LEARNERS AND LEARNING ASSIGNMENT 4 Essay

INTRODUCTION Students learning English as a foreign language are often confronted with the challenge of learning and using English effectively. Some students seem to cope with the difficulties of language learning with great success and neither little effort, while for others the task is neither an enjoyable nor a successful one. What is it that makes learning a new language so easy for some and so difficult for others? One reason is that â€Å"each student has his/her own preferred way of learning that is determined by his/her cultural and educational background and personality† (Shoebottom, 2007). BRIEF LESSON OUTLINE In this assignment I evaluated differences in learners’ responses and considered ways in which the quality of their learning could be improved. The lesson was aimed to help the students understand and use the 2nd Conditional in the context of life survival. I designed a lesson of an escape survival plan at school which consisted in following rules of a fire exit plan in every room. It’s the kind of thing you always see on your hotel door, with a plan of all the exits, staircases, elevators and rooms. I gave them a fun and language rich way to use these plans in a zombie-infested building right here at school, of course, containing plenty of grammar-juice in it. STUDENT’S PROFILE There are 20 students in my class. The learners described are intermediate students whose ages varied from 16’s to 17’s.I have been teaching them for about 9 months. They show great interest in language learning and most of them like my teaching approaches and interact with me well in class. 2/3 of the students are of average level of the class. They like to communicate in class but are weak at the accuracy of language. DIFFERENCES IN LEARNERS’ RESPONSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS Having observed and taught the class, I can figure out that each student has his/her own way of following my teaching stages and activities during the lesson. These different ways seemed to influence how they responded to different teaching methods I applied in each activity and how successful they were in understanding and using the language focus. The differences discussed later include the learners’ age, motivation, personality, and social and cultural background. AGE Compared to motivation, personality, and social and cultural background, age seems to be easier to define and measure. Nevertheless, the relationship between learners’ age and their potential success in foreign or second language acquisition is still a subject of debate. â€Å"Linguists argue that many young learners are capable of communicating successfully in a foreign language, in terms of accent, word choice, or grammatical features because they begin learning a language when they are young† (Lightbown & Spada, 2003). I, therefore, planned and set up activities that helped them understand, practice, and produce the language form gradually in a relaxed atmosphere and a non-threatening way. My group stated that they preferred working in pairs to other options. They were shown to be well balanced in the primary senses; Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic which people use principally in learning.  This information is in line with my observations of this group in class and I believe is also somewhat representative of their age. Being teenagers, they have still to fully develop their preferred learning styles and learners of this age group often feel self-conscious about being ‘criticized’ or corrected in front of others. Having said this, I found my group to be attentive and well-balanced learners. MOTIVATION My students were very motivated and excited planning their way out of a zombie-infested building. They started acting a little, and they could not wait to start the lesson. They did not mind following my instructions and were willing to do any activities set up in each teaching practice. In order to sustain the pupils’ motivation, I set up a variety of activities, i.e., guessing pictures, role play, listening tasks, team work, highlighting form and pronunciation, mingling speaking activity. By doing these various  activities, I could avoid boredom and increase their interest levels during the one hour lesson. Williams (1999) cites the work of Gardner (1985) and defines motivation as consisting of effort, plus desire to achieve the goal of learning, plus favorable attitudes towards learning the language. A distinction is made between integrative (or intrinsic) orientation, which occurs when the learner wishes to identify with the culture of the target language, and instrument al (extrinsic) orientation, which occurs when motivation arises from external goals, such as passing exams, financial rewards, or furthering a career. Lamb, M. (2012) adds a third category: success in the task, which is a combination of satisfaction and reward.  PERSONALITY One of the challenges I faced teaching this lesson (in the beginning) was the discipline. I made clear right from the start of the lesson what the rules of the classroom were and the consequences of not behaving well, this made the students’ behavior in my classroom much better The personality of the group as a whole was of outgoing teenagers. They were eager to participate and even the shy ones contributed willingly in this lesson. A few of them, the extroverts, were the ones who volunteered more. Usually, these are the most prominent students, and this helped in modeling correctly for their peers. They had no problem in following instructions and started work immediately. I was pleased to see they agreed to work without hesitation. They did prefer to work with a friend, as it often happens when they have been together for at least three years, but still they worked collaboratively. SOCIAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND The social background of the students in this Institution is of a well-off family with moral values. The majority of them go abroad for their holidays and own a house and one or two cars. Their parents either own a business or have an executive position in a company. They belong to a club and have lessons in the afternoon of martial arts or practice a sport. During this lesson I noticed an active participation, students also play active roles in developing the knowledge that was to be learned, this in my own way of seeing things is that a student that has a better social status tends to be more organized and more structured this also involves some shifting of roles and responsibilities; teachers become less directive and more facilitative, while students assume increasing responsibility. During this class my students took risks with the language in communicative tasks. They expressed their ideas orally without being afraid of making mistakes. They were more concerned with speaking fluently than speaking accurately. Altogether, I believe a good social and cultural background contributes for a better learning environment. (Shoebotton, 2007) âÅ"” IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LEARNING FOR THE LEARNERS Having described my students above, I am determined to improve their learning quality through some teaching strategies I elaborate in the following paragraphs. The strategies will be in accordance with their age, motivation, personality, and social and cultural background. During the class I noticed that some students did their best to maintain communication with their peers, but their pronunciation and their structure was not very successful. I was very happy to see that the language was produced but I think it was not good enough for an activity of this magnitude. In the future I will conduct oral productive stages to cater the weak learners. Later, I will also monitor them and give feedback on their erroneous expressions so they will find the communicative activity more meaningful and almost at the same time they will pay more attention to form in a more interesting way. I will maintain highlighting form and pronunciation since they like to pay attention to details of language, es pecially grammar rules. I will set up activities related to language form so that they can be more motivated to show their grammar competence. Afterwards, I will ask them to practice the form in a guided speaking activity so that they will be more ready to enter a freer speaking activity. In relation to the students’ motivation, besides setting up activities that suit their learning characteristics, I will also keep setting up various activities ranging from initial to main activities and from receptive skill to productive skill stages. By doing so, I can avoid teaching patterns that potentially create boredom and gradually demotivate their learning spirit. Instead, I will conduct different activities in each stage that can optimally increase their motivation. CONCLUSION Having stated the learners and learning issues above, I believe that varying classroom activities, teachers will make sure to cater learners with different learning styles at least some of the time. If we balance the activities to suit the learning styles, it is quite probable that the outcome will be the result of a well-planned lesson. Timing also plays an important role in planning lessons. While some activities like completing a task in a limited time proves to set pressure upon the learners. This assignment makes me really reflect on my teaching experiences. I believe this assignment contributes a great deal towards my teaching skills and in turn potentially develop my understanding towards my students’ learning styles, responses, and achievements. References: Shoebottom, P. 2007. Language learning styles. Retrieved on November 23, 2007 from http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/styles.htm Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N. 2003. How Languages Are Learned. UK: Oxford University Press Williams, M., & Burden, L. R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gardner, R. C. (2006). The socio-educational model of second language acquisition: A research paradigm. EUROSLA Yearbook, 6, 237-260. Lamb, M. (2012). A self-system perspective on young adolescents’ motivation to learn English in rural and urban settings. Language Learning, 62, 997-1023.

