I Am A Special Education Teacher - 1138 Words

Presently I am a Special Education teacher working with children who have a wide range of disabilities. My class setting is integrated, which mean half of the class is general and the other half is special. My primary goal is to modify general education lesson plans to meet each student’s needs and abilities. These needs may include, but not limited to emotional, physical or cognitive disabilities, teaching basic literacy and life skills. I have an interest in this field because I feel with the proper help and assistant; students make positive changes in their academic and social life. Providing early intervention is essential when teaching kids with disabilities. One of the main reasons why I have made the decision to pursue a PhD in education, specialization in Special educator, is because I enjoy what I do and would like to make a difference. My ultimate goal is to keep making a difference by helping those that needed it and provide them with the proper resources to enhance their ability. I want to be an example to my children and have them see the end result of what happens when one desire to strive for the best and what they can accomplish. I want my children to see that with hard work, motivation, dedication, concentration, and having no limits that they will attain any goals they may set forth. Professional Expectations I feel that I am dedicated to the field related to education, especially in special education. I have considered a PhD to further my education andShow MoreRelatedI Am A Middle School Special Education Teacher1340 Words   |  6 PagesTopic Choice I am a middle school special education teacher in a 1:8 resource classroom. I give specialized math instruction to two sixth grade classes, two seventh grade classes, and two eighth grade classes. The majority of my students perform between a kindergarten and second grade level. The exhibited math achievement gap across my classes is disturbing. Even though my students are identified as special needs, they should have made gains to their ability levels by middle school. Math skillsRead MoreFinding the Right Path Essay1095 Words   |  5 PagesFinding the Right Path INTRODUCTION I have chosen to research about my future. I know that I want to major somewhere in Special education, but I am not sure where. I am going to research becoming a special education teacher and becoming a speech pathologist. Both are right down my path, but I am unsure of which suits me better. I am senior; therefore, this research is critical to the next step of my life. As of right now, I know a little about becoming a teacher. I have taken a class, Future EducatorsRead MoreStudents With Disabilities And Their Education1305 Words   |  6 Pageseffectively include students with disabilities in general education classes. There are a lot of concerns of whether or not full inclusion is appropriate for all students, how you address certain concerns, how to communicate and involve parents and a lot of other things. Everyone has their own personal views and why they feel the way they do. The controversy will always remain on the topic of students with disabilities and their education. I am slowly starting to form an opinion on whether or not studentsRead MoreGraduation Speech : Students With Disabilities1157 Words   |  5 Pagesclichà ©, but I was born to teach students with disabilities. Growing up, I had the best example to follow. My mother actively taught special education for 31 years and seeing her interaction with students created a passion in me to do the same thing. Even at a young age, it was evident that I wanted to be a teacher: from forcing my younger brother to sit still and play â€Å"school† with me, to spending my free time volunteering in special needs classrooms during middle and high school. As I grew olderRead MoreWhy Do I Want to Become a Teacher? Essay693 Words   |  3 Pageshad a teacher. A teacher is defined as someone who gives instruction and communicates skills. Our children are our future, and they need to be prepared for the future or they will not be successful in the working world. Teaching makes a difference in them, because it gives them tools to help them be successful in the future. I would like to tell you why I would like to become a special education teacher and what has led me to this decision and why I want to become a teacher. I have chosenRead MoreReflection of the Practicum1362 Words   |  5 Pagesthat students will make strides in achievement. Research based means that there has been researched, but does not definitely imply success or achievement. Evidence and research based are used often to convey the same meaning, yet evidence based, as I gather, implies there has been research and there is evidence that substantiates the research. Research based means the practices are based in research, and research alone. Research based instruction at least meets the needs of the students and may inRead MoreEvaluating The Collaborative Classroom Support Plan980 Words   |  4 Pageseducational and very helpful in the education field. Knowing that Paraeducators are increasing in school districts. This means that special education teachers and general education teachers need to know how to train and supervise Paraeducators in what needs to be done by them and how to do their job. Knowing that there are a lot of Paraeducators that don’t have prior experience with exceptional students and their responsibilities of a Paraeducator lets future teachers know how to prepare themselves forRead MoreHow Special Education Has Changed Today s Society800 Words   |  4 Pagesinsights on how special education has changed in the past 31 years. People are now becoming more aware and accepting of children with disabilities when at one time others were uneducated and uncertain. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) once named Education for All Handicapped Children Act allows children with disabilities to be educated within public schools for free. Due to IDEA, children are no longer educated within residential centers, hospitals, homes, or special schools (FreibergRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Inclusion For Special Education Essay1626 Words   |  7 PagesIn this paper I am going to be talking about the pros and cons of inclusion for Special Education children. By definition, Inclusion rejects the use of special schools or classrooms to separate students with disabilities from students without disabilities. Special Education is a topic that is important, even though people may not realize how important it is for the fact that they don’t understand what goes into Special Education for children in schools. â€Å"Negative beliefs many people have about individualsRead MoreA Research Project : Mainstreaming Special Educational Classroom841 Words   |  4 PagesI am proposing to create a research project to see if mainstream students will be as successful as their typically developing peers in a general education guided reading class. Assessment will be done weekly and is directly related to the common core state standard for second grade students. I am also proposing to see how attitudes of teachers develop over the school year toward mainstreamed students. I want to see what interventions they are currently using, what their knowledge base is on mainstreaming

A Comparative Study Recruitment Process Outsourcing and...

A COMPARATIVE STUDY: RECRUITMENT PROCESS OUTSOURCING AND IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT Recruitment is an important part of an organization’s human resource planning and their competitive strength. Competent human resources at the right positions in the organization are a vital resource and can be a core competency or a strategic advantage for it. The objective of the recruitment process is to obtain the number and quality of employees in order to help the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. With the same objective, recruitment helps to create a pool of prospective employees for the organization so that the management can select the right candidate for the right job from this pool. According to Edwin B. Flippo, â€Å"Recruitment is†¦show more content†¦Ã¯â€š § Uncertain Response: he candidates from outside may not be suitable for the enterprise. There is no guarantee that the enterprise will be able to attract right kind of people from external sources. Recruitment process Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews. A general recruitment process is as follows: 1. Identify vacancy 2. Prepare job description and person specification 3. Advertising the vacancy 4. Managing the response 5. Short-listing 6. Arrange interviews 7. Conducting interview and decision making The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.The procedure of selection varies from organization to origination. The number of steps in the procedure and the sequence of steps also vary. Every organization designs a selection procedure that suits its requirements. However the main steps or stages that could be incorporated in the selection procedure are as under. Unfavorable personal data Unfavorable generalShow MoreRelatedOutsourcing Strategy: A Recent Literature Review and Model Update4844 Words   |  20 PagesOUTSOURCING STRATEGY: A RECENT LITERATURE REVIEW AND MODEL UPDATE By LINA FERIA BUAD 591 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON Abstract The importance of including an outsourcing strategy in the overall firms operations has become increasingly important over the last decade. Companies in the U.S. pay about $68 billion every year to other companies for outsourced services and although a major part of these contracts succeed, there is an increasing concern due to recent broken deals. A recentRead MoreAn Analysis of Traditional and Modern Human Resource Practices.11910 Words   |  48 PagesResearch Thesis An Analysis of Traditional and Modren Human Resource practices. Abstract This study compares and contrasts how Human Resource Management activities implemented in different organizations to achieve organization prosperity. The finding reveals that there were significant differences across the study companies. Moreover the study results demonstrate that although traditional Human Resource policies are in practice in many organizations, but complementary strategic Human ResourceRead MoreHrm in Small Organizations2952 Words   |  12 Pages While a human resource department is important because of liability, there are other issues that are the core responsibility of an HR director that are also key components to the success of a small organization. HR professionals must manage recruitment, compensation, retention, training, and performance. The next key component and considered to be the most important by many, including myself, is that of recruiting. The lack of a formal human resource department and policies make this importantRead MoreManaging Director ( Sse Hydro ) Essay3964 Words   |  16 Pagesquantity †¢ Identify and implement cost reductions †¢ Provide accurate equipment maintenance records with the uses of BIM system †¢ Collect necessary maintenance cost information †¢ Optimize maintenance resources Labor, materials, contract, through outsourcing of 75% of the maintenance works. †¢ Minimize energy usage †¢ Ensure Environmental, Safety, and Health compliance. Scope This policy applies to all property, plant and equipment which includes, but not limited to: †¢ Substructure †¢ SuperstructureRead MoreA Study on â€Å"Strategic Hrm Practices in Public and Private Organization of Bangladesh†1926 Words   |  8 PagesPractices †¢ What is Strategic Human Resource Management? An updated management system that consists of the combination of competitive moves and business approaches used by managers to run the company also focus on the Human Resource those are the power house of an organization is known as strategic human resource management. Human Resource is one of the most important assets and also as part of the organization concerned with the â€Å"people† dimension. The exact theme of HRM is not very much understandableRead MoreHr Practises in Garments Industry in Bd7236 Words   |  29 Pagesare essential to achieving organizational objectives. Organization needs people as owners, employees, and consumers. Organizations need people to make them operated. It is the organizational function that deals with issues such as compensation, recruitment, selection, hiring, training and development, performance management, organization development, benefits, employee motivation, performance appraisal communication, administration, and industrial relation in an organization. All of these are underRead MoreHuman Resources Management (Study Notes)4758 Words   |  20 Pagestechnology throughout the organization. Answer 1 Introduction The construction industry plays a significant role in helping stimulate economic growth, especially in an emerging economy like South Africa – Basil Read Holdings Limited (our case study) is listed under heavy construction in the industrial sector on the JSE Limited (JSE). It also provides work for a large proportion of the labour market and accounts for a significant contribution to our gross domestic product. (Loosemore, 2003). BasilRead MoreStudy on Recruitment and Selection Process18240 Words   |  73 PagesA Project On  ³A STUDY ON RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS  ³ IN VISAKHAPATNAM STEEL PLANT With reference to RASHTRIYA ISPAT NIGAM LIMITED VISAKHAPATNAM Submitted to (MADRAS UNIVERSITY) By K.S.ANURAJ Under the Guidance of (BATTULA.SRINIVAS RAO) Sr.HR MANAGER (personnel) Visakhapatnam steel plant visakhapatnam 1 A Report on RECRUITMENT SELECTION Submitted by K.S.ANURAJ Under the Guidance of BATTULA.SRINIVAS RAO Sr.HR MANAGER (personnel) Visakhapatnam steel plant Visakhapatnam CompanyRead MoreThe Call Centre and Tengo Ltd. Essay2957 Words   |  12 Pagespossible solution will include. The recommendation mainly based on how Tengo Ltd can deal with the upcoming challenges. POOR CUSTOMER QUALITY: In actual fact, Tengo’s poor customer quality can be endorsed the problems of people and the whole process. The new computerized system which required standardizing customer service, develop the management capability to monitor the service quality of Tengo and accelerate the response times is not provide the desired result. Also customer dissatisfactionRead MoreAlignment of Hr Practices with Business Strategy5515 Words   |  23 PagesAssignment reveals how Nestle is able to integrate and align it’s HRM practices with the overall business strategy, able to manage the responsibility of identifying, attracting, selecting and moulding employees and provides an evaluation of their recruitment processes and policies .It further discusses the strategic link between Nestles performance management system and its development initiatives and examines Nestles approach to employee compensation and unique aspects of the benefits offered.

