Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Strategic Management - Essay Example 277). The Walt Disney Company's mission has evolved through the years as the company has gained more success. Walter Disney founded the company in 1923; it was after he visited amusement parks with his daughters where he would be bored while they played. The original mission was to provide entertainment of the kind that children and adults both could enjoy, making the whole experience family oriented. However, as the years have progressed, the Disney mission has evolved as well. The official mission statement of Disney is the following: â€Å"The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be the largest and most trusted producer and provider of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we will become the most responsive and adaptable to serve the needs of the consumers’ in our target markets. We will maintain our integrity and adhere to the core values upon which our company was founded as we creat e the most innovative and profitable entertainment experiences, most reliable and relevant informational services, and related products in the world† (Walt Disney Mission Statement: Creativity + Innovation = Profits, 2013). One of the key reasons due to which it is as successful as it is due to its strong vision, which is to be one of, if not, the mot major producer and provider of entertainment and information in the world. In fact, the company is now seen to be the most innovative and creative in providing entertainment to children and adults alike, with rides, characters, detailed storytelling, hotels, spas and a sports complex. Important Stakeholders: Stakeholders and risk bearers exist in every business, be it a small home-based one or an expansive multinational. Therefore, naturally, the multibillion-dollar worth, Disney Theme Parks has their share of stakeholders. These include the employees, consumers, communities that live near the resorts, suppliers, factories, retai lers, contract workers, nongovernmental organizations and charities, media, governmental organizations and, of course, the shareholders (The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection, pg. 251). Since it is a company of a large scale, it has numerous stakeholders to consider and engage with when making plans or addressing issues (The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection, pg. 251). It is, in fact, a mark of strength of a company of this large a size to engage with its stakeholders in order to better address their needs and the needs of the communities they work in, to result in more cohesion and better returns. Opportunities and Threats: Although Disney has become a huge corporation in terms of the services it provides, there are still several opportunities and aspects that it can perhaps tap into. Disney, due to its major clientele, can be a good source of promoting world peace and other noble causes. Because it is a theme park stemming from childho od stories and cartoons, it could be a rich source of providing education to the needy since it can reach out to many people. Another philanthropic opportunity it could pursue would be to give employment to citizens that cannot find work elsewhere, as a way of giving them a second chance to make a difference to society. Since Disney is

The price of diamonds is too high Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The price of diamonds is too high - Essay Example Before the 19th century, diamond minerals were known to be rare as it was found in India and Brazil. During 1870 large mines for diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa at place near orange. Such became a threat to the few diamond producers despite the large supply thus made the commodity a luxury instead of a commodity. At the year 1888, a body was formed known as De Beers Consolidated mines in South Africa by suppliers in order to secure a high market for diamond prices. Initially, diamond cartel controlled successfully the supply worldwide regulation done at mine output and purchase of the exclusive right to mining nations across Africa. At the onset of 20th century, DE beers dominated around 90 percent trade for diamond internationally. In 1930, there was a decline in the diamond demand, causing the son of De beers to initiate an advertising agency that incorporated an advertising strategy to target young men in order to purchase a ring for engagement in order to become a form of acceptance during courtship declaration. Through such strategy, diamond price rose, unlike other minerals. Currently, the cartel dominates in approximately two thirds of the diamond (Diamond, 1971). According to pricing theory consideration, is on economic activity due to creation and transfer of value. That covers the trading of goods and services on economic agents that are distinctive. Such explains the high cost of the diamond in comparison with water .this depends on the utility of particular purpose and purchasing power of goods that the object possesses. Such is known as the value exchange and uses in value. Minerals such as diamond derive its value due to scarcity nature and labour intensity required to extract such minerals. The labour involved forms a basic unit the exchange process of value of goods. That will be of great significance to determine overall prices. Thus, the nominal price according to Bagweel & Riordan (1991) has a

