Value Analysis

Value Analysis or Value Engineering 1. Explain, how does value chain approach helps an organisation to assess its competitive advantage Answer: Most of the firms define value chain as mission of creating product or services. For these firms, the products or services generated are more important than any single step within their value chain. These firms use the value chain approach to better understand and identify which segment, distribution channel, price point, product differentiation, selling proposition and value chain configuration will yield them the greatest competitive advantage.The way the value chain approach helps these firms to assess competitive advantage includes the use of following steps of analysis : (i)Internal cost analysis — to determine the sources of profitability and the relative cost position if internal value creating processes. (ii)Internal differentiation analysis – to understand the sources of differentiation (including the cost) within inter nal value creating processes, and iii)Vertical linkage analysis – to understand the relationships and associated costs among external suppliers and customer in order to maximize the value delivered to customers and to minimise cost. These type of analysis are not mutually exclusive. In fact, firm begin by focussing on their internal operations and gradually widening their focus to consider their competitive position within their industry. The value chain approach used for assessing competitive advantage is an integral part of the strategic planning process. 2. Write a short notes on value analysisAnswer Value analysis (also known as value engineering) is a systematic interdisciplinary examination of factors affecting the cost of a product or service in order to devise means of achieving the specified purpose at the required standard of quality and reliability at the target cost. The aim of value engineering is to achieve the assigned target cost by (i) identifying improved pr oduct designs that reduce the product’s cost without sacrificing functionality and/or (ii) eliminating unnecessary functions that increase the product’s costs and for which customers are not prepared to pay extra for.Value analysis or value engineering is one of the most widely used cost reduction techniques. It can be defined as a technique that yields value improvement. It investigates into the economic attributes of value. It attempts to reduce cost through a. design change, b. modification of material specification, c. change in the source of supply and so on. It emphasises on finding new ways of getting equal or better performance from a product at a lesser cost without affecting its quality, function, utility and reliability.For example, the function of a fastener is to join two or more parts. Value analysis examines the value of this function in terms of alternative methods such as welding, taping stapling, etc. in view of the stress and vibrations involved in a specific application. In value analysis each and every product or component of a product is subjected to a critical examination so as to ascertain its utility in the product, its cost, cost benefit ratio, and better substitute etc. When the benefits are lower than the cost, advantage may be gained by giving up the activity concerned or replacing if for betterment.The best product is one that will perform satisfactorily at the lowest cost. The various steps involved in value analysis are : 1. identification of the problem; 2. collecting information about function, design, material, labour overhead costs, etc. , of the product and finding out the availability of the competitive products in the market; and 3. exploring and evaluating alternatives and developing them. In other words value analysis brings out clearly the areas where the cost of a product can be reduced by pointing out : 1. Unnecessary items, components in a product to be removed. . Possibility of substitution with reduc ed cost without affecting its quality. 3. Possibility of overall simplification in design manufacture etc. of a product. 3Value Engineering is more effective than any other cost reduction technique like Work Study, Automation etc. — Discuss this statement in the Indian context. Answer. Value engineering or value analysis is one of the most widely used cost reduction technique in the purchasing and production areas. It aims at reducing cost through change, modification of material specification, change in the source of supply of material and so on.It emphasis’s on finding new ways of getting equal or superior performance from a product at a minimum cost without affecting its quality, function and reliability. It is the process of subjecting each and every component of a product to a critical examination so as to ascertain : (i) Its utility in the product; (ii) Its cost; (iii) Whether is cost commensurate with its utility ; (iv) Whether it can be replaced by a cheaper co mponents ; (v) Whether it can be does away with ; (vi) What the competitors are using in place of it ; and (vii) Whether anybody is buying it at cheaper price.Utility means usefulness; this can be easily and definitely measured when the concerned component or the service can be obtained form outside — the price measures it usefulness. In some cases where an outside market does not exist, utility would be measured only subjectively. Still one would have a fair idea of whether the benefit obtained, say in terms of better appearance, is worth the costs incurred. Usually it would be profitable tom tap outside sources if the price is lower than the cost.But this decision needs to be made with great care as the question of fixed and sunk costs is very important. Value engineering bring clearly the areas where the cost of product can be decreased by pointing out: (i) Unnecessary items/components in a which might have had once some utility but now are redundant and, therefore, dispen sable ; (ii) the possibilities of component — substitution with reduced cost without affecting the quality of the product; and (iii) the possibilities of overall simplification in design / manufacture etc. f a product. The relationship between value engineering and cost reduction a. Value engineering is done with a view to reduce the cost and cost reduction looks upon value engineering as one of its prime tools. b. Cost-reduction has always followed a critical examination of the benefit incurred. Value engineering is a careful and as far possible, quantities appraisal of the benefit derived at each stage of work.Where the benefits are lower than the cost, advantage may be gained by giving up the activity concerned or replacing it by something else. c. Work study automation etc, do reduce cost but in most cases, they save only labour cost by improving efficiency, etc. On the other hand, value engineering relates the worth of the product, its value to the function it is intende d to perform and makes a sizeable in the cost of the materials by design changes, substitution etc.

Bailout tarp in the united states

As the headlines in today’s newspapers all around the world show, there is a global economic slowdown. Economies all over the world are being plunged into what is tentatively being called â€Å"Recession. † While there are those who believe that this is simply an expected trend given the rapid growth of the global economy, it still does not detract from the fact that it is an urgent and pressing problem. In order to address this problem, several governments have issued massive bail-outs and laws designed to manage the system.In line with the principles of Keynesian Economics, it seems that the government is the only player capable of solving this problem. It is this government intervention through the Federal Reserve, led by Ben Bernanke, that is touted as the solution to the country’s, if not the world’s, economic problems. According to most economists, the current bailout scenarios that have been presented are nothing more than prime examples of throwing good money after bad.Instead of tackling the problem head on by implementing sound fiscal and monetary policies, the United States government is bent on revitalizing the economy by allowing massive losers such as the AIG group to continue accumulating losses and patronizing its already proven bad habits. The main strategy here, as employed by Chairman Bernanke, is to pump prime the economy through a mixed strategy of monetary and fiscal policies. It is posited that increasing funding to these â€Å"black hole institutions† will be the key to ending this financial crisis.One of these policies is the voluntary capital purchase program. It is aimed at selling preferred shares of stock to the United States Government on favorable terms that afford the maximum amount of protection to the taxpayer. Another policy that has been implemented is the systematic risk exception under the FDIC Act which grants the FDIC the power to guarantee, on a temporary basis, the senior debt of all F DIC insured institutions. The third policy that has been announced is the increased access to funding for all of the businesses in various sectors of the American economy.The goal of this is to stimulate economic growth on a micro level in order to develop solid economic fundamentals that can help resuscitate the economy. Other steps that the Federal Reserve has taken include the strengthening of capital position and funding ability of American Financial Institutions. These are to be achieved through multilateral agreements such as the reciprocal currency arrangement (Swap Lines) with International Central Banks.Finally, the heralded US $700 billion bailout plan that was recently enacted into law has also been designed to infuse much needed capital into the market and to protect the exposure of several multinational and local financial institutions. While there are indeed real benefits for pump-priming the economy, the more pragmatic approach is to control spending. One of the optio ns available to control this problem is to adjust interest rates in order to prevent capital flight and also encourage more investors to bring in foreign currency. By increasing interest rates the demand for local currency is increased.The reason for this is that only the local currency can be used in transacting business in the country. This means that investors have to convert their foreign currencies into local currency in order to be able to do business transaction in the market. If foreign investors come into the country then there will now be a marked increase in the demand for the local currency thus stabilizing the exchange rate once more. While there is certain economic and political sense in the policies of Bernanke, the herculean task of rehabilitating one of the world’s largest economies cannot be done through the efforts of the Federal Reserve alone.Even employing one or a mix of the strategies would only be preliminary to finding the real solution to the problem . So while current theories show that monetary and fiscal policies may indeed impact inflation and unemployment thus alleviating the economic situation, such is not always the case in certain situations as shown in the example provided. The basics such as solid economic fundamentals must always be considered when looking at the impact of such changes to see if they can really attain the desired effect.