Role of Financial Market for Supporting- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Write about theRole of Financial Market for Supporting. Answer: Role of Financial Market for Supporting the Role of Financial Manager The role of a financial manager is very important in a corporation for maintaining financial stability through developing financial reports, raising funds and developing financial strategies for the long-term growth and development. The financial manager duties and responsibilities are associated with proper understanding of the financial markets that helps them to develop effective strategies for raising funds, profit planning and selecting the bets investment proposal. The financial manager holds an important responsibility of maintaining adequate liquidity position through marinating a balance between the debt and equity sources of funds. The financial manager is able to decide the ratio between debt and equity through understanding the financial markets conditions so that the business corporation is able to realize larger returns in comparison to the funds utilized in the future period of time. The financial manager is also able to carry out profit planning that is effective use of profit provided by the corporation through understanding the financial market characteristics of pricing, competition, economy state, demand and supply. Thus, it can be said that financial markets play an important role in supporting the role of a financial manager (Petty et al., 2015). Role of Financial Manager Job The role of financial manager at the business corporations can be stated as follows: Developing and publishing the general purpose financial statements for supporting the decision-making process of end-users Monitoring and Controlling the Financial Activities Supervising the employees involved in accounting and budgeting work Identifying and developing strategies for reducing the extra operational cost for improving profitability Examining market conditions for identifying opportunities of growth and business expansion Supporting the financial decision-making process of top management Developing an adequate capital structure of the corporation through maintaining an adequate proportion of debt and equity Identifies and develop effective strategies for mitigating the financial risk if any (Berk et al., 2013). Different Sources of Finance The different sources of finance that a financial manager may use for carrying out business activities of a corporation are as follows: Long-term: The long-term sources of finance can be used by a financial manager to meet the capital requirements for time-period of more than 5 years. The capital expenditures relating to purchase of fixed assets such as heavy plant and machinery can be acquired through such sources of finance. The long-term source of finance is equity and preference shares, bonds, long-term loans from government or financial institutions or venture funding. Medium-term: The medium-term source of finance refers to funding the expenditures relating to time-period between 3-5 years through leases, medium-term loans from financial institutions or debentures. Short-term: The short-term financing is usually done for meeting the capital requirements for a period of less than 1 year such as financing the current assets that are inventory, finished goods or nay other day to day business activities. The short-term sources of finances are fixed deposits, Creditors, advances received from customers, working capital loans from commercial banks (Javaid, 2015). References Berk, B. et al. 2013. Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Javaid, J. 2015. Costs and benefits of raising capital through different sources. GRIN Verlag. Petty, J.W. et al. 2015. Financial Management: Principles and Applications. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Life Span Development and Personality of Michael Jackson free essay sample

Life Span Development and Personality of Michael Jackson Jesse Jackson Psy/304 February 4, 2001 Dr. Marcy Satan Life Span Development and Personality of Michael Jackson Introduction Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958. Born the eighth of 10 children, Michael grew up in a working class family in a small three bedroom home in Gary, Indiana. As a child, Michael struggled with his fame. He never lived a normal childhood and throughout his adulthood he tried to recapture his lost youth. Although labeled as an outstanding entertainer and humanitarian in the world, Michael became dependent on pain medications. Scandals of child molestation and Michael’s obsession with his appearance further fueled his addiction. Overdosing on pain medication ultimately would take the life of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009. Influences of Heredity and Environment According to Kowalski Weston (2009) He had sleepovers with kids that further led to allegations of child molestation. Michael did not see that he was doing anything wrong. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Span Development and Personality of Michael Jackson or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In his mind he was a kid at heart and was trying to recapture his lost childhood. These issues led Michael to have an emotional and social development problem. Family Issues â€Å"The importance of parents to child development is sufficiently obvious that it is practically axiomatic† (Sheppard, 2008). Michael had a very rocky relationship with his father, Joseph Jackson. Michael’s father would push Michael to perfection. Even though Michael was only a kid at the time, he was to rehearse daily and if he ade a mistake his father would beat him. According to Drehle (2009), â€Å"Joe Jackson drove his sons relentlessly. He ridiculed their shortcomings and punished them for their mistakes. He supervised daily practice sessions with a whip in his hand; he beat the kids with fists, hangers, a razor strop. † Michael grew deathly afraid of his father and labeled his father as a vicious and mean man. Michael was not allowed to play with the other kids in the neighborhood. He would go to school, when not home schooled, go home, and practice until bedtime. Michael resented his father for taking away his childhood. Michaels never understood why his father pushed him so hard. Michael’s relationship with this father drove him to seek perfection. No matter what Michael accomplished in life, he continued to seek to please his father. Theories of Personality As Michael evolved into his teenage and adult years, he could not grasp his identity. â€Å"Erikson described identity as a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the sameness and continuity of some shared world image† (Cherry, 2012). Michael knew what was expected of him. He was viewed as a great entertainer, but he struggled with his self-identity. Michael’s lack of self-image is explained by ‘Erikson’s Psychosocial Theories of  Personality’. According to Kowalski Weston (2009), â€Å"Erikson observed that adolescents wrestle with questions about who they are and what they believe during puberty, a time in which teenagers have a surge of new feelings and impulses. † Michael’s body was going through changes that he could not readily adapt. His voice deepened and he struggled with acne. He became obsessed with his appearance and through the years changed his appearance through plastic surgeries. Michael ultimately throughout his life was going through an identity crisis. â€Å"In Erik Eriksons stages of psychosocial development, the emergence of an identity crisis occurs during the teenage years in which people struggle between feelings of identity versus role confusion† (Cherry, 2009). Michael struggled to make a commitment to his identity. His identity status could best described as moratorium, â€Å"the status of a person who is actively involved in exploring different identities, but has not made a commitment† (Cherry, 2009). Theoretical Approach

