Organizational Culture Report On Urban Structural Services...

ENCM 610A – CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION CULTURE REPORT For URBAN STRUCTURAL SERVICES LTD. By Gokulakrishnan.C.G 36289401 May 13th, 2015 Table of Contents 1] INTRODUCTION 3 2] DESIGN OF THE ORGANISATION: 4 2.1 MISSION 4 2.2 VISSION 4 2.3 VALUES 4 2.4 STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANISATION 4 2.5 STRATEGY GOALS 5 3] ORGANIZATION CULTURE 5 3.1 CLAN CULTURE 5 3.2 ADHOCRACY CULTURE 6 3.3 MARKET CULTURE 6 3.4 HIERARCHY CULTURE 6 4] SURVEY 6 4.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT 6 4.1.1 USS CURRENT CULTURE 7 4.1.2 USS PREFERRED CULTURE 7 4.2 BELBINS: USS TEAM ROLES SELF-PERCEPTION ANALYSIS 7 4.3 MOTIVATIONAL FACTOR SURVEY –FOR USS 8 5] EFFECT OF CURRENT HR POLICIES ON THE CULTURE STRATEGY 9 5.1 EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP 9 5.2 COMPENSATION 9 5.3 WORKPLACE SAFETY 9 5.4 EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP 10 6] RECOMMENDATIONS 10 7] CONCLUSION 11 8] REFERENCE 12 1] INTRODUCTION Urban structural services Ltd. is an engineering consultancy, which provides services like technical consultancy, independent damage assessment, structural engineering reports, structural reinstatement strategy reports, quantity surveying and seismic strengthening advices for earthquake damaged buildings. 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As a commercial bank, how much Sonali Bank Limited contributing the people of Bangladesh in case of forming capital, lending funds, collecting remittances from aboard, controlling default loan and banking services encourages us to study its financial activities and performance. It is the largest commercial bank which was established in 1972 with the vision to stand out as a pioneer banking institution in Bangladesh and contribute significantly to the national

The Protagonist D-503 in We by Yevgeny Zamyatin Essay

We, written by Yevgeny Zamyatin in 1921 as a futurist depiction of protagonist D-503 living in a dystopian society controlled during the Russian revolution of 1917. It is the story of a head engineer writing in his journal who is living under the control of the benefactor, following laws in order to have the most efficient state and infallible happiness. The citizens are not given names they are given number and every hour of each of their lives are directed by a table. Zamyatin constructs the motif of machinery in order to convey the transition of the protagonist D-503 from a dehumanised cog in the OneState’s machine to an individual the readers could relate to. By analysing the tone, motif of machinery and diction to understand the†¦show more content†¦Zamyatin use a metaphor in D-503 language to reflect the protagonist lack of individuality. He indicates this lack of identity and beliefs â€Å"being original is to violate equality† (Zamyatin 1921, p27) co nstructing the collectivist beliefs of a communist stated. To further the transformation of the character D-503 is writing a journal which beings with â€Å"Record one† the â€Å"A Declaration. The Wisest of Lines. An Epic.† (Zamyatin 1921, p3) and ends in â€Å"Record Forty: Facts, The Bell Jar, I am Certain† (Zamyatin 1921, p138), written in chronological order giving the readers of the novel as strictly logical depiction of the characters thoughts. D-503 is conformist attitude towards the OneState is further highlighter when challenged by character I-330. Zamyatin introduces i-330 as a character who seduces and influences D-503 to begin going through various emotional and mental changes. D-503 has a chord struck of anger and passion for the OneState â€Å"Well, yes, it’s clear!† I cried (it was an astonishing intersection of thoughts: she was using almost exactly my words- the ones I had been writing before we walked in)† (Zamyatin 1921, p 8). Zamyatin changes D-503s tone to one of argumentative. Within the OneState it was against the law to argue â€Å"you see, even in our thoughts. No one is ever one is ever ‘one’, but always ‘one of’. We are so identical†¦..† her words: â€Å"are you sure†Ã¢â‚¬  (Zamyatin 1921, p8). D-503 isShow MoreRelated Crime and Punishment, Fathers and Sons, We Essay1555 Words   |  7 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Brilliance surely co mes with a price. Often a protagonist is, in his own right, an absolute genius, but for this gift of vision, he must remain isolated for eternity. Crime and Punishment (1886), by Fyodor Dostoevsky, depicts a poverty stricken young man who discovers a revolutionary theory of the mind of a criminal. Despite his psychological insight, Raskolnikov is alienated from society, and eventually forced to test his theory upon himself. Ivan Turgenev’s BazarovRead MoreAnalysis Of Yevgeny Zamyatin s The Motif Of Imagination 1264 Words   |  6 Pages Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We depicts a dystopian world ruled by the One State through the eyes and conscience of mathematician and protagonist D-503. We was written in 1921, after Russia saw the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917, led by the Marxist Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) Zamyatin’s constructed ideals of the One State parallels that of his own country, under the totalitarian regime im posed by the communist government, in order to convey his satirical politicalRead MoreCrime and Punishment, Fathers and Sons, We1601 Words   |  7 PagesBrilliance surely comes with a price. Often a protagonist is, in his own right, an absolute genius, but for this gift of vision, he must remain isolated for eternity. Crime and Punishment (1886), by Fyodor Dostoevsky, depicts a poverty stricken young man who discovers a revolutionary theory of the mind of a criminal. Despite his psychological insight, Raskolnikov is alienated from society, and eventually forced to test his theory upon himself. Ivan Turgenevs Bazarov, in Fathers and Sons (1862)Read MoreAnalysis Of Yevgeny Zamyatin s The Road For Future Dystopian Novels 1935 Words   |  8 Pages Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We is known as the first dystopian novel and has paved the road for future dystopian novels, like George Orwell’s 1984. Both We and 1984 are scarily relevant to the 21st century and act as warnings aga inst the natural outcomes of totalitarianism. We’s protagonist is numbered D-503, a mathematician and the engineer behind the Integral. He lives under the careful watch of the Guardians and stays loyal to the authoritarian rule of the Benefactor. He lives in a city-state called the

