From the Nature of the Education System Depicted by the Organizational Structure, Critically Discuss Problems That Can Result from Such a Structure and Suggest Solutions.

From the nature of the education system depicted by the organizational structure, critically discuss problems that can result from such a structure and suggest solutions. Introduction: Zimbabwe as a nation believes in education for all. Systems are in place to ensure everyone has access to education. This paper will examine the structure of the Zimbabwean education system, highlighting problems which may arise because of its nature, and attempt to give solutions. Two terms, education system and organizational structure, are defined. Definition of terms Education system: According to Wikipedia, ‘’Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual and in its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to another through institutions’’. Wikipedia also defines a system as integrated an ‘integrated whole' which has a structure, behaviour, interconnectivity of various parts which ‘’ have functional as well as structural relationships between each other’’. The term system may also refer to a set of rules that governs behavior or structure. Education system therefore refers to the structure and behaviour as well as functionality of the entity through which children acquire knowledge, values and skills through a formalized set-up. Organizational structure: Structure is, according to wikipedia, a fundamental and sometimes intangible notion covering the recognition, observation, nature, and stability of patterns and relationships of entities. A structure defines what a system is made of. It is a configuration of items. It is a collection of inter-related components or services. The structure may be a hierarchy (a cascade of one-to-many relationships) or a network featuring many-to-many relationships. Organisational structure therefore refers to the nature, patterns and relationships within an entity or social arrangement. Nature of the Zimbabwean education system: Structure: The Zimbabwean education system is a bureaucratic system, which has a hierarchical governing structure which goes from the top to the bottom. The hierarchy begins at the head office where the Permanent Secretary and his team of directors are housed. The Permanent Secretary, is the senior civil servant, and reports to the Minister, who is a politician and is in charge of policy making. The directors are in charge of the various elements within the system, such as quality control, administration, curriculum and human resources. Below the national, is the provincial level, whose hierarchy is headed by the Provincial Education Director (PED). He has two deputies, one in charge of Quality Assurance and the other of Professional Administration. There are several provincial level education officers below them. The provincial office also houses other professionals in finance and other departments who report to the PED. At the district level, the District Education Officer (DEO) heads a team of Education Officers (EO)s who supervise education activities within the district. At school level, the head is in charge of the school, and is deputized by the deputy head. Teachers fall below him but they too have seniority levels. This body at school level is responsible for the direct teaching of the child. Other ancillary staff falls below the professionals at school level but report to the head or whoever is assigned, by the head, in the finance office. Having completed primary education, which includes early childhood elementary education, children graduate automatically into secondary school, where they are required to complete four years of schooling leading to an Ordinary Level pass. If successful at this level, they can proceed to high school where they attain Advanced Level passes and proceed to university, or choose to go to other colleges and tertiary institutions. Problems of the Organisational structure, and possible solutions: One major problem which may occur because of the bureaucratic nature of the education system is delay in the decision making process. The hierarchical structure poses the major problem associated with bureaucracy. This means that if a problem occurs at the school level or even at district level, answers have to be sought from the top, which may take time. A practical example is when partners want to carry out programmes in districts and have to wait long as education personnel seek authorization from headquarters. This can be solved however by allowing officials at lower levels to make appropriate decisions or designing mechanisms through which decisions can be expedited. The Minister, being the person in charge of policy, may choose to act without much consultation with others below him or with stakeholders. Sometimes hasty decisions are made, and these impact negatively on the ministry. When school fees were announced during the first term 2009, not much consultation was done, resulting in exorbitant fees being charged per term. The majority of parents could not afford to pay the fees for first term, which was pegged at US$150 for urban primary schools. A teacher, or any other civil servant, whose child went to these urban schools could therefore not pay. Ministers must be accountable to their constituencies, and encouraged through workshops and trainings to involve their stakeholders in policy formulation exercises. The popularity of the minister is enhanced through consultation. The problem of non-consultative policies has also occurred with policies such as that of uniforms at schools. A former minister announced a few years ago that there would be a universal uniform for all schools. This caused an uproar, and was never implemented, mostly because the modalities had not been thought out or consulted on. The country has a policy that all school children must wear a uniform, though it is the duty of the head to enforce this. There is also a policy which bars schools from exclusion a child on the grounds of non-wearing of uniforms. Such contradictions arise from non-consultation. Encouraging policymakers to have an ear for the public could solve this. Where public opinion is not sought, they can involve key stakeholders, who may be better informed. Headmasters and teachers who are on the ground, are a source of vital information on practicalities of policies. The curriculum is centralised and determined by subject panels of teachers, education officers, and representatives from the teachers' association, universities, churches, and other stakeholder groups. The Curriculum Development Unit within the Ministry of Education and Culture coordinates the subject panels. The primary school curriculum includes mathematics, English, agricultural and environmental science, physical education, social studies, moral and religious education, music, craft and art, and the indigenous languages (Ndebele and Shona). Indigenous tribal languages of the Kalanga, Tonga, Shangaan, Venda, and Nambya are taught during the first three years of elementary education within their communities. A school is not at liberty to determine its own curriculum. There has been a shift in public schools from the Cambridge based curriculum, to a local curriculum whose examinations are administered by ZIMSEC. Subject syllabi are then deduced from this national curriculum. The major flaw in this is that everyone is restricted to the same education standards, regardless of the nature of education which is academia oriented. Only recently, there has been a thrust for technical and vocational education in schools, with importance also being given to introduction of these subjects in primary school. Expanding technical vocational education can improve the quality of graduates produced from the education system. This will ensure employable and relevant people for the Zimbabwean economy which is largely agrarian. In view of recent challenges in the economy, a purely academic curriculum will not help the country. Increased and improved internet use in the education system will also ensure students produced have a wider world view in light of globalisation. The organisational structure within the education system can stifle the grievance process. A teacher is required to report grievances he or she faces through the headmaster (in the event that the headmaster cannot help him or her). The problem lies where the headmaster is the source of the teacher’s problem. It may be a case of misconduct and the same headmaster is required to forward the reports of the teacher to the DEO. This will see the process taking long. A system can be put in place, which ensures that when grievances are targeted at the headmaster, a teacher can follow-up directly with superiors. Counseling or confidence teams can also be set up at school level to cater for reporting of issues and their follow-up. The teacher may also be encouraged to seek the advice of the DEO directly. A ministry hotline can also be established to cater for this. Where partners are interested in contributing to the education sector, there have often been problems associated with the bureaucratic system. Interest is expressed but decisions or authorization takes long in coming. Non governmental organisations (NGOs) usually come with interventions in mind, and donations, whose programmes must be implemented within a specific period. Often, programmes are stalled and the NGO gets to the end of the reporting period without implementing, resulting in failure to liquidate and the funding being returned. A practical example is when one NGO implementing capacity building programmes faced challenges trying to take a senior officer at provincial level within the ministry on an exchange programme to another country . While this system fosters accountability and is ideal for easier monitoring, it can frustrate the efforts of those willing to contribute to the sector where procedures are not explained clearly, or where their efforts are stifled. A change in attitude is needed, where NGOs seize to be seen as enemies of government, as exacerbated by certain political environments. Meetings which clearly explain the operations of NGOs and targets they seek to fulfill also need to be held so as to clarify areas of concern with the ministry. Stakeholder dialogues are important as seen in Manicaland, which now holds them regularly . The education sector is an public organization which is non-profit making. Revenue comes from national treasury. As such, the system is such that remuneration of staff is within public sector standards which stipulate modest payment. Overpayment would result in an uproar by taxpayers. Problems which teachers and other civil servants are currently facing are largely because the sector is not generating profits and therefore cannot afford to pay teachers what they want. Privatization of the sector could contribute to better payment, but this is a phenomenon yet to be explored as even developed countries also have public schooling systems which are in place. The government will have to lobby with external partners to fund education programmes or contribute in the education budget. The structure of the education system in primary school has been said to be ineffective with regards expertise sharing. The structure is such that one primary school teacher is assigned to teach all subjects in a class. In high school, there are various experts specializing in particular subjects. Researchers advocating for the Sharing Teacher Expertise through Subject Specialisation (STESS) programme at primary school are lobbying for the change in system from one teacher all subjects to specialisation as practised in secondary school. In 2002, an education commission sanctioned the piloting of STESS in a few schools in each province, and the system was adopted by others who have also reported the success as seen by better results. Advocates also note that it will then be easier for children to adapt to the situation when they get to secondary school. The system requires teacher support in the form of capacity development so they keep abreast of methodologies in subject delivery. Rennie L. J (1985), explains the effects of in-service training on Science teaching and motivation in the classroom. This will go a long way is rejuvenating teaching methodology and enhance delivery effectiveness. The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in cooperation with the Salvadoran Ministry of Education, has developed a training program aimed at introducing these innovative teaching methods into hundreds of schools around the country http://usinfo. tate. gov. The same can happen in Zimbabwe, if these private players are invited to do so. Conclusion: The Zimbabwean education system is hierarchical and that poses a lot of challenges with regards setting up of policies, grievance procedures, curriculum decisions, and issues of collaboration with partners such as non-governmental organisations. These challenges can be solved if decision making is decentralized, and the policy formulation process is done consultatively with stakeholders. The government can also lobby with partners so they participate by funding education programmes in the country. References: 1. Peace Corps 24 July 2007, ‘’New Teaching Methods Stir Enthusiasm in Salvadoran Classrooms’’ USAID train teachers in interactive teaching styles, 2. Web site: http://usinfo. state. gov), Bureau of International Information Programs, U. S. Department of State. 3. Rennie L. J (1985), ED280867 – The Effect of In-service Training on Teacher Attitudes and Primary School Science Classroom Climates. Research Report Number 12. 4. http://www. wikipedia

