Riordan Manufacturing Recommendations

History of Riordan Manufacturing Riordan Manufacturer is a global producer of plastics. They operate in four locations, three in the United States and one plant in the People’s Republic of China. Riordan’s United States’ plastic products include beverage containers produced in Atlanta, Georgia and custom plastic parts in Pontiac, Michigan. The Hangzhou, China plant produces plastic fan parts and corporate headquarters is in San Jose, California, (Apollo Group, 2006).Riordan Manufacturing is looking to update their Sales and Marketing Department with the newest and latest software recommendations. The following is a summary of the history, current set up of the department and a recommendation of the upgrade. Riordan is attempting to consolidate customer information to deliver more to the customer. Riordan Manufacturing has a combined sales and marketing system, which include many databases, paper files, and microfiche. The sales and marketing systems are obsolete based on today’s standards of integrated information management.The information available to consolidate into a CRM includes Sales history; Previous marketing research files, marketing plans, and design awards; Sales records; Production files; Statements of profit and loss by item and group; Marketing budget, activities in marketing communications and expenditures marketing research. Marketing Research, Marketing Plans, and Design Awards The marketing department wants to build a database of past knowledge. Plans and results from past research studies stored in the marketing department.In the lobby, a showcase displaying the various design awards earned by the marketing department. The company is looking at the possibility to hire a student part-time to scan the documents. The Riordan has 20 major customers, including government contracts, and 12 minor customers. Using a variety of tools, each member of the sales team maintains customer records. The various types of record kee ping is paper and pencil, Act software, a hybrid. The firm is evaluating a new integrated CSM system to help the new selling team that will soon be in operation.The goal for the marketing budget is to reach the $50 million revenue mark. This is a collaboration effort by Dr. Riordan and the executive team, which incorporates input of line managers closest to the day-to-day operations. The two objectives that Riordan hoped to achieved is increasing sales force promotions to increase sales to existing customers, price discounts, and customer user group services and, implementing public relations, trade shows, brand development, and sales force promotions to expand sales to new customers. Recommendations for Sales and MarketingIt is recommended that Riordan update or upgrade the current system to a more user friendly, up-to-date, and efficient system that will allow an effective process of keeping historical, sales and marketing records for future planning. To assist the Marketing and S ales departments in keeping up with the daily intake of information a list of the following software could be implemented: * Oracle – Sells applications that leverage Oracle's database technology to provide CRM systems * SAP – CRM application part of SAP Business Suite * Microsoft – Microsoft Dynamics CRM.A modular system, which can purchase different components based on specific needs. Expands into an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system (Microsoft, 2010). * Sage – SalesLogix CRM done by a popular accounting systems producer (Sage, 2010). * SalesForce CRM – A software as a service/Cloud computing-based system. (Apollo Group, 2003, 2004, 2006) Human Resources Information SystemsRiordan’s HRIS system was set up in 1992, part of the financial systems that keep track of employee information, rate of pay, exemptions, date of hire, seniority based on date of hire, which is difficult and different than the hire date, manager’s name, de partment information, and non-exempt vacation time. Managers submit a form for changes to the employee information and then entered by the payroll clerk into the system. Microsoft Excel is used to keep records on training and development. Recruiters maintain information for each open position within Riordan.All resumes are filed in a central location and Excel is used to track application status. A third-party manages the Worker’s compensation and keeps records at that location, not Riordan. Each manager keeps employee information for that department, which there is no central location for keeping these files. Managers are responsible for tracking all FMLA absences and any ADA recommendations. Excel spreadsheets are used for the compensation manager for job analyses, surveys on salary and compensation decisions on individuals.Specialists in the employee relation department keep track of complaints, harassment complaints, grievances, and all other employee relation information and, are then filed and locked in the employee relation department. Recommendations for Human Resources Information Systems Riordan has a diverse set of needs spread over four locations, one of which is an international factory that is located in China. This will require the HCM software to be flexible to handle different culture and regulatory environments.Also the system will have to be able to capture information form a diverse set of archival media. This is not limited to digital information but vast amounts of paper files will need to be integrated into the system. System that are complex will have specialized technical skills to deploy, customize, and maintain its operations. As well as experts to provide training for our personal. Ultimately careful consideration must be given to the existing processes and the final results of the project.Because HCRM service are going to be provided company wide careful consideration as to the capabilities of the program to adapt to differe nt culture mores and holidays is a must Also, the services that are provided to employees need to be available in the local languages of the countries that they reside. To accomplish this provider of the software must be fluent in both countries of operation. They should also have an established presence in both countries to provide service in and by local professionals.Riordan has a long history of data for its operations many of the records are stored in paper files and legacy office products that are rapidly nearing their production life. As such in order to pull historical data for strategic planning the system will need to collect data form a wide range of active and archival sources. Providers who have a long history will often have experience with these both with their own products and that of their competitors. As a manufacturing company of plastic parts and bottles there is a fair chance that the company will not have the skills required for such an undertaking.So the provi der must be established in the market to have spawned a large pool of expert professionals that have used its solution. This will help in negotiating service and training contracts. Therefore, we recommend that we open negotiations with a few of the larger information technologies companies that provide these services. To that end we would suggest IBM as a well known systems integrator with extensive Business Intensiveness Product lines with offices in both countries (IBM, 2010). Second, is SAP this company has a well known product line and is also an international company (SAP, 2010).Others that may be of interest are Oracle and Microsoft. Research and Development Riordan manufacturing research and development department tests new products, evaluates new chemicals, polymers, and dyes used in the manufacturing process. The research and development is currently working on the production of a pyramid bottle project and a CardiCare Valve proof-of-concept. Only a small amount of raw mat erials and components needed to build proof-of-concept models with new product development.Because the research and development department deals with small amounts of raw materials orders are shipped by truck and received at the main entrance. Logistics The operations and logistics systems at Riordan is a company quickly moving from a small research company working in polymers to a company that manufactures and distributes polymer products nationally and internationally. Whereas Riordan’s past operations and logistics systems have served them in the past, there is evidence that it is time to upgrades these systems.The current procedures for inventory operations consist of raw materials received by the area supervisor, physically comparing shipping documents to a scheduled orders receiving report, unloading the material, handing the log to the receiving clerk. The inventory clerk must manually enter the information to the system. During the manufacturing process, the inventory clerk enters the information of raw materials into the system to track the inventory. Recommendations for Operations and Logistics A recommendation that Riordan could implement in to their operations and logistic system would be from Operations Concepts, Inc.The Warehouse Management System/Transportation Management System. Logistics System provides an assessment of detailed logistics operations, study of logistic processes, detailed functional specification development, solicit system vendors, system demonstration, proposal, and presentation reviews. OCI also assists in vendor selection, exporting and clean up of data, development of host interface, configuration and detailed design rules application, project management software, and training and post Go-Live support.OCI assists with a detailed review of operations, activities, processes, data coverage of various functional areas including inspection, receiving, put away, picking, replenishment, shipping, transfers, and inventory m anagement. OCI Project Management Services support clients in implementing and improving changes in environmental workplace. OCI professional handle various environments within a workplace such as union, non-union, government, military, regulated industries, and bioscience industries.The operation and logistics systems at Riordan must be upgraded to ensure consistent customer service across all manufacturing plants in the United States and China. A review of the existing operation and logistic system currently deployed at Riordan require a software system and vendor that will automate most of the current processes and provide expertise. By implementing the recommended operation and logistic system, Riordan will be able to meet its customer’s expectations, delivery, and time schedules. Riordan Legal IssuesThe potential legal issues that Riordan Manufacturing management needs to be aware of are the implications on design, manufacturing, the supply chain, and distribution of the ir product. Another potential legal issue that Riordan Manufacturing needs to be aware of is ethical issues in the workplace. Riordan Manufacturing is a global business its management needs to consider the wide ranges of issues, including acceptable working conditions, minimum wage levels, product safety issues, and environmental protection.Riordan Manufacturing should consider developing a legal strategies plan, which is a fundamental part of a business formation and strategic operation (Nickels W. G. , McHugh J. M. , McHugh, S. M. , 2005). Incorporating legal planning into the business planning process would allow them to plan strategies for operations to minimize risks arising from legal and regulatory sources (Nickels W. G. , McHugh J. M. , McHugh, S. M. , 2005). Ultimately, the additional planning would protect their organization better.Potential legal issues for Riordan Manufacturing can include a multiple of subjects because of Riordan's position as a manufacturer and researc h and developer of plastics with sites in various states as well as China. These issues can cover the basic areas like wrongful lawsuits, to tax laws as well and human resources issues. However, other areas not normally thought of require looking at and this is why the Riordan legal team needs to be vigilant in keeping up-to-date in a multiple of areas. One of the major areas of legal issues that Riordan must invest in is that of patents.Patenting Riordan's property is imperative because not only does it protect Riordan's property â€Å"from making, using, selling or even importing an invention for a period of 20 years from the filing date of the first patent application† (Gilcrest, 2008, Patent Strategies in Times of Economic Downturn, para. 3 ), but it protects income that can be made by license income royalties. However, the process of patenting an innovation of Riordan can be time-consuming as well as costly, and with this, Riordan's legal team needs to be well up-to-date in patent laws.With a manufacturer partner in China and items sold in both countries, it will be important for the legal team to be up-to-date in the patent laws in both countries. Another area that Riordan's legal team must be up-to-date is that of the changing laws throughout the country and the individual states. California for instance is introducing a new bill that would ban non-compostable and non-recyclable food service packaging; this includes plastic containers for beverages. Riordan's legal team needs to be aware of the changing laws in any state and country Riordan is to do business in and make sure the company’s products ill continue to be compliant. Recommendations for Riordan Legal Issues Riordan Manufacturing’s legal matters are the responsibility of Lowell Bradford, Chief Legal Counsel. Mr. Bradford uses his knowledge and experience, or the advice from attorneys at Litteral and Finkel to answer legal questions from department heads. The law firm of Lit teral and Finkel is on a monthly retainer to ensure prompt responses to legal questions. Each month, Riordan pays legal fees and excess charges against the retainer fee.Litteral and Finkel have an international network of offices providing legal services in all areas of the law for Riordan. Aquiring offices internationally, they can provide immediate legal services anywhere in the world. Riordan Board of Directors is responsible for governing and managing the business affairs of Riordan for the benefit of its shareholders. Board members must be knowledgeable about the industry, have financial experience, be available to participate, and be able to serve at the level of a Board member of Riordan.The Board is responsible for selecting new members recommended by the Nomination Committee. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chairman of the Board go through an election process by the Board. Riordan's operations and size determines the membership of the Board. Board performance is d etermined by using a self-assessment with the assistance of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee an auditing committee presents performance and effectiveness of the Board activities. A Board member may resign or be removed when there is a conflict of interest.Based on the best interest of the company, the Board may accept or reject the resignation request. Board members must attend at least three quarters of annual Board meetings and should report their absences to the Board Secretary. The Chairman of the Board establishes the agenda based on the requests of other Board members or the CEO. The board secretary will distribute agenda items, reports, presentation, and information three days before the Board meeting. The Board is required to have a minimum three committees for the life of the Company. The committees are Executive, Auditing, and Nominating.The Board can create new committees and select committee members based on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Boa rd and with the approval of the Board. The frequency of committee meetings, duration, and agenda will be the responsibility of the Committee Chairman. The Board is responsible for operations and financial activities. Riordan Board of Directors designates the authority to operate the company through its designated senior managers. If it is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders, the Board has the right to remove senior management (Riordan Mfg.Legal – Overview, 2003, 2004, 2006). References Apollo Group, I, (2003, 2004, 2006).University of Phoenix Business Material. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from Riordan Manufacturing: https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Riordan/RioMfgHome002. htm University of Phoenix. (2010). Riordan Manufacturing Inc. [Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, BSA502 website. SAP (2010) SAP Worldwide Sites.Retrieved May 11, 2010 from http://www. sap. com/contactsap/countries/index. px IBM ( 2010)New Intelligence, Why data matters—and what you can do with it Retrieved Ma7 11, 2010 from: http://www. ibm. com/smarterplanet/us/en/business_analytics/ideas/index. html? sa_campaign=message/leaf1/corp/smarterplanet/intelligence Apollo Group, . (2008).