Theories of Learning for Classrooms

Theories of Learning for Classrooms Learning is the process that results in a relatively enduring change in a person or persons (Alexander et al, 2009: 186). Learning is a dynamic process whereby the students knowledge and skills are different before to after learning (Winn, 1990). Teaching is by definition the promotion of learning and ought therefore to be informed by the best of our knowledge about learning. Learning and teaching poses a synergistic relationship; that is teachers need to teach with an approach that reinforces how students naturally learn (Muijs brooks book). A number of educational researchers offer learning paradigms to explain how individuals learn. The way students learn can be used to foster effective teaching practices, and ultimately align teaching with positive learning and educational experiences. Understanding how knowledge is developed and comprehended can allow teachers to shape the methodological delivery of their subject content to match the theoretical frameworks, underpinning how knowledge is processed. Attending to the nature of student learning can allow teachers to improve their practice and in turn the quality of the learners experience (Macleod Golby, 2003). The extremes of this learning theory spectrum are represented by the Behaviourist and Constructivist theories of learning. Behaviouristic Theory of Learning Learning, according to behaviourists (Watson, Pavlov), is defined as acquisition of new behaviour. The focus of behaviourism is on the conditioning of observable human behaviour and is based on the principal conception that a reaction is made in response to a specific stimulus. This reaction leads to a consequence. If the consequence is pleasant and positive, the behaviour change becomes reinforced. With consistent reinforcement, the behaviour pattern becomes conditioned and is automatically activated upon stimuli presentation. Physiologically, behaviourist theories propose that learning is achieved through reinforcement of a particular neural pathway, which links the stimuli and response in the brain. This activation and reinforcement results in a faster, smoother implementation of certain reactions and responses. The connections between the stimuli and specific responses are built correctly and then reinforced over time through practise and repetition, which ultimately strengthens the neural pathways, resulting in a more efficient response to the stimuli. (Pritchard). Behaviourists term this form of learning conditioning, whereby with consistent reinforcement the behaviour pattern becomes conditioned. Classical conditioning involves the reinforcement of a natural reflex or behaviours which occur naturally as a response to a specific stimulus. In contrast, operant conditioning involves reinforcing a behaviour by praising it, or discouraging undesirable behaviour with punishment. The rewarding phases of this conditioning processing is known as reinforcement. However, this stimulus-response relationship discounts any mental processes which may be involved in learning. Researchers, including Vygotsky 1962 amongst others, began to criticise the behaviourist approach, as it was seen too teacher centred and directed, void of meaningful learning and the teacher process was focused too much on individual rather than collaborative group work. In addition, the constructivist perspective challenged the implied separation between mental processing and knowledge, which had to be bridged by the role of a teacher. Constructivist Theory The constructivist movement was formed on Piagets (1976) and Vygotsky (1986) work who view learning as the effect of mental construction, whereby learners combine their existing knowledge with new information, to construct meaning and formulate their understanding. The constructivist theory proposes that learning is an active process, a social activity, contextual, centred on constructing meaning and regards the learner as a responsible agent in their knowledge acquisition (Loyens 2007. In constructivist learning, individuals draw in their experience of the world around them and work to make sense of what they perceive in order to build an understanding of what is surrounding them (Harris, 1994). Since constructivism involves learners to interact with their immediate learning environment, learning has been considered to be situation-specific and context-bound activity (McInerney and McInerney, 2002. Constructivism is an umbrella term to encompass the wide range of constructivist perspectives, which can be separated into two branches; cognitive constructivism (Piaget, 1976) and social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1986). Both sub-types believe that knowledge is actively constructed by individuals Birenbaum 2003, however through the use of different mediums; either through a series of internal, intellectual stages (cognitive constructivism), or by social interaction including interactions with world based, external experiences (social constructivism). The numerous perspectives on constructivism within these two sub-types could be essentially grouped around a rooted assumption about learning. That is, knowledge is actively constructed by the learner (Birenbaum 2003; Harris and Alexander 1998) Piagets developmental stages theory, which represents cognitive constructivism, presents four age-referenced development stages which provide a theory of gradual cognitive development up to the age of eleven years old. The stages refer to an explicit age range and characterise the cognitive abilities necessary at each stage to construct meaning of ones environment. Social constructivism emphasises the role of language in the process of intellectual development. Vygotsky considered dialogue, usually but not always with a more knowledgeable other, as a vehicle by which concepts are considered, shared and developed. The dialogue, which is based on learners pre existing and current knowledge (schemas), is then exploited to develop and construct new ideas and understanding. Vygotsky advocates that the process of learning involves moving into and across a zone of proximal development, which is aided by the intervention of another through support. The zone of proximal development is a theoretical space of understanding which is just above the level of an individuals current understanding. The process of giving support to learners at the appropriate time and level of sophistication to meet the individual needs is termed scaffolding. Scaffolding can allow the movement from one zone to another and assists in the passing through the zone of proximal devel opment. From reviewing the literature, educational researchers which employ these constructivist principles select aspects from both strands of this learning theory (Biggs, 1979, Cunningham, 1996), and use constructivist theories as a generalised term. However, as Mathews and Lui highlight, combining the plethora of constructivist variants is questionable, and generalisations made may have less significance and loss of meaning. Therefore, for the purpose of this assignment, the term constructivism will reflect a collaboration of both social and cognitive strands; however specific branches and the implications of these strands are highlighted where necessary. Critique of learning theories and associated implications upon classroom practice A review of the literature suggests that behaviouristic learning does not offer students the chance to develop deep meaning and understanding (Einworth and Collins), but instead has a tendency to promote superficial learning of skills (Fosnot, 1996). Making a correct response and remembering content does not necessarily imply understanding, and consequently the actual understanding achieved through behavioural approaches is challenged. Hounsell, Entwistle, 1997 conclude that the use of rote memorisation represents a learning approach to a surface level of understanding, whilst establishing connections with current knowledge reflects an approach for a deeper level of understanding. In contrast, from a constructivist perspective, the principle of learning using prior experience is beneficial in promoting a deeper and richer understanding (Pressley, Harris Marks, 1992). Demerici advises that information which is connected to a learners prior experiences is more likely to be retained, explaining higher retention rates when a constructivist approach is adopted. (Demirici). According to Fosnot, the focus of attention in constructivist perspective is concept development and deeper understanding. This research suggests that constructivist approaches lead to a great, richer and deeper understanding. It is therefore plausible to suggest that the quality and depth of understanding associated to a constructivist teaching approach is more likely to exceed that of the behaviourist approach. However, as Entwhistle and Smith (2002) identify, the association between memorisation and surface approach may be weak. Kember, 1996; Watkins Biggs, 1996 reported that memorisation can be used to learn unfamiliar terminology, as the first stage to establishing understanding. This concept, where memorisation is part of meaningful learning, is defined as memorising with understanding (Marton, Watkins,Tang, 1997; Meyer, 2000, and has been conducted by students as a successful revision tool (Entwistle Entwistle, 2001) In addition, (Smith, 2001, 2002a) affirms that rote learning can contribute to understanding. Therefore, it appears that behaviouristic learning approaches can be beneficial for certain tasks such as establishing classroom behaviour (Fulton). Teachers could consider deploying beahviorusitlic approaches to the learning of classroom behaviour, especially for pupils who display anxious tendencies and low motivation (Prittard; Fulton). Those of higher academic ability perceive simplistic drill and practice unsatisfying and dull (Prittard). In addition, some students demand understanding, yet adhering to behaviouristic learning approaches does not accommodate this craving. In other situations, the concepts of learning without understanding can fuel frustration, lead to misconceptions and generate a difficult learning environment (Prittard). Controversially, Fox (2001) suggests that the constructivist theory may imply that remembering is not important, and that learning is solely centred on understanding concepts. However, neither of these are true, and being able to remember knowledge is an important prerequisite of learning. In addition, Biggs, (1998) and Jin and Ortazzi, (1998) have reported that constructivist teaching approaches dont consistently guarantee teaching effectiveness. Instead, traditional, more behaviourist approaches to learning in large classes has proven to be successful internationally, such as in China. Fox, 2001, argues that constructivism neglects the role of memorisation and mechanical learning techniques Arguably, due to the varying nature of meaning which is uncontrollably constructed by students, in some cases, rote learning and memorisation may be more useful when teaching factual concepts and where clarity in understanding is required. Rote learning may be used to help students cope better with some aspects of work that they find difficult. However, teachers must consider that rote learning is not an approach to develop understanding and therefore where possible, should be followed by attempts to encourage understanding. Standard school and classroom routines and expectations for behaviour can be learnt through behaviouristic approaches. In the case of behaviour management, a strategy to quieten the class, such as raising of the hand, or counting down from three could be effectively used. In this case, the stimulus, such as the teacher raising their hand or calling out the number three, must be fully explained to the class. In addition, the stimuli must be fully visible and audible to the students, which is possible with a clearly risen hand or an assertive voice. The response desired, such as a student raising of the hand and silence, must be fully understood by students. It is important that the stimulus-response occurrence should be repeated by the teacher and used regularly. The same strategy should be employed every time the teacher wants to quieten the class, establishing consistency of stimuli and behavioural response. This repeated activation strengthens the pathways, affording for a smoother and faster implementation of the response. . Pupils should be made aware of the negative and positive consequences if they do not respond to the stimuli as desired and the consequences need to be kept consistent. Therefore, consistency of behaviour management strategies is crucial and classroom practice must adhere to the same strategise as the same stimuli is presented for a specific response. Behaviourism relies on reinforcement which is employed to condition the behaviour, and therefore is essentially the tool which brings about learning. Therefore rewards and punishments for behaviours must play a crucial role and actively administered within classroom practice. Behaviourism may therefore stimulate and encourage more use of positive reinforcement which has been a long standing effective classroom practice (Elliott and Busse, 1991 fulton book). However teachers must consider that rewarding children who are already highly motivated may not be as effective, and may actually lead to a loss of interest (Fulton) Rewards and praise have been shown to enhance motivation, and serve as an effective behaviour management tool, however, praising students may not come naturally to teachers. However, behaviourist approaches dont take account of mental cognitive processing involved in learning. In contrast, constructivism emphasises that the learners must develop their understanding for themselves and constructivist researchers advocate that mental activity is the lifeblood of learning and the extent of what is learnt (Howe 1999). Teachers cannot assume that the products of learning are solely the teachers effort and thought; instead learning requires effort on the part of the learner. Teachers need to offer scope of activities where the accustomed effort and activity falls on the learners responsibility. Such opportunities would afford learner engagement and optimise the possibility of effective lasting learning taking place (Prittard). A vast array of supportive literature endorses the success of constructive approaches. Research informs that learning through such constructive mediums, like discussion, participation, practice, are successful and associated with learning gains and knowledge retention. Demirci Yavuz (2009). Dericimi also reported a significant difference in post-test grades and retention learning tests grades, with the constructivist approach being more efficient than the conventional, behaviouristic approach. However, the constructivist theory may imply that all individual differences in learning come down to the consequences of each learners history of learning )Loyens, 2008. Furthermore, although we do learn by acquiring knowledge from our environments through interacting with the external world, Fox highlights that the environment also acts upon learners. That is, we act and react and learning can be achieved from both experiences. However, constructivism appears to fail to acknowledge adaptive instinctive responses as reactive forms of learning (Fox, 2001) and the role of talent in cognitive development. Furthermore, Fox (2001) and Bredo, (2000) argues that constructivism discounts the role of innate, motivational and genetic factors in knowledge construction, which have been proven to play a role in cognitive development and ealrning Carey Spelke, 1994). Another assumption refers to an epistemological assumption that students actively seek resources and experiences, which are anchored by their pre-existing knowledge. In addition, it is assumed that learners utilise the construed data to actively construct their knowledge (Renkl). Therefore, this approach to learning relies on students encountering experiences and applying these experiences to their pre-existing knowledge to develop their understanding. However, such experiences and world-based interactions may not be feasible or available to students due to their lifestyle circumstances. Consequently, teachers need to be aware that understanding and meaning is limited to the individual experiences of the students. In accordance with this assumption, the constructivist theory can explain why pupils conceptions and meaning do vary between each other (Taber, 2000). Given that learning is achieved through the constructing activity of the student, the individual can only understand or kno w what he or she has constructed (Dunn and Cunningham, 1996). Therefore, constructivism may be seen as subjective and relative (Duffy and Cunningham, 1996).. This may lead to marking criteria discrepancies, confusion and inconsistency, and student misconceptions, which do not match reality. In addition, Duffy and Cunningham propose that if the constructions and meanings are different amongst students, the little shared understanding may challenge the ease of communication between learners and the class. This may jeopardise the effectiveness of class discussions and social interactions as a tool to enhance learning. Similarly, as construction is activity on part of the learner (Bruner 1966, 1971), what is constructed cannot be controlled by the teacher. Instead the learner has autonomy and self-regulates what understanding is established. Therefore the students constructed understanding may not parallel with other students, with reality or with the teachers construction and understanding. Consequently, teachers must not assume that the construction and understanding of a concept is universal between all students. Instead teachers must actively access and consider the alternative perceptions and understanding of the learners hence why a transmission approach is fruitless. On the other hand, teachers come into the classroom with their own construction and conceptions of subject content, and according to Patrick 1988, are not neutral. Therefore, a teachers understanding can colour the students understanding, and together, Patrick, 1998 and Marton and Booth (1997) suggested that some teachers moulded the students construction of a concept to align with their concept interpretation. Ellisowths review concludes that the form of understanding impressed onto students is largely dependent on the teachers personal interpretation of the subject content. Therefore, although the constructivist theory assumes that the construction of understanding is the product of the learners interpretation exclusively, the constructivist theory does not account for the interplay between teachers and learners comprehension. Importantly, to help progressive learning and avoid developing misconceptions, teachers need to provide a clear focus and goals, with explicit learning objectives, which are rooted within pupils existing knowledge. The clear objectives allow students to construct their ideas using current knowledge and understand the overarching direction and progression oftheir learning. Activating prior knowledge is important to elicit pre-knowledge, allowing teachers to decipher the conceptual frameworks they are operating within. Teachers need to highlight the links between students existing knowledge and the new subject knowledge, to help the learner form bridges and facilitate their mental construction and cognitive processes (REF). By forming these links, students can activate and recall their pre-existing knowledge, and use this foundation to build and integrate new concepts. Teachers should encourage students to relate new knowledge to current knowledge and external experiences, allowing the new subject content to become embedded within the existing knowledge structures, contributing to or amending to the students schema. Since learning constructively is based on the addition of new content to current knowledge, the learner must have sufficient levels of understanding before new content can be used to construct more complex meaning and progress. Teachers and educators need to consider that new content cannot be built up until the foundations, such as current knowledge, is secured. To accommodate these pre-requisites of learning, the individuals knowledge needs to be continually assessed. As a regular classroom practice, formative assessment could be used as a regular approach to assess existing and new understanding, before moving to the next lesson. Formative assessment is a regular, informal mode of assessment, allowing teachers to monitor students progress, gain an appreciation of what has been learnt and adapt their teaching practices to optimise further learning (Black and Wiliam, 1998). Accordingly, given that learning is an active and evolving processes, formative assessment can be used by teachers to assess, monitor, challenge unclear perspectives and adapt classroom practices to accommodate the constructivist principles of learning. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that constructivist approaches to learning favour the use of formative assessment and may prompt its use in the classrooms, which Lamon, 2001 reports as being more valuable. Since formative assessment alone is associated with learning gains, (Black and Wiliam 1998), learning is positively influenced indirectly via adopting teaching strategies which are aligned to learning constructively. Formative assessment may be undertaken through questioning, teacher and pupil discussion, peer assessment and interaction with peers. Formative assessment will also identify pupils individual learning needs, supporting teachers conduct in differentiation to assure pupils are moving forward, across their ZPD and optimise learning gains. Formative assessment can be achieved in the classroom, through discussion, questioning, peer assessment, self-assessment and feedback. However, with behaviourism, the opportunities for feedback are confined to only whether the response desired is correct or not. There is little scope for learning, or how to improve in order to meet the desired response. Therefore, under behaviourist approaches, feedback cannot be used for learning purposes, therefore opportunities for assessment for learning, which have shown to enhance learning, may not be fruitful. Consequently, limited feedback combined with the objective outcomes of behaviourist approaches mean that individual student needs are not necessarily part of the formulae when considering teaching strategies and subject content. The need to consider individual needs is undeniable, therefore such constraints of feedback extent presents a multitude of problems to the teaching and learning of students. When constructing new concepts and developing understanding, reviewing and reflecting on what has already been learnt also helps to establish and secure students previous knowledge. In addition, by asking what students understand before embarking on a new concept would help students form links between new and previous knowledge (Fulton). This reviewing could be done as a starter, but also plays a role at the end of the lesson, forming a plenary. Teachers should consider, incorporate and plan for well managed plenary to consolidate knowledge. Time to reflect upon what has been undertaken, the processes and the content gives the opportunity for internalisation and for a deeper level of understanding to be developed. Similarly, learning is most effective when learners become engaged, which means that teachers need to adopt an active approach to learning and involve engaging tasks to promote learning in the classroom. Learning using authentic tasks, which allow pupils to relate to their own experience inside and outside the classroom (Selinger, 2001) increases the probability of engagement with the task and supports findings that learning in a familiar context is most effective. Authentic tasks are likely to hold the attention and interest of children, and lead to a deeper level of engagement than with non-authentic or less authentic tasks (Fulton). Favourably, the constructivist principles match those fundamentals associated with effective learning. This active perspective of constructive learning (Phillips, 1995) is often contrasted with behaviourist stimulus-response relationship, which has been defined as a passive view in learning. However, reading and listening are included within this constructive approach to teaching, which could be argued to be more passive approaches. Whilst this suggests that all cognition is active, to talking and writing, listening and reading are relatively passive. Traditionalists do not deny the importance of dialogue, and this may be utilised in questioning and answering, it is more that behaviourists place greater emphasis on knowledge and on the teacher as being knowledgeable, rather than learners and their existing knowledge (Fox). A balance is needed between emphasis on the teachers and learners, since too much emphasis on either part can lead to prescriptions for teaching which may ignore the students needs or dismiss the teachers as a significant resource of knowledge. An active learning approach can be achieved by encouraging students to explore concepts and ideas, and to follow their instincts (Wray and Lewis, 1997). Given that exploration can promote sequential development of ideas, it is likely to assist in the construction of new knowledge; the roots to constructivism. Classroom practice could be based on a discovery-based approach Huitt, 2004;, where students can find answers out for themselves, answer their own questions through experimenting with new ideas and discuss their beliefs and thinking patterns with their peers. Importantly, engaging with each other reflects social interactions, which can be a vehicle to develop understanding using social interaction. Unlike behaviourist approaches where the teacher is the primary resources of knowledge and is influenced by their interests and perspective; knowledge construction offers the opportunity of learning to become dynamic and varied, opposed to being static and prescribed (Sudizna). The use of resources promotes more interactive learning and interest, which are both shown to positively influence learning. Behaviourist approaches have been criticised for not addressing this dynamic nature of learning as its theory assumes a static and standardised view of knowledge learning. Supported by Winn 1990, student knowledge is dynamic and changes, that is knowledge and skills are different before learning to after instruction, and behaviourism does not take this into account. In addition, behaviourism theory does not appreciate that students come into classrooms with prior knowledge. Conversely, the constructivist theory acknowledges that pre-existing knowledge is requisite of learning and that students enter classrooms with pre-conceptions, knowledge and beliefs which they deploy in constructing new understanding. (Jones, Carter, Rua, 1999) As already discussed, scaffolding is crucial for the learner to pass through their zone of proximal development, and can be undertaken by the teacher. Scaffolding can be practiced in the classroom in many ways, and teachers need to appreciate that this is fundamental to the educational progression of students and how this may be achieved. Support materials need to be widely available, such as a writing frame to support a particular style of prose, or a list of words to help in the process of completing an exercise, designed to assist understanding The provision of practical apparatus, especially in science, may help to explain the solution to a problem and is an engaging approach. Students can evidence reality and attach a sense of perspective and reality to their learning. Given the exploratory nature of constructivism, classroom practice needs to be supportive and generate an environment where the student feels safe to ask for help and comfortable in approaching the teacher. The teacher must be aware of the different supportive needs of the class, and meet these through differentiation and allowing time for class discussion, misconceptions and any lack of understanding. To help the teacher identify those who need more support than others, formative assessment can be incorporated to highlight the students individual needs that need to be addressed. Ultimately, this will allow tasks to be designed and geared towards the individuals learning ability. Unlike, behaviourism theories, constructivist theory accounts for the role of social learning and potential of interaction and recognises the importance of social interaction (Phillips, 1995). Incorporating social interaction opportunities, using language as a medium to construct ideas in groups of varying sizes, both with and without the teacher are encouraged and popular in classroom practice today (Jones and Brader-anjerie, 2002). Dialouge is proposed to constitue a crucial component of the constructivism paradigm ((Greeno et al. 1996; (Steffe and Gale 1995).Loyens, 2008. Discussion is fundamental and can be used through augmenting, debating, discussing concepts, teacher questioning and pupils presenting. Teachers should encourage students to work collaboratively, in pairs or small groups, and allow them to help each other and construct their own meaning in their own words of a concept. Dialogue with others allows additional and alternative perspectives to be taken into account when developing personal conclusions. Different knowledge, points of view and understanding can be given and considered before moving on. Teachers should listen to pupils, and use their words for explaining concepts and draw on other opinions of class members. Constructivist theory also takes into account that learning is contextual. Evidence suggests that learning occurs in real-life contexts and learning is actually linked to a context, as deduced by Macleod and Goldby 2003. Children working with new ideas in a familiar content are more likely to engage with the ideas, than if the same ideas were present in an alien context. Therefore teachers should strive to include more authentic tasks and set learning concepts which are aligned with students familiar contexts. If a learning activity falls beyond the cultural understanding of the learning, then learning is likely to be less successful than if it had been situated in a more familiar setting. .Meaningful contexts for learning are very important; however, what is meaningful for a teacher is not necessarily meaningful for the student. The association between the concept of learning being situated and the need for authentic learning tasks is evidence (McFarlane, 1997). However, the recommended approach to situation learning in meaningful contexts (e.g. Lave Wenger, 1991) has been argued against. Walkerdine, 1988, for example argued that if school learning became situated solely within the lived world of daily experiences, the opportunities for abstract reasoning and reflective activity, which are all constituents of constructivism, would become limited and sacrificed, whilst confining students to their local xxxxxxx? The exactness of the Piaget stage of development has been criticised, that is to say children may pass through the stage, but it is not clear that they will pass through the stages at specific ages, however, as a developmental trail, this theory is useful in teaching practices. Piagets stage developmental theory offers guidance covering the level of complexity that may be expected in a childs thought processes at approximate stages in their development. Whilst Piagets developmental stage theory influences principally primary school teaching practices, given the ages this theory is related to, the appreciation and awareness that c

