Thursday, December 26, 2019

Fallacies in a commercial Essay - 716 Words

‘Romney Killed My Wife’ In political races in the United States logical fallacies are a staple in political ads. The 2012 election was no exception to this convention, especially being true in an advertisement with ex-steel plant worker Joe Soptic, speaking in Obama-affiliated Political Action Committee Priorities. The advertisement included many logical fallacies to argue against the Romney campaign. Those include post hoc reasoning, ad hominem, and slippery slope. The advertisement consisted of just one man, Joe Soptic, an ex-steel plant worker, of GST Steel, speaking against Mitt Romney. He personally points blame on Romney for the death of his wife. He says that when â€Å"Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care,†¦show more content†¦In addition there was a caption in the video short after the previous statement by Soptic, claiming that â€Å"Mitt Romney and Bain Capital made millions for themselves and then closed the plant.† This is implying that Romney and Bain Capital are greedy. This has no relation to the topic of Romney’s political views and is merely an attack on character. Furthermore the advertisement ends with Soptic stating that he does â€Å"not think that Mitt Romney is concerned† about the well being of workers of the plant. The last piece of logical fallacy that is present in the advertisement of 2012 is slippery slope. This is when it is asserted that one event will inevitably be followed another with question or argument. Slippery slope is implied in this advertisement in the way that if Romney is in charge, he will shut down businesses, which will disable people to receive health insurance, which will cause many deaths. This is improbable in the way that one event does not necessarily cause the other and predominantly, is highly unlikely. Logical fallacies are common in the political races in the United States, whether they’re in advertisements or in a speech given by a candidate. During the presidential election of 2012, logical fallacies seemed to be moreShow MoreRelatedFallacies : A Logical Fallacy1741 Words   |  7 PagesA logical fallacy is false or misinforming opinions that prove nothing. At times fallacies seem to be sound, and often have lots of persuasive control, even after it’s undoubtedly exposed as being untrue. Fallacies are not always deliberate, still yet we find them all over the place, like commercials for an example. Though there are several logical fallacies, four logical fallacies generally found in advertising are amphiboly, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, and non sequitur (logic). FallaciesRead MoreInformal Fallacies Of An Informal Fallacy912 Words   |  4 Pagesads and television commercials is called informal fallacies. The purpose of an informal fallacy can be to en act reactions from the audience, used to discredit a person or lastly appeal to a certain outlook. They mainly lack the validity in order to prove their argument. The media provides us with many scenarios using different forms of informal fallacies. I will provide three notable examples of informal fallacies by explaining the type of fallacy and why the media used this fallacy. To start off, IRead MoreHow A Snickers Bar Is The Best Of Its Class1389 Words   |  6 Pagesthat is what Mars strives to convey in their commercials. Specifically, in Mars’ Snickers commercial that features Betty White, the candy bar is portrayed as the leading option when it comes to satisfying hunger. In addition, Mars plays upon the extreme notion that, by consuming a Snickers bar, you will become a better you. Unfortunately, in the process of convincing its audience that it is the best candy bar in its class, Mars commits logical fallacies, such as hasty generalization, a false dichotomyRead MoreAn Analysis of the Rhetorical Elements of Political Campaign Advertisements 1067 Words   |  5 PagesIt is very common among the United States’ political sphere to rely heavily on T.V. commercials during election season; this is after all the most effective way to spread a message to millions of voters in order to gain their support. The presidential election of 2008 was not the exception; candidates and interest groups spent 2.6 billion dollars on advertising that year from which 2 billion were used exclusively for broadcast television (Seelye 2008.) Although the effectiveness of these advertisementsRead MoreFallacies in Advertising991 Words   |  4 PagesFallacies in Advertising According to Bassham et al. (2002), a logical fallacy is â€Å"an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning† (p. 140). There are two types of logical fallacies, fallacies of relevance, and fallacies of insufficient evidence. Fallacies of relevance happen when the premises are not logically relevant to the conclusion. Fallacies of insufficient evidence occur when the premises do not provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion. Though there are several logical fallaciesRead MoreCritical Thinking - Fallacies1249 Words   |  5 PagesThe significance of fallacies in critical thinking is important to understand so that clear and concise arguments can be made on a logical, factual level instead of one that is proliferated with emotions and illogical reasoning. The basis of these fallacies are dependent on critical thinking according to discussions in which the parties may not agree on a situation or one element is attempting to convince another of making a decision. The point of this type of disagreement is to give reasons inRead MoreHilary Vs. Trump : A Battle Of Character1056 Words   |  5 Pagesrepresenting the democratic and republican parties, respectively, and fighting over the vote of each American. Commercial advertisements are an effective medium by which Clinton and Trump communicate with the people. In â€Å"Unfit†, the commercial for Clinton, various sources damning Trump are played in addition to footage of the republican candidate, arguably, at his worst. Meanwhile, the commercial from Trump’s campaign, â€Å"Two Americas: Economy†, depicts two distinct versions of America’s economic future:Read MoreA Research Based Marketing Campaign For The Meth Project- Meth1265 Words   |  6 Pagesthe fallacy of slippery slope in the sense that th ey typically assume something about their targeted audience that is not necessarily true. According to the Logical Self Defense book, the fallacy of slippery slope focuses primarily on the sense that â€Å"if we do/allow A, it will set a precedent that will justify doing/allowing similar actions (B, C, and so on). B, C, and so on are undesirable, therefore we should not do/allow A† (184). A specific example of this is one of the meth commercials thatRead MoreEssay on logic852 Words   |  4 Pages Logical Fallacy Essay Magazine ads and commercials are the best ways to sell things. Their main goal is to sell the product and find the best ways to do so. First there is a product and then there is a setting for the product. By trying to bring these two aspects together logical fallacies are formed. For example comparing a comb to a porcupine, which is a false analogy. Through analyzing these magazine ads I will present the logical fallacies within the ads. These ads are from the OctoberRead MoreWeigth Loss Programs: The Truth behind Fad Diets1179 Words   |  5 Pagesday there is an advertisement that comes on during commercial breaks when watching television or when listening to the radio about some diet supplement or diet plan as known as â€Å"Fad Diets†. Just what are Fad diets? Fad diets are any weight loss plan or supplement aid that promises to produce dramatic weight loss in a very short amount of time and that they are easy to follow and require very little to no exercise. Companies use logical fallacies when marketing their product to help inform or persuade

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Customer Relationship Management A Strategy Of Managing...

CRM is Customer Relationship Management: A strategy of managing customer relationships based on the integration of customer information throughout a company in order to achieve maximum customer satisfaction and retention. CRM process is to collect, store, and analyze customer interaction information (customer knowledge), transforming the practice of marketing research. Marketing intelligence: The use of real-time customer information (customer knowledge) to achieve a competitive advantage. In short, Market Intelligence seeks completive advantage based on real-time customer information. MI begins with the nation of customer knowledge, a company cannot meet its customer needs and wants and thereby offer value, unless it understands the evolution of the customer. Customer Knowledge –What kind of relationships will add value will add value to customers-loyalty programs, Value perception of the customer segment and how can the value be enhanced. To create customer profiles includes customer profiles customer demographics, psychographic data, and direct and indirect communications with the company in order to develop product, service offerings, marketing campaigns, growth and retention. Granular data-Highly detailed, highly personalized data specifically structured around an individual customer. Big companies embrace the vision and long –term goal of capturing and retaining customers. With granular customer information, market intelligence helps them and other companiesShow MoreRelatedCustomer Relationship Management ( Crm )1583 Words   |  7 PagesTheoretical Study Chapter 2 : CRM study 2.1 Defining CRM Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach that company’s use to manage, analyze and interact with customers. It refers to the practices, strategies and the technologies used by companies to understand the customer’s needs and behavior in order to create and build relationships with customers and to follow them throughout the customer lifecycle with a focus on increasing retaining customers with driving the sales growth. The idea of aRead MoreCustomer Relationship Management : A M University Commerce1056 Words   |  5 Pages Customer Relationship Management Courtney Crouthers Texas AM University-Commerce Customer Relationship management is the strongest and the most efficient approach in maintaining and creating relationships with customers. It is an upright concept or strategy to solidify relations with customers and at the same time reducing cost and enhancing productivity and profitability in business. CRM is not only pure business but also ideate strong personal bonding within people. There are twoRead MoreThe Blossoms Garden Center ( Bgc )1521 Words   |  7 Pagesexamines a number of strategies could be used efficiently and effectively in BGC. Finally, it will evaluate those strategies that appear to yield the best results. 2: Problems for BGC During the developing process, a number of problems in BGC increasing broadly such as customer service quality, managing operation, internal relationship and finance. Specifically, managing external relationship is a significant problem for the company. According to Casledine (2015), customers are the heart of anyRead MoreCompany and Marketing Strategy: Partnering to Build Customer Relationships1465 Words   |  6 Pagescompanywide strategic planning in its four steps 2. Discuss how to design business portfolios and develop growth strategies 3. Explain marketing’s role in strategic planning and how marketing works with its partners to create and deliver customer value 4. Describe the elements of a customer-driven marketing strategy and mix, and the forces that influence it 5. List the marketing management functions, including the elements of a marketing plan, and discuss the importance of measuring return on marketingRead MoreSemaconnect Is The Leading Provider Of Electric Vehicle Amenities For The North American Commercial Residential Property Market Essay1229 Words   |  5 Pagespursued a strategy of aggressive RD to develop new products as well as process improvement and cost reduction measures. SemaConnect has aggressively marketed the superior performance of their products which has allowed them to gain market share at an impressive rate. Governor O’Malley announced his Smart, Green, and Growing legislative agenda in 2009, acknowledging SemaConnect as a Maryland-based company that develops and produces networked PEV charging stations and station management software.Read MoreCustomer Relationship Management As A Philosophy1253 Words   |  6 Pages1.1 Background Customer Relationship Management as a Philosophy started in the 70s. Peter Drucker, a well-renowned management consultant, stated that The true business of every company is to make and keep customers. Today, the concept of CRM has grown in a global scale. Companies have evolved to focus products solely based on customer’s demands. Over the years, the CRM model does not limit to just being about customer centric but also to use customer profitability as a catalyst in making decisionsRead MoreSales, Communication, Client Relations, Business Development, And Account Management916 Words   |  4 Pagesyears of comprehensive experience offering leadership in advanced Sales, Marketing, Analytics, Client Relations, Business Development, and Account Management. While I worked with Kraft Heinz for twelve years, the last position was as a sales and business development manager successfully managing multi-million-dollar distributors and key account customers. The products included s elling ketchup, condiments, sauce categories along with portion control and frozen soups. The territory encompassed GeorgiaRead MoreDifference Between A Consumer Market And Business Market949 Words   |  4 Pagesmarketing strategies in order to attract business. In addition, both should have a good focus on new-product development and identifying new trends in order to attract costumers and businesses. One difference in between the consumer market strategy and the business strategy is cost. The individual consumer wants a lower price, but many are more concerned about the value they receive. For a business, providing the lowest cost is extremely important in order to keep a business relationship. It isRead MoreSummary Kotler Keller1275 Words   |  6 Pagesfunction and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. Marketing management is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. Marketers are skilled at managing demand: they seek to influence its level, timing, and composition for goods, servicesRead MoreCustomer Relationship Management ( Crm ) Practice1497 Words   |  6 Pages To find the most profitable customers in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practice is an ongoing process where many companies fail to deliver the answer. This paper outlines various definitions of CRM, strategies, processes and the use of technology along with the various paradoxes that accompany Customer Relationship Management. Defining CRM is not straight-forward as there are numerous definitions, taking three recent definitions the basic framework of CRM is, an overall process of building

