Saturday, August 31, 2019

A review of McGregors X and Y

Theory X worker works with a Theory Y worker or a Theory X worker works with a theory Y manager (vise versa) will one of them have an effect on the other, or will things stay the same? Introduction God created everything naturally In this world to work. God asked Adam to mend his garden, asked Noah to build the ark; he created animals to be hunters and gatherers as there Job to survive in this world. Thousands of years later it is still a very natural thing for people to work. Humans still naturally wake with the full intent to apply their life to something.It does not have to be the average monotonous daily, but work o humans Is as natural as flying Is to a bird. However, having the natural ability to work does not mean that there are not lazy or hard working people; there are two distinctive types of workers, an â€Å"X† worker and a worker. An â€Å"X† worker is typically a lazy worker, one who dislikes work and will do anything to avoid any obligations or duties. â €Å"X† workers also must be controlled, and given direction in order for them to achieve a performance goal for the day.A Y worker is typically self-directed, they learn to seek and accept responsibility, and have high potential for the work force; though both are still Intended to work. There are also two different types of productivity is essential and getting the most work or productivity out of the day. Style is the participative style. Employees will do the work they have to do with out being told what to do and when to do it. The two theories test the performance experience of employees.If Theory â€Å"X† is represented by worker â€Å"A† who is a bad worker, always late to work, and does an unacceptable work, one can naturally assume that they hate their Job situation or are lazy. If Theory is represented by worker â€Å"B† who is a better worker, never has to be told what to do, shows up on time ND does an outstanding Job around the office, then o ne can assume that they love their work and would be willing to do anything for their place of business, but if a theory Y manager (vise versa), will one of them have an effect on the other, or will things stay the same?Not everybody is influenced by someone, although people will do what they want considering, human nature is to follow by example almost like a monkey see monkey do. Literature Review In the sass's, Theorist Douglas, McGregor examined theories to study performance of individual's interactions and work style between workers at the work place. He designed it with the idea that a workers performance technique is based on motivation and social behavior. â€Å"McGregor Theory X and Theory Y were the foundation of the â€Å"Human Side of Enterprise† (Cunningham).Theory X is based on three core assumptions. â€Å"One, The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if at all possible, Two, Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of equines objectives versus Just personal objectives, and three, the average person prefers to directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above all else (Cunningham).According to Organization Theory: However, in situations where it is possible to obtain commitment to objectives, it is better to explain the matter fully so that employees grasp the purpose of an action. They will then exert self-direction and manage to do better work – quite possibly by better than if they had only been carrying out and order, which they did not fully, understand.Once control becomes persuaded that it is underestimating the potential of its human resources, and accepts the knowledge given by social science researchers and displayed by Theory Y assumptions, then it can invest time, money and effor t in developing improved applications of the theory. McGregor realizes that some of the theories he has put forward are unrealizable in practice, but wants managers to put into operations the basic assumption that staff will contribute more to the organization if they are treated as responsible and valued employees (McGregor).McGregor believed Theory X individuals wanted to learn that work was a very natural thing, despite their lazy perspective they wanted to improve self-discipline and self- growth. McGregor believed Theory X employees saw their work as the freedom to try and do tough and challenging work by themselves. The manager's Job was to try and unite the workers and make them strive for self-development in the business and Theory Y was difficult to enforce in a factory setting or in big warehouse areas. Patricia Travis said, â€Å"Theory Y according to McGregor was conducive to participative problem solving.He believed it was better to describe in full the task or topic a t hand so that employees grasped the purpose†(Travis). Theory Y employees would show self-direction and self-control and honestly wanted to do better work and would do better work if they were to do a Job that they understood completely compared to a Job they did not fully understand. Managers found that the participative approach to problem solving showed much better results over the authoritarian order of controlling their employees and constantly nagging them. According to James Nellie who wrote in the Journal of Social Behavior andPersonality â€Å"Theory X and Theory Y workers did not differ in their perception of the scenarios. However, additional analysis revealed that Theory X and Theory Y workers differed significantly in their perceptions of the effectiveness of the unethical behaviors portrayed in some of the scenarios† (301-311). The workers would understand the idea of the Job that was needed to be done but would not fully follow through one hundred percent on how the Job needed to be done. Sometimes it all just depends on how the manger relays the message to the worker and how the worker perceives it.Theory X and Theory Y style management have been a great practice to develop positive management styles and techniques. In the earlier years especially in the first few decades of the 20th century Theory X was dominating the business world and was the lead style to the mechanistic system of scientific management. Tim Handle wrote in the â€Å"Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus† that, â€Å"Theory X is an authoritarian style where the emphasis is on â€Å"productivity, on the concept of a fair days work, on the evils of feather-bedding and restriction of output, on rewards for performance (2003). Several managers are persuaded by the TheoryX style but usually receives negative effects. McGregor questioned that management style and decision-making depended on which type of theory worked on their team. McGregor calls the managemen t X theory the â€Å"stick and carrot† method of management. Managers would have to â€Å"police† their staff, and the workers would need to be pressured, scared and disciplined. This created a very frustrating and dark work environment for the managers and the workers. Theory Y assumes that people will exercise self-direction and self-control and will do everything on their own and will finish a Job with out being bribed or threatened.According to Business Destination Theory Y states â€Å"employees actually become more productive when more trust and responsibility is delegated to them† (2012). Y workers want to work, they want to be productive, and the act of accomplishing work and doing it well is a motivator. Y managers go with the flow and Just allow the workers to work. The Y theory stance is in a unique position; it has heightened awareness of management responsibilities for employer-employee relationships. McGregor urged many companies to try and use the Theory Y design or adopt it.McGregor believed it could titivated human beings and bring out their highest potential and help them achieve bigger goals. Theory X only satisfied a large number of the lower level needs and was nowhere near as productive. As stated before, Theory X expresses distrust in employees who are only working for money, or who try to get away by doing as little paycheck and you most certainly can not always be looking over the shoulder of the employees to make sure they are doing there Job correctly. Theory Y employees are almost the dream employee for a manager.Theory Y employees want to work towards a common goal, and they are able to organize themselves. As a manager those are the workers that you want, the one's that you do not have to baby sit. These studies have shown that there is not one perfect approach to managing a X or Y worker. But from the research one can decide â€Å"the best method all depends on the nature of the work to be done† (Harva rd Business Review). After significant research and collected data research has revealed that companies with highly expected tasks will perform better with dignified procedures.With uncertain tasks that require much brain use and problem solving, businesses that are not as organized and do to put a great deal of emphasize on self-discipline and self worth struggle to get the job done. But over all, it all depends on the development of the company and the business that fits the nature of the Job that needs to be done. A worker's performance can be dependent on a worker's environment or surroundings. A Theory X worker will apply themselves a fraction more and work a little harder if they are in the right conditions of hard working individuals. (Vise Versa) for the Y worker.If a Y worker is in an atmosphere of sluggish, not really wanting to work people they can potentially follow in those footprints. It is human nature to follow by example. This is why leadership is necessary. Leaders hip needs to take a stand to help fix and figure out problems a team may have. If a manager has three X workers and eight Y workers then the manager knowing that there is an impact on one worker from another should find a way to intermingle the works to keep them on and track hard working. If the X worker, works with the Y worker long enough eventually there should be some improvements.And of course this goes the other way as well, but a company wants the best results not the worst. So a company should not have their best errors, working with the worst workers. Methodology Twenty Graduate Level students enrolled in a Organizational Behavior class at a Liberal Arts University participating in two fifteen question surveys. Most of the students are from a varied educational background but all had at least a Bachelors degree, and all understood the theory being tested. The first of the two surveys was to indicate weather the situation and management style is the â€Å"X† or style and to find out how they would handle the situation.The second survey was to indicate whether the person prefers being managed by the â€Å"X† or style. Once figuring out who is an â€Å"X† and who is a the data will be analyzed and then each candidate will be separated into there respected category they belong to. Once the survey takers are separated into there respected category I will use these two surveys to try and prove if a Theory X worker works with a Theory Y worker or a Theory X worker works with a theory Y manager (or vise versa) will one of them have an effect on the other, or will things stay the same?I will look at all of the results and see if their answers lead towards them being affected by the other work or not. The information will be seed to see if they need a little extra push from the people around them or if they can handle most tasks with out having to be nagged and rode the whole time by a boss or someone one on the management team. In analyzi ng all of the surveys and calculating all of the results several re-occurring themes surfaced and proved many things to be true.In the event of trying to prove if a person was an X or Y worker seventy five percent of the survey takers said that they were Y workers. This is something that was assumed from a graduate level class at a prestigious university; one can figure that most, if not all, would be self-disciplined, ND hard working individuals. Of the 20 survey takers only twenty five percent were considered X workers. Of the twenty people surveyed on whether or not they preferred the X or Y management style not a single individual preferred the X management style, including the X style workers.The results showed a large number of different results as expected, but the results were about what one would expect. But with these results my hypothesis was unanswered. Of the twenty people that were surveyed five of them were X style workers and 1 5 of them were Y style workers. Of the twenty people that were surveyed, all of them preferred the Y style management. After reviewing the surveys and the most prominent themes were established the tasks of understanding the monkey see monkey do attitude between X and Y workers and X and Y managers was unclear.The surveys, although showing who were X and Y worker showed that the X workers preferred the Y style management. This shows that a person who needs a little push or a little more observation on the work floor can potentially learn or adapt better with a Y style manager. But at the same time the survey showed that even a Y style worker if paired with a X style manager or a X style worker can forget their Y style ways. It all Just depends on the individual person and there work style.With a better population of people taking the survey more facts and findings can be found, but with my test subjects and the surveys that they took these are the results found and help support my theory. Discussion McGregor believed tha t, workers wanted to work and that they would act like mature adults, and actually wanted to do what was best for the company. McGregor also believed that if management with a intended instructions explained things intended, the worker would do what was necessary, and likely, employees would collaborate without being intimidated.McGregor knew that many of his suggestions would be really hard to adapt to, maybe even near impossible to apply to the work place, but McGregor believed that when people, or staff, or any type of worker is treated with respect and treated like a worker rather than a trained monkey that the workers would give more and work harder and give as close to one hundred percent as they could.Limitations One limitation to this study could be that only small portions of people surveyed and, with the majority of these people being in their early twenties could these individuals have enough life experience and work experience to know exactly how to answer the questions. If the survey had encompassed a broader range of the American population, the results may have been different. Since Management Theory X is an older style maybe the older generation or the baby boomer generation may prefer that form of management a little more.Also with the older generation most where Generation Y is considered a little more lazy and not as self motivated. Generation Y may prefer the Y style management but is actually an X style worker. Another limitation to this study is the selection of survey participants. The survey participants were not selected randomly but used because they could immediately o the survey. The survey takers may have had previous knowledge of the theory, which could have effect the outcome. If the survey population had been selected randomly, there would have been a number of people surveyed who were not educated on the theory or not aware of the concepts.Knowledge of the concepts may have survey the takers to answer a certain way therefore cr eating different results. Despite these possible limitations, the results still stand and have many applications to practice and research and were still used to find answers Conclusion Though Theory X and Theory Y are basic and easy to understand, they provide a path or the future theorist and other people that want to study the nature of how people work and understand the changing world of human behavior with large amounts of information and research.The Theory was easy to study and understand, and it also allowed data collection to be Just as simple. From the above data, and of the students surveyed they preferred the Y work style but all had a preference towards Theory Y than Theory X management style. Even though the data shows one thing it may not technically have a significant, positive relationship between the overall outcomes or hat there is even a monkey see monkey do attitude. Therefore, the hypothesis of this research paper is not confirmed.

