Children Learn Best

H61012A L9914234 Pham Minh Tu Discursive Eassay Children learn best by observing behavior of addults and copying it The major disparity between adults and children is the imitating learning scientifically. Although the incidental learning facilitates the studying of children, this conventional methodology has been considered as a contentious dicourse due to its latent detrimental impacts. This essay will demonstrate the affirmative and negative arguments for the immitating learning of children regards as the best methodolody.Firstly, the imitation of the behaviors of adults is a quick learning methodology for children. It is highly doubt that this eliminates the time spending on the explanation for children since these behaviors accumulatively exert young learners on their habits, personality and the outlook. To illustrate, no confusing question impedes the fragile mind of children from the reason wasting their time. This facilitates the adults to monitor the critical skills as they will explain the vital reason for some unclear and misleading action.Secondly, this imitation creates the natural incentives for children to learn the intractable things. With the mutual basis on the interpersonal communication with adults, particularly parents, these acquaintances appear as the massive profound inspiration. Consequently, these behaviors are understood as welcoming actions by children and manipulate them, in turn shaping their future personal like the civility.For example, to instill a love of books, parents could read books for children everyday instead of using TV as a pastime. Additionally, small children pick up several new words from parents’ conversations. These are the positive arguments for this learning methodology. Next the manifold oppose arguments will be illustrated for this issue. The predominant disadvantage of this imitating methodology is the pitfall of misleading or the limits for autistic children.It is explicit since this form of learning requires the high quality from the interpersonal environment solely, not from the learners themselves. Thus, without the interaction with parents, those children with autism do not enable themselves to study. Moreover, the imitation of adults’ behaviors leads to the latent profound reduction of creativity in children. The strings attached children with surrounding environment might create the laziness and then the shortage of the ability of provoke-thinking and solving problems.Subsequently, being a passive learner in a long-term period, the creativity can be reduced in children inevitably. In conclusion, when the imitability in learning always contains its advantages and limits on children. Nevertheless, it is the natural step of human’s evolution of studying. Therefore, children could encounter the surrounding environment and new concepts to learn the best from this step, which is assumed as a launching pad fro them before entering the world of formal schooling.

Business Management Personal Statement Sample

I have interest in studying business management. I appreciate the programme content and structure because of its flexibility that I can specialize in certain concentration areas such as Accountancy and Finance. Also, the policy of student-oriented teaching is a distinguishing characteristic which can provide students like me more opportunities to enhance their presentation and writing skills. Most importantly, I can gain a thorough grounding in the essential skills of business analysis and decision making.First, I am a competent and industrious student. Academically, I attained a satisfactory grade point average which was 4. 0 in my college. Simultaneously, I acquired my first professional qualification of securities through self-study. As a result, my college recognized my outstanding academic results by giving me Scholarship. Also, I was on the director list in 2008. Besides, I strongly concern our community.During the summer of 2008, I participated voluntary teaching and provided community service to a distant area called He Yuan in Guangdong province. I also joined a local charity to provide community service such as organizing a trip for the minority in Hong Kong. Such experience has strengthened my problem-solving and interpersonal skills to tackle the challenges. Also, I have greatly advanced in my analytical skills through joining mentorship programme. For example, I learnt basic research skills from my mentor from CASH Financial Group.As mentioned above, I am now an all-rounded student who wants to advance knowledge not just to deal with business problems, but also to tackle other economic problems in society at large. For personal development, I always try my best to continue lifelong learning and contribute to society as a global citizen. I heartily believe that chances are always ready for well-prepared candidates. (284 Words) Remarks: Modified Version by [email  protected] com Copyrights reserved 2009

A comparing and contrasting paper about the work,lives and the impact Research

A comparing and contrasting about the work,lives and the impact on society of Kate Chopin and Winslow Homer - Research Paper Example However, the standard for a piece of work to qualify as art is the essence of aesthetics in the work. For instance, when a painter derives his imagination in the form of a painting, or an actor presents his work on a stage drama, or a writer consummates his feelings in the form of a story, these are all forms of art, and those producing such work with a sense of aesthetics are the artists. In this context, both Kate Chopin and Winslow Homer are distinguished artists in their respective fields with valuable contributions in the field. Kate Chopin was an American story writer and novelist, whose work consists of feminist elements. Her stories were targeted for almost all age groups, particularly for children, and were often published in magazines like the Atlantic Monthly and The Century Magazine. Her work led towards the attainment of the St Louis Walk of Fame Award for her diverse array of publications during the era (Tothe 1990). On the other hand, Winslow Homer was an American Landscape painter and also a printmaker. Working as a commercial illustrator, he eventually took up oil painting to produce studio work seeking advantage of the weight and density of the medium he was using. Later, he also utilized water colors for producing paintings and other studio works. One of his earliest works includes the painting of Prisoners from the front which was exhibited in Pari s. The main subject of interest was the life of the peasants and indulged into the marine themed paintings once he moved to Maine (Goodriche 1959). The greatest achievement of his work tends to be the commemorative stamp released by the US post office to honor his art. Though both the artists have immense contributions in the field of art during the initial phase of the twentieth century, yet their works differ to a large extent. On one hand where Chopin`s work focused on contemporary yet typical themes like

Healing hospital paradigm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healing hospital paradigm - Essay Example Healing hospitals avail a healing culture that aids patients to feel safe and comfortable. For instance, Mercy Gilbert Medical Centre focuses on delivering a healing facility, reinforced by a healing environment and healing culture grounded in three essential elements, namely: a healing physical milieu, the incorporation of work plan and environment, and a tradition of radical loving care. A Healing Physical Environment This concept dwells on healthcare personnel care for patients, in addition to the manner, in which healthcare personnel connect with the patient’s families and other caregivers. This encompasses developing an empathetic, affectionate, and gratifying setting that is calm and stress free. As a result, the loving, calm, and satisfying environment enables the patients and their families to manage tension accompanying their infirmity (Chapman, 2003). Hospitals should promote a serene environment that is free from physical turbulence such as strange sound or dull arr angement of hospital settings. The Integration of Work Design and Technology This element details the combination of work design and technology allows the medical providers to carry out their tasks more proficiently, besides providing confidentiality and security to the patients. The implementation of sophisticated technology aids in facilitating and sustaining a healing environment (Hutchinson, 2011). A Culture of Radical Loving Care This philosophy facilitates and reinforces the healing of patients through an all encompassing orientation that satisfies the patient’s bodily, psychological, and spiritual needs. Healing Hospital Paradigm Relationship to Spirituality Spirituality  infers an individual’s experience of meaning and purpose in life, a sense of association with people and things in the world. Healing is mainly spiritual, intangible, and experiential, comprising of integration of body, mind, and spirit (Puchalski & McSkimming, 2006). The integration avails t he individual with a sense of peace. Spirituality encompasses a belief system centering on intangible elements that convey vitality and meaning to life’s events. Spirituality is one of the significant factors that positively influence a patient’s potential health since the body, mind, and spirit work as one. Individuals are cared for and afforded support for not only their medical well being, but also their emotional and spiritual health. Challenges of Creating a Healing Environment Healthcare personnel mainly  diagnose and treat diseases, and may possess few skills on how to respond to the spiritual side of the patients. Furthermore, ethical practice demands that the physicians refrain from impinging their beliefs on patients. Acting within the boundaries of medical ethics, while responding to the spirituality of patients, may be a significant challenge to healthcare personnel. Similarly, the American culture of religious pluralism provides a broad range of belief s ystems and the physicians may not be expected to comprehend all the beliefs systems and practices of the diverse faith communities. Other challenges reported involve developing strategies to aid healthcare providers to differentiate spiritual care from  excellent customer service. There is a thin line between customer service

International Environment & Business and Europe Assignment

International Environment & Business and Europe - Assignment Example A few rounds of expansion have occurred, prompting the development of the Single Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al) The late promotion of ten new Member States significantly expanded the span of the Internal Market, while constituting in the meantime a test to its fitting working. From one perspective, the increase of the focal and eastern European nations has expanded the pool of shoppers and has furnished firms with extra chances to draw on a more extensive reach of near preferences portraying the diverse Member States. (ILZKOVITZ et al)This is a wellspring of further dynamism and proficiency in the Internal Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al)Then again, while the economic progressions prompted by this expansion have been consumed easily and there is no proof of problematic effects on the item and work markets, the expanded disparity among the Eu25 parts has enlarged the dangers of pressures inside the Internal Market (ILZKOVITZ et al) A Commission study inspected the economic measurement of the 2004 development. It reasoned that the developed Internal Market has gotten to be, notwithstanding the expanded economic disparity among its present parts, more coordinated and element. Specifically, the promotion of the focal and eastern European nations has expanded the potential profits of the Internal Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al)It has expanded the pool of purchasers yet it likewise furnishes firms with extra chances to draw on the more extensive reach of relative preferences that portray the diverse Member States.

International and Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International and Strategic Marketing - Essay Example The demographics that are within a local market differ from those in the global market. More important, there are changing trends that are based on specific psychological responses and trends by specific populations that a business has to be aware of before moving into the market. Those who are on the Internet constitute a different type of business than those who are in a locality (Calliau, 2010). Step 3: The unity of analysis to be examined will be the entertainment and event industry on the Internet and whether it can expand into a global market. There will be an understanding of how local businesses are working toward expansion in the entertainment arena into a global market. Step 4: The data availability is based on the current trends as well as the noted expansions of the entertainment industry. There will also be specific data available based on the trends with Internet music and entertainment. Step 6: The research will begin with identifying the current market online as well as what types of responses are occurring from demographics. This will be combined with defining a specific entertainment segment that is continuing to grow and how this is being affected by the changes in trends. The information will be compared to note how businesses are taking different concepts into consideration for the changing market. Step 7  : The data gathered shows that there is a growth in entertainment at a global level, specifically because of the Internet. Generation Y is changing the way entertainment is looked at, specifically because technology is used as a portal for entertainment and socialization. The statistics gathered are showing the online recreation is now a direct part of the younger generations and is providing for more growth with online use (Jones, Fox, 2009). The concept of using the Internet for entertainment also relies on changing factors that relate to why individuals use the

Cybersecurity Incident Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cybersecurity Incident - Research Paper Example Therefore, ensuring that all the stored data is secure and not accessible to everyone has become a prerequisite to almost everyone using the cyber systems to protect their data. The kinds of security incidents range from being minor invasion of a small virus into the computer networks to the major threat on the secrecy of the data available on the networks because of a much powerful and destructive virus attacking the softwares. In all these cases, strict check and reporting of the cyber incidents are mandatory (Shaw, 2006, p 461). One of such cyber security threats that have come up in the recent years includes the Stuxnet Virus. The Stuxnet Virus (Natarajan et al, 2011) was detected in the mid of 2010, this was a Windows computer worm that attacked industrial softwares and equipments. Computer worm is a computer program that produces various copies of itself, and through the help of the targeted computer network, it attacks other computers too in the same network (Natarajan et al, 2011). Computer worms can attack a number of computer softwares in the same network without any sort of user intermediation due to poor security systems of the targeted computers (Gingrich, 2011, pp 333). ... Moreover, Stuxnet was also the first computer breach to have a programmable logic controller (PLC) software root kit (Shaw, 2006) functioning with itself. The Stuxnet worm at first randomly attacks any software but then its specially designed pestware payload aids in aiming at only Siemens and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) softwares (Shaw, 2006). ‘Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)’ (Shaw, 2006) makes reference to industrial control systems that are computer systems, which look after plus regulate crucial industrial, infrastructural, or facility-based actions. Stuxnet corrupts programmable logic controller softwares by destroying the Step-7 software application (Shaw, 2006) operated to make schemes of the devices in operation. This hinders the softwares from working properly and affects the aimed softwares greatly. In contrast to most of the malware softwares, Stuxnet (Shaw, 2006) does not do much damage to the computers and networks that do not need the downright requirements of the targeted softwares that are set. Instead, it is technically designed software only attacks the networks and computers that stand up to the requirements configured into them. Although the Stuxnet worm attacks and destroys computers and networks without fail, it automatically makes itself inactive if the Siemens softwares are not detected on the invaded computers, this makes the attacking of the softwares very precise and only the sought after networks and computers and affected. Stuxnet worms (Shaw, 2006) can be apocalyptical for the infected computers; Stuxnet embodies self-protection shields within itself that curbs the attacked computers from transmitting the virus to more than three computers, moreover, it also weakens the security systems in

Gender, Power, Authority & Violence in Shakespearean Drama Essay

Gender, Power, Authority & Violence in Shakespearean Drama - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that in Shakespeare’s plays, clashes and conflicts arise between the members of the hierarchy when those below contradict their superiors or aspire to their positions. But the important conflicts are those which are between reality and appearance; love and friendship, male and female values and love and war. Shakespeare’s Othello, along with Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth is one of the four great tragedies, and thus a pillar of what most critics consider to be the apex of Shakespeare’s dramatic art. More than anything else that distinguishes Othello from the other tragedies is that it’s a tale of love and betrayal, secrets passion and intrigue. Iago, the villain uses Desdemona’s weakness and naivetà © and succeeds in convincing Othello about the infidelity of his young and beautiful wife with his favorite lieutenant, Michael Cassio. Desdemona is almost overly virtuous, which causes her to feel that she must defend Cassio and speak in a public sphere where necessary. She is stronger than Othello believes her to be and is not the private, withdrawn and a meek woman he would ideally like her to be. Desdemona, a young Venetian woman of high birth and good breeding marries Othello out of love. She is an ideal wife appreciated by everyone except the villain. Desdemona’s wifely loyalty and the physical abuse she withstands at the hands of her jealous and distrusting husband are issues that would have made headlines in today’s society. Her concern for Casio shows her generosity, for she will intercede for him with Othello. We believe her when she says that she does not know what it means to be unfaithful and defends herself by saying that the word ‘whore’ is not in her vocabulary. Though Othello loves his beautiful bride but does not know her that well. He is a strong leader, a great warrior, self-assured in his abilities to handle military matters but he is insecure about his personal qualities. He is unsure why Desdemona chose him for a husband and could only fathom one explanation, â€Å"She loves me for the dangers I have passed.†

Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

Literature - Essay Example However, reader’s expectations are not confirmed. Chaucer merely uses the features of the genres to communicate the messages of his own, to establish the themes and motives he is going to elaborate in his tales. The general prologue introduces the range of the thematic and stylistic elements developed in the collection. The reader can misunderstand the author’s message, misled by the generic forms represented in the prologue. At first, a reader is likely to concentrate on the gallery of portraits, perceiving them as a satirical representation of different social classes contemporary to Chaucer. Ian Johnston (1998) suggests that it is necessary to distinguish between character and thematic analysis. As a rule, critics focused on the character analysis of the prologue, ignoring the thematic approach, which is the consideration of ideas and leitmotivs and the way how they are ‘presented, modified, challenged and resolved by the end of the work’. From thematic perspective characterization plays a primary role in the presentation of coordinating ideas. However, one is to bear in mind, that, unlike philosophical works, works of fiction do not offer rational arguments (though may contain them to some degree). Thus, it is not right to reduce a work of fiction to some simple ‘moral ’. By this Johnston must mean that interpreting the general prologue as purely a work of satire we are likely to miss an opportunity to understand the real message of the author. First of all, it is necessary to focus on the famous opening lines (1-18). These lines imitate the opening of the thirteenth-century French Romance of the Rose, an allegorical dream vision and love romance which was the ‘best-seller’ of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. All the educated readers were familiar with that work, partially translated into English by Chaucer himself. Imitating the opening of the Romance, Chaucer plays with the reader’s expectations, suggests Debora B. Schwartz

Whoever Controls the Media Essay Example for Free

Whoever Controls the Media Essay In some countries, the media is controlled exclusively by large companies; in others it is the government that has this control. Often, in a war situation, one of the first casualties is the media, which is seized by one group or another. This gives some support to the idea that the media is a source of power and control. Whoever controls the media also has ultimate control over what is published or broadcasted and what is omitted. They can also add a certain prejudice or bias to their coverage of certain news stories depending on their own feelings about the matter. This is not a new problem, although the issue is perhaps more pressing now that the Internet and pay-TV have enabled these messages to be disseminated even further. However, we should remember that readers have their own ideas and opinions. You can control what is printed but you cannot control the opinions of your readers. I think the only positive here is that, nowadays, people seem to be much more cynical about what they read in the press or hear on television. In particular, when it comes to the tabloid press, people know that they have to take what they read with a grain of salt. In other words, they read knowing they may be being lied to. Perhaps it is of even greater concern that we have become so accepting of this form of censorship. The only thing that can be done to alter this situation is for the government to regulate the industry so that there is no longer a monopoly on media ownership. This also means that they have to allow and support a totally free press, even if this mean the government may be criticized or ridiculed within its pages.

SWOT and PESTEL Analysis of Seafood Restaurant

SWOT and PESTEL Analysis of Seafood Restaurant SUMMARY Jack Sprat is the owner of seafood restaurant in a coastal town. He is 60 year old and doctor has advised him to take rest so he had appointed a Manager to look after the business operation and he use to come to see the business once in a week. But once he handed over the business to the manager his business is not doing well and there is continuous declining in the business. So in order to find remedy owner has been approached to the author to analyse the case and suggest as what should be done to bring back the business of the restaurant. Author has analysed the business with the tools of business (case) analysis-SWOT, and PESTLE and further financial data has also been taken into consideration to find out the declining trend and come to a conclusion as why business is going down. In order to evaluate the business operation and put the findings in the report author has done extensive research-secondary research and analysed the case with his valuable suggestions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Author would like to convey his gratitude to those entire people who helped him to enhance his understanding of the case and analyzed the situation so that a valid conclusion of the case can be drawn. Author has completed this case successfully and has been presenting his findings with suggestion in this report. So author would like to thanks to the Module tutor for kind support and guidance. INTRODUCTION Jack Sprat is 63 year old owner of 60 seat licensed seafood restaurant that is situated in a costal town. Before starting this business Jack was simply a Manager at a local Bluebeckers Restaurant. But an inheritance left this restaurant to him. Since the opening of this restaurant business it has given very good return. The belief of Jack towards success f this business is the Maintenance of high standards in fod production and presentation. Other fact is Menu and beverage list has been fairly constant since beginning of this restaurant. Jack did not change menu and beverage list because business was giving modest return since beginning. But jack is not regular to the restaurant and he has appointed a Manager to manage the business operation and he use to come to the restaurant to see the business operation once in a week. This is because at this age (63) he has been suffering from health problem and his doctor has advised him to take rest. But business of this restaurant has gone down as soon as it was handed over to the manager. Absenteeism of the staff has been increased. Keeping in mind the remedy of the situation author has established aim and objectives of this report, here are the aim and objectives written in detailed: Aim of this report is to find remedy of the existing problem or discrepancies of the restaurant and give valuable suggestions to overcome from these problems so that business can be put on its old pattern-profitable. Objectives are: Finding most important problems Identification of further information that would be helpful in making realistic plans for the future of the business To list the priorities Drawing an action Plan The structure of this report is as follows: First of all main body has been presented wherein SWOT, PEST, and other detailed analysis has been done. Then conclusion has been drawn and bibliography (list of references) has been given followed by appendix section where additional informations has been provided. MAIN SECTION Aim and objective No.1: Finding important problems: Before providing solution of anything one has to find the problems first. So to find problem related to any business it is very first step to conduct SWOT analysis and PEST or PESTLE analysis. Before going for the SWOT analysis of the business concerned it is important to understand SWOT first. SWOT ANALYSIS is the detailed search and listing of factors from situational analysis that might or will impact the businesss strategy. Strategic marketing is based on the SWOT analysis. The process by which SWOT factors are derived is to carefully review the internal analysis for strengths and weaknesses, and the environmental analysis for opportunities and threats, and to then record. (Reich, Z.A, 1997) According to (Morrison, J 2002) The SWOT analysis is a commonly used planning tool, which assesses the firms strategic profile in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Focusing on both internal and external environments, it serves to highlight a firms distinctive competences, which will enable it to gain competitive advantage. Based on the above information from the scholars it is true that business environment can be divided into two part-internal and external environments. Internal environment consists of all factors that is internal part of the business. These internal factors are within the control of the business. Strength and Weaknesses of the business can be found in the internal environment of the business. External factors are those factors which are not within the control of the business and to be into existence business houses has to change in their internal policy and adjust itself to cope with the external environment factors. Opportunities and Threats are the factors that are part of external environment of a business. SWOT : Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat Analysis of Seafood Restaurant Business of Jack Sprat: STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Earlier this business was profitable It is established organization Maintaining high standard in food and presentation Staffs are familiar with their work Customers feel that restaurant is conveniently placed and charges reasonable price Owner is not able to give full time attention to the business Manager is less empowered-as he feels less scope has been given to him for the development of this business Number of staff has been increased-which is extra burden on payroll expenses of the business. No refurbishment done properly yearly Maintenance and Hygiene problem Insufficient fund/ resources for spending on maintenance and Hygiene Menu choice is stale and boring Improper management of food due to lack of proper forecasting of guests. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Restaurant is old so having established market Market Image is good- reasonable price and consistent standard Dilution of market share due to inability to refurbishment Environment Health officer may not be informal in future and there will be time when formal notice will be issued. PEST ANALYSIS Before analyzing PEST or PESTLE factors from a business point of view it is important to understand these factors: (Political, Economical, Socio cultural, Technological and Legal). A PEST analysis is an analysis of an external macro environment that affects all firms. Such external factors usually are beyond the firms control and sometimes present themselves as threats. For this reason, some say that pest is an appropriate term for these factors. However changes in the external environment also create new opportunities and letters sometimes are rearranged to construct the more optimistic terms of STEP ANALYSIS. Many macro environmental factors are country specific and the pest analysis will need to be a performed for all countries of interest. Political Factors Tax policy Employment laws Environmental regulations Trade restrictions and tariffs Political stability Economic Factors Economic growth Interest rates Exchange rates Inflation rate Social Factors Health consciousness Population growth rate Age distribution Career attitudes Emphasis on safety Technological Factors RD activity Automation Technology incentives Rate of technological change www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/ Accessed on 2/01/2011 Aim and objective No.2: Identification of further information that would be helpful in making realistic plans for the future of the business: Information needed towards market segmentation-target market: Information to the case is very important to analyze any business health or problem. It is equally important like medical tests are important for human body for remedy of any kind of complain of a patient. There are other tests or scanning is needed for business analysis. Market segmentation is one of them. Market segmentation: market consists of buyers differ in one or more ways. They may differ in their wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes and buying practices. Because buyers have unique needs and wants, each buyer is potentially a separate market. Ideally, then a seller might design a separate marketing program for each buyer. For example a caterer can customize the menu, entertainment, and the setting to meet the needs of specific clients. However, most companies are unable to offer complete segmentation. The cost of complete segmentation is high and most customers cannot afford completely customized products. Companies therefore, look for broad class of buyers who differ in their product needs or buying responses. The restaurant industry offers many examples of segmentation by a variety of variables. (kotler,p 2004) The reason behind knowledge of market segmentation is needed because until unless its not known that which segment is being targeted by the organization concerned (in this case Restaurant of Jack Sprat), it would be very difficult to compare the strength of that segment for the business. In this case its not given in the case so its important to analyse this business from its segment point of view. Information Needed for competitor analysis: To get success of the business its needed to deal with customers, suppliers, employees, and others. In almost all cases there will also be other organizations offering similar products to similar customers. These other organizations are competitors. Objective of the other organizations is the same as yours to grow, make money and succeed. Effectively, the businesses are at war fighting to gain the same resource and territory; the customer. And like in war, it is necessary to understand the enemy: How he thinks; What his strengths are; What his weaknesses are; Where he can be attacked; Where the risk of attack is too greatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. And so on. And like in war, the competitor will have secrets that can be the difference between profit and loss, expansion or bankruptcy for the business. Identifying these secrets is thus crucial for business survival. (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com) accessed on 2/01/2011 Other information needed is about its competitors. Information of competitors is very important to know the business of competitors and further business concerned can be compared with the competitors. So competitor analysis is very important. Aim and objective No.3: To list the priorities: First of all instant action should be taken to solve Hygiene problem. Proper forecasting of guests so that underproduction and overproduction both can be kept under control Extra manpower has to be reduced so that there will be less burden on payroll cost Choice of menu has to be increased Manager should be empowered or can be changed (as information is not given properly and in detailed so it is impossible to say to change) Somehow owner has to be in touch even over the phone to monitor the business operation and if possible frequency to visit may be increased. Local bank should be approached for short term loan for the refurbishment activities. Aim and objective No.4: Drawing an Action Plan: Action plan is a process that includes assessments of own strengths, available resources and market opportunities. There must be idea about marketing objective of the organization concerned then a plan can be prepared and further implemented to achieve the determined objective. In other words these informations are basic and needed at very first step towards making action plan: Market and trading environment of the business concerned Decision about market business is targeting to Knowledge about differentiation or advantage of uniqueness of own product and services Deciding marketing mix Estimation of Fund etc. ACTION PLAN: PRODUCT: Option in Menu list will be given PRICING : May charge little higher than what has been charging PROMOTION: There is need to promote the product and create awareness to remove the negative image of the organization. So it can be done through normal aids of advertisement-News papers or T.V Channels. Through T.V Channels it may little costly affair in that point of view daily is better. Other Actions to be taken: It could have opened even on Sunday to attract customers want to utilize their holidays. So it will be open all 7 days. Fund should be managed instantly- It can be done by approaching Commercial Banks for short term loans. Refurbishment will have to be done as soon as loan is approved. Employees have to be re-motivated so that absenteeism of staff can be kept under control. REVENUE (SALES) POINT OF VIEW: Food sales has been increased in 2007-8 by 4.3% compared to 2006-7, and it gone down in the financial year 2008-9 by 3.95% compared to 2007-8 sales of food. Liquor Sales has been increased in 2007-8 by 5.97% compared to 2006-7 and further it increase by 15.59% in the year 2008-9 compared to 2007-8. Overall Total Sales has been increasing in the financial year by 4.67% in the financial year 2007-8 compared to 2006-7, and further increased by 6.57% in the financial year 2008-9 compared to 2007-8. DIRECT COST POINT OF VIEW: In the financial year 2006-7 food cost was 42.05% of its sales and in 2007-8 it became little favorable by going down to 41.16% of its sales figure and in the year 2008-9 in again gone up to 43.63% Direct cost of Liquor is 59.72% of its sales in the financial year 2006-7, and 57.70% in 2007-8 and further 57.91% in 2008-9. So its favorable as its in declining trend. Total direct cost is 54.01%, 55.11% and 52.88% in the financial year 2006-7, 7-8, and 2008-9 respectively which also seems favorable because in 7-8 it gone little up but again it gone down by good margin-around 2 to 3% GROSS PROFIT POINT OF VIEW: Gross profit of food is 57.95%, 58.84% and 56.37% in the financial year 2006-7, 7-8, 8-9. This shows increase in 7-8 and further decline in 8-9. Gross profit of Liquor is 40.28%, 42.30% and 42.09% in the financial year 6-7, 7-8, and 2008-9 respectively. Overall it is in favorable trend. Gross profit in the financial year 2006-7 is 54.01%, 55.11% in 2007-8 and 52.88% in 2008-9 which seems declining trend. In the year 2007-8 it gone up but in 208-9 it came down. This is because there was declining of sales of food in the financial year 2008-9 by 3.95%, otherwise sale of liquor in this financial year was good and direct costs were also behaving favorably. INDIRECT EXPENSES POINT OF VIEW: There are three component of indirect expenses-labour, overheads and operating expenses and maintenance expenses. Amount spent in labour is in increasing order i.e., 29.76%, 31.51% and 33.21% in the year 6-7, 7-8, and 2008-9 respectively. This shows restaurant is spending more % every year in its staffing. Overheads and Operating expenses seems within control as its 8.78%, 7.21% and 8.36% in the year 2006-7, 2007-8, and 2008-9 respectively. Maintenance expenses is 1.61% of sales in the financial year 2006-7, 1.40% in the financial year 2007-8 and 0.91% of sales of financial year 2008-9. This shows that organization is spending very less on maintenance expenses. Overall total indirect expenses is 40.15% of its sales in the financial year 2006-7, 40.12% in 2007-08 and gone up in the financial year 2008-9 to 42.48% NET PROFIT POINT OF VIEW: Net profit is 13.86%, 14.99% and 10.40% in the financial years 2006-7, 7-8, and 8-9 respectively. This shows that Net profit has going down, and in the financial year its gone down with huge gap compared to previous years percentage. Overall its a matter of discussion and management should pay attention to the indirect costs as percentage of indirect cost is very high. As gross profit is in 50% so almost 40% of sales are being spent for indirect expenses. Although management is not spending much in maintenance component of indirect expenses but other components i.e., overhead and operating expense, and payroll expenses are very high that is the reason Net profit of the restaurant is not attractive. CONCLUSION Author has analysed the case of Jack Sprats restaurant and found that major problem is its hygiene and maintenance and indirect expenses. These two of the factors has to be kept under control and converted into favorable mode only then this organization can earn profit like previous time. There are other areas also that needs attention i.e., arrangement of fund, manpower management, empowering manager etc. BIBLIOGRAPHY Britton, C and Worthington. I (2003) The business environment, 4th Edition, UK:Prentice hall. Hooley.G(2004) Marketing strategy and competitive positioning, 3rd edition: UK: Prentice Hall Kotler, P. (2004) marketing for hospitality and tourism, 3rd Edition, Delhi:Person Luck.D and Rubin, S.R (1996) Marketing Research,7th Edition, USA:Prentice hall Morrison, J (2002) the international business environment, 1st Edition, New York; Pal grave. Reich, Z.A (1997) Marketing Management for the hospitality Industry,1st Edition,: Wiley and sons Canada. Wearne.N (2001) Hospitality Management, 1st Edition, New Delhi: Global www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/ Accessed on 2/01/2011 http://dspace.dial.pipex.com) Accessed on 2/01/2011

Essay --

In 1933 to 1945, Germany was under the rule of Adolf Hitler, the man who commanded the Nazi party. Their goal was to get rid of all of the ‘undesirables’, or people seen as lower than ‘true Germans’ in Europe. Most of these people were Jewish but political prisoners, Gypsies, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses were also targeted. These people were shipped to concentration camps, camps where people were detained and confined, typically under harsh conditions. The first of these made, and the model for all others, was Dachau, located about ten miles north of Munich, Germany. It is approximated that over 50,000 people met their deaths in the Dachau camp, which would be the amount of people that would fit into a sold out Yankee Stadium. The Holocaust horrors extended beyond the largely targeted Jews, as evidenced by the treatment of the largely civilian population of prisoners at the Dachau concentration camp. The first prisoners to arrive at the camp came on March 22, 1933 and were under command of SS Officer Hilmar WÃ ¤ckerle, the man who established rules that instituted terror as a way of life for the prisoners at camp. Many of these prisoners consisted of social democrats and German Communists who had an easier time at the camp than later prisoners. Long term imprisonments often lead to death but many of the early prisoners were released after serving their sentence and were considered to be rehabilitated. But even in this early stage of the camp and the party, laws were changing to fit the Nazis ways. Theodor Eicke took over control three months after the camp opened, due to WÃ ¤ckerle being charged with the murder of a prisoner. Hitler overruled the charges and declared that concentration camps were out of the realm ... ...ite, lining the path are twelve information panels. The almost three kilometer path represents the path taken by most prisoners when they arrived in the camp. The camp also has an archive on site that is open for visitors, containing papers and documents from the camp when it was open. Currently housing over 6,000 pictures, papers like maps and blueprints, 350 phonograms, and about 1,200 films, there are many different sources in the archive and attached library. These consist of eye witness statements, documents about the development of the camp and the International Prisons Committee, which was established after the liberation. The memorial was made so the people of today could look back and remember the extreme amount of people that had their lives turned upside down and lost by the Nazi Party and to teach people so the same tragedy does not repeat itself.

Choosing a Location for a Burger King fast food restaurant versus a car

The nature of a Burger King restaurant and a car factory are both very different as they are both different services, therefore there will be many varying factors that need to be considered when choosing an appropriate location for siting either of these. Burger King provides a service to the public, therefore it lies in the tertiary sector, whilst a car factory is a manufacturing business, which provides cars for there company. Every business needs to be located, but this has to be done carefully, as it is very expensive to reverse. The main factors which will influence a businesses decision to locate in a certain area are, competition, costs of the area, government incentives, availability of labour, proximity to materials and market. The factors that both businesses will definitely need to consider are the costs of the area and availability of labour. Firstly, the business will need to be located in an area which is relatively inexpensive as they do not want to have a large expense of rents and rates going out of the business every month. This will reduce the potential funds...

Satellite Radio :: Technology Essays

Satellite Radio When I drive my car around town running errands and going from place to place, it’s nice to listen to the radio. Now since this distance I am traveling seems to be within a 30-40 mile radius, flipping through the stations is not much of a problem for me. Now on the other hand, I do travel out of town frequently, and I hate it when I want to listen to the radio and there is no signal. The reason why none of us can is because radio signals don’t carry much farther than the town’s radius. Trying to find a station in the static is very annoying. Most of the time (especially in Iowa it seems) there are no stations for miles. Now who would honestly like to travel like that? Not me that is for sure. There is an alternative though. It’s not very expensive to get either. Satellite radio is the key to traveling without boredom. Satellite radio’s signals are cast from over 22,000 miles away from the earth’s surface. There is no static interferen ce either! From personal experience, I have sold these radios for a company. I don’t want to persuade anyone either way towards one brand or the other. AS I have researched though, there are subtle differences in each provider. For instance, if price is an issue, there are plenty of options that are affordable. The bills are monthly for the two that I have looked into, but depending on the different perks, the price can really make all the difference. â€Å"Radio to the Power of X†, is the slogan used for XM satellite radio. There is no contract requirement any longer to listen to premium quality music, with few to zero commercials. It’s only 9.99$ per month for any service plan. Here are a few perks for XM radio; †¢ 68 commercial free music channels. †¢ 33 channels of sports, news, talk & entertainment †¢ 21 channels with instant traffic and weather †¢ Delphi Unit-portable or fixed in a car. †¢ Receiver lists the artist and song. †¢ 2 satellites orbiting the earth †¢ Only 9.95$ per month These are just a few of the perks that XM has to offer. XM has teamed up with pioneer, Jensen, and audiovox to create the car decks that are â€Å"XM ready† so the price of the equipment can be very affordable. The Delphi unit is a little more expensive, but depending on when you want to listen to radio, whether it is at home or in the office, this unit is a prime choice.

The Effect of Pollution on Mount Everest

Nepal is the small, one of the poorest country of the world. Yet it is very rich in natural resources and scenic beauty including highest ranges of Himalayas. Nepal is the home of the eight highest mountains out often in the world. Mountaineers, trekkers and skilled professionals regularly visit to scale the Mountains in Nepal, which has increased the number of tourist in Nepal. In the last decade, people's attraction toward the mountaineering has increased a lot, by which number of climbers visiting Mount Everest has also been increased.Due to the increasing umber of climbers in the Everest, pollution in and around the Everest has increased and it needs a special attention to prevent from the pollution. Everest attracts people of all around the world. In the past only few climbers who know well about the mountains used to come but today most of the interested people who have enough economic sources visit Himalayas to climb the mountain. According to Norbu Sherpa, a mountain tourist guide, people come to climb Everest as they want to be famous scaling the tallest mountain in the world (Wawahare).In the early 2000s the number f tourist arriving to Nepal was around 400,000 but in last two years people flowing to Nepal has increased rapidly reaching around 900,000 nearly triple of starting 2000s as per the statistics given by the Nepal Tourism Statistics in 2012 (Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation ). As the numbers of climbers has increased, pollution in the highest portion of the peaks has been increased.Pollution in the Everest includes foods, plastics, cans, gas tanks, papers, climber's equipment, human excreta, and also dead bodies of climbers. According to Norbu Sherpa in the article, â€Å"A Conversation with: Mountain Guide Norbu Sherpa†, if the flow of the climbers is frequent, more and more waste is created (Wawahare). The article â€Å"Everest Maxed Out† published on June 2013 in National Geographic Magazine by Mark Jenkins pro vides information about his climbing on Everest and the flow of climbers he saw near camp Ill and pollution in the Everest.Jenkins says, â€Å"The two standard routes, the Northeast Ridge and the Southeast Ridge, are not only dangerously crowded but also disgustingly polluted, with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human excrement befouling the high camps. And then there are the deaths. † Pollution due to death of climbers happens especially due to certain change in weather and climbers who is less experienced or trained. Despite of being polluted, Everest fascinates and attracts the climbers toward it every year.As the increasing numbers of trekkers and climbers in the Everest has led to the pollution, government should try to clean up all the wastes in the Everest utilizing the revenue they had earned from the tourism industry. Norbu says, the government earnings through tourism has not been utilize in mountains nor for benefit of Sherpas (Wawahare). Gover nment should make strict rules and laws to punish the people who makes pollution in the Everest.If the Climbers did not bring back their all used equipment's and the trash from Everest they should lose their deposit money and Sherpas should be rewarded if they brought wastes to the lower base of Everest. And also government, mountaineering agencies should limit the number of people climbing the mountain in every season or month which will not only helps to control pollution but also maintains the traffic Jams in Everest. A climbers, guides and Sherpas should be provided trainings to handle the severe eather condition in mountain so that deaths in the mountains decrease.Decreasing the number of deaths and limiting the number of climbers on Everest pollution will be controlled and also government needs to be aware about the pollution on Everest and utilize their revenue for reducing pollution in mountains. Everest is one of the main factor that world recognizes Nepal, so every concern ed individual as well as government and agencies should control pollution. Controlling pollution it will not only preserve the beauty of Everest but also more people can have the glory to scale the Everest in future.

Did Life Improve For Black Americans

The NAACP formed in 1909 by William Du Bois, they were active against racial injustice between sass and sass. They had various campaigns one mainly being the main opponent of the UK Klux Klan in 1 sass. They had also stopped various opposition in which they had felt it was a correct decision, an example is blocking a nomination of judge, John Parker, a known racist. They had also pressured the Supreme Courts which ensured black Americans have the same quality of education as white Americans. The Second World War in 941 had many positive and negative changes.The Jim Crow Law which segregated the units in the IIS army there was a black only unit in which they weren't allowed to combat in before 1944 but were offered jobs to support the army such as transport supplies. Although discrimination occurred, US air forces didn't allow black pilots but the Tuskegee allowed them to have black pilots at the end of the war consisting of 1000 black pilots. Education was difficult for black America ns in the 1 sass and 1 9605 because of the struggle f equal education in which in 1952, 20 US states had segregated public schools.Linda Brown had to walk 20 blocks to her school which consisted of black Americans even though there was a school for white pupils near her home. In September 1 957, 9 African-Americans students entered a white only Central High School in Little Rock this made President Eisenhower respond by sending 1000 federal troops which brought the media involved and increased the publicity to the injustices of segregation. Resilience in 195(Yes were increasing, Malcolm X whose father was murdered by white Supremes had joined the Nation of Islam and changed his surname to ‘X'.Although he rejected Martin Luther Kings speech and ideology he believed violence was the only way to secure a black nation. Many young black Americans were frustrated in Kings slow response and with the Malcolm confidence in speaking; he attracted them to support him. As a result, he enc ouraged the self-esteem of black Americans and his ideology was supported by Black Panthers and Power.

Case Analysis: Profitability of Wendy’s Chilli Essay

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s restaurant, opened his first restaurant on November 15, 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. Dave was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 2, 1932. He was adopted at six weeks old by Rex and Auleva Thomas. Dave moved from state to state with his father when his mother passed at the age of 5. At the age of 12, Dave obtained his first job at a restaurant in Knoxville. Thus, he began his love for the restaurant business. At the age of 15, Dave dropped out of high school to work full time in the restaurant business. While working full-time at the Hobby House restaurant, Dave met Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC). In 1962, Dave was offered the opportunity to turn around four failing Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. Utilizing his past experience, Dave turned the restaurants around, sold them back to KFC, and immediately became a millionaire all at the age of 35. He then co-founded Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. Dave again capitalized on his experiences in restaurant management when he decided to establish his own restaurant. Since hamburgers were his favorite food, Dave decided to start a restaurant that would serve a quality hamburger without a 30 minute waiting period. Named for his eight year old daughter, Dave started Wendy’s. In order to focus on quality and remain competitive, the menu was limited to four basic products excluding beverages. The product line included hamburgers, chili, french fries, and Wendy’s Frosty Dairy Dessert. Wendy’s hamburgers patties consisted of ? pound of 100 percent pure domestic beef, served as a square shaped patty rather than a round shaped patty, and served â€Å"hot ‘n juicy† in accordance with individual customer orders. The french fries were sliced slightly longer and thicker from high quality potatoes and cooked in specially-designed fryers to allow the inside to be cooked without burning the outside. Wendy’s Frosty Dairy Dessert is a thick blend of vanilla and chocolate flavors and must be served with a spoon as a dessert rather than a straw. Wendy’s chili is the fourth basic menu item. Whenever the cook overestimated customer demand, beef patties stayed on the grill beyond the recommended time. This caused the beef patties to be well done. To avoid customer dissatisfaction, Wendy’s used the â€Å"well done† beef patties that had been refrigerated from the previous day and could not be served to customers. Each eight ounce serving contained about a quarter pound of ground beef. Wendy’s chili is prepared by the assistant manager or an experienced crew member using an original recipe. The labor cost for the assistant manager and crew member is listed in Table 1. The cost to prepare the chili is listed in Table 2 below. Table 3, illustrates the direct cost associated with the production of chili. Table 1. Labor costs for assistant manager or a crew member to prepare chili in 1978 Table 2. Ingredients and costs in 1978. Table 3. Direct cost for 1978 In the event of a shortage of overcooked patties, beef patties were cooked for the sole purpose of inclusion in the chili. In order to prepare a pot of chili, it took 10 to 20 minutes of preparation time. This process required chopping the meat into small pieces, adding the other ingredients and stirring the batch six times. Sixty percent of the total annual sales for chili occurred during the months from October to March. The chili product has the lowest gross profit margin. The 1978 labor and additional direct costs are listed in Table 4 below. Table 4. Cost of Chili Preparation, Overall Cost of Chili and Profit of Chili. In November 1979, Wendy’s became the first national restaurant chain to introduce a Salad Bar on the menu. Initial test marketing of the salad bar concept had been successful. This innovative idea also posed a dilemma. If Wendy’s was to follow their limited menu concept, the salad bar would potentially replace chili since it had the lowest profit margin on a full cost basis. Then, management would be faced with containing the cost of the overcooked patties that resulted from overestimating customer demand and cooking too many hamburgers. While hamburgers comprised 55 percent of total sales, chili sales comprised of five percent of total sales. The chili was most popular between the months of October through March. During these months, 60 percent of the total annual chili sales occurred. Management was faced with deciding which product would be best to sustain long-term profitability. Wendy’s revenues were derived from the sales made from company-owned restaurants, from royalties paid to the company by owners of franchised restaurants, from fees paid by the owners of franchised restaurants for technical assistance and from interest earned on investments. By 1978, Wendy’s operated 1,407of restaurants. Of this number, 1,119 stores were owned by franchisees. Franchised stores were built to a uniformed specification and were not located within the same market areas as company-owned stores. Most restaurants were located in urban or densely populated suburban areas; a large volume of customers was a primary factor for Wendy’s success. Each franchisee paid a $15,000 fee for technical assistance prior to the opening of a restaurant for services such as site selection, construction plans, initial training for owners and staff members, advertising materials, national purchasing agreements and operations manuals. For 1978, company-owned stores generated 84. 13% of revenue, royalties generated 12. 65% of revenue, technical assistance fees generated 1. 87% of revenue, and interest from investments generated 1. 35% of revenue. The income statement from Moody’s is listed in Table 5 below (Moody’s, 1980, p. 1565). Table 5. By focusing on a product differentiation marketing strategy, quality food, quick service and reasonable prices, Wendy’s was able to achieve its financial success and to grow rapidly at a time when the fast-food industry appeared to be saturated. The adoption of the limited menu concept also contributed to this success. Having a limited menu concept allowed Wendy’s to concentrate on the quality of a few menu items and allowed Wendy’s to quickly prepare a meal to the customer specifications. The limited menu concept does not allow for changes in consumer preferences nor does it allow Wendy’s to compete with other fast food restaurants serving items such as chicken. In 1970, Wendy’s broke new grounds by opening a second restaurant with a unique feature. This restaurant featured a drive-thru window with a special grill within the pick-up window. Wendy’s was able to achieve success in their drive-thru window concept, because their product was served fresh from the special grill within a short span of time. While other restaurants offered a standard product through their dive-thru window, Wendy’s differentiated their concept by offering a product that was prepared fresh to the customer’s specifications. Therefore, the product delivery time did not increase when preparing the order as requested by the customer, whether in the dining room or through the pick-up window. Wendy’s used a product differentiation approach for their hamburgers. By marketing the hamburgers as a square patty rather than a round patty, Wendy’s was successful in advertising their hamburgers as â€Å"old-fashioned. † Wendy’s also cooked each hamburger in a manner that provided a customized hamburger for each customer quickly and at a reasonable price. Innovations have been the key to Wendy’s growth. Their innovative style of management has made Wendy’s a leader in the fast-food industry. By catering to young adults and adults, Wendy’s has attempted to create brand loyalty among their target customers. Wendy’s recognized the dynamic needs of their customers and consequently offered a dining experience that emphasized quality food, fast and friendly service within a setting that is common throughout all their restaurants. Wendy’s has made growth a priority in their strategic plan in order to achieve high employee retention and satisfaction rates. According to Doorley and Donovan, â€Å"employee satisfaction rises when a company grows, probably because people experience new challenges and are excited about being on a winning team (Swanson, 2001). † The introduction of a salad bar will contribute to a diversification strategy that will also augment their innovative approach. Chart 1. Sales comparison of Wendy’s and competitors. Quality was a foundational component in the first Wendy’s restaurant. This was due largely to uncompromising passion for quality by the founder, Dave Thomas. Quality still remains the top priority in the food, people and service industry. The mission statement of Wendy’s is: â€Å"To deliver superior quality products and services for our customers and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships (Wendy’s, 2004). † The vision statement of Wendy’s is: â€Å"to be the quality leader in everything we do (Swanson, 2001). † This core value has guided the organization and helps to define the corporate culture and distinguished Wendy’s from the competitors. Business Creations recommends Wendy’s pursue adding salads to their limited menu concept; however, this should be done as a menu item rather than as a Salad Bar concept. Since Wendy’s has placed a high emphasis on quality, a Salad Bar concept introduces various risk factors which may cause dissatisfaction among the customers. Risk factors such as foreign objects falling into items on the Salad Bar and the food area remaining sanitized are just two of the risk factors. Also, the Salad Bar concept would require additional labor to replenish the stock. To maintain a consistent standard, Wendy’s should prepare the salad and sell the item as a pre-packaged menu item. We also recommend Wendy’s further evaluate removing chili from the menu in the 128 restaurants in the southern states during the summer months since sales decrease to 40 percent during this time frame. Excess beef patties can then be used as a topping for a salad, such as a Taco Salad. References: Hoover’s fact sheet. (2003). Retrieved from: www. hoovers. com/wendy’s/–ID__11621–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml, www. hoovers.com/sonic/–ID__13112–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml, www. hoovers. com/krystal/–ID__15659–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml, www. hoovers. com/burger-king/–ID__54531–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml, www. hoovers. com/mcdonald’s/–ID__10974–/free-co-factsheet. xhtml on May 2, 2004. Moody’s OTC Industrial Manual. (1980). New York, NY: Moody’s Investors Service, 1565. Swanson, B. (2001). â€Å"New strategic plan combines the best of Wendy’s and Tim Hortons. † Wendy’s Magazine. 13. â€Å"Wendy’s strategic plan†. Retrieved from www. wendy’s-invest. com on May 2, 2004.

Mr Taha Uppal

Strategies towards betterment for team management The research will be based on the following questions: How can we eliminate the harmful factors of staff management I. E performance appraisal? How can the employee's play an important part for the organizational success? What are the feedbacks usually received by the employer? 1. 1 INTRODUCTION TO MARKS AND SPENCER: Marks and Spencer also popularly known as M is British based clothing and food retailer headquartered in the city of Westminster, London, United Kingdom.It has more than 700 outlets located all over the United Kingdom while 300+ stores are coated all over the world. Most of them are located in the European countries, like Hungary, Greece, Czech Republic and Romania etc. Marks & Spencer is also trying to expand in the Asian markets with quite a few stores opening in India and China recently. Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer founded M in the year 1884 in a city of England, Leeds.According to BBC news, Marks and Spencer is d oing better in their food department as compared to their general merchandise as the turnover is split in 54% and 46% respectively. Marks and Spencer aims to provide a very high quality DOD to their customers, that is why, it is one of the most successful food retailers in the United Kingdom. The well known brands, which sell their products with the brand name M are Autograph, Indigo collection, Classic collection, Collection and lastly blue harbor. 1. INTRODUCTION TO PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Performance appraisal or performance review is an analysis of an employee's work habits undertaken at a fixed point in time to determine the degree to which stated objectives and expectations have been reached. Performance appraisal or review is very beneficial and important for the evaluation of the staff and of course for the effective management. Appraisals are of great help regarding organization's employee and also play a vital role in improving organizational performances.Formal performance appraisals are conducted every year normally in the last half of the year to review how the organization is performing and what strategies should be undertaken to improve the organizations performance. It is a straight line process for example the staff is appraised by their managers, the managers are appraised by the directors, and the directors are appraised by the Coo's who are generally appraised by the founder or the chairman of the company. 2. 1 TYPES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: The different types of performance appraisals are formal annual performance appraisals, handwriting analysis, skill or Job related tests, informal one to one review discussions, probationary reviews, survey of opinion of others who have been dealing with the staff, counseling meetings, observation on the Job and assessment centers including observed group exercises and test presentations. 1. 2. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS: Performance appraisal is a process which takes place quarterly or yearly and is the process of interaction between the employees and their managers. In this process the performance of the employee is assessed, with the manager telling or describing the employees their weaknesses and strengths and also identifying the opportunities that how can the employee improve their performance within the organization. Performance appraisal is the least liked responsibility any manager has to perform.The first step which comes in performance appraisal is review preparation. In this process the manager makes the objectives that the organization wants to meet in the future. An analysis of the employees is then taken out because employees or individuals must know what the organization is expecting from them and how they can work to achieve the objectives stated by the firm. Step two in performance appraisal is the assessment. This step is all about giving the timely feedback as it has proved to be very beneficial for the organization.For instance if an employee works well to achieve an objective, the positive feedback should be given to them as soon as possible rather than waiting for weeks to let them know as it might have a negative effect on their confidence as well as performance level. Step three is reviewing communication. This is all about reviewing the past and the current performance of the employee and if the performance is not up to the mark the manager should politely explain them that what should be done to improve their performance. Step four in the process is appropriate setting.Make sure that the atmosphere where the manager is going to deliver the appraisal is very friendly and welcoming. No threats should be given to the employee as this might De-motivate them and as a result they may not be able to perform 100%. Step five in the process is delivering, for instance it Leary explains the appraisal in simple language as the usage of the code words or difficult words might make it difficult for them (staff or employee) to understand it pr operly and they may have confusion which might proved to be harmful for the employee and also for the organization.The final step in this process is encouragement. At the end of the process the manager's responsibility is to encourage the employee and boost their confidence by adding words like we have faith in you or we trust your abilities or you are capable. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 0 INTRODUCTION In this chapter the past and the current strategies of Marks & Spencer will be discussed and in the end of this chapter we will also give a brief explanation about how employer can improve their Performance appraisal (PA) process.There will also be discussions on the employees and the manager roles that how can they contribute for a better service and reputation of the organization. First of all we will talk about the staff management strategies of Marks & Spencer for instance, how they benefited from those strategies, what were the drawbacks of those strategies and what did Mark s & Spencer did to solve those issues or problems arising by implementing those strategies.Performance appraisal helps in evaluating the employee's performance as it gives a clear light on how an employee can improve their performance and skills. However, performance appraisal in depth will be discussed this chapter. 2. 1 THE EVOLUTION OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Sometime near World War 1, (WAD Scott) has the credit to present the world with what performance appraisal is. However, performance appraisal was known by the mid asses and became very popular in the organization or companies.McGregor (1957) also played a vital role in discussing about performance appraisal in sass's and ass's. It's a process by which the individual tries to look in the future with some valuable assumptions and to plan what should be done in the future to meet their goals. Performance appraisal helps in goal setting. In the year 1970, this process of performance appraisal became more widespread and many of th e firms started using this process in order to gain success however, by practicing this process a large number of legal cases were brought.In the years sass's and sass's the process of performance appraisal became very popular and according to Williams (1998) it improved the performance up to a certain extent and also generated motivation which is very useful for an organization. According to Fletcher (2008), performance appraisal is conducted differently in the Western and the Asian cultures however; both of these cultures use this process and are benefiting from it despite the fact that around 90% or more staff doesn't like this process. 2. 2 WHY IS PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SO NECESSARY?Questions like why performance appraisal is used in companies when it did not exist in the past and the companies were still doing great? Why is it so important to use performance appraisal? Can't an organization run efficiently and effectively without the performance appraisal system? Weiss and Buckl ey (1998) tried to give an answer for this by stating that performance appraisal is very useful because it gives an idea to the employees how can they improve their performance and also this process helps in rising their commitment towards their organization.There is great importance of performance appraisal within the firm. The organization whether small or big, private or government or any other type of firm should be exempt from having a formal performance appraisal (PA) program. PA process has benefits like improved immunization within the firm, addressing the problem and tries to resolve them through this process of PA and gives the employee confidence and boosts their morale.However, while planning performance appraisal process the employer should bear in mind that it is a slow and time consuming process and there might be some obstacles during the process which for some time may make this process even slower than expected. We can see the companies who have introduced this pro cess of performance appraisal are the ones who do the most business in their respected fields such as Ezra, Louis Button, Marks & Spencer, Gucci, Hugo Boss etc.When employees know that they are an important part of an organization and all their suggestions or ideas are valuable they even work harder so that they can get promotions or there may be an increase in their salaries and this can only be done by performance appraisal process. PA process not only identifies the training needs within an organization or firm but also identifies the hidden talent which may have a very positive effect on the firm's reputation.For instance if the staff is highly trained they are in a better position to deal with all their customers which plays a very positive role towards the success of an organization. . 3 PURPOSE OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: The most effective purpose to use performance appraisal is to improve the performance of the employees who are working for an organization. There are two most important purposes for which the performance appraisal is used one of which is maintenance of organization control and secondly to measure the efficiency with which the company's human resources are being used. Cummings 1973) however, there are other purposes of performance appraisal as well for instance it helps in improving the morale of the employees working for the organization, more importantly also identifying when does the staff or employees need training, communication improvements, counseling and setting targets which the organization aims to meet (Britton and Gold 2003-04). As discussed above performance appraisal is used to determine the strengths and weaknesses off the employees and providing them with the best training in order for them to give their best at work.However, by conducting the performance appraisal process both the organizations and the employees have advantages for example McGregor (1972) in his paper ‘An uneasy look at performance appraisal' stated that performance appraisal meets the needs of OTOH the employees and the organization however, the difference is it meets three needs in total one for which is organization and the other two for the employees or the individual. Bowels and Coats (1993) conducted a survey which was sent to 250 West midland companies in the year 1992, where the organization were asked the question on the effectiveness of performance appraisal in the organization.However, in the results they found out that the performance appraisal plays an effective role to improve the communication skills of the employees and also improves the communication between the employees and the employer which has many benefits costly in favor of the organization. On the other hand it was very useful for when and how the training is needed for a number of employees to improve their skills. However, around 90% of the employees did not favor the performance appraisal process and commented it has certainly no use and is time was ting.Many organizations want to become the best in productivity or simply want to produce more and quality products so in order to achieve all of these objectives organizations choose and introduce performance appraisal process within the organization as this is the most successful way of achieving goals such as higher productivity or lean reduction. This process of performance appraisal gives a clear direction that where the organization is heading towards or what are the goals the organization or the firm.As discussed before, it not only measures a firm's employee's performance but also gives a clear picture of an organization's performance. The example to illustrate this is performance appraisal measures the work done by the employees and also the organization on a weekly or quarterly basis. An organization can have all the information of their employees and their productivity by using this process. Another useful purpose of performance appraisal is that it gives a clear picture to the employees that where do they stand and what are they supposed to do in order to improve their skills and position within the organization.This way the organization can have a full advantage of their work force because if their employees need training, they train them and as a result the work force becomes very useful and experienced which in the long run is very beneficial for the organization as well as the employees. 2. 4 BEHAVIOR MAINTENANCE MODEL (CUMMINGS AND SWABS): The IBM model which was presented by Cummings and Swabs attempts to show owe the employees are motivated and opt to perform well within the organization.In their model they tried to explain the IBM model in four different steps. The first step in this model is goal aspirations which lead to goal attainment. When the goal attainment is achieved by the employee it gives them a sense of Job satisfaction and they become more focused on their Job and try to work even more hard. However, when the employee is satis fied with their Job they become automatically motivated towards their work which is very effective for the organization. 2. A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN MARKS AND SPENCER: performance appraisal give Marks & Spencer all the required information about their employees as it helps M&S to help improve their skills through training and making sure that they are capable enough for the Job they are being trained for. As most of the big companies or retailers conduct performance appraisal once or twice every year, Marks & Spencer is also one of the British companies known for conducting performance appraisal twice every year.In this process the employees get feedback from their managers about their performance and if the performance of the employees is not up to the mark they are suggested with different strategies to adopt n order to improve their performance as it is believed that the employees play the most important part in an organization's success and thus are the mo st important and effective assets of any organization like Marks & Spencer. The performance records are encouraged to use by the employees as it plays an important factor in setting up the personal objectives that support their continued development.Whenever an appraisal system is carried out at Marks & Spencer (normally takes every 12 months to conduct an appraisal) discussions are being made about the current progress of the company as well as the employees and a lot of new ideas are narrated about how to improve the concerned areas within the organization. These meetings are always done by the managers who work in M regarding their employees and are kept confidential. If any of the employees or workers at M do not perform well they are given more training and make sure that they understand how the organization works and operates.Rewards are given to the employees who prove that they are working best and the organization is benefiting from their efforts which are being put in. For instance in Marks and Spencer if the sales exceed the expected number or are higher than expected all the employees are given a bonus and also receive a bonus gift voucher of 20% which in fact plays a vital role in staff motivation. Also according to the research on motivation conducted by Frederic Taylor money is the only motivator and the only reason due to which the employees work hard to achieve their and the organization's objectives they work for.According to Taylor â€Å"If the workers were paved per item made, they would want to make more and work harder. † Marks and Spencer uses Tailor's theory by providing their employees or staff with handsome salaries as they think to keep the staff motivated paying them with bonuses and retreating them with some discount cards would be beneficial for the organization and as the staff will put in their efforts to make M a success by providing their customers a better service and by creating a friendly atmosphere in the stores whi ch obviously every customer likes.On the other hand, M also uses Herbage's two factor theory by paying them with handsome salaries but more important to note according to Herbage's theory is that M make their employees feel special and important in the business as the upper management ask for suggestion from all the employees and also providing them with the best working environment to motivate hem.As seen in the table below Marks and Spencer has got the highest reputation in the recent years as compared to their rivals such as Sad, tests, Morison, Ginsburg and Waitress and that's only done with the fair and proper selection of the employees for the Jobs through interviews and as well as the tests. By going through the process M&S makes sure that the right candidate is selected for the Job and the organization can benefit from them. 2. STRATEGIES THAT MARKS AND SPENCER USED IN THE PAST: Marks and Spencer in the past have tried a lot of strategies to improve their staff performance. The strategy which Marks and Spencer used in the past was to sell its products on discounted prices or higher sales which at one point gave rise to the sales but on the other hand when people realized the clothes designs are the same and not changing their sales fell dramatically. M&S did not emphasize on innovation but they tried to grab shopper's attention by advertising and give them great deals and high discounts on their products.Another strategy that M favored was expansion overseas as the top management thought it's the biggest opportunity to expand abroad because in that way M&S will see a rise in their sales. The main focus f M&S was to target the European markets specially Germany because in the recent years the population of Germany increased from 65 million to 80 million and also is the biggest exporter after USA with a lot of potential and industrial strength.However, firstly M&S planned to expand in Germany in the asses but later dropped this strategy because the prope rty costs were too high at that time but the main reason to drop this strategy was the recession of the German economy in asses. However in the late in asses the market position of Germany looked attractive and impressive which therefore forced M&S to expand in to the German market. Marks and Spencer also played a vital role regarding waste as an estimate states that the waste all over the United Kingdom is around 400 tones which comes from different parts of the industry such as construction, households or discharged packaging.The waste that comes out is not recycled properly and the result is landfill sites which takes many years to decompose and is also very harmful for the human health. However, the strategy that Marks and Spencer put emphasis on is that in the recent years 2010-2011 they have tried to achieve a recycle rate around 90% and also they have tried and achieved the reduction in waste by around 20%. Marks and Spencer in the year 2006-7 had 133 million clothes hangers and instead of throwing or recycling them the company used around 80% of the hangers again. 2. . 1 OPPORTUNITIES FOR IN THE GERMAN MARKET: M&S focused on expanding in the German market because the GAP of Germany is about three times higher than the United Kingdom with a staggering El 5000 billion. German consumer has a 50% higher expenditure than the Auk's market also 22% higher than France which is the second biggest market in the Europe. Inflation rate is under 2% in the Germany which attracted the Marks and Spencer management the cost to expand in the German market with expectation of higher sales which M was lacking in the United Kingdom.According to the research conducted by the well known news channels CNN and BBC M had examined the customers need in Germany for instance what exactly did the customer want and catered accordingly. 2. 7 MARKS & SPENCER CURRENT STRATEGIES: The current aim of M is to become the world's most sustainable brand by the year 201 5 and for that they are following a plan called plan A. The plan A consist about many things about how to make world a better place to live with a few things which ops the list in plan A are cut carbon emissions, reduce waste and importance on health and well being.As the world is getting more educated day by day which means people are aware of what should be done to make this planet a better place to live in and also become very conscious about environmental and also for the natural issues. This is the reason for which M&S launched plan A in the year 2010. The primary focus in this plan is to change the climate and also reducing the waste. 2. 8 EVALUATION: As discussed in this chapter that Performance appraisal is very useful for any type of organization but there are always some exceptions.For example, if the managers fail to grade their staff according to their performance there are quite high chances that the company or the organization could land in hot water. So it is very important that the manager s should not grade their employees on personal assessment but should only grade them according to their performance which would only help the firm to achieve success in the future. CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY 3. 0 INTRODUCTION: Methodology is a set of practice to regain information about something. In other rods it is a choice about what data and information to gather.The information that will be obtained will also be used in the outcome and also be compared to the literature review In order to have an appropriate evaluation. One should keep in mind some factors when developing a successful methodology. I tried to contact the Marks and Spence's business and management analyst but it was too difficult to have a decent reply from them. Developing a methodology is not at all an easy task and requires different types of techniques and hard work in order to gather some useful information. 3. 1 TYPES OF DATA COLLECTION:

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What would be the effects of banning the use of plastic bags - Essay Example However, because many plastic bags are discarded causally, plastic bags also bring us side effects. Take China as an example, In China, it is an interesting and â€Å"colorful landscapes† to see several of plastic bags flying in the sky when the strong wind passes. Not only in China also the many places we can see the plastic bags are discarded in street, lake and ocean. This is due to some people throwaway plastic bags casually. What is the important, this cause the â€Å"white pollution† to environment, which is harmful to human because plastic bags cannot vanish by natural decomposition. At this stage, the main processing methods are incineration and  landfill. Nevertheless, the burning will produce toxic fumes, a lot of air pollution and acid rain. As for landfill, it is buried 100 years and still intact. It cannot be naturally absorbed and has a great harm on the land. Although the plastic bags are ubiquitous and convenient, in contemporary society the â€Å"whi te pollution† is becoming a more and more serious environment issue. Some people say that government should ban the use of the plastic but some people argue that it is unnecessary to ban it. Without the authorized conclusion now, this tough issue should continue to be analyzed to determine how excessive use and careless disposal of plastic bags affects society. Jerry Jonson discusses the myriad environmental issues that result from poor plastic disposal technique such as the fact that it fills numerous landfills and when it is disposed by incineration, adds volumes of toxins in the air (Jonson). Plastic bags portend a serious environmental threat in the long term and if they are not controlled they will continue to endanger the environment and by extension society. In his discussion of Lynn offers several facts about, he offers numerous statistics about plastic that bring out the enormity of the situation. Apparently, over 50 percent of the plastic used in the US is simply thrown away to contribute

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