Merchant Banking in India Essay

†¢ Merchant Banking In India: The merchant banker are those financial intermediary involved with the activity of transferring capital funds to those borrowers who are interested in borrowing. The activities of the merchant banking in India is very vast in nature of which includes the following a) The management of the customers securities b) The management of the portfolio, c) The management of projects and counseling as well as appraisal d) The management of underwriting of shares and debentures e) The circumvention of the syndication of loans f) Management of the interest and dividend etc Factors responsible for the Changes: 1) . Globalization of Indian Economy It has made the whole economy open, which has more multinational player in the era of the financial services? This has resulted in to the emergence of the global investment in financial sector. Government has now open up the doors of investments especially in the area of banks and insurance, which leads to competitive environment for the present players. Now they have to bring something new which is efficient and best services to live in the competitive environment. 2). Competition arising out of Private Company Participation It is due to the liberalization of the economy. Now along with the public/government players, private players are also offering financial services and instruments, which are more innovative and different than the earlier offering. All around, there is a fresh thinking on the financial products, structure of banking and insurance instruments with value creation. Financial markets are being redefined, reinvented and reconfigured on a persistent basis. 3). Changing Customer Demographics: If we look at the all-growing economies like China, Germany and Brazil, India has 35% of the population in the age group of 15years to 34 years. It is estimated that by 130mn plus people get added to working population by 2009 with 55 million families (320 million people) will be added in the middle-income group (0.1 to 0.3 Million Rs). The demographic change leads to the change in the need of the customer. 4).Changing Customer Needs Customers have larger segment in corporate decision-making they are the final judges of the every single activity offered by the marketer. Banks in India have traditionally offered mass banking products. Financial market has turned into a buyer’s market. Market focus is shifting from mass banking products to class banking with introduction of value added products. Today, financial institutions are co-designing the products/services with their customers and striving to provide them with global solutions 5).Technology Improvements Technology is also helping market players redefine the way they have been operating in the market. In today’s time it becomes vary easy for a customer to transfer a fund from one location to another location with CLICK of Mouse. Availability of the concepts like phone banking, anytime banking etc. has become possible because of the technological developments only. 6).Government Reforms Government is major decision player in the financial market. It decides the proportion of the investment limits as well as the regulation and control. In last ten years government is designing its policy with more liberal and competitive content. Which it are welcome trends for the emerging financial services. 7).Heightened focus on customer relation Banks of the future has to be essentially a marketing organization that also sells banking products. New distribution channels are being used; more & more banks are outsourcing services like disbursement and servicing of consumer loans, Credit card business. Direct Selling Agents (DSAs) of various Banks go out and sell their products. They make house calls to get the application form filled in properly and also take your passport-sized photo. Revolution in Banking Sector: Banking in India originated in the first decade of 18th century with the General Bank coming into existence in 1786. Bank of Hindustan followed this. Both these banks are now defunct. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India being established as the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta in June 1806. In the early 1990s the then Narasimha Rao government embarked on the policy of liberalization and gave license to small number of private banks, which came to be known as new generation tech-savvy banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Currently in 2005, banking in India is considered fairly matured in terms of supply, product range and reach-even though reach in rural India still remains a challenge for the private sector and foreign banks. With the growth of Indian economy expected to be strong for quite some time especially in its service sector, the demand for banking services specially retail banking, mortgage and investment services are expected to be strong. †¢ The emerging areas in banking services are; 2 in 1 Accounts Overdrafts (OD) ATMs Net Banking Credit Card 2 in 1 Accounts 2 in 1 accounts are available at many of the foreign and private banks. It amalgamates the features of a savings or a current account and a fixed deposit account. As soon as one opens 2 in 1 accounts with the bank, deposit starts earning a rate of interest higher than that of a plain savings account. The rate of interest can be equivalent to prevailing rates for Fixed Deposit. Customers can choose the sweep option – Term Deposit or Mutual Fund, based on their requirements. Overdraft [OD] Overdraft is the agreed amount by which a bank account can be overdrawn. When the amount of money withdrawn from the bank account is greater than the amount actually available in the account the excess is known as the overdraft and the account is said to be overdrawn. If agreed by the bank in advance this is essentially a form of loan facility and there is a particular interest rate attached with the overdrawn amount. ATMs Automated Teller Machines has revolutionary’s entire banking sector. Currently there are more than 16000 ATMs in India fulfilling the daily requirement of money to a common man. The story of the humble cash-dispensing machine started around three decades back. Since then they have become common site in metros and semi metro cities. ATM allows a customer to do number of banking functions like withdrawing cash, making balance inquiries, transferring money from one account to another account, request for a Cheque book and statements, Utility Bill Payment – like electricity bills, Credit Card payments etc by using a plastic, magnetic strip card and personal identification number issued by financial institution. Net Banking Internet technology has invaded the portal of our banking institutions. No doubt innovation like ATM have considerably put customer at ease in the recent past, but with net banking the customer will be able to transact with the help of the mouse. The services offered enable one to check credit card transactions, paying bills, transferring fund between accounts in two different banks, and scheduling future payments and transfers. A gradual increase in net banking is logical as the need to minimize costs catches attention. A North American Internet Banking survey done by management consultancy Booz Allen & Hamilton in 2000 revealed that the cheapest way of banking is internet banking. Credit Cards It is estimated in the year 2004; the total credit card market in the country was at 17 million cards. The credit card industry is growing at 30 – 35 % per annum at present. The size of Indian credit card market is estimated to be around $4bn by end of 2010. Four banks have now crossed the 2 million card base, with ICICI bank leading the pack at 4 million cards followed by Citi bank at 2.8 million, HDFC bank at 2.2 million and SBI card just over 2 million. Industry average for spends on credit a card two years ago was just around Rs 16,000 per card that has now increased to around 20,000 per card. Rapid Advancement in Technology, Easier access to knowledge and globalization have changed entire banking sector. Because of these factors today customer is sophisticated and well aware about the financial needs. Leasing Services The Indian company investors must be acknowledged that lease is that agreement under which the company or Indian firm acquire the exact right and make use of certain capital asset on the consideration of payment of rental charges. The Indian corporate company must equally known that it cannot equally know that it cannot acquire any kind of ownership to such an asset apart from making use of it. The user comparatively pays all the expected operating costs and also the maintenance expenses. The main corporate companies must equally take into the consideration that developed countries like America, United Kingdom the companies of such a countries are commonly depending on the leasing factor. In India since the era of liberalization, many of the Indian companies have equally been involved in the leasing transactions. On the other side, many financial institutions and even the commercial banks in the Indian financial sector have comparatively been accepted over the same transactions. Mutual Funds Services The Indian corporate companies must equally be informed that the mutual funds comprises of the exact funds gained by pooling all the public savings. The mutual funds are comparatively invested in those portfolios, which are commonly diversified in nature with the main objectives of sharing the risk. The Indian small-scale investors cannot be able to get their funds from the comparative big corporate companies can equally gain there working funds from the mutual funds. Interpretation:- However, the modern concept of the mutual funds was developed in1968 in London by the foreign and colonial government trust of London. By which it gained its invention in India in early 1980, even if it was exactly started in 1964 by the unit trust of India. In addition to the above, the mutual funds can be grouped into [a] Close ended funds & [b] Open ended funds. The Indian corporate companies can only benefits from the mutual funds on gaining savings for investment, better yield low cost on investment, tax benefits, flexible on investment, promoting industrial development reducing the cost of new issue and many more other advantages. On the other side, Indian corporate companies must be informed on the kind of risks involved with the mutual funds like market risks, scheme risks, business risk, investment risks and even the political nature of risks. While the investors are selecting the funds must take into account the objectives of the fund, consistency of performance of the funds. Historical background of the funds, cost of operation, capacity for innovation, the investors servicing, market trends, and even the transparence of the fund management. For the Indian mutual funds to have good future there must be full support of SEBI better control of capital issue, better interest rate, good PE ratio, investors must have good choice, tax concessions, and many more. Hire Purchase Services In the hire purchase kind of transaction is that method of selling by which goods are left out on hiring by the Indian corporate company to the purchaser by which the hirer is comparatively required to the payment on an agreed sum of amount in the system of periodical installments. In the hire purchase the Indian corporate companies must know that the ownership of such kind of the property exactly remain under the control of the creditor who normally passes the right to hirer on the condition of payment of the last agreed sum of money in installment. The Indian corporate company must know that legally, payment is made in installment over the agreed specified period, possession of the same right is delivered to the purchaser during the time of agreement, the property passes to the exact purchaser on the agreed last installment, and the hirer has a right to return the property without further installment. In addition to the above, the Indian corporate company must know that the agreement must comparatively contain the nature of the goods as described in manner so that to identify them easily, the nature of the hire purchase price, the date of commencement and finally the extend or number of installments. Venture Capital Services The venture capital is that investment in the new Indian enterprises without stability in growth. It’s that environment of capital, shareholding and even the setting up of small firms, which are comparatively specializing, in same new technological ideas in the commercial sectors. The venture capital is equity participation, it’s of high risk in nature, it’s also available only for commercialization of new technologies and it’s the exact promoter of the projects, and it’s continuous in nature and input of the firm. The Indian corporate companies must equally know that venture capital involves the development of project idea, implementation, fledging or additional financing, and establishment stage. The main importance of venture capital to Indian, corporate companies are the reduction of risk, easy to analyze the business prospects and to assume the investors on affairs of the business. The Indian methods of venture financing are equity participation, income notes, the conventional loans and even the conditional loans. In order to promote the venture capital growth in India, there must be tax concessions for capital gains, high level development of capital market, giving of fiscal incentives to Indian corporate companies, high level participation of the private sectors the improving and reviewing of the existing laws and limited partnership and many more. Discounting, factoring and forfeiting services Due to the exact trade transaction the trade bill comparatively arises, the Indian corporate companies must take into consideration that the supplier of the exact goods draws bill which is based on the purchase for the invoice price of goods sold on credit method of which is drawn on the short period of time. The buyer pays the amount on the exact date by which the supplier of goods has to await until the expiry of the exact bill. However, the banks provides the cash discounting based on the exact trade bills by which they deduct certain charges as discount based on the amount of the bill and credit balance of the customers account. Factoring Factoring is to get thing being done. The ward factor means to mark or to do according to R.W. Johnson factoring is a service involving the purchase by financial organization, called a factor of receivables owned by manufacturers and distributors by the customers with the factor assuming full credit and collection responsibilities. The main conditions of factoring that the Indian corporate companies must know are these must be assignment of debt that has to be in favour of the factor. The selling limits for the client, the factor must have recourse to the client in the case of non-payment by the customer; the factor will equally have recourse in case of non-payment, details on payment for the services, interest and limit of any overdraft facility charged. The Indian corporate companies must be well informed about the types of factoring as full service, recourse factoring, maturity, bulk, invoice, agency and also international factoring. At the same time the exact cost of factoring li ke the pricing, fee, discount, accounting system must be taken into consideration. Forfeiting Forfeiting is the French term means â€Å"to give something† or â€Å"give one’s right†. Generally the term forfeit is non-recourse purchase by the commercial bank or any other financial intermediaries or institutions receivables that equally arises from the export of the goods. Securitization of Debt Services The securitization is that process by which the liquidating of the liquid and the long term assets of the Indian corporate companies like the loans and receivables by the issuing marketable securities against the same. However, the Indian corporate companies must know that securitization is that technique by which the exact long term, non-negotiable instruments are equally converted into securities of such kind of small value in nature which can be easily transacted in the commercial capital market. In India, apart from the above, there is low and unpopularity of securitization due to introduction of it as it’s a new idea or concept to India, heavy stamp duty and comparative registration fees imposed by the Indian government, complicated and also legal transfer procedure the difficulty in the assignment of debts. Also there is poor standard of loan documentation, problem of inadequate credit rating system, poor accounting procedure and lack of comprehensive guidance. Derivatives The derivatives are those instruments, which are commonly used to derive therein-exact value of underlying asset of the financial institutional corporate companies. The derivatives comparatively may involve the payment or receipt of the value or income created by the underlying assets. The main factors that are responsible for the slow growth of derivatives in India and high level of misconception of the derivatives, the derivatives lends themselves to leveraging, the nature of the off balance sheet, items, poor accounting system, speculative mechanism and finally poor infrastructure system. Credit Rating Services According to Moody’s Rating are designed exclusively for the purpose of grading bonds according to their investments qualities†. Also according to the Australian Ratings â€Å"A corporate credit rating provides lenders with a simple system of gradation by which the relative capacity of companies to make timely repayment of interest and principal on a particular type of debt can be noted†. The main credit ratings in India are credit rating information service ltd (CRISIL), investment information and credit rating agency of India (ICRA), Credit Analysis and Research (CARE), and Duff Phelps Credit Rating Pvt. Ltd (DCR India). Objectives of Merchant Banking in Prevailing Economy: * To study the significance of Merchant Banking towards the development of securities industry. * To analyze issue management regulations. * To analyze the functions of Merchant Banking in relation to rules and regulations of SEBI. * To evaluate the performance of Merchant Bankers, both activity performance and operational and financial performance. * To draw a conclusion and suggestions based on the analysis and experiences †¢ Comparison of Merchant Banking Services of INDBANK V/S CANARA BANK About IndBank:- Indian Bank, established in 1907, is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai (Madras), India. It has 22,000 employees, 1,657 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in 69 countries. The Government of India nationalized the bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks, on 19 July 1969. Merchant Banking at INDBANK Indbank is a Category 1 Merchant Banker registered with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) undertaking assignments * Under various capacities like Lead Manager, Co-Manager, Advisor, Arranger etc. for public issues, rights issues and private placement. * For acquisition of shares & takeovers under SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997, SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 1998 and SEBI (De-listing of Securities) Guidelines, 2003. * For Employee Stock Option Scheme / Stock Purchase Scheme by Corporates under the SEBI (Employee Stock Option Scheme and Employee Stock Purchase Scheme), Guidelines, 1999. Advisory Services