Innocent Smoothies

Innocent drink case study analysis: Innocent drinks are a unique business selling 100% natural fruit smoothies. (Innocent drinks) There are many factors that contribute to the company’s successful development so far. Firstly, and most importantly, their unique selling point which is using just fresh fruit in their drinks. This is a major strength to the company as they fit in today’s trend of a healthy eating lifestyle. â€Å"They contain even more antioxidants than the average five a day† (Adams 2007). Moreover Innocent has environmentally friendly packaging; their bottles are clear with simple product information in one colour. Straight away this makes it stand out more than the rest on that shop shelf. â€Å"They were the first company in the world to put drinks on shelves in 100% recycled plastic bottles† (Oracle 2008). However they did not carry out in depth research, they only asked consumers one question: â€Å"Do you think we should give up our jobs to make these smoothies? † (Bains et. al. 2008). No questions related to the product that could help them in the future were asked. Moreover the founders abided by their principles and they only produced their products how they wanted to. This had moved them from a niche market to a nationalised company, now holding more than half of the market share. Furthermore they have met their social responsibilities in many ways such as projects in India, providing food for the homeless and the big knit- providing warmth for the elderly. â€Å"We knitted 20,000 hats to raise ? 10,000 money for Age Concern† (Innocent drinks) Another factor of success to Innocent is their fun and informal business style. Their organisational structure is unique as their staff get bonuses on having children and snowboarding holidays. Even their website is fun-filled excitement; it has its own attractive style it tells you everything about them. Lester (2007) explains â€Å"Their Company’s offices are among the friendliest and relaxed in the world† However the difficulties that company’s like Innocent drinks face are firstly lack of experience and knowledge. Lester (2007) describes â€Å"Its founders had no real experience in the sector. † Moreover raising capital, the founders of Innocent being foolish gave their jobs up straight away without any solid plans. Lester (2007) explains â€Å"They needed to raise money to buy fruit and bottles and get the smoothies made. † However capital problems can be solved by finding ‘Business Angels’. Innocent also found theirs – a wealthy American Maurice Pinto, had the experience and the `money; he was highly impressed by Innocent. â€Å"Maurice decided to invest ? 250,000 in return for 20% stake in the business† (Lester 2007). Furthermore many new businesses underestimate things like how much raw material they will need, this was similar to Innocent. They had only ever made small quantities of their juices but were looking to expand across the nation† (Lester 2007). But using fresh fruits meant that the drinks will be perishable quicker and will have to be sold really quickly. Having too many founders can also be an obstacle to a small business. Innocent had three founders, which meant there were conflicts and every decision had to be discussed and debated befor e reaching a conclusion. This can slow down progress. Innocent have many more business opportunities now that they are a successfully developed business. They have already started to expand their product range in making further products like desserts. They could furthermore develop their product range from ice-creams to maybe even meals, keeping to their principles of healthy eating. Moreover, with the right market research, if these products became successful, they could even open up shops, even restaurants or cafes and possibly start selling online too. These are opportunities because â€Å"By differentiating the products or service the company increase the value of its operators and hence, improves performance† (Bradley 2002 p21). They could further enhance their existing products starting with new packaging, a new style, new combination of colours or even new sizes (king/snack size). Ali (2001 pg 24) suggests firms should â€Å"Keep products fresh by introducing new variants and improved versions†. Using incentives is a good way to get attention, Innocent could offer a free soft toy cow, or a free membership pass to a gym. Innocent use testimonials on their website, they could use famous faces to make these testimonials stand out more. Ali (2001 p11) also explains that a business should â€Å"Look at the various aspects of their business that customers use to form a view of you† Lastly Innocent could sponsor big charity events and music shows, this way they are being ethically responsible and they raise awareness about their products. All of these suggestions would contribute to reducing the risk of business failure for Innocent drinks in the future. Innocent is a fast growing business and one of the most successful. However Page, Ralph and Jones (1989 p 1-55) explain fast growth in a short period of time is a threat. Having to produce on a large scale and making deliveries on time can be difficult. Forecasting demand and market growth is essential; firms almost fail predicting this incorrectly. A fast growing business like Innocent, need to keep track of forecasts as accurately as they can, or they can lose their reputation and money. For example, â€Å"Firms need skill in measuring and forecasting the size, growth, and profit potential† (Kotler 1994 p 245). Also Innocent will have to be aware of changing trends and tastes in their market, drastic changes in the market can affect Innocent. However there are also external threats to Innocent like competition (Myroslaw 1987 p 45). They need to keep a constant watch on competitors to make comparisons with their own business. Moreover change in economic conditions effect firms, currently the economy is suffering a recession; (www. news. bbc. co. uk) during these times it would be best to lower prices. Even more technology changes can be threatening to the position of a firm, Innocent might need to update their current technology and re-train their employees. Finally meeting their liabilities, avoiding bad debts and cash flow problems will contribute to a firm’s success. In conclusion Innocent drinks is proven to be a surprisingly successful business even after all the struggles, they came through as a strong and honest business. However they now need to be extra careful because they have reached a high level of success, and the higher you are the harder it becomes to maintain that position. Word count: 1,062 Bibliography: Anthony S. Page, Ralph C. Jones (1989) ‘Business Growth – How to Achieve and Sustain It’, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 10(2) p 1-55. Ali, M. (2001) Marketing Effectively, Hampton, Dorling Kindersley. Baines, P. Fill, C. and Page, K. (2008) Marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bradley, F. (2002) International Marketing Strategy, Dublin, Pearson Education. Kotler, P. (1994) Marketing Management, USA, Prentice Hall. Myroslaw J. (1987) ‘customer service competition business to business and industrial market’ Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 2(4) p45-52. ttp://www. innocentdrinks. co. uk/us/? Page=our_story Accessed 21/11/08 http://www. innocentdrinks. co. uk/bored/ Accessed 21/11/08 http://money. aol. co. uk/small-business/innocent-drinks-coming-to-fruition/article/20070814091309990004 Accessed 19/11/08 http://www. oracle. com/customers/snapshots/innocent-drinks-demantra-snapshot. pdf Accessed 21/11/08 http://www. drinks-business-review. com/art icle_feature. asp? guid=55937F47-8134-4E4F-A9A4-881AE440062F Accessed 21/11/08 http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/magazine/7686531. stm Accessed 01/12/08

A Woman of No Importance, Final Act

Wilde uses many dramatic effects throughout the play to shock and amuse the audience and many of them can be seen in this final scene. The fact that this conversation between Mrs Arbuthnot and Lord Illingworth takes place in Mrs Arbuthnot’s house, her personal space and territory puts her at an advantage and it shows that Lord Illingworth is surrendering his usual control over his situations By Lord Illingworth referring to Mrs Arbuthnot as ‘Rachel’ we are again made aware that we are listening to two people who have a strong past relationship. She calls him ‘George Harford’ while he uses her name far less often that in the persuasive Act 2. During this scene, Lord Illingworth speaks with awareness of the legal situation, he knows he can never make Gerald legitimate but he is willing to leave him property â€Å"What more can a gentleman desire in this world? † and Mrs Arbuthnot’s response of â€Å"Nothing more, I am quite sure† turns this in to a class confrontation. When Mrs Arbuthnot says â€Å"I told you I was not interested, and I beg you to go. † this is a threat to conventional society and the audience would have been shocked by this. She treats Lord Illingworth as he once treated her, in purely financial terms and she tells him that Gerald no longer needs his money, â€Å"You come too late. My son has no need of you. You are not necessary. † She then goes on to explain to him that Gerald and Hester are in love and they don’t need his money because Hester already has money of her own. Lord Illingworth asks where they will go and Mrs Arbuthnot’s reply â€Å"We will not tell you, and if you find us we will not know you. You seem surprised. What welcome would you get from the girl whose lips you tried to soil, from the boy whose life you have shamed, from the mother who dishonor comes from you? † is very melodramatic and it also relives the fact that Lord Illingworth tried to kiss Hester and this is when Gerald found out that he was his father, â€Å"Lord Illingworth you have insulted the purest thing on Gods earth†. This leaves Lord Illingworth to admit that he wants Gerald, â€Å"Rachel, I want my son. † Wilde uses many props in this scene, the main one being the letter Gerald has written to Lord Illingworth imploring him to marry his mother. The audience know what is written in the letter before Lord Illingworth does and this adds drama and tension because the audience are waiting for the big reveal and to see what happens. This letter also links back to the letter that Lord Illingworth sees in Act 2 and says â€Å"What a curious handwriting! It reminds me of the handwriting of a woman I used to know years ago. † and his dismissal of it so simply. The stage direction of ‘Mrs Arbuthnot watches him all the time’ is very important because she wants to see his reaction. Ironically his proposal of marriage after reading Gerald’s letter uses similar language to Mrs Arbuthnot’s when explaining to Gerald why she would refuse him, for her marriage would be a ‘sacrifice’ and for Lord Illingworth it would be a ‘surrender’. For Mrs Arbuthnot to say this at this point in the play would have been very uncommon for the time because the audience would be expecting a happy ending, for the fallen women to marry the father of her child or for it to end like a melodrama, in tragedy. For the first time, Mrs Arbuthnot is triumphant against Lord Illingworth with the repetition of his own words when she says, â€Å"Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely if ever do they forgive them. † Lord Illingworth is clearly surprised at this response and then resorts to cruelty. His parting speech creates an exciting climax as the censorship of the time wouldn’t allow anyone to say the word ‘bastard’ on the stage. Wilde’s stage direction of Mrs Arbuthnot’s use of the glove â€Å"Mrs Arbuthnot snatches up glove and strikes Lord Illingworth across the face with it† is a very good use of a prop because in the time this play was written a glove was a very masculine item and being hit with one was a sign of violence and confrontation. The audience is allowed a shock, due to the word about to be spoken and then they get a relief as the taboo is maintained by Mrs Arbuthnot cutting Lord Illingworth off before he can finish his sentence because she will not let him say the word because she doesn’t want to hear him say this about her beloved son. The villain is punished and Mrs Arbuthnot’s respectability is ma intained. All of this is typical of a melodrama and we the audience now feel something has been accomplished. Wilde’s use of stage directions are very well placed and are very dramatic, especially the last few lines of this scene when Mrs Arbuthnot ‘falls sobbing on the sofa’ and it reinforces that this play is a melodrama because people are not usually this dramatic in normal everyday life. Gerald and Hester now return to Mrs Arbuthnot and we have the image of ‘a man and a woman in a garden’ which has been mentioned previously throughout the play and is a sign of sex and fertility and in this scene it shows the audience the image of a new family emerging. Due to Hester having changed her views from believing that women who have children outside of the laws of marriage should be punished, â€Å"A woman who has sinned should be punished, shouldn’t she? † And that the children should also carry this shame, â€Å"Yes, it is right that the sins of the parents should be visited on the children. It is a just law. It is God’s law. † to her now saying â€Å"I was wrong. Gods law is only love. † Because she is in love with Gerald and has managed to listen and understand all of the things that Mrs Arbuthnot has had to face to bring up Gerald alone. At the end of the play when Gerald sees the glove lying on the floor Mrs Arbuthnot picks up and changes the title line of the play and once again mirrors Lord Illingworth’s statement about seeing the letter from Mrs Arbuthnot, â€Å"Oh! o one. No one in particular. A Man of no importance. † Unmarried and defiant she enters into a fresh and better world although the 19th century attitudes to marriage are still upheld in a way because even though she has won against Lord Illingworth and she has managed to keep Gerald and now has the love and respect of Hester the audience are still left with the image of them being exiled to America, where they have less strict views on illegitimacy and have more freedo m.