History of the Automobile Essay

Starting in the late 1700’s, European engineers began tinkering with motor powered vehicles. Steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted by the mid 1800’s. By the 1900’s, it was uncertain which type of engine would power the automobile. At first, the electric car was the most popular, but at the time a battery did not exist that would allow a car to move with much speed or over a long distance. Even though some of the earlier speed records were set by electric cars, they did not stay in production past the first decade of the 20th century. The steam-driven automobile lasted into 1920’s. However, the price on steam powered engines, either to build or maintain was incomparable to the gas powered engines. Not only was the price a problem, but the risk of a boiler explosion also kept the steam engine from becoming popular. The combustion engine continually beat out the competition, and the early American automobile pioneers like Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford built reliable combustion engines, rejecting the ideas of steam or electrical power from the start. Automotive production on a commercial scale started in France in 1890. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900’s and was equal to that of Europe’s. In those days, the European industry consisted of small independent firms that would turn out a few cars by means of precise engineering and handicraft methods. The American automobile plants were assembly line operations, which meant using parts made by independent suppliers and putting them together at the plant. In the early 1900’s, the United States had about 2,000 firms producing one or more cars. By 1920 the number of firms had decreased to about 100 and by 1929 to 44. In 1976 the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association had only 11 members. The same situation occurred in Europe and Japan. The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile; 425 of them were sold in 1901 and 5,000 in 1904–this model is still prized by collectors. The firm prospered, and it was noted by others, and, from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23. The company produced 1,700 cars during its first full year of business. Henry Ford produced the Model T to be an economical car for the average American. By 1920 Ford sold over a million cars. At the beginning of the century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich. However, it became increasingly popular among the general population because it gave travelers the freedom to travel when they wanted to and where they wanted. As a result, in North America and Europe the automobile became cheaper and more accessible to the middle class. This was facilitated by Henry Ford who did two important things. First he priced his car to be as affordable as possible and second, he paid his workers enough to be able to purchase the cars they were manufacturing. This helped push wages and auto sales upward. The convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places. Many states in the US established motor fuel taxes that were used only to build and maintain highways helping the auto highway system become self-supporting. Popularity of the automobile has consistently moved with the state of the economy, growing during the boom period after World War I and dropping abruptly during the Great Depression, when unemployment was high. World War II saw a large increase in mass transit because employment was high and automobiles were scarce. The rapid growth of car owners after World War II, particularly in the United States and Western Europe demonstrated the population’s favor towards automobiles. During the war, automobile motors, fuel, and tires were in short supply. There was an unsatisfied demand when the war ended and plenty of production capacity as factories turned off the war machine. Many people had saved money because there was little to buy, beyond necessities, in the war years. Workers relied heavily on mass transportation during the war and longed for the freedom and flexibility of the automobile. A historian has said that Henry Ford freed common people from the limitations of their geography. The automobile created mobility on a scale never known before, and the total effect on living habits and social customs is endless. In the days of horse-drawn transportation, the practical limit of wagon travel was 10 to 15 miles, so that meant any community or individual farm more than 15 miles from a city, a railroad, or a navigable waterway was isolated from the mainstream of economic and social life. Motor vehicles and paved roads have narrowed the gap between rural and urban life. Farmers can ship easily and economically by truck and can drive to town when it is convenient. In addition, such institutions as regional schools and hospitals are now accessible by bus and car. Yet, the effect on city life has been, if anything, more prominent than the effect on the farms. The automobile has radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs. The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two story structures. Better roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout the nation. As with other automobile-related phenomena, the trend is most noticeable in the United States but is rapidly appearing elsewhere in the world. Before the automobile, people both lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. Because of the automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting. New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/highway construction, state patrol/police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. allow more employment for the world’s growing population.

ADHD/ADD

Being born with ADHD was not fun. It made every task appear as more of a challenge. As a child, I had trouble focusing in a fast-paced environment. I couldn’t grasp information as fast as others seemed to do. In elementary school I was taken out of my regular class to be taught in a slower paced area to which was thought to help me succeed. I had organization difficulties, and getting started on my homework was a grim task, let alone finishing it. People thought I had an advantage over them because I had a shadow helper and was given extra time on tests. In reality it was the other way around; they had the advantage. I believe A.D.D can be interpreted in other ways than a dilemma in learning. It is an exit from our conventional imagination of theory, into a diverse land of unforeseen train of the thought. I think what others might not. I contradict your original answer with something more astonishing. Some of the most talented, creative and successful people in this world inherited ADD/ADHD. For example, Albert Einstein was born with learning disabilities, but this did not stop him from becoming the renowned genius known today.

Paper of analyzing gender performance in Frozen Essay

Paper of analyzing gender performance in Frozen - Essay Example l mold of society-generated female behavior expectations to create a persona of a self-assured and assertive individual which is more akin to a male personality while Olaf the Snowman is portrayed as a more sensitive and emotional character akin to the stereotypical female persona. To illustrate these gender defiances, when Anna’s sister turns up missing, Anna decides to take on the responsibility of finding her in a very difficult natural environment. This illustrates that she is confident and self-sufficient, willing to give the impression that she can surely take care of herself. When she leaves Hans, a male, to maintain watchfulness of the castle, it again illustrates her capability to face the dangers she might encounter without assistance from a male character. In fact, it is not the male characters that, proverbially, save the day. It is Anna who releases a powerful punch to the enemy to be the heroine of the story, something typically reserved for the masculine persona under traditional male stereotypes. Anna determines that she must rescue her sister and spare her from danger, reasserting (giving) that she can be authoritative, dominant and even brawny when circumstances call for this behavior. Furthermore, there is a scene where Kristoff suggests that he â€Å"might cry† because of all of the ice he is witnessing. This gives Anna an opportunity to give a dominant persona, when she informs Kristoff to â€Å"go ahead, I won’t judge†. In a male/female relationship, it is typically considered that males serve as a comforting force for the more emotional woman in periods of stress or conflict. In this scene, Anna does not appear to be emotionally-affected by the environment and unconsciously gives off a more masculine personality. It is likely that if Disney producers were intending to support gender stereotyping, Anna might also have illustrated an emotional response and been witnessed crying in the heat of the moment. This too tends to break the mold of

MRKT discussion questions week04 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MRKT discussion questions week04 - Research Paper Example In low involvement product, differences in segmentation were not that evident and often ignored. The reason I can surmise why segmentation is more evident in high involvement product than low involvement product was that high involvement product takes so much resources and time from the consumer that segmentation becomes significant. For example, in the respondents whom I asked for their considerations before buying the car, the interviewees really made a careful thought before buying the car. Considerations like fuel consumption, maintenance, up front cost, performance, comparison with other cars, etc. were considered before buying the car if indeed it was a real value for their money. Here, cars that were positioned in the lower to middle segment in the market caught their attention. High end cars with exorbitant price tags were automatically struck off from their list. Therefore, the segmentation of the market in terms of price worked for my respondents even if they belong to uppe r middle class income bracket who could afford more expensive cars. To validate my initial assumption about segmentation, I asked a respondent why he is zeroing in on value cars and not the flashy cars which men typically like. He replied that he used to like but learned how to be frugal after the financial crisis because, as he said, â€Å"you never know, you might lose your job tomorrow.† He said that he has to be practical these days especially in high ticket items that will be purchased because of the uncertainty of the economy. Moreover, the money he saved from buying to value cars instead of the more expensive ones will go to his savings as a â€Å"buffer† during uncertainties. Comparing the car purchase with low involvement product, most of the respondents did not give much thought about the purchase and just put the product in their grocery baskets everytime they shop (the item I asked for low involvment product was shampoo). I asked them why and they replied t hat they are used to their brands already and they will only consider other brands if it is not available. I asked if price or other factors influence their buying behavior and they responded that only if it is very significant. But if it just within the price range of a regular shampoo, they do not mind slight difference. Perhaps this is more applicable to the segmentation of gender because the female respondents (two of them) were emphatic in having their particular brands due to reason that it â€Å"suits them† while the men were not that conscious about their shampoo and just pick up the same brand of shampoo out of familiarity but would not mind using another brand. 2. How would the marketing differ for the different segments you identify? High involvement products are high stake purchase for the consumers and they really take the time before making the purchase. As such, high involvement products are very conscious to position themselves according to the considerations of their target market. For example, in the car industry manufacturers that target the low to middle market astutely emphasize values in their products such as fuel efficiency, mileage, reliability and price. The reason for this positioning is that their market is price sensitive and they have to communicate and package themselves as the best value for their money. In the high end cars, they observably emphasize style, comfort and image to appeal to their market

Government 2 Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Government 2 - Dissertation Example There are times that legislative branch will require the executive branch to be witness against a certain issue. This executive privilege prevents the executive branch to share information. The executive privilege will make sure that the discussions between the president and his advisers regarding their decision can be protected. If this privilege is eliminated, there will be issues and questions why the executive branch reached to certain decision. It might be that there will be clash in the power in the branches of government. 2. What specific items out to be listed on a report card that is used to evaluate a federal bureaucracy? Bureaucracy is considered a process of organizing people and work based on the principles of hierarchical authority and formalized rule. This is considered the most efficient means to organize people to work in unity on great tasks. American government is in practicing federal bureaucracy. There is fragmentation of power in the American political system. I n order to check the federal bureaucracy, there are specific items used to evaluate this policy or process. The first is to check if the whether the power is disseminated properly.