Six Ways to Improve Your Nonverbal Communications Essay Example

Six Ways to Improve Your Nonverbal Communications Essay Example Six Ways to Improve Your Nonverbal Communications Essay Six Ways to Improve Your Nonverbal Communications Essay SIX WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS By Vicki Ritts, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and James R. Stein, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. It is not only what you say in the classroom that is important, but its how you say it that can make the difference to students. Nonverbal messages are an essential component of communication in the teaching process. Teachers should be aware of nonverbal behavior in the classroom for three major reasons: An awareness of nonverbal behavior will allow you to become better receivers of students messages. You will become a better sender of signals that reinforce learning. This mode of communication increases the degree of the perceived psychological closeness between teacher and student. Some major areas of nonverbal behaviors to explore are: Eye contact Facial expressions Gestures Posture and body orientation Proximity Paralinguistics Humor Eye contact: Eye contact, an important channel of interpersonal communi cation, helps regulate the flow of communication. And it signals interest in others. Furthermore, eye contact with audiences increases the speakers credibility. Teachers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth and credibility. Facial expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits: Happiness Friendliness Warmth Liking Affiliation Thus, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and students will react favorably and learn more. Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff and unanimated. A lively and animated teaching style captures students attention, makes the material more interesting, facilitates learning and provides a bit of entertainment. Head nods, a form of gestures, communicate positive reinforcement to students and indicate that you are listening. Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you walk, talk, stand and sit. Standing erect, but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward communicates to students that you are approachable, receptive and friendly. Furthermore, interpersonal closeness results when you and your students face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided; it communicates disinterest to your class. Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with students. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading students space. Some of these are: Rocking Leg swinging Tapping Gaze aversion Typically, in large college classes space invasion is not a problem. In fact, there is usually too much distance. To counteract this, move around the classroom to increase interaction with your students. Increasing proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for students to speak. Paralinguistics: This facet of nonverbal communication includes such vocal elements as: Tone Pitch Rhythm Timbre Loudness Inflection For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice. One of the major criticisms is of instructors who speak in a monotone. Listeners perceive these instructors as boring and dull. Students report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when listening to teachers who have not learned to modulate their voices. Humor: Humor is often overlooked as a teaching tool, and it is too often not encouraged in college classrooms. Laughter releases stress and tension for both instructor and student. You should develop the ability to laugh at yourself and encourage students to do the same. It fosters a friendly classroom environment that facilitates learning. (Lou Holtz wrote that when his players felt successful he always observed the presence of good humor in the locker room. ) Obviously, adequate knowledge of the subject matter is crucial to your success; however, its not the only crucial element. Creating a climate that facilitates learning and retention demands good nonverbal and verbal skills. To improve your nonverbal skills, record your speaking on video tape. Then ask a colleague in communications to suggest refinements THE TRUE TEACHER ACCEPTS ALL STUDENTS By Ernest O. Melby from The Teacher and Learning A teacher says: I can accept my good students, those who behave and do good work, but I cant accept those who do not work, who have the wrong attitude and who cause me trouble. They forget that its the acceptance of all that gives power to the teacher. In fact, it is in relation to students who are difficult that the teachers true qualities are demonstrated. We all find it easy to accept those who lend themselves to our designs. It is in their relationship to those who cause them trouble, who are dirty and poorly dressed, and who fail to achieve that teachers prove their beliefs. It is the essence of the point of view here presented that only a complete gift of oneself makes the teacher an artist. Teaching is a jealous profession; it is not a sideline. This is not only because of the problem of time, nor because of the impact of lesser efforts on pupils: it is because of the effect on the teacher himself. It is only as we give fully of ourselves that we can become our best selves. Thus halfway measures and attitudes of whatever kind reduce our effectiveness. When we ask the teacher to give himself fully to his students, to his colleagues, to his community, and to humanity, we are thus only asking him to be maximally effective. Moreover, it is only as he gives himself that he can experience completely the joys and satisfactions of being a teacher. In this situation he is in the same position as any artist. Frustrated artists are often those who for one reason or another are unable or unwilling to make a complete gift of themselves to their art. Similarly, the unhappiest teachers are those who bemoan the weaknesses of their pupils and the conditions under which they work and who fail to sense that it is their own half-hearted efforts that defraud them. One measure of the teachers willingness to give of himself is his accessibility to his students, his willingness to spend time with them. One difficulty here is the narrow conception that often prevails about what it means to teach. To teach means more than to lecture or explain before a group of students. The best teachers influence their students more in their personal, individual contacts with them than in strict classroom situations. If teaching and learning are complementary processes, if the teacher is to teach by learning and if his teaching is to be directed toward an individual, he must know that individual. And how is he to know that individual if he spends little or no time with him alone? Another illusion defeats us. It is that there is some magic in lecturing and in the hearing of recitations. We want as much time for this as possible. We begrudge taking time to work with individual pupils. Yet we know very little about the actual effectiveness of what we do. Is it not at least possible that our classroom work would be greatly increased in effectiveness if only we spent more time with our pupils as individuals? We seem to be obsessed with teaching. We know that no one can educate another person, that all of us must educate ourselves. The teachers role is that of a helper in this process. The question is: How can we best help? GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MOTIVATION Basic principles of motivation exist that are applicable to learning in any situation. 1. The environment can be used to focus the students attention on what needs to be learned. Teachers who create warm and accepting yet business-like (appropriate) atmospheres will promote persistent effort and favorable attitudes toward learning. This strategy will be successful in children and in adults. Interesting visual aids, such as booklets, posters, or practice equipment, motivate learners by capturing their attention and curiosity. 2. Incentives motivate learning. Incentives include privileges and receiving praise from the instructor. The instructor determines an incentive that is likely to motivate an individual at a particular time. In a general learning situation, self-motivation without rewards will not succeed. Students must find satisfaction in learning based on the understanding that the goals are useful to them or, less commonly, based on the pure enjoyment of exploring new things. . Internal motivation is longer lasting and more self-directive than is external motivation, which must be repeatedly reinforced by praise or concrete rewards. Some individuals particularly children of certain ages and some adults have little capacity for internal motivation and must be guided and reinforced constantly. The use of incentives is based on the principle that learning occurs m ore effectively when the student experiences feelings of satisfaction. Caution should be exercised in using external rewards when they are not absolutely necessary. Their use may be followed by a decline in internal motivation. 4. Learning is most effective when an individual is ready to learn, that is, when one wants to know something. Sometimes the students readiness to learn comes with time, and the instructors role is to encourage its development. If a desired change in behavior is urgent, the instructor may need to supervised directly to ensure that the desired behavior occurs. If a student is not ready to learn, he or she may not be reliable in following instructions and therefore must be supervised and have the instructions repeated again and again. . Motivation is enhanced by the way in which the instructional material is organized. In general, the best organized material makes the information meaningful to the individual. One method of organization includes relating new tasks to those already known. Other ways to relay meaning are to determine whether the persons being taught understand the final outcome desired and instruct them to com pare and contrast ideas. None of the techniques will produce sustained motivation unless the goals are realistic for the learner. The basic learning principle involved is that success is more predictably motivating than is failure. Ordinarily, people will choose activities of intermediate uncertainty rather than those that are difficult (little likelihood of success) or easy (high probability of success). For goals of high value there is less tendency to choose more difficult conditions. Having learners assist in defining goals increases the probability that they will understand them and want to reach them. However, students sometimes have unrealistic notions about what they can accomplish. Possibly they do not understand the precision with which a skill must be carried out or have the depth of knowledge to master some material. To identify realistic goals, instructors must be skilled in assessing a students readiness or a students progress toward goals. 1. Because learning requires changed in beliefs and behavior, it normally produces a mild level of anxiety. This is useful in motivating the individual. However, severe anxiety is incapacitating. A high degree of stress is inherent in some educational situations. If anxiety is severe, the individuals perception of what is going on around him or her is limited. Instructors must be able to identify anxiety and understand its effect on learning. They also have a responsibility to avoid causing severe anxiety in learners by setting ambiguous of unrealistically high goals for them. 2. It is important to help each student set goals and to provide informative feedback regarding progress toward the goals. Setting a goal demonstrates an intention to achieve and activates learning from one day to the next. It also directs the students activities toward the goal and offers an opportunity to experience success. 3. Both affiliation and approval are strong motivators. People seek others with whom to compare their abilities, opinions, and emotions. Affiliation can also result in direct anxiety reduction by the social acceptance and the mere presence of others. However, these motivators can also lead to conformity, competition, and other behaviors that may seem as negative. 4. Many behaviors result from a combination of motives. It is recognized that no grand theory of motivation exists. However, motivation is so necessary for learning that strategies should be planned to rganize a continuous and interactive motivational dynamic for maximum effectiveness. The general principles of motivation are interrelated. A single teaching action can use many of them simultaneously. Finally, it should be said that an enormous gap exists between knowing that learning must be motivated and identifying the specific motivational components of any particular act. Instructors must focus on learning patterns of motiv ation for an individual or group, with the realization that errors will be common. MOTIVATING STUDENTS By Barbara Gross Davis, University of California, Berkeley. From Tools for Teaching, Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teachers ability to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place (Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Whatever level of motivation your students bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that classroom. Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors affect a given students motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. And, of course, not all students are motivated by the same values, needs, desires, or wants. Some of your students will be motivated by the approval of others, some by overcoming challenges. Researchers have begun to identify those aspects of the teaching situation that enhance students self-motivation (Lowman, 1984; Lucas, 1990; Weinert and Kluwe, 1987; Bligh, 1971). To encourage students to become self-motivated independent learners, instructors can do the following: Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students beliefs that they can do well. Ensure opportunities for students success by assigning (appropriate) tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. Help students find personal meaning and value in the material. Create an atmosphere that is open and positive. Help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community. Research has also shown that good everyday teaching practices can do more to counter student apathy than special efforts to attack motivation directly (Ericksen, 1978). Most students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn. Thus activities you undertake to promote learning will also enhance students motivation. General Strategies Capitalize on students existing needs. Students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs. Source: McMillan and Forsyth, 1991) Make students active participants in learning. Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving. Passivity dampens students motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Dont tell students something when you can ask them. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. Use small group work. See Leading a Discussion, Supp lements and Alternatives to Lecturing, and Collaborative Learning for methods that stress active participation. (Source: Lucas, 1990) Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less motivating. Sass (1989) asks his classes to recall two recent class periods, one in which they were highly motivated and one in which their motivation was low. Each student makes a list of specific aspects of the two classes that influenced his or her level of motivation, and students then meet in small groups to reach consensus on characteristics that contribute to high and low motivation. In over twenty courses, Sass reports, the same eight characteristics emerge as major contributors to student motivation: Instructors enthusiasm Relevance of the material Organization of the course Appropriate difficulty level of the material Active involvement of students Variety Rapport between teacher and students Use of appropriate, concrete, and understandable examples. Incorporating Instructional Be haviors That Motivate Students Hold high but realistic expectations for your students. Research has shown that a teachers expectations have a powerful effect on a students performance. If you act as though you expect your students to be motivated, hardworking, and interested in the course, they are more likely to be so. Set realistic expectations for students when you make assignments, give presentations, conduct discussions, and grade examinations. Realistic in this context means that your standards are high enough to motivate students to do their best work but not so high that students will inevitably be frustrated in trying to meet those expectations. To develop the drive to achieve, students need to believe that achievement is possible -which means that you need to provide early opportunities for success. (Sources: American Psychological Association, 1992; Bligh, 1971; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991 -1 Lowman, 1984) Help students set achievable goals for themselves. Failure to attai n unrealistic goals can disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991) Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course. Dont let your students struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in your course, and tell them exactly what they must do to succeed. Say something to the effect that If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help. Or instead of saying, Youre way behind, tell the student, Here is one way you could go about learning the material. How can I help you? (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Tiberius, 1990) Strengthen students self-motivation. Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying, I require, you must, or you should, stress I think you will find. . . or I will be interested in your reaction. (Source: Lowman, 1990) Avoid creating intense competition among students. Competition produces anxiety, which can interfere with learning. Reduce students tendencies to compare themselves to one another. Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public criticisms of students performance and from comments or activities that pit students against each other. (Sources: Eble, 1988; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991). Be enthusiastic about your subject. An instructors enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an instructors enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way to present the material, however dull the material itself may seem to you. Structuring the Course to Motivate Students Work from students strengths and interests. Find out why students are enrolled in your course, how they feel about the subject matter, and what their expectations are. Then try to devise examples, case studies, or assignments that relate the course content to students interests and experiences. For instance, a chemistry professor might devote some lecture time to examining the contributions of chemistry to resolving environmental problems. Explain how the content and objectives of your course will help students achieve their educational, professional, or personal goals. (Sources: Brock, 1976; Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990) When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied. Give students options on term papers or other assignments (but not on tests). Let students decide between two locations for the field trip, or have them select which topics to explore in greater depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course. Sources: Ames and Ames, 1990; Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman, 1984). Increase the difficulty of the material as the semester progresses. Give students opportunities to succeed at the beginning of the semester. Once students feel they can succeed, you can gradually increase the difficulty level. If assignments and exams include easier and harder questions, every student will have a chance to experience success as well as challenge. (Source: Cashin, 1 979) Vary your teaching methods. Variety reawakens students involvement in the course and their motivation. Break the routine by incorporating a variety of teaching activities and methods in your course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion, demonstrations, case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers, or small group work. (Source: Forsyth and McMillan, 1991) De-emphasizing Grades Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades. Ames and Ames (1990) report on two secondary school math teachers. One teacher graded every homework assignment and counted homework as 30 percent of a students final grade. The second teacher told students to spend a fixed amount of time on their homework (thirty minutes a night) and to bring questions to class about problems they could not complete. This teacher graded homework as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, gave students the opportunity to redo their assignments, and counted homework as 10 percent of the final grade. Although homework was a smaller part of the course grade, this second teacher was more successful in motivating students to turn in their homework. In the first class, some students gave up rather than risk low evaluations of their abilities. In the second class, students were not risking their self-worth each time they did their homework but rather were attempting to learn. Mistakes were viewed as acceptable and something to learn from. Researchers recommend de-emphasizing grading by eliminating complex systems of credit points; they also advise against trying to use grades to control nonacademic behavior (for example, lowering grades for missed classes) (Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman 1990). Instead, assign ungraded written work, stress the personal satisfaction of doing assignments, and help students measure their progress. Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to achieve. Many students will learn whatever is necessary to get the grades they desire. If you base your tests on memorizing details, students will focus on memorizing facts. If your tests stress the synthesis and evaluation of information, students will be motivated to practice those skills when they study. (Source: McKeachie, 1986) Avoid using grades as threats. As McKeachie (1986) points out, the threat of low grades may prompt some students to work hard, but other students may resort to academic dishonesty, excuses for late work, and other counterproductive behavior. Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work Give students feedback as quickly as possible. Return tests and papers promptly, and reward success publicly and immediately. Give students some indication of how well they have done and how to improve. Rewards can be as simple as saying a students response was good, with an indication of why it was good, or mentioning the names of contributors: Cherrys point about pollution really synthesized the ideas we had been discussing. (Source: Cashin, 1979) Reward success. Both positive and negative comments influence motivation, but research consistently indicates that students are more affected by positive feedback and success. Praise builds students self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Recognize sincere efforts even if the product is less than stellar. If a students performance is weak, let the student know that you believe he or she can improve and succeed over time. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990) Introduce students to the good work done by their peers. Share the ideas, knowledge, and accomplishments of individual students with the class as a whole: Pass out a list of research topics chosen by students so they will know whether others are writing papers of interest to them. Make available copies of the best papers and essay exams. Provide class time for students to read papers or assignments submitted by classmates. Have students write a brief critique of a classmates paper. Schedule a brief talk by a student who has experience or who is doing a research paper on a topic relevant to your lecture. Be specific when giving negative feedback. Negative feedback is very powerful and can lead to a negative class atmosphere. Whenever you identify a students weakness, make it clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a person. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about aspects of the task in which the student succeeded. (Source: Cashin, 1979) Avoid demeaning comments. Many students in your class may be anxious about their performance and abilities. Be sensitive to how you phrase your comments and avoid offhand remarks that might prick their feelings of inadequacy.