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Managing Sustainable Growth Rate

Question: Discuss about the Managing Sustainable Growth Rate. Answer: Introduction: A public listed company is a business entity whose ownership is divided among public who buy its shares on the stock exchange platform (Boyett 2013). Companies Act 2013 u/s 2(71) defines a public company as one which is not a private company and has a minimum paid up share capital of Rupees five lakhs (Mca.gov.in 2017). Tata Motors is an Indian public limited company which has a global presence lead by able CEO and CFO. This assignment is a study of comparison between CEO and CFO in a public limited keeping Tata Motors in the light and the external and internal factors these two officers have to deal with. The next section is a study of key financing strategy during 2001-2002 and 2004 and its affect on maximizing the wealth of the shareholders. Chief Executive officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO): A chief executive officer is the highest executive officer in a public limited company whose main job role is to take important decisions and managing the working of the entire company. He also communicates between the board of directors in which he may have a position and the operation wings of the company. A chief financial officer is a corporate officer primarily empowered to take financial decisions, planning and financial reporting. He also looks after risks and presents the financial analysis before the CEO and the board of directors. The CFO takes part in budget management, cost benefit analysis, forecasting needs and sourcing of funds. The CEO and CFO are very important positions in a public limited company having their own areas of operations. The main difference between the two is that the CEO is the highest operations officer in the company whereas the CFO is head of the finance department. The CEO reports to the board of directors and above while the CFO reports to the CEO, board of directors or to the president of the company. However, both of them have positions of strategic importance and may be in the board. A CEO being the top executive in the company has to take decisions in all matter like human resource, financial matters like risk and funding, board administration and acts as a communicators to the board of directors. The CFO, being the top financial officer of the company advises the CEO and the board about the financial aspects of all these areas. The CEO and the CFO are top officers in a public limited company like Tata Motors and are affected by various internal and external environmental factors and take crucial decisions about them. The present CEO worldwide is Guenter Butschek and the position of CFO is held by Chandrasekaran Ramakrishnan. Internal business environment factors: The strategic strength of the employees is the biggest internal business factor of a company. Tata Motors should recruit eligible candidates as its employees should train them regularly to improve their knowledge. The management should evaluate the employees from time to time and reward them with promotions and awards to recognize their efforts. It must also try to motivate and give further training to weak employees to bring improve their performance. Tata Motors should practice a healthy and ethical organizational culture to promote a positive job environment for all (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Tata Motors today caters to the world market and has proved its competitive strength by acquiring Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. It has competitors like Toyota, Mahindra, Ford and Ashok Leyland (Kumar and Bhatia 2015). This necessitates continuous innovation in all aspects like vehicle designing, pricing and competitive planning to stay ahead of its rivals both within India, its home country and abroad (Porter, Cunningham and Sanz 2013). Innovation is driven by technology and is a continuous process. The RD wing of Tata Motors situated in India and UK are trying to introduce cars like Zest and Bolt which allow customers to choose between driving mode depending on their requirements (Tatamotors.com 2017). External factors affecting Tata Motors External factors or macro economic factors are those factors which are beyond a companys control and is summed up as Political, Economical, Social and technological abbreviated as PEST. Tata Motors is an Indian multinational car manufacturing company which has presence in several countries and has huge market strength. The company should be aware of the political systems prevalent in various countries in which it has its presence. Tata Motors is a multinational car manufacturer having presence in segments goods carrier, family cars and utility and emergency vehicles. Its customers profile consists of state governments, the ministry of defense, manufacturers, fire and safety services and house hold. This makes the company open to various types of taxation types and slab. Tata Motors should be aware of the tariffs and duties of each market and also international laws. The company should be aware of laws relating to land, labour and all other aspects of its business (Yadav 2013). The huge market of Tata Motors and the size of the company present a huge challenge for the CFO and CEO. They should be aware of all the political factors, national as well as international and make policies according to them. The CFO should frame business models which the company should follow to take the advantage of political factors around the world. Tata motors have presence in countries with varying economic conditions. It has to take into consideration the purchase power of the customers of a particular country to decide on the products, pricing, promotions and all other aspects (Stobart 2016). The CFO should study the various models related to pricing and discuss the matter with other departments like RD and marketing to choose the best model. The CEO too has a significant role to act according to the CFO and best arrive at the decision that will guide the entire organization. Inflation is affecting the most of the big countries leading to fall in currency value and increase prices (Johnson 2014). The company is also affected by changing currency exchange rates and other international laws relating to finance. The tough economic condition poses a very tough challenge before the two top officers as they have to choose the best investing and funding options. The per capita income of a country is directly related to infrastructure, technology, employee productivity, lifestyles and purchase power of the people. For example, an expensive car like Land Rover will find more customers in the UK than in a poor country. The decision is a crucial thing affecting not only the Tata but the entire market. A right economic strategy can create a milestone whereas a faulty decision can cause a huge loss. Cars are not only a necessity but also a symbol of status, have got religious implications and also a product financed by loans at present. People buy cars during festive occasions and consider it auspicious. The banks also give loans at relaxed interest rates during this time (Fuller 2016). Tata Motors should time the production as per the period and price them according to the various financing options available. The CFO and the CEO can also consider engaging the financial services verticals like Tata Finance and Tata AIA Life insurance during this time to attract buyers. The entire automobile industry is dependent on the progress of science, technology and innovation for its existence. It can also be pointed out that all the countries where Tata Motor operates do not have equal level of technological advancement and entrepreneurial advantage. This factor plays an important role in product designing and pricing. It can also acquire ancillary units in various countries to get access to local market and gain control over it. Moreover, taking over local ancillary unit ensures easy repair and maintenance services to the people, thus increasing customer satisfaction and boosting sales. The CEO and the CFO should allocate high resources towards technological development because that is very crucial to the very existence of the firm. New products at affordable prices ensure customer satisfaction giving a competitive advantage to Tata. The Key Financing Strategic Decision: Financing plays a key big role in deciding the goal and performance of a firm. It finds importance in every strategy and plan and deals with the best utilization of the limited resources. A proper finance decision depends on the coordination and cooperation of all the administrative levels and departments. It finds application in various areas like human resources, accounting and finance functions. Free cash flow is the indication of the financial soundness of a company and its ability to utilize its financial resources to generate future profits. An increase in cash flow increases working capital which is important for the operations of the entire company. A steady flow of cash allows a firm to invest in research and technology, employ quality human resource and financing (Bollerslev, Xu and Zhou 2015). The company has always gained expertise in allocating its resources in key business areas under the leadership of its CFOs and CEOs A proper financial strategy includes choosing the best financing options so that the firm can ensure steady production. This would increase market penetration, customer satisfaction and competitive advantage earning economic value to the firm. Tata Motors incurred heavy losses in 2000 due to low demand. However, it increases profit in2001 by introduction of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles. This jump would not have been possible with the engineers and the steady financing. Thus, it can be pointed that a experienced CFO ensures continuous flow of funds to keep operation going on and increase the wealth of the company through profits. Tata Motors has presence all over the world which means it has to manage a vast fixed and current assets. Assets are used to run the business and consist of land, furniture, vehicles, cash, accounts receivable and even stock of goods. Tata Motors has offices and factories all over the world, so it has to decide how much asset it should allocate in which location and to what extent so as to ensure production.. It should ensure that the assets in a particular location should be too excess and nor too scarce to run the business (Campbell, Jardine and McGlynn 2016. Fixed assets depreciate and have to be replaced. The CFO should decide the pattern to dispose and write off these assets from the books of accounts in the most appropriate method (accrual, straight line and so on) (Archibald 1967). Another important thing about asset management is acquiring assets from the best sources at the best price (Buckley et al 2016). The success of a company depends a lot on its capability to control i ts assets. Current assets consist of liquid cash, inventory, cash in bank and accounts receivable or sundry debtors. Current assets like cash come from funding in various forms, investments and from various other sources. The company must choose the appropriate method of financing and also be aware of the various financial institutions and their rules. The company must set up ware houses to store the inventories (Raw material, WIP and finished goods). It can again choose whether to set up its own ware houses (an asset) or rent one (expenses) (Roth and Sims 1991). Financing decision and capital structure- Tata Motors being a multinational company requires continuous finance and expasion of business. It should decide on the capital structure. This decision also includes the extent of mechanization meaning, how much human resource it should use. Capital refers to the assets, both current and fixed and investments which are required for the day to day working of the firm. The firm can choose human resource for production or mechanized production. The way of production and financing will affect accounting. For example, loan will increase liabilities whereas investment will increase assets. It can choose between debt financing like debentures or in any other form of capital structure. The jump back of 2001 stated before in fact, helped Tata Motors to pay back its previous debts. Thus, a proper financing strategy does not only allow a firm to earn profits but also pay back debts. Risk management and assessment: The capital structure and the financing modes decide the flow of funds for continuous operations. Tata Motors has vast assets, employee hundreds of people, is affected by PESTEL and has to pay huge amount of taxes. (Rachet 2014). The company is also faces stiff competition worldwide. These factors make the job of risk management by CFO extremely challenging. There is a need to assessment the various types of investment and business expansion which are subject to risks. There should also be measures to assess and manage the risks. The job of CFO is to assess and analyze the risk and choose the best tool to control these risks for operation (McNeil, Frey and Embrechts 2015.). This also affects the books of accounts. A strong risk management gives financial strength and stability to the business. TATA Motors has increased its presence in the markets of Europe, Africa, Australia and Middle East with revenue of more than USD 4 billion. The company has concentrated on meeting the requirements of these markets to get a deeper market penetration. This strategic move of expansion will require the involvement of the CFO and the CEOs. Thus, the expanded market will allow TATA Motors to diversify the business risks over its international market. Tax Management: Tata Motors entered global markets in 2004 under leadership of its CFO Praveen Kedle. The CFO has to decide on the tax planning and tax management strategies to minimize tax liability since it leads to erosion of cash. Tata Motors continuously expands its business by acquisitions and joint ventures. For example, Tata Motors entered joint venture with Marco Polo with 51% and 49% shares respectively to manufacture buses (da Rocha, Arkader, and de Ges 2015). This dynamic expansion faces various types of taxes increasing the tax liabilities (Patnaik 2014). The CFO should do tax planning both for short term and long term. He must also ensure that the company complies with various income tax rules and structures so as to avoid penalties. Tax planning includes tax management and goes a long way in reducing the tax liability (Graham at al. 2013. Thus it helps in increasing current assets of the company thus showing an increase of resources in the books of accounts (Stein and Vadlamudi 2013). The CFO has immense role to play that TATA is able to minimize its tax expenses and get more favorable business concession from the government Influence of financial planning on goal achievement: The ultimate mission to set up a business is to earn profit by controlling the risk factors. Tata Motors is a public limited company having a global market whose ownership lies in the hand of the share holders. CFO and CEO are contract employees who are employed to control the strategies of the company to maximize shareholders profit. Finacial decisions regarding asset management, risk management and the other factors the operation and profit making ability. CFOs like Praveen Kadle can help even a global giant like Tata Motors to turn around with their expertise, pushing the limits attitude and minutely crafted strategic moves (Lessard, Lucea and Vives 2013). Conclusion: It can be summed up from the above analysis that Tata Motors is a global company exposed to various external and internal business factors. The company has able CFO who makes financial strategies under the guidance of the CEO to keep the company ahead of its competitors. References: Archibald, T.R., 1967. The return to straight-line depreciation: An analysis of a change in accounting method.Journal of accounting Research, pp.164-180. Bollerslev, T., Xu, L. and Zhou, H., 2015. Stock return and cash flow predictability: The role of volatility risk.Journal of Econometrics,187(2), pp.458-471. Boyett, I., 2013. The public sector entrepreneur?a definition.International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior Research. Buckley, P.J., Munjal, S., Enderwick, P. and Forsans, N., 2016. Cross-border acquisitions by Indian multinationals: Asset exploitation or asset augmentation?.International Business Review,25(4), pp.986-996. Campbell, J.D., Jardine, A.K. and McGlynn, J. eds., 2016.Asset management excellence: optimizing equipment life-cycle decisions. CRC Press. da Rocha, A., Arkader, R. and de Ges, B.B., 2015. International expansion of Marcopolo (B): Manufacturing in the other side of the world.Journal of Business Research,68(2), pp.241-254. Fuller, G.W., 2016. Introduction. InThe Great Debt Transformation(pp. 1-24). Palgrave Macmillan US. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. pearson. Graham, J.R., Hanlon, M., Shevlin, T. and Shroff, N., 2013. Incentives for tax planning and avoidance: Evidence from the field.The Accounting Review,89(3), pp.991-1023. Johnson, H.G., 2014. World inflation, the developing countries, and an integrated programme for commodities.PSL Quarterly Review,29(119). Kumar, S. and Bhatia, G.K., 2015. The Need and Effectiveness of Research and Development in Indian Automobile Industry: A Comparative Study of Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences,5(2), pp.56-64. Lessard, D., Lucea, R. and Vives, L., 2013. Building Your Companys Capabilities Through Global Expansion.MIT Sloan Management Review,54(2), p.61. Mca.gov.in. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://www.mca.gov.in/SearchableActs/Section2.htm [Accessed 13 Jan. 2017]. McNeil, A.J., Frey, R. and Embrechts, P., 2015.Quantitative risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton university press. Patnaik, M., 2014. Tax, Lies and Redtape. Porter, A.L., Cunningham, S.W. and Sanz, A., 2013, July. Extending the FIP (Forecasting Innovation Pathways) approach through an automotive case analysis. In2013 Proceedings of PICMET'13: Technology Management in the IT-Driven Services (PICMET)(pp. 2061-2075). IEEE. Rachet, B., 2014. PESTEL analysis and Porters Five Forces For Innocent Drinks Company.Docs. school Publications. Roth, H.P. and Sims, L.T., 1991. Costing for warehousing and distribution.Strategic Finance,73(2), p.42. Stein, D.M. and Vadlamudi, H., 2013. ENHANCING ACTIVE TAX-MANAGEMENT. Stobart, P. ed., 2016.Brand power. Springer. Tatamotors.com. (2017). Innovation at Tata Motors | Tata Motors Annual Report 2015-16. [online] Available at: https://www.tatamotors.com/investors/financials/71-ar-html/innovation.html [Accessed 13 Jan. 2017]. Tatamotors.com. (2017). Tata Tiago Hatchback First Look Its #Fantastico! | Tata Motors Limited. [online] Available at: https://www.tatamotors.com/product/tiago/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2017]. Tatamotors.com. (2017). Tata Ultra Light Trucks | Light Commercial Vehicles | Tata Motors Limited. [online] Available at: https://www.tatamotors.com/product/ultra/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2017]. Yadav, A.P., 2013. Managing Sustainable Growth Rate: A Case Study on Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki.Accounting Review,1(4).