Sustainability marketung

This report analyses SPINE, an online Korean company specializing in quality mobile phone accessories and its plan to enter the sustainability market. The report further analyses the company's mission statement that will set the course for sustainable development. It is recommended that SPINE adopts a sustainable strategy and launch new line of CEO-friendly products that is a variant of three of Spine's best-selling phone cases, â€Å"Neo Hybrid†, â€Å"Slim Armor† and â€Å"Tough Armor†. These new phone cases will be made out of 100% recycled materials.This report will further evaluate the marketing mix strategies involved in implementing sustainable development such as the target market, product, price, promotion and distribution. The report finds that with the company shifting towards a CARS policy, the new sustainable product line will now be targeted at technology savvy Gene X and Gene Y consumer age between 22 to 45 seeking green alternatives as well introd ucing green alternative to already existing customers. The company is to adopt a differentiation strategy to challenge the current market leader head on in this fairly new market.Pricing will continue to be at a premium but a proportion of profit earnings (20%) will be contributed to WFM for funding sustainable campaigns. Distribution strategy will adopt the use of reverse logistic to recycle overstocking of inventory so that raw materials can be reused for future products. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION MARKET BACKGROUND The mobile phones market has received substantial growth in the past years due to the technological advancement as well as the introduction of smart phones becoming an essential part of a person's life in today's digitally connected lifestyle.Along with he progressive growth in smart phone sales around the globe, the market for mobile phone accessories has also received a direct boost in growth. Primarily driven by the uprising sales in smart phones, the market for mobile p hone accessories is projected to reach $ASS 84. 6 billion by the year 2018. This growth is akin to the fact that currently there are over 5. 9 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide against the world population of 7. Billion people, mirroring a penetration rate of over 80% (Global Industry Analysts, 2012). On top of adding protection to your phone, mobile hone accessories also provide additional customizable and personalization for the user and this creates opportunities for accessories focused on aesthetic. COMPANY BACKGROUND Launched in 2004, SPINE is an online South Korean company specializing in the design of various mobile accessories such as screen protectors, cases, and utility bags for a variety of phones, tablets, and laptop.The company offer products of quality and innovation at a premium price range and is targeted towards the high end consumer market. Some of its notable products include the GLASS series range of . Mm thick tempered glass screen protectors manufactur ed at different shapes and sizes to fit popular smart phone models and also a line-up of high quality polycarbonate phone casings and frames that are light in weight and shock absorbent.In reaction to global awareness, SPINE has realized the need to cater its products to the shift in consumers' mindset towards green products. This means to re-establish the current goals and commitment of the company and also to create a new product line to pander towards a new market segment. The objective is to increase the rand's product reach and also employ ethical and green policy that will bring a positive image to the brand as a company who supports in the sustainability of the world.AIM This report aims to establish a good sustainable strategy that will aid SPINE in the launch of a new product range of mobile accessories that will be 100% environmentally friendly. This will redefine SPINE as sustainable company that will set itself apart from its competitors as well as enrage new customers t o the brand through its appeal towards environmental sustainability. This report will state the recommendations for change required to proceed with the munch of this new product such as altering and creating new marketing mix strategies for SPINE to appeal to a new audience.This includes defining a new target market, as well as implementing a suitable product, pricing, and promotion and distribution strategies for the new product line. 2 MISSION STATEMENT In the past, companies were narrowly concern the quantity of production and manufactures only expanded supply and lower cost which burden a huge impact on environment. Nowadays, mass production expanding led to overcapacity in various markets as supply exceeds demand.The sustainable marketing focuses on the target roof of green consumers who would be willing to pay premium prices for more environmentally friendly products. (Frank-Martin Bell and Ken Appetite 2009, pap) SPINE ignited the design of mobile phone markets revolution in the sass with the mobile phone accessories. Today, SPINE continue to lead the industry in innovation with its mobile phone accessories into sustainable market in order to paying more attention for responsibility to society, and ethical concerns about the social and environmental impacts. RECOMMENDATION FOR CHANGE In order to create sustainable development, SPINE will need to look into the economic, environmental and social factors that will contribute to this change. As Creating sustainable development is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (The Borderland report ‘Our Common Future' 1987), it is crucial for the company to not only look into environmental friendly alternatives but also to support the society through social responsibility such as equality, poverty etc. ND at the same time generating a sustainable profit for economic growth. For this to happen, it is recommended that SPINE adopts a sustainabl e development tragedy by promoting a new product line that will increase public awareness towards Spine's decision in adopting a Corporate Social Responsibility CARS policy. This will be accomplished by reinventing three of its most popular product range, namely â€Å"Neo Hybrid†, â€Å"Slim Armor† and â€Å"Tough Armor† and creating new CEO- friendly variants for the respective product.The new product line will continue to be consistent in quality, functionality as well as technical features of the current existing product line but will also be environmentally sustainable through the use of 100% recycled materials. For example, the Neo-hybrid phone casing CEO variant will continue to provide protection, shock absorption and customization through interchangeable frames and will also be made from 100% recycled parts. The new product line will be marketed towards environmentally aware consumers; it will also reach out to new users within the market to expand total demand.The introduction of new sustainable products will act as a stepping stone for Spine's to convert more of its existing products into green products in the future and to fully incorporate sustainable development in all of its product range. In addition to helping the environment, SPINE has paired up with World Wide Fund for Nature (WFM) to engage in humanitarian activities through contribution of 20% of their product's earning in funding charity campaign.Economically, with the cost in research and development as well as the cost of outsourcing recycled materials from various suppliers, SPINE will need to set a maximum cost of goods sold COGS no higher than 30% of mark-up to be able to generate a healthy profit in order to sustain the business. By satisfying the all three elements in creating a balanced sustainable development Truckee, SPINE will create a strong foundation in the shift towards a sustainable solution. MARKETING OBJECTIVES While Spine's primary marketing goal is to offer products for the mobile phone and gadgets not only from being scratched or impacted but also, as there are potentially a sizeable market for more sustainable products, shifting our marketing focus towards targeting on green market have been identified as a great opportunity. Presently, Spine's aimed at people between the ages of 22-45 who are searching for functional and sustainable protection covers.If SPINE can put forward an agenda uh for seeking the environmental, safe and recycle products would enable SPINE to start enhancing its positive image as an CEO-friendly company. The following are important objectives for Spine's green product range. INCREASE MARKET SHARE Conventionally, marketing performance is only concern about economic and growth- oriented issues, managers are not aware of considering in sustainability objectives. Presently, marketing objectives have to be provided by green materials. Frank-Martin Bell and Ken Appetite, 2009) SPINE should increase market s hare in era of sustainability from 0% into 10%. RAISE PUBLIC & CUSTOMER SATISFACTION To connect with consumers by taking advantage of social media could increase more public awareness, faith, loyalty, and by creating higher customer popularity results for making high level of benefits. There are more modern communication tools in today's society. For example, Faceable is the most popular tools with over 300 million users; SPINE should follow closely with the development of modern communication channels.Social media is the vital tools being used for communicating which provide the fast-paced information from global online channels, making consumers get more acknowledge with the brands. The Faceable online page posts photos, activities, innovations of new products and customer comments. The customers of SPINE on the Faceable can post their individual products photos, information, and impressions in order to let the company to acknowledge immediately.SPINE can then reply to the comment s and provide more advices about the products, making the communication more effectively and increase customers' satisfaction about the products. Specializing on social media will allow SPINE enhance brand awareness and gain more satisfactions from customers. REDUCE THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT ON HEALTH Researches have shown that mobile phone accessories that are made from mass- production plants using cheap materials in the manufacturing process can generate CHIC, a hazardous gas in which if it reaches the point at 0. OMG/mm are very harmful to the human body and also to the environment. Spine's production plants are closely monitored to ensure all materials are quality controlled and that all emission levels are kept at or below industry levels. All of the recycled materials in production process goes through the same monitoring and control to ensure all the mobile hone covers and gadgets match the highest safety standards not only to keep customer more safe and healthy, but als o to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES Camphor & Bandage, (2005) mentions in the Journal â€Å"Green Marketing Philosophy' that if marketing philosophy is a process of which the firm conceives the consumer into an exchange relationship whereby the firm offers a product to the market, which is driven by the desires of the consumer and aims to fulfill that desire in the most beneficial way for the entity or company.Then green marketing philosophy can be scribed as the exchange relationship that goes beyond the current needs of the consumers in terms of addressing the social interests in the conservation and protection of the natural environment at the same time. From a green marketer's perspective, as Fuller (1999) describes, a ‘new competitive game' is at play as there are three parties that are involved in the exchange relationship: the company, the consumer and the environment.Green marketing goes beyond the commercial exchange of fulfi lling a desire of the consumer, it is a way of understanding the company's relationship with society in general. With that in mind, green marketing an be found within the approach of social marketing (Kettle, 1995), it is a way of understanding the exchange relationship by planning, implementing and controlling a policy for product, price, promotion and distribution that at the same time fulfill customer needs and the objectives of the company while reducing any current or potential negative effects to the natural environment.TARGET MARKETS The previous target market for SPINE products are technology sax. N. Y Gene X and Gene Y consumers between the ages of 18-45. Primarily enthusiasts for electronic gadgets such as smart phones, tablets and laptops. These consumers seeks for accessories that can not only protects their favorite gadgets, but also be able to do it in a way that allows them to express who they are from Spine's variety of products that offers form, functionality and pr otection through innovative designs and materials.As the company re-defines itself through the launch of a new product range of 100% environmental friendly mobile accessories that are made from recyclable materials. The new target market is now aimed at people between the ages of 22-45, who are seeking for greener alternatives to accessories their gadgets without sacrificing quality and functionality. Consumers in their early ass's start to get more influence from the importance of green sustainable products, also the income level is another factor of consideration as people get older, their disposable income are likely to increase along with the level of green-awareness.SPINE'S green-product range consumers represent a demographic group of well-educated successful young adults, single or married with an annual household income range of ADD $40,000 – $100,000 or more. They are particular about their taste in styling and self-image aware, trendy and strives for high-quality in novative and sustainable products on the racket. PRODUCT STRATEGIES With over ten years in the industry, SPINE has established a solid reputation through its design and innovation. The success of SPINE is a direct result of the fast-growing smartened and tablet users around the globe (SPINE, 2014).With this in mind, SPINE have discovered that there are enormous market opportunities for green-sustainable gadget accessories as there are currently very few numbers of competitors in this segment, for example:, Case-mate, Groveled, Minimize and Ore that produces phone cases and accessories from part to 100% recycled materials, wood and bamboo. SPINE aims to challenge the market leaders by differentiation and with plans to become the market leader of this segment. In order for the company to differentiate from other competitors, it aims to use 100% recycled materials in the production of our green product range.The recycled materials will come from industry and household wastes as well as recycling old mobile phones, phone cases and other electronic devices. The green range products will not substitute quality, functionality or appeal for using recycled materials, in fact, all of our green products are able to keep all of the original features so our customers can est. assure that they are getting high quality products while contribute to our mission to raise awareness and the importance for using sustainable phone and gadget accessories.SPINE will also donate 20% of profits from its green range to WFM and other organizations for research and conservation purposes. PRICING STRATEGIES The prices of our green sustainable product range are set accordingly with the competition in mind, also to cover the initial research and development costs as well as on-going costs associated with recycled materials. The company does not aim to hare a high premium over the green label, nor does it attempt to lower the price in order to sell high quantities of products.It is set at a p rice where consumers feel that it is reasonable and will be comfortable of purchasing knowing that a large portion of the profits will be used for a better cause such as further research for more sustainable products and in forms of donations to conservation organizations such as the WFM. PROMOTION STRATEGIES SPINE currently has 7 sub divisions apart from the Korean headquarters in different countries around the world which are USA, Japan, Hong Kong, I-J, Turkey, China andTaiwan. Each of the divisions has its own authorized retailers and resellers. These divisions are responsible to interact and provide information with the consumers, retailers and resellers whenever it launches a new product through various methods such as direct mail, face to face, e-mail and through social media sites such as Faceable and twitter. All of Spine's product range can be found on the division countries respective websites (SPINE, 2014).Promotional activities will take place before the launch of the gr een product ranges to establish awareness for sellers and errs to grasp an idea of what is to be released and how it is differentiated from the competitor's products, training programs will be conducted by trained staff assigned from Korean, American and Japanese headquarters to prepare each division's in-line managers and sales personals to be able to pass on to consumers and individual retailers on the features of the new sustainable products.After launch promotions will include forms of discounts, a further 5% discount for customers who trade-in an old phone case when they purchase a product from the green range at participating detail stores. These promotional activities will be carried out through methods mentioned above.As SPINE depend heavily on online sales through its own websites as well as liaising with Amazon and eBay, online promotional activities through these websites, e-mail and social media are vital to keep up to date with the company's goals and visions while cons tantly seek better ways of improving existing products to shift into the new green sustainable future of phone and gadget accessories. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES Currently, SPINE adopts direct marketing channels through online sales from its official weeping and also through third party online distributors such as eBay and Amazon.When adopting a sustainable distribution strategy, the company will look at providing biodegradable and recyclable packaging that enables overall volume reduction when transporting to serve the goal of sustainability. Materials used in the packaging will be in the form of lightweight recycled cardboard boxes that provides good protection but maintain flexibility when it comes to transport efficiency. Information and communication technology is also key to Spine's sustainable striation as under overstock can be counter intuitive in reaching the goal of creating a sustainable framework.As SPINE uses short distribution chains (products are shipped directly from t heir warehouse to the customer's doorsteps) good coordination can increase efficiency, but it should be noted that outsourcing suppliers for recycled materials should be monitored and well communicated to avoid over or under stock in inventory. To counter this, reverse logistics will be implemented to recycle unsold goods so that materials can be reused for future products instead of scraping all unwanted inventory. In conclusion, Spine's move to a more sustainable direction will set itself in a positive motion.