The Fountain Head: Individualism :: essays research papers

The Fountain Head: Individualism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Individualism, the only element which makes a person's character unique. In the Fountain Head, a character binds true to this belief and goes by the name of Howard Roark. This young architect who had his own viewpoint of the world and how he envisioned it, was condemned by the media and the public by doing so. Roark's lifestyle completely perpendiculates the mundane lifestyle that the average citizen lives. Roark conforms to only what he considers valid in his own conscience. The novel opens the door to lead the way against the oppression of conformity. The environment which Howard was placed into didn't help in his situation to freely express his thoughts on certain subjects. This was mainly made possible by the people who he had come in contact through out the years. Many examples of this type of movement are shown by the actions taken by Roark during his career as an architect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of the actions taken by Roark had a deep profound effect on one key player in the novel, Toohey. Toohey with all the power he had with the public and through the newspaper, was not able to manipulate Howard into his way of thinking. The general public who read the Banner had been convinced that Toohey new what he was talking about on all subjects. His plan to manipulate the public and gather them as a whole was directly countered with every move that Howard made. One of these major moves was the building of the Stoddard Temple. With the temple, Roark had the freedom to build whatsoever he choose. This gave him a medium to express his viewpoint without having any restrictions. After the delayed unveiling of the temple, it was condemned by the public. At the head of this group was no other than Toohey. He wrote articles in the newspaper on how the temple in no way represented the human spirit. The temple allowed Howard to display his individualism, his uniqueness, and his self being. This temple was looked down upon because it did not conform to the ancient styles of architecture. Due to the amount of uniqueness found in the temple, it opposed the conventional view that life required conformity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Howard's special relationship between himself and Gail came about because of their unique individualism. They both believe in the same ways of thinking and therefore they are very much on the same plane of conscienceless. The reason why Gail conformed to society was to play against their trust in the future. When the Banner first got started, it ran two stories to test which

