Missing in Bermuda Review Essay Example

Missing in Bermuda Review Paper Essay on Missing in Bermuda In prose Alexei Slapovskogo always been something childish. Not in the sense that the author is infantile, but because the sage can afford to simply say not condescending, but cleaning up all the complexity of life to them a clear fact. Sometimes it looked like a splint, but for simplicity stood a wealth of experience and ability to generalize. The author is not something to keep readers for children unreasonable, but treated them as equals, understanding to whom it is not necessary to perk up and strike a pose. Such a tone and the best when talking with children, because it is not surprising that Slapovsky wrote a childrens book, interesting, and adults. Besides, he had always loved to write fairy tales. In the Atlantic, not far from the American coast, there is a place where get only those who turned out to be around and very much wanted to hell abyss to fall out of our world into some other (sometimes this entire crews of ships, aircraft or team of people, like the Soviet players, flying home with the infamous loser). All of them are on some island where no one grows old, and a desire to materialize out of thin air. Worse, that control these desires are not always possible. First, if someone got here in Bermuda, with a strong sense of, like hunger, headache or desire to kill it and it will always pursue. And secondly, the concrete fulfillment of desires depends on the imagination, the ability to imagine voobrazhelat, as they say here We will write a custom essay sample on Missing in Bermuda Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Missing in Bermuda Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Missing in Bermuda Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Control the island of the old-timers who have been here for thousands of years.. Once they were savages and cannibals, but our time is already quite civilized. After all, Bermuda is cut off from the worlds only one-sided. Newcomers bring here not only news, but also the technical means that can materialize: TVs and computers with internet Over the centuries the island has developed a political and administrative system, residing in the dynamic stability in the confrontation between the two big parties.: those who want to return home, and those who want to stay. It is believed that if the desire to leave Bermuda at the same time will be the majority of its inhabitants, it is collectively realized. True, there is still a quorum is not gaining. But stable times, it seems, come to an end, because here were (lost) two capable Russian boy brothers Vic and Nick. And all domestic childrens literature suggests that if in a magical land were Russian children be there Revolution Perhaps more childrens adventure took in the book the adventures of their parents, as they lost to the whole family.. It is clear that ride over Bermuda on the small airplane, not every Russian family can afford. Papa Wick and Nick on the financier profession, and my mother is simple, not very celebrated singer. But the problems they have known. Mom on arrival at the wonderful island is surrounded by admirers of his talent. Dad breaks into a lot of doubles. After all, at the time of flight of the island he had just suffered the inability to do different things at the same time. Now its easy it was divided into different its essence: a drunkard and a family man, father and reveler, and slacker husband, financier correct and shifty financier. Now, both adults and children need to learn to control their desires and motivations. Vick and Nick will have to first compete for the position of ruler of the land, and then find a way to all get out of here back home. The book ends with the announcement. The following tale about brothers writer will understand not with desire, but with the strongest of human emotions fear .

The Individual and Ethnicity Choice

The Individual and Ethnicity Choice Introduction Recent analysis of international affairs paints the picture that the world is embroiled in age-old ethnic conflicts. Proponents of this notion contend that people from different ethnic groups harbor deep hatred for one another, and are only restrained by modern civilizations.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Individual and Ethnicity Choice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They predict that, in the future, either the modern states will break up into smaller ethnic groupings or great civilizations will rise against each other (Gurr 43). However, the general agreement is that modern regional conflicts can be attributed to cultural differences and affective ties of tribal groupings. This notion does not foresee a situation where diverse people can coexist. In fact, most ethnic conflicts do not result from ethnic diversity; rather, these conflicts are often fueled by the struggle for power and sca rce resources such as land. This implies that in talking about ethnic conflicts, the assumption that ethnic identities are age-old and unchanging may be misleading. In other words, contrary to this assumption, ethnicity or race is a creation of contemporary politics that denies some people opportunities and gives others access to resources and power (Gurr 44). Cultural or religious differences have not, by themselves, resulted in ethnic conflict. Moreover, in modern times, culturally different people have learned one another’s cultural behaviors and have even intermarried, hence blurring contrasts between ethnic groupings. Contemporary Situation of Ethnic Conflicts In modern times, there is a common notion that ethnicity is age-old and often presents itself as ethnocentricism particularly in governance. In Eastern Europe, the current conflicts portray various ethnic groups as having strong nationalistic tendencies, which can only be suppressed by an autocratic government. In contrast, in the Western world, the American ‘melting pot’ suggests ethnicities are fast disintegrating while Eastern ethnicities must be suppressed by the autocratic leadership (Gurr 118). In former Yugoslavia, the Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs are different ethnic groupings, which, historically clashed from time to time over resources. However, due to intermarriages, the differences between these currently warring communities are actually so small. The Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs all speak Italian language and have coexisted in peace for a long time. Although these ethnic groups profess different religions-Serbs being mainly Orthodox, Croats being Roman Catholic and Bosnians being predominantly Muslim-still, each ethnic group comprises of considerable numbers of each religion. This, coupled with high rates of intermarriages, has blurred the differences between these groups.Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, it is clear that the cause of the current Balkan wars is not fueled by ancient religious and ethnic differences, but rather by the contemporary politics, which rally individuals around nationalistic ideologies. In this regard, ‘ethnicity’ is packaged as ‘nationalism’ in the pretext of gaining access to resources, land, and power. The Serb and Croat leaders advocated for a right to self-rule in nation states. Serbs on their part wanted to expand outwards and include other ethnic groups (Horowitz 77). Croats on the other hand held a different nationalistic ideology, which promised to keep out non-Croats. In this view, different nationalistic ideologies are factors that fuelled the massacre of Serbs during the Second World War and in the 1990s. The Effect of Colonialism The origin of ethnic conflict in Eastern Europe is different from that of Africa. African violence is not fueled by conf licting ideologies, but rather by ancient warfare between tribes that was propagated by the colonial powers (Horowitz 51). Ethnic conflict in Africa can be defined by four factors, namely; membership ties in a group, prejudice towards non-members, fear, and expectations about resource allocation. Ethnicities produce affection for in-group members, where the members prefer their â€Å"own† and exclude or discriminate against non-members (Gurr 87). Often, discrimination arises because of these strong in-group ties and loyalty. Usually, people have a positive social relationship with in-group members. A close relationship exists between the positive feelings between co-ethnics and the prejudice or fear for ethnic strangers. According to Horowitz, â€Å"contemporary politics breed fear and prejudice, which ultimately determine political behavior,† (91). In contemporary politics, politicians often use fear and prejudice against ‘out groups’ when seeking support from members of their race or tribe. In the United States, whites predominantly hold a social aversion to participation of blacks in mainstream politics. This stems from learned racist practices in the south. Past voting trends in the US, white voting behavior reflect an aversion towards blacks. In the African case, ethnic conflict, in the political perspective, is a product of the struggle over power and resources. True, in earlier decades, Africans identified themselves with their ethnic identity, or lineage. However, as people migrate to far places seeking for employment and trade opportunities; ethnic or racial identity has become less important (American Anthropological Association Par. 8).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Individual and Ethnicity Choice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Now, the conflict is rarely caused by ethnic differences but a struggle for scarce resources such as land, water and pastoral land. The colonial system determined that each person belonged to a particular ethnic identity within the colony. This meant that each had to belong or show loyalty to a particular African group. This was not restricted to Africa: in India, the British Empire promoted the Hindu nationalism where people identified themselves as either Hindu or Sikh. This later transformed to distinct ‘ethnic groups’ after independence. Other cases include the Maronites in Lebanon, Moluccans in Dutch and Karens in Burma where colonial states created groupings, which they christened as either ethnic or religious groups. Nevertheless, in modern times, the need for political autonomy, resources, jobs, and better livelihoods has become the new frontier for ethnic conflicts. Thus, age-old tribal loyalties have become less significant as people strive to attain better socioeconomic status. Ethnic Diversity and Conflict It is often assumed that ethnic diversity is the cause of ethni c conflict and political instability. To the contrary, ethnic diversity has less to do with tribal or racial conflicts. In ethnically diverse countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan, less inter-ethnic conflicts have been experienced compared to countries such as Somalia, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda that are relatively less ethnically diverse (Glenny 78). This indicates that ethnic diversity does not breed ethnic conflicts, but rather relationships of people relative to power that cause local conflicts. A good example is Indonesia. Indonesia is known for its suppression of political activism in East Timor (Glenny 85). This cannot be classified as an ethnic conflict, as the country has over three hundred ethnic groupings with distinct language and religion. In fact, the recent ethnic conflict has much to do with the struggle for control of local resources, specifically oil and gas resources. Ethnic diversity can sometimes affect national integration in most nation states. However, some co untries often succeed in fostering national integration while others fail. It all depends on the social cohesion policies implemented. In countries such as Rwanda and Burundi, where one ethnic group has been dominating over the others, avoiding ethnic conflicts requires concerted efforts to enhance national healing and reconciliation (Horowitz 86). Often systems where one or two major groups polarize regional politics are less stable compared to systems where smaller groups have an equal chance to participate in national politics.Advertising Looking for research paper on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An example is Malaysia where politicians established an all-inclusive political coalition that strengthened ties between diverse ethnic groupings, i.e. the Chinese communities and Malay people. In contrast, in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese people formed a government, which, however, split into two ethnic factions, Tamils and Sinhalese, resulted in ethnic conflict. Political systems can also be modified to accommodate diverse ethnic groups and prevent ethnic tensions. In Nigeria, for instance, after the Biafra war in 1965 a new political system that curved the country into 19 states comprising of the major ethnic groups, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, was implemented (Horowitz 119). The states comprised of multiethnic coalitions, which helped to foster cohesion and avoid ethnic tensions. However, competing political interests resulted to excessive fragmentations, and subsequently the recurrence of ethnic tensions. It is apparent that negative stereotypes, prejudice, and fear of members of other groups are effects of contemporary political choices made by leaders. Conclusion Contemporary ethnic conflicts are not based on ancient cultural or religious differences. In fact, studies have established that ethnic diversity does not necessarily lead to ethnic conflict. The competition for resources causes ethnic tension and violence. In addition, political choices made by the leaders often cause intergroup tensions. Hence, leaders who develop perverse nationalistic ideologies cultivate hatred, which eventually breeds ethnic violence. American Anthropological Association (AAA). â€Å"Statement on ‘Race’†. 17 May 1998. Web.9 Mar. 2013. https://www.americananthro.org/ConnectWithAAA/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2583 Glenny, Misha. The Fall of Yugoslavia. New York: Penguin, 1992. Print. Gurr, Ted. Ethnic Conflict in World Politics. Boulder, Colo: Westview, 1994. Print. Horowitz, Donald. Ethnic Groups in conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. Print.

