Review Questions Essay

What are some factors (patterns of behavior) that project a company’s culture? List several examples from organizations you work in. The factors that are most important in the creation of an organization’s culture include founders’ values, preferences, and industry demands. A company’s culture, particularly during its early years, is inevitably tied to the personality, background, and values of its founder or founders, as well as their vision for the future of the organization. It is shaped in the early days of a company’s history. When entrepreneurs establish their own businesses, the way they want to do business determines the organization’s rules, the structure set-up in the company, and the people they hire to work with them. While founders undoubtedly exert a powerful influence over corporate cultures, the industry characteristics also play a role. Industry characteristics and demands act as a force to create similarities among organizational cultures. For example, despite some differences, many companies in the insurance and banking industries are stable and rule oriented, many companies in the high-tech industry have innovative cultures, and companies in the nonprofit industry tend to be people oriented. 3. What are three major elements that complicate listening? Give customer-service related examples of each. The three elements that complicate listening comprise the internal, environmental and interactional elements. To start with, internal elements involve the use of words at a level that the hearer can hear, and the most importantly, can understand. Talking loudly and nonsensely or meaninglessly can totally deviate your customers from doing business with your company. The customer services on the phone can result in such scenario if the voice of the customer rep is too low or too loud, or the line is not clear or s/he uses very technical words that the receiver cannot understand. Secondly, the environmental factors â€Å"which determine what we are able to listen to and what we cannot. These factors can impact our individual ability to listen and our organization’s listening capacity, as well. These factors include:   Our individual listening capacity, the presence of noise, and the use or misuse of gatekeepers. † (Timm, Paul, Pg. 43) â€Å"In contrast to the environmental elements of the listening process, the interactional elements concern internal psychological processes that are not as easily identified. Two such psychological elements deserve careful consideration: self-centeredness and self-protection.

Problem Solving & Critical Thinking – Hdlt

Critical thinking and Problem Solving HDLT mini paper It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated. Alec Bourne. According to American educational Psychologist – Robert M Gagne – â€Å"The central point of any education is to teach people to think, to use their rational powers, to become better problem solvers. â€Å" Looking at the current model of our own learning, in HDLT 2 class itself – as students of the second semester in the university; we have been exposed to theories of this subject before. It is now time for adapting, assimilating, applying the past knowledge in real life contexts.This adaptation is tested through fresh, innovative learning environments and higher expectations. Let us first determine critical thinking and problem solving and see how are these phenomenon interrelated with each other and the role both these skills play in our lives. Critical thinking (CT) is defined as â€Å" intellectually di sciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and /or evaluating information gathered from or generated by observations, experiences, reflections, reasoning or communication as a guide to belief and action. Scriven & Paul, 2007, P 1). Thus simply put, CT is metacognition or thinking about thinking. Problem-solving (PS) is a mental process that involves ascertaining, investigating and solving problems. The eventual objective of problem-solving is to overcome hindrances and find a solution that best resolves the issue. These problems could range from simply crossing the road and reaching safely on the other side without getting hurt by the oncoming vehicles or solving a Sudoku puzzle or figure out a estimated expenses of a trip or in case of a child, solving a multiplication sum given in the class.The term problem solving ( P S) in educational settings would involve solving well-structured text book problems which are poles apart from ill structured problems which are encountered in everyday life. Thus we can see that in order to effectively solve a problem, one may require to engage with it and critically think about it to find the best solution. Let us now look at certain important broad themes and specific problem solving processes used by children – Broad themes – 1. Task analysis – details of steps taken to actually solve problems.For example a child adds 2 multi digit numbers, the actual process – starting with adding the numbers in the right most column, writing ones digit as a part of the answer, carrying over the tens digit ( if it is so ) †¦ so on and so forth. Task analysis helps in identifying the exact places where child might be encountering difficulty in solving the problem, the nature of the difficulty. Thus it gives an insight into the manner in which the child solves problems; and thus provides scope for rectification. 2.Means – End analysis – Using this methodology, one solves a problem by considering the obstacles that stand between the initial problem state and the goal state. The path to reaching the goal can be achieved by accomplishing smaller sub goals. When all of the sub goals have been achieved – when all of the obstacles are out of the way – then the main goal of interest has been achieved. Thus, means-ends analysis can be seen as a search strategy in which the long-range goal is always kept in mind to guide problem solving. 3.Encoding – this literally means identifying critical information in order to build internal representations. Thus it is very important to train the child to filter out the relevant data from the all the available information. Many children fail because they are not thought how to encode critical information and utilize it. Important processes of Problem Solving- 1. Planning – this is future directed PS, most often used in difficult and new situations. But most often the novelty of the situation also ensures that children often forget to plan. 2.Route Planning – this is done in order to select a most efficient route in order to reach a destination. Children as early as one year of age start showing the development of this ability. Example – an adult figuring out his way in order to reach a new destination; after looking at various maps. The route is figured out post route planning. 3. Causal Inference – many a times problem solving is an attempt to understand the cause of a phenomenon. Humans are curious by nature. A two year old will constantly be in the endeavor to know â€Å"why things happen†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ why do birds fly, whereas animals don’t? so on and so forth. 4.Analogical Reasoning – In problem solving this is predominantly concerned with systemic correspondences, where a solution to a known problem may be applied to solving a structurally similar problem. Analogical reasoning improves with maturati on and increase in content knowledge. According to Piaget’s stages of development analogical reasoning only starts developing in the pre operational stage ( ages 2 -7) and gets occasional limited success in concrete operational stage(7-11) and becomes fully developed by formal operational stage (age 11 through adulthood) Stage I (Preoperational) – egocentric responses using idiosyncratic relations.IA – children were unable to form lower-order relations IB – some children able to form lower-order relations, but unable to form analogies Stage II (concrete operational) – occasional, limited success IIA trial-and-error success on analogies, inability to resist false counter-suggestions IIB consistent success on analogies, but inconsistent ability to resist false counter-suggestions Stage III (formal operational) – Success on all aspects of the tasks. Criticism of Piaget – Goswami & Brown reasoned that children might fail Piaget's tasks be cause they lack knowledge of the relations entailed.On this view, children ought to be able to solve classical analogy problems provided the analogies are based on familiar relations. Practice in analogical reasoning improved young children’s spontaneous formation of analogies. 5. Scientific reasoning: Children question everything as a basic premise,they want to know the why , how of everything; but they are also hugely influenced by the beliefs that they see are carried around them. Whenever they actually do something on their own, they do develop an understanding and rationality regarding the same phenomenon.For example a child understands that sugar takes less time to dissolve in hot milk rather than cold milk. Thus, when they indulge in activities, experiment they develop scientific and logical reasoning. 6. Logical reasoning – It is when a child can apply logical rules in order to solve problems. Logical reasoning requires the child to link each alternative to the main problem by strong reasoning. They may also require using logical structure â€Å"If†¦ , Then †¦. † for example if a child has to climb up two floors, he could either use the lift or the stairs.If the escalator lift for some reason is not working, then either the child could wait till the lifet starts working or take the stairs. The choices have to be logically reasoned out. Both analogical and logical reasoning develop gradually over early and middle childhood whereas scientific reasoning does take more time to develop and take shape as it is much enhanced by experience. Along with certain important processes used in PS some of the others are – Symbolic representation as tools Rule based problem solving etc. Above we have also looked at Piagetian perspective on PS.Let us also look at the Vyogotsky’s perspective on the same. Lev Vygotsky gave some novel ideas regarding childrens learning and their problem solving abilities. 1. Zone of Proximal dev elopment (ZPD) – This is the zone where learning takes place. This zone represents the difference the between what the child can achieve on its own and what it can achieve with the help of others. In order, for learning to occur, the elder or peer must provide a challenge that is beyond the child’s own capabilities and yet be assisted. Thus assisted learning or peer learning is an important aspect of children developing the PS abilities.If children have done a task with an adult or under the guidance of an adult (ZPD) they tend to show improvement whilst performing as opposed to those who were attempting it for the first time ( Piaget’s discovery learning ). Vyogotsky also pointed towards the importance of private speech in children, whenever confronted with a novel problem. This speech could be their method of engaging with the problem. As children grow up and get better at symbolic interpretation, this private speech diminishes. Now let us look at how a constr uctivist classroom helps children in enhancing their PS abilities.Constructivist approaches to learning attempt to generate environments where learners are actively engaged in their surroundings and environments that help them to construct and develop their own understanding, reasoning and knowledge, rather than the teacher interpreting their world for them. The learners interaction with the environment and with the subject matter at hand results them in having their own view about the subject. Thus we can see that collaborative learning is the hallmark of a constructivist classroom. For example – group of students in a chemistry class are learning about properties of organic salts.Instead of directly stating the properties, the teacher will devise questions which will engage the students in challenging their previous knowledge, link it to the other phenomenon that they have already been studying and generate a new level of understanding regarding the topic. During the discus sions and promptings, when one student comes with the relevant concept, the teacher would cash on it and hint to the group to further explore this concept. Late, she would sum up ay concluding what the class has learnt, what helped and what did not help them in constructing new knowledge.Question – The biggest question for me is the teaching methodology. In most of the schools, that me and my colleagues have visited during our practicum, we inevitably noticed that instead of focusing on teaching the students how to think, rationalize, develop an understanding. The focus is on what they should think? Conclusion – By providing them everything like â€Å"ready to eat meals†, we seal them from developing their own understanding. In a class room setting children, still encounter structured problems, in real life settings children will be coming across many ill structured problems.The aim of education must be to prepare them for encountering the challenges that they w ould face everyday. They have to be trained to adequately use their problem solving abilities within the classroom as well as outside it. References – Taylor, L, (2005). Introducing cognitive development. Taylor and Francis: Psychology Press. (Chapter: Thinking and reasoning). Siegler & Alibali (2005). Chapter 10: Problem-Solving (pp 341-380). Synder L. & Synder J. – Teaching critical thinking and Problem solving skills, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Volume L, No. 2, Spring/Summer, 2008

