Management Case Analysis

David, in which he needs to determine essentially whether the greater good of the business unit should outweigh the promotion of one of Its key members. This Is rather ironic due to the fact that managers typically have more difficulty Identifying promotional opportunities for their employees than Impeding them. David Is under significant pressure to perform and the obstacles are stack against him, poor market situation, safety issues at the plant, and rising fixed costs.The article, â€Å"When to Reward Employees with More Responsibility and Money,† states that more than often managers feel responsible for finding their employees the next career opportunity. Mangers should foster progression and skill development of their employees within the work environment; however should this be secondary to the overall health of the business unit or organization? Davit's task is certainly an arduous one. This is his opportunity to prove to upper management that despite his age, he is cap able enough to successfully manage his sales team.Furthermore, David implements the correct Annihilative by assigning the project to the business development engineer Initially. This decision yielded positive results and the case clearly presents the business development engineer as an Integral factor. The business development manager's talent does not go unnoticed and shortly after he is offered a position two levels higher than his current role with a significant salary increase. This is a managerial success, considering David properly developed his employee for future opportunities; however performance of the business unit will foreseeable decline with the loss of its key member.It is suffice say that David will need think creatively to transcend his â€Å"rock and a hard place† situation. The article, â€Å"When to Reward Employees with More Responsibility and Money,† outlines challenges managers face and their corresponding solutions, the foremost being alternativ e forms of motivation, having to say no, and Job sculpting to prepare employees for the next step. These examples permeate the case study, In which David must construct a viable all-encompassing strategy. The key take-away Is that employees can be motivated by factors other than money.In fact an over reliance on money as a motivator could result in an organization's culture becoming transactional and calculated. Also, Job sculpting sets realistic expectations regarding position related responsibilities for employees who want to take the next step, but currently lack the experience or skill set. David should not be deterred by the budgetary constraints ND view this scenario as an opportunity to execute an innovative method to satisfy all parties, without affecting production or the bottom line.The case only proposes two options for David, to let the business development engineer to move on or to block his promotion. We are proposing an alternative third option. David could plead his case to the hiring manager that the business development engineer will be needed until year end, simultaneously enabling the quota to be reached and affording the account manager time to be trained. As the article suggests, David loud create a hybrid role for the business development engineer to supervise the the process.Additionally, the business development engineer could use this time to take on some his new duties to appease the hiring manager and acclimate himself to his new position. Furthermore, this recommendation could result as an extrinsic reward to the business development engineer and account manager, buy conveying the message that they are both essential to the future success of this business unit and are both provided the opportunity to further develop their skills.

Causes of Poverty Essay

Development Studies Assignment 4 QUESTION Poverty is a multi-faceted concept that can be defined in various ways. Write an essay in which you: -outline this concept as well as distinguish between absolute and relative poverty. In your discussion, provide relevant examples to illustrate your understanding (2 pages) -discuss any three (3) causes of poverty in Third World countries using concrete examples (3pages) READING: Study Guide, Unit 4 Regan Chapter 19 Assessment evidence shows that you can: – define the overall concept of poverty using relevant examples – define and compare the concepts of absolute and relative poverty, using examples to help illustrate your answer – use Robert Chambers’ deprivation trap to explain how poverty is a multi faceted concept and how it has many causes and effects – discuss three factors which may cause poverty in the third world. ANSWER TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Outlining the concept of a multi-faceted poverty 3. Distinction between absolute and relative poverty 4. Discussing any 3 causes of poverty in the world 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography 1. INTRODUCTION â€Å"Where poverty is extreme and unending, human rights are eroded; the natural resources base deteriorates; and human dignity too often gives way to despair. Breaking the cycle of poverty is an integral part of development in every nation† UNDP Annual Report, Source:Regan 2006:283. I am going to outline the multi faced poverty, discuss the causes of poverty in the Third World countries. Poverty has been stalling development in the poor countries and strategies have been developed to fight poverty against the Economic Growth. It is true that â€Å"poverty is like the heat. It can only be felt when one gets into it†, hence to explain poverty is a very difficult task especially to someone who has never experienced it. 2. OUTLINING THE CONCEPT OF A MULTI FACETED POVERTY Poverty is linked to lack of adequate food, shelter, education, health, life expectancy, sanitation and access to safe water. â€Å"People living in poverty are often exposed to ill treatment by governments and institutions of the state and society and are powerless to influence key decisions affecting their lives† Regan 2006:283. Despite the fact that many positive changes have happened in terms of technology, and mass communications, there seem to be still a gap between the rich and the  poor. The few rich are taking the biggest part of the riches while the biggest population of the poor is sharing the smaller percentage of the riches, for example, â€Å"In1960 the richest 20% of the world’s people shared between them 70% of the entire wealth of this planet. By the mid-90’s, this figure had increased to over 85%† Regan 2006:281. We see a big gap there, not talking about the current figures in the recent years. We’re there is poverty there is lack of money to go to school hence illiteracy leading to one failing to read information about the Economic growth. In that sense it becomes a cycle of poverty in which poverty refuses to escape. Population is also another factor. When these people continue giving birth under those same conditions. So it is important when looking at poverty to look at what really caused the poverty. A well known author of Development issues, Robert Chambers, wrote about what he named the â€Å"deprivation trap†. In the households described by Chamber 1983:109, 110, he described the households that he named â€Å"clusters of disadvantage†. There is a house hold which is normally child headed after it has been affect by misfortunes like the death of the parents or maybe the parents died of HIV and AIDS. These children will be left on their own to fend for each other. The oldest child there will be left to take the siblings to school, fetch them water, and get them food to eat. The household altogether is affected by a combination of â€Å"parasites†, disease and malnutrition. The other family is that which lives very far away from a town, somewhere remote. They don’t normally get enough information on the current happenings in the outside world. If they get to travel its only to go visit a relative to ask for money or food. Even if they attend meetings, they rarely participate and are not normally seen as important in any aspect except maybe in doing those difficult jobs for paltry payments. Giving an example of my rural area of Gutu in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, this scenario really counts when the people from my village normally just go for political or church gatherings where they are just made to cook for people or just dance without any reasonable understanding. Schoolchildren from the schools surrounding my village normally are asked to do a lot of work for such functions unlike their peers in the urban areas or other bit developed areas. There is also a household that is vulnerable, less contingencies; there is also a household  that is ignorant, with less or no knowledge. No legal expertise. It is always exploited probably by moneylenders, politicians. Giving an example of the Zimbabwean peasant person during the 2013 harmonized elections, they would just accept any regalia from any political party because they wanted to find something to wear not because they love the political party. They would even take any food from any direction in a way of seeking a way to survive. There are also some areas like those people who were resettled in Zimbabwe after the land redistribution in 2000 where other families were resettled where there is no any form of communication i.e. radios, cell phones and even transport. Not mentioning schools, they are more than 10-15 kilometers from the house. At the end of the day these people have got not much entertainment therefore they end up bearing more and more children where there is no enough food to feed the children, which leads to them suffering from malnutrition and others failing to even go to school forever since there are no schools. They end up having large families of illiterate families who will be marrying the nearest family member. Their homes are precariously balanced. With this fourfold household description, Chambers compiled what he called a deprivation trap†. Hence summing all this up we learn that physical weakne ss, powerlessness, vulnerability, isolation and poverty do cause the cycle of poverty to never break. 