Human Resource Management strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resource Management strategy - Essay Example The concept of Strategic Human Resource Management has replaced the traditional perception of human management. Even though the traditional theories of human management (Maslow's hierarchy of needs, ERG theory and Herzberg Two-Factor theory) are still used by most of the HR managers, the functions have changed to include the strategic planning. Human Resource Management can build the organizational capacity and sustained competitive advantage. Organizations must be able to adapt to the changing environments and be ready to react to risks. Any organization that wants to remain successful must continually assess and formulate new strategies to meet the needs of its customers (both internal and external) in more effective ways (Marchington 2005). For example, if the organization is emphasizing the cost strategy, the changes in HRM activities will enable those strategies to become the major focus of organization. If particular, the multi-skilled employees and less expensive staff will help to meet the cost objectives. Without proper changes in HRM functions, organizational strategy might fail. Not a single organization is able to avoid conflicts and risks on the market. The development and application of the HR strategies of dealing with conflict determine the way company will deal with the outside conflicts. There are three HR views on dealing with conflict: traditional (conflict is harmful and requires the firm approach for avoidance), behavioural (conflict should be expected and turned into benefit), and interactionist (conflict is inevitable and should be challenged). These three views represent the ways companies are dealing with conflicts within organization, in the workplace setting. However, the same views can be applied to strategic management as well. For example, there is always the threat of competitor being more successful in marketing and if the company is ready to face this challenge, it can be turned into the benefit. Moreover, companies spend thousands of dollars to recruit talented employees and pay bug salaries to the individuals who contribute the company's success. At the age of globalization and increasing importance of skillful workforce, retaining employees is not an easy task and has become the part of the strategic planning. Employees, especially upper level, should be motivated not only to remain with the company, but also to improve their performance on continuous basis. As the research indicates, the Maslow's hierarchy of needs was not validated, but it does work in motivating employees (Purcell 2003). It is worth to note that the strategically important employees come into the company when the needs of the lower levels are already met and they seek for self-actualization mainly. Motivation of employees, as it was already noted above, is the key factor in achieving the company's success. Herzberg's Two Factor Theory provides the insight on motivators and dissatisfiers. Herzberg assumed that motivators are under the control of individuals, while dissatisfiers are under the control of organization. However, this assumption does not seem to be workable. For example, if the HR Managers knows about the factors which satisfy the employees and motivate him to contribute more into the company, these factors could be stressed continually. Thus, motivators are un

Gender and Play within the Foundation Stage Dissertation

Gender and Play within the Foundation Stage - Dissertation Example In spite of this wide difference in the styles of individual children’s play, it is generally believed that the gender of children greatly influences the style in which they will play, especially for the children under the age of six. I had paid particular concentration to the activities and the roles that each child had taken and the characteristics of the social interactions exhibit by the children like their readiness to listen, share, and to react to the requirements of other children. Aims and Objectives: To identify the role of gender in the play activities of children in the foundation stage. To study the behavior of the children in the play group, particularly when they participate in the same gender group and when they are involved in different gender group To identify the social communication displayed by children while playing in a group Introduction to Gender and Play: It is important to study the role of gender in the play of children and play related behavior. It is well recognized that when the age of children increases, they are more inclined to get engaged in social play, taking place from less to more mature types of social interaction. Still, there are noticeable differences in individuals, in the extent to which children shows their willingness to take part in the peer play. The qualities of children’s play are associated with measures of social motivation and competence, in particular with peers† (Barbu n.d.). One ultimate realm or the channel of development in a child is gender identity. The growth of gender identity cuts across the developmental dimensions related to physical, social, cognitive, and emotional aspects. However, just like all channels of development, it is essential to bear in mind that every child is unique, and can develop more quickly or gradually (than the other children). The theory of development of gender identity explains about how little children learn to realize their gender, and what gender si gnifies in their day to day life.     Young children recognize the distinction between girls and boys, and thus they mark people. As young children grow up, they attain an enhanced understanding of gender identity. Children realize that gender is constant over time. The children in the age of six are aware of the consistency of gender, the thought that they belong to one gender for life. The gender identity of a child appears in the early stages of life and as soon as the gender identity is recognized, the change occurs in the form of play initially. When a child identifies himself or herself boy or as a girl, it paves the way in playing further with other children belonging to that gender. Once the children engage in gender-specific play, they form the tendency to play more with their same gender group and they will play with opposite-gender group, very rarely. This inclination increases along with the growth of the children in the years of preschool. â€Å"Children’s p lay is generally considered to be spontaneous, imaginative and child-initiated. When a progressive philosophy is ascendant in early child education policy and practice, play assumes a privileged position as the key means by which children are considered to develop cognitive, emotional and social competencies† (Irby & Brown 2011, p. 31). The interaction with children at the age of six revealed that, these children do trust that there are playthings that are certain meant only for boys, and that there are some

Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Starbucks - Essay Example The company sources approximately 50% of its beans from South America, 35% from the Pacific Rim, and 15% from East Africa. The company chooses its location very carefully in order to ensure the maximum customer traffic possible. The firm enjoys a tremendous competitive advantage in terms of reach due to the fact that the firm has 16,635 franchises worldwide. The real estate strategy focuses on flexibility which allows the firm’s retail stores to fit in any type of area including corners, trapezoids, or triangles. The firm has built a tremendous corporate culture by empowering its employees. The employees of the company are referred to as baristas. The firm promotes diversity among its staff. â€Å"As partners, we embrace diversity to create a place each of us can be ourselves† (Starbucks). The corporation realizes that its employees are a critical success factor that enables the firm to offer its customer a unique experience. Some of the guiding principles of the compan y’s culture include providing a great work environment, applying the highest standard of excellence, satisfying the customer, and recognizing profitability is essential to the future success of the business. Starbucks has a tremendous variety of delicious coffees and hot drinks. The baristas have the freedom to customize the customer drinks to comply with the needs.

Profession Of Freelance Writer And Its Perspectives Essay

Profession Of Freelance Writer And Its Perspectives - Essay Example After a few email queries back and forth, I was able to conduct an interview with Ms. Strain via Skype. What she had to say about being a freelance writer completely changed my attitude about what writing is and its usefulness in the real world of business. "Being a freelance writer isn't at all like being the starving artist in the Garrett," Ms. Strain said when I mentioned my impressions to her. She was laughing, so I didn't worry that Id offended her. In fact, her easy-going attitude made it very easy to ask questions I might not have asked someone who was more uptight. After we got done laughing, Ms. Strain explained that freelance writers are master jugglers who must change costumes, objects and the numbers of objects flying at a moments notice. Instead of just sitting around dreaming up the next Great American novel, she explained that freelance writers like herself are usually kept very busy by the corporate world writing things like white papers, promotional video scripts, product descriptions, sales materials, technical manuals, case studies, web pages and internal business-related documents like business plans and project proposals. Ms. Strain also writes creatively, though, so she offers other writers services like ghostwriti ng, editing, reviews, and proofreading. The types of written materials she produces can be very different from one assignment to the next not just because the type of document shes writing is different, but also because the audience or the purpose might be different which means the tone of voice and types of proof she needs to use will change. When I asked Ms. Strain who she wrote for, her quickest answer was to say "anyone who will pay me!" But then she went on to explain that most of her clients were businesses or government and most of the work they send her way is related to the natural flow of business.

Analysis for( drugs and body class) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis for( drugs and body class) - Essay Example Cocaine was banned in the United States when the cases of cocaine related deaths became over 5000 in 1914 (Platt, 17). This is because people were snorting cocaine and this had an effect on their body by causing nasal damages. Cocaine has its important aspects since it helps to reduce pain for patients undergoing surgery. Cocaine is used as an anesthetic in eye surgery and used to treat morphine addiction. The use of cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it had become famous for its uses and since it is a highly addictive stimulant that produces profound feelings of pleasure. Platt stated that cocaine was popularized by dealers and glamorized by the Hollywood media in the 1980s despite its devastating effects in the society. Cocaine is introduced to the body using various ways depending with how the individuals wanted to satisfy their body systems. Cocaine can be snorted, injected in body, smoked, or eaten (Platt, 20). Cocaine was glamorized in the 1980s because it is a powerful stimulant and directly affects the brain. Platt stated that the drug introduces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain. The use of cocaine makes the user a slave to drug since it makes the individual want more drugs to gratify the body’s needs. Cocaine was expensive but people still bought the drug to make their bodies’ active, decrease fatigue and to increase concentration in various activities like learning abilities. In the movie Al Pacino Scarface, a story is told of Alpacino the Cuban refugee who goes to Miami with nothing and rises up to become a powerful drug top dog. The movie shows how people are addicted to cocaine and are involved in dangerous criminal activities like drug trafficking to satisfy their needs. Other movies that portray the use of cocaine include; Trainspotting