Production and operation management Essay

Part One: Multiple choices: 1. Production and Operations Management concerns itself with the conversion of: a. Outputs in to inputs b. Inputs in to outputs c. Outputs in to outputs d. None of the above 2. Continuous Production is a. The last operation to the finished product b. The first operation to the finished product c. The mid operation to the finished product d. None of the above 3. Independent demand is a. Demand that is controlled by the company b. Demand that is controlled by the customer c. Demand that is not controlled by the company d. All of the above 4. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been defined as a a. Complete Enterprise wide business solution b. Complete Enterprise narrow business solution c. a & b d. None of the above 5. CAD stands for a. Computer Architecture Design b. Computer Aided Design c. Computer Aided Drafting d. All of the above 6. Delphi method is the most widely used and accurate method of a. Demand forecasts b. Exponential forecasts 1 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management c. Technological forecasts d. All of the above 7. JIT/Kanban systems help eliminate a. Increase the number of products b. Increase the amount of raw materials c. Increase the amount of energy d. All of the above 8. PPSCS stands for a. Project Planning Scheduling & Control System b. Project Planning Sequencing & Control System c. Production Planning Scheduling & Control System d. None of the above 9. Process layout is also known as. a. Group layout b. Line layout c. Product layout d. Functional layout 10. Time study is a technique for recording the times and rate of  working a. Standard times b. Work measurement c. Allowances d. None of the above Part Two: 1. Define Job Shop Production. 2. What do you understand by „Quality Control‟? 3. What do you mean by materiel handling? 4. Define ABC analysis. END OF SECTION A Section B: Caselets (40 marks) This section consists of Caselets. Answer all the questions. Each Caselet carries 20 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 words). 2 IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management Caselet 1 Company Background The Bronson Insurance Group was originally founded in 1900 in Auxvasse, Missouri, by James Bronson. The Bronson Group owns a variety of companies that underwrite personal and commercial insurance policies. Annual sales of the Bronson Group are $100 million. In recent years, the company has  suffered operating losses. In 1990, the company was heavily invested in computer hardware and software. One of the problems the Bronson Group faced (as well as many insurance companies) was a conflict between established manual procedures and the relatively recent (within the past 20 years) introduction of  computer equipment. This conflict was illustrated by the fact that much information was captured on computer but paper files were still kept for practical and legal reasons. File Clerks  The file department employed 20 file clerks who pulled files from stacks, refilled used files, and delivered files to various departments including commercial lines, personal lines, and claims. Once a file clerk received the file. Clerks delivered files to underwriters on an hourly basis throughout the day. The average file clerk was paid $8,300 per year. One special file clerk was used full time to search for requested files that another file clerk had not been able to find in the expected place. It was estimated that 40 percent of the requested files were these â€Å"no hit† files requiring a search. Often these â€Å"no hit† files were eventually found stacked in the requester‟s office. The primary â€Å"customers† of the file clerks were underwriters and claims attorneys. Underwriting Company management and operations analysts were consistently told that the greatest problem in the company was the inability of file clerks to supply files in a speedy fashion. The entire company from top to bottom viewed the productivity and effectiveness of the department as unacceptable. An underwriter used 20-50 files per day. Because of their distrust of the files department, underwriters tended to hoard often used files. A count by operations analysts found that each underwriter kept from 100-200 files in his or her office at any one time. An underwriter would request a file by computer and work on other business until the file was received. Benson employed 25 underwriters. Management Information System Upper management was deeply concerned about this problem. The MIS department  had suggested using video disks as a possible solution. A video disk system was found that would be sufficient for the companies needs at a cost of about $12 million. It was estimated that the system would take two years to install and make compatible with existing information systems. Another, less attractive was using microfilm. A microfilm system would require underwriters to go to a single keyboard to request paper copies of files. The cost of a microfilm system was $5 million. Questions: 1. What do you recommend? Should the company implement one of the new technologies, if yes, why? IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management 2. An operations analyst suggested that company employees shared a â€Å"dump on the clerks† mentality. Explain. Caselet 2 Harrison T. Wenk III is 43, married, and has two children, ages 10 and 14. He has a master‟s degree in education and teachers junior high school music in a small town in Ohio. Harrison‟s father passed away two months ago, leaving his only child an unusual business opportunity. According to his father‟s will, Harrison has 12 months to become active in the family food-catering business, KareFull Katering, Inc., or it will be sold to two key employees for a reasonable and fair price. If Harrison becomes involved, the two employees have the option to purchase a significant, but less than majority, interest in the firm. Harrison‟s only involvement with this business, which his grandfather established, was as an hourly employee during high school and college summers. He is confident that he could learn and perhaps enjoy the marketing side of the business, and that he could retain the longtime head of accounting/finance. But he would never really enjoy day-to-day ope rations. In fact, he doesn‟t understand what operations management really involves. In 1991 Kare-Full Katering, Inc. had $3.75 million in sales in central Ohio. Net profit after taxes was $ 105,000, the eleventh consecutive  year of profitable operations and the seventeenth in the last 20 years. There are 210 employees in this labor-intense business. Institutional contracts account for over 70 percent of sales and include partial food services for three colleges, six commercial establishments) primarily manufacturing plants and banks), two long -term care facilities, and five grade schools. Some customer location employs a permanent operations manager; others are served from the main kitchens of Kare-Full Katering. Harrison believes that if he becomes active in the business, one of the two key employees, the vice president of operations, will leave the firm. Harrison has decided to complete the final two months of this school year and then spend the summer around Kare-Full Katering – as well as institutions with their own food services – to assess whether he wants to become involved in the business. He is particularly interested in finding out as much as possible about operations. Harrison believes he owes it to his wife and children to fairly evaluate this opportunity. Questions: 1. Prepare a worksheet of operations activities that Harrison should inquire about this summer. 2. If you were Harrison, what would you do? Why? END OF SECTION B Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks) This Section Consists of Applied Theory Questions. Answer all the questions. Each question carries 15 marks. Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words). IIBM Institute of Business Management Examination Paper of Production and Operations Management 1. What do you mean by Tactical Planning? What are the mathematical approaches to aggregate planning? 2. What is the concept of forecasting in operation? List the different types of forecasting methods.

Culture of Ecuador Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Culture of Ecuador - Essay Example The developing country in South America in the Western hemisphere, Ecuador is a country in which underdevelopment has been a feature of the political landscape in the post-independence period, in which subsistence is the norm and poverty runs rampant. Situated in north-west South America and bordering Columbia and Peru, Ecuador remains poverty-stricken and effectively removed from the forces of economic globalization which has come to characterize the developed West world. Seeking to address the history of this country as well as provide a social study of Ecuador today, this essay will begin with an introduction to this Latin American nation and follow with an analysis of the history and ethnic relations of Ecuador, the food and economy as well as the religious and political situation in Ecuador today. Seeking to provide as holistic an analysis as possible, we conclude with a concise overview of each issue studied and provide a comprehensive conclusion regarding the Ecuadorian condit ion today. Introduction Nicknamed the Light of America, Ecuador is a Spanish-speaking country in Latin America which shares relatively secure borders with Peru and Columbia as well as has direct access to the Pacific coast. Although originally, inhabited by the Amerindian Quitu, Caras and Incan people, Ecuador today is inhabited by a mix mestizo, Amerindian and European populations. Centered in the colonial capital of Quito, Ecuador history is fascinating and a brief overview of the history of this small nation is necessary in order to full situate the country within a larger historical context.

Case Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Case Report - Assignment Example One major factor that has contributed to the emergence of Apple as the global market leader in consumer electronics is a paradigm shift that took the company in a whole new direction (Parr, 1992). The new paradigm is founded on the principle that an organization’s management must focus on two most important facts. Firstly, there is need to focus on finding out what is valuable for customers in terms of the products and services that an organization has to offer (Parr, 1992). Secondly the management has to be involved in the process of creating as well as continuous improvement of the organization’s super system (Parr, 1992). As such, Apple’s management has been effective in all these aspects in terms of bringing the company to a desired future as well as endearing itself to the customers. Therefore, Apple’s SWOT analysis from the case study can be assessed as follows, among the company’s strengths include having a well informed and robust management that has taken a leading role in driving forward the company’s agenda. Similarly, The Company has a huge workforce that is highly skilled and capable of implementing the firm’s strategic plan. On the other hand, the company’s operation has also faced challenges due to the company’s weaknesses, including its expensive products that are often out of reach for most customers. Furthermore, the company’s systems are incompatible with other available systems, making it quite difficult for one to adopt a new system from Apple. Among the company’s opportunities include the growing market share, ability t o maintain an innovative culture and the company’s position as the market leader. Conversely, several threats such as emerging competition and substitute products can also affect the company‘s

Hewllet-packard co Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hewllet-packard co - Research Paper Example Hewlett-Packard was created in 1939 by two Stanford University students, Bill Hewlett and David Packard (Beer 2). The company came to be recognized for both its management practices and its innovative and reliable electronic goods (Beer 2). Its corporate culture and management techniques came to be known as the â€Å"HP way† (Beer 2). The HP way was progressive and focused on profits more than on growth in revenues, team-work, open-door management practices, high levels of employment, egalitarian pay structures, and flexible working schedules (Beer 2). These practices were a reflection of the values of the founders who placed importance on both profits and people (Beer 2). During its first four decades, Hewlett-Packard mainly sold test and measurement equipment, and it was during this time that the HP way developed (Beer 2). These test and measurement equipment products were based on cutting-edge technology which HP had developed, and could be sold at high profit margins (Beer 2). Hewlett-Packards clients were mainly engineers or other people from the technology industry who purchased these products for business applications (Beer 2). The first major transformation in Hewlett-Packards business came during the 1970s when the company launched computer and printer products, initially for business applications, and later for home use (Beer 2). The company struggled initially in the computer business, as the building of microcomputers and the development of UNIX machines demanded different skills to those required in the instruments business (Beer 2). The computer business needed large initial research and development investments, and required different co mpany divisions such as chips, software and peripherals, to work in tandem, which was a change from the decentralized model which had succeeded in the instruments business (Beer 2). For this

THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN - Essay Example _____minimum of one carefully selected outside source on the film, an actor, the historical context (cited using footnotes).  Ã‚  Make sure you integrate a summary of this article or book; do not simply insert a quote. ____ Cover sheet (name, date due, indicate Paper #1, 2, etc. and the film/s you are addressing.  Ã‚  Remember that you will select two out of three papers.  Ã‚  If you elect to submit Paper #2 and Paper #3, you will not have a paper titled â€Å"Paper #1.† The film adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans (1992), is a rich work that discusses at length intercultural relationships through the use of events that were based on the environment of the historical period represented mixed with the overlapping exposure between different social and ethnic groups. The central relationship within the piece is developed between the character Hawkeye, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, and the character Cora Munro, played by Madeleine Stowe. In addition to that relationship, an unexplored attraction develops between Cora’s sister, Alice, and Hawkeye’s brother from within the Mohican family who raised him. However, one of the most interesting relationships within the film is within the comparison of the Mohican father who raised Hawkeye, the villain of the story from another Native American tribe, and Cora and Alice’s father, Colonel Edmund Munro. These three men are all fathers of families dealing with losses and eventual losses that c hange the fabric of the future of their families. The film is set in 1757 as the French and the British are at war in the American colonies. The French have made alliances with the Native Americans, giving them an advantage from the knowledge that they are bringing to the war efforts1. The central relationship within the film is developed between Hawkeye and Cora. Hawkeye is the adopted white son of a Mohican father, Chingachgook and has adopted the Native American culture as his own. Cora is