3. DISTINCTION BETWEEN RELATIVE AND ABSOLUTE POVERTY According to Regan 2006:283, â€Å"Absolute poverty is characterized by some people in other parts of the world, normally the third world lives on a $1 per day. The population gets to 1.2billion. Those who live with $2 per day add up to 2.8 billion.† Relative poverty is normally when the country is deemed not to be living within the minimum requirements. For example in Zimbabwe it’s now deemed normal not to have electricity or water at a certain time (high load-shedding) of which it is poverty in the developed countries. Relative poverty therefore measures what percentage of population is poor when a minimum baseline â€Å"for that country† is used as a yardstick. The world Bank describes poverty a series of deprivations that may include: – living without fundamental freedoms of action or choice – lack of adequate food and shelter, education and health – extreme vulnerability to ill-health, Ebonics dislocation and natural disasters – being exposed to ill-treatment by the  state and society – powerlessness to influence key decisions 4. DISCUSSING ANY 3 CAUSES OF POVERTY IN THE WORLD There are a number of causes of poverty in the world which include dictatorship, lack of education, low wage rates, overpopulation, war, disease, floods, and natural disasters but here I am going to discuss about just 3 of them which are overpopulation, lack of education and war. a. Overpopulation Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the finest English Romantic Poets, â€Å"The rich grind the poor into abjectness and then complain that they are abject. They goad them to famine, and then hang them if they steal a sheep†. Overpopulation refers to when an organism’s number exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat? The term usually refers to the relationship between human population and its environment, the earth. World population is currently growing by approximately 75million people per year according to the United Nations Reports and the net growth by mid-century is predicted by the United Nations medium variant to be about 33million, while the low is 13million. Overpopulation in the third world countries is one of the main causes of poverty which have failed to be tackled by experts in population issues. In a poverty reduction process it has become totally impossible to lower the population because human population tends to grow at a geometrical rate while the ability to produce subsistence increases at a merely arithmetical rate hence finding ourselves in an ever-deepening spiral of suffering caused by overpopulation. The earth’s capacity ofcourse can absorb big numbers of people but the land is being used for other not very necessary things instead of growing food for the number of people that is growing every second. FAO reports that by 2020, 135 million people may lose their land as a result of soil degradation as well. The exhaustible resources are limited and cannot meet the demands of all the people; especially where the rich are getting into the habit of of having more resources than required. When there is overpopulation clean water will be limited, medical care normally will be scarce, unemployment rate increases because many habitants will be looking forward to getting jobs, shelter will be crowded. Money on its own will not be enough to sustain a certain household. Most of the land will be used to build more houses hence reducing land for agriculture to grow crops to feed the people. In a country like Zimbabwe, prior to Robert Mugabe’s seizure of  the farmland, the farme rs had been using irrigation to deal with drought but during the seizures, much of the irrigation equipment was either vandalized or looted. A 2006 BBC article about Mugabe’s land seizure states † Critics say the reforms have devastated the economy and led to massive hunger. Much of the formerly white-owned land is no longer being productively used-either because the beneficiaries have no experience of farming or they lack finance and tools. Many farms were wrecked when they were invaded by government supporters† Some argue that without religion, population will be reasonable in the sense that people will be allowed to abort for an instance. The issues of birth control have been religiously viewed in countries like China where overpopulation is also rife. However many children are being born to face malnutrition or preventable diseases as a result of lack of nutritious food and desirable medications. Hence high infant/child mortality rate There is also the issue of fresh water. If the population keeps increasing there is likely to be less fresh water available in the world. Water deficit is also spurring grain imports in numerous smaller countries. The water tables are quickly getting exhausted because of the population growth. b. Lack of Education Studies indicate that if one has little or no education, the chances of them wallowing in poverty are huge. Lack of education is another major cause of poverty in the world. Without education, one cannot go anywhere. Developing countries do have inadequate budgets when it comes to education which is affecting the majority-especially with the growing population. Illiteracy is really a big player in the â€Å"cycle of poverty† that keeps the poor being locked in poverty as they do not have a chance to receive education. In many rural set ups, education is not treated as an important aspect in life especially in the girl child. In many occasions, you find that most children are kept from schools because they are needed at home to support their families with additional income by working. This â€Å"cycle of poverty† goes this way: if one fails to receive education they cannot read or write, they can never listen to the radio and understand what will be talked about-such that its easier for any outsider to come and use them and abuse them because they do not have sufficient if any knowledge or  information at all. Most black people do not normally think about the future, they just live on a life that is unplanned. When one fails to be well educated, it is difficult to get a good job with good salary to eradicate poverty back in their home. They end up doing menial, lowest paying jobs of which sometimes these jobs are seasonal, meaning when they are not working they just stay at home and have nothing to feed their family with. In the current situation in the world, tertiary education is now what’s considered the best for one to get a good job. Just ending in â€Å"A level† or â€Å"High School† will not give one a desired job that has good returns. In the United States 73% of people who do not have a high school degree live in poverty. That is how bad it is. Here in Zimbabwe I can say that the lack of education is bleeding the economy to the last, it’s also causing too much poverty because in the country like this which has been under the leadership of one person/party. There is too much corruption in the ruling government that they are offering top posts to uneducated people just because they just â€Å"went to war† Or maybe that they are related to so and so. They get into those offices and they start waging wars, and starving thousands while feeding their families only, failing to make their country prosperous. They start abusing the only resources that are there to help the majority of the country. Hence I can say that lack of education causes a lack of strong, prosperous leadership in the government and it causes a deficit of people who are willing to be well informed and willing to act on their own behalf of their own roles in all levels of government. c. War In the third world countries, they are normally characterized by wars normally fueled by civil unrests. War really causes and increases poverty in every other aspect. Not thinking only about the people who would have died during the war, there is a need to think about the families that would have been left by these people who would have died in the war. What will they eat? And in a normal war situation infrastructure is destroyed i.e. schools, houses, hospitals, roads and even any other types of shelter. That means there are going to be homeless children, adults, no schools to learn in, increasing the poverty. There will be a need to get funds/money to build the infrastructure. Talking about clean and safe water as well, normally after the war the water will be polluted with the  chemicals, if there is any water at all. War really affects the economy in a big way because the material and human destruction caused by it is a major development problem. Coming to give an example of Iraq, the only fight over oil caused the whole economy to crumble. The roads became dilapidated, the health sector went down. There had to be help to be sent through the United Nations to start on the economy. In Zimbabwe in the post war era around 1980, there had to be pumped out money to start building, of which, in a poor country like Zimbabwe it is difficult to source funds. Some never recovered from that that they never even decided to go back to school again making it impossible to reduce poverty in their land. 5. CONCLUSION Poverty has got many causes in the world but according to what I have discussed above, there can never be total poverty reduction in the whole world. This poverty topic also makes it clear that it is difficult to separate causes, effects and characteristics of poverty. The are many ways of poverty reduction, like farming, building dams, creation of employment, prioritizing education. The biggest goal is to reduce poverty through development strategies. Having used the Human Poverty Index and other socio-economic indicators it explores critical features of wealth and poverty divide. 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY Regan 2006. 80:20, Development in an unequal world Percy Bhsseye Shelley, Romantic Poet United Nation Report Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) Essay on the Principle of Population Paul R. Ehrlich (1968) The Population Bomb