Leadership principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership principles - Essay Example This paper will discuss various aspects of a good way to lead in work-related situations. Leadership entails establishing a clear and candid vision. Palmisano (2008) argues that leaders should create and share vision with others within an organization so that they can follow it towards attaining predetermined goals. A leader should provide the methods, knowledge, and information to all members in order to realize the established vision. More importantly, leading an organization in a good way involves balancing and coordinating the conflicting interests of stakeholders and members. Various studies have shown that conflicts in an organization are inevitable and therefore a leader should have the ability of dealing with the conflict in a proper manner (Bonnici, 2011). A leader should step up in times of conflicts and be able to act creatively in addressing conflict in an amicable way. The process of resolving a conflict should include identifying the root cause of the problem and findin g ways of addressing those root causes in order to ensure that conflict of that particular nature does not recur in the future (Palmisano, 2008). ... At the same time, a leader is required to be polite and have empathy in his communication in order to ensure that he connects well with workers’ emotions and feelings. While a leader should communicate from the top to his sub-ordinates, he should ensure that bottom-up communication strategy is employed in the organization. This is important for making sure that employees have avenue to share their thoughts and ideas regarding how organizational goals and objectives can be achieved (Palmisano, 2008). It is also important in helping to understand some of the challenges that employees are experiencing and therefore assist in formulating better ways of addressing them. The most likeable thing about leadership is that one is able to take a lead in making a positive impact in an organization. Considering that one may fail to achieve the desired organizational goals, it is important that a leader should be competent and be willing to learn continuously how to become the best leader ( Bonnici, 2011). Leadership also involves frustrating or difficult situations ; a leader may experience a difficult or frustrating situation in leadership such as resistance to change. Change is an inevitable leadership process, which is aimed at transforming an organization to have better performance and achieve its goals much effectively and efficiently (Palmisano, 2008). However, in many cases change process face resistance from employees and even from some members of the management. This is usually the case because those opposed to change want to maintain status quo for their interests rather than for the interest of the organization. Since resistance to change can be a big obstacle in achievement of short and long-term goals, it is important that a leader should overcome this

Week 9 Question 1 Working Capital Management Assignment

Week 9 Question 1 Working Capital Management - Assignment Example Other technologies for planning and scheduling that are offered by companies like JDA, Logility, and Manhattan Associates offer good solutions. These are especially in the computation of safety stocks. Survey respondent tools from Akzo Nobel helps in identifying obsolete inventory. Looking at cash management, businesses find themselves handling a number of huge cash transactions. These transactions include collection of receivables and making payments. Managing these processes ensure that the business grows and succeeds in the industry. This is because cash management technologies reduce errors that result from manually managing cash. Tellermate electronic cash counters are examples of such technology. This technology is especially useful for businesses that handle a lot of cash. This is because they reduce the time that it takes to count cash and also reduces errors (Tellermate, 1996). There are other technologies that would enhance working capital management. However, it is critical to ensure that the technology that the business plans to use enhances the working capital. This is mainly by looking at inventory optimization where the technology should help the business is optimizing inventory. The technology should also be able to measure the business working capital and be able borrow ideas from companies that do well in managing working capital. This is so as to be able to improve the working capital in the business (Preve, 2010). Partridge, A. R. (2007, 08). Complex Technology Optimizes Basic Concepts. Retrieved 03 06, 2013, from Inbound Logistics:

My Self-Assessment as a Writer Essay Example for Free

My Self-Assessment as a Writer Essay Up to this point I’ve never really considered myself a writer at all. After skimming through the chapters and reading about all the processes, my assessment is, as a writer, I’m probably not very good. So this brings me to, what are you able to bring to the class? Well that’s easy. I’ve really wanted to learn how to write correctly. I’m extremely excited about all the information our textbook has to offer. I’ve wondered in the past how to do certain things and how they’re supposed to be done. This whole class is going to bring the pieces together. So I guess I bring excitement and enthusiasm to learn. My Strengths and Weaknesses in writing are hard to identify. Since I don’t write a lot, there’s not much to relate to. My sentence structure and vocabulary are weak areas. Sometimes when I write an e-mail, and then come back to re-read it; it just doesn’t sound or flow right. I’m uncertain and feel embarrassed by my use of grammar and punctuation, so I tend to make every attempt to avoid writing at all. My spoken thoughts are much easier to transform into what I’m trying to communicate. Strengths are an active imagination. I have thoughts or can take a side on almost anything. I could just pick any topic and write about whatever. Discovering material, planning out my ideas, and drafting it all together would also be strengths. Learning from others in the class will require interaction with the class. The discussion board will offer those opportunities. I hope to learn how others chose a topic or decide how they layout their work. I’d like gain some knowledge from their perspectives and ingenuity.

Complete alignment of purposes Essay Example for Free

Complete alignment of purposes Essay Functionalism is the complete alignment of purposes of different sectors of society. This encompasses the inter-dependence of different social attributes to make the society survive (McClelland 1). In terms of schooling in the US, educational institutions serve as the primary educating sector for the population. The main function of schooling is to promote the total knowledge build up of younger individuals so that they may be able to contribute good effects not only to their respective lives but to function as an element for the whole society. More importantly, schooling functions to disseminate what is supposed to be the norms and roles of each individual. In the classroom, the main approach to realize the functional contribution of schools is by using instructors. The teachers have a delegated format of teaching which exposes the students to day to day â€Å"functional† tasks such as participating in discussions, taking examinations and interacting with each other to fulfill a certain goal say for example in completing a group project. Basically, the main advantage of having a functionalist perspective is that each member works for the survival of the system. Although there may be a generic principle in making the mindsets of individuals aware of the natural goal, they can be divided into segments according to their capabilities and possible contributions. In such a way, a functionalist perspective starts to regard the importance of each small parts arriving at a single union of goals for the whole system. However, there are also disadvantages in using the philosophy of functionalism. For one, functionalism reduces the possibility for improvement. Social change may be too difficult to achieve if all of the parts of the system have already accepted their roles and became highly attached to them. The society may then become too static and might face a great dilemma if ever it wants to drastically change itself for the better. Works Cited McClelland, Kent. Functionalism. Grinell. 2000. 29 Jan 2008 http://web. grinnell. edu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/IntroTheories/Functionalism. html.