Business Globalization in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Globalization in China - Essay Example To be able to create a comprehensive business report, we need to evaluate the background of business dynamics by keeping in mind the social fabric. Accumulating all necessary data regarding China's business prospects will require careful study of the government's past and present policy. We need to assess China's history to completely comprehend the progress and development of the Chinese economy. China offers a lot of compelling reasons that make it an attractive business destination and hence it is imperative that business entities have local knowledge about China and the different cultural, economic and business idiosyncrasies. To get a first-hand experience about the local business dynamics, we will administer a comprehensive interview with local entrepreneurs to get the essence of China's business environment. Additionally, we want to interview both successful and unsuccessful local and international entrepreneurs who have done businesses in China so as to get unbiased views. In addition to qualitative analysis of Chinese business customs, this report will have a quantitative analysis that will have statistical data and in formation that support our hypothesis. Surveys will also be carried out to create graphic and numerical representations with regards to the economic condition and the market system of China. The process of shifting from closed, protected and government regulated economy to a globalized economy is generally a turbulent one. However, the decision to shift had been a compulsion and not a luxury. The importance of globalization and integration with the world economy was in critical for the growth of any economy. Globalization has led to numerous improvements and innovation in technology and business, and has touched our everyday life. Globalization has not only opened the doors to foreign markets for Chinese goods, but it has also created numerous avenues of growth for other economies. Through globalization, we have experienced a balance of global economic and technological activities between countries from the Far East and countries from the Far North. Additionally, globalization has positively impacted small and micro enterprises all over the world. Regardless of how big or small the business venture is, it is inevitable for any company to adapt to new business dynamics. China's attempt for global expansion has triggered a growth of the country's economy, political and business system. In addition to foreign markets, the local demand has also increased tremendously and that has led to the initiation and growth of many small businesses in China. Due to this fact the standard of living, Gross Domestic Product and income per capita of the Chinese inhabitants have significantly improved over a period of 10 years. Moreover, the rapid abolishing of government regulations by the communist regime has brought countless small and micro enterprises to the forefront of globalization. China has become a string global economic force that other countries need to recognize. Hence, the new look China is a very important player in the new world economy scenario. 3. SOCIAL CUSTOM AND BUSINESS CULTURE Just like any society, China

How Can Facebook Be Good for Business Research Paper

How Can Facebook Be Good for Business - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss how Facebook can be good for businesses. This will also analyze the scope of marketing activities in this new age of online branding. Facebook provides users with a common platform to express their views and share their opinions easily so as to significantly take part in the social formation process. As compared to traditional promotion techniques, companies obtain a great pool of audience while marketing through the Facebook channel. In other words, firms can cheaply advertise their products and services to people across the globe using Facebook. In contrast to conventional promotion techniques, Facebook-based promotion assists companies to collect customer feedbacks regarding various product/service instantly. Today all successful companies have a well maintained Facebook page and they keep their pages updated in order to be in good touch with customers. Market analysts point out that Facebook is very helpful for companies in dealing with brand positioning i n the current business environment. Modern people spend more time browsing the internet, particularly Facebook rather than watching television. Therefore, TV ads would be less effective (in terms of cost and productivity) today. The most fascinating advantage of Facebook-based brand positioning is that it significantly benefits businesses to cut down their operating costs while achieving the planned benefits quickly. To illustrate, an organization can very cheaply maintain a Facebook page and develop its followers’ group as there is no extra charge for doing so. According to Schivinski and Dabrowski, with the emergence of Facebook, communication with customers has become an easy task for organizations and this situation, in turn, drives the formation of timely and potential operational strategies. Undoubtedly, most of the marketing managers will agree that a notable percent of their new business comes from existing customers. In the opinion of Lynn and Davis, mouth publicity is the most powerful tool of advertising because consumers are the ones who can best evaluate a product/service. It is evident that Facebook provides users with extensive exposure to discover and share information and this feature of social media contributes to the feasibility of ‘word of mouth referrals’. The Guardian reports that â€Å"there are more than 3.2 billion likes and comments posted to Facebook every day, many of those to the 37m brand pages†. It directly reflects the unimaginable scope of Facebook-based brand promotion. Since a company’s Facebook page will reflect its business and what it stands for, the management must pay higher attention to creating and maintaining its brand page. To illustrate, the firm may set a cover photo that depicts the essence of its brand and quality of products/services offered. Firms can include the â€Å"find us on Facebook† option on its website, emails, and newsletters in order to encourage its existing customers to like the firm’s brand page. Hence, the company gets a huge group of existing and prospective customers subscribed to its brand page.

Tuition increase Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Tuition increase - Article Example Costs have been escalating due to the fact that colleges must overcome the colleges had to compensate for the reductions that were made in per-student basis. In addition, public universities spending have been climbing since inflation has taken off. Moreover, the income ambiguities that exist between poor and rich colleges have undoubtedly been prevalent. Increase in spending for public colleges continued to be driven due to higher administration and maintenance costs. Clearly, the gap between the rich and the poor schools continues to be an added burden for the student community. One of the main reasons that Duke University costs about $51,000 a year is that the elite schools continue to bid for the excelled faculty and other resources â€Å"Since public schools tend to serve many low-income students and minority students who need more remedial classes and extra counseling services than better-prepared students who attend elite private universities, says F. King Alexander, presiden t of California State University at Long Beach. The lack of state and federal funds have pushed public schools to also raise their costs, which is a high unconcern for students who are already in a tight financial situation. Yet, the hope remains- that the recessive economy pulls itself through for the better and stops the inflation from concurring more debt than needed. "The Surprising Causes of Those College Tuition Hikes - US News and World Report."  US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and more. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.

Teacher Career Essay Example for Free

Teacher Career Essay When I was five, my mom asked me what do you want to be when you grow up. My answers were Batman, hero or Red Ranger. Then when I was ten she asked again; I answered rock stars or cowboy. Now that I have grown up, she wanted a serious answer. Finally, I could tell her that I want to be a teacher, possibly as a math teacher. It was very hard time for me to think about this decision about the career in teaching. There is a lot of work that goes into becoming a high school teacher. It required a variety of skills and aptitudes including working with children, but I am willing and ready to accept that challenge. â€Å"Education is the job that has a number of requirements. As a teacher you have to be organizational, administrative, recordkeeping abilities; research communication skills; the power to influence, motivate, and train others; patience; creative†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Michael Farr from â€Å"Professional and Related Occupations†, American’s top Jobs for College Graduates. Indianapolis: JIST Works, 2001). Math play important role in life. This is why I would like to become a math teacher. The reason this career interesting me is because I have a lot of experience from what I learned in both of my countries. The first is that teaching, like other professions, utilizes a specialized body of knowledge and translated into lessons for the students at a level they can understand. Second, teaching places emphasis on the decision making which I have to plan lessons by minding goals, objectives and furthermore how my teaching to the students will match their life. Student have to know the reason why they learn math whether they realized it or not. For examples, shoppers use math to calculate change, tax, and sales prices. Cooks use math to modify the amount a recipe will make. Vacationers use math to find time of arrivals and departures to plan their trips†¦ Finally, I’m really respecting the views of the students even if these differ from their own personal views, not embarrassing students, also dealing with those who cheat during the exams. â€Å"Everyone at one time or another believes that the children are the future. The youth stands in front of the door to the future and knowledge is the key. Without this knowledge, the world would be without a future. †(Gilmore, Dorothy. America Federation of Teachers:555 New Jerseys Avenue, 2001). In Vietnam, we say that children are the symbol of little seeds as teachers are the farmers. When a farmer watering into the seeds, they will grow and becoming so many king different trees. I want to be that farmer to take care of my students. I have a passion working with kids, this is why I would like to be there for the ones that want to give up, show them there’s always someone who believes in them and will be there to help them on any possible way. I realized that I also like helping other people learn math, especially those that struggle with it or those who have a disliking for it. As a teacher, I will be able to fulfill my aspirations; both my students and I will learn together. I believe everyone has the capacity and opportunity to be successful in like. I think that having the passion in working with kids/youth makes communication easier such as educational and friendly. I also have a good sense of humor is one of those traits that will help my students become more comfortable and it grabs their attention. There will not any pressure or violent in my classroom. â€Å"A teacher generally works between 175 and 180 days for a school year. Also, beginning salaries for secondary school teacher can range from $26, 598 to $27, 896 per year. † (Brendon, Stuart. Top 100 Careers. Chicago: Chicago Board of Education, 2002. ) In teaching, the disadvantages are more than advantages: low salaries relative to the work, teaching large classrooms, small school budgets But it doesn’t matter to me. I still want to be a teacher. It is a stable job! I don’t care so much about the salary because in every month though it is not very high. Therefore my life will not be affected by the change of economy. As a teacher, I can get respected by everybody. No matter how famous a person has become, students will never ignore their teacher. It feels good knowing I am able to help and guide someone through not only schoolwork but also life, as is true with young people. Being needed by young people gives me that desire to put forth-extra effort during each day and really giving them something to look forward to. My chosen career path has been an ongoing source of personal inspiration and growth. It helps me to define who I am and what I am about. It helps guide me through my life and provides a safe hold as I weather the storms of life. My career teaches me of my love teaching and how important education is to everyone. I want to teach them what I have been go through. There is no word to describe how happiness I am when my students get good grades in my class. The rewards I have received from my career have been so plentiful that they continue to fuel my desire to reach my ultimate mission. My intent to become a source of inspiration for others, helping to give back the guidance that others have provided for me.