Journal for Advanced Lifespan Development

As far as disciplines are concerned in such a vast scientific world that people circulate in, when psychology was conceived and eventually became a separate field of concentration, it has become perhaps one of the most popular courses and career any individual would want to venture in. The main concerns however are left for aficionados to speculate that the study of human behavior, its scientific explorations on the human mind and its mental processes is also a very complex and quite difficult arena (Papalia et al, 2002).There are theories and theorists that abound to posit on the description, explanation or understanding and prediction (and if possible, modification or control) of behavior among human organisms. Despite the modern breakthroughs, there lies a tension between what has been known and what are still unknown on the creature called man (Bernstein, 1991). This paper is anchored on the understanding that psychology actually pertains to the human psyche which is the equivale nt of the soul and/or spirit where insights, knowledge and understanding reside.Where this is the central issue, spirituality similarly is attracted to the human mind where the attention that much of the Christian doctrine is also supposed to attend to or has been prepared to change. Baumrind’s theory of parenting styles Introduction Diana Baumrind developed a very widely known theory of parenting which created a great impact on the idea of parenting styles that most parents adhere to and follow today. The concept of main concepts include the authoritative, permissive and authoritarian models (Atkinson et al, 1993).The main idea concerns these styles and their impact on the resulting developing person. It is considered influential because it is perhaps the easiest to remember and where most parents or adults readily relate to in most cases (Morgan, 1977). The theory indeed has inspired a lot of consequent studies especially the implied and emphasized acceptance of the superio rity of the authoritative model over and against the rest of the other styles.In a sense, Baumrind and her theory or studies convey the clear message that there is such a correct way of rearing children and this she mentioned as the authoritative way (Thomson, 2005). Critiques of course abound as to the validity and applicability of her theory at all times or in all set-ups or situations. The studies many argue had only been correlation which means that there is no such direct â€Å"cause and effect† as one would have wanted to appear (Papalia et al, 2002, p. 301). Implications to CounselingCounseling in this perspective would imply that the counselor adhere to Baumrind’s understanding that there is the right way of bringing up children (Baumrind, 1959). However, as studies also reveal, parents never behave as consistently as they should as they relate with their children in all aspects of their lives (Baumrind, 1971). Here is the complication here. Counseling then, wo uld serve as guidance to parents and would-be parents as to what would emerge as more successful parenting by introducing and comparing the different parenting styles.Despite the fact that what was employed was correlational type of research methodology does not mean that the results have become altogether invalid or insignificant. It means that for most of those who advocate the authoritative style, children have emerged as more adjusted and more capable of getting into different stresses that life in reality has to offer (Bootzin, 1991). Implications to Culture Culture is of course influenced to the degree that people inhabiting certain localities or communities believe on the Baumrind model.It means that parents and adults who are primary caregivers adjust to the authoritative standpoint for a society to make a better chance of surviving and minimizing the chaos that people bring on themselves by virtue of living in a dysfunctional world (Baumrind, 1975; Bernstein, 1991). Culture then must give in to the idea that even if parents come from different ethnic groups or race, that does not deter them to adopt the â€Å"right† way of bringing up or rearing children. Implications to the Biblical worldview The Judeo-Christian worldview is definitely perhaps the primary reason that these styles have emerged.The backdrop of the styles mimic with the typical home where the bible and its influence may be peculiarly absent or obviously the hub from which the family must revolve around. The authoritarian is by and large a translation of the Judeo-Christian worldview of bringing up children and way of raising a family where cooperation is not taken for granted. It goes to show also that the Bible or Scriptures must take the front seat in all endeavors and decision-making processes. Conclusion Many get their inspiration for adopting their way of raising their family based on the Baumrind model.Indeed, it has been effective to a degree because it can easily be remem bered and understood. Usually, anyone coming from a background of any of the styles can immediately relate. Eph 6:1 admonishes children: â€Å"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right, and reinforced in Col 3:20, â€Å"Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord† (KJV). Another is found in Proverbs 4:1, â€Å"Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding† (NKJV).The parents then must see to it that the guidance must be contained in the context of the Christian home. Again, though, these must be taken in the context of the Scriptural admonition that wisdom comes from God through His Word. The day to day efforts and energies expended on raising children in the context of the Christian household entail more than an accumulation of experiences and knowledge. It takes the wisdom that God through His Spirit infuses as the parent or guardian waits upon in meditation and in sub mission to God and His word. References 1. Atkinson, R. L. , R. C. Atkinson, E.E. Smith, D. J. Bem, and S. Nolen-Hoeksema, 1993. Introduction to Psychology, 13th ed. New York: Harcourt College Publishers. 2. Baumrind, Diana. 1959. Conceptual issues involved in evaluating improvement due to psychotherapy. Psychiatry, 22, 341-348. 3. Baumrind, Diana. 1975. The contributions of the family to the development of competence in children. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 14, 12-37. 4. Baumrind, Diana, 1971. Harmonious parents and their preschool children. Developmental Psychology, 4(1), 99-102. 5. Bernstein, D. A. , E. J. Roy, T. K. Srull, and C. D. Wickens, 1991. Psychology.New Jersey: Houghton Mifflin Company. 6. Bootzin, R. R. 1991. Psychology. New York: Gilford Press. 7. Morgan, Clifford T. 1977. A Brief Introduction to Psychology. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. 8. Papalia, Diane E. , S. W. Olds. , RD Feldman. 2002. Human Development. 8th Ed. , International Edition. McGraw-Hill. 9. Thompson, Ross A. â€Å"Child Development. † Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2005. 10. The Holy Bible. 2001. New King James Version. Power BibleCD Online Publishing, Inc. 127 N. Matteson Street PO Box 21, Bronson, MI 49028

Complimentary and Alternative Therapies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Complimentary and Alternative Therapies - Essay Example This hospital network was expanded, reworked and merged with the intention of providing a single District Hospital supporting local GP's and in turn being supported by teaching and specialist hospitals. These District Hospitals have 500 to 800 beds and operate at 90% capacity. (nhshistory.com). The availability of CAM in the organised NHS is very little. In fact CAM is hardly reimbursed under the NHS network. Most CAM services were provided by private practitioners - the majority were in the home counties and the Midlands; Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and East Anglia had the least. (Dixon et al 2003) Several studies and enquiries show that the use of CAM in the UK has been on the increase. But comparisons should be made with caution, because of the differences in the definition of the term. (House of Lords Report ch1) A telephonic random survey of 1204 persons conducted by the BBC in 1999, revealed that 20% of the respondents had used CAM in the preceding 12 months. Of these the favoured therapies in their order of importance were herbal remedies (34%), Aromatherapy (21%), Homeopathy (17%) and Acupressure/ Acupuncture (14%) (House of Lords Report ch1) A Report prepared by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1999 found that retail sales of complementary medicine preparations came to 93m in 1998. (House of Lords Report ch 1) In Europe, both UK and Germany are countries, ... her European countries (Guillod, 1999)."(Dixon et al 2003) This is in contrast with France, Spain and Belgium, "where the medical profession has maintained its monopoly over medical practice and where the activities of non-medically qualified CAM practitioners are illegal." (Dixon et al 2003) In the US too, a telephonic survey indicated that from 1900 to 1997, there was a noticeable increase in the already existing use of CAM. Out-of-pocket expenditure (paid for by patients, and not reimbursed) on this was estimated at $27.0 billion in 1997. (House of Lords Report ch1) What are the reasons for people shifting to CAM The possible reasons for using CAM is the need for people to have control over their own health, a philosophical and spiritual orientation, and a belief in the mind-body connection. It was found (in the US) that people of higher educational status tended to CAM. (House of Lords Report ch 1) This could probably be that those who had access to literature on the subject, and had an enquiring mind would use this to a greater extent. Another reason could be that conventional medicine is reimbursed, and not CAM. Presuming that better educated people had higher incomes, this would explain why CAM was (is) favoured by higher income groups as opposed to the lower. Apart from this, sufferers from chronic health problems such as anxiety, back problems, urinary tract problems and chronic pain used CAM. From this it may be deduced that conventional medicine had not provided a complete 'cure' for these problems. Another reason cited for the increase d use of CAM is that it had become fashionable, and also due to the increasing interest in the paranormal (astrology and the like). More social mixing (immigrants from Asian and African countries) resulting in interest