Selection Of Steve Jobs Case Study Commerce Essay

Selection Of Steve Jobs Case Study Commerce Essay The purpose of this assignment and the selection of Steve Jobs case study draw in many features of leadership theories and works connected with Jobs Apple or his business activity. His leadership tells again one further thing that sometimes successful leaders may divide into two camps the whole world : some adore the leader and others cannot stand him. This sensation is not so unusual as example of Margaret Thatchers political leadership and many military leaders over the centuries. Apples success made Steve Jobs a successful leader and the main thing is Jobs personal creation is Apple. During his time there were Bill Gates and Michael Dell who were fabulously successful in different parts of the IT business, but Jobs Apple was always the most creative, the quirkiest, maybe even the coolest of the three brands. By this time, many of us already learned, heard, read and watched about Steve Jobs many contributions to the society, his achievements on many accounts. Consumers passions about Steve Jobs and the Apple are rare in the business world. In Soho I was passing by an Apple store not long ago and found flowers and hundreds of post it notes from so many expressing gratitude to Steve Jobs. As his biographer Walter Isaacson and others have pointed out, however, Steve Jobs was far from perfect.   Id like to comment in particular on his leadership and management style.   It is well-known that Steve Jobs could be arrogant, dictatorial, and mean-spirited.   Yet he was a great leader. So, this overturns some management writers claims and thoughts todays business leaders need to be nice, kind, humble (Level 5 leadership), and practice servant leadership? I think the contradiction about leadership can be clarified by two sets of aspects. One we need to recognize the situational leadership. In some circumstances one style could work properly but that might not work in some others at all. Ambiguity or the surprise matter always there while claims being made about the behaviour and the characteristics of the universal leadership. Woking overseas and leading cross functional global teams definitely recognize leadership needs to be adapted culture specific. Mr. Jobs leadership not mentioning his genius activities was a key part in the success of Apple. If he had used another style, might not be able to achieve the glorious success at Apple. The other one is apart from arrogance style of Mr. Jobs he had some great executive leaders qualities visionary, risk taker, emotional stability, openness to experience, and highly focused, committed or persistent, passionate and positive attitude. Not only he dived into his vision, he made sure companys everyone brought into that created for the company a higher purpose which excited really the company employees. His products and passions of course were legendary in Apple. He established trust among company members not as a founder but in marketing and product design. Leadership And Organisational Behaviour issues To understand the attached case studys key aspect module Organisational Behaviour, I have done a detailed research on Apple Inc. policies, leadership strategies etc. Balanced Scorecard Institute defined the balanced scorecard which is a management and planning system used to bring into line business activities to the vision and the organisations strategy, communications (internal external) improvement, and against strategic goals monitor organisational performance. Most organisations, to bring effective changes use the balanced scorecard. But APPLE INC. doesnt implement the scorecard for operating changes but uses for long term performance. It focuses on various categories of measurement in the following order Financial Perspective Shareholder Value Customer Perspective Market share and customer satisfaction Internal Process Perspective Core Competencies The Innovation and Improvement Perspective The three wide-ranging Organisational Behaviour aspects have been taken i.e. Leadership, Motivation, and Change Management to identify whether Apple Inc. is following a good strategy or any possibility of improvement or any requirement of complete change. Especially the focus is more or less orbited around the Apple Inc.s CEO Steve Jobs throughout the report and the way he be able to manage and motivate the Apple Inc.s employees Leadership Through the case study and because of Steve Jobs I deeply researched and found on crisis moment Apple called him and simply Steve Jobs turned the things around and took the organisation at top level, honestly I got charmed by this man. His leadership styles sets for everyone example, he is visionary and transformational leaders role model. For example the price of Apple share 2% fell on Steve Jobs illness rumour in 2008. Because of some power struggles internally, Apple forced Steve to leave his job in 1985 and after that nearly one decade Apple was in serious crisis. In 1996 financial losses was reaching $81600000 and in 1997 it was $1 billion and instead of $70 per share (1991) it became $14 per share. In 1997 March issue Fortune Magazine described Apple as Silicon Valleys paragon of dysfunctional management. (Woods, 1997). Later Apple appointed Steve Jobs as the CEO and everything started changing even Apple is much ahead than rivals HP, Dell, Microsoft etc. and posited or ranked sixth in the list of reputable companies. In spite of his all achievements, Steve always been encircled with arguments. Beside the concern of the products of Apple, he is looked up as a business idol. Transformation leadership consists of charisma, motivation (inspirational), stimulation (intellectual) and consideration (individual). Everybody knows that Steve Jobs had these all qualities except the last one consideration (individual). He had a perfection achieving phenomenal hunger and acted as a one man army to reformed computing system. From his past as well as the past of Apple we can see his greatness. Todays the digital image of the society is enhanced by the Apple i.e. Steve Jobs. During 1985 to 1997, successfully he transformed Pixar into a successful speculation. Only lack was Steve Jobs liked secrecy. Apple builds trust but never talked about their forthcoming products. They always talked about their achieved things and this behaviour effects a lot to the Apple Inc. employees. His arrogant and top-down approach is not going to work according to William C. Taylor (Harvard Business Review, 2009) With an excellent speech ability and superb fascinating influence over the audience and his employees, Steve Jobs is a very powerful charismatic leader. He made his employees enthusiastic by the charismatic power and convinced customers to buy Apples products. Apart from his charismatic power he is also known as devious, rude and corrupt. He did not respect individual, employees scared him, though its perfection quest but still shows his consideration for individual is low to some extent. He made his employees better but not to be easy on them. Survey in 2008 shows that employees were not enough satisfied with their bonus and compensation level but they had towards the products and the policies of the company full passion. Steve Jobs tremendous qualities of charismatic power, Apple outperformed others primarily in the business market. Though charismatic leadership power matched with him but his individual consideration does not go with him. In this respect my doubt goes whether Steve Jobs is a charismatic leader or a personalised leader more. Motivation The purpose and direction of behave is the psychological process which is referred by the Motivation. An organisation will be benefitted if the employees are motivated by effective productivity though its a very complex task as motivation keeps on changing. In 2010, Glassdoor results show clearly that Apples employees are respectful to their boss and are motivated. A few years before and the present Apple if compare, anyone can easily realise that Jobs was outstanding to get his employees commitment properly that proved Apples employees motivation. When excellence expected then employees need not be told anything said by Steve Jobs in 1989, initially needs to coach them. the motivation model of the Maslows hierarchy of needs (1943) describes that the needs can be classified into these stages (including last need being basic need most). SELF ACTUALISATION Doing what best you can do ESTEEM NEEDS Self-respect and respect from others BELONGING Acceptance and being part of something SAFETY NEEDS Physical and Psychological security PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS Hunger, Thirst, Rest etc. Esteem , Belonging and Self Actualisation needs are as highlighted is that according to me, these are the underperformances in the Apples motivation level for employees. Apple never put hard gear on the employees motivation as they never knew what company coming up with next. They are restricted to go from one department to another by using electronic badges as terrorists. Jobs kept software and hardware department separate and set in different buildings. Steve Jobs always looking for perfection, a notorious manager, instead of motivate he used his stick. This definitely is not followed the Maslows hierarchy of needs. Steve Jobs was an autocratic as he wanted people to listen to him. Though innovation is part of the involvement of the employees but this theory had a doubt on Apples innovation. Definitely it conflicts with the Self Actualisation Stage of Maslows hierarchy. In 2006, Roderick Kramer wrote for Harvard Business Review, a certain degree of forcefulness might prove to be useful when it comes to handling intractable problems. So, Steve jobs always worked on his own way and delivered fabulous results does not mean that his ways is the right way. Because its not about Steve Jobs, its the question about Apple Inc. So, therefore the way Jobs worked is not the right way. According to an insider Steve was acute with his employees, made them cry but also most of time he was right. His viewpoint was exceptional and he had no asshole rule, he was tyrant in his workplace but if employees not fully pleased then things not going to work same way in future. Change Management The development of an organisation depends on Change Management, a set of behavioural science-based theories, values and strategies. It is not an easy job. W Pasmore in 2010 said that many leaders failed to make operating and critical changes to led the organisation. Apple like many other big companies gained mastery in this matter. Not only Apple Inc. comes up with new and innovative technology but also the implementation of the financial figures of them vastly accepted all over the world. Steve Jobs has many reasons to be successful in change management and out of those understanding and anticipation of customers requirement most. Change Management helps an organisation to take from one level to the next level by treating Employees as Focus Group. Steve doesnt rely on focus groups, instead he is a steady believer that customers themselves dont know their requirement. Without asking them he has a strong understanding ability and can anticipate his customers call. So he treats as focus group his own employees and without any customer intervention makes the decision. By giving such huge importance to the employees, the employees themselves feel a part of the change. Thus he gains the employee loyalty very easily. The products like iPod, iPhone, and iTunes are great examples that prove his expertise in understanding the customer needs. Every individual thinks own way differently and has got own different insights and assertiveness in life. So, therefore, its not possible to get 100% support from all the employees. Rather, to accept and adapt to change, they need to be motivated and inspired enough. Jobs chooses team members by selecting multiplier factor of excellence. He believes that the extraordinary designers, engineers and managers are not only better than the good ones by 10 or 20 % but 10 times better. He feels that outstanding products come from their contributions. Eliminating Fear of Change: Over time, Steves leadership has made the organisations mantra, together with its distribution and channel partners. While iTunes launch, people thought it might change the entire music industry. With the charismatic ability Jobs eliminated the fear of change, and they achieved their 100% contribution and iTunes in the music industry made a revolution. Managing Changes in Distribution Strategy: the whole distribution strategy might be disrupted at time by the innovation and Apple faced the problem on their iPod launching time. They made good relation with big box stores like Wal Mart, Target etc. before introducing them in the consumer electronics industry. For distributing digital music iTunes also built a complete new distribution strategy successfully and thats the way Apple overcome the changing problem in distribution strategy. Review of Literature Most business leaders expect to touch the level Steve Jobss did before he died in October 2011. He is the legendary visionary player one in a century. He is a dynamic and controversial leader and his success totally relied upon his innovation capabilities. During time the legacies left by many other protruding leaders become clear. However, we already by today have tremendous clarity of Jobss leadership. Because of the masterful biography of Walter Isaacson, we know that Jobs pursued former CEO of CNN and managing editor of  Time Isaacson, for five years (the first of many examples of Jobss persistence in the book), and then gave him a free hand (a much rarer occurrence), promising: Its your book. I wont even read it. Certainly Steve Jobs was a wayward and ambitious leader, and his innovation, commercialization and services to the society through Apple Inc. changed the way of life styles of many of us and developed truthfully great ways for computing, publishing, movies, music, and mobile telephony industries. His way or style of leadership is complex, risky, committed and charismatic to convince customers and employees on his aspiration. Though he is greatest business executive of the era but he was critical, tyrant one. All too often he was the antithesis of the servant leader model popularized in the 1990s (the giving, caring organizational mentor who in many ways contrasted with the hero model of a century prior). Not only at Apple Inc. but at NeXT and at Pixar, he seeded powerful culture. He created a place where motivated people make great products. He had fascinating and perplexing leadership. Personally and professionally he fell in and out of love with people easily. Because of his great talent he created extraordinary skilful organisation but he missed many peoples potential contribution. In question of teamwork, he always challenged to do beyond the possible. So, a few strong people cope with this challenge to keep remain the pride but many others usually become frustrated. In a way this is a loss of encouragement and emotional effect as the theme comes up A players and B players. Then there was Jobss habit of distorting reality to fit his purposes, coupled with the impatience, criticism, and brusqueness that often accompanied it. On the one hand, the Jobs version could create a compelling vision of what might be. Witness the strong cultures that he fostered at his companies: Even through the 10 years he was exiled from Apple, the underlying essence of the culture he established somehow stayed alive. On the other hand, Jobss reality distortion could be extremely alienating, and it sapped his credibility, especially when he used it to dismiss a promising idea or an effort as a piece of crap. Applied to the wrong strategy, market, or product, his behaviors could sink a company. In the end, what made Jobs such a successful leader was his much-lauded talent at envisioning and delivering breakthrough products and services. His ability to innovate for his customers in a way few leaders had done before served as a salve to his gruff personal style. Very few top leaders pay as much attention to product and design detail as Jobs did. He always considered simplicity, functionality, and consumer appeal before cost efficiency, sales volume, or even profit. That attention was integral to the strategic and marketing capabilities of his companies. In these respects, Jobs was an entrepreneurial leader in the mode of Walt Disney and Edwin Land, both of whom he admired. Jobs famously said that customers dont know what they want until weve shown them. Indeed, he had a remarkable, but not infallible, ability to develop products that consumers would buy and savor, as well as the confidence, courage, and drive to bring them to life. Part and parcel of this appeal was Jobss remarkably clean sense of design, which Isaacson traces back to his study of Zen Buddhism and, further still, to his adoptive father, a blue-collar mechanic who rebuilt cars in the familys garage for extra income. Much of Jobss genius and Isaacson contends his genius was for imaginative leaps [that] were instinctive, unexpected, and at times magical stemmed from his ability to integrate diverse disciplines, particularly the humanities and science, a sort of synthesis of artistry and engineering. With age and experience, Steve Jobs became a better leader of people. Although Jobs was never one to dwell on his own shortcomings, Isaacson quotes a statement he made during a 2007 conference in which he revealed a somewhat reluctant, even latent sense of an important flaw. Because Woz and I started the company based on doing the whole banana, we werent so good at partnering with people, he said of Apples design philosophy. I think if Apple could have had a little more of that in its DNA, it would have served it extremely well. Jobs would have benefited from more of that in his leadership DNA, too. Who knows if he had had more time, he might have been able to close that gap altogether. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS By looking at the financial results of Apple Incorporated, people might perceive that things are going quite well within the organisation. But the entire analysis above shows that there are a lot of loopholes in Apples functioning which requires a deep thought. Where Steve Jobs is considered as an idol by millions of people, at the same time his attitude questions whether he is a true transformational leader or more of a personalised leader. One might feel that innovative products of Apple are a result of employee motivation and involvement. But that is not the case. By analysing the levels of motivation with the help of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, it was found that the top three levels of needs go dicey in case of Apple employees. However, there is no denying the fact that Apple has mastered in the concept of change. Whether it is about training the employees for change or it is about managing the changes in distribution strategy, Apple has successfully managed changes both within a s well as outside the organisation. My recommendations to the company, particularly to Steve Jobs, are: No wonder apple has no match in its innovation. But things can further improve provided that employees are given more freedom to express their thoughts. Moreover, if instead of Stick, Jobs can manage with some positive motivation, it can do wonders for the company as far as employee loyalty is concerned. Steve Jobs, undoubtedly, is a fantastic charismatic leader. The analysis in the report clearly shows that the charisma of Steve Jobs has single handed taken the company to such heights. But Apple needs to think beyond Steve Jobs. The company should start focussing more on its future, for which it is really important that the other members of the organisation also start scratching their heads and reduce their dependency on one man. Read more:  http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-terms-of-organisational-behaviour-issues-business-essay.php#ixzz2HK3tupwa Steve Jobs Organizational Behaviour, Leadership theory from Subhendusankar Kar SOME POINTS ON STEVE JOBS LEADERSHIP AND VISION http://www.livescience.com/16442-visionary-science-steve-jobs.html group assignment on steve jobs http://www.scribd.com/doc/41982491/Group-Assignment-Case-Study http://en.oboulo.com/us-management-and-leadership-steve-jobs-63068.html management and leadership of steves INTRODUCTION Apple: One Year After Steve Jobs Death, iPhone Sales Disappoint Wall Street http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/02/03/is-apple-truly-agile/ (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() http://assignmentpapers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/entrepreneur-steve-jobs.html http://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs/ar/1 Summing Up We know that there are basically two types of organisational leaders the transactional and the transformational. Transactional leaders are the ones who work with the safety of the status quo. Transformational leaders strive with all their might to change the existing order of things. They are the ones who bring about major, positive change for a group, organisation or society. We have seen that Steve Jobs was able to direct his people and make them do things which they had never done before, but these things were also essential for the realisation of his vision and plans. I leave it your judgment to deduce what style of leadership Jobs followed. It is quite logical to assume that Jobs style of management changed over the years. This is also indicated in the following quote When Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985, he was often termed as arrogant and bully combined with perfectionist attitude, something that indicates the Authority-Obedience Manager' (Fortune 2009, The Decade of Steve). In 2009, due to medical reasons, Steve delegated his responsibilities to Tim Cook, Apples COO for six months, and everything went on smoothly. Perhaps, he had mentored his executive team successfully to think and decide like him, which indicates that his style had probably moved on to being a Team Manager. Interestingly, Jobs may not be the embodiment of an effective leader in a way, he was far from being a classical text-book example. Nevertheless, his charisma, self-confidence and passion for work overshadow all his flaws, making him one of most successful CEOs of the decade.