The Connection Between Time and Temper

The Connection Between Time and Temper The Connection Between Time and Temper The Connection Between Time and Temper By Mark Nichol The Latin noun tempus, meaning â€Å"season† or â€Å"time,† is the source of time and other words pertaining to chronological measurement, but it is also the origin of terms associated with literal and figurative measurement in general as well as some that have related meanings, as detailed in this post. Tempus is borrowed directly into English only in the phrase â€Å"tempus fugit,† an abridgement of a quotation from the Roman philosopher Virgil; it translates to â€Å"Time flies,† commenting on ephemerality or expressing impatience. Tempo comes directly from Italian and refers in English to the speed at which music is performed or to the rate of any rhythmic activity. Temporary means â€Å"lasting only for a time† and has developed into a noun referring to someone hired temporarily; this usage is often abbreviated to temp. Contemporary, meaning â€Å"characteristic of the present† or â€Å"modern,† literally means â€Å"with time.† Extempore (literally, â€Å"out of time† and pronounced â€Å"extempory†), formally means â€Å"without preparation or time to prepare† but has the additional connotation of â€Å"spontaneously.† It serves primarily as an adverb but can also be used as an adjective or a noun, although extemporaneous is the preferable adjectival form. To temporize, meanwhile, is literally to conform to the time by adopting to an established opinion, or to draw out discussion or negotiation to gain time, while temporal refers to that which pertains to time, not space, to measurable time as opposed to eternity, or to secular rather than sacred matters, or pertains to a specific time or to the sequence of time. A contretemps- the word is borrowed from the French term contre-temps (literally, â€Å"against time†)- originally described an error in fencing, from the notion of poor timing, and now refers to an argument or an embarrassment. Tense, referring to the form of a verb showing time, comes from the Old French word tens, which derives from tempus. (The sense of tense that means â€Å"strained† or â€Å"rigid† is unrelated; it is akin to thin.) The noun temper, meaning â€Å"composure,† â€Å"disposition,† or â€Å"passion,† as well as â€Å"courage† or â€Å"tone† (as in â€Å"the temper of the times†), or pertaining to the state of a substance, such as the feel of leather or the resilience of steel- and the verb temper, meaning â€Å"moderate,† or â€Å"attune† or â€Å"toughen†- is derived from the Latin verb temperare, meaning â€Å"moderate,† which is likely related to the original sense of tempus, which may be â€Å"stretch.† The Latin verb is also the source of temperature, which pertains both literally to relative heat or cold or figuratively to mood or emotional heat. (To say that someone is â€Å"running a temperature† means that the person’s body heat is abnormally warm.) The sense of temple that pertains to the area to either side of the forehead derives from the â€Å"stretch† sense of tempus, but the meaning â€Å"sacred building† is unrelated. Tempest, meaning â€Å"storm,† is from the â€Å"season† sense of the Latin term, as is the adjective tempestuous, which describes not only a literal storm but also turbulent behavior or a stormy relationship. The idiom â€Å"tempest in a teapot† refers to an event treated out of proportion to its (in)significance. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your StoryAwoken or Awakened?The 7 Types of Possessive Case

What is mentoring at work What benefits may the mentor derive from Essay

What is mentoring at work What benefits may the mentor derive from such a process Illustrate your answer with suitable examples - Essay Example velopment, acquirement of inter-personal skills, problem solving skills, collaboration and teamwork as well as open mindedness among other positive aspects that are important for enhancement of performance. The purpose of this paper is to assess critically the meaning of mentoring at work and to assess the benefits that a mentor derives from workplace mentorship. Mentoring is a practice that involves sharing of knowledge, experience, facts as well as the point of view by a person to promote personal and career development in another individual. At work, mentoring involves maintaining a positive attitude towards work as well as developing problem solving skills among the less experienced employees to enhance the accomplishment of organizational goals. A mentor is usually an experienced worker in an organization who understands the organizational processes and is competent in problem solving (Ragins, 2007). Zachary (2005) states that, â€Å"satisfaction is one of the major benefits of mentors†. In essence, humans tend to be inclined towards helping others as a sign of social responsibility. Material benefits may not be achieved, but the mentor tends to feel esteemed when successful individuals associate their accomplishments with him/her. When a person acts as a mentor, there is a high possibility of developing a new perspective in regard to approaching issues in the workplace. The mentor gains a sense of worth on the realization that the knowledge he/she has acquired over many years is valuable not only to the organization, but also to another person who will possibly pass it over to a third person in future. In essence, he/she becomes a legendary employee in the organization whose legacy is admired by many. Willingen (2000) observes that talent is preserved in an organization, which is an indicator of success for the mentor. Moreover, the mentor understands concepts better as he/she engages in problem solving through workplace mentoring (Ensher & Murphy 2005).

Treatment of Schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Treatment of Schizophrenia - Essay Example Disorganization of speech - It is a condition when person shows inconsistency in his speech. Usually this develops due to thinking disorder. Affected person can speak very fast or can frequently change topics in between sentences or can say sentences with words but no meaning (word salad). Genetic reasons, prenatal exposure to infections, social life style and some times use of drugs can develop schizophrenia. Two types of genetic disorders can be assigned with schizophrenia. One is deletion or duplication of copy number variant (i.e. very small DNA sequences) from genes responsible for the development of brain and neural signaling (Walsh et al. 2008). The other is some complex interaction of some unspecific genes through linkage i.e. when some genes co-occur then only their expressions develop the disorder (Owen et al. 2005). Early developments in neurological stages are considered to be most critical for the development of the disorder. Prenatal exposure to infection can be a major cause. Studies also have suggested that the pathology of development within uterus and development of the conditions are linked together (Brown, 2006). Socio-economic conditions can also become causes for schizophrenia. Generally these are racial discrimination, poverty, unemployment, poor living, experience of trauma in juvenile condition, relationship disorder in parents, etc (Mueser et al. 2004), (Selten et al. 2007). Drugs A huge number of Schizophrenics or similar type of patients remains under medication for a prolonged period. So, it is hard to analyze if use of drug causes schizophrenia or the use of drugs develops due to the disorder. A meta-analysis estimated that increase in the dose of cannabis could develop behavioral disorders like schizophrenia (Moore et al. 2007). Mechanism of schizophrenia Patho-physiological mechanism Many psychological researches have been conducted to determine the development of schizophrenia. Many psychological researches have been conducted to determine the development of schizophrenia. Schizophrenic conditions shows reduced thalamic neural number and volume of cortical gray matter. Reduction in cortical volume followed by early gestational

The end of a week Essay Example for Free

The end of a week Essay Basically, weekend, as the term suggests, is the end of a week. More elaborately, it is suggest that certain period between the close of one working or school week and the beginning of the forthcoming week. To be more specific, weekend for me, is that two consecutive days that stretches from Friday night to Sunday evening where you can go out on a long trip or go on shopping or just bum around because there is neither work nor school. Before reading the essay â€Å"Weekend†, it wasn’t my idea that the word and the day designated as weekend evolved since I thought it was a universal, time-old designation to end a week and a fixed day on any year or generation. Upon reading the essay, I was amazed on the way the author believes a weekend should be like. Also, the essay made me wonder who designates the days to be considered as weekend and how the idea of creating your own weekend came about. Author Witold Rybczynski in the essay â€Å"Weekend† focused more on the origin of the modern weekend. His main idea on the essay is about the development of leisure in our lives and the idea of taking the time off from work or school. In delivering his main point in the essay, Ryzbczynski discussed briefly the evolution of the word weekend and develops his thought of having genuine time-off from work by pointing out how our present weekend is designated or scheduled by people themselves or even by the state through proclamation of holidays that creates long weekends. The creation of do-it yourself holiday, meaning scheduling your own holiday for a trip or for a family or other recreational activities, to his mind takes away the real idea or the traditional meaning of weekends which is founded more on leisure and doing nothing, aimless and being just idle. To cite an example of the author’s main idea of the development of the weekend, Rybczynski first illustrate how the word weekend changed over the years. At first, it was a two word connected by a hyphen, then it loses the hyphen and slowly becomes a sort of metaphor in greeting people to wish the other of an enjoyable rest days. Another example given by the author showing changes to what is now known as the weekend is his discussion on how Sunday, which is then the beginning of a week, became the last day thereof in order to accommodate our work and other activities. Lastly, he also mentions how people nowadays designate or create their own weekend living the traditional designated weekend behind. In designating and creating their own weekend, the author believes that the weekend has lost its meaning making the same as just like a regular work day that has the same conformity of all-in-a-days-work. In this generation where people are driven by their interest and needs at the same time, I believe that the whole idea of the author no longer applies. The essay, to my mind no longer have relevance as people of today’s generation find jobs that are fulfilling and somehow provides leisure while doing their work. The present set-up no longer depicts a situation where people hurry are doing work just for the sake of money but rather at present times, people work because they are driven by their interests, hobbies and even beliefs thus making one’s work no longer burdensome and thus, people no longer rush to their houses for the weekend just to lie down and be idle. Idling, in its literal sense, I believe is no longer possible inasmuch as modern technology like computers, internets, game consoles and the like will often finds its way in our schedule during weekends. With regard to the author’s idea of designating or creating your own long weekend, I believe that there is really nothing wrong with that. People have comfort zones and if a certain day is the most comfortable day for him to relax and consider his weekend, then let it be. Focusing more on the idea of relaxation, though not necessarily by idling, than the day of weekend is far better to suit the taste of today’s world. Reference Rybczynski, Witold. Waiting for the Weekend (1991), pp. 321.

J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings - Frodo Baggins as a Christ-Fi

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - Frodo Baggins as a Christ-Figure J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has delighted readers since its publication owing to its author's skillful development of his fantastic realm and its inhabitants adventures therein. In fact, Tolkien is rightly regarded as the father of the modern fantasy genre, and it often seems all fantasy imitates his work in some way. However, as readers return to the work, it often becomes apparent that the work is more than a simple escapist journey into an imaginary world; the work represents the finest traditions in literature and rich grounding in Tolkien's study of language and mythology. Equally surprising, though, Tolkien himself admits that the series is a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work†¦"[1] To the casual reader, Middle-Earth, the setting, seems a world devoid of religious practice, Christian or otherwise. Unsurprisingly, Tolkien added that the religious aspect about which he spoke appeared "unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision," and that "the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."[2] Therefore, an investigation into probable sources of Christian symbolism leads to questions of characterization and its most obvious target: Frodo Baggins, a Christ-figure. The protagonist of the story, Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit, a small humanoid creature, short in stature and big in appetite. As soon as Tolkien introduces him in the first chapter, Frodo's status as a Christ figure emerges: "Anyway: there was this Mr. Frodo left an orphan and stranded," gossip Frodo's new neighbors when his uncle Bilbo adopts the him.[3] immediately, Frodo possesses two important characteristic of any Christ ... ...ery land of Mordor, conquering an evil which seems far greater than himself. In doing so, Frodo makes up for carelessness of the nations of Middle-Earth who in their sloth allowed the evil to rise up, despite forewarning of the danger. In all these things, there exist clear similarities with Christ who undertakes a similar goal, vanquishing the evil of sin from the world with total selflessness, compassion, and determination. In the end, Frodo admits admirably, "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved†¦."[6] [1] Tolkien, J.R.R.. "To Robert Murray, S.J." 2 December 1953. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1981) 172. [2] Ibid. [3] Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1954) 31. [4] Ibid, 217. [5] Ibid, 309. [6] Ibid, 309.