Investment strategy Essay

Adams discontinuity based investment strategy revolved around making investing in companies which were in in the process of or on the fore of exploiting dramatic and sudden changes in well developed markets. Adams focused on both discontinuities and a targeted investment strategy in his search for above average returns. Adams operationalized his discontinuity based investing method by hiring only engineers as partners, leveraging their technical training in the search of promising markets in which to invest. Overtime ACM’s investment focus evolved to focus on markets which he and his partners were already relatively familiar with and had already recognized as attractive. From a Limited Partner’s perspective Adams strategy in comparable to a growth-investing strategy many fund managers implement in the equity markets. That being said, Adams is searching for method of discontinuity based investing looks to capitalise on a company’s potential growth well before they have reached a large enough size to be listed on the equity market. ACM developed more sophisticated pre-requisites to investment developed overtime, these methods digress from typical investment managers and Private Equity/Venture Capital theories firms. Firstly, ACM was only interested in investing in companies which had business to business relationships with their customers, meaning companies without a retail branch from which to distribute products or services to consumers. Secondly, ACM believed the firm value’s and hence the value of their investment would be driven by return on investment (ROI) of respective business customers. Whilst always remaining focused on the business making us of â€Å"first generation applied technology† or being one of the first companies to use a specific technology for a specific application. A combination of ACM’s investment strategy’s divergence from typical investment theory, as it invested in small companies who’s growth prospects were infinite, focused on ROI of a firm’s business clients and utilise the partners wealth of knowledge and expertise to gear ACM to being highly technology focused allowing for Limited Partners looking for diversification to make significant ground. Not only were investors being exposed to diversification in the form of different investment methodologies, an LP also received exposure to the inherently high growth technology sector, all of which was a fantastic way to gain access to shifts that would create opportunities for start-up companies to become market leaders leading to high returns for investors. The four primary causes of discontinuities 1. Standards   2. Regulation   3. Technology   4. Distribution Adams believed â€Å"Market due diligence is the only due diligence you can do independent of a transaction. † A unique part of the ACM strategy was the need for unanimous firm agreement upon the industry or market before individual companies were considered for investment. This was based on the premise of top down analysis, meaning that only when market or industry based analysis showed potential for a discontinuity based investment would further research be conducted to find viable target companies. In addition, the inclusion of a Discontinuity Roundtable, consisting of twenty industry experts and observers that periodically met with the ACM partners to identify and discuss market discontinuities, provides a comprehensive and systematic approach to identifying investment opportunities in the market, and makes ACM more attractive as an investment partner.

Melanophores and Microtubule Monorails: Insights Into Rapid

Fish and amphibians are able to change their color rapidly in response to a change of their surroundings. This phenomenon is done by melanophores, containing a pigment cell called melanin, being travelled along microtubules in their cells (Levi, Serpinskaya, Gratton, & Gelfand, 2006, p. 318). A microtubule, which is made of proteins located in cytoskeleton, is one of three filaments that is long, hollow stiff tube and responsible for intracellular transport. This transport system is driven by kinesin and dynein in microtubules and myosin in actin filaments, which are called motor proteins. Gross, Tuma, Deacon, Serpinskaya, Reilein, & Gelfand, 2002, p. 855). To understand how those movements along microtubules can make the rapid colour change possible, it is necessary first to find out how each component mentioned above carries out their roles in detailed in their specific area. Melanosomes move along microtubules by protein motors throughout the cell by aggregation and dispersion and the direction of their traveling is also changed frequently.In microtubules, most kinesins move towards the plus-end of the microtubule, which is called dispersion and dyneins move towards the minus-end of the microtubule, which is called aggregation. (Bouzat, Levi, & Bruno, 2012, p. 1). These dispersion and aggregation of melanosomes are affected by certain hormones such as melatonin and MSH and it make the color of their skin become darker or lighter depending on where they are (Bouzat et al. p. 10). One significant discovery is that those microtubule- and actin-based transport systems are in a tug-of-war.For instance, microtubule-based transport system can be altered by a loss of myosin function, which is actin-based transport system (Gross et al. , 2002, p. 855). This competition regulates their transport functions without a hitch and thus, it allows the movement along microtubules to constantly go on. Due to traveling of melanophores through those two filaments in cytoskeleton by motor proteins, fish, amphibian and reptiles are able to change their color very rapidly. Those are at any times ready for a response to a change of their surroundings and it directly happens as soon as they get something to trigger those functions start working.

Definition and Examples of Ethos in Classical Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Ethos in Classical Rhetoric In classical rhetoric, ethos is a persuasive appeal (one of the three artistic proofs) based on the character or projected character of the speaker or writer. Also called  ethical appeal or ethical argument. According to Aristotle, the chief components of a compelling ethos are goodwill, practical wisdom, and virtue. As an adjective: ethical or ethotic. Two broad types of ethos are commonly recognized: invented ethos and situated ethos.  Crowley and Hawhee observe that rhetors can invent a character suitable to an occasion- this is  invented ethos. However, if  rhetors  are fortunate enough to enjoy a good reputation in the community, they can use it as an ethical proof- this is  situated ethos (Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. Pearson, 2004). Pronunciation EE-thos Etymology From the Greek, custom, habit, character Related Terms IdentificationImplied AuthorLogos and PathosPersonaPhilophronesisPhronesis Examples and Observations A Universal Appeal Everyone makes an appeal to ethos if only an ethos of choosing never to stoop to such matters as ethos. No speech with intent is non-rhetorical.  Rhetoric is  not everything, but it is everywhere in  the speech of human  arguers. (Donald N. McCloskey, How to Do a Rhetorical Analysis, and Why. New Directions in Economic Methodology, ed. by Roger Backhouse. Routledge, 1994) Projected Characters Im not a doctor, but I play one on TV. (1960s TV commercial for Excedrin)I made my mistakes, but in all of my years of public life, I have never profited, never profited from public service- I earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination  because people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook. I have earned everything I have got. (President Richard Nixon, news conference in Orlando, Florida, November 17, 1973)It was a highly inconvenient thing for them in our debates that I was just a country boy from Arkansas and I came from a place where people still thought two and two was four. (Bill Clinton, speech at the Democratic National Convention, 2012)If, in my low moments, in word, deed or attitude, through some error of temper, taste, or tone, I have caused anyone discomfort, created pain, o r revived someones fears, that was not my truest self. If there were occasions when my grape turned into a raisin and my joy bell lost its resonance, please forgive me. Charge it to my head and not to my heart. My head- so limited in its finitude; my heart, which is boundless in its love for the human family. I am not a perfect servant. I am a public servant doing my best against the odds. (Jesse Jackson, Democratic National Convention Keynote Address, 1984) Contrasting Views The status of ethos in the hierarchy of rhetorical principles has fluctuated as rhetoricians in different eras have tended to define  rhetoric in terms of either idealistic aims or pragmatic skills. [For Plato] the reality of the speakers virtue is presented as a prerequisite to effective speaking. In contrast, Aristotles Rhetoric presents rhetoric as a strategic art which facilitates decisions in civil matters and accepts the appearance of goodness as sufficient to inspire conviction in hearers...The contrasting views of Cicero and Quintilian about the aims of rhetoric and the function of ethos are reminiscent of Platos and Aristotles differences of opinion about whether or not moral virtue in the speaker is intrinsic and prerequisite or selected and strategically presented. (Nan Johnson, Ethos and the Aims of Rhetoric. Essays on Classical Rhetoric and Modern Discourse, ed. by Robert J. Connors, Lisa Ede, and Andrea Lunsford. Southern Illinois University Press, 1984) Aristotle on Ethos If Aristotles study of pathos is a psychology of emotion, then his treatment of ethos amounts to a sociology of character. It is not simply a how-to guide to establishing ones credibility with an audience, but rather it is a careful study of what Athenians consider to be the qualities of a trustworthy individual. (James Herrick, The History and Theory of Rhetoric. Allyn and Bacon, 2001)Fundamental to the Aristotelian concept of ethos is the ethical principle of voluntary choice: the speakers intelligence, character, and qualities comprehended by goodwill are evidenced through invention, style, delivery, and likewise incorporated in the arrangement of the speech. Ethos is primarily developed by Aristotle as a function of rhetorical invention; secondarily, through style and delivery. (William Sattler, Conceptions of Ethos in Ancient Rhetoric. Speech Monographs, 14, 1947) Ethical Appeals in Advertising and Branding Some types of oratory may rely more heavily on one type of proof than another. Today, for example, we note that a great deal of advertising uses ethos extensively through celebrity endorsements, but it might not use  pathos. It is  clear from Aristotles discussion in Rhetoric, however, that, overall, the three proofs work in conjunction to persuade (see Grimaldi, 1972). Moreover, it is equally clear that ethical character is the lynchpin that holds everything together. As Aristotle stated, moral character . . . constitutes the most effective means of proof (1356a). An audience is just not likely to respond positively to a speaker of bad character: His or her statement of premises will be met with skepticism; he or she will find it difficult to rouse the emotions appropriate to the situation; and the quality of the speech itself will be viewed negatively. (James Dale Williams, An Introduction to Classical Rhetoric. Wiley, 2009)On its face, personal branding as reputation managemen t shares some basic traits with the ancient Greek concept of ethos, which is commonly understood as the art of convincing ones audience that one is prudent or exercises good judgment (phronesis),  is of good moral character (arà ªte), and is acting with good will toward ones audience (eunoia). Historically, scholars of rhetoric have seen the basis of persuasion as a speakers capacity to understand and tailor ones message according to the complexities of social situations and human character. Ethos, broadly speaking, is understood as the rhetorical construction of a speakers character. (Christine Harold, Brand You!: The Business of Personal Branding and Community in Anxious Times. The Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture, ed. by Matthew P. McAllister and Emily West. Routledge, 2013) Ethical Proof in Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal The specific details by which Swift builds up the ethical proof fall into four categories descriptive of the projector: his humanity, his self-confidence, his competence in the immediate subject of the proposal, and his reasonableness...I have said that the projector is a bit cocksure. He is also manifestly humble and modest. The proposal is a modest one. It is introduced in generally modest terms: I SHALL NOW therefore humbly propose my own thoughts ...; I do humbly offer to public consideration. . . . Swift has blended these two qualities of his projector in such a way that both are convincing and that neither quality overshadows the other. The result is a pleader whose humility is justifiably tempered by the sure knowledge that he has something to offer Ireland, to her everlasting benefit. These are the explicit indicants of the moral character of the pleader; they are reinforced and dramatized by the whole tone of the essay. (Charles A. Beaumont, Swifts Classical Rhetoric. Univer sity of Georgia Press, 1961)