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Death Penalty - Essay Example Despite of the implementation of death penalty for violent crimes, the overall crime rate in the United States of America is still high because of different factors. The reason is not ineffectiveness of the death penalty; rather it is due to the unfair trials of the wealthy people. In some cases, financially strong criminals escape from the death penalty. Moreover, death penalty is only a deterrent to violent crimes, which makes criminals go for low-level crimes and those crimes, which do not come under applicability of the death penalty. Governments of most of the European and American countries, such as, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Canada have outlawed the implementation of death penalty as a crime deterrent, whereas in many Asian and African countries along with the United States of America, death penalty is still applied as a crime deterrent. I personally think that death penalty should be a legal punishment because it serves as a deterrent to many violent crimes. In case of youth, I think that there should be reformation instead of death penalty. However, if a criminal commits same crime again after reformation, he/she should be given the death penalty. References McGuigan, B. (2011). What Is the death penalty?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-death-penalty.htm

Management of Knowledge & Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Management of Knowledge & Information - Essay Example The main problem of these hotels is the inability to attract more customers. The priority club rewards system resolves these problems by providing the customers with reward points every time they stay in these hotels. These reward points are given to the members of the priority club. The customers can avail the membership and can make use of these points to purchase, travel or stay in these hotels. The benefits of the priority club reward system helps the hotels to earn more profit and increase their revenue. The customers are also benefited as they get to redeem their points in any of the offered methods. Introduction An information system generally manages information pertaining to the organization in which it is installed. This ensures that the employees and customers are always intimated regarding the operations in the organization. Implementing an information system requires certain predefined tasks that determine the requirements of the organization. The information system must be implemented in such a way that it incorporates the requirements of the concerned organization. The system must be designed and developed according to the company’s nature and type. ... The information provided to the user must convey the intended information in an effective manner. This will enable the user to understand the rewards system in a better way. This in turn will increase the revenue of the IHGs and the associated hotels. The rewards system includes components which are easy to understand and implement. Since information system aims at satisfying the user, the rewards system is composed of modules and operations that ease the process of this programme. The services provided to the customers include reward point information, information pertaining to the hotels, updating points each time the customer makes use of any service and providing membership options. Each of these services is designed to suit the requirements of the customer. These services are beneficial to the customer as well as to the hotel groups. Though this framework seems to be simple and satisfying, it lacks certain basic features. The information system must be accessible by the user so that he can get the information about every hotel and its services. This will also enable him to get an idea about the priority rewards system. The membership details must be made available to the customer and this will make the selection of membership an easier task. If the services provided by this system are revived, the user will get more benefited. This in turn will increase the numbers of customers. Priority Club Rewards System Priority Club Rewards system is the information system used by the Intercontinental Hotels Group. It is a hotel loyalty programme which enables the customers to experience world class facilities and enjoy the benefits of club rewards. The aim of this programme is to provide the customers

Comparison between traditional and online casses Essay

Comparison between traditional and online casses - Essay Example Online classes are gaining prominence in the contemporary world, where there is more favor towards them than traditional classes.In these two types of rather forms of classes,there are certain differences and similarities that set them apart and bring them together respectively,and as a result,there is a need to look into these aspects of the two types of classes. There are a number of distinct similarities and differences between traditional and online lessons, where online lessons provide flexibility, which is only one of the largest advantages of learning or taking lessons online. In online lessons, the flexibility that students have is that it allows them to attend classes at their own convenience, when they have the time, and when they can concentrate without any distractions. In addition to this, there is the flexibility of taking online lessons at one own time when the student is travelling or taking art in other activities simultaneously. This is unlike traditional lessons or classes, where students have fixed schedules to attend classes at the prescribed time rather than attending lessons at their own convenience. However, there is a similarity in this case between the two in that the convenience of flexibility is almost similar in that most schools allow lessons to miss traditional classes when it is not entirely convenient to attend them. This is in cases of severe illness or other emergencies, which makes both traditional and online classes conveniences. ... In these cases, online learning becomes distinct from traditional learning, as learners have to wait for some time to receive feedback, especially in cases where they use email for communication. Students are unable to get direct instruction and immediate feedback, which at times affects performance due to clarity of instruction. On the other hand, traditional learning in the classroom allows students to have immediate feedback from their instructors, which increases motivation for the learners and even simplifies difficult concepts in technical courses and units such as statistics (Stevens and Switzer 97). This is in addition to difficulty in expressing ideas and contributing positively in the learning experience in online lessons because traditional lessons go contrary to this by allowing immediate contribution when called upon by the instructor. Interaction Traditional classroom interaction offers a rich social experience for learners, where they get to interact with one another b eyond conventional academic means, as found in the case of online lessons. In traditional classroom lessons, learners can meet their classmates and exchange ideas on their academic performance and other social aspects bringing them together as a social unit. Although online learning has an interaction platform in the form of chat rooms, through which students post discussion topics and exchange ideas, but they are unable to go beyond these and into the social realm of interpersonal relationships. This serves as both a similarity and a difference between traditional lessons and online lessons where learners can interact, but only through different

An ethical review of four articles Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

An ethical review of four articles - Article Example The ability of the Americans to repay loan has been decreasing especially after the 2008 economic crisis. Unemployment rate is ever rising and the income level is ever declining. As such, the default rates have gone up to the ceiling. The rising inflation, skyrocketing cost of education and living is expected to make things worse in the near future. As indicated in this article, this phenomenon has far-reaching negative effect on the entire economy of the country. It is ethical for people to honor their financial obligations hence students who take loans are not exceptional. In this article, the increasing rate of loan defaulters is the main ethical concern that is likely to pose a threat to the entire economy unless something is done immediately. Even though economic conditions are getting harsher, students are expected to be cautious when taking these loans and should plan on how to repay them, otherwise it will cause economic damage to the general populace. What I feel or think af ter reading the article The article reveals a phenomenon that ought to be taken seriously by the state. It is a crisis that is likely to cause serious economic problems in the near future. The revelations by the article provide useful insights about the precautions that ought to be taken by students before they borrow loan. ... In my view, I feel that most students do not take full responsibility for the loans. This is because of the fact that some students are repaying the loans despite earning very low income. For instance, Macaluso has been paying for the loans even though it has affected his savings. I also think that students should not be allowed to take these loans if they are financially stable as this would help reduce the number of the defaulters (Reynolds 1). My opinion In 2012, National Student Clearinghouse Research Center did a research which showed that more than 50% of college graduates are unemployed and are employed in unskilled jobs that are below their academic credentials. A report by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that more than 70% of American students fail to graduate within 3 years. Despite this trend, most of these students still carry student debt. This issue is also happening in other developed countries particularly Canada and Australia. In my opinion, there is immorality that has been spared in the student-loan world. In 2012, the student debt in the United States had surpassed the trillion-dollar level. It is now a major economic burden on graduates and the larger society. This burden cannot be easily offset by increased incomes among the graduates (Reynolds 1). Article Two Ethical Issue The whole world is facing the reality of depleting natural resources such as oil and gas. Middle East is considered to be the hub of energy resources and reserves hence the region has attracted the attention of powerful countries around the world. In this article, Dowd (1), suggests that the supply demand for energy has drastically increased while the supply is ever dropping. In this article, Arctic region is believed to hold approximately 30 per

Effects of Cocaine Abuse, its Prevention and Treatment Research Paper

Effects of Cocaine Abuse, its Prevention and Treatment - Research Paper Example A recent survey of 17 countries revealed that United States has the highest level of illegal cocaine use with nearly 16.2% of people in the United States having used cocaine in their lifetime (Science Daily, 2008). Cocaine is available in two chemical forms – hydrochloride salt which is taken intravenously (by vein) or intra-nasally (through the nose) and freebase which is smoked (Psychology Today, 2008). Issues Related to Cocaine Abuse Cocaine addicts are usually introduced to the drug after they have abused ‘gateway substances’ like alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. According to the national center on addiction and substance abuse (1994), 90 % of the people who tried cocaine had used all three gateway substances before moving on to cocaine. Impact on physical functioning Cocaine use can lead to some immediate physical consequences such as restlessness, euphoria and alertness (WebMD, 2008). These effects are felt within minutes of taking the drug and continue for a bout 20 to 120 minutes. Other physical effects include insomnia, vomiting, pupil dilation, nosebleeds, increased temperature and pulse rate and rapid breathing (WebMD, 2008). These effects are temporary and mostly disappear after a couple of hours. Studies reveal that prolonged use of cocaine can have an overwhelming effect on the ‘pleasure centers’ in the brain (Chen, et. al., 1996). The drug interferes, alters, damages and takes control of specialized cells that regulate pleasure, well-being and mood. Therefore, regular use can destroy the brain’s ability to feel normal without cocaine. Long term use can even cause permanent biological drug addiction. Since cocaine increases blood pleasure, heart rate, breathing and body temperature, long term use of the drug can cause cardiac and respiratory failures, strokes, coma, convulsions and death. The drug can damage the liver’s ability to detoxify blood and can reduce the production of critical enzymes needed for normal body functioning (WebMD, 2008). It can also cause liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. Cocaine use results in the constriction of the blood vessels of the heart resulting in increased blood pressure. This can trigger heart attack, heart failure, irregular heart beat and sudden death. Use of non-sterile needles among cocaine users can result in contracting Hepatitis – a highly contagious disease resulting in serious liver damage and AIDS. Users may also pass these diseases to their sexual partners, unborn babies and others. Regular users of cocaine experience loss of interest in sex, decreased sexual performance and risk of impotence and infertility (WebMD, 2008) . In women, the drug use can result in miscarriages, developmental disorders and complications during birth. It can also cause premature separation of placenta from uterus leading to premature births or stillbirths. Smoking cocaine damages the ability of the cells in the lung to process gases. This results in the user experiencing constant cough and shortness of breath. Regular use can result in respiratory failure because the brain stops sending signals to the lung muscles that control breathing and they stop working (WebMD, 2008). Impact on psychological functioning Cocaine has been found to be