UK Policies Regarding Inequality And Inclusion Education Essay Free Essays

This essay will place one UK enterprise within Early Old ages that aims to turn to issues associating to inequality and inclusion. It will discourse the inequalities and the subsequent negative effects that this enterprise aims to turn to. It will analyze the possible impact of the enterprise. We will write a custom essay sample on UK Policies Regarding Inequality And Inclusion Education Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now ‘Removing barriers to achievement ‘ was a Government enterprise in 2004 to enable kids with extra demands to make their full potency, by giving chances to play, learn and develop. It promoted the importance of affecting kids with SEN in doing determinations about their ain acquisition through communicating with them. It had a vision to back up early old ages ‘ scenes, schools and local governments in doing betterments in commissariats. It built on the Every Child Matters results and utilizing incorporate services to better inclusive pattern. It covered four cardinal countries ; early intercession through supplying entree to suited child care for kids and households ; taking barriers to larning through inclusive pattern in every scene ; raising outlooks and accomplishments, through bettering learning accomplishments and schemes for run intoing the demands of kids with SEN ; and presenting the importance of partnership through an built-in attack so parents can be confident that their kids will acquire the instruction they need. ( Lloyd ) Dewey described how a balanced course of study of kids ‘s active acquisition and high quality instruction of cognition was needed for experimental instruction. It is necessary to understand what is meant by equality and inclusion and this essay will take to clear up this. With respect to inclusion the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory model ( 9:1.13 ) suggests: â€Å" suppliers should present individualized acquisition, development and attention that enhances the development of the kids in their attention and gives those kids the best possible start in life † Through the EYFS practicians use the four subjects of alone kid, Positive relationships, enabling environment and acquisition and development to enable inclusive pattern. It is each commissariats duty to take barriers to inclusion, be a positive function theoretical account for valuing diverseness, challenge kids and be alert to marks of exclusion. The National Children ‘s Bureau and Early Years Equality Organisation have proposed a 6th result, viz. to be equal- feel you belong. The benefits of inclusion for kids in Early Old ages are huge. Children learn to value others and in bend they excessively are valued. Their single demands are catered for and they are able to play in enriched environments, where they can larn about others backgrounds and civilizations. Early Old ages scenes need to hold committedness to inclusive pattern to enable kids to accomplish. Inclusive pattern takes into history the United Nations Convention on the rights of the kid, which stated that all kids and immature people have the right to state what they think about affairs that affect them and that they are taken earnestly. ( ) Equality in Early Old ages is concerned with run intoing the demands of single kids. It includes everyone regardless of ethnicity, civilization, faith, household background, place linguistic communication, larning troubles, disablements, gender or ability. ( MacLeod-Brudenell 2004:257 ) Children are influenced by their place environment, household values and societal factors. Vygotsky described that a kid ‘s development is embedded in society and that they are a meaningful member from birth. ( Fawcett 2009:49 ) Bruner developed a scaffolding attack based on Vygotsky ‘s zones of proximal development, he believed kids learnt within their cultural environment. It is of import therefore to value kids ‘s civilization so that they develop. Bronfenbrenner ‘s ‘systems ‘ suggested that non merely was the kid influenced by immediate household ( micro ) , the wider societal context of school ( meso ) and parents work topographic points and Government ( exo ) besides had an consequence on them. Research into the benefits for kids go toing a high quality preschool proviso was completed by the 2004 Effective Provision of Preschool Education ( EPPE ) Government undertaking which stated the importance of inclusion and recognised the significance of the Early Old ages. It stated that with respect to SEN scenes should supply different larning chances to run into the demands of single kids. ( Fawcett 2009:93 ) EPPE concluded that early intercession was a cardinal factor in bettering kids ‘s cognitive development. This essay will foreground larning troubles and disablements and the Governments scheme to turn to inequality and inclusion. Children who need excess support in countries such as behavioral or emotional, physical or centripetal, address and linguistic communication are said to hold a Particular Educational Need ( SEN ) . The SEN Code of pattern ( Dfes 2001 ) is used by suppliers to guarantee kids with SEN are given support that is required to run into their specific demands. Guidance on how to place, buttocks and ) supply aid is contained in the codification which should be used in concurrence with the commissariats policy for SEN. If a kid had been identified within a scene as holding SEN they are entitled to holding extra programme of support described as Early Old ages Action. Parents are informed throughout and if it becomes necessary to affect professionals, such a address and linguistic communication healers or kid psychologists the kid is so entitled to a programme described as Early Old ages Action Plus. Individual Education Plans ( IEP ) are devised for kids with SEN in scenes to back up and develop single acquisition. These frequently high spot specific countries of concern or developmental demand. Close partnership with parents and professionals impact on kids ‘s acquisition and development frequently ensuing in better passages to other scenes or school entry. Observations and appraisals are valuable in early intercession. However, would it be more valuable for IEP ‘s to go built-in to be aftering for all kids, holding respect for Every Child Matters results and the Early Years Foundation Stage model, which valued individualized acquisition and development. Funding for SEN has increased from ?2.8 billion to ?4.1 billion in the last four old ages, a Parliament publication described, nevertheless there are still kids being allow down by the system which causes defeat to parents, kids schools and local governments. The Education and Skills Act of 2008 stated it was the responsibility of local governments to advance immature peoples ‘ engagement in instruction and preparation. The Warnock study in 1978 introduced the incorporate attack, now known as inclusive attack and statements of SEN. This study was similar to ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ and Every Child Matters because it put the kid at the Centre of its docket and used a squad work attack. However, Warnock suggested in 2005 that unless there was a alteration in precedence given to kids with SEN the enterprise would non accomplish its purpose. Warnock was described by the Disability Rights Commission as saying subdivision 8 of the Human Rights Act which announced kids have â€Å" the right to personal development and right to set up relationships with other human existences and the outside universe † She suggested that the importance for the kid was that they were able to accomplish this, non peculiarly where they achieved it, she believed particular schools were the manner forward for some kids with SEN and non others. Inequalities and neg effects this enterprise aims to turn to†¦ †¦ .. The challenges confronting kids who have Special Educational Needs ( SEN ) are that excessively many kids are waiting excessively long to hold their demands met. Early intercession is hindered by deficiency of support or hapless coordination between professionals. Mainstream scenes are diffident how they will pull off, they may experience ailment equipped, so kids may be turned off. Developing staff accomplishments needs to be a precedence. Particular schools feel they may hold an unsure hereafter. Families face fluctuations in degrees of support that is available to them within their Local Authority. The ‘postcode lottery ‘ that exists demands careful consideration and alteration. The ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ inaugural purposes to raise outlooks and accomplishment through individualized instruction, constructing on what kids already know and can make. It understands the demand for kids to be active scholars. Every Child Matters believed that early intercession was the key to back uping kids with SEN. Using an integrated attack such as Common Assessment Framework ( CAF ) the squad of preschool, wellness service, parents and professionals assess the demands of single kids through careful observations. Because it is of import to observe that kids behave otherwise in different state of affairss the CAF would turn out utile for seting all relevant observations together to bring forth an appraisal. Potential impact of enterprise†¦ The inclusive attack to advancing the possible and public assistance of kids with SEN will supply better results for kids. High quality, flexible commissariats who value parental engagement would take to early designation and intercession. It was hoped that the ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ inaugural would supply preparation and academic support for staff. The ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ inaugural believed that over clip the figure of kids go toing particular schools would fall. Increased cognition and capablenesss in mainstream scenes would enable this to go on, nevertheless the Government still accepted some kids needed the instruction provided by particular schools. The University of Cambridge reported in a Parliament publication that there was grounds that kids who would hold antecedently attended particular schools were booming in mainstream instruction. However it besides reported that some instructors and schools felt sick equipped to get by with kids with SEN. Failings†¦ OFSTED, 2004 described there to be a important deficiency of advancement in commissariats refering SEN. A Parliament publication suggested OFSTED had commented â€Å" advancement in larning remains slower than it should be for a important figure of students † Although OFSTED stated the programme raised consciousness of the benefits for inclusion and had made some betterments to pattern, it besides suggested this was merely in a minority of schools it visited. A Parliament publication described how Lord Adonis, the Under Secretary of State for schools and Minister with duty for SEN commented â€Å" the current system is non working absolutely † he suggested that some households were still non having equal support, doing defeat. Research into how the programme has progressed is still merely on a little graduated table, small has been produced to see the societal impact of inclusion on SEN kids and their equals in mainstream schools. A survey by Education Exeter in 2010 will look at friendly relationships and societal interactions with respect to inclusion. This will turn out utile in understanding how much kids are affected by the programme aimed at taking barriers to achievement. A cardinal precedence is developing of the Early Years work force in recognizing SEN and step ining early, nevertheless is increasing funding adequate to do this happen. Harmonizing to Dyson ( cited Lloyd ) is the programme more concerned with bettering National Standards instead than the engagement and inclusion of kids with SEN? Would a alteration in the course of study better suit taking barriers to achievement through developing it to reflect the holistic attack instead than kids accomplishing on a graduated table? P graduated tables are a mandatory portion of educating kids with SEN that are working below flat 1 of the national course of study. The Inclusion development programme which was launched following the ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ is counsel for commissariats concentrating on specific countries of SEN. It gives utile information and counsel for commissariats to better inclusive pattern through preparation stuffs, information refering where to happen specific aid and advice. It is an priceless acquisition resource to enable quality betterment. Through go oning professional development Early Old ages practicians work to place prejudiced pattern for illustration stereotyping, ignorance, bias and fright. ( Jones 2004:15 ) Through placing factors which may discourage inclusion practicians can measure pattern and do betterments. In decision the inaugural ‘removing barriers to achievement ‘ aimed to turn to issues associating to inequality and inclusion. Although the rules of the scheme are clear to assist kids to make their full potency, in world some kids with SEN are still neglecting to accomplish this. The Every Child Matters personalised instruction attack to SEN and a quicker system of appraisal and support will be required to accomplish the schemes aims. It maintained that early intercession was the factor that would find its success as the Surestart programme outlined in the Children ‘s Act 2004. Other factors that need to be addressed are bureaucratism and paperwork, doing certain schools and instructors are equipped to run into kids ‘s demands through preparation and support. It besides needs to measure resources and increased support in order to supply high quality early old ages practicians that value and advance equality and inclusive pattern. How to cite UK Policies Regarding Inequality And Inclusion Education Essay, Essay examples