Friday, August 30, 2019

History of forensic medicine Essay

The necessity of understanding the reasons why a loved one suddenly becomes missing, his/her whereabouts difficult to trace and the difficulty of establishing the probability of that person’s survival is one of the many realities of families today. Should threats actually pose on a person’s life or the missing member left traces of his/her whereabouts are stuffs that not only fill the minds of those who are after detective stories; these are matters that provide meaning and hope for those families and individuals with real, missing loved ones. The popularity of shows on television such as CSI and police crime stories in a weekly slot has virtually lined almost all of networks around the globe. Films and theaters make sure they profit and usually they do whenever they strike the old formula of suspense and crime. Embedded in these formats is the dependable work of forensic medicine and the people behind it. It is no wonder that many children and adolescents today list the job of a forensic specialist as one of their ambitions. Purpose of the Paper Forensic medicine is a distinct discipline dedicated to accomplish the ultimate which is to solve crimes and prevent, limit or reduce its occurrence with the application of a wide-ranging field of sciences in response to inquiries in relation to the legal set-up. It utilizes scientific methods and the application of pharmacology and other related schemes in the pursuit of justice. Basically derived from the time of the Romans when both the accused and the accuser are given their day in â€Å"court† to present their speeches to persuade the court of the issues of their cases; today, an intricate system of a combination of knowledge from different sectors is used to achieve the purposes of the legal system. It uses modern technology and the expertise of behavioral sciences in law enforcement. Myths have been built around notorious serial killers and rightly so, because many of those who perpetrate such heinous activities manage to cause people to tremble just by hearing stories about their â€Å"exploits. Many were astounded by such names or tags as â€Å"BTK† and others like him who tried to carve their names in history though rather infamously. More modern types in the likes of Ted Bundy for instance and the â€Å"happy face† killer still evoke fear as well amazement that such people do exist. What was more amazing though is that they had been caught and that the breakthrough of forensic medicine in the early years to its modern developments had made the capture more successful and a credit to the science. In the case of jack the Ripper, he was popularized in London many years ago, around 1880, when this man started to murder prostitutes in the East End portion of this metropolis. He was never caught and his identity remained clouded in mystery. But the details as to the methods of his killing (or ripping) and whether he reaped them or not (his victims) became known only when the developments that had brought forensic medicine to the forefront started to become available (Barbee, 2006). The paper is written to explain, enlighten where forensic medicine is today and where it started. With the view that many of high profiled cases were solved due to the advances in the field which includes computer and digital forensics, use of forensic analysis tools of all kinds i. e. , sampling techniques, and a host of other manners of gathering evidence, the author seeks to establish the history of forensic medicine in precis. Problem Statement The literature today is rich to provide an enthusiast and serious student of the field with sufficient information concerning the issue on how this particular discipline emerged. It therefore seeks to answer the following question: What is forensic medicine and what are the major developments that helped established its place in the legal system? Basing on that primary inquiry, the following are the paper’s sub-problem statements: o How is forensic medicine defined? o What are the developmental milestones significant in the understanding of the discipline? o What are the current medical and scientific breakthroughs that are being employed in the application of forensic medicine? o What are its successes in terms of accomplishments as solving such high profiled crimes as BTK and insights into the legendary Jack the Ripper? What are its failures and the deficiencies in the system that needs to be improved and addressed? Definition of Terms Forensic medicine is a distinct science that â€Å"involves the principles and techniques that identify evidence at a crime scene† (UKTV people, 2007). Crime scene investigation refers to the protocol that peopl e in the uniform employs whenever a crime occurs such as the incidence of murder that brings the trained to examine the scene of the crime. The intention is to find traces or clues that might lead to the solution of the crime (UKTV people, 2007). DNA which represents the chemical Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the â€Å"chemical found in virtually every cell in the body and which carries genetic information from one generation to the next. When translated, this information determines our physical characteristics and directs all the chemical processes in the body† (UKTV people, 2007). Fingerprint evidence. â€Å"Fingerprint evidence rests on two basic principles: A person’s â€Å"friction ridge patterns† – the swirled skin on their fingertips – never change and no two people have the same pattern of friction ridges. † (UKTV people, 2007). Ballistics.  The science of ballistics is often a highly important element in finding out who did the â€Å"killing. † It deals with the motion, behavior and effects of bullets. Theoretical Framework ~On criminality: Factors contributing to the incidence This refers to the body of knowledge that provides a basis to the current understanding of the different facets of the field. There are various scientific viewpoints where criminality is concerned and its reduction and prevention as goals. The author attempts to discuss various theoretical perspectives as knowledge base for the strength of its proposition. Sociologists, in an attempt to explain and point out the reasons behind delinquency, have concluded that there are connections between specific youth behaviors with the home environment, family background, the neighborhood, associations, and many other aspects that together, or separately affect the formative years of young people’s social environment. Delinquent children usually come from a background of difficult circumstances. Parental alcoholism, poverty, breakdown of family, abusive conditions in the home, death of parents during armed conflicts or drug overdose, and the HIV/AIDS scourge, and etc. re some of the various reasons that can leave children virtually orphaned. One or both parents may be physically present, but because of irresponsibility on their part (if even one of them is addicted to drugs or alcoholic), a child may grow developing certain ways and attitudes that are directly/indirectly caused by the parent/s addiction or drug-related behavior. In this case, true delinquency lies on the parents; and the children are, in a way, orphaned or unaccompanied, and without any means of subsistence which, in the first place, the parents’ fundamental responsibility to provide. Generally, and increasingly, these children are born and/or raised without a father. They are first in the line of those who are at greatest risk of falling into juvenile delinquency. Without noticing it as it is typical of any youth to be lacking in prudence, with newly embraced group, the gang, a corresponding subculture starts to assimilate them, and before long, they start to engage in activities of adult criminal groups. It is usually after being engaged in criminal activities for an extended period of time with its accompanying consequences (such as ending up in prison or rehabilitation institutions for drug addicts) that delinquents realize they are into a very dangerous zone. A large portion of all juvenile violations (between two-thirds and three-quarters) are perpetrated by youths who are members of certain gangs (Venkatesh, 1997). Unlike in school and their family, these have no strict rules to be followed except loyalty to the group. It gives young people esteem when they somehow feel they are the â€Å"rule† in themselves. This is the lure of gangs. It gives the promise of fulfillment to would be delinquents. Popularity, access to the powerful figures on the streets, freedom to express one’s self, as well as easy flow of money (if the gang is also involved in some illegal activities such as drug dealings, which is common in most gangs) are seemingly within grasp of anybody who just have the guts to dare (OJJDP, Mar. 2003).