Problems and Opportunities Facing Les Gourmands Specialty Chocolates Essay

Problems and Opportunities Facing Les Gourmands Specialty Chocolates - Essay Example One major reason for the reduced holiday and special occasion sales potential for top end chocolates is the major growth of internet and catalog sales. It is much more convenient for many buyers, particularly the wealthy who prefer to avoid shopping your firm might want to consider issuing a holiday catalog or similar sales promotional device, but it is good to proceed with â€Å"all deliberate speed,† as the saying goes; do not rush into too many new approaches at once. In developing an internet sales approach, you will need a catchy and distinctive slogan for your chocolates, as well as perhaps some distinctive products to sell. Given the new focus on the health value of chocolates as a source of anti-oxidants comparable to red wine, you might consider a slogan such as LES GOURMANDS CHOCOLATES – AS GREAT FOR YOUR HEALTH AS FOR YOUR PALATE. Perhaps that is a bit wordy, but It gives you an idea. Be careful, of course, not to infringe on any copyrighted slogans of any other chocolate companies. You may want to retain an advertising firm to assist with the entire new marketing approach you will want to additional suggestions which I will make below. Chocolate makers who developed their skills during the era when the product was primarily directed to those with children, or those wanting traditional gifts, may be ill-suited to the new approaches required for real growth today. at their first opportunity. You alone should, therefore, do the final interviewing, but using some questions provided by the personnel recruiters dealing with loyalty. You may also want to institute a personnel testing system to provide additional information on job candidates.

Lesson planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lesson planning - Essay Example There are two students from Germany who are relatively new to the country but have a little background in English. There are three African students who are fluent in Rwandese and French. She has been studying in the school for a while and moved from the beginners’ class to the intermediate level. The other two are from South America and know Spanish and a few words in English. The purpose of learning is to enable the students understand English. It is important for my lesson plan to follow the order above for maximum gain of the pupils. Introduction to each other help ease the ambiance in the room, and the students become open minded to learn (Kerns and Mendelson 2004). The tutor should also be friendly to his/her students. The first few weeks are for the students to get into the groove and remind themselves the English language they already know. The short term goal for the students is to become fluent both in written and spoken English. There is also the long-term goal is for the students to be able to advance their careers while others are doing it for leisure purposes. The tutor should also be goal oriented while making the lesson plan. There should be a strategy in the execution of the lesson plan by the teacher. Involving and engaging the students intensively during the lessons is important in ensuring the students learn English vocabulary at a faster pace (Kerns and Mendelson 2004). The students being adults’ means they have rich life experiences that would be fun to share with the class. Part of the lesson plan is to let the students tell the class a little about themselves in the English language. It is a brilliant idea for any tutor to capitalize on the diversity of the learners. Learning different cultures while still learning the English language is a fun way of educating a class. The choice of the family and friends nouns is pure to enable the learners put into practice the lessons they are getting in class. Most of the adult learners have