Asda Strategic Initiative Report free essay sample

Kingston University London Kumi D. Atiadevey (K1038399) MSc Information System Strategic Initiative Report Strategic Information System for e-business (CIM401) June 2011 1|Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Asda stores ltd. is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, toys, general merchandise and financial services,[1] as well as a mobile telephone and broadband network (Asda mobile launched in April 2007). ASDA’S roots dates way back to the 1920s when a group of Yorkshire farmers came together and formed the Hindells Dairies. Its first supermarket was then opened under the Queens name in Castleford in the early 1960s and became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mart (world’s largest retailer) in 1999. [2] As at the end of the 2010 fiscal year, Asdas share of the UK grocery market stood at 16. 6% [3] making it the second largest supermarket chain in the UK after Tesco [19] and operating over 370 stores (and still growing) in the UK. Due to the tense and stiff competition, and saturation by its major rivals (Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons) in the industry, Asda is required to plan strategically and initiate new ways to further explore their multi-channel sale strategy and give them a competitive advantage over its competitors. We will write a custom essay sample on Asda Strategic Initiative Report or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This strategic initiative report is to critically analyse and evaluate Asda’s macro, micro and meso business environment. Strategic evaluation tools such as PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces and SWOT analysis of the company are identified, areas of improvement, and a recommended e-business tool for Asda disorganised data system are suggested to help achieve this aim whiles considering the organisation, people and processes. 1. INTRODUCTION Asda is among the largest food retailers in the UK with a recorded revenue of $31. 2 billion during the financial year ended January 2010 (FY2010) and employs about 170,000 people. 4] They currently operate approximately 377 stores in the UK (Subject to final regulatory approval, Asda will in addition to its 377 stores, operate another 147 Netto stores in the UK, adding 1. 2 million square feet of space to its portfolio). Asda which was founded by farmers of Yorkshire in 1965 currently provides a multi-channel retail chain including a www dedicated online chain (www. Asda. com launched in 1998). In addition, Asda currently provides a home telephone and broadband ser vice, and financial services (credit cards, savings account, and insurances) through Asda Personal Finance (APF). Over the decades, Asda has evolved to become the second largest UK food retail supermarket (Datamonitor, 2010). Below is Asda’s comparative positioning with the other major competitors in the UK market (Euromonitor, 2010): Fig 1: Share of Leading Players in UK Food Retail Market 2|Page 2. 0 ASDA’S ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS 2. 1 SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS ? Strong financial position ? Strong bargain power ? Financial performance OPPORTUNITIES ? Acquisitions and Takeovers ? Emerging markets and expansion abroad WEAKNESS ? No loyalty scheme ? Signs point to serial acquisitions THREATS ? Increased Competition ? Economic slowdown ? External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc) ? UK structural change Table 1 – Swot Analysis 2. 1. 1 Strengths ? Strong financial position/performance: According to Datamonitor (2010), Asda is ranked the second largest grocery retail company in the United Kingdom, operating over 377 stores and a market share of 16. 6% of the UK supermarket. Asda, a subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mart, (the world’s largest retailer) has a very strong financial position coupled with its un-abating financial performance underlines its strategic capabilities over its competitors. A summary of its 2009 growth of Asda and its UK competitors is shown below. Supermarket Asda Tesco Sainsburys Morrisons Consumer Spend (? 000s) 3,411 6,453 3,239 2,327 Market Share March 2009 17. 5% 30. 4% 16. 1% 11. 8% +/- from March 2009 8. 5% 4. 3%, 5. 7% 7. 2% Table 2-Growth in UK supermarkets ? Strong bargaining power: Asda is a big supermarket with a very strong bargaining power. This means that Asda can bargain for a cost effective supplies and hence lower their product prices (or profit margins) to attract more customers. This also means that customers get the product to suit their budget without compromising on the quality. 2. 1. 2 Weakness ? No loyalty scheme: Asda does not run a loyalty card scheme, stating that they prefer to invest the money they would use to set up such scheme into driving down prices. [6] However, this is a major setback as implementation of such scheme has increased its competitor’s customer retention rate. [7] ? Signs point to serial acquisitions: Asda clearly demonstrates that, it has an enormous firepower. It also has a vast range of products and hence could justify its purchasing ego. But while it’s ‘fill the gap’ method might of use to the company (as its been the case), it raises an asserting danger of Asda becoming a serial acquirer and this tends to reduce earnings visibility and quality. 3|Page 2. 1. 3 Opportunities ? Acquisitions and Take Overs: The commercial network of Asda is growing at a profitable pace. It has opened over 20 new stores since 2010 and subject to a final regulatory approval will operate an additionally acquired 147 Netto stores in various geographical parts of the UK, [8] adding 1. million square feet of space to its portfolio. The geographic diversification will help Asda in improving its economy of scale, while minimising its exposure to systemic risk. ? Emerging markets and expansion abroad: The government’s current promotion of UK industries abroad and the immersion of new European countries provide a platform for Asda to expand its retail network across the EU. 2. 1. 4 Threats ? Increased Competition: There is a fierce competition between the ‘big four’ supermarkets in the UK grocery market. Though Asda is officially the second largest in the industry, a recent media report suggests that Sainsbury’s may have overtaken Asda after a good Christmas sales in December 2010. [9] This shows the intense competition in the industry. ? Economic slowdown: The economic slowdown has caused a sharp decline in customer’s income and the rise in unemployment. This has negative affected the discretionary buying pattern of consumers, in particular the non-food items. ? External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc): Changes by External forces like the increase in consumer taxes from 17. % to 20. 0% in 01/2011 coupled with the financial downturn will affect the non-food sectors of Asda, such as clothing. ? UK structural change: The price followers in the UK market are becoming aggressive investors in price. New ownership of Safeway coupled with Sainsbury’s new management. Safeway’s prices are being slashed up to 6% by Morrisons whiles Sainsbury’s is b ound to see lower prices as one of the basic changes necessary to drive its recovery. With both Tesco and Asda committed to price leadership, the long run could result in a step down in the industry’s profitability. 2. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Asda’s industrial structure is analysed using porters five forces to evaluate its effective sources of competitive advantage. [10] 2. 2. 1 Threat of substitute products and services In Asda’s grocery retail market, the threat of customer’s substitution is low for food items and medium-high for the non-food items. Substitutes of Asda’s food retail markets are off licenses and convenience stores. Though it is seen as low threat to Asda, Asda’s purchase of 147 Netto stores which are located in local towns and city centres creates a hurdle for these substitutes to enter the market. However, substitutes for non-food items, for example clothing, is fairly high. It should be noted that so long as the economic recession prevails, customers will be more geared towards discounted prices making Tesco is a threat to the speciality shops. 2. 2. 2 Threat of entry of new competitors The threat of new competitors entering the food retail industry can also be classified as low. This is because, entering into this supermarket industry and establishing a competitive 4|Page brand name requires a very huge capital investment. Obtaining a planning authorisation or permission from local government for example takes a considerable amount of time and resources and this in itself is a barrier to new entrants. Moreover, major brands namely Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have already captured about 80% of the market. [11] Therefore, new entrants will have to provide products at an exceptionally low price and/or high quality to establish their market value. 2. 2. 3 Intensity of competitive rivalry The intense competitive rivalry in the food and grocery retail industry is extremely high. Asda is faced with intense competition from the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons who have their markets in same towns and cities. They compete with Asda over prices, products and promotions intermittently. E. g. Tesco’s setting aside ? 200m in price war against Asda [12] whiles Sainsbury’s opted for the â€Å"switch and save† method, demonstrating how much consumers could save by switching from branded goods to private label products. 2. 2. 4 Bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers in the food and grocery market can be considered as fairly high. This is because buyer can easily switch between brands in case the products have slight differentiations in terms of price and quality. The close proximity of supermarkets and the power of the internet also make this very possible. Asda’s idea of price marching the other supermarkets has been countered by Tesco’s similar offer. These price wars has led to a high bargaining power of buyers as they are more inclined towards lower product prices. 2. 2. 5 Bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers in the industry is considerably low. Note that the suppliers are more inclined towards the major food and grocery retailers, and cannot afford losing their business contracts with these supermarkets. With many suppliers and few affording major retailers, the position of the retailers like Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s is further strengthened and negotiations are positive so that they can get the lowest possible price from their suppliers. 2. 3 PEST Analysis This paper seeks to discuss the unpredictable and dynamic operational environment of Asda and the forces that have most impact on its performance. 2. 3. Political The inclusion of 10 further eastern European countries into the European Union (EU) took place in 2004 promoting trade between Western and Eastern European countries. [13] This has provided Asda with a platform to expand its retail network across the EU. 2. 3. 2 Economic Economic factors are a matter of concern for Asda’s performance on the market since they have direct impact on its customers’ buying behaviour. Although the UK economy was declared officially under recess in 2008, the government’s substantial reduction in interest rates has helped in minimising further rises in unemployment during 2009. 14] As a result 5|Page of this, the spending power of consumers can be said to be on a steady rise as they are more confident about their current financial situation. However, lots of financial uncertainty means consumers are more likely to spend less on premium products, encompassing organics and ready prepared meals, which will negatively affect Asda’s sales value and margins. Fig 2: UK Spending on Food as a % of Overall Consumer Spending (2004 2009) 2. 3. 3 Social An analysis of the UK population shows that there are more retired people than children. 15] The ageing population is discouraging for Asda’s market as older people tend to eat less. They are also less likely to travel to supermarkets for shopping as compared with the you nger generation. There is a prediction that the ageing population would find online shopping more convenient although internet literacy level drops over the age of 65 years within the population [16]. However, small deliveries are considered to be ineffective and expensive. Also consumers’ attitude is incessantly changing towards food as they are becoming more health conscious. An increase in the demand for organic food has been accommodated by Asda to reflect this change in demand. 2. 3. 4 Technological Technology is one of the key macro-environmental variables that have directly influenced the supply chain, operations and processes of grocery and food retailers. The operation of supermarkets is being affected by the use of the Internet through online grocery retailing, which is showing steady growth. Subscriptions to the Internet have grown by over 50% and it has been estimated that the Internet is being used by 70% of the population in the UK. [15]. Also, the adoption of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities of Asda. 3. 0 ANALYSIS OF E-BUSINESS VALUE In this 21st century, business conducted over the Internet (which we refer to as ‘e-business’), is dynamically and rapidly growing, and highly competitive. It promises new avenues for the creation of wealth. Britain’s internet grocery market has been predicted to double to ? 9. 9bn by 2015, according to research group IGD forecast. E-business value is assessed through the 6|Page usiness impact of purchasing online. E-Procurement, or buying online, can potentially provide a distinct value propositions to Asda. However, for Asda to threaten the position of Tesco on the online market, it needs something that will give it a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is here defined as the basis for reaching the fundamental goal of a company: long-term sustainable success [10]. Given the complexity of its supply chain, the idea of processing and supporting product data across a number of channels is counterintuitive, hence Asda’s Implementation of SAP ERP system. Asda uses SAP ERP for Financials and SAP Business Intelligence, with partner Deloitte and this helped reduced its year end close time to only four days, streamlined payment processes and improved reporting capability to the group head office as it is important for the retail system to be integrated. The overall project and quality planning process led to Asda been adjudged the gold winner of large enterprise implementation by SAP UK, beating its competitors. [17] 4. 0 AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Porter [10] believes that â€Å"satisfying a customer’s needs might be a prerequisite for an industry’s profitability, but in itself it is not ufficient†. Instead, in order to succeed, a firm must not only be able to create superior value over a sustained period of time, but it must also be able to capture the value created in the form of economic profits. In these competitive times, customer satisfaction and value capture is an asset to every business, and data plays a pivotal role in this. A huge amount of organised customer data can provide Asda a competitive edge if the wealth of the information is tapped and used effectively. These I believe has been the â€Å"competitive weakness† of Asda’s strive to become the market leader. Asda’s competitors like Tesco and Sainsbury’s uses a club card loyalty scheme (strategy) to gather this data, analyse and provide a tailored solution to meet each customer’s needs. Customer satisfaction is increased by linking customer information across systems and ensuring a consistent experience. Kostas Danas [18] in a Kingston lecture said and I quote â€Å"The odds of selling a product to a new customer is 15%, whereas the odds to sell a product to an existing customer are 50%†. He also said that â€Å"70% of complaining customers will do business with the company again if their complaints are resolved†. How can customer’s complaints be resolved if knowledge of their needs are disorganised? Although Asda has already implemented a SAP ERP system, ERP works like a backend system which is more inclined towards the internal process and reporting management. It needs a system which is more customer focused and extensively deal with customer management to improve its: Customer Contact Integration how would we integrate the customer contact across multiple channels and multiple data sources (products/services) ? Data Integration how would the data be collected, stored and cleaned, ensuring that each customer was unique and that the full extent of the product and service relationships was known ? Customer Analytics how would the client analyse the data, who would do it, how would this be achieved securely across multiple business units and organisations ? One-to-One Marketing once the data was in control, how would it be used to manage the customer relationship? ? 7|Page 5. 0 E- BUSINESS TOOL NEEDED In every phase of a business process, the potential use of primarily Internet technology is analysed. However, analysis of such nature should also include other potential enablers, such as: ? Intranets ? Virtual private networks (VPN) ? Personal digital assistants (PDA) ? Telephony systems such as interactive voice response (IVR) E-business tool identified to provide a solution to Asda’s downside discussed above is the CRM. Customer relationship management (CRM) as defined by Kostas and Danas [18] is â€Å"a combination of business process and technology that seeks to understand an organisation’s customers – effective management of customer relationships could provide competitive advantage – technology enabled strategy†. Although Asda is striving to threaten Tesco’s position on the market, Tesco is scoring points with its Loyalty club card scheme. Asda needs integrated sales, marketing and service strategy that depends on the company’s whole actions and focused on customers’ satisfaction demands to give it a competitive advantage. Although lower prices are a customer â€Å"attracting tool†, better CRM strategy is the â€Å"retention tool†. A CRM tool analytically determines how each customer in each region is targeted. Tesco’s Loyalty marketing is an active CRM strategy that seeks to exploit structural investments to drive sales, reduce costs and improve customer experience. If customer relationships are the heart of Asda’s business success, then CRM must be the â€Å"valve that pumps its life blood†. Below is a graph of the Relative Effectiveness of CRM Usage 3. 9 sales 3. 8 Marketing 3. 7 Customer service 3. 3 Management 3. 1 Product Design (1) Not effective High (5) Fig. 3. Relative Effectiveness of CRM Usage Source: IDC, Gartner, Meta Group, Aberdeen This strategy, when implemented will help Asda track it trends. Large supermarkets like Asda are very vulnerable to changes in taste or behaviours of their customers. Asda is noted for indiscriminately offering conventional promotion discounts to all customers whether needed or not. This might be a customer satisfying approach but not a value creation. What good is it to a single 15year old customer being offered a 50% voucher on children’s school uniform? CRM in summary will help Asda to: 8|Page Understand its core shoppers better and help develop the core store proposition to maximum effect ? Provide effective, efficient and consistent service across all customer relationships in a seamless way ? Market and cross-sell products across our various product and service lines, in the most targeted and effective way. ? 6. 0 ORGANISATIONAL TRANSFORMATION In the process of implementing this strategic plan, Asda must be careful with forces that might legitimately seek to sabotage the new system. It is important that effectual change management practices are instituted. These may include: The appointment of a change agent (as an individual who would champion the changes and seek to reassure and allay any fears arising). Ascertaining the causes of the resistance to organisational change (whether from employees, perceived loss of job security, etc. ) ? Via change agency, slowly limiting the negative effects that a change may uncover. ? 6. 1 People For Asda to implement the CRM system, staffs from all the different departments must be involved. People respond to organizational change in different ways, essential and important key management intervention is required. Asda must convince its staff that the new technology and workflows will benefit both the employees as well as increase in revenue which will infer a stability of their job positions. Participation is probably the most accepted technique for reducing resistance to change. Allowing affected employees to participate in both the planning and implementation of the change can contribute to greater identification and understanding of the aims and goals of the new strategy. Participation in implementation also helps to counteract the disruption in communication flows, which often accompanies implementation of a change. Senior executives must also need to be strong and visible advocates to clearly state and support the case for change. 6. Process Though the new proposed CRM system may have many technological components, business processes lie at its core. It can be seen as a more customer-centric way of doing business, enabled by technology that consolidates and intelligently distributes pertinent information of customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness, and market trends. Because Asda currently makes use of an ERP system, it will likely need to re-enginee r the new system to link the front office (CRM) with the back office systems (operations support) to better serve the overall goal of winning and satisfying its customers. Moreover, planners need to determine the types of customer information that are most relevant, and how best to employ them. 6. 3 Organisational Aspect In evaluating a successful implementation of a CRM technology, key factors including the alignment with the company’s business process strategy and goals, ability to deliver the right data and sufficient ease of adoption and use must be considered. Galbraith and Kazanjian argue 9|Page that â€Å"there are several major internal subsystems of the organization that must be coordinated to successfully implement a new organization’s strategy. These subsystems include technology, reward systems, decision processes, and structure. As with any system, the subsystems are interrelated, and changing one may impact others. The technology employed must fit the selected strategy for it to be successfully implemented†. Asda’s purpose of implementing this strategy is to differentiate its services on the basis of quality and meeting individual customer needs. Hence it must take steps to ensure that the CRM is in place to provide a superior quality of services to ts customers To succeed with a CRM program, Asda and its staff must be ready, willing and able to make the change. The organisation needs a solid planning and proper integration into its current system. Reward systems can be an effective organisational tool for motivating individuals to support the CRM strategy implementation efforts. Commonly used reward systems include stock options, salary raises, promotions, praise, recognition, increased job autonomy, and aw ards based on successful strategy implementation. These rewards can be made available only to managers or spread among employees throughout the organization. Since they currently has an ERP running am sure implementing a CRM wouldn’t be much of a problem. 7. 0 CONCLUSION In light of the above analysis, it can be concluded that Asda’s position is highly threatened in the turbulent retail segment by Sainsbury’s because of its analytic and organised collection of data. Technology alone has been argue as not giving a competitive advantage as it could easily be bought and implemented by another. However effective use of the technology aligned with its core aim and vision gives one a competitive advantage. Asda has been able to achieve both with the help of a lean and agile supply chain management, along with the strategic use of information technology. However, implementation of this customer-centric management system will give it an extra edge again its competitors in this turbulent retail segment. 10 | P a g e REFERENCES [1] http://www. asdafinance. com/ [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [2] Wal-Mart buys Asda in UK retail shock. ttp://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0DQA/is_1999_June_17/ai_55041044/ [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [3] YouGov SixthSense. http://sixthsense. yougov. com/retail-reports/supermarkets-reports. aspx [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [4] Asda as an employer. http://www. asda. jobs/all-about/who-we-are/index. html [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [5] Asda sales growth. http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2011/may/17/asda-supermarket salesgrowth-stalls [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [6] FAQs â €“ About Asda. http://www. about-asda. com/faq/. [Retrieved 07/06/2011] [7] loyalty programs. ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Loyalty_program [Retrieved 12/06/2011] [8] Office of fair trading. http://www. oft. gov. uk/shared_oft/mergers_ea02/2011/Asda. pdf. [Retrieved 12/06/2011] [9] Sainsbury’s overtakes Asda. http://www. thesun. co. uk/sol/homepage/news/money/3346742/Sainsburys-overtakes-Asda. html. [Retrieved 12/06/2011] [10] Porter, M. (1985), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, (Location: The Free Press) [11] Food Retail Industry – Including Online, Mintel Research. http://www. mintel. om/ [Retrieved 12/06/2011] [12] Tesco targets Asda in price war. documentid=156276700. [Retrieved 12/06/2011] http://news. uk. msn. com/uk/articles. aspx? cp- [13] BBC (2009), ‘Czech, Greek presidents support Turkeys EU bid’, BBC Monitoring Europe, http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/6189404. stm [accessed 07/07/2010] [14] Euromonitor (2010) , ‘Industry Profile – Food retailing’, Euromonitor International, 2010 [15] Office for National Statistics (2009), ‘Internet Access Households and Individuals’, Office for National Statistics, August 29, 2009. Available at http://www. statistics. gov. uk/pdfdir/iahi0809. pdf [accessed 14/07/2011] [16] Turban, E. , Rainer, R. K. Potter, R. E. (2001), Introduction to Information Technology, (Chichester: Wiley) [17] SAP UKI recognises customers for excellence. http://www. sap. com/uk/press. epx? pressid=13260. [Accessed 14/07/2011] [18] Kostas Danas (Lecturer). Strategic Information Systems for E-business. Kingston University Lecture notes. (2010). [19] http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-england-11555242 [accessed 14/07/2011] 11 | P a g e