Comparison Between Milo Horlicks and Bornevita

MILO BRANDING: Milo brand is the world’s leading chocolate malt beverage that can be prepared with hot or cold milk or water. Given its popularity it is a â€Å"must have† product for food service operators particularly in Asia, Africa and Oceania. Loved and trusted by parents and kids alike, Milo products offer essential vitamins and minerals: * calcium for strong teeth and bones * iron to carry oxygen to the body’s cells * vitamin A for healthy eye sight * vitamins B1 and B2 to help release energy from foods * Vitamin C to keep skin and gums in good shape.REF:(www. nestle. com/brands/allbrands/milo_foodservice). Origin: Milo was originally developed by Thomas Mayne in Sydney, Australia in 1934. It is marketed and sold in many countries around the world. Product availability: It is marketed and sold in many countries around the world (worldwide) (Ref :WIKI) Malted barley is one of the key ingredients that give MILO the unique great taste and crunch you love. It is naturally rich in carbohydrates (including starches and maltose), the preferred energy source for the brain, nervous system and working muscles.Including calcium, MILO contains 6 essential vitamins and minerals. Together with milk it is a nutrient rich drink for active kids. A glass of MILO and milk is: – High in protein – Low GI – Nutrient rich – particularly calcium where it provides nearly 50% of Recommended Daily Intake (RDI). REF: (http://www. milo. com. au/products/milo/) check this website below â€Å"DID YOU KNOW† PACKING: Package available, aging by replacing the old one with adding the interesting picture.Before this, Milo packaging only have their brand name, but nowadays Milo have been through the transformation by using faces of national athletes to attract more customers. Besides, Milo also has adding more colorful color beside of  their green color which is their main color. This improvement can attract children to drink Milo. B y doing this transformation Milo will be more up to date and can build loyal customer and as well as to be more different than their competitor such as Oligo Cocowhich are using the same green color for their packaging.Milo product enhancement Milo has realized and able to fulfill customer needs, so that they produce 3 in 1Milo from the normal powder Milo. This is for the customers that do not have enough time or in rush because they only need a short time to make it. This is because 3 in 1Milo already has added creamer and sugar for consumer convenience. Even kids also can do it by themselves because it already complete and they do not have to add anything. Add more ingredients To differentiate Milo from other product they have produce a healthy Milo by adding cereal in Milo Fuze.This Milo is very suitable for consumer that concern about healthy and on diet because cereal can avoid people from feeling hungry and contain fiber that good for digestion. Milo also contains a lot of nut rition which does notcontained in the other competitor’s product such as Oligo Coco. Oligo Coco is just a normal chocolate malt drink and they do not have nutrition such as Milo. (http://www. scribd. com/doc/26214574/15/Information-in-Milo-Packaging) HORLICKS BRANDING: Horlicks is the name of a company and of a malted milk hot drink.It is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and it is available in the United Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Jamaica, and under licence in the Philippines and Malaysia. Horlicks has been the most leading brand leading and the most famous healthy food drink brand across the world and as well as in Bangladesh. ORIGIN: Product Origin: product of England (check this not sure). PACKING: This gave GSK the thought of unifying the logo, packaging and designing across all the product categories of Horlicks.The new look and design have evolved from consumer research across the segments along with attributes of the brand. The e lements in the new design are: – * The ‘Wave’ on the packaging shows the ‘activity’ of a person * The visual of milk and wheat shows the nourishing capabilities of Horlicks * Blue and orange colours have been part of the Horlicks family for many years and strongly help to identify the brand * The new logo also plays a role in reinforcing the trust and equity of the brand among the consumers The packaging in a plastic jar instead of a glass bottle is a way to make the brand easier to handle and use.A uniform size and shape for all bottles would also help in reducing the costs of producing different sized bottles. Customer choice of Horlicks is higher than any other food drink. BOURN vita BRANDING: Bournvita is the name of a brand of malted and chocolate malt drink and manufactured by Cadbury country of origin: United kingdom UK. The brand has been an enduring symbol of mental and physical health ever since it was launched. This layered with the great Cadbury chocolate taste has made the brand distinct from other offerings.It is hardly surprising then, that Bournvita enjoys a major presence in the Malt Food market. http://www. cadburyindia. com/in/en/brands/beverages/bournvita. aspx Most mothers would get a huge sense of relief on watching their child gulp down a full glass of milk. But in reality, without Vitamin D, calcium is not fully absorbed from milk. Earlier, sunlight was the major source of Vitamin D for children. But today, as their activities are mostly confined indoors, the daily dosage of Vitamin D may not be fulfilled.The new and enhanced Cadbury Bournvita is specially enriched with Vitamin D, so you can depend on it to bring out the goodness of calcium in milk. Cadbury Bournvita, with the additional combination of vitamin C, iron and other essential vitamins and minerals helps multiply the power of milk. http://www. cadburybournvita. in/ Product: Cadbury India Ltd launched Cadbury Bournvita, a chocolate health drink in 1947 in India. But even before launching its new health product in the Indian market, Bournvita was one of the most loved chocolate drinks around the world.Brown because its brown in colour & Vita because it has lots of vitamins. Bournvita is all about. a nutritional drink which acts as a dietary supplement providing nourishment along with good taste & flavors. For today’s kids who detest milk in its pure state unless flavored, this is an ideal drink. It has its own unique flavor, and the taste is rich and full-bodied. So easy to prepare, just instant mix it into your milk. Even a child can manage this for himself when he is in a hurry to run off to play!Many children I have known just scoop up a spoonful of Bournvita fine granules into their mouth and crunch away happily†¦goes to prove its taste bud friendly value for kids. Ingredients: Malt extracts, sugar, cocoa powder, milk solids, liquid glucose, vitamins, Bourn Vitaaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nutritional facts: 1) Gives p rotein. 2) Provides Vitamin A, Vitamin C & Vitamin B12. 3) Contains Calcium, Iron & Folic Acid. 4) It also provides our body with Niacin, pyridoxine, Riboflavin, & Thiamin which is very essential for the proper working of our nervous system.Price: Normally, price is the most important element in deciding the fate of any product. While purchasing any health drinks however, a housewife or a mother who is the ultimate buyer gives price secondary importance. She will carefully study the taste & nutritive values in the health drinks. I agree that Bournvita is one of the most expensive health drinks in the market (Rs. 101 for 500gms) but still due to its good taste & great nutritive values it has captured the majority of the market. Target Market:Brown HFDaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s target audience has always been kids who are in the age group of 7-15. Why a HFD targets audience in this age group? The answer to this is very simple. Most of the children in this age group have casual eating habits and milk is like a curse for them. This is were a HFD comes into picture the work ofA   HFD is not only to add flavor to the milk but also act as supplement whichA   can add nutrition to their child. The other advantage of having this segment as target market is HFD are mostly taken with milk http://mgmtfunda. com/marketing-mix-4ps-for-cadbury-bournvita/#

Organisms from the Treasures of BC Coast Coursework

Organisms from the Treasures of BC Coast - Coursework Example The movement of the rockfish points to the fact that it consumes living organisms. This is based on sudden speed bursts followed with moving jaws. Additionally, unlike other types of fish that seem to swim near the surface of the water, rockfish thrives near the bottom and among the rocks. This can be interpreted as a security measure to hide from larger predators (Vancouver Aquarium, n.p). The adapting features of the rockfish according to its build and body structure include the mouth and the gills that help the fish to breathe at very deep ends of a water body. The mouth allows water through while the gills arrest the very least of oxygen available within the water. This points to the enlarged gills and ever open mouth. The British Columbia Corals are branch-like sea organisms that survive by manufacturing their own food with the aid of light. The natural source of light, in this case, is the sun whose rays are converted to potential energy to enable the plant to survive within the water (Vancouver Aquarium, n.p). The adaptation of the corals comprises the numerous branches that enlarge the surface area to absorb as much light as possible. From appearance, it looks like the number of branches determines its stability based on the total consumption of light. If the branches were fewer, most of the light rays would be hitting the surface of the water body rather than the organism. Hence, the abundance of the branches shows that the plant requires as much light as possible to survive the low temperature of sea/waterbody bottom. The red anemone has a confusing look and behavior. The organism appears like multiple cylinders filled with filaments like those of a flower. These filament-like ribbons strike from the cylinders and protrude outside.  