The Comparison of Two Top Selling Sales Contact Management Software Essay

The Comparison of Two Top Selling Sales Contact Management Software Company - Essay Example Every company is aiming for results and to be way ahead of its competitors. The company's goal upon buying contact management software is to efficiently manage large number of contact information as well as minimize cost by starting-up with low operations and training costs. Two of the top selling contact management software companies are ACT! by Sage Software Inc., and GoldMine Software UK. Over the years, it has always been an argument as to which company provides better products. These two companies have long been tough rivals in the contact management software world. Sage software has been developing automated support in business management for over 25 years. With a wide range of front office and back office solutions including accounting, human resources, payroll, fixed asset management, customer relationship management, and e-commerce software - Sage Software offers award-winning products and services that have revolutionized the way small and mid-sized companies do business in today's marketplace. (Company overview) Sage software is catering to the small scale business establishments with 25 employees or fewer and medium scale business establishments with over 500 employees in North America. Act! By Sage is the contact management solutions software which the Sage Compa... These are: Act!, which caters to companies with 1-10 users, Act! Premium for Work Groups, which provides for companies with 5-50 users, Act! Premium for Web, which can be accessed anytime, anywhere, ACT! for Palm OS and ACT! Link for Use with QuickBooks. Its latest version for ACT! Contact management is ACT! By Sage Version 8.0 which was launched in Manchester last December 13, 2005 (Onsite Marketing Solution). This version allows the company to use its built-in sales process system or customize its own system to track down, monitor and maintain the customer relationship and communication as well as the accuracy of sales forecasting and trends. With the use of this system, companies can analyze the trends of sale and profile of their customers thus, making it easy for them to plan an effective marketing and sale campaign. Through this system, communications from customers such as mail shots, letters and meetings are easily tracked down. GoldMine Software Corp. GoldMine Software company is a private company founded in 1989 by president Elan Susser and executive vice president Jon V. Ferrara. (Schupbach et al, 1999) The company was first known to be Elan Software but sometime later, the company changed its name to GoldMine Software and then after a merger with Ben Data, which owned the HEAT products, ultimately became FrontRange Solutions. (2003) The first ever designed software for GoldMine was Business Contact Manager. This software is designed for Insurance, Legal Services, Real Estate, Engineering, Government or other leading professions of small scale and medium scale business firms and the mid-market. GoldMine Software assures a fast return on investment and low operational cost but provides a wide range of easy to implement

Disc 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disc 13 - Essay Example This results to; blaming religion rather than learning about it, not knowing our own religious traditions and substituting choice for cohesion. (Levine paragraph1). In Middle East, India and Asia, women are oppressed and marginalized. A contrast to what many of them see themselves as honored by their tradition as they honor it. The headscarf is a sign of personal modesty and religious identity though it may be considered as a limitation to choice. As for sitting behind the mechitza, this is discrimination but for them it’s a great place to find women’s solidarity. Even though this is discrimination and marginalization, the women of this region are proud of their religious tradition. In conclusion, the article is informative and fair. The author points out different religious practices and explains their strengths and even some traditions which may be considered out dated without creating animosity among the affected. (Levine

Classic knitwear Essay Example for Free

Classic knitwear Essay INTRODUCTION Classic Knitwear was established in 1995 as a manufacturer and distributor of unbranded casual knit apparel it was operated by Brandon Miller- Chief Marketing Officer, Robert Ortiz-CEO and Sandra Chong-CFO. Classic operated in the category of non-fashion casual knitwear, all the revenues were earned on U.S. sales. Seventy five percent of classic revenues were by screen-print channels (customized t-shirts and other knitwear with logos of everything from rock bands to small businesses to tourist destinations), the other twenty five percent was sold through mass retail channel as a private-label merchandise. By late 2005, Millers marketing team began researching a number of proposed product innovations. In February 2006 they landed on an interesting prospect: knitwear treated chemically to repel insects. After this the team set out to analyze the viability of a new national brand of high-quality mens and boys insect-repellent shirts. The opportunity arose to negotiate a licensing partnership with Guardian, a manufacturer of insect repellents that offered odorless protection against mosquitoes, ticks, flies and no-see ums. The potential alliance would allow Classic to use the Guardian name on a line of insect repellent shirts. PRODUCT-COMPANY FIT Guardian Brand had a patented insect-repellant clothing technology. And the product was very innovative, this gives them a good market potential. The opportunity of the market potential combined with the production efficiency of the company, could make a sustainable competitive advantage They had a cost advantage over the other US producers because of the high-volume and low SKU (stock keeping unit) production runs. With the new Repellent knitwear the SKU will have 16 and they probably had to deal with inefficiency problems on the production. PRODUCT-MARKET FIT Classic operated in the category if non-fashion casual knitwear which represented $24.5 billion. From the total of the non-fashion casual knitwear marketing, T-shirts represented a fifty third percent. Due to its focus on the screen-print sector Classic invested more heavily in t-shirts than in the overall industry. The direct competitors of Classic were little-known firms like BB Activewear and The Big Tree. Also had competitors for private label business, JamesBrands was the leader, followed by FlowerKnit and Greenville Corporations TopTops Division, this three firms operated on gross margin of 30 40% RESPONSE OF THE TRADE AND CONSUMERS The retailers were provided with 50% margin on branded knitwear and 40% margin on private label knitwear with the new product will provide 45% margin. The company has a projection on sales for 10,000 displays in the next two years after the product is first offered to the market, they decided to put 50% in discount stores, 25% in general merchandise stores and 25% in sporting goods and apparel clothes. They need to invest a considerable  amount of money in resources to help them develop the channel, because they had no experience in those retail channels. They had made a research with an online survey they send one thousand e-mail invitations to the people from the website Consumer.com to answer the survey and they got one hundred and eighty five respondents. And based on the results 60% of the respondents who indicated they would definitely try the product, would do so within the two-year introduction period. Also the company predicted that at least 50% would buy an additional shirt the following year. MARKETING PROGRAM They decided not to include the name of Classic Knitwear on the product; it will be called Guardian Apparel. Also they havent done an extensive market research, they are just based on the survey, and probably the numbers wont be fully reliable for making big decisions. LICENSE AGREEMENT The agreement forced Classic Guardian to meet a series of steadily rising annual net sales target over the first four years, and the target fir year four must be met in each subsequent year. If they failed to meet the requirements the license would be cancelled. There are weaknesses in the branding of the product one of the most relevant is that only guardian logo is being used on the product, this might create problems for Classic if there is any conflict between the companies in the future. The determined marketing investment has been reduced to $3 million from the initial of $8-$10 million.

Role of Consumer Expectations in Economic Policy

Role of Consumer Expectations in Economic Policy BU/12C/BS/0403 Introduction A theme that dominates modern discussions of macro policy is the importance of expectations, and economists have devoted a great deal of thought to expectations and the economy. Change in expectations can shift the aggregate demand (AD) curve; expectations of inflation can cause inflation. For this reason expectations are central to all policy discussions, and what people believe policy will be significantly influences the effectiveness of the policy. Expectations complicate models and policymaking enormously; they change the focus of discussions from a response that can be captured by simple models to much more complicated discussions. The adaptive expectations theory assumes people form their expectations on future inflation on the basis of previous and present inflation rates and only gradually change their expectations as experience unfolds. In this theory, there is a short-run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment which does not exist in the long-run. Any attempt to reduce the unemployment rate blow the natural rate sets in motion forces which destabilize the Phillips Curve and shift it rightward. Under adaptive expectations, forecasts of the future rate of inflation may be right on the money, but they may also exhibit systematic error. When inflation is accelerating, forecasts will tend to be too low. And when inflation is decelerating (that is, disinflation is taking place), then forecasts will tend to be too high. The Rational expectations model was developed by Robert Lucas, rational economic agents are assumed to make the best of all possible use of all publicly available information. Before reaching a conclusion, people are assumed to consider all available information before them, then make informed, rational judgments on what the future holds. This does not mean that every individual’s expectations or predictions about the future will be correct. Those errors that do occur will be randomly distributed, such that the expectations of large numbers of people will average out to be correct. To illustrate, assume the economy has been in an equilibrium state for several years with low inflation and low unemployment. In such a stable environment, the average person would expect the inflation rate to stay where it is indefinitely. But now assume the Central Bank announces it is going to significantly increase the rate of growth of the money supply. Basic economic theory tells us an increase in the money supply will translate into higher prices, such that increasing the annual rate of growth of the money supply should bring about higher inflation rates. Knowing this, consumers will revise their inflationary expectations upward. As this simple example shows, people do not rely only on past experiences to formulate their expectations of the future, as adaptive expectations theory suggests. Rather people use all information available to them in judging what the future will hold. This information can include past data, but it will also include current policy announcements and all other information that give them reason to believe that the future might hold certain changes. If the adaptive expectations are backward looking the rational expectations are forward looking , in that they assume people will use all of the information available to them. Expectations of inflation Some workers may feel cheated by inflation. They might believe that without it, they would experience real-wage increases because their nominal wages are rising 5% a year. Unfortunately, they are wrong. They suffer what some economists call money illusion, a confusion of real and nominal weight. The source of the illusion is as thus; considering real wages are constant, the rise of their nominal wages by 5% is only as a result of the general 5% inflation. Assuming no inflation took place, there will be no increase in their nominal wages. After a time, everyone in the economy will begin to expect that the 5% annual inflation that ensued in the past would continue in the future. Economists refer to this as expectations of inflation. People’s expectations of inflation influences all facets of economic life. For example, in the steady-state economy described previously, textile producers will look forward to increasing the price of their products by 5% for the coming years. They will also expect their costs of steel and labor, for example, to increase the same way. Workers will begin to believe that the increase in their wages will be matched by the same increase in the prices of goods they buy. Also, wages are influenced by expectations. Suppose, for example, that both employers and employees expect 4% inflation in the year coming. Workers will start negotiations from a base of a 4% increase in money wages, which would hold their real wages constant. Firms also may be inclined to begin bargaining by yielding to increase at least 4% in money wages relative to productivity, because they expect that the prices at which they sell their products will rise by 4%. Starting from that base, workers will attempt to obtain some desired increase in their real wages. At this point, such factors as profits and bargaining power become important. The general expectation of some specific inflation rate creates pressure for wages to rise by that rate relative to productivity and, thus, the rise of unit cost at that rate. Inflation expectations and Interest rates When the public expects inflation, real and nominal rates of interest will differ because inflation needs to be accounted for in calculating the real return from lending and borrowing. Have in mind that the nominal interest rate is equal to the real interest rate plus expected inflation rate. If real rate of interest is 2% and inflation is 5% a year, the nominal rate is 7%. Although lenders receive 7% a year on their loans, their real return after inflation rate is just 2%. We know that in the long run the real interest rate does not bank on monetary policy because money is neutral; i.e. the price level is affected by the money supply. However, the nominal rates of interest do bank on monetary policy because the policy influences the rate of inflation, which in the long run is bent on the growth of the money supply. It has been pointed out that countries with greater money growth naturally have higher nominal interest rates than countries with lower money growth rates because they have higher inflation. What this means is that country A and B have the same real rate of interest, but country A has a higher inflation rate, it will also have a higher nominal interest rate. Inflation expectations and money demand The amount of money people want to hold will also be affected by expectations about inflation. If the public expects a 5% inflation a year, then its demand for money will also increase by 5% a year. This is because people know everything will cost 5% more, so they’ll need more money in their possession to pay for the same goods and services. This is an example of the real-nominal principle: As long as the government allows the increase in the supply of money by 5% , the same amount as inflation, the demand for money and supply are both growing at the same rate, real and nominal interest rates will not change. Effects of expectations on changes in future income Todays consumption decisions may depend not only on current income, but also  on the income that one expects to earn in the future. For example, an individual  who is currently not employed but who has a contract to begin a high-paying job  in three months will probably consume more today than another unemployed  individual with no job prospects. To illustrate the effect of changes in expected future income, suppose that  instead of receiving the $6000 bonus during the current year, a consumer learns that  she will receive a $6000 bonus (after taxes) next year. The promise of the bonus is  legally binding, and said consumer has no doubt that extra income will be received  next year. How will this information affect the consumer’s consumption and saving in  the current year? Because current income is unaffected, the consumer could leave her current  consumption and saving unchanged, waiting until the bonus is actually received  to increase her consumption. If her decisions are guided by a consumption-smoothing motive, however, she will prefer to use the bonus to increase her current consumption  as well as her future consumption. She can increase her current consumption, despite the fact that her current income remains unchanged, by reducing her current saving (she could even dissave, or have negative cu rrent saving, with current consumption exceeding current income, by using her accumulated assets or by borrowing). Suppose, for example, that consumer decides to consume $1000 more this year. Because current income is unchanged, the $1000 increase in current consumption is equivalent to a $1000 reduction in current saving. The $ 1000 reduction in current saving will reduce the available resources in the next year, relative to the situation in which her saving is unchanged, by $ 1000 X (1 + r) . For example, if the real interest rate is 0.05, cutting current saving by $1000 reduces the available resources next year by $1000 X 1 .05 == $1050. Overall, her available resources next year will increase by $6000 because of the bonus but will decrease by $1050 because of reduced current saving, giving a net increase in resources of $6000 $1050 == $4950, which can be used to increase consumption next year or in the following years. Effectively, the consumer can use the increase in her expec ted future income to increase consumption both in the present and in the future. To summarize, an increase in an individuals expected future income is likely to lead that person to increase current consumption and decrease current saving. The same result applies at the macroeconomic level: If people expect that aggregate output and income, Y, will be higher in the future, current desired consumption, cd, should increase and current desired national saving, sd, should decrease. Economists cant measure expected future income directly, so how do they  take this variable into account when predicting consumption and saving behavior? One approach is to survey consumers and ask them about their expectations. Their  answers can be useful for assessing developments in the macroeconomy.   In conclusion, The central role of expectations means that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the economy. Put simply: What people believe plays a central role in how they react to policy. Expectations can change the effect of a policy. Most discussion of policy today assumes that people are forward looking, that they think strategically, and that they base their actions on expected policy actions. Thus in some way their expectations are rational. But modern policy discussion is also built on the belief that the economy is complicated and that many possible expectations are rational. This includes adaptive expectations and combinations of expectations strategies. What the above assumptions mean in terms of policy is that depending on the beliefs that individuals hold, monetary and fiscal policy will work in different ways. People aren’t stupid and they aren’t super intelligent; they are people. If the government uses an activist monetary and fiscal policy in a predictable way, people will eventually come to build that expectation into their behavior. If the government bases its prediction of the effect of policy on past experience, that prediction will likely be wrong. But government never knows when expectations will change. Let’s consider an example. Say that everyone expects government to run expansionary fiscal policy if the economy is in recession. In the absence of any expected policy response from the government, people will lower their prices when they see a recession coming. Expecting government expansionary policy, however they won’t lower their price. Thus, the expectation of policy can create its own problems. References: Advanced Macro Economics, Romer, 2011; Slavin S., Macro Economics, 2009; A Century of Economic Theory. Mankiw, Mcroeconomics, Aggregate Supply and the Short-Run Tradeoff Between Inflation and Unemployment: Business Cycle Theory: The Economy in the Short Run   Rittenberg Tregarthen Micheal Rousakis, uni of warwick, economics and fluctuations: the role of monetary policy, 2012 Froyen, Macroeconomics Weil, Economic Growth

