Managing your professional performance Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Personal development planning (PDP) is a process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own development in a purposeful way through learning and experience. (Jackson, 2001) Everyone has desires and aspirations in life. To go about achieving goals and success in one’s life, it is vital to jump start and implement a very own personal and professional development plan. Every individual will have their own interpretation of personal development. For me, it is a lifelong personal growth and learning progress not only in building on self awareness and enhancing on skills and professions but also to achieve spiritual growth. 2.0 ANALYSE PERCEIVED DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MODULE 2.1 Personal Vision and Mission Vision Statement: â€Å"To become an effective and respected General Manager in the hospitality industry; helping to enhance the performance and continuous improvement within the business and extending excellence service to the customers.† Mission Statement: â€Å"I will strive hard to work my way up the ladder with continuous learning and development of knowledge, skills and experiences and at the same time, maintaining good work ethics and relationships with people around me.† MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE Philosophy: I always believe that if one does not have the passion towards something, one won’t achieve success in it. We may be inspired to do something, but to be successful in what we are doing requires great effort and determination. Just like the saying from Thomas Alva Edison (1929 cited in Sommers 2012, p184) – â€Å"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration†. If no effort is put in, there’s just no way that we can achieve success in life. 2.2 Status When I have chosen hospitality as my career, I knew it is a field that differs from the others which it requires not only basic hospitality knowledge and skills but also industry experience. Therefore, along with my studies I have held several part time positions as a waitress, promoter, sale executive and even a part time tuition teacher to gain career-related experience. As soon as I completed my diploma studies, I undergo my industrial training and continue on as a full time employee working as a guest experience executive with Le Meridien Hotel before I further my degree in order to gain broader knowledge and real-world experiences. Throughout these years so much has happened. Everyday I’m facing with new challenges and obstacles in work, with many ups and downs. I have learned to be patient; looking at things from different perspective and creatively dealing with different types of human being. All these working experiences have developed me a sense of competence and build up my self-esteem. Also, I’m more aware of the attitudes, skills and experiences that required for further career development and seizing the opportunity to gain insight and learn more about myself. MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 2.3 Self Assessment I have made an assessment of my own personality and capabilities in certain key skill areas in order to anlayse my strengths and weaknesses as well as to review on the gaps that I could further enhance for my long-term career prospects. (a) Personality Personality test is vital in helping me to understand my inner self and review on areas that could be improved for better self development to achieve future career success. I have taken the big five personality tests which could review on my level of sociability, friendliness, work ethic, calmness and creativity. (Please refer to appendix 1 – The Big Five Model of Personality) The result indicated that I am a person who is well organised, relatively social and tends to consider the feelings of others. However, weak in handling emotions and tend to be conventional. (b) Career Motivation According to Robbins (2001 cited in Tan and Amna 2011, pp73-94), motivation is a needs-satisfying process, which means individuals will strive to achieve goals when their needs are satisfied by certain factors. It is highly important for me to understand my career motivation in order to achieve a more fulfilling and productive career. And based on the career motivation test that I have taken, I realized for me to ensure a long term job satisfaction; my career motivational needs are recognition and long-term reward. (Please see appendix 2 – Career Motivation Test) This enables me to reflect and decide on the type of organisation My ex-manager exercises a range of leadership approaches as shown in the table above and deploys them appropriately according to different situations. Instead of practicing only one or few of the leadership approaches, her way of leading and levels of control towards the team is moving along the continuum which from being an autocratic leader to a democratic leader. MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 3.1.4 Different Styles and Different Stages When I first joined in the organisation, I was really not used to her way of managing as I was being ordered and instructed on things to do without having the freedom to do according to my way. Whenever I questioned on the task that I was performing, her reply is always the same – â€Å"Just follow and do whatever I told you, soon you will understand why.† Until a period where I saw other teams were doing the same tasks as mine but different way of performing; and they ended up screwing up the tasks made me realized her intention was to train me on the right way of doing things. After gaining some period of working experience, she presented a list of suggestions and solutions; and allowed me decide on my own based on my analysis and past experience. And as soon as she had faith on me and the team and having confidence in our abilities, she allowed us to develop ideas and decide on action to be taken. As in overall, when the team is immature or new, she will practice the styles more towards to the left-hand side of the spectrum. By contrast, when the team is skilled and motivated, she will practice the styles that are more towards to the right-hand side of the spectrum. Her shifting in leadership styles from being autocratic to democratic at different stages has inspired me and made me understand that a great leadership is not necessary to be consistent with the forms of leadership, but being able to apply the right style at the right situation. ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE and influence followers’ perceptions, and eventually smooth the path in achieving common goals. 3.1.6 Conclusion I truly believe that there is no one â€Å"best† style of leadership. Different leaders will have their own interpretation of what is called a good leader and with different approaches to leadership. To me, to be a good leader, first is to become a good follower, which I truly agree with the saying from Mark Wagner (2010) – â€Å"Great Followers make the Best Leaders†. In my opinion, a great leader needs to be developed through experience and learning; learned from observation, listening, hearing and doing. A leader may be is naturally born, but a great leader is definitely made. Page 21 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 3.2 COMMUNICATION (Activity 4) Communication is a simple yet complex activity in which can be defined as a twoway process of reaching mutual understanding through verbal or nonverbal means. (Business Dictionary, n.d.) It is an important facet of life which plays a vital role not only in personal interactions but also in business communication. 3.2.1 Importance of Effective Communication In the daily personal interactions, effective communication could help oneself to deliver the information along and get the desired respond or need. It could also help to build up good relationships with the people around through better understanding and avoiding from arguments and misunderstandings. Effective communication could also build up individual’s’ self-esteem as they are able to present themselves well and express their thoughts and feelings. Effective communication is also a key to success for every organisation, leader, manager, and employee. It is vital for an organisation to build or strengthen the relations with internal and external stakeholders and ultimately, achieving business goals and missions. Following table highlights the importance of effective communication in business: Consideration Understands human nature Emphasize positive pleasant facts, visualizing reader or listener’s problems, desires, emotions and responses. ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE Courtesy Strengthen relations Not only thinks about receiver but also valuing his or her feelings. Use polite word and gestures, being appreciative, thoughtful, tactful, showing respect. Source: Managementstudyguide.com, 2012 3.2.3 Reflection Throughout this activity, I found out that it wasn’t easy to get everyone to be in the same level of understanding of the information that I have been delivered. Different people tend to have different interpretation and understanding towards my explanation of the visual ‘poster’. I was struggling in expressing my own thoughts and ideas effectively towards the entire class. Also, I realized the same scenario happened in my previous workplace when I was expressing or explaining something to different people. My words are often misinterpreted or misunderstood; and eventually lead to ineffective job performance. My weakness in delivering message is causing me great difficulty to communicate effectively especially in the workplace. Out of the 7C’s above, I realized I am somehow lack of the 2 C’s – completeness and concreteness. I often simplify my expressed thoughts and ideas without any further explanation and supporting facts. Perhaps this is the issue which leads to the misinterpretations due to having an unclear and ineffective communication. Therefore, it is essential for me to look into how I could craft effective communications and further develop on my communication skills. Page 24 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 3.2.4 Communication Skills The act of communicating involves verbal and nonverbal components. (Rod and Suzanne, n.d.) Both of these components are interrelated which are vital to deliver clear and concise messages; and receive correct and understand messages sent by the others. Therefore, these two aspects of communication skills should be enhanced as a whole to ensure effective communication. (a) Verbal Verbal communication includes both oral and written communications. (Rod and Suzanne, n.d.) There are numerous verbal communication skills such as speak with confidence, think before you speak, don’t talk too much and so on. And, I found it that there are certain verbal skills that I could enhance and worth mastering based on my communication weaknesses, which are: (i) Learn the art of listening Listening someone effectively enable us to gain valuable information and greater understanding of the others’ point of view. One of the key improvements that I would require is to stay focus or pay attention on the message delivered to gain a deeper understanding of another’s thoughts. Remain clearheaded is also another key area that I need to further enhance by truly listen to someone’s perception and controlling emotions when it comes to sensitive and emotional topic. (ii) Be clear and concise I should avoid wordy expressions and learn to choose my words; state out my point of views as clear as possible and as briefly and succinctly as possible. I Page 25 of ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE should train on this daily while communicating with family members, friends, colleagues and relatives; and gain feedbacks from them for better improvement. (b) Nonverbal Nonverbal communication can be described using body languages which involve facial expression, body movement, gestures, eye contact, voice, space and more. (Rod and Suzanne, n.d.) Following are the list of tips that could help me in enhancing my nonverbal communication skills: Always make eye contact while communicating with people. Exhibit appropriate facial expressions and affirmative head nods. Avoid distracting gestures and actions. Be mindful of personal space while communicating. Do not invade personal space by getting too close or confuse communication by being too far away. Source: IILM, 2012, p90 3.2.5 Conclusion Communication is not just a simple daily activity but it comes together with skills and techniques where individuals need to learn and acquire them in order to perform daily tasks and work effectively. To me, it is the most highly valued skill out of all professional skills as it plays a vital role in all aspects of personal and professional lives that would last for a lifetime. (Word Counts: 1436 Words) ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 4.0 DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT A personal action plan is a detailed schedule of key activities which set by an individual in order to accomplish personal goals. (Carnes, 2010) Based on my vision and mission statements as well as the identified development needs, I have set a list of goals to be achieved into short-medium terms in the next fifteen years; starting from year 2013 till 2027. 