Rhetorical Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example ult or confusing because the range of his audience is very broad and this text deals with an issue which is not directed towards a specific audience but it seems to be directed towards general public and towards the authorized people who can implement his ideas about education. The philosophical nature of the text suggests that it is written keeping in mind the academic expert who has some understanding of what he wants to say. He generalizes his argument. For instance, he writes, â€Å"all education proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness of the race" (Dewey 77). Dewey is not talking about specific education, but the word â€Å"all† is used with the word education to talk about the education, in general. Generalization of the argument is one of his techniques to emphasize the importance of the topic he is discussing. In addition, another important aspect of his writing is his use of words, and his sentence structures are also very important rhetorical choices. Dewey is very prudent in his choice of words. He uses very simple words in the text. The use of simple wording in his arguments helps the readers in understanding the meaning of the text. Here is an excerpt from the text as an example is given to show how he uses simple words for facilitating the readers, â€Å"Without insight into the psychological structure and activities of the individual, the educative process will, therefore, be haphazard and arbitrary...if it does not, it will result in friction or disintegration, or arrest of the child nature" (Dewey 77). In addition to above, the sort of words, he uses in this article implies that whatever he is stating is true or fact. The word â€Å"believe† at the beginning of the every paragraphs function as an iteration which increases the importance of his argument and the words â€Å"true education† give the sense of truth or fact. Besides, the words â€Å"I believe† at the beginning of every paragraph also suggests that whatever,

Rogue Trading within Bank Industry about Nick Leeson Research Paper

Rogue Trading within Bank Industry about Nick Leeson - Research Paper Example The research tells that corporate scandals can be of different types and in any kind of corporate scandals generally top executive managements are involved due to personal gains and other biasness. Corporate scandal may include the offences like frauds, insider trading, manipulation of financial statement for misguiding stakeholders, excessive compensation to top executives etc. Among these rogue trading is also a kind of corporate scandal which hurts investors’ interests. Generally, those traders who are authorized by corporate bodies as an employee indulge in such activities. The rogue trader acts as an independent trader in high risk environment. To make huge profits, such traders invest in risky financial instruments like derivatives. Here the potential of losing money is also high. Ethically responsible firms never allow such risky investments considering shareholders’ interest and business sustainability. Since the rogue trading case of Nick Leeson in 1995, there have been several instances of unethical and unauthorized trading that caused billions of losses to shareholders. The persons found to be engaged in rouge trading are charged with severe offences and have to face legal consequences. The rogue traders have taken the investments activities to the level of gambling where along with huge returns, risks are also too high. In most cases rogue traders keep doubling their bets in order to recover the previous losses without considering future consequences. The tricks doubling up the bets are quite common for them for camouflaging the previous losses with higher level of risk as by averaging down, they try to reduce the volatility. In a simpler term, when a

Law and Criminality Perspectives

Law and Criminality Perspectives Laws are rules of conduct to guide all people; they are rules that can be enforced by a legitimate authority. More laws are made and enforced as our world and society becomes increasingly complex. Laws are basically rules of basic behavior and order written down by man as an attempt to help us all live together more happily and safely. Whether they are written or not, they are the basis for all societies, because without some form of agreement and co-operation between people, society would not exist. Most laws are for our own benefits and protection; they preserve public order and policy. Without laws, a society will be an anarchy, dysfunctional, full of chaos, injustice and immorality. Without laws, we would all live like animals in nature, each person pursuing ones own desires with no regard for the effects of his or her behavior on others and this would lead to suffering. Laws, in general do not try to limit the freedoms that people consider necessary, but rather to secure these freedoms by prohibiting anyone else from violating or robbing them. Laws prevent people from harming others, and do whatever one feels like to anyone else by setting punishments for those harms if they are committed. Another purpose of laws is to resolve disputes, since laws are consistence rules made to be applied in almost every situation. Though many of us do not need laws to guide us in everything we do, some others need very clear rules and boundaries to live by. Not everyone will agree or like ev ery law given, but rational people understand the need and purpose of laws. A crime is an act against the law and punishable by the law. Certain laws that exist would be considered by most of us as silly or unnecessary. Some of those laws are still enforced and may be even more enforced than other laws, because the government, often times makes a lot of money off of certain laws. There are usually so many laws from a government that if we were to read the whole list, we will probably be surprised at the number of laws we break on a regular basis without even realizing it. Most common examples are speeding, texting or talking while driving, littering, downloading music illegally and others.  [i]  Ignorance is one of the causes for people to break laws; it is however not accepted as an excuse. Desperation is another cause, someone who does not have enough food maybe driven to steal food, so people living in poverty may commit crimes as a way to survive. Many break laws out of greed and selfishness, for example committing fraud, theft or murder to gain what belongs to someone else deceitfully and unfairly. Others break laws out of malice, anger, jealousy or just carelessness. In general, the government of nations create and decide which laws to pass, as making laws to keep order is a part of governing. In the United States, laws are written and made by the Senate and the House of Representatives which make up the Congress.  [ii]  In Australia, laws are made by its parliament even though the country is a constitutional monarchy and has a queen.  [iii]  In Saudi Arabia, as one of the few absolute monarchies that still exist today, the creation and decision about laws are up to the king and his chosen ministers.  [iv]  Aside from laws of independent nations, there is also international law, which are laws guiding individual nations conduct and their relationships with one another, the international organization, the United Nations is responsible for this. The International Bill of Human Rights, which was first drafted as a common standard of achievement for all peoples is widely accepted as the list of rights that should be kept and respected by all states. Almost all countries that exist are members of the United Nations, and are obligated to respect the basic international human rights laws.  [v]  vi The International Court of Justice (based in the Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands pictured above) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The ICJ settles legal disputes between states, who must agree to abide by the Courts jurisdiction before their case will be heard.  [viii]   There are different legal systems that are in use throughout the countries in the world, with three main ones. The most common legal system is Civil Law, which is the legal system of France and many nations that were conquered by France, including many countries of Latin America. In the UK, and countries that were colonies of the UK, including India, USA, Australia and many others, have legal systems which are based on Common Law. Common law is determined by judges, it can be applied to many different situations and it is more flexible. The Civil Law system on the other hand, is a collection of laws, they are not decided by judges or open for interpretation. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. The third most common law system is religious Islamic law, which are enforced in Muslim countries, the Sharia and the Fiqh. This law is believed by Muslims to be directly from God and so cannot be changed by even a government or King.  [ix]   x Problems arise with different law systems in different countries. Examples of this are the cases of two British couples who were arrested and served jail sentences for kissing, and showing intimacy in public in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  [xi]  According to the legal system of the UAE, what they did was indecent and offending behavior.  [xii]  Disputes arise as these couples were foreign citizens, and in countries where Islamic law is not practiced, it would be considered extreme to arrest or imprison people for kissing or displaying affection in public. Some other controversial issues surrounding different legal systems are: the one-child policy in China  [xiii]  , having a national dress code like that in Saudi Arabia, the capital punishment, executions by beheading, amputation of hands for theft, and others.  [xiv]  Torture, or other cruel punishments like amputation are prohibited by international human rights standards, but the punishments and seriousness of cr imes differ in different legal systems. This makes it difficult to judge a law or case fairly and morally. Practices, laws or policies such as controlling what people wear too strictly, harsh punishments such as death or amputation for crimes like stealing, or limiting the number of children a person may have may be viewed in an international perspective as violating human rights. The line between just and unjust in the legal systems we have today is not clear so such disagreement problems will remain. Local/National Perspectives The National Assembly of Vietnam is responsible for making and passing laws. The legal system practiced in Vietnam is based on communist legal theory and the French civil law system. As a Socialist state, the countrys government has much control over the media and organizations within the country. The Vietnamese government was able to outlaw many religious organizations, touching on the freedom of belief and has been criticize. As the country increasingly involved and joins into many international organizations, it has been more sensitive to human rights abuses due to global criticism. Vietnam is relatively safe with average crime rates. A few of the major crimes include corruption, illegal drug use and digital piracy.  [xvi] Since economic liberalization, corruption has risen sharply in Vietnam. In the Transparency Internationals corruption perception index for 2008, Vietnams corruption rate ranked 121 out of 160. A cause for high corruption rate in Vietnam would be the very low salaries of public officials. In 2006, the minimum salary for state employees is still only 28 dollars per month after it has been raised by nearly 30 percent. It has gotten so bad that after a corruption scandal in 2008, Japan, Vietnams biggest donor in development assistance suspended its aid to Vietnam, saying that Vietnam must take stronger measures in dealing with corruption. Corruption is a threat to investment and aid and it is a big problem on Vietnams road of development. There have been attempts in reducing this problem; an example of this is Vietnam has signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which would criminalize the acts of Vietnamese officials paying bribes abroad or accepting bribes from foreign companies.  [xxiii] According to Business Software Alliance, the largest, and one of the most important of IT groups in the software industry that exist, Vietnam had the worst rate of software piracy in the world. A very large number of all kinds of software, movies and music are pirated, meaning they are illegally duplicated or distributed. In 1998 the digital piracy rate of Vietnam ranked first at 98%, this means that for every 100 copies of software application, 98 are illegal. In 2004, this number was 95%, and it is estimated that for each legitimately bought package of software, 20 illegal copies are made on average. A cause for this is many countries seldom make, let alone enforce laws to protect intellectual property. It is understandable that piracy is thought of as a path to enter the information and technology world with less expense, it actually hurts the countrys own economy. As piracy spreads, software developers are deterred from entering the market. Piracy, and the lack of laws to prevent piracy will not give a decent opportunity for citizens of a country to establish a software industry, preventing the country to become high-tech. In 2010, software piracy rate of Vietnam is 85 per cent. As result of the big efforts of the government and business community to protect copyright, despite still having a very high rate, through the years the percentage has gotten lower and there is no doubt that there has been progress in reducing piracy.  [xxvi] xxx Drug trafficking is present among Vietnams major crimes. It is estimated 200,000 Vietnamese, as young as 15-16 years old use opiate drugs, with 50,000 people using heroin. About 75% of all identified drug users in Vietnam are under 23, according to UNs Drug Control Progamme. Most people with HIV, about two-thirds are drug users, and this virus is spread along with drugs. A cause for this is unemployment in the country; much money is gained just for transporting drugs from one city to another. The lack of money also keeps the government from being able to help drug addicts or do very much. To deal with this major crime, the Vietnamese laws against drug trafficking are some of the harshest and most severe in the world. In 2009 a number of crimes have been removed from the list of crimes punishable by death, including rape and bribery, but not drug trafficking. The possession or smuggling of a certain amount of drug in Vietnam could result in the death penalty.  [xxxi]   Family/Personal Perspectives Most of us would consider ourselves innocent law-abiding citizens, but this is of course ignoring the mostly small crimes we commit regularly if not daily. If even the smallest act of crime was not over-looked, every one of us would be classified as criminals, including my family, friends and myself. Common offenses include stealing office supplies for personal use, littering, talking while driving among many other things. We all at one point or another have excused ourselves by saying certain laws dont apply to us, or since everyone else is doing it, why must I not? This however, doesnt really change the fact that were all quite guilty as law breakers, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. Like with almost every other issue we created in the world, some of their causes are our pride and will to resist or not take seriously the authorities we have above us, whether the authority is good or bad and there is also peoples tendency to ignore, or twist the truth to ones own preference and advantage. In my local community there isnt a high crime rate, or at least it is not very obvious and I feel relatively safe. Like most large, densely populated cities across the world, petty crimes are a typical problem. Although violent or armed crimes occur, they are rare, while little crimes like pick-pocketing, traffic violation and speeding occur regularly. In Vietnamese cities, motorcycles are the most commonly seen type of vehicle, and bag, jewelry or other belongings of people being snatched by motorcyclists are quite common. These types of crimes can result in serious injuries as in the process of purses or bags being snatched, the straps across the victims bodies could drag the victim along the ground by the thiefs motorcycle. There have been incidents involving crime, like mirrors on my family and friends vehicles being stolen often, and risks of frauds but there has not been a case where we are seriously affected. To come up with solutions to criminality, we must look back to its causes. Many break laws out of desperation, greed or lack of knowledge. Law-breaking starts at a young age, and education is a fundamental cure. A person with a better education and qualifications has a more hopeful future, and will less likely be unemployed and driven to criminality to survive. An education with focus on ethics and values should be able to reduce crimes committed out of selfishness and greed. Thus, a key to the criminality problem is giving all people and criminals a fair opportunity to be trained in to responsible citizens.