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Equality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Equality - Essay Example In other words, it is a fundamental human right that serves to build a society where man is treated and subjected to equal opportunities irrespective of their background, color of their skin, language spoken and/or religious affiliations. That the social systems that have hitherto been the source of power differences conferring nobility, often suspended by cross generational wealth, no longer serves as the necessary and sufficient condition towards a deterministic upward mobility in an equal society. Nothing affirms the foregoing than the famous preamble quotation of the founding document, the Declaration of Independence of the United States: â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governedâ⠂¬  (par 1). The weight of the phrase has since been the cornerstone of democratization and the basis of human rights movements. Even though the spirit of Jefferson’s thoughts above ultimately found their way into the mainstream constitution, equality [in the confessions of Martin Luther King, Jr] largely remained a dream for centuries. It is quite evident from the debate spurred on by the words and the battle that ensued afterwards in defense of the inalienable human rights that Jefferson and his co-drafters of the Declaration of Independence did not actually intend to actualize the ideal, inclusive meaning of equality for all men as it is today. Thomas Jefferson, like his Congress colleagues, owned approximately 200 slaves; a people taken as property, with no place in the American social setting to pursue happiness that Jefferson so dangled right in their faces (Armitage 76-77). A founding creed that seemed ridiculous in nature, equality has proved easier to enter in the l egal documents than to uniformly accomplish in practice. The very idea than man is equal is but anathema to the prevailing power structure to this day; a power structure dominated by the wealthy and one in which the disadvantaged rarely find their way. That while the idea of equality in the public discourse seems topical and ubiquitous, racism still informs certain decisions within a section [that is actually large] of the American culture, including the voting patterns, is an undeniable fact. In fact, racism is but a single manifestation among a plethora of social partitioning that includes direct and indirect discriminatory forms such as work-place bullying, victimization or even systematic exclusion of an entire people of a kind. It is important to note that in the ordinary sense, the nexus between equality and "discrimination" has been rather blurry, off the explicit, progressive and moral principles. Thomas Hobbes in his succinct vision of equality within the context of natural law wrote that: "Nature hath made men so equal, in the faculties of body and mind; as that though there be found one man sometimes manifest ­ly stronger in body, or of quicker mind than another; yet when all is reckoned together the difference between man and man is not so considerable, as that one man can thereupon claim to himself any benefit, to which another may not pretend, as well as he!' (Hobbes

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Essay 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

2 - Essay Example supervisors are the individuals that control the workforce and functions of the organization through effective control, decision making and problem solving activities. Management of workers includes several responsibilities like conflict management within workers and sometimes with management. The supervisors have to think calmly and act positively always so that the organization’s operations always remain effective and the organization remains in the continuous improvement mode. The manager, if works tactfully can implement continuous learning as part of the organizational culture. Organizations at times need to undergo change and implementing change in organizations is a complex task. Pursuing employees towards organizational change can be achieved successfully if supervisors use their skills and abilities that come from their personal development. The procedural skills are also very important for managers and supervisors to implement so that they can financially manage the expenses, costs and revenues and can estimate the financial needs of organization along with ability to appraise the performance of each worker which is one of key responsibilities of supervisors. The learning and development program should include all elements that cover the above said responsibilities of managers. With the span of time each organization has to implement the change process and needs to upgrade systems, policies, working facilities and procedures so that organizations can compete in the market and we need to trained employees to be flexible towards change. Employees should be willing to improve their skills and adapt to organizational and development changes (Armstrong, 2008). Conflicts are part of daily routine, issues in corporate and modern business world cannot be avoided from organizations entirely but effective management of conflicts can resolve problems occurred and minimize the damage that could possibly occur. The employees and supervisors should be trained to

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Companies must develop effective Crisis Communication techniques to Essay

Companies must develop effective Crisis Communication techniques to respond to problems or dangers - Essay Example Crises Communication is considered as the sub speciality of the profession related to public relation designed for defending or protecting an organization from facing any kind of public challenge associated with its reputation (Greenberg and Elliott, 2009). The challenges may arise in the form of any criminal allegation, investigation or inquiry from the government agency, any sort of media inquiry, violation of rules and regulations associated with the environmental conditions etc. In today’s world of social media, it is certain that every company will face crisis. The question is when the crisis is going to take place. The combined effort of millions of common people playing the role of ‘citizen journalists’ along with infinite number of different online platforms guarantees the organizations that they would be victimized by someone, by means of spreading damaging message, which are often rumours. If somehow those rumours are found to be true then the companies can be put to defensive corner before they can gather relevant evidences in their own favour. When there is an emergency, then it becomes very important for the organizations to communicate. ... Thus, the most important component in this situation is to prepare for the crisis communication plan, which would enable the organization to clearly communicate to the internal as well as external stakeholders. The organizations should be able to respond accurately, promptly and confidently in such a case of an emergency. The audiences must be reached by these organizations suffering due to crisis for satisfying them with the information that they require. The image and reputation of the organizations can have a positive or negative impact based on the public perception related to this crisis. Thus, in order to face this crisis situation and maintain its reputation it becomes very important for the organizations to plan for an effective crisis communication strategy which would enable them to satisfy the customers, employees and other stakeholders with sufficient justification for the incident. Understanding the audiences properly is very important for the organizations suffering fro m crisis situation. It helps in reaching to these audiences with the most effective communication plan which would satisfy them. There exist many potential audiences who want information at the crisis situation and also after its occurrence. The main challenge that remains for the organization is identifying these potential audiences, determining their needs for the information and then identifying that whether the organization is able to communicate and explain to these audiences. The potential audiences for the organizations include customers; employees; news media; community; the management, investors and directors of the company, government officials etc. The organizations find that public importance is highly significant with advancement of technology and public