KFC Leadership Style | Analysis

KFC Leadership Style | Analysis Employees never work along in the organizations, there must be some kind of teamwork involve in the working process, both formal and informal. Leadership acts as an important factor that strongly influences employees performance, motivation and attitude. It has been argued that differences between success and failure, whether in business, war or football, leadership is largely attributable to success. 1.1 Definition Of Literature Review A literature review is defined as target to show important facts regarding approaches on a topic in the methodological method. It also means they are not primary sources because it is not original or new work. 1.2 Definition Of Leadership Leadership is become very much on every managers mind today in organizations. Originations are struggling due to the increasingly dynamic environment. As the challenges of leading and managing increase, leaders of organizations need to understand process, skills and knowledge to perform leader functions effectively. 1.3 Definition Of Motivation Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need (Belasen Frank, 2008). Motivating employees are one of the continual challenges of managerial behaviour, that are also managers fundamental reasons for engaging in various activities and work. 1.4 Introduction Of KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), as we all know is one of the popular fast food outlets worldwide with the theme Its finger lickin good. The first KFC outlet in Malaysia was opened on 1st January 1973 at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur. Today there are more than 390 KFC outlets nationwide and are still counting. Great tasting chicken has become synonymous with KFC and has been enjoyed by Malaysians ever since. The KFC we will be talking about is in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Defining Leadership Leadership can be defined as the process whereby one individual influence other group members towards attaining defined group or organizational goals (Orlando, 2008). More important, successful organizations need effective leadership, who are capable of increasing an organizations employee motivation; in turn improve the overall performance and organizational productivity (Richard, 2007). In addition, Drucker in his The Leader of the Future sums up leadership as The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. It is said that many of the worlds best leaders do not have the integrity as well as certain values which wont be discussed in the modern days. In my opinion, leadership is different from management. Managers have subordinates which are below them while leaders have people who follow them. Managers will normally utilize their position of power in order to do things. In the process of work, managers orders his or her employees while they will follow because of the reward given which is the minimum of their salary. Looking at the other way round, leaders gives up their authoritarian control, due to their followers which follows them in a voluntary way. 2.2 Leadership Theories Terry (2000) has highlighted that leadership is an influence relationship between leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. Block (2002) has noted that as a process, leadership is, ideally the use of non-coercive influence to shape the groups or organizations goals, motivate behavior towards the achievement of those goals and help define group or organizational culture. Effective Leadership Russell, (2000) defined effective leader as those leaders who are able to improve organization productivities, in turn develop distinctive competitive advantages for organizations. In other words, effective leaders usually have an inspiring vision; they will try to form a group of people to work as a team, making them into a powerful team which utilizes as a competitive advantage. Effective leaders know how to make people function according to what they are good at, and how to motivate them to excel their performance. Leaders need to understand the balance technique in any individual team members quest with the objective of creating synergy. Leaders need his or her members in their team to forego the goal for the individual best coherent with the effort of the whole team. 2.3 Leadership Style Autocratic vs. Democratic vs. Laissez-faire leadership style Taggart (1989) defined that, broad classification of leadership style consists of authoritarian (or autocratic) style, democratic style and laissez-faire (genuine) style. The definition of autocratic style is: It is where the focus of power is with the manager, and all interactions within the group move towards the manager. The manager alone exercises decision-making and authority for determining policy, procedures for achieving goals. Work tasks and relationships, control of rewards or punishments. Kotter (1990) expressed Democratic leadership style takes wishes and suggestions of employees into consideration. It is more a human relations approach, in which all members of the group are seen as equal, and they are all important contributors to the final decision. Laissez-faire leadership style involves limited control or influence of leaders over his or her group members. A member is given a goal and mostly left alone to decide how to achieve it. The leaders function as one of the group member, and he only provide direction and suggestions when necessary. Task Orientation and People Oriented Leader Behavior Another way of looking at different leadership styles is in terms of dimension of leader behavior. As early as 1950s, a large body of research at University of Michigan and Ohio State University suggested that leaders differ greatly along the dimensions; at the high end of two dimensions is task orientation versus people orientation. Task Orientation leader behavior is more concern about the production and primarily focus on getting the job done. Whereas the People Orientation leader behavior reflects how much a leader is concerned for the people around him, providing support and encouragement for them. There is no hundred percent right or wrong in using which leader behavior, it depends on the situation and organizations nature business. 2.4 Situational Factors Path-goal Theory Different organization has different business environment, we must take the situational factors into the consideration to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership. Bartram Casimir (2007) cited in Houses path-goal theory argued that the primary function of a leaders job is to coach and guide workers to choose the best path for reaching their goals, in the mean time to make valued rewards available in the work place. In short, the leader should clearly know the paths to achieve goals. As showed in the path-goal framework, the path-goal theory contends that employees tend to listen to leaders who are play an helping role in their works, in other words, effective leaders clarifying what employees need to do to get to where they should be, and they help the employees to do so. Moreover, Stone Russell (2004) argued that the theory suggests job satisfaction, motivation, and actual performance are enhanced. In addition, path-goal theory also states four types of leadership behaviors to help their employees accomplishing tasks. (1) Directive leadership, which is an approach focused on providing specific guide and on planning work rules and schedules. (2) The supportive leadership mainly focuses on build good relations with employees and fulfills their needs and wants. (3) The participative leadership, whereby the leader allow employees to get involved in the decision making process. (4) The achievement oriented leadership is talking about the company leader who sets challenges and expects employees improve performances. Furthermore, the environmental characteristics include three factors like task structure, authority system and work group. Directive leadership style does not match with high task structure. It is not necessarily for leaders to repeatedly tell employees the requirement of some routine works. The authority system is another important characteristic that will affect the leadership styles. The higher degree of formality the less effective of employees performances will show. Source: House, R.J. Mitchell, T.R. 1994, Path-goal theory of leadership, Journal of Contemporary Business, vol. 3, pp. 21-36. 3.0 Conclusion and Recommendation In sum, developing an effective leadership in organizations is the most essential, yet the most difficult tasks for organization management. Great leadership is the combinations of individual traits, leading skills and of course the situational contexts. As we have discussed above, effective leadership is require both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. The intrapersonal skills are of paramount important, as it is logical and obvious that success or great leader all start from within. Only with personal inside strong desire to excel, passion, enthusiasm, determination, commitment, faith and effective personal values can a person become a true leader for others. A great leader among the people always starts as a great leader of his own. Then, interpersonal skills come into place, where the ability and skills to network, communicate and interact with the other people come into place. The effective leaders can guide companies through many different channels. Because of this, it is i mportant to know which leadership qualities motivate employees the best. Throughout the analysis and evaluation, there have been many leadership style theories identified. As we have found that, the autocratic leadership style has gone out of fashion in recent years, though certain situations, such as emergencies situations. Therefore, effective leaders must adjust the leadership style to various situations. In that sense, there is no one leadership style is appropriate for every occasion or situation. The most effective style to use depends upon the situation and whether the group members are willing and able to take on the responsibility. To be effective as a leader, its important to know your group in terms of knowledge, ability, desire and willingness, and be ready to adapt your style to suit the dynamic environment. An important task in the coming years will be the training and testing of future leaders. Further more, organizations have to have a bigger picture of long term success, that is strengthening leadership competencies will improve organizational effectiveness. When subordinates trusted their leaders leadership, and they deem it is equitable for them to obtain satisfactory rewards and outcomes when they made the greatest efforts. Therefore, effective leadership leads to a positive motivation and motivated employees will satisfy the customers of the organizations. In a long-term, it will help organization creating or maintaining a sustainable organizational competitive advantage. References Svensson, G Wood, G. (2007). Sustainable leadership ethics: a continuous and iterative process. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280304.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280304.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280304.html Belasen, A Frank, N. (2008). Competing values leadership: quadrant roles and personality traits. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290202.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290202.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290202.html Hay, A Hodgkinson, M. (2006). Rethinking leadership: a way forward for teaching leadership? Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220270205.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220270205.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220270205.html Orlando J. (2008). The formulation of a leadership development praxis: linking intentions to outcomes. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290604.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290604.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220290604.html Bartram, T Casimir, G. (2007). The relationship between leadership and follower in-role performance and satisfaction with the leader. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280101.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280101.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280101.html Richard K.(2007). A strategic approach for integrating theory to practice in leadership development. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280503.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280503.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280503.html Leskiw, S.L Singh, P. (2007). Leadership development: learning from best practices. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280504.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280504.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220280504.html Terry, L. (2000). Explaining ethical failures of leadership. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220210401.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220210401.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220210401.html Block, L. (2002). The leadership-culture connection: an exploratory investigation. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220240602.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220240602.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220240602.html Russell, R. F. (2000). The role of values in servant leadership. Retrieved on March 10, 2010, from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220220204.htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?contentType=ArticleFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220220204.htmlFilename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0220220204.html Taggart, J. 1989, Motivation and Leadership: For Executive Members, Managers, Committee Chairs, Factsheet: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, No.89-178. Kotter, J 1990, A force for Change: How leadership differs from management, Free Press, New York. House, R.J. Mitchell, T.R. 1994, Path-goal theory of leadership, Journal of Contemporary Business, vol. 3, pp. 21-36.