Hiv Prevention

HIV/AIDS LIFE SKILLS – EDC 121 – TONI SYLVESTER Nataniel P. Marthinus Student Nr. 3142910 Assignment 1 Due Date: 01 March 2011 INTRODUCTION1 Eight Fundamental considerations or steps to be followed before and after administering a blood test for HIV. 1 Voluntary Counseling & Testing1 Food and Nutrition1 Prevention & Onward Transmission of HIV1 Follow-up Counseling1 Stigma & Discrimination2 Spiritual Support2 Sexually Transmitted Infections2 Palliative Care2 Strategies for the provision of HIV-related Treatment, care and support services2Ensuring the continuation of education (EDC121 Course Reader: 41)2 Providing psychosocial support for children (EDC121 Course Reader: 42)2 Treatment education at school2 Successful school-based HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support programmes3 Caring School Environment3 Child Centered Programmes3 Build on existing services3 Community Involvement3 The UNAIDS (2000) article4 Demographic effects4 Health effects4 Family-life effects4 Welfare effects4 Education effects4 UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS5 REFERENCES6 INTRODUCTION HIV/AIDS is the fastest growing epidemic here in Africa.In fact, the virus is so widespread you will find people with the virus all over the world. According to statistics in November 2007, people living with HIV & AIDS around the world are the most in Africa. It also shows that the disease occurs mostly around infants who acquire the virus from their mother. (EDC121 Course Reader: 55). I will be discussing various topics concerning the virus. Eight Fundamental considerations or steps to be followed before and after administering a blood test for HIV. Voluntary Counseling & TestingThrough counseling and knowledge of the virus, it could help a person with following a healthy lifestyle so that he or she can live longer and prevent other infections. People who learn that they are negative could learn to change their behavior towards people living with the virus. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Food and Nutrition Goo d nutrition only cannot keep a person permanently healthy. Nevertheless it may help lengthen the lifespan of a person living with HIV. Nutrition plays a huge role in the medication process of a person living with HIV. It can also increase the risk of HIV transmission from mother to baby. EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Prevention & Onward Transmission of HIV Counseling on sexual behavior is advised. Provide condoms and must have a supportive environment. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Follow-up Counseling HIV affects all aspects of a person’s life. It can help someone understand, live with and accept their status. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Stigma & Discrimination Stigma is fueled by mythical concepts. Thus it is a barrier to prevent future infections and further treatment. Communities have a various concepts around AIDS and how the virus is spread.This indicates a lack of knowledge and understanding towards the disease. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Spiritual Support Support from spiritu al leaders and priests may be comforting. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Sexually Transmitted Infections STI co-contribute to HIV transmission. If treated, it can help reduce AIDS spread through sexual intercourse and can keep a person healthier for longer. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Palliative Care Because of a lack of health infrastructure there are insufficient Palliative care institutes for people who are approaching the end of their lives.Palliative care provides comfort and support for people who are terminally ill and helps people die a comfortable death. (EDC121 Course Reader: 37) Strategies for the provision of HIV-related Treatment, care and support services Ensuring the continuation of education (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Providing psychosocial support for children (EDC121 Course Reader: 42) Treatment education at school HIV-positive learners and educators will need support in their workplace and the learning environment so that they can get treatment whilst on school grounds .Here are a few related issues: * Treatment support for HIV-positive students; * Support for students and teachers to visit medical centers for checkups; * How the affects of the treatment will impact on the learner and educators ability to teach and learn; * Adapting to the curricula of HIV & AIDS so that the learners and teachers wont teach information that is out of date; * Educating students about treatment and the harm caused caused by stigma and discrimination so that they can give better support to their parents and families. (EDC121 Course Reader: 43) * Home-based care and educationAcross Southern Africa, in many schools students and teachers are providing outreach work to support the community members. This support can be categorized as follows: * Learners supporting sick members of the community; * Educators proving home-based educations to sick students. (EDC121 Course Reader: 43) * Universal precautions (EDC121 Course Reader: 44) * Support for basic needs (EDC121 Course Reader: 44) * Teaching livelihood skills (EDC121 Course Reader: 45) * Social grants (EDC121 Course Reader: 45) Successful school-based HIV/AIDS treatment, care and support programmes Caring School Environment It is a work-based policy based on the rights of children. * The recreation of opportunities for staff and students. (EDC121 Course Reader: 46) Child Centered Programmes * Policies reflecting a rights-based approach. * Children and young people should be involved in the design and carrying out of the programmes. (EDC121 Course Reader: 46) Build on existing services * Uniting HIV elements with existing policies rather than letting it stand alone. (EDC121 Course Reader: 46) Community Involvement * Policies that are developed with close consultation with members of the community. Strategy development including more help of men in the care and support system. * Socioculturally sensitive policies without compromising the shared fundamental traits of the programme. (EDC121 Course Rea der: 46) The UNAIDS (2000) article Demographic effects Half of South Africa’s population are children and more then 60% of them live in poverty. Because there is an association between poverty levels and HIV infection, this percentage can serve as a figure for the number of children with AIDS. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Health effects Children that lives in an infected community struggles with ill health and poor nutrition.In rural areas children’s nutritional status suffers because they are dependant on household labour. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Family-life effects The household traditional structures is changing in communities that are affected and children that are vulnerable need to adapt to the demands of a non-traditional family and further deepening poverty. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Welfare effects Economically families and households are very hard hit by this. Because of illnesses and poor health productive family members they are often unable to work.Famil ies are poor and are more vulnerable by the cost of illness and care. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Education effects Poor attendance in school already characterizes the landscape of South African education. HIV-infected children do not want to go public with their status. They do not want to feel ashamed at school. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Psychosocial effects Children’s psychosocial hardship and emotional shock is often not as visible as other problems but central importance. There are various difficult challenges that children have to face such as grief, loss of identity, stigma, rejection, death, etc. EDC121 Course Reader: 41) Orphanhood effects Disrupted families and death of parents and close relatives have created a huge number of abandoned South African children. By some calculations the number of orphans will have grown 9-12% of the countries population by 2015. (EDC121 Course Reader: 41) UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS Precautions basically include: – Caring for wounds- Have emergency supplies on hand – Cleaning up blood spills- Gloves – Safely disposing of medical supplies- Medicines (EDC121 Course Reader: 44) REFERENCES EDC121 Course Reader, 2011

Gay Ane Lesbian Exam Being Worked

gay and lesbian marriage i do not think the law should or shouldent be passed but i had to chose one and if they want to be happy why cant the get married. Australia currently bans recognition of same sex marriage although as of 2011 the federal labour party government officially changed its position to allow a vote on the same sex marriage despite Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s opposition to such a vote. ne main reason people are against it is because they might want a child and people think that the child will grow up in a unstable environment because studies have show that a heterosexual relationship/marriage last 20 years or longer with many wedded for life. a vast majority of homosexual relations are temporary. In 2008 a study of 390 gay and lesbian people Victorians found that 1 in 7 reported fear of violence. This fear is justified in that nearly 85 precent of respondents has been subjected to some form of homophobic violence in their life time.Homophobia is a fear of h omosexuality; some people are threatened by people who have other sexual preferences than their own. gay and lesbian marriage today i am here to talk to u about one of the dabates that the australian goverment are having the one about same sex marriage rights. i belive that the law should be accepted because people can not help who they fall in love,some spectics think that gay marriage will lead to more devorces but accoding to Divorceform. org 74% of the population gets devorced every year but that is only the heterosexual couples.

Modern American History essay

Modern American History essay Modern American History essay Modern American History essayRecently, the interest in the social history, including everyday life, is rapidly growing in our society. Thus, I am going to imagine my life during World War II, as well as to describe it with some details.Firstly, I want to mention that the war abruptly changed the lives of the country’s population, showing that life is not as simple as it was previously and it depends on many occasional factors. I feel that something wrong has happened with me because such feelings as stability and confidence in the future disappeared from my life. For instance, the war makes me to be worried about the life of my family members, relatives, friends and citizens of my native country. My visits to public places give me a possibility to know everything about the events around, but I feel a constant worry about the future of my family, and it makes me rather nervous. Of course, there is a hope that everything will be good but observing fast development of war industr y, I realize that all projectiles are created to destroy cities, to kill people and to influence the world around. So, my life during World War II is full of hardships because nobody can stay calm when many people are suffering, loosing their lives, homes and prospects for better life.Franklin Roosevelt came to power in a most difficult time for the country in the midst of the Great Depression that threatened the country with complete financial, economic and social collapse. Moreover, overproduction crisis led to a drop in the share price, thousands of businesses and banks were closed across the country; people remained homeless and they started different strikes. Taking into account all the facts, Roosevelt was able to act boldly due to his iron will and incomparable endurance. For instance, he started to implement a set of measures in the field of socio-economic policies, named â€Å"New Deal,† immediately after assuming the White House. In the first hundred days of his pr esidency, he has undertaken a number of important measures to restore the banking system, agriculture and industry. Franklin Roosevelt provided direct social benefits, launched a broad program for employment in state-building, introduced unemployment insurance and old age pension. So, compared with the policy of his predecessors, all the actions of a new president sounded almost revolutionary. Of course, the actions and reforms of Roosevelt cannot be limited by the above mentioned list, but even such a little amount of described Roosevelt’s activities allows to claim that this person has changed the history of the USA forever. Thus, I agree with the statement that Franklin Roosevelt is a great President.3.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every event has two sides and the 1920s were not only â€Å"Roaring,† but they also had a dark side. For instance, Prohibition gave a fast rise to the mafia and such a fact led to a very big increase in a state of crime during that decade. Moreover, a lot of industries (such as textiles or coal mining) were rapidly dying out and workers lost their jobs; it led to the development of some percent of poor people because not all people shared in prosperity. Another problem was associated with the Red Scare which was seen as a kind of popular international communist conspiracy that took an active part in many protest movements and even in union activities. It was also times of the increasing activities of the Ku Klux Klan, and this organization was terrorizing foreigners, blacks, Jews and Roman Catholics. And finally, agricultural sector was affected by low incomes because changes in the US economy led to the world overproduction and falling food prices. Thus, a dark side of the 1920s demonstrated us that incomes were not equally distributed Modern American History essay Modern American History essay Modern American History essayRecently, the interest in the social history, including everyday life, is rapidly growing in our society. Thus, I am going to imagine my life during World War II, as well as to describe it with some details.Firstly, I want to mention that the war abruptly changed the lives of the country’s population, showing that life is not as simple as it was previously and it depends on many occasional factors. I feel that something wrong has happened with me because such feelings as stability and confidence in the future disappeared from my life. For instance, the war makes me to be worried about the life of my family members, relatives, friends and citizens of my native country. My visits to public places give me a possibility to know everything about the events around, but I feel a constant worry about the future of my family, and it makes me rather nervous. Of course, there is a hope that everything will be good but observing fast development of war industr y, I realize that all projectiles are created to destroy cities, to kill people and to influence the world around. So, my life during World War II is full of hardships because nobody can stay calm when many people are suffering, loosing their lives, homes and prospects for better life.Franklin Roosevelt came to power in a most difficult time for the country in the midst of the Great Depression that threatened the country with complete financial, economic and social collapse. Moreover, overproduction crisis led to a drop in the share price, thousands of businesses and banks were closed across the country; people remained homeless and they started different strikes. Taking into account all the facts, Roosevelt was able to act boldly due to his iron will and incomparable endurance. For instance, he started to implement a set of measures in the field of socio-economic policies, named â€Å"New Deal,† immediately after assuming the White House. In the first hundred days of his pr esidency, he has undertaken a number of important measures to restore the banking system, agriculture and industry. Franklin Roosevelt provided direct social benefits, launched a broad program for employment in state-building, introduced unemployment insurance and old age pension. So, compared with the policy of his predecessors, all the actions of a new president sounded almost revolutionary. Of course, the actions and reforms of Roosevelt cannot be limited by the above mentioned list, but even such a little amount of described Roosevelt’s activities allows to claim that this person has changed the history of the USA forever. Thus, I agree with the statement that Franklin Roosevelt is a great President.3.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every event has two sides and the 1920s were not only â€Å"Roaring,† but they also had a dark side. For instance, Prohibition gave a fast rise to the mafia and such a fact led to a very big increase in a state of crime during that decade. Moreover, a lot of industries (such as textiles or coal mining) were rapidly dying out and workers lost their jobs; it led to the development of some percent of poor people because not all people shared in prosperity. Another problem was associated with the Red Scare which was seen as a kind of popular international communist conspiracy that took an active part in many protest movements and even in union activities. It was also times of the increasing activities of the Ku Klux Klan, and this organization was terrorizing foreigners, blacks, Jews and Roman Catholics. And finally, agricultural sector was affected by low incomes because changes in the US economy led to the world overproduction and falling food prices. Thus, a dark side of the 1920s demonstrated us that incomes were not equally distributed