4.1 FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN Plan period: From 2013 to 2017 (Age 22 to 26) Goals to be achieved: 1. To be a Front Office Manager I have got two years working experience as a guest experience executive in the hotel industry and several part time working experiences in the related fields. My next stage will be looking forward to be a front office supervisor; and then strive hard to work my way up to the next level which is to be a front office manager within these five years. 2. To travel every year Ever since I finished primary school, I have not been to anywhere out of the country, as I am committed to my study and work. And to be frank, I can’t really remember when is the last time I traveled, most probably is when I was in the age of 12. I want to turn this around; and I want to go on vacation or travel abroad every year to gain a different perspective of the world. Lifetime ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE ï‚ · From industry expertise, managers, supervisors and colleagues through sharing of industry knowledge and experiences. Personal Observations and Experiences ï‚ · The daily working experiences also known as the firsthand experiences enable me to gain awareness and up-todate hospitality-related service and knowledge. Year 1 – 2013 (Age 22) Basically my plan in 2013 is to return to my previous workplace right after I finished my degree course in between April to May. I have been offered a position by my ex-manager, working as a guest experience supervisor or called it as a front office supervisor starting in June. Throughout the whole year, I have planned to take different training programmes or courses to overcome my weaknesses, enhance my professional skills, gain additional knowledge, build up self esteem and develop self competencies. The examples of training programmes include the â€Å"360-Degree Leadership Skills† training course, â€Å"Creativity, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making† training course, and â€Å"Personal and Professional Effectiveness† training workshop. Also, I am seeking for work-life balance, and I will plan for at least an oversea trip probably in the year-end; which it is also one of my personal goals.ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE Year 2 to 5 – 2014 – 2017 (Age 23 to 26 ) These four years are going to be hectic years as I will be striving hard to work my way up to the next position level. I will apply for Starwood Leadership Development Programme which is a hands-on-three-year training programme to prepare myself to be a future leader; enhancing every aspect of my personal and professional skills, knowledge and experiences. From time to time, I will also keep myself up-to-date of the hospitality or related industry knowledge through a wide variety of resources as listed in the action plan. I will also constantly look up for courses or training programmes to help me to further improving my professional skills and knowledge. And hopefully by 2017, I could achieve my first career goal which is to be a front office manager; utilizing my skills, knowledge and experiences gained to help the organisation in enhancing the performance and continuous improvement within the business. Page 31 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 4.2 TEN-YEAR ACTION PLAN Plan Period: From 2018 to 2027 (Age 27-36) Goals to be achieved: 1. To be a Director of Rooms Division (By Year 2022, Age 31) My next goal to be achieved after being a Front Office Manager is to be a Director of Rooms Division after five years. I planned to apply for cross training or internal transfer programme to the housekeeping department for at least two years to learn and get more exposure about the overall rooms operation. 2. To be a Hotel Manager (By Year 2027, 36) My next goal to be achieved after being a Director of Rooms Division is to be a Hotel Manager after five years; before moving forward to the next position level which is the General Manager. I planned to gain experience and exposure to all hotel departments and different functions to gain more in-depth knowledge and integrated experience of how the entire hotel operates. 3. To get a Master’s Degree (By Year 2019, Age 28) Also, one of my ten-year goals is to earn a Master’s Degree on a part-time basis to acquire broader knowledge and skills to keep myself a competitive edge over the others. Keeping me on the edge of developments with constant professional skills improvement and keeping industry knowledge up to date is also one of my life time plans. Personal Observations and Experiences The daily working experiences also known as the firsthand experiences enable me to gain awareness and up-todate hospitality-related service and knowledge. Cross Training Programme – Housekeeping Department ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE Year 1 to 5 – 2018 – 2022 (Age 27 to 31) Basically my plan after achieving my first career goal is to get a Master’s Degree major in hospitality management on a part-time basis over two years duration. This enables me to stay competitive in the industry as there is a growing in demand for higher education qualifications in the hospitality industry especially for the higher level positions. Also, I will participate in certain soft skills training programmes or courses to further improve and enrich myself such as stress management and emotional intelligence training workshops. Constantly updating the industry knowledge through a variety of sources is also one of my to-do-lists to keep myself stay alert about the industry changes, spot threats and opportunities early on, and make better business decisions. After planning to work for two years as a front office manager, I plan to get myself involved in cross training programme in housekeeping department to gain integrated experience and knowledge on how the entire room division operates. This can be an important stepping stone for me to move onto the next career level. Besides, I will also take up the Certified Professional Coach (CPC) Programme to enhance my mentoring and coaching skills to elevate myself to become a better leader. This programme not only able to help me to become better coaches in my own professional and personal lives but at the same time also improving better cross functional interaction and efficiency in the organisation. And expecting by 2022; all the plans, efforts and determination that I have put in could help me in achieving my second career goal in life which is to be a Director of Rooms Division. Page 36 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE Year 6 to 10 – 2023 – 2027 (Age 32 to 36) Gaining integrated experience in all hotel departments through cross training programme is going to be my next plan after being a Director of Rooms Division. This cross training is going to take about three years duration to six different departments with six months each which include food and beverage, security, engineering, sales and marketing, finance and revenue, and human resource departments. This programme is extremely important for me in achieving my next career goal as it enables me to expose, learn and gain an in-depth knowledge and experience on how the entire hotel runs. And expecting by 2027, I could achieve my third career goal in life which is to be a Hotel Manager. Other than just focusing on maximizing my career achievement, I also aim to buy a home latest by 2024 in the age of 33 and build up a happy and healthy family. Not to forget also to ensure a balance of my work life; go on vacation or travel abroad probably in every year-end to relax and gain a different perspective of the world. 4.3 Contingency Plan Reviewing on the action plans regularly is essential to keep track of my progress in achieving my personal and professional goals. However, situations may change at times due to sudden or unexpected circumstances or perhaps desires may change as time goes by. Therefore, adjusting goals and plans are necessary when the situation calls for it. Following are the contingency plans of the five and ten years development plans by identifying the possible breakdowns: Page 37 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE 1. Extension of Timeframe An extension of time is essential when the goals are unable to be achieved within the timeframe perhaps due to unexpected circumstances. For example, my aim to purchase a house by the age of 33 might need to be extended in the case that I am facing financial difficulties at that moment. The cross training programme to all hotel departments might also need to be extended from three years to four years if I can’t gain my desired result and knowledge from all the departments within the targeted timeframe. 2. Seek consultation from industry expertise Seeking advice and consultation from industry expertise such as managers and directors is required if I don’t gain the desired or enough skills and knowledge from the training programmes and workshops. Often the view, opinion, experience and knowledge share by the expertise could help me to gain a better insight into the required skills development. 3. Online Professional Development Taking up online development courses are my backup plan instead of attending training programmes or workshops during the case of having limited time in completing a thousand of tasks in daily life; causing me couldn’t fulfill my development plans within the targeted timeframe. This backup plan would be more flexible and convenient for me especially in a hectic working environment. However, I would still prefer participating in training workshops as I will get the chance to get involved in a variety of activities such as role plays, group Page 38 of 41 ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE dynamics, games and more; which could help me in gaining a better understanding and insight of the professional skills development. 4.4 Future Plan My next career aim after being a Hotel Manager for about five years length of duration is looking forward to become an effective and respected General Manager in the hospitality industry which is also my vision in life. My career development will not just stop at this stage after achieving my vision; but will continue on to set another vision and goals to be accomplished in the rest of my life. I will continue to emphasize on maximizing my career potential and achievement through ongoing development of professional skills, knowledge and experience. Besides taking up different skills training courses and participating in training programmes to further enhance and enrich myself, I will also seek advice from the industry experts to achieve a better result in career achievement. Not to forget also to constantly reviewing and evaluating the action plan and self development; and look for ways to further enhance personal and professional performance. Besides, one of my future plans is also to contribute to the best of my ability towards the community not only on behalf of the organisation but also for my own sake. Example of contributions include participating or working with the local or international charities and adopting green approaches such as choosing more Page 39 of ILP 333 MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE environmentally viable alternative power supplies, integrating the consideration of environmental concerns into decision makings, promote environmental awareness, reducing waste through reuse and recycling activities and more. Conclusion To me, personal and professional development is a journey that never ends. It is a lifetime and ongoing process in developing professional skills, knowledge and experience as well as in achieving personal and spiritual growth. I truly believe that personal growth and development is completely within my hands which requires not only strong determination and self discipline but also having a positive, can-do attitude and thought that are vital in driving me to success. And based on my philosophy of success, I will definitely put in great effort and determination in everything I do; strive hard to achieve every single goal that I have set in life. (Word Counts: 1869 Words) (Total Word Counts: 4184 Words) Page 40 of 41