The United States Effect on Puerto Rican Music Essay -- Puerto Rico Mu

The United States Effect on Puerto Rican Music The United States played an important role in the evolution of Puerto Rican culture, more specifically music. While Puerto Rican culture remains distinct from that of American culture, its historical progression is forever tied with that of the United States. This is evident in the evolution of Puerto Rican music. It is also evident in the experience of Puerto Rican musicians both on the island and in the Diaspora. U.S rule was in part responsible for Puerto Rican migration both within the island and off the island. This is so due to the political and economic relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. As a result new genres, or styles of Puerto Rican music were created. The U.S also controlled how the music of the island would be communicated to the rest of the world. This effected the way Puerto Ricans expressed their identity through music. The establishment of United States rule in Puerto Rico had an effect on the evolution of Puerto Rican culture as experienced by musicians in the United States. In evaluating the Puerto Rican situation it is important to discuss the context in which Puerto Rican musicians came to the United States, more specifically New York City, and what led to this migration. The rise of the sugar staple and downfall of coffee in Puerto Rico, as caused by the United States, resulted in a migration of Puerto Rican workers. They moved to sugar processing areas on the island, in search of jobs. Among these workers were musicians. Musicians could not sustain themselves on music alone. Therefore, just as the rest of the population had to follow the jobs, so did the... ...ans. This effected the expression of Puerto Rican identity through music. While artists such as Pedro Flores and Rafael Hernandez made Puerto Rican music in its more native form, and also expressed frustrations as to the current situation of Puerto Rico, such open expression was limited. In essence, the progression of Puerto Rican music is a microcosm of what has been the Puerto Rican experience since the rule of the Spanish. A dominant power has invaded this aspect of Puerto Rican culture and dictated the arena in which it can be expressed, and how it can be expressed. As a result the question of what is true Puerto Rican music is complicated. It is not my intention to diminish the quality, uniqueness, or distinctiveness of Puerto Rican music, but rather to acknowledge the role the United States has played in its evolution and its depiction to the rest of the world.

Comparing Miley and Taylor

Compare and contrast writing Topic: Compare two famous people: Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus Outline * Background: started to perform at young age * Success: Forbes’ list, teenager’s idol all over the world * Composing habit: write about their own relationship Each celebrity tends to create their own style in both life and music to become unique and then impress audience. On newspapers or magazines, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are two obviously different images, the former is innocent and graceful, the latter seems to be stubborn and strong; however, in fact, they share some surprising similarities.One important similarity is their background. Both Taylor and Miley started their career at their young age. When Taylor was nine, she spent most of her weekends singing at local festivals, fairs, coffee houses, etc. After impressing music managers by her performing at Radio Corporation of America records showcase, she signed her first contrast with Big Machine Records at the age of fourteen and released her debut album three years later. Like Taylor, Miley was just eight years old when she has her first role in the film ‘Doc’.Nevertheless, her name has not been known by the world until she received the leading role for the film ‘Hannah Montana’, a Disney Channel’s musical children series. Another similarity between Taylor and Miley is their fame. It goes without saying that both of them have great impact on young people. In 2010, Taylor held the 16th position on the Forbes’s Celebrity 100. Beside many worldwide hits, she sold over 26 million albums and 75 million download digitals and became one of the most successful female singers in the history of the US music industry.Similarly, Miley ranked number thirteen on Forbes’ list in the same year. She also won a Guinness World Record for the song ‘Party in the USA’ and has million fans all over the world. Finally, two beautiful singers share one habit which is that compose and sing songs about their lovers. One of the most famous relationships of Taylor was with Joe Jonas who broke up with her by a 27-second phone call. After the separation, Taylor wrote a song about his faithless and put it in her best-selling album, Fearless.Following this song, Taylor tends to integrate her own experience with man in each song she composes, and they all achieve their popularity. Likewise, Miley wrote the lyrics for the song ‘7 things’ about her ex-boyfriend and 12 other songs which are inspired by her relationship with her finance in her latest album. Although Taylor and Miley are unique artists, there are remarkable similarities in their background, reputation and composing habit. In a way, those are reasons why they are close friend in real life.

Guidelines for a Reflective Paper

In reality, it Is a lifestyle of Its own – something some people view as Hellenizing and patriotic while some view as terrifying and unacceptable. Some people are incredibly proud of a family member having served or have given his/her life to service; while some feel remorseful for having lost a loved one in war. However you look at it, military service is like a pendulum. It goes back and forth; left and right; liked or disliked; loved and hated; patriotic or horrific.To get to the point, every member of a military family is affected by the demands of the military; husband, wife, children, and even extended families such as grandparents, uncles and aunts. Additionally, every aspect of life Is also affected by the military -? marriage, schooling, religious practices, cultural, moral, social, and economic. Perhaps, the children represent a great percentage of the affected population. They are the silent majority – since they can't protest and need to get along with the f low of the rigid military life.My Life Before Who really knows what life Is Like for the children In the military? How do they cope with the separations due to deployments, changes In schools, leaving their friends Enid, starting a new social circle someplace In the world, divorce, culture shocks, language barriers, and career choices? No one would know better but a child who grew up wrapped around the military tight grip. I was one of these children. We are referred to as military brats; a moniker I am not really crazy about. But the military was my life for _ years. I learned to love it and hate it.I learned to appreciate it and loathe It. Learned to live It. And I found out that kids on the other side of the world (non-military) have Just as much If not more reasons to love and hate their life. I am not going to draw comparisons and contrasts between the two sectors but I would like to focus on how the military life has affected me as a person that I am now. How did it influence my philosophy in life? What did I experience out there that helped me mold my character? How did the military drive my energy and resources (in spite of Its straining demands) so I could look at the positives and build on them?

european revolution essays

european revolution essays The revolutions that occurred in Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century were brought about by both ideas of Enlightenment and the growing population throughout the continent. The many hardships that faced the people, of not only the middle and lower classes but also the nobles, made life during these times stressful and unruly. The revolutions that took place in these trying times were the first steps towards making European countries the way they are today. Two main revolutions that took place exemplified nationalism and brought countries together so that they could be more powerful against opposing nations. These significant countries were Italy and France. Throughout history, one can identify extreme pride in one's native land. The unification of Italy was based on nationalism. In the mid-eighteenth century, this idea was thought to be impossible, but thanks to people such as Count Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi, the people of Italy watched their dreams become a reality. Through rumored propaganda and spirit, Italy was converted into a unified nation. Count Camillo di Cavour was the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1852. The liberal, but pragmatic, Count Cavour succeeded in unifying Italy by combining skillful diplomacy with the service of regular armies. By forming an alliance with Napoleon III of France, Cavour persuaded the French that if the two countries were to unite against Austria-Hungary, then France could take possession of Southeast France and the Italians could double the size of the country by obtaining northern Italy. Giuseppe Garibaldi led nationalist soldiers to Sicily and recruited a corps of middle-class nationalists. With these men, he was able to unite many of Italy's provinces. Not shortly after his actions, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 doubled the size of Italy when the Prussians relinquished Venice to Italy. Sometimes religion and common suffering are just what p...