Monday, December 2, 2019

Twining Tea Company Strategic Management

All businesses that operate in a dynamic world often face challenges beyond their control. In order for every business to succeed, these external factors must be taken into consideration (Buxton Chapman 1998). Therefore, every business strategy must recognize these forces to identify threats and available opportunities and use them for its benefits.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Twining Tea Company Strategic Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Failure to react to the external environmental changes may lead to lose of customers. Since the existence and success of business are dependent on its customers, it is therefore worth noting that external environment is the existence of the business (Roy 2009). Twining Tea Company considers the following external environment factors (microenvironment) in the process of positioning itself in Hull in the UK market to increase its sales in December 2011. Market The tea market in the UK has been steadily growing over the past five years (Stillwell Clarke 2011). According to Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Intel, the recent economic climate has played a big part in consumer attitudes to tea and two of the worst winters on record have assisted the market, not to mention heavy discounting activities. However, this report claims that the trend is unlikely to continue if new customers are not attracted (Roy 2009). To improve its positioning, Twining Tea will focus its activities to the unexploited market of young people. This will also ensure market continuity when the old fall out of market. Customers Hull that has a population of over 258000 currently provides a wide customer base for Twining Tea products (Chen Tsang 2000). A quarter of its population comprise of the people under 20 years who do not consider tea as their favourite drink. Success in Hull is therefore greatly dependent on winning this young generation. To achieve this, the company will carry out massive advertisement campaigns aimed at changing attitude of the youth towards their production (Buxton Chapman 1998). No business is able to survive if the demand for their products is not sufficient to maintain production. This is therefore crucial for tea industry.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competitors Competition in the tea market in the UK is very high. Five brands, such as PG Tips and Tetley, Premier Foods, Associated British food, and Betty Taylors dominate the UK market (Stillwell Clarke 2011). In order to be competitive during the Christmas period, Twining Tea Company will have to cut into the leading companies’ market share. This will involve taking drastic measures such as significant price reduction, use of shorter channels of distribution and increasing quality (Roy 2009). Reducing price will broaden customer’s bas e by bringing those who cannot afford to buy such products. Product line, such as revive and cleanse infusions, which are slow movers, can be sold at lower prices quite well (Martin 2007). Cutting of operational costs may also help to reduce prices. To achieve this, the company will hire less expensive labour (Chen and Tsang 2000). Most of Twining’s tealeaves are imported. Camellia sinens is from China, Japan and Darjeeling while Camillia sinens is assamica tea from North India. In order to cut further on cost, the company may use locally produced tealeaves of the Tregothnan Estate, an emerging tea estate in the UK where the weather is similar to that of Darjeeling-India (Martin 2007). Suppliers Being one of the most important stakeholders, their full cooperation will ensure smooth operation and success. To make sure that the cooperation will be full, the firm will pay them timely at the competitive rates. References Buxton, T Chapman, P (eds) 1998, Britain’s economic performance, Routledge, London. Chen, Z-Y Tsang, D 2000, ‘Degradation of green tea catechins in tea drinks’, Journal of agricultural and food industry , vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 477–482.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Twining Tea Company Strategic Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Martin, C 2007, Tea: The drink that changed the world, Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo. Roy, K 2009, The marketing of tea, Intertrade Publications, New Delhi. Stillwell, J Clarke, M (eds) 2011, Population dynamics and projection methods, Springer, London. This essay on Twining Tea Company Strategic Management was written and submitted by user Eli W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Labor Issues in Political Election essays

Labor Issues in Political Election essays Dine, Philip. "AFL-CIO backs Kerry amid signs of labor's declining influence." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 19 Feb, 2004. Rarely is the American union worker more influential than during a presidential election. This is especially evident right now, while the contest between President George W. Bush and Democratic front-runner John Kerry heats up. This article discusses the endorsement by the AFL-CIO in mid-February of John Kerry, who is running on a pro-union platform of "jobs, health care and fair trade." The union giant has only twice before endorsed candidates during the primaries, both of which went on to lose the November election: Walter Mondale and Al Gore. But the AFL-CIO feels strongly enough this year to support Kerry in a "desire to unseat President George W. Bush, whom it regards as the most anti-union president in decades." The textbook states that the AFL-CIO's power is actually limited, but its membership still represents solidarity of influential union voters. Unions generally vote Democratic, since the Democratic candidates are typically more "pro-labor" than Republicans. Even the White House admitted as much, by saying that labor has "historically supported Democrats." And the endorsement of Kerry last month comes because of the AFL-CIO's contention that "Kerry is the most electable Democrat - and that labor can help in primaries in industrial states such as New York and Ohio." At the time this article was written, John Edwards was still in the hunt for a Democratic nomination, and this article discusses Edwards' labor plan compared to Kerry's. Political experts wondered why the AFL-CIO chose to put its support behind Kerry this early, when Edwards was the one who strongly criticized NAFTA during the primaries. Internal discord in unions is also a problem, according to the textbook, and this may result in the defection of the rank-and-file membe ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Inflections in English