The Ethics of Lying

The Ethics of Lying Is lying ever morally permissible? While lying can be seen as a threat to civil society, there seem to be several instances in which lying seems the most intuitively moral option. Besides, if a sufficiently broad definition of lying is adopted, it seems utterly impossible to escape lies, either because of instances of self-deception or because of the social construction of our persona. Let’s look more closely into those matters. What lying is, first of all, is controversial. Recent discussion of the topic has identified four standard conditions for lying, but none of them seems to actually work. Keeping in mind the difficulties in providing an exact definition of lying, let’s start facing the foremost moral question regarding it: Should lying always be despised? A Threat to Civil Society? Lying has been seen as a threat to civil society by authors such as Kant. A society that tolerates lies – the argument goes – is a society in which trust is undermined and, with it, the sense of collectivity. In the United States, where lying is regarded as a major ethical and legal fault, the trust in government may well be greater than in Italy, where lying is far more tolerated. Machiavelli, among others, used to reflect on the importance of trust centuries ago. Yet, he also concluded that deceiving is, in some cases, the best option. How can that be? White Lies A first, less controversial sort of cases in which lying is tolerated includes so-called white lies. In some circumstances, it seems better to tell a small lie than having someone worrying unnecessarily, or becoming sad, or losing momentum. While actions of this sort seem hard to endorse from the standpoint of Kantian ethics, they provide one of the most clear-cut arguments in favor of Consequentialism. Lying for a Good Cause Famed objections to the Kantian absolute moral ban of lying, however, come also from the consideration of more dramatic scenarios. Here is one type of scenario. If by telling a lie to some Nazi soldiers during World War II, you could have saved someone’s life, without any other additional harm being inflicted, it seems that you ought to have lied. Or, consider the situation in which someone outraged, out of control, asks you where she can find an acquaintance of yours so that she can kill that acquaintance; you know where the acquaintance is and lying will help your friend calm down: should you tell the truth? Once you start thinking about it, there are plenty of circumstances where lying seems to be morally excusable. And, indeed, it is typically morally excused. Now, of course, there is a problem with this: who is to say whether the scenario excuses you from lying? Self-Deception There are plenty of circumstances in which humans seem to convince themselves of being excused from taking a certain course of action when, to the eyes of their peers, they actually are not. A good part of those scenarios may involve that phenomenon called self-deception. Lance Armstrong may have just provided one of the starkest cases of self-deception we can offer. Yet, who is to say that you are self-deceiving yourself? By wanting to judge the morality of lying, we may have led ourselves into one of the most difficult skeptical lands to traverse. Society as a Lie Not only lying may be seen as the outcome of self-deception, perhaps an involuntary outcome. Once we broaden our definition for what a lie may be, we come to see that lies are deep-seated in our society. Clothing, makeup, plastic surgeries, ceremonials: plenty of aspects of our culture are ways of masking how certain things would appear. Carnival is perhaps the festivity that best deals with this fundamental aspect of human existence. Before you condemn all lying, hence, think again.​ Source The Entry on the Definition of Lying and Deception at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy​.

Summarise and critically review the RationalEmotive model of Essay

Summarise and critically review the RationalEmotive model of psychological therapy - Essay Example This therapy helps the patients to recognize the difference between the two negative emotions. The Rational-Emotive Behavioural Therapy was proposed by Albert Ellis in 1955. Albert Ellis belonged to the psychoanalysis branch of psychology, but after noticing that the traditional techniques of helping individuals resolve their negative emotions took too long he developed a significant approach in solving their problems. He named it REBT (Rational-Emotive Behavioural Therapy). This technique can be differentiated from the other psychoanalysis methods due to its unique philosophy that an individual has the power to change and influence their beliefs and philosophy in order to gain mastery over themselves. Using their own thoughts patients following the REBT can radically change their mental health and break loose of traumatic situations. (Mulhauser, 2008) REBT employs the ABC Framework. The "A" stands for the Activating event. The activation event includes the actual event and more importantly the individual's immediate interpretation of it. The same event may trigger different emotions in different people. Some people may react to a death in the family by accepting the event whereas others may retreat into a protective shell avoiding the truth. The "B" stands for Beliefs. The beliefs of an individual are moulded by his experiences and related to their capacity of comprehending the event. Whether one takes a Rational Approach to the event or an Irrational Approach to analyzing the event relies solely on the individual's own beliefs. The last stage recognized in the framework is the Consequences. In the last stage of the framework a person actually reaches an opinion. In this stage he builds either a Healthy Negative Emotion or an Unhealthy Negative Emotion. Keeping the framework in mind a summarized version of events leading to the Consequences is discussed. A negative event occurs (stage A). The person can either have a Rational Approach to analyse the event which would lead to a Healthy Negative Emotion which is not a cause for concern. On the other hand he may take an Irrational Approach to analyse the event which would lead to an Unhealthy Negative Emotion. The main therapeutic technique relies on helping the individual realize that everything, even his emotions and beliefs are under his control. (REBTN, 2006) THE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO REBT The basic technique applied by psychoanalysts using the REBT technique is the moulding of the client's absolutist philosophies. The main aim is to modify dysfunctional emotions and to help the client recognize the beliefs and attitudes which bring the unwanted states and to change them into positive emotions. The most unique element of this therapeutic technique is that therapy can still take place even after sessions have ended with psychiatrists as this approach helps individuals deal with themselves and accept themselves and their problems. (PsychNet) APPRAISALS OF REBT As mentioned earlier one of the positive aspect of REBT is that it is an effective way of helping out the client even after the sessions are over. Since it bestows the client with self belief he can not only handle the present problem but can face any future challenge as well. It provides an individual with the self control he requires to manage his everyday life and problems. Another reason stated by clients using REBT is that it

Real Estate and Recession Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Real Estate and Recession - Research Paper Example This is what happened in United States before the global financial crisis. The values of houses touched the peaks during the year 2006 which begin to rapidly decline during 2006-2007. Now let us discuss some of the causes which led to the burst of housing bubble. The housing tax policy as discussed in taxpayer relief act of 1997 encouraged people to invest in housing rather than stocks and other types of investments. There were not enough regulations in place to have a proper check and balance on such housing investments. The use of mandated loans is considered another cause of the burst of housing bubble. Then the federal bank also lowered interest rates while the rise of houses was not uniform in all regions of United States. The Americans used to believe that investing in houses is a secured investment and they even preferred to become owners of their houses. There were many marketing campaigns being run to encourage people to invest in real estate. This encourages more and more p eople to invest. However, the high values of houses were later followed by decline in prices which busted the bubble. The housing bubble affected the U.S economy in various ways. Millions of new houses were built and sold. The share prices and revenues of big construction companies reached to the peak and made millions as a result. There was a large increase in mortgage equity withdrawals which usually include loans for home equity and cash out refinancing. The housing bubble led to the recession in United States which was the worst after great depression. Many Americans were forced to migrate from the expensive metropolitan areas due to price variation in different regions on United States. The subprime mortgage crisis was one of the most important reasons which led to the global financial crisis. This was due to the result of delinquencies and foreclosures in subprime mortgages. Then it was followed by the decline in value of these securities backed by the underlying mortgages. Th e financial crisis and recession has not ended yet. Financial experts believe that the slow growth will continue till the end of year 2012. The entire world in interconnected and the United States is bound to suffer due to the events and happenings across different countries. Since the start of financial crisis, the federal government has been taken serious effects to avoid this in future. However, there are few things which need to be emphasized. There must be some lender of the last resort such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) who can come for help whenever needed. Unfortunately, IMF doesn’t have this job role or enough resources to handle such situations. This needs to be raised during the coming IMF meetings. Then there is need of regulations which can protect the organizations from taking excessive risk. The leverage ratios can also be put in some limit in order to estimate the damage by the shock. The federal bank should put special efforts to control the growing po wers of big firms which can even negatively affect the situation. The firms and even government institutions should pay special consideration while extending credit to borrowers. The credit history of prospective buyers needs to be checked before giving them loans. In order to avoid mortgage crisis, Federal Deposition Insurance Corporation (FDIC) came out with loan work out model. This model was introduced with the

International Accounting Standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Accounting Standards - Essay Example Many instances were reported by the relevant stakeholders, where the management had concealed liabilities by classifying a lease as an operating lease where it should have been classified as a Finance lease based on the economic reality. To cater these issues IASB drafted and enforced a proper standard â€Å"Accounting for leases†. As the objective indicates, the standard has been divided into two main sections, Operating Lease and Finance Lease. This particular classification has been based on the transfer of risk and rewards of the underlying asset to lessee or lessor. Further aspects distinguishing the leases are discussed below in detail. The scope of the standard proposes it's non – applicability on the following areas: â€Å"Leases to explore minerals, oils, natural gas and similar non-generative resources; Licensing agreements for items as motion picture films, video recordings, manuscripts, patents and copyrights (because they are under scope of IAS 38). IAS 17 shall not be applied as the basis for measurement for leases discussed under IAS 40 (Investment property) and IAS 41 (biological assets). The standard will not apply to contract of services that do not transfer the right to use assets from one contracting party to the other†. (Financedoctors, n.d.) The standard has been further segregated into two aspects. ... In the books of the Bank, it will appear as an Investment held as finance lease with its relating receivables. The classification is explained below in further detail with the criteria defined by the standard as to when a lease is described as a Finance Lease. (Deloitte, 2012) Let's consider the implications of a Lease agreement from the perspective of Lessee. An operating lease is fairly simple to understand and account for. Lease payments under an operating lease arrangement are documented as an expense in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. The distribution of expense is usually done on a straight line basis over the lease term, unless a more logical basis provides a better representation. In the case of operating lease, the asset is not recognised by the lessee in his books of accounts. Instead the asset remains the property of the Lessor, and only used by the lessee in exchange for rentals, recognised as expense for the lessee. (Deloitte, 2012; BPP, 2012) Finance lease become s a little tricky to curtail. As under a finance lease agreement the asset is recognised in the books of the Lessee and subsequently depreciation is charged for the asset in the books of Lessee. Simultaneously, a liability is constructed in the Lessees books in relation to the leased asset. The classification is subject to certain criteria laid down by the standard. An asset is classified as a finance lease subject to the agreements economic reality rather than its legal form. The main factor to be considered is the transfer of risk and rewards. (Deloitte, 2012; BPP, 2012) Circumstances that would lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease are; â€Å"transfer of ownership to lessee at the end of lease term, the Bargain Purchase Option at the end of lease term,