Free Essays on Mills Vs. Hospers

Mill’s utilitarian moral theory and Hospers libertarian moral theory disagree with each other about what is morally correct to do under certain circumstances. In many ways Mill’s utilitarian moral theory would be considered the right way or the only way. In contrast, Hospers libertarian moral theory would also be the right way or the only way. If one could combine the two theories together, then I believe, an almost perfect moral theory would be established. The only problem is that Mill’s and Hospers theories tend to disagree with the basic structures of each other’s theories. It would be almost impossible to combine the two together. I just feel that both theories have their strong points to bring the â€Å"greater good† to society and individuals, unfortunately, because of their differences; it would be too impossible to combine them together. â€Å"Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.†(Mill). When Mill speaks of happiness, he doesn’t just mean the happiness of the person acting, but instead everyone that is affected by the action. This requires us to maximize the total amount of happiness and to minimize the happiness of the individual. A big building is on fire and you have the choice to either run out the door as fast as you can or to spray the fire with an extinguisher so that many others could make it out alive. If you choose to save your own life then you are not looking out for the greatest happiness principle. If you choose to sacrifice your life so that great amounts of people can have their life spared, then you are following the principle of the greatest happiness. Mill’s utilitarianism when faced with the moral dilemma identifies appropriate ideas but offers no way to gather necessary information to make the right decision. The lack of information is a big problem in evaluating what the right moral choice should b... Free Essays on Mills Vs. Hospers Free Essays on Mills Vs. Hospers Mill’s utilitarian moral theory and Hospers libertarian moral theory disagree with each other about what is morally correct to do under certain circumstances. In many ways Mill’s utilitarian moral theory would be considered the right way or the only way. In contrast, Hospers libertarian moral theory would also be the right way or the only way. If one could combine the two theories together, then I believe, an almost perfect moral theory would be established. The only problem is that Mill’s and Hospers theories tend to disagree with the basic structures of each other’s theories. It would be almost impossible to combine the two together. I just feel that both theories have their strong points to bring the â€Å"greater good† to society and individuals, unfortunately, because of their differences; it would be too impossible to combine them together. â€Å"Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.†(Mill). When Mill speaks of happiness, he doesn’t just mean the happiness of the person acting, but instead everyone that is affected by the action. This requires us to maximize the total amount of happiness and to minimize the happiness of the individual. A big building is on fire and you have the choice to either run out the door as fast as you can or to spray the fire with an extinguisher so that many others could make it out alive. If you choose to save your own life then you are not looking out for the greatest happiness principle. If you choose to sacrifice your life so that great amounts of people can have their life spared, then you are following the principle of the greatest happiness. Mill’s utilitarianism when faced with the moral dilemma identifies appropriate ideas but offers no way to gather necessary information to make the right decision. The lack of information is a big problem in evaluating what the right moral choice should b...

Advertising and Sex

Sex and indecency are very mature areas and should not be used loosely. In todays society almost anything goes. This should not hold true for certain areas; like sex. I intend to use many examples of sex in advertising and various studies to show how this strategy is not only over used, but is improperly used and viewable to all consumers, including young children. The advertising industry has taken a low blow at society and needs to focus their attentions on preserving human decency and uphold a higher standard of moral concern. What are we really dealing with here?As time grows older, the acceptance of more and more ideals is growing by the second. Not only ten years ago were standards different. I remember when girls couldnt wear shorts that came higher than four finger widths above their knees to school. Today this standard is not only unheard of, but laughed at. Foul language on television is more accepted. Video games are more graphic than ever before and advertisements are using the idea of sex or sexuality to sell products to all ages (including video games: they now have nudity in video games). Do we really want our children growing and learning room these explicit images?How can companies sleep at night knowing they are using corrupt techniques to sell products to our children? We are talking about corporate social responsibility (CARS). CARS is defied that a corporation should be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities, and their environment (McGraw-Hill, 1999, peg. 3). Companies have two choices in this world today. They can either be for CARS or against it. This paper will use both sides of the coin to view the argument about sexuality in advertising. Is the burger really that good?The advertisement industry is a no-holds-barred industry where just about anything goes. Companies need to focus their attention on their CARS more than getting the edge in ads. We might ask ourselves, who exactly is watching these ads? Who are they intended for? What are they selling? Sometimes an advertisement can actually be confusing as to what is being sold. I do not agree with a sexual display for irrelevant products. The reason I take an anti- sexuality view on the subject started from a Carols Jar. Commercial. In this particular commercial, Paris Hilton was displayed eating a Caracals. Ambusher. While eating she was dressed in black bathing suit crawling over a Bentley. Some might find it attractive and enticing while others find this a little explicit for them. This commercial is basically soft-core porn. The way she moves, the way she puts her finger in her mouthits very suggestive and very titillating (http://money. CNN. Com/2005). Said Melissa Caldwell, research director for the Parents Television Council (APT). Carols Jar. Responded by saying that the group needs to get a life. This isnt Janet Concessionaires no nipple in this.Its a beautiful model in a swimsuit washing a car (http:// none. CNN. Com/2005). The APT is very concerned about this matter considering this commercial airs in the hours of popular television shows such as The O. C. And sporting programs. Milton Friedman (1970) would agree with Carols Jar. Friedman believes in the interest of the business and the business only. In his article with the title that speaks his opinion, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits, Friedman states that only people have responsibilities business as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities (Freidman, 1970, Peg. ). From Friedmans point of view if this immemorial, which more than likely improved profits, did not air because of some social value or norm then the company lost money. More specifically they would be spending someone elses money; the stockholders. The corporate executive made a decision to improve revenue for the company, which in turn makes more money for stockholders. He is not about to hold back from higher profits because of some social backlash. In the world of advertising sometimes bad press is good press. !Hold! A Mexican restaurant showed a lascar-clad woman posed with her hands on her hips over the headline 0 Tickle my Taco (Rotifer, 2003). In this case the owner probably thought this would be a good slogan to have. What he doesnt realize that the use of irrelevant sexual innuendos is actually more distracting attracting. He actually thought this was the best campaign he had ever had because of the numerous complaints he got. Another backfire experience involves a trucker business that had passed out calendars for his business with half naked women on each month.This was thought to be a perfect ad scheme until most of the people with the calendars actually forgot the name of his company. Advertising creators are so myopic as to believe hat publicity from offending people is always beneficial. They do not see it as being a distraction from saying positive things about the restaurant or store (Rotifer). Joe cool? Advertising is not created and used just to provide a smug example of public morality; advertising is honest because it has to be. What I mean by honesty is the product information is not all ways how it is displayed.Lets address the issues of what we care about, the way we raise our children, our ideas of right and wrong conduct, these in my view are all together. Lets take a look at liquor and tobacco advertising. The image of the Marlboro Man is one example. This type of advertisement depicts a buff, handsome, cool man smoking a cigarette. What message is this conveying to our young people? That it is cool to smoke. We all know it has been proven that smoking cigarettes can cause cancer. This type of advertisement causes the consumer to subliminally change their opinion of various items.This is why most advertising is geared towards the younger more susceptible crowd. Firebombed and who? The Caracals. Case is not alone in sexual content. Sex is everywhere we look in todays society. In The Prevalence of Sexual Imagery in Ads Targeted to Young Adults, Firebombed Fitch made an advertising attempt at combining a magazine with a catalog. They call it the analog. In this analog they TA regret young adults by using sexual imagery throughout their products. They increased their revenues from $50 million to over SSL . 5 billion in 2001.From these numbers one could say that sex does sell. In a survey taken in 2001 results found that 44% of young adults (age-24) said they are more likely to buy the clothes if the ad contains sexual imagery (Richter, 2003). Others may not agree that sex sells. Most people (61 %) report that sexual imagery in ads makes them less likely to buy the products (Richter). This quote was taken from the same article, but was used as a generalization about all people young and old. Other than being aimed at a much too young audience, there are more issues that are raised with sexuality in ads.Who wants to look like a celebrity? Lets talk about images. For example, most advertisements for clothing (I. E. Bathing suits etc), show shapely thin women and men. This has led our country to think that fat is demeaning and not socially accepted. This type of advertising has caused everyone to want to look like the people in the ads. Diets of all sorts have been developed to try to meet these expectations. But when their goals are not reached it causes depression, low self-esteem that in turn causes a poor image is developed.In my opinion these advertisements have a negative outreach. Who is to say only thin people look great? Advertisements do. These ads also have created anorexic teenagers, which has lead to serious health problems and even death. Advertisements often do not explicitly urge the consumer to buy a given product; rather they promise hat the products will enhance a persons life. If a stunningly attractive person claims to use a beauty product, that product may be assumed to be an element of the beauty formula.Ads arguing that consumers will be more attractive, accepted or appealing to other offer relevant to teens and young adults, for whom dating and group memberships are important (Richter). I Whats it goanna be? From one of my readings I have gathered two hypotheses about advertising that find relevant to our study. Hypothesis 1: A higher proportion of ads with sexual imagery appear in ads targeted to young adults compared to those targeted to mature adults. Hypothesis 2: Overall, ads contain a higher proportion of sexually dressed women than men (Richter).These two combined show that most advertising is targeted towards young males and that females are the primary source of sexual content in media and advertising. This could possibly lead to a bad outcome. Studies have shown that males viewing these sexual ads of women are far more accepting of sexual aggression towards females, including rape. These studies agree with the theories of Moses Papa (1997). Papa believes hat there are four criteria to our thought of social responsibility and that there is a trade-off between three of these four.These areas are; local knowledge, level of responsibility, shared consensus and relationship to financial performance. We find that most of the time local knowledge and relationship to financial performance are the one being traded off. Local knowledge would mean that the company designing the ad would know the background of the product being displayed and the target audience. Most of the time they do not take the product and audience into consideration, as we have seen. These companies are more focused on the relationship to financial performance: making a profit.Reaching perfect social responsibility seems very unattainable. These four criterion were setup as a guideline to reach such a goal. No program will meet all of these standards. They are purposely couched as ideals to be pursued, rather than as minimalist goals to be obtained easily (Papa). Whos doing it right? The idea of Corporate Social Responsibility is an optimistic outlook for todays society. A perfect example would be the Cummins Engine Company. Year after year this company insisted on donating to charitable foundations. And year after year they were threatened by bankruptcy.Any business or economics professor will tell you that their choices were not the smartest in the world. Their short term benefits suffered greatly because of these choices. Their long term, however have not suffered. They now produce over $5 billion in revenues each year. The iron law of responsibility states that in the long run, those who do not use power in ways that society considers responsible will tend to lose it (McGraw-Hill, peg. 4). Cummins Engines saw their long run capabilities and stuck with them. They prove the stewardship Renville that profits and social responsibility can coexist.