Inflections in English Inflections in English Inflections in English By Maeve Maddox Inflections are word elements that indicate grammatical relationships among the words in a sentence. For example, the verb walked is in the past tense; we know this because of the inflectional ending -ed. The noun girls is plural. We know this because of the s that has been added to the singular word girl. All languages make use of inflections. Those that make use of a great many inflections–like Latin–are called â€Å"synthetic languages.† Those that do not have so many–like English–are called â€Å"analytic languages.† The low incidence of inflections in English requires speakers to pay attention to word order. In Latin, on the other hand, word order hardly matters. Take nouns as an example. In Latin, nouns have special forms, according to whether the noun is being used as the subject of a sentence, the direct object, the indirect object, a complement, a noun with a built-in preposition, a possessive noun, or a noun of address. In English, except for possession and number, a noun is a noun is a noun. If we look at the English word girl out of the context of a sentence, we know it’s a noun, but we can’t tell anything else about its grammatical function until it is used in a sentence. If we look at the Latin noun puellam (girl), we know that it is the direct object form. The form puella is a subject form. Puellae is genitive (possessive) form meaning â€Å"of the girl.† Because the inflections are â€Å"built in,† their order in a sentence doesn’t much matter. In English, however, word order tells us if a noun is a subject or an object. If it comes before the verb (usually) a noun is a subject. If it comes after an action verb, it’s an object. For example, in English, â€Å"The boy loves the girl† means something different from â€Å"The girl loves the boy.† In Latin, on the other hand, Puer puellam amat, Puellam puer amat, and Amat puellam puer all mean the same thing: â€Å"The boy loves the girl.† Then there are the adjectives. Latin adjectives have to accord with the nouns. To say, â€Å"The big boy loves the pretty girl† you write: Puer magnus puellam bellam amat. To write, â€Å"The pretty girl loves the big boy,† you can leave the words in the same order, but you have to change the endings to show function and gender: Puella bella puerum magnum amat. Because English retains so few inflections, it is a little surprising that so many of the errors we discuss on this site have to do with the few inflections that do remain. Nouns Nouns are inflected by the addition of an apostrophe to show possession: The boy’s backpack was stolen. (singular noun, ’s) The boys’ backpacks were stolen. (plural noun, s’). The letter s is usually added to a noun to form the plural: The girl climbed Mount Everest. The girls climbed Mount Everest. Errors with plural nouns occur with words that do not form the plural by adding s, for example, woman/women; calf/calves, etc. Errors in placing the apostrophe are quite common. For example: â€Å"The mens’ locker room† instead of â€Å"the men’s locker room.† Some uncertain writers sprinkle apostrophes in very unlikely places: Chloe sing’s with the choir. (Should be sings) The dog hurt it’s paw. (Should be its paw) Verbs Regular verbs are inflected to show past tense by adding the suffix -ed: talk, talked, (have) talked. Errors occur with verbs that indicate past tense by changes in spelling, for example, write, wrote, (have) written. See the DWT post Beware of the Irregular Past Participle. Pronouns Because pronouns have retained more inflected forms than nouns, they are the source of probably half the grammatical errors made by native speakers. The inflections that give trouble with the personal pronouns are these: Subject forms: I, he, she, we, they Object forms: me, him, her, us, them For more on pronoun case, see All Pronoun Cases Are Created Equal. Possessive forms are of two kinds: those that stand for a noun (possessive pronouns), and those that stand before a noun to show possession (possessive adjectives). Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their For example, That book is mine. (Possessive pronoun standing for book) That is my book. (Possessive adjective qualifying book) The pronouns you and it present no problems because they are the same in both their subject and object forms. Other errors with the possessive forms are misspelling its and using their with a singular antecedent: Wrong: The house is having it’s roof replaced. Correct: The house is having its roof replaced. Wrong: Every scout will do their duty. Correct: Every scout will do his duty. Adjectives Adjectives are inflected to show comparison. This article illustrates the different ways of doing it: Comparative Forms of Adjectives Adverbs Adverbs are also inflected to show comparison. Adverbs that end in -ly are inflected by adding more and most in front of them: happily, more happily, most happily. Note: Some authorities regard the comparison of adjectives and adverbs as word formation rather than inflection. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar 101 category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleFor Sale vs. On SaleDrama vs. Melodrama

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Anything relate to economic Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anything relate to economic - Research Proposal Example Therefore, it has become very important for researchers and policy makers to evaluate whether economies relying on currency devaluation to improve their output, have the potential to achieve long term benefits or they are compromising on their long term benefits to achieve short term gains. A huge literature work has been done to study the impact of currency devaluation and depreciation on output growth of economies. Various economic models such as Keynesian model argue that devaluation of currency has an expansionary impact on domestic output (Lai & Chang, 1989). This traditional view has been disproved by various researchers. Research study of Abdel-Haleim (2008) in Egyptian showed that devaluation has an initial contractionary effect on output however; this effect lasts for four years after which expected positive impact of devaluation starts to become significant. The impact of currency devaluation may also vary from economy to economy as found by the research of Kalyoncu and his co-researchers. Kalyoncu, Artan, Tezekici, & Ozturk (2008) found that currency devluation has a signitficant impact on output in nine out of 23 countries and out of nine, in six countries, depreciation reduces the output growth whereas, in three countries it improves the output growth. Upa dhyaya in 1988 found that currency devaluation has a neutral effect on output level in the long run and Upadhyaya and Upadhyay in 1999 found that currency devaluation does not have any impact on output in six Asian countries (Upadhyaya, Rainish, & Phelan, 2009). Therefore, this research study has been proposed to reach a conclusion based on empirical study. Where, Y is the dependent variable and in this research study, dependent variable is â€Å"real GDP† and x is independent variable, which is real exchange rate. The alphabet ‘a’ represents intercept and ‘b’ represents the slope. The secondary data of real exchange rate and real GDP of ten countries will be collected from electronic

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Discussion borad 4 international relations Essay

Discussion borad 4 international relations - Essay Example Apart from these, conflicts can be resolved through international organizations, international courts and treaties. In compellence and deterrence, power and influence are used respectively. Diplomacy involves direct and government-to-government contract whereby officials may communicate and dialogue to accomplish the desired goal. With relation to bargaining and negotiation, positional negotiation and principled negotiation are effective ways to use in conflict resolution. Promising rewards, persuasion, position, benefits, reliance on the legitimacy of claims are far better ways than using force of threat (Russett, Starr and Kinsella, 2009, p. 105- 130). Arab-Israeli conflict has long been a sensitive and rather extremely challenging issue that many media, world agencies and various politicians tried to solve it, but, it still remains to be more severe. In solving this conflict, any of the following three methods can be used, 1) Deterrence and diplomacy, 2) negotiated compromise alon g with diplomacy and 3) third-party mediation along with diplomacy. In all these, direct and government-to-government contact along with third-party involvement may also will work out.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Truth Is in the Kowledge Essay Example for Free

The Truth Is in the Kowledge Essay Abstract â€Å"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. † Truth is education, but a person could never find the truth without being enlightened. The truth is the easiest thing to find, but many people do not care to find it. Most are more comfortable with the truth or afraid of what actually might be true. However, if they would just be optimistic and fearless they might actually experience and learn more. Anyone can find, learn, and appreciate almost anything that can be taught. And when a person can truly experience any one thing they become enlightened. Not only can this person share his experience but he can also spread the knowledge of what he had learned. Sometimes it is important to examine all possibilities because the amount you can learn can have huge impact on your life. In Mark Twain’s â€Å"Advice to Youths† and Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory of the Caves,† both authors portray that enlightening and experiencing are the two most important aspects of finding the truth. The Truth is in the Knowledge. First of all, as a child, you can find more truths simply just listening to your parents then you could if you just ignore them. The amount of respect and trust you show your parents is directly related to the amount of freedoms and trust they give back to a child. The more a child can show they can listen and learn the more their parents enable them to broaden their experiences. [In Advice to Youth, Twain states, â€Å"Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring them that superstition then you can by acting on your own judgment †] Just because you do what your parents tell you, doesn’t mean you need to believe what they’re saying. Just watch your mouth while listening, and still form your opinion down the road. That way your parents will be happy, and still think they know more. While you can still be enlightened more later on down the road. Only one thing can even compare in importance to the truth, and that is a lie. Everyone sees lying as a bad thing, but it is a very important part of life. Every aspect of lie is important; they all have an impact on the outcome in the end. [In Advice to Youth, Twain says, â€Å"Now as to the matter of lying. You want to be very careful about lying; otherwise you’re nearly sure to get caught. †] Once someone catches you in a lie; your relationship changes for the rest of your life. Some might have the tolerance to forgive but they still will have lost faith in you as person. That is why Mark Twain is saying how important lying is in finding the truth in life. You must experience both sides of lies, and learn from them. You never know what a lie might cost you. A person can have a horrible experience the worst time in their life, but as long as they pick themselves up and learn from it; one achieves the best possible outcome from their situation. When someone is down it is pretty hard to cheer them up. You should help them realize they built character and knowledge from it, and the result is a stronger person. [In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato writes, â€Å"Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these precepts, and by and by, when you have got it built, you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everyone else’s. †] Sometimes a person cannot help what happens in their life. That is why a lot of people look at you differently as person after you react to controversy. Some would go as far as saying that helps build character and also shows toughness. The more a person is able to experience in life; the more enlightened and knowledgeable they become. First hand experiences are the easiest, and more often than not, the most effective way to educate. There is no better way to start building memory then hands on activities with whichever subject you want to learn about. [Plato also states, â€Å"Last of all he will be able to see the sun and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not another; and he will contemplate him as he is. †] You cannot send someone out to do a job they’ve never done before. You will end up with a mess, which is why experience is just as important as learning anything. It is also why experiencing is just as important to truth as anything else. In closing, both Twain and Plato were saying that you need to learn if you want to find the truth about anything. And when they mean learn they are talking about every single thing around someone. You can simply enjoy life more by broadening skills and learning about things near and far. It is more important to find the truth rather than being scared or avoiding it. The truth can be something bad but you’ll never come out on the positive end of it if you don’t learn from it. Not everything is wrong just because everyone says that it is. A person needs to experience to find the truth and form their own opinion.