Megadeth †“United Abominations” free essay sample

In light of the recent release of â€Å"Death Magnetic,† the highly anticipated album by Metallica, I looked back to their overlooked shadow, Megadeth. Megadeth has always been at odds and shortchanged for almost 20 years. â€Å"United Abominations,† Megadeth’s eleventh studio album, was released in 2007, and has been a success. Yet, I feel some people are put off by it. â€Å"United Abominations† attacks many of the cruel but ongoing issues of today. Topics of war, poverty, and corruption, brought together around the guitar-focused sound, makes this album a â€Å"whole† experience. Glen Drover, a new lead guitarist, was brought in to help with the production of the album. He works very well with Dave Mustaine, frontman and rhythm guitarist, who has gone through many lead guitarists. They have stayed true to their original thrash metal sound of the ’80s, which is not often seen today. The riffs are top-notch, and the solos and leads are screaming; a delight for any metal head. We will write a custom essay sample on Megadeth – â€Å"United Abominations† or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The two guitars are voiced well through the lyrics, each with their own attitude and separate meaning. Dave Mustaine’s voice has matured with time, becoming deeper, and he isn’t using his signature snarl very much, which was in many of their early music. This album takes an especially hard tone with war, especially the Iraq War and its distasteful consequences. Yet, not all is somber in this album, there are some great ballads and metal songs here. If you’re not a fan of metal music, you should check it out and perhaps even surprise yourself. If you are a fan of metal music, this is a definite buy.

Free Essays on Coming Of Age In Mississippi

Life in the 1950’s and 60’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, is basically Anne Moody's autobiography from the beginning of her life, into a family of poor black share-croppers through High School, College, and finally her very active involvement in the Civil Rights movement in the 50's and 60's.This powerful and very informative autobiography from Anne Moody vividly documents the discrimination many African Americans had to face in the South in the 1950s. Anne Moody, being a very independent person, always stood for what was right, rather it was standing by herself or standing with a group of people, she was always fighting for her rights. Having a very supportive and involved family also made protest more encouraging. Her passionate fight against racism encounters many obstacles, such as finding her name on a KKK "wanted" list, being an activist in the civil rights movement in Mississippi and being beaten by the local police. Her stories are intense but full of courage and the truest convictions. In the mid 1900’s the Klu Klux Klan was revived by an Atlanta physician, Samuel Green. The Klu Klux Klan is a group of white individuals who oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, and other minority groups. These individuals are also called the KKK or the Klan, who are people that often use violence to achieve its aims. Klan members wear robes and hoods, and burn crosses at their outdoor meetings. They also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers. During the 1960's, the Civil Rights movement began and a new wave of violence by the Ku Klux Klan was brought about. In Mississippi, three civil rights leaders were killed; in Birmingham, Alabama a church was bombed, killing four black girls. President Lyndon B. Johnson used the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe the Ku Klux Klan and sent some Klan members to prison. Following this, Klan member ship fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970's. The Klan had their ways of informing or wa... Free Essays on Coming Of Age In Mississippi Free Essays on Coming Of Age In Mississippi Life in the 1950’s and 60’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, is basically Anne Moody's autobiography from the beginning of her life, into a family of poor black share-croppers through High School, College, and finally her very active involvement in the Civil Rights movement in the 50's and 60's.This powerful and very informative autobiography from Anne Moody vividly documents the discrimination many African Americans had to face in the South in the 1950s. Anne Moody, being a very independent person, always stood for what was right, rather it was standing by herself or standing with a group of people, she was always fighting for her rights. Having a very supportive and involved family also made protest more encouraging. Her passionate fight against racism encounters many obstacles, such as finding her name on a KKK "wanted" list, being an activist in the civil rights movement in Mississippi and being beaten by the local police. Her stories are intense but full of courage and the truest convictions. In the mid 1900’s the Klu Klux Klan was revived by an Atlanta physician, Samuel Green. The Klu Klux Klan is a group of white individuals who oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, and other minority groups. These individuals are also called the KKK or the Klan, who are people that often use violence to achieve its aims. Klan members wear robes and hoods, and burn crosses at their outdoor meetings. They also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers. During the 1960's, the Civil Rights movement began and a new wave of violence by the Ku Klux Klan was brought about. In Mississippi, three civil rights leaders were killed; in Birmingham, Alabama a church was bombed, killing four black girls. President Lyndon B. Johnson used the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe the Ku Klux Klan and sent some Klan members to prison. Following this, Klan member ship fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970's. The Klan had their ways of informing or wa...

Quality Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Quality Control - Essay Example The above example also shows the fact that there are certain parameters which can be used to measure or identify the quality level of a certain product. These are called as ‘Quality Characteristics’ by Mitra (6). These characteristics may include the aesthetics of the product, its durability, cost, utilization factor etc. 1.1. History of Quality: The sense of maintaining the quality of products and services has been existent since times immemorial. The early Egyptians, Greeks and Romans maintained quality standards in their buildings, structures, artifacts, utensils etc. The term ‘quality’ itself is however relatively newer. During the early days of industrial revolution, the need of maintaining quality in the production industry recognized but not emphasized. As a result no special workforce was designated to check the quality control. Instead, the foreman or the supervisor was the person responsible for the quality of product being made. Hence it was entir ely on his discretion what efforts he puts in order to maintain the quality standards. As the industries grew in size and the strength of personnel reporting to a particular supervisor increased in size, it became impossible for the supervisor to check the quality of each unit produced at the industry. The task of maintaining the quality was then assigned to quality inspectors. ... This moved the engineers and mathematicians to develop statistical methods of quality control. Walter Shewhart, in 1924, proposed his quality control charts which aimed at controlling the features of a product through statistical methods (Mitra 3). In 1929 he formed ‘Joint Committee for the Development of Statistical Applications in Engineering and Manufacturing’ with the support of American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), American Statistical Association (ASA) and Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS). The committee made efforts to promote the principles of statistical quality control in the industries. The use of statistical methods in the quality control procedures gained wide acceptance in the days of World War II. Good quality machinery was vital for the armies to win battles hence quality control was essential. But large amount of weapons and machinery supplies has to be produced and every single unit cou ld not be checked for quality assurance. Hence powerful statistical methods were required for ensuring quality in industries. The rules of Sampling gained were widely accepted and implemented. The American Society of Quality Control was established in 1946 to standardize the quality control procedures 1.2. Quality Control and Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a technique used to measure the degree to which a process conforms to the consumer needs. It is based on the number of units produced that comply with the quality standards set by the organization or demanded by the customers. The method was developed by Motorola Corporation in 1986. Six Sigma basically focuses

Why I am not a Vegan Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why I am not a Vegan - Personal Statement Example Discussion and facts backed up by authentic research which are presented in this paper are basically meant to illuminate the reality of the claim that we humans are naturally meant to eat meat not only because our digestive systems are well suited to break down animal protein, but also because meat bags higher position on the scale of food value than plant sources. I am proud on not to be a vegan because meat fulfils my daily energy requirements better than plant foods ever can do. I find people around me, who happen to be rigid vegetarians, munching different types of snacks all day long because their energy requirements do not get fulfilled by relying on plant sources alone like tofu, soybeans, etc. and their vigor markedly recedes consequentially. In order to meet with the amount of calories required to be consumed by a person per day, vegetarians have to cook and eat some portion out of every item from a variety of plant foods at one time while people who do not hesitate in indul ging with meat consumption do not have to go through any such trouble. One meat item is more than often found equivalent to a variety of plant foods, therefore though vegetarians may claim that relying less on meat sources can save humans from many cardiovascular disease, this also remain an open reality that saying goodbye to meat means a great decline in human energy level which gets distorted as a result of consuming vegetables low in food value. People should consume meat fearlessly because even if certain diseases are found to be linked with certain cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure and heart attacks, this issue can be ruled out easily by reducing the amount of meat consumed on daily basis, rather than quitting meat altogether and following fake vegetarian concepts like eating a meat burger can be anything close to an unethical act. One credible defending point which can be used by meat lovers against vegetarians is that plants would be extinguished today if all humans become vegetarians which would leave no food for cattle as well. â€Å"If we only consumed plants, all the farmland now used to raise livestock would have to be used to raise edible plants, which could mean no livestock† (Hayward). I am also not a vegan because eating vegetables alone can never provide me with the kind of stamina and power which is required to fight various infection and diseases by a normal human being. Research identifies that eating meat not only maintains the balance of sound body health, but it also helps one in combating against several infections by providing enough strength to a person. It also remains a reality that though many efforts are made by vegetarians to advance their cause of saving animals and relying on vegetables, meat forms a fuller source of food for humans than vegetables or other plant sources do. Meat does not happen to be a source of high quality protein alone but research shows that it does much more to enhance human health because â€Å"its loaded with other healthful goodies, including high levels of: iron; B vitamins like niacin and riboflavin that provide healthy skin and nerves as well as help digestion† (Opposing Views, Inc.). Slacking around with minimal energy but showing off by maintaining a slim body status does not seem to form a very excitable idea for me to cut down on meat and go for plant foods,