Interest Groups and Collective Action on the Internet :: Business Roundtable Papers

Interest Groups and Collective Action on the Internet The Business Roundtable is a unique business-oriented interest group. The BRT was established in 1972, founded in the belief that the chief executive officers of major corporations should take an increased role in political debates and public policy on economic and trade issues. Indeed, the entire membership of the BRT is comprised of CEOs. However, a permanent seat on the BRT is granted to a company, not its CEO. For example, Philip Condit currently fills Boeing’s seat on the BRT, but if Boeing replaced Condit as CEO, his replacement would serve as Boeing’s representative. There are currently 131 corporations with seats on the BRT. This size is relatively small and the high-profile nature of its members makes the organization very influential in political circles. BRT is sometimes criticized as a â€Å"privileged group,† particularly by union-oriented interest groups, such as the AFL-CIO. Another benefit of BRT’s small membership is their capacity to overcome the collective action problem outlined by Mancur Olson in, The Logic of Collective Action. This theory says that political groups with large memberships face a â€Å"free-rider problem.† Each individual member rationally views their own participation as insignificant and therefore, does not actively participate even though they still receive the benefits in the end1. The BRT overcomes this problem through their small membership and their ability to meet face-to-face, once a year in Washington to set their agenda for the year and assign issue-oriented taskforces. Persona lized face-to-face meetings strengthen the relationships between members and reduce the chance of â€Å"free riding.† The BRT has a single stated objective – â€Å"to promote policies that will lead to sustainable, non-inflationary, long-term growth in the U.S. economy.† Although each member speaks as a individual, even before lawmakers, the BRT believes that â€Å"the basic interests of business closely parallel the interests of the American people who are directly involved as consumers, employees, shareholders, and suppliers.† In fact, the 131 members of BRT have a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees in the U.S.2 BRT membership is granted by invitation only. The company is the member and its representative is the Chief Executive Officer. The participation of the CEO is the distinguishing feature of the BRT. The BRT is headed by a chairman, two co-chairmen, a nominating committee chairman, a president and executive director.

Essay --

1. Descartes takes upon the task of finding what beliefs he holds are certain and in order to do this he partakes in the method of doubt. This is the method of doubt: â€Å"reject every belief which you can find reason to doubt† (Ginsborg Lecture 1/19). However, he finds the task of attacking every single belief that he holds to be too difficult, so he looks at the foundations for his beliefs. This will cause the beliefs built upon those foundations to also fall apart (AT 19). Throughout the first meditation Descartes goes through deeper stages of doubt, which leads him lastly to his supposition of the evil genius. The first foundation that Descartes breaks down is the belief of what his senses tell him about â€Å"very small and distant things† (AT 19). He notices how his senses have deceived him about these things and, therefore, attacks the beliefs he has about â€Å"very small and distant things†. Because the foundation of beliefs concerning â€Å"very small and distant things† is flawed, all the beliefs that were implicated from it can no longer be believed. Upon breaking down this first foundation, Descartes finds that he can still come to believe certain things that his senses tell him, like sitting next to a fire and holding a paper (AT 19). Therefore, Descartes considers that he may be dreaming, which makes these beliefs doubtful. Descartes argues that it is possible that he may be asleep and dreaming because there have been times in which he dreamt of mundane things such as sitting next to a fire. He cannot distinguish being awake and asleep. Dreaming has deceived him – it has made him think that he has been doing something other than actually sleeping (AT 29). Due to dream skepticism, the foundation of beliefs gained through his s... ...ed into. In essence, Descartes is a programmed computer that is being controlled, and seemingly has free will over his thoughts, but really does not. His future thoughts have already been assigned and his past and current thoughts were assigned. This idea of thoughts being instilled within him also indicates a second flaw in Descartes argument, in that he assumes he has free will in his thinking. The God in this scenario instills every aspect of thinking, such as to â€Å"doubt, understand, affirm...†, and so forth within Descartes. He cannot be certain that he has any control over the thoughts within his mind because he may not actually even have the ability to think. Thinking is not going on, but thoughts are inputted. Thus, having argued that he cannot assume that his thoughts belong to him and that he has free will, Descartes cannot be certain of his own existence.