W4-Q Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

W4-Q - Essay Example On the other hand, Kaplan & Hurd (2002) argue that partnership allows sustainability in organizations by establishing a strong link between organizations with common objectives. It enables them to utilize the available opportunities through a supportive approach. For example, an organization may source partnership with another company that possesses particular skills that are essential in production but are lacking. The partnership between Tata motors and organizations such as Ariba Inc. is a partnership whereby Ariba offers the automobiles company with assistance in management related issues. This partnership has led to the expansion of the market for Tata automobiles hence improved competition and reduced bargaining power of suppliers that has made it possible for the company to attract more suppliers in a rationalized manner. On the other hand, Ariba maintains competence through these partnerships and is renowned for its diversity in management solutions, which enables it to maintain a substantial number of clients. Gadman & Cooper (2005) argue that the more an organization is capable of identifying useful partners, the greater the chances of expanding its opportunities due to the fact that each partnering organization has unique capabilities that can be useful when shared, making it possible for businesses to utilize their potential to the maximum. The efficiencies gained through partnerships are mainly as a result of the organization’s efforts that are aimed at accomplishing organizational objectives. In essence, every organization entering in to a partnership seeks to benefit from it. Otherwise, partnerships would not be meaningful for organizations if they have no positive impacts on its productivity. Gensemera & Kanagaretnam (2004) observe that for high commitment in partnership to be accomplished, each partner needs to understand the benefits that are likely

The Seeds of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Assignment

The Seeds of the Arab-Israeli Conflict - Assignment Example As a result of this only accelerates civil war and violence to civilians intending to intimidate them. Palestinians have used a various form of terrorism like suicide bombs to obtain further Israel concessions (Bickerton 7). Fight for land ownership where by Israel fought a six-day battle to capture land from Jordan (West Bank) and in Egypt (Gaza), Palestinians contended that this is their territory. As a result, Palestine evacuated Jews from their country as a revenge triggering war between these nations (Matthews 56). Citing from a biblical perspective, holy places in Palestine and Israel representing who drinks to the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam constitutes a significant commonality between these two regions. They can’t withstand who links the Abrahamic faith triggering devastating religious conflicts between Jews, Christians, and Islam which is still evident today (Peters & Newman 17). In conclusion, this enmity and violence have continued for more than a half century and it has been responsible for the unfertile grounds that have undermined economic growth not only in the two countries but in the entire region. However, the international community has tried to mediate between the two countries and still it has yielded no fruits. For instance, signing of the Oslo Accords which did not end the conflicts. Thus, a practical solution to end the conflicts needs to identify as soon as possible to prevent more bloodshed, which is claiming innocent lives.

The software architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The software architecture - Assignment Example The software application architecture is a basic structure that should meet all the software application requirements including technical as well as operational. The objective of developing software architecture is that the under development software application should qualify all the quality parameters defined in the architecture. The generic quality attributes include but are not limited to the performance, modifiability, reliability, interoperability, maintainability, portability, efficiency, effectiveness and security. It is pertinent to mention here that the advantages of using the software application cannot be achieved if the software application does not accomplish the quality parameters specified in the software architecture.   A definition of the software architecture provided by the Mary Shaw and David Garlan has been modified and refined by Grady Booch, Rich Reitman, Philippe Kruchten and Kurt Bittner. Moreover, the same has been provided by Microsoft at their website: â€Å"Software architecture encompasses the set of significant decisions about the organization of a software system including the selection of the structural elements and their interfaces by which the system is composed; behavior as specified in collaboration among those elements; composition of these structural and behavioral elements into larger subsystems; and an architectural style that guides this organization. There are few principles or guidelines require remembering while developing architecture of the software application.