Presentation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presentation - Research Paper Example Palestinians viewed themselves as dwelling in an occupied state, whereby invaders (Israelis) had placed them in military rule. In order to retaliate, Palestinians built a terrorist network for attacking innocent Israeli nationals. Israelis felt they had to go on controlling Palestinians with military force thereby protecting themselves against further terrorist attacks (Matthews 19). Additionally, Palestinians deem that they are not a free nation since Israeli soldiers obstruct them at every checkpoint between cities. Therefore, most Palestinians have to get approval from Israeli every day so as to go to their places of work, return home, attend the hospital, buy groceries, or call on their own families. According to Matthews, subsequent to a terrorist attack, sometimes soldiers decline to let Palestinians by the checkpoints to go to work or even other prominent places, something that infuriates Palestinians even more (26). Moreover, Israelis control most of the Palestinian water sup ply there giving Palestinians less admittance to water than they require. This makes Palestinians feel disgraced and manipulated by the Israelis. This raises the question as to whether the Israelis will retreat to 1967 borders and permit Palestinians total independence if Palestinians discontinue their terrorist strikes on Israelis. The answer is certainly not (Mattews 32). Despite most of Israelis having the willingness of having their military abscond the Palestinian territories, an influential minority suppose that all of the territory presently known as Palestinian is part of Israel. As a result, they do not want to negotiate or pull back; rather, they want to go on expanding Israeli settlements within Palestinian territories. On the other hand, Israelis deem Palestinian militants as terrorists who are incapable of compromising thereby gaining peace. In fact, Matthews asserts that Palestinian extremists got involved in terrorist

Animal Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Animal Rights - Essay Example It is important to consider in a critical fashion whether they have substantially offered a clear point to convince us of what they claim that we have moral or ethical responsibilities towards animals and that we need to shift to vegetarianism. Michael Pollan essentially believes that we have moral or ethical responsibilities towards animals. This evident in his point of view when he tries to argue that it is just fine to consume meat from animals for as long as humans must implement the entire process with consciousness, ceremony and respect that these concerned animals deserve (Pollan). In other words, Polan believes that animals have certain rights as well, knowing that his point reveals the fundamental treatment that animals may potentially deserve even if they are the kind solely intended for human consumption. Pollan is trying to imply that animals which might be primarily meant for meat on the table are still deserving of the appropriate treatment from humans. If there is what we call a humane treatment for humans, Pollan is trying to suggest a significant and similar action as counterpart on animals. This makes him a not so conservative advocate as far as the claim against animal consumption is concerned, but his points will give us enough understanding that humans have essential moral or ethical obligations towards animals. However, Pollan’s point is not so strong to lead us to a vegetarian lifestyle. On the contrary, Tom Regan is so strong with his sheer stand, that just like humans, animals have positive interests too. He remarkably creates a more philosophical argument in this claim, by defining what it means to be human, linking it to the point of defining human interest at its broadest term. One of his remarkable examples that is compelling and worthy of a response is the point that infants are humans too, but if being able to express through words might prove humans to have that positive interests they deserve, then infants who are not cap able of using words might turn out to be like animals too that based on the human standards, are not able to use words, logic and higher form of thinking (Regan). Therefore, it is not safe to argue that expression is such a fundamental basis of the human right and the thing that makes individuals superior to animals. Even though animals are not able to express, but Regan believes that they too also have corresponding rights just as what infants deserve. Regan therefore is trying to emphasize the point that animals have the basic right to survive, which is technically the essence of their positive interests. Unlike Pollan, Regan is more serious in his view to promote the idea that animals’ interests should prevail, implying therefore that vegetarianism is the right way to take for the humanity. â€Å"The question of the obligatoriness of vegetarianism, in other words, can arise only if and when the animals we eat are the kind of beings who have interests† (Regan). Final ly, just like Regan, Harriet Schleifer provides some remarkable arguments in order to convince the humanity that killing animals for our consumption is unethical. Schleifer has the same idea with Regan, acknowledging the thought that animals have the basic right they deserve, and that is the right to have their lives. In

ROMANITC LOVE TOPIC IN BOTH RENAISSANCE LIERATURE AND MUSIC Essay

ROMANITC LOVE TOPIC IN BOTH RENAISSANCE LIERATURE AND MUSIC - Essay Example This has transcended to madrigal singers who originally only sang secular music but eventually took romantic love as part of their music repertoire. Thus madrigal singers took a turn with renaissance sonnets as they began singing love songs from the traditional sing of praise. The most plausible reason that be deduced is to this is that renaissance sonnets fit the well-crafted composition of madrigals not to mention that the loftiness of the theme of love nears the loftiness of Praise. Unlike a typical singer which we know today, madrigals are typically composed of several persons composed of four vocal parts – the soprano, alto, tenor and the pass. Soprano and alto are typically sung by women due to its high pitch while the tenor and bass are usually sung by men. A madrigal singer attempts to express strong emotion contained in a well composed line of which a celebrated sonnet makes a perfect fit. Madrigals can also be said as the highest form of music that typically appeals only to the cultivated and the learned due to the sophistication of its medium. It follows then that the words enunciated by a madrigal music must also be equal to its form and what better lines can be sung by a madrigal than the measured meter of a sonnet. Madrigals were traditionally sang for secular purposes but eventually evolved to also sing celebrated love sonnets of renaissance literature due to the loftiness of its words and purpose that equal to a praise. Its highly structured singing made love sonnets a perfect for the medium of a madrigal thus appealing to the sophisticated audience. Today however, madrigal has evolved further. It still sing love songs but no longer confine itself to the sonnets of renaissance literature albeit the sonnets of the renaissance literature set the bar of the lyrics that can be sang by

Response Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Response Strategies - Essay Example In risk assessments i.e. interviews should be founded on the basis of the organizations or projects objectives. This is so as to determine which risks and opportunities are available that can affect the realization of the objective. This makes it easier to be able to identify any strengths or weaknesses in the area of study. It gives more insight about recent developments in the area of study which might positively or negatively affect the venture. Help also determine the legal and policy requirements that might post any risk to the entity (Fan, 2008). Following discovery and analysis of risks, appropriate action in response to the identified risks must be taken focusing on risks of most significance. The risks may be in form of opportunities or threats. The response actions to an opportunity may include; exploitation, sharing and enhancement. These actions aim at realizing that the available opportunities are realized. Responses to threats include avoidance, transferring and mitigation of threats. It is necessary therefore to start with the handling of the high-priority opportunities since they foster the growth of a certain project. The opportunities action strategy will insure a positive impact is realized, and maximizing the benefits realized for the project. Unlike the threats which may involve the incurring of costs or termination of a project even before it is realized. Hence, it’s quite appropriate to maximize on the opportunities

Political Ideologies Essay Example for Free

Political Ideologies Essay Ideology is a highly contested phenomenon used in politics, social science and philosophical discourse. Heywood (2003, p12) defines ideology as ‘a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organised political action whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. ’ According to Freeden (2003) we are all ideologists in the sense that we prescribe to certain political views in our environment. He goes on to say that ideologies are competing interpretations of making sense of the worlds we live in. Ideologies look at what society should be like and why the society is the way it is. Leach (2002) states that the term ideology is quite problematic. He also defines ideology as â€Å"interconnected set of ideas which form a perspective on the world† Leach. R. (2002, p. 1) Williams (1998) defines ideology as a system of ideas and beliefs that offer a means of understanding the world. He also adds that these ideas provide a programme to shape the future and seen as a guide to action. From the above, it is clear that there is no agreed definition of what ideology is. My view of ideology is ideas or views attempting to explain how society should be. Political parties may have conflicting ideas on certain issues of society and therefore influence the policies which affect service users. From this perspective, I can suggest that ideology is related to a set or system of beliefs, ideas and values that individuals, groups and organisations hold. Examples of ideologies include communism, socialism, liberalism, conservatism, feminism and fascism. Implications to Social Work Many service users who come in contact with social workers will be experiencing poverty and deprivation. Social workers will be there to advocate and advise service users on how to apply for these benefits. According to Thompson (2005) poverty leads to other problems such as poor mental health and social exclusion. Social workers support these service users by sign posting for counselling, rehabilitation and psychotherapy. Liberalism as an ideology offers an explanation of how social problems are constructed and how families and individuals are conceptualised within this framework. Thompson, (2005) suggested that problems are constructed by society. Adams, (2002) state that as social workers we need to keep up to date with all policy changes so that we can advise service users accordingly. He emphasises that social workers should be proactive by reading informative newspapers and social work journals. Brechnin (2000) cited in Adams (2002) also state that it is vital for practitioners to grasp the policy context of the cases they deal with and thereby improve how they deal with service users complexities. Critical understanding of policies concerning children and families may help social workers improve practice. Social workers need to assess and identify the needs of a service user group for example people with disabilities and find out as much information as they can through research on how they can assist and empower service users. The question for social workers is do we challenge a belief or ideology which we think does not fit in with social work values for example Conservatism. On the other hand, we enter into another debate of social workers as agents of the state so whichever government is in power, social workers as agents of state would have to follow their beliefs. We need to be aware of the current government beliefs, and its influence on policies so that we are equipped to advise service users on services available. To conclude, the practice of social work in modern liberal society rests on liberal principles. By locating the connections between social work and Liberalism ideology, we have seen how practical social knowledge is influenced by liberal philosophical assumptions. These central tenets of Liberalism are liberty, tolerance, and a free-market economy. These core beliefs affect all areas of social life, including social work. The tensions that permeate the practices of liberal governments are present in the field of social work and valuable indicators of the complexity of the issues social workers face. Crucially, they are open to reform. There are deep social problems in liberal society such as poverty, inequality, alienation. What we can learn from these problems is that if Liberalism will succeed in its aspirations it needs to expand its scope to include more social and corporate responsibility, and a greater understanding of community. Bibliography Adams, R. (2002), Social Policy for Social work, Basingstoke: Palgrave Alasdair. D. M. (1981), After Virtue , 2nd edn, London: Duckworth. Bellamy, R. (1992), Liberalism and modern society Cambridge: Polity press. Frazer, E. and Lacey, N. (1993) The Politics of community, Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Freeden, M. (2003), Ideology: A very short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press Heywood, A. (2007) Political Ideologies an introduction, 4th edn, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Hills, J. and Stewart, K. (2005), A More Equal Society, Bristol: Policy press Hobbes, T. (1985) Leviathan , London: Penguin Classics. Leach, R. (2002), Political Ideology in Britain, Basingstoke: Palgrave Mullaly, B. (2007), The New Structural Social work: Ideology, Theory, Practice, (3rd edn), USA: Oxford University Press Ramsay, M (1997) What’s wrong with Liberalism London: Leicester University Press. Rousseau, J. J. (1968) The Social Contract, London: Penguin books. Rawls, J (1999), A Theory of Justice, Oxford: Open University Press. Thompson, N. (2005), Understanding Social Work: Preparing for practice, (2nd edn), Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Williams, A. (1998) UK Government and Politics, Oxford: Heinemann Wilson, K et al, (2008) Social Work: An Introduction to contemporary practice, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