Monday, August 26, 2019

Molecular Therapeutics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Molecular Therapeutics - Essay Example Later in 1970, the mechanism of prostaglandin biosynthesis was demonstrated to involve the formation of bicyclic peroxides or endoperoxides as the initial product of polyunsaturated fatty acid oxygenation. Prostaglandin endoperoxides were successfully isolated and the name 'cyclooxygenase' came into existence as a term that describes the enzyme that is responsible for this complex biochemical transformation (Lawrence et al 1999; Hamberg and Samuelson 1973). According to Lawrence and his colleagues (1999), the chemical process catalysed by cyclooxygenase; the conversion of arachidonic acid, (which is known to be the precursor to prostaglandins), to Prostaglandin G2 (PGG2) involves the enzymatic removal of the 13-pro-S-hydrogen, giving rise to a Pentadienyl radical with maximal electron density at C-11 and C-15. Trapping of the carbon radical at C-11 with Oxygen produces a peroxyl radical, which when added to C-9 generates a cyclic peroxide and a carbon-centred radical at C-8. The double bond at C-12 become re-inforced by the C-8 radical, generating the bicyclic peroxide and an allylic radical with maximal electron density at C-13 and C-15. The carbon radical at C-15 is trapped with oxygen to form a peroxyl radical, which is reduced to prostaglandin G2. Cyclooxygenase came t... Prostaglandins were shown to be involved in a wide array of physiological and pathophysiological responses such as pain, inflammation, homeostasis, regulation of renal function and maintenance of the mucosal integrity of the stomach wall (Remmel et al 2003), their inhibition therefore spells the anti-inflammatory and analgesic utility of NSAIDs and also their adverse effects, such as gastrointestinal toxicity and bleeding. However, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs happen to be the most widely used drugs in the treatment of pain and inflammation, their therapeutic effects was seen to stem from their ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase induced prostaglandin synthesis, which was also their major source of adverse side effects. The dilemma that ensued was how to separate the pharmacologic value of these drugs from the adverse effects. In the course of the search for a specific inhibitor of the negative effects of prostaglandins, which could spare the positive effects while reducing the adverse effects, it was discovered that depending on the structure of the cyclooxygenase enzyme involved in their synthesis, prostaglandins could be separated into two groups (Green 2001). This led to the discovery of two different cyclooxygenase isozymens encoded by two genes with different protein pattern and distribution (Remmel, 2003; Lawrence et a 1999; Ouellet, 2001) with Cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) constitutively expressed in most cell types, including platelets while COX-2, though not found in healthy tissues of the body, was induced in response to proinflammatory and proliferative stimuli (Ouellet et al 2001) essentially in response to cytokines, endotoxins, mitogens and at times growth factor (Herschman, 1996) . Available body of evidence, therefore showed that the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assignment Example There are certain numbers of characteristics that are involved with the effectiveness of entrepreneurs, such as self confidence, sense of ownership, continuous learning skills, communication abilities, goal and system oriented cognitive skills, and dedication towards the objectives with an optimistic point of view among others. According to the concept of Peter Drucker, entrepreneur can be regarded as the person who essentially looks for changes and attempts taking appropriate actions on it developing those changes as a prospect of growth and success (Marks and Hunter, 2011). Among the various notable entrepreneurs of this era, Lord Alan Sugar has been one. Born in the not so famed East London, he rose up to the occasion to be a member at House of Commons and to hold 89th place in Sunday Times Rich List of 2011. Amstrad has been his most successful venture. The paper on entrepreneurship should also mention about the Virgin group Chairman Richard Brasnon, the 4th richest person of UK. Virgin Megastores, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Mobile and the expanded Virgin Records are few of his successful ventures. 1.2. Critically Evaluate Entrepreneurialism as an Agent of Change in Both Public and Private Health and Social Care Sector. In the modern day context of healthcare and social organizations, the entrepreneurs are highly inclined towards gaining increased revenue or profit for the organization. However, social enterprises, now-a-days, entail with certain significant attributes related to the governmental public policies. The enterprises of the globalised world focusing on a developed entrepreneurship are different from traditional and socio-economic approaches which motivated the European countries to adopt developed legal frameworks. The contemporary scenario of the healthcare organizations is highly required to be conscious with regards to the environmental changes and implement suitable plans and strategies for the organization concentrated on its social be nefits. Significant plans along with the appropriate strategies are more effective for the organization to put up internal strengths along with external opportunities taking into account the surmounting peripheral threats as well as interior weaknesses possessed by the concern. For instance, in the context of health and social care divisions of UK, it has been observed that the current circumstances have perpetually increased the requirements for more efficient and cost control strategies. The reasons behind such inclination relate with the reduction in government’s financial support to the sector, involvement of private firms as well as expansion of National Health Service (NHS) (Department of Health, 2009). Therefore, in the modern phenomenon, the UK based healthcare organisations within the private sector as well as public sector continue to strive for achieving the competitive advantages through cost-limitation and growth sustainability. The strategic decisions are the cr ucial factors which can encompass a long term effect on the prospects of an organization with regards to its utilization of the resources,

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Challenge that Faces Positive Marketing of Healthy Behaviour Essay

Challenge that Faces Positive Marketing of Healthy Behaviour - Essay Example Most consumer items such as cigarette have side effects, which are supposed to be clearly indicated on their packaging. In most countries, advertisements or any marketing information of such commodities should be accompanied by any side effects (Bond, 1993). The main challenge of such advertisements is the message that promotes the product. For instance, cigarette advertisement uses healthy and successful people to show the positive side of smoking. In most cases, the advertisements use public icons such as musicians and sport men to advertise cigarettes. It is difficult to convince the audience of such information that cigarette smoking or junky foods are harmful to their health. The other challenge facing positive advertisements is lack of uncertainty in the message. For instance, a typical message against tobacco smoking will contain information such as cigarette smoking is harmful to your health, smoking can cause lung cancer and cigarette smoking increase anxiety. Such messages lack certainty and hence they are open to different forms of challenges (Rokeach, 1973). Firstly, the message stating that cigarette smoking is harmful to the health of a smoker fails to state the extent to which smoking is harmful. In addition, adequate studies have not been conducted to establish the extent to which these health problems are related to smoking. ... Cigarette ads should state that smoking a certain number of sticks per day increases the risk of developing cancer by a certain proportion. The other challenge facing positive advertisement is the attitude that people have towards negative behaviours. People associate these negative behaviours with lifestyles. For instance, smoking is associated with leisure while junk foods are associated with busy or wealthy people. It is difficult to change the mentality that people have on these commodities through positive advertisement messages. For instance telling parents to stop feeding their children with junk foods seems to lower their social status. On the other hand telling people to stop smoking is similar to telling them to stop associating themselves with a certain class of friends. People always oppose such information since it does not contribute to their social well-being. Advertisements that target negative behaviours and certain commodities such as cigarettes and fast foods tend to criminalize the commodities or behaviour (Rokeach, 1973). In addition, the ads portray the negative sides of the commodities or behaviours. People always oppose information that warns them against certain action. In addition, people always want to experiment with things that have been declared harmful. For instance, people want to experiment the negativities of cigarette smoking. The main reason why cigarette smoking has not been banned in most countries is that making the commodity illegal will make it more attractive (Bond, 1993). This is similar to hard drug such as cocaine and marijuana. Due to the illegal status of these drugs, people always use them as a way of showing their defiance towards the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Research Methods - Essay Example me teachers functioning on a split site system since they spend more time travelling from site to site, thus losing contact time with other colleagues. Although departmental meetings are well attended, there are noticeably fewer discussions in the staff room, as break and lunch times are also travelling times. These issues, with their underlying themes, are generic in nature and are relevant in a variety of contexts and are listed below: Action research is about problem solving to extend knowledge (Hult & Lunnung, 1980, West et al., 1995, McConnell, 2000). My research question involves qualitative research, which lends itself to problem solving in a cyclic manner. It involves a planned reaction to a problem, followed by feedback, evaluation, critical reflection and discussion, to redefine issues concerned with the sharing of information. A greater awareness and understanding of an identified problem is developed over time, which should lead to a solution or improved practice. As Cohen and Manion (1994) point out, â€Å"An important feature of action research is that the task is not finished when the project ends. The participants continue to review, evaluate and improve practice.† However, Cohen and Manion’s approach of ‘review, evaluate and improve’ works well with quantitative research, or for one person trying to affect a change. It does not appear appropriate for uniform progression of a group and group activity over a longer period of time. Hence for a group to progress as a unit, emphasis on developing a consensus between its members is important. For these extended studies a conductor is necessary to form an extended cyclic approach including review, evaluate, conduct and improve. Improved practice and the opportunity to develop my own relationships within the group are important to me in order to develop a sense of worth. I have chosen action research as my method as it brings the interviewer closer to the interviewee, hence it lends itself to

Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Development - Essay Example Comparative analysis of two academic articles is the main thrust of this paper. Workplace or Individual development in learning organization is the common argument of these two articles. The development of HRD theory and practice will also be discussed. Comparative Analysis First Article. According to Alkire (2002, p.182), â€Å"One fundamental reason for serious account of dimensions is to give secure epistemological and empirical footing to the multidimensional objective of human development.† This is the reason why there are several dimensions mentioned in the first article. HD framework is important for HRD considering that the latter is expected to handle the human capital of the organization, and it is the responsible department that will oversee the development of individuals (Laird, et al., p.7). This concept is also justified through Sen’s capability approach, Finnis’ notion of human flourishing and dimensions of development. As described by Alkire (2002 , p.184), Sen’s capability approach is one of the developmental approaches that refers to freedom as to what the individual prefers. Sen resisted further that his approach is all about the many capabilities an individual possessed which can be used in the development process. The Sen’s and Finnis’ approaches are somewhat related in terms of values and reasons for actions. The human flourishing approach of Finnis is all about the basic values that â€Å"provides standards for choice and action because the integral directiveness of basic practical principles enables us to identify intermediate moral norms that exclude ways of choosing that are incompatible with a will towards integral human fulfillment† (George, 2004, p.271). The argument in the article constituted on how these... This paper stresses that authors of the two articles both conveyed different theory development, and the ways of developing varied from each other. The first article is concerned about problem-solving theories not just within the corporate sector or individual development but also in the global perspective. In fact, its definition of HRD involved the whole humanity and the public good. On the other hand, the second article is focused on the problem-solving process within the boundary of merging organizations. The argument lies in the public and private corporations and data from NHS. However, the intersecting point of two authors has meet when they talked about training and development, culture, and values. The arguments of the first article are justified by presenting theories while the basis of the second article is through the conduct of research. Both of them explained the importance of human development framework in the field of human resource development, and the outcome has be en successful. This report makes a conclusion that the first article is using different approaches and arguments that will serve as a guide to the reader. It also managed to define terms that are in broad context particularly the given approaches. The arguments are clearly defined and examples are best illustrated. However, the human resource management literature review of the article is not thoroughly explained, and some of the presented theories are omitted. The article is addressing different arguments but not all of them are discussed. The relationship between HD and HRD are not clearly answered particularly in the part of conclusion. Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words Human Resource Development - Essay Example This required recruitment of line managers with defined technical skills and hence developing new skills became mandatory. The management became aware that the changes implemented over the recent years have altered the nature of the company. To cope up with these issues, a new human resource manager has been appointed who plans to initiate the learning and training programmes for the employees to enhance their organizational performance. The company’s induction programme lasts for two days and covers topics such as the history of the company, mission statement, organizational objectives, company ethics, rules of the organization and human resource policies (Basadur, Wakabayashi and Graen, 2008). The objective of the study is to compare different learning styles, explain the role of learning curve and access the contribution of learning styles and theories in scheduling and designing a learning event for the company’s workforce. The aim of the study is to compare the tra ining needs of the staff of Green and Company, review the success of the evaluation of training event in the company. Learning curve refers to the geometrical progression which discovers that there is a gradual decrease in cost for achievement of a given repetitive operation as the similar operation is steadily repeated. The quantity of decline will be less with every successive unit manufactured. The decision curve slope is expressed in percentage (Hayes and Allinson, 2011). This curve is a measure of experience gained in production of a product in an organization. Along with more production of units, individuals involved in the manufacturing process become more efficient. It proves to be very effective in the manufacturing industries and where the task is repetitive in nature with same equipments and tools such as in Green and Company. Green and Company can use the learning curve theory for setting standards in the learning