Social Performance and Social Influence

Social Performance and Social Influence Introduction Social performance is the study of how the presence of others affects behavior. At times, the mere presence of others can have a facilitating or motivating effect, improving performance. However, when others are present, people may also become hindered or less motivated. This class will explore how one's perception of others determines one's response. Hetherington, Anderson, Norton, and Newson (2003) explored how eating behavior is influenced when eating alone, with strangers, or with friends.Would you predict that eating with others has a facilitating effect, increasing food intake, or the opposite effect, decreasing the amount of food eaten? Research on social influence, which refers to how the attitudes and opinions of others influence one's attitudes and opinions, is one of the greatest contributions of social psychological research in understanding human behavior. This class focuses on two different types of social influence, one that serves to maintain group norms (social control: conformity and obedience) and the other that aims to change group norms (social change by minority influence and innovation).Social psychologist, Dr. Robert Cialdini has researched basic principles that govern how one person may influence another. You will read about these six principles in his 2002 article â€Å"The Science and Practice of Persuasion. † Social Performance Aristotle first called humans social animals. People tend to gather, play, and work in groups. Groups fulfill a variety of functions such as satisfying the need to belong, providing support and intimacy, and assisting in accomplishing tasks that individuals could not accomplish alone, etc.In Chapter 13 of the textbook, groups will be defined as two or more people working together on a task in which the outcome is quantifiable. This discussion will focus on two major areas that have been researched since the end of the 19th century: social facilitation and social loafing. Social Facilitation At first glance, these terms seem to be opposing behaviors: social facilitation refers to the fact that people work harder in groups, whereas social loafing describes their tendency reduce their efforts when in groups.The difference, it appears, is how people view the individuals in their groups–whether they perceive those in the group as being with them us or against them. If group members are against them, they perceive them as competitors, evaluators, or sources of comparison, which is likely to increase or facilitate their efforts. If they are with them, sharing in the demands of the task and evaluation, they are likely to â€Å"loaf† or reduce our efforts. These findings appear counterintuitive.Research on social facilitation began with Triplett (1989) who observed that cyclists pedaled faster, or performed better, when others were present than when performing alone. He argued that the other biker was a stimulus, arousing a competitive instinct in the cyclist. He tested his theory by asking children to wind fishing reels either alone or beside other children. The majority of the children turned the wheel faster when working alongside another child than when reeling alone. Allport (1924) termed this effect social facilitation.Still, it seemed that many disagreed about whether the presence of others increased or decreased performance on tasks. Zajonc (1965) renewed interest in social facilitation, and suggested that the presence of others enhanced a dominant response–which is the most probable response on a given task. If the task is simple and well-learned, the dominant response will be facilitated. For example, if you were a skilled concert pianist, performing in front of others would increase your proficiency on the task; you would play beautifully.Since you are not skilled at this art, being observed by others would no doubt cause anxiety and would result in quite the opposite effect, inhibit ing your performance. Zajonc was suggesting that the presence of others increases drive. Others were still arguing that it was the evaluation or the competition associated with others being present that produced the drive. Whether it was mere presence or evaluation apprehension that increased the drive, the drive theory remained the dominant thought of the time.Alternative approaches to social-facilitation effects fall into three classes: The first was the continued thought that the presence of others increases drive by evaluation apprehension. The second thought suggested that the situation places demands on the individual to behave in a particular way; individuals are engaged in self-presentation and self-awareness. The third idea argued that the presence of others affects focus and attention to the task, meaning that the task becomes cognitive. Hence, the controversy over whether it is the mere presence of others or evaluation that causes social facilitation is unresolved.Social Loafing Social facilitation research demonstrates that the presence of others sometimes enhances performance, yet at times reduces it. But, how does working with others affect motivation? Many would argue that groups should energize and motivate. The tendency for individuals to work less hard on a collective task than on an individual task is called social loafing. For example, those group projects at work or school where a few individuals did the majority of the work–social loafing.Research in this area has been conducted in a way that makes individuals believe that they are either working alone or working with others–then measures efforts toward the task. For example, Ringelmann (Kravitz & Martin, 1986) had volunteers pull on a rope as hard as they could in groups of varying sizes. Their efforts decreased as group sizes increased. This was explained in two ways: their motivation decreased as groups size increased or maybe the larger groups were not able to coordinate their efforts efficiently. Researchers sought to tease apart these two factors, focusing on motivation.You can imagine that it was difficult to devise methods that lead participants to believe they were either working alone (when they were not) or with others (when they were working alone), which lends to the difficulty of studying social loafing. However, over 100 studies (Steiner, 1972; Griffith, Fichman, & Moreland, 1989; Jackson & Williams, 1985; Henningsen et al. , 2000) have tested the effects of groups on motivation, and social loafing has been replicated in most of these studies. Other theories have attempted to explain social loafing.Social impact theory states that when a group is working together, the expectation is that the effort should be diffused across all participants, resulting in diminished effort. Arousal reduction postulates that the presence of others should increase drive only when they are observers and reduce our efforts when they are coworkers. Evaluation potential suggests that social loafing occurs because individual efforts are so difficult to identify during a collective task; one can easily hide in the crowd or may feel they will not be acknowledged for their hard work.Dispensability of effort argues that individuals may feel their efforts are unnecessary or dispensable. The group simply does not need them. An integrative theory: the collective effort model states that individuals will work hard on a task only to the degree to which they believe their efforts will be instrumental in leading to outcomes they value, personally. Hence, the value they place on the task (and their efforts) depends on their personal beliefs, task meaningfulness, favorable interactions with the group, the nature of the rewards, and the extent to which their future goals are impacted by the task.Social loafing can be moderated, or reduced, when individuals' efforts can be identified or evaluated, when individuals are working on a task they deem as impor tant or of personal relevance, or when individuals are working with cohesive groups or close friends. Individual differences or characteristics also influence who engages in social loafing less because they value collective outcomes. For example, a need for affiliation, a hard work ethic, or high self-monitoring can influence effort. It should be clear that the mere presence of others is arousing.It appears that if others are competitors or evaluators they facilitate motivation to work harder. If individuals see others as a part of themselves, they can hide behind them or their efforts can get lost in the efforts of others. Further research in this area can help us determine how our view of others affects our motivation and performance. Social Influence Processes of Control and Change Social influence is one of the primary research areas in social psychology and refers to the ways in which opinions and attitudes influence the opinions and attitudes of others.Two types of social infl uence can be identified in groups: influence aimed at maintaining group norms (social control) or changing group norms (social change). The most common form of social control is conformity, where an individual complies with or accepts the group's views. Since the influence is typically within a context of a group of people influencing an individual, it is referred to as majority influence. Another type of social control is obedience, where individuals obey an authority figure, often against their will.For group norms to change, a small subset of the group must resist the majority view, which is termed minority influence. If minorities never resisted, group opinions would persist, fashions would never change, innovations would not come about, etc. It must be clear that the term majority refers to the larger group of people who hold the normative view and has power over others. Minority groups tend to be small, hold nonnormative positions, and wield very little power.This study textbo ok is concerned with two influence processes: processes that ensure that others adhere to the group's position (social control; conformity and obedience) or processes that aim to change the group's position (social change: innovation and active minorities). Social influence has studied how individuals conform to the majority, often by giving an obvious erroneous response to a question. According to Festinger (1950, 1954), this occurs because there are social pressures for groups to reach consensus, especially when there is a group goal.Individuals seek social approval and seek others to verify their opinions. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) distinguish between normative social influence (conforming to expectations of others) and informational social influence (accepting information from the group as reality). Another view is that people conform over concerns for positive self-evaluations, to have good relationships with others, and to better understand a situation by reducing uncertainty. Social influence also addresses why people comply with acts that clearly cause harm to another.The study of obedience is intimately tied to one social psychologist–Stanley Milgram (1963). His post-WWII research aimed to understand why people willingly engaged in the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis. People probably preferred to believe these were evil, disturbed men who were intrinsically evil? However, many of them claimed they were not responsible for their behavior. After all, they were simply following orders. In Milgram's (1963) classic study, he led participants (who were assigned to be â€Å"teachers†) to believe they were administering harmful shocks to the â€Å"learners† each time they made an error on a task.The experimenter (the authority figure) demanded they increase the level of shock for each incorrect response. As shocks increased, the receiver (the learner, who was out of the sight of the teacher) responded with distressed reactions. Howeve r, the teacher was encouraged, even demanded, to continue the experiment, even though he believed the learner was experiencing extreme distress. The question was, to what extent normal people would obey the instructions of the authority figure and administer harmful levels of shock to harm another individual.Milgram's results showed that a full 65% of all participants administered every level of shock, surpassing levels believed to do fatal harm to subjects. Milgram's findings have been replicated with consistent results. Why did they obey? Milgram offered the following explanations: (a) they had entered into a contract with the experimenter and did not wish to spoil the experiment; (b) they were absorbed in the experiment and lost sight of the implications of their actions; (c) the participants are acting for the experimenter; they may be pushing the buttons, but they are not responsible, the experimenter is.Notice these are all situational explanations; participants were put into a powerful role relationship with the experimenter. However, when the experimenter was not visible, or another participant played the role of the experimenter, obedience rates decreased, but did not fall to zero, indicating the role relationship did not fully account for their obedience. Milgram's research remains some of the most intriguing and influential in social psychology. Minority InfluenceMoscovici's (1976) book Social Influence and Social Change, he argues that minorities can create conflict by offering a different perspective, thereby challenging the dominant or majority view. Moscovici claims that people trying to avoid conflict may dismiss the minority position, and possibly denigrate it. However, when the minority demonstrates commitment to their position, the majority may consider the minority view as a viable alternative. He called this the minority's behavioral style–meaning the way the message is organized and communicated.By standing up to the majority, the minority demonstrates that it is certain, confident, committed, and not easily persuaded. Researchers have compared majority and minority influence. Conversion theory is the dominant perspective and argues that all forms of influence, whether minority or majority, create conflict that individuals are motivated to reduce. However, people employ different processes depending on whether the conflict is the result of majority influence or minority influence. Comparison process suggests that people focus attention on fitting in, or complying with what others say.Their goal is to identify with the group and comply with the majority position, often times without examining the majority's arguments in detail. Social comparison can drive majority influence, but cannot motivate minority influence, according to Moscovici (1976), because people desire to disassociate themselves with undesirable groups. Because minority groups tend to be distinctive, they stand out, and this encourages a validati on process where some examine the judgments in order to confirm or validate them–to see what it is the minority saw or to understand the minority's view.This process can lead to increased message processing which results in an attitude change on an indirect, latent, or private level. Convergent-divergent theory is proposed by Nemeth (1986) and simply states that people expect to share the same attitude as the majority and to differ from the minority (the false-consensus heuristic). Stress is the result of realizing that the majority has a different perspective than oneself, especially if one is in the physical presence of the majority. Stress narrows one's attention and majority influence, and then leads to convergent thinking.Minorities, on the other hand, do not cause high levels of stress, since they hold different views, which allows for less restricted focus of attention and leads to a greater consideration of alternatives that may not have been considered without the in fluence of the minority view. This results in creative and original solutions. Other theories that integrate minority and majority influence include mathematical models, objective-consensus models, conflict-elaboration theory, context/comparison model, and self-categorization theory.More contemporary models include social-cognitive responses with an emphasis on information-processing such as the elaboration likelihood model and the heuristic systematic model we discussed in an earlier chapter. New research continues to develop. Conclusion This module reviewed social psychological research that has made great contributions to the understanding of human behavior. Early research (e. g. , Triplett, 1898; Zajonc, 1965) led to the beginning of the relatively new field of social psychology.Research investigating social performance–whether performance is improved (social facilitation) or hindered (social loafing) by the presence of others became widely studied as researchers inquired about under what circumstances and what variables determined our response. Supplementary reading by Hetherington (2006) examined the effects of the presence of others on eating behavior. Milgram's (1963) research on obedience may be some of the most cited research in social psychology. Cialdini's contributions to the study of social influence (and social psychology in general) have been significant, as well.References Allport , F. (1924). The influence of the group upon association and thought. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 159-182. Cialdini, R. B. , & Goldstein, N. J. (2002). The science and practice of persuasion. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly,43(2), 40-50. Deutsch, M. & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51, 629-636 Festinger, L. (1950). Informal social communication. Psychological Review, 57, 271-282.Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 337-360. Griffith, T. L. , Fichman, M. , & Moreland, R. L. (1989). Social loafing and social facilitation: An empirical test of the cognitive-motivational model of performance. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 253-271. Henningsen, D. D. , Cruz, M. G. & Miller, M. L. (2000). Role of social loafing in predeliberation decision making. Group dynamics: Theory, research and practice, 4, 168-175. Hetherington, M. M. , Anderson, A. S. , Norton, G.N. M. , & Newson, L. (2006). Situational effects on meal intake: A comparison of eating alone with eating with others. Physiology & Behavior, 88, 498-505. Jackson, J. M. , & Williams, K. D. (1985). Social loafing on difficult tasks: Working collectively can improve performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 937-942. Kravitz, D. A. & Martin, B. (1986). Ringelmann rediscovered: The original article. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 936-941. Milgram, S. (1963 ). Behavioral study of obedience.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371-378. Moscovici, S. (1976). Social influence and social change. London, England: Academic Press. Nemeth, C. (1986). Differential contributions of majority and minority influence. Psychological Review, 93, 23-32. Steiner, I. D. (1972). Group processes and productivity. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Triplett, H. C. (1989). The dynamogenic factors in peacemaking and competition. American Journal of Psychology, 9, 507-533. Zajonc, R. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149, 269-274.