New Product Launch Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

New Product Launch Marketing Plan Essay A marketing plan can be defined as a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the marketplace and indicates how a firm expects to reach its marketing objectives. It contains tactical guidelines for the commercialization programs and financial allocations over the planning period (Kotler et al., 2012). This document can be considered one of the most important outputs from the marketing process as it provides direction and focus for a brand, product, or company (Kotler et al., 2012). Typically, the marketing plan includes the following elements: Executive summary, situational analysis, marketing strategy, financial projections, and implementation controls. Executive summary Founded in 2014, Luxury-Pedic is a start-up manufacturer of luxury mattresses offering a product line that is focused on creating a lull the senses into a deep, relaxing, and peaceful nights sleep. With other competitive offerings like Tempur-Pedic, Icomfort, and Sealy Optimum, the Luxury-Pedic product line will focus heavily on being different. By providing a quality product at competitive price levels, excellent warranty, and service experience, Luxury-Pedic will stand out. Luxury-Pedic will realize vital market penetration by utilizing a market challenger strategy and attacking the market leader on the basis of competitive pricing. Additionally, Luxury-Pedic will thrive based on the following operating principles: hiring a top-notch management team with extensive industry experience; a solid business model and long-term planning; and careful evaluation and response to competitive opportunities. Situational analysis Luxury-Pedic is entering into its first year of operation. Thus  far, its products have been well acknowledged with the intention of further and rapider expansion to come based on the marketing efforts soon to be implemented. Luxury-Pedic offers memory foam mattresses in three varieties of firmness and a several varieties of types of memory foam. Market Summary Luxury-Pedic understands the existing market and has done extensive research to understand the common attributes of the target market. This research will be used better to understand the consumers, their needs, and how to communicate best with the market. According to Business Journal for the Sleep Products Industry (2015), the target market for the mattress industry includes the following: Mattress Involved Sleep Sufferers Healthy and Content Brand Selectors Apathetics There is no set geographic target area for mattress sales. By utilizing in-store sales, Internet sales and delivery services, Luxury-Pedic intends to serve both domestic and International customers. The market can also be narrowed down to the adult demographic, ages 18 and up. Behavioral factors will include the working class, the sleep deprived or fatigued population looking for a good nights rest. Market Growth Potential The mattress industry is a steadily growing, altering, and evolving. As the mattress industry has changed, the consumer demographics have changed as well. Baby Boomers no longer are wanting to deal with horrible sleep conditions as it saved money in exchange for a better nights sleep that allows consumers to be more energized and feel younger. This changing of consumer wants to consumer needs has enabled the mattress industry to become more prosperous than ever. There is an unlimited market growth potential as consumers are becoming more educated on the benefits of a better nights sleep as well as more educated on the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of mattress products. According to Wise (2012), The mattress trade group recently revised its estimate and expects the value of mattress shipments to rise 10.5 percent and the number of units to grow 6.5 percent (p. 3). This increased consumer knowledge base has changed the mattress market potential from being a small market with potential immediate rewards into a market where long-term growth and increase opportunity has become to the key to market success. Competitive Analysis The Luxury-Pedic 100% memory foam mattress line will move into a highly competitive space. Outside of the 100% memory foam mattress line, there is the independent wrapped pocketed coil line and the interlocking coil or traditional coil lines of a mattress. These lines are built and designed by mattress companies that have been selling mattresses for 65 to 140 years by brands such as Sterns Foster, Simmons, Sealy, and Hampton Rhodes just to start. When it comes to the 100% memory foam mattresses, Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, Hampton Rhodes, Serta are the most popular companies today. All four of these businesses produce memory foam mattresses that range in price from $698 to $9,000 for a queen set. The none memory foam mattresses range from $198 to $4,800 for a queen mattress set. Competitor Product Price Summary When it comes to the prices of the 100% mattress foam lines, Luxury-Pedic is unable to compete with the prices of Hampton Rhodes and the introductory lines from both Sealy and Serta. The quality differences between the Luxury-Pedic mattress lines and the lower end lines of Sealy, Serta, Hampton Rhodes are the differences between night and day. For their price point, none of their mattresses are 100% memory foam. They contain mostly low-grade heat conductive standard foam that sleep hot by giving back all of the heat put into the mattresses. Additionally, they do not have proper edge support or prevent body impressions. When it comes to the higher priced 100% memory foam mattresses from the other competitive brands, Luxury-Pedic mattresses will stand out due to same high quality of material, temperature regulation, comfort, and edge support at a price point that undercuts all other competing mattresses. Tempur-Pedic mattresses are the only mattresses in the entire industry that are price locked at a that is almost double of what any other memory foam mattress costs. Tempur-Pedic owns SealyTempur-Pedic, and so the focus of the Sealy  100% memory foam mattress line is to be only two steps above the Serta memory foam line. Out of all of the memory foam mattress lines, the Serta collection is the worst at temperature regulation and has no pillow top product offering. Sealy is better at temperature regulation but is the softest of all memory foam mattresses. The prices of these two lines are very similar. They range from $1,299 to $2,499. Segmentation, Target Market, Strategy The Luxury-Pedic mattress lines will focus on three different areas of the consumer market. The first will be focused on consumer medical needs. The medical benefits of the Luxury-Pedic mattress lines range from increased circulation, increased recovery times, decreased: aches, pains, and soreness, and an increase in an overall comfort allowing for a better nights sleep. The second area will focus on consumer comfort. The Luxury-Pedic line will come in 3 different comforts from firm, plush, and pillow top allowing a customer to be able to identify the mattress that best suits their comfort needs. The third and final focus will be on consumer value as the Luxury-Pedic line will be more cost effective than Tempur-Pedic but will provide all of the same advantages and benefits of Tempur-Pedic. According to Perry (2010), The mattress industry must sell dreams if it wants to elevate its image, boost its sale price and give consumers a better shopping experience (p. 34). With the implementation of using these three different market strategies focusing on consumer segmentation and target marketing, Luxury-Pedic will be able to establish a stronghold in the 100% memory foam market. Pricing The Luxury-Pedic line will consist of three different mattresses firmness levels. There will be a firm, plush, and pillow top. When it comes a firm mattress, Tempur-Pedic queen price set is at $4,199, Serta is at $1,699, and Sealy has not actual firm 100% memory foam mattress. The price for a Luxury-Pedic firm mattress will be $1,899 as the Serta mattress has poor temperature regulation and it out prices the Tempur-Pedic significantly. When it comes to a plush mattress, Sealy is priced at $1,799, Serta $1,999, and Tempur-Pedic at $3,499. The Luxury-Pedic mattress will be priced at $2,099. The focus is to build value in the concept of adding more material  increases the size of the mattress allowing which causes an increase in the cost of the mattress. There is not a real pillow top in any of the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, or Sealy mattress lines, making Luxury-Pedic a true one of a kind, but in soft equivalences Sealy is priced at $2,099, Serta $2,199, and Tempur-Pedic at $4,999. The Lux ury-Pedic pillow top will be priced at $2,299. The point is to no be cheaper than a low-end mattress, but to be at a lower price than Tempur-Pedic. We will be at a higher price than Sealy and Serta with the benefit of much better quality. Distribution Strategies The distribution strategy for Luxury-Pedic will be following Indirect distribution. Luxury-Pedic Mattresses will initially be built and assembled in two factories in New Mexico and Kentucky to allow for easy mass distribution to wholesalers and mattress retailers. As Luxury-Pedics increase in the success, additional factories will be built to shorten delivery times in order to allow for an increase in mattress sales. The objective of the distribution strategy is to be able to get new mattresses to wholesalers and retailers in less than 72 hours after ordering. Developing clear objectives is vital to a successful marketing plan. There are numerous essential elements to consider when creating effective marketing objective. Its important that the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific or SMART for short. The SMART approach let you how to manage your marketing activities successfully. Luxury Pedic is always evolving. The mattress industry is continuously growing. Key performances indicators are an important part of information used to describe how companies such as Luxury Pedic will progress towards its marketing goal within the next three years. Retailing at competitive rates of $1899-2500 depending on the mattress performance level, Luxury Pedic is priced to achieve increased profit revenue continuously. The key performance indicators are based on legitimate data and business objectives, and they are not always financial but they are necessary for directing management to their full potential. Some other essential performances include new and existing customers’ status, customer segmentation by profitability or demographics, customer referrals, advertisement, and testimonies. Demand forecasting Demand forecasting and estimation gives businesses valuable information about the markets in which they operate and the markets they plan to pursue. The purpose of demand forecasting and estimation is to find a businesss potential demand so managers can make accurate decisions about pricing, business growth and market potential. Managers base pricing on demand trends in the market. Demand forecasting and estimation is critical for inventory management. Businesses buy inventory based upon demand forecasts. Demand forecasting and estimation methods are typically accurate for short-term business planning. Estimating demand for the long-term is difficult because there are many unforeseen factors that influence demand over time. The expansion of the global mattress industry is forecast to reach 3.7% p.a. in the coming years. Between 2007 and 2013 the market increased with an average annual growth of 4.9%. Currently, cellular plastic and rubber mattresses account for 40.9% of the global demand while the remaining market share is divided between other mattresses (41.8%), and mattress supports (17.3%). China, France, Germany, Japan and the United States represent the largest mattress markets while the strongest annual growth is forecast to occur in Tanzania (24.1%), Ethiopia (15.4%), Philippines (15.0%), Rwanda (14.8%) and Bolivia (13.3%). Marketing Objectives Developing clear objectives is vital to a successful marketing plan. There are numerous essential elements to consider when creating effective marketing objective. Its important that the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific or SMART for short. The SMART approach let you how to manage your marketing activities successfully. Luxury Pedic is always evolving, the mattress industry is continuously growing, and key performances indicators is an important part of information used to describe how companies such as Luxury Pedic will progress towards its marketing goal within the next three years. Retailing at competitive rates of $1899-2500 depending on the mattress performance level, Luxury Pedic is priced to achieve increased profit revenue continuously. The key performance indicators are based on legitimate data and business objectives; they are not always financial, but they are necessary for directing management to their full potential. Some other key performances include new and existing customers status, customer  segmentation by profitability or demographics, customer referrals, advertisement, and testimonies. Implementation Milestones As a new company, setting milestones in a marketing plan allows your company to track the progress of company goals; allowing the business to determine if it can reach the task by a particular date and if there is enough data to move to the next activity. Luxury Pedic will identify their tasks, the start date, and the scheduled completion date, each event will continue until every task is finished. Creating a milestone table for your business sets the plan in concrete terms with real budgets and deadlines. Luxury pedic started by identifying each milestone, assigning a due date, allocating a budget, and designating a responsible person or group for each task, this is how a plan is implemented. Control Metrics It is important to set the rules of engagement within Luxury-Pedic. In order to measure success, we must be able to have a way to create company goals and establish the way to control what needs to be done in order to achieve the objectives set forth. We must be able to have a rule to measure current success, as well. We must be able to deliver efficiently on four types of marketing control. Those types are Annual Plan Control, Profitability Control, Efficiency Control, and Strategic Control. Annual Plan Control provides us with the ability to see if the results the company is looking for are being reached. Profitability Control shows us where we are making money and, even, where we are losing money. If it is found that money is being lost, we can adjust what is being done to produce a positive gain in revenue. Depending on the money that is lost, the product or idea will go directly to the end of life cycle to save cost in that area. Efficiency control gives us the opportunity to see how our marketing dollars are being spent in relation to the impact that our marketing strategy is having on our consumer base. Strategic control will give us a roadmap letting us know if the company is going down the right path in product offerings and how we are going about to make these offers available to the public. With the proper control measures put in place, we can see a complete picture of how the company is doing at any particular time. We will be able to identify problem areas quickly and create contingency plans when needed adequately to address  any needs or areas of concern. Its falls on management to steer the company in the right direction. Creating a culture of success is vital. Frontline employees must be on board with the direction the company is moving. If it is determined that there are issue in that area by way in bad performance results, for example, it is up to management to find the right path to correct those performance issues. All parts of the business must work well together in order to serve our consumer base actually. Contingency Planning Marketers must be ready to update and adapt marketing plans at any time (Kotler Keller, 2011, p. 55). There are many variables that can affect daily, monthly, and quarterly numbers in terms of production and revenue. We must be ready to address any and all areas of concerns promptly. The introduction of a new mattress company can affect the way we market and advertize to our consumer base. Competition in a marketplace can have several adverse effects. One thing we must be prepared to adapt to is the effect competition can have on pricing and promotions. Too much competition can drive prices down which mean Luxury-Pedic must change to be successful. We may need to invest in more cost friendly products that can deliver the same quality and comfort to cut cost, but will allow us to still deliver on our promise to our customer base with more affordable pricing. Major geological events can have an immediate impact on demand of our products. Floods, tornados, and hurricanes can create mass devastation that can leave our consumer base in need to rebuild. Adjustments in our offerings and promotion to assist in helping rebuild our community will increase our overall customer satisfaction. Community service events and product donations would be a way for us to stand out above the rest of our competition to show that we care about our customers and our community. During such a period, the company could see a short term dip in revenue. With the establishment of community service projects in the time of need, we can predict that we will reap positive long term success from that. Luxury-Pedic must be flexible in our approach and delivery of our products to our customer in order to achieve high success. In conclusion, a successful firm starts with a marketing plan within its first fiscal year. A marketing plan is a highly detailed and written document that summarizes how  a firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. Luxury-Pedic has outlined its marketing plans and detailed tasks to reach these elements, executive summary, situational analysis, marketing strategy, financial projections, and implementation controls will be discussed among other elements. This paper has defined the following objectives that Luxury-Pedic will implement to achieve this successful marketing plan. References BedTimes. (2012). Research Finds 5 Key Mattress Consumer Segments. Retrieved from http://bedtimesmagazine.com/2009/01/research-finds-5-key-mattress-consumer-segments/ Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Perry, D. (2010). Mattress industry should sell dreams. Furniture Today, 34(37), 33. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/346182942?pq-origsite=summonhttp://search.proquest.com?accountid=35812 Wise, W. L. (2012). Going to the mattress. The Post and Courier Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1115405056?pq-origsite=summonaccountid=35812