BUSINESS MODEL INTERROGATION & DEVELOPMENT Case Study

BUSINESS MODEL INTERROGATION & DEVELOPMENT - Case Study Example The company owns four business subsidiaries, Enterprise Solutions Group (ESG), End User computing (EUC), Dell Services and Dell Software. The EUC unit caters to the end users with laptops, notebooks, tablets and third party software applications along with other computer equipments and peripherals (Marketline, 2014). The rapid growth of technology over the past two decades has opened up prospective business opportunities for the company. The usage of computer devises in the global perspective has increased exponentially over the years and is likely to increase further in the coming five years (Census Bureau, 2013).The global revenue generated from the personal computer industry has increased to $427.12billion as of 2013 from $410.04 billion in 2012 (Morningstar, 2014). This indicates that the overall personal computer market is likely to grow in the near future. Over the years, the computing devices have evolved and the advent of mobile computing devices has changed the global usage of computers. Therefore, Dell has changed its product development strategies and has focused on laptops and tablets. The stock prices of Dell over the last 10 years suggest that the company has been quite profitable till 2008. However, the decline of stock prices started to accelerate after 2008. The stock price took a deep down turn in the first quarter of 2009 and again in the last quarter of 2012 (Google, 2015). After the last decline in the share prices, Dell has managed to restore its business, thereby increasing its share prices. The decline in the stock prices was mostly due to the increasing competition in the personal computer market. The growing usage of computing devices has attracted a lot of player in the market like Lenovo, Asus, HP, etc. This as a result had drastically increased the challenge for Dell, thereby degrading its sales volume which in turn decreased its share prices (Statista, 2014a; Myers, 1977). The organizational structure is characterized by a

Land Law Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Land Law - Outline Example In Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold, Fox LJ’s judgment confirms that based on principle, licences do not indicate â€Å"tenancy interest or interest in the land† on the part of the licencee; therefore, they cannot bind third parties as a result of this. On the other hand, when a piece of land is given out as a lease, the landlord does not have the power to terminate the occupancy of the land on short notice (Netlawman, 2011). This means that tenant has the right of occupancy until the period of lease elapses. However, in Ashburn Anstalt v Arnold, it is clear that when a tenant is expected not to pay a rent, there is not legal relationship between him/her and the landlord. The landlord holds the licence, which he or she can revoke at anytime. And when this happens, the tenant has no power to challenge this decision in court because there has been no legal agreement between the landlord and him/her. Invariably, the tenant has not expressed interest in the occupancy of the accommo dation and hence could not claim any damages due to the revocation of the licence by the landlord. On the other hand, a tenant would show his or her interest in an accommodation by entering into a legal agreement. For the flat Andrew rent out to Beth, Catherine and Daniel, he created an interest of collective leasees in them, meaning that if he decides to sell his freehold to the flats, Beth, Catherine and Daniel have to buy the flats and become collective landlords. Even though it was just an oral agreement, they have the right to stay in the accommodation for the length of time agreed upon in the terms of tenancy which, in this case, is two years. Oral agreements are as binding as the written ones; but since court require believable pieces of evidence, it may be difficult to prove in court that an agreement has truly been entered into between the landlord and the tenant (Williston and Lord, 1999). In other words, it will be impossible for Andrew to terminate th

Event Risk management (Summer Olympics in Brazil) Assignment

Event Risk management (Summer Olympics in Brazil) - Assignment Example Moreover, Al-Qaeda continues its underground operations. In the meantime, it is hard to know where these groups will hit next. Brazil is one of the countries with the highest number of Christian. Majority of the local population are Catholics. Terrorist groups have been using the religion aspect to try and widen the gap between the Christians and Muslim. Olympics attract people from different parts of the world. These are people who emanates from different cultural and religious backgrounds (Liotta & Miskel, 2012). This provides a platform for the terrorist group to stage an attack in order to drive a message to the whole word. The Olympics games are attended by high-level dignitaries who come from different parts of the world. Therefore, if the terrorists are able to stage an attack in such games, they can bring the whole world into a standstill due to the number of people who are likely to be affected. As a result, the organizing committee will be faced with a major problem of ensu ring that security of all those who will attend this noble event is guaranteed. Rio de Janeiro is a city that has one of the largest populations of people living in slums. In favela, drug abuse is a common practice. These are areas that are so insecure. Olympics will bring a lot of tourists in the country. Many of these people are likely to spend their time in tourist destinations such as beaches. The residents in favela are likely to take up this opportunity to rob these tourists as majority of them believe that they will have carried with them a lot of wealth. Currently, the government is already strained having spent a lot of money to host the World cup. In addition, the security apparatus are strained by the wave of violence and robbery in different parts of Brazil. Therefore, the number that can be committed to secure the areas that are likely to be visited by the tourists is very low. Therefore, problems of robbery, murder, rape, etc are likely to

Business Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business Organisations - Essay Example This leadership is not about taking turns running the meeting. It is rather about promoting a better way of doing things or a new product." Many studies have shown that good leaders tend to have certain qualities such as: they have technical and specific skill of some task, have a clear sense of purpose, they are optimistic, work well with others, and believe that they can make a difference, can nurture the people around them i.e. delegate tasks, aware of the environment and themselves, are empathetic, direct all actions towards the goals and the mission and are role models for others. There are many theories on which leadership style should be adopted, but each leadership style or approach used depends on the culture of the organisation and the task at hand. As all things, these approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, and in some situations it is better to use a particular type of approach over another. Leadership has been broadly categorized into classical approaches, behavioural approaches, trait approaches, transformational approaches and contingency approaches. Each approach has many theories within it. The classical approach contains the autocratic style, bureaucratic style, democratic style and the Laissez-faire. The autocratic style is the one in which the leader or manager retains control and power of decision making. Studies have shown that an autocratic leadership style leads to high absenteeism and labour turnover. There is low employee morale and the employees become dependent on the manager for decision making. Bureaucratic is when the manager goes by the book, follows procedure and policy, and if something is not in the book than he refers to his senior. This type of leadership style can be used when the job is routine, or when working with dangerous equipment and hazardous chemicals. It should not be used when employees start to lose interest in their job and do only what is expected of them and no more. A democratic style encourages participation, sharing of information and problem solving responsibilities. It is a way of coaching the employees to reach their full potential, although the final say lies with the coach. It is appropriate to use this style when the employee is skilled and the leader wants to provide the employees with opportunities, encourage team work, the task is very complex and requires input form all employees or when an organisational change needs to be made. It is not effective when there is a lack of time, it costs more to get everybody's input, the business in not in a condition to make mistakes, employee safety is vital and the manager feels insecure about delegating. Laissez-faire style is a do it yourself style. The leader provides no guidance. This is effective when the employees are highly skilled and know what they are doing. They are trustworthy and have experience in the field, and are experts. An example of this can be engineers and scientists working in the research and development department. They know what they want and how they want the end result to look like. It should not be used when the manager himself is unclear about his responsibilities and wants the employees to do his work, when the manager can not provide feedback; managers are unable to thank their employees and when the employees need the presence of the manager to guide them. Each of these

Facial Recognition Biometrics Essay Example for Free

Facial Recognition Biometrics Essay Traditional personal identification and authentication methods always have the danger of being stolen, duplicated or forgotten. Hence, biometrics was introduced as an identification and authentication technology, where physical features would be used for recognizing a person. This technology uses many features for unique identification like fingerprints, face, irises and voice. Fingerprints are by far the most popular techniques used for i8dentification, because of their traditional use in forensics. However, face recognition is considered to be the more direct, friendly and convenient method for identification as compared to fingerprint identification. This has made face recognition system as the second most widely used biometric technology after fingerprinting with a projected revenue of $429 million in 2007, according to Raicu Strandburg (2005). This growth in the use of this technology is attributed to the sharp rise in the number of digital cameras and camcorders and inconsequence surveillance cameras. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this technology, explain its basic principle, look into the limitations of the technology and the research work being done in this field. Face Recognition Face recognition consists of two steps: face detection and location; features extraction and face recognition. Figure below shows a flowchart of the face recognition system: Fig -1 Flow chart of a basic face recognition system (Zhang, 2000) Face Detection and Location – This step checks if the given image or image sequence includes faces. It yes, then it locates the position of the faces and segments each face from the background Features extraction and face recognition – This step checks the various features that distinguish different individuals. It figures whether the people in the image are the given person or if he / she are in the database. Needless to say, the face recognition system depends upon the input of the system. The importance of the input and picture background is explained by Zhang (2000) by giving the following example. The picture taken during log in on a system and passing custom are controlled. That is to say the background is uniform for the images or image sequences. The pose, orientation etc is also known and well controlled. This makes the process of face recognition is accurate and faster. However, in case of an input environment which is universal for all situations, there might be number of faces and also a complex background. The location of the face and its size is not known, the illumination on the different faces in a picture is different and their expressions might be different too. In such cases, the face detection and location is difficult. Face recognition can be made difficult due to different expressions, orientations and age, making the process of feature extraction and face recognition all the more difficult (Zhang, 2000) One important parameter in the evaluation of a face-processing system is the performance evaluation. The basic measurement parameters are the same as that for pattern recognition system FA i. e. false acceptance or false positive and FR i. e. false rejection or false negative. As in case of a pattern recognition system, an ideal face-recognition system should have very low scores of FA and FR, but a practical system usually makes trade-offs between these two factors. History of Face Processing Systems Development According to Zhao Chellappa (2006), the earliest work on face recognition can be traced to the early 1950s in psychology and 1960s in engineering literature. However, the research on automatic machine recognition of faces started in 1970s after the work of Kanade and Kelly. For over 30 years extensive research has been conducted on various aspects of face recognition by humans and machines. During early and mid 1970s typical pattern-classification techniques using measured attribute of features for instance the distances between important points in faces or profiles were used. In 1980s, the work in this field remained largely dormant. The interest in this field was renewed in 1990s due to an increase in commercial opportunities, availability of real-time hardware and emergence of surveillance related applications. During this time the research was focused on how to make the face-recognition systems fully automatic by tackling various underlying problems like localization of a face in a given image or a video clip and extraction of features such as eyes, mouth etc (Zhao Chellappa, 2006) Applications of Face processing The applications of face processing vary, leading to different features extraction and face recognition. For instance, one application is the face verification, which means that the person is who he claims to be. This is used in places like banks for identity confirmation. Another application is to check if the person exists in the database and if yes than which one. This is known as face recognition and used in surveillance systems in offices. A variation of this is when we wish to have a list of candidates with a specific set of specified features. This is used in the police department (Zhang, 2000) The table below gives some applications of face processing including detection and tracking, recognition of identity and expressions, and also personalized realistic rendering (Zhao Chellappa, 2006).

Personal Nursing Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Personal Nursing Philosophy Essay We often hear that nursing is an art and a science, and I firmly believe that. The way a nurse blends those aspects of care defines the nurse. As nurses, our roles in our patients’ lives vary depending on their needs. We are teachers as well as technical experts, and our ultimate goal is to ensure our patients and families are ready to take over when the patient no longer requires our care. Why I Chose Nursing I have known that I wanted to work with children since I was a young child myself. Before the age of ten, I thought I might be a teacher. As I enjoyed math and science, several of my aunts, nurses themselves, encouraged me to consider nursing. As a sibling of a disabled child, I was probably exposed to more medical knowledge than average, and I took my first CPR class when I was eight years old. I liked the nurses and therapists that worked with my sister, but I also had respect for the teachers that worked so tirelessly with her. I can pinpoint the moment I decided that nursing was for me, though it was a long time before I could act on that decision. My sister had contracted hepatitis A at school. That lowered her seizure threshold enough that she ended up in the intensive care unit. As it was winter, I was not allowed to visit her. At ten, I didn’t understand the concept of RSV restrictions. I only knew that she’d been hospitalized many times and I’d always been allowed at her bedside. Somehow I interpreted that to mean she must be dying, and no one wanted to tell me. I was in the waiting room outside the ICU while my mother was in with my sister, crying my heart out. A nurse walking by stopped to ask me what was wrong, and I spilled out my fears to her. She escorted my into the unit, telling me that she was going to find a supervisor to see if she could get permission for me to visit my sister. In the meantime, there was a room where I could wait for her†¦. which turned out to be my sister’s room. After failing to get permission for me to visit, the nurse returned to escort me back to the waiting room. Before we left, she took the time to explain the monitors and what they meant, and went over my sister’s plan of care and discharge criteria with me. Hugely reassured, I was content to wait in the waiting room. More than thirty years later, that nurse’s compassion still sticks with me. The Core of Nursing If compassion is at the heart of nursing, knowledge and skill must be its head and hands. Since the earliest days of nursing, the patient’s environment has been a consideration in their care. Florence Nightingale’s theory that hydration, nutrition, rest, and a clean environment were necessary to healing (Black, 2007) is a basic principle of nursing today. The world has changed since then, and nursing has changed with it. With every technological advance or new treatment modality, nurses have been called upon to be more than caretakers. It requires skilled hands to provide the treatments our patients need. Throughout a patient’s stay, teaching is a primary responsibility of the nurse. Patients cannot make informed decisions on their care without adequate information. Whether teaching the relatively simple task of taking medications, or the more complex management of a chronic condition, it is a nurse’s duty to make sure the patient and family are trained and prepared to assume care once the patient goes home. The teaching required necessarily varies from patient to patient, and often from day to day in the same patient as he or she moves on the continuum between health and illness. Finally, patients need to be able to count on nurses to be authorities in their field. Nurses must be accountable for remaining competent in their practice, and for continuing their education throughout their career (Killeen Saewert, 2007). Beliefs and Values Patients have needs unrelated to their illness or injury. Having spent my entire career in pediatrics, often my focus is on developmental needs and what activities can be provided that support normal development. Some needs, however, seem to be universal. The need for play, learning, and social contact are not restricted to children. Meeting the emotional and psychosocial needs of the patient without compromising the physical needs demanded by the illness or injury is occasionally a delicate balancing act, and is where the art of nursing meets the science of nursing. By collaborating with our patients and families and respecting their values, a plan can be reached that both supports their needs and involves them in their own care. From a pediatric perspective, the family is an integral part of the healthcare team. Parents are the primary ally and resource in providing individualized care for their child. Even in adult patients, who they are is impacted by the relationships that they have. Serious or chronic illnesses and injuries affect the entire family. The family, then, becomes the patient, particularly when it is necessary to make lifestyle changes. I have been fortunate enough to work in a teaching hospital for over a decade, on a unit that has a strong sense of teamwork. I have watched residents grow from unsure medical students to capable attending physicians, and have been gratified to precept and mentor new nurses into colleagues that can be relied on. Through we have a varied mix of skill levels, values, and talents, as a team we manage to form a cohesive whole. I count on my nurses to provide outstanding care to their patients, to hold themselves and each other accountable for maintaining high standards, and to support each other as needed. I also count on them for holding me accountable when the minutia of providing care for patients or my nurses gets in the way of my seeing the big picture. In my own life, it has taken me a long while to take charge of my health. I am currently working hard to quit smoking, and have recently lost fifty of the extra sixty or so pounds I’ve been carrying. Like a lot of nurses, I put off preventative care, and wait too long before seeing a physician when I need to. This disconnect between my professional values and my personal behavior baffles me. I cannot expect my patients and families to view me as an authority on health if I am unhealthy. This year has been one of trying to bring my own lifestyle into line with my beliefs. Vision for the Future In two years, I will have completed my BSN. At that point, I want to take a clinical instructor position while I pursue my MSN. I seem to have come full circle in what I want to be when I grow up, and combining my love of nursing with my love of teaching seems to be the best of both worlds. In five years, I hope to have completed my MSN. By that time I will have been a clinical instructor for long enough to know if I want to translate that to the classroom or perhaps become a nurse educator in an acute setting. I know I love teaching new nurses in my current setting, however I’m unsure of whether I would enjoy teaching in an academic setting. In ten years, my goals are much more nebulous and largely depend on whether I have chosen to move to an academic setting or remain in acute care. In either setting, there are always things to learn and opportunities to explore. Someday, I would like to open a medical foster care facility, though I have doubts about that happening in that time frame. Summary The pursuit of my professional goals is a long-term plan. I enjoy learning, have the support of my family, and the path to my goals are clearly defined. I am detail oriented, and hope that will help me to reach my goals. As I continue on this path, each success will pave the way to the next. Time management is an obstacle in my path, as I am currently working two jobs and trying to take care of my family while pursuing my degree. I am still learning how to manage all the demands on my time without stretching myself too thin. In addition, I sometimes get bogged down in the details and lose sight of the big picture, and then tend to procrastinate until I find my way again. Fortunately deadlines are effective in making me take a step back and rethink my approach.

The Role Of Teacher in Written Feedback

The Role Of Teacher in Written Feedback Teacher written feedback plays an essential role in a students writing process. It helps students identify their own strengths and weaknesses, which, in case of the latter, will make students know how to go about improving themselves and become effective writers (Penaflorida, 2002, p. 364). According to Ferris (2002), teacher feedback, if addressed effectively, can also contribute to students overall second language acquisition. Important as teacher written feedback is, there have been several studies comprehensively dealing with the issue. Even with those that do, there exists a lack of consensus over such matters as what aspects teacher feedback should focus on, which forms of feedback are preferable to students, etc. In the context of teaching writing in Vietnam, few studies have been conducted on feedback in general and teacher written feedback in particular. The same situation could be seen at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities-Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In reality, neither an investigation into the current feedback giving practice nor students preferences for teacher written feedback has been carried out at the college. It is, therefore, an open question whether or not current teacher written feedback is beneficial to students at the college. All the aforementioned reasons urge the author to carry out the research entitled A study on teacher written feedback on 1st-year students writings at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities-Vietnam National University, Hanoi. This study is an attempt to examine the real situation of teacher written feedback at the CSSH and to propose some suggestions for the betterment of the current practice. The yielded results is hoped to serve as a useful source of reference for those who concern about the subject matter. I.2. Aims of the study This study is carried out with the aims to: investigate the current practice of teacher written feedback on 1st year students writings at the CSSH-VNU propose some recommendations for the betterment of teacher written feedback at the CSSH. I.3. Research questions In order to achieve the abovementioned aims, the study will be conducted to answer two research questions: In what ways is teacher written feedback given to the 1st-year-students writings at the CSSH VNU? What do 1st-year students at CSSH expect from teacher written feedback to make it more effective? I.4. Scope of the study The research will work on the current situation of teacher written feedback on the 1st-year student writings at CSSH-VNU. The subjects selected for this study are the 1st-year students who are studying English at college. Moreover, the research examines only teacher written feedback but not other types of feedback such as teacher-student conference or teacher taped comments, since teacher written feedback is the main type of feedback at the college. Chapter II: Literature Review This chapter, which reviews the overall background concerning teacher written feedback, will serve as the foundations based on which the study is carried out. II.1. Concept of teacher feedback in writing Concerning the matter of teacher feedback (or respond/commentary), there exist a vast number of definitions given by researchers. Keh (1990) considers feedback as any input from a reader to a writer with the effect of providing information to the writer for revision (p. 294). In other words, it is the comments, questions, and suggestions a reader gives a writer with the view to enhancing his/her writing. The concept of feedback given by Joe (2006) is probably one of the most comprehensive one: Feedback is an inseparable and recursive component of both the teachers instruction and the writing process. It represents a sense of audience and purpose in forming the on-going writing process, while establishing a concept of collaborative reader-editor relationship between teacher and student. The feedback from the reader-editor appears as input for further reexamination and revision of the prior written work by providing optimum opportunities to develop and refine ideas, and may take various forms such as conference and interview. (p. 53) This concept is considered the most thorough one that covers almost aspects of teacher feedback, namely, the positions of feedback in writing instruction and writing process, the relation of student-teacher in process writing, the forms of feedback, and the role of feedback in a writing process. Its thought will, therefore, be used thorough this study. II. 2. Role of teacher written feedback As mentioned above, teacher feedback plays an essential role in a writing process. The importance of teacher feedback can be aptly summed by Straub (1996) It is how we receive and respond to student writing that speaks loudest in our teaching (p.246). In the absence of a face to face verbal writing conference, written response is the only way in which teacher can respond to the individual needs of students. It is via the comments on their writing that students can identify their own strengths and weaknesses, which, in the case of the latter, will make the students know how to go about improving themselves and become effective writers (Penaflorida, 2002, p. 346). Therefore, feedback is considered, first of all, a pedagogical tool that helps enhance students writing competence. Moreover, according to Ressor, teacher feedback is believed to provide students with not only the incentive to improve but also the guidance about how to improve (as cited in Vengadasamy, 2002). Feedback, in this sense, adopts another function; that is, stimulating and motivating student to write. II.3. Features of good teacher written feedback What constitutes good teacher written feedback is a complicated issue. There is little consensus among researchers over the matter as in reality, different individuals may prefer different types of feedback. While some people enjoy negative and direct feedback, other may feel discouraged by the same feedback. Therefore, it is normal to see different sets of criteria for good teacher written feedback. According to Coffin et al. (2003, p. 101), three vital elements of a good feedback are positive comment, criticism and suggestion for improvements. The coexistence of positive comment and criticism, according to Ferris Hedgcock (1998), will bring about the best effects (p. 128). While positive comments can motivate writers, negative ones can constructively show them where they have gone wrong and what action they should take in order to improve their paper. A suggestion is also needed as a guideline for students to make revision. Notably, the aforementioned set of criteria only mentions the elements constituting good teacher feedback. Researchers on teacher feedback also list a large number of other criteria, among which is the one given by Leki (1992). According to this researcher, feedback is only good when teachers concentrate on the content along with a limited amount of feedback on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. According to Baechle Lian (1990) and Mastropiery Scruggs (1994) (as cited in Konold Miller, 2004), high-quality feedback should be timely, accurate, constructive, outcome-focused, encouraging and positive. What is more, good feedback must necessarily avoid unknown abbreviations, codes, ambiguous and unobtainable suggestions for improvement. This set of criteria, in comparison with the two sets mentioned above, is more sufficient since it covers nearly all aspects of good feedback, that is, the elements of good teacher written feedback, the tone of teacher feedback (encouraging and positive) as well as the practicality of the feedback (obtainable suggestions). The existence of different ways to define the criteria of good teacher written feedback indicates that there is no standard type of teacher feedback. It is, therefore, necessary that each teaching and learning environment carry out research to find out the types of feedback that suit their students most. II.4. Major issues of teacher feedback on student writing Providing effective feedback to students has been a matter of concern among writing teachers as well as researchers. A great number of questions have been asked: What should teacher comment on?, To which extent should feedback be?, Which types of comment are most effective? and so on. However, it is the fact that researchers have not reached a consensus over the answers to such questions. Within a small scale study, an overview of the literature of the two main issues, namely content and types of teacher written feedback will be discussed in the following part. II.4.1. Content of teacher written feedback Teachers have been faced with a constant question of what to focus on when giving feedback to student writing. Fathman and Whalley (1990, p.178) notes: much of the conflict over teacher response to written work has been whether teacher feedback should focus on form or content of the writing. Content, in their opinion, refers to comments on organization, ideas and amount of detail, while form involves comments on grammar and mechanical errors. Traditionally, teachers were inclined to identifying and correcting all the surface-level errors; i.e., errors on form (Sommers, 1982). Kepner (1991) explains that teacher corrects errors out of the fear that the erroneous structures would become fossilized in the students. However, the mere focus on form correction would have detrimental impact on student writing. That students receive a corrected draft from a teacher with red-ink correction all over the page would only add to their anxiety when dealing with another writing task. Moreover, a large amount of error correction may draw the students attention to form only but not to the important matter of developing the content (Sommers, 1982). This is because when teacher feedback focuses on form (grammar, spelling, etc.), many students will revise their writing by correcting the surface mistakes and will make few or no other changes. The result is that the students rewriting becomes grammar exercises rather than challenges to clarify meaning. In some other research, there seems an agreement that attention must paid to both content and form for the fact grammatical inaccuracies can have negative effect on the overall quality of the student writing (Raimes, 1992, p. 308). In short, what to feedback on remains a complex issue. Though many studies have been carried out on the issue, a consensus over the matter has not been reached. This indicates that further studies are needed in order to find out the answer to the problem. II.4.2. Types of teacher written feedback This part will present some major types of feedback: positive feedback negative feedback, direct feedback indirect feedback, marginal feedback end feedback. These types of feedback are discussed and compared in pair in a way that the differences between them, i.e., the advantages and disadvantages of one type over the other, are highlighted. II.4.2.1. Positive feedback versus a negative feedback In their studies, Fathman Whalley (1990) suggests that positive comments give students motivation to improve their writings. When students are told they are doing right, they feel motivated to write more and to write better. However, only positive comment is not sufficient enough to motivate students to improve their writing. According to Hyland and Hyland (2001), negative comments are more useful for many students who want their problems to be highlighted. Too much negative feedback, however, may adversely affect students writing. As they re-read the writing with red marks all over the page, students may feel discouraged and stop trying to correct the mistakes. All things considered, it is advisable that teachers get a balance between praise and criticism, since the combination of both kinds will bring about the best effects (Ferris Hedgcock, 1998, p. 128). II.4.2.2. Direct versus indirect feedback Direct feedback is teachers explicit written corrections in response to students errors. With direct feedback, students are expected merely to transcribe the teachers suggested corrections into their texts. Indirect feedback, on the other hand, is when the teacher alerts students to error using general comments, but gives students the opportunity to fix errors themselves (Ferris, 2002). In his study, Ferris (2002) shows that indirect feedback is more helpful to student writers in most cases because it leads to greater cognitive engagement, reflection, and guided learning and problem-solving. Since teachers only point out the mistakes (or suggest the way to correct them), students have to figure out the way to correct the mistakes on their own. This, in the long run, helps promote students thinking as well as the ability to self-edit their own writings. Moreover, when having to correct the mistakes by themselves, students normally remember the mistakes better; therefore, they are more likely to be able to avoid them in the future. Beneficial as indirect feedback to students, for mistakes that are too complicated, direct feedback proves better than indirect one because it saves students from discouragement when they could not solve the problems on their own. All things considered, it would be the best way that teachers combine both direct and indirect feedback when they respond to student writings. II.4.2.3. Marginal versus end feedback Marginal feedback is a kind of feedback that is written in the margin or between sentence lines of the students paper. By contrast, end feedback refers to the summary feedback at the end of the paper. According to Ferris and Hedgecock (1998), there is no conclusive evidence that either marginal or end comments are preferable or more effective. In reality, each type of feedback is used with a certain aim. While marginal comments are more suitable to respond to specific sections of the text, end comments are usually saved for more global concerns affecting the entire composition. To sum up, as the above literature indicates, there is no consensus over what constitutes effective feedback. As a result, in order for teachers to make full use of feedback, they need to adjust the types of comments to the certain kinds of students. Chapter III: Methodology This chapter, which introduces the methodology of the study, covers the research approach, the methods of data collection, and the methods of data analysis. III.1. Research approach A combination of both quantitative and qualitative method was utilized in this study so as to achieve the desired aim. Quantitative method realized by means of a questionnaire to students, proved to be appropriate because it was adequate to find objective answers to such questions as How is feedback given to the 1st-year student writings and What do students expect from their teacher written feedback?. Moreover, thanks to the large number of participants in the study, that is, 80 1st-year students, the information acquired is reliable and generalisable (Nunan, 1989, p.4). In this study, qualitative was also needed since one end of the research was to find out how teachers respond to their student writings and why they respond in such ways. Qualitative study is based mainly on three basic data gathering techniques, that is, participant observation, interview and document or artifact analysis. III.2. Methods of data collection III.2.1. Questionnaire The first method aims at collecting statistical data from students to answers two research questions: (1) In what ways is teacher written feedback given to the 1st-year-students writings at the CSSH VNU? and (2) What do 1st-year students at CSSH expect from teachers written feedback to make it more effective? The data gained not only provided the researcher with an overall understanding about the students opinion about current situation of teacher written feedback given but also some pedagogical implications for the practice of giving feedback at CSSH. The questionnaire included two main parts, namely, the current situation of teacher written feedback and students expectations of teacher written feedback. The subjects selected for the study include 80 freshmen who are in the second semester of the academic year 2009-2010 at CSSH-VNU. The questionnaires were distributed to respondents with the researchers presence so that clarification and disambiguation could be made timely. (A copy of the questionnaire can be seen in the Appendix A). The steps of conducting and distributing questionnaire can be illustrated as follows: Studied available documents and chose the most appropriate data Designed questionnaire Piloted questionnaires Revised questionnaires in terms of language as well as instructions so as to make it clear and reader-friendly Distributed questionnaires to 1st-year students at CSSH Gathered findings from respondents, analyzed and interpreted the data. III.2.2. Student writing analysis Analyzing student writings already responded by teachers served two main functions. First, it gave the researcher an in-depth look at how teacher written feedback is given to the 1st-year student writings. In addition, it provided materials for the interviews with the teachers. Three groups of students were randomly selected. From the four groups, 15 newly-commented writing papers were borrowed and analyzed. The steps of analyzing students writings can be illustrated as follows: Borrowed the writing papers from students Read students writing papers with the teachers written feedback Analyzed the teachers comments in terms of feedback content and types. By this way, the distinctive features of a certain teachers style of giving written feedback could be discovered. III.2.3. Semi-structure interviews In this study, semi-structure interviews with the teachers were used with the views to double-checking the information gained in the questionnaire. The situation of teacher written feedback was, therefore, looked into from two different angles, both from teachers and students perspectives. Three teachers working at CSSH were invited to take part in the interviews. This number was reasonable because if it was greater, the qualitative data would be too enormous to manage. The interviews were carried out informally in the teachers native language so as to elicit the most information from the teachers involved. During the interview, audio recorder was utilized. All the data were then transcribed and translated into English for data analysis. (The content of interview questions and Transcription of the interviews can be seen in Appendix B) In short, the combination of qualitative and quantitative method was utilized so as to yield the most information needed. At the same time, the shortcomings that persisted in individual method would be overcome. III.3. Method of data analysis Since collected in both quantitative and qualitative method in this research, the data, therefore, needed to be processed in different ways so as to yield the most accurate results. As for the quantitative approach, the researcher followed the statistical procedure from coding questionnaire data to summarizing and reporting data in a reader-friendly way. As for the qualitative approach, the method of data analysis was to transcribe the recorded interviews and synthesize them. The recorded interviews were first transcribed in their original language and then translated into English. Only English would be used in the discussion of findings for convenience. CHAPTER 4: Discussion of results IV.1. Current situation of teacher written feedback from students perspective How teacher written feedback in writing skill is delivered at CSSH is reflected in the first part of the questionnaire to students. IV.1.1. Frequency of teacher written feedback The first question asked students how many times their teacher responded to each of their writing assignment in written form. As can be seen from Figure 1, nearly one forth of the respondents stated that their teachers gave feedback to their writing twice per one assignment. This means after getting teacher written comments, students were required to revise and hand in the next versions for further feedback and evaluation. This level of frequency was believed to be appropriate, since it could encourage students to revise and to enhance their writing performance. The majority of students (77%), however, received teacher written feedback only once per assignment. Since the teachers did not require students to revise and hand in the writing after they received teacher written feedback, it is likely that few students had enough motivation to revise their paper. This, in turn, might reduce the usefulness of teacher written feedback. IV.1.2. General evaluation of teacher written feedback It is clear from Figure 2 that the majority of students (75%) got fairly detailed feedback, that is, comments and suggestions/corrections to major mistakes. This way of giving feedback is supported by many researchers who claim that teachers should focus on some typical problems at a time (Ur, 1996; Sommer, 1982). The number of students stating that their teacher feedback was very general, e.g., feedback with only some words like excellent, good or bad was 8, accounting for 10% of all students. There was no student receiving NO written comments from their teachers at all, which means no teacher felt into the trap of being non-corrector. These numbers indicate that the practice of giving feedback at CSSH was fairly adequate. IV.1.3. Content of teacher written feedback Figure 3 shows different categories of teacher written feedback from the view of students. Strikingly, there were very few students who NEVER received teacher written feedback on these categories (except for that on format). The levels often accounted for the highest numbers of students, from the lowest 25 students to the highest of 45. These figures indicate that teachers at CSSH have paid attention to both form and content, though the levels of attention may vary from one teacher to another. Noticeably, the percentage of students who RARELY received feedback on ideas, organization of ideas and format was higher than that on grammar, vocabulary and mechanics. For the level ALWAYS, the highest number of students chose grammar, that is, 42 over 80 students and next-coming was expression, 31 over 80 students. This is predictable since mistakes of surface level (grammar, vocabulary and mechanics) are more identifiable than those of organization and ideas (Ur, 1996; Fathman Whalley, 1990). However, that teachers rarely gave feedback on content may, in the long run, have negative impacts on the students because writing is, in the final analysis, about communicating and presenting thoughts. In summary, two major features of teacher written feedback interpreted from this bar chart are: (1) teachers did pay attention to both the form and the content of students writings and (2) teachers were more likely to respond to surface-level mistakes. IV.1.4. Types of teacher written feedback Concerning types of teacher written feedback (Figure 4), the majority of teachers at CSSH used both positive feedback (i.e., praise) and negative one (i.e., criticism) when responding to students writings. The overall number of students who always, or often received teachers positive feedback far outnumbered that of negative one, that is, 91% to 59%. This reality was an indication that teachers at CSSH preferred giving feedback in an encouraging tone to negative one. Regarding marginal and end feedback, there still existed 16% of students who rarely received end feedback and the other 20% who rarely received marginal feedback. Though the numbers were not high, it was still an indication that some teachers still did not pay enough attention to these two must-have feedback. As can be seen from Figure 4, both direct and indirect feedback was used and the levels of frequency were nearly the same. It is inferable that teachers paid equal attention to both types. It can be concluded that teachers at CSSH employed a wide variety of types of feedback to respond to students writings. However, in order to have accurate judgment of the effectiveness of the types used, in-depth interviews with the teachers are needed. This will be discussed in later part of this study. IV.1.1.5. Comprehensibility of teacher written feedback The last question in the first part of the questionnaire asked about the comprehensibility of students of teacher written feedback. The majority of respondents, 90%, answered that generally, they did. However, there were still 10% (8 students) stating that they were not able to understand teacher feedback. The most common reasons for this were teachers too general feedback (6 respondents) and new words/structures in their feedback (6 respondents). Correction codes, which are initially aimed at systematizing and simplifying teacher written feedback, turned out to make it incomprehensible to understand to a number of students (4 respondents). IV.2. Current situation of teacher written feedback from teachers perspective Emphatically, this study aims at finding out how written feedback is delivered from different perspectives, both of teachers and students. This part will present information on firstly, the way teachers give feedback to students (via analyzing student writings with teacher feedback on them) and secondly, teachers reasoning for the way they give feedback to students (via interviews with the teachers). However, in order to make it easy to follow, the information will be discussed according to the frame of the interviews with the presentation of student writings analysis integrated in it. The following section will be discussed in two different categories, namely, aspects of teacher written feedback and types of teacher written feedback. 21The following table compares the two major aspects form content that have been responded by teachers. The dark columns present the number of mistakes identified by the researcher and then double-checked by a native speaker, and the other columns the numbers of mistakes pointed out, suggested or corrected by the teachers. The ratios of mistakes pointed out by teachers to those by the native speaker gives the researcher an overall assessment of the frequency level of teacher written feedback at CSSH. As can be seen from the table, all the teachers at CSSH paid attention to both content and form of student writing papers, though the level of attention may differ. In order to make the information easy to follow, it was then re-illustrated in the form of bar-chart as follows: While Teacher 1 (T1) seemingly put more focus on feedback on form, Teacher 2 (T2) and Teacher 3 (T3) paid fairly equal attention to both the content and form of the writings. The reason for their emphasis on both form and content was they are equally important (T3). In greater details, If I dont correct mistakes on form (like grammar, word choice, etc), students will be likely to repeat the mistakes, even the simple ones, in the future and they are used to the teaching and learning method at High school where a lot of emphasis is put on grammar that If I dont orient them towards the content of a writing paper, they will perhaps stop at language accuracy only (T3). Explaining her way of giving feedback, T1 responded that the possibility of students making mistakes on content was quite small since students normally get suggestions on idea organization either from the teacher or from the course-book within prewriting stage (T1). Noticeably, though T1 acknowledged the importance of content, she did not manage to treat it equal to form. Concerning the treatments of mistakes, it was notable while mistakes on form were usually corrected by teachers right away; those on content just received suggestions for revision from teachers. Reasoning this, T2 answered its difficult to correct the content directly on their papers and I dont want them to think thats the only way (when I give correction) to go about that. In the same line with this were feedbacks on content, as I said earlier, are suggestive only, theres no one correct way of organizing ideas (T3). In short, all the teachers participating in this study were well aware of the importance of content over form, which helped them avoid being mistake-hunters. However, how much teachers focus on either form or content vary. IV.2.2. Types of teacher written feedback Type of teacher written feedback was also a field marking the differences between the teachers participating in the study. In terms of marginal and end feedback, it was notable that while T1 preferred using marginal to end feedback, T2 tended to enjoy the other way round. T1 stated that her in-text comments were enough for students to revise their papers. Furthermore, the teacher normally did not feel content with her student writings: if I gave an overall comment to my students, that comment would be very negative and it may make them feel discouraged. T2, in contrast, used more end feedback as she wanted to comment on students overall performance. According to T2, the focus of the 2nd semester was free writing, which meant more personal feelings and less teacher intervention. Adopting both marginal and end feedback when responding to student writings, T3 explained they serve different purposes. Marginal feedbacks were handy and suitable with minor mistakes; while end feedbacks were given for general comments. As a consequence, the lack of either marginal or end feedback led to incomprehensive feedback. Relating to the use of negative and positive feedback, it was notable that except from T1, the other two teachers frequently resorted to both types of feedback when responding to student writings. According to these teachers, feedback should, apart from helping students aware of the mistakes they make, be able to motivate students. This idea agreed with what Coffin et al. (2003) listed as the features of good teacher written feedback, that is, positive comment, criticism and suggestion for improvement. T1, who seemed not in favor of the ideas, stated it very much depends on the quality of the writing to decide what to include in the feedback. According to T1, teachers should not just praise students so that they feel at ease when receiving feedback because that may do more harm than good: students may feel that Oh, the teacher says that my writing is good, so why should I revise it or they may feel hurt when the feedback is positive while the mark is actually low (T1). This idea, whi ch had some merits in itself, should be taken into consideration. The types of feedback used have, to a certain extent, reflected the tone to teacher written feedback. While T2 and T3 preferred giving feedback in a friendly, encouraging tone, T1 turned to more serious feedback which was, according to the teacher, more beneficial to students. In short, the data achieved from the interviews, which do conform to those from student que

Dreams Do Come True :: Personal Narrative Writing

Dreams Do Come True Dreams do come true. Everyone in their life has a dream or two or three. Finding the way to achieve your dreams, goals, and aspirations is an epic journey on its own. It takes discipline, determination, and self -exploration. This is the tale of the journey I am still currently on. As a child I always wanted to be in the spotlight. I was always the ham in family pictures, the one who had to excel past my brother, and be in the know of everything. When I was about twelve years old, I realized that entertaining people was what I was all about. Since I wasn’t any good at telling the jokes around the campfire or singing acappella, I thought about trying my dance skills. I liked dancing and I have always enjoyed music videos like Janet Jackson’s â€Å"Miss you much†, so I thought why not? What did I have to lose? With the support of my parents, particularly my mom, I went for the gusto. Like any first experience we remember all the details of the event. I remember my first dance class at J in Jazz Dance Studio. I was under the instruction of Julie Pederson who was one of the young faces in my little town of Sierra Vista. I was thirteen and thought that the class was awesome. Now if you are under the impression that I was great the first time around you are wrong. I was the one goofy awkward kid who was there having fun. Julie thought that I would be gone by the end of three months because I couldn’t hack it. She was just glad that I was there having fun and being a good student. According to some experts, since I started after the age of ten I was not supposed to be any good. Just six months after starting, something somewhere happened to both me and my dance ability. I was put on the competition/performance team, and then I just kept excelling from there. Every year or two, I was put on a higher more difficult team. Dreams Do Come True :: Personal Narrative Writing Dreams Do Come True Dreams do come true. Everyone in their life has a dream or two or three. Finding the way to achieve your dreams, goals, and aspirations is an epic journey on its own. It takes discipline, determination, and self -exploration. This is the tale of the journey I am still currently on. As a child I always wanted to be in the spotlight. I was always the ham in family pictures, the one who had to excel past my brother, and be in the know of everything. When I was about twelve years old, I realized that entertaining people was what I was all about. Since I wasn’t any good at telling the jokes around the campfire or singing acappella, I thought about trying my dance skills. I liked dancing and I have always enjoyed music videos like Janet Jackson’s â€Å"Miss you much†, so I thought why not? What did I have to lose? With the support of my parents, particularly my mom, I went for the gusto. Like any first experience we remember all the details of the event. I remember my first dance class at J in Jazz Dance Studio. I was under the instruction of Julie Pederson who was one of the young faces in my little town of Sierra Vista. I was thirteen and thought that the class was awesome. Now if you are under the impression that I was great the first time around you are wrong. I was the one goofy awkward kid who was there having fun. Julie thought that I would be gone by the end of three months because I couldn’t hack it. She was just glad that I was there having fun and being a good student. According to some experts, since I started after the age of ten I was not supposed to be any good. Just six months after starting, something somewhere happened to both me and my dance ability. I was put on the competition/performance team, and then I just kept excelling from there. Every year or two, I was put on a higher more difficult team.

L’Oreal Case Study Essay -- Business Marketing

L’Oreal Introduction     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   L’Oreal is the largest cosmetics company in the world. It shouldn’t be a surprise that L’Oreal doesn’t sell all of its product lines in every market in which it sells, and the market in the Netherlands is no exception. Upper management of the Netherlands’ L’Oreal subsidiary have to make decisions on which product lines will succeed in their respective market and which ones will falter. In this particular case, L’Oreal needs to decide if it would like to introduce Garneir product lines such as the Synergie skin care line and the Belle Couleur permanent hair colorants line into the Netherlands market. The basic problem is whether or not to introduce these lines into the Dutch market. Situation Audit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Netherlands, unlike in France, L’Oreal and Garneir are both sold under the same sales force. This must be taken into consideration considering that L’Oreal has products in both hair colorants (Recital) and in skin care (Plenitude). Fortunately, the Dutch market maybe able to handle both of these product lines from L’Oreal and Garneir if it is felt that they could both be profitable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When looking at the Dutch market, the most surprising thing is the youth of population. 40% of the population is under the age of 25. This is an important demographic stat because a lot of younger women are the ones who use cosmetics, but it is important to note that the fastest growing populations are those of age 25 and older which might be important to the market of hair colorants. Another interesting trend is the number of Dutch women who work outside the home with a labor force rate of 29% and it is increasing more rapidly than those of other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. This is very interesting because these women will have more money, independence, and self-confidence. In these terms, these women will more than likely use more cosmetics because of the increase in time that they spend outside of the home. A final insight into the Dutch market shows that Dutch women tend to shop for value, especially in cosmetics, which needs to be taken into account. The overall Dutch market looks somewhat promising to the introduction of Synergie and Belle Couleur lines, but other factors must also be looked at.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While the overall Dutch market is important in the analysis, the product markets might give a be... ...o use our product because they are out in public and they also have more money to spend on things such as cosmetics. The Dutch women in this market need the Synergie line to give off the idea of a self-concept that can relate our brand image to their needs as a workingwoman. An idea for the advertising campaign could be â€Å"You’re working the hardest, shouldn’t you look the best too!† While this product line is marketed towards the workingwoman, the L’Oreal product Plenitude could be marketed towards keeping a youthful look with its ability to delay the signs of aging. The best bet for the profitability of both products is to effectively find a certain image that each consumer can identify herself with. With this, I believe that both products can succeed in the same market and both can have the potential to have large market shares. Bibliography Datamonitor, Feb. 2004. Haircare In The Netherlands. Retrieved on April 23, 2005. http://dbic.datamonitor.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/industries/industry/?iid=Haircare Datamonitor, Feb. 2004. Makeup In The Netherlands. Retrieved on April 23, 2005. http://dbic.datamonitor.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/industries/industry/?iid=Skincare

Representation of Manners :: essays research papers

Representation of Manners   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel of manners is a novel that focuses on the customs, values, and mindset of a particular class or group of people who are situated in a specific historical context (Bowers and Brothers 5). The context tends to be one in which behavior has been codified and language itself has become formulated, resulting in a suppressing or regulating of individual expression. Often, this type of novel details a conflict between the individual’s desires and the ethical, moral, economic, or interpersonal mandates of society (Bowers and Brothers 5). The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton is a novel of manners concerned with the subtle nuances of behavior and standards of correctness portrayed by the upper-class of New York in the late 1890s. In the novel, Wharton uses the genre to depict Lily Bart’s struggle to maintain individualism while conforming to society’s expectations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel of manners developed in the 19th century as authors explored the place of women in society and the social effect of marriage (Bowers and Brothers 4). These authors wanted to show in particular the problems that come with marriage as well as with the problems of conforming to society. The world of the novel of manners was perceived as a woman’s world, viewed from a woman’s perspective (Bowers and Brothers 4).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The genre developed four specific conventions in the 19th century. Out of the four, three of the conventions are represented in The House of Mirth. One of the conventions was that the protagonist of the novel was usually a single woman looking to get married. The second convention dealt with the woman’s understanding of the socio-economic class within the novel. This was an important factor because it determined whom the woman would marry. The third convention found in The House of Mirth was the novel ending with the marriage or death of the protagonist, the case of Lily Bart, death. The House Mirth portrays all these conventions in the novel but instead of Lily conforming to society, Lily attempts to develop her own self-identity and independence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lily Bart, the protagonist of The House of Mirth, was an unmarried 29 year old woman who desired to be a social success â€Å"[or] to get as much as one [could] out of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wharton 81). Her mission was to marry a relatively wealthy man, thereby ensuring her financial stability and a place in the higher levels of New York society.

Decreasing Charge Method Essay

Companies have a choice among the many methods available with which to allocate the cost of fixed assets they have acquired. One of type of these methods is the decreasing charge methods consisting of sum-of-the-years’-digits and declining-balance method (author 525). Under these methods, the company allocates a higher portion of the cost of the asset in its earlier years than in later ones. Because of the higher cost allocation in the earlier year these methods are also called the accelerated method (526). Sum-of-the-years’-digits The name of this method is very descriptive of the formula used to compute depreciation cost. As one of the accelerated methods to allocate cost, sum-of-the-years’-digits allocates a higher depreciation cost in the early life of the asset, with the depreciation cost decreasing every year (527). The first part of computing the depreciation cost under this method is to determine the depreciable cost of the asset, which is computed by deducting the salvage value from the acquisition cost. The depreciable cost is multiplied by the rate of the depreciation for the year to arrive at the depreciation cost for the year. To compute for the rate of depreciation for the year, the years of the estimated life of the asset are added. This serves as the denominator. To illustrate: an asset with a useful life of three year will use a denominator of six computed as (3+2+1). The numerator is the estimated life of the asset at the beginning of the year. To illustrate: the rate of depreciation to be used on the asset above on its second year of use is 2/6 or 1/3. This method of computing depreciation is characterized by a rate of depreciation that changes every year. At the end of the useful life of the asset, the remaining balance of the asset will be its salvage value. (527) Computing for the sum of the years for an asset with a very high estimated life can be time-consuming. Mathematicians came out with a formula to speed up the process. The formula is expressed as: n(n+1) all over 2, with n as the estimated life of the asset. (527) Declining-balance Method The declining-balance method, on the other hand, uses a constant rate in computing the depreciation cost for the year. The rate is usually a multiple of the straight-line method. (527) To illustrate: an asset with an estimated useful life of five years is depreciated at the rate of 20% under the straight-line method and at the rate of 40% under the declining-balance method. The rates used by the companies vary from industry to industry and from asset to asset (527). Unlike the sum-of-the-years’-digits, the declining balance method do not deduct the salvage value of the asset when computing for the depreciation cost. Instead, the book value of the asset is multiplied by the rate of depreciation to arrive at the allocated cost for the year, and the process is repeated every year until such time that the book value of the asset is equal to the salvage value. The depreciation cost of the asset declines every year under this method because the book value is decreased every year by the depreciation cost. (527)