Friday, November 15, 2019

How to Measure and Manage the Reputation of a Corporation Essay

A corporation is a form of business that is common in most countries. It is chartered by the state and is given legal rights as an entity that is separate from its owners. Characteristics of corporate are that the business has no liability to its owners. There is the issuance of shares of easily transferable stock, and it exists as a going concern. A business becomes a corporation through incorporation. After the business undergoes the incorporation, it is given legal standing that is different from their own. This legal standing protects the owner from being personally liable in an event that the business is sued. Incorporation also gives companies more flexible ways of managing their own structures (Melo & Garrido†Morgado, 2012). According to Freeman (2010), Godfrey, Merrill and Hansen (2009) and Musteen, Datta and Kemmerer (2010), reputation is the opinion about a person, social group and an organization. The opinion is as a result of evaluation of criteria. Reputation happens as a result of the corporate branding in the area of the market. Reputation is seen as a sign of future actions and behavior. It also serves as a pledge that justifies and also promotes the expectations of a principal about the actions of the agent in the field of principal agent theory. Reputation is seen as a form of goodwill in accounting. It is also viewed as a manifestation of the identity of a corporation in the field of organization theory. Finally, reputation is a potential market entry barrier in the field of management. This is because if the corporate reputation of a business is negative, the market value of the business is low and the market entry is low compared to businesses that has a positive corporate reputation (Lange , Lee & Dai 2011). R... ...0). Reputation as an Intangible Asset: Reflections on Theory and Methods in Two Empirical Studies of Business School Reputations. Journal of Management, 36 (3), 610-619. Surroca, J., Tribà ³, J. A., & Waddock, S. (2010). Corporate Responsibility and Financial Performance: The Role of Intangible Resources. Strategic Management Journal, 31 (5), 463-490. Walker, K. (2010). A Systematic Review of the Corporate Reputation Literature: Definition, Measurement, and Theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 12 (4), 357-387. Wisdom At Work (2013). Perception is Reality – Building and Managing Corporate Reputation. Hill+ Knowlton strategies Asia. Retrieved from http://asia.hkstrategies.com/perception-is-reality-building-and-managing-corporate-reputation/ Wood, D. J. (2010). Measuring Corporate Social Performance: A Review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12 (1), 50-84

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Commentary on Henry Handel Richardson(TM)s The Getting of Wisdom Essay

In this extract taken from Henry Handel Richardson’s The Getting of Wisdom, the author uses Laura’s perspective to present a scene in which a group of schoolgirls are seated and lectured in front of the rest of the school, of which one girl in particular, Annie Johns, is publicly called upon by their principal and accused of theft. The text is composed of six paragraphs, of which only one is dialogue, followed by a lengthy seventh paragraph. Told in the third-person, the entire excerpt is rich in descriptive language, enhanced by the use of alliteration and cleverly selective vocabulary, so as to achieve an attention-grabbing and detailed description of the characters’ thoughts and feelings. I find that Richardson is able to create a serious and tense atmosphere, evoking a suspenseful mood as should be the case for such an incident. In the opening paragraph of this extract, Richardson introduces the characters and sets the scene. The poor quality of the desks, ‘blackened, ink-scored, dusty, with eternally dry ink-wells’, indicates that the girls are possibly studying in a lower-class school where a higher standard of education environment is not available. Although Tilly, Inez and Bertha’s names are mentioned, it is made clear that Laura is the central character as we are given a detailed idea of how she feels. Richardson brings the reader into the intense atmosphere immediately, and apart from the literal description of Laura’s ‘flushed’ face, her difficulty of breathing and her cold hands and feet, further detail is added by the use of alliteration and shrewd phrasing. The consonance of the letter ‘f’ in ‘The cheeks of the four were flushed’ not only lets us imagine the pale colour of the girls’ faces but also picture the girls as they bite their lips in anticipation. This idea is brought to mind when Laura moistens her lips. The repeated use of the letter ‘w’, in ‘while the others only whispered and wondered’, forms a particular shape of the reader’s mouth, dissimilar to the shape of a smile. The fact they are whispering and wondering also suggests that there are matters at hand that need to be kept secret to oneself, and the writer is encouraging the reader to keep reading. In addition, we are given the first glimpse of Richardson’s use of placing a short clause at the beginning of his sentences. Using the word ‘But’ at the beginning of a sentence in line 4 is grammatically incorrect, but the author writes in this specific way to augment the reader’s idea of the nervousness the girls are feeling. Also to increase the tension, Richardson employs em dashes to create caesuras (that is, deliberate pauses). Consonance using the letter ‘f’ is used for the second time in the beginning of the second paragraph. ‘The first foregoing minutes’ recalls the picture of the girls’ lips, and the mention of the ‘foregoing minutes’, once more, attracts the reader to keep reading. Although silence is already present, Richardson makes a point of stressing the utter quietness, and exaggerating any noise that can be described, as minimal as they may be. This is done carefully when the writer describes the sound after Mr Strachey enters the scene as ‘an ominous hush’, the sounds of whispering and Laura’s trouble in breathing and when Mr Strachey raises his hand ‘to enjoin a silence that was already absolute’. This marks the beginning of a lot of light being shed on these characters. In line 11, the way in which Laura suddenly grows calm contrasts with the emotional nature of Bertha’s character later on, and this may show that Laura is less easily frightened or anxious and that she has the ability to keep her composure in uncomfortable situations. It is interesting to know that her calmness allows her to clear her mind of all anxiety and ‘take note of everything that passed’. Her calmness is vital for the reader to continue to understand and perceive the event as we are given her view, and the reader can appreciate Laura’s observance and self-control. The reader can also appreciate Richardson’s clever manipulation of this character’s perspective. As for Mr Strachey, him being labelled as ‘The Principal’ gives the impression that he has no need for a name in this current situation. The title is impersonal and implies that he is strictly being professional now. This formal occasion is also accentuated by the tidy arrangement of the desks, as unsanitary as they are, and the use of words and phrases such as ‘culprit’, ‘a few introductory remarks’ and ‘the present case’, relating the school-situated theft to an actual court case. Richardson then allows the reader to know Mr Strachey is somewhat of an authoritarian. This is suggested by Mr Strachey’s decision to raise his hand for silence that the writer vividly describes as ‘already absolute’ and his way of ordering Annie Johns to stand up. ‘†Will Miss Johns stand up!†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ is a question in strict linguistic terms, but the exclamation mark indicates that it is a command and not an inquiry. Bertha’s description adds a certain fearful quality to Mr Strachey’s character as Bertha cries from an overwhelming sense of panic. Probably the most outstanding use of alliteration is the consonance using the letters ‘b’ and ‘h’ in ‘Bertha †¦ the unhappy’ in lines 16 to 18. The letter ‘b’ generates a dramatic sound as we imagine Bertha releasing her emotions, and the letter ‘h’ produces a sort of sobbing noise that is gradually reduced like the actual use of the letter ‘h’. Last of all, Annie Johns is described as ‘pale and silly-looking’. Everything from the impersonal disregarding of her name, to the metaphor associating her with a small hunted animal, to the portrayal of her unattractiveness and insanitariness, characterize her as an unappealing person to sympathize for just judging by her appearance. Richardson’s use of the letter ‘s’ in the words, ‘stood’, ‘silly-looking’, ‘stared’, ‘Strachey’, ‘stares’ and especially the image created by ‘the snake’, foreshadow the crime that is to be addressed soon. The sounds created by the words, ‘mouth’, ‘fallen’, ‘half’ and ‘fear’, emphasize (yet again) the biting of the lips and the changing shape of the mouth. When we reach the last paragraph in line 25, all the components established in the previous paragraphs come together as Richardson uses punctuation, consonance and figurative language to vividly portray the scene and assign actions to the names and faces of the characters we are now familiar with in this particular extract. Laura’s ability to pay close attention to her surroundings is referred to as she is described as being unable to ‘take her eyes off the scene’, ‘fascinated by [Mr Strachey’s] oratory’ and ‘appreciating [Mr Strachey’s] points’. Richardson mentions lips again and this time, they belong to Mr Starchey. Particular phrases such as ‘the Principal passed on to the present case’ and ‘He made it all live vividly before her’ create a cacophonous effect and the reader may visualize Mr Strachey has he speaks dramatically, perhaps spitting as he enunciates too. Earlier, Mr Strachey is said to be speaking in a ‘low, impressive tone’ and Laura’s admiration of his rhetoric highlights this as well. Information concerning Laura herself is minimal, but we find out about her by observing Richardson’s skilful way of letting us into her perspective without actually writing in the first-person. The reader can know that Laura has the capability to recognize what the rest of the girls are going through by the way the writer talks about how Laura knows ‘what it was to be poor’ and understands ‘what it would mean to lack your tram-fare on a rainy morning’ (a brief instance of pathetic fallacy). Laura ‘could imagine, too, with a shiver’, to what extent the details of this crime could be revealed. When Richardson describes the lolly-shop as having ‘octopus arms’, and tells us that Laura is considering ‘if every one else agreed with [Mr Strachey]’, it indicates that Laura is imaginative, bright and deductive in her reasoning as she puts her observation skills in good use, and all of this suggests that her aptitude is possibly brought about by some difference between her attitude to education and the other girls’ approach. This extract was interesting to analyse and to see how a writer can use a character so captivatingly to direct us to what is significant in the actual plot. This includes the characterisations of Bertha, Annie Johns and Mr Strachey, as well as Laura, and the way in which Richardson applies alliteration to this text to create visual impressions. I guess I could say that I was fascinated by Richardson’s style as he made the scene and the characters all live vividly before me. I hung on his diction, appreciated his style and the clever way in which he worked up his climaxes. As grammatically incorrect as it is in saying this, I feel I have certainly been ‘getting’ some wisdom.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

East of Eden: The Discovery of Innocence

The Discovery of Innocence on the Western Frontier What happens in the West? What kind of change takes place when an individual crosses over the boundary separating what has been settled from what has yet to be † the frontier. Over the last few weeks I have continued to probe the idea of the West as a place that has yet to be defined. Many times, authors and people are not even sure where it starts as it is an invisible border that exists only in the minds of those who seek to cross it.Once across this ambiguous frontier, the traveler ncounters a place in which time seems to be suspended. As in the story of the Garden of Eden, paradise (or the West) represents a sphere in which God has held the hands of time, and the people and creatures live in a state of eternal sameness. The idea of ghost towns in the West embodies the notion of a place somehow being removed from the influence of time. Ghost towns exist as settlements that people forgot. However, unlike settlements in the Ea st where space is at a premium and any unused building would quickly be removed and replaced by something else, in theWest these places remain, like footprints on the moon where no erosion of time can disturb them. The same principle applies to people. The West has the effect of amnesia upon the minds of those who partake of it. In many ways, it resembles the lotus flowers from The Odyssey. In the epic, any persons who tasted of the lotus flowers immediately forgot about home and opted to stay where they could partake of the flowers. A similar effect can be found among the mountain men and explorers of the Rocky Mountains.Often times these men would become so intoxicated by the rugged eauty and isolation they found in the West that they would spend years in the mountains instead of the months they had planned on. These men became real life Rip Van Winkles, being suspended from time for so long they were not aware of major events such as presidential elections, new territories, or wa rs. Not only is the West edenic in the way that time operates, it is also closely tied