Choosing Appropriate Quantitative Research Design

Choosing Appropriate Quantitative Research Design Quantitative research is designed to provide quantitative (numerical) data that answers questions related to trends, attitudes, opinions, or the impact of treatment on a population. Before quantitative research begins, it is necessary to identify the purpose of the study, the population to be studied, the variables involved in the study, and the type of data that would be most useful as an end product. After identifying these components, researchers can next hone in on the design of the research, the design of the research collection tool, sampling procedures, the survey or measurement instrument, data collection methods, and data analyses methods (data organization, data interpretation, scaling, etc.) and issues (validity, reliability, threats to validity, etc.).The research is based on theory or hypotheses and is usually tests for the impact of an intervention on a population. The impact of an intervention or treatment may be measured using traditional experimental methods and proc esses or by survey methods. Survey methods include personal interviews, telephone interviews, mailed questionnaires, group administered questionnaires, or dropped-off household surveys (Trochim, 2006). Though the process is presented in simple terms in this paper, the actual design process is a very complex set of decisions related to the methodologies and procedures of quantitative research. This paper seeks to outline the strengths and limitations of the most widely used research design models to determine the appropriate research design for quantitatively researching the use of technology web 2.0 innovations to determine its effect on learning and test performance in the elementary classroom. The quantitative study of the social science is especially challenging because of the fact that the independent variables cannot be manipulated and that the research must often be performed in real time in a natural setting. The research is characterized by the manipulation of a variable but extreme care must be taken not to harm the study participants in any way throughout the study. Research is usually centered around the determination of a property-disposition relationship (attitude-focused) or a stimulus-response relationship (behaviorally-focused). Quantitative researchers must determine which type of relationship is best suited for their specific study. The following are critical factors in making this critical determination: Time Interval: the period of time between introduction of the independent variable and the response to the variable Degree of specificity: isolation of the independent variable to determine its effect Nature of comparison groups: comparison of before/after groups or experimental/control groups for statistical analysis Time sequence of events: determining the timeline for the relationship between cause and effect These elements of quantitative research drive the decisions regarding research methodologies and procedures related to choosing an appropriate research design. The following is a brief overview of the research designs used in social sciences. Quantitative Research Design Comparison Experimental Design Experimental design is usually associated with the life and physical sciences where independent variables are easily manipulated. Experimental design compares the results of an experimental group (that receives exposure to an independent variable) with a control group (that does not receive exposure to an independent variable). This design often uses a pretest and posttest measurement to analyze the differences between groups. The advantages of this type of research design for studying social science include the ability of the researchers to introduce and control extrinsic and intrinsic (independent) variables as well as the easy identification of causal inferences that strengthen the validity of the research. Disadvantages of experimental design for social science includes the inability to replicate the experiment in a real-life social setting resulting in weak external validity and the reliance on volunteers or self-selected participants who may not represent the actual population. As a result, generalizability is decreased due to the small sample of participants selected for the study. Cross-Sectional and Quasi-Experimental Designs Cross-sectional design is recognized by its utilization of surveys to determine study participants backgrounds, past experiences, and attitude to determine the relationship between research variables. This type of research is not conducive to experimental design because of the difficulties in manipulating the independent variable during the study. Cross-sectional design relies on statistical analysis to approximate the relationship between variables and may not produce accurate causal inferences. Internal validity is weak as a result. Quasi-experimental design is identified by random selection of study participants without the requirement of random selection of participants to a comparison group, study of more than one population sample, and studies conducted over time. It is difficult to disaggregate the data produced by this type of study since the population sample will consist of a mixture of subjects with various traits and characteristics. Causal inferences are difficult to determine with this design. Performing the study over time and the analysis of data by (similar) categoric or contrasted (different) groups are strategies used to increase the validity of this design for social science research. Planned variation design, panels, time-series designs, and control-series designs are alternative quasi-experimental social science research designs that attempt to increase internal and external validity by controlling stimuli introduction, research methods, cause-and-effect identification, and causal inference determination respectively. Combined designs employ two or more of the designs mentioned above in effort to assess the causal effects of variables using a multi-method, multi-design approach to studying social science. The advantages offered by these designs include increased internal and external validity as a result of the ability to perform research in real-life, natural settings with a representative population. Since there is no assignment of participants to treatment or comparison groups, researchers are able to perform studies that could be considered unethical or impossible using traditional experimental designs. The disadvantages associated with these designs include difficulty determining causal inferences (due to a wide variety of differences inherent in the study population) and the inability of researchers to manipulate the independent variable. Pre-Experimental Design Pre-experimental design is appropriate when no other design is able to study a population due to limitations in time, population, or a specified event. If there is a single event that occurs at a specified time for a specified group of people, there is only one opportunity to study the impact of a treatment. For this reason, pre-experimental design is considered to be the weakest type of research design with a high risk of causal inference error. There is usually not an assignment of subjects to an experimental or control group and this design usually does not include a comparison group. A one-shot case study is often used with this type of design and does not offer high validity due to the limited ability to generalize study results to a wider population. An advantage of this design includes allowing researchers the ability to scientifically show that more research is needed to explore a particular hypothesis. Weak internal and external validity and the inability to make causal infe rences are considered to be disadvantages for this research design. Determining Which Design is Most Appropriate My research problem studies the relationship between the use of web 2.0 innovative technologies (such as Skype, Second Life, etc.) and depth of research, test performance, and self- motivated learning for grade 3 through 8 students. Important factors that are necessary to consider are the identification of the independent variable, identification of dependent variables, availability of a control or contrast group, ethical implications of this study, and availability of the study (treatment) population. The independent variable in the study is the use of web 2.0 technologies for research. Dependent variables are research depth, test performance, and student self-motivation to learn. The grade 3 through 8 students for the control group and experimental group are available at my current place of employment. Since the treatment involves using technology to learn, there is no presumed risk or ethical issue since using technology is an ordinary part of the students day of learning. The tre atment of using technology for communication over the Internet is a manipulation of the use of technology in the classroom. Special care will be taken to ensure that students adhere to Internet safety rules during communication sessions. Experimental design is the most appropriate research design for this study for the following reasons: Availability and randomization of control and experimental groups Variables can be easily manipulated Pre-test and post-test measurements are possible Causal inferences will be easily identified Johnson and Christensen (2007) state that quantitative research is appropriate for describing what is seen and generating new hypotheses and theories. Since the measurements of the dependent variables reflect behavioral rather than cognitive outcomes, the tools used to measure the study outcomes will not include surveys but rather observational logs. This further supports the use of the experimental design for this study. Other Considerations Other research designs are not considered appropriate and are detailed for the following reasons. Cross-sectional design is not appropriate for this study because surveys are not necessary to determine the participants backgrounds, past experiences, or attitudes. Also, since the independent variable can be manipulated, statistical analysis will not be necessary to approximate causal inferences. Quasi-experimental design should not be employed since the assignment of participants to a control or comparison group is possible and there is no need for an extended period of time for this study. Also, there is no need to systematically introduce stimuli, use panels, or take measurements over a number of time periods. Data is not expected to change for individuals due to history, maturation, or test-retest effects. Furthermore, there are no ethical considerations present in the experimental design for the study. Lastly, the pre-experimental design is not appropriate for this study since thi s is not an event-based or time-sensitive study.

Big Brothers Essay -- essays research papers

Becoming a mentor can have a tremendous impact on the life of a youngster. Children need someone to look up to that doesn’t necessarily need be a part of their immediate family. Sometimes they have no siblings, or maybe their siblings or parents are busy. Perhaps they have no grandparents to do things with. These children are the ones that spend their afternoons in crowded after school programs where they may not get the attention the crave. This may lead to isolation and oppositely over hyperactive children starved for attention. In other cases, some children who are not so fortunate as to be offered after-school programs are subject to the world outside all on their own. In too many cases, these are the children that become statistics. These are the children who turn to drugs or crime, be it out of fear, or simply to feel accepted. Accepted in the wrong crowds still may comfort a lonely child. One of the most renowned mentoring agencies is a non-profit organization called big brothers/ big sisters of America. A man who saw a young boy sifting through the trash for food created this establishment over 90 years ago. He took the boy home, fed him, and then met his poverty-stricken family. From that point on, he became a mentor to the little boy, and this inspired him to form the organization for other boys, and in following years, a group of Christian women created a program for little girls. The soon joined forces and became the big brothers and big sisters of America. I...

Analysis of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Section One- Introduction Slaughterhouse-Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut Junior, was published in 1968 after twenty-three years of internal anguish. The novel was a "progressive work" after Vonnegut returned from World War II. Why did it take twenty-three years for Kurt Vonnegut to write this novel? The answer lies within the book and within the man himself. Kurt Vonnegut served in the Armed Forces during World War II and was captured during The Battle of the Bulge. He and a group of American Prisoners of War were taken to Dresden to take part in a prisoner work camp. Vonnegut and his fellow soldiers were housed in an underground facility when Dresden became history as the most loss of human life at one time. On the night of February 13, 1945, when the Americans were underground, Dresden was firebombed by the Allied Air Force. The entire city was annihilated while 135,000 people were killed. The number of casualties is greater than those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The bombing of Dresden, Germany is why it took Kurt Vonnegut so long to write this book. The human pain and suffering is still fresh in the mind of the author twenty-three years later. One can only imagine the intense emotional scarring that one would suffer after exiting an underground shelter with a dozen other men to find a city destroyed and its people dead, corpses laying all around. These feelings are what prompted Kurt Vonnegut to write Slaughterhouse-Five as he did. The main character of this novel mirrors the author in many ways, but the striking similarity is their inability to deal with the events of Dresden on the night of February 13, 1945. Section Two- Critical Commentaries Kurt Vonnegut's work is nothing new to critics, but Slaughterhouse-Five is considered to be his best work.