Interviewing two teachers Essay

Teachers have a very important but difficult job in our society. They are educators, counselors, coaches, friends, and sometimes even a parental figure all at the same time. This is a very heavy burden to carry while trying to educate our youth. The two teachers that were interviewed for this paper were Victoria Rivera, a sixth grade teacher from Brooklyn, New York, and Marcus Williams, a high school history teacher that also lives in Brooklyn, New York. Mrs. Rivera was the first of the two interviews. Victoria Rivera wanted to become a teacher her entire life, and has achieved that goal by becoming one. She graduated with a teaching degree from Brooklyn College , and has been teaching in the New York City public school system since 1983. Her main reason for becoming a teacher was because of past teachers. During the interview, she said that she was impressed by teachers she had as a child. She also added that as a youth, she found it amusing to play school while working on her own studies. â€Å"I retained what I learned through role playing as a teacher,† was one of her responses. Marcus Williams was the second interview. He graduated from Hunter College, in Manhattan, and has been teaching in New York City public high  schools for about 6 years. When asked his main reason for becoming a teacher his response was, â€Å"There are a lack of positive African-American male teachers in New York. I feel that young minority males especially African-Americans need positive men figures in their life anyway they can get it.† Mr. Williams also said that he feels teaching is essential for trying to give young people good education. Mrs. Rivera is really a teacher that strongly cares about the students. When asked what is her opinion of an outstanding teacher, Mrs. Rivera’s first response was, â€Å"A person who can retain children’s attention while they achieve their aim or goal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She said that this is important because there are so many distractions in today’s society, that it is difficult, but important for teachers to meet the challenges of today’s student. She came off as very caring, and student oriented. On the other hand, Mr. Williams believed that an outstanding teacher was someone students could closely relate to. He felt that students need to feel comfortable around teachers. He said, â€Å"One of the reasons that I help coach the football team is because students can see me on a more personal level. I am very close to some of the players on the team, and at times I feel as if they look at me as an older friend, and counselor, rather then just another history teacher.† Mrs. Rivera was then asked what major teaching strategies does she use. In  response she said that she thinks â€Å"hands on† lessons, and student involvement was  very important. She said that student involvement in class discussions often leads to student interaction. â€Å"Students remember better when they talk about a topic themselves, instead of just taking notes.† Mr. Williams happened to agree with Mrs. Rivera. He said during his interview that in his classes there are many discussions about current events, and also the lessons. He felt that students are capable of having intelligent conversation whether the discussion is about a research paper for class, or a discussion about the possible war in Iraq. Both Mr. Williams, and Mrs. Rivera said that the workload after school is the most difficult part of teaching to deal with. Mrs. Rivera said that she spends two to three hours after school doing paperwork. On the other hand Mr. Williams said that after football practice he spends between two to four hours grading papers, tests and doing other paperwork. He teaches six different sections a day, compared to the one class that Mrs. Rivera has all day. Mrs. Rivera also said that discipline, and lack of parental involvement are also difficulties she comes across teaching. She said, â€Å"I do have a minor in psychology, so I try to put myself in the parents shoes. I try to stay positive and understand parents situations, but have to get the point across of how students should progress.† Mr. Williams agreed with  Mrs. Rivera’s comments. He said that at the high school level there is an  even greater lack of parental involvement then in the elementary schools. In conclusion from the two interviews, I have learned both some of the positives, and negatives of teaching. Paperwork, and lack of parental involvement seem to be the most difficult problems to overcome. Both Mrs. Rivera, and Mr. Williams are dedicated to helping students achieve overall success in education, and also in life. They are two teachers who want nothing else but to help the students they are dealing with, and to be successful professionals.

Palmers Limited Case Study

Cost's they overlook the quality. While BC tries to look pretty to their customer, Cost pay less attention to their look and more to provide the lowest prices for their members. From 1997 to 2001, Wall-Mart store numbers were increased by 53, Bi's stores went up by 50, but Cost went up by 91 . Cost's business strategy Is very simple, â€Å"To generate high sales volumes and rapid Inventory turnover by offering members very low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and select private-label products In a wide range of merchandise categories† (Thompson, 2008) .They have able to implement this strategy very successfully. They have also been very successful in making their customer believe that product is a better quality than their competitors, interestingly their competitors in most cases don't carry the same kind of product. Cost's marketing strategy is simple yet effective, the idea of providing the lowest price and good quality product is a strategy to be reckon with. Plus there marketing idea of â€Å"Treasure Hunt† has allowed them to saved tons of money from broad advertisement.After a membership base Is established In an area, most new memberships came from word of mouth. This simple marketing and advertisement strategy has allowed Cost to keep Its marketing expenses low relative to those at typical retailers, discounter, and supermarkets. Cost is also known for its price strategy. They have become a master in providing top quality products even including some brand products at the lowest price possible to their customers.Instead of marking up their cap to 20 or 50 percent like their competitors they decided to cap their mark up to only 14 percent, which itself a key element in Cost's pricing strategy. This also indicates that Cost is trying to do what it takes to please their customer to increase their profits so they can make their shareholders happy at same time. It's this price strategy that has allows Cost to only only make profit over the year, but Increase their member to $110. Cost's product selection strategy Is also very Impressive. Unlike their competitor who carry from where from 40000 to 1 50000 SKU items , Cost decided to selecting Ana prove only auto mess I en last Includes everyday Items sun as kitchen supplies, Electronics, health and beauty products, automotive supplies, gasoline, games, cleaning supplies, canned goods, Food. They categories their product in commercial and professional use. Plus, Cost's treasure hunt merchandising strategy is also an attention grabber. Out of the 4000 items on the floor about 1000 were the treasure hunt product, meaning their prices with constantly changing.In most cases these were higher end products like furniture and TV. Cost's growth strategy is also quite remarkable. On average they have been opening about 20 to 25 new stores each year. Most of them in American but some internationally as well including; Canada, Korea, I-J, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. In recent year they experimented by opening independent Furniture store to sell high end bigger furniture items which resulted in good success. Later rather than opening more stores they instead added extra space about 45000 square feet to the Cost it self and called it Cost Home.Now the furniture category has become on of the tope 5 selling items on Cost's website. They are very innovative when it comes to their warehouse and management strategy. Cost's CEO, Jim Senegal, quoted, â€Å"Cost is able to offer lower prices and deter values by eliminating virtually all the frills and costs historically associated with conventional wholesalers and retailers, including salespeople, fancy buildings, delivery, billing, and accounts receivable. We run a tight operation with extremely low overhead which enables us to pass on dramatic savings to our members†. They stored the inventory on racks above the items being sold in the warehouse. That reduced their labor cost and saved them a lo t time on handling and stocking. They treat their manager as entrepreneur and allows them to decide what item should be sold in their store. They adored most of the inventory directly from the manufactures. It either came directly to the store or went to their distribution center called crosschecking depots. The point of these depots were to reduce the transportation cost by making sure all truck are full when they come the store.As an investor I wouldn't would want to invest in a company that has a good reputation, consistently growing, good sustainable growth, and good future plans. Let's talk about sustainable growth rate, which basically means that a firm can grow while keeping its profitability and financial policies unchanged. Sustainable growth model allows us to segregate reasons or changes that have led as a company to substantial growth so at the same time we can segregate the causes for those change. It is represented in four steps.