Friday, November 8, 2019

Vrouwen in managementfucnties essays

Vrouwen in managementfucnties essays 'Uit een rapport van de ILO (International Labor Organisation, 1993) blijkt dat tussen 1985 en 1991 het aandeel van vrouwelijke managers steeg in 39 van de 41 onderzochte landen. Aan de andere kant meldt ABC News (1993) dat in geen enkel van 33 onderzochte landen vrouwen evenwaardig worden behandeld als mannen.' Het aantal vrouwen dat deelneemt in het arbeidsgebeuren, is na WO II gestadig gestegen. Redenen hiervoor zijn o.a.: het ontstaan van vele routinejobs die hoofdzakelijk door vrouwen werden ingenomen, vrouwen trouwen later en krijgen later kinderen en beschikken daardoor over een langere periode om deel te nemen aan het arbeidsleven, het feit dat bepaalde bedrijven overtuigd zijn van het competitieve voordeel van diversiteit in het werknemersbestand (verlaging van de kosten, stijging van de productiviteit, behouden van het marktaandeel...)(Parker en Fagenson, 1994). Want deze bedrijven recruteren de beste personen zonder onderscheid van geslacht, nationaliteit en ras en beschikken bijgevolg over een veel grotere arbeidspool. Maar toch kunnen we stellen dat nog veel vooruitgang mogelijk is. Ondanks de toename van het aantal vrouwen in de totale arbeidspopulatie, blijft hun aanwezigheid beperkt tot bepaalde sectoren zoals de verzorgende en de administratieve sector. Bovendien blijkt uit verschillende studies (o.a. ILO) dat mannen van over de hele wereld de hoogste managementfuncties bekleden, wat betekent dat vrouwen beschikken over minder verticale mobiliteit. Daarbij komt nog dat hoe hoger vrouwen opklimmen in de hirarchische structuur, hoe groter de verschillen worden tussen mannen en vrouwen, wat dan resulteert in een geringe horizontale mobiliteit. In alle categorien van jobs worden vrouwen bovendien aanzienlijk minder betaald (Rowney en Cahoon, 1990). En dit terwijl vrouwen, zo blijkt uit onderzoek, meer graden behalen dan hun mannelijke collega's. In het algemeen kunnen we zeggen dat vrouwen niet...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Become a Freelance Writer While Still in College

Become a Freelance Writer While Still in College Washing dishes. Flipping burgers. Stocking shelves. Ringing up purchases. These are some common part-time jobs for college students. Restaurants and stores offer evening and weekend hours that dont interfere with class schedules. Have you considered working from your dorm room instead? If youre good at English, you can become a freelance writer while youre still in college. All you need is your computer and an Internet connection. Here are some tips to get you started. Brush Up on Your Writing Skills Even if youre pretty good at spelling, grammar, and punctuation, theres a lot more to high-quality professional writing. Online content might need to be coded with header tags or peppered with search-engine-friendly keywords. Effective ad copywriting requires a good knowledge of marketing and psychology. If you havent had an opportunity to take writing-specific courses through your English department, you can find plenty of short online classes at a relatively low cost. Clients like to see good credentials when they review your profile, so adding a writing class or two can get you noticed. Lynda.com offers short classes in e-learning, social media marketing, and many other modern fields that require professional writers. Udemy offers a number of writing classes, from copywriting to comedy writing. About.com and similar sources offer many free articles, so you can refresh yourself on grammar or learn new skills. Obtain the Style Guides that Pertain to Your Niche Today, many clients expect freelance writers to serve as their own editors and proofreaders. Here are the resources youll need when checking your work. The Chicago Manual of Style is appropriate for literature, such as fiction and creative nonfiction. The AP Stylebook is best for journalism and most online writing, such as fixed web content and blog posts. Ask your client if he or she has a house style guide or sheet. This list of specific preferences and special terms supersedes the style manual youre using. Check Out Online Freelancing Agency Sites You may be able to find some local jobs through a Craigslist ad or word of mouth. However, so many clients hire freelance essay writers through online agencies that youd be doing yourself a disservice not to sign up with one. Take a few minutes to set up your professional profile, and then wait for job alerts to come to you. If you have time, you can spend time actively searching for opportunities. Fiverr is a great place to get started. Freelancers offer a number of services that cost $5. You could advertise, say, a product description, tagline, or short About Us webpage for that set amount. Guru is the virtual workplace of choice for more than 1.5 million members. Competition is tough, as its a global marketplace. People from other countries may bid on the same jobs at a far lower rate. Be confident and persistent, and eventually, youll win that first assignment. Bookmark These Commonly Used Tools for Writers Copyscape is software that checks your writing for plagiarism. Even if you havent knowingly copied anything, youll always want to run your work through this software before submitting it. Many clients reject content that is flagged by Copyscape- even for one sentence. The Premium version of the software is very inexpensive and worth every penny. Readability Score lets you check your content to determine the level of reading ease (or difficulty). Dont assume that everybody is as good a reader as you are. Most newspapers and online content should be easy enough for the average eighth-grader to comprehend. Freelance writing may sound like an easy or glamorous job, but its just like any other job. Sure, you might be able to work at 1 a.m. in your pajamas, but youll also have to deal with undercutting, rejection, and some difficult clients. If youre passionate about writing, though, get started in a freelance career. It will be a great experience to add to your resume when you graduate.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

History of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History of China - Essay Example Firstly, with regards to why the British sought to smuggle opium into China, the answer to this question is undeniably quite simple. Ultimately, the British sought to smuggle opium into China to make the country weak, to provide the British Empire, and by extension its economy, a level of domination over China, and by extension by which China, its government, and people, would be reliant upon the British to fulfill any further levels of trade that might exist between the Chinese and the outside world. Ultimately, the reader can note that a highly unethical situation arose from this which encouraged key levels of Imperial exploitation over the Chinese government and its people (Xin, 2010). Whereas there have been many cases in history of organized crime and the means by which it was substances of one form or another have been trafficked, the opium trade between the British Empire and China is perhaps the perfect example of economic warfare as the importation and reliance on opium was utilized as a leverage point by which the British Empire could gain a further degree of economic power and control over the peoples of a region that much of Europe had been anxious to control for the better part of several hundred years. Realizing that the current dynamic of ever-increasing opium addiction and the means by which the economic resources of China were being undermined by the British Empire, the imp are demanded action. Firstly, the Emperor sought to arrest Chinese opium dealers and then extended this power outside of national Chinese boundaries demanding that foreign firms turn over any and all stop of opium that existed with the nation. As might be expected, these foreign merchants summarily refused to turn over their stock as they made a valuable trade and livelihood through the sale of this drug. In such a way, a key level of disagreement contest arose between the foreign merchants of opium and the Imperial power of China. As such, it was the belief of the British t hat it was their responsibility to protect key trade interests that provided a high level of profitability for their global economy and a level of control over the region of China as a whole (Feige & Miron, 2008). Within such a manner, the first of two opium wars were kicked off in which the trade interests of the British Empire and the societal concerns of the Chinese Empire, with regards to opium addiction, came head-to-head in armed conflict. The result of these opium wars was a complete humiliation for the Chinese Emperor and the peoples of China. This was so much the case that Chinese historians, both then and now, refer to the result of these opium wars as â€Å"the century of humiliation†. This is mostly due to the fact that the overwhelming military superiority and coordination of the British forces pressured the existing Qing Dynasty to capitulate to almost any and all demands that the British placed upon it. Due to the fact that the Chinese were unable to mount a su ccessful military defense of their homeland during either of these two opium wars, the British were able to exact a high price for insurrection, as they saw it, to British imperial power. Ultimately, the effects of the opium wars can be understood within two distinct contexts. Firstly, the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Which is bigger Feel the Fear or The Giant Speech Presentation

Which is bigger Feel the Fear The Giant - Speech or Presentation Example Mathematics is used in numerous ways including description of real world research important real world situations, idea test and give predictions of the real world situations among others (Berry et.al 1995 pp24). Generally, in mathematics, modelling of mathematics gives a procedure or a method that can be used for solving certain situations and problems in mathematics. In this report, the process of mathematical modelling was intended to be used effectively in solving the problems and the situations in the report (Berry et.al 1995 pp24). The report also will use the model to analyze the data given and mathematically give solutions to the research question. The analysis section of this report involved some mathematical calculations of numerous problems whose solutions were found through differentiation. The first problem tackled focused on determining the difference in the altitude of each coasters. The determination was performed through manual mathematical calculations, all the steps used in conducting this calculation are highlighted and explained appropriately in the report. The following are the solutions including all the steps used to solve the three mathematics problem during the research: In conclusion, the report analysis used the modelling of mathematics to solve and evaluate the questions asked in the report. Mathematical modelling such as differentiation of first derivatives is used in the report to find the accurate answers. In order to approach different problems in the correct form, the modelling process of mathematics was used. Just from prediction which was tested to give the data to be formulated. Formulation gives the model which is analyzed to give the conclusion as well as the answers to the problems. The methods used to analyze the report were accurately and appropriately

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Marketing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Assignment - Essay Example Successful differentiation gives the firm a competitive advantage as customers will look at the products as superior and unique and can be achieved in various ways. This paper will first detail eight ways to differentiate product offerings, and then concentrate on packaging the product in a more creative manner and incorporating new functional features into the product or product innovation. Strategies for Product Differentiation One way to differentiate products is via product innovation by adding functions or features into a product and commanding a higher price (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 34). These features can be added through acquiring or licensing complementary feature sets or by using the firm’s in-house team for product development. Another way to differentiating products is through packaging. At times, all it takes to differentiate or re-energize a product is via changing the packaging. This was very effective when it was used in collaboration with another product and d elivered in an innovative manner. While this method does not have enough value to change a consumer’s life, the manner of packaging offers more convenience allowing them to charge more (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 45). A firm could also pursue other market niches in areas that are unsophisticated (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 67). ... Yet another product differentiation strategy is via the generation of referrals. A firm, in this case, helps to cultivate referrals and create sales models around the type of selling that are consultative while being less confrontational (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 76). In a competitive market, prospects referred by happy customers will be inclined to buy products. This can be achieved by offering incentives to current customers in the hope they will send referrals. Other firms will offer increased service as a means of product differentiation. They combine superior service with a commodity product that helps to differentiate this commodity. Through re-defining their service, the firm, redefines the playing field and offers a home-court advantage since other competitors do not use this combination while they charge a premium for the product. Another strategy is via figuring out what they can guarantee. Since the firm has to deliver on expectations from the client or refund them, they wi ll offer an upfront guarantee (Trout & Rivkin, 2012: p 87). A firm could guarantee their clients that their prices are the best, and offer to refund their money if they find cheaper items of the same quality elsewhere. Since the customer has not time to compare prices, they will buy this product because the price is guaranteed to be the lowest. Firms could also collaborate with complementary service or product providers when their product does not stand by itself as a unique offering. Both entities benefit from this arrangement, for instance, the HBO’s partnerships with motels to show their movies allows HBO to have exclusive viewership in these motels while the motels benefit from showing exclusive movies. Finally, a firm could also employ their hidden assets as a