Socioeconomic Status Essay Example for Free

Socioeconomic Status Essay There are a lot of studies surrounding ones status and its effects on ones psychology. I will be discussing what a Socioeconomic Status is defined to be, certain test and effects it can have on ones psychological being and also how it effects you in certain settings. I will break this down in to parts beginning with how it is defined, then I will move on to the effects and tests, and lastly I will explain how it effects people in certain settings. Socioeconomic Status is mostly defined as a combined measurement of the work experience of an individual’s or their family’s economic and social state in relation to others based on their income, their education, and their current occupation. It is usually broken down into three categories such as High Socioeconomic Status, Middle Socioeconomic Status, and Low Socioeconomic Status. These categories are used to describe the three areas where an individual or family may fall. In studies it is show that those that fall into the Low SES (socioeconomic status) category tend to show signs of mental illnesses such as respiratory viruses, coronary disease, and schizophrenia. Certain work environments may cause these. As it comes to the mental health some say that the mental health issues may be the reason why they are in the social status they are in all together. There have been tests that have shown that Socioeconomic Status could be a cause or lead to the development of dementia. Those with Low SES have shown to be more associated with a higher prevalence of dementia. They also show an increase in psychiatric comorbidity and a worse baseline of cognitive functioning. These test were based off the data of 217 patients seen in an Inner City Memory Disorder Clinic. They were analyzed with respect on demographic status, clinical status and SES. The results showed that there was a wide variation in the samples examined with respect to most measures of SES. About one-third (36%) had a diagnosis of dementia at an average age of 66. 1.  There was a strong association between their age, the range of individual annual income, their education, medical comorbidity, and a diagnosis of dementia. The increase in age and medical comorbidity were shown to be the strongest factor. The tests concluded that increased age, low education, high medical comorbidity and a low annual income are all associated with a diagnosis of dementia in an inner city setting. There are also other studies such as the socioeconomic status and its effect on health and the exposure and vulnerability to daily stressors. The study examines interconnections among education as an alternate for socioeconomic status-stress, and physical and mental health by being specific about differential exposure and vulnerability models using data according to The National Study of Daily Experiences. The daily diary data allowed assessment of the social distribution of a quantity of different types of stressors than had before been studied in sociological stress research of daily stressors. The data also allowed a less biased assessment of stress exposure and a more micro-level examination of the connections between stress and health by socioeconomic status. Consistent with the literature describing socioeconomic inequalities in physical and mental health, the results of this study indicated that on any day, the adults who were better educated reported fewer physical symptoms and less psychological distress. Even so that better-educated individuals reported more daily stressors, those with less of an education reported that stressors were more severe. Neither of the factors explained any socioeconomic differences in daily health, but the results clearly shown that the stressor-health association can’t be considered independent of socioeconomic status. Another study would be the study of the use of resources in hospitals and how your socioeconomic status affects the amount of use dubbing the title â€Å"Do the poor cost more? † In this study it pertains to the controversy about whether the poor hospitalized patients use more resources and whether ospitals that give care to the poor award payment help under a certain payment system. It has been reported that the patients with a low socioeconomic status with connective tissue disease tend to stay longer in the hospital and had higher cost to take care of rather than the patients of high socioeconomic status. In 1987, 16,908 out of 20,278 (83%) adult patients were interviewed consecutively in 5 Massachusetts hospitals to obtain information on the three measures of socioe conomic status I mentioned earlier. They divided each measure into three strata, creating 15 comparisons. After excluding and adjusting the findings were that the patients of the lower socioeconomic status had stayed 3 to 30 percent longer than those of high status. The hospitals charges were 1 to 18 percent high for the patients of a lower status. When adjusted for age and how severe the illness was the results showed that those patients of the lower socioeconomic status had longer stays in 14 of 14 comparisons and higher charges 13 to 15 in comparison. The findings suggest that the patients of lower socioeconomic status have longer stays and require more of the hospitals resources. Over the few studies I have covered its seems as if the socioeconomic status of an individual or family plays out in many ways in life. Those of the lower status seem to have more health problems and financial issues as well. So being said that socioeconomic status affects your health physically and mentally, as well as effects the financial struggle your set with. Those of a higher status are able to take more care of themselves so they tend to have fewer issues unlike those of the lower socioeconomic status. It affects a large percentage of the world. A majority of the world population is affected by a low socioeconomic status creative more vulnerability to diseases creating more stay time in hospitals and costing themselves more in the long run. As well as adding other studies to the many different effects of ones socioeconomic status producing results both positive and negative based on whether you are of lower status or a higher status.