The Coming Food Crisis :: essays research papers

China has big problem with its food production and providing it for its people. People have resorted to rice husks, hemp leaves, grass soup, toads, rats, body lice, and even their own dead. Many moves toward industrialization have put China behind in its production of food for its people. These moves toward industrialization have taken farmers off their fields and into industrial factories. The result is cropland disappearing and water becoming scarce in some areas. China’s huge population increases by about 15 million each year, even with one child per family. China’s booming economy has made some people wealthy enough to pay off government restrictions of one child per family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China has been trying to solve this problem in many ways. It has put a restriction on the number of children a family can have, which is one. This for some families who are wealthy enough isn’t a problem. China has also looked to importing food, but this has had a dramatic effect on the world’s trade prices. If China continues to import food the international prices will skyrocket resulting in developing countries being unable to import food. In addition to importing food China has also been researching and developing so called â€Å"super rice†. This â€Å"super rice† has an increased amount of seeds on it when it matures. Thus increasing food production. The â€Å"super rice† is supposed to increase production by some 20 percent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If China’s problem keeps increasing and China can’t figure out a way to support itself they may have to turn to importing. This can have a dramatic effect on the rest of world. China may begin importing a lot of its food, which can drive up trade prices. The result is developing countries won’t be able to import food due to lacking of funds. Also if China keeps developing its â€Å"super rice† this may help the rest of the world by being able to increase production by 20 - 25 percent. This is a very interesting thing for many countries especially for those countries that are still young and could use the increase in production.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a lot of things that I have learned from this article. I now know that some of China’s people have been resorting to eating their own dead to survive, due to food shortages.

Emails in the workplace :: Workplace Essays

Electronic mail use is rapidly becoming more commonplace in the business world than a telephone call. The speed, cost, and flexibility of electronic mail have made electronic mail the definitive choice for today’s business communications. McCune (1997) stated, â€Å"E-mail, otherwise known as electronic mail, is the latest corporate communications tool† (p. 14). Employees today are turning more to e-mail than to their telephones and fax machines for communication. This new high-tech form of communication brings a new set of guidelines and potential problems for employees and employers: e-mail etiquette, e-mail overload, and e-mail harassment. To prevent potential problems, e-mails in the workplace should adhere to business guidelines. One business guideline employees should adhere to limits the number of non-work related e-mail sent and received while at work. Today, many employees receive an overwhelming number of e-mails which can cause e-mail overload. Ingham (2003) explained that â€Å"E-mail overload occurs when the number of e-mails being sent and received becomes too difficult to manage, overwhelming the user† (p.166). Due to the speed and low overhead of e-mail communications, e-mailing has become the preferred method of communication for most businesses. Most work-related e-mails are short business-related notes, memos, and reminders to and from coworkers which are easily managed. However, when employees start e-mailing coworkers personal notes they can distract from their coworkers work at hand. Personal employee e-mails are time-consuming to respond to and read. Many employees also share humorous and chain e-mails with coworkers. Humorous and chain e-mails only add to the number of e-mails in an employees’ inbox. Beyond business-related e-mails, employees receive e-mails from friends and family. These personal matters also distract an employee from work related matters. Employees who use their work e-mail addresses for personal matters also often receive unsolicited spam mail. To avoid e-mail overload, employees should strive to minimize the number of personal e-mails they compose and accept at their work address. By limiting themselves to work related matters employees can avoid e-mail overload and be more productive with their work time. Another business guideline for employees is to follow appropriate etiquette rules in business e-mail communications. Understanding the rules of business e-mail etiquette is rapidly becoming an unstated required skill for employees. E-mail is the latest trend in corporate communication tools (McCune, 1997). Employees who use e-mail for communication must understand that they are representing the company for which they work. Every e-mail communication sent by an employee reflects back on the company.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Passage Analysis 1532-1622) Sir Gawain and the Green knight is an Arthurian story about the adventure of Sir Gawain to find the Green knight. King Arthur and his court are gathered for a Christmas celebration. Suddenly, the Green Knight appears and challenges king Arthur's court to a game. He asks one man to hit him with the ax. In return, this man will have to seek the knight out at the Green Chapel within a year and a day to receive three hits from Green Knight. The only one who is not afraid to fight is Sir Gawain. He hits the Green Knight with the ax, cutting off his head, which rolls around the floor. The Green Knight picks up his head and tells Sir Gawain to try to find him. Everybody believes that Gawain's journey is without return because he has to face harsh conditions, like wild animals, freezing weather and wild men of the woods. He leaves King's Arthur court, and after Gawain wanders in the forest, a castle mysteriously appears on his way. My passage analysis comes right after the first kiss between the wife of the lord and the Gawain. As days passes the wife of the lord becomes even more aggressive to Gawain. The Lord welcomes Sir Gawain to his court and he allows him to stay as long as he wants. The Lord then proposes to Gawain that while Gawain is in his castle, they will exchange at night what they have won during the day. My passage analysis begins right after the first day when the Lord hunts a deer which is considered a shy, gentle and innocent animal. At home, in the bedroom, the Lord's wife tries unsuccessfully to seduce Gawain, and she only gives him a kiss. At night the Lord gives Gawain the deer, and Gawain gives him the kiss he has received from the Lord's wife. They agree to continue the same agreement for a second day. On the second day, the Lord goes hunting again. This time he is hunting a wild boar which is much more difficult to catch and kill than the deer. The wife of the lord tries one more time to seduce the noble knight in his bed. This time she is dressed much more provocatively. Gawain, amazed at her appearance, says: "God love you gracious lady"(Norton, p.

What Shoud You Do

The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin's enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Kaolin's knowledge In finance and counting indeed helped him in rising and handling money.He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholy could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Khan's belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery cont act when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the UAPITA – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant.Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up In overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin's enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports.Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his Innovation. He established website Melancholy and started to promote credit sales. 2. Khan's knowledge In finance and accounting indeed helped him in rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest a nd encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholy could keep the price low while keep the quality up. Khan's belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1.The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin's enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to sear ch any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his Innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Khan's knowledge In finance and accounting Indeed helped him In rising and handling money.He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Kaolin's belief and courage. With no savings and precious little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough to refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him. He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a spontaneity, he never gave up in overcoming any obstacles.His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin's enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows his firm will for success. He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing structure, he had a major breakthrough – his innovation. He established website Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. . Kaolin's knowledge in finance and accounting indeed helped him in rising and handling money. He explained his friends who had expressed interest and encouragement about his business and finally rose $40,000 as a capital. With a very limited source of capital, he made sure to keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the quality up. 3. Kaolin's belief and courage. With no savings and preciou s little knowledge of the import business, Kaolin was brave enough o refuse his Bulgarian winery contact when it is not beneficial for him.He then worked hard to raise the capital – with some help from his friends, and stopped working at the restaurant. Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in overcoming any obstacles. His belief of success attracted other people who also believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that. 1. The strong will to deeply understand the field and build the business. Kaolin's enthusiastic research on feta cheese before and during summer 2001 shows is firm will for success.He went on field and online to search any information about food imports. Furthermore, when he found himself struggling to maintain his pricing Melancholia and started to promote credit sales. 2. Kaolin's knowledge in finance and keep up the money flow. Even until now, Melancholia could keep the price low while keep the qua lity up. 3. Kaolin's belief and courage. With no savings and precious little Even though the first container was a disappointment, he never gave up in believe in the same thing, and the success Just happened as simple as that.

Describing City

As I walk through the streets, I can see confusion that never seems to end. There seems to be an endless amount of cars flowing through the streets and honking their monotone horns. Some of the vehicles are large trucks that seem to add the irritating noise generated by rest of the motor vehicles around me. Everyone seems to be in a hurry, not worrying about anything going on around them. The underground terminal has stores and shops lining the walls. As I walk by, I can smell all sorts of things. When I walk by the Starbucks Coffee, I can smell coffee and milk. When I pass by the numerous bagel shops, I can smell bagels and cream cheese. When I look around, I see the huge departures board with names of stations and corresponding train numbers and departure times. Looking down, all I can see is the movement of a mass of people: Some are carrying bags and some are dragging rolling backpacks. All seem to be unconscious of anything going on around them, but they somehow manage not to run into anyone else, almost operating like robots. As I go up the stairs to the ground level, I notice the pollution of the city; it is a mix between carbon monoxide from cars, trash, and other indistinguishable pollutants. On the streets, I see an endless flow of cars in traffic, many of which have a small illuminated sign with the word â€Å"TAXI† on top. Some are very tall, some are medium size, and there is the occasional â€Å"small† building. The people on the sidewalks are doing various things but everyone is unaware of the chaos going on around them. When I go into one of the many coffee shops, I can tell everything that the store sells just by smelling the air in and around the store. I go in and see many people dressed in suits reading newspapers, talking on cell phones, or sipping on coffee.