Thursday, August 22, 2019

How a Christian might apply their beliefs Essay Example for Free

How a Christian might apply their beliefs Essay In this, my second piece of coursework I will be looking at how a Christian might apply the beliefs that I just outlined in A01 and will refer to specific situations of conflict to illustrate this. A Christian could apply the beliefs I recently mentioned in A01 through all different means. The most recent event of late to do with war conflict is the Iraq war. Saddam Hussian we were told and could see was not a particularly pleasant man. I heard in papers and through television what he was doing to people and how he treated them. As Christians then in one point of view from the Sermon on the Mount we should forgive this man for his wrong doings and let him repent his own sins. This belief of forgiveness decelerates that should he recognise his wrongs and change his behaviour he could then be forgiven of his previous sins. Unfortunately Saddam was tolerant of the pain and suffering caused under his regime and unwilling to recognise a need to change his behaviour. However once captured Saddam was not subjected to the torture that he imposed but treated in a Christian and humane manner. Though as the passage states we should still maintain our Christian values and be forgiving, `to turn the other cheek`. An issue closer to home regarding conflict and Christianity is the fighting in Northern Ireland regarding the Catholics and Protestants. The two communities are constantly at war with one another over their faiths and in doing so are abandoning the core values of their religions. These two sets of people are following the `eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth`, way of dealing with their problems and issues, which has proven itself through twenty years of conflict to be ineffective and destructive. As again the passage from the Sermon on the Mount comes into effect and the two sides should realise that when a person of one side is killed they should not seek revenge and to kill, but to `live and let live`. Then this may result in an end to the violence and tragedies that are so often occurring. In the other effect towards Saddam Hussian issues we as Christians could most notice the quote of `An eye for and eye and a tooth for tooth`, from the Old Testament and do to Saddam the horrific things that we hear of him doing. Not many Christians, today I believe see this way of dealing with things. More to the point would not be really able as out generation of law and order would just not allow it. When people saw Saddam Hussian damaging an empire and country most I would have believed that they were angry and human instinct gets the better of belief. It is a natural feeling to become angry and upset with something or somebody. And this combining with believing that it is right to acknowledge the passage from the Old Testament results in terrible effects to peoples lives. Also this relates to the Wars going on around Northern Ireland. The two religions are constantly battling each other. We have seen the results of this situation and there is no justice to the trauma and deaths that are carried out.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Bajaj Two Wheeler Marketing Analysis

Bajaj Two Wheeler Marketing Analysis Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) was recognized in 1945, firstly launching scooters and three wheelers a centre in the Indian market. In 1991 its properties of the Indian government rule on foreign imports, BALs marketing object the development of the Indian two wheeler business from scooters to 2 stroke and 4 stroke bikes with a robust stress on BAL while studying its strategies. Along with the analysis found that BAL moving into developing markets in instruction to increase sales and found a global footmark. According to market report also comprises SWOT study of BAL which will help it to express an actual marketing policy for the next five years. In adding to SWOT analysis, Bajaj auto limited latest model Pulsar DTS-i 220cc,150 cc ,180cc 135 cc and Discover DTS-i 135 cc 100cc increased growth suddenly. Its product quality (maintenance, mileage service) better than any another Hero Honda, TVS motor product. At present time ,Bajaj very good position in two wheeler industry because Its ch anges model half yearly, yearly. Its also increase market share. Bajaj discover 100 makes new record -over 10 lakh bike sold in just 15 months. In 2010, Bajaj auto limited launch latest Bajaj Discover 150cc, pulsar 135cc, 220cc model changes in two wheeler market. All the brand comparable with other two wheeler company that its all brand were gave better average with new technic cheaper price. Table of Contents COMPANY HISTORY: Inspiring Confidence, the tagline, has constructed up confidence, complete pleasure engineering, not only to national customers but also internationally. Recognized just eight periods back in 1926 thru Jamnalal Bajaj, the company has been conferred with Indias major exporter of two-wheeler three-wheeler. In 2004-05, produce sales 196,710 units, a great 26 per cent jump over the previous year In 2004-05, Bajaj Auto Ltd. sales have increased about 21 per cent which at most Rs 65.4 billion. Its record in the history of the company. The gross working profit positions at Rs. 9.3 billion, over a record. The profits after tax of the BAL are close to Rs. 7.7 billion, and the pre-tax return on working capital is at an inspiring 80 per cent. The company strength is product excellence, brilliance in engineering and design, and its aptitude to pleasure the customers. In November 2004, the Pulsar introduced is continually controlling the best segment of the motorcycle market, helping to maintain the market advantage. Discover DTS-i, one more successful bike on Indian roads, is in the value segment of the motorcycle market. It joins a high degree of power with petroleum competence of a 100cc motorcycle. The market turns on high economies of device and on high economies of choice. The requirement for technical expertise is high. Owning a strong supply network is important and is very costly. All these brand the fence high enough to be a warning for new candidates OBJECTIVE: Bajaj Limited is to deliver the market requirements of transportation by providing two- wheeler. BAL has been manufacturing the list products to supply to the changing market requirements. Founded on the customer feedback, improvements are being made continuously in the current products. Its wants to be a good market growth in Indian two wheeler Industry. LITERATURE REVIEW: Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates satisfies customer requirements profitably. (The Chartered Institute of Marketing) Marketing is a social managerial process by which individual groups obtain what they want and need through creating ,offering and exchanging products of value with others, (kotler, 1991) The marketing mix helps you define the marketing elements for successfully positioning your market offer. One of the best known models is the Four Ps, which helps you define your marketing options in terms of product, place, price and promotion. Use the model when you are planning a new venture, or evaluating an existing offer, to optimize the impact with your target market. MARKETING MIX 4PS MODEL PROMOTION ADVERTISING Earlier tagline Defiantly Male but now its using tagline Distinctly Ahead. It inspires confidence and sends message of Free Biking. Its association with stunt mania (MTV) helps at targeting youth. Hero Honda is worlds no 1 two wheeler sales company. Advertising by Sorav Ganguly Hirtik Roshan. Hero Honda annual STAR SCREEN AWARDS etc. TVS Apache selected Bike of the Year in 2006. Company give a free gifts like electric item, offer price on Diwali, New year any other occasion. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths: Highly knowledgeable management Competences of product design development Widespread RD focus Wide spread distribution network High performance products across all classes High export to national sales ratio Great financial support network Great economics of scope scale Weaknesses: Hasnt employed the extra cash for  long Still has no recognized brand to match hero Hondas splendor in customer segment Not a global player in malice of enormous capacity Not a internationally familiar brand (unlike the JV partner Kawasaki ) Threats: The struggles catches-up new  innovation in no time Threat inexpensive of important motorcycle from china Margins getting embraced from both the directions (price as well as cost) Tata Ace is a thoughtful struggle for the three- wheeler cargo segment Pulsar 135 cc will good competitor to Hero Honda other bike. Opportunities: Dual growth in two -wheeler market Unused market above 180cc in motorcycle More adulthood and movements towards higher-end motorcycles The increasing gearless trendy scooter and scootte market Increasing world demand for entry-level motorcycle particularly in emerging markets. BAL is devoted to discouragement of pollution, continual development of environment presentation and obedience with all environmental rule and regulations. They always trust in as long as the customer value for money and save a special eye upon excellence, security, productivity, cost and distribution. THE INVEITABLE CHANGE: Bajaj on interior analysis found that it required The practical knowledge to deliver modest goods. The design knowledge. And the instant incapability to support the attack of competitors. Bajaj to expression for an global partner who could transport in technology and also proposal some basic stages to be factory-made and promoted in India. In Japan, Kawasaki is a world-renowned producer of high presentation bikes. In 1990, Bajaj arrived into a planned tie-up with Kawasaki to improve its product line and gen up-gradation to support long-term plans. This helped the purpose of satisfying the market rivalry for a whereas. From 1996 to 2000, Bajaj capitalized extremely in infrastructure though concurrently developing product design and innovation competences, which is the prime reason behind the lively Bajaj of 21st century. After 2001, Bajaj introduced a swing of products right from entry-level motorbike to the best segment right and since then its wet success all the technique for Bajaj. Previous sector, Bajaj had inspiring performance increasing at a rate of 20%+ when the main producer produced at just 6%. This stands a testament to the numerous significant strategic choices over the previous period. MARKET SEGMENTATION: BRAND POSITION: Bajaj Auto is a top company of Bajaj group. Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) is presently Indias second largest worlds fourth largest two-wheeler and three wheeler producer. The vital ability of Bajaj Auto Ltd is its technology and invention. Both DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark Ignition) and DTS-Fi (Digital Twin Spark Fuel Ignition) are technological advances by Bajaj. BAL is also a innovator in product innovation having accessible technologies such as Exhaust TEC (Exhaust Torque Expansion Chamber), LED tail lamps, LCD Display, SNS, Spare parts (Rear disc brakes, tube less tyres), Black colour system etc. Similarly, the company also learnt that deviation was another important part of its focus on specialism, with the Discover obviously located for the customer section and the Pulsar as the sporty option. The features, so, had to be high-class for each product in terms of looks and trip while protection profitability. Since Bajaj Autos point of view, the customer and sporty parts are the backbone of Indias motorbike market. And even while it has bikes to proposal from the KTM and Kawasaki firm, these largely continue in the place category as off-road and on-road players understanding into incomplete numbers. MARKETING STRETEGIES: The focus of BAL rotten twilight has been on as long as the best models at modest values .Most of the Bajaj models come loaded with the modern landscapes within the price group suitable by the market. BAL has been the innovator in widening competition into as long as newest features in the price section by informing the low price bikes. The latest features like twin spark, disk-brakes, anti-skid DTS-I technology and dual suspension, etc. who increase great growth in two wheeler industry. BAL accepted different promotion policies for different models, few of them are deliberated by table: Strategies Model Engine Technology Market Kawasaki 4s champion 100cc Bajaj first bike launched that time Hero Honda is a great market leader In fuel efficient bike Yamaha is performance bike Boxer 100cc AT/CT/AR three models come in market with good technology. Target rural population price delicate client. Boxer marketed as a worth for money bike a great mileage. It was in straight struggle to Hero Honda Dawn and Suzuki MX100. Pulsar new150cc, 180cc,135 cc 220cc, 200cc, DTS-I (digital twin spark ignition), DTS-Fi, Exhaus TEC (Exhaust Torque Expansion Chamber), Self-start Pulsar was launched in direct competition to the Hero Hondas CBZ model in 150 cc plus segment. all model was a great success and has already crossed 1 million marks in sales. Pulsar bike achieve very good market growth day by day Platina 100cc, 125cc DTS-i. Self-start Bajaj Platina is a leader in mileage appearances in the 100 cc class The Platina 125cc bike has a well-ordered expression along with a great rev-up and acceleration. IMPLEMENTATION: Although the avalanche of motorcycles offered Indian customers a wide variety of models to select from, it also resulted in increased weight on the companies to essence on cost-cuts, technology improvements and up-gradations and fashioning. Their margins came under weight as marketing costs intensified. The companies were compulsory to decrease prices and proposal reductions to live the competition. Moreover, analysts were cynical about the segments ability to uphold the development rate in the years to come. One of the main expectations original the motorbikes rush was that if the market was significantly large and was growing at a constant step, there was room for a profitable being for all products. In 2001, there were over 30 motorbike products in the market. Though, with the top five brands accounting for more than 60% of the market, only 40% of the market was accessible for all other new products put together. In spite of the launch of more vehicles, the endurance forecasts of many of the individual brands were believed to be slightly unwelcoming. Further, the development in the motorbike segment was dependant on on-going positive market situations. Analysts requested that to withstand this growth rate, the section would have to totally cannibalize the market for scooters and a significant part of the market for scooters and mopeds. As the fast increasing scooters segment, with high demand from female clienteles, followed by the temperately growing moped segment and the rearrangement in the scooter section thru major national and foreign companies supporting their attendance, it was unlikely that the whole growth in the two-wheeler subdivision would be due to motorbikes. Forecasters also observed that as the two-wheeler manufacturing had grown gradually for eight years, periods in the product life series would apply to the ground rather, rather than future and the weakening stage would usually come sometime. There was little difference between the products being launched separately from designing as most companies had presented their four-stroke vehicles. The Indian companies would succeed in producing the kind of volumes wanted to endure in the modest motorbike market, remainders to be understood. RECOMMENDATION: Focus on High Margin Products: About 50% of the two-wheeler customers buy high class products (products of executive and best segment motorcycles). Limits on these products are higher. BAL should accept a thoughtful strategy of concentrating on executive and best section motorbikes and three-wheelers, and is plummeting its essential on lower-end of motorbikes and scooters section. High margin products-Pulsar, Discover and Avenger. Low margin products Platina, Scooters and Mopeds. Bajaj cumulative competition in the economy section and limited scope from cost saving events, it is believed this strategy of concentrating on higher margin products would allow the company in retentive its operating margins. CONCIUSION: It has been more than 50 years currently that bikes have been ruling the Indian automobile segment. In 1955, the Indian government wanted durable and dependable motorbikes for its Military and forces to patrol the rough border thoroughfares. The first lot of 350cc Bullet the wonderful motorbike in India of all times, from the Royal Enfield Company of UK were conventional and collected at Chennai. The latest model launched new Pulsar 220cc, 135cc Discover 135cc, 100cc also increase better value in two wheeler markets. Its effect on Bajaj auto business. Rahul Bajaj chairman of Bajaj two wheeler. They change many models that increase company growth. Company CEO S. Sridhar change Forman, mechanical, technical staff product quality to improve bike brand. Since then, bikes in India have been prosperous as a two wheelers segment, and Indian bikes ahead on popularity all crossways the world.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Poverty Effects On Student Performance