Security Planning and Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Security Planning and Assessment - Assignment Example A very real, clear and present danger lurks just beyond the consciousness of people who work together eight to ten hours a day, five to seven days a week. It is the potential for violence to occur in workplace. Increasingly, the Human Resources function is both the target of these threats of workplace violence and the organization's first line of defense for the prevention of workplace violence. Homicide is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Nearly 1,000 workers are murdered and 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), in additional information about workplace violence, there were 709 workplace homicides in 1998. These accounted for 12 percent of the total 6,026 fatal work injuries in the United States. Of these 709 workplace homicide victims in 1998, 80 percent were shot and nine percent were stabbed. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 2 million assaults and threats of violence against Americans at work occur annually. The most common type of workplace crime was assault with an average of 1.5 million a year. There were 396,000 aggravated assaults, 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults, 84,000 robberies, and 1,000 homicides reported. These figures likely fall short of the actual number of violent acts occurring in workplaces as not all acts of workplace violence are reported. The news media tend to sensationalize acts of workplace violence that involve coworkers. In sensationalizing incidents of workplace violence, they remove the emphasis from the most important targets for workplace safety programs. In fact, the most common motive for job-related homicide is robbery, accounting for 85 percent of workplace violence deaths. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides information that illustrates anyone can become the victim of a workplace assault, but th e risks are greater for workplace violence in certain industries and occupations. The taxicab industry has the highest risk, nearly 60 times the national average for potential workplace violence. A good first step for prevention in all workplaces consists of a general assessment designed to evaluate the presence of any specific risks of violence, both from within and outside the organization. Such an assessment will help the organization to fully understand the particular safety and security needs of the workplace - information that will help shape its prevention efforts. Often, forms of behavior that signaled the violence to come have preceded a violent act. If those signs had been recognized and appropriately addressed, the violence might not have happened. A prevention program will include a ''No Threats, No Violence'' policy that is clearly communicated to all employees. The policy will state the employer's commitment to provide a safe workplace, free from violence or the threat of violence. It will also set forth a code of employee conduct that clearly defines unacceptable behavior and prohibits all violence and threats on-site and during work-related off-site activities . A workplace violence program further includes an interdisciplinary team created and trained to manage any violent incidents or reports of troubling behavior made under the

