always work. Incentive programs require effort beyond normal job responsibilities, instead of rewarding excellent performance an execution of normal job duties. Yes, incentive plans motivate employees to earn more revenue; however, it inevitably teaches how to manipulate the system in order to obtain the desired results. In Arck’s Systems situation, Mynor noticed a discrepancy in compensation vs. productivity with Lux’s compensation package. He noted that the productivity levels simply did not match the payment level. The top sellers at Lux made 30 times more than the average salesperson, but were only 14 times as productive. The top sellers at Arck make for four or five times more than average and are four or five times as productive. Hence, Lux’s compensation plan seemed infeasible to Mynor. Mynor’s inability to full comprehend the Lux compensation plan stems from the fact that he is used to managing a sales team that focuses on selling technical hardware, which requires knowledge of the product and is pretty much straightforward. The sales of enterprise servers depend largely on the design of the product itself rather than a charming sales team. Conversely, selling enterprise software requires a â€Å"soft sales touch. † It requires the sales team to be able to convince prospective clients that their software is the best option currently available on the market. The irreconcilable differences between the products inescapably demand the need for different sales compensation packages. With Arck Systems and Lux Software, Inc. operating as two separate entities this poses no foreseeable conflicts. However, with Arck and Lux sales teams operating under one executive manager, conflicts will arise in the long run. Keeping the sales teams separate for the foreseeable future is wise because it allows Mynor to brainstorm, develop, and implement changes to the compensation packages that are fair and equitable to both sales teams. He needs time to develop a system to merge both sales teams without losing talent from either team. More importantly he needs to be able to implement these changes without negative reactions. Tweaking the compensation packages isn’t a simple task.