Food Industry Is A Continuously On Demand Industry Marketing Essay

Food Industry Is A Continuously On Demand Industry Marketing Essay Introduction Food industry is a continuously on demand industry that people are always need and want. Some economists and analysts claim that food industry is one of the most proof to economic slowdown. This makes this industry a resilient, reliable and profitable industry. The products and foods that are part of the booming industry includes, confectioneries, health products, biscuits, kids foods, animal foods, crackers, bakeries, cakes, vegetables etc. The wide range of products available offers ample of opportunities for business in this line, growth and progress in line with the advancement of technology and new channel of marketing. Definition of Strategic analysis This includes an implementation of strategy and approaches after taking into consideration various factors i.e. internal and external that directly and indirectly affects the company. Strategic analysis will analyze and assess various forms of strategy after considering the threats potential opportunities etc that the company could exploit in order to succeed and remain relevant to customers. A proper action and steps towards strategic decision and analysis will enable the company view all the potentials and weaknesses within the company and therefore will ensure the positive move in the future. The PEST analysis A PEST analysis is a business measurement tool that assesses and analyzes the factors of. Political, Economic, Social and Technological which then translated to the proper implementation of strategic decisions prior the results of PEST analysis. Factors affecting the Food Industry (PEST Analysis) 1) Political factors Political factors are the factors that include government intervention and barriers in terms of tax/tariff that could benefits the citizen or the government. Apart form that, it also includes the policy and systems that government adopt in regards of business friendly particularly in food industry. The likes of importing policy, regulation and procedures, policy of taking over, merger and acquisition that could affect the constant supply of foods to the country etc are part of political factors. 2) Economic factors Economic factors include stability, income parity, income status, purchasing powers, exchange rate, unemployment rates, interest rates etc. This will certainly affect the decision and actions taken by the company economically. As food is part of necessity and demand by people around the world, as every needs food to survive and living, we could say the industry is not much sensitive on the economic change and volatility. 3) Social factors Social factors include the trends and patterns of demands which due to the cultures, nationality, religious etc. Brand awareness on a country might differ with each others, income distribution, age, demographic, preferences, local and global attitudes towards certain things are different. As for food industry, its known that local preferences will determine the acceptance of food products. The local taste and likes must be met and this will require the business and companies to understand the local market before embarking into the local ones. 4) Technological factors Technological factors really affect the production and effectiveness of the plant and operation. As for the food industry we are seeing the advancement and improvement in terms of technology employed in food industry that as a result improve the yield, making it more efficient and reliable. Product innovation and improvement is also produced with the help of new technology, systems or techniques, This will then help the companies to produce high quality and better food products in terms of taste, health ingredients, safety etc. SWOT analysis. SWOT is analysis of all the possible factors of strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As PEST are just a tool that addresses the external factors that potentially affect the business, the SWOT seems will give better result and pictures of how the company should react with the business environments and settings that include internal and external factors. The SWOT analysis of Krafts Food industry (the company under study) is performed after analyzing the factors both form external and internal. 1) Strengths 1. Large Market Share In terms of market share, Krafts Food has been in forefront leader in the cheese and biscuits segments. There are the worlds second largest food manufacturer behind nestle in the world but leader in certain part of the world including Northern America and Canada. The fact that have captured quite substantial portion of market share is because the aggressive mergers and acquisition that had taken place for many years since Krafts early inception years. The mergers and acquisition have made a bigger company and able to capture their rivals customer and market. 2. Brand loyalty The current Krafts brands include: Balance Bar, Oreo, Jell-O, Maxwell House, Mikado, Nabisco, Tang, Oscar Mayer, Twist, Snack Wells etc. 3. New technology As for Krafts Food, they have the new technology as they invented quite new products and taste with the help of technology. Plus they acquired many firms with already have technology in place. This could give them a competitive advantage over their competitors. 2) Weaknesses 1. Lack of Marketing Strategy and Launching New Products It is seen that Krafts Food is having difficulty in launching and producing new products and foods. Due to the fact that they have been expanding by the mode of acquiring and merging with other established companies, therefore their variety of new products are very limited. 2. Declining Sales and Demand from Europe and Western Part Krafts Food is now experiencing a decline demand and sales in western part as well as European countries. The competition with other rivals and the leading food manufacturer Nestle is very stiff, as European are more opt to prefer Nestle rather than Kraft in that region. They also face heavy competition in chocolate and baking powder manufacturer, as many big companies in Europe such as chocolates manufacturer from Switzerland, premium brands from Belgium and United Kingdom are more established than Cadbury of Krafts Food. 3) Opportunities 1. New categories, products (i.e., organic, health-focused) People are more concern on the health- focused products including foods. This is a very good opportunity for Krafts to embark in this lucrative segment as the potential fro growth is so huge. They could leverage on the existing plant that they have and enhance their R n D in that particular segment or even joint venture with other related health focused products. 2. International markets Krafts Food involved in international business and they have many plants that operates in various parts of the worlds. They could use this opportunity to expand in that particular region and surround to increase market share and capture the new untapped market surround the region. 3. Operates in many fast growing categories The company (Krafts Food) is offering various products of foods from many categories such ranging from biscuits, health focus products, animal foods, cheesy based foods, crackers, bread and cakes, floor, chocolates , drinks, etc. That will enable them to compete in diverse categories apart from lowering the risk of concentrating in just few products of foods. 4) Threats 1. Competition Stiff competition in food industry in global scale since they are operating in international arena. They operates in many parts of the world and have to compete with the local manufacturers as well. Some of them are really capable of offering products that meet local taste and preference. Example such as in Malaysia perspective where we see Jacobs of Malaysia or Julies Sdn Bhd competing with global brand of Krafts Food. They seem to understand more on the local preference than the global player in biscuits and cookies line of products. 2. Industry consolidation With the consolidation and mergers as well as acquisition exercised by other firms globally, Krafts Food is also feel the pressure to compete with such firms. The industry now becomes more constraint and tight in terms of number of players in the industry as well as market share among companies. 3. Volatile COGS over short run With the increasing cost of goods, every industry will be impacted and this will reflect the growth of the companies in the sector. In some ways, this could also resist and restraint the strategies and products differentiation, sales and marketing etc, of the companies in food industry. Definition of strategy formulation It is very crucial and essential for Krafts Managers and to form appropriate and effective strategies in order to sustain and survive in the long run. Especially in the global issues that impacting companies in the world, management team of Krafts should think of strategies and approach to tackle those issues as well as external and internal factors of Krafts companies. 1) Krafts Marketing Strategy Some of the very strategic decision in their marketing strategies, is that the company sponsored the Kraft Musical Revue, a two-hour musical variety show. Their international operation is supported by a policy that focuses on local tastes of foreign consumers. Kraft was a major supplier during World War II. They also enhanced the collaboration and joint efforts with government of US. This somehow create and indirect promotion and establishing their name in domestic as well as international arena. 2) Differentiation strategy Emerging markets: Growth in the confectionary market will largely take place in emerging markets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Natural: Consumer demand for products that are free from artificial colors, flavors and additives and concern over the long term effects of artificial ingredients has driven growth in the confectionary industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Heritage and provenance: For chocolate manufacturers a key growth opportunity is for premiumization through either high quality country of origin (or even single estate) ingredients or by focusing on the quality of production methods. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Healthy and functional confectionery: Health continues to be a key innovation opportunity for confectionery managers in line with an ageing population and an obesity epidemic. Even if retailers develop the operational capabilities to manufacture and sell chocolate and gum based on these issues, they may not be perceived to have the brand credibility that are owned by more established confectionary manufacturers. A potential acquisition of this magnitude during a sluggish economic recovery implies Krafts commitment to grow its extend its brand in growing global markets while evaluating other products in its brand architecture. They also increased their investments into key consumer trends in quick meals, health and wellness, snacking and premium products. These has reinforced the brand and presence of Krafts Food in the market they are operating in. With the Kraft innovation and new technology they have been successfully implementing an invention or creative idea that creates value to consumers. Krafts have been able to constantly adapt and anticipate their needs. With the help of innovation, they create new product platform as well as improving their product features. This applies to products, processes, packaging, ingredients, and more. It is well supported by various Kraft business units such as RD, consumer comments and feedback and public relations, etc. Kraft has its own strong Research, Development Quality team of who all have a important role in innovating and producing the new Kraft. They are continuously develops new products that broaden range of products and compete in new categories. For example, Bagel fuls, the first all in one bagel and Philadelphia cream cheese. 3) Focus strategy Kraft also introduced many of its products in foreign markets. The company name changed in 1976 to Kraft Inc. to enhance the companys focus on food processing and to more emphasizing with the internationally known Kraft trademark. Reorganization accompanied the name change the move toward a more centralized structure was formed by dividing the company into divisions according to specific markets or products. What is Corporate Level Strategy? Corporate strategy is a strategy that determines what businesses a company is in, should be in, or wants to be in, and what it wants to do with those businesses. Its based on the mission and goals of the organization and the roles that each business unit of the organization will play. The acquisition of Cadbury has significantly enhanced the strength of Kraft Foods in the confectionery sector enables Kraft Foods to take advantage of Cadburys product development capabilities. They believe that confectionery markets are consolidating and it is very important for Krafts to control of the supply chain and growing portfolio of their own retailer brands. In addition, they could also experience the increasing expansion of markets such as Brazil, China, and Russia as well as other parts of the new emerging markets such as India and Mexico. Global collaboration of Krafts Food In line with its sustainability strategy, Kraft Foods has selected six key areas in which it feels it can have the greatest impact. These are transportation/distribution, agricultural commodities, energy, water, waste, and packaging. They have formed various collaboration and joint ventures with their distributors, retailers, packagers, outsourcers and business partners to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of these areas. In line with this effort, Kraft had reached an agreement to acquire Groupe Danones global biscuit business, snacks, cookies and crackers manufacturers. In competing at European biscuits portfolio, they (Kraft) had gone through the acquisition of brands like LU, Tuc, and Prince. As a result, Kraft also expanding and strengthening their footholds in China and other emerging markets as Malaysia and Indonesia They also hire the capable and good managers and directors in the emerging markets to oversee the operation and management. They are able to react faster to market changes and improving the revenues, operating income and cash flow. Brand Strategy of Krafts Food In todays very dynamics and complex business environment, the importance of brand and its reinforcement is one of the key areas of focus. The much bigger North Asian markets such as Japan also shows that long term significant further growth is potentially high. One example is to take a global concept and adapt it locally with consumers. For example, Oreo Krafts hot selling cookie in the US, and being produced less sweet to match consumers in China. Transform it into wafers and rolls to further connect with the way they eat their snacks. Oreo is now the no.1 biscuit brand in China and China is the no.2 Oreo market in the world after the US. Customers and stakeholders have evolved in respective to their needs and demands. In Asia, consumers are inclined towards having enough vitamins and minerals, and Krafts answers that by offering products that meet these needs. Tang Fruitrition is full with vitamins A, B, C and calcium. While in the US, where there is a high concern on obesity, Kraf ts offers and selling Sensible Solution products that features 100 calorie snacks (such as cookies and bars, puddings and crackers) to help people eat less with smaller portions, LiveActive cheese which popular of its s digestive health, and South Beach Living meals and snacks that are more like balanced diet meals with very great taste. Kraft wants to survive and expanding their presence in a positive way. With Kraft Foods being one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world, they need to understand such varied consumer preferences. Their portfolio is established to meet those needs, from snacks and premium foods, to convenience and health and wellness. As for countries like China, Russia, Brazil and ASEAN countries being biggest international markets for Kraft. They have created many products that are tailored to the needs of locals in order to please the customers and able to sustain successfully until today. As part of branding strategy of Krafts they will continue enhancing and strengthening the products line, quality and high taste of Krafts Food products that differentiate them with their rivals and competitors. Conclusion Kraft vision is always to make today delicious. They make some of the best-known brands around the globe. Brands like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats; Philadelphia cream cheese; Maxwell House coffee; Nabisco cookies and crackers and its Oreo brand; Jacobs coffees; Milka chocolates; and LU biscuits. They managed to creating reliable, consistent growth. Thats what theyre doing at Kraft, and their strategies are focusing efforts on build a high-performing organization, reframe segment/ categories, exploit sales capabilities (by merging or acquisition etc) and drive down costs without compromising quality. As they have sustained for many years and continued progress and growth, it is an icon of strategic management organization. They have made wise decision in their sales and marketing strategies, policy on globalization, organization structure, channel distribution, strategic management, human resources etc that enable to gain competitive advantages over their ri vals. They are well ahead over their competitors in terms of market share, acceptance, product innovation, revenue, etc due to the fact that Kraft Food really understand factors and matters to sustain and excel in food industry and supported by strong business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit of Kraft organization. Sources of references Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2007, Business Strategy second edition Needle D., 2000., Business in Context An introduction to business and its environment, Thomson Learning, 3rd edition, London Jeffrey S., Caron H., 2008, 2004., Foundations in Strategic Management., Thomson Learning, USA Henry A., 2008., Understanding Strategic Management., Oxford University Press Inc., New York Tae Gu Lee., 2003., Business and Management., Muyokpub., Korea Woo Jung Kim.,2007.,Automotive Industry Strategy.,Suhakpub., Korea Jeffrey S., 2003., Strategic Management of Resources And Relationships; Concepts and cases., John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York 22.11.2005., Doubts remain over GM., retrieved on 29.04,2009 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4461168.stm Retrieved on 29.04,2009 from http://www.gm.com/vehicles/services/ Retrieved on 29.04,2009 from http://www.greencar.com/articles/chevrolet-silverado-mild-hybrid-pickup-offers-fuel-savings.php Retrieved on 29.04,2009 from http://cafe.daum.net/sewn/HKXp/61?docid=qV81|HKXp|61|20090227121252q=Strategy%20innovationsrchid=CCBqV81|HKXp|61|20090227121252 HaSong.http://www.globalinsight.com/Scripts/registrationForm.cfm?ID=5gclid=CKCZhdLn5pkCFZUvpAodnFAzQg http://blog.daum.net/e-monde/8840409 http://blog.daum.net/ilsan1004/17235465?srchid=BR1http%3A%2F%2Fblog.daum.net%2Filsan1004%2F17235465 Ji Hyun Cho., 10.03.2009., In future GM.,retrieved on 29.03.2009., From http://bbs2.agora.media.daum.net/gaia/do/kin/read?bbsId=K150articleId=524234 Retrieved on 25.04.2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3913/is_200403/ai_n9404349/ www.daum.net/Kiasarang Retrieved on 25.04.2009 from http://www.cutter.com/research/2004/edge040302.html Retrieved on 29.04,2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership Retrieved on 30.04,2009 from http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/UPDATED-New-Leadership-at-GM/FdKJNIzyPE-48KPOWbikcQ.cspx

Essay --

Oprah Winfrey once said, â€Å"The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude† (Flanagan 118). This quote is a testimony to her personal life. Born in 1954 whenever African Americans were still fighting for equality, Winfrey had racism to endure. Additionally, her family faced much economic hardship. During her childhood, Winfrey encountered physical and sexual abuse. Somehow, she persevered against all odds to become one of America’s most significant philanthropists. Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to all because of her dexterity to conquer her adversities to attain any goal. Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, was only 18 years old whenever she gave birth. Winfrey’s father, Vernon Winfrey, was unaware that he had a child until months after she was born. He was excluded from Winfrey’s life originally, for he was a soldier away in Mississippi. That meant that Oprah would be receiving care from her mother and grandmother in the deepest of poverty (Weston 13). Winfrey said, â€Å"I am grateful for living in poverty because it makes success so much more rewarding† (â€Å"Dave and Oprah Recap†). After a few years, Winfrey’s mother traveled to Milwaukee for a job opportunity as a maid. She left Winfrey under the sole supervision of her grandma, Hattie May Lee. Winfrey later said, â€Å"I am what I am today because of my grandmother; my strength, my sense of reasoning, everything† (Weston 14). Hattie May had grown too sick to care for Winfrey, so she was sent to live with Lee in Milwaukee. Her new home was one room in a boardinghouse. Winfrey said, â€Å"I felt like I was an outcast. I don’t know why my mother ever decided she wanted me. She wasn’t equipped to take care of me. I was just an extra burden ... ...ty. She has transformed from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, all by having faith and perseverance. She believed that she had a higher purpose in life, and that God was leading her on the path to change the world. In fact, her final words on the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show, â€Å"To God be the glory† (Flanagan 106). Though she stumbled on this path due to resentment and anger, she returned to her good ways with the stern love from her father and a second chance at life. Winfrey was able to achieve great things by believing in herself and in others. She has contributed millions of dollars to help women, families, and children to be supported in education and in life. What makes Winfrey such a remarkable being is that she was able to overcome her adversities to achieve any goal. Her selfless acts are appreciated by the millions of people that she influences.

People Management and Organisation Development

Executive Summary The introduction of changes in a business is usually related to resistance at lower or higher level. Such risk can be reduced if appropriate measures are taken in advance. In this study, reference is made to an organisation’s effort to implement a change plan in order to secure the benefits of Organisational Development. The above effort of the organisation has led to certain benefits. Still, improvements would be made to the plan so that a long term growth is achieved. It should be noted that the business operate in the fast food industry, a sector which is quite competitive. In UK, where the business is based, the strong competition of the industry has been combined with the market pressures. This means that in order to secure their organisational development the businesses of the industry, including the business under review, should focus on all aspects of organisational change. 1.0 Introduction The appearance of failures in the completion of daily organisational tasks usually indicates the need for reviewing the organisational sectors involved. If such initiative is not taken immediately then the deterioration of organisational performance is not avoided. For ensuring that such phenomena are avoided in their environment businesses can act in advance by developing a flexible strategy, i.e. a strategy that allows to managers an early intervention to organisational problems (Pasmore et al., 2013). In this way, chances for severe losses are limited while the exposure of the organisation to further risks is reduced. Organisational development is a framework that helps managers to face problems by implementing appropriate plans of change. In the literature, organisational development has been described as ‘the process of planned change and improvement of organisations through the application of knowledge of the behavioural sciences’ (Griffin and Moorhead, 2009: 504). The practical implications of organisational development are explored in this paper. Reference is made to a business of the UK fast-food industry. The specific business operates in UK for more than 10 years and it is part of a global chain of fast-food restaurants. Due to severe problems in the organisation’s daily operations the implementation of a plan for change was considered as the only solution. The key aim of this effort was to achieve organisational development within the shortest possible period and within an economy budget. Following this practice would allow the business to keep its performance standardized while organisational development would be in progress. The target set was only partially achieved. Losses were minimized but the cost of the strategy was proved much higher than initially estimated. Being an employee of the business during this period I am able to describe the various phases of organisational development, as occurred in the particular business. A series of factors have negatively affected the progress of the strategy. Still, the benefits gained through the implementation of change cannot be ignored. Drawbacks would need a bit longer, than expected, in order to disappear. 2.0 Organisational development in practice – a case study 2.1 Overview of the UK fast food sector The UK fast food sector is a quite powerful one. In fact, the specific sector is characterized by strong competition and the increased control of multinational brands, such as McDonalds and KFC (Ibis World, 2014). Despite the signs of decreased performance in the near past, the particular sector shows signs of long term growth. So far, the businesses of this sector achieve a growth of 2.5% annually (Ibis World 2014, par.2). Local brands seem to have improved their position while new entrants have become common phenomenon. For the future, the perspectives of the sector have been highlighted as significant. Still, concerns have appeared in regard to critical issues that have been related to industry’s products; reference can be made, as an example, to the concerns developed by governmental and non-governmental organisations in UK for the potential threat of the sector’s products for children’s health (Hardwick, 2014). 2.2 Assessment of the strategy implemented In order to evaluate the appropriateness of the strategy of change implemented in the organisation of the case study it is necessary to present primary this strategy’s parts. Then, an assessment can be produced in regard to this strategy taking into consideration the existing literature but also the benefits and drawbacks of the strategy, as appeared almost immediately after the strategy’s implementation.2.2.1 Key elements of the strategyThe strategy implemented in the business under examination had two parts: a) the first part referred to the introduction of changes in the tasks allocated to the staff; changes were introduced in relation to the duties of all employees, including for the restaurant’s supervisor; b) the second part of the strategy included a training program. All employees in the businesses had to participate in a training program of six weeks. The participation in the program was mandatory for employees. In order to avoid resistance the owner of the business has announced that during the program employees would be paid normally, as being in work. In the context of the program each employee had to spend one hour daily in classroom-based lectures. Also, employees were provided with support material, such as notes and lists with resources for further study. Each Friday employees had to pass a test on the week’s material. The results of the test were checked by a HR consultant. Each second Friday, the consultant had a meeting with employees for discussing their progress. At the end of the program employees passed an evaluation test the results of which were announced to the business owner. These results were combined with the employees’ overall performance, as reported daily in the workplace. Emphasis was given to the potential of employees to respond to their new duties and to achieve self-improvement.2.2.2 Critical assessment of the strategy’s appropriatenessAccording to the literature, organisational dev elopment is a complex framework. Indeed, in practice it has been proved that the above framework can refer either to the structural characteristics of a business or to the communication channels used by employees for responding to the needs of their role (Cummings and Worley, 2014). The major advantage of OD it its potential to be related ‘either to organisational structure or to organisational processes’ (Cummings and Worley, 2014: 3). Brandford and Burke (2005) also agree that OD is quite wide incorporating practices of different elements depending on the skills/ experiences of the managers involved or on the resources available for the implantation of the relevant strategy. On other hand, Yaeger and Sorensen (2009) have supported that organisational development cannot be achieved just by introducing change. Rather, it is necessary to review organisational strategy carefully and to proceed to radical improvements (Yaeger and Sorensen, 2009). In other words, OD should be based on short-term benefits but rather on the long term organisational growth. A similar approach is used by Anderson (2013). The above researcher explains that OD is not just a series of changes on existing business activities. It is rather a framework for transforming organisational practices. Such benefit can be secured only if organisational culture is also reviewed and updated (Anderson, 2013). The value of OD for the improvement of organisational performance is also highlighted in the study of Rothwell et al. (2009). In the above study particular reference is made to the leader’s role in the successful implementation of OD plans. This view is justified by referring to the following fact: in case of strong oppositions towards an OD plan the leader is the person that has to assess the crisis appropriately and to take emergent decisions. If the leader fails to respond effectively in any phase of the plan then the chances for the success of the plan are significantly re duced (Rothwell et al., 2009). The potential practices of managers for developing effective strategies are presented in the graph in Figure 1 (Appendices). According to the above, the strategy of change implemented in the business reviewed in this paper cannot be characterized as fully effective. At a first level, the restaurant’s manager has accepted that he had not experience on such plans. Then, when employees started to have concerns on their replacement during their absence for the seminars no clear answer was given to them. No particular program has been developed for arranging the changing of swifts during the training program. Rather, swift arrangements were made daily, in the beginning of the swift and with reference to the other day. In this way, if an employee would not be able to replace a colleague as a result of an unexpected event, then the staff’s left in the restaurant would not be adequate for covering the tasks required. On the other fact, all employ ees have welcomed the re-distribution of tasks and the arrangement of meetings with the HR consultant. Due to these practices the restaurant’s efforts to promote change have faced minimum resistance from employees. 2.3 Evaluation of how the cooperation of stakeholders has been ensured In the change plan implemented in the business under examination the cooperation of stakeholders has been attempted by using two motives: one monetary and the other non-monetary. Indeed, at a primary level efforts have been made so employees do not feel as suffering losses due to their participation in the OD plan of the organisation. In fact, employees are compensated normally without their participation in the training program to reduce their daily income. Moreover, a non-monetary motive has been used by the employer in order to ensure that employees would not feel as threatened by the change efforts: employees have the chance to discuss with the HR consultant in regard to the changes in their duties but also in regard to their needs and weaknesses as of the tasks assigned to them daily. In this way, the change plan becomes for employees a chance for self-development and not a cause for potential losses. The effectiveness of this approach could be decided by referring to the respon ses of employees to the plan of change but also to their views as of the particular organisational initiative. After the end of the training program a survey was conducted within the business. Employees had to state their view on the OD plan so far and to make suggestions for potential improvements of the plan. The findings of the survey seem to be quite satisfactory: about 73% of employees are convinced for the plan’s necessity while 68% of employees agree that the chosen approaches for promoting change have been appropriate. However, there is also a percentage 32% of employees that would prefer to wait for a particular period of time before developing an opinion for the plan’s effectiveness. The literature developed in this field offers the chance to understand the role of stakeholders in the organisational development but also the need to secure their participation in any organisational change plan. For Grieves (2010) stakeholders would be willing to support the OD of a business only in the following case: that they would be given the chance to share their knowledge/ resources with the organisation. For example, customers would be supportive to an organisation’s effort to improve its services by giving to customers the potential for a feedback (Grieves, 2010). The provision of free Internet within a restaurant so that customers can check the daily menu and state their view on their food on real-time would be another scheme for increasing the customers’ interest towards the business involved. From another point of view, Schabracq (2009) explained that the efforts for securing the stakeholders’ support in a plan of change should be based on criteria of hierarchy: emphasis should be given primarily to the members of the organisation as ‘those who are interested mostly for the organisation’s success’ (Schabracq, 2009: 23). However, Roberts notes that when being in front of a plan of change the employees of a business are likely to react primarily with ‘cynicism and skepticism’ (2014: 58). If checked using the literature mentioned above, the approach of the manager to secure the support of stakeholders can be characterized as successful. However, this view would refer only to a particular category of stakeholders: employees. For other categories, including customers and community valid view could be formulated after a period of time, such as 6 months, and after checking the business performance in practice. For example, if 6 months after the number of customers’ complaints would continue to increase then the alteration of the OD plan of the business would be unavoidable. In other words, the business has emphasized just on its close stakeholders, probably believing that in this way direct benefits could be achieved. For the stakeholders of the business that are outside of the internal organisational environment (Figure 2) the relevant measures would take long to show their benefits, a view that can be considered as partially justified. 3.0 Conclusion The implementation of a change plan in the business under review has been considered as the only way to achieve organisational development (OD). However, the change plan introduced has not been carefully designed. The fact that emphasis has been given to employees can be considered as justified since employees are those directly affected by the organisational performance and those that can mostly prevent the success of such plan (Oswick, 2013). However, the failure of the business to address the needs of other stakeholders can be considered as a major issue (Idris et al., 2014). In addition, signs of improvement of the daily performance of business have appeared but this benefit has been achieved employing higher investment than estimated (Barnard and Stoll, 2010). Of course, the efforts of a business to promote change should not be too dynamic. In this case the chance for the negative responses of the stakeholders is high (Hashim, 2014). In regard to this issue it has been noted tha t the opposition of stakeholders to a change plan is likely to become ‘stronger as the time passes’ (Roberts 2014; 58). For eliminating such risk the managers of GM have preferred to follow Lewin’s plan of change (Figure 3), which highlights the value of slow steps in the implementation of change in each organisation. The manager in the business under examination seemed to have preferred a similar approach. Despite this fact, the alteration of the strategy implemented as certain of its parts would result to the increase of the strategy’s effectiveness. 4.0 Recommendations The strategy of change implemented in the business under review should be improved at the following points: a) customers should be given the chance to evaluate the business performance and to make their recommendations in regard to the progress of change, as applied in the business; for example, a customer-feedback leaflet should be available in the restaurant; b) the website of the restaurant should be appropriately customized so that the following option is available to customers: customers should be given the potential to vote online for the restaurant’s menu, making their choices as their preferences. The results would be evaluated by the firm’s manager on a weekly basis so that drawbacks of the menu are addressed. In other words, customers should be given a more active role in the improvement of organisation’s performance. The specific approach however would require the transformation of the business culture which is more aligned with the interests of its cl osest stakeholders, i.e. its members, a practice that it is not always considered as negative (Schabracq, 2009); c) also, a supervision scheme should be developed for ensuring that the phases of the strategy of change are sufficiently monitored as in all of their elements. This measure would be aligned with the suggestions made by Griffith-Cooper and King (2007) in regard to the importance of control in the organisational change (Figure 4). 5.0 Bibliography Anderson, D., 2013. Organisation Development: The Process of Leading Organisational Change. London: SAGE. Asghar, Z., 2011. New Approach to Strategic Planning: the Impact of Leadership and Culture on Plan Implantation via the three Cs: Cooperation, Collaboration and Coordination. ASBBS Annual Conference: Las Vegas, February 2011, pp.1121-1132. Available at . [Accessed 12 November 2014]. Barnard, M. and Stoll, N., 2010. Organisational Change Management: A rapid literature review. Short Policy Report No 10/01. Bristol Institute of Public Affairs, pp.1-11. Available at . [Accessed 12 November 2014]. Boatright, J.2006. What’s Wrong—and What’s Right— with Stakeholder Management. Journal of Private Enterprise, 21(2), pp.106-131. Boonstra, J., 2008. Dynamics of Organisational Change and Learning. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Bradford, D. and Burke, W., 2005. Reinventing Organisation Development: New Approaches to Change in Organisations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Conrad, C. and Poole, M., 2012. Strategic Organisational Communication: In a Global Economy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Cummings, T. and Worley, C., 2014. Organisation Development and Change. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Fairholm, M., 2009. Leadership and Organisational Strategy. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 14(1), pp.1-16. Freedman, A., 2011. Using Action Learning for Organisation Development and Change. OD Practitioner, 43(2), pp.7-13. Griffin, R. and Moorhead, G., 2009. Organisational Behavior: Managing People and Organisations. 9th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Hashim, M., 2014. Organisational change: case study of GM (General Motors). Journal of Business Administration and Management Sciences Research, 3(1), pp.1-5. Hendrickson, S. and Gray, E., 2012. Legitimizing Resistance to Organisational Change: A Social Work Social Justice Perspective. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(5), pp.50-59. Griffith-Cooper, B. and King, K., 2007. The partnership between project management and organisational change: integrating change management with change leadership. Performance Improvement, 46(1), pp.14-20. Idris, K., Adekalu, S. and Genty, K., 2014. Organisation Development and Strategic Intervention for Enterprise Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 16(11), pp.156-171. Kaplan, R. and Norton, D., 2001. Building a Strategy – Focused Organisation. Ivey Business Journal, May/June 2001. Available at [Accessed 12 November 2014]. Kotter, J. and Schlesinger, L., 2008. Choosing Strategies for Change. Harvard Business Review, July/ August 2008, pp.1-10. Lunenburg, F., 2010. Organisational Development: Implementing Planned Change. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 13(1), pp.1-9. Oswick, C., 2013. Reflections: OD or Not OD that is the Question! A Constructivist’s Thoughts on the Changing Nature of Change. Journal of Change Management, 13(4), pp.371-381. Maimunah, I., 2009. Corporate Social Responsibility and its role in community development: An international perspective. The Journal of International Social Research, 2(9), pp.200-209. Nordin, E., 2014. Communicating Organisational Change: Strategies for Communicating Change. The Clute Institute. International Academic Conference, San Antonio, Texas, USA, pp.135-145. Available at . [Accessed 12 November 2014]. Pasmore, W., Woodman, R., Noumair, D. and Shani, A., 2013. Research in Organisational Change and Development. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing. Roberts, G., 2014. Servant Leader Human Resource Management: A Moral and Spiritual Perspective. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Rothwell, W., Stavros, J., Sullivan, R. and Sullivan, A., 2009. Practicing Organisation Development: A Guide for Leading Change. 3rd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Samson, D. and Bevington, T., 2012. Implementing Strategic Change: Managing Processes and Interfaces to Develop a Highly Productive Organisation. London: Kogan Publishers. Schabracq, M., 2009. Changing Organisational Culture: The Change Agent’s Guidebook. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Wu, M., 2012. Managing Stakeholders: An Integrative Perspective on the Source of Competitive Advantage. Asian Social Science, 8(10), pp.160-172. Yaeger, T. and Sorensen, P., 2009. Strategic Organisation Development: Managing Change for Success. Charlotte: IAP Publishing. Yilmaz, B. and Gunel, O., 2009. The Importance of Strategic Stakeholder Management in Tourism Sector: Research on Probable Applications. TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM, 4(1), pp.97-108.

Essay on The Case of Wilson County SchoolsEssay Writing Service

Essay on The Case of Wilson County SchoolsEssay Writing Service Essay on The Case of Wilson County Schools Essay on The Case of Wilson County SchoolsSYSTEM PROFILEThe Wilson County School System is located in Lebanon, Tennessee and serves approximately 15,000 students at 21 sites.Wilson County strives to obtain the best teachers and administrators possible, knowing that this will directly affect the success of their students. Of the 991 people employed in positions that require state certification, approximately 48 percent, have attained an educational degree at the masters level or higher. It has about 8 percent who have achieved career ladder status of two or three. The system has also lowered pupils A variety of real classrooms from across the country is shown in every PD 360 program so that teachers can actually see how to implement best-practices in their own classroom teaching.Research-Based Best Practices The best-practices shown in PD 360 are always research-based and classroom-proven, dealing with nearly every education initiative of the past two decades.Tracking Features Wilson County teachers follow their own growth curve by using the tracking tools and reflection questions at the end of each segment while administrators use PD 360’s integrated tracking, reporting, and follow-up to ensure that teacher professional development happens consistently.Recognized Education Experts Wilson County teachers have easy access to over 100 top education experts at their fingertips without waiting for conferences or paying the high costs associated with them.Superintendent Bing realizes that the success of PD360 will be dependent on the quality of professional development.   He calls in his instructional technology director (you) and asks that you provide him a two –three page summary of a professional development proposal that will effectively implement PD360.  The professional development proposalshould include the following:GoalsStrategiesTimelineEvaluationA conclusion as to what Superintendent Bing should expect in 6 months and 1 year.You may selec t the format for the proposal that is most comfortable to you (narrative, table, PPT etc.)The Michigan Professional Development rubrics are included as a guide for technology enhanced professional development.   Also included are North Carolina’s Technology Facilitator standards, which are aligned to the National Educational Technology Plan.   They are not specific to the assignment itself; they provide guidance for high quality technology proposals.