The Types Of Money Used Today Economics Essay

The Types Of Money Used Today Economics Essay The types of money used today include; Coins, Paper currency, Bank drafts, Money orders, Stocks, Bonds, Treasury bills, Credit cards, ATM cards, Options, Gift certificates, Cheques,Travelers Cheques and many more. Money is converted into two categories, commodity and fiat money. 2.2.1Commodity money What constitutes a commodity? A commodity is generally accepted, without further clarification, as anything that can be bought or sold. This prompts further questioning. What is the communitys present accepted means for buying and selling? The answer is,money. A commodity therefore is a thing to which a money price can be attached and which can therefore be bought or sold with money. If money itself is a commodity, then money is a thing that can be bought or sold with money. The above reasoning not only involves a vicious circular logic of explaining and defining something in terms of itself, but also paves the way for an ascending infinite inflationary spiral (Peter Lock 2008). According to Peter Lock (2008), the definition of a commodity needs to be modified if it is to be consistent and to avoid all circular logic. An economic commodity is any marketable goods or service which has an intrinsic value in itself and whose value can be relatively assessed using an extrinsic suitable stable non-commodity money standard and hence bought and sold. In other words, an economic commodity is any marketable good, other than money, which money itself can buy. Modern money either as bits of plastic or paper, or as numbers in ledgers and computer memories, has no intrinsic value in itself. Its only value is its otherness. It does perform a valuable service in the marketplace by measuring the value of all other goods and services and facilitating their exchange. The mindset of money as a bartering device should not be included in or confused with the mindset for its use as a commodity. Their purposes and functions are self-contradictory, being diametrically opposite. The former exists as a stable extrinsic measure of worth for a community as a whole to use. The latter as an unstable intrinsic measure of marketplace purchasing power for individuals to abuse in their exploitation of the whole global community for their own personal aggrandizement and exercise of usurped power (Peter Lock, 2008). According to Peter Lock (2008), as long as money is treated as a commodity, uncertainty and insecurity must result. It is not a question of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It is simply a challenge to devise a system whereby the rich well fed haves can keep their fat share of humanitys commonwealth cake and at the same time let the poor hungry have-nots eat a just and reasonable thin slice of it as well. Money as a commodity only exists for the personal profit and increasing wealth and power of the haves: some of the rich get richer, all the poor get poorer. In an economic system where money is self-self functioning in positive feedback as a commodity, the evil treatment meted out to the have-nots who constitute the vast majority of the community becomes more and more inhumane. The term commodity money can be given to the kind of money that is at the same time a commercial commodity. Commodity money has an intrinsic value and that means it is considered to be worth something in its own right rather than simply being a token of financial value such as a banknote. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity. The best known form of commodity money is gold or silver coins, though any commodity can fulfill this role. The commodity itself; since more is being produced and less being used for non-monetary purposes, the resources devoted to additional production and the benefits forgone must be counted as the price of the system. Examples of commodities that have been used as medium of exchange include gold, silver, copper, salt, peppercorns, large stones, shells, alcohol, barley and cigarettes, just to highlight a few. These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity v aluation or Price System economies With a commodity money balances is part of the markets for goods and services. Use of commodity money is more the same with barter system. The use of shells or ivory was nearly universal before humans discovered how to work with precious metals; in China, Africa, and many other areas, use of cowrie shells was common. Historically speaking, many different metals have been used as standard money: iron in ancient Sparta, tin in ancient Syracuse and probably also in early Egypt, copper in early Palestine and in early Rome, and brass until recently in many parts of China. In modern times, however, monometallism has been based mostly on the so-called precious metals, silver and gold, with an increasing preponderance of gold since the latter part of the last century. Historically, the strongest and most stable currencies were those backed by gold and silver. It was this gold/silver backing that gave the currency its intrinsic value. In most cases, a countrys currency was actually gold or silver coins. Gold and silver have always been a universal form of money and measure of wealth providing stability in an otherwise unstable world (Tony DiCicco, 2002). A commodity money can give rise to a large amount of price instability if either there are large changes in the supply of the commodity or if there are large changes in the non-monetary use of the commodity. An example of a commodity money that gave rise to price fluctuations is the cigarette currency used in POW camps in the Second World War. The price of goods in terms of cigarettes depended on the relative availability of cigarettes and goods. If no cigarettes were received in the camp for some time, the supply of them would diminish (because prisoners would use them as commodities: they would smoke them) and their value would rise. A rise in the value of cigarettes meant that cigarettes bought more, or that prices fell. When a shipment of cigarettes would arrive, their increased availability would cause their value to drop, which meant prices would rise. Its stated that the erratic delivery of cigarettes and the resulting waves of inflation and deflation were a major problem in t he mini-economy of the POW (camphttp://ingrimayne.com/econ/Money/Commodities.html). Colonists often resorted to the use of commodity money, where a colonys principal commodity would circulate as a medium of exchange. The Massachusetts Bay Colony used corn and beaver skins as its medium of exchange. In the Southern colonies, it was tobacco and rice; and throughout most of the colonies, animal skins, corn, powder and gun shot, and livestock were often used. Since the market value of commodity money was determined by supply and demand, its value as money often decreased when there was an over supply in the marketplace. In addition, commodity money lacked uniform quality, and was prone to spoilage, difficult to transport, and costly to store (http://www.bos.frb.org/education/pubs/historyo.pdf ). pictures below shows examples of commodity money that where used: Gold Silver Shells Barley 2.2.2Fiat money The currency we all use today is legal tender for taxes and debts. It has no intrinsic value, it is not convertible and it is not tyrannically imposed on all transactions. This money fiat money was born in Massachusetts in 1690. Historians have claimed that it was a simple wartime substitution of fiat money for specie, as has happened many times since then, but this view is anachronistic. Later governments learned from Massachusetts that fiat money is a good wartime emergency, but for Massachusetts this was not an obvious idea (Dror Goldberg). Dror Goldberg mentions that Massachusetts had to issue money to pacify mutinous troops who returned defeated from war. However, formally issuing money, and backing it with land (as was then standard), would have been fatal for the long-run independence of the colony. Massachusetts had lost its charter in 1684, partly because it minted its own coins (a violation of the royal coinage prerogative). Moreover, all the colonys land was temporarily considered to be the kings land from 1687-1691. In 1690, when Massachusetts had to issue money, its agents were lobbying for a new charter in London. It could not afford to upset the king by violating his coinage prerogative again and backing money with his land. The solution was to issue IOUs, as any English subject was allowed to do, not back it with land, and not force it on trade. Like any IOU issuer the colony could offset its credits with it, namely making it legal tender for taxes. It was also made effectively legal tender for debts in an elaborate, dishonest way. The outcome was fiat money (Dror Goldberg). The Massachusetts Bay Colony issued in 1776. The evolution of commodity money into paper in America Paper money first appeared in America in in the late 17th century. In 1690, the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in an effort to increase government spending while avoiding the unpopular act of raising taxes, began printing paper money to pay for its expenses. To convince the Massachusetts Bay colonists to accept the paper as payment, the government promised to redeem the paper in gold and silver coin collected in taxes at a later date. It also promised to never print paper money again. While both promises were quickly broken by the government, is is interesting to see that, again, what caused people to begin accepting paper money as payment for goods and services, is the understanding that the money could ultimately be redeemed for tangible wealth in the form of the commodity money in use at the time (Chris Lind). The pictures below is an example of fiat money: Federal Reserve Note 1941 Federal Reserve Note 1950 The evolution of commodity money into paper in China Paper money first arose in China around 800 AD during the Tang Dynasty. Prior to the existence of paper money, a merchant selling his goods in the city of Szechuan, risked loss by theft as he transported his commodity money and unsold goods back to his home city. As a way of earning revenue, the Chinese government, in posession of fortified strongholds in each city to store tax revenues, offered the following service. For a fee, a merchant could deposit their gold and silver coin with the government in city A. In exchange the merchant received a paper receipt for the gold deposited. When the merchant arrived back home at city B, he could go to the treasury of that city to redeem his paper reciept for the commodity money in use. Over time, as people learned that the commodity represented by the paper would actually be there, merchants began buying and selling with the paper receipts themselves (Chris Lind). Kuan note is the oldest known banknote in the world (Mike Hewitt) However, its use was very short-lived, by 1455, after over 600 years, the Chinese abandoned paper money due to numerous problems of over issuance and hyperinflation. The term fiat money can be given to money that comprises things with a special legal qualification and the money used today is fiat money.Fiat means let it be done or by order of authority. Fiat money basically means that the currency has no intrinsic value (nor can it be redeemed for precious metals or something of intrinsic value) and the money is based solely on faith. Rather, the currency is only backed by the goodwill of the government that issues it. Normally the government is the one that declares legal tender. With fiat money its not real but it represents goods and services that it can buy thus it can be defined as the baskets of goods and services that it represents. For fiat money to be valued, the money supply must be limited and it must be impossible to counterfeit (PÄ ±nar Yesin 2010). Fiat money is created by a narrow cadre of globalist bankers that seek a new World order. Fiat money is created out of thin air. The fiat system is based on debt. We owe and they are owed. With the power they accrue, a plan has been launched to reorganize all aspects of human life. That plan is called Agenda 21 or Sustainable Development. It is a U.N. program, agreed to by 178 nations, that is designed to create a world order where human beings are regarded as biological resources. The evolving system does not recognize unalienable rights (Michael Shaw, 2009). Since fiat money has no direct legal connection to a commodity money there is no real economic cost to its production, the supply of a fiat money can never be self-limiting; and the value of a fiat money is always largely a matter of public confidence in the economic or political stability of the issuer. Historically every major fiat money have self-destructed in what is popularly called hyperinflation caused by either unlimited increases in the supply of that fiat money by the issuer or accelerating loss of public confidence in the continued value of the money or the economic or political fortunes of its issuer or both. Steve Elwart says that today, fiat money will always bring on inflation for two reasons: 1) Politicians like to induce inflation because it gives the people the illusion of prosperity and 2) its declared value is much higher than the cost of producing it. Whether it is a $1 or $100 bill in fiat money, it costs only 4 cents to produce. In todays electronic age, the pr oduction cost for new money is zero since money creation is just a keystroke and an entry in cyber-space. On the other hand, in history, if you had a $20 gold piece, the cost of that gold piece, less the cost to produce it, was about $20 (Steve Elwart). The Barter system was prevalent before the origin of fiat currency. In this system, commodities were exchanged for commodities. For example, if one person need rice and the other one need coconut, the person who has cultivates rice has to search and find out the person having coconut. Only then the