Essay questions For Human resource course Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Questions For Human resource course - Essay Example cruitment and selection of employees, the compensation and benefits system, the documentation work of the entire workforce, and lastly performance appraisals and evaluations comprise of the human resources audit. HR audits are conducted to ensure that the human resources are performing well and the audit identifies the strengths of the workforce and also the areas that require improvements. HR audits can be conducted twice or thrice in a year to ensure that things are working as per requirements and goals and objectives are being attained successfully. The structural changes in the organization may affect the labor market sector, the economy upturns and downturns may cause the labor to make decisions regarding changing jobs and demanding more pays from their respective organizations. The HRM needs to carefully consider the needs of their employees and accordingly address the needs of their employees; policies and benefits package of the employees may require a revision. The strategic human resource plan needs to be developed keeping in view the external environment as well as the internal environment of the organization. The policies, rules and regulation are formed keeping in view the legal environment of the country where the business is operating; the technology is used to ensure that the firm remains competitive. The decisions taken by the human resources department are impacted by the outside forces to a very large extent. The strategic choices that managers should make regarding Equal Employment Opportunities are that they need to ensure there is no biasness in their policies, the compensation and benefits packages should be on fair grounds amongst the workforce. The working conditions should be proper for the workforce and there should be no gender biasness as well. Managers should conduct a job analysis to ensure that they recruit and select the right employees for the respective job so that the roles and duties of the job are fulfilled according to

How new media has changed the way in which individuals communicate Coursework

How new media has changed the way in which individuals communicate - Coursework Example This paper discusses the ways and means through which the new media has been able to make its mark on the technological landscape and the leeway that it provides to the individuals to communicate with the rest of the world. The new media has sparked a lot of interest amongst the men and women in the present times. This has suggested for their immense growth and development amongst the related ranks. The need is to decipher the exact meaning of the new media before one moves ahead further. How this new media has manifested for immense growth and the related basis is something that shall remain in the coming times as well. With the arrival of the social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the like, the world has become connected in the sheer sense of the word. The new media has made all these tangents come into the reckoning with one another and the possibilities seem endless all the same (Hammer, 1999). The blogs, podcasts, webinars, ezines, bulletin boards, etc. a re just a way to get along with what’s hot and what’s in. It asks of the people to remain in touch with each other and be glued to their respective screens for a long period of time. This is an essential understanding that has come about with the passage of time. What remains to be seen is the fact that these blogs, podcasts, webinars allow the users of the Internet and the new media to experience individuality and uniqueness that they had never witnessed before. They get along with new thoughts and reckonings which were unexplored and untapped in the past, and this makes the entire exercise of getting along with the new media manifestations in a very ideal setting. The new media technologies have provided no boundaries at all to the users of such advancements and innovations. The limits seem endless and there are immense reasons to believe such premises. The introduction of the social networking tools and websites has basically put the entire emphasis on setting thing s right, on making available resources which were unheard of in the past, and in highlighting the shortcomings that were well-known in the yesteryears, prior to the induction of the social networking technologies and advancements. What is even more interesting is the phenomenon that highlights the very basis of attaining significance within the changing dynamics of the technological domains, and how users can collectively as well as individually gain their niche in the related scheme of things. Having said that, it is important to draw the line between what is termed as acceptable and what is deemed as otherwise. In today’s environment, the use of blogs, podcasts and webinars has provided amenities which no other technology in the past did. Now organizations can get in touch with other business domains or even individuals to find out about new business opportunities or to hire people from a different world region altogether. There seem to be endless possibilities in the waiti ng and the role of the social networking regimes has only highlighted the strengths that remain within such quarters (Grant, 2006). It is a fact that the world of Internet has brought about a giant paradigm shift within the understandings that are reached upon, as far as the methodologies of the social net

Narni Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank Limited [1998] VSC 146 Essay

Narni Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank Limited [1998] VSC 146 - Essay Example The conduct of National Australia Bank Limited clearly shown there was an agreement to exceed the overdraft Limit hence creating an implied term in the contract which barred the bank from terminating the extended overdraft limit without a notice. Narni suffered losses from the dishonor of the cheques hence had to sue the bank for damages. Implied term of arrangement and why significant for Narni and banker- customer relationships According to the agreement made between the bank and Narni, overdraft limit was $ 65,000 hence honoring $ 40,000 would exceed the approved limit. However, their October 1988 agreement provided for provision of finance for the renovations which were being carried out by Carrum Nursing Home and at the same time the bank would continue honouring the cheques notwithstanding the approved limit of $ 65,000. By the implied conduct of the two parties, the approved limit was varied to $ 100,000 hence creating an â€Å"overdraft extension†. At the end of 1988, all assets of Narni had been financed by loans to the total of $ 896,165 hence Narni was responsible for making $ 66, 718 per annum installments as payments for the loan. Majority of the income also came from Federal Department of Health and Community services (DCS) as advance payments at the beginning of each month. The total income of 1988 stood at $ 225 M where patient contributions were below $ 400, 000 with majority of the income being advance payments by DCS at the rate of $ 150,000 per month. From the account transactions history, the account always had a credit balance at the beginning of each month and a debit balance at the end of the month. DCS would pay between $ 90,000 to $ 124,000 as initial payment to the account and another final payment after two weeks which made that the balance would be above the extended overdraft limit of $ 100,000. However, withdrawals would occur evenly throughout the month with majority being wage payments which accounted for 62%of expenses w hich translates to $ 1.4 M which was paid after every two weeks. In some months, wages would amount to $ 120,000. The Branch manager would approve overdraft facilities depending on the account balances of the account. Below is a summary of the account balance for the six months from January to June 1988. Month Start Balance Zero Balance Date End Balance January 1988 $99,716.09 CR (5/1) 20 $24,669.34 DR (1/2) February 1988 $66,069.68 CR (2/2) 19 $47,512.02 DR (1/3) March 1988 $59,282.35 CR (2/3) 17 $69,168.08 DR (6/4) April 1988 $26,683.13 CR (7/4) 14 $94,162.28 DR (3/5) May 1988 $1,533.12 DR (4/5) 2 $87,897.80 DR (1/6) June 1988 $7,016.25 CR (2/6) 10 $71,675.53 DR (1/7) From the account balance figures, extended credit facility was provided in every month while payments in to the account from DCS delayed were delayed in some months meaning the account would still have a debit balance at the beginning of the month and an overdraft would still be approved. In July 1988, the same trend continued with automatic payments from DCS of $ 109, 608 leading to account credit balance of $ 29, 582. From the transactions of July 1988, the end of the month account balance was overdrawn. The account reflected a debit balance at the start of August 1988 but it was reduced by a deposit of $ 85, 671 to settle to a debit of only $ 1,375. In September, the account was overdrawn to a