Reader Reaction to John Cheevers The Swimmer Essay -- Cheever Swimmer

Reader Reaction to John Cheever's The Swimmer One of the main ideas that is conveyed in John Cheever's The Swimmer is the way in which life consists of different mental stages and how they each affect the consciousness of the mind. In The Swimmer, Neddy goes through different swimming pools and this represents the different journeys in his life. He progresses from boundless optimism to endless despair as the seasons go by. The times when Neddy is in or out of the water also represents the emotions he is going through and perhaps can correlate to the emotions felt throughout the duration of ones life. For example, when Neddy is not swimming, he tends to feel down or aggravated. During this sad period, he is usually in search of alcohol. Even after he has had a drink or two, he is always ready to go back into the pools, which shows a lot about Neddy's ambitious character. Neddy's journey through the pools is longer than an afternoon. In fact, we see this when he mentions the "storm passing" and the season change is shown through the phrase "red and yellow leaves." When Neddy finally reaches home, he is tired and weak. This displays aging through life and how one becomes fatigued easily as life goes on. When he sees that no one is home, it is obvious that Neddy's journey has come to an end and it seems as though Neddy has died, because his home can symbolize the heart and the soul, and since no one is home, Neddy's heart and soul is dead. Although The Swimmer and the recent American film "A Beautiful Mind" both have differing plots, their main characters have some commonalities. Russell Crowe, the young mathematician who becomes a natural code ... ...xpected of him with his wife and kids having left him. It was clear that Neddy was also annoyed at this point in time, however before he blew up at Mrs. Biswanger, she suddenly became nice to him once again. This part in the story goes to show how cruel society can be, and instead of helping out Neddy in his poor state, he is disrespected and furthermore, abandoned. It is also evident that friends can be betraying and deceiving and that one can never be too sure about their status. I feel that the society in which Neddy is living is quite shallow and irrational. Neddy is an unfortunate character and his treatment from Mrs. Biswanger shows her nature of thinking that friends are expendable which in my opinion is quite irrational. It also shows that the status in ones culture weighs heavily on their association with certain people.

Labouring the Walmart Way Essay

1 Always low prices. Always. This is the slogan of the world’s largest corporation, a U.S.-based retailer whose big-box stores offer a one-stop shop, from groceries to garments to garden hoses. The secret of Walmart’s success is to give consumers the lowest prices-14 percent lower than its competitors (Greenhouse, 2003)-by increasing the efficiency of the supply chain, the productivity of the labour force, and the use of labour saving technology. Competitors must adopt a similar business plan, offer something Walmart does not, or go out of business-as Woolco, Eaton’s, Simp sons, and Woodwards have in Canada (Moore & Pareek, 2004). The influence of the Walmart model is not likely to wane in the near future. With over 235 stores in Canada and plans for rapid expansion, Walmart and its effects on labour are worth considering. Are its offers of jobs, its attitude toward unionization, and its influence on industry labour practices worth the low price on the shelf? 2 One of the most frequent complaints about Walmart, which employs 1.4 million people worldwide, is its failure to pay workers a living wage. Store employees are paid 20-30 percent less than the industry average, making many of them eligible for social assistance. It is estimated that American taxpayers fork out $2.5 billion a year in welfare payments to Walmart employees (Head, 2004). Because the retailer hires hard-to-place workers, like recent immigrants, seniors, and single mothers, its employees are often afraid they will not find work elsewhere. The kind of work Walmart does offer is gruelling: stores are intentionally understaffed-the strategy behind the company’s legendary productivity gains-so that existing employees will work harder (Head, 2004). It is alleged that systemic discrimination against women within the corporation has denied the majority of Walmart workers the chance at promotion, a charge that is now the subject of the largest civil-rights suit in U.S. hi story.

Representation and Stuart Hall’s the Other

Representation connects intend and lecture to refinement. Theories ab forbidden how LANGUAGE is theatrical roled to play the bea * the speculateive, Does phraseology hardly reflect a meat which already exists out there in the gentleman of barelyts, peck and events? * the de mansi wizardd Does phrase extract precisely what the speaker or save upr or painter wants to say, his or her person fatten uplyy close center? * the constructionist Or is significance constructed in and with run-in? this perspective has had the some signifi stackt impact on pagan studies in recent years.Two major variants or models of the constructionist approaching the semiotic approach (Ferdinand de de Saussure) and the sprawling approach (Michel Foucault). It is child the ilk enough to fool how we might form suppositions for things we plenty distinguish - wad or hooey objects, like chairs, t satisfactorys and desks. provided we alike form excogitations of rather sin ister and fleece things, which we cant in any simple itinerary see, feel or touch. Think, for example, of our fancys of war, or death, or friendship or love.And, as we suck in remarked, we also form concepts nigh things we never grow seen, and possibly cant or wont ever see, and around people and places we possess plainly made up. We may d sustain a clear concept of, say, angels, mermaids, God, the Devil, or of Heaven and Hell. Culture Now it could be the trip that the conceptual stage which I carry around in my go is tot all in ally antithetic from yours, in which case you and I would attend or bring roughly soul of the homo in totally contrastive delegacys. We would be incapable of sacramental manduction our thoughts or expressing ideas about the world to to each one former(a).In fact, each of us probably does envision and interpret the world in a unique and individualist focussing. However, we atomic number 18 able to communicate beca manipulation we s h atomic number 18 broadly the identical conceptual bes and therefore throw away sense of or interpret the world in roughly uniform ways. That is indeed what it meat when we say we give out to the very(prenominal) culture. Because we interpret the world in roughly similar ways, we atomic number 18 able to build up a sh atomic number 18d out out culture of stand forings and thus construct a amicable world which we inhabit unitedly. That is why culture is sometimes define in legal injury of SHARED MEANINGS/ abstract MAPS.However, a sh atomic number 18d conceptual map is non enough. We must also be able to follow or deepen nitty-grittys and concepts, and we can lone(prenominal) do that when we also bind access to a shared lingual process. LANGUAGE is therefore the punt musical arrangement of facsimile involved in the overall process of constructing call uping. At the heart of the meaning process in culture, then, are deuce related schemes of mission. The first enables us to pretend meaning to the world by constructing a set of correspondences or a filament of equivalences among things -people, objects, events, abstract ideas, etc. and our establishment of concepts, our conceptual maps. The second depends on constructing a set of correspondences amongst our conceptual map and a set of signs, arranged or unionized into various voice communications which stand for or represent those concepts. The relation betwixt things, concepts and signs lies at the heart of the payoff of meaning in dustup. The process which links these three elements together is what we exclaim representation. 1. 2 quarrel and representation Sheep, cartoon and abstract painting. Visual signs are what are called iconic signs.That is, they bear, in their form, a certain resemblance to the object, person or event to which they refer. Written or verbalise signs, on the other hand, are what is called indexical. 1. 3 Sharing the codes The question, then, is how do people who belong to the same culture, who share the same conceptual map and who speak or write the same terminology (English) know that the irresponsible combination of letters and sounds that pays up the record, TREE, result stand for or represent the concept a large plant that grows in temper? The meaning is non in the object or person or thing, nor is it in the expression.It is we who set about the meaning so severely that, after(prenominal) a while, it comes to seem natural and inevitable. It is constructed and fixed by the CODE, which sets up the correlation amongst our conceptual system and our linguistic communication system. Codes fix the relationships between concepts and signs. They stabilize meaning inwardly different phrases and cultures. One way of thinking about CULTURE is in terms of these shared conceptual maps, shared manner of speaking systems and the codes which govern the relationships of translation between them.This translatability i s non given by nature or fixed by the gods. It is the result of a set of loving conventions. To belong to a culture is to belong to roughly the same conceptual and linguistic universe, to know how concepts and ideas empathise into different languages, and how language can be interpreted to refer to or eccentric the world. To share these things is to see the world from within the same conceptual map and to make sense of it through the same language systems. Inuit and English terms of snowy weather Does this inevitably mean they experience the snow other than? . 4 Theories of representation Reflective approach meaning is thought to lie in the object, person, idea or event in the real world, and language functions like a mirror, to reflect the true meaning as it already exists in the world. As the poet Gertrude beer mug once said, A rose is a rose is a rose. In the quarter century BC, the Greeks used the nonion of mimesis to exempt how language, even drawing and painting, mirro red or imitated Nature they thought of Homers great poem, The Iliad, as imitating a heroic series of events.So the conjecture which says that language flexs by simply reflecting or imitating the truth that is already there and fixed in the world, is sometimes called mimetic. And if somebody says to me that there is no such discourse as rose for a plant in her culture, the actual plant in the tend can non resolve the failure of communication between us. Within the conventions of the different language codes we are utilise, we are both right -and for us to understand each other, one of us must learn the code linking the pinnacle with the word for it in the others culture.Intentional approach. (the opposite case. ) It holds that it is the speaker, the rootage, who imposes his or her unique meaning on the world through language. Words mean what the author intends they should mean. Again, there is some point to this bank line since we all, as individuals, do use language to conve y or communicate things which are special or unique to us, to our way of seeing the world. However, as a public theory of representation through language, the intentional approach is also flawed.We cannot be the restore or unique source of meanings in language, since that would mean that we could express ourselves in whole private languages. solo if the essence of language is communication and that, in turn, depends on shared linguistic conventions and shared codes. Language can never be wholly a private game. Our private intended meanings, up to now personal to us, have to enter into the rules, codes and conventions of language to be shared and understood. Language is a neighborly system through and through.This inwardness that our private thoughts have to negotiate with all the other meanings for run-in or images which have been stored in language which our use of the language system will inevitably elicitation into action. Constructivist approach The third approach reco gnizes this public, social character of language. It acknowledges that neither things in themselves nor the individual users of language can fix meaning in language. Things dont mean we construct meaning, using eidetic systems concepts and signs.We must not elude the material world, where things and people exist, and the symbolic fares and processes through which representation, meaning and language operate. Constructivists do not deny the existence of the material world. However, it is not the material world which conveys meaning it is the language system or whatever system we are using to represent our concepts. It is social actors who use the conceptual systems of their culture and the linguistic and other representational systems to construct meaning, to make the world meaningful and to communicate about that world meaningfully to others.Representation is a practice, a kind of ready, which uses material objects and effects. that the meaning depends, not on the material pe rsona of the sign, but on its symbolic function. It is because a bulgeicular sound or word stands for, symbolizes or represents a concept that it can function, in language, as a sign and convey meaning or, as the constructionists say, designate (sign-i-fy) 1. 5 The language of calling lights We represent or symbolize the different influence and classify them according to different colour-concepts.This is the conceptual colour system of our culture. We say our culture because, of course, other cultures may divide the colour spectrum differently. Whats more, they sure as shooting use different actual words or letters to identify different influence what we call red, the French call rouge and so on. This is the linguistic code -the one which correlates certain words (signs) with certain colours (concepts), and thus enables us to communicate about colours to other people, using the language of colours.But how do we use this representational or symbolic system to regulate the traf fic? Colours do not have any true or fixed meaning in that sense. wild does not mean Stop in nature, any more than fountain means Go. In other settings, Red may stand for, symbolize or represent Blood or Danger or Communism and super acid may represent Ireland or The Countryside or Environmentalism. Even these meanings can change. In the language of electric plugs, Red used to mean the connection with the positive charge but this was arbitrarily and without explanation changed to BrownBut then for many years the producers of plugs had to amplify a s1ipof paper telling people that the code or convention had changed, differently how would they know? Red and commonality work in the language of traffic lights because Stop and Go are the meanings which have been assigned to them in our culture by the code or conventions government activity this language, and this code is widely known and close universally obeyed in our culture and cultures like ours though we can well hazard oth er cultures which did not possess the code, in which this language would be a complete mystery.Does it matter which colours we use? No, the constructivists argue. This is because what signifies is not the colours themselves but (a) the fact that they are different and can be wondrous from one another and (b) the fact that they are organized into a particular sequence. What signifies, what carries meaning is not each colour in itself nor even the concept or word for it. It is the difference between Red and Green which signifies. If you couldnt differentiate between Red and Green, you couldnt use one to mean Stop and the other to mean Go. The simplest way of marking difference is, of course, by means of a binary opposition. Saussures revolutionary proposition = a language consists of signifiers, but in effectuate to produce meaning, the signifiers have to be organized into a system of differences. It is the differences between signifiers which signify. ) In prescript, any combinati on of colours like any collection of letters in written language or of sounds in spoken language would do, provided they are sufficiently different not to be confused.Constructionists express this idea by saying that all signs are arbitrary. Arbitrary means that there is no natural relationship between the sign and its meaning or concept. Signs are arbitrary. Their meanings are fixed by codes. Since Red only means Stop because that is how the code works, in principle any colour would do, including Green. It is the code that fixes the meaning, not the colour itself. This also has wider implications for the theory of representation and meaning in language. It means that signs themselves cannot fix meaning.Instead, meaning depends on the relation between a sign and a concept which is fixed by a code. center is relational. 1. 6 Summary Representation is the production of meaning through language. Constructionists argue we use signs, organized into languages of different kinds, to com municate meaningfully with others. Languages can use signs to symbolize, stand for or denotation objects, people and events in the so-called real world. But they can also reference imaginary things and fantasy worlds or abstract ideas which are not in any obvious sense part of our material world.There is no simple relationship of reflection, delusive or one-to-one correspondence between language and the real world. The world is not accurately or otherwise reflected in the mirror of language. Language does not work like a mirror. gist is produced within language, in and through various representational systems which, for convenience, we call languages. Meaning is produced by the practice of representation. It is constructed through signifying i. e. meaning-producing- practices. How does this take place? In fact, it depends on two different but related systems of representation.First, the concepts which are formed in the mind function as a system of mental representation which cl assifies and organizes the world into meaningful categories. If we have a concept for something, we can say we know its meaning. But we cannot communicate this meaning without a second system of representation, a language. Language consists of signs organized into various relationships. But signs can only convey meaning if we possess CODES which supply us to translate our concepts into language -and fault versa. These codes are crucial for meaning and representation.They do not exist in nature but are the result of social conventions. They are a crucial part of our culture our shared maps of meaning -which we learn and unconsciously internalize as we become members of our culture. Meaning is not fixed. For many centuries, western societies have associated the word BLACK with everything that is dark, evil, forbidding, devilish, dangerous and sinful. provided perception of black people in America in the 1960s changed after the phrase Black is Beautiful became a frequent slogan -w here the signifier, BLACK, was made to signify the guide opposite meaning (signified) to its previous associations.In Saussures terms, Language sets up an arbitrary relation between signifiers of its own choosing on the one hand, and signifieds of its own choosing on the other. Not only does each language produce a different set of signifiers, articulating and dividing the continuum of sound (or writing or drawing or photography) in a distinctive way each language produces a different set of signifieds it has a distinctive and thus arbitrary way of organizing the world into concepts and categories (Culler, 1976, p. 23).

Ap Euro Calendar Dbq

rationalize the reasons for the bor course of instructioning of a natural schedule in rotatory France and analyze reactions to it in the period 1789 to 1806. The adoption of the rotatory schedule to replace the Gregorian schedule took place on November 24, 1793 by the National Convention. This smart schedule lasted until Napoleon I abolished it in 1806. The recent calendar was a adopted in regenerationary France for many reasons including secular ideas and political reasons. There were excessively many reactions to the diversity of calendar between 1789 and 1806 such a criticism.There were many secular-slanted ideas that were adopted into the spick-and-span calendar during revolutionary france. In 1789, the Cahier de doleances (report of grievances), from the Third Estate of Chateau-Thierry, say that they asked for the number of religious holidays be reduced because from each one of them enchains the activity of a great commonwealth, be of tidy detriment to the s tate and the numerous disadvantages of idleness. This shows that the mod calendar was much secular because of the decrease in the come up of religious holidays (Document 1).The illustrations of sunrise(prenominal)(a)ly named months also show that the new calendar shows more secular-slanted ideas. The new months atomic number 18 named for prosperity and things they are known for. For example, the month of Fructidor which is the month of return-feast is between August 18 and September 16, which harvest time. This shows a more secular calendar because the months are associate France with French stuff, instead of the old months being named after religious people (Document 4).In a earn to the National Convention from a peasant from Etampes, it says that with society long, hard days of labor, the simple citizens want humble distractions on their day of rest. During the use of the new calendar in France, people went to church a dowery little because with the new calendar they would only go every tenth day, instead of going on Sundays during the Gregorian calendar (Document 7). Government gainicials in the French town of Steenwerck, Picardy, tell that people s framed less time in the temple celebrating the tenth day and revolutionary festivals as an affront to republicans.This shows that the new calendar was more secular because with the new calendar people began to go to church less (Document 10). The new calendar in revolutionary France, showed how France started to move towards a more secular world. A lot of people crack with the adoption of the new calendar by revolutionary France for many reasons. Gilbert Romme, head of the calendar revitalize committee, believed that the church calendar was born among ignorant people. He said Time opens a new earmark for history, and it must use a new pen to record the annals of a regenerated France. What Romme means by this is that since France is going through new times, they need to change the calendar to f it it (Document 2). In Instruction Concerning the age of the Republic and the Division of the Year which was a harness of the National Convention, it said that the new calendar for give-up the ghost eliminate incoherence and in acquireitude. This means that with the new calendar people give be more exact and orderly because of more guide days. It also states that the new calendar will show the character of our revolution (Document 5). In the earn to the National Convention from the colonization of St.Quirin, it says how the people spend their day of rest. In the letter it says that they honor the memory of the generals who pass become martyrs and they find out aloud the republican accomplishments. The people of the village of Quirin support the new calendar because they got the tenth day off (Document 6). Many people concur with the change to the new calendar in revolutionary France because, they plan it was infallible since france was going through new times, they also aspect the more work days will shake people work better, and because some people sentiment that the tenth day was great.Until the new calendar was abolished by Napoleon I in 1806, it received a lot of criticism. Pierre-Joseph Denis, a former Girondin imprisoned during the solicitude and then recalled to the National Convention, wrote in Opinion on the Decades that the new calendar was an act of despotism force on the people, and the festivals based on it were detestable. Denis is criticizing the new calendar because he thinks that it was unfair that the new calendar was coerce upon them (Document 8).Francois-Sebastien Letourneux, Minister of Interior, criticized the new calendar because he thinks that the separation between days of rest is too long. Letourneux said that the artisan and farmer can not work nine days in a row (Document 9). In an article in Gazette de France, it talks about the return to the Gregorian calendar. It says that the new calendar was so weak that whe n it fell, it didnt even offer us an opportunity to exclaim about the fragility of forgiving things.The article also says that it was sad that the names of the festivals were not not devoted to the benefactors of humanity, but were devoted to the cabbages, the turnips, and the artichoke plant (Document 11). Abbe Sieyes wrote in response to the Committee of Public Instructions final cause for a new calendar, that it is not needed. Sieyes believed that there was no reason to differentiate ourselves from everyone else (Document 3). Many people didnt agree with the idea of the new calendar, which was the reason it only lasted until 1806.The new calendar was adopted in France for many reasons including to have more work days and to get liberate of some of the holidays. Some people agreed with the new calendar because they thought that it was needed since France was changing and others agreed with it because they thought that with more work days, people will be more exact and will get more work done. Some people criticized it because they thought that nine straight days of work a week was bad for the farmers and artisans and because the new calendar wasnt needed.