Marketing of Burj Al Arab in Dubai Essay

Abstract: This paper discusses the marketing of Burj AlArab hotel in Dubai. It contains a brief description of the hotel and his history. It describes about the culture in Dubai and how it affects the hotel. A SWOT analysis has been discussed in the paper to know about its situation in Dubai. It also shows you the competitor of Burj Al Arab in Dubai and the marketing audit shows that how the hotel is positioned in the market .It concludes by stating how Burj Al Arab can maintain and develop its policies to keep it top in competitive market of Dubai. BURJ AL ARAB – The Arabian Tower of the Jumeirah Beach Resort. With 321 meters, this is the world ´s tallest hotel, only 60 meters shorter than the Empire State Building. This all-suite hotel stands 27 double-height storeys high and comprises 202 duplex suites. Your transfer to the hotel may be arranged by one of the world ´s largest fleets of Rolls Royce. Reaching new heights of luxury and service levels, Burj Al Arab offers a choice of 142 1-Bedroom DeLuxe Suites, 18 1-Bedroom Panoramic Suites, four 1-Bedroom Club Suites, 28 2-Bedroom Suites, six 3-Bedroom Suites, two Presidential Suites and two Royal Suites. The finest materials have been sourced from around the globe for your luxury and comfort, coming together in exclusively designed and handcrafted interiors. All suites feature floor to ceiling windows and are of course equipped with the latest technology like interactive television (with a camera that views all visitors to the suite – and you can give access to them without leaving the comfort of your bed or the armchair), all-purpose office equipment, laptop computers and internet access(First class travel 2006)Dubai :-Dubai is the most populous and second largest emirate (in terms of size) in the federation after Abu Dhabi.Dubai is distinct from other members of the UAE in that revenues from oil account for only 6% of i ts gross domestic product. A majority of the emirate’s revenues are from the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) [2] and now, increasingly, from tourism. Dubai is currently the second largest developing city in the world after Shanghai.With enormous construction and development in various industries.Dubai has attracted world attention through innovative real  estate projects, sports events, conferences and guiness records.(Wikipedia 2006)SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS:-To know marketing strategies, it is essential to know as much as possible about the market place or environment in which the property operates. A situation analysis researches the properties current position in the marketplace and reveals potential opportunities to promote the property. (Abbey1998,pp54-55)Cultural Influence:The cultural environment holds deeply influence on marketing behavior. Hotel industry needs to be sensitive to cultural variation in the environment and grasp opportunities for expanding. For instance, In Dubai there is 80 percent foreigners who have investments, businesses and employments. Over 1100 staff members from 50 different nationalities work in different areas of Burj AL Arab hotel. Therefore, they bring the diverse cultures from all different home countries such as religions, values, and social behaviors, etc. There will be slight or even severe varies between different guest groups, product suppliers, and hotel employees. It is crucial important for the managerial level to treat people with equal respect and revere different cultural norms.(sevenseashotels 2006). SWOT Analysis :SWOT defines the desired output from the formal analysis which must precede the selection of the strategy and the formulation of the plans to implement it.(Baker 1998,p139)STRENGTHS :†¢The infrastructure of the building which is like a sail boat which gives the guest a very fine and different experience. †¢All the restaurant , bars has a different outlook and are very famous world wide. Ex:Al Mahara – seafood restaurant accessible by a three minute virtual submarine voyage. Magnificent oval aquarium visible throughout the restaurant. Al Iwan – sea view restaurant. Finest Arabian hospitality with dà ©cor of dramatic gold, red and black†¢Member of the leading hotels of the world.(sevenseas hotels 2006)WEAKNESS:†¢Dubai is promoted as a tourist destination but is more of a commercial destination which have a great impact on the hotel. †¢The rigid climate and the culture of Dubai does not help the hotel to stay flexible. †¢The major economy of Dubai is based on oil and gas so the Dubai government does not stress on hospitality and tourism sector. OPPORTUNITIES:†¢Dubai as slowly developing as a commercial destination which will help the hotel to attract lot of business travelers. †¢Dubai is pressurizing more on building lot of theme parks and sports activities which can help the hotel to attract lot of international tourist. THREATS:†¢Lot of new entrants as Dubai is developing in to one of the best commercial cities. †¢High prices of the accommodations which gives advantage to the other hotelsCOMPETITOR ANALYSIS:As Dubai is one of the biggest developing commercial centers there is a lot of competition in the hotels to attract the tourist. The detail comparison for product differentiation Burj al arab and its competitors are as follows:Burj Al Arab : world class duple suites-non smoking rooms-data ports-complimentary news paper-hair dryer-room service-spectacular views-bar-spa-jaccuzi-sauna-shopping center-private health and fitness facility-theropy rooms-Aerobic room-restraunt. (Burj Al Arab 2006)Sheraton Jumeira Beach Resort And Towers :cabletv-hair dryer-child care-wake up service-see view -spa-sauna-bar-shopping center-outdoor tennis-water sports-squash courts-golf course. (Star wood hotels 2006)Hyatt Regency Dubai : Non smoking rooms-cable Tv- complimentary news papper-roomservice-child care-spa-sauna-bar-shopping center-fishing-tennis-restraunt. (Regency hyatt 2006)Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort :Wheel chair-free news papper-child care-modem lines-room service-TV with cables-Hair dryer-Mini bar-outdoor pool-spa-tennis-fitness center-shops-restraunt. (Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort 2006)PORTERS 5 FORCES APLICATIONS TO BURJ AL ARABRivalry Among Existing Firm:HIGHIt has a lot of competitor as above mentioned which have strong brand names among the local and international travelers. In order to leverage brand equity, Burj Al Arab hotel must possess better quality of service facilities more than its competitors. Threat Of New Entrants:HIGHBurj Al Arab has got many loyal customers but a small mishandling in customers expectations may cause the loyal customers to switch to another property. Dubai being a commercial developing city there are lot of hotels coming in. Bargaining Power Of Buyers:LOWMajority of the customers always pay close attention to the hotel price .It has all suite rooms which in all is different from other hotels so the people which the hotel target is specific so the bargaining power of customer is less. Bargaining Power Of Suppliers:LOW The hotel has to face a pressure from their suppliers; however the hotel can reduce it by partnering with travel agencies or big market chains purchasing high volume of products. Threat Of substitute:LOWBeing a very high class property and having a great brand name there are almost no threats to the beautiful property of Burj Al Arab. MARKETING AUDITS:A marketing audit is a systematic and thorough examination of a companies marketing position. (J.Baker1998,p237). POSITIONING:In the case of BURJ AL ARAB hotel Dubai, due to great occupancy rate and high industries growth rate , it experienced the high market growth and strong competitive advantage. Burj A Arab have a lot of competitor like Le Meridien Sayahi ,Hyatt Regency Dubai, Sheraton Jumeira Beach hotel And much more ,Which have a strong brand reputation among local and international travelers. In order to leverage  brand equity , Burj Al Arab hotel must possess better quality of service facilities above its competitors. CONCLUSION:The above report provides detail report on the market analysis of Burj Al Arab in Dubai and reviewing the marketing strategies, influence of the culture on the hotel, its position in the market and its competitors. The city of Dubai is a highly developing commercial centre, with many new hotels coming up with recognized brand names. In order to develop a competitive advantage the hotel should maintain and develop the following points:1)To emphasise propagating the architectural miracle and there unique suite rooms. 2)To continue implementing high quality of service. 3)To persist in high price and standards strategy. 4)To promote sports events, and Dubai shopping festival. REFERENCE LIST: Abbey.J.R(1998)Hospitalaity Sales And Marketing,Educational institute of the American Hotel & Motel Association. Baker.M.J(2000)Marketing Strategy And Management, Palgrave MacmillanKotler.p,Keller.k(2006)Marketing management 12e,Pearson Prentice Hallhttp.//www.firstclasstravel.de/burjalarab.htm (last visited 16/4/06)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dubai (last visited 16/4/06)http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/search/hote_detail.html?propertyID=1326(last visited 16/4/06)http://dubai.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/(last visited 16/4/06)http://www.lemeridien-minaseyahi.com/-14k(last visited 16/4/06)

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LAW OF BANKING AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BENCHMARK #4 - Assignment Example As such, the nature of their duties requires that they possess certain characteristics or attributes. Largely, the agents are required to portray attributes of independence, persuasion, problem-solving skills, and interpersonal skills. With regard to independence attribute, the real estate agents are expected to engage and manage their own schedules and times in ensuring that they hustle to get word out on the specific properties that they are promoting, as well as ensuring that they find the exact information that is required by their clients. By being persuasive, the agents, based on their skills should be able to convince clients to either buy or sell properties through them at the appropriate prices, so as to gain profit out of the dealings. Subsequently, they are expected to use persuasion to get the bets deals and to successfully close the deals. By possessing interpersonal skills, the real estate agents are anticipated to labor with their clients and customers on a face-to-face basis and at all times, they are required to portray proper manners and the level of handling of clients should be highly rated. This skill also goes hand in hand with the listening skills in which the agents are to apply towards the attainment of effective communication with the clients pleasantly and effectively. The problem-solving skills are meant to enable the agents to quickly and promptly find solutions to matters that might arise in their dealings with the clients at various times and levels. This skill also enables the real estate agent to act as a moderator and mediator between the buyers and sellers of the various real estate properties that are sanctioned under their guidance. In other contexts, real estate agents are required to possess attributes such as honesty and integrity, being self-motivated and having a desire to

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Consumer Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Responsibility - Essay Example Moreover, consumers are morally responsible for poor working conditions in factories. When consumers demand reduction in price, factories respond by cutting down operational and maintenance cost. This cost is very important for it allows factories provide the good working environment for their workers and dormitories as in the case of the suppliers firm in China, Wal-Mart. Moreover, consumers are morally responsible for poor working conditions in factories. When consumers demand reduction in price, factories respond by cutting down operational and maintenance cost. This cost is very important for it allows factories provide the good working environment for their workers and dormitories as in the case of the suppliers firm in China, Wal-Mart. Another harm the consumers are thought to bring his the employment of workers and employers of under-aged workers. When consumers press for low costs, in order to save more, supplier responds by developing strategies that will cut down on operati onal cost. One of these "strategies" is to lay off workers. Another option is to hire workers at a cheaper cost and this can only happen if the company employs customers close to the legal age but the true fact is that these workers have not attained the legal age to work.  In the Rama Plaza tragedy, consumer contributed a great percentage. Though society blamed the government, builders, and the factory owners for poorly maintaining the plaza, consumer demand for clothes at low prices, was a major contributing factor.

How to save a failing law firm Speech or Presentation

How to save a failing law firm - Speech or Presentation Example To be specific, the administration develops the rules and regulations required to govern all aspects of the company. Therefore, the administration should exercise innovation, in order to provide the company with guidelines that would shape the destiny of the firm in the long term perspective. On the other hand, management takes the established rules and regulations and implements them using the available resources in the firm. The management goals are usually in the short term. The available resources in a firm refer to the factors of production such as capital, labour, and skills. These two responsibilities are very important in running any firm as they define the future position of a company. For this reason, leaders and managers require to possess vast knowledge and skills for any meaningful success in a company. Knight and Day Company is in the verge of collapsing. Hence, there is the need to integrate leadership and management skill so as to revive the economy of this firm, and save it from losing its credibility. A number of critical issues threaten Knight and Day Company in its leadership and management. There are several challenges that these two dockets need to address immediately in order to save the existing situation. One of the potential challenges in this firm is the labour resource. There is evidence of poor management and utilization of the labour force in this firm. To begin with, there is evidence of unskilled labour resource.In any given company, lack of skilled labour force is one of the major drawbacks in the labour resource. Unskilled labour brings out low productivity in the farm. Labour is one of the most significant and scarce resource in any company. Therefore, it is the duty of the management to oversee hiring of skilled labour to ensure that tapped labour resource can be harnessed effectively. This will provide optimum profits for the firm. In addition, there is evidence of loss of the already existing labour facility as the workers quit their jobs and take up alternatives out of this company.This is a major problem that can lead to failure of a company. This is because when the firm loses its laborer, it takes time to replace it through the recruitment process. This contributes to a large extent to the losses in a firm. The problem of labour resource management might require more allocation of resources such as time and money. In the process of reformation, there is the need to reform the labour resource through a recruitment process in order to have the required skilled labour. The recruitment process involves advertisement, interviews and even orientation of new employees. All these activities require financial support to implement. Moreover, skilled manpower requires that the salaries are moderated, and more specifically raised in order to avoid the massive departures of the employees from the firm. In addition, the whole process would require that the management sit in various sessions in order to provide a new set of development policies that would be used to regulate the labour force. This will require abundant time and also the use of money Another factor threatening the success of this firm is the poor co-ordination of the various departments and branches. For instance, the Los Angeles office operates autonomously from the rest of the offices in

The validity of class conflict, feminism, diversity and inequality in Essay

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Tourism marketimg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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DNA Sampling Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

DNA Sampling - Case Study Example The police, because of legal concerns, refuse to pursue this lead by acquiring samples from each of the thousands of persons of interest to it. The investigators' second-best lead was the footage shot at a truck stop on the night Falconio vanished. Bradley Murdoch was interviewed because his appearance and match with truck video, and passed over for DNA sampling. But Murdoch provided an apparent excuse to the police and he was declared innocent. After six months, the Broome police pulled over Murdoch's former flat mate and business partner, James Hepi. This was Taskforce Regulus' third big break, after the t-shirt DNA and the truck stop video. As a consequence of Hepi's arrest, the police was offered the identity of the suspected killer of Falconio. In Australia, arrest and DNA sampling powers are typically restricted by a requirement that the police have objective investigation specific justification for using force. Murdoch was deliberately avoiding the Falconio investigators, so it was doubtful that, even if they found him, they can not touch him without his consent. At the same time Hepi was a first-time informant and, moreover, had much to gain (and nothing to lose) from pointing Murdoch. Without any grounds to trust Hepi himself, Taskforce Regulus took considerable efforts to verify claims made by Hepi. But every claim proved to be off-key. According to Senior Sergeant Megan Rowe, the head of Taskforce Regulus' intelligence cell, Murdoch was the only man not 'eliminated' out of the nominated by the public as men in the truck stop video, hot prospects identified by Rowe, and persons 'of interest' to the investigation. Hepi's tips were of some hope, but Taskforce Regulus' ability to lawfully take Murdoch's DNA sample, once he was found, was in doubt. So Taskforce Regulus opted for a different way of testing Murdoch's link to the t-shirt smudge. They approached Murdoch's older brother, Gary, for his DNA sample. Gary's consent for sampling yielded a partial DNA match. The partial match - to be expected if a blood relative of Gary's was the source of the smudge - was certainly enough, in combination with the other information gathered by Taskforce Regulus, to objectively narrow the investigators' suspicions to Murdoch himself. But, when Murdoch was located, two weeks later, none of the information gathered by the investigato rs was used, because of some legal concern, to justify either his arrest or the taking of his DNA sample. A phone call on 28 August 2002 was the final major break in the Falconio case. A mother and her daughter had been raped and kidnapped by Murdoch a week earlier. After this call Murdoch was arrested, and thus provided a new way for lawfully acquiring his DNA sample. However, the Australian jurisdictions require that the objective justification for a proposed DNA sampling should cover, not only who is sampled but also the investigative utility of sampling. So, to force Murdoch to provide a DNA sample to investigate the allegations by the mother and daughter, the police needed reasonable grounds to expect that obtaining Murdoch's DNA sample would make a difference to that investigation. DNA sample of a suspect rapist

Why the War on Drugs persists Essay Example for Free

Why the War on Drugs persists Essay Clearly the unstated aim of the federal government of the United States of America is the attainment of total control of the Earth, including all its material resources and peoples, by economic, political and military means. The achievement of this requires the expenditure of vast amounts of money over several decades. A major part of this money comes from covert U. S. government trafficking in illegal drugs, primarily the addictive drugs cocaine and heroin. U. S. -sponsored world-wide drug prohibition, a. k. a.the War on Drugs, is primarily a tactic to keep street prices high and profits astronomical, regardless of the huge social and personal damage done. U. S. -sponsored drug prohibition will continue until either the U. S. attains its aim of complete military and political domination of the Earth (which is still some time away, if it ever happens) or the junta which rules the U. S. and which aims at total control is removed from power. Only an alliance of anti-fascist nations, and sustained resistance by people who value their freedom, can prevent the subjugation of the Earth to those intent on controlling and exploiting it. Repeal of the laws, and of the U. S. -imposed international treaties, prohibiting possession and sale of drugs which are presently illegal would remove the enormous profits derived from wholesale illegal drug trafficking and cut off a major source of the money required by the U. S. for the achievement of its aim of total world domination. Obviously the U. S. will never repeal these laws and treaties, so it is up to the other countries of the world to do so, if they value their sovereignty, freedom and cultural tradition. Covert government by defense contractor means corrupt wars of conquest, government by dope dealer. When the worlds traditional inebriative herbs become illegal commodities, they become worth as much as precious metal, precious metal that can be farmed. Illegal drugs, solely because of the artificial value given them by Prohibition, have become the basis of military power anywhere they can be grown and delivered in quantity. To this day American defense contractors are the biggest drug-money launderers in the world. — Drug War: Covert Money, Power and Policy, p. 318. And, of course, the tactics used by one player in the game can be used by others. Not all the poppy fields are funded by the CIA. To some it will seem that with enough money one can buy control of the entire planet. This is no doubt an idea which occurred to some people long ago. But it takes time to achieve such an ambitious goal. Ethical considerations, of course, do not enter into the calculations. Any means may be used to attain the end. One useful means is the exploitation of the urge humans have to modify their consciousness by eating, drinking, smoking or snorting substances found to produce desirable effects. Humans have done it for ages. Bring in a capitalist socio-economic system and you have a sure way to make a lot of money. Especially if consumer prices can be jacked way up. And the way to do that is to make the possession and use of these substances illegal. Then suppliers become criminals and run the risk of punishment, and so must be financially compensated for the risks they take. The higher the risk, the higher the street price. So make it all very illegal and (try to) corner the market in mind-altering substances, especially the addictive ones (a captive market, so to speak) and voila! The greatest money-making scam in the entire history of the planet! Sufficiently lucrative that with the profits one can buy everyone who needs to be bought: police, judges, customs officers and politicians. Total control! The wet-dream of every fascist dictator — now within the grasp of any sufficiently large, sufficiently well-run, sufficiently immoral organization, such as a government of a country whose wealth has been acquired by war and ruthless exploitation of natural resources and which maintains a military-industrial economy larger and more threatening than that of any other. How long has there been a War on Drugs? Seems forever. (It was announced by Richard Nixon in 1971, but goes back millennia, as we saw above. ) And year after year, it just gets crazier and crazier, ruins more and more lives, and drives the U. S. further into the pit of social disaster. How is it possible that this insanity persists (even though intelligent and rational people have been pointing out for many years how crazy and evil it is)? Read this page (and page two) for an understanding of what lies behind this monstrosity. America, with less than 5 percent of the world population, has a quarter of the worlds prisoners. There are six times as many Americans behind bars as are imprisoned in the 12 countries that make up the entire European Union, even though those countries have 100 million more citizens than the United States. Our jails and prisons have become the 51st state, with a greater combined population than Alaska, North Dakota and South Dakota. — Editorial, San Jose Mercury News, 1999-12-31. In August [2000], the U. S. Department of Justice revealed that the number of men and women behind bars in the U. S. at the end of 1999 exceeded two million and the rate of incarceration had reached 690 inmates per 100,000 residents — a rate Human Rights Watch believed to be the highest in the world (with the exception of Rwanda). The unrelenting war on drugs continued to pull hundreds of thousands of drug offenders into the criminal justice system: 1,559,100 people were arrested on drug charges in 1998; approximately 450,000 drug offenders were confined in jails and prisons. According to the Department of Justice, 107,000 people were sent to state prison on drug charges in 1998, representing 30. 8 percent of all new state admissions. Drug offenders constituted 57. 8 percent of all federal inmates. — Human Rights Watch World Report 2001: United States At this time the Gulag Archipelago, the scattered islands of prisons in which hundreds of thousands of non-violent people are locked away for half their lives for their opposition to the disgraceful and immoral policies of a tyrannical and dictatorial state, is not in Russia, rather it is in the United States of America. This is a crime against humanity by which the government of the United States, which trumpets itself as a defender of liberty and democracy, makes itself into an object of contempt in the eyes of the world. The real problem with drugs in the modern world is that they are illegal. Put simply, the Drug War exists primarily to support — financially and otherwise — the maintenance of the criminal status of the possession of (certain) drugs so that those (mostly on the payroll of the U.S. federal government). Who profit big — directly or indirectly — from the supply of prohibited drugs can continue to do so, at the expense of everyone else, and especially at the expense of the hundreds of thousands of people imprisoned for victimless crimes. This is a scandal and a disgrace of the first magnitude. It will become for the United States of America a source of enduring shame and infamy just as the Third Reich became for Germany.

Social Media Benefits In Education English Language Essay

Social Media Benefits In Education English Language Essay In todays technological environment, it is important that teachers try their best to make use of this innovative technology. As explained by Thaker, this technology can be used to facilitate communication between the students and the teachers. However, this new form of communication can also help parents in getting involved in the learning of their children. One way of enhancing this communication is through the use of social media (Bienstock, 2012) (Thaker, 2011). There are a number of social networking sites that can be used. Facebook  [1]  , Twitter  [2]  , Edmodo  [3]  , LinkedIn  [4]  , Twiducate  [5]  , Classroom 2.0  [6]  and Google+  [7]  are just few of the existent social media that one can make use of in education. These media are being constantly used by almost everyone on everyday basis. The results obtained from Pingdom (2012) on the demographics of 24 different social media sites show that these media are being used by different persons in different age groups. In fact, the study shows that even teenagers are making use of such media (Pingdom, 2012). However, one might argue, should we use such media in education, even though we know of the problems and issues related to such media? However others might reason that we cannot just eliminate the use of such a valuable and easily accessible resource. Bienstock (2012) makes reference to the New York Times article in which Ms. Pust states I think that we would do more good keeping kids safe by teaching them how to use these tools and navigate this online world rather than locking it down and pretending that it is not in our realm. (Preston, 2011 in Bienstock, 2012) In the following sections, we will discuss the advantages that social media offers in the area of education. However, we are also going to point out the problems that these media might present and how to cope and manage them. Social Media Benefits in Education Students Develop communication skills students can gain social confidence from online interaction, which may help them feel more secure in new situations Increase skill in technology students become more familiar with new and emerging technologies, as well as increase their media literacy through exposure to many different types of online media Since many students already use these forms of technology, they may be more engaged in learning if they utilize it Online communities can be very diverse and expose students to many new view points, ideas, and opinions Social media can also be a source to increase talent to work on group projects Students can develop an optimistic image of themselves by putting best qualities out there Enhanced Collaboration acquiring information can be accomplished by students alone. But problem-solving skills are often better enhanced in a collaborative environment. Social media allow students to work together on projects beyond an individuals capability Teachers and Schools Increased access to resources since learning materials can be shared Collaboration amongst teachers and exchanging of lesson plans and information Can reach parents who are incapable to come to school in a cheap and effective way Can form partnerships with schools in other states or countries Enhanced Flipping Social media can be used to enhance the teacher-student relationship. Students view recorded lectures or read curricular material outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, students complete what usually qualifies as homework. Teachers act as tutors, helping students through problem areas in their work. Modernize Discussions through social media teacher can credit students for in-class participation. This requires teacher to monitor which students are speaking up when. Communicate Between Classes Teachers can send out announcements, share ideas or pose questions to pupils, especially when classes are spaced several days apart. How well are schools using social media? (Harrison, 2012) Successes Challenges Making safe communities some sites allow teachers to control online environments thus reducing dangers associated with social media Lack of knowledge a schools social media account should be managed by someone who understands social media Encouraging collaboration students can critique and comment on each others assignments. They can easily work in teams online and asking teachers questions or starting a discussion is easy Lack of features lack of engagement for students can make them feel as if the school doesnt care. Features should include one-on-one connection Invitation to produce content social media can invite students and schools to produce content for both enrolled and prospective students. This can show the schools personality More than a presence a social media profile requires daily maintenance and interaction with students The NCF (Ministry of Education, Employment and Family 2011) argues that literacy, numeracy and digital literacy are the foundations for further learning. Our students are digital natives whether we like it or not. For us as teachers we have to accept this and exploit it to deliver the subject content to our students. Students and Social Media Our students are continuously communicating through social media, in Malta the most popular one being Facebook. Can we stop this? No we can not as out students are equipped with laptops, tablets, iPads, smartphones all providing easier access to social networks. Introducing social media in education is not an easy step, as mentioned before students are continuously using it with most of them ignoring the possible consequences. When the topic is approached only on a theoretical level students think that it will never happen to them, for them there is nothing wrong uploading any kind of photos to appear cool with their friends. They can not perceive that once a photo is available on the Internet is available to anybody even though they select the Only Friends option. Social Media Problems and How to Minimise Them? The only way to deal with this problem is through educational videos that illustrate various situations which teenagers found themselves in because they didnt know it could happen to them. A teacher can start by showing these two videos http://viewpure.com/nOUu1fldBbI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK5OeGeudBMfeature=channel and discuss a set of questions with the students to elicit important points from both videos; the uploading of photos, anyone can watch your photos without you being aware of it. Students need to be educated towards social media. They have a tool in their hands, they think of knowing how to use it but most of them dont. Teachers and parents have to understand we cannot stop the social media hype. We as teachers have to educate about this tool. What can go wrong? Many students ask the questions: What can go wrong? These are some of the answers that we as educators need to provide: Cyberbullying (CEOP, 2007):: By using technology like mobiles or the internet, this type of bullying can affect someone not just at school, but at home as well. Because it takes place in the virtual world, it has a 24/7 nature and can make someone feel upset or threatened in their own home. Students should be educated that this kind of bullying can be evidenced. With cyber bullying they can save text/emails/WebPages, print them and used as a proof to catch the bully. Sexting: Someone taking an indecent image of themselves, and sending it to their friends or boy/girlfriend via a mobile phone or some other form of technology is sometimes referred to as sexting. Once these images have been taken and sent to others, control is lost of them and they can end up anywhere.   They could be seen by friends and family, a future employer, or even, in some cases, end up in the possession an offender! This also puts that person who originally sent the images in a vulnerable position (CEOP, 2007):, as somebody they may or may not know now has these images and could use technology to bully, harass or even try to locate them as seen in the videos. Students have to be educated to think Do I want my schoolmates to see these photos, my family? Hacking: Students should always choose the Log Out option so their account can not be hacked. False Identity: People arent always honest with who they are, their age or what they look like. Students have to be share of whom they are confirming as a friend. It is very easy to lie on the Internet and there is no way of knowing if someone is telling the truth. Even if someone shows them a photo of themselves, this could be a picture of someone else or could be faked. This applies to webcam or video footage too; seeing a person in a video, does not mean it is them. Students have to be educated not to meet people they encountered over the Internet. Addiction: One has to be aware of the time and effort spent in establishing connections. It is very easy to become addicted, for some, these sites become one of the major concerns (CEOP, 2007). This can have adverse effects on a persons ability to work efficiently and affects ones health as well. Sometimes the best lesson to educate our students is not through theory but providing them with actual facts. For example this article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2201064/Man-murders-girl-16-testify-raping-years-agolured-death-posing-teen-Facebook.html narrates the story of a girl killed by her rapist before she could testify against him. He posed as a teenage boy on Facebook and told Shania Gray (the victim) he had a crush on her and they agreed to meet. He took her to a secluded park and shot her (Pullman, 2012). Everyone has a Facebook account why shouldnt I? Our society, educators, parents cannot hide from the reality that social media are part of our culture. The future generation are approaching their lives differently as they integrate digital technologies- such as computers, the Internet, instant messaging, cell phones and e-mail throughout their daily activities. As educators we can propose the following simple but effective SMART Rules (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Keep your personal information like address, mobile number safe. Make students think this question If I meet a stranger on the street would I give him my mobile number? The same reasoning has to be applied to a stranger met on the Internet. Dont Meet Up. Social networks can be a place to encounter with new people. Students must always know who you are talking to. If an adult they do not know asks them to meet up, they have to be educated to say no. Accepting (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Educate students to think before they accept something from someone over the Internet as it might contain viruses with the sole purpose to steal information from someones computer used by a hacker to keep data on people perhaps engaged by paedophiles. If students do not know from whom it is and it has an attachment, they have to delete it. Reliable (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Not everyone online can be trusted. Older men tend to lie about their age and who they are to meet female adolescents. This is a point we as educators need to stress onto; students have to know who they are talking to. Tell (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2012): Students should not be afraid of talking if someone is harassing or stalking them over the Internet. They have to talk with their parents, or a guidance teacher or any other trusted adult if someone makes them worried or uncomfortable online. Moreover if a student knows about a friend who has these kinds of problems he/she has to tell someone. It is not betraying him/her friends trust, it is helping and in some cases saving his/her friend. The Issue of No Physical Interaction Social media is a medium that enables communication between people from all over the world through the use of technology. Such interaction can be done from the comfort of your own home and this can facilitate the process tremendously. Some may argue that social media may present a challenge since the students are unable to socialise properly. This may be due to the fact that the interaction between peers is not presented in a physical manner. On the other hand, social media allows people to meet in ways that otherwise would have not been possible. Social media not only allows easier communication but eliminates the issue of geographical barriers. It allows students to form and (Tomaszewski, 2012) (Connolly, 2011) (Williams, 2011)maintain friendships, that otherwise would have been difficult or impossible. Such friendships allow students to learn and interact with other cultures other than their own. It allows wider knowledge sharing from people all over the world. Such interaction would not have been possible or would have been difficult and more costly if it had to be done physically. Therefore, when used with properly and with caution, social media allows not only learning to occur, but also friendships and knowledge sharing to take place. Avoid these when using Social Media We do not want more rules but as any other important tool Social Media should be used responsibly. We are in the day and age, were Social Media is used all the time by everyone and this is the main reason why we should be careful of what we do. We should educate our students how to use Social Media sites responsibly. These are a few rules, which if applied, help us appreciate the power of Social Media when used in the classroom. Post Illegal Activities Although your profile may be set to private there are other ways and means how this content can become public and be view by anyone on the web. Once public, it will be impossible to remove that content from the internet. Trash Your Teachers Bullying can also include interactions done on posts where teachers or school administration are mentioned. This can be a grave offence even if certain things may seem harmless to who posted them. Post Objectionable Content from School Computers or Networks Do not use the school computers to post objectionable information. Some school networks can track this activity. Post Confidential Information This is very important as already mentioned before everyone can see the information you post so be careful not to post any personal information where people can track you. Overly Specific Location Check-Ins Do not use Social Media to say that you are home alone or in a remote location this will help even persons who are not willing to help to find you. Lie/Cheat/Plagiarize If a lie is shared on Social Media it is most probably that everyone will get to know. There can also be investigations regarding cheating and plagiarism. Threaten Violence When a threat is posted online even if anonymous, there will be investigations by the police and eventually will trace the offender. Ignore School-Specific Policies Always abide by the policy of your school regarding Social Media. Unprofessional Public Profiles Students should be thoughtful of what to post online. Certain content might not be acceptable for an employer, who in the near future might go through ones profile. Do not say or put anything on your profile which you do not want a future employer to see. Never Rely on Privacy Settings 100% Students should never rely on privacy settings over good judgment,  [8]  says social media specialist, Andrew Moravick. Some Social Media networks have very good privacy settings but some are updated very often and not everyone can keep track. Post Emotionally Do not post anything on Social Media when feeling emotional about something. Thing may seem very different when analyzing the same scenario when feeling calm. As we can see, these are very simple rules students and everyone using Social Media can follow. We just have to keep in mind that anything posted irresponsibly on Social Media networks can have very negative effects. Conclusion So far experts remind us that there are clear dos and donts for integrating social media in the classroom. Social technologies are here to stay and it is import to help students learn how to used social media. Guide students in how to think deliberately about their use and consider the outcomes of proper and improper use of social media. This goal can be appropriately reached when teacher have received appropriate training on the use of social media. Full backing and support of the school administration is mandatory to fulfill this objective. Turning social media into an educational tool can be used to further a students education and enrich it.

Concepts of Logistics in Contemporary Business

Concepts of Logistics in Contemporary Business Introduction Logistics is defined as a business planning framework for the management of material, service, information and capital flows. It includes the increasingly complex information, communication and control systems required in todays business environment. (www.logisticsworld.com) Logistics means having the right thing, at the right place, at the right time. The procurement, maintenance, distribution, and replacement of personnel and materiel. (Websters Dictionary) Distribution and logistics are concerned with product availability. Many have described this as getting the right products to the right place at the Right time. Significance Consumer beliefs and needs have altered. How consumers behave and what we demand have changed. Our willingness to wait to be satisfied has reduced and we expect instant product availability and gratification. It should be obvious from this that the supply or logistics system that gets products from production through retailing to consumption has also had to be transformed. Physical distribution and materials management have been replaced by logistics management and a subsequent concern for the whole supply chain. This consideration for the supply chain as a whole has involved the development of integrated supply chain management. More recently there has been a concern to ensure that channels of distribution and supply chains are both anticipatory (if appropriate) and reacting to consumer demand, at general and detailed segment levels. Background Logistics is the bed rock of trade and business: Without selling and or buying there can be no trade and business. Buying and or selling takes place only when goods are physically moved into and or away from the market. Logistics leads to customer satisfaction through superior customer services. Logistic industry includes a wide range of services and tools for a business to carry on all its operations it includes services like transportation, packaging, ware housing and inventory. In short logistics is most important and primarily necessary for any organisation strategy and its function, when the process of logistics is carried out accurately then not only the company reduces the production cost but also improves the efficiency of the company and increases customer satisfaction. Logistics is very essential for todays highly and competitive corporate world. Literature review Introduction To perform this study further it is necessary to understand how logistics have prevailed todays business from point of origin to point of consumption. This literature review discovers the importance of logistics and its implications in todays global business world. Nobu Azumais Associate Professor in Marketing and Distribution Studies at the School of Business, he emphasizes the importance of the logistics in management studies by employing an interdisciplinary research approach. Concepts of logistics Concept of logistics is fairly new in the business world. Many business practises have evolved and the cost of logistics is 10% to 20 % to total cost of international purchase, there are two main phases which are important in transfer of materials are material management and physical distribution. Material management is timely movement of parts raw materials and supplies by the supplier. Firms finished products reaches to the consumers and termed as physical distribution. Both phases involve process of storage. The main goal of logistics to coordinate all the efforts of the company to maintain a cost effective flow of finished goods. Logistics gained importance Through recent years logistics has gained importance because of the transportation cost grew rapidly due to rise in fuel prices, the activity of production reaching its peak, there was need of fundamental change in inventory, product line was proliferated, due computer technology, growing power of retailers was also a big reason for logistics to grow and due to globalisation and reduction in economic regulation. Due to very sophisticated pass traditional channel of distribution. David Grant says evolving factors that make logistics critical for business success. With a marketing approach to logistics that prioritizes customer satisfaction from a variety of industries to illustrate effective logistics strategies Activities of logistics Logistics involves wide variety of activities and services which makes the working of the company easier and supports customer and satisfaction for both customers and suppliers. Demand forecast is done by logistics. Consumer service. Inventory control. Material handling. Part and service support. Packaging. Procurement. Salvage and scrap disposals. Transportation and trafficking. Planting and warehouse. Storage and order processing. Distribution and communication. Logistical mission Logistics exists to satisfy customer requirements by facilitation relevant manufacturing and marketing operations, it is to balance the service expectation and cost expenditure to achieve business objectives it is basically measure in terms of ; Availability. Operational performance and Service reliability. Objectives of logistics Logistics is a system having number of components which can be combined in different proportions to achieve a set objective. Objectives are physical distribution, physical supply, and controls of the logistics. Ideal logistical system ensures supply to buyers. In correct quantity. At desired location. At required time. At useable condition. At low cost. Logistics is a bed rock for any trade and business Without buying and after buying without selling there can be no trade or business. Buying and selling takes place only where goods are move in or out in the market. If you take away logistics from business the business would eventually collapse. Competitive edge of logistics In the fiercely environment of competition of the world it provides the cutting edge. In the business where the survival of business is controlled by competition where there is no parameter of quality like performance and reliability, where brands are irrelevant, competitive edge is the availability of product and services in terms of time, place and quality. Professor Alan McKinnon is Director of the Logistics Research Centre Alan has undertaken research on many different aspects of logistics has discussed in topics warehousing and the links between logistics and economic development in recent years says that logistics is the foremost and prior requirement for any business to grow and nourish without which a business nor a country can grow. Logistics leads to customer satisfaction Through superior customer services like productivity, quality, cost, delivery, flexibility, safety, health, and environment organisational objectives are framed to meet customer expectations. Logistics supports strong critical functions of operating and marketing Strong and firm logistics enables an organization to move towards just in time production system for survival in highly competitive market. Integrated logistics Logistics is viewed as a competency that links an enterprise with its suppliers and customers. Information about a customer flows through sales activities to forecast and orders. As product and materials are procured a value added service inventory flow is initiated ultimately results in transfer of ownership of finished products to consumers. This type of logistics support system helps an organisation to keep a track on it orders and future supply forecast to meets its customers expectations. In todays era logistics not only plays the role of distribution and transportation but also supports tools like inventory management and just in time inventory, which allows the company access towards its production, surplus and scarcity. Logistics controls and access the Inventory flow Logistics and management is concerned to movement and storage of finished goods and materials from the initial process of purchase. This process adds value to by moving inventory where and when needed. Logistical understandings have four areas. Physical distribution. Manufacturing support. Procurement of resources. Supply chain management. Pietro Evangelista is researcher in logistics and supply chain management at the Naples Institute for Service Industry Research says that The need to improve information exchanged in the supply chain, the desire to increase customer satisfaction and the enlargement of the customer base are the three main enabling inventory factors Logistics involved in supply chain management. Supply chain management : it is the management of networks of inter connected business involved in ultimate provision of the product and services required by the end user consumer. It is management of upstream and downstream linkages, in the different process and activities that produces values in form of services and product in relation with the consumer and supplier to deliver superior customers value at less cost to supply chain on whole. It involves process like: Supply chain planning. Manufacturing. Warehousing and distribution. Delivery and installation after market. Martin Christopher is Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Logistics at Cranfield school of Management. Martin