The Big Bang Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Big Bang - Essay Example According to scientific findings, the â€Å"singularities† or the core zones of the black holes had been subjected to high intensity of gravitational pressure that they can be thought of to consist of an infinite density. This consequently directed the universe to be understood in the light of the singularity concept in being infinitely hot and boundlessly dense while the universe at its initial state is also infinitesimally small. Nevertheless, the exact source of ‘singularity’ remains unknown beyond nearly accurate speculations. Moreover, based on the Big Bang theory, the universe rapidly undergoes expansion since the beginning of time and â€Å"the more distant the light source is, the greater the rate of expansion and ‘redshift’ is as well. This theory further claims that it is the universe that sustained itself the energy to expand and that it expanded from almost a mathematical point or microbial speck under a closely infinite value of initial temperature and material density. The universe is proposed to have possessed an appearance which gradually inflated, expanded, and cooled, originating from a body of insignificant size yet of extremely hot conditions until these characteristics settle to the kind of universe conducive for our planet’s dwelling. The Big Bang theory holds that the formation of stars, galaxies, and black holes happened during the span of 500 million years when the universe was already in its expanded form, contrary to the conventional story of creation. NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite has been able to demonstrate the strongest most reliable evidence for the ‘big bang’ possibility. As such, the 3-Degree Kelvin Background Radiation, otherwise called the Cosmic Background Radiation (CBR) serves as the Big Bang theory’s model of validity, having exhibited the blackbody radiation with

Recent large earthquakes in Chile, Haiti, and Japan Essay

Recent large earthquakes in Chile, Haiti, and Japan - Essay Example Earthquakes mainly occur in countries harboring coastal oceanic shores, more predominantly in Asia continent. The region is called ring of fire where arc of earthquakes and volcanic zones stretch at pacific more than 90% of earthquake occurs. The word tsunami comes from a Japanese word meaning harbor wave, literary translated as oceanic gravity waves produced by sub-marine earthquakes or caused by geological processes such as volcanic eruptions and landslides. Tsunamis arise due to subduction occurring underwater resulting to huge raptures raising sea beds to some meters away displacing a huge cubic of waters in coastal areas. The tsunami waves are usually smaller in deep oceans but its impact is felt in harbors and coastal areas thus being catastrophic, in other places it is known as tidal waves or Seismic sea waves (Lee p.437). 2.0. Geology of Chile (2010), Haiti (2010) and Japan (2011) Earthquakes. Chile is among the seismically located countries in the world, facing approximately 8 events after 10 years. The most recent earthquake occurred in 27th February 2010 (Fig 1), it did release energy that had accumulated since the last subduction earthquake in 1835. Figure 1 Chile’s earthquake of 2010 Source: http://www.earthquake-pictures.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2010 Chile is located in subduction zones along the coast of the Pacific Ocean similar to Japan. It has three well differentiated Seismically zones; thrust earthquakes of larger magnitude at shallow depths along the coast, larger quakes due to larger magnitude as a result of tensional and compressed subducted Nazza plates, and shallow Seismicity in the outer rise (Jiron p2). The earthquake of magnitude 8.8 lasted between 110 and 180 seconds in which rupture started at the hypocenter and spread bilaterally northwards of Pichilemu and kilometers towards the Peninsula, comprising a length of about 450 km long and average slip of about 10-12 cm, destroying all things on the way (Jiron p.16). Haiti is one of the Caribbean countries; on 12th January 2010 an earthquake (Fig. 2) of about 7.0 magnitudes lower than Chile 2010 earthquake occurred in the country. Figure 2 Haiti’s earthquake of 2010. Source: http://www.earthquake-pictures.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/H The quake occurred when tectonic plate of Caribbean shifted approximately 20 millimeters in relation to the North American plate. The cause of the quake was rapture of Ennquillo plantain garden fault, which for about 250 years had locked it. The place where the quake occurred is highly seismic and was recorded historically as a place of destruction earthquake (Farmer p.54). There was an aftershocks of about 4-5 magnitude which occurred after the main quake. Japan is located in a region that faces quakes each and every year; it lies on a region that is baptized ring of fire where an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretch at pacific. The earthquake occurred in 2011; it was measured to have a magnitude of a bout 8.9 which is large compared to both Haiti 2010 and Chile 2010 earthquakes (Fig. 3) it was followed by nuclear crisis in one of its plants (Nanto p.1). Fig. 3 Japan earthquake 2011 Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8375788/Japan-earthquake-what-causes-them.html The earthquake led to a further 23 foot tsunami and 50 more

Supply Chain sustainability & Humanitarian Logistis Case Study

Supply Chain sustainability & Humanitarian Logistis - Case Study Example Thus, this type of supply chain combines both forward and reverse logistics, and covers all the processes from the new product/service development to the point of origin for repairs, manufacture, returns, or recycling (Krajewski, Ritzman, & Malhotra 2010). Moreover, closed-loop supply chain implies sustainable distribution process as the customer sends the used product back to the manufacturer or seller, and thus closes the loop of distribution (Krajewski, Ritzman, & Malhotra 2010). Taking care of end-of-use items is viewed as a proven measure, which makes supply chain for environmentally friendly. Thus, closed-loop supply chain is categorized as sustainable supply chain almost by definition (Quariguasi Frota Neto et al 2010). A closed-loop supply chain is an integrated system, which supports environmental sustainability through maximization of value creation over the entire life cycle of a product followed by recovery of value at different stages and types of returns (Guide & Wassenhove 2009). Practically all phases of the closed-loop supply chain mitigate environmental footprint of manufacturing, usage, transportation, distribution, and end-of-life activities (Quariguasi Frota Neto et al 2010). The items, used in the production process of the closed-loop supply chain, are returned into the supply chain system and then are remanufactured, recovered or recycled (de Brito and Dekker, 2004). These activities help to extend the lifespan of the product and therefore, are sustainable (Quariguasi Frota Neto et al 2010). While extension of the lifespan of a particular item might not be always sustainable as old items might consume more energy than the new ones, the further recycling of these items helps to contr ibute to environment protection (Quariguasi Frota Neto et al 2010). By recycling end-of-life equipment the companies manage harmful substances (polychlorinated biphenyls, lead, etc.), and thus, keep environment cleaner and

Modern Times Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modern Times - Essay Example Nevertheless, the final film of the series seems to be the most overtly political and inevitably then is the most controversial. Although chock-full of the brand of slapstick, physical humor which has become automatically associated with Chaplin’s acting career, Modern Times is often interpreted to be a representation of Chaplin’s own political affiliations and associations with the Left. However, certain aspects of the film make it quite apparent that Leftist politics hold no monopoly on its figurative content. The aforementioned fans of Chaplin who truly cherish his work cannot help but see through the depictions of poverty and suffering in the film, and see the Tramp urging the Gamin â€Å"to keep smiling†, and to see him relying upon his own values and skills to build a life for himself—ideals that are consistent with capitalism and the American dream. Even before the film starts, any attempt on the part of witch-hunters to tie Chaplin to the Left and condemn Modern Times as hidden socialist propaganda is, all at once, defeated.After the opening credits, superimposed on a clock that symbolizes the tyranny of mechanistic time, the words read: â€Å"‘Modern Times.’ A story of industry, of individual enterprise—humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness.† Expressing the film’s entire thematic content in only a few brief words, such phrases as â€Å"individual enterprise† and â€Å"pursuit of happiness† give attention not to a Leftist political cause in the context of a Depression

Marketing Plan - IPhone 5 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Plan - IPhone 5 - Case Study Example The iPhone is increasing its market share due to the extreme loyalty of the existing Apple customers as well as the branding of the product; so far their marketing strategy has been immaculate. After going on sale in 2007, the Iphone has not looked back. The growth reasonably slow in the start, has increased dramatically over the years as improved versions are being introduced almost annually to quench the thirst of technology hungry customers looking for a product full of style. The Iphone 5 that will be launches through Kwantlen’s Apple Store will have pre-loaded applications and software that will help students and teachers at the campus to interact better and with ease. The biggest competition of Iphone 5 is the Blackberry Torch and Motorola’s Razor, as they all boast to be tech-savvy and sleek in style. Existing users of the Apple products, however, are also part of the target market for the newer version. Brand perception and brand loyalty has been the biggest str ength of Apple over the past half decade and Apple continues to cash in on this intangible asset that is only increasing in quantity over time. However, weaknesses include the rumours of a faulty reception and battery issues as have been claimed by some users. Another issue is the exclusive nature of iTunes. Apple can capitalize on its strength of branding and continue to offer products in different categories. They have no imminent threats as long as they keep on top to technology of their competition. The launch price of the product will be higher than the retail price of the current phone owing to the originality of the product as well as the added features to this specific model. The availability of these pre-loaded phones will be for the students enrolled in Kwantlen’s campuses only, increasing originality, and decreasing wait times. The basic product placement would be done through the distribution of the phone to the professors at a discounted price so that the usage o f the product by the professor directly increases product penetration to the 9000 students studying in all the campuses. Iphone 5: The fifth generation Iphone is expected to be launched soon. Iphone 4 was the 4th generation of iphones released for the public. Considerably different in its looks and style from its predecessor, it was an instant hit. However, there are certain features that are still wanted by its die hard consumers that are now expected to be released in Iphone 5. There are a number of changes that are expected in the newer version of the product. Rumours are already flying that the latest generation phone is already in production and trails are being conducted as this report is being formatted. The faithful Apple customers are looking forward to this release like anything; Iphone 4 was considered a huge success as it is different and advanced than its predecessor. However, there were glitches related to reception and hopefully this will be fixed in the new phone. Wi th the help of the USB connection, it will be easier to transfer files. The Iphone is user friendly and will have applications that will help increase student-teacher communication and acceptability at the academic area. The touch screen is patented and is the best in its smart phones category. Therefore, the preloaded academic material and applications will also help improve student-teacher acceptability.

Nostovia's New Airport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Nostovia's New Airport - Essay Example Since the airport is being modernized, therefore it will help if the NAA is able to manage the supply chain of this equipment in such a manner that the airport gets user-friendly baggage carts, tow trucks, and other loading equipment. The Supply chain for procuring this equipment can be drawn as; Â  Supply chain management (SCM) in general involves managing complex flow of information, materials, and money across multiple functional areas both within and among companies (Faisal et al, 2006). Efficient management of the supply chain helps in value addition in the final product, which ultimately leads to customer satisfaction. Quality of the services provided is ultimately assessed by the visitor while at the airport. In this case, the Kostova Airport Authority (NAA) requires; Â  Baggage trolleys: to help the customer in carrying his/ her luggage from one place to another. Therefore, such carts should not be too heavy in weight. It should be made up of lightweight material, yet with sufficient strength to withstand daily impacts and comparatively heavyweights. The baggage carts must also be made in such a manner that the while moving the cart, the luggage should not fall on the ground, which might result in more difficulties for the visitor. The carts must have lightweight and friction freewheels, which could be easily nudged by the visitor. The general complaint about such carts is that their wheels tend to fall apart or become immovable. NAA should try to avoid such situations. Â  Small tow tractors: These types of tractors are generally used to carry some luggage, maintenance equipment, replacement parts etc. quickly to the aircraft. These carts are generally driven by the airport staff, therefore their direct users are the employees of the NAA. But, the effective use of the tractors invariably affects the services being provided to the visitor.

Animal Testing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal Testing - Essay Example On the other hand, those who oppose also comprise individuals, organizations, and non-government organizations. Their arguments are equally sound and authentic. Scientific institutions have used mice, guinea pigs, horses, and other animals to develop medicines. Apart from the issue of using these animals, there is also the matter of the way these animals are treated. Their condition before, during and after the experiments are conducted need looking into. Animals are living beings. They have a life cycle. It is the responsibility of the institutions that conduct experiments on them to also see that these animals lead their lives in the normal process after the experiments with them are done. Take for instance the condition of horses after they are used for the purpose of developing medicines for snake bites treatment. The process is long and painful. These horses lose their original vigor and become very thin. The life span of the horses also decreases as a result of this process. Similarly, there are other animals which go through the same fate and ultimately face death. It is not possible to do away with tests on animals for conducting research on medications. Much as we may argue on behalf of animals, it is quite clear that someone has to "bite the bullet." It is not possible to make medicines without first checking them up on animals.

Describing and Applying victimization theory Coursework

Describing and Applying victimization theory - Coursework Example Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts including murder, rape, and abduction, to avoid Ohio’s death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole + 1,000 years by Judge Russo, Cuyahoga County, Cleveland where the crimes were committed. After being in prison only 30 days in Franklin County, Castro hung himself in his prison cell, ending his own life. I believe it relates to rational choice theory, Castro made a calculated choice to kidnap the missing teens and commit these crimes for over a decade, while working and interacting in the community. His motivation for the benefit of committing these crimes over a decade was stronger than fear of getting punished. The view of this theory is also based on the postulation that predisposition of an individual to antisocial conduct is dependent on the extent or range of interaction between genetic and environmental factors (Beaver and Walsh, n.d, p.5). A sub-category of the biosocial theory is situational action theory. According to this theory, antisocial behavior is a product of "Perception-choice process" that is shaped by the predisposition of an individual to crime and contact with criminal facets (Oxford University Press, 2010, p.4). Therefore, the view of situational action theory is that crime is either inferred or premeditated. An individual will identify and weigh all available options and pick a preference depending on the surroundings, background and situation. A real life criminal case depicting a crime aroused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors is the case of Abdelmalek Bayout in Italy in 2007 who confessed of assault and murdering Walter Felipe Novoa Perez for affronting him due to his preference of eye make-up (Feresin, 2009). In his appeal hearing, findings tabled by a neuroscientist in court established presence of genes associated with antisocial behavior in Abdelmalek Bayouts brain. An example of such a gene cited by Feresin (2009) is the "Gene encoding

Role Of Environment In Language Development Essay Example for Free

Role Of Environment In Language Development Essay Language development refers to the process of acquiring a language during a person’s early stages of development. The process involves language acquisition through learning or by mimicry. As a child continues to develop, the language development in turn moves from simple to complex (Barrett, p 13). For instance, infants do not use a language to communicate after they are born. However, by four months of age, babies are able to use speech sounds and can read lips. This language is referred to as â€Å"gibberish†. As the child continues to develop, he or she learns language by recalling simple words which is then followed by the acquiring of words together with their meaning. Much later a child can be able to join words to form sentences that form a logical meaning. As the child continues to grow older, new associations and meanings are created and language acquisition is characterized by more vocabularies. The environment that surrounds a child during development affects his or her language learning process. The environment may impact negatively or positively on a child’s language development. In both children and adults, an individual’s environmental experiences therefore play a very important role in language skills acquisition (Polinsky, p 15). In this paper, the role of environment on language development in children will be discussed. The paper will focus on the different environments an individual interacts with and how they influence language development. The different environments that will be looked at include; home environment, social, school environment, and child care environment. Discussion Research findings indicate that an individual’s environmental experiences have a great impact on language development. Researchers in the field of language acquisition argue that language learning results from the interactions that the learners have with their surrounding communities. In addition, the cognitive abilities of an individual is important in language learning (Berk, p 24). This hypothesis has been supported by researchers such as Michael Tomasello, Catherine Snow, Elizabeth Bates, and Brian MacWhinney. One of the most important environments in language development is the home environment. Within the family unit, every child interacts with the parents and the other family members. An individual during the early stages of development is able to interact with his or her members of the family at home. According to the Nativist theories, a child is born with an innate propensity for language acquisition. This ability plays a very important role in language acquisition because it makes the task of first language learning in a child to be much easier. Because language is a fundamental part of a human being, then language acquisition becomes a natural part of maturation. The environment that a child experiences at home aims at ensuring that a child through language acquisition reaches maturity (Brian, p 18). Infants begin learning language at home. In addition, adults also continue to learn a language within the family environment. Infants communicate their dispositions, wants, and needs by using their vocal cries, bodies, and preverbal vocalizations. Children learn their first language from the caretakers and the parents they interact with at home. This means that parents, caretakers and other family members through interaction can assist a child to acquire a language. A comfortable and safe environment becomes very important for proper language development. When there are caring and warm relationships at home, then a healthy environment for a child to acquire language is present because a good home environment provides a child with proper environment for learning. On the other hand, a family that experiences conflicts and disagreements deny a child a good learning environment and this undermines the process of language development in the child. For example, the phonological and semantic developmental stages during a child’s language development relies on the environment at home (Ingram, p 75). A healthy home environment ensures that a child’s phonological and semantic developmental periods of language acquisition are not hindered. During the phonological development, a child is able to make speech sounds which are characterized by cooing, babbling, and repetitive constant-vowel combinations. A child depends on a good home environment to make the speech words and to get response from the family members. As the child develops, he or she can pronounce words and can master syllable stress patterns. The semantic development in language acquisition also requires a good home environment. For example, this stage makes a child listen to the mother’s voice, recognize familiar words, and show the use of preverbal gestures. Learning of vocabulary follows and by the time a child reaches between 6 to 10 years of age, they can use words precisely. A good home environment promotes adequate parent participation in language development. Language learning apart from the phonological and semantic stages also includes the grammatical and pragmatics development. In order for a child to undergo these developmental periods appropriately, parents or guardians and other family members should ensure that they provide a good learning environment for the child and to assist a child in language development. Providing support and engaging a child in activities that enhance language acquisition becomes possible in a good home environment. Children who lack a good home environment may experience poor language learning because the home environment affects the normal patterns of language acquisition. Furthermore, a child who fails to receive support from his or her family members may take longer to learn a language. Parent’s responsibility in child language development is well practiced in a good home environment, whereby the baby talk or â€Å"motherese† as a tool of early communication in children is strengthened in a healthy home environment (Pinker, p 52). Apart from the home environment, the school environment influences language development in an individual. A child spends most of his or her time in school when parents or caretakers are engaged in other activities. This makes it very important for the school environment to be favorable for a child during language development. Much of a child’s language development and learning occurs at school. When the school environment is favorable for learning in a child, then it impacts positively to language development. To begin with, a good school environment ensures that a child gets a good learning environment. At school, a child interacts with both the teacher and other classmates and just like parents, teachers are very important in language development. For example, research findings indicate that when parents and teachers speak to children using complex sentences, the children’s ability to comprehend complex sentences increases. Apart from comprehending complexity of language, individuals are able to learn language comprehension. A good school environment encourages a child to learn more about a language and apply the acquired knowledge to communicate. The phonological, semantic, grammatical and pragmatics developmental periods in language learning are influenced by the school environment. All these stages are witnessed in children between 6 and 10 years of age, and this makes it necessary for schools to assist the children to undergo the language learning process successfully. When the school environment is good for language learning, language development in a child becomes possible. Poor learning environment at school on the other hand impacts negatively on . language acquisition. For adults, learning institutions such as universities and colleges allows one to acquire more knowledge and skills in about a certain language. A positive language learning environment at school or other education institutions is due to a teacher’s great experience and knowledge. When the school environment cannot provide children or the learners with the necessary skills in language use, then language learning becomes poor in a child. In this case, interactions that enable children to acquire a language are not provided. At school, interactions and communication between children or students promotes language acquisition since it enables them to apply what they learn in class. Teachers offer assistance to the children as they learn how to pronounce and use words in a given language, and they are able to identify difficult areas in language acquisition. The teachers can then concentrate on teaching in these areas. An unfavorable learning environment at school may result from poor interactions, poor communication and lack of assistance from teachers or tutors. These impacts negatively on the process of language acquisition in individuals (Santrock, p 37). The social environment refers to the environment in the society in which an individual lives in. A social environment can either promote language development or impact negatively on the language acquisition process. A society allows a person to interact with other people whom they share with similar values and culture. Due to the common beliefs, values and traditions that the members of a society may share, interacting with each other promotes socialization which is a very important process in development. Language is used in this process. The social environment affects the cognitive ability of a child as well as the language learning process. The cognitive ability of an individual determines his or her reasoning capacity and intelligence level. An environment in the society that increases the cognitive ability of a person impacts positively on language development. For example, a good social environment increases the intellectual and verbal ability of a person. This makes it easy for one to learn the various aspects of language use (Pan and Snow, p 236). When other members of the society interact with a learner, they are able to enhance the language speaking skills. In addition, new vocabularies and words can be learned through the socialization process and language use is well learned when a person or learner is able to converse with other members of the society. An environment that encourages socialization and sharing of ideas promotes language development. On the other hand, a social environment where members of the society show a minimum level of interaction slows down the process of language acquisition. For instance, children learn different definitions of words by interacting with the members of a community and when an environment prevents this interaction, lack of knowledge and skills about a language undermines language acquisition. Many working parents are unable to spend most of their time with their children since they take their children to child care facilities. These facilities are meant to take care of the child while the parent is absent; hence the child ends up spending a lot of time in such facilities. There is need for parents therefore to realize that a child care facility can either hinder or promote language development in a child. When the child care environment is positive, then a child has the opportunity to develop a language appropriately (Kail, p 43). An environment that undermines language acquisition in a child acts as a setback to language development. Some of the factors that determine whether a child care environment is positive for a child’s language development include; the physical environment, the teacher’s experience and educational background, involvement of children in plays or games, and the presence of warm and caring relationships in the facility. Teachers who are able to listen, talk, and read to the children more often encourage language acquisition in a child. Good relationship in the child care facility prevents quarrels and conflicts that result to a poor learning environment, and a child care facility that introduces a child to real life experiences and to new words contributes positively to language development. For instance, a child care facility that offers learning, exciting and fun activities offers children a great opportunity to learn a language since it encourages a child to listen and speak about their experiences at the facility. Playing is very important for language development and a child care environment that support creative games and fun for the children promotes a child’s language development. Playtime of a child with other children benefits a child’s language environment and it emphasizes on the importance of friendship and sharing. Playing time promotes listening and talking in children, hence skills that are acquired can be used to promote language development. Conclusion Language development is very important for proper child development since it enables an individual to acquire skills and knowledge to communicate with the others. In child development, the first three years of development are very critical in language acquisition and the environment that surrounds an individual during the process of language learning affects language development. The home environment, school environment, social environment, and child care environment all affect language development in a child. It is therefore very important that parents participate in language development by ensuring that these environments impact positively on the language learning process of a child. Works Cited Barrett, Martyn. The Development of Language, London: Psychology Press, pp. 229–50, 1999 Berk, Laura. Child Development. 8th ed. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc,2009 Brian, MacWhinney. The Emergence of Language. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999 Ingram, David. 1999. Phonological acquisition, in Barrett M, The Development of Language, London: Psychology Press, p. 73–97 Kail, Robert. Children and Their Development (4 ed. ). Prentice Hall, 2006 Pan, Barbara and Snow, Catherine. The development of conversational and discourse skills, in Barrett M, The Development of Language, London: Psychology Press, pp. 229–50 Pinker, Steven. The Language Instinct; How the Mind Creates Language. London: Allen Lane, 1994 Polinsky, Maria et al. The atlas of languages: the origin and development of languages throughout the world. New York, 2003 Santrock, John. A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development. New York, NY: McGraw- Hill, 2008

Divided And Unified Government

Divided And Unified Government The presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan are clear examples of divided government, in which they both served under terms where they were contended with the opposing party within Congress. In the presidencies of James Carter, in which he served under terms where he had complete control of the Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, and control over the Executive Branch. At the beginning of the United States government the most prevalent form of government was that of unified government. Yet after the 1970s and more specifically the Watergate scandal, divided government became the more prevalent as a response to this scandal. The comparison of the efficiency of divided government and the efficiency of unified government is significant to understanding whether commonly held myths about government are true or false. By analyzing the facts of the comparison in efficiency of the amount of major lawmaking and major investigations between divided and unified government, there can be better commonly held knowledge among the populace of the United States, which will allow for better informed voters in the near future. By understanding the commonly held myths about government, there can be better comprehension into the decisions and mindset of voters in the United States. If it is possible to debunk a commonly held myth about divided government, it is entirely possible to create a government that works in the best interest of the general public. The root at which I hold my interest in this subject is at the fact that many voters in the United States are uninformed about the politics of our government. Through the analysis of both types of government that can sprout in the United States, I might be able to enhance the mindset of many voters. It is not that voters are incorrect about their ideals; it is more closely related to the fact that many voters dont understand how to get their ideal through to the representatives that they have voted for. The entire system in which major lawmaking and major investigations occur is very interesting to say the least. The Legislative branch and the Executive branch are both spreading the reach at which their powers extend. It is therefore critical to understand the process by which I can become an informed voter that is able to get my ideals across to the representatives that I will be able to vote for soon. Literature Review Unified / Divided Government The United States of America has sustained two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democrat Party. These two parties have allowed the United States government to have separations in party control over two branches in our government. These two branches are: the Legislative Branch, which is the Congress and Executive Branch, which is the President. Although, unified government has been the norm since the creation of our government. Due to the scandal of the Nixon Administration in the Watergate Scandal, the United States has popularized the use of the divided government, to be able to keep the other party in check. The separation of the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch is the United States separation of powers. This separation of powers leads to a checks and balances on the federal government. Many voters view divided government as a good thing; Parties jointly in power are seen to perform a service by checking each other. (Mayhew, 1991), therefore many vot ers prefer it as a system of checks and balances. The United State government has functioned for so long because it is able to bend and become malleable to the needs to two political parties. Within a unified government, which was the preferred government at the creation of the United States, one political party is in control of the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. A unified government is prevalent in the presidential career of President James Carter. On the other hand of the spectrum, within a divided government, this is where either the Executive Branch or the Legislative Branch is controlled by two different political parties. This is the preferred government after the Watergate Scandal during President Nixons career. The efficiency of both types of government has been crucial to determining which type of government will best suit the needs of the United States. Nixon Administration The United States has been governed under the authority of President Nixon during the years of 1919 to 1974. As our 37th President of the United States, and the only one to resign, he has gone through a great ordeal. The events leading up to his resignation are crucial to understanding the significance of the backlash against unified government. President Richard Nixon faced great adversity with the Vietnam War; he was put into a situation where most of the United States citizens wanted an immediate withdrawal of troops out of Vietnam, but he couldnt do that without looking weak. President Nixon has prevailed through many obstacles during his career, yet he has also accomplished a great deal. For example, President Nixon gained the United States great relations with China. The Watergate Scandal of President Nixon career was the most distraught event that could have happened to President Nixon. The Watergate Scandal was all of the mischievous and clandestine operations that President Nixon ordered, which were to bug many offices of people who were opposition to President Nixon. President Nixon used his power as President of the United States through many of his executive branches to gain valuable knowledge about the opposition. President Nixon made a fatal mistake, when he sent five men into the Democratic Party Headquarters and they were caught. This Watergate Scandal ended in the ultimate resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1974. Carter Administration During the Carter Administration, President James Carter was the 39th President of the United States. President James Carter faced the U.S. energy crisis, deregulation, and the United States boycott of the Moscow Olympics. The U.S. energy crisis was declared by President Carter through a televised speech and this lead to him advising each and every citizen to conserve energy. President James Carter went through deregulation with his cabinet, the cabinet discussed regulatory reform. We estimate that government regulation cost $100 billion this year about 5 percent of our GNP. Were trying to cut down on regulation, having had remarkable success in the airline industry maybe a good example. (Carter, 2010); President Carter went through deregulation not only with the airline industry, which the United States removed government control over fares, President Carter deregulated the American Beer Industry, which allowed home brewing. President James Carter went through the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. Although this action wasnt popular to the many people who were waiting for the Olympics; President Carter took this action to respond to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. By boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics, President James Carter was able to accomplish nothing. The Soviet Union left Afghanistan long after President Carter left office. President James Carter was able to get plenty done in a unified government, which allowed him to easily pass deregulation laws. Reagan Administration The Reagan Administration, marked with the 40th President of the United States, President Ronald Reagan. President Ronald Reagan served during the years of 1981 to 1989. President Ronald Reagan brought about the idea of Reaganomics; he survived an assassination attempt and went through the Iran-Contra affair. President Ronald Reagan brought up the concept of Reaganomics, which was his way to increase the growth of the economy. President Ronald Reagan tried to spur this growth by advocating a reduction of tax rates. Furthermore, President Ronald Reagan introduced the government in the control of the money supply to try to reduce inflation. President Ronald Reagan went through deregulation, just like of that of his predecessor, President James Carter. President Ronald Reagan did his best to reduce the United States government spending. President Ronald Reagan actually survived an assassination attempt on his life by a man who was not convicted on the plea of insanity. President Ronald Reagan went through the Iran-Contra affair which made his executive branch take part of illegal and scandalous operations to fund weapons to Iran to receive seven American hostages in return. Research Statement The United States governments method by which they utilize their legislative power is through the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. The Legislative Branch, which is composed of the Congress, which in itself is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is the driving force of where divided government and unified government occurs. The Executive Branch, controlled by the President of the United States, is in a way, the supreme voice for his political party. The President of the United States determines which laws are passed; therefore the Congress must come to terms to be able to pass a law that suits the President of the United States. The presidencies of Nixon and Reagan showed clear divided government and the presidency of Carter showed clear unified government. All of the presidencies contained great ordeals and hardships. The efficiency of the two types of government: divided government and unified government are contended. Divided government is a form of government that induces conflict between the Congress inner workings and the Executive Branch. Unified government is a form of government that induces union and ease of lawmaking between the Congress inner workings and the Executive Branch. Does the commonly held myth that a unified government works more efficiently than a divided government uphold when considering the presidencies of Nixon, Carter, and Reagan? Does the frequency of major lawmaking or major investigations in government determine whether a unified government is more efficient than a divided government? The posed questions are significant to understand which type of government is best for this generations lifestyle. By posing these two questions, the concept of lawmaking and major investigations is enlightened. It is important to understand how the process of lawmaking and major investigations occurs within our legislative branch and executive branch. It is also important to understand the efficiency at which these two types of governments operate at. By understanding this efficiency, it is possible to determine how we should run the United States government. Research Findings Efficiency of Unified and Divided Government The efficiency of divided government compared to that of unified government is commonly held that divided government holds a stalemate of sorts when the two political parties in control hold their ground and refuse to give ground to what they consider to be their enemy. On the level of lawmaking, this process can be interrupted with divided government; this means at least that significant lawmaking can be expected to fall off when party control is divided. (Mayhew, 1991) Divided government can come to this standstill if both political parties are unable to compromise for the benefit of others. The divided government by which the post Watergate generation has been accustomed to has been deceived or for a better term, they have been misled to believe that a unified government is much more efficient for their generation than that of a divided government. In terms of the efficiency of each type of government, the efficiency is determined by the frequency of major lawmaking and the effectiveness of that major lawmaking. Within the legislative process, it is quite simple to pass a law when the government is unified. However, the efficiency of this law derives from its effectiveness for the purpose of bettering the general public of the United States. An array of elected officials presidents, senators, and House members heaved up by different constituencies at different dates and enjoying fixed terms and constitutional powers. (Mayhew, 2008) Frequency of Major Lawmaking / Investigations Power struggles between conservative Republican and liberal Democratic elected politicians in the White House. The Senate and the House of Representatives are based upon the rapidly changing ideological composition of voters who make up the Democratic and Republican parties and nominate their respective parties candidates. (Black Black, 2007) The frequencies at which major lawmaking and major investigations within a divided government and unified government occur differ slightly when compared. Within a unified government, the frequency of major lawmaking and major investigations occurs slightly more frequently than that of a divided government because within a divided government, the opposing parties are unable to compromise and therefore never gain common ground to have major lawmaking as frequently as unified government. In unified government, there is only one party in control, and therefore the President, such as that of President James Carter is able to bring both the House of Representatives and the Senate to an agreement with deregulation and the energy crisis. On the other hand, within a divided government, such as the career of both President Richard Nixon and President Ronald Reagan, they both were able to bring the opposing parties within Congress to have an efficient government. With the presidency of Ronald Reagan, he was able to bring Congress together to pass laws of deregulation. On the basis of the efficiency of divided and unified government, the overall answer is that divided government brings about compromise within the Congress that is valuable to creating laws that benefit all, instead of a unified government that only implements its ideals.

The Customer Satisfaction By Measuring Service Quality Tourism Essay

The Customer Satisfaction By Measuring Service Quality Tourism Essay The measurement and management of service quality are fundamental to the survival and success of service companies Legcevic, 2008. The hotel sector is a large segment of the service industry which provides services and accommodations to a wide range of customers. To make sure that a hotel is satisfying its customers needs, it is necessary to measure service quality periodically to identify areas in need of improvement. There are several methodologies used for measuring service quality, but this research study shall employ one of the more popular models called the SERVQUAL model. This theory was developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry. They were early researchers studies about the concept of quality (Jain and Gupta, 2004). The SERVQUAL model was created to measure service quality as perceived by the customer (Parasuraman et al., 1985). According to Shangri-La Hotels Annual Report of year 2008 and 2009, the occupancy rate of the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok has declined continuously (Shangri-La Asia Limited, 2008, Shangri-La Asia Limited, 2009). The most likely cause of this problem is the political instability that hit Thailand recently. On the other hand, it is possible that this decline in the number of customers was a result of a decline in service quality. Even though the Shangri-La Hotel continued to emphasize customer needs and provide excellent service to their customers, it is still crucial to measure service quality to ensure that the customers are satisfied with the hotels services and responsiveness to customer needs. The result of measuring service quality also helps management to understand exactly what their customers expect from the hotel and the level to which they are satisfied with their experience at the hotel. This measurement model functions as a tool to promote communication between the hotel man agement and their customers. This research was conducted to observe customer perceptions about hotel services by measuring service quality using the SERVQUAL model at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok. The benefits of this research are not just to understand the level of customer satisfaction; but moreover, it can use as a guideline to enhance service quality and promote customer loyalty. Title of project: A Study of Customer Satisfaction by Measuring Service Quality; A Case Study of Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok Statement of research problem: A continual decline in the number of hotel customers over the past few months has had a direct effect on the hotels income. The main factor which is believed to have caused this decline was internal political instability in Thailand. In an effort to transform a crisis into opportunity, this is an appropriate time to observe customer perceptions of service quality in order to help hotel management improve quality and prepare their business for when the situation returns to normal. Project objectives: The objectives of this research are as follows: To measure service quality of Shangri-La hotel, Bangkok by using SERVQUAL model, To understand the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality, and To gain a clearer understanding of customer perceptions of service quality from Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok in order to improve hotel service quality in the future. Conceptual framework Reliability SERVQUAL Dimensions Responsiveness Assurance Customer Satisfaction Empathy Tangibles Scope of the study: The scope of this research focuses on measurement of service quality at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok by using the SERVQUAL model which considers service quality from the following five dimensions: a) reliability, b) responsiveness, c) assurance, d) empathy and e) tangibility. The sample population would be a random sample of 100 hotel customers during the period from June to July, 2010. The survey technique would employ the use of questionnaires. This study focuses on the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality. Definitions of terms used in the study: SERVQUAL model: An instrument for measuring service quality comprised of five dimensions such as: a) reliability, b) responsiveness, c) assurance, d) empathy and e) tangibility. Parasuraman summed up that customers perceive service quality by comparing their expectations with the actual organizational performance, and they evaluate service quality in different dimensions (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Service Quality: A product or outcome of all the staff managers of the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok working together to satisfy their customers. In other words, high-quality service is a service that meets or exceeds customer needs and expectations (Wisniewski, 2001). Customer Expectation: is prediction service of customer that hotel should be provide to them. Predict service directly influence customer satisfaction evaluation (Zeithaml et al., 1993) Customer Perception: A feeling or sense possessed by the customer which is derived from their experiences at the hotel. Customer Satisfaction: The level to which a customer perceives that their expectations were met in the transaction with the hotel (Hallowell, 1996). Assumptions: A customer who receives a high level of service quality from the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok is more likely to be satisfied with the overall level of service at the hotel. Limitations: Size of sample: The political uncertainty in Thailand during the past several months resulted in a decrease in the number of tourists all over Bangkok. Furthermore, the occupancy level at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok has been suppressed due to a reduction in room availability for internal renovations. The limited number of hotel customers may limit the sample size, leading to sample error. Time frame of data collection: The time frame is a major problem for this research because the research time table is quite short, especially considering that this season is the low season for tourism in Thailand. Since the tourist numbers are much lower than during high season, it could be difficult or impossible to reach the appropriate sample size. Human ethics considerations: This research is being conducted for educational purposes to learn about customer satisfaction at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok. For this reason, the hotels management is allowing researchers to collect data from their customers. Therefore, the researchers should not force the customers to complete the questionnaire if they are hesitant. The questionnaire is being designed so that it does not contain sensitive items which would make customers feel uncomfortable. Practical significance: Measuring service quality is more difficult than measuring the quality of manufactured goods because the nature of services is intangible (Bergman and Klefsjo, 1994). The SERVQUAL model is an efficient tool to help measure service quality and clarify customer satisfaction. The result of this research would be useful for the Shangri-La Hotels management and staff members so that they can better understand their customers level of satisfaction with perceptions about the hotels services. It will help hotel management in their efforts to maintain and improve hotel service quality. In addition, other hoteliers and organizations within the service industries sector could adapt this research to use as basis for studies into their own organizations. Background information: Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is a well-established Asian hotel chain in major cities throughout Asia, Oceania and The Middle East. The headquarters is located in Hong Kong. Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok is one property of many properties of Shangri-La Company, located in the Silom district, has a total of 799 rooms including serviced apartments and other facilities such as restaurants, conference rooms, spa, swimming pool and tennis courts (Shangri-La Hotel, 2010). Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok is located in a convenient place next to the Chao Phraya River which is the main river of Thailand, and is only half an hour from Suvarnabhumi Airport and 10 minutes away from central business by BTS Skytrain. For these reasons, this hotel has the ability to attract numerous tourists. Furthermore, Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok is connected to Sathorn Pier, so tourists can take public boats or long tail boats to travel to and visit several kinds of tourist attractions easily such as the Temple of Dawn, the Grand Palace, the Flower Market and Khaosan Road. There is a high diversity of tourism industries which promote the economy in this district and along this river. However, in recent years, the Thai economy has experienced difficulty for a variety of reasons. Figures 1 and 2 compare the performance of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in the period from 2007 to 2008 with the period from 2008 to 2009. Figure 1: The Shangri-La Hotel Weighted Average Room Yield 2007-2008 Source: Shangri-La Asia Limited (2008) Figure 2: The Shangri-La Hotel Weighted Average Room Yields 2008-2009 Source: Shangri-La Asia Limited (2009) The figures above show that there was a significant decline in the performance of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Thailand in 2008 compared with 2007, and this decline in performance continued into 2009 with a drop on average room occupancy. According to the 2008 Shangri-La Asia Limited Annual Report, occupancy and RevPAR for Shangri-La Hotels decreased in 2008 by 15 and 10 percentage points respectively (Shangri-La Asia Limited, 2008). Moreover, the overall weighted average RevPAR for Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts Thai properties decreased a further 11 percent in 2009 (Shangri-La Asia Limited, 2009). The global financial crisis, the extensive renovations at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok and political uncertainty are cited as the main reasons for this decline. Literature review: There are several pieces of literature regarding studies of service quality which say that if a customer had a pleasant service experience, they would probably use that service again and would be likely to invite their friends or tell someone else to utilize those same services. In the same way, if customer had a poor service experience, they generally never forget about it, and many customers will complain and go elsewhere (Assael, 1987, Farrington et al., 2009, Peter and Olson, 1987). Word of mouth is a powerful communications tool. Customers may tell others whenever they experience poor service quality, and this would have a direct effect on the organizations image resulting in an eventual decrease in revenue. The power of this communications tool has always been evident from the past until the present. Consequently, organizations must always ensure that their service quality is the most pleasant and best to generate customers satisfaction. This is because the backbone of service organization growth is not just a high quality product or pricing strategy, but it is also the combination with good customer service. When customers receive good service the outcomes are positive(Farrington et al., 2009). Nowadays, companies increasingly emphasize service quality and customer satisfaction throughout, so that they can increase customer loyalty, because it has determined that high customer loyalty is key to success in their market segment(Cronin et al., 2000). Service quality is widely studied and useful in service industries(Carman, 1990, Collier and Bienstock, 2006, Cronin and Taylor, 1992, Cronin et al., 2000, Gronroos, 1984, Parasuraman et al., 1985, Parasuraman et al., 1988). Many scholars have taken an interest in service quality issues because of their intangibility, which makes them very difficult to measure (Bergman and Klefsjo, 1994). For these reasons, several researchers created a model to help clarify the measurement of service quality. The most popular and extensively used models are Gronroos Service Quality Model and Parasuramans Gap Model (Legcevic, 2008). It could be describes of each model as following; Gronroos Service Quality Model splits customer perceived service into two dimensions: 1) technical quality, and 2) functional quality (Gronroos, 1984). 1) Technical quality or outcome quality is what customer receives as outcome of the process in the resources. Functional quality is how customer receives from technical outcome (Legcevic, 2008). Parasuramans Gap Model indicates that five gaps exist between management and customers during the service delivery process (Parasuraman et al., 1985). For my research, I will employ the SERVQUAL scale by using gap scores to help measure service quality. Service Quality: Today quality become recognized as a strategic tool to enhance and improved business actual performance both of goods sector and service sector. The key factor to success in service industry is service quality. The purpose of service quality is to satisfy the customer. Hence, service quality and customer satisfaction influence each other. As mentioned in the beginning, service quality is defined as a product or outcome resulting from all members in the organization trying to satisfy their customers (Wisniewski, 2001). Service quality also could be defined as crucial decision-making criteria for service consumers (Cronin et al., 2000). Customers evaluate service quality by comparing organizational performance with their expectations (Zeithaml et al., 1993). However, Parasuraman proved and indicated that there is a problem with customer perception of service, because five gaps exist between the customer and the service provider during service delivery. The figure below illustrates the Service Quality Gap Model by Parasuraman. Figure 4: The Service Quality Gap Model Source: Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) According to figure as above, it could be describes each gap as following; Gap1: Service provider not knowing what the customers expect Gap2: Service provider not selecting the right service design Gap3: Service provider not delivering to service standard Gap4: Service provider not matching performance to promises Gap5: The difference between customer expectations and customer perceived service (Legcevic, 2008) A gap which may occur between customer expectation and customer perception is not the only measurement of service quality. However, it is a determinant of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. If the service providers response to customer needs is below their expectations, the customer would estimate that the quality is low. Measuring the gap between expected and perceived service is a routine method of utilizing customer feedback(Pizam and Ellis, 1999). SERVQUAL Scale: The main benefit of the SERVQUAL instrument is that it helps management to measure the quality of service by comparing customers expectation of service and customer perceived service which categorizing each problem facet into five dimensions. It lets them classify the problems into dimensions, helping management to focus on the problems and improve service quality in the right way when some elements of service are found to be lacking. The SERVQUAL model was created by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry in 1985. The 1985 version consisted of ten dimensions. The model was further developed, and in 1988 it was refined into five dimensions. The SERVQUAL model has been widely used as an efficient instrument for measuring service quality in many service industries (Asubonteng et al., 1996). The five dimensions are: 1) reliability, 2) responsiveness, 3) assurance, 4) empathy and 5) tangible. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985), they defined each dimensions as follows: Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers Tangible: Physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel The most important dimension that the customer used to evaluate service quality is the reliability dimension (Legcevic, 2008). Parasuraman developed a set of questionnaires using 22 parallel questions to measure customers expectation of service and customer perception of service in the five dimensions. The measurement uses a Likert Scale with seven levels ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The service quality measurement of each pair of questions uses performance minus expectation. A positive score represents positive service quality (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Quality = Performance Expectation Nevertheless, there are numerous of academic studies which do not support these five dimensions. These studies determined that problems occur with this measurement method. Chen (2008) argued that SERVQUAL should add more dimensions to give the result more validity and credibility (Chen, 2008). Carman (1990) argued that each dimension should not be general because each service industry is different. Therefore, this model could not be used in the same format across industries (Carman, 1990). Although, there are weak points existing in SERVQUAL model, the concept of dimensions is still useful and when anyone interested in service quality issue, one choice which remind is SERVQUAL scale because its great to demonstrative power (Jain and Gupta, 2004). Then, it is used frequently today. SERVPERF Scale When discuss about SERVQUAL scale, it can not forgot to talks about SERVPERF scale as well. SERVPERF is one of service quality measurement scale. The results of both scale (SERVQUAL and SERVPERF), when compare these method to each other, the result which occurs are quite similar. However, there are differences in measuring process. Moreover, it is difference in reliability. To classify divergence between SERVQUAL scale and SERVPERF could be concise explain as following; SERVQUAL use customers expectation of service and customer perceived service to find service quality while SERVPERF use only customers perception for consideration. Cronin and Taylor (1992) compare between these two scales a found that SERVPERF is enough for measure service quality. However, the SERVQUAL scale is effective than SERVPERF scale because it provide more pragmatic diagnosis of service quality (Jain and Gupta, 2004). Customer Satisfaction: There are plentiful researchers studies on customer satisfaction. The definition of customer satisfaction is also diverse. Pizam and Ellis(1999) states that customer satisfaction is a psychological concept relating to a feeling of pleasure and well-being which is a result between needs in mind and an appealing product or service (Pizam and Ellis, 1999). The sense of satisfaction brings about positive attitudes which leads a customer seek that satisfying experience again (Assael, 1987). Customer satisfaction also has an influence on corporate survival. Naumann (1995) states that in order to attract a new customer, an organization has to pay costs in the form of time and resources equal to approximately five times that which is necessary to retain an existing customer (Naumann, 1995). Therefore, it leads the organization to determine quality as the ability to retain existing customers. However, not every customer will perceive the same level of satisfaction with the same level of service, because their sense of satisfaction is related to word of mouth communication and their past experiences (Pizam and Ellis, 1999). All people have had different experiences, thus they also have different objectives, needs and expectations. To ensure that the organization provides a high level of service quality, customer satisfaction surveys are necessary. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Bery (1994) suggested that product quality, service quality, and price are each factors that encourage satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., 1994). Customer loyalty develops when customers become satisfied with these different factors provided by the organization (Farrington et al., 2009). The following is a conceptual framework showing the connection of each element which involves customer satisfaction. Figure 3: A Conceptual Framework for the Effects of Perceived Product Quality, Service Quality, and Pricing Fairness on Consumer Satisfaction and Consumer Loyalty Customer Satisfaction Product Quality Perceived Product Quality Perceived Service Quality Service Quality Customer Loyalty Perceived Price Fairness Price Source: (Bei and Chiao, 2001) Understanding the critical elements described above, how they are related, and how they help the organization is a foundation to success in the service industry. Data required: The data required for this study would be based in information collected from Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok customers. This research also requires the use of SERVQUAL as the main model to help measure service quality. Furthermore, may utilize some other theories from journal articles and textbooks which are related to this research. Other sources of information may include Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts information, particularly with regards to general information and occupancy data as required supporting in this research. Data sources: This research will utilize the following two types of data: Primary data: The primary data for this research will be collected from 100 hotel customers who stay at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok for least one night. The guests will be selected by simple random sampling technique, and they will fill out questionnaires regarding hotel service quality. Each questionnaire shall contain three parts: the first part will be general information, the second part will be about the expectations, perceived service quality and third part is level of satisfaction of the customer. Secondary data: The secondary data will be gathered from literature such as journal articles, textbooks, Shangri-la Hotel, Bangkok data and hotel website sources. The process of data collection shall be conducted from June to July, 2010. Data collection techniques: This research would be collects the data from 100 of customers of Shangri-La hotel, Bangkok who stay at the hotel at least one night. The researcher would be select population sample by employ random sampling method and using questionnaire as the tools. The measuring service quality instrument in this research is SERVQUAL. The questionnaire composes of three parts as following; First part is about demographic data of customers (gender, age, nationality, occupation, reason for stay, how often that they have been stay at Shangri-La hotel, Bangkok and why they selected here as a place to stay). Second part, it would be focusing on customers expectation of service quality (customers expectations) and received service quality (customers perceptions), in this area customer would answer both of these two aspects into SERVQUAL dimensions. This research would use Likerts scale to measure into five point scales. Likerts scale is a instrument to help measure attitude and opinion (Laerhoven et al., 2004). On the customers expectation question side would be ask customer to rate ranging from Very unnecessary 1,2,3,4,5 Very necessary. On the customers perceive service question side would be ask customer to rate ranging from Very poor 1,2,3,4,5 Very good. Third part would be ask customer one question about their satisfaction of overall hotel service quality. In addition, researcher would leave the area for customer to add any recommendation. Data analysis: As for this research would be use SPSS program (Statistic Package for Social Science) to help analyze questionnaire survey. Timeline: Researcher has 13 weeks to process this report. This research process began on May 22, 2010. Due date of research proposal is on June 20, 2009. As for research final report is require to be submit on August 15, 2010

Gender Theory Essay -- Gender Issues

Gender Theory Gender Theories can be related to a person’s emotional stability, status in society, work ethics and most important their ability to relate to others. As the sources of text, personal experience, research books, articles and websites are used to explain the importance of male and female communication, in itself it is only a theory based on the historical and internal learning that influence me as a student (Wood, 2011). In the end, the theory that best describes my gender characteristic will influence the outcome of opinion. That is what makes Gender Theory so interesting, it is a theories based on personal bias. In order to explain the differences and similarities in gender several theories have been established and researched with each having its own validation. Biological Theory Research has established that the biological theory regarding genders relies heavily on the chromosome makeup of individuals. Body chemistry makeup plays a large role in this; chromosomes are a significant factor in the physical, emotional, and social aspect of gender. Men having the chromosome XY are the determining factor in the sex of children they produce yet women having the XX according to the text are the dominant in social, heredity, and passing of some intellectual skills. Because the differences in not only social skill and physical skills there is evidence that relates the increase in hormonal influence to how men and women interact emotionally. Interpersonal Theory This theory focuses on the interpersonal relationships formed by individuals based on their sex makeup. There are three sub theories listed within this theory psychodynamic, social learning and cognitive development with each having its own argument... ...female goes to work and is the financial provider. As this occurs, it is possible new theories will be developed but communication will always be a factor between gender groups, this is because in general we are all different and come together with varied backgrounds, beliefs and predisposed opinions. There is not necessarily a right or wrong, in reality migration of people with the same interest, cultures, and beliefs will continue to form pocket communities where they can communicate with like in kind. References †¢ (2012). Anthropological theories. Alabama: DOI: http://anthropology.ua.edu/cultures/cultures.php?culture=Feminist Anthropology †¢ Standpoint theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://users.ipfw.edu/lakes/Standpoint Theory.html †¢ Wood, J. (2011). Gendered lives: Communication gender and culture. (10th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning

The Lost World: Summary :: essays research papers

The Lost World: Summary The Lost World by Michael Crichton is a great science fiction novel about a group of scientists of different fields that go on an expedition to an island to bring back a rich and stubborn scientist from a test expedition that he cared about more than his life. The "lost world" is an island off the coast of Costa Rica called Isla Sorna on which a company named InGen (Short for International Genetics Corps.), genetically engineered and contrived dinosaurs which were extinct since 65 million years. This island was used as an incubator for the dinosaurs before they were shipped to another island close by called Isla Nublar. Isla Nublar was leased by InGen for a biological preserve for tourists to see the dinosaurs at a certain cost. After a tremendous tragedy at Isla Nublar, the company went bankrupt and destroyed Isla Nublar. They did not bother to mess with Isla Sorna because of publicity reasons. For six years no one knew about this lost world. Many times there were cases of large unknown animals at Costa Rica, but no one found out what they actually were or where they had come from. A rich scientist named Dr. Richard Levine performed research on some of these animals and found some clues which led him to the lost island. He set out on a test expedition with his colleague to find out exactly if he was on the right island. He missed his boat back home to the states. So, he called his friend, Dr. Thorne with his satellite phone and left a message asking him to come down to the island and get on with the expedition. Dr. Thorne, Ian Malcolm, Dr. Sarah Harding , and two kids that sneaked in with them, went to the island to rescue Dr. Levine and explore the behaviors of the dinosaurs on the island. When they get to the island, they find out that they aren't the only ones that were looking for dinosaurs. Three men led by Dodgson from another genetics company called Biosyn, were also there, looking for dinosaurs to open up their own theme park. Many things go wrong on the island. Some of the people get too close to the dinosaurs and they get into trouble, Sarah Harding takes a baby from the Tyrannasaurus's nest because it looked sick and the mother comes looking for her baby. This island was lost by InGen for six years, and it was the only place in the world that time had passed by. Since 65 million years, the dinosaurs

Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird

Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird Innocence is a time when a person has never done something; it is the first step of the journey from innocence to experience. The second step in this movement is experience and this is what is achieved after a person has done something they have never done before or learns something they have never known before. This theme of growth from innocence to experience occurs many times in To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the central themes in the first part of the novel, because it shows how Jem and Scout change and mature over a small period of time. Jem, Scout and Dill find ways to use their boundaries, in conjunction with their imaginations to amuse themselves by creating games based on adult behaviour. As the children move through the novel, they use these games to develop from their innocence to experience by defining the realities of their games through the lives of the adults. Through their own games and through the games of the adults, the children learn values of respect, courage, and understanding. The story is told by Scout, a mature narrator looking back on herself as a child. Scout’s naivety and childish view of the world is highlighted by the reader, often understanding events better than Scout herself. The first example of Scout moving from innocence to experience is in Chapter 2, when Scout unwillingly begins school. Her fellow pupil, Walter Cunningham, refuses to borrow some money from Miss Caroline to buy lunch, however Miss Caroline will not accept this refusal. Scout enters the conversation and tries to explain this matter but is consequently punished. She then retaliates, resulting in a fight with Waler which ... ...ever, the main example of innocence in the novel is also in Chapter 10, when the children are given air rifles for Christmas. Atticus says ‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’. The mockingbird represents innocence. Like hunters who kill mockingbirds for sport, people kill innocence, or other people who are innocent, without thinking about what they are doing. Atticus stands firm in his defense of innocence and urges his children not to shoot mockingbirds both literally and figuratively. This is also in the title of To Kill a Mockingbird and it has very little literal connection to the plot, but it carries a great deal of symbolic weight. In this story of innocence destroyed by evil, the ‘mockingbird’ comes to represent the idea of innocence. Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence.