Public Speaking Self-Reflection Essay

In order for public speaking to become a skill, there are a few areas in which I need to improve to make it a suitable strength. Public speaking is not a weakness for me but I would like to transform it into one of my strengths. During my two minute presentation, I found that in order to do this I need to improve my ability to perform long speeches without hesitation, maintain eye contact, and be energetic in front of an audience showing more overview what topic I am discussing. In class I plan to work on take the steps of improving my verbal communication in front of my peers. While talking I plan to avoid using filler words that will drag a speech on and draw less interest from my audience. Being able to talk among my peers by keeping good eye contact on them at all times. By doing this it allows me the freedom to walk around and not be completely immobile when giving a speech. Understanding how to organize my work to have a solid overview on what I will be saying when presenting. With this class I hope it takes me to a whole new level on how to talk to people and how to control my emotions when in front of any audience regardless who it is. By allowing myself this sense of understand and awareness will help give me a sense of calmness giving me the ability to stand up and say what I need to say when giving a speech or if I am in a crowd listening to someone speak to offer my views on what is being said. In order for myself to improve my weak areas to accomplish my goals I will have to do the following: first write a speech and review it, next go over the speech many times in a place I feel safe performing the speech. After this find a mirror, use this to help reduce my fear when speaking in front of people. If this doesn’t work for me I can always use my family to help me. This will be continued to repeat itself until I felt I was ready to give my p resentation. Once I have accomplished improving my shortcomings will have the tools needed to be successful in any  job related to my career field.

Total Quality Management in Toyota

Introduction Toyota is one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, selling over  9 million models in 2006 on all five continents. A Top 10 Fortune Global 500 enterprise, Toyota ranks among the world’s leading global corporations and is proud to be the most admired automaker, an achievement the company believes stems from its dedication to customer satisfaction. Toyota has been shaped by a set of values and principles that have their roots in the company’s formative years in Japan. The Toyota story begins in the late 19th century, when Sakichi Toyoda invented Japan’s first power loom, which was to revolutionise the country’s textile industry. In January 1918, Sakichi founded the Toyoda Spinning & Weaving Company, and with the help of his son, Kiichiro Toyoda, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of building an automatic loom in 1924. Two years later, he established Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. Like his father, Kiichiro was an innovator, and during his visits to Europe and the U. S. in the 1920s, he became deeply interested in the nascent automotive industry. Making the most of the ? 100,000 that Sakichi Toyoda received for selling the patent rights of his automatic loom, Kiichiro laid the foundations of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), which was established in 1937. From looms to cars, the Toyota experience has been shaped by extending the boundaries of manufacturing. History When Toyota became the first Japanese car manufacturer to venture into motor sports in 1957, Shotaro Kamiya, then president of the Toyota Motor Sales Company, encouraged his team with his belief that, â€Å"There will be no progress if you fear failure. † The Toyota spirit For half a century this courageous spirit has guided these pioneers and their successors. Aware of the immense task ahead, Toyota approached motor sports with a mixture of patience and ambition. Over the decades, the company’s â€Å"kaizen† method of continuous improvement proved a winning strategy. Toyota eventually accumulating hard-won experience, professional respect and a long string of victories at tracks all around the world. The purpose of this project is to how Toyota analysis of effectiveness of Total Quality Management in the automobile industry. The reason is quality of a product or a service plays a key role in the current business environment. Total Quality Management is a philosophy that guides every activity within a business. It is concerned with developing and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement, which focuses customer’s expectation at a low cost. Providing the best product or service at the minimum price is the main challenge faced by the current competitive business environment. Toyota customers are price sensitive but at the same time they expect value for money, large companies have been able to gain the economies of scale therefore, they have been able to deliver low price products to the market. But the quality of that product cannot always be impressive as they mainly focus on the low cost. Traditionally the cost of quality is considered as an additional cost but at present cost of quality has taken a major role of a product costing. As the competition and business survival in modem organisations are intensifying, they need not only to increase their market share by improving the quality or products and services, but also improve the performance of their employees. In the early 1980s, the concept of total quality management was widely applied to manufacturing industries. The application of Total Quality Management has recently shown its significance in services industries for improving the quality of service and customers satisfaction, which has resulted in increased competitive advantage. In the UK, service automobile industry represents a dynamic and important sector, which occupies a major part of the economy. Rapid development of new levels of service capabilities would be the best solution to deliver high value- added service to satisfy the customer’s need in the UK automobile industry. The awareness of the important of quality in the survival and competitive advantage has recently started to spread in UK automobile industry (black 1999). Since the effective implementation of Total Quality Management hinges on the development of a business plan and providing value added customers focused processes, it is interesting to study the key drivers, which will make application of TQM successful in service companies such as hotels, banks and hospital etc. Research Objectives Outline of Toyota’s TQM system Analysis of the effectiveness of TQM in Toyota Critically evaluate how Toyota has benefit by adopting TQM principle An analysis of the current problems encountered by Toyota principle of TQM The main reason to choose this topic as my dissertation is my personal experience. Toyota is my main means of transportation. Toyota companies own a well-sophisticated technology; charge very expensive tickets fares, yet inefficient automobile industries had given me the interest to study about it for a long time. Train delays are the main problem that commuters face. The monopoly of train operating companies has made this situation worse. I always believed that Toyota could give a better service at a low rate than now. Also I am personally interested in TRANSPORT economics, which has given me an added reason to do research IN Toyota. Total Quality Management is all about the managing the quality at work on whatever we do and also it helps to reduce and service cost. So that I decide to do a research on application of Total Quality management in Toyota. Literature review Quality is the key to competitive advantage in today’s business environment. As more organisations for Total Quality Management (TQM), the choices open to those wanting to set up a quality system are becoming increasing varied. Good business, which in turn general prosperity and employment, is not something, which comes about by chance. It is result of the skills with which business in general is managed and business in general is only the sum of the activities of the business units. Through all the years that I have been in business I have never yet found our business bad as a result of any outside force. It has always been due to some defect in our own company, and whenever we located and repaired the defect our business become good again regardless of what anybody else may be doing. HENRY FORD According to the above remark done by Henry Ford, it implies that the success or failure of a company depends on the strength and weaknesses of that company. Once they can rectify their slip – ups then they can gain their success back. So by doing everything correctly, with zero defects the failure of a business is minimal. Total Quality Management can be practices in every department, in every activity in a company. It should be practices from senior management to the least level of the employee. Then any business can get success in the competitive business environment. The concept of Total Quality Management was developed by an American, W. Edward Deming, after World War II for improving the production quality of goods and service. The concept was not taken seriously by American until the Japanese, who adopting it in 1950 to resurrect their post war business and industry, used it to dominate world markets by 1980. By then most U. S. manufacturing had finally accepted that the nineteenth century assembly line factory model was outdated for the modern global economic markets (Mehrotra, 2005). Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organisation of a company that aims to provide, and continue to provide, its customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspect of the company’s operations, with things being done right first time, and defects and waste eradicated from operations. What is Total Quality Management? The two key elements in this research are Total Quality Management and corporate strategy. The main aim is to conduct an inductive grounded theory study into the strategic impact of Total Quality Management and is to place corporate strategy and TQM in context. The seeks to inductively develop an understanding of the relationship between TQM and strategy, as opposed to testing existing theory. A brief strategic quality management literature review is given, followed by a description of the grounded theory research methodology involving 19 grounded case studies. The grounded results are discussed in the context, in which they were made, this allowing the grounded picture to emerge according to the (Eisenhardt, 1989, 1991). Even though Total Quality Management is all about the managing the quality at work on whatever we do, it has got a vast theoretical area as quality should be everywhere in an organisation. Total Quality Management applies from top to bottom of an organisation, from strategic decisions to final output. Total Quality Management can be studied from three different approaches. They are contribution from quality leaders, formal evaluation models and empirical research. Deming (1986) underlined the use of statistical techniques for quality control, and proposed has 14 principles to improve quality in organisation, based on the following ideas. Leadership, an improvement philosophy, the right production from the beginning, training for managers and employees, internal communication aimed at the elimination of obstacles for cooperation and the suppression of quantitative objective. Juran (1993) pointed out the importance of both technical and managerial aspects, and indentified the three basic function of the quality management process. They are planning, organisation and control, as the stages for quality improvement. He indicated that the aim of the management is to reduce the cost of mistakes, reaching a point where the total costs of quality are minimal according to (Juran and Gryna, 1993). Ishikawa (1985) emphasized the importance of training, the usage of cause effect diagrams for problem solving, and quality circles as a way to achieve continuous improvement. Crosby (1979) defined 14 steps for quality improvement, including top and intermediate management commitment, quality measurement, evaluation of quality costs, corrective action, and training, a zero defect philosophy, objective setting and employee recognition. Lastly, Feigenbaum (1991) described the notion of total quality, based mainly on leadership and an understanding of the aspects of quality improvement, a commitment to incorporate quality in the firm’s practices, and the participation of the entire workforce, the objective being the reduction of total costs. Some of the above mentioned theories have discussed in details in this chapter. Juran (1993) concluded that Total Quality Management is the set of management processes and system that create delighted customers through empowered employees, leading to higher revenue and lowest cost. According to that definition TQM is a combination of all functions and process within an organisation in order to achieve continuous improvement of the quality of goods and service for the customer satisfaction. To accomplish this is need to involve every one and all activities of a continuous way of life for the purpose of managing the quality of the all activities. Total Quality Management is an interaction of number of ideas. In order to attain the quality of an organisation, in terms of all the functions, it is a start to finish process that integrates interrelated function at all levels. It is a systems approach that considers every contact between the various elements of the organisation. As a result of this interaction the overall performance of the organisation will be higher than total of the individual output from the subsystems. Those subsystems such as include organisational functions in the products life cycle such as design, planning, production, distribution and field service. It also needs to integrate management subsystems such as strategy with customers focus, the tools of quality and employee involvement that the linking process integrates whole. As a result of all those activities any product or service can be improved. This particular structure leads the organisation in to continuous improvement and finally customer satisfaction (PHS management training 2005). Continuous improvement of all operations and activities is at the heart of TQM. This is because customer satisfaction can only be achieved by providing a high quality products, continuous improvement of the quality of the product is seen as the only way to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. As well as recognising the link between product quality and customer satisfaction, TQM also recognises that product quality is the result of process quality. As a result, there is a focus on continuous improvement of the companies’ processes. This will lead to an improvement in process quality. In turn this will lead to an improvement in product quality, and to increase in customer satisfaction. Improvement cycles are encouraged for all activities from design and development of products, through routine support and administrative service, to customer relationship management. To achieve continuous improvement Toyota gas to measure and analyze its own performance and that of other companies. Top management commitment and involvement is required in creating and developing clear quality values and goals consistent with the objective of Toyota, and in creating and developing well defined systems, methods and performance measure for achieving those goals. Such systems and methods guide all quality activities and encourage participation by all employees. The development and use of performance indicators is linked, directly or indirectly, to customer requirements and satisfaction, and employee remuneration elimination of waste is a major component of the quality improvement approach. There is also a strong emphasis on prevention rather than detection, hence an emphasis on quality at the design stage. The customer driven process helps to prevent errors and get closer to defect free production. When problems do occur within the product development process, the aim is to identify and solve them rather than hide them; they are generally discovered and resolved before they can get to the next internal customer Benchmarking What is that organisation do that gets results so much better than ours? The answer to this question opens the door to benchmarking, an approach that is accelerating among U. S. firm that have adopted the total quality management (TQM) philosophy. The essence of benchmarking is the continuous process of comparing a company’s strategy, products and processes with those of the world leaders and best in class organisations in order to learn how the achieve excellence and then setting out match and even surpass it. For many organisations, benchmarking has become a key component of their TQM programs (Joel E. Ross) National and international quality awards place considering emphasis on the need to make inter firm comparisons on a spectrum of performance related criteria. This is called benchmarking. This comparison may be within the industrial sector or against â€Å"best practice† irrespective of the industry concerned. Such comparisons can be made in almost any measures which are not just industry specific. For instance, financial performance measurement such as return on capital employee, debtor and creditor ration, credit period or training levels, plan availability and efficiency. Joel E. Ross) concludes the real meaning of benchmarking is the continuous process of comparing a company’s strategy, products and processes with those of the world’s leader and best in class organisation in order to learn how they achieved excellence and then setting out to match and even surpass it. Nowadays benchmarking is a key component of TQM programs. There is currently some debate abo ut which TQM practices contribute most to superior performance outcomes. Several proponents argue that softer TQM practices such as leadership, human resource management, and customer focus have more impact than benchmarking, process analysis or performance measurement. The evidence for which TQM factors contribute most too improved performance is not yet conclusive, and sometimes contradictory. Using data from a longitudinal study of 67 TQM firms we contribute to this debate. Our central hypothesis is that measurement of key TQM practices and performance outcomes in essential for TQM success. We examine the measurement practise of this cohort of firms, and report on the changes in their measurement behaviour over time. Specifically, we analyse seven dimensions of measurement relating to customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and process performance, impact of TQM on costs, and sales, self assessment, and benchmarking. We calculate a measurement intensity score for each firm, based on how many of these seven parameters were being measured, and we show that increased measurement intensity is strongly associated with perceived TQM success. Finally, using multivariate discriminate analysis, we identify eight variables that explain the level of TQM success with a classification accuracy of almost 90 %. We conclude that to attain the highest levels of TQM success, firm need to engage in the measurement practices of self assessment and benchmarking, but our data suggest that an appropriate measurement framework needs to be in place beforehand ( Taylor 2006) One of the biggest mistake people make when beginning their benchmarking endeavour is that they only look to benchmark someone within their own industry. Although this doesn’t hurt, but obviously industries already know enough about their industry to know what works and what doesn’t. Some people think they must benchmark their competitor. But if the competitor is worse than your company, it can be a big waste of time and energy. And it will not give the favourable result for the company. Instead of benchmarking a company that is well known for being a good model will give a favourable result to the company. Benchmarking will help to find out, who performs the business process very well and gas process practices that are adaptable to your own organisation if you need to conduct a comprehensive benchmark study or if you can obtain 80 – 90 % of what you need from just using the telephone, email or any other electronic survey to communicate your needs with other member on the benchmarking exchange (Hing, 2001). The drive of customer satisfaction The benefit of having customers who are satisfied is well known. The issues in building customer satisfaction are to acquire satisfied customers, know when you have them, and keep. The obvious way to determine what makes customers satisfied is simply to ask them. (Joel E. Ross) Total quality management has a customer first orientation. The customer, not internal activities and constraints, comes first. Customer satisfaction is seen as the company’s highest priority. The company believes it will only be successful if customers are satisfied. The TQM company is sensitive to customer requirements and responds rapidly to them. In the TQM context, being sensitive to customer requirement’s goes beyond defect and error reduction, and merely specification or reducing customer complaints (Black, 1999). The concept of requirement is expanded to take in not only product and service attributes that meet basic requirements, but also those that enhance and differentiate them for competitive advantage. Each part of the company is involved in Total Quality, operating as a customer to some function and as a supplier to others. The engineering department is a supplier to downstream functions such as manufacturing and field service, and has to treat these internal customers with the same sensitivity and responsiveness as it would external customers. This also helps to motivate employee’s activities as the conflicts are minimal as they treat each other as customers. TQM Components TQM has four basic components 1. Put customers first 2. Make Continuous Improvement 3. Aim for zero defects 4. Training and development Put Customers First A quality product or service satisfies customer’s needs and expectations. Whether a product or service is of high or low quality, will be decided by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded. See quality. If customers are not put first, then customer expectations will be difficult to satisfy and consequently quality will not be achieved. Customers can be put first through a variety of initiatives including †¢ Undertaking market research to discover consumer needs so that the organisation can develop products and services that exceed their consumer’s needs. †¢ Looking after all customers whether internal or external. Internal customers are employees of the organisation and are known as customers when they approach each other for a service. External customers are all non-employees (of the organisation) that approach the organisation in connection with a service or product. †¢ Effective customer care systems. †¢ Ensuring that all service standards are met. †¢ Listening to customer views and opinions. Responding to customer views including resolving customer complaints in a manner that satisfies their expectations. Once customer complaints are resolved they should be analysed to prevent future recurrence. Make Continuous Improvement The Japanese term â€Å"kaizen† has contributed to this component. Kaizen believes that there are no limits to continuous improvement. This means that a TQM organisation will continuously strive to improve their product/service and increase the quality standards. A TQM organisation will also view change positively whether the change involves a process change or a change in customer needs and expectations. This is because changes will enable the organisation to develop and explore quality. Aim for Zero Defects There are a number of reasons behind the aim to eradicate defects. Defects are expensive because they will lower the customer’s confidence in the product. Also it is more expensive to rectify defects than it is to prevent them occurring in the first place. Zero defects can be achieved through a combination of quality assurance and quality control. Training and Development An organisation will need to train their employees to ensure that they understand the principles of TQM. A TQM organisation employee will need to understand how TQM is to be achieved or maintained and how they as an employee will ensure that the organisation emulates TQM. Unless each employee accepts and believes in TQM it will be difficult for the organisation to practice TQM. QUALITY Quality is important to business organisations and their consumers. This is because quality products or services can and will secure consumer’s business. However do not equate quality with expensive, as price will not determine quality. Whether a product or service is of high or low quality, will be decided by how it made the consumer feel and whether consumer expectations were satisfied or exceeded. Adding Value Some writers such as Tom Peters (in his book â€Å"Thriving on Chaos†) believe that quality rather than price dictates demand for a product. Peters argues that customers will be prepared to pay for high quality. This means that value is added to a product by ensuring that products/services have the quality consumers require. Quality Control This is defined as the process of identifying which products/services do not meet the organisation’s standards. Once identified the products/services below standard will then be adapted (so that they meet the standards expected) or discontinued Quality Assurance The purpose of this is to ensure that products/services are not below standard when manufactured or used by the consumer. The aim of quality assurance is to make sure that all the goods produced or services offered have â€Å"zero defects†. Quality assurance should save costs as products below standard can not be sold. It should also protect the organisation’s reputation. Whilst quality control is about identification of low quality products, quality assurance is about prevention. In other words the aim of quality assurance is to ensure that products are not below standard. Quality Circles A quality circle is made up of a group of people at various levels within the organisation. These people will have meetings where they will discuss and attempt to solve problems within the organisation. Each of these problems will be real problems faced by the organisation and will require solutions that can be put into practice. Training To ensure that an organisation can offer the quality expected by their consumers, they will strive to continuously improve their product or service. This is because a constantly evolving market place will change consumer demands, needs and expectations with it. Continuous improvement will only take place if staff possesses the right skills and knowledge. Skills and knowledge are usually acquired by the staff through the organisation’s ongoing training and development programs. Fishbone Analysis A fishbone analysis is also known as a cause and effect analysis. The concept was thought up by Kaoru Ishikawa. The analysis suggests that in order to solve a problem an organization is going through, the firm should try to find out the causes. Only when the causes are discovered and understood can you prevent the problem from occurring again. The best way to view the cause and effect was to draw it out like a fish skeleton with the problem at the head of the fish and the bones, the causes. Causes of problems could be anything from: †¢ Manpower †¢ Machinery †¢ Materials the firm uses †¢ Methods of making the product Or it could be down to one or some of the elements of the in business (see below). If you look at this diagram the problem for the company is declining sales, the causes of declining sales when traced back can be from inefficient processes, to lack of training for staff. To address the problem of declining sales the causes need to be addressed. The benefit of a fishbone analysis is it enables the problem to be traced back to the root causes, with the aim of trying to find long term solutions. A cause and effect analysis is usually completed in teams, where the fishbone is drawn out and team member brainstorm possibilities of the problem. Total Quality Management is the set of management processes and systems that create delighted customers through empowered employees, leading to higher revenue and lower cost. Total Quality Management is the integration of all functions and processes within an organisation in order to achieve continuous improvement of the quality of goods and services. The goal is customer’s satisfaction. Of all the management issues faced in the last decade, none has had the impact of or caused as much concern as in America products and services. A report The concept of Total Quality Management Total Quality Management is based of ideas. It means thinking about quality in terms of all functions of the enterprise and is a start to finish process that integrates interrelated functions at all levels. It is a systems approach that considers every interaction between the various elements of the organisation. This would means that, the overall effectiveness of the system is higher than the sum of the individual outputs from the subsystems. The subsystems include all the organisational functions in the life cycle of product, such as 1. Design 2. Planning 3. Production 4. Distribution 5. Field service The management subsystem also require integration, including 1. Strategy with a customer’s focus 2. The tools of quality 3. Employee involvement A corollary is that any product, process, or service can be improved, and a successful organisation is one that consciously seeks and exploits opportunities for improvement at all levels. The load bearing structure is customer’s satisfaction. The conference board has summarized the key issues and terminology relates to Total Quality Management: †¢ The cost of quality as the measure of non – quality not meeting customer requirements and a measure of how the quality process is progressing †¢ A cultural change that appreciate the primary need to meet customer requirements, implements a management philosophy that acknowledges this emphasis, encourages employee involvement, and embraces the ethic of continuous improvement. Enabling mechanisms of change, including training and education, communication, recognition, management behaviour, teamwork, and customer satisfaction programs. †¢ Implementing Total Quality Management by defining the mission, identifying the output, indentifying the customers, negotiating customer requirements, developing a â€Å"supplier’s specification† that details customer objective, and determining the act ivities required to fulfil those objectives. Management behaviour that includes acting as role models, use of quality process and tools, encouraging communication, sponsoring feedback activities, and fostering and providing a supporting environment. Continuous improvement Continuous improvement methods can be used to assists Toyota getting better their manufactured goods and services and via using continuous improvement in each week or month not matter what size the development is made but progress has to obtain place a model which be able to used is PDCA which stands for plan, do, act and check. The PDCA is a model of continuous improvement which be capable of being employed to get better Toyota goods and services and assisting them to expand new goods and services or even to get better the merit of their manufactured goods and services via preparation how the organisation will get better their manufactured goods and services and then how the Toyota will carry out to the plans and then using the plans and finally confirming if the tactics working and this stages will continues in anticipation of they contain makes new products or services or even better existing products and services. The cause of the effect looks like selected at the outcome of the subject which contain occur carry out via the Toyota for instance they had issues through the excellence of the manufactured goods and the effect of effect would show all the possible cause which are the issues and then they be able to employs the effecting of outcome within their organisation to perceive what issues the they have. By doing that it will helps them to undertake the issues in anticipation of no source of cause or it is reducing therefore, if there is still a issues then they will not be effecting by the results of it. The why why why analysis know how to assists them via status the issues and then asking them how is the issues has happen and once the why why why analysis recognise the issues afterwards in anticipation of the issues is not resolve the why why why analysis is maintains on creature continually to resolve all the issues which they has and after that once known see if they be able to remove all the problems. The six – sigma improvement model There are five fundamental phases or stages in applying the sic- sigma approach to improving performance in a process: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC). These from an improvement cycle grounded in Deming’s original Plan, Do, Check, Act. In the six- sigma approach, DMAIC provides breakthrough strategy and disciplined method of using rigorous data gathering and statistically based analysis to indentify source of errors and ways of eliminating them. It has become increasingly common in so – called six – sigma organisation, for people to refer to DMAIC projects these revolve around the three major strategies for processes to bring about rapid bottom – line achievements – design /redesign, management and improvement. DMAIC (Define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) this is a good problem solving tool to help improve manufacturing quality and productivity. ? Define This is the start of the of DMAIC technique were the team at hand need to try and look into the problem at hand. What is used to help understand the problem with the project would be a project charter which is information on the product. ? Measure The second phase of DMAIC is to grab as much information from the define process so that the improvement team can try to understand how the process operates but are not interested with the problem at this time. This phase is mainly to do with the understanding of the process. ? Analyze Once understanding the process the team now needs to analyze what is the main cause of the problem being studied. ? Improve Once the team have analyzed the problem they can now see what could be done to improve the problem, this is usually done by brainstorming solutions to help the problem. ? Control The last action to be taken would be taking control of the problem by issuing a plan on what to do and how to sort the problem out. These might include: 1. Review and update the process map 2. Update any affected work instructions 3. Develop training that describes the newly implemented methods 4. Determine new metrics to verify the effectiveness of new process 5. Determine if the process changes can be effectively implemented in other processes http://6sixsigma. com/index. php/DMAIC-Cycle. html The second assessment tool Toyota could adopt is called the Fishbone Analysis also known as the ishikawa diagram. This system is designed to identify and list all the factors that are conditioning the problem at hand. This technique helps understand the scale of a situation. It helps brainstorm information from different perspectives within a team or individually to help solve a problem. It is also known to be a very effective system to help people coming from different backgrounds or professional disciplines to working in a much easier business environment to solve problems. This system has a major advantage because usually teams initiate immediately into fixing a problem without taking the time to plan and understand the problem. This is not a good method because the end result usually ends with only parts of the problem having been resolved. The fishbone analysis has a more carful style into understand the problem with its careful planning brainstorming method. http://www. tda. gov. uk/upload/resources/pdf/f/fishbone_analysis_spring2007. pdf The main problem is written on the right hand side of the paper. On the bottom and top of the stems you type 5-6 key factors of the problems or issues that have to be resolved. http://www. tda. gov. k/upload/resources/pdf/f/fishbone_analysis_spring2007. pdf Now you can use the 5-6 key factors to break down into sub headings of other factors that need to be understood to help the solutions for the main development phase. This is a very good was of working as a team as well, you could have a certain team responsible for one main fish bone. The PDCA cycle is something that came around in the 1950’s and is still being used today on an international level weather it wo uld be in training facilities to business environments. It is a four stage check list that will help you get from problem faced to problem solved. It is a continuous cycle that starts with careful planning, must result in effective action, and must move on again to planning. The way PDCA is used: †¢ Plan to improve your operation you first need to understand what is going on with careful planning. †¢ Do To make the changes and try and solve the problem on a smaller scale. This minimises disruption and while testing weather the changes have taken affect or not. Check This method is to check if the changes are meeting the targets to ensure you know how the output is at all times to identity if any new problems are arising. †¢ Act The last stage is to make the changes that are required on a larger scale if the experiment has proven to be successful. In a business this could be getting other departments or even suppliers involved because maybe they may be affected by the changes. Or these people or departments could have been a dded in the Do stage. http://leadershipchamps. files. wordpress. com/2008/03/pdca. png

Breathing walls technology

In developed countries, people spend 90% of their lives inside buildings. During this time, the nature of the enclosed environment has direct impact on the lives of the occupants. It is therefore imperative that the buildings have conducive environment where this will impact the lives of the occupants. The buildings that are there today have serious problems about the indoor air quality. The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) agrees to the fact that 30% of new or buildings which have been renovated have IAQ problems.This has been ranked as the most prominent problem. In regions where there is high climates like Japan, there has been need to utilize breathing walls technology; this has been achieved easily with the use of passive ventilation done at the surfaces of walls, an approach which has been deemed as a success. The installations of systems such as these have been seen to be effective and provide an easy way of providing a healthy and comfortable environment with higher ene rgy efficiency.With this in mind, this paper will therefore look at the development of â€Å"Breathing Wall† technology which is constructed using Aluminum sheets that form a multiple air-layered architecture. Studies that have been done in the past allude to the fact that passive ventilation systems can provide sufficient thermal insulation and provide a way where moisture can be transmitted for temperature-climate regions even when the amount of air being infiltrated increases as a result of strong wind in the outside. In this study, there is a practical passive ventilation system which is being considered.In this study, breathing walls were installed on the opposite sides of a scale mock-up house constructed outdoors and the properties of natural ventilation, thermal insulation, moisture transmission and indoor climate in natural weather conditions were analyzed extreme. Literature review There have been a lot of strategies that have been embraced so that the removal of ai r pollutants can be achieved. All in all, there are design strategies that have been employed from time immemorial in the quest to get conducive working and living environments for buildings.The first line of attack was the use of avoidance of products that contain solvents, glues and plastics. There is an increasing production of commercial products like paint, glues, materials, and systems. Exclusion is also another strategy that has been used in the past to eradicate corrosive elements from the walls of the buildings. Exclusion is another strategy that can be used to provide IAQ. The control of radon, as an example, requires that there be an airtight floor and basement system. The exclusion of radon from the interior environment must be a serious consideration for the design of an IAQ.The ventilation of living areas does aid radon control, but is important to have a design and build the ground floor or basement as airtight as possible so that penetration to the building can be av oided. The use of systems approach is another strategy that can be used to provide IAQ. The problem with this is the fact that these strategies cannot be used on their own. There is need to have a holistic approach in the provision of internal air quality. In the past there has been the approach of using offgas material and this has been a necessary approach.However, ventilation, air barriers, humidity control, and high surface temperatures can work together so that better IAQ can be achieved. This is better than using either approach independently. The use of â€Å"atmungsfaehig† or breathable walls then promised to be a better approach towards the getting of internal air quality. This was recommended by designers of healthy housing. This was especially recommended by the Baubiologie; the term is itself used in an imprecise manner in the English language (George, & Ritz, 1994). There has been confusion in the use of the term.A review of the literature shows that what constit utes a â€Å"breathing wall† is still not clear. Although breathing wall implies good flow of air, this is not always the case. When used scientifically, this term means that there is an open flow of vapor diffusion. This combination of properties makes it possible for a large amount of water vapor to be absorbed quickly. This regulates room climate and hence indoor air quality. Although other gases are also capable of diffusing through walls, water vapor is one of the very important determinants of air quality in a room. They determine the healthy of a room.In the design of healthy houses, the design of interior partitions and internal design is based on making sure that water vapor breathability is achieved. Breathing wall infrastructure The breathing wall is composed of a component which is core and is constructed using aluminum foils, and interior/exterior materials. The use of aluminum foils is chosen because they have high reflectance and low remittance thus they can co unteract the loss of thermal insulation capability due to the presence of several air layers. There are factors which must be considered in the construction of the breathing wall.These factors include: i. The number of internal fouls that should be included in the wall ii. The thickness of the wall is of paramount importance iii. The rate of flow of air through the wall should also be considered. This is important because it influences the thermal insulation capability. iv. The diameter of the hole and the spacing of each of the foil sheet is also important consideration as it influences the air flow rate and the transmission of the moisture (Jonathan, & Woodha, 1997). Design constraints There are design constraints which are used in the construction of the breathing wall technology.They are as follows: i. Continual indoor ventilation under natural conditions using no air-conditioning equipment. ii. The entire surface of the wall should be able to give proper ventilation (air infilt ration), which is controlled by heat recovery inside the wall in order to lower heat losses. iii. High thermal insulation capability iv. There should be no disturbance of the indoor air distribution v. There should be prevention of internal condensation by controlling the amount of moisture passing through the inner structure of the wall.

Leadership in Infromation Technology Research Paper

Leadership in Infromation Technology - Research Paper Example However, little population ranks self-knowledge as most critical. Using means, the rank order of knowledge domains is as follows: Business environments (1.5) Technology (2.14) Self and human resources (2.57 and 2.57) Finance (3.86) Much of the literature available addresses leadership at a strategic level. Clearly the most critical role of effective IT leaders is perceived to be the communicator role, followed by facilitator, guide, partner, and collaborator. Informal management styles seem to be preferred in technology intense organizations. (Lewis, S. & Lewis, 2005) The roles of tactician, technical guru, and human resources leader receives middle rankings while commander, servant, dictator, king or queen receive the lowest ranking for effective IT leaders. Congruent with this ranking of roles for effective IT leaders, team building is considered the most important function, followed by management, then creating. Leadership in Information Technology in Private Industry When the inf ormation technological skills of leadership are combined with an ability to use software to solve IT problems as in Acorn Computer City, New York, leaders of the organization are better equipped to move among the various agencies comprising our society. It was assessed whether leaders of IT firm can be trained, what characteristics are important for IT leaders of the organization, and what is the best environment to encourage IT leadership. While strategic leadership is possible at all levels within the organization, there is a need for work on leadership at the project leader/project manager level. As Sear (2008) pointed out, IT leaders have a difficult time making the transition from skilled technical work to project leader. Not only are they better able to use software to manage their... The concept of communication with a physician via e-mail is not really a future capability; it is available now and used to a very limited extent. What stands in the way of its widespread use is not the absence of cutting-edge communication technology, but rather a broken payment system. Physicians are paid relatively well for procedures, relatively poorly for office visits, and not at all for telephone or e-mail advice. Increasing the bandwidth for patients without fixing reimbursement is more likely to lead to a future state where frustrated patients complain, "My doctor doesn't return my phone calls or answer my e-mail." One of the more contentious but critically important issues today is the so-called misalignment of the costs and benefits of health IT. Essentially, the argument is that under our current fragmented healthcare system, physicians and hospitals pay for IT, and most of the benefit flows to payers. The Center for Information Technology Leadership modeled the cost and benefit of an ambulatory computerized physician order entry system, and concluded that 89 percent of the benefit accrued to payers, with only 11 percent flowing to providers (Johnston et al. 2003). Nelson references the landmark Wang study, which looked at system benefits of an advanced EHR in an office practice. Wang concluded that primarily by reducing pharmacy expenditures and avoiding redundant testing, payers would save about $86,000 per physician over five years-thus making the first real economic argument for payers funding EHRs for physicians.

The Court Decisions and Powers Over Educational Financing Essay

The Court Decisions and Powers Over Educational Financing - Essay Example The disparity in education financing has been the major issue with the judicial system. Legal provisions for equal protection, based on the 14th amendment, have formed the basis of the litigation regarding the finances. According to the clauses, every person is entitled to equal treatment and no disparity should, therefore, exist on education financing (Ryu, 2015). While the courts made significant efforts in enforcing existing laws to regulate educational financing, reforms that the courts initiated had little effects in solving the financing inequality that the society realized. Ryu further argues that court decisions on educational reforms have argued for adequacy of available education and not on financial neutrality. The ineffectiveness in previous courts’ attempt to regulate educational financing suggests a lack of power to implement the decisions and indicate a possible occurrence in future. The change in focus from fiscal neutrality also means possible elimination of t he jurisdiction from the judicial system and suggests that the courts are not likely making decisions on the issue (Ryu, 2015). The Supreme Court decision on fundamentality of education as a constitutional right and the court’s final decision on related cases is another indicator that courts have ceded their power on educational financing and are not likely to make any ruling on a case that seeks to challenge educational financing policies. The Supreme Court noted that education is not a fundamental right and should therefore not be considered under the equal opportunity clauses and any other amendments that provide for human rights.

Corporate Health and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Health and Safety - Essay Example In business 'what gets measured gets managed'. Research carried out by RoSPA suggests that the variability in accident rates across UK organisations as a population is so great that any attempt to analyse accident statistics in studies, which consider less than 1,000 organisations are statistically meaningless. In other words, the variability of accident rates in UK industry is so large that the probability of making an error in the interpretation of the results is nearly 100 per cent. A further criticism that can be levelled is that, most often issues such as work related ill health and unsafe conditions are neglected as compare to other, such as the unacceptable exposures to health hazards. Health damage is generally a bigger issue than accidental injury but these are harder to identify and quantify. HSE estimate that early death from past exposure to hazardous working conditions is at least one (if not perhaps two) orders of magnitude greater than death due to workplace accidents (although much of this occurs after those affected have ceased employment). Some may seek to argue that good health and safety management which produces a low a lost time injury rate is more likely to address health protection as well. But an absence of accidents cannot be taken to imply neither a low rate of work related ill health since neither modelling nor data are available to support this. (Director action on Safety and Health, 2004) Although some employers and so-called workplace violence "experts" promote profiling of perpetrators to predict violence, it is often inaccurate and can lead to mislabeling and possibly discriminating against groups of people and workers. Identifying hazards, collecting information and documenting incidents is a very important part of addressing workplace violence problems. Employers are not required to correct hazards, which they do not know exist. Solutions cannot be found for unreported problems. A hazard assessment is a method of identifying, analyzing and documenting workplace hazards. Assessing workplace violence hazards involves some of the same tools used to document any other workplace safety or health problem. These include checklists and surveys, investigating incidents and reviewing available records. 1. Inspect the Workplace - Appendix A contains a workplace violence inspection checklist that can be used as part of a safety and health inspection or safety audit. While inspecting for work-place violence risk factors, review the physical facility and note the presence or absence of security measures. Local law enforcement officials may also be able to conduct a security audit or provide information about their experiences with crime in the area. 2. Conduct a Survey - The most important source of information on workplace hazards is workers. In fact, workers may be the only source of information on workplace violence hazards since management may not document incidents (or near misses). In addition, conducting regular surveys may also enable the local union to evaluate workplace violence prevention measures. Information can be collected either through a written questionnaire distributed to workers or through one-on-one personal interviews. A written survey may be appropriate if the union wants personal or sensitive information. For example, a worker may be reluctant to voice to a union representative fears about a co-worker, but may be more willing to describe the problem in an anonymous questionnaire.