exchange will take place. This itself was the serious disadvantage of barter system. For some times the different commodities acted as money and they were named as commodity money. After years of a coin system the paper fiat currency came in to existence. In the coinage, a gold smith acted sometimes as a banker. A government body started to control the printing of all types of moneys. Banks started to deal with money. They accepted savings and gave loans in the form of money. Apart from these transactions, banks started to generate bank money ( Robert Mendez). Modern society again replaced old money with other new forms of money like, demand drafts, credit cards, etc. Now we dont need to keep a liquid form of money with us. All our transactions can be made by using credit cards. We can do all our shopping with these cards. Even if money is used in different forms, the importance of money is still not deteriorated. According to Steve Elwart in his research entitled Commodity Money and Fiat Money: A Bushel of Wheat for a Penny, says that a government puts fiat money into circulation first by connecting it to a gold or silver standard, but then cuts the link and says that gold and paper are no longer convertible, making the piece of paper legal tender for all debts public and private. It is obvious that debtors would be very happy if the pa-per money lost its value because they could pay their debts with inflated currency. In a letter to Edward Carrington in 1788, Thomas Jefferson wrote, Paper is poverty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is only the ghost of money, and not money itself. Jefferson died bankrupt because of the early United States money (monetary) pol-icy based on paper. It is not that fiat currency is a new invention. Fiat currency actually made its appearance over 1,000 years ago. China was the first country to issue true paper money around the 10th century A.D. Although the notes were valued at a certain ex-change rate for gold, silver, or silk, conversion was never allowed in practice. The bills were supposed to be redeemed after three years in circulation, but as more bills were printed with the older notes being refused redemption, inflation became evident. Government measures to prop up the currency were unsuccessful and it fell out of favor (Steve Elwart) . Steve continues to say that at this point, people start to feel the pinch of their money buying less. They demand that their government do some-thing. Since studies have shown that voters only have a memory of one year when it comes to politics, politicians will make sure that the economy is good in an election year.6 They will artificially stimulate the economy to give voters the illusion that times are good again and reelect the incumbents. This lasts only so long and inflation, with its problems kick in again. This cycle of increasing the currency supply and price inflation ultimately ends with the collapse of the currency, sometimes preceded by hyperinflation. (Hyperinflation and its cultural effects will be covered in Part 3 of this series.) Surprisingly, the country has not learned its lesson and the devalued fiat currency is replaced with yet another fiat currency. Greece is a perfect example of this cycle (Steve Elwart). Steve Elwart says the Greek drachma was minted in gold and silver in ancient Greece and made its reappearance as a fiat currency in 1841. Since then, the value of the drachma decreased. During the German-Italian occupation of the country from 1941-1944, hyperinflation ravaged the country, ending with the issuance of 100,000,000,000 (100 billion)-drachma notes in 1944. After Greece was liberated from Germany, old drachmae were ex-changed for new ones at the rate of 50,000,000,000 to 1. Only paper money was issued, again a fiat currency. Greece then went on a program of deficit spending for social programs and inflation started once again. In 1953, in an effort to halt inflation, Greece joined the Bretton Woods system and the drachma was revalued at a rate of 1000 old drachma to one new drachma. In 1973 the Bretton Woods System was abolished; over the next 25 years the official exchange rate gradually declined, from 30 drachmas to one U.S. dollar to a ratio of 400:1. On January 1, 2002, the Greek drachma was officially replaced as the circulating currency by the Euro (again a fiat currency). Today, Greece is once again is in trouble. After years of continued deficit spending and the governments easy monetary policy, Greeces financial situation was badly exposed when the global economic downturn struck. Very quickly, the governments creative accounting practices were exposed. The national debt, put at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬300 billion ($413.6 billion), is bigger than the countrys entire economy, with some estimates placing it at 120 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. The countrys deficit-how much more it spends than it takes in-is 12.7 percent (Steve Elwart). This time though, Greece just cant inflate their way out of the problem. Now that they are on the Euro (in the Euro-zone), they have little control over their monetary policy. All their loans are in Euros and they must pay back the loans in Euros. One way to balance the national books is to implement harsh and unpopular spending cuts. Another way is to default on their debt. This would seriously damage the Euro as other countries look at default as a way out of their financial problems. (In fact, financial experts are predicting the demise of the Euro in as early as five years.8) A third way out is to separate itself from the Euro, go back on the drachma (fiat currency again) and then set an exchange rate of the drachma to the Euro at an artificially high number. The cycle of fiat money would then begin again. As long as a country is on a fiat currency, inflation is sure to follow. Using a fiat currency could well reduce a civilization to work an entire day for a bushel of wheat,(Ste ve Elwart). Failures of Government fiat money History has taught that lodging monopoly power over the nations stock of currency in a purely discretionary central bank, unconstrained by a monetary constitution, is highly dangerous. The money-process is likely to become politicized, with monetary policy becoming subservient to fiscal policy and with monetary authorities exhibiting a bias toward inflation. James A. Dorn mentions that a study of about 30 currencies shows that there has not been a single case of a currency freely manipulated by its government or central bank since 1700 which enjoyed price stability for at least 30 years running. Although the Fed has achieved intermittent price stability since its inception in 1913, its long-run performance has been unsatisfactory, especially when compared to commodity-based standards such as the classical gold standard. The issuance of fiat money by governments is, in truth, a white collar crime; and, as happens when white collar crimes are discovered, a highly visible paper trail le ads directly back to the wrongdoers-in this case, the central banks (Darryl Robert Schoon). In fiat based economies, time is the enemy and 95 years have passed since fiat money was introduced into the US. In America and elsewhere time is passing and the clock is ticking and recently its been sounding more and more like a time bomb (Darryl Robert Schoon) . Comparison between types of money Fiat money is the term for a medium of exchange which is neither a commercial commodity, a consumer, or a producer good, nor title to any such commodity: that is irredeemable paper money. In contrast, commodity money refers to a medium of exchange which is either a commercial commodity or a title thereto. There is no doubt that fiat money is possible. Its theoretical possibility was recognized long ago, and since 1971, when the last remnants of a former international gold (commodity) standard were abolished, all monies, everywhere, have in fact been nothing but irredeemable pieces of paper (Hans-Hermann Hoppe). As asserted by Cary A. Deck, Kevin A. McCabe and David P. Porter ( ),fiat money is a convention that allows individuals to complete trades without relying on the coincidence of wants or diverting valuable commodities to serve as money. In order for individuals to accept intrinsically worthless fiat money in exchange for valuable goods, the agents must believe that the money can be used to complete subsequent purchases of other goods or services. Advantages of Commodity money According to the information about commodities monies on the internet, the reduced value of the money will encourage people to use the item more in its commodity use. For example, if gold serves as money, and its value drops, people will increase their use of gold for jewelry, tableware, and artistic purposes. Their actions will reflect the law of demand: whenever a commodity becomes cheaper, people use more of it. Thus if there is a sudden influx of gold into a country that uses it as money, part of the influx will be diverted to its commodity use, and the effects on the amount of money, and hence on the price level, will be lessened. On the other hand, a sudden decline will also be cushioned, because as the commodity grows more valuable, people will transfer it from its commodity use into a monetary use. If the amount of gold declines and it rises in value, there is an incentive to melt down jewelry, tableware, and artistic objects and use the gold as money. Hence a doubling of gol d may not double the amount of money, and cutting the amount of gold by one half may not cut money by one half (http://ingrimayne.com/econ/Money/Commodities.html ). Another reason for price stability with a commodity money exists when that commodity is used by many other nations. When the price level in any one nation changes, the commodity will flow across borders to where it is most valuable( Robert Schenk, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1977 ). Disadvantages of Commodity Money When valuable resources are used as money, those resources cannot be used for consumption. Copper used to make pennies cannot be used to make electrical wire. The supply of money is determined by supply of the commodity. The money supply could fluctuate substantially. The discovery of new gold would mean that the supply of money would increase and the price level would rise. There is a lack of stability when a currency depends on being able to find and produce a particular naturally occurring but naturally rare substance. When gold is being used as commodity money it can be a disadvantage since the government cant meaningfully increase the supply of gold over a short period of time, for example the Fed can be able to increase the supply of fiat money in 10 weeks by more than 100%, with gold this cannot be accomplished. . Advantages of Fiat money Is an efficient form of money; since it can be produced costlessly, there is a gain from using it instead of something else that is both costly to produce and has alternative uses (Neil Wallace).Uses relatively little of societys resources. Fiat money has an advantage over commodity money in the senses that the same laws that come up with laws that created the money can also make a decision to replace the money if it ever gets damaged or destruction occurs. Fiat money has more stability as compared that of gold-backed currency in the sense that commodity based currencies are inherently pro-cyclic, increasing volatility in terms of the regular business cycle and come and go recessions. This stability allows investors, capitalists and creditors to make rational, firm decisions based on sound expectations that have little room for uncertainty; and thus make more risky and subjective investments. Studies also shows that during the Great depression, countries that used fiat currency syste m fared more stable and much better off than those dependent on commodity-based currency. As mentioned by Chris Lind, fiat money is generally seen as a convenience or a protectionist system; It is much easier to carry around a piece of paper than 50 pounds of gold or some other commodity. Trustworthiness; the community trusts that the paper receipt or certificate actually represents the tangible good printed on the paper. Fiat money can and still created in arbitrary amounts, and is made more available on a favorable basis to the government and commercial banks. With fiat money the Fed can be able to increase the supply by more than 100% within 10 weeks, the advantage of being able to do that is that the government can manipulate the system to mitigate panics and disasters. Take for example the last fall would have being a bigger mess if gold was the monetary numeraire Disadvantages of Fiat Money The longer a fiat money system exists, the greater the odds of economic collapse. Over time fiat credit money destroys economies because time exacerbates the systemic flaws of credit-based, sic capital, markets (Darryl Robert Schoon). Fiat money is not self limiting, which can make nations which rely on this type of currency extremely vulnerable to hyperinflation. Government controls money supply and it may cause inflation by printing too much money the following example shows how fiat money can really cause inflation the example is taken from a journal by Andrew Digeson White (1933), early in the year 1789 the French nation found itself in deep financial embarrassment: there was a heavy debt and a serious deficit. The vast reforms of that period, though a lasting blessing politically, were a temporary evil financially. There was a general want of confidence in business circles; capital had shown its proverbial timidity by retiring out of sight as far as possible; throughout the land was stagnation. Fiat money becomes worthless when its no longer used that is when the government declares. Fiat money distorts the time value of money and in so doing destroys both money and the economies that use it (Darryl Robert Schoon).