English -Language Learner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English -Language Learner - Essay Example Through a primary language, thus, each learning individual is able to readily adapt to an educational setting where everything falls into the perspective based on the learner’s cultural background. This way, teaching impacts a learning atmosphere in which students are encouraged to express thoughts or ideas with confidence. Since they are free to use primary language, they can better interact with the teacher and among themselves during class discussions. On the other hand, though it is more conducive to learn with native language, an educator would find a great deal of effort and enthusiasm in conveying topics of certain fields as math or science which may include universal expressions that cannot be translated to primary language. In science literature, pertinent scientific data or information is typically available in nomenclatures and notations that are inevitably understood within the context of English as secondary language. With such disadvantage, there is then no way a round for students to maintain usage of primary language on areas where it may not entirely apply. Based on research conducted by Ellen Bialystok in Canada, the ability to manage between two languages improves attention control when performing certain tasks especially at times irrelevant information requires inhibition (Wilson). Â   As another benefit of preferring to carry out primary language as a medium of instruction, the teacher assumes the role of communicating knowledge while inspiring each student with the sense of nationalism by showing the value in preserving culture through extensive use of native language. In the future, the greater impact of this endeavor is felt when graduates become more conscious and respectful of a nation’s identity so that they realize having to prioritize service for the welfare of countrymen. Paying worth to putting native language in regular application signifies deeper attachment to culture which, in turn, implies strength of a national community whose rich thoughts and resources are shared by citizens who used to study under common adherence to primary language. Teaching students in the primary language, however, diminishes their capacity to adjust to a higher level of global communication due to the universality of English. As second language, the latter is essential for economic growth whenever a nation decides to open further possibilities of commerce abroad. As a consequence, a person who lacks adequate communication skills in English obtains limited employment opportunities in the later time. If a student is academically inclined in the field of math but has received education through approach with primary language, no matter how remarkable his mathematic abilities are, he might not find himself competitive on an international ground for not being taught to get accustomed in using English. Furthermore, on the basis of native language alone, teaching to enable learners to understand the cultures of other nati ons as well as their significance may most likely turn out to be ineffectual or incapable of stirring interest towards critical thinking and the relevant concern for other parts of the world. Evaluate whether English language learning instruction should replace native language instruction. Because trade and industry has since gone beyond civilization to expand avenues of economic, cultural, and political growth

Wind Tunnel Measurement on a Aeroplane Model Lab Report

Wind Tunnel Measurement on a Aeroplane Model - Lab Report Example The range of the movement for the configuration will range between -20 to +100 at 10 intervals. These angles must be relative to the fuselage datum. The main function of the tail plane of an aircraft is to provide a sufficient amount of pitching moment while the aircraft is in flight and to control the aircraft in the longitudinal plane (Pankhurst & Holder, 1985). In order to achieve very efficient performance, the design of the airplane must take into consideration three important factors including; the geometrical relationship existing between the tail plane and the wing body of the aircraft, the performance of the tail plane and the structural components of the airplane (Irving, 2010). This experiment is conducted due to the need to monitor and determine the performance of an aircraft and its variation at the different stages of its movement. The results obtained will help to determine the best configuration for airplanes in order to improve their performance. The model of the airplane is mounted on an accurately and remotely operated 3 component mechanical balance. The incidence of the plane can be varied and the lift, drag and pitching moment be measured by means of weigh beams. The weigh beams usually have locks which should always be engaged when any adjustments are made to the model and also when the experiment is concluded. The balance is automatically locked when the stop button of the tunnel is pressed. Operation of the balance needs practice; the operator of the airplane must be accustomed to its natural frequencies. The forces that are acting on the plane model are lift, drag and the moment of the pitch. The airspeed can be deduced from the difference between the static pressures of the airstream at the point of entry and exit from the contractive of the tunnel. The pressure difference is usually equal to the dynamic head in the tunnel

Sexaul harassment in the workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexaul harassment in the workplace - Assignment Example The victims are mostly females, and these victims respond in different manners, researchers and practitioners have posited that the following are the common responses displayed by the victims (Cortina & Berdahl, 2008): reporting, confrontation, social support-seeking and denial. Furthermore, reporting as well as confrontation are common amongst the victims those belong to lower occupational strata and responses like avoidance and denial are common amongst victims from affluent families. It is worth inclusion that victims of sexual harassments have been from the same sex as well. Numerous studies (Pina, Gannon, & Saunders, 2009) have been carried out to understand learn more about perpetrators of sexual harassment, the harassers have been found to be lacking social conscience, they engage in immature as well as irresponsible behaviours and as regards their personality measures they are irresponsible, and insensitive towards women.

Middle East Customs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Middle East Customs - Essay Example Waltke. He later went for overseas study in University of Goettingen in Germany between August 1982 to July 1983 where he furthered his education under the supervision of Dr. Rudolph Smend, Dr. Rykle Borger and Dr. Lothar Perlitt. He holds a doctorate degree in Philosophy in Old Testament from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia which he was awarded in 1988. When he was studying in this University, he wrote a dissertation titled "A Rhetorical Analysis of the Book of Chronicles" under the supervision of John H. Hayes. Cracking Old Testament Codes helps the readers to understand the Old Testament and also enhances the way preachers interprets the Old Testament accordingly. The book is divided into two sections whereby the first three chapters are said to be an introduction for the reader to understand the concept of literary forms "genres" when we relate it to Old Testament. The Author begins the section with an article titled "Literary Forms of the Old Testament". In this section, the author tries to establish in written communication the reality of such forms which he explains in the Old Testament. According to the author, understanding of "genre" is quite involving as it concerns establishing the form, content and later on the textual unit function. He urges that there should be ten basic genres in the Old Testament and not the traditional five that are common on hermeneutic in older works. He also urges that for genres to function properly in the text, there are supposed to be ten in number. T he author advocates the use of three different genres namely:- Narrative History and, Law Moreover, prophecy is seen as a combination of prose and poetry that has three different genres that include: Oracles of Salvation, Announcements of Judgment and apocalyptic. Poetry is divided into psalms of lament and psalms of praise while wisdom has two main divisions that include proverbial and non-proverbial wisdom. The second division of the book are the ten chapters that mainly emphasizes on the values and dangers in the interpretive process in literary form perspective. "Genre criticism" is distinguished as it concerns with the final canonical form not the prior sources whether it is oral or in written form as it is commonly known with source criticism to some rhetorical criticism and degree form. This section has ten chapters and each one of them addresses the ten genre of the Old Testament literature. These chapters are viewed to very useful to the readers as they are very simplified for the reader to grasp the content easily. They are seen to be having very useful instruction and information for the readers. Finally, the last chapter is seen as giving instruction to the preachers to use the knowledge they acquire in these chapters when preparing the sermon. IV. Evaluation. Cracking Old Testament Codes is a valuable book to the reader as the author took time to think about his audience and every

Corporation Privacy and the Impact of Mess Media to Business Thesis

Corporation Privacy and the Impact of Mess Media to Business - Thesis Example This research proposal holds significance in identifying the main steps required for the adoption of social media and helping adding to the literature on acceptance of technology. The need of the changing times requires us to study the practices of social media applications and determine how they differ in terms of different user motivations and social connections. It will also be important in examining the behavioral life cycle modification in the variation, retention and selection processes involved in the adoption of social media applications. The amount of literature on social media’s usage by small and micro-business owners is not much. There is a need to fill this gap in research literature regarding this subject. The research proposal is of extreme importance since the use of social media by small businesses is growing leading to the transformation of electronic commerce to social commerc.This research problem would provide the positive effects of Social Media for Busin esses that how the media facilitates Corporations and why the social media is necessary for organizations.  The research would be conduct by following the methodology of Case Study and focused on the Qualitative approach. In this method, we would use the interviewing method within the case study, which would be possible by the related public and the employees of the concern corporations and the social media as well.  

Critique Inferential Presentation-Statistics Essay

Critique Inferential Presentation-Statistics - Essay Example So, with ÃŽ ± = 0.05, the critical value of F in this analysis of variance test was F0.05 (1, 4) = 230. Since computed F (FC) is less than Tabulated F (FT), Ho is accepted. This is because the result of the â€Å"Analysis of Variance† (ANOVA) shows that the computed F (12.43) is less than the tabular values of F-statistics (230) at 0.05 degree of freedom (1, 4). This means that there is no significant difference between the variables of amounts claimed and amounts reimbursed in relation to â€Å"legitimate† expense claims. The resultant R Square 0.7565 is very close to 1 and it is above 0.75 which means that the correlation is near normal curve distribution, so, it is interpreted as very high positive correlation. Thus, in percentile (%), 75.65 is an indicator of significant relationship between the variables of amounts claimed and amounts reimbursed in relation to â€Å"legitimate† expense claims. Finally, the R square of 0.756494365is quite near to the adjusted R square 0.695617957. This means that the regression model approximately fits the data. The variables of amounts claimed and amounts reimbursed in relation to â€Å"legitimate† expense claims are not significant in the full regression equation. This is because the p-value of the two variables is not equal to zero. All of the test statistic values were very close to 1.96 which means that the hypothesis is rejected. The test statistics value of the Y-Intercept is z = 140.868609 / 26.70413145 = 5.275161606. The value falls near in the right rejection region. The test statistics value of P Claimed (250.5) = 0.283748969/ 0.0804926= 3.525155969. The value falls near in the right rejection