Managing for Competative Advantage Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing for Competative Advantage - Assignment Example The review also includes an evaluation of the performance of both the management teams through financial and non-financial parameters, and finally gauges the true competitive position of M&S in the market. . Myners and Rose assumed control of the company's leadership by replacing the team of Vandevelde and Holmes. There seem to be significant distinction in the approaches of both the management teams in restoring the M&S competitive advantage. The main focus of the previous management had been on the enhancement of clothing market share and Roger Holmes (Annual Review 2003, p3) highlighted the three major domains of their efforts as furthering amelioration in the stronger clothing categories (women formal wear), following the growth chances in low share clothing categories (men's wear) and finally revolutionising the weak categories (children wear). However despite all these efforts, the previous management ended up in losing its significant market share in the clothing market, in particular womenswear which used to the core area of the company's business and profits (Annual Review 2003, p6). The entire focus of the new management team, however, seemed more strictly on the price and product innovation and improvement. They approached to regain the company's lost market share and competitive position through price benchmarking and product innovation to provide more value to the customers and consequently to win in the competitive environment (Annual Review 2005, p4). Marketing The previous management utilised marketing and advertisement in the course of various product campaigns (Annual Review 2004, p8). The company's marketing tactics also underwent change under the new management, which emphasised clearly on a unified M&S brand rather than focusing on a vast range of sub-brands. It focused on strengthening and bringing together the various M&S brands and reflected its traditional relationship with core customers in its marketing and advertisement campaigns (Annual Review 2005, p5). Human Resources Human resources and people management has been the core issue concerning both the management teams. The previous management was however less focused in its strategies to develop the M&S people. Furthermore, in the process of store refurbishment and improvement, the previous team (Annual Review 2004, p5) indicated an intention to lay off about 1000 workers in order to control costs. This could have led to a decline in employee morale and performance. The new management focused on a people amelioration approach, it further took care of its human resources in a much-enhanced manner through proper and evident training, rewarding, developing and listening strategies (Annual Review 2006, p17) to improve employee performance and motivation levels. . Operations The former management team posed great emphasis on opening new stores and carrying out renovation in the older ones making them look more contemporary and convenient so as to win more customers in the competitive marketplace (Annual Review 2004, p16). Furthermore, it also identified the need for ameliorating the supply chain management and sourcing of products to win a competitive edge in the market (Annual Review 2004, p9). The new management team came with a sharpened approach to revolutionising store

Lifelong Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Lifelong Learning - Essay Example H G Wells was correct when he said that 'the whole of human history is a battle between education and catastrophe' (cited in Fischer, 2000, p. 265). Those of us immersed in a lifelong learning culture can all sense that the new millennium brings with it the opportunity for a new beginning. But we can all see, as well, the scale of the task ahead just to make it happen, perhaps starting in our own communities and branching out from there with new understandings, new persuasions, new insights, new wisdom. Thanks to inter-governmental organizations-UNESCO, OECD, APEC, the Council of Europe, The European Commission and others - and some of the more enlightened liberal democracies, the lifelong learning movement is now rampaging around the whole world, from Europe to South Africa and from North America to Japan, like a benign educational plague. It is the future-and it is not before time. In Lifelong Learning, written 12 years ago, Longworth and Davies suggested eight reasons why lifelong learning is particularly appropriate for this age. But nine years is a long time in a lifelong learning world. While some are still as relevant as on the day they were written, it is time to update the rest to take into account the changes in the meanwhile: Fundamental global demographics-in the rich developed world, ageing, more mobile, more multicultural and multi-ethnic societies which could release high inter-racial and inter-generational social tensions and a reduced investment in welfare programmes through a fall in working, and an increase in retired, populations. By contrast, in the poorer parts of the world a massive population growth exacerbating already chronic shortages of resource and education and condemning vast numbers of people to live at subsistence level and below... The pervasive influence of television and the media on the development of peoples' thoughts, ideas and perceptions. Television has an enormously powerful effect on people. Where it is in the hands of those who would use it as an instrument of propaganda, whether raw or subtle, as happens in both poor and rich countries, it can be used to foster hatred and intolerance. Where it is used purely as an instrument of entertainment, it can, through trivialization and ignorance of real issues, have an equally insidious effect on the ability of people to make informed choices. As an occasional, independent, instrument of education it could be used to transform nations into dynamic, well-educated and flexible lifelong learning societies (Marsick, 1998, p. 119). Environmental imperatives - the depletion of the world's resources and the need for renewable energy, the destruction of ecosystems and the demand for sustainable development. There is a crucial need to educate continually all the world's people in environmental matters as a basis for the survival of species on earth and to be inventive and innovative about how environmental information is kept constantly in the forefront of popular consciousness. In other words, the need for a lifelong learning approach to a lifelong survival issue (Swedburg & Ostiguy 1998, p. 27). These are issues affecting every society and they propagate a view of lifelong learning as a global phenomenon, entirely consonant with the reality of governmental perceptions.

Film Franchises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Film Franchises - Essay Example The Harry Potter (#5,7,11,14) film franchise, meanwhile, is a pentalogy while the Star Wars series (8,17,20) is an octology (IMDb. All-Time Worldwide Box Office). It is worthwhile to mention that the James Bond film franchise, which consists of a series of 23 films ranks first The hereinabove data is a potent proof of the reality that in the movies, moviegoers would rather prefer to patronize movies which they are familiar with in terms of the characters and the story lines and which they know beforehand that there is a high possibility of them enjoying the movies to the hilt. They would rather not risk their money and time with films which they are not so sure whether the quality, the acting and the direction and the story would be to their liking. Like in books, comic strips, TV serials, one good thing must lead to another. are a ready, hard-core audience, a marketing hook and a possibility of generating new fanatics by simply improving the visual quality of the succeeding serials through the taking advantage of advances in cinematic technology especially the special effects phase of film making. Sadly though, many movie producers fail to sustain the movie going public's interest in their purported movie franchises, inevitably run out of steam and end up only in the sequel stage. Others run short of ideas and need the most opportune time to stage another reboot or even a prequel to continue the movie franchise undertaking. An example of this is The Chronicles of Narnia which had already netted more than $1.168 billion but is at the moment stymied in its production of a third serial, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, due to a finalisation of a more convincing and appealing screenplay (Sammons 2004, p.48). The most crucial challenge to all though, would be how to vigorously maintain the franchise's commerc ial appeal and potential and yet make it firmly self-contained as a narrative so that it will not end up churning a "series that outstays its welcome" (Thompson 2008, p.7). History of Film Franchises The movie world took a while to discover the magic and the marketing power of film franchises. Since the birth of cinema on December 28, 1895 when French

Lifelong Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Lifelong Learning - Essay Example H G Wells was correct when he said that 'the whole of human history is a battle between education and catastrophe' (cited in Fischer, 2000, p. 265). Those of us immersed in a lifelong learning culture can all sense that the new millennium brings with it the opportunity for a new beginning. But we can all see, as well, the scale of the task ahead just to make it happen, perhaps starting in our own communities and branching out from there with new understandings, new persuasions, new insights, new wisdom. Thanks to inter-governmental organizations-UNESCO, OECD, APEC, the Council of Europe, The European Commission and others - and some of the more enlightened liberal democracies, the lifelong learning movement is now rampaging around the whole world, from Europe to South Africa and from North America to Japan, like a benign educational plague. It is the future-and it is not before time. In Lifelong Learning, written 12 years ago, Longworth and Davies suggested eight reasons why lifelong learning is particularly appropriate for this age. But nine years is a long time in a lifelong learning world. While some are still as relevant as on the day they were written, it is time to update the rest to take into account the changes in the meanwhile: Fundamental global demographics-in the rich developed world, ageing, more mobile, more multicultural and multi-ethnic societies which could release high inter-racial and inter-generational social tensions and a reduced investment in welfare programmes through a fall in working, and an increase in retired, populations. By contrast, in the poorer parts of the world a massive population growth exacerbating already chronic shortages of resource and education and condemning vast numbers of people to live at subsistence level and below... The pervasive influence of television and the media on the development of peoples' thoughts, ideas and perceptions. Television has an enormously powerful effect on people. Where it is in the hands of those who would use it as an instrument of propaganda, whether raw or subtle, as happens in both poor and rich countries, it can be used to foster hatred and intolerance. Where it is used purely as an instrument of entertainment, it can, through trivialization and ignorance of real issues, have an equally insidious effect on the ability of people to make informed choices. As an occasional, independent, instrument of education it could be used to transform nations into dynamic, well-educated and flexible lifelong learning societies (Marsick, 1998, p. 119). Environmental imperatives - the depletion of the world's resources and the need for renewable energy, the destruction of ecosystems and the demand for sustainable development. There is a crucial need to educate continually all the world's people in environmental matters as a basis for the survival of species on earth and to be inventive and innovative about how environmental information is kept constantly in the forefront of popular consciousness. In other words, the need for a lifelong learning approach to a lifelong survival issue (Swedburg & Ostiguy 1998, p. 27). These are issues affecting every society and they propagate a view of lifelong learning as a global phenomenon, entirely consonant with the reality of governmental perceptions.