Implementing continuous improvement in hospitality sector

Implementing continuous improvement in hospitality sector 1. Title: The research title of this proposal is â€Å"Implementing Continuous Improvement In Hospitality Sector†. 2. Introduction Organizations today operate in an extremely competitive environment where service quality and customer satisfaction are paramount. If organizations are to continually improve and meet higher standards in future they must be prepared for continuous and sustainable change. Organizations will need to continually identify where they are and where they need to be in terms of performance, if changing customer needs and requirements are to be successfully met. When discussing the CI (continuous improvement) many writers seem to focus on quality. Although quality is an important aspect of CI, the topic is much more complex and interesting than merely developing quality within products and services. The first theory to be considered as relevant to the development of CI was Scientific Management as introduced by American engineer and manager Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911). Taylor was the first person to actually measure work methods with the view to increasing productivity through finding his â€Å"one best way† to perform a given task. Appalled by what he regarded as the inefficiencies of industrial practice Taylor basically introduced what we know today as Performance Measurement and Performance Management to all tasks. The idea of ‘quality was developed by two Americans associated with the post-war renaissance of Japanese industry, namely Dr. W. Edwards Deming and Dr. Joseph Juran. According to Deming (1982) â€Å"Quality should be aimed at the needs of the consumer, present and future† â€Å"Quality is consistent conformance to customers expectations† (Slack et al., 2006) Dr Joseph M Juran states â€Å"Quality is Fitness for purpose† (Juran,1988) Taguchi says â€Å"Quality should primarily be customer- driven,† (Taguchi, What is Total Quality Management?, The Japanese Way. 1985) they confirm this approach. 3. Research Aims and Objectives My aim in this project is to identify appropriate applications for and use of Continuous Improvement tools and techniques for quality improvement in providing the goods and services in the hospitality sector some tools, techniques, theories, and philosophies I will be using in future are benchmarking, check sheets, histograms, performance management planning (philosophy), Imais Kaizen/ CI umbrella, Taguchis (theory), FQM (excellence model), Carlisles CI framework etc†¦. My aim in this research is to raise the awareness of CI within the hospitality sector and to start building the foundation for the organisation to design, implement and sustain a CI programme to create improved performance and help meet the requirements of competition, evaluate the type of products and services customer of the hospitality sector expects, assess whether the current product and service provided meets these expectations. 4. Research Methodology: The research methodology used in my research is based on the conceptual model proposed by Howard and Sharp (1983) which offers seven steps as a guide to the research: Identify the broad area of case study Select the research topic Decide the approach Establish the plan Collect the data or information Analyse and interpret the data Present the findings 1. Identifying the broad area of case study: There are four steps of methodology for defining case study. They are Designing case study. Conducting case study Analyzing case study with appropriate evidence Developing conclusions, recommendations and implications. Case study is a methodology; we have to follow particular procedure to achieve the expected results. Yin (1993) identified different types of case studies like Exploratory Explanatory Descriptive Later on it was extended by other three concepts like Intrinsic- it specifies that, when researcher interested in particular case. Instrumental A specific Case is used to understand more than what is required for researcher. Collective: After a group of cases are studies, researchers have to identify the specific cases which are useful and which are not. 2. Select the research topic: For selecting a particular topic we have identify which area we are interested at, and did that topic is useful for doing Research or not. After selecting we have to justify which topic is strong for doing Research. Finally have to fix to specific topic and proceed further. 3. Decide the approach : This procedure of gaining knowledge and understanding the problem and growth of selected case of study can offer enough knowledge into managerial culture, current trend and future possibilities. The historical method of research applies to all fields of study because it encompasses their origins, growth, theories, presentation, concepts, crisis, etc.Both quantitative and qualitative variables can be used in the gathering of historical information. The collection of most relevant information about the topic. The appropriate information forming and case studies. Specific and relevant collection and organization of evidences, and the identification of the authenticity of information and its sources. Selecting, organizing, and analyzing the most relevant collected evidence, and the representation of solutions and Recording of perfect and accurate conclusions in a meaningful sequence of events. 4. Establish the plan: Research plan helps to develop particular plan to improve the topic. We have to create and answer some questions to improve the research, like Who can help me for to learn more about this particular topic? What type of question should I ask people in survey according to the check list? What modifications should I made to learn more about the topic? What are the resources I can refer to, how should I browse to learn more about the particular topic? How can I organize the information, what I have collected? 5. Collect the data or information : We have to look after many technical surveys, researches and journals to collect the required data or information. Collecting data and organizing the data is very important than other things. 6. Analyse and interpret the data : Have to analyze and interpret the data which we have collected from surveys, Researches etc.. for a successful research outputs. 7. Present the findings: The most important thing is, presenting the ideas and thoughts which we collected from many surveys, researches. The way of presenting the report plans a major role, which decides whether the research is successful or failure. 5. Research Approach: The term ‘paradigm has become popularized over the last decade, and it therefore tends to be used in many different ways. Mintzberg (1978) described the term as convenient ‘buzzword for social scientists. In response Morgan (1979) proposed a way of tidying up its usage. He distinguished between three levels of use: * The philosophical level basic about the world. * The social level guidelines about how the researcher should conduct their endeavor. * The technical level methods and techniques that should ideally be adopted in conducting research. There are two paradigms or approaches to research Positivism and Phenomenology. 5.1 Positivism: Easterby-Smith et al. (1991:22) define the positivism paradigm as â€Å"that the social world exists externally, and that its properties should be measured through objective methods, rather than being inferred subjectively through sensation, reflection, or intuition† This is involved using a quantitative/deductive research approach involving measurement using hard data, and both statistical and logical information. Research methods for this type of paradigm include surveys, experimentation and observation (audits). The method adopted in this research was a survey, which produced hard statistical data. As with most methods of data collection, the positivist paradigm has its strengths and weakness. These attributes are outlined in table below. STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES * Provide a wide coverage of range of situations. * Can be fast and economical. * May be of Considerable relevance to policy decisions, particularly when statistics are aggregated. * Methods tend to be inflexible and artificial. * Ineffective for understanding process or significance that people attach to actions. * Due to focus on recent or current events it can be difficult for policy makers to infer what actions to take. 5.2 Phenomenology: Saunders et al. (1997:72) define the phenomenology paradigm in the following way: â€Å"Characterized by a focus on the meanings that research subjects attach to social phenomena; an attempt by the researcher to understand what is happening and why it is happening† This approach will allow me to gather data providing information as to how subjects perceived management development in greater depth. This involved using a qualitative/inductive research approach involving measurement using soft, meaningful and naturalistic data. Research methods for this type of paradigm include personal interviews, group interviews and observation of group or individual behavior. I will adopt the personal interview approach as it is most suited to the research topic. The phenomenological paradigm also has its strengths and weaknesses. These are shown below in the table. STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES * Ability to look as change process over time. * To understand peoples meanings. * To adjust to new issues and ideas as they emerge. * Provide a way of gathering data that is seen as natural. * Data collection can be time and resource consuming. * Analysis and interpretation of data can be difficult. * Qualitative studies may appear disorganized because it is harder to control their pace, process and end-points. * Policy makers may give less credibility to studies rooted in a phenomenological approach. Source: Easterby Smith et.al(1991) The theoretical approach to the research determines what methods will gain required information for the study. Positivist Paradigm Phenomenological Paradigm Basic Beliefs The world is external and objective. Observer is independent Science and value free The world is socially constructed and subjective. Observer is part of what is observed. Science is driven by human interests. Researcher Should Focus on facts Look at causality and fundamental laws. Reduce phenomena to simplest elements. Formulate hypothesis and then test them. Focus on meanings. Try to understand what is happening. Look at the totality of each situation. Develop ideas through induction from data. Preferred methods include Operationalising concepts so that they can be measured. Taking large samples. Using multiple methods to establish different views of the phenomena. Small samples investigated in depth or over time. Source: Easterby Smith et.al(1991) 5.3 Research Overview: Primary data collection for this research involved both quantitative and qualitative information. These two types of information has to be noted down very carefully. If the information contains any calculated measurement of any type, it is considered as quantitative information. There are particular rules for maintaining right track of this information, but the main thing to remember is that any value recorded directly from the tool is considered quantitative data. Always it should be recorded immediately as soon as possible, along with its explanation and the units of measure, and have to be careful to maintain the perfect accuracy. Sometimes we can observe something happening using senses, as a replacement for a tool like a measuring stick. This qualitative information is repeatedly just as useful as numerical data. It includes such explanation as colour as well as observations about consistency changes and anything else that is actually an opinion In other words Quantitative information refers to: â€Å"The application of a measurement of numerical approach to the nature of the issue under scrutiny as well as the gathering and analysis of data. It is the concepts and categories, not their incidence and frequency that are said to matter.† (Brannan, 1992:5) Qualitative methods are concerned with acquiring data through investigative means of a descriptive nature. However, Burgess (1982) suggests that researchers ought to be flexible and select a range of methods that are appropriate to the research problem under investigation. The characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative methods are illustrated in the table below. QUANTITIVE DATA QUALITATIVE DATA * Based on meanings derived from numbers. * Collection results in numerical and standardized data. * Analysis conducted through the use of diagrams and statistics. * Based on meanings expressed through words. * Collection of results in non-standardized data requiring classification into categories. * Analysis constructed through the use of conceptualization. Source: Adapted from Saunders et al 1997 6. Research Design: Easterby Smith et al. (1991) advocate that to reduce the possibility of questionable reliability of the data and results being produced by the research a sound research design should be adopted. 6.1 Secondary Data: Data that has already been collected for some other purpose, perhaps processed and subsequently stored, are termed secondary data. There are three main types of secondary data: Documentary: The nature and ways of classifying document varies conceptually and practically. Documentary research has many ways of analysing documents. Documentary research method had more importance compared to other methods of research, because of the influence of positivism and empiricism so that information and quantification are most popular forms of collecting data and analyzing data. Documentary research is connected with historical research, and history feels anxious in conjunction with social science disciplines. Documentary research method is stated as unclear, it doesnt have a particular method and there is no strong evidence to how a researcher uses it. However these criticisms are nowhere to be found. History as a restraint provides us with a sense of our ancient times and with that the ways in which our present came about, and employing a range of documentary sources. It enables researchers to reflect on current issues. Documentary research methods are classified into three different types. They are Primary, secondary and tertiary documents: Primary documents refer to the resources which are used or collected by those who really witnessed the events which were described. This type of sources is considered to be reliable and accurate, and for this reason the researcher may make use of secondary sources. These are printed after an event that the author has not perfectly or face-to-face witnessed, and the researcher must be conscious of the troubles in production of this data. Tertiary sources allow researchers to establish other references like index, abstract and bibliography. Public and private documents: Here documents can be divided into four categories according to convenience, restricted, open-archival. Solicited and unsolicited documents: some of the documents like government surveys and research projects would have produced with the aim of research in mind, whereas others like diaries would have been produced for personal use. Survey: Survey is a technique used for getting accurate and perfect results. A detailed and elaborated inspection. Multiple source: There are several other sources for conducting a successful survey. Five principal secondary data were utilized provide background information surrounding the area of research. * Staff surveys. * Organizational reports on subject matter. * Organizational assessment and evaluation of subject matter in operation. * Findings of previous studies into subject. * Literature including books, academic reports, and journals from several authors. As with all data collection, secondary data has its own advantages and disadvantages and shown in the table below. ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES * May have fewer resource implications. * Unobtrusive. * Longitudinal studies may be feasible. * Can provide comparative and contextual data. * Can result in unforeseen discoveries. * May have been collected for a purpose that does not match your need. * Access may be difficult or costly. * Aggregations and definitions may be unsuitable. Source Adopted from Kidder Judd (1986) 6.2 Primary Research: The aim of the primary research is to obtain information that is not provided in the secondary data and investigate its validity by comparing and contrasting the findings. The following research methods will examine to validate the research aim. Postal survey Personal survey Focus Group interview / Discussion In depth interviews Smith, Thorpe and Lowe, (1991) define these methods as an array of interpretative techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomenon in the social world. The choice of method for collecting the data depends on the information needs and values, as well as, particularly in this study, the budget and resources available. 8. Questionnaires: â€Å"survey research can be obtained from a relatively small sample of people and can be generated to large numbers of the population† (Alreck Settle, 1995:6) Self-administered questionnaires will be used in this research so that responses could be obtained from a sample of potential respondents and generalized for large numbers of managers. Kidder and Judd (1986:222) summarized the advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires illustrated in the table below. ADVATAGES DISADVANTAGES * Low Cost * Ease of completion * Immediate response * Feeling of anonymity * Accuracy of completeness of responses. * Context of question answering * Misunderstanding of questions * Response rate Source: Kidder Judd (1986:222) The questionnaire will be constructed using a combination of multiple choice closed questions; open questions and scaling questions. 8.Work Plan : Time frame Action ResearchTime Frame Month 1 To meet Requirements Get the Initial Plans for the research approved. To start work on research topic area, research questions and literature review Complete writings on literature review Month 2 To submit a draft of literature review details and to start on research design Complete writings on methods of research and gatherings of data collected Month 3 To submit a draft of research design and methods of research and data collected To met supervisor, agree and move to next steps Month 4 To work on research implementation methods To submit research implementation methods Month 5 To work on data analysis and conclusion To submit draft of data analysis and conclusion Month 6 To complete draft on complete Research To submit draft of complete Research to supervisor and work on final conclusions Submission of research 9.Conclusion: To Research on â€Å"Implementing Continuous Improvement In Hospitality Sector† We have used lot of methods, implementations, surveys, questionnaires etc. Each and every concept of research is useful and also very important for the research to become a successful research. Another main thing for research is â€Å"Work Plan†. The way we plan our work in a perfect and right manner will make our research successful. Planning according to the situation and implementing particular plans, even though it is complicated and time consuming. We have to organize our plan perfectly and step by step, also have to finish the tasks in specific time periods to achieve real time success. Surveys has to be done very carefully, because there will be more complications to finish them. Like we have to justify which type of survey we want to go for and how to implement that. There are many categories in surveys, which should be done in our chosen topic .We have to be very careful not to deviate from our primary research. Some of the surveys are Surveying certain age group. Surveying by gender. Surveying by profession. Surveying by mental condition Postal survey Personal survey Focus Group interview / Discussion In depth interviews and so on. Another important aspect in research is Questionnaires. We have to use this type of survey very cautiously, because there are many ways we can use questionnaires. We have to use each and every possibility of questionnaires to get best results.Using all these methods and concepts we can succeed in obtaining a successful Research Results.

Capitalism vs Communism :: Communism Essays

Poverty is everywhere and no matter how hard our government tries to eliminate it, it simply cannot. To do so it must first reformat itself so that it may do its job in a more efficient manor, thus helping all aspects of life. Converting our current system into a capitalistic government would in fact help alleviate the current situation. Contrary to widely held beliefs, capitalism is not a system which exploits a large portion of society for the sake of a small minority. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by the freedom of the market with increasing concentration of the private and corporate ownership of production and distribution means. It has an stable economic system in that it is consistent with human behavior. People understand that there is no such this as free lunch. You have to work to survive and only those who do will prosper within the system and make it to the top. People are motivated to work as hard as they possibly can because they know that the harder they work the more benefits they will be ale to reap. As written in On Liberty â€Å"These are not questions of liberty†¦.but they are questions of development† (Mill) Marxism on the other hand promotes laziness and sloth. When people no longer have to work for their food they slack off. In a Utopian Marxist society, everyone is paid the same, no matter their job, no matter their skills, no matter their effort. As written in The West in Global Context â€Å"In the place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms has set up that single unconscionable freedom – Free Trade† (Marx) Isn’t the entire point of government to give up some freedoms in exchange for others? The removal of rewards adds idleness and inability to focus because the people have no motivation to work their hardest. They know that every night when they get home they will have the same amount of foot to eat whether they work their hardest or barely at all. The essential nature of capitalism is social harmony through the pursuit of self interest. Under capitalism, the individuals pursuit of his own economic self interest simultaneously benefits the economic self interest of all others. In allowing each individual to act unhampered by government regulations, capitalism causes inventions, prosperity and ideas to be created in the most efficient manner possible which ultimately raises the standard of living, increasing opportunities and makes available an ever growing supply of products for everyone.