Competition in the Construction Industry: Laing O’Rourke

Competition in the Construction Industry: Laing O’Rourke Select one construction firm and explain the nature of competition in its specific market sector and discuss how it may be advised to secure contracts for future work. Laing O’Rourke is the United Kingdom’s largest privately owned construction firm; it operates internationally across a variety of different sectors within the construction industry. Formerly known as R. O’Rourke Son until its takeover of Laing Construction in 2001, Laing O’Rourke is one of the leading construction firms in the UK. The firm has a strong standing in sectors including, building, transport, power, water and utilities, mining, oil and gas. (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). This firm operates heavily in the private sector, with investments from large scale hotel operators, for example the Atlantis hotel, The Palm, Dubai; to football stadium developments, such as the recent expansion of the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. (Prior, 2014). Laing O’Rourke also engages in a substantial amount of work in the public sector, (Laing O’Rourke, 2014) however over recent years the borders between the private sector and public sector have been blurred to a point where often only a specification is given by the public sector client and the financing, design, build and maintenance is taken on by the private sector firm (Myers, 2013). This method’s popularity has soared over the last 20 years mainly due to the dwindling amount of capital readily available to the public sector and also to the public sectors keenness to utilise as much of the firm’s specialist expertise and experience. This method of public sector and private sector partnership (Myers, 2013) is known as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and is often used for projects such as schools, infrastructure, and hospitals. All types of developments which Laing O’Rourke has recently undertaken. The contracts run for roughly 25 – 30 ye ars (Myers, 2013) and so capitalises on the strengths of both sectors; the specifications and requirements coming from the public sector client, and the development and maintenance aspects being handled by the private sector firm. Because the private sector firm has had to invest its own assets into the PFI project, the public sector client pays an annual charge to the private sector firm or can allow the firm to retain any profits made from the operation (Myers, 2013). This method legally ties the contractor to the project and thus greatly increases the likelihood of the firm delivering a high quality product. As they are responsible for the maintenance and running costs, (Myers, 2013) it is in the firms best interests to create a product which will not require a great deal of additional financial input to maintain. Laing O’Rourke operates across most aspects of what Myers (2013) considers to be the broad definition of the construction industry. This ranges from suppliers of basic materials to the providers of services such as transportation and demolition (Myers, 2013). Laing O’Rourke as a whole are capable of operating across such an expanse of sectors in the construction industry through the use of subsidiary companies. These are firms or departments which Laing O’Rourke has either created within the firm itself or purchased and brought under the Laing O’Rourke umbrella and allows for an entire construction project to be completed using only one large contractor, themselves, instead of having to hire in sub-contractors and other professionals. This has a number of advantages as it means that from day one there can be excellent communication between everyone involved and consistency with aspects such as quality, pricing, budget and time management (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). Most small firms specialise in a certain aspect of construction, such as building or civil engineering (Ive Gruneberg, 2000) but not usually a multitude of aspects. Laing O’Rourke is a major firm which owns different subsidiary companies within s ub-industries which are of particularly good use to the parent company. The firm currently owns a total of 17 subsidiaries (FAME, 2014). An example of this practise would be that if Laing O’Rourke were to purchase or develop a steel fabrication firm and bring it under its control then all the steel work could be sourced from that arm of the company and sent to site at internal reduced costs instead of paying a higher price for an independent firm to provide the resources. This allows for a substantial reduction in overall cost and lead time during the construction process and would no doubt have the potential to have a positive environmental effect. Laing O’Rourke have taken this practise a step further and have delved into the mining industry. They are responsible for some construction materials from their initial removal from the ground all the way up to their installation on site. Laing O’Rourke have been mining materials such as coal, iron ore, zinc, bauxite, alumina, diamond, and copper for over 40 years in Australia (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). Since Laing O’Rourke acquired Crown House Technologies and Barclay Mowlem in 2004 and 2006 respectively (Laing O’Rourke, 2014), they have completed some of the most recognisable and both culturally and economically significant building projects in the world. The firm was responsible for the construction works for the half a billion pound regeneration project known as Liverpool One, in Liverpool in 2008 to mark the city’s celebration as the European capital of culture. The project has been hailed as a great success, improved the local economy and transformed the image of the city almost in its entirety. (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). The size and range of Laing O’Rourke’s operations position the firm in a sector of the market which can be described as an oligopoly. Cooke (1996) wrote that â€Å"Oligopolistic industries are characterised by a small number of firms accounting for a large proportion (or all) of total output.† Laing O’Rourke is one of a relatively small number of firms that is responsible for a very large proportion of all construction work. This raises an interesting point as the industry is in fact dominated by a large number of small firms (Cooke, 1996). This is mainly due to the construction industry being location specific. The resources and materials for a project may all come from static factories, but the actual construction activity itself must always take place on the site itself, such is the nature of construction (Cooke, 1996). This is even the case where an entire building may be produced using prefabricated components, the actual coming together of the parts will happen on site. This is where a firm like Laing O’Rourke will utilise the smaller, more location specific firms to aid in their efforts. These smaller firms operate in an area of the market which could be described more as monopolistic competition, even bordering on perfect competition in places. Cooke (1996) describes monopolistic competition as: â€Å"Monopolistic competition exists when a large number of firms are operating in a particular market but, unlike perfect competition, each producer offers the customer a slightly differentiated product†¦ or when firms offering a similar product are located in different geographical areas† This oligopolistic competition at the top end of the construction industry has meant that the top 50 construction firms in the UK, sometimes even the top 10, are usually the same familiar names, granted they regularly overtake one another year to year as the market can often be volatile and firms can easily lose out financially if a project has not gone well. This was touched on earlier where most of the construction work carried out on a whole is actually by a small amount of large firms. Construction can be a very lucrative business even on a small scale. Therefore the amount of money passing through the accounts of a firm the size of Laing O’Rourke is phenomenal. This section will look into some aspects of the firm’s accounts, which are readily available to the public as the firm is a limited company. Parker (1999) states that all company balance sheets are built up from three main categories; assets, liabilities and shareholders’ funds. â€Å"Assets can be defined as rights or other access to future economic benefits controlled by a company as a result of past transactions or other events.† Current assets are assets which are to not be put back into the firm. This includes mainly cash, debtors and stocks (Parker, 1999). In contrast, fixed assets are assets which are to be used in the continued operations and growth of the firm. The total assets can be found by combining the fixed and current assets. The net assets can be found by subtracting the current liabilities from the total assets. Table 1. below shows the total assets and net assets for the years 2012 and 2013. Table 1. Balance Sheet – Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Total Assets  £255,100,000 +  £929,700,000 =  £1,184,800,000  £250,300,000 +  £970,000,000 =  £1,220,300,000 Net Assets  £1,184,800,000  £865,400,000 =  £319,400,000  £1,220,300,000  £914,400,000 =  £305,900,000 Source: FAME, 2014 It can be seen that the total assets have dropped from 2012 to 2013, however the fixed assets actually grew by  £4.7 million and the current assets dropped by  £40.3 million. This shows that more money was allocated to be put back into the company in 2013 than it was in 2012. The net assets show a growth of nearly  £15 million. Below; Table 2 shows similar look into another large construction firm Carillion. Table 2. Balance Sheet – Carillion 2013 2012 Total Assets  £1,952,900,000 +  £1,683,200,000 =  £3,636,100,000  £2,026,500,000 +  £1,834,800,000 =  £3,861,300,000 Net Assets  £3,636,100,000  £1,661,600,000 =  £1,974,500,000  £3,861,300,000  £1,688,400,000 =  £2,172,900,000 Source: FAME, 2014 This data shows a drop in fixed assets of about  £73 million and also a drop of about  £150 million current assets from 2012 to 2013, which shows that fewer assets were allocated in both sectors, so it is possible that the firm did not perform as well in 2013 as 2012. The net assets also show a drop over the time period. This is in contrast to Laing O’Rourke, who actually increased its overall assets. This does not mean though that Carillion have less assets than Laing O’Rourke, on the contrary, Carillion, even though the firm did not increase its assets over the year, do however still have about 6 times the amount of Laing O’Rourke. Gross profit can be found by deducting the turnover from the cost of sales. Profit margin ratio can be found by dividing the net profit before tax by the turnover and multiplying the answer by 100. Return on capital employed can be found by dividing the profit before tax by the capital employed and multiplying the answer by 100, as is shown in the table (3) below. Table 3. Profit and loss account Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Turnover  £1,640,100,000  £1,622,400,000 Cost of sales  £1,473,000,000  £1,448,700,000 Gross Profit  £1,640,100,000  £1,473,000,000 =  £167,100,000  £1,622,400,000  £1,448,700,000 =  £173,700,000 Net profit before tax  £21,500,000  £27,400,000 Profit Margin 1.31 1.69 Return on capital employed 6.73 8.96 Source: FAME, 2014 Table 4. Profit and loss account Carillion 2013 2012 Turnover  £3,332,600,000  £3,666,200,000 Cost of sales  £2,984,600,000  £3,279,400,000 Gross Profit  £3,332,600,000  £2,984,600,000 =  £348,000,000  £3,666,200,000  £3,279,400,000 =  £386,800,000 Net profit before tax  £110,600,000  £179,500,000 Profit Margin 3.32 4.90 Return on capital employed 5.60 8.26 Source: FAME, 2014 These figures clearly show us that in both firms the gross profit figures have fallen. Also the profit margin and return on capital gained has fallen in both cases. Both firms did however make a profit over both years and the figures show that Carillion’s profit margins and return on capital gained are significantly higher than those of Laing O’Rourke. Current ratio can be found by dividing the current assets by the current liabilities. Acid test ratio can be found by subtracting stock from the current assets and dividing the answer by the current liabilities. Also the efficiency ratio can be found by dividing turnover by the current assets. Table 5. Solvency efficiency – Laing O’Rourke 2013 2012 Current Assets  £929,700,000  £970,700,000 Current liabilities  £865,400,000  £914,400,000 Current ratio 1.07 1.06 Acid test ratio 0.92 0.87 Efficiency ratio 1.76 1.97 Source: FAME, 2014 Table 6. Solvency efficiency Carillion 2013 2012 Current Assets  £1,683,200,000  £1,834,800,000 Current liabilities  £3,636,100,000  £3,861,300,000 Current ratio 1.01 1.09 Acid test ratio 0.98 1.05 Efficiency ratio 1.98 2.00 Source: FAME, 2014 These figures show that both Laing O’Rourke and Carillion’s current ratio and acid test ratios are hovering around the 1:1 mark, but both firms display a reasonably high efficiency ratio. Laing O’Rourke are at the forefront of the construction industry with new ideas and methods with regards to reducing their impact on the environment. Their current methods include cutting carbon, eliminating waste, sourcing responsibly, and implementing a stringent environment policy that should see their impact on the environment be reduced significantly. Their greatest priority though is to eliminate all accidents through their ‘Mission Zero’ policy. This policy aims to eliminate all accidents resulting in the loss of one or more shifts by 2015 and to eliminate all accidents of any severity by 2020 (Laing O’Rourke, 2014). These efforts should go a long way to improving their performance along with eliminating the bad practices often associated with the industry. To provide success in the future the firm could aim to eliminate waste from their productions entirely and endeavour to not just become carbon neutral, but to become a ‘carbon negative’ firm that will actually help reverse the effects that the industry has on the environment. Also a continued development and implementation of Building Information Management (BIM) into their projects of all sizes up and down their supply line would further increase their effectiveness and efficiency as a firm (www.bim.construction.com, 2014). References BIM Construction (2014) Building Information Management. Available from: http://www.bim.construction.com/ [Accessed 22 April 2014] Cooke, A.J. (1996)Economics and Construction. Basingstoke: Macmillan. FAME Database Ive, G.J. and Gruneberg, S.L. (2000)The Economics of the Modern Construction Sector. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Laing O’Rourke (2014) Environment. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/responsibility/environment.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Health and Safety. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/responsibility/health-and-safety.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our History. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/who-we-are/our-history.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our Sectors. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/our-work/our-sectors/mining-and-natural-resources.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) Our Work. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/our-work.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Laing O’Rourke (2014) What We Do. Available from: https://www.laingorourke.com/what-we-do.aspx [Accessed 22 April 2014] Myers, D. (2013)Construction Economics: A New Approach[online]. 3rd ed. London: Routledge. [Accessed 22 April 2014]. Parker, R.H. (1999)Understanding Company Financial Statements. 