Short term sensory store Essays

Short term sensory store Essays Short term sensory store Paper Short term sensory store Paper Sensory Memory preserves information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second. Sensory memory allows the sensation of a visual pattern, sound or touch to linger for a brief moment after the sensory stimulation is over. In the case of vision, people really perceive an afterimage rather than the actual stimulus. Short-term Memory is a limited capacity store than can maintain unrehearsed information for about 20 to 30 seconds. In contrast, information stored in long-term memory may last weeks, months or years. Actually, you can maintain information in your short-term memory for longer than 30 seconds. How? Primarily, by engaging in rehearsal the process of verbalizing or thinking about the informationwithout rehearsal, information in short-term memory quickly decays with the passage of time. You can increase the capacity of your short-term memory by combining stimuli into larger, possibly higher-order, units called chunks. A chunk is a group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit. The two key characteristics that originally defined short-term memory small capacity and short storage duration are still present in the concept of working memory. In certain models (Wickens (1992) being one such model), perceptual processes are conceptually separated into two stages: a short term sensory store (STSS) and perception. What these two stages have in common is the role of filtering out unnecessary information. Short Term Sensory Store (STSS) The STSS is a temporary storage mechanism associated with each sensory channel (i.e. the organs of the body responsible for touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing tactile system, eyes, nose, tongue and ears). For example, when you close your eyes an image remains in front of your (closed) eyes for a short period of time. This is referred to as iconic storage (echoic storage would be the same process of temporary storage associated with hearing). The STSS has a number of important characteristics which enable researchers to determine what constitutes temporary early processing versus deeper level processing. Firstly, the STSS is pre-attentive. This means that no conscious attention is required for something to be stored in an STSS, rather the signal/stimulus is stored in a particular STSS automatically. Secondly, the STSS is veridical. This means that the signal/stimulus is preserved in the STSS with all the physical attributes of the actual signal/stimulus. The STSS retains an exact replica of the physical attributes of the signal/stimulus. Finally, the STSS is short duration. The contents of the STSS using decay quite rapidly. The the case of iconic storage, the physical attributes of the stimulus usually decay after approximately one second, while in echoic storage the physical attributes of the signal/stimulus usually decay after approximately three seconds, and kineasthetic storage lasts approximately eight seconds. The STSS is important in cognitive ergonomics because it draws attention to the presence and the limitations of the temporary storage capacity of our sensory organs. Firstly, we must note that our sensory organs retain some memory of the signal/stimulus that enables us to perceive it without actually paying attention to it . Secondly, we must note that that each of the STSS have time-related constraints, and these constraints differ according to the sensory channel. For example, we are able to perceive visual cues from our environment even when we are not directing our conscious attention to those cues, provided that the visual cue enters the iconic storage mechanism and provided that the time interval is relatively short (approximately one second). For the most part though the STSS enables us to retain something of the signal/stimulus to allow further processing (or discarding). Perceptual Encoding Once a signal/stimulus has passed into the STSS it may be processed at progressively higher centres within the central nervous system. One theory contends that once information makes contact with a unique neural node that has previously been learned, is stored or is innate, then this information is perceived. Perception is an early information processing stage that is essentially involved with the recognition of a signal/stimuli and putting it into a category. Theorists and researchers have noted that there are different categories of perception. Absolute Judgement refers to the perceptual classification of a signal/stimulus into a particular categorical level (as is typical in absolute judgement task). This is characterised by people being asked to determine the loudness of a tone, the size of a crowd, or the smoothness of a surface. In such perception tasks, people are required to determine a single attribute. Detection is the simplest form of perception, which in essence is asking the question: is the signal/stimulus/target present or not? Pattern recognition, on the other hand is a more complex task that requires a person to perceive at least two dimensions in order to match a particular stimulus to a category. In the case of pattern recognition there is a great deal of interplay between perception and memory (long term memory in particular). Each of the combinations of the dimensions (usually referred to as features) must be compared to existing categorisations within long term memory. For example, the letters A a A a aA all fall into the category of a single alphabetic letter, despite their (slightly) different appearance. We are able to recognise the pattern and assign these letters to the same category. Finally, analogue perception is the continual perceptual categorisation of a dynamic signal/stimulus. Such perception is required when driving a car, when looking at an action movie or just walking across the street. It is important to note that perception requires some element of conscious attention in order to function. In this way, we are able to separate the roles of STSS and perceptual encoding, even although both processes are involved with the acquisition and filtering of information for higher order cognitive processing. The role of perceptual encoding in cognitive ergonomics is important for a number of reasons. Understanding when people are able to perceive a signal or not is important for many absolute judgement tasks. Whether a Doctor can see a small fracture on an X-ray, whether a security guard can detect a near invisible intruder on security monitor, or whether a quality assurance officer can see the small fault in a beer bottle top or all examples of real-world absolute judgement tasks that can benefit from our understanding of the mechanisms of absolute judgement perception. Pattern recognition can be applied to even more contexts than absolute judgement perception. Our understanding of pattern recognition has been applied to the problems of recognition of pictures, symbols (including letters or the alphabet and numbers) and icons. The large numbers of icons and pictorial symbols in computer software, on microwave ovens, on cellular phone displays and even motor vehicle dashboards demonstrates how prolific pattern recognition is within modern technological society. As these symbols are used more in society, so we are able to develop memory traces that enable us to recognise similar symbols in different situations. However, when we encounter unfamiliar symbols we can become confused and in some cases reluctant to continue.

K-12 and Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

K-12 and Technology - Research Paper Example The paper answers the question why technology sources in K-12 curriculums need to be referenced. Keywords: K-12, curriculum, technology, integration, reference. Why Should a Curriculum (K-12) Reference Technology Sources? The positive effects of technologies on student achievement are widely documented. The importance of integrating technologies into K-12 curriculums and their implications for student learning was described in abundance. Instructional technologies are altering the curriculum design landscape and have a potential to enhance the quality of knowledge and learning in K-12. However, not everyone agrees that K-12 curriculums should reference technology sources. Part of the reason is that the benefits of using technologies in the classroom are taken for granted, whereas the importance of having these technologies integrated into K-12 curriculums is either underestimated or simply overlooked.... This is probably because many teachers fail to estimate the scope of instructional technologies and their role in achieving the desired learning outcomes. Contrary to public beliefs, instructional technologies are not limited to computers. More importantly, no instructional technology is possible without a philosophy underlying it (Gulbahar, 2007). Apart from the fact that referencing technologies in K-12 curriculum is important for student achievement, it is also essential to effective technology planning. The latter is required to choose the appropriate technology and guarantee that the instructional program is adapted to fit in the available technology opportunities. Referencing technology sources in K-12 curriculum is a fundamental component of productive educational leadership and contributes to the success of instructional endeavors in K-12 classes (Gulbanar, 2007). Barriers to using technologies in K-12 curriculums have been extensively documented. The six barriers to accessin g and using technologies in K-12 curriculums include stakeholder attitudes, availability of technologies, technical support, stakeholder development, time, and funding (Hew & Brush, 2007). Teachers are either bound to limit the use of technologies in the classroom or must begin with simpler technologies. With the lack of technologies in classroom settings come other problems, related to the integration of these technologies with K-12 curriculums. Therefore, referencing technology sources in K-12 curricula is important to ensure their successful integration with the instruction and effective use in the classroom settings. It should be noted, that curriculum is one of the crucial

Compare and Contrast Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

Compare and Contrast Research Methods - Essay Example Through observation, the researcher is able to identify particular aspects of the research (Poynter, 2010). Also, through observation, researchers learn more information about research aspects, thus being able to determine attitudes and behaviors. Both observation and in-depth interview methods are important because they will increase the objectivity of the study (Poynter, 2010). Informal and in-depth methods are largely qualitative. Researchers use in-depth interviews in collecting data, because it is a highly interactive, multivariate and objective method of conducting study, which makes it different from observation method (Wilson, 2010). Using interview, the interviewer seeks more explanation from the interviewees as opposed to observation, where the researcher simply looks at the objects of study (Wilson, 2010). Under this methodology of in-depth interview, the participants will be drawn from four departments within the research population (Wilson, 2010). Since there will be many prospective participants from each department, out of the available participants, the researcher will select a given sample for the study. This is similar to observation because in the latter, the researcher can chose from the available research items to carry out the study (Wilson, 2010). In addition, the selection of participants in informal and in-depth interview is done usi ng random sampling, which is representative and non-discriminative, a situation which makes the methods resemble observation. Under informal and in-depth interviews, the different categories under which the participants will be divided would be based on the management levels, where as in observation, the researcher carries the study alone (Wilson, 2010). Interviews will also increase the participation between the researcher and respondents. Indeed, using interview will increase the interaction and the researcher would get more relevant information about the topic, a situation that