Chicano studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Chicano studies - Essay Example It is because political power is gained by having good number of followers. In addition, the voting pattern in the USA was more along the tribal lines thus making the Chicano people unlucky when it comes to national resource allocation. Having a political representative would have helped the Chicanos to develop within their area. Illiteracy was also another factor that significantly contributed to the underdevelopment of the Chicano people in Mexico. It is because they did not have the skills and experience on how to foster their individual development ideas that would help them to prosper to be in par with other communities. Moreover, they suffered because of discrimination from other communities who did not give them room to share or exchange ideas. Lack of adequate resources to the Chicano people made them remain behind in development sector. Lack of technological empowerment is also another area that contributed to the underdevelopment of the Chicanos. At the heart issues, dealing with presentation is the human urge to put things into category things, even other humans. One needed to be black or white, male or female, being an American or a citizen from whichever the country, to able to receive fair treatment in the society. The US racial groups were made up of black, white, indigenous, Asian and other. This meant that there was nowhere the Chicanos could fit in these races. The Us government termed them as Hispanics but was not well received by Latinos since it was not inclusive of everybody and they felt it was just top down ethnic identity. The Chicanos did not want to be identified by these dualisms, which was their biggest problem. In turn, the way that Chicanos represent themselves in a daily life did not correspond to the experience of other groups. Thus, it often results to portrayals that are inaccurate when that particular group does not have control of the way that exhibit those

Ophthalamic Disorders Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ophthalamic Disorders Case Study - Essay Example Mr. Ally is suffering from an eye stoke which is a disorder of the optic nerve. An eye stroke is also referred to as (AION) Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (Kumar, 2008). The eye is surrounded by numerous tissues, veins and blood vessels that have a duty to aid in the circulation of blood from one eye point to the next. In the event that the flow of blood to the optic nerve is tampered with, the eye suffers from a stroke. This is an urgent attack that is not easily noticed and develops into a fully blown condition in no time. This is because the optic nerve suffers from lack of oxygen and blood. This indicates that the blood flow to the eye is reduced or blocked totally chocking out the supply to the optic nerve. This seriously hampers the overall performance of the nerve (Hattenhauer, 1997).Once the optic nerve encounters the chocked or reduced blood supply, it swells. The swelling is terribly hard to notice if tests are not conducted as the swelling does not become a noticed phe nomena immediately. The optic nerve does not receive blood in the correct amount and the correct pressures. This affects the normal capacity of the eye thus resulting in shadows and floaters when viewing. After a while, the eye is significantly affected and suffers from total vision loss (Kumar, 2008).The doctor can introduce Mr. Ally to Corticosteroids which will have the task of enhancing blood circulation in the optic nerve. They will also ensure that the swelling experienced reduces with time.

Aqualisa Quartz Low Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Aqualisa Quartz Low Sales - Essay Example The shower industry in the UK has three channels of distribution. Trade shops, showrooms, and DIY sheds are the channels of distribution for the Aqualisa products.   Trade shops carry plumbing supplies for plumbers.   Trade shops normally only carries what will sell, or in essence what is in demand. Showrooms are supplied by distributors. This channel is for high end customers. When an individual buyer comes to a showroom, they tend to not be concerned with price. DIY sheds are supplies for do-it-yourselfers. B&Q is like Home Depot. This market is for bargain hunters and home improvers. These three channels of distribution are where Aqualisa Quartz will be marketed. The best channel of distribution for the Aqualisa Quartz is the showroom. The reason for the good showroom sales for the Aqualisa Quartz is the digital features on the showerhead. Individuals walk into the showroom and see the red light that stops blinking when the shower is the right temperature. This novelty alone sells most of the units in the showroom. Aqualisa Quartz is easier to install and more efficient than other showers, but plumbers are skeptical of using new products. This lowers the sales in the trade showrooms. Aqualisa Quartz has been marketed properly for the DIY sheds, due to the fear that it would lessen the product value. All of these factors have led to lower sales than expected for the new innovative Aqualisa Quartz. In order to raise sales, the key factors must be looked at. Since the Aqualisa Quartz is an innovative new product, Aqualisa priced the product higher as a premium item. The Quartz Standard is 850 pounds and the Quartz Pumped is 1,080 pounds.1 This makes it the highest product sold by Aqualisa. It also makes it the highest money maker for the company, but only when sold. If Aqualisa Quartz was marked down, consumers might feel they are getting a bargain and quality.

Tragedy of the Commons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Tragedy of the Commons - Essay Example Better and cheaper solutions must be developed and governmental support should be at all levels to deal with this problem. 2) The extraction of fossil fuels such as drilling of oil or mining is not considered a tragedy of commons because the resource that is being extracted is not being stored; in fact, individuals are using it as per their needs. The term tragedy of commons was initially driven to describe the over usage of the available resource. In today’s world, the usage of oil consumption for example, has exceeded to great extent. Therefore, to fill this need extraction of such resources is necessary. Nevertheless, the general view of the economists is that fossil fuels are a tragedy of commons because due to its usage the natural resources become extinct. However, the stress is upon usage and not upon over usage. Therefore, it can be said that it is not a tragedy of commons; rather it is a need that is larger than the availability of the resource (Sustainable

Baby Hope Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Baby Hope - Essay Example The findings section shows how months subsequent to the discovery of the girl’s body saw certain facts emerge, where it was discovered that the girl was malnourished and sexually abused. Notably also, the investigators gave information on when the body was found and when it might have been dropped off in the woods of Henry Hudson Parkway as they sought to get details on who had dropped off the cooler. The recommendations given are to help other investigators in future or old cases to get information and support from the public. The conclusion highlights a theme of humanizing a dead girl and remaining relentless to solve the case. Introduction On July 23 1991, a 3- 5 year girl’s body was uncovered in a blue picnic cooler in Manhattan’s upper side, close to Dyckman Street. Detectives issued posters with a toll free number for the public to call in with any information regarding persons carrying the cooler around that area. Employees of a construction company came a cross the decaying body close to the Henry Hudson Parkway early afternoon hours. The girl was naked, hands and feet tied with the only item on her being a string that held her hair in a pony tail presumably (The New York Times, August 3 1991). The Missing Person’s Squad, according to Detective Joseph Gallagher a police spokesman, could not determine if the child had been reported missing owing to the condition in which she was found (The New York Times, July 24 1991.). Findings On June 14, five photographs were discovered next to Route 46 in Garfield, New Jersey. The Polaroid photographers were found in a shopping bag every one showing a girl having oral sex with a man whose face was cut out of the pictures. During October one of the police officers deliberated that those photographs had familial ties to the Baby Hope case as there was a connection linking them to the police composites. Investigators proceeded to send the skull of the dead girl and the photos to the forensic laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington. Dr. Douglas Ubelaker from the Smithsonian Institute assisted the FBI in determining that the photographs along with the girl found in the cooler undoubtedly indicated the same person. This was revealed to the public in January of the following year by the Bergen County Prosecutor, John Fahy. At this time, more descriptive details of the girl were released where it was revealed that she was 3 feet 2 inches tall, white and possibly Hispanic, slight build, olive complexion and reddish-brown hair. In addition, she had on a ring on the left hand and her ears being pierced. This allowed the FBI to create a photograph enhanced by computer that was not sexually explicit, to the public (Myers, 1992). Homicide Investigators from the Washington Heights police station issued out posters on the anniversary of the finding of Baby Hope. One such poster indicated that a $12,000 reward would be given to anyone with information on the g irl and a toll free number given at the bottom. October this year saw new light being shed into the investigation where a tip was received from a woman who claimed to know the sister of Baby Hope. This information enabled investigators to interview a number of people and this led to confirmation of the identity of Baby Hope’s mother as scientific evidence was used. The woman that gave the tip stated that she had spoken to a woman who had told her that her sister had been killed. After seeing the