Chinese Business Essay

Introduction It is much argued that when task persons of different horti grows carry on commercial deals, thither is bound to be a ending collide. I disagree with this view. It is true that ethnic differences influence chore talkss plainly with the take away approach to deal with the differences, civilization clash is to be least expected in either pedigree negotiations, especi tout ensembley with the Chinese. As Sun Tzu would advised in his check The invention of War eff your foe and know yourself and you will survive ein truth battles (Sun Tzu 1913). check to Newstrom and Davis (2002) there be legion(predicate) striking differences across countries, just as there atomic number 18 some affect similarities. Clearly, residents of separately soil nurture their avow preferences for clothes, food, recreation, and ho utilize. In his research about home(a) purifications of sixty countries, Hofstede (1993) revealed that cultures differ in fivesome severalize factors namely, individualism/collectivism, power distance, perplexity avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and snip orientation.Among these factors, the Chinese energize the culture that comfort clarity and lay down the kind of orientation that tenseness apprise such as necessity of preparing for the future, the repute of thrift and savings, and the merits of persistence. Literatures on different cultures overly classify mainland chinaware as higher(prenominal)- scene culture which turn tails to emphasize personal relations, place value on trust, strain on non-verbal cues, and accent the need to ascertain to social needfully before product line enterprise matters (Newstrom and Davis 2002). acculturation is truly most-valuable in certain country such as China.Huntinghon (2000) as cited by Fellner (2008) defined culture as the values, attitudes, beliefs, and underlie assumptions prevalent among spate in a union. He stressed that culture is dynamic, interactive , and synergistic, and intermixes with all in all(a) the elements of the society such as duty and economic development (Huntinghon 2000 Fellner 2008). Huiping (2009) stated in her article entitled taking into custody Chinese culture leads to backing concern organisation success with Chinas growing signifi outhousece as an economic superpower meeting the Chinese psyche be generates in truth helpful and useable in business negotiations management of provider relations and many other business situations.As emphasized by Uthaisangchai (n. d. ), Chinese explanation and culture has impact on the way they do business and each(prenominal) of the many elements of the Chinese culture has a role to play in nowadays Chinese business world. In Hofstedes (1980) theory of individualism-collectivism as cited by Jones (2009), the individualism and collectivism dimensions differs on the degree a culture is committed to an in-radical such as extended family, guild or village.In the individ ualistic society, people are little attached to an in-group (that is, people are more(prenominal) self-centered and in pursuit of their feature self-interests). Meanwhile in the collectivist society, people are more attached to an in-group, that is the interests of the in-group come first. Jones (2009) as hearty noned from Hofstede and Bond (1988) that such value of collectivism correspondingly stems from a deep rooted, ingrained culture found on the traditional philosophy of Confucianism. Uthaisangchai (n.d,) gave accent of the teachings of Confucius in the development of the culture of Chinese.In the article entitled Connecting Confucianism, Communism and the Chinese agriculture of Commerce, Keller and Kronstedt (2005) explained that Confucianism is a real master(prenominal) component of the Chinese culture. In a Confucian society, e genuinelyone has a role to play, and the key descent is built around the family Chinese cultures value family connections and protectin g relationships (saving face).Developing family- interchangeable relationships takes time and patience, non merely a contractual deal base solely on money. If one has to do business in a Chinese culture, it is captious to understand and respect Confucian values (Keller and Kronstedt 2005). Keller and Kronstedt (2005) that emphasized the significance of connections-Guanxi. In Confusian-based society like China, guanxi or proper connections are more crucial than price, product, place, etc. correspond to Jones (2009), China is known for being loyal to their in-group and favoring them in business related decision.As presumption emphasis by Li (2008) as cited by Jones (2009), understanding the guanxi is critical for conducting business in China and it involves cultivating trust, believability and reciprocity. One way to understand heathen differences is through the concepts of high-context culture and low-context culture. The nonion of context can be unders tood as the social en vironment in which a business transaction takes place. Edward T. Halls theory of high- and low-context culture explains the powerful do culture has on converse.The countries classified as high-context cultures embarrass China, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Africa, Italy and South the States in which people are characterized as collectivists, relational, contemplative and intuitive. This implies that the people in these societies intrust emphasis on good relationship between members of the society. In relation to business transactions, the development of trust is a very important step. Hall (1976) argued that the people in high-context cultures prefer harmony in group and agreement for the achievement of individual members likewise individuals make decisions based on their feelings or intuition.The theory further emphasized that individuals focus on non-verbal cues, that is, words are not so significant in communication as compared to context rather, more is given emphasis on conte xt which embarrass facial expression, tone of voice of the speaker, posture, gestures, and family history and status of the individual. The communication in the high-context culture is depicted as formal and indirect, which suggests that ornate humility, flowery language, and apologies that are often too elaborated are common. Also, communicators in this symbol of culture do not forecast on language precision and heavy documents.Meanwhile, the countries classified as having low-context culture include Germany, North America, Finland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden are linear, logical, action-oriented, and individualistic. Individuals in the low-context countries value facts, logic and they prefer directness. Finding solutions to problems involves identifying and enumerating all the facts and evaluating each of the options. Also, each decision is based on facts more often each discussion ends with an action. Communicators in this type of culture are anticipated to be concise , straightforward, and businesslike in conveying the action that is expected.According to Hall (1976), communicators have to be specific in the words used in communicating to be absolutely understood. every(prenominal) negotiations are always concluded with decisive contracts. Summing up the differences, on the one hand, high-context cultures tend to emphasize personal relations, place high value on trust, focus on nonverbal cues, and accent the need to attend to social needs before business matters. On the other hand, low-context cultures tend to examine cues more literally. Individuals tend to rely on write rules and legal documents, conduct business first, and value soundise and performance.With these classifications of cultures, it is apparent that when Americans negotiate with Chinese, a misadventure in negotiation if not a culture is more likely if the former group is not familiar with the latter. As noted by Minor and Lamberton (2010) from an interview with intercult ural communication expert ray Ruiz Countries in Latin American and Asia value the building of relationships, but each in their own unique way. before traveling to other country, I would suggest reading appropriate materials and speaking with unusual nationals residing in the U.S. in regards to the customs and business practices in their country of origin. I would as well suggest that, once in a foreign country, it is important to observe your legionss mannerisms and responses and respectfully respond in a like manner. Be well versed on acceptable and unimaginable behaviors. For example, when in Asia, do compliment and cope your impressions of their country. Do not decline any food or drink because this is viewed as an insult. In Latin America, do incur all meetings with friendly conversation regarding family or other social topics.Do not begin a meeting delving straight off into the business objective. The lesson many American business people fail to learn is that it is al l in the relationships (Minor & Lamberton 2010). In his article Doing line of credit In and With China The risks are great, but so are the rewards, Atkinson (2004) noted from Stephen Nelson, the follower and co-head of the China practice group for the Hong Kong-based virtue firm Baker & McKenzie, that when acquiring businesses in China, it is important to realize that there are perceived cultural differences.One of the important lessons in making business in China is that foreigners simply cannot enter a venture in China with save a cursory understanding of its footing and conditions. Atkinson (2004) cited an example of a US guild that recently decided to make an investment funds in China by background knowledge up a joint federation through its Hong Kong manufacturing agent. The US company send over $3 million worth of equipment, then came to us with documentation written in Chinese and asked Can you picture at this and tell us whether we authentically own 50 percent of this company? Akgunes et al (2012) identified several points to see to it for sure-fire negotiations. According to Zhao (2000) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012), negotiations become successful when the act parties are cooperative with one another this can be done by applying the cooperative Confucian maneuver. Also, for a western sandwich company like a US company, such company has to show that they have government support which is an indication that they are reliable, stable and credible to do business with.According to Fang (2006) as noted by Akgunes (2012), trust will lead to such(prenominal) better performance and being longanimous will be more just to you than any other attribute you major power possess. Bredin (1998) as cited by Akgunes (2012) also suggested that a foreign business negotiator should not give in to pressure from superiors to belt along up and complete the deal because can cause problems because the Chinese are not greatly concerned with the time dimensio n. thither are companies that also failed to successfully negotiate business deals with the Chinese.According to Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes (2012), the most common reason for failure is that the Chinese firm lacks the funds to go through with a deal. Also, sending a low-ranking employee to make the negotiation will be viewed as very impolite and the Chinese may find it insulting and insincere, in this case failure is also approximately certain. Moreover, it is important to note from Sebenius (2002) as cited by Akgunes (2012) that Chinese law says that one cannot direct a contract unless both sides authorize dissolution.Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012) also emphasized that Failure to say no to a Chinese negotiator who is using a Sun Tzu-like strategy could be detrimental to the deal, but on the other hand, saying no to a Confucian gentleman could cause a loss of face. This also will be very harmful, if not fatal, to a successful deal. The Chinese have regional f ield of forces just like the United States and there are very different cultures, traditions and sometimes languages in these regions. non acknowledging these regions can cause you to have particular(a) success in one area and a complete failure in another (Fang 2006 Akgunes 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, like what Sun Tzu have said in his book The Art of War Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all battles (Sun Tzu 1913). This means that for companies to be successful in making business deals, having the hood is not enough to close a business deal. Knowledge and understanding of the culture of the prospect business partner is very important.Other than this, Sebenius (2002) emphasized that culturl allegiances are often not as simple as they appear. Designing the decline strategy and tactics in reaching the right people, with the right arguments, will result to a sustainable deal. References Fellner, Amira 2008, Role of Culture in stinting Development Case Study of China and Latin America, Graduate instruct Theses, University of South Florisa Schoalr Commons, viewed from http//scholarcommons. usf. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1235&context=explosive trace detection Hall, Edward 1976, Beyond Culture.Hofstede, Geert 1993, Cultural Constraints in trouble Theories, Academy of Management Executive, pp. 81-94. 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