Ethics in the Workplace

Ethics in the Workplace Free Online Research Papers Abstract This paper focuses on current work ethics, duties and work place environment situations of the author. Each day dealing with customers both internal and external is like walking a tight rope. While an individual must speak his mind, he must also take into account the ethical issues from what may be shared between different people that the author deals with from time to time. He must also remember the laws of both company and local ordinances are kept in check. Ethics in the Workplace Ethics is an action that the author lives with each work day. Without ethics he has nothing. Along the same line, each person the author deals with must trust his ethical values before sharing information that may lead to intellectual property being traded. The author is a research and development engineer who calls on many different competing companies. He hears what each of the competitors is working on and what their problems that they have or are trying to solve. Being careful not to share the trade secrets of a competitor is always a fine line when they may indeed be trying to grab the same share of the market for which they are dealing in. If the author were to share an idea of one company to another may provide an advantage over the competitor. One way that each company protects its resources and trade secrets are through the use of nondisclosure agreements. The basic purpose of a nondisclosure agreement is to preventing the unauthorized disclosure of certain proprietary and confidential information. It defines what is considered confidential information as information or material that could have commercial value to other outside agencies or competitors. It will describe the exclusions, the obligations of the receiving party when discussing the information shared outside of the disclosing parties’ presence. It will also contain a time period for the information or material exchanged to remain in effect and of working for a company that is design oriented, may include the statement that whatever is developed while in the employment of a company shall be deemed intellectual property of the company in which that p erson is employed. Each parties or companies representatives sign and date the agreement and each get a copy to retain for their records. Legally the author is bound by nondisclosure agreements currently with Panasonic Avionics Corporation, Rockwell Collins, Inc, Lumexis Corporation and Thales Avionics, Inc. all of which develop and manufacture in-flight entertainment systems for commercial aircraft manufactures such as Boeing and Airbus. While each of the systems architectures is vastly different from one another the end result is the same, providing the airline customer a piece of entertainment during their time in flight. Since the author deals with all of these companies from week to week, insuring that no trade secrets or development efforts are shared outside of each company’s venues is what the author deals with each time he engages with the perspective engineering team. His integrity and ethics are put to the test each time he enters a technical discussion or even having lunch with a coworker or employee of the company. If he were to share a piece of intellectual property or trade secret to another compa ny, then not only are his ethics in question but legal issues may arise and charges brought upon the his company for breaking the nondisclosure agreement. In this case the author would certainly lose some integrity and put his ethics in question from both companies but his company may be a fault and charges brought upon them for mistrust of the agreement. But dealing with in-flight entertainment companies such as these is not all the author deals with. He deals in other realms of business such as undersea applications. Here there is even less competition between competitors. Like in-flight entertainment, where everyone hears what their competition is doing almost as fast as it is announced to the public, the same goes for the world of undersea exploration and development. If there is a problem or something goes wrong, their competition knows about it and starts to spread the bad news to the end users before they can even get back to the shop to figure out what went wrong. So what is the authors’ part, making sure to speak only of the facts of the situation? The author is representing each company as an ambassador in every facet of the business between them. Whether it is a meeting with a company officer, a member of the sales staff or just another staff engineer, the plan is to only present the public facts and not the ones sha red between the author and company in confidence. While it is very easy to see the advantages of one design over another when a person gets to see them all, it is always difficult not to present the advantages of what one competitor has over another. He or she needs to be commended on the details of the design that they have come up with, it is the author’s job to make that design the best without sharing the ideas of another. Dealing with the Business Ethics With the introduction of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act whose purpose is to encourage and enable the corporate executives be ethical and socially responsible, it does not stop at the executive level, it must be carried out by all employees who deal with the public. It can only provide an ethical path to follow it is always possible to get off the golden path and to do damage to others unethically or act socially irresponsible (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, Langvardt, 2010, p. 91). The authors company enforces this type of yearly training to ensure that each of its employees agree to follow the company’s business ethics plan and is refreshed each year. Part of the training is to make sure that each employee is aware of what is expected and how to report situations of wrong doing if anyone suspects wrongdoing. The training reminds each of the employees to be mindful of integrity. Without integrity we have nothing and others outside the company whom we deal with would not trust in the company as a whole. Privacy is always a key role, such as what one company is willing to share to help develop a new product to assist them speeding their product to market or cheaper to build. Dealing with conflicts of interest is always a fine line. Each person must avoid them in all cases, because this could once again damage the face of the company. People are most likely to know if a conflict of interest is at hand would be when any person as an individual stands to make a benefit. This is different than giving the company a benefit over the competition; after all, this is what most businesses strive for, to be better than its competitors. Above all, you must obey the law, the laws of your corporation but also the laws of our country, state and city. Follow the regulations set forth for manufacturing processes and if applicable, the ones of the Environmental Protection Agency. People do not have to talk down about other companies to be the best, promote the things that make your company stand out from the rest, not what your competition is doing wrong, but what you do right, the rest will speak for itself. If you strive to promote your own business instead of trash tal king the others you can only go up in ranking on the ethical ladder. Making the Ethical Decision Making any decision is easy, but making sure it is ethical you need to do some simple checks. First you must acquire all the facts, not just the easy ones but all the facts that will support your opinion. Good decisions are made when you have all the facts, not just the ones that are easy to uncover. You cannot pass judgment unless you hear from both sides. Determine what alternative courses of action exist before making the final decision. There are always a minimum of two options and if you think about it a little bit harder, sometimes more. If you are left with only two, they usually are to do something or not do something. But be careful when you make that choice. Determine who the stakeholders are and what are the benefits or pitfalls of making the change will effect. If it is the corporation, then the decision must be to maximize the benefit of the shareholders as long as it is legal. But if the long term affects change the firm as a whole, will it still yield a benefit to the shareholder is the question that needs to be answered. An example may be moving an operation to from the states to Mexico. While the move may be beneficial from a labor cost view, what happens to all the people in the plant where the operations are being located from? The quality of the product must not decrease due to the move or the lead times for an order must not increase either. Study how the alternatives that you have come up with will impact the decision maker. If it is yourself, you may be thinking, this is selfish. While this will always play a role in your decision you must quickly rule it out while always seeking the best choice for everyone. The author of this paper throughout his career has made decisions that affected his own career path. He believes in sharing information with everyone involved to make the best possible decision. The author has always had a plan â€Å"B† available. The first company he was employed by, he trained more fellow engineers to do his job which when it came to the time of downsizing never left him on the wrong path. By sharing his knowledge with others, while their jobs may have been eliminated, they were kept on to perform other duties that they now had knowledge of and could perform without missing a step in the end goal. So now that the authors’ job has been replaced, he was never part of the layoff crew but was always assigned a new task to master. He has worked with several different companies that others did not have this type of team attitude and at the end of the day when downsizing was done, he was usually keep over the others who refuses to share. In each decision we need to look at the practical constraints of the alternatives we have determined. Evaluate them on the basis of what it will take to implement the end result. Determine if the resources, funds and labor are available to complete the choice in the time constraint desired. Another item of ethical decision making is to think critically, to evaluate arguments logically, honestly, and without bias in favor of your own arguments and against those of others. Always remember to base your decision on facts not opinions of others or because someone above you feels it is the wrong decision. Just because your supervisor or director of your department feels that it is wrong, do not change your decision based on their feedback. Doing something unethical will always get you in trouble, even if you use the excuse that you were told to do so by a superior, this includes up to the CEO. If possible try to find the win-win solution, but remember not to comprise your decision in doing so (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, Langvardt, 2010, pgs 91 – 120). If you cannot be ethical in your day to day operations and work habits, you cannot expect anyone else to follow ethical rules that you refuse to follow yourself. The old saying â€Å"Practice what you preach† goes a long way here. Stand behind what you believe, and make sure your beliefs are ethical in nature. The Agency Relationship The agency relationship is one that the authors company has extended to him. He is an agent in the field who is there to listen and determine the voice of the customer. Extending the customers’ needs and desires back to the engineering team at the main plant is a vital role of doing business. The author’s role is much like that of a marketing department but all on his own. Survey the customer base; determine the specific key factors in order to determine to make the product or to stop before expending any additional effort by his fellow engineers. The decision is not solely his, which is where the agency relationship comes into play. He cannot make commitments to customers without first determining if the company team of engineers has the same vision presented. Dealing directly with customers takes a unique individual so selecting each person who will deal with them takes a team of bodies to determine if you have the right stuff. The interview process is relentless. The author prior to getting the job had no less than nine interviews dealing with managers from different aspects of the business unit and even a vice president of the division wanted to meet him prior to making the offer. The capacity of what the company has requested from the agent is determined during the interview stages. The company needs to feel comfortable that the selections they make can be carried out successfully. Dealing with the customer, providing the feedback the remote staff requirements are based on situational scenarios or past experience of the agent. The next step is to determine the level of authority to the agent. At this time actual authority comes to life in two forms, express authority which in terms of the author is primarily written but also complemented with oral instruction. But every situation cannot be determined. So there is also implied authority which binds the agent to what is reasonably within their assumed duties. While the author understands the du ties assigned to him, he must keep in check the overachieving manager who task is to insure new business and think outside the box on how to quickly solve a problem or determine a solution with the quickest and least amount of resources utilizing any means available. Directors sometimes see a much broader base that of the author or local sales engineers. They cover many different regions and visit a much larger customer base then most. They travel the region and globe looking for new opportunities in their business sector. Sometimes they get a little too excited and want to out partnerships into place where none exist. While this on the surface seems like a great idea, they may not have considered all the obligations between the parties they have thought to team. One example is two different companies that both trust the agents company but they deal with similar end products or it may be that one company utilizes similar parts from a competitor of one of the two possible partners th at the director of the agents company has determine. The author has this dilemma at the current time. One company that the author is currently working with wished to make a product that the company has no formal experience in developing. The obvious answer is to determine if there is another company that has this expertise and go into a joint development with another partner. What needs to be determined is if both outside companies willing to work with the agent and his team to develop a new product that is the beneficial to all parties. The entire time the agent has a duty of loyalty to the principal. He must avoid conflicts of interest and not disclose any confidential information between the principal without proper authorization. The agent must act with care, competence, and diligence whenever dealing with other outside contacts being careful not to share the ideas set for a specific customer. Dealings with ITAR ITAR or International Traffic in Arms Regulations is another aspect of the authors’ fine line that he deals with on a day to day aspect. Whenever he enters into a new discussion he must be careful to determine if everyone involved in the discussions are United States citizens. Many of the projects he deals with are controlled by the U.S. Department of State under ITAR. If a device or component was developed with nothing more than a defense budget or at the time of the development there was no intention to use it for in a commercial application then the device is considered to be controlled by ITAR. While there are some commercial applications which can use these items, they cannot be freely discussed with anyone at every company. The audience must be 100% U.S. citizen. There are many companies today, the authors included that have or employ foreign nationals or those not considered to be a U.S. citizen. These specific items may not be discussed with them by the author or even with anyone in their own company. While it is insulting to some people to be questioned as to the state of their citizenship, it is a question that must be asked before any discussions even proceed. In summary the author deals with many different companies each with their own intellectual property involved. He must make every effort to insure that it is protected until while in the development process and even after the product is made public. He has his ethics to protect for without it he would not be able to serve such a broad base of customers. Reference Mallor, J.P., Barnes, A.J., Bowers, T., Langvardt, A.W., Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment (2010) New York: McGraw-Hill. Research Papers on Ethics in the WorkplaceMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceOpen Architechture a white paperArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Definition of Export QuotasTwilight of the UAWGenetic EngineeringThe Project Managment Office System