Monday, October 28, 2019

Howard Gardners Theory Of Multiple Intelligences Education Essay

Howard Gardners Theory Of Multiple Intelligences Education Essay Walk into a class of typical second grade students and you will quickly learn that there is nothing typical about any group of students.   It would be expected that some of the students would excel in reading, and some would excel in math.   According to traditional academic standards, these students would be considered intelligent and their intelligence would not be questioned. But look beyond the surface of academic achievement, and you would find that some of the students in this class can express themselves through beautiful poetry, some are graceful dancers, some are superior basketball players, some play instruments with such ease that it looks effortless, some can create exquisite artwork, and some are peacemakers.   Are these children intelligent, or are they simply talented? Howard Gardner would say that their abilities stem from intelligence, not just talent. Howard Gardner introduced his theory of multiple intelligences in 1983 and in doing so challenged the way people regarded intelligence (Ferguson, 2009).   In the 1920s Spearman proposed that there is only one type of intelligence, called general intelligence or g. The notion that there could be only one type of intelligence was questioned by other psychometric theorists, such as Cattell and Thurstone.   But even these theorists proposed that intelligence is limited to cognitive functions that can be measured.   Traditionally, intelligence is measured using IQ tests such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. IQ tests focus on assessing verbal skills, perceptual and spatial reasoning, working memory and processing speed (Berk, 2013). Gardners theory offers an opposing view to the psychometric theory. His theory proposes that intelligence is broader than what can be measured on an intelligence test. Gardners theory suggests that there are eight intelligences and each person possesses each one to a certain degree.   The intelligence types are linguistic, logico-mathmatical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalist, interpersonal, intrapersonal (Berk, 2013).   A person who possesses linguistic intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate language.   A person who possesses logico-mathematical intelligence has logical reasoning ability and can understand and manipulate numbers. A person who possesses musical intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate sound.   A person who possesses spatial intelligence has the ability to understand and manipulate visual or spatial images. A person who possesses bodily-kinesthetic intelligence has the ability to move his or her body with skill.   A person who possesses naturalistic intelligence has the ability to understand and question the natural world.   A person who possesses interpersonal intellige nce has the ability to understand and respond to the emotions and needs of other people.   Finally, a person who possesses intrapersonal intelligence has the ability to understand and respond to their own emotions and needs (Christodoulou, 2009). Gardner has proposed a ninth type of intelligence called existential intelligence (Christodoulu, 2009).   In Howard Gardners 2005 paper Multiple Lenses on the Mind he explains that when people ask questions regarding the how and why of life, they are exhibiting this intelligence. However, Gardner explains that he is not sure if this phenomenon should be declared an intelligence, My hesitation in declaring a full blown existential intelligence stems from my uncertainty about whether certain regions of the brain are dedicated to the contemplation of issues that are too vastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to be perceived (Gardner, 2005, p. 9). This statement reveals that the heart of Gardners intelligence theory is intelligence, not talent. Gardner reminds his readers that in order for something to be classified as a type of intelligence it must be something that the brain is capable of doing. In this case, Gardiner has reservations about including this type of intelligence in his theory because the human brain may not be able to fully ponder existential questions. From an educators point of view, Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences makes sense. Go back to the second grade classroom and take a look at the students sitting in the seats. Every child in that class learns differently. Every child in that class observes and understands the world in his or her own way. I was the teacher in that classroom and I drew on Gardners theory to reach my students. I learned about the theory of multiple intelligences as an undergraduate education student. When I was first hired as a teacher I researched ways to integrate this theory as a way to promote learning in my classroom. I found many educational books, websites, and journal articles that provided real world application of multiple intelligence theory. My students clapped and sang their spelling words, which appealed to those with strengths in the musical or bodily-kinesthetic intelligences. My students drew pictures to illustrate main ideas, which appealed to those with strength in spatial intelligence. Our class took a field trip to the Mississippi River, which appealed to those with strength in naturalistic intelligence. In implementing these teaching methods I was doing more than reaching out to the different way my students learned. I identified their intellectual strengths and gave them opportunities which allowed their strengths to grow and flourish. This understanding and belief in educating the whole child extends beyond self-contained, grade level classrooms. I taught in a school that valued education of the whole child. The students attended weekly classes in Spanish, art, music, physical education, library, and computer. For three years I was a specialty teacher in the school and I used multiple intelligence theory to guide my lesson planning. I taught computer for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As the computer teacher, I designed curriculum based projects where students used technology to create original works that had a direct classroom application. For example, elementary school students used Kerpoof, a web application, to make stories illustrating their understanding of beginning, middle, and end. Middle school students used a program called ComicLife to create comics about everything from the Revolutionary War to famous scientists. The eighth grade student read The Giver in their literature class and the n used a web application called Weebly to create a website for their own, imaginary, utopian society. All grade levels had the opportunity to use Garage Band to write music to accompany their PowerPoint presentations. Not every project appealed to every intelligence type. Some of these projects were required group projects while others were individual. Some relied more on verbal intelligence abilities, while others required more visual intelligence. But, every project relied on more than one intelligence type. And every project lead to the creation of work that the students were happy to share with their classmates and the school community. Reconciling the theory of multiple intelligences with the traditional psychometric theory of intelligence is difficult, if not impossible, to do. The debate that started nearly thirty years ago when Gardner introduced his theory continues to this day. In the article Not Every Child is Secretly a Genius, Christopher Ferguson criticizes Gardners theory for being an all encompassing theory that allows for everyone to be smart (Ferguson, 2009). Joanna Christodoulou takes the opposing view in the article Applying multiple intelligence. She explains that we need to stop thinking in terms of how smart people are. Instead, we should be asking, In which ways is she smart, and how can that profile be marshaled for meaningful goals? (Christodoulou, 2009, para. 22). The theory of multiple intelligences is not a data driven theory. There is little empirical evidence to support it (Ferguson, 2009). It will not yield an IQ score. It will not lead to a diagnosis of learning disability, intellectual disability, or gifted. If a teacher is interested in tracking a student Gardners theory will be of little help because this is not the purpose of Gardners theory (Christodoulou, 2009). The purpose of Gardners theory is to understand the intellectual capabilities of the whole child. It tells us that everyone is capable of intelligent thought or intelligent action on some level. It is a hopeful theory. It is a theory that highlights that intelligence is not fixed, but rather a dynamic capacity amenable to change via good teaching, high motivation, and adequate resources (Christodoulou, 2009, para. 24). Finally, it is a useful theory with many practical implications for the classroom. The purpose of the psychometric theory is to give an IQ score and, possibly, a diagnosis. But, the purpose of Gardners theory is to give educators a plan for reaching all students regardless of their score on a test or diagnosis on a psychoeducational evaluation.

Friday, October 25, 2019

General Paper: What Use Is The Internet? :: Computer Science

General Paper: What Use Is The Internet? The internet is the world's largest, globally inter-linked network of computer systems. It allows users to transmit and receive data digitally, across the telephone network system. This concept of data transmission on a world-wide scale, has opened the doors to a vast range of possibilities for this data sharing capability. Initially, the internet was developed under a government funded project called ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency), in late 1962, directed by members of MIT who saw great potential in the ability to transmit data across a global network system i.e. the telephone system. The intention was mainly to design a system that would enable the sharing of information on research and development on scientific and military aspects. In addition, it was to provide an alternative communication network, which could be re-directed across a number of alternative routes, in the event that a site was destroyed by nuclear attack. Since the internet's first stages of development, today, it is still used as a data sharing agent. Whilst in the past, it was used primarily used by government specialist and large organizations, it can now be found in use, in the homes of more than 500 million households worldwide, according to estimated statistics at Telecom from a number of surveys in August 2001. This figure accounts for around 100% of the world population. The increasing number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has allowed millions of remote country residents', access to the network, contributing to the 17%growth rate in internet usage. Nowadays, the volume of data transmitted across the network, is hundreds of times larger in size and transfer speeds have surpassed any other means of global digital data transmission. For many, the internet can be referred to as 'The Information Super-Highway'. The millions of users connected to the internet can broadcast their data from their computer to the network, providing the user with a near limitless scope of fields of information and educational resources, such as current news, sports, inventions, discoveries and research material. The main problem with this is that some of it may not be very reliable and often specific topics may be difficult to find. Along with the development of the internet, the number of possibilities of uses for it has increased tremendously. Besides simple text-based information, the foundation of the internet, a variety of audio and visual components is now available. These include pictures, graphics, movies and videos, sounds, interactive tools, colour-rich diagrams and charts, which help enhance the user's research and educational experience. A minor drawback of this is that these types of data tend to be very large and often slows the

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Principal Leadership: Diversity, Development and Distribution Essay