Race and Crime in America Essay

How do people from different entities in the United States perceive race as it relates to the criminal justice system? This was the question asked to ten different people in different locations of the United States. In additional to this question a different group of participants were asked if they believe that the criminal justice system is racist? In this paper I propose that most people in the United States have a very negative perception about the criminal justice and its promises. I concluded this based on face to face interviews I did with participants and through electronic responses. Regardless of their race, values, beliefs, social class, gender and age all the participants of my research paper agree on that there is a connection between race and crime in America. To some the criminal justice system is not as blind as it is perceived to be. Some of the participants have little understanding of the law system and its different components. Some not fully competent to be subject matter experts to determine if crime and race connect however, they all have the same generalization about the law, law enforcement and law discrimination. The public receives much of their impressions and knowledge of the criminal justice system through the mass media. Top-rated television programs, such as Cable News Network (CNN) are delivering news on crime on an everyday basis. What people actually know, or think they know, about the criminal justice system can sometimes be interpreted as a form of ignorance of what is known to be mandatory knowledge in order to be law-abiding citizens in any society. As nonchalant some things may sound the public relies on the media to feed them the lasted and most accurate news, but this is not always true. In today’s American society, race and crime go hand in hand. Day after day there is news reports about people of various racial backgrounds involved in criminal activities ranging in different p arts of the country. In the world today we face many different problems. Issues that throughout  the years have been improved but never resolved. Throughout the United States crime continues to be one of our increasing problems within the minorities. Many people believe that crime it’s a problem on its own that is now being related to race. In today’s American society, race and crime go hand in hand. Day after day there is news reports about people of various racial backgrounds involved in criminal activities ranging in different parts of the country. As I did my research I chose a specific case that happened in Queens, New York on November 25, 2006. A young man by the name of Sean Bell was out in a strip club with a couple of his friends celebrating that he was getting married. Later that evening Sean Bell and his friends were being shot at by a couple of police detectives who believed they were armed causing the death of Mr. Bell. A similar case had occurred a couple of years back in 1999 with a young man by the name of Amadou Diallo who was fired 41 shots by police. The relevance of these two stories is that both of these men were black and according to the reports were both unarmed. Which leads to the question that many people have why these two young men are no longer here? This is where race plays a role. Looking into statistics there are a higher percent of black, Latino, and Asian crimes as there is whites. I believed these statistics are like this because they way authority figures are handling some situations especially against minorities. According to an article in the New York Times by Heather Mac Donald called â€Å"Distorting the Truth about Crime and Race†. She states that Black and Latinos are nine times more likely to be stopped by a police officer than whites. Attitudes like these are a major part of the unresolved problems we have today. Situations like Mr. Bell and Mr. Diallo are the results to the police aggression and even though authorities may deny that it has nothing to do with race. It has been a major controversy throughout the United States on why these situations still have a one thing in common race. We as a society need to gain a clearer understanding of the vast relationship between law and society. Why is there such a large connection? Why is it that is always one race that is always the target? What changes need to occur so we can change the perception of the law? Are we still a segregated country? Are we trying to change or are we just turning the other cheek? These were some of the additional questions I ask my responders. I conducted the survey through an online blogs and face to face  questionnaires. I based my questions on the location of participants and on the prior knowledge I knew they have with the criminal justice system; own encounters or experiences family members of theirs have had. The group that I targeted was mainly individuals with a higher education level of a High school diploma. I felt this was a better group to target instead of a younger crowd that I think regardless of their faults, mishap in life always look at someone or something else to blame for their current situation. I wanted a group of individuals that would look at crime and race in a three dimensional perspective and not from a tunnel vision view. Not every member in society beliefs that a person is responsible for their own destiny and that is something I am a strong believer in. It was difficult to get more inputs with individuals on the blog rather than it was getting information from individuals face to face. I am not sure why this was such a critical topic but it brought out some significant emotional event that an individual has or had experience or even a family member of theirs. * Andre Ceballos an undergraduate student at Cornell University, Hispanic male 26 years old, born and raised in New York City said â€Å"The population of prisons around the country definitely answers that question, it’s a damn shame†. * Amir Vasquez undergraduate student at Virginia State university, Hispanic male, 30 years old, born in the Dominican Republic raised in New York City Currently living in Colonial Heights, Virginia said â€Å"just take a look at Colonial White, sorry I meant Colonial Heights, where I live schools are great, free after school programs the whole nine yards, then look across the river in the city of Petersburg their high schools are not even certified and some schools missing windows and things†. My point is minorities usually don’t get a fair shake in education which leads to crime† Mr. Vasquez seems to be speaking from a functionalist perspective, he is blaming society for not offering a better education system that whe n is not provided there is not much to look forward to besides doing criminal activity . * Keisha Brown an undergraduate student at South Carolina University, African America female 25 years old, born and raised in Brooklyn, New Yorkbeaten and killed by a group of white men for alledgedly whistling at a white woman†¦ at that time, the color of his skin caused him to be a target for such a violent crime by the ‘white man’ who at those times did anything they could to make sure african americans did not survive  in their â€Å"white-only† society†¦there’s martin luther king, and even abraham lincoln who were all killed because of something to do with racism. even though lincoln was a white republican, he was the one who abolished slavery. his decision set him aside from the rest of his counterparts. yes, if you dig deeper into his history there are claims that he had slaves as servants etc, but the point im trying to make is that he actually put forth the effort to end slavery. Martin luther king was killed bc of the color of his skin and the rights that he fought for†¦ im stating facts from the past but it can be used as an introduction for your paper. oh yeah and to sum up my argument, even though those events were of the past, it has still followed the african american race even to the present day†¦ black and hispanic children in inner city communities have it even worse than any other child in america. Their race is what keeps them oppressed and from recieving the oppropriate education and solid cultural security that a white child gets living in a blue collar upper class suburban area. Therefore, when that black of hispanic child attempts to leave behind that inner city image, they cannot shake it b/c for so long theyve been treated like crimals and the scum of the earth, most of them have no choice but to turn to crime and violence just to get by in america. sry if i talked ur head off mami but i love talkin ab this type of stuff lol said â€Å" To help answer your question there is definitely a connection with race and crime in America. It has been an issue since the days of slavery, civil rights, and segregation. you can even go as far as to mention Emmitt Till who was brutally beaten and killed by a group of white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman at that time, the color of his skin caused him to be a target for such a violent crime by the ‘white man’ who at those times did anything they could to make sure African Americans did not survive in their â€Å"white-only† society, there’s Martin Luther King, and even Abraham Lincoln who were all killed because of something to do with racism. Even though Lincoln was a white republican, he was the one who abolished slavery. His decision set him aside from the rest of his counterparts. Yes, if we dig deeper into his history there are claims that he had slaves as servants etc., but the point I am trying to make is that he actually put forth the effort to end slavery. Martin Luther king was killed because of the color of his skin and the rights that he fought for. I am stating facts from the past and to sum up my  argument, even though those events were of the past, it has still followed the African American race even to the present day. Black and Hispanic children in inner city communities have it even worse than any other child in America. Their race is what keeps them oppressed and from receiving the appropriate education and solid cultural security that a white child gets living in a blue collar upper class suburban area. Therefore, when that black of Hispanic child attempts to leave behind that inner city image, they c annot shake it because for so long they’ve been treated like criminals and the scum of the earth, most of them have no choice but to turn to crime and violence just to get by in America†. * Terry Powell an African America male, 34 years old born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana currently in college said â€Å"There is not a connection between crime and race because any race can commit a crime and this is clearly seen with white-collar crimes. Crime is seen in different locations high class communities as well as low class communities†. * Christina Bailey an African American female 23 years old, born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana currently in college said â€Å"Yes, there is a connection because we as a society are not focusing on helping one another; we are focus only on helping self. With a mind frame like this the less fortunate will continue to commit crimes just so they can survive in America and needless to say the less fortunate race groups are the African Americans†. * Jacob Weber a white male 26 years old, currently living in Hawaii, in his second year in college said â€Å"Depending on the area that one lives, does crime and race have a connection. There is just a double standard in the system, and not until people that are neutral working in those positions will the system see any changes. The socialization agents play a major role, but regardless whites are more privilege than any other race†. * Miguel Perez a Hispanic male 32 years old, from Texas said â€Å" It depends on the area but minorities are seem to always be the target and because of the racism that is not seen through the naked eye minorities get the least support from the system† * Claudia Perez a Hispanic female 31 years old, from Texas said â€Å"Racism is a significant factor that dictates how America act on a situation for instance our president because of him being biracial, the public wanted him to show proof of his birth certificate, no other president has b een asked to show this document to prove his race or birth location†. * John Pates an  African American male 40 years old, currently living in Hawaii said â€Å"Yes, through history it has been noted that the ratio between black men and white men in prison is not even although blacks and whites are committing the same crimes. * Carrie Williams a white female 30 years old born and raised in Richmond, Virginia currently in college said â€Å"Race and crime have a major connection especially southern states. In southern states you will always find a police officer patrolling neighborhoods of minorities more often than that of a white community. I have asked police officers why are they constantly patrolling my neighborhood and they said â€Å"You never know what these people are planning to do next† to me that was not an answer that a law enforcement should give a citizen. Police officers in the south need more education instead of just being told what benefits they will receive from being a police officer†. Resources that oppose my thesis were not easily accessible and were not of very much accreditation. These sources were more opinionated on the topic rather than stating facts. There are many articles that supported my thesis. It is very clear to me that race and crime is a complex issue to discuss and is very hard to be honest on this topic because of our country’s history and our current statistics. In an article in the Huffington Post the author is aware of the controversy of racism in our legal system but he is also aware of how can it be a debate when the facts are proving other wise and he states 14 examples on how the system is not fair â€Å"Saying the US criminal system is racist may be politically controversial in some circles. But the facts are overwhelming. No real debate about that†. (Quigley, 2010) Race and crime connectivity will be an issue for years to come. As a society we have to understand that not everyone will on a high social class because of many other reasons beside race. A fairness of the legal system is much needed and we need to stop looking at race when punishments are delivered we need to look at the concrete facts of a case. Bibliography Parker, R. (2008 , June 02). ParaPundit. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from ParaPundit.com: http://www.parapundit.com/archives/005242.html#precomments Quigley, B. (2010, July 26). The Huffigton Post . Retrieved November 1, 2010, from