Quality Teachers in the American Education System :: philosophy of education, descriptive

Lately, it seems every time you pick up a newspaper it contains a story on the inadequacy of our nation’s educational system. Society is forever blaming its woes, from not being able to multiply to not being able to balance a checkbook, on a bad teacher. We all, at sometime in our education, have had to sit through the boredom and uncertainty of teachers like Christian Zowodniak’s freshman English teacher, Jeff. Teachers like Jeff made it appear that our teaching universities are turning out unqualified teachers, but this is not the case. Mediocre teachers get into the education profession for all the wrong reasons: from having summers off, to having good health insurance coverage, to having good work hours. Hopefully, these teachers quickly "burn-out" and seek employment in other professions. Unfortunately, many of them stay and become passive, unconcerned teachers, much like Zowodniak’s Jeff. Surely, we have encountered more good teachers than bad ones in our years of education. Yet, we are quick to point out the flaws of our education system and to complain about poor teachers. But seldom do we praise our greatest asset, our excellent teachers. I would like to tell you about an excellent teacher, Mrs. Joan Beers . Mrs. Beers, my senior English teacher, loves teaching. Her love for her profession is reflected in her method of teaching her students, in her method of addressing her students’ different learning styles, and in her method of assessing her students. Like Jeff, many of my high school teachers used a passive approach to teaching. The bell rang, and the teacher stood behind a podium with a notebook bulging with lecture notes. Facing her was a roomful of eager students, with notebooks opened and pens poised. Our learning consisted of a fifty-five minute lecture on grammar, during which the teacher verbally delivered reams of facts and examples, and we busily recorded her every word. We learned these bits of information and recited them word for word at exam time. The passive teacher graded us only on our ability to recall at exam time. Mrs. Beers, on the other hand, used a more active, student-centered approach to her teaching. She began class with a five minute discussion on prepositions. Then, she divided the class into small groups of three to four students and handed each student a current newspaper. Quality Teachers in the American Education System :: philosophy of education, descriptive Lately, it seems every time you pick up a newspaper it contains a story on the inadequacy of our nation’s educational system. Society is forever blaming its woes, from not being able to multiply to not being able to balance a checkbook, on a bad teacher. We all, at sometime in our education, have had to sit through the boredom and uncertainty of teachers like Christian Zowodniak’s freshman English teacher, Jeff. Teachers like Jeff made it appear that our teaching universities are turning out unqualified teachers, but this is not the case. Mediocre teachers get into the education profession for all the wrong reasons: from having summers off, to having good health insurance coverage, to having good work hours. Hopefully, these teachers quickly "burn-out" and seek employment in other professions. Unfortunately, many of them stay and become passive, unconcerned teachers, much like Zowodniak’s Jeff. Surely, we have encountered more good teachers than bad ones in our years of education. Yet, we are quick to point out the flaws of our education system and to complain about poor teachers. But seldom do we praise our greatest asset, our excellent teachers. I would like to tell you about an excellent teacher, Mrs. Joan Beers . Mrs. Beers, my senior English teacher, loves teaching. Her love for her profession is reflected in her method of teaching her students, in her method of addressing her students’ different learning styles, and in her method of assessing her students. Like Jeff, many of my high school teachers used a passive approach to teaching. The bell rang, and the teacher stood behind a podium with a notebook bulging with lecture notes. Facing her was a roomful of eager students, with notebooks opened and pens poised. Our learning consisted of a fifty-five minute lecture on grammar, during which the teacher verbally delivered reams of facts and examples, and we busily recorded her every word. We learned these bits of information and recited them word for word at exam time. The passive teacher graded us only on our ability to recall at exam time. Mrs. Beers, on the other hand, used a more active, student-centered approach to her teaching. She began class with a five minute discussion on prepositions. Then, she divided the class into small groups of three to four students and handed each student a current newspaper.