Cognitive Development Theory Essay Example for Free

Cognitive Development Theory Essay As a prospective educator, it is important for me to understand the cognitive development theory and how it applies to individuals. Cognitive development is basically how the thought process begins. It is the way that people learn and how mental processes become elaborate and develop. These processes include remembering things, making decisions, and also solving problems. In order for a teacher to be effective, one must understand how children develop mentally so that each student can be accommodated in the classroom. There are many theories regarding cognitive development, and there are several factors that remain constant throughout all of them. These factors form some of the basic premises on cognitive development, which include the ideas that all people go through specific steps or stages of learning or understanding, and that certain qualifications must be met before learning can occur. It is the actual specifics of these basic premises that cognitive theorists have differing opinions about. (Slavin, 2009) Two theorists that display the basic premises of cognitive development are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Both theorists have similarities and differences when it comes to their views on cognitive development. We will first begin with the views of the two on the nature or development of intelligence. Piaget believed that children are naturally born with the ability to both interact with and make sense of their environment. Children as well as adults use patterns of thinking called schemes to deal with different things in the world. The process of assimilation and accommodation is used to maintain balance in our daily lives. Piaget believed that â€Å"learning depends on the process of equilibration. When equilibrium is upset, children have the opportunity to grow and develop. † (Slavin, 2009, pg. 32) Different experiences that we face and factors in our environment contribute to developmental change in us. Vygotsky shared some similar ides with Piaget including the belief that the environment plays a huge role in the development of intelligence. He also believed that â€Å"development depended on a sign system, the cultures language or writing system, that children grew up with. â€Å"(Slavin, 2009, pg. 2) Both also believed that there is an invariant sequence of steps that is the same for everyone, and that development is influenced by cognitive conflict. While the two share a few similarities on the development of intelligence, there are also differences as well. Piaget feels that development precedes learning. This simply means that something must take pace before learning can begin. Vygotsky, on the other hand, feels that learning comes before development which is the exact opposite of Piaget. It simply means that you must learn something before development can occur. Piaget and Vygotsky also had both similarities and differences on the stages of development. We will first start with the differences beginning with Piaget who believed that there are four stages to cognitive development. They are the sensorimotor, perioperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. He felt that all children passed through these stages and that you could move faster than others, but not skip a stage. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 33) The sensorimotor stage occurs at birth through two years of age. It is the stage where infants explore their environment using the five senses and motor skills. This includes sucking, grasping, and touching. The perioperational stage is from two to seven years old. Language develops at a fast pace in this stage. At this time the childs thinking is also very self centered, and they lack the understanding of conservation. The concrete operational stage is from ages seven to eleven. At this time, thinking tends to shift from being self-centered to more logical. Problem solving is no longer restricted and the idea of reversibility also occurs. The last and final stage is the formal operational stage. This happens beginning with the age of eleven moving on into adulthood. Systematic experimentation is used to solve problems both symbolic and abstract thinking are now possible in this stage. Vygotsky felt that there was not stages, but different elements to cognitive development. The first element is private speech. â€Å"Private speech is a childs self talk, which guides their thinking and actions, eventually internalized as silent inner speech† (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) When children are struggling with a difficult situation you often see children talking to themselves to help cope with the situation. When we become adults we still talk to ourselves, but it is usually silent. The next element of cognitive development is the zone of proximal development or ZPD. â€Å"This is the level of development immediately above the persons present level. † (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) To better understand, this can be described as something that the child may not have learned yet, but are capable of being taught with the assistance of an adult. Educators often refer to this as a â€Å"teachable moment†. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) Now that we can see the differences between the two theorists, we can now explore the similarities between the two. Both heorists understand the importance of a child learning a cultures sign system. They both feel that this has a significant impact on development. The two also agree that environmental factors such as sounds, signs, and objects are equally important. Lastly, the two theorists believe that there are some tasks that a child may not understand depending on age, but Vygotsky feels that if it is in the zone of proximal develo pment then the child can be assisted with the help of an adult. Educators have been using both Piaget’s as well as Vygotskys theories in the classroom for years. An example of an activity that can be used in the classroom using Piagets theory of learning takes place in a kindergarten class. The teacher would ask the students to share what they do when it is raining outside. At this age we are in the perioperational stage where children tend to be egocentric. Some say that they go outside and jump in mud puddles while others may say that they stay inside and play with their toys. The children would share their experiences and they would all be correct because not everyone does the same thing. You can use Vygotskys theory of learning in at work in the classroom where third grade students are learning how to classify different types of dirt. You can place the students in groups where they can discuss how you properly classify the dirt. This will allow the students to hear other students thoughts, and see what methods they use to classify. Using this type of cooperative learning allows the students to learn from each other. When comparing both classroom applications we see that both classrooms are working as groups learning from each other. Piaget theory is seen in both classrooms. In the kindergarten classroom, the classroom is seeing that there are different ways to deal with the rain. The students are sharing their personal experiences and showing that there is no wrong answer. There are many ways of doing things . In the third grade classroom, the students are able to classify the dirt using touch and sight to see and feel the differences in each type. Both classrooms are interacting with the environment and learning from it. Vygotskys cooperative learning is also being played out in both classrooms. In the kindergarten classroom, the students are learning that there are different activities that can be done outside in the rain. Similarly, in the third grade class the students are using cooperative learning to find different ways of classifying dirt. In both classrooms the students are using the think out loud process. The differences in the two classrooms also stand out. When applying Piagets theory in the kindergarten classroom, you see that the students are in the perioperational stage. The students are egocentric and feel that what they say is the only right answer to the question. In the third grade class, the students are in the concrete operational stage. They are able to easily look at and see the differences in the types of dirt that they are working with. When it comes to Vygotskys theory in the kindergarten classroom, the students are working within their zone of proximal development. The students may not understand that they can do more than one thing in the rain because they have done the same thing every time. The teacher is using this as a teachable moment to allow the students to teach each other the different things that can be done. In the third grade class, on the other hand, private speech is being used. The students are saying their thoughts out loud to classify the dirt. When the students are using cooperative learning they are learning the different ways in which the other students use to classify the dirt. In conclusion, we can see how and why it is important to understand and know how to apply cognitive development theories in the classroom. Both Piaget and Vygotsky played major roles in how we teach our children in todays world. We can use information and skills from both theorists to shape our students into great learners.