5th ed. London: Penguin. Prior, G. (2014) Laing O’Rourke wins Man City stadium expansion. Available from: http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2014/03/31/laing-orourke-wins-man-city-stadium-expansion/ [Accessed 22 April 2014] Word Count 2002 Business Economics Management for Construction (UBIL6Y-20-1) Page 1 of 9 Competitive Advantage: Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair Competitive Advantage: Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair This report analyses how organisations can be strategically guided towards success. The report uses the strategic frameworks; the cultural web, the VRIO framework, the value chain and the the three levels of culture to identify how organisations achieve competitive advantage. Virgin Atlantic and Ryanairs strategies are then subject to scrutiny under these frameworks to identify, in reality, how this is achieved. Competitive Advantage and Distinctive Resources; The purpose of strategy is competitive advantage. Competitive advantage emerges when an organisation enforces a strategy that creates value that is not being achieved by its competitors (Henry, 2008). The advantage becomes sustainable when competitors cannot mirror the value creation of the strategy. A distinctive resource of an organisation can be defined as a resource that cannot be imitated by other organisations (Henry 2008). Strategic Planning; Vision, Values Mission A distinct characteristic of a successful organisation is clarity over what is to be achieved. A clear purpose can enthuse employees, managers and senior managers due to the similar values they may share (Scott Jaff, 1993). A vision is the desired state the organisation aspires to accomplish, values are the core principles of an organisation and the mission gives reason to why an organisation exists (Kaplan et al, 2008). They need to be clear and concise and easily understood by all levels of the firm. Carpenter and Porras (1996) emphasised why clarity of vision and mission hold importance they suggested employees who have a better understanding of the mission and vision are able to have a greater awareness of the organisations strategy and how it is implemented. Secondly an explanation is given to staff of how strategy helps achieve the vision and mission of the organisation. Finally they offer guidance to strategy development as they guide the strategy which guides the organisation. Values create the foundations of an organisation; what the company promotes within their working culture can greatly influence decisions on every level thus a companys strategy for the future will be formed around these core concepts and beliefs. They allow the formation of the organisations purpose; the fundamental reason for existence. Case Example: Ryanair Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair are successful airline companies who achieve competitive advantage in different ways. Ryanair is a concentrated low cost airline who offers a no frills service to customers. The strategy of Ryanair is to be a cost leader. The purpose of Ryanair is therefore to provide a cheap, no frills flight service that is profitable. Vision, Value and mission of Ryanair Vision To offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. Values Cost efficient = low fares low costs. Mission To firmly establish itself as Europes leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service. Source: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/Strategy.pdf (2013). Ryanair measures its success through profit. Ryanair recorded a jump in profits towards the end of 2012 which indicates that Ryanair is achieving its purpose (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20202579). Virgin Atlantic is a leisure airline who is able to diversify into unusual leisure routes and serve different demographic locations to Ryanair. The overall purpose of Virgin Atlantic is therefore to grow a profitable airline that focusses on business and leisure markets and the quality of service offered whilst empowering staff. Vision, Value and Mission of Virgin Atlantic Vision The success of our three year strategy requires us to build on these foundations by focussing on the business and leisure markets and driving efficiency and effectiveness. Values Caring, honest, value, fun, innovation. Mission To grow a profitable airline where people love to fly and people love to work. Source: Virgin Atlantic (2013) Virgin Atlantic measures it success through feedback from both staff and customers through effective feedback systems including 360 degree feedback. The feedback received is often positive and shows Virgin Atlantic is achieving its purpose of providing an airline where people love to fly and staff love to work (Virgin Atlantic, 2013). The above examples demonstrate how vision, values and mission statement underlie the purpose of an organisation and how combining the three together form the foundation of strategy. Ryanair The first organisation to be looked at is Ryanair and how it achieves its cost leader status by looking at its culture in terms of the three levels of culture framework and by applying the value chain to analyse how they integrate the flow of activities to achieve competitive advantage Culture and its connection to strategy Schein (1988) defined organisational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions a given group has created by learning to handle problems of internal integration and external adaptation. Culture is created through the actions of upper level management in relation to what they take precedence to, what they focus on and what behaviours they punish or reward. Hall (1993) suggested culture can be viewed as an intangible resource that can be classified as an asset or competency contributing to an organisations sustainable competitive advantage as culture can hinder a strategy or make a strategy excel. Scheins (1988): three levels of culture Hatch (1993) described the model as a conceptual framework for intervening with and analysing internal organisational culture. Schein (1988) described culture as three levels categorised into: Artifacts Espoused Values Basic Underlying Assumptions. They show how deeply values and beliefs are embedded into an organisation. The model shows the degree to which culture is visible to an organisation and brings about an understanding of the way business process are carried out and what can be done to assist change in an organisation. It is used to diagnose cultural characteristics of an organisation which can then be used to develop or maintain Strategy and the strategic advantage that ensues. The table below summarises each level of culture; Three Levels of Culture Artifacts The most observable level of culture and can include business process, aesthetics of the organisation or organisational structures for example. All are visible indicators of culture but are difficult to interpret. Espoused Values They underlie behaviour and can, to some extent, determine behaviour. They are not directly observable and can include strategies, goals objectives or philosophies for example. Basic Underlying assumptions These assumptions are unconscious and often stem from values until they are taken for granted and transfer to the unconscious. Source: Williams (2012). Ryanair; Three levels of Culture The culture of Ryanair is cost efficiency which is reflected in their values, vision and mission where they create their main competitive advantage of being a low cost, frill free airline. Using the framework a diagnosis can be made of the culture of Ryanair and how this creates competitive advantage. Artifacts No complementary services are offered at Ryanair; this reflects cost efficient culture as instead they sell secondary services on flight. Head office staff supply own pens and are not allowed to charge their phones at work in the office, reflective of low cost culture. Employees pay for their own training and uniforms. Ryanair use subsidiaries to make fares cheaper, they are obtained from using local airports so the savings can be passed onto customers. Espoused Values The policies enforced by Ryanairs senior management, e.g. the policy of having to buy own uniform/ stationary equipment, reflects cost efficient nature. Basic Underlying assumptions Embedded guidelines in Ryanair; staff employees deliver a cost efficient service to passengers and they know that they are getting a frills free flight where the expectation of other airlines is to receive complimentary services. Source: Ryanair (2013). The three levels of culture demonstrate how the strategy of cost leadership is built into the culture of Ryanair culture so it becomes an unconscious process from staff and an expectation of customers. The Value Chain The value chain was first characterised by Porter (1985) and is a chain of activities that group together the main value adding activities of an organisation and can be used as a strategic planning tool. Porter (2007) described an organisation as a compilation of individually distinct, interrelated, economic activities which include both primary and secondary activities. The value chain serves as a guide for identifying the key activities within an organisation which make up the value chain that have the potential to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The competitive advantage emerges from the ability of the organisation to perform identified activities in the value chain in a superior way to competitors. Source: Williams (2013). The value chain is divided into primary activities and secondary activities which need to linked together strategically across the organisation so resources can be optimised and coordinated in a way to sustain competitive advantage. Primary activities are activities classified as products or marketing related activities. Support activities assist the primary activities and include infrastructure, human resource management, procurement and technological development. Value Chain of Ryanair The Value chain of Ryanair is a demonstration of how they integrate both primary and support activities together to create competitive advantage; Support Activities which add value to Ryanair; Support Activity:  Infrastructure Description:  Ryanairs Head Offices are minimal Support Activity:  Human resource Management Description:  Management control, limited training, Low number of staff Support Activity:  Technology development Description:  Internet booking system, Low tech marketing, Internet sales, Integration of systems Support Activity:  Procurement Description:  Outsourcing, low costs alliances The support activities defined show how they can accommodate the primary activities in a way that is cost effective. For example, Ryanairs point of sale is internet based, cutting out the middle person so flight bookings go directly to Ryanair themselves. Primary Activities which add value; Primary Activity:  Inbound logistics Description:  Quality training, Low cost suppliers, Airport agreements Primary Activity:  Operations Description:  No added frills (low cost.) Primary Activity:  Outbound logistics Description:  Fast turnaround times of aircraft, reliable service Primary Activity:  Marketing Sales Description:  Low cost promotions, Free publicity, Internet sales, controversial Primary Activity:  Services Description:  Limited resources and very basic Throughout the value chain, each activity is based around cost efficiency. Money is saved through; Providing a basic service to customers Using the internet as a point of sale which incurs lower costs as less human capital is needed Instilling a cost efficient mind set in staff through managing staff in a cost efficient manner by lowering overheads on training, uniform and fancy offices Ensuring there technology and logistics are built around time efficiency ensuring maximum usage of craft and ensuring services they offer are reliable. Source; Ryanair (2013). Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic has a reputation of quality, whether it is quality in terms of service, treatment of staff or the design of the actual aircraft. The cultural web will be used to identify how culture contributes to competitive advantage of Virgin Atlantic and how its resources are distinctive to those of its competitors. Cultural Web Strategy Corporate culture and reputation are significant, intangible resources of an organisation that can create sustainable competitive advantage. The cultural web is a diagnostic tool that looks at the internal environment of an organisation aligning strategy with culture Johnson (2000). Seel (2000) describes the cultural web as six interrelated elements centred round the paradigm (the organisations core belief) which constitutes as the work environment. The paradigm is structured on collective experiences and informs what people in the organisation do and has influence over how change should be responded to. Stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control system and ritual routines are the six elements that make up the web and are the focus of strategic change. Each of the elements must be examined in order to gain understanding of an organisations culture (Johnson, 1992). Organisational culture needs to inspire innovation meaning that although culture needs to be embedded in an organisation it needs to also be flexible in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Cultural web of Virgin Atlantic The paradigm of Virgin Atlantic is reflected in their mission statement; to grow a profitable airline where people love to work and people love to fly. The core belief of Virgin is delivering quality experience. Stories; Most stories involve Richard Branson (the founder of the virgin brand) and often relate to his personality or management style and portray him as an anti-corporate, innovative hero. Rituals; Virgin Atlantics headquarters are spacious, have a relaxed atmosphere and when staff reach training milestones they and their families are invited to an event which is often attended by Branson himself. Power Structures; Most decisions and visions are controlled by a driven, close knit group of senior executives Organisational structures; Small, focussed teams that work to maintain a small company mentality inside a big company. Control; Financial and performance results are displayed for everyone to see encouraging and empowering staff to take responsibility for their performance. Symbols; Branding is smart and slick and conveys the good reputation that the brand Virgin has. Source: Virgin Atlantic (2013) The cultural web shows how the six elements interact with each other creating the core belief of quality and innovation. The VRIO framework Barney (1997) described strategic resources as; valuable, rare, inimitable and organisable. The VRIO framework is a tool an organisation can use to examine its internal environment and views organisations as bundles of resources. If these resources are correctly used then an organisation can gain competitive advantage over competitors depending on the four characteristics identified by Barney (1997) and determines whether the advantage is temporary or sustainable. Oriordian (2006) described four questions that need to be asked when identifying an organisations resources and capabilities; How valuable is the resource? How rare is the resource? Can the resource be imitated? Is the resource organised in an efficient manner? If the answer is yes to the above questions then the resource offers a competitive advantage over competitors. When analysing an organisations resources one of the following answers occur (Barney 1997); If an organisations resource is not valuable then the firm can expect to be at competitive disadvantage If the resource is valuable but not rare competitive parity is reached If the resource is valuable but not rare a competitive advantage is reached but it may only be temporary. If a firms resources are rare, valuable but not costly to imitate then temporary competitive advantage results. If the resources of an organisation are valuable rare and costly then a sustained competitive advantage will result if the resources are organised properly. VRIO framework of Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic has a number of resources that help sustain its competitive advantage over competitors. Its brand and reputation are indisputably its strongest resource whereas its customer service, geographic location (in terms of flight destinations) and human resources are a competitive advantage now, but have the risk of being imitated in the future. The VRIO framework for Virgin Atlantic shows that competitive advantage is gained from there resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and organised. The brand name Virgin and the ability the name has to raise capital due to Virgins reputation are the resources that ensure sustainable competitive advantage is achieved. Technology, the location of where flights are available to and from and the organisational structure of Virgin are all resources that can create competitive advantage but have the possibility of being imitated by competitors which means the advantage may only be temporary. Conclusion; By exploring the strategies of both Virgin Atlantic and Ryanair it is clear that different strategic routes can be taken to achieve competitive advantage. Both organisations use their resources effectively to achieve their purpose. Competitive advantage is about creating and sustaining superior performance (Porter, 1998). Looking to the future Airline companies will be have to face rising fuel costs and an increasing demographic of consumers who have less disposable income. This could propose challenges to both organisations. Ryanair focus on cost efficiency, however, if fuel prices were to rise substantially they would have to consider ways in which they can continue to deliver there no frills flight service at competitively low price. With regards to Virgin Atlantic they would have to cater to the consumer with less disposable income by considering how they could improve the efficiency of its processes and activities to appeal to this audience. There is no right way of forming a st rategy as not one applies to every organisation. The most effective strategies are those that meet the needs of the organisation at hand.