President Clintons Essay Example for Free

President Clintons Essay DeMan (1988) argued that most of the problems and hindrances to Implementing GIS in the earlier days of this technology are rooted in organisational and not technical. Understanding the organisation within which GIS are to function is fundamental to understanding the challenges of development and implementation. (Peuquet and Bacastow 1991) Peuquet and Bacastow (1991) examined the U. S. Armys digital topographic support systems (DTSS). The issues looked into were the organisational context, the elements of the development, history of the system, the recognition of some fundamental factors that had frustrated the development of DTSS. What they discovered were: For Organisational commitment to change- effective organisation of GIS needs not only people able to employ the technology but also people willing to employ the technology. The willingness depends on both the individuals and the organisation, this to overcome the long and pervasive resistance to innovation within both government and business (Morrison1966) Development of GISs is a mutual efforts- Management at all levels, as well as the prospective end-user must actively be involved through all the phases of the development process. A true appropriate functional requirement can only be derived with the detailed knowledge of the organisation uniquely possessed by those within the organisation. Sahay and Walsham (1996) identify factors and conditions under which GIS implementation is impeded or enabled, which they term as inhibiting and enabling factors respectively. INHIBITING FACTORS Data: This relates to its availability on appropriate scales, usability problems because of the over dependence on remotely-sensed data, quality problems due to maps being outdated, and non-standardised format of data that are not supported by standard software. Manpower: reflects an acute shortage of trained manpower that has the ability to understand and use GIS, and the general lack of awareness of GIS, especially among the planners. The dominance of GIS technocrats contributes to organisational issues being made subservient to technical concerns during implementation. Structure: relates to decision-making styles and the forms of developing country organisations decision-making (normal central), left to officials with inadequate knowledge about the technology and are responsible for taking critical decisions related to implementation. The sect oral form of organisation, the lack of appropriate policies to enable co-ordination, often leads to duplication of efforts. Financial: proves constraints in acquiring and maintaining GIS systems, also restricts the development and maintenance of training and research programmes . It is discovered that finding of a GIS project often comes as a pat of an aid package and the long times involvement in implementing GIS makes it difficult to provide sustained funding. ENABLING FACTORS Approaches: development of approaches that provides sustenance and by developing local expertise that would take over from the expatriates. Practices: development practices that smoothen transition of people from their existing ways of doing work to using GIS. For example enabling users to receive prior exposure to mapping systems and allowing systems development to take place in an incremental and evolving manner. Institutional Mechanisms: appropriate policy level initiatives around GIS . For example private companies and international aid agencies to aid in establishment of national level GIS institutions that would contribute to the development of local expertise. Sahay and Walsham (1996) basing their research of implementation of GIS in India, on the theoretical framework for their work was developed, using the concept social context of social context and processes, implementation and the linkages between context and process. Based on current thinking in IS implementation research (Walsham 1993). The Social context refers to conditions which are antecedent or given to the process for example the national culture of the country in which the system is being implemented. Implementation Process: this includes the adoption of decisions installation of apiece of hardware, acquisition, utilisation, acceptance or rejection of the GIS within the organisational context. Linkage between context and process: understanding of the interaction between the two. The social context may both enable and constraint the implementation process to evolve in certain ways, which can reinforce or reshape the existing, conditions. 5. 5. 2 PUBLIC ACCESS TO GEOGRAPHIC DATA In Europe, a European commission Directives of April 1990) required that all official agencies of all members states must make available all their environmental holdings of information to the general public a t reasonable cost (CEC1990). It is argued that it is not clear what constitutes environmental information, but certainly topographical information would seen to be a necessary part. Nor is it clear what constitutes reasonable cost except in so far as some organisation in any country should expect to Price its products in this category much more highly than other organisations in the same country or in others within the European Community. Geographical data and information is derived by aggregation to areas from bureaucratically compiled records pertaining to individuals, however some geographical data are not in aggregate form and their supply to a third party may then transgress regulations on privacy. However legislation on privacy constraints the uses to which such data may be put only when it is held in computer form. It is accepted generally that access to some geographical data may not be appropriate for example data created for military purposes. Many countries show immense differences in practice currently exist in data dissemination and policies. Many of the European countries are inclined to recoup as much as possible while U. S. A. Sees that almost free provision of federal government data as an entitlement of the citizen and as a precaution against the garnering of power by cliques through their sole access to information It seems no one has yet found a logical basis for charging for the use of topographic data. The price elasticity of geographical information is limited, especially where competitive products exist and except where the use of official products is required by statute. It is note that the development of brokering and legal advice services for geographical data seems very probable and this is likely to flourish on a national basis. NATIONAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES Government agencies are involved as main external providers of geographical information for most operational applications of GIS, they also exert a profound influence on national developments which resulted in a phenomenon, Rhind (1996,1998) called a cocktail of laws, policies, conventions and precedents, which determines the availability and price of spatial data (Masser 1999). Traced back to the mid 60s the trend in which many governments throughout the world began to think more strategically about information needs, data collection, and the resources needed to deliver information to a wider markets; the potential of computer, cased surveying and mapping systems for creating multi-user, multi-purpose databases for the public administration was recognised. This vision was lost in the 70s and early 80s as the emphasis of how as spatial information systems were implemented for a wide variety of purposes within traditional institutional frameworks. (McLaughlin 1991 cited in masser1999). Later the focus shifted back to matters of geographical information and its use in society in the late 80s. TableI: the first generation of national data infrastructures. The table shows titles of some countries national initiatives, even though the terms used very from country to country three elements are of common: They are explicit national in nature; Refer to geographic information, spatial data, geospatial data, or in one case, to land information; Refer to terms such as infrastructure, system or framework, which imply the existence of some form of co-ordination mechanism for policy formulation and implementation purposes. They are term the first generation of national spatial data infrastructures (NSDI) These first generation NSDI have differences in terms of geography, levels of economic development and systems of government. DRIVING FORCES TO ESTABLISHMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURES Masser (1999) argues that two basic themes underlie these national spatial data infrastructures which are: growing importance of geographical information in the coming age of digital technology; and need from some form of government intervention to co-ordinate data acquisition and availability, Reports of the interest of some chief executives on these themes are: President Clintons Executive order for the National spatial data Infrastructure: Geographic information is critical to promote economic development, Improve our stewardship of natural resources and to protect the environment. Modern technology now permits improved acquisition, distribution, and utilisation of geographic (or geospatial) data and Mapping . (Executive office of the president 1994)

Interest Rates Affects on the Is-Lm Model Essay Example for Free

Interest Rates Affects on the Is-Lm Model Essay Assignment 4 5. According to the IS-LM model, what happens to the interest rate, income, consumption and invest under the following circumstances. a. The central bank increases money supply. An increase in the money supple shifts the LM curve downward. The equilibrium moves from point A to point B. Income rises from Y1 to Y2 and the interest rate falls from r1 to r2. Therefore this increase in money supply causes a decrease in interest rate, an increase in income, an increase in consumption and an increase in investment. LM Income, output, Y b. Government increases government purchases An increase in government purchases result in a shift in the IS curve to the right. The equilibrium moves from point A to point B. Income rises from Y1 to Y2 and interest rate rises from r1 to r2. This increase in government purchases therefore causes interest rate to rise and income also rises. Consumption will also increase but the increase in government purchases will cause investment to decrease. interest rate, r LM IS2 IS1 Income, output, Y c. The government increases taxes. An increase in taxes shifts the IS curve to the left. The equilibrium moves from point A to point B. Income falls from Y1 to Y2 and the interest rate from r ¬1 to r 2. Therefore increase in taxes will bring about a decrease in interest rate, cause income to also decrease which will decrease consumption also but will result in an increase in investment. interest rate, r LM IS1 IS2 Income, output, Y d. The government increase government purchases and taxes equally 6. Consider the following economy of Hicksonia. a. The consumption function is given by C= 200 + 0. 75 (Y T) The investment function is I= 200-25r Government purchases and taxes are both 100.