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment

Creating a Positive Classroom Environment A classroom should be one of inquiry and open-mindedness. In order to foster a classroom of students who feel comfortable asking questions and are open to other students’ ideas it is imperative to create a positive, safe environment and learning community. I believe that students should feel like their classroom has high expectations, in how everyone treated each other, and in how learning took place. Creating a classroom environment where all students feel emotionally and physically safe enough to take risks is a real challenge and one that is worthy of the time it requires. The key to an inquiry-based curriculum is a safe, positive learning environment, therefore, it is foundational that the teacher work to provide, establish, and maintain that throughout the year. In the classroom, the teacher should be working on ways to develop a positive learning community by finding out more about my students. For example, each student should fill out a Who Am I questionnaire so that the teacher can get to know their student's personalities, hobbies, likes and dislikes and therefore include them in lectures, discussions and explanations through out the year. The teacher should also engage in differentiated instruction in my classroom so that he/she can tailor specific lessons to fit different viewpoints, and abilities of students. This is also a demonstration of care and respect for students as they see their teacher notice certain aspects about their learning or personalities and tailors their instruction to meet their needs. One of the ways I would engage in differentiated instruction is by walking around the room and constantly being available to assist students. By offering them one-on-one assistance I can better gauge where their personal understanding and misconceptions are and tailor my teaching to them differently than I would to the class as a whole. In order to maintain a positive classroom environment, a teacher must use the ability to make quick decisions and to be flexible in the classroom. The teacher needs to make decisions and adjustments to enhance the student motivation, engagement, and productive work. One way I would make adjustments when there are issues in the classroom hindering the productive learning community is to create a new seating chart. I find that this act is often used enough to nip any potential social problems in the bud and sends a message to students that if they want to sit with their friends, they need to earn the privilege. You would be surprised with how a new seating chart for the class can increase productivity and engagement in core subject content instead of social life information. In a science classroom, experiments and lab work are an important way for students to engage in the content. All students in the class should work on labs at the same time with minimal supervision. The teacher must also be cognizant of how the resources of time, space, activities and attention are allocated to students throughout the short hour that they are in class. However, there are more traditional strategy for lab work. The difference comes in how many materials you have for certain labs, how much time it takes for each group of students to complete the experiment, and how tricky the directions are. Deciding which method to employ for a given lab and analyzing the classroom environment to decide which will work best in a given situation. In the Collier County School District it is acceptable to have up to 30 students in each classroom. It is difficult in this type of environment for students to feel that they are an important member of the learning community. I found that it was easy for certain students to disengage from activities and it was hard for the teacher to pick up on their lack of involvement because of the sheer number of other students in the room. Therefore, I thought up of an activity that would give the teacher time to walk around to individual students and check their understanding of the material. This lesson was an ACT preparation lesson where the students would be working on writing organized essays by finding a thesis statement, supporting it and including evidence from newspaper articles. I found that students would initially be hesitant to show their work to the teacher, but when they saw that the teacher would be going around to everyone at their table they became less nervous and more open to share their problems with understanding. When observing a classroom, one student even remarked as the teacher came to her, â€Å"I don’t know what I’m doing. She was a student that has never raised her hand to ask for help, but with the teachers inevitable arrival she was open to telling her teacher she did not understand. This showed me that if the teacher had not gone around to individual students she would not have told her teacher she did not understand. In order for a classroom to become a learning community it is important that it is organized, and meets clear standards of conduct. An environment in which students are assuming responsibility, participating in ecision-making, working collaboratively and independently, and engaging in purposeful learning activities that use higher order thinking skills and are all pieces of smoothly functioning learning communities. The first lesson that I would present to the class in the fall would be attempting to engage students in a purposeful learning activity that asked them to think deeply about the issues of a the subject that they are in class for. The students would first work together as a class and then the students work individually to show understanding. They were active members of the activity so they had a hand in the decision-making and therefore could assume some ownership and responsibility for the success of the activity. A strategy for engaging students in purposeful activities that promote higher order thinking that is often used in classrooms is asking students to work in pairs to create a concept map from a list of content words. By working in pairs students are collaboratively building understanding and taking responsibility for their own learning plus their partner’s. As mentioned above, in order to have a smoothly functioning learning environment, clear standards of conduct must be established and enforced within the classroom. In order for students to feel safe enough to ask questions, engage in inquiry activities and take risks in their learning. They must feel secure and know that their teacher has clear standards of conduct that will be enforced. The first day of school is a very important day for establishing the standards of conduct that all students are expected to follow. It is also important that student behavior is monitored in a preventative way. One way is by asking a student who is very high-energy and can become disruptive to do small tasks during the hour to keep him engaged, such as feeding the class fish, or putting up the class grade sheet. This particular student can be disruptive and cause problems with other classmates, but with the teacher keeping him engaged when she sees him getting off-task, she is signaling to him that she notices him and has her eyes on his actions. This has been a successful strategy in keeping him out of trouble. However, all issues in a classroom cannot be prevented. Things do sometimes happen despite the best efforts of the teacher to create a safe learning environment. For example, say that you, the teacher had an incident in your classroom where two female students got very angry with each other and yelled loudly and violently at each other and refused to stop. This behavior is very upsetting to the teacher and to the class. And to be successful in resolving the situation, you just have to remove the two students from the class and separate them. In this situation it was important to thoroughly pick up the pieces after the incident was over. This is a very helpful way for a teachers peace of mind and further ability to create a safe learning environment. The teacher should also have individual talks with the students that created the problem. One student in particular would most likely have a very changed attitude about the class after the incident. In order to bring her back to being her enthusiastic self, the teacher should have a one-on-one talk with her, which greatly improved her attitude towards the class. One of the things that would help you to act appropriately when the incident happened in the classroom was the established standards of conduct and consequences that occur if students do not follow the standards. One way to foster students’ ability to engage in dialogue and argumentation and develop the language of thinking is to participate in Socratic seminars in class. Socratic seminars offer a tangible, engaging way for students to develop both ethics and critical thinking, actively and cooperatively. A discussion technique that I would use in my classroom would be an ethical discussion based on the merits and problems with new genetic testing that is available. Students engaged in small groups, then in the large session to discuss their opinions about genetic testing, based on a text they had all read. In order to help the discussion remain civil and productive, I used an ethical discussion framework that was very helpful. In a large classroom of 30 students it is often difficult to make time to meet with students individually to discuss their progress, but it is an important part of teaching that time must be allocated for. Therefore, a lesson plan that can allow the teacher to talk with students individually about an essay they had written. Lets just say that while students were in the Library Center working on ACT preparation tests the teacher then would be able to make time to talk with students individually about the strengths and weaknesses of their essays and what specific things to keep in mind when writing their next essay. This lesson shows a good allocation of time and attention so that students could take away concrete information from the lesson about what they need to work on with their writing and they also saw that their teacher cared about their progress enough to plan a special meeting with them. This one-on-one discussion time between teacher and student is something I do not see a lot of in school and I feel it is very important to include meaningful time talking with each student. In a science classroom it is very important that resources be used appropriately to help promote in-depth, inquiry-based understandings of content. I include it here to demonstrate how helpful it is for teachers to keep up-to-date on literature that is being written on the topics they are teaching. Through reading academic literature they can gain new ideas and insights on how to use technology effectively in their classroom in order to enhance learning and the classroom environment. Creating a positive classroom environment is a very important aspect of effective teaching. In a teachers student teaching placement it has been a priority for to establish and maintain a safe and positive environment where all students can grow, inquire, and learn. I feel strongly that a classroom should always be a safe one for students physically. At times there are going to be things said between students that cannot make it emotionally safe, but you, the teacher can always deal with the issues to send a strong message that your classroom is not a place to come down on peers. I do feel I have more to learn about enacting a true inquiry-based classroom, however. And I know that there are going to be times and lessons where I believe students should be actively involved in inquiry-based projects and if so, I would be very proud of them for their efforts. However, I would like to increase the times that this occurs and make my classroom into a place where students know they are going to question, explore and learn, and not just another stop on their school day schedule.