The principal is the de facto leader of the public school. With this role comes no small degree of pressure and responsibility. And as the nature of education changes and evolves, so too does this role and that which is implied by it. In many ways though, there remains a great philosophical divide on how principal leadership is to be pursued. To the perspective of this research endeavor, this divide is based on varying conceptions of how leadership and education might best be integrated for the office. Therefore, the research seeks to appeal to the conceptions of those most directly effected. This proposal is intended to serve in a preliminary capacity for a broader survey study which would engage principals on matters of their experience with modern political realities, with career development and mentoring and with theoretical division on the matter of centralized versus distributed leadership. Findings and recommendations will be directed toward the warranting and fashioning of an effective survey and survey study design. Rationale: This study is designed to explore the various career development aspects of becoming and being a public school principal that contribute to the effective ability to serve in a leadership capacity. The principal has a unique role in both the lives of teachers and students, serving as both a figure of authority and as an advocate in the face of administrative and political demands. This makes the principalship a deeply complex position, imposed upon by the challenges of organizational stewardship, economic constraint and political imposition. The experience of developing into and serving in the position of the principal is of importance to those aspiring to evolve to the role. For individuals viewing the principalship as a career path, firsthand accounting of the obstacles, opportunities, demands and distinctions there associated might be an invaluable source of verification for that which one might expect. This serves as the rationale for the approach taken in this research report, which contends that the administering of surveys to individuals who are serving today in the role of principal should help to effectively yield data which can be of value to individuals desiring to follow in their footsteps. The primary thesis of this research is that a consideration of existing studies both which help to define terms for this investigation and which provide precedent for the use of survey-based data-gathering should help us to establish a clear course for the format and content of a survey for distribution. The study proposed in this investigation would be designed as a primarily qualitative study which focuses on the beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of principals on both their careers and the path of their career development. The method being proposed in this study is qualitative and descriptive research using the combination of a literature review on the topic and a survey of school principals. A descriptive design, according to Gigliotti (2001), is to provide an accurate profile of a variable, group, individual and/or phenomenon. It is a design that involves making careful descriptions of phenomena—particularly educational, which has greatly increased knowledge about what happens in schools. The issues which will be considered in a survey instrument will have been gleaned from the literature review which is to follow. This review indicates that the responsibilities of the principal as a leader in various capacities must be heavily considered, particularly in light of such issues as the heightened demanded for leadership in the face of new and permeating political realities. Issues such as the need to answer to various sectors of the community, the demand to establish a rapport with faculty that induces support and the overarching presence of such all-encompassing frameworks as the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy all have the effect of shaping the leadership responsibilities and experiences of the principal. This literature review is justified as a means to clarifying the relationship between these conditions and the perspective of the principal on such issues as career development and leadership distribution and will touch upon the above-noted issues in shaping the focus of its research instrument. Literature Review: Principal Leadership Theory: That schools in the United States in particular have generally experienced a decline in standards, in performance and in personnel commitment is evidenced throughout the field. To many theorists in the last decade, this is indicative of a core problem relating to the orientation and distribution of leadership. This is especially a challenge for the principal, whose leadership responsibilities are inherent but who faces myriad obstacles to the effectiveness of this leadership. Overly centralized ways of designing curriculum, of engaging students and of evaluating performance of teachers and students, some will argue, has had the impact of disassociating school leadership from the environment which it impacts. This is why â€Å"in the view of many analysts, the task of transforming a school is too complex for one person to accomplish alone. Consequently, a new model of leadership is developing. † (Lashway, 2002, p. 6) This new model is something that developing school principals and serving principals alike must prepare for. The leadership of the school administration or principalship is often looked upon as the sole determining factoring the curricular standardization and approach which pervades a learning institution. As Graseck’s (2005) article reveals, the perceived singularity of this leadership is both a product of a fundamental misapprehension of the opportunities for in-school leadership and may be a contributor to a negative educational experience all around. At the heart of Graseck’s model for administrative leadership is the notion that too much vested authority in this position will tend to create what he refers to as a ‘wall,’ which reinforces an improper notion that administration exists above principalship and teaching on a hierarchical scale. A perception which may be shared by both parties, it is likely to cause an improperly aloof administrative approach to leadership which is more dominated by bureaucracy than a true and inquiring interest in the improvement of education. Equally as destructive, such an attitude imperils the security of the teaching faculty, which tends to respond to being undervalued with resentment, occupational antipathy and diminished morale. As we enter into this discussion, it is important to recognize that this is a dilemma which centrally impacts the authority and leadership opportunities for the principal. The presumption that more effectively distributed leadership will ultimately produce positive performance outcomes for a school is underscored by heretofore existent positive evidence as to the impact of effective leadership overall as a determinant of student outcomes. According to Spillane (2003), â€Å"over the past few decades researchers have consistently reported that school leadership, principal leadership in particular, is critical in developing and sustaining those school-level conditions believed essential for instructional improvement. (Spillane, 2003; p. 343) According to Lumby (2003), it may be accurate to state that an evolution in our appreciation for classroom level ingenuity inherently incites the need for a more distributed approach to leadership as pertaining to the relationship between principal and teachers. As his research claims, â€Å"leadership is embedded in the activities of staff and students, including delegated management, and can be understood to be both distributed and systemic. (Lumby, 2003; p. 283) This is to indicate the natural process of educational development will require this type of dynamic contribution where the relationship between the principal and teachers facilitates a sense of leadership determination for the latter which can help to stimulate their invaluable support of the former. Indeed, for educators, the heightened emphasis on the opportunity for contribution at the highest levels can improve motivation and individual ingenuity. To this end, according to a study by Harris (2004), there is cause to infer that the outcome of this leadership approach for the principal will be to improve the quality of a school overall. Accordingly, the author notes that such â€Å"forms of leadership can assist capacity building within schools which contributes to school improvement. † (Harris, 11) For teachers and other staff members who are given the opportunity to offer their skills at the leadership level, the framework will accommodate greater innovation, personal stake and perspective variance. All of these may be argued to promote the advancement of school quality as an experience for both student and educator. This review uses an extensive number of studies available on the subject of principals in education. Some of the research directed the fix of our attention toward the external pressures which denote the need for a principal to develop a clear base of support from within the school. The challenges inherent in the No Child Left Behind legislation, according to the findings of most survey studies considered here, have compromised the ability of principals to lead effectively. The implications of externally shaped standards and performance consequences are undermining to the capacity of the principal and his or her faculty to lead in the shaping of curriculum, philosophy and evaluation. Some of the research available on the subject demonstrates the need to develop a clear strategic approach to leadership in the face of such pressures. To this end, according to Crum & Sherman (2008), the heightened emphasis on standardized testing and other practices related to No Child Left Behind has created a condition wherein the principal is found to be largely at the center of an array of very inflexible demands. The result is that the principal’s performance evaluation is directly connected to the capacity of the school and its students to comport with the standards created by such legislation. Therefore, principals are increasingly finding it necessary to take a hands-on approach to providing leadership in public schools. As Crum & Sherman indicate, â€Å"the burden for school improvement in a time of accountability falls squarely on the shoulders of principals as new requirements demand that they act as instructional leaders. † (Crum & Sherman, 562) This study is of particular value to our discussion both for its association to the inherent case for a more widely distributed approach to leadership and to the establishment of our core methodology. The study in question is largely based on the data-gathering process of surveying those with measurable experience in the areas of principalship discussed. The issues of leadership and the distribution of authority are both recurrent in the self-reports gathered by Crum & Sherman, which focus in useful detail on the aspects of the position which demand the intimate leadership oversight of a highly involved principal. According to the data gathering process which the researchers undertook, â€Å"the principals provided valuable insights into their daily practices that foster an environment which is supportive of high-student achievement. These practices are categorized in the following themes: developing personnel and facilitating leadership, responsible delegation and empowering the team, recognizing ultimate accountability, communicating and rapport, facilitating instruction, and managing change. (Crum & Sherman, 563) Here, the principals who served as key respondents would generally come to an agreement on the crucial importance of using one’s leadership to invoke leadership initiative and the command of responsibilities amongst those who are theoretically subordinate. This means developing, maintaining and feeding a set of healthy relationships betwixt the principal and teachers and faculty. The principal must cultivate an atmosphere where trust and a sense of value allow teachers to e ffectively carry out the message, mission and pressures of the principalship. At the core of a data-gathering process such as this is the finding that the principal cannot act alone. Though accountability will typically be closely associated with the job of the principalship, the support which the principal enjoys from the teaching staff will be tantamount their willingness to support him or her. In turn, this support will translate into an effective staff which maintains the principal’s vision and standards of efficacy. Self-reporting proves here to be an illuminating process, driven by observations made by principals operating under the provisions of No Child Left Behind. Though the No Child Left Behind is not the core focus of this investigation, its mention here denotes another aspect of the survey which makes it valuable to our purposes. A wide array of subjects in survey make voluntary mention of No Child Left Behind. With no connotation, the issue remains a relevant one today for its pervasive impact on the way that schools and students alike are assessed. The use of evaluative testing as a means to enforcing a universal standards for academic competence holds all members of the academic community under a microscope. Whether responding positively or negatively to its implications, a great many respondents to the research surveys which this source review encountered recognized that its provisions are a significant factor in shaping leadership strategy. Ferrandino (2001) wrote about the subject of the principalship over the transition into the 21st century, which saw the inception of our current policy approach. Ferrandino analyzed the job itself and noted that being a principal today is far different than it was even 20 years ago. Principals work longer hours, have responsibility for a much broader community of pupils and staff (that is, pupils and staff from a diversity of cultures), are required to be far more politically savvy, and have to meet a much broader range of demands. Ferrandino’s (2001) research addressed the claim that too many principals are soon due for retirement and there are insufficient numbers of teachers and educators with the training, education, and qualification to replace this aging workforce. (p. 441). The author posed and addressed the question as to why there appears to be shortage of qualified candidates for such positions. In resolution, the article finds that many potential candidates do not want to cope with the inherent pressures of leadership and the requisite long hours of the job. According to the survey research gathered in the Ferrandino essay, the politicization of the academic process has become a deterrent for many serious and qualified candidates. The issues provoked by No Child Left Behind are played out today in the administrative conflicts which shape education as we know it, with the principal at the center of disputes. And quite indeed, as pedagogical approaches clash with each other (constructivism versus traditional teaching, for one example), more in the way of direct leadership is expected of principals than ever before. To some extent, this is causing many to shy away from even applying for the position. Ferrandino (2001) notes that this is not simply a problem of a shortage of candidates, but implies that which is at the crux of research, that there are institutional shortcomings which have disinclined a proper pool of candidates. The complexity of leadership demands in the position are dominant in either disinclined candidates or rendering the position too exclusive. The research by Langer and Boris-Schacter provides a model for consideration as we meditate on the notion of using the survey methodology to produce a data set on the selected subject. In the research of Langer and Boris-Schacter (2003), it is confirmed that Ferrandino’s perspective that the role of the principal is one that leaves many of its beholders feeling frustrated and uncomfortable with the constantly changing demands of the job. Their study showed that most of the principals surveyed experience poor job satisfaction, that the job has a negative affect on their personal lives, that they have less and less leisure time, and that the constant demands on their time are often unreasonable. (Langer & Boris-Schacter, 14) One of the primary concerns noted by the principals surveyed in their study is the intrusiveness of new state and federal legislation. Surveyed subjects expressed the concern that there is a movement towards an emphasis on standardized test scores over quality of education in the classroom.