Black Music In America Essay Research Paper

Black Music In America Essay, Research Paper Black Music in America: A History Through Its People Tahirah Carter by James Haskins Intro to Music I have decidedly learned allot about the Development of American Music in this category. I found it to be really challenging. So when I was faced with the job of make up ones minding which book I would make my study on, I chose Black Music in America by James Haskins. This book gave a elaborate history of non merely the music genres but it? s performing artists. We already know that American music is made up of music from many different types of cultural backgrounds. What gives this book a plus is that it highlights some other facets of American music, and its performing artists. The points and events that truly caught my attending were the concert vocalizing, Minstrelsies, Jubilee vocals, and brass sets. Born as a slave, a miss by the name of Elizabeth Greenfield moved to Philadelphia. She moved at that place with her Mistress and her parents. Fortunately while in Philadelphia they were set free. At the age of 42 she moved to buffalo New York in order to ship onto new chances as a vocalist. When she reached New York chance came strike harding. She began a calling of concert vocalizing. With a scope of three and one one-fourth octaves you would believe that chance kept knocking, but it didn? T. Therefore she moved to Europe where she would acquire the attending and recognition that was due to her. While in Europe Elizabeth was shown great grasp for he endowment? Even Queen Victoria demanded that she performed for her at the Buckingham Palace. On the history of Elizabeth making so good in Europe, She gained newfound popularity in the provinces. As you see, it wasn? t easy for inkinesss to do a life in the U.S. That forced inkinesss to either perform in Europe or the northern provinces of the U.S.. Some inkinesss even had to fall back to executing in Minstrelsies. Minstrelsies started out as an avenue for Whites that were seeking to ship on new and exciting civilization. At this clip America was free from Britain. Since white America no longer was attached to Britain, they ventured out to derive a sense of American civilization. White folk singer really used to see plantations to analyze the manner inkinesss interacted with each other. For their public presentations, these white Folk singers would take coal and colourise their faces black. Their public presentations consisted of skits, including dance and music, which imitated inkinesss. Initially minstrelsies weren? T brought about with the pure purpose of jabing merriment at Blacks. But after the Civil War things changed. White persons stopped sing the plantation for new s tuff. They began to utilize the same negative stuff over and over once more. This is what gave birth to many of the Stereotypes that African Americans are victim to, even until this really twenty-four hours. James Bland was one of the African Americans whom got his pes in the door by executing and composing in the black face Minstrelsy. After being a portion of white minstrelsies, Bland finally had the chance to play in an all black Minstrel called Haverly # 8217 ; s European Minstrel Show. After the performing artists departed from that group, Bland decided to remain in Europe While populating in Europe Bland was allowed to execute in shows without holding to set on the? darky face. He became highly popular. Finally he returned to the U.S. where he couldn? t tantrum in because American Music had taken a bend since the clip that he left. Bland managed to chant down the black idiom and beat in his public presentations. That may in fact be the ground why at one clip he was so successful. Another group of people that besides tried to sing ( what I? ll call ) ? acceptable? music are The Fisk Jubilee Singers. They were a posh group of vocalists that started out with the purpose to raise money for their school. They began with the program to sing choruses, couples, solos and other? acceptable? signifiers of American Music. Over clip, with the influence of their wise man George White, they began to sing Negroes spirituals. On their first circuit to Europe they sang before Queen Victoria and her royal household. Due to the predominately white audiences hungriness for Old Negroes Spirituals, the Fisk Jubilee vocalists were able to raise a big sum of money for their school. Another sector of the Black music history that I think is extraordinary is the brass set sector. I already knew that the stoping of the civil war made brass set instruments accessible. But what I didn? T know is that another thing that helped popularise brass sets was the regulation of New Orleans that restricted harlotry to black vicinities. This caused? between 15 hundred and twenty two hundred cocottes to put up store in an country that became known as? Storyville? . Even though? Storyville? wasn? t great in morality it was great economically for New Orleans. It made it possible for many concerns to boom. Among those concerns were? Sporting? houses. These? Sporting? houses employed Brass Bands. Brass bands besides played funerals, amusement Parkss, and other community events. Buddy Bolden, a wind innovator, led rather a few New Orleans Brass Bands. During this clip the Creoles and the inkinesss had no pick but to incorporate. Creoles hadn? T truly valued black music, and inkinesss knew that it wasn # 8217 ; T appreciated. Nevertheless that didn? t halt them from playing their Black Marias out. In fact that prompted them to play every bit loud as possible in order to overpower the Creoles. Buddy Bolden was one of the inkinesss that had the ability to make merely that. Along with his strong sound that he strived for, he improvised standard ragtime and blues pieces. Unfortunately he didn? Ts have every bit much control over his life that he had over his trombone. He became an alky, contracted syphilis so finally die in a mental establishment. I? m sorry to state that he died without cognizing his part to the development of what we now call wind. I made a witting determination to foreground the information in this book that I had neer read about in the yesteryear. On the contrary you should cognize that this book contains really elaborate information on the parts of black American music history that is popular in today # 8217 ; s society. It covers everything from slave vocals to Motown. Check it out! Bibliography Black music in America by James Haskins

Consumer and Buying Behavior Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer and Buying Behavior - Research Paper Example Marketers are using different means to analyse the factors that affect the consumer behaviour of the target market audience so as to ensure that their product mix is largely in tune with the needs and wants of the consumers. Marketers spend billions towards conducting surveys and reviews and also try to analyse the purchase behaviour in order to capture the mindset of the customers and underline the aspects that help analyse the consumer behaviour of the target market audience. The present study would also try to analyse the consumer behaviour of the customers for the online game ‘Dragon Nest’. The study would particularly try to analyse the factors that customers analyse while making the purchase decision for this type of a product. Literature Review Consumer behaviour is largely a psychological aspect that involves understanding the psychology and the thought process of the consumer undertaken in the minds of the consumer while making a purchase decision. Researchers o ften use the term determinants that are essentially independent variables that effect consumer behaviour. These factors include personality, income levels, level of education, lifestyle as well as peer groups and other social contacts. In addition to this situational aspects form the most important of the aspects that affect the consumer behaviour. Situational aspects include the physical surroundings as well as task definitions and the other physical aspects. These have a critical role in the thought process of the consumers and determine their needs and want and also determine the factors that are evaluated by consumers while making a purchase decision (Shaw, 2001, p.85-90). Figure 1: Determinants of Consumer Behaviour (Source: Shaw, 2001, p.89) The process of purchase decision largely involves the steps of recognising the problem that is succeeded by searching information on the available options, attitudes and lifestyles of the consumers, aligning the information with the aspect s of personality and lifestyles and behaviours and finally evaluating the various available alternatives and options available before them and making a final purchase decision. The behaviour and attitude towards a brand or a product does not end with the final purchase but also includes a post purchase evaluation. This is very important in the present competitive environment where the success of a firm not only comes from its ability to attract new customers but to also retain the existing customers. This aspect also assumes considerable significance in the online social networking age where reviews and feedbacks of peer groups are very pivotal in affecting the psychology of the new and potential customers (Kardes et.al, 2010, p.189). In order to deeply analyse the purchase decisions and consumer behaviour, the Black Box Model of Consumer behaviour can be applied. The figure below shows the model in conceptual form. Figure 2: The Black Box Model of Consumer Behaviour (Source: Sandhu sen, 2008, p.240) The Black Box Model as illustrated above in Figure 2 largely proposes the mindset of the consumer as a black box and includes the characteristics of the consumer as