Poverty Effects On Student Performance America is a country founded on the idea of acceptance; a relatively new country, only 230 years old, but in a short time has risen to become the most powerful empire that the world has ever known. Labeled as a melting pot, America was created by the blending together of many cultures. From the beginning of immigration in New Orleans to the famous port of Ellis Island, America has been an ever expanding pot of culture brewing to the top. Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty are the words Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. This message of acceptance is the backbone of American ideals. Its ever growing population expands each day with different peoples from different backgrounds. Immigrant culture is adopted and implemented at all levels. Why the need to understand culture and does it really make a difference in the classroom? In order to be an effective educator, you must understand where your students are coming from. If your students do not feel that they can relate to you, they will not trust you. If they do not trust you they will not learn from you. It is essential to gain an understanding of their beliefs, traditions, heritage, and overall way of life before you can really start to make a difference. I have chosen to look at how poverty affects education. I will look at how generational poverty affects the importance of education. The family values that are instilled regarding education, and the behaviors that accompany poverty. I have undergone a change in my own beliefs after having my eyes opened to the devastating affects that poverty has on the importance of education. I hope to paint a better picture to the culturally unaware. Why do high poverty urban areas have such problems with schooling outcomes? This was a question that I went into my current job wondering. Again, how can poverty affect the outcomes of student performance? I used to think that the only thing that someone needed to do would be to try hard and pay attention and their academic performance would fall into place. Blind assumptions from an inexperienced educator. My ideas were so far from the truth that I was almost walking into this situation blind. Urban Poverty and Educational Outcome is research focused on the relocation of families from high poverty neighborhoods to low poverty areas and the outcomes of their childrens academics. The achievement gap is commonly defined as the difference between the academic performance of poor students and wealthier students and between minority students and their non-minority peers. The achievement gap is a perennial topic in U. S. educational policy and research. The gap has persisted through a variety of policies intended to close it, but Americans show no signs of abandoning the effort to do so. A substantial majority of Americans believe that closing the gap is both important and possible. Results of the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Publics Attitudes Toward the Public Schools (Rose Gallup, 2006) show that fully 88% of the public view the African-American/European-American and Hispanic/European-American gap as either very important (67%) or somewhat important (21%). Eighty-one percent replied yes to the question, Do you believe that the achievement gap can be narrowed substantially while maintaining high standards for all children? (McCall 2006) Why do students quit school? There are a number of factors involved. Poor academic performance, lack of interest, economic reasons, health, and lack of family support are just to name a few. All of these can be tied back to one common factor, poverty. Poverty is responsible for the majority of high school dropouts in the United States. Povertys grip can influence the very factors that can over come it. The main factor being education itself. Only through a quality education can one overcome the bounds of poverty. (Patterson) High school dropouts are more likely to be unemployed. They will earn less money when and if employed. Their rate of incarceration is higher than those with diplomas. They have a greater chance of being on public assistance than a graduate. On the other hand a high school graduate is more likely to have job security, earn more money than those with no diploma or even a GED. (Patterson) Underprivileged children living in poverty are unaware of this fact. Even if they have heard this before, it is up to them to believe it and overcome, or disregard and succomb. (Patterson) High dropout and low graduation rates have unfortunately become standard in many urban high schools. Programs have been put into place to prevent this, but poor and minority students continue to leave schools in relatively high numbers. For many youth, dropping out represents the final chapter of dis involvement that has been going on since elementary school. (Patterson) Between 1970 and 1990, the number of people in the United States living in high-poverty census tracts (with poverty rates of 40 percent or more) nearly doubled, from 4.1 to 8.0 million. Children who live in poor urban neighborhoods are disproportionately likely to be members of racial and ethnic minority groups and are also at greater risk for school failure. For example, only 11 percent of fourth graders attending high-poverty schools in Washington, D.C., scored at or above basic level on the governments National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math test, far lower than the national average of 62 percent. Dropout rates in Washington remain on the order of 30 to 40 percent, many times higher than the national average. (Ludwig) Sociologists believe that the prevalence within neighborhoods of social problems such as a high percent of joblessness and and poverty affect the chances of educational success of its residents. The theory was that policies that reduce the degree of economic residential segregation would improve the educational outcomes of the youth. (Ludwig) The study was composed of low income families living in public or section-8 project housing in Maryland. Families volunteered for this survey and were split up into three groups. The first was an experimental group which was relocated to a low poverty area with assistance and counseling programs. The second was offered relocation, but it was not mandatory. They were not offered any other benefits. This group was called the section-8 group. The third was a control group which did not relocate and was offered no assistance. (Ludwig) Their study measures childrens educational outcomes using data from administrative school records in Maryland. Outcomes measured include student performance on standardized academic tests, school absences, disciplinary actions, special education placements, grade retentions, and dropout rates. They were hoping to prove that when placed into a different environment that economically deprived children would excel in school. The idea behind the study was to prove that it is not the students, but rather the environment of poverty that causes educational failure. The study was composed over six years. The students were both elementary and middle school students. (Ludwig) The control group children on average score near the fortieth percentile in the national distribution on the reading and math tests at age six, but by age 13 the average score is only at about the twentieth percentile. We also see that the proportion of students who receive special education services increases steadily over time. Grade retentions, school absences, and disciplinary problems all peak in the early or mid-teen years. The subsequent decline is presumably due to the increase in dropout rates at older ages. This is in correlation with low income students. The same cycle that has repeated itself time and again is shown in the control group that was offered no assistance. (Ludwig) The experimental and Section 8 groups show a significant rate of improvement. These groups seem to slow the rate of relative decline in student test scores as they age, at least for younger children, but it also appears to increase the rate of grade retention among adolescents. Compared with young children in the control group, those assigned to the experimental group experience substantial gains in academic achievement as measured by standardized test scores. Experimental group children are nearly 18 percentage points more likely than controls to pass the state reading test, which means that the experimental pass rate on this test is nearly double that of the control group. The reading and math scores of experimental children are about 7 percent points higher than those of the control group. This is equal to around 29 and 26 percent of the control group means on these tests. (Ludwig) Assignment to the Section 8 group appears to improve young students reading scores by about 6 percentage points relative to controls. Although the difference across groups in math scores is relatively small but it is a positive improvement. The Section 8 group also appears to pass the state reading test at a rate that is around 6 percentage points higher than that of controls. (Ludwig) The data for younger children in elementary schools has a higher percentage increase than middle school or high school children. This could be because the longer that a child lives in high poverty neighborhood, the more the lifestyle consumes them. This will cause education to be pushed further back on their priority list thus increasing the chance of failure in school. One conclusion that can be made is that the younger a child living in an risk section, the more likely it is that educational importance is instilled into their values. The more that they are exposed to the elements of poverty, the more likely it is that they will lose their value of education. (Ludwig) The findings presented in this study seem to suggest that the offer to relocate families in public housing from high to low poverty neighborhoods improves standardized achievement test scores among young children. While they have subjected their findings to a variety of sensitivity tests, there remains the possibility that the program effects may be due in part to problems of the missing data that they have not thought of. The effects of the program on teens are more difficult to determine because their measures of in school problem behavior confound changes in the behaviors of teens with differences across schools in standards and because the measures of academic achievement available for teens are quite limited in the Maryland education data. (Ludwig) Article two, Fixing Urban Schools takes a look into the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that was passed to help ramp up education in America. This article investigates if NCLB has helped minority students. Most middle class families with children have moved out of the urban environments and into the suburbs. This leaves todays urban schools overwhelmingly populated by low income African American and Hispanic students. These schools are not making the grade, even with falling standards of the rest of the country. According to Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, 71 percent of eighth graders are not reading at grade level. This number shoots up to between 80 and 90 percent for students of color. He goes on to tell us that of the approximately 15,000 high schools in the United States there are 2,000 of them, mostly in cities, account for half of the nations school dropouts. To me this was a shocking statistic that I could not believe. (Clemmitt) This was the reason