Micro Marketing Environmental Forces

Micro Marketing Environmental Forces The LG 60PK250 Plasma HDTV was launched less than a year ago and is currently within its growth stage. To continue its growth process, a differentiated marketing strategy has been implemented in which the company should make use of annual holidays such as Christmas and Wimbledon for advertising campaigns. Moreover, a marketing strategy change has been recommended for the next 12 months that involves achieving a wider distribution network. This will be done by not only focusing on retailing outlets but also focusing on expansion into supermarkets such as Tesco with the use of competitive pricing strategies. Introduction LG electronics is a consumer electronics company that was founded in 1958 as GoldStar (LG, 2010). They product Koreas first ever consumer radios, TVs refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners and were renamed as LG Electronics in 1995 (LG, 2010). Since then LG has become one of the leading electronic brands through continuous innovative product development, evolving technologies and their easy going ethos of making our customers lives better and easier-happier, even through increased functionality and fun (LG, 2010). LG was the company that produced the worlds first 60-inch plasma TV in 1998 (LG, 2010). The LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Plasma TV was launched in March 2010. Although it is a relatively new product with a well-established brand name and company, it is a plasma screen television and an appropriate marketing strategy will need to be applied in order to ensure the success of the product and prolong its life cycle. The report will analyse the internal and external marketing environment of the television industry within the UK by focusing on what makes up the internal and external environment, LGs main competitors and consumer buyer behaviour. It will use relevant theories and concepts to assess different aspects of the market and from this an appropriate marketing mix for the next 12 months will we developed and recommended to try and ensure success of the Television within the UK television industry. Macro marketing environmental forces Marketing Environment Organizations can succeed if they match their products and services to the marketing environment. A companys marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target consumers (Kotler et al. 2001, p. 116). The Marketing environment is made up of the Micro Environment and Macro Environment. Micro marketing environmental forces Political Buyers Economic and competitive Competitors The business Legal Company Suppliers Customer Marketing interme- Techno- logical Publics diaries Regulatory Societal/Green (Adapted from Dibb et al., 2006, p. 90) Micro environment The micro environment comprises all those individuals and organizations that affect the operation of a business on a day-to-day basis (CIM, 2002). Below are all the areas that make up the marketing environment applied to LG. Customers In order to generate profit, it is necessary to create a customer (CIM, 2002). It is important to predict what customers will require rather than wait and follow them. To create products and services that not only meet customers needs but also benefit them is of high importance. LG Electronics is one of the worlds largest electronics manufacturers, producing a large variety of consumer electronics and IT products. They strive to improve their customers lives with intelligent products, intuitive functionality and excellent performance. LGs customers take pride in owning an object of excellence and take comfort in knowing theyve made a smart, informed purchase, every time (LG, 2010). LG keeps close relationships with its customers in more than 180 countries through the four basic elements: values, promise, benefits, and personality. Based on a principle of creating value for customers, LG Electronics is safely providing products that customers want, offering differentiated services, and protecting customer information (LG, 2010). Source: LG, 2010 (See appendix 4 for details) Competitors A successful company is one that provides greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors. LG has some top direct competitors like Sony, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic or Sharp. However, the Group, with its new topic Worlds only maintain nutrition television and declaration as digitally yours to express to the consumers that it majorly addresses the consumer obligation and make things simpler to them, has become a very mighty business in the television commerce in the present years. Consumer approval has been the centred topic from the development stage to the maturity stage and augmented product: 5 year warranty time span and productive after sales service along with call centres are provided by the Group might also be the reason why competitors could not trounce LG in periods of sales for many years. LG also has some indirect competitors that can damage, to a degree, its television market such as internet, PS series, or high tech products like the I-phone, I-pad, etc. Intermediaries are organizations that help a company promote, sell and distribution its products to target customers. They can be wholesalers, retailers, distribution firms, marketing agencies, or financial intermediaries. Effective intermediaries, is crucial for a firms marketing success. Televisions, from LGs agency located at Noida, are dispatched to the local agency dealer, and then to the consumers. However, the Group values a selective circulation convention where products drop into the hands of only couple of intermediaries, not one or all. This assists the business in having a good market treatment with more command and less cost than those of intensive distribution. Suppliers are the key component in transformation of materials to final products and services. It is important to review how suppliers, manufacturers and intermediaries co-operate with each other. LG establishes the win win management with its business partners in which LG has always been trying to grow alongside its suppliers by strengthening their competitiveness. Still, it re-established its strategic direction for purchasing and refurbished its support division for suppliers to effectively deal with the recent economic crisis as any responsible business partner would do in a similar situation (LG, 2010). Importantly, LG is committed to the Eco Supply Chain to develop eco-products under the Green program. It is operated in coordination with partner firms who supply parts, raw materials, and other materials to establish themselves as environmentally friendly companies. The television LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Plasma is an eco-design that shows harmonized cooperation between LG and its suppliers, in which resource consumption is reduced, components are recyclable, and safe materials are facilitated (See appendix 3 for details). Shareholders are the ones who have supported, are currently supporting, or may support the organization in the future (Palmer, 2009, p.45). They provide funds to the firm to finance its financial and non financial performance. LG has experienced a consecutive increase in investment by domestic investors between 2005 2008, while investment by foreigners has decreased and investment by the Group remains sustainable. LGs Shareholder Composition Source: LG, 2010 (See appendix 1 for details) Employees are involved in a companys marketing plans, in which groups of people must be taken into consideration: top managers, finance staffs, RD staffs, purchasing staffs, or manufacturing and accounting staffs. On the way to Great Company, Great People, LG believes that only great people can create a great company. LGs workplace is the space of solidarity, creativity, and freedom. LG strives for greatness in what it has recognized as People Leadership which concerns with market dominance achieved by selecting and nurturing talented team players able to internalize and execute innovation across the board (LG, 2010). (See appendix 2 for details) Macro EnvironmentThe macro environment, also known as the external environment, comprises general trends and forces which may not immediately affect the relationships that a company has with its customers, suppliers, and intermediaries, but sooner or later, as this environment changes, these trends and forces will alter the nature of such micro level relationships (Palmer, 2009, p.51). The macro environment is beyond the control of the marketers, but it is evaluated to help a company make decisions and plans. Macro environment could be divided into a set of subject areas frequently used in the UK SLEPT: Socio cultural environment Legal environment Economic environment Political environment Technological environment SLEPT Analysis(CIM, 2002) Socio cultural environment: is fundamental to a businesss operation in a specific community. It is crucial for a company to keep up with the changing needs of customers. Demographic environment Demography is the study of populations in terms of their size and characteristics. (Palmer, 2002, p. 59) We can sub-divide the demographic environment into following categories: Population size and growth trends Age sex structure Changing family Number of educated people Increasing diversity The TV LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Plasma is a high tech innovation with eco design, which can be listed as one of LGs prides. It might be an ideal product for young age groups who are focused on style and dominant features, or for older age groups who are interested in energy saving functionality. The TV can also attract both males and females who are looking for bigger screen size, better picture quality, and digital ready TV. LG might expect the highest sale of this TV to be to households who have children aged 5-9, or households with family size 5+ (Mintel, 2009). However, the Group should never look for a higher sale of this model compared with that of LCD TV because LCD TV is always likely to be the first choice for all ages, sex, or occupations. Cultural changes Cultural environment is made up of institutions and factors that affect each societys values, attitudes, perception, behaviours, and so on. Marketers must be aware of cultural influences and changes across societies in order to renew the firm and adapt to the changing needs of customers. Some culture groups should be considered within a society: ethnic and racial cultures, religious cultures and classes (CIM, 2002). Cultural values are always important and highly appreciated in a society. Shifts in cultural values during years will lead to a change in customers philosophy of life, and then result in consumption habits. Nowadays, changes in audio-visual culture have resulted in differences in buyer behaviour. The TV LG 60PK250 Full HD Plasma is an evidence for a shift from basic need to self esteem need of consumers. LG TVs with reputation, high technology and high quality are always every customers desire. However, they are most preferred by high socio economic groups. It is the development of society that situates LG in the competition against other celebrated brands in which its products need to have competitive advantages to survive in the changing and challenging market. Social trends Social changes involve changes in the nature, attitudes and habits of society. Social changes are continually happening, and trends can be identified (CIM, 2002). Rising living standards: higher incomes, proper and developed services in recent time can result in higher expenditure, wider ownership of luxury products like LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Societys attitude to business: LG always strives to be consistent and systematic in full scale implementation of social activities on raising environmental awareness, alleviating global famine and combating infectious diseases. Fundraising and volunteer work are the key points of the Groups goals and operation system. The workforce: high skilled labours are needed for not only LG but also other manufacturers in the macro economy. Besides, there have been changes from manual jobs to an increasing intellectual employment. LG has a vision of expected core capabilities of its employees: Product leadership refers to the ability to develop creative, top-quality products, using specialized new technologies. Market leadership refers to the ability to achieve top ranking, worldwide, thanks to a formidable market presence in countries across the globe. People leadership refers to the market dominance achieved by selecting and nurturing talented team players able to internalize and execute innovation across the board. (LG, 2010) Political and legal environment: is treated as an unpredictable element in a companys marketing environment. It comprises government, politicians, and pressure groups. Changes in government policies or changes of government can exert great impacts on businesses performance. Legislation is a part of political process. It covers all aspects of an organizations operation. Laws and regulations are adopted by the government, in which some basic issues of economic policies are recognized: criminal law, Health and safety law, company law, tort, legal framework, employment law, contract, consumer protection, data protection. (CIM, 2002) LG is headquartered in Seoul, Korea functioning 60 subsidiaries in 34 nations and making its products to consumers in more than 180 countries. Therefore, it will be affected to some extend if there is any change in these countries politics, especially in Asian countries and Middle East. However, LG is always committed to basic laws and regulations on corporate business such as customers health guarantee, customers information protection, environmental protection, employee right protection, and so on. Economic environment: A state of economy in which a company operates, where trade should always be at the very heart of performance. Economic environment includes factors that can influence consumer buying power and spending patterns. A company should keep an eye of both regional or national economic changes as well as movement in the global economy. The main aspects of economic environment are: Income distribution and purchasing power Consumer spending patterns Market competitiveness Business cycle: recession, inflation, unemployment, fluctuation of exchange rate, etc Before a luxury product like LG 60PK250 Full HD Plasma appeared in the market, economic factors would have been taken into cautious consideration. According to Mintel (2009), there has been a trend of higher personal disposable income and consumer expenditure since 2004. This could be a good sign for LG if customers can afford that type of TV. However, the global economy has not escaped from the recession. Therefore, the product sale could be damaged by customers attitude if they delay their purchase. Moreover, the TV market is becoming competitive when a wide range of available products are introduced by numerous manufacturers. The TV market has to face a rising number of different technological products like online video. This could make customers confused when making their purchase. The lower average price may also have benefited customers but it is not a good sign for the producer because deeper price cuts can cause market values to drop off much more steeply, especially with lar ge screen TVs like the LG 60PK250 Full HD Plasma. Technological environment: As human society develops, technological change happens. Technological development can create favourable conditions for productivity and business efficiency. New technologies provide new markets and opportunities but sometimes they can affect a firms determination towards whether or not to invest in radical new or high technologies to achieve their targets. Shifts in technologies are sometimes problematic to several organizations. However, companies operate in an environment where technology changes must be adapted quickly to the business for improvement and innovation. They should pay attention to pace of technological change, RD budgets, concentration on minor improvements, and increased regulations (Kotler et al. 2001). LG Electronics is a company that thrives on innovation. It is reinforcing centre competencies to father its status as the Digital Leader. LG is now developing its Smart Technology which creates convenience and adds joy to customers lives. Smart Technology is a development philosophy that embraces sensitive communication with customers in order to provide products that everybody wants to use, and easily can. (LG UK, 2010) Competitor analysisThe television market consists of highly competitive players, who are continuously innovating (Mintel, 2009). Competitor analysis is essential to be able to plan effective marketing strategies. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004) there are 3 steps to analysing competitors: Selecting which competitors to attack or avoid Assessing competitors objectives, strategies, strengths and weaknesses, and reaction patterns Identifying the companys competitors Porters five forces is a strategic tool used to assess an industrys competitive environment based on the strengths of five generalised forces (Henry, 2008). These five forces are: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, and amount of rivalry among firms in the industry (Henry, 2008). In this case, Porters five forces can be used as an effective tool to analyse the competitor threats LG would face in the television market. New Entrants Economies of scale Government policy Capital requirements Proprietary products/technologies Threat of new entrants Buyers Price/total purchases Buyer concentration verses firm concentration Ability to backward integrate Price sensitivity Competitors Market volumes/shares Market sectors/product/ service type Market responses Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers Differentiation of inputs Supplier concentration Threat of forward integration Switching costs Bargaining power of buyers Substitutes Switching costs and propensity to substitute Relative price performance of substitutes Threat of substitutes (Adapted from Baines, Fill and Page, 2008, p. 74) The television manufacturing industry faces intense segment rivalry due to the fact that few players dominate the market. The main competitors in the television industry are LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, with LG being one of the best (Mintel, 2009). Company Brands LG LG Panasonic Panasonic, Viera Samsung Samsung Sony Sony, Bravia Toshiba Toshiba, Regza (Mintel, 2009) In the case of being threatened by new entrants, as mentioned before, the TV market is a well-established industry that is highly competitive and requires constant innovation and technological investment. This makes it an industry with high entry barriers (Kotler and Keller, 2006) therefore it is not an easy market to enter, especially when competing with a company as established as LG. Suppliers bargaining power increases when there are a few substitutes and when there are fewer suppliers in the industry (Kotler and Keller, 2006). High costs and the importance of the product has an impact on their bargaining power as well. Televisions are considered a necessity in most homes and are an important product therefore suppliers will have some form of bargaining power however the television industry is large and will have a large number of suppliers therefore switching suppliers would be easy to do, which means that LG will have more power over its suppliers because they are a well-established and large consumer electronics company and suppliers would not want to lose business to such a mass producing company. In the case of buyers one of the main reasons their bargaining power increases is when they have many options (Kotler and Keller, 2006). When purchasing a television, a customer considers every aspect of the product because it a long term and expensive purchase (Mintel, 2009). Consumers have a wide range of products and features to choose from when trying to buy a HD Plasma TV. Plasma screens are becoming increasingly unpopular and are the least published type of screen nowadays (Mintel, 2009), therefore in the case of this particular product consumers will have high bargaining power because of high choice and plenty of manufacturers with different prices, for example currys and PC World. However, since the recession the amount of people willing to pay high prices for the latest technology has reduced and price has become the most important factor (Mintel, 2009). The threat of substitute products within the television industry can be argued. It would be considered low because a television is considered an essential and few efficient substitutes are available. However, PC screens have become an increasingly popular substitute for video (Mintel, 2009). People within the UK are using more and more internet technology and online streaming websites to watch TV. Companies like Sony and Toshiba are releasing televisions that are internet compatible (Mintel, 2009) and the LG 60 HD Plasma TV will not be able to keep up. Larger TV screens have also become less popular since the recession (Mintel, 2009) which will make it harder for LG to ensure the televisions success. Due to the fact that the television industry is dominant by a small number of well established large firms that produce a range of products but have slightly different quality standards, features and style. Therefore the market can be described as a Differentiated Oligopoly (Kotler). In this case companies are better focusing on one attribute and attracting the people concerned with it (Kotler) LG has been an innovator in the television industry for a long time. Amongst many other innovations, they were the first to product a 60 plasma TV (LG, 2010). Therefore although there is high pressure within the industry LG is constantly keeping up with it by focusing on their customer needs. In 2008 they introduced their new global brand identity as Stylish design and smart technology, in products that fit our consumers lives (LG, 2010). The PLC theory is based on the idea that every product goes through a life cycle from its introduction onto a market, to its decline and withdrawal from the market (Hoffman et al., 2009). The traditional PLC curve consists of 4 stages: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline (book?). Product Life Cycle (PLC) Traditional Product life cycle Introduction Growth Maturity Decline  £ Sales The product life cycle can be a useful tool in analysing how a product is doing and for a firm to manage its portfolio of products (Palmer, 2008). It is also useful in helping make strategic decisions about the marketing strategy of a product and the best way to market it while it goes through the stages because the marketing mix varies at each stage. It is more descriptive rather than predictive (website). The life-cycle of different products vary, and it can be difficult to identify the stage at which the product lies in a PLC. The shape of a PLC varies as well and depends on the marketing strategies being applied to the product, as well as whether it is a product form, product class or brand that is being considered (Palmer, 2004). A television is a product class and usually has a lifecycle of about 70 years however it is easier to identify the life-cyle of a product form for example plasma TVs. HDTV is relatively new technology that is likely to be in its growth stage and has a lot of potential for the future however plasma is an older technology that is now most likely to be in its decline stage (website). LEDs and LCDs are much more popular and 3D TVs and OLED technology are being introduced as well. HDTVs lifecycle is predicted to grow and evolve over the next two decades due to the prediction and development of HDTV LCDs, OLEDs, 3D TVs, Laser TVs and Holographic TV (Squidoo, 2010). The LG 60PK250 60 HDTV is likely to fit into the growth stage of the traditional PLC as it was launched in March 2010 and combines HDTV technology with Plasma screen technology. The right kind of marketing strategy can be applied to help extend its life-cycle. (Refer to appendix 5) BCG MatrixThe Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix is a tool that was developed in order to analyse the portfolio of an organisation to assess the products position according to its growth rate and its relative market share (Henry, 2008). It can be used to help make strategic decisions about their products and how to maximise returns on them (Henry, 2008). The growth rate is determined by looking at the growth rate of the economy and its market share is refers to its competitive position within the industry (Henry, 2008) The position of the LG 60PK250 HDTV can only be estimated based on the knowledge available. It is a relatively new product and is priced quite high. A lot of people would rather pay that money towards purchasing an LCD screen, however all the major retailers such as Argos, Currys, PC World etc. sell the television. LG also has a well-established brand and a loyal network of customers. For these reasons the television is likely to be a cash cow. Its market share would be relatively high due to being an LG TV as well as the fact that it is a HDTV. However its market growth is likely to be low due to the overall economic recession and PC screen technology replacing televisions. However the BCG matrix assesses performance based on only these two factors. It overemphasizes the importance of market share and market dominance (Henry, 2008, p. 241). It also relies on managers judgements (Henry, 2008) and does not take into consideration other internal or external factors that could determine the success of the product. However it is a useful tool to use in conjunction with other strategic theories such as the PLC curve before. SWOT AnalysisA SWOT analysis is a framework used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organisation and its marketing environment (Palmer, 2004). The strengths and weaknesses consider the internal environment and the opportunities and threats are linked to the external environment (Henry, 2008). SWOT Analysis of the LG 60PK250 60 HD TV Strengths Well established and popular TV Brand Big screen size Built in freeview Currently in intro/growth Weaknesses Plasma screen technology declining Expensive due to screen size No innovative technology Opportunities Popularity of HD TVs Potential for growth Increasing sales due to end of recession Threats Similar products available at different prices High competition PC/online video streaming technology taking over Innovative technology taking over for example 3D and OLED TVs A SWOT analysis can be useful for the general and competitive external and internal environment however it does not take into account unpredictable changes or events in the external environment (Henry, 2008). It helps identify weaknesses and opportunities for which strategies can then be developed to make improvements. However, some of the limitations of a SWOT analysis are, it is hard to identify what is a threat and what is an opportunity, sometimes the same thing can be a strength or a weakness and the analysis can be too focused within the industry boundary (Henry, 2008, p. 120). In this case the SWOT analysis is stronger as it has been used in conjunction with a PEST analysis which was conducted to analyse the external environment in detail. Buyer Behaviour If organizations want to survive in a challenging market, customers should be always at the very heart of their operation. Marketers are expected to be aware of what consumers are thinking, what they need and what they want to buy. Basic insights into buyer behaviour can be seen as a versatile key to unlock all those thorny questions. The model of buying behaviour Evaluation of alternatives Information research Purchase decision Post-purchase behaviour Need recognition Source: Kotler and Armstrong, 2004, p. 198 The model is designed to synthesize and coordinate relevant concepts that reflect the problem solving progress inside the emotional consumer. The three main components of the model are: input, process (buyers black box) and output (Kotler et al. 2001, p.191). The input The input component rests on external influences which can be observed as sources of information affecting consumers product related values, attitudes, and behaviour. Firms marketing efforts and other stimuli like socio cultural environment, economic environment, technological environment and political environment are chief among those. Marketing Efforts The firms marketing activities are direct components that play a pivotal role in persuading consumers to buy and use products of a manufacturer. Marketing strategies consists of products, promotion, price, and channels of distribution. We will have an in-depth insight into the marketing efforts of the product LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Plasma TV in the session marketing mix later, but some key points can be identified as: Product: The TV can be classified as a consumer product generally acquired by the last consumers for individual consumption. It is an amazing innovation of LG which allows customers to enjoy creativity, high technology, convenience and other great values. The TV could be a big opponent against a number of other high tech TV series in the market in 2010 because of its outstanding features providing superb crystal clear picture quality perfect for bringing the cinema experience home, or converting the living room to a sports stadium. Promotion: LG foremost advocating of the product is through publicity crusades on TV, publish newspapers, hoardings and the internet. Price: According to Mintel 2009, 86% of customers consider the prices of products as their first priority. The price of LG 60PK250 60 Full HD Plasma is quite high (more than 1000GBP), and this could be a disadvantage f