International Economic History since 1870 Essay

International Economic History since 1870 - Essay Example The plan of new economic financial system produced by the United Kingdom and the USA was aimed to remedy some imbalances of pre war economic financial system of gold standard. Such huge economic problems as the volatility of the floating exchange rates, dependence of the countries on the adjustment mechanisms, had been frequently resolved either by recession and deflation or by inflation and rapid expansion. New conference led to the establishment of the new fund International Monetary Fund that was destined to remedy some imbalances in the world economy.2 New mechanism devised by the countries provided for the system with fixed yet adjustable exchange rates; those countries that experienced payment deficits could borrow necessary funds from created monetary fund, whereas the nations with the payment surpluses could lend funds; the agreement also envisaged the change of the exchange rates if the financial steps taken by the Governments were not able to resolve the problem of the payment deficits. In sharp contrast with the pre war period, dollar rather than gold was set as the world reserve currency, other nations provided dollar values for their currencies; the value of the currency of other country in dollar or par value was maintained by the national banks of nations. For instance the United Kingdom set $ 2.80 per British pound; all banks of the nations participants of the Fund agreed to maintain the values of their currencies within 1 percent of the par value of the currency. 3 However, the initial success of the newly created financial system depended on the post war economic recovery especially in the European countries; the USA was almost the only developed country that had strong and stable economy at the end of 1945. The economies of most of the European countries had been devastated by the conflict and required large amount of technical and financial assistance to restore pre war levels of economic development. 4 Despite the fact that over 5 billion dollars had been granted to European nations by 1947, most of these funds were spent on some short-term emergencies and no long term plan of economic recovery had been developed. Apart from economic reasons to restore economies of Europe, the plan was also aimed to check the spread of Communism in some of the countries of Western and Southern Europe; as there was a real threat that leftist parties might win the election throughout whole Western Europe, or that some politicians might be tempted to rebuild s hattered economy of Europe by communist methods. Naturally these prospects were not greeted with enthusiasm in the United States, neither the USA could allow European continent to succumb to this Communist threat. Despite the fact that plan was developed with the purpose to check the communism, yet all nations including the countries of the Communist block were invited to participate in the program; latter countries of the Eastern Europe were forced to refuse to participate in

In the voice of Tita, write to Mama Elena and tell her how you feel Essay

In the voice of Tita, write to Mama Elena and tell her how you feel - Essay Example For all my life, I wanted nothing but your love and your care, but what you have given to me in return for all my selfless services? A broken heart? A tormented soul? Mama, I have never demanded anything from your other than Pedro in my life and what excuse did you give? You loved your traditions and old customs more than your own blood. For a mother, her child’s happiness means everything, but sadly, to you your old and out fashioned traditions means an entire world. Your unjust behavior and selfishness have left a hollow space in my heart. Mama, you should be ashamed of being a selfish mother; you should be ashamed of betraying your own daughter, your own blood over your traditions and stern behavior. With all the pain I have in my heart, I hold you responsible for every bad incident in my life. Its only you who have made me suffer for the rest of my life. I lost the meaning of life and happiness, and it is only because of you, mama. I regret making selfless sacrifices for you. The damage you have caused to my soul is irreparable. You have hurt me more than anyone in the world, and no one else can hurt me more than

Topic from mass media studies book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Topic from mass media studies book - Essay Example With such powers mass media has emerged as a tool that can be used to direct people to adopt and adapt to different perspectives. Such influences are also being countered with contemporary mass media campaigns that are opinion leaders for the status quo. The social aspect of mass media impact is observable and, indeed, gives birth to soft sciences like sociology and anthropology. John Locke coined a theory namely Tabula Rasa which stated that man is a clean slate at birth. It is society that starts writing on this clean tablet. And mass media is one of the major writing forces that influence a society (IJCRB,  2-5). With the domination of men in almost all spheres of life it was natural from the very beginning of mass media communication that they assume a dominant role. Liberalization later wedged women into media management. The long history of social inequality mass media has propagated has two periods. First part is solely male dominant period. And the second part is the revival of equality and retrieval of hijacked society. There is a cynical opinion that never accepts this. Whereas reality is what one could impartially observe. The role that is given to women in media and the way this gender is portrayed does not show a very simple concept that, ‘women are half of the population and mothers of the other half’. At the same time it is also a very pessimist opinion that media is exploiting vulnerabilities of this gender. Women in media have been struggling to retrieve its lost equity from men. It is now an accomplished fact that women have punctured the prejudice that men are the front end of society. There is a mix of stats and opinions but it is fortunate for today that the overall direction is towards neutralizing the gender discrimination through media. Mass media is helping the cause and role of women in media is interfering, constructively, the

Corporate Ethics and Governance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate Ethics and Governance - Case Study Example Greenpeace has alleged that the soybean producers have not adhered to the environmental requirements that 80 percent of the rainforest area should be kept in their natural format. This act can be considered as a violation of the legal provisions. Another complaint by Greenpeace is that there is an increasing incidence of 'bonded-labour' in the region by using a debt-bondage. The poorly paid workers are lured by the ranchers and are bound under "conditions analogous to slavery". It may be noted that in the year 2005 there were 4133 slaves who were freed from bonded-labour. It may be noted that Amazon is the most diverse expanse of intact forest in the world and that already 15 to 20 percent of the total area of 4.1 million square kilometers of forest are already destroyed. It is also feared that further areas would be put to danger by the change in the climate. According to the libertarian theory, the role of the government is paramount in protecting the life, liberty, and property of citizens against any interference by the fellow citizens. Any rational person in order to ensure this protection out of self interest would join hands with fellow citizens for securing this protection. In fact the quality of rational self interest compels a person to join any association which has as its purpose securing the protection of life, liberty, and property. "In a few words, they believe that individual freedom is the fundamental value that must underlie all social relations, economic exchanges and the political system." (Martin Masse) Considering the principles evolved in the libertarian theory, the action of Greenpeace in opposing to the action of McDonald's indulging indirectly in destroying the rainforests of Amazon for growing soy-based animal feed used by these chains for fattening the chicken can be considered as pushing the protection under the libertarianism. However libertarians would expect the respective governments to promulgate environmental regulations to protect the Amazon rainforests. Egalitarianism: Egalitarianism while acknowledging the claim of rights by libertarianism valid, goes a step further in extending the terms of the social contract to include certain rights which are termed as 'opportunity rights'. The assumptions under Egalitarianism claim that the rational persons would choose a social contract with terms that not only provide for libertarian protection but also would ensure that individuals are provided with a share of primary goods, where primary goods includes food, shelter, security and some discretionary income. The purpose of such share of primary goods is to provide for a decent life. When the principles of egalitarianism are considered in this case of McDonald's involving itself

In the voice of Tita, write to Mama Elena and tell her how you feel Essay

In the voice of Tita, write to Mama Elena and tell her how you feel - Essay Example For all my life, I wanted nothing but your love and your care, but what you have given to me in return for all my selfless services? A broken heart? A tormented soul? Mama, I have never demanded anything from your other than Pedro in my life and what excuse did you give? You loved your traditions and old customs more than your own blood. For a mother, her child’s happiness means everything, but sadly, to you your old and out fashioned traditions means an entire world. Your unjust behavior and selfishness have left a hollow space in my heart. Mama, you should be ashamed of being a selfish mother; you should be ashamed of betraying your own daughter, your own blood over your traditions and stern behavior. With all the pain I have in my heart, I hold you responsible for every bad incident in my life. Its only you who have made me suffer for the rest of my life. I lost the meaning of life and happiness, and it is only because of you, mama. I regret making selfless sacrifices for you. The damage you have caused to my soul is irreparable. You have hurt me more than anyone in the world, and no one else can hurt me more than

Corporate Ethics and Governance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Corporate Ethics and Governance - Case Study Example Greenpeace has alleged that the soybean producers have not adhered to the environmental requirements that 80 percent of the rainforest area should be kept in their natural format. This act can be considered as a violation of the legal provisions. Another complaint by Greenpeace is that there is an increasing incidence of 'bonded-labour' in the region by using a debt-bondage. The poorly paid workers are lured by the ranchers and are bound under "conditions analogous to slavery". It may be noted that in the year 2005 there were 4133 slaves who were freed from bonded-labour. It may be noted that Amazon is the most diverse expanse of intact forest in the world and that already 15 to 20 percent of the total area of 4.1 million square kilometers of forest are already destroyed. It is also feared that further areas would be put to danger by the change in the climate. According to the libertarian theory, the role of the government is paramount in protecting the life, liberty, and property of citizens against any interference by the fellow citizens. Any rational person in order to ensure this protection out of self interest would join hands with fellow citizens for securing this protection. In fact the quality of rational self interest compels a person to join any association which has as its purpose securing the protection of life, liberty, and property. "In a few words, they believe that individual freedom is the fundamental value that must underlie all social relations, economic exchanges and the political system." (Martin Masse) Considering the principles evolved in the libertarian theory, the action of Greenpeace in opposing to the action of McDonald's indulging indirectly in destroying the rainforests of Amazon for growing soy-based animal feed used by these chains for fattening the chicken can be considered as pushing the protection under the libertarianism. However libertarians would expect the respective governments to promulgate environmental regulations to protect the Amazon rainforests. Egalitarianism: Egalitarianism while acknowledging the claim of rights by libertarianism valid, goes a step further in extending the terms of the social contract to include certain rights which are termed as 'opportunity rights'. The assumptions under Egalitarianism claim that the rational persons would choose a social contract with terms that not only provide for libertarian protection but also would ensure that individuals are provided with a share of primary goods, where primary goods includes food, shelter, security and some discretionary income. The purpose of such share of primary goods is to provide for a decent life. When the principles of egalitarianism are considered in this case of McDonald's involving itself

Energy Drinks Market Essay Example for Free

Energy Drinks Market Essay What are energy drinks? Cola and coffee drinks have long been promoted and known as energy drinks meant to give you a little pick me up, mostly in the form of caffeine and sugar. Jolt Cola in the 80s was one of the early entries in the energy drink market, with double the caffeine of normal colas, it was marketed towards teens and college students as a way to get an energy edge and keep you awake and energized. Their slogan, in fact, was twice the caffeine. Jolt has in fact recently been reincarnated given the success of other energy drinks. What are the most popular energy drinks? Red Bull, created by an Austrian company, really defined the category, and was launched in Europe in the late 1980s. Their slogan is Red Bull gives you wings, with images of winged bulls flying in their ads and logos. Red Bull really gained in popularity and fame in the late 90s and into the new millenium, setting off a whole new market segment of beverages energy drinks. They sold more than 1 billion cans of Red Bull in 2000, and their growth continues until this day. Red Bull is estimated to dominate 60-70% of the energy drink market it is popular with teens all the way up through people in their 30s Red Bull and Vodka is a big drink at trendy bars. One of the main ingredients of Red Bull is taurine a chemical substance supposed to increase energy levels. But caffeine is the main component that gives Red Bull its kick. One 8 oz. can contains 80mg of caffeine (about the same as a cup of coffee) and 27g of sugar. Why drink Red Bull? If you visit their website, RedBull. com, youll read that drinking Red Bull increases performance, increases concentration, improves vigilance, improves emotional status, and stimulates metabolism. Is any of this true? Who knows, but there is an entire generation of young people that swear by it. The Energy Drink Market Full Throttle, Monster, Rockstar With the success of Red Bull, a slew of copycat drinks were flooded into the marketplace. The most popular energy drinks are Monster, Full Throttle, and Rockstar. Full Throttle is made and owned by Coca Cola, just like their Coke Blak combination of coffee/cola drink. Full Throttle energy drink is marketed as a rebellious drink, with flames erupting on the can, looking like a handful of Harley Davidson or something. An 8 oz. serving has 110 calories (comes in a 16 oz can) and 29g of sugar. It also packs things like ginseng extract (to keep you sharp) and plenty of caffeine. Full Throttle Fury comes with a citrus flavor and a red can, instead of the standard black can. Coming from Coke, it is almost Fanta Orange like in flavor, vs. the slightly citrussy flavored version of the original. Full Throttle was a late comer to the market, launched in 2005. It is targeted at 20-30 year old men, and contains taurine like Red Bull. Monster Energy Drink Rockstar Monster energy drink is yet another competitor in this crowded field. Unlike Red Bull which comes in the diminuitive 8 oz. cans, Rockstar comes in the larger 16oz. cans, like all the other energy drinks (priced around $1. 89 per can is also pretty standard). It also has a sweet citrussy taste similar to Red Bull. The Monster logo looks like 3 claw marks ripping the can open. They also make a low-carb version and Khaos, the juice monster. Monster Energy Assault is their entry into the soft drink flavored market, but with the same energy kick to set it apart. Finally, there is Rockstar energy drink, from the makers of Hansens Natural Sodas. Their motto is party like a rockstar, targeted clearly at the younger crowd who wants to be wild and crazy and stay up all night. They make several flavors of Rockstar cola, energy drink, and juiced (which is much like Monster Khaos). The energy drink variety has a similar taste to all the others, while the cola version tastes better than most (it has a slight kick to the aftertaste, unlike most traditional colas). The juiced version is our favorite, with a crisp flavor of mango, orange, and passion fruit, leaving you with no aftertaste. It is actually 70% real fruit juice (and 100% energy as they claim! ). They were the first to use the 16oz larger size, and this has caught on and become the standard. Only Red Bull continues to market the smaller cans, which is part of their image. While the UK is certainly not the only market in Europe where energy and sports drinks are big business nor indeed is it the large Bars and clubs remain important outlets for energy drinks across Europe Many people will try an energy drink brand for the first time in a bar, with or without alcohol there is a growing trend towards everyday consumption as a source of energy. This in itself throws up other challenges not least how the brands, and the stores that sell them, distinguish themselves from each other. This has led to a range of new products, which differentiate themselves from Red Bull through packaging, or colour, or taste, or through what they contain, said Hall. Consumers are increasingly knowledgeable, and they understand more and more about the ingredients in these drinks, so if the science is good, it can be a real selling point. Sports drinks are perhaps a case in point. They are generally linked with energy drinks, and indeed have a number of similarities in terms of functionality and target audience. Yet they are generally consumed in different situations they are unlikely to be consumed in a bar, for example and have different effects on the body. I think its true to say that sports drinks marketing is more dependent on science, Hall said. PowerAde and Lucozade are pushing the science of sport into the mainstream. Gatorade has not yet achieved that in Europe, but may be helped by the recent change of ownership [it was bought by PepsiCo from Quaker Oats]. But if we see a three-way marketing push from these leading brands, then the shape of the European market could change dramatically. Though there are differences between sports and energy drinks, they are all about topping up, enabling people to get more out of their lives or their activities. The products have a common target audience young people with lots of spending power and the opportunities are there for excellent growth. But there are potential threats as well. There have been stories of adverse reactions to energy drinks, although the drinks have never been categorically linked to the problems. The companies have always been quick to respond to potential problems such as these, even if they were certain that the problem was not a result of the drink, said Hall. These drinks are constantly pushing the boundaries of science, and there is an argument that says can we ever be totally sure of any products safety. What we need is a balance of judgement, and for the most part that is what we make. KOTLER, Philip. , Marketing management / Philip Kotler, Kevin Keller.? Twelfth ed. , Pearson Prentice Hall. Englewood-Cliffs, New Jersey, KOTLER, Philip. , Principles of Marketing, Second European Ed. , Prentice Hall Europe, London, 1999. PORTER, Michael E. , What is strategy, Harvard business review, Nov-Dec 1996.

Bateel Marketing Analysis

Bateel Marketing Analysis I. Current Marketing Situation Company Background Now a world-class brand in the premium confectionery industry, Bateel started with a simple concept, offering a unique range of high quality products to a well-defined market segment in an upscale and elegant retail environment. The concept was also unique, offering a selection of products not available from any other source. Bateels strong appeal to consumers in various target market segments is based on our strategy and ability to consistently develop and produce the highest quality products and maintain an innovative merchandising and distribution system. Bateels success is anchored on a strong production and marketing organization, which is vertically integrated and includes farming, processing, manufacturing, and premium retailing functions. Bateel now specializes in the production and distribution of a complete range of dates, and date and non-date gourmet confectioneries. The company is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a regional office in Dubai, UAE and employs over three hundred people.[1] Company Products There are mainly four 4 product lines that are produced by the company, and they are: 1. Dates Bateel offers more than 20 varieties of high quality dates including famed Naboot Seif, Sokari, Kholas, Sekki and Khidri. Most of these date varieties are available in fresh, Rhutab and the traditional Maknooz recipe. 2. Chocolates That includes, Date Chocolates, Pralines Truffles, Bateel Wrapped Chocolates, Sugar Free, Figure Chocolates. 3. Pastries That is pastries and biscuits, Each is made with high quality Bateel dates, in addition to other ingredients, pastries are made from fresh natural ingredients and do not contain preservatives or artificial dough conditioners. All pastry items are baked by Bateel under strict, quality controlled conditions and are kept refrigerated until they are sold. 4. Other gourmet products Bateel dates and chocolates are complemented by an exclusive selection of date and non-date specialties, such as date bars, sparkling date juice drink, Turkish delight and other delicacies. These delicacies are made from the finest natural ingredients, free of preservatives, with recipes designed to satisfy the most demanding connoisseurs. Other products are: Date Jam, Sparkling Date Drink, Fruit Cake, Date Bar, Turkish Delight, Marrons Glaces, Date Dhibs, Date Dhibs Syrup, Honey, Apricot, Fig, Date Honey Fig Roll, Date Cantucci, Date Panforte, Date and Walnut Cake, Fig and Walnut Nougat, Nougat Bar, Clementine au Chocolate, Bonbons, Date Calisson, Pate de Fruit, Premium Italian Coffees Condiments, Olive Oil, Date Balsamic Vinegar and Nuts. 5. Pre-packed specialties Those are the Bateel selective product packed as gifts. Company Branches The company has many branches in different countries as follows: Africa with one branch: Sudan with one branch. Asia with eight branches: India with two branches. Indonesia with one branch. Malaysia with two branches Pakistan with three branches. Europe with total of two branches: Azerbaijan with one branch United Kingdom with one branch. Middle East with twenty two branches as follows: UAE with eight branches in Dubai and 3 branches in Abu Dhabi. Jordan with one branch Qatar with one branch Oman with one branch Bahrain with two branches Kuwait with two branches Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 4 branches. Product lines allocation as per the BCG matrix: Product lines BCG allocation analysis: Dates: Allocating Dates between Star and Cash cow is due to that Bateel is well known for dates, as they are as well high in demand comparing to other product at Bateel and due to the business is typically specialized in producing dates with different flavors and fillings, moreover, the product is not new in market and the people are already aware of it and demand it, therefore it has a high market share and growth. Chocolates: In Bateel chocolates have low market share besides that they have well known competitors in this product line who are much specialized in chocolate products therefore they tend to be in low demand at Bateel. On the other hand chocolate is considered to be a growing market as reported by [3]AC Nielsons Retail Audit estimate the UAE chocolate market at AED 546 million with a growth of 27% by value and 14% by volume MENAFN Press-08/10/2008. In addition to some companies are being keen to produce chocolate out of camel milk with high quality after a recent study the reveals that the chocolate market in the UAE is strong with 98% of respondents claiming to consume chocolate at least once a week [4]29 October 2008. Pastries: Dates Pastries at Bateel are not much known and people are not much aware of it unlike other well known non dates pastries producers, hence, they are to be in low demand at Beteel and low market share due to that they are not given enough attention by Bateel in terms of marketing and advertisement. On the other hand On average, daily consumption of dates per capita was 114.3 g, equivalent to 10 date fruits. However, it was noted that the younger population does not consume dates as much as the older population does. Nevertheless, surveys showed the significance of dates in the UAE nations diet considering the relatively high average consumption of dates per capita. Copyright  © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry[5]. And due to that reason Dates in Bateel is ranked as first product chosen by consumers furthermore that can be used as strong impulse to enhance the production of Dates pastries. Other gourmet products: Basically recently there are many specialties stores specialized in gourmet products such as [6]â€Å"Gourmet Station† that is considered to be the largest store in UAE in producing unique unlimited gourmet products unlike other small specialty stores that have limited Dates gourmet products like Bateel which in contrast can be an advantage as its considered to be healthier in ingredients. Product line chosen: Our product line chosen is Pastries, which includes Date â€Å"biscuits† and Date â€Å"cookies†. Why pastries? The reason behind selecting this product line is that dates are healthy in the first place especially for kids, low in cost, high in nutrition, available most of the years, would be preferred for parents and adults to serve it to kids instead of other type of sweets, freshly and creative baked dates pastries are always preferred particularly for banquets and weddings mainly for adults and old aged consumers though it was noted that the younger population does not consume dates as much as the older population does[7]. On the hand, there arent any competitors who are â€Å"specialized† in producing â€Å"Dates Pastries† unlike Bateel, as there isnt much who is creative and innovative in dates pastries. Moreover, it requires little investment due to the main raw material â€Å"Dates† apart from other ingredients is low in cost and available most of the year. Target Market: The target market are adults, males and females aged 18 and above, all social statuses, all nationalities and religion, residents and visitors from all over the UAE those of income AED 3000-AED 6000 annually and who are able to pay for high quality dates products, assorted and professionally and elegantly packed and arranged for purchase and sell to targeted customers for their special occasions and events. II. Macro Environmental Factors and Opportunity and Issue Analysis Macro environment comprises of a number of forces that an organization cannot control. These factors affect the efficiency of an organization, its decision making process and its performance. These are considered to be external forces such as economy (GDP per capita, inventory levels, economic growth, inflation rate, unemployment rate etc.), social cultural factors (demographic factors religion, age, income level, and attitude of consumers and cultural structures), natural factors (hurricanes, flood etc.) and competitive factor. The macro environmental factors are of grave importance to the UAE market as confectionary market adds maximum to the food exports of UAE. Since the market is considered to be among the top 10 largest markets in the world, environmental changes need to be studied so as to predict future changes in the environment as the analysis of the threats and opportunities helps the organization to be at par with the changing scenario. The main factors affecting the org anization at macro level are Economic Factors There are a number of scenarios which are observed in an economy such as prosperity, depression, recession and recovery. In an era of prosperity, the GDP of a country increases making its standard of living high pushing it on the road to success. The economy of the UAE is very strong mainly because of its oil reserves but it has over the years added to its agriculture which adds about 3 % to the GDP of the nation. It has become self sufficient in matters of food. The sweet and confectionary markets are expanding at a larger pace. The inflow of large number of tourists has also added to the economy and has supported sweet producing corporations. The governmental policies regarding emiratisation have supported local citizens in getting jobs. The higher education undertaken by young lads has added to the economy of the nation. (Economy) Social Cultural Factors Society acts as an important factor to the success of an organization. It is vital for the organizations to figure out the needs of the customers, their attitude towards the product produced by the organization. A strong ethnic behavior prevails in UAE symbolizing its tradition which does not provide freedom to the various sectors of society as might be in other European or American nations. Thus, an organization working in such a scenario needs to keep in mind the ideals of its fellow citizens as any act which discriminates or humiliates their feelings could lead to an outrage in the people. UAE has one of the largest immigration rates in the world because of the incapability of its local people to work with modern ware fares which are carried out by expatriates mainly from the subcontinents. The fast growing population does act as driving force for the industries as it adds to the strength of the man power of the region. Natural Factor A company is posed by natural forces depending on the locations it operates. Such a situation if experienced does lead to loss of life and property and loss from such a calamity is an inevitable experience. The two most common ways to react to a change in environment are reactive and proactive response. The optimization of the Marketing Mix helps in the reactive response. One of the 4 Ps i.e., places where the product is sold by an organization also called distribution channel both physical and virtual could be optimized to prevent the extent of loss. Most of the companies promote the go-green concept to attract consumers as the urge to make Dubai green had been the top priority in 2008. Since then UAE has always advocated to promote sustainable development. Competitive Factor It forms the basis of survival of an organization and fall of another in a market. An organization that understands the needs of its customers more precisely and changes in accordance to the dynamic change in the scenario overpowers and outshines in the market. The analysis of competition is an important strategic tool which helps an organization aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the other companies in its market. Since, the home confectionary market is showing a high growth rate, it attracts various companies into the market to sell their product. Thus, it becomes very important for the various companies in the field to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other companies to remain at par with them. The greater the competition, the more alternatives it provides to the customers. Thus, it becomes main priority of the companies to hold their customers by providing them special offers and something extra from others in the same business. (Chapter 3 class notes) SWOT Analysis It has four tools to strategically plan a business venture. The four tools are to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threat in any business to make it a success. Every SWOT analysis has an end result or objective such as in this case it is to help the premium confectionery industry, Bateel become global leaders. Strengths The company specializes in the production and distribution of complete range of dates and it has a high market share and growth in dates as per the BCG matrix in UAE. It produces 20 different varieties of dates which are exported to US adding to their strong market position. The presence of stores in various countries, majority of 22 in UAE adds to its distinctive growth in the confectionary market. The own a lot of farms which use extensive high quality machinery to grow and furnish dates. Such a vast capital and being the oldest of its kind creates a strong public image which is a boon for the organization. (UAE Confectionery) Weaknesses The chocolates, pastries and non date products are growing fast in market i.e., they have a fast growth rate in comparison to the date products but these products add to less that 20% of the share in the markets. The chocolates and pastries are neither much known nor are preferred. The company has large number of stores in UAE but lacks to provide the same performance when compared with the world. On exceeding the boundaries of Arab countries and some of the sub continents, no one seems to recognize the company. It has only 2 branches in Europe and none in American continent. The further growth of company will restricted if it fails to explore the rest of Europe and America. Opportunities The company can advance in the chocolate and pastries selling by increasing their market share and by using better promotional strategies. Since, Bateel strives to provide pastries with date; the pastries offer better nutritional value at reduced prices than contemporary chocolates, yet delicious adding to the benefit it provides and its good image in the markets. Company can take appropriate action according to its state in BCG matrix. The date products can be sold to all people in various ages from children to old. The date products are popular in children because of their sweetness but it needs to take into account the people above 18 yrs. The dates being the most natural of all products increase its demand and hence provide opportunity to explore. Threats The small market share of the company in the chocolate, pastries and non date products seems to threaten its position in the market. To sustain in the market, it needs to explore a way to exceed its boundaries and shell of date products. The presence of better companies in these products also does not complement its growth. Since the growth rate of pastries is higher than date products, it poses a serious concern in front of the company to take serious actions. Considering the environmental factors, pest infestation is the greatest threat to the date industries in UAE which is rising by 2 percent consistently. Such a plague could cripple the strong hold of the industry. (Date Palm Research and Development Program) References Economy (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://looklex.com/e.o/uae.economy.htm Date Palm Research and Development program (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://datepalm.uaeu.ac.ae/subpages/datepalmcultural.html Chapter 3 Class notes (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt3.html UAE Confectionery (n.d.) Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://gulfnews.com/mobile/business/features/uae-confectionery-is-the-icing-on-food-export-cake-1.524603 http://www.bateel.ae/about-thecompany.html http://www.bateel.ae/main.html http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093215036 http://www.thedubailife.com/home/news/news-sports/worlds-first-camel-milk-chocolate http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112597329/abstract?CRETRY=1SRETRY=0 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545998?tmpl=printpage= http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112597329/abstract?CRETRY=1SRETRY=0

Violence Chain :: Essays Papers

Violence Chain â€Å"Oh, hi Ahmed, how was the amusement park? Did you have fun?† he asked. â€Å"Yes I did,† I said with a surprising face; how could he ask me this question, when he just hit his son in front of me. Parent’s violence used to be normal in the United Arab Emirates. Parents used violence to teach their children. However, some parents still think that violence is the best way to teach children. These parents make the violence chain goes from one generation to another without stopping. Most of the children, who have been beaten up by their parents, suffer from many problems like they don’t having the ability to make friends, they lie, they fight, they drop of school, and much more. Parents who use violence don’t note that beating their children is the reason behind these problems; however, they continue beating them thinking that that will solve their children problems, which doesn’t, yet it makes them worse and worse. Once I had watched parent violence in front of my eyes, while it happened to one of my friends. He has been my friend for more than 4 years. We studied in the same school and we attended the same classes for these 4 years, so we were a real good friend. However, my story started in a beautiful weekend with not much homework. I and my friend decided to go to an amusement park near my house. This amusement park was considered as the biggest park in my country, so it has a lot of games. We usually go their from time to time, because there is nothing much going on in my city. Once we were there, we started to ride all games, and there were a lot. We were lucky that day because the park wasn’t crowded, so we didn’t have to wait in long lines. Riding games and enjoying the atmosphere took us the whole day, unfortunately we’ve forgotten about the time, when we should have been home at eleven pm. We forgot and returned at midnight. I didn’t think that it was a big deal, but when I looked at my friend face he was so worried and scared. I didn’t know why, so ask him â€Å"What’s wrong? Why do you look so worried?† But he didn’t answer he just said â€Å"Nothing, nothing wrong. Let’s just go back home,† so I just walked back with him to his home silently.

Essay --

While it’s not truly the holiday season without hearing Mariah Carey’s â€Å"All I Want for Christmas is You,† you might want to branch out a bit if you plan to do some caroling this season. What’s a caroling group to do? Instead of singing old favorites like â€Å"Frosty the Snowman,† consider shaking things up a bit with the following six Christmas carols that don’t get enough airtime. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella† Take a step back in time with this understated Christmas classic. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,† is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century and was translated to English in the 19th century by E. Cuthbert Nunn. This Christmas carol includes a playful reminder to those gathered around Jesus to be quiet, so as to let him sleep. The song is upbeat and filled with excitement, as you can hear with the lyrics â€Å"Christ is born, tell the folk of the village/Jesus is sleeping in His cradle.† â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† If you’re looking for a carol with a reminder to help others, then consider adding â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† to the mix. The song was written by John ... Essay -- While it’s not truly the holiday season without hearing Mariah Carey’s â€Å"All I Want for Christmas is You,† you might want to branch out a bit if you plan to do some caroling this season. What’s a caroling group to do? Instead of singing old favorites like â€Å"Frosty the Snowman,† consider shaking things up a bit with the following six Christmas carols that don’t get enough airtime. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella† Take a step back in time with this understated Christmas classic. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,† is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century and was translated to English in the 19th century by E. Cuthbert Nunn. This Christmas carol includes a playful reminder to those gathered around Jesus to be quiet, so as to let him sleep. The song is upbeat and filled with excitement, as you can hear with the lyrics â€Å"Christ is born, tell the folk of the village/Jesus is sleeping in His cradle.† â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† If you’re looking for a carol with a reminder to help others, then consider adding â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† to the mix. The song was written by John ...

Lesson Observation

PGCE 1 Observation 1 Date 24/11/2009 Author: Gareth Jones Observation of an Experienced Teacher An Evaluation Introduction My first observation was at a4e, which is where I volunteer for 5 hours per week. These hours count towards my teaching hours as part of my PGCE. The teacher delivering the session was Charlotte Faichney who is the Skills for Life specialist. She delivers the Numeracy and Literacy modules at the a4e Wrexham office. The students’s ages ranged from 16 to 18 and were at Entry Level 2 and 3. The session was held in Basic Skills Classroom, which is well equipped, well lit and well maintained. This showed an understanding about ways to maintain a learning environment in which learners feel safe and supported (BK 1. 1) This was my first observation and would count towards the PTLLS module of my PGCE. The session ran for 95 minutes. Planning The aim of the lesson was to introduce the learners to different aspects of handling data through the use of circus skills. The learner’s objectives were to record numerical data, extract and interpret that data and to make comparisons with the use of bar charts. They would have to find the average and the range for a set of data. The lesson plan showed a logical flow from introduction of the session, to the practical exercises, collecting and interpreting the data and the final Q & A session that evaluated the success of planned learning activities (DP 3. 1). These Q & A sections were relevant and acted as a natural stepping stone to progress the lesson. The first Q & A established prior knowledge, while the second assessed the newly acquired knowledge before starting the main activity. The next session re-capped the activity and gave the learners the opportunity to analyse their results. The fourth session enable students the knowledge to calculate arithmetic averages for their sets of data and the last session was a summative assessment of the whole session. This detailed plan really showed how to plan a teaching and learning session (DK 1. 2). Management of Learning Communication, both verbal and demonstrative was clear, concise and always relevant. The teacher was always engaging and confidently controlled the classroom. I noticed that she used open and Socratic questions to draw out answers from the learners. There was strict adherence to the rules of the classroom that were predominantly displayed on a poster. These rules covered behaviour, what the teacher expected from the learners in terms of input and what the learners could expect from the teacher. Mobile phones had to be switched off and food and drink were not allowed. The teacher was proactive and walked confidently around the classroom.. It showed me the importance of establishing and sticking to firm rules and gave me a valuable insight on how beneficial classroom management can be to both the teacher and the learner. The lesson was definitely learner focussed, as all students were fully engaged and participed in collaborative learning activities. Biggs (1994) argues â€Å"The focus should not be on the skills itself, but whether its deployment has the desired effect on student learning. † Learners were encouraged to discuss their findings and the Q & A ensured that the learners had to think about what, and how they could use, what they were learning. Gibbs (1981) states that â€Å"this is one of the qualities displayed by learners with a deep approach†. . Resources The circus skills theme was fun and made the collection and interpretation of data less mundane than it could have been. This highlighted ways to engage, motivate and encourage active participation of learners and learner independence (BK 2. 2). The handouts were clear and relevant, whilst the flipchart provided a good point of reference throughout the session. Although I have used these resources myself, I could see how well thought out and good quality handouts greatly enhanced the learning experience. The flipchart was covered when not in use to prevent distraction. There were three skills to try, which catered for the varying abilities. Information was easily recordable, which meant extraction and interpretation was very manageable. I could see that the impact of resources on effective learning (BK 5. 1) was clearly visible and the emphasis was on the needs of the student. Reece and Walker, (2007, p26) state that a teaching strategy maybe defined as â€Å"a purposeful combination of student activities supported by appropriate resources to provide a particular learning experience (process) and/or to bring about the desired learning (product)† Assessment Initial assessment was carried out by using a Q & A session to establish prior knowledge of tally and bar charts and also of the meaning of mean, mode, range and median. Formative assessment took the form of Q & A about the results from the tally chart exercise, the deliberate omissions from the tutor’s bar graph. The leaner’s swapped graphs and had to interpret each other’s results, which showed ways to develop, establish and promote peer and self assessment (EK (1. 3). The results from calculating the mean, mode, range and median were discussed and an understanding of the terminology was verified. For summative for assessment, we re-visited the flipchart to re-cap on the session, using Q & A to determine which areas the learners required more information on. The session showed the teacher used appropriate forms of assessment and evaluated their effectiveness in producing information useful to the teacher and the learner (EP 1. 1) Conclusion The first thing I noticed was how the layout and environment of the room impacted on the learner’s attitude to the session. They are normally in a nosier more congested classroom and as a whole are generally quite rowdy. They settled quickly and seemed eager to start the session and were asking questions before the session had even began. Once they realised they were going to try various circus skills their level of interest grew even more. It seemed to me to be a great way of delivering a session. They were having fun, learning about collating, recording and extraction of data, carrying out self and peer assessment and obtaining an understanding of various mathematical terms. This technique would be useful in covering differentiation within the classroom. The teacher guided the session, whilst the learners drove it. She was inclusive and took an active part in what was going on. However she stood back as soon as the learners were actively engaged to observe and assess the activity. Most of the learners want to work in factories or retail, so an understanding of sales and production figures, which normally come in the form of charts, is required. Most stock taking is initially carried out using a tally system and knowing how to calculate the mean, range, median and mode is useful in most present day jobs. Most businesses place a huge emphasis on the gathering and interpretation of data. Without detailed and up-to-date information they consider themselves to be â€Å"running blind†. This session has shown me that you don’t just go out and deliver a given subject in its rawest form. I can see the benefits of innovative teaching methods and using visual and kinaesthetic strategies. The use of formative and summative assessment to establish that learning has taken place can not be argued against. Whilst the teacher’s use of peer and self assessment to compliment this strategy underlines the value placed on it. I agree with Reece and Walker (2007, p369), who state that, â€Å"The important thing is that assessment is an integral part of each lesson, the course and of the learning†. References Biggs, J (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press. (Gibbs, G. (1981) Teaching Students to Learn. Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press Reece, Ian and Walker, Stephen, (2007) Teaching, training and learning, 6th Ed. Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd. Appendix Evaluation Sheets Session Plan Handouts