Improving Math and Science Scores in Middle School Essay

Math and Science are two subjects which most students at any level approach with trepidation and intense dislike, however, both subjects are integral to cognitive thinking. Not only will these subjects provide skills that will help students think more clearly, but students will be academically successful throughout their school career, enjoy wider career choices and earn more money after graduation. Therefore, establishing a strong foundation in these subjects is integral to future academic and career success. However, studying these subjects in middle school is even more difficult. Studies have shown that the transition for a student from elementary school to middle school is academically and psychologically difficult. According to Maurice Elias in an article entitled, â€Å"Middle School Transition: It’s Harder Than You Think†, many former elementary school students are not well prepared for the demands of middle school. They need explicit instruction, coaching, and support with regard to organizing time and resources for homework; responding to work that is more challenging and requires more effort; understanding and addressing the varying expectations of teachers in different subject areas; and accomplishing such basic tasks as taking notes and taking tests (Elias, 2001). Unfortunately, this same sentiment resonates today with the New York City Public School system, specifically, middle schools located in low income areas. The New York City Public School System is struggling with mathematics achievement in the grades beyond elementary school. Over 30% of the city’s elementary and middle school students score at the lowest level of the state mathematics test and only 34% of all students pass that test. The mathematics â€Å"problem† seems connected to the third major trend in the data, the low performance of middle and junior high schools in the city. In both Mathematics and English Language Arts, the city’s middle and junior high schools seem to be the weakest link in the system (Domanico, 2002). Recently, the math state scores were released further underscoring the middle school â€Å"math problem† that exists. Results showed that while 75. 3% of students at the elementary level passed successfully only 38. 9% of grade eight students passed (Andreatta, 2006, 11). As such, the intent of this study, based on the aforementioned information, is to evaluate and make recommendations with regard to middle school students in a particular school who have been struggling with both subjects. This study will focus on a middle school, IS 166- George Gershwin School—located in East New York. The decision to choose IS 166 was dependent on a few factors among which included the fact that the district within which it is located is considered a â€Å"virtual educational dead zone† by a Civic Report drafted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (Domanico, 2002). Additionally, after reviewing the New York City Department of Education’s website—which provides an overwhelming amount of information on every public school in the city as well as their progress over recent years in the core subjects—it was found that of the schools within the 19th School District—primarily East New York, IS 166 is one of the worst performing schools. The school’s poor academic performance is further exacerbated by the outstanding grades displayed by another school in the 19th School District such as IS 409—East New York Family Academy and outside of the district another school MS 114, located in District 2 (Manhattan), whose grades superseded the city’s level as well as the state’s level. The graphs below illustrate how IS 166 performed poorly in the last 2 years on the state Math and Science exams comparatively to other schools, specifically IS 409 in the same district as well other schools in other districts. The last two graphs will show the difference with a higher performing school such as IS 409 and therefore will confirm why this study is going to be conducted. IS 166- George Gershwin School Math and Science Grades Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). Definition of the Levels on which the scores for both subjects are based: Level 4—These students exceed the standards and are moving toward high performance on the Regents examination. Level 3—These students meet the standards and, with continued steady growth, should pass the Regents examination. Level 2—These students need extra help to meet the standards and pass the Regents examination. Level 1—These students have serious academic deficiencies. Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). The aforementioned graphs showed how poorly IS 166 has performed in the last two years in both Math and Science. In Math, the number of students performing at Levels 3 and 4 has decreased from 22. 2% in 2004 and 17. 5% in 2005. The number of students tested for Level 3 was only 60 and for Level 4 only 3 of 361 total students. The remaining students, as displayed on the right hand side of the graph, are still at a Level 1 which as noted by the above definition means that they are in grave need of assistance. Therefore, for the purposes of the study, the target population will be defined as â€Å"in need† students. Although there has been a slight increase in Science, the results are still less than desirable when compared with other schools in the district and the City. As seen in the graph, only 14% of the students passed at Levels 3 and 4 in 2004 and by 2005, only 18% were able to pass at the same levels. Therefore, if IS 166 continues on this trajectory, it will continue to be labeled an underperforming school that graduates below average students incapable of performing the basic tasks in both subjects. The goal of the evaluation study is to thoroughly review the problems that exist and hopefully get the school to achieve grades similar to IS 409-East New York Family Academy sometime in the near future as is reflected in the following graphs. IS 409- East New York Family Academy Math and Science Grades Source: New York Department of Education (Division of Assessment and Accountability—School Report Cards 2005). As noted in the above graphs, IS 409 is performing extremely well at Levels 3 and 4 and has outperformed schools in both math and science in the district (which is truly exceptional given the neighborhood and its history) as well as other City schools. Very few students if any are far below the standard in both subjects. Moreover, as noted before, other schools such as MS 114 and IS 289 located in District 2 have maintained exceptional scores over the two year period. For 2004 and 2005, MS 114 scored 88% and 81% consecutively in Math and 97% and 91% in Science. IS 289 also scored high grades-for both years in Math, the school displayed 83% and 73% when compared to other schools in the district and city and in Science, they scored 87% and 82%. Other schools in other districts from Queens and Staten Island have also demonstrated solid scores. This makes designing a program even more of a priority in light of the above referenced comparisons. The study will not focus on the students at all levels in the middle schools but specifically, the eighth grade students destined for high school who have yet to grasp the necessary skills needed to succeed and have been the center of test score analysis over the years. These eighth grade students will be approximately 14 years old but depending on factors such as repeating a grade or special needs, the age may vary from 14-16 years old. As noted before, they will be identified as â€Å"in need† students and the study will attempt to identify the worst performing students by looking not only at grades but possibly contributing factors such as income, special needs, and possible crime involvement. The improvement of Math and Science scores is a gargantuan task which requires a major overall of the school at all levels, however, to begin the following services are needed and they are but not limited to: ?Offering training sessions for the math and science teachers. The difference between not only IS 409 and other schools in District 2 is that the teachers have more experience, education, and are less likely to be absent more than average. The training sessions will be implemented on weekends or after-school whichever is more convenient for the teachers and will be done prior to establishing an after-school program for the students. The training sessions will allow teachers from higher performing schools an opportunity to impart their techniques for achieving higher grades. ?Offering a separate informative session for the Principal, Maria Ortega, so that she is more knowledgeable on what is needed to succeed in both areas. In most cases, the principal of a school has a general idea of what is needed in most subject areas, however, if the principal is more involved, informed, and fully comprehends the nuances of the subject matter, then she will be able to make better choices in hiring and understanding the teaching of the curriculum. This is an idea which originated out of reading the case of MS 114 in District 2 which showcases a principal that has not only taught but has written Math books for children. Also, in IS 289, the principal knows each student individually and is fully acquainted with their needs. ?Offering additional services for children that may range from an after-school program to extending class hours to offering classes on the weekend. One of the schools in District 2 actually has classes that last at least 50 minutes giving students a better opportunity to absorb the material thereby performing better in exams. ?Offering programs that will incorporate the parents as well. Perhaps this will be in conjunction with the after-school program. As noted, most of the students in this district are from low income families and perhaps some of the parents are in low paying jobs or living on welfare. The parents can take advantage of the program by refreshing themselves with the basic concepts of each subject so that they may assist their children and perhaps help themselves. PROGRAM THEORY In order to address the dire academic situation at IS 166-George Gershwin School, and before implementing an after-school program, it is important to address the issue at the higher levels which means analyzing teaching techniques and more importantly, principal participation. At the Center for Civic Innovation Luncheon featuring Chancellor Joel Klein held on Thursday, October 5th at the Harvard Club, Chancellor Klein began his speech with an analogy of the leaky roof and the squeaky floor. He stated that there was a school located in uptown Harlem that had a leaky roof and a squeaky floor. One day a repair man came to repair the floor and the custodian stated that the floor cannot be fixed prior to the roof being fixed to which the repairman replied â€Å"That’s not my concern, I am just here for the floor†. The Chancellor began his speech with that story to underscore the problems with the NYC Education system. He believes that everyone wants to fix the underlying problems without addressing the issues at the surface. The Chancellor’s story may be applied to the case of IS 166 and any other school in need of improvement. Many observers and parents are often led to believe that their children are primarily the problem in achieving higher scores and possibly that their children lack the intellect to truly analyze or process the information given to them. However, it is just as important for the heads of the respective schools to be cognizant of what is needed to improve these scores and the principal is just the person to ensure this. Therefore, before implementing a program, we have recommended that Principal Maria Ortega participate in a briefing session lasting approximately one month in the summer—right after the end of the school year and before the hiring season begins—for at least 4 hours a day, three days a week. According to reports of comprehensive school reforms in Chicago and Louisiana, the schools’ academic success was primarily attributed to the principals in charge and the contributions they made throughout the reforms. In one report, it stated that â€Å"highly effective schools communicated expectations for teachers. The principal was active in working to improve teacher skills; ineffective teachers were let go. † Moreover, the principals played an important role in four areas a) selection and replacement of teachers; b) classroom monitoring and feedback; c) support for improvement of individual teachers; and d) allocating and protecting academic time (Good et al, 2005, 2207). Therefore, implementing a program or briefing session solely for Principal Ortega would help her improve in all these areas. Principals, under Chancellor Klein’s tenure, have been given more empowerment opportunities and have more responsibilities to ensure the success of their schools. IS 166 has been categorized as a Title I School In Need of Improvement (SINI) under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and as such, Principal Ortega has to work harder than ever to improve the english, math, and science scores—subjects that are integral to a student’s academic success. The program we have suggested will illustrate to Principal Ortega that math, in particular, cannot be taught in the traditional manner, that is, using rote. In fact, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) advocates the development of an inquiry-based mathematics tradition. Students taught using this tradition are encouraged to explore, develop conjectures, prove, and problem solve (Manswell Butty, 2001, 20). Students are best able to absorb the material in not only math and science but other subjects if the teachers are able to present it in an interesting manner that entails connections to the outside world. Principal Ortega should also be familiarized with the requirements for the exams and then know exactly how the staff should approach student preparation. She should also ensure that with respect to math, she adheres to the recommendations Lyle V. Jones reiterated in his article entitled â€Å"Achievement Trends in Math and Science† in which it was stated: ? Only teachers who like mathematics should teach mathematics ? The chief objective of school mathematics should be to instill confidence ? Mathematics teaching must be based on both contemporary mathematics and modern pedagogy (Jones, 1988, 333). After completion of this program, and hopefully with a better understanding of what is needed to improve the scores at IS 166, the next step would be to address the teaching staff. As noted, the methodology used is integral to ensuring that the students comprehend, absorb, and analyze the information being disseminated. If they fail to process the information then they will ultimately perform poorly in the state exams and possibly continue to do so throughout high school. We recommend prior to the beginning of the academic year, and the implementation of the after-school program, that teachers, specifically, the math teachers enroll in a summer institute similar to one reported in an article entitled, â€Å"Toward a Constructivist Perspective: The Impact of a Math Teacher InService Program on Students†. The reason being is that the teaching of math more so than science requires certain techniques that are far from the traditional methods that most teachers employ. The summer institute in the report offered participating teachers intensive two-week summer institutes and weekly classroom follow-up during one academic year. Moreover, they received an opportunity to reexamine their ideas about the teaching and learning of mathematics. During the summer institutes, these teachers experienced mathematics classes in which they were encouraged to construct solutions and ideas and to communicate them to a group. They analyzed student understandings as revealed in interviews and they planned lessons which reflected their evolving ideas about mathematics learning and teaching (Simon and Schifter, 1993, 331). Teachers need to plan their lessons in such a manner as to engage the students