The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay

The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay Human resource has become a source of core competence a unique capability in the organization that creates high value and that differentiates the organization from its competition. Therefore it is paramount to add a strategic touch in sourcing, selecting and managing this unique capability to gain competitive advantage. Linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility bring about the strategic touch, otherwise known as Strategic Human Resource Management. Strengths Based approach in SHRM terms and Models Critically analysing BAE Systems scenario, it is possible analyse its operations which reveals SHRM terms and models that helps in understanding the context in which the strength based approach has been used. SHRM Terms BAE has been recruiting and hiring personnel to match their competence with the organizations goal. Its tradition model, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.clients going to the businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ has since changed to a more customer-oriented approach. In the process it has meant designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of the firm contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler MacMillan 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Jackson Schuler 1995) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organization that does maintenance and support. This change is in response to BAE external business environment that demands a customer-orientated approach and as such the need for better deployment of human resource an emphasis of SHRM à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦We are putting significant numbers of people into RAF bases, working alongside the RAF our people managing RAF people in the process (pg 2, paragraph 3) Since a firms strategy (BAE strategy rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients) is a reflection of its response to the external changes, human-capital, with a broad array of skills compatible with the corporate strategy, is a catalyst for fulfilling the strategic goals. This calls for melding of HR function (selection and hiring) with a firms strategy congruence between HR practice and business strategy (Miles Snow 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Wright McMahan 1992), a practice known as best-fit an approach on the idea that human resource strategy flow from business strategy; matching the human strength (talent, Skills, knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc) toward the achievement of the organisation goal. In modern competitive times success is achieved by adapting enlightened, progressive, people first, high performance or high commitment employment practices. This seems to the same idea BAE is banking on, otherwise known as best practice a bundle of HR policies that lead to highly motivated and committed employees who are the key to an organizations competitive advantage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) Further, the above statement highlights one aspect BAE is focusing on, the people to achieve it strategic goals. So as to achieve high performance and / or high commitment, it is worldly accepted that people work better while doing what they are best at doing (Huselid, 1995; Becker and Gerhart, 1996; Guest, 1997.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they had been givenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦things they would have naturally been drawn to, that they enjoyed and found energising (pg 4, paragraph 2) Change indeed is inevitable at BAE. The business model it has been relying on is changing, calling for a more customer-orientated approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients The mere fact of implement a strength base approach, in itself is change. It can be concluded that the change is fostered towards remaining competitive in the changing environment, thus BAE is seeking to match its human resource with business strategy, a concept in SHRM known as contingency approach which brings about two orientations, the internal labour orientation that seeks a long-term relationship with its employees and external labour orientation that seeks flexibility and does not make long-term commitments employees. SHRM Model From BAEs case, certain key features emerge that helps in identifying the SHRM model it is using to recruit and select its personnel. BAE business goal is to change its earlier approach of customer going to the business, to BAE going in such of the client. Adams à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦what were trying to move to is much more customer-oriented organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The strength based approach as used in BAE scenario can be referred to as the Human Resource Strategy (HRS) and is being mended with BAE Business Strategy (BS) rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients to achieve a fit to achieve its goal, in response to its changing business environment. This leads to a conclusion that the relationship between BS and HRS is that of Fit. Environment Analysis, another SHRM model feature, emerges; business transformation led to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦working with an industrial artist to produce a poster that illustrated for staff and leaders alike the challenges ahead. (pg 3, paragraph 3) This analysis helps BAE understand the environment which it operates in and be able to adopt as it evolves. Also the analysis prompt BAE to carry out a situation analysis to determine it current status, especially in terms of human resource to ascertain its capability to achieve its in response to the change in the business environment. This goal, I can say by analysis of BAE case, has been occasioned by BAE customers seeking value-add service on top of just the designing and build of aircraft services, an issue of stakeholder interest the customer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a much more customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support (pg 3, paragraph 2) From the case, strength-base approach has resulted in high performance by employees doing more than they used to do even though nothing had change in terms of the job roles an issue to do with work systems and HR flow, key attributes of a HR policy. Also, for BAE employees to do things they would have been drawn to and found energising is a catalyst for achieving competence and commitment among the employees, the desired result (outcomes) of the HR policy being used by an organisation, in this case BAE. The above paints a picture of the kind of SHRM model BAE that is skewed toward the Harvard Model; an approach seen to enhance high level of trust and mutuality. A representation of the model in light of the BAE case is as follows. HR Outcomes: High performance Commitment Competence Stakeholder Interests: Employee job satisfaction Organisation/Mgt Performance and competitiveness Customer quality, value for money HR Policies Long-term Consequences: Organisational Effectiveness Situation Analysis: Skill Availability 1.2) From a Human Resource Development (HRD) perspective the value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Introduction The Link between HRD, Learning, Development and change HRD refers to activities geared to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual perspective (in terms of skills and knowledge) and from an organisation perspective (in terms of business performance through the people) resulting in an organisation gaining competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future. HRD has therefore become critical (reason for a strategic approach to human resource) in nurturing human-capital talent, bringing to the fore the need for organisations to provide opportunities to attract, retain and offer growth opportunity to individual, especially in todays knowledge economy, thus the recognition of the criticality of learning and development in the context of human-capital the development and organisation capability. An organisations business environment keeps changing hence the needs to have the capacity to embrace and manage changes as they evolve. Through people organisation achieve their goals. Likewise through people an organisation is able to adapt / change to the new way of doing business. The value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Learning and Strength-based approach Learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦has acquired visibility and saliency because it sits at the juncture of new thinking concerning the nature of learning about new forms of knowledge, the transformation of the nature of work and the modern enterprise in a globalized economy (Stern and Sommerlad, 1999). From BAE perspective, the implementation of the strength-based approach can be construed to be a learning experience for the organization. Also the strength-based approach can be viewed from Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle that focuses on an integrated and planned approach based on experience Fig 2: Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle Reflection on experience involve looking back on experience and assessing the results. In relation to BAE, this is highlighted by the change in the way it used to do business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the traditional centralised business model.was changing rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients. (Paragraph 2, page 3) Conceptualise involves seek to understand why things turned out as they did, draw conclusions and make some hypotheses. The strength based approach from the case is defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ you should focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (Paragraph 3, page 2) Implementing the approach at the board level was hypothetical in the sense that the approach had been around for a while without much success any surety it would work. Apply -testing the hypotheses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The board was allocated several key business tasksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ allocated according to strengths. (Paragraph 1, page 4) Act Do something. In BAEs case à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The extent to which a strength-based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review. (Paragraph 6, page 4) The fact that BAE board à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦want to take this forward underscore the nature of learning, that of a continuous process. The value of Strength-based approach is that, employees are able to identify their strengths helping individuals understand their talents and how they can consciously apply these at work through developing knowledge and skills (which can be learned) to turn natural talents into world-class strengths. This approach has contributed to a high-performance work environment. (Organisational) Development and Strength-based approach As defined by Richard Beckhard (1969), Organization development (OD) is a planned, top-down, organization-wide effort to increase the organizations effectiveness and health. OD is undertaken to achieve a flexible (not only enabling organizations to embrace change, but exploit change in the external environment to organizational advantage) and creative organization that constantly seeks to improve and reinvent the way it carries out its business, and serves its customers. How rapidly an organization adapts to changing business circumstance is what delivers competitive advantage in todays global marketplace. Example, today, customers can be located anywhere in the world, customers demand near-instantaneous responsiveness and solutions. Such factors have impinged on organizational development. As a resulted there is a growing trend around the world to introduce skill-specific forms of training, as well as the growing recognition of individual learning contribution to organisation learning, both of which emphasise the link between competitive advantage and, training and development specifically around role and tasks. This seems to be the perspective BAE is borrowing by implementing a strength-based approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Rather than being shared out according to job functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦tasks were now allocated according to strengths (skills) (paragraph 1, pg 4) A broader approach could be placed on identifying the skills and experience (BAE: through strength-based approach), which broad business direction (BAE: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support) suggests will be required in the future together with planning around developing talent at different levels in the organisation (BAE: The extent to which a strength based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review). Change and Strength-based Approach An organisation can only perform effectively through interaction with the broader external environment of which it is part. Therefore the structure and functioning of the organisation must reflect the nature of the environment in which it is operation. For its survival and future success the organisation must be readily adaptable to the external demands upon it it must be responsive to change. From BAE perspective The traditionally centralised business modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was changingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 2, page 3) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦much more customer-orientated organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 3, page 4) The above reflects a change and BAE needs to adapt to the new way of doing business. Implementing the Strength-based approach comes in handy in identify the set of skills required to undertake such a move. 1.3 From an organisational and employee perspective the weakness ofstrength based approach The direction an organisation takes is always governed by goals that it wants to achieve and the strategies thereof applied to achieve them. Since the only way to achieve such goals is through people, there has to be a link between the strategies and the people. From BAEs perspective, the strength-based approach may be viewed as a best-practise approach a bundle of HR policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) According to Purcell (1999, p. 27) the best practice model does not discuss on company strategy. The underlying premise of this view is that organizations adopting a set of best practices attract super human resources, talent and competencies. These superior human resources will, in turn, influence the strategy the organization adopts and is the source of its competitive advantage. (Milkovich Newman, 2002, p. 30) .Therefore, for this approach, policy precedes strategy. This brings out the first weakness of the strength-based approach there is no direct link with the overall organization strategy. The strength-based approach primary focus is the skills of a person thereby limiting people to their area of interest. This leads to specialization and in as much as it make an organization / individual competent in the area of interest, to an extent this may prove very expensive to the organization since specialized skills are scarce and may come at a cost and should an organization be pursuing a cost leadership strategy this may undermine its intended goal cost reduction, which indeed is a competitive advantage virtue. This by analysis can be presumed true of the BAE scenario. Furthermore, it is prudent to focus also on the weakest points. For example a manager, using the WH Smith competence model used to underpin graduate recruitment and development, needs the following competencies: written communication ( communicate on paper) Oral communication (clearly speak and with ease) leadership (directing, command authority) team membership (team player) Planning and organizing Decision Making Motivation Personal Strength Analytical It may not be possible to be good at all the above competencies, albeit those being key requirements from a managerial focus, hence their weakness. But due to performance demands this may be sacrificed for performance. Watts agrees: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦its all about business performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if someone was the greatest strategist in the world but terrible at people management, we wouldnt be able to tolerate that, no matter how strong they were in the other areas. So its playing to people strength where possibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Human Resource development (HRD) emphasizes the need to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual skills and knowledge perspective, and from an organisation performance through the people perspective. As a result an organisation gains competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future From the above nature of HRD, the strength-based approach lucks a clear way of improving skills in the sense that it is impossible to pinpoint areas of improvement from a skilled resource perspective performing tasks he/she is attracted to and good at doing. ..How do you help someone who has risen to the top by being strong in most areas? (Paragraph 6, page 3) Complacency, egoism could result if a strength-based approach was implemented. An employee would feel superior since his skills is unmatched and as such would take things for granted while not putting enough effort and thereby affecting performance. Linleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦people often take things they are good at for granted, because it feels natural and doesnt require a lot of effortà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 7, page 3) SECTION B Question 2: 2.1: The main features of a performance management system Driven by market imperatives to develop more efficient organizational structures and practices, within an organization, there is an increasing emphasis on behavioural competitive strategies that rely on core competencies and capabilities among employees, not only because they provide the most effective response to market demands, but also because they are not easily copied by competitors. Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Its the identification, evaluation and developing the work performance of employees so that an organizations goals and objectives are more effectively achieved. Ensuring a productive and successful performance management system (PMS) is hard work and requires rigor and discipline to which an organization must be willing to commit. Key features of PMS include: Making the business case the objective The path (strategy) an organization will take goals to be achieved and role of each employee need to be communicated to achieve oneness, coherence and understanding throughout the organization. A PMS, likewise, need to be communicated pre-launch, (re)launch and post launch. There is need to cultivate enthusiasm, understanding and commitment through continual explanation of using the system to the entire organization In itself, PMS is an accountability system, showing the business results everyone (from senior managers to front-line employees) is accountable for and setting expectations for achieving the desire results. There should be a continual review of the objective in with the organization strategy. This is especially so taking into account the market dynamics keep changing and the organization need to align itself to be able to coup with change. Skill development It is critical to develop confidence and the competence of all employees around fulfilling their roles when implementing a process intended to change behavior. Actively involving the employees throughout the performance cycle will result in the effectiveness of the PMS. Both the leaders and employees need to know their responsibilities in the process; how to create measurable objectives and observable competencies; how to track; how to seek, give, and receive feedback; how to evaluate performance; and how to conduct effective performance discussions. All this require skills development in the form of training to be provided for both the leaders and employees. Aligned systems and Processes The alignment process begins with the PMS supporting the business strategic priorities and goals. It is critical to determine the relationship between other systems (for example team working) and the performance management system and how data from it will be used to support other HR systems, such as training and development, succession planning, selection and promotion, rewards and recognition, and compensation. For success in a specific position, competencies need to be identified and incorporate into the selection process for hiring people into the position which late be included into performance plans to track and evaluate. This provides an immediate link between the competencies used for selection and the competencies used to evaluate performance in the new job. The two systems are aligned and reinforce each other. Providing clear measures What are the outcomes envisaged from the system (PMS) and how do we measure? Before implementation, it is paramount to decide upon the criteria for evaluating the systems effectiveness. Landmarks for evaluation would include compliance ( for example, are performance plans, interim reviews, and final reviews, being completed on time?) and quality and effectiveness of the system (quality audits of performance plans and reviews, questions on employee satisfaction surveys and exit interviews, and so on) 2.2: Critical evaluation of the relationship and contribution of performance management systems with strategic human resource management principles Concept of Human Resource Today, all organizations (private business, academics and governments) throughout the world appreciate that the human resources can be a source of competitive advantage, provided that the policies for managing people are integrated with strategic business planning and organizational culture (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quinn, Mills, Walton, 1985) an important emphasis of congruence between human resource policies and organization objectives. This brings about the aspect of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility. SHRM can be seen as a three-dimensional model (Gratton and Truss, 2003): it is based on vertical alignment between people strategy and operational strategy; on horizontal alignment between individual HRM functions; and on an action and implementation dimension. Further in HRM, there are two strands of thinking: hard approach to HRM that focuses on cost reduction and containment, links with strategy and the role of HRM in furthering the competitive advantage of the organization and; the soft HRM that builds on human relations traditions and stresses the importance of the subjects as a means of furthering employee satisfaction and a range of related humane objectives that are achievable from the insights of systematic studies within HRM. Strategic human resource management and performance In the 21st century, organizations are so keen and are striving to achieve competitive advantage and profits through effective knowledge management (generating knowledge through collective learning). When human resource strategies are based on competence (ability requiring skills and knowledge which are acquired), the competency point of view is relevant to all functions. The key functions of HRM include personnel recruitment, development, and career planning and performance evaluation. In an organization there is a combination of material and immaterial resources that are expected to provide competitive edge to the organization (Kamoche, 1999). Resources and capabilities can be defined as skills, collective learning (core capabilities embedded in the organizations structures and processes) or as core competence. The capabilities include human capital (Individual competence is a good example), Structural capital (consists of intellectual property and infrastructure; systems of performance evaluation and management). The relationship capital refers to those distinct features that mark the organizations relationship with customers, personnel and interest groups. From this viewpoint, HRM is seen as a promoter of strategic capability, as a driver or as the organizations core competence. The latter consider that HRM functions of an organization can create unique competence that makes the organization stand out from the rest. This in turn increases its competitive advanta ge. Competence can be viewed from two levels: organizations core competence that incorporates collective learning and individual competence is usually based on the relationship between individual skills and work demands. The latter is often linked to good work performance. The prerequisites for competency depend on circumstances and are related to the facilitators of and barriers to reaching organizational goals, created by the organization and by social relations. Individual competency potential and the characteristics of the organization influence work competency i.e. effective response to work demands. Here, it is a question of reconciling desired behaviors and outcomes with actual behaviors and outcomes. Performance evaluation at the level of an organization and performance evaluation at the level of an individual constitute the basic functions of SHRM and can be used to co-ordinate strategies and personnel strategies and HRM functions. This mechanism is expected to establish a link between HRM and performance by increasing the motivation and building performance capability of personnel However, Panayotopoulou, Bourantas and Papalexandris (2003, p. 682) state research has failed to consistently support the efficacy of fit and its link to performance. Key citation is that most research on HRM and performance are based on the assumption that an organization pursues an integrated set of objectives and human resource that is in contrast with three recent developments: move towards more flexible internal structures associated with different forms of cooperation and collaboration among organizations and some of these include strategic alliances, business networks, joint ventures and linkages Outsourcing and inter-organizational contracting trend. These approaches do not consider the influence of multi employers and customers in the shaping of the employment relationship (Rubery, Earnshaw, Marchington, Cooke and Vincent 2002.) Much of organizational performance discussion is as though organizations are homogenous entities with clearly defined boundaries and similar contexts and characteristics. Recent developments suggest the need to understand the boundaries and how these might impact on organizations and the employment relationship. Hutchinson, Kinnie and Purcell (2001) report, in relation to the notions of people management and performance a number of aspects demonstrating the difficulty of evaluating performance impact are identified. The relationship between HR practices and business performance can be identified at different levels ranging from the plant/establishment level through to the corporation level. Lack of consensus on what constitutes a HR package and no agreement on the level of specificity or HR practices. There is a different way of measuring HR practices and a limited use of performance measures. in some cases sophisticated measurement techniques are used and these are hard to understand Few studies take account of the reaction of employees so that it is difficult to understand how the HR practices feed through to improved levels of performance and thus causality is an issue. Guest (1997) concur that there is a need for a basis of comparison and also a need to understand the relationship between types of performance data. 5 The main features of Human Resource Development (HRD) strategies and how they influence organisation change Definition of HRD By definition, HRD strategies are plans defining how human resources would be utilized through the use of an integrated array of training, organisational development and career development efforts to achieve individual, organisational objectives. The increasingly competitive business environment organization have become increasingly interested in and appreciate their employees who are seen as key players contributing to the core competencies of the organization (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). As a result, it has become paramount for the organization (the management) to harness and nurture the talents and capabilities of the employees for good performance and competitive edge. This has given rise to the need of human resource development. Features and their influences: Skill Gap People are our greatest asset, is on the lips of many senior managers. During selection and hiring of an employee, at that time the employees competencies (ability- requiring skills and knowledge) were deemed as fitting with the organisation objectives. As a result of changes taking place in the business environment (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) most like the organisation will have changed in the way it used to work so as to encompass/embraces these changes resulting in skills deficit. In response to the need to meet the skill gaps and increase productivity, organisations are keen to encourage a series of initiatives, and which recognise the importance of developing the skills, for example multi-skilling and learning to achieve flexibility. However, in as much as people are our greatest asset philosophy goes, there is poor investment in training and development in most of the organisation (Redman and Wilkinson, 2001; Harrison, 2002). Furthermore the development budget is often the first target when economies are needed. Creating learning Environments Changes in the business environment are leading to flexible and creative organisations that are constantly seeking to improve and reinvent the way business is carried out and how customers are severed an organisation development (OD) perspective. French and Bell (1999) describes OD as a long-term effort to improve the organisations visioning, empowerment, learning and problem-solving processes through collaborative management of organisation culture this description high-lights a key aspect, learning. The organisation is not the only arena for people to learn. There is need for organisations and its employees, and to a greater extent the community within which the organisation is operating to understand the importance of life-long-learning the need to have high quality. This calls for a cross-sector partnership to provide opportunities for organisation (public, private and non-profit) to work together to enhance the skill base in the labour market which will in turn increase in human and social capital. Developing a learning organisation is not easy since it necessitates culture change. To successfully implement a learning culture, there is need to align performance evaluation and reward processes with organisational learning goals, a means of fostering a common corporate learning culture. Encouraging a greater uptake of learning an

Defining Good Advice :: Definition Essays

Defining "Good Advice" Perhaps â€Å"good advice† is best defined as advice that fits into our lives, and produces desirable results. Luke reacted to this statement with the following, â€Å"I don’t know that I agree with this [the previous sentence]...good advice can be received and disregarded just as easily as it can be used, and then we may never know the results.† If and when I disregard advice, I must not find it to be that good. How well any advice fits into our lives and if we like the results is a harder thing to accomplish than one may think. If Kate had told me to â€Å"put my chin up and smile,† sure, Kate would be trying to help, but I was looking for something more specific that fit directly into my situation. Good advice can come from absolutely anyone. In narratives from our class, advice came from friends, relatives, colleges, experts, and enemies. However, all the advice we consider good advice was given to the advisee as an option, not a command. â€Å"Good advice should not be pushed on a person,† said Jeff Stotko. Not many people were willing to accept advice from someone who was telling them what to do. Instead, good advice was the stuff we are told and then we have to decide what to do with it. Good advice has a tendency to take us away from our own point of view and explore more options to the situation. Had Jackie’s contractor flat out told her without explanation that she couldn’t put in the window, she probably wouldn’t have listened to him. Her daughter’s room would now be in the living room, literally. When he told her about the problem and gave her the time to figure out what she wanted to do on her own, the advice became good advice. It d oes this because it makes Jackie decide for herself. We want to live our own lives, right? We don’t want others to live them for us; we just want their input sometimes. When the class looked at the three sections on contractions, it was pointed out that section A seemed to condemn contractions. We were all very wary to accept the paragraph which just stated without explanation that contractions are bad. The same goes for advice. I wouldn’t listen to someone who just says what I am doing is WRONG.

Motivating an Athletic Performer Essay -- Motivation Motiational Theor

This essay will include the different types of motivational theories. It will illustrate the different types of motivation and how each affects the performers in various ways. Positive and negative issues of the types of motivation will be discussed to determine which is the best method of motivation and why. It will also illustrate how these motivational theories are used to motivate a performer. This essay will be concluded by stating the best motivation method, and how a coach or teacher could use it in motivating a performer. Motivation can be described in various ways: (English Oxford Shorter Addition 1993) described motivation as being, "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The action or an act of motivating something or someone. The stimulus, incentive, motives for action towards a goal, resulting from psychological or social factors; the factors giving purpose or direction to behaviourà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦." (Kent 1994) described motivation as being, "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the internal state which tends to direct a person's behaviour towards a goalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦." (Woods, 1998) described motivation as, "à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦motivation has been seen as having two aspects: it is what drives us to do thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and it makes us do particular thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦." These various descriptions of motivation are putting across all of the same points. All three statements involve an inner drive to a specific goal. These goals are achieved through arousal and the direction of the athlete's behavior. There are various types of motivation such as intrinsic, extrinsic, primary, secondary, positive and negative motivation. Intrinsic motivation is a term used to describe the internal drives that allows the athlete to perform. Intr... ...rises the athletes to perform, creating a job like situation for the players. I believe that there is no best method of motivation a coach or teacher can use on a performer. This is because when you start a particular sport, you do it for fun, but gradually as you get better rewards begin to be offered. Thus resulting in the performers motivation coming more from extrinsic than intrinsic motivation. If the performer wins a competition it will have a positive affect on them intrinsically as well as extrinsically, as the performer will fell good about the reward as much as he feels good about how much effort was concerned in obtaining the reward. There has to be a balance, as if it is to extrinsically motivated their will be no enjoyment competing in the sport, therefore the performer will get bored and quit.

Foreign Essay :: Foreign Language Education Development Essays

Foreign Essay Efnisyfirlit Inngangur 2 Einkenni gà ³Ãƒ °rar menntunar 2 Stiklaà ° à ¡ stà ³ru à ­ uppeldissà ¶gunni 2 Stà ¦rà ° skà ³la og samband vià ° umheiminn 3 Litlir umbà ³taskà ³lar skila betri à ¡rangri 4 Kennsluaà °ferà °ir og uppeldisstefnur 6 Hvernig là ¦ra bà ¶rnin best? 6 Montessori 7 Waldorf 7 Reggio Emilia 8 Ofurnà ¡m (Super-learning) 8 Tillaga um Hà ¡gà ¦Ãƒ °askà ³la 9 Umrà ¦Ãƒ °a og nià °urstà ¶Ãƒ °ur 10 Heimildaskrà ¡ 11 Inngangur Ritgerà ° à ¾essari er à ¦tlaà ° aà ° leita svara vià ° spurningum er varà °a nà ¡m barna à ¡ grunnskà ³laaldri à ¾ar sem aà °alà ¡herslan er à ¡ skà ³laumhverfià ° og kennsluaà °ferà °ir. Leitast verà °ur vià ° aà ° svara à ¾và ­ hvaà ° einkennir menntun og skà ³la sem skila betri nà ¡msà ¡rangri og là ­Ãƒ °an hjà ¡ bà ¶rnum. Meà ° tilliti til skà ³laumhverfis verà °ur kannaà ° hvort stà ¦rà ° skà ³lans skiptir mà ¡li à ­ sambandi vià ° nà ¡msà ¡rangur og là ­Ãƒ °an barnanna. à  sambandi vià ° kennsluaà °ferà °ir verà °ur leitast vià ° aà ° finna leià °ir sem virka vel à ­ nà ¡mi barna og à ­ kjà ¶lfarià ° verà °a kynntar nokkrar kennsluaà °ferà °ir og uppeldisstefnur sem skilaà ° hafa gà ³Ãƒ °um à ¡rangri à ¡ sà ­Ãƒ °ustu à ¡ratugum, meà ° à ¾roska og à ¡huga barnsins aà ° leià °arljà ³si. Aà ° lokum verà °a dregnar saman nià °urstà ¶Ãƒ °ur og farià ° yfir à ¾au atrià °i sem skilaà ° hafa gà ³Ãƒ °um à ¡rangri à ­ skà ³lastarfi. Umfjà ¶llun mun byggja à ¡ erlendum bà ³kmenntum, frà ¦Ãƒ °igreinum og rannsà ³knum à ¡ svià °i uppeldis- og menntunarfrà ¦Ãƒ °i. Einkenni gà ³Ãƒ °rar menntunar Þaà ° hefur alltaf verià ° mikià ° à ¡litamà ¡l hvaà ° à ¾ykir einkenna gà ³Ãƒ °a menntun, en hà ©r à ¡ eftir verà °ur farià ° aà °eins yfir nokkur atrià °i sem lagt var à ¡hersla à ¡ snemma à ­ uppeldissà ¶gunni sem là ½kur svo meà ° à ¾và ­ aà ° kynna hugmyndir umbà ³tasinna sem à ¾Ãƒ ³ttu rà ­kjandi à ¡ sà ­Ãƒ °ustu à ¶ld. à  framhaldi af à ¾và ­ eru svo kynnt nokkur atrià °i sem virà °ast skipta mà ¡li à ­ sambandi vià ° là ­Ãƒ °an og à ¡rangur barna à ­ nà ¡mi og à ¾ykja einkennandi fyrir gà ³Ãƒ °a menntun à ­ dag. à  à ¾và ­ sambandi verà °ur meà °al annars fjallaà ° um stà ¦rà ° skà ³la og kennsluaà °ferà °ir. Stiklaà ° à ¡ stà ³ru à ­ uppeldissà ¶gunni Allt frà ¡ à ¾và ­ fyrir à ¾rjà º à ¾Ãƒ ºsund à ¡rum sà ­Ãƒ °an à ¾egar fyrstu frà ¦Ãƒ °ingar uppeldissà ¶gunnar litu dagsins ljà ³s hefur mà ¶nnum greint à ¡ um hvaà ° helst eigi aà ° leggja à ¡herslu à ¡ à ­ uppeldi og menntun barna og ungmenna. Þà ³tt uppeldisfrà ¦Ãƒ °ingar fyrr à ¡ à ¶ldum hafi haft mismunandi à ¡herslur, bar à ¾eim à ¾Ãƒ ³ nokkuà ° saman um aà ° mennun innihà ©ldi meira en einungis hià ° hefà °bundna bà ³knà ¡m sem felst à ­ lestri, skrift og stà ¦rà °frà ¦Ãƒ °i. Flestar stefnur fyrri tà ­ma innihà ©ldu einhvers konar fà ©lagslegt og sià °ferà °ilegt uppeldi en auk à ¾ess var meà °al annars là ¶gà ° à ¡hersla à ¡ listir, heimspeki, stjà ³rnmà ¡l, mà ¦lsku- og rà ¶kfà ¦rslulist, là ­kamsrà ¦kt og handverk.

Canadian Tutoring Industry Analysis Essay

The reason for education is an incontestable topic. According to article 40 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedom, everyone has a right to free education and as of 1871, education for children between the ages of 6-16 became compulsory in Canada. Having practiced playing school during their childhood, schools for children are a symbol of growing up; and for the parents, are viewed as a rite of passage and entry to the child’s future career (Diskin, 2010). However, most believe that the greatest achievements of life are their educational titles. Thus grades became the measure of a child’s success or failure in his young life. Consequently, efforts to help students obtain better grade in various educational institutions and levels emerged and tutoring business services were born. Over the past decade, the tutoring industry has undergone a massive growth an increased in popularity. It was even described as flourishing according to CTV’s Ken Shaw (The growing business of tutoring students, 2002). Tutoring classes no longer concern just academic subjects but now includes sports and dance lessons. In 2007 a report by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) sparked interest and controversy about the private tutoring sector in Canada when it announced that a third of Canadian parents (33%) have hired a tutor. This reinforced the findings of a 2005 study which determined that approximately 25% of Canadian parents hired a tutor, and the 2007 OISE/UT Biennial Survey which found that 24% of Ontario parents have used tutoring (Aurini, 2008). Furthermore, the number of formal businesses that offer fuller tutoring services has grown between 200%-500% in major Canadian cities over the past 30 years, a growth that is independent of public school enrollments or economic trends (Davies & Aurini, 2004). In Ontario for example the number of businesses grew from 250 to just under 500 locations between 1996 and 2005. While these figures are impressive, they do not capture the vast network of more casual, part-time tutors who service thousands of students on a regular basis. However, even using conservative estimates, all research suggests that we are witnessing the birth of a tutoring revolution in Canada (Aurini, 2008). With this unprecedented wave of entrepreneurial activity in what has been dubbed â€Å"the new education industry† the private tutoring industry has been saturated and has reached its maturity stage. â€Å"Just looking at the Yellow Pages, you can see that the number of listings for private tutoring companies has tripled to quadrupled over the last 15 years,† says Dr. Neil Guppy of the University of B. C. ‘s department of sociology (Johal, 1999).

Our Time Essay

In Mary Louise Pratt’s essay, â€Å"Arts of the Contact Zone,† we are introduced to the idea of contact zones, autoethnography, and new ways of looking at common ideas. I wanted to see some examples of what she was really talking about. After reading John Edgar Wideman’s â€Å"Our Time† we can see that Pratt’s ideas and terms are accurate because they can be applied to this reading as well as others. â€Å"Our Time† is an autoethnography because it uses diffeerent points of view, not just oneself, to give information about someone’s upbringing and cultural growth. In Pratt’s essay, she often referred to the term autoethnography. These emerge from contact zones. Autoethnographies are used as a method to oppose the views of oneself that everyone else sees. For example, if there are people in your neighborhood that have a label on your home and family, you might go back and tell them how your life actually is. Mary Louise Pratt goes on to tell us that a contact zone is a place where people from different cultures and communities come together. Here, these different people share ideas and interact with each other. It is almost a type of hybridization. Multiple cultures or societies come together, and mash. They can join together, or exchange some values, or be overrun by one another. Within these contact zones, people are able to see the way others see them and interpret them. From there, they would be able to see themselves through different eyes, and from a different perspective. In relation, autoethnographic texts are â€Å"texts in which people undertake to describe themselves in ways that engage with repre sentations others have made of them† (Pratt 487). They are not texts written to Bolduc 2 explain how the writer sees themselves, but how they are seen by others. This is to maximize the credibility, and that there isn’t too much bias. Writers put together these texts from others’ understandings and viewpoints of them, as well as interpretation of others. Similarly, Pratt also refers to the term transculturation frequently in her essay. The definition of transculturation is when values or ways of life and habits from the dominant culture are passed down to smaller subordinate cultures. From there, those cultures choose what materials they would like to use as well as trying to  persuade the dominant culture to use some of their ideas. In Pratt’s essay, she uses Guaman Poma’s New Chronicle to back up her claims. She refers to the reading as an autoethnographic text. This text â€Å"involve[s] a selective collaboration with appropriation of idioms of the metropolis or the conqueror† (Pratt 488). In the New Chronicle, Poma’s story is written in two languages, Spanish and Quechua which is an Incan language. Spanish is considered the dominant language, or culture, whereas the Incan language is considered to be the subordinate language and culture. Poma writes his story from the Incan point of view where he attempts to rewrite history through their eyes rather than the Spanish. Transculturation is represented because he uses the main ideas from the dominant culture, such as Adam and Eve, and then in turn incorporates the Incan culture while pushing some of their ideas back on the dominant culture. This is where you see two cultures interact, and form very different cultures from their origina l state, but more similar to each other. On the same note, Poma writes the story based on representation others’ have made of them, and by incorporating both cultures, the story can be considered an autoethnographic text. Similarly, Wideman’s text can also be considered an autoethnographic text. We see both of these terms represented in Wideman’s â€Å"Our Time,† as well as the ideas from Poma’s story. Wideman does a great job of incorporating different idioms to represent Bolduc 3 himself, as well as his brother Robby, in order to paint an accurate picture of the community and culture in which they are each a part of. For example, in the preface, the terms â€Å"ghetto† and â€Å"gangster† are used to describe their black community of Homewood— which can be referred to as indigenous idioms. Indigenous idioms are the common way of speaking within ones’ own community. A quick example of this would be how some stated refer to soda as soda, or pop, or coke, while they are all referring to the same thing. In the text, the community of Homewood is considered to be the subordinate culture. This culture stems from the dominant culture of Pittsburgh showing how the story can be considered an autoethnographic text. This is because Wideman is using the autoethnography to sort of push back against the typical Pittsburgh  culture, and show people how it actually is. John and Robby’s family moved from the dominant culture to Homewood. Wi th them they brought ideas from both communities together creating a contact zone. Due to them growing up in a white community, Robby became intrigued with the black community from a very young age. This is because he grew up surrounded by whites who would never tell him about it. As he says in the text, â€Å"I decided I’d find out what it was all about. Didn’t care if it killed me, I was going to find out† (Wideman 678). This helps us see why Robby immersed himself in the culture of Homewood, while also getting in touch with Robby’s voice in the text. Because of Robby’s fascination, he gets sucked down a path of crime, which eventually leads to jail. On the other hand, Wideman finds himself more immersed in the dominant culture. He goes through a series of very fortunate events, leading him to becoming a successful, established writer. Both brothers grow up in similar communities but found themselves going down very separate paths, showing the diversity within the contact zone. Wideman’s goal in this story is to try and figure out why Robby and himself turned out so differently. Therefore, he wants to go through specific events in order to figure this out. He Bolduc 4 writes â€Å"Our Time† in a way that most readers are not used to. Instead of writing a basic story of his brother’s life, he instead incorporates himself into it, as well as his thought processes throughout. Because he writes his story based on his brother, parts of this reading can be considered ethnography. Ethnography can be defined as a text that is based on someone other than the writer, just as Wideman writes about Robby. Wideman’s goal is persuade us to find value is his project. Readers also mix his ideas with theirs, in which they develop their own ideas based on Widman’s story, as well as give feedback. This gives a sense of transculturation, because just listening to Wideman’s points allow us to adopt some of his culture. Wideman explains to us the different ways he thought about starting the story as well as certain habits he must overcome in order to make his project successful. He ends up starting off with a story explaining the death of his brothers’ friend, Garth who died of a disease because he did not receive proper treatment, due to being black. This can be considered a contact zone  because the dominant culture represents themselves as the superiors in this situation, showing the diversity of the contact zone. Not only does this paint a picture of the world they live in, but also gives us some back round on reasons why Robby ended up living a life of crime that eventually lead him to jail. Garth’s death shook Robby and his community. They knew he had been treated unfairly and because of that they had hatred towards the dominant culture. This could be a reason why Robby chose to rebel against it, and dive into the Homewood community and culture— which showed him the life of crime. Garth’s death is one of the many instances in which we see the community that the brothers lived and grew up in. Wideman writes this section using Robby’s point of view as a way to try and understand why Robby ended up like he did, which is an example of ethnography. For instance, Wideman shows Robby’s point of view when he describes Garth. Explaining that he â€Å"looked bad. Real Bad. Inchabod Crane anyway, but now he Bolduc 5 was a skeleton† (Wideman 658). Here, Robby is providing us with a description of what Garth looks like, but Wideman is writing it, making it ethnography since it is not from Garth’s person. Along with that, Wideman shares with us another moment in time which he considered starting the story from. His other way was with the day Robby was born. Robby’s birthday was surrounded by times of death and sadness. It was almost as if it was completely overshadowed by it, almost as if there was a low gloomy storm cloud above it. Wideman shows us the effect it had on his brother by saying that â€Å"Robby cried a lot on his birthdays† (Wideman 684). This instance could have a lot to do with the way Robby ended up in jail. He was never truly celebrated on his special day; instead it contained tears and depression. Wideman uses this as an example of the factors that lead to his life of crime. He uses his own view of Robby to portray autoethnography. He writes it so that we see the way others view Robby in this situation, as well as they way Robby feels viewed, and then puts it into his words. I wondered why he switches points of view mid story. But then I realized that the whole reason he included Robby in his story was to counter ideas about Robby, whether they be his own, or other people in town. By switching to Robby’s voice, it gives a different insight. One that Is from Robby, and this helps strengthen the  autoethnographic element by opposing whatever claims and judgments that Wideman or even the reader may have, and shows us how things actually are. Throughout the story we see examples of what we can call Indigenous texts, where Wideman is trying to connect to what Robby is saying. In order to connect with Robby in the way that he wants, Wideman realizes that he has to overcome some of his habits. The biggest habit he had to overcome was â€Å"listening to [himself] listen to him† (Wideman 672). He had the tendency to hear Robby in his words rather than really listen to Robby’s point of view, which is important in order to create and autoethnographic text. Therefore, when putting material together Bolduc 6 he had to focus on breaking this habit. He had to see Robby through Robby’s eyes in order to make his project successful, which he did. Another habit Wideman had to overcome was to avoid having his story sound poetic and fictional. He wanted us to truly hear Robby’s voice and get an accurate idea of his community, and to do that; he had to drop some of the fancy words and phases so it didn’t overshadow the true point of his project. A third habit he had to overcome was the feeling of guilt about success and luck he has received throughout his life. He questions multiple times in the text why they turned out so differently. He feels guilty that his brother ended up in jail and he turned into such a successful writer. In conclusion, Wideman shows his side of the story along with his brothers, creating a piece of writing that differs from what we may consider to be usual, or conventional writing. Wideman steps out of the norm by describing his process of writing thr oughout the story. By doing this, along with providing different perspectives, he was able to create an autoethnographic text while also incorporating ethnography. Also, by giving us a glimpse of different cultures and communities that they grew up in, Wideman was able to create transculturation as well as show us the contact zones that come up within the story. All of these ideas lead back to Pratt’s ideas of contact zones, as well as Guaman Poma’s New Chronicle, providing us with instances to portray Pratt’s significance as well as Wideman’s. Wideman’s goal was to show us the ways in which he and his brother turned out so differently, and I think he succeeded. He was able to verify Pratt’s idea of contact zones  and show us his personal experience of the diversity within them. Also, he was able to help us understand the background behind Robby’s life of crime and accurately show why they ended up on different paths. This is what made Wideman’s project successful. Bolduc 7 Works Cited Wideman, John. â€Å"Our Time.† Ways of reading. 9th ed. Editor David Bartholomae & Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 655-694. Print Pratt, Mary. â€Å"Arts of the Contact Zone.† Ways of reading. 9th ed. Editor David Bartholomae & Anthony Petrosky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 655-694. Print