for the creation of NCLB under the Bush administration. The focus was to have states report achievement scores for all student groups. This ensured that lagging scores of low income and minority students wont be masked by having only state or district overall average scores reported. NCLB is requiring states to take accountability for academic performance from all student groups, not just the affluent students. (Clemmitt) Has forcing schools to take responsibility by unmasking their data improved the achievement of low income and minority students? There are two sides to this argument. Former President Bush said in 2007 that NCLB has done more than just improve data gathering, even arguing that the law itself has pushed achievement upward. Fourth graders are reading better. Theyve made more progress in five years than in the previous 28 years combined, he said on March 2. The other side to this argument is that NCLB hasnt had the desired effect once hoped. Of the non-achieving schools in New York state, for example, 90 percent are in cities and 80 percent in the states five biggest cities, says David Hursh, an associate professor of teaching and curriculum at the University of Rochesters Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education. (Clemmitt) The gap between average reading scores of African American and white fourth graders narrowed by only one point on the 500-point National Assessment of Educational Progress test (NAEP) between 2002 and 2005. Also this narrowing appears to be part of a normal long term trend and can not be attributed to NCLB. Between 1998 and 2005 the reading score gap narrowed by three points. However the reading score gap between African American and white students actually widened from 25 to 28 points between 2002 and 2005. This side of the coin suggests the impact of NCLB is not as successful as it was hoped. (Clemmitt) Has NCLB helped students in urban schools? NCLB was intended to improve overall academic achievement and raise achievement for minority and low income students mainly by requiring more student testing, forcing schools to report data separately for student groups including economically disadvantaged and minority students, and by employing better quality teachers to help bridge the gap. NCLB has seen improvement in student performance. Student scores, while still far from on grade level have showed improvement. The law has benefited urban schools by raising reading scores for African American and Hispanic fourth and eighth graders and math scores for African American and Hispanic fourth graders. Achievement gaps in reading and math between white fourth-graders and African-American and Hispanic fourth-graders also have diminished slightly since NCLB. The Bush administration may have been over ambitious with their original expectations, but gains are measured on all levels and any positi ve improvement is a good thing. Fig. 2 (Clemmitt) The laws pronouncement that 100 percent of U.S. students will test at the proficient level is simply unrealistic. That is an opinion, but I will call it a fact. The funding and resources are just not there to achieve that result. When it comes to underprivileged student resources, the biggest one is sometimes the most overlooked, the teacher. The cornerstone of any gain in student achievement comes from an effective teacher. Teachers are the most under appreciated, yet most element to student performance. (Clemmitt) The theory seems simple enough. Get effective teachers into economically disadvantaged urban schools and the scores will take care of themselves right? Wrong, and nothing could be further from the truth. When NCLB first came about city school districts, including Pittsburgh Public, revamped their lowest achieving schools. They brought in effective teachers and increased the resources available to them and most importantly, a larger paycheck for working in these schools. Well, in the beginning, this seemed like a win win. Schools got to have the best teachers, and the teachers were getting better resources and better pay. There was one thing that wasnt taken into consideration on a great of scale as it should have been, culture. (Clemmitt) Teachers left their jobs in schools that they knew inside and out to come into this new environment and shake the dust off of the failing scores. The problem is that by the end of the first year almost half will leave. By the second almost 70 percent and after four or five years, you would be lucky to find two or three teachers still around. The turnover of teachers is so high that any sense of normal routine is hard to get established. When students finally open up and form a relationship with a teacher, the next year that person has gone on and the children are left scratching their heads. Was it me? Did I cause them to leave or did they abandon me? The work in these schools is trying to say the least, and it is very difficult, even with an extra 7 or 10 thousand dollars a year to keep effective teachers in these situations. It is a difficult scenario and most do not want to put up with the culture that comes along with it. Teachers simply get burnt out. The attached graph shows th at as minority students increase, the number of effective teachers decreases to the point where when either one is near 100 percent the other is near zero. Fig 2 (Clemmitt) Differences in the academic performance of children appear early. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and many children of color consistently achieve below the national average in mathematics and language skills. This number increases as students become older in the upper grades. The longer these at risk children stay in school, the greater the gap between their educational performance and that of white and middle class students. Gradually the chances for academic success diminish for poor and minority students as they continue on their academic careers. Early childhood is a critical time for intervention in the education of at risk children if different outcomes are to occur. (Bowman) What is is that causes at risk children to do poorly in school? The answer is not that there is something wrong with their genes or families, but rather the deprivations they inherit from living in poverty. The explanation for the gap in academic performance can also be attributed to the life experiences between middle class students and low income students. The culture in which a risk children live does not promote the attention to education that is seen in the middle class. The beliefs and attitudes seen in poverty are also not in parallel with the middle class. The problem is that we are trying to teach all children in the same way. This simply will not work. In order to educate at risk minority students, we must first understand their culture and interests before education can take shape. If their traditional practices are not taken into account schools will limit their ability to educate these children. (Bowman) One model of development of this article talks about is to incorporate a full understanding of the role that culture plays in a students ability including a capacity to learn, categorize objects, develop interpersonal relationships and to learn a language. These characteristics of culture will be used to help maximize learning in the classroom. It is almost impossible to teach a child without a full understanding of the culture that they come from. Learning styles, interest, social behavior are all things vital to the educational process without which we could not fully be effective educators. (Bowman) One final piece of the puzzle is not only learning about the culture of those you are teaching, but unlearning some of what you have already learned. We have all had bad experiences in the classroom that cause us to categorize certain students. Teachers must unlearn what they have experienced in the past so that they can fully take in what is in front of them. How teachers have been taught to view the cultures of students is similar to how students have been taught to view the culture of their teachers. Both student and teacher must remain on the same page and keep their minds open to change to be considered truly effective. The academic achievement of a culturally diverse student depends on an understanding and acceptance of their beliefs and traditions. Without this the learning gap in the classroom will not be bridged. (Bowman) I work in one of the worst schools in Pittsburgh. I classify it as being one of the worst by our notably low PSSA scores and constant behavior problems. We are located in the largest project section on the north side of the city. The school is directly in the middle of the community and most of our students are not bussed in from the surrounding area. My first day on the job, I was in shock at what I saw. Fights were as common as high fives, the language was worse than I have heard living in my fraternity house in college, and the lack of interest from the staff was unbelievable. After a fight which resulted in a broken nose, I witnessed a second grade student screaming at two city police officers that he was going to bring in a gun and shoot his classmates the following day. I was in utter disbelief hearing that someone so young and small could even think, let alone say this to police officials. During transition is when 80% of the problems occur. The problem is that when the children are walking in a line, the teacher can only be half the distance of the line away from any one student at a time. So when left with a few feet of space to act up, our kids do. In my room during a prep I would hear a fight happening in the hallway and rush out to offer assistance to the teacher to gain control, but I was always the only one who would come out to help. My chivalry seems to be the result of the teachers mentality is much like that of this mismannered students. This was hard for me to take in at first, but after working there for a year I can now see how tiring of a job teaching in an underprivileged environment really is. In order to make it back year after year you have to have a love of teaching and a true passion to inspire where others would pack up and quit. This is what separates those who have been there for long periods of time from those who are just bumps in the road. It is a tiring job to be an educator in a low socioeconomic school. We make the assumptions as teachers that our jobs are so difficult and the kids themselves are so hard to deal with. What we do not understand is that our jobs may be hard, but they are nothing compared to the lives our students live each and every day. Poverty is a vicious cycle that repeats itself because of the culture involved. You only know what you see every day from your parents and schools. Dropping out is not only normal, in many cases it is expected of disadvantaged students. This is hard for many middle class citizens to grasp but it is because of their lack of culture of their lives. Poverty is a cycle that will only be overcome through education. The problem is keeping underprivileged and minority students in urban schools enrolled long enough to see the fruits of what education has to offer. This is the challenge that NCLB was hoping to bring to the surface. Success is measured in small gains. Many smal l gains can be perceived as accomplishments, and many accomplishments can then be viewed as success. A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Making that first step is always the hardest. We have made it, now it is time to start making a difference. Figure 1 Figure 2