Gay Marriage Does NOT Destroy Traditional Marriage Essay -- Same Sex Ma

What is marriage? Marriage is defined as the legal union of a man and a woman. According to Psychology Today, marriage is the process by which two people who love each other make their relationship public, official, and permanent. While given the definition of marriage and most of society making same sex marriage nearly impossible; Psychology Today recognizes that â€Å"any† two people who love each other can come together and be united. In 1970, in Minnesota, the first gay couple to apply for a marriage license in the U.S. was Jack Baker and Michael McConnell and they were not allowed to marry. However, on May 2013 Minnesota finally legalized same sex marriage and the law would be effective starting August 2013. They had to wait over 40 years to finally be happy about the wedding they wanted and becoming legally married. In 1975, two men from Phoenix, Arizona were granted a marriage license from their county clerk. Nevertheless, marriage is still banned in more than half of t he United States of America. Why is gay marriage prohibited in most of the U.S.A.? In spite of elected officials not legalizing same sex marriage, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) mentions that gay and lesbian couples want the same rights as married couples and more than half or majority of Americans feel that they should have a legal agreement that gives them those rights. (History of State Constitutional Marriage Bans, 2011-2013). Many elected officials are against same sex marriage whereas the president of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama, is the first U.S. president to support same sex marriage. Traditionally, same sex marriage is wrong and morally it is wrong as well. However, we can say that there are a lot of American traditions that are being broken and tha... ...ter. Gale. City Colleges Of Chicago. 12 Oct. 2013 Dinno, Alexis, and Chelsea Whitney. "Same Sex Marriage And The Perceived Assault On Opposite Sex Marriage." Plos ONE 8.6 (2013): 1-8. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. Hallett, Stephanie. "History Of Gay Marriage In The United States (INFOGRAPHIC)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 July 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. "History of State Constitutional Marriage Bans." Human Rights Campaign. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. "KidsHealth." Sexual Orientation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013. Rich Mkhondo. "Gay Families Are the Same as Traditional Families." Opposing Viewpoints: Gay Parenting. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. City Colleges Of Chicago. 12 Oct. 2013 "Traditional Marriage?" Faith in America. Faith in America, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2013.

Lessons of the Socialist Planned Soviet Economy :: essays papers

Lessons of the Socialist Planned Soviet Economy A long time ago the chancellor of Germany, Bismarck, said the following after reading the â€Å"Communist Manifesto† by Marx and Engels, â€Å"This is very interesting. But now we have to find a country that we wouldn’t pity to do an experiment on†. Russia was to be the country that this experiment would take place in. The main part of the experiment consisted of running a Socialist planned economy which is defined as the state of economy, where all production sections are governed and owned by government institutions. Before the country could implement the planned economy it had to adapt some policies. First the country had to start industrializing, or as some economists call it the â€Å"big push† (industry-first strategy). The growth of the industrial sector was the ultimate goal. But since Russian economy was so backward it required a transitional period that was called state capitalism. In stated capitalism, through nationalization, the state would control major sectors of the economy and use this control to influence the remaining private sectors. Nationalization gave the state not only the control of the means of production, but it also insured the control over the output. Another policy that had to be adapted was the collectivization. After 1927, when the voluntary grain output fell below government target, Stalin ordered the collectivization of agriculture by forcibly establishing collective farms. Millions of peasants who resisted collectivization were arrested, and then executed or deported. Even in the post-Soviet era, the collectivization of agriculture was Soviet economy’s sore spot; it never achieved its economic goals. To hold all this together there had to be an organization big enough to balance what had now been known as the input-output economy. In 1922, Gosplan was created to exclusively and explicitly deal with planning. In the early stages Gosplan delivered the control figures and planed targets. In 1925 Gosplan assumed responsibility for drawing up Five Year Plans. The Five Year Plan called for industrialization at a maximum pace with a conception that some major construction projects had to be done. By the end of 1930s the nationalization was completed, agriculture collectivized, and the national planning mechanism established. The Soviet economic system was one of the most complex organizational arrangements, especially among the different layers of organizations.

A Brief Overview of World War I

The World War 1 conflict began in 1914 to 1918. It started as a nearby European war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on July 28th 1914. It transformed into a general European struggle by declaration of the following nations known as the ‘Allies' and the ‘Associated Powers'; Great britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United states. These nations defied the coalition(central powers). The assassination at Sarajevo in bosnia immediately caused the war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia on June 28th 1914. The Triple Entente was involved in the first world war along with the Triple Alliance. The Triple alliance was formed by Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy in 1882. These Countries agreed to assist each other if attacked by either France or Russia. In WW1, Germany attacked France which caused the Triple alliance to support them in there war. Russia, who feared the growth in the German army, joined up with Britain and France which eventually formed the Triple Entente. The Russian Government was also very cautious and concerned about the possibility of Austria-Hungary increasing the size of their army's population. One of the causes of World War was that they made all the aforementioned items join in the war (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) and then was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, him and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was part of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary was in protest of having control of this region. Serbia wanted Herzegovina and Bosnia to belong to them. This assassination led to Serbia being declared of war by Austria-Hungary. When Russia began to mobilize because of its alliance with Serbia, Germany quickly declared war on Russia. This expanded the war including all those involved in the mutual defense alliances. Another cause was Nationalism. Bosnia and Herzegovina no longer wanted to be part of Austria-Hungary but instead be part of Serbia because most of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples. nationalism led directly to the War in this way. The nationalism of countries throughout Europe contributed to the extension of the war and the beginning- in a general way. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power through this. The Battle of Gallipoli was one of the major events that occurred in WW1. This battle began in 1915. By the spring, it sunk stalemate as there was combat on the Western Front. Trenches that stretched from the English channel to the swiss border, there were Enemy troops basically staring at each other. Neither opponent could outflank its enemy resulting in costly direct attacks on well-fortified defenses. Movement of each sides were predicted at the beginning of the conflict had devolved into deadly war(or stagnation). The Battle of Verdun is another major event caused it WW1. it is considered the greatest and lengthiest battle in world history. There has never been a more lengthy battle such as this one, involving so many men, situated on such a tiny piece of land. The battle of Verdun lasted from 21 February 1916 until 19 December 1916 caused over an estimated 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battlefield wasn't even ten square kilometres. There can be no justification for these losses from a strategic point of view. The battle transformed into a matter of prestige of two nations literally for the sake of fighting! Economic change: Technology and weapons experienced a great boost after the war, as the production of automobiles, airplanes, radios, guns, weapons of mass destruction(WMA), and even certain chemicals, boosted wildly. The advantages of mass production and the use of machinery to perform former human labor tasks and encounters, proved to stimulate the economy, the United States' in for example. Much of Europe suffered eye opening losses of property and landscape as well as finances. Europe had the respect of the world as a very reliable money-lender by 1914. Yet just four years later, Europe was in danger for their greatly in debt to her allies for their financial contributions towards the war effort, owing them round about $10 billion. For them to pay back their allies, Many of the European governments began to rapidly print a lot of money, only to subject their countries to a period of inflation. The middle class members who had been living rather comfortably on investments started to experience a bumpy financial period. Germany was hit the hardest in struggling terms with the war reparations, and the German mark drastically lowered the inflation value. In 1923,No more than three months into that year, the German mark boosted from 4. 6 million marks to the dollar to 4. 2 trillion marks to the German dollar. It occurred that the inflation knew it had no bounds.

Outline Basketball Shoes

Product Category – Basketball Shoes Definition (Dictionary. com) Basketball – a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket  or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket. Shoe – an external covering for the human foot, usually of leather and consisting of a more or less stiff or heavy sole and a lighter upper part ending a short distance above, at, or below the ankle. Basketball shoes are used when playing basketball. Line types Safety/Performance Shoes made for optimal performance while preventing injuries *EVA for cushioning (light) * Polyurethane for stability (heavy) * Stiff material on the medial side reduce inward rolling * Anti-microbial fabric reduces bacteria Fashion * Celebrity endorsement * Wide variety of color schemes * Word of Mouth Types High-top Pro: * Provides the most ankle support, safest Con: * Heavy, slower movement Mid-top Pro: * Increased mobility for jumping and fast direction changes Con: * Not the best for movement or protection Low-top Pro: Lightest, allows quicker movement changes, easier jumping, and speedier running Con: * Little protection. Smaller players will use these Product lifecycle Target Market Male High School Basketball Players Problem Recognition *Join Basketball Team * Want to fit in with peers Information Search * Internet * Price * Quality * Retail Store * Employee Expertise * Immediate Selection/Comparison * Peer Word of Mouth * Scoop on the latest dope kicks * Determine safe choices Alternative Evaluation and Selection * Mostly deliberation of collected information Limited Decision * Prices are not extreme * Can have multiple pairs of shoes * Outlet Selection and Purchase * Online * Retail Store * Provides immediate purchase * Postpurchase Processes * Wear dem shoes * Games * Stomping around town, lookin’ fly for the sweet honeys * Donate to secondhand stores * Throw away * Hand down t o family members * Sell lightly used shoes online Scientific proof that High-tops are structurally superior to Low-tops. http://www. tpec. edu. tw/%2Fself_store%2F79%2Fself_attach%2F95_5_paper1. pdf

Woolworths Media Plan

The objective of this campaign is accomplished. For future campaign could be something interesting or something that customer could win the prize. For example random the royalty card to win the prize and encourage customer to apply for royalty card. The information about how and where on each customer used the card. This could show the lifestyle of customer. And the information could help to improved service and planning for another phase of campaign. 8. Execution of the advertising campaign so that it complies with the advertising schedule and budget and meets legal and ethical requirements is important.Does the brochure comply with legal and ethical requirements. E. G. Legislation, policies and guidelines, cultural expectations and influence, ethical principals. The brochure is absolutely complied with the legal and ethical requirement by – FAA (Advertising Federation of Australia) part a: 1. Use the above results of evaluation to measure the effectiveness in the campaign. D o any of these results show promise in the analysis and planning phase for subsequent advertising campaigns. TV. This result is very successful. This should be intuition in the subsequent advertising Internet: This result is normal.The internet advertising should improved by advertise in the social media as well. Newspaper: This result is average. This ad should be reduced or have a prize drew Direct mail: This result is average. And it is very high cost. This advertising should be reduced or have a prize draw. Magazine: This result is average. This advertising should be reduced or have a prize draw. Planning process. TV. This budget is the highest cost. This TV advertising should run on weekend as well. Newspaper: For this price should be advertise on Sunday paper s well. Magazine: For this price should negotiate for weekly advertising.Direct Mail: For this budget should distribute to coverage more area. Internet: For this budget should use free social media to absorb the price. 3. Use feedback on the advertisement (brochure) itself to provide ideas for future advertisements and to improve advertising copy. (Feedback ask a friend) The art work should be more interesting. The brochure should add discount or special offer to customer brought feedback back to the store. This feedback should combine with customer detail or royalty card or easy manage of customer relation management (CRM). . Use media performance (above) to determine whether alternative media approaches would yield better results. Discuss benefits. For Newspaper, Direct Mail or magazine should reduce. And put more effort on e-commerce such as backbone, mainstream or twitter. This is for the new generation. And this is the new trend for this decade. Use mobile application for ISO, Android or Window phone to collect all information, discount, customer satisfaction and complain. Use SMS alert and e-mail newsletter instead of direct mail.

Personal Development Plan as A Leader Essay

1.0 IntroductionThis report concerns the general framework of my professional and personal leadership development. The details I will be presenting are what I consider to be in my current or future role for my clients, my team, my organization and my self. It is followed by the narratives of what I look like at my best with the understanding of my previous experiences. Then employ literature to review why those two tasks are important for leadership development. This report will reflect how I perform in current role with others and also the skills and strengths I have developed and discovered. 2.0 An effective organizational leaderThe success of an organization depends on people working together and sharing a common purpose. The leaders need to focus on the workforce to identify their individual human needs. Leaders are affected by the constantly changing environment in which globalization plays a key role. Accordingly, the workforce is in the trend of diversification. Hence, an effective leader is an individual who displays transactional and transformational leadership. To be an effective organizational leader, we must know the dimensions of two leadership styles. In a study by Zhu, Chew and Spangler (2005) and Daft (1999), a transactional leader is an individual who clarifies subordinates role and task requirements, initiates structure, provides rewards, and displays consideration for subordinates. To meet these requirements within the business, the leader must be able to adjust the style of leadership to satisfy the subordinates. When subordinates demonstrate a low readiness level to achieve tasks, leaders need to adopt a directive style of leading that gives employees explicit directions on how tasks should be accomplished. However, when the readiness level increases, leaders should be able to adjust to a more delegating style of leadership that gives subordinates the responsibility for making and implementing decisions. A transformational leadership goes beyond transactional leadership techniques. Tickle, Brownlee and Nailon (2005) state that a transformational leader has the ability to inspire and motivate people to do more than the  call of duty, in addition, innovative by bringing changes within the business such as upsizing the business entity. Daft (1999) claims a transformational leader has the ability to get people to embrace a common purpose and to implement a visionary idea that will excite, stimulate, and drive other people to work hard. This involves the leader being able to listen, in order to learn what moves people. Leaders who motivate are able to communicate in a way that inspires people. There is often an aesthetic element to their visions. They not only communicate information, but also a sense of meaning that inspires people to follow, even if it may lead to sacrifice in terms of hard work, long hours and deferred rewards. Anyone can be a leader, but a successful leader is an individual whose behavior more reflects the transformational leadership style with the use of personal power to influence people to achieve the goals of the business. According to Mastrangelo, Eddy and Lorenzet (2004) the combination of professional and personal leadership will create willing to cooperate environment within the organization which make the leaders succeed. 3.0 How I need to be in my current (or future) role?I need to beI am currently ?/10For my clients:ResponsiveCordialRespectfulTactful8896For my teamAble to adapt my leadership styleAble to effectively manage performance issuesClear about the team’s mission and visionContributing to positive emotionsAble to convey the key lessons of organizational effectiveness through stories of my own workplace experiencesTeam work collaboration356546For my organizationReliableInnovativeContributiveActing in ways that are clearly aligned with the vision, values, and strategyAble to get a lot done65546For my self Cultivating the virtues of:EnergyOptimismCalmnessBuoyancyAssertivenessCouragePassionateTrustworthy75554467Table 1: how I need to beDepending on the profile mentioned above, to be a developing transformational business leader, I need to identify â€Å"how I need to be† in my current and future role. The left column of the table above is the four areas that I will focus on to develop my leadership skills. For each area, there are several criteria to assess my current personal skills. The items listed in the â€Å"I need to be† column are my goals and criteria for monitoring process of my leadership development. In the box of â€Å"for my clients†, I have put higher scores for my current role because from my previous education consultant experiences, clients are very important for business sustain. Therefore, in order to maintain an on-going maturing relationship with clients, I need to treat them with courtesy, respect and responsive, for difficult clients I need to be tactful. In the area of â€Å"for my team†, I assessed myself at a lower medium level for my current role. I don’t have much group work experience from previous job. Therefore, this will be the most important area where I need to develop, because in current business organizations, team works and synergy are vital for completing multiple tasks. It is very important to learn how to convey the key lessons of organizational effectiveness through the stories of my own workplace experiences. And I currently lack of this skill. In a study by Tichy (2002), this is known as the narrative teachable point of view, which is the best communicated through engaging stories about who the company is and about what it can be. In the area of â€Å"for my organization†, I regard â€Å"reliable† as the primary element, because to be an effective leader of organization, I need to be reliable to obtain trusts from the company and team members in order to perform tasks effectively and work with others by sharing the same objectives. Also, creative strategies and innovation skills are very important for company growth and expansion. The area of â€Å"for my self† is designed to develop my personal leadership skills. The listed items are essentials to enhance my effectiveness. According to the evaluation, my assertiveness and courage are poor because of the lack of communication skills. I need to enhance my communication competency to be a confident professional leader. Other aspects such as optimism, calmness and buoyancy are the secondary area where I need to improve because those attributes are important to demonstrate a good personal leadership. All the elements listed in the table are essential for developing a transformational leader and keeping the process on the right track. From the table above I will be clear about my weaknesses and resolve them. 4.0 Gaps between my worst self and the idealI think that lifelong learning is very important and we all have personal worst self and ideal self. Knowing my own strengths and weaknesses can be helpful for me to become an effective transformational leader. Discovering my worst self along with having the yearning to improve is a talent that I maintain. Everybody has exceptional traits which distinguish the individual. Hence, I need to identify my ideal self in order to overcome my worst self. I believe that my ideal self has always made me be successful in projects I have attempted in my life. Therefore, recognizing ideal and worst self is a key point to bring success. For instance, when I come across a limitation in an area of necessity, I am able to improve that weak point. I deem that this characteristic is a strength that I have. I implement my personal strengths in my job. They are problem solving, goal oriented and so on. I feel that these strengths have helped me go ahead in my career. For instance, it is easy for me to analyze a problem and come up with an effective resolution in a short period of time. Focusing on the whole outlook but not the problem itself enabled me to resolve many problems in the past. It seems that if one narrows the situation into smaller workable areas, the problem is solved more quickly. I believe that the work that I produce is an indication of what kind of person I am. I like to make high values for my occupation and myself. I have found that my employer has always been satisfied with my work. For instance, I am able to work with colleagues to obtain the best outcomes in projects and problems solving in the workplace. I consider myself as a goal-oriented person. I enjoy setting goals for myself and I like to work with my colleagues in setting these goals. I feel that  once a goal has been achieved, we can rejoice our accomplishment as a team. For example, we have twenty students’ visas approved from immigration and we had a cocktail party to celebrate. One area of worst self is that it is difficult for me to be an effective leader. Because I feel that it’s very hard to lead a team efficiently and I had some difficulties to work with unfamiliar people. My overall goal is that I can be an effective transformational leader. I know how to learn, along with the understanding of how to learn the best, which is an important part in learning the goals that I have set for myself. As a student of RMIT University, from this course I learned how to improve my effective leadership skills so that I can improve that weakness. This is my second semester at RMIT University and I will overcome the new challenges that I will face. I hope that the experience I will gain while obtaining my degree will continue to strengthen all my personal and professional skills as well as challenging me in the areas of weaknesses. 5.0 My best self narrativeMy best self narrative was when I overcome the nervous and dilemma and encourage myself to finish the tasks. I had a lot of presentations in this MBA course and still remembered the scene of my first presentation. I was standing in front of all colleagues and lecture. My hands started dithering and I could not remember what I prepared for the topic. Luckily, I had my keynotes. I started the PowerPoint slides, reading the topic and facing to all audiences. Suddenly, all the information was back to my mind and I talked to myself that I can do this. Finally the presentation was really good and I gained an upper distinction grade from this assignment. Another best-self narrative is when I gained recognitions from my family and relatives. I have been studying overseas for 6 years and still remembered the first time when I returned to my home country. All my relatives went to my parents’ house and praised my abilities and talent for completing my IT bachelor degree and easily gaining the permanent resident visa. Because they  thought that it was very hard to finish all the tasks by myself while I am very far away from family and without any support. From that moment, I felt that I had done something valuable, gaining recognitions from my family and relatives. I believe that the successes of my best-self experiences were from the supports and encouragements of my family and friends, which constitute me a â€Å"can do† attitude. The recognition obtained from relatives gives me more confidence and ambitious dreams about what I want to do in my future. Also, my personal experiences of failing make me learn how to face frustration. Based on these experiences, I gained courage and fortitude for further problem resolution and kept my self at the best. 6.0 Best reflected self exerciseI have asked about 10 people from my friends and colleagues to conduct a best reflected self exercise and discover my strengths from their point of view. I have formed those views into a feedbacks table described below:Common themeExamplesMy interpretationInitiative to do my best.Made video for group presentation and spent hours on it despite having a lot of other work to do and took the initiative to do more than what was required to make it best.I like to contribute my best work to group by using my personal skillsWillingness to provide a helping hand whenever I can. Made PowerPoint slides for one group and took the time to provide ideas and taught the group how to create new PowerPoint slides.I like to help others especially when they are getting into a hobble and don’t know how to do it. Take care of othersOne of my friends was drunk from a pub, he phoned me and asked me to pick him up and send him home. Another friend had a final exam; I went to his house the day before exam and cooked for him which gives him more time to study. I like to take care of my friends because I believe friendship is very important in my life. Also, good friendship will help me to make a better performance and synergy with others. Creative,Aspiration,Sense of humor, Analytical abilityFind different ways to approach the tasks and provide ideas to give people a different image. Bringing fun and joy to class, my jokes are always funny, bring a closer relationshipI like to find new ways to deal with different tasks and I have a personal belief to make everyone happy around me. Doing that will create a harmonious environment to work together. Table 2: commonality of feedbacks tableThis feedbacks table will give me an idea of how the people around me think about me, which will help me pay more attention to the content mentioned above and keep developing more strength. When I am at my best I tend to be creative. I am enthusiastic about new ideas and new ways of thinking. At the meantime, I ensure that I follow those ideas with appropriate executions. With the aspiration and analytical abilities, I perform tasks much easier. Friends think that I am willing to do the best with empathy, which brings my reliabilities and performing attitude to friends. One of my best strengths is willingness to provide a helping hand whenever I can; I believe that everyone does need help from others including my self. Therefore, helping others will gain help from others. Colleagues think that I am able to take care of others and act as an older brother, which can show that I am a potential leader with a set of leadership skills when I am at my best. And they believe that I am able to identify the goals of tasks and allocate those tasks to group members rationally. So they feel more confident to work with me. Also, they mentioned that my leadership style is towards to transformational leadership that leaders encourage and motivate members by sharing the same goal and achieve the success. I believe that those strengths mentioned above will enhance my understanding of the work situations that can bring out the best from me. Also, by acknowledging those strengths, I will be more confident to do my tasks and  work with other people. 7.0 Leadership narrative This section will discuss what event makes me realized that I want to be a leader and shows the shift to leadership. I remembered when I worked as an education agent for a consultant company. The company has 7 employees including myself. Ken, the manager of the company, normally have a 7-week business trip to China every 8 months. Since I was the oldest employee in this firm and had been working in the company for over 3 years, he talked to me privately and asked me to manage the company and make sure everyone started working on time. The first day after Ken left, some of the employees were very happy, starting coming to work a little bit late and taking a longer morning tea break. Gradually, they were getting even worse, the deadline of tasks delayed and they disappeared one hour early before company closed. I talked to them, and asked them to complete the tasks and come to work on time, but they told me that you were actually not in charge here and we were on the same level. Then I explained what Ken told me to manage the company and monitor the attendance. Also, I displayed my self as an example to work hard on tasks and keep coming to work on time. Eventually, they started turning back to the normal attitude as before, and we had a good time to collaborate with each other. When Ken came back, the performance was increased and he appreciated my excellent job while he was away. The work mission and my manager’s trust are the key elements to drive me to get the opportunity to be a substitute leader and solve problems occurred in the company. According to this experience, I found that I had the potential skills and abilities to lead a group. From that moment, I started thinking about my future role in the company. I wish to be a good business leader. 8.0 Literature Review The two tasks, completing how I need to be in my current (or future) role and re-authoring my understanding of my own key experiences at my best, help me to evaluate myself. And also I could see my self from others’ view. Most importantly, those two tasks inform me where I am right  now, who I want to be and the approaches that I can take to step forward. The literature review has been conducted in this section to explain why undertaking those two tasks increase the likelihood of experiencing the buoyant, positive emotions that support the effective leadership. Tickle, Brownlee and Nailon (2005) believe that underlying and enabling transformational behaviors, is a set of core beliefs about knowing and learning which can be called â€Å"epistemological beliefs† means what knowledge is and how learning and development occurs. Tichy (2002) supports their point of view based on his experience with many outstanding business leaders at GE and states every successful business leader must have a teachable point of view, the ideas they have to improve the business, the values that will make those ideas work and the ability to energize employees. In addition, Tichy (2002) mentioned the leader’s teachable point of view is best communicated through engaging stories of who the company is and of what it can be. Jack Welch is a good example to illustrate this point, he created a story for the future of the GE based on the elements of his own ‘who I am’ story, and employees shared the view from him and execute base on this view. In a study by Morgan et al (2005), they define four steps to take in order to go through RBS exercise. Those steps are identifying respondents and ask for feedback, recognize patterns, compose your self-portrait and redesign your job. To have a better understanding of RBS exercise, Morgan et al (2005) suggest the first step is to collect feedback from a variety of people inside and outside work. The second step is to search for common themes among the feedbacks. The third step is to write a description of individual that summarizes and distills the accumulated information. The final step is to redesign personal job description to build on what is good at. Also, Morgan et al. (2005) state â€Å"the RBS exercise can help you tap into unrecognized and unexplored areas of potential. It armed with a constructive, systematic process for gathering and analyzing data about your best self, you can burnish your performance at work†. Wright (1996) indicates transformational leadership involves a highly positive emotional and optimistic thinking response towards the leader. The values of those two attributes are very important for effective transformational leader. The optimistic thinking requires turning negative thoughts into positive, which will influence other employees, feel more comfortable and confident to work for the organization. Also it helps individuals to have a great level of energy with reduced stress and tension in organization when approach to any tasks. The positive emotions provide the confidence to leaders and reflect on the best self evaluation which is what you are like when you are at your best, similar to an â€Å"ideal self†. It focuses on increasing the advantage instead of concerning to improve the disadvantages. An article written by Botaris (2003) discusses emerging key trends, such as leadership development of effective judgment. Effective judgment in the future will continue to change because people will change. Leadership effective judgment will have to become more strategic, more proactive, and more involved in the overall business (Bates, 2002). Transformational leadership style will be the best suited to those trends. Leadership development of effective judgment is a crucial function of management in order to facilitate the vision required for an organization to be successful. Effective judgment is the process of reducing employees’ resistance to change. Management directs employees’ efforts towards the accomplishment of the organizational goals and objectives. Ibrarra and lineback (2005, p 66) states that â€Å"To know someone well is to know their story†. A successful leader needs ability to go on to point out that at times of change in the professional direction. The leader needs tell the story that makes sense of personal motives, character and the capacity to reach new goals. In other words, this is called narrative abilities, the narrative will make an enormous difference in how well the company will cope with change, how high is the level of motivation of employees, how devoted employees to organization. Having effective narrative style helps leaders become more assertive and influence in convincing other people to do the tasks. It is important to understand that â€Å"creating a story that resonates  also helps up to believe in ourselves† (Ibrarra & Lineback, 2005, p.66). To make a smooth construction of narrative, Gibson (2004) discusses some examples and analysis for understanding who you have been and for identify ing where you might need to go next. He argues that taking a narrative approach to career counseling is both theoretically and practically justified. In a study by Cervone, Shadel, Smith, and Fiori (2006), they propose a model of intra-individual personality architecture called as KAPA: A Knowledge and Appraisal Personality Architecture. This model helps individuals to appraise themselves and situations based upon beliefs that they have come to experience as knowledge. The KAPA model will guide individuals to set goals and improve them. The KAPA model has three conceptual principles, notion of intentionality, distinguishes between two aspects of cognition and differentiates among alternative forms of knowledge and appraisal. I have used the KAPA model to appraise myself to test my personalities, skills and beliefs, please refer to Appendix 1 for my KAPA analysis. In conclusion, I have identified my current (or future) role and evaluated myself at this stage. And my own experiences in the narrative stories show the constitution of my identity and the turning point to be a business leader. Then, the literature review explains the benefit to do those two tasks and importance to support effective leadership. From this paper, I have found out my strengths from others’ point of view and I have identified the gap between my best and worst self. The KAPA model has designed to help me improve my personal and professional leadership. 9.0 Appendix 1 What might be standing in my way Steps I can take to move forward Ways that I can measure and monitor my progress Goals for the next 6 monthsLack of clarity about my organizational story in terms of what constitutes success and what that will look like and what that will look like and why it matterImprove communication skills and attending relevant seminars or courses and business leader forums to gain the knowledge and abilities. Feedbacks from friends, family members and colleagues to see how effectively I influenced them through my ability of story telling Understand the concepts to make my organizational story, and tell the story to my friends and family members. Lack ofAssertivenessOptimismCalmnessBuoyancycourageBy taking relevant exercises or courses to practice and adjust myself. Feedbacks from friends and family members, monitoring diary.Complete at least one course on each of those elements and practice those learnings with people all the time. Lack of collaboration with unfamiliar people.Talk to people I do not know, and try to get them close and familiar with their behavior and personality. After those approaches, I will fell more confident and comfortable to work with them as a team.Self evaluation with feedbacks from friends and colleagues, Team work performance.Understand unfamiliar people in the organization and try to work with them. My personal KAPA analysis10.0 ReferencesBates, S 2002, Facing the future, HR Magazine, Viewed 9 February, 2007, . Botaris, E 2003, Looking back at 2003: key trends in management development, Viewed 9 February, 2007, . Cervone, D, Shadel, W, Smith, R & Fiori, M 2006, â€Å"Self-Regulation: Reminders and Suggestions from Personality Science† Applied Psychology† an International Review, 55 (3), pp.333-385. Daft, RL 1999, Leadership Theory and Practice, Harcourt, Inc., USA. Gibson, P 2004, â€Å"Where to from here? A narrative approach to career counseling†, Career Development International, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 176-189. Ibarra, H and Lineback, K 2005, â€Å"What’s Your Story?†, Harvard Business Review, January, Vol. 83, Issue 1, pp. 65-71. Mastrangelo, A, Eddy, E & Lorenzet S 2004, â€Å"The importance of personal and professional leadership† The Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol. 25 No.5, pp.435. Morgan, L, Spreitzer, G, Dutton, J, Quinn, R, Heapy, E & Barker, B 2005, â€Å"How to Play to Your Strengths† Harvard Business Review, January, pp 75-80. Tichy, N 2002, The leadership Engine, Harper Business Essentials, New York. Tickle, E, Brownlee, J & Nailon, D 2005, â€Å"Personal epistemological beliefs and transformational leadership behaviours†, Journal of Management Development, Vol.24 No.8, pp. 706-719. Wright, P 1996, â€Å"What Leaders Read1: Managerial Leadership†, National College for School Leadership, 2003 edition, Prentice Hall, UK. Zhu, W, Chew, I & Spangler, W 2005, â€Å"CEO transformational leadership and organizational outcomes: the mediating role of human-capital-enhancing human resource management†, The Leadership Quarterly, 16, pp. 39-52.