Japanese culture Essay Example for Free

Japanese culture Essay 1. Briefly discuss the Japanese business practices. Business traditions and practices are greatly influenced by the culture in which they function. The values of a culture help to define the underlying structure and philosophy of business. Many traditions and practices within a culture are often integrated into the countrys businesses.   Japanese culture greatly affects its business practice on all levels. It is a unique country with many distinct cultural traditions. As a result, cultural traditions tend to be uniform and community is central to daily life. Culturally, the Japanese are rather introverted in their ways, focusing on their own culture and traditions. A strong sense of community, family, and being part of a larger group and business family are central to the Japanese culture. The ritualistic traditions that are characteristic of the home environment typically spread to the social and work sphere of life. The Japanese culture maintains a very formal style of interactions. Even introducing oneself in Japan is formal in nature. Exchange of business cards is an obligatory custom at business meetings. The exchange of gifts is an accepted custom in Japan.   The Japanese bow is part of Japanese culture that expresses honor and greetings to a guest. Thus Japanese are well behaved in their business practices and try to do a lot of good stuffs which can influence the international relations. They believe in a business where trust exists. The do their level best to be recognized as nice people in the business market. 2. What is the appeal of the Japanese market for world business? The Japanese government and business leader’s marks deep changes in their market from closed to open while acknowledging its competitive nature (Shetty and Kim, 1995). They argue that all firms should understand their market and do provide the quality products and services demanded by the consumers. Large firms should offer lifetime employment, and employees may be reluctant to accept employment with foreign firms that do not. Furthermore, the firms must consider employment with a foreign company less desirable than employment with a domestic firm. It suggests that long-term relationships and mutual commitments in the market will encourage practices such as bidding and close parent company-supplier ties. â€Å"Japan appeals that the three factors to compete successfully in the world market is quality, followed by the ability to hire qualified employees and the attitudes of top corporate management.† (Shetty and Kim, 1995) Japanese focus on quality of products and services, keeping good personnel, hiring local staff, strong corporate head office with limited interference, reputation of the business, brand image, latest technology and strengthening value chain. These are some of the major deciding factors that help a firm to gain profits in the market. Besides, Japanese, have understanding of respect, they are persistent, they have perseverance and ability to develop strong global network. To increase the world business, the market should value advanced technology and innovation and should willing to try new products or technologies. Finally, establishing manufacturing and distribution facilities is a visible sign of a firms commitment. So the market must take care of it. But the main theme is that the market should value personal, harmonious, and long-term relationships with distributors, customers, suppliers, and employees. 3. Briefly discuss the major business trends and opportunities in Japans economy. Japan is the worlds second-largest and Asia’s largest economy. United States is the largest economy.   This is the only member of G8 from Asia. It is also a member of the UN Security Council on a temporary basis. In Japan the wages are highest in the world. From 1960s to1980s, there was a swift economic growth with a growth rate of 10%, 5% and 4%. The economy of Japan was in the state of turbulence in the late 1980s. The reason was falling stock and real estate prices.   By 1989 the situation turned worst. The Tokyo Stock Exchange crashed. During 1990s the country’s economic growth remained slow. The economy trend of Japan is a slightly uneven but it is continuously focusing on increasing the GDP. Japan has lot of business opportunities and it supports business activities. Eco-towns are being promoted in order to build a resource recycling-type economic society, which limits waste while encouraging recycling. Japan has developed a robust way of dealing with the pollution and completely self-sustainable industrial parks with zero emissions (JETRO). â€Å"The Kawasaki Foundation for Promotion of Industry (Kawasaki Small and Medium-Sized Business Support Centre) and KSP (Kanagawa Science Park) are providing various types of venture support, including assistance for businesses, help in establishing new enterprises, and educational research.† (JETRO)   Government is providing assistance from operations management consultation to assistance with publicity. 4.  Briefly discuss the different modes of entry to Japanese market. These are some common modes of entry in the Japanese market. A) It is possible to directly go to Japan and establish a firm. B) Local distributer and partners for the companies.   These are good way of entering to the market at the early stage of the business. c) Specialized business consultant can be hired. The market is matured. This forces the marketer to focus more on keeping the cost low and at the same time performance and features should be maintained. The quick increase in revenue is not possible in the Japanese market. Understanding of Consumer behavior is very important.   In approach ‘A’ one need to justify the stagnant revenue to the investors. After some years of experience in Japanese market, the revenue may grow with steady rate. Plan ‘B’ is a convenient way to enter the market. The reason is that here one is utilizing Japanese resources. However success largely depends on finding right distributor and partners, with good market connections, commitment on financial and operations. 5.  Ã‚  Compare and contrast the Japanese and the American commercials. The difference of American and Japanese advertisements appears to be in the degree and not in kind. The advertisement appeals of these two different countries are different. It is based on general employment of the traditional and respect of elders in Japan. Japanese appeal is based on moral values. The general usage of status is different. American advertisements have consumer based appeal. American advertisement is based on western values. The product merit appeals are higher in American advertisements as compared to the Japanese advertisements. The difference also exists in use of youthful or modernity appeals. Japanese advertisement is based on relationship model. 6.  Briefly discuss the Japanese way of product development The Japanese approach to product development emphasizes continuous technological improvement. It is also aimed at making a successful product and providing better solutions for the consumer needs. They have clear competitive vision of product development. They know what types of investments are required to maintain their market positions. Japanese manufacturers invest their resources into technology development, product development, productivity improvement and quality control and thus making the international market becomes more competitive. They focus on high-quality, high-performance products which are relatively inexpensive against those of the same level offered by European and American competitors and thus their products can be easily available to common man in the market. Japanese identify customer needs and develop new products and roadmaps for technological development on the basis of the same. They use modern technologies for keeping the cost low. They hire trained and skil led people and invest in technology and development of human resources. They emphasize on quality and minimization of the production cost.

Effects of Macroeconomic Policies upon a Single Organization

Effects of Macroeconomic Policies upon a Single Organization Understanding the Tree by Knowing the Forest The analogy of the forest and the trees is particularly apt in illustrating the difference between macro- and micro-economic areas of concern. Whereas microeconomics ‘operates’ at the level of the individual firm, manufacturer or even individual consumers, macroeconomics is principally concerned with the national or even global aggregate issues of these entities. In other words, if single firm is a tree, macroeconomics is concerned with the policies that ‘drive’ the forest. Thus, it must be kept in mind, the goals of the tree may not always be furthered by following the governance of the forest. Similarly, the policies that are best for the forest may not be in the best interests of any one tree. Utilizing this perspective, a brief examination shall be made of how macroeconomic â€Å"forest† policy might affect a single organizational â€Å"tree†. Depending on semantics and the exact metric utilized The YMCA is arguably the world’s largest human service organization. This nonprofit organization was founded in 1844 in London and rapidly spread across the world, now being active in over 140 countries. In the United States the YMCA has approximate 2,500 branches with nearly 20,000,000 members. Each of these operating units is independently governed by a local board of directors who hires the CEO. This position runs is the operations end of the business and is immediately responsible for the hiring of all other employees. Some operating units are quite small, perhaps having less than 10 employees while others have several hundred or more. Financial impact of a unit, in terms of projected revenue, could range from less than one hundred thousand dollars to nearly $100,000,000 (personal communication, J. Bean, retired YMCA Senior Director, October 6, 2005). One of the key concerns of macroeconomic policy is to maintain optimal employment levels (Keifer 1999, p. 59). While the wage policies of a single organization are very unlikely to affect the forest, a minimum wage policy does certainly affect individual organizations. On October 1, 1996, the US minimum wage increased from $3.85 to $4.75 per hour and increased again effective September 1, 1997 to $5.15 per hour (US Department of Labor, 2005). Though businesses had months to consider and adjust, the net effect, in the end, was that a 34% wage increase was evidenced. In an organization such as a YMCA unit, this had the potential of having serious consequences as there are a number of operating parameters different from many other businesses: The YMCA is a nonprofit organization. – While still being run as a â€Å"business†, the operating margins of nonprofit firms are typically much slimmer†¦ there are no real â€Å"profit margins†, there are no dividends or bonus and there is no excessive executive compensation. The YMCA employs and extensive part-time work force. – Many of these individuals are either entry-level or accept entry level wages. The YMCA is a service driven organization. – In many private sector businesses, firms get very nervous if total personnel costs exceed 30% of budgeted expenses. In a YMCA, depending on the exact program mix in a specific community, it is not uncommon to see human resource costs occupying 60% of the budget. With these factors in mind, it is easy to see how increases in minimum wage can disproportionately affect the bottom-line of service driven organizations. In 1996 or in 2005 (were their to be additional increases), there are but a number or strategies to be deployed. First, one can make ‘budget cuts’ and trim service levels. For a nonprofit meeting the needs of the community, this is generally unacceptable. A second solution is to increase the efficiency of human assets so that you are doing more with less. For example, if one had 10 employees at minimum wage ($5.25/hour) for an hourly expense of $55.25, the goal would now be to somehow â€Å"re-engineer† the process so that only six employees are required. This approach is a good one†¦ in the long run. In the short run, additional funds must be invested, often in technology, so that workers efforts are leveraged to a greater extent. Also, a potential problem with this solution is that many YMCA programs invo lve youth for which there a either government or organizational policies in regards to staffing ratios (i.e., in infant childcare programs, the ratio must not exceed one staff to four children). A third option is to increase revenue to cover the additional expense. In a YMCA, this can be achieved two ways: Increase earned revenue by increasing program fees. In this situation, increases would likely be tolerated as there is a bona fida increase in the cost of doing business. Increase contributed income by philanthropy. Faced with increasing operating costs and a compelling need for a program service, donors are often quite willing to help out a benevolent organization who demonstrates principles of good stewardship with existing assets. While employment policies are one example, the field of macroeconomic policies is one in which there is seemingly no such thing as an isolated variable. Increases in minimum wage policy are likely to trigger inflation (Knoop 2004, p. 39). Inflation, in turn, increases the cost of doing business, particularly as the cost commodity goods such as gas, oil, electricity and water increase. Again, the same three strategies present themselves to the operators of enterprise. A final example of how macroeconomic policies can impact the organization in question is that of federal monetary policy. While a nonprofit organization does not play the market per se, money is often borrowed for capital projects. A loose fiscal policy will drive interest rates down, creating opportune times for consideration of borrowing funds. A related consideration is the overall tone of the market. As nonprofit organizations are often the beneficiary of financial instruments, the specific tax advantages set by federal fiscal policy have an effect upon the generosity of some donors. In summary, the politics of the forest have a tremendous effect upon the trees. While the policies may, in the short run, create mild operational havoc, we must have some faith that the forest has our best interests at heart as a strong forest is better for all trees. Works Consulted Knopp, T. (2004). Recessions and Depressions: Understanding Business Cycles. Praeger: Westport, Connecticut, US. United States Department of Labor. (2005). History of Changes the Minimum Wage Law. [online] http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/coverage.htm. Accessed October 6, 2005.