so that they may effectively communicate their thoughts or problems with a particular issue. In fact, after completion of the summer institute, and after the teachers began using their newfound techniques, the results were noteworthy and ranged from students stating that â€Å"it’s fun to work math problems† to â€Å"I’d rather do math than any other kind of homework† to â€Å"I like to explain how I solved a problem†(Simon and Schifter, 1993, 333). Therefore, using the above referenced example, the summer institute that we propose for the math teachers will last approximately three weeks in the summer and it would begin approximately mid-August prior to the beginning of the academic year. This program would be mandated by the principal and would include veteran staff members as well new ones brought on board. Another factor that teachers have to take into consideration is the population they cater to during the academic year. IS 166 consists of predominantly black and Hispanic students residing in East New York and its surrounding environs, thereby, making them not only an â€Å"in need† group in terms of grades but an â€Å"at risk† group in terms of their backgrounds and predisposition to engage in illicit activities. Many believe teaching techniques are generic and if they are employed in one school then they may be applicable in another. However, studies have shown that minority children in low income neighborhoods require a different set of techniques employed. According to Manswell Butty, African-American children have further been identified as favoring four learning styles a) person-centered, b) affective, c) expressive, and movement oriented (Butty, 2001, 23). Therefore, teachers need to use laboratory or group exercises, discussion sessions, or instructional uses of music and the visual and dramatic arts, especially when those pedagogical techniques promote Black students’ greater academic involvement, interest, and performances (Butty, 2001, 23). However, this is not a generalization implying that all minority children respond to this technique but most will probably respond positively. Therefore, teachers must be made aware of the group of children that they are dealing with and ensure that they employ the above referenced techniques to garner success. In fact, there are Learning through Teaching in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratories (L-TAPL) in California and New Jersey, which not only offer a program for elementary students but also serves as a practice-rich professional development for urban teachers. The program aims to improve the achievement of urban students and the competence of their teachers (Foster et al, 2005, 28). According to the Foster article, numerous studies, policies, and programs have addressed the persistent problem of underachievement among poor urban students and its array of possible causes. The NCLB links teacher quality to improved student achievement, especially among low-income urban children of color. Consequently, improving teacher quality has become one of the hallmarks of current reform efforts (Foster et al, 2005, 28). These laboratories groom future urban teachers to deal with students similar to the target population at IS 166. And as such, as an alternative to our summer institute, the teachers are free to enroll in the program offered by this lab in New Jersey. Therefore, taking into account the above referenced studies, improving teacher quality is of utmost importance when taking into consideration the improvement of math and science scores. All of the above has brought us to the most important element of the study establishing an after-school program. Establishing an After-school Program-Resources Funding Under the NCLB Act, Title I schools, such as IS 166 that are listed as Schools In Need of Improvement, have failed to reach student achievement targets that have been set for every school. This means the school has failed to meet state proficiency level for all students in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and/or high schools graduation rate. Schools falling in the above referenced category may be eligible for Supplemental Educational Services (SES). SES include free after-school/weekend remedial help or tutoring services. The SES provision offers providers an opportunity to offer low-income children, who may be struggling in school, extra academic help and individual instruction. Through SES, innovative leaders and educators can start a new tutoring program or expand an existing one to serve more students (New York City Department of Education). However, instead of using an SES provider—which in some cases the DOE will offer contracts of over a million dollars to provide services to various schools—we will request additional funding that would have been used to acquire an SES provider to establish the after-school program by ourselves with the assistance of The After-school Corporation (TASC). TASC is renowned for establishing successful after-school programs and have no contract with the DOE and thus, are not labeled SES Providers. In addition to wanting to establish a program using solely school staff, it is important to note, that there have been several complaints about SES providers and most are being investigated either by the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District or the Office of Special Investigation and in the best interest of the target population, we have decided to forego those providers. Therefore, the funding used from SES will be used to offer per session rates for the teachers participating in the program as well as pay for the consultant from TASC. The funding will also be used to acquire additional supplies such as the KidzMath program which is highly popular and is used around the country to get students interested in math and to improve scores. Funding will also be used to secure additional bus transportation from the Office of Pupil Transportation as well as food and refreshments for the children. Staffing and Facilities The program will be housed in the school recreation room and so there will be no need to rent a facility to do so. The program will be supervised by the TASC consultant who will preferably be someone from the community who is familiar with the target population and can easily relate to their situation. The principal and assistant principal will take turns observing the classes and ensuring that the teachers and participants are abiding by the rules. The teachers will be eighth grade math and science teachers who deal with the target population on a daily basis and who are familiar with the problems they are experiencing. Additionally, the teachers will be assisted by high school students who are well versed in the subject areas, who have been recruited from neighboring high schools and would like to add an after-school tutoring activity to their resume. Therefore, these students will not be paid but will use the after-school program as a learning experience. Participants The students participating in the program will be chosen based on their past academic performance in grades six and seven and failure to show any signs of improvement. To reiterate, this program is geared specifically for eighth grade students, ages 14-16 years old, and will begin a month into the beginning of the academic year towards the end of September early October after the students and teachers have settled in the new semester. Letters will be sent to the parents at the beginning of the academic year notifying them of their child’s progress and advising them that the program is mandatory if they are to improve and move on to high school (the letters will be followed up by phone calls). While the school has no recourse if a student fails to attend even though it has been marked mandatory, offering a voluntary program usually encourages those that are really not in need of it to participate and those that do need it usually don’t. The parents will be informed of the structure of the program and the fact that transportation will be provided so that their children will be taken home safely after the program. In fact, parents who may not be working full time or at all will be encouraged to observe or participate in another session that will help them to understand what their child needs to improve. The session, which will last as long as the tutoring session, will more than likely be conducted by the assistant principal or a math/science staff member and will give the parent an opportunity to be truly acquainted with the activities being conducted. This program may also be helpful to them as well as some of these parents lack the basic educational skills that are necessary to obtain a job. Activities and Schedule Based on successful programs in Arkansas, the after-school program we will establish will mirror these successful programs and therefore, the program will entail classes of one and a half hours each day, Monday through Thursday between the hours of 3pm and 4:30pm. Mondays and Wednesdays will be dedicated to math and Tuesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated to science. The sessions will be divided into 40 minute periods during which the first period will be dedicated to the teacher illustrating the subject material and the second period will be dedicated to the students participating in groups and working together to complete the work presented in the first period. The students will get a ten-minute break during which they will receive refreshments. In the Camden School District in Arkansas, school officials credited the success of the after-school programs to the schools being released from the â€Å"Adequate Yearly Progress† (AYP) status under the NCLB Act (Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families, 2006). Throughout the course of the program, teachers will be encouraged not to utilize the same material or techniques used on a daily basis. The teachers will be reminded that the program is geared towards individuals who have a negative attitude toward the subjects which may be as a result of not only failure to comprehend the material but also the teacher’s emphasis on traditional methods. Therefore, the program will forego any emphasis on memorization, computation, and equation and will focus on modeling and real world problem solving. Engaging in group work, especially in math, has proven to be successful and will be the focus of the program. According to Jones, group work differs from cooperative learning in its lesser emphasis on the teacher as instructor and its greater dependence on students teaching other students. Moreover, cooperative learning procedures as dependent first on instruction by the teacher, then on practice engaged in actively by members of an established student team (often of four team members), has evidence that supports the efficacy of the approach to elevate not only achievement but also self-esteem, interpersonal effectiveness and interracial harmony (Jones, 1988, 328). Therefore, the students will work together in groups over the period of the academic year and will be exposed to hands-on experiences, games, and projects. KidzMath should really be a good stimulant and with the assistance of the teachers, the students should be motivated. Teachers will also be encouraged to maintain a weekly progress report which will ultimately be used to assess the program’s progress. Another aspect of the program would entail having the Principal establishing stronger ties with the community and getting more community leaders involved by dropping by the after-school program to give advice and encouragement to the students. Students are not only stimulated by various activities that are outside of the norm of the regular classroom but are also stimulated by role models or individuals they deem to be successful from their part of the neighborhood. According to a report done on the Chicago School Reform, the schools that experienced major changes and improvements were led by principals who were strong veteran leaders with good relationships with their local school councils and the community (Hess, Jr. , 1999, 79). Additionally, incentives can also be offered for the students in the program which will encourage their continued participation and potential success and can range from visits to museums or amusement parks if they have showed slight improvements. While these children who performed poorly are from low income families, and a reduction in poverty rates might have a salutary effect on measured school achievement, according to Lyle V. Jones, the influence of poverty on educational achievement may be ameliorated by introducing school-parent programs to improve academic conditions in the home. After reviewing nearly 3,000 investigations of productive factors in learning concludes that such programs have an outstanding record of success in promoting achievement (Jones, 1988, 327). Explanation of Logic Model. Inputs: consist of the fundamental resources—human and capital—that the program needs in order for it to achieve its goals. These resources consist of funding for per session rates for the teachers, payment for the TASC Consultant, supplies such as KidzMath, transportation, and refreshments. The most important resources needed are the children to whom the program is directed. Activities: Once the fundamental resources are in place, the schedule has been established and the techniques for teaching have been agreed upon, then the after-school program will proceed as planned throughout the academic year. The sessions will be conducted four days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, for math and Tuesdays and Thursdays for science lasting 1. 5 hrs each period. The sessions will entail a great deal of group work and collaboration along with potential visits from community leaders and role models. Outputs: Upon implementation of the program, it is important to ascertain if the program is reaching its target population, if the services provided are being done in the manner discussed and if the population are benefiting or if they have any concerns those will be noted throughout the assessment. This will be done by conducting site visits, performing observations and conducting surveys. Outcomes: If the program is successful in achieving its goals, then the immediate goals will see the students passing their in-class tests and ultimately the state exams—which has been the focal issue with the school and the reason for the Title I status under the NCLB Act. The long-term goals include the participants of the program actually going on to high school and possibly even college. From that point onward, if students succeed in college, they may even pursue challenging careers thereby improving their socio-economic status. The reason the logic diagram is done in a cyclical manner is to demonstrate that if the program is successful and the students do improve significantly, then the school may be eligible for the same amount or a higher amount of funding which they can use to increase their resources for the input phase for the upcoming academic year. PROGRAM PROCESS Once the program has been implemented, it is important to ascertain if the services are in fact being delivered as planned and if the participants are learning with the teachers employing the new techniques as discussed. In order to do this, we will conduct an observational study as fashioned from the TASC’s site visit procedures in addition to teacher and parental surveys to see if they have noted any differences in the children participating in the program. This assessment will be done halfway throughout the semester at approximately the end of January which will also coincide with the first set of state exams (students also take these exams towards the end of the academic year-approximately June). The assessment will begin with a two-person team (my colleague and I) visiting the after-school’s program for two days a week, for a total of two weeks—one day for math and the other for science. The visit will include an interview with the principal and assistant principal (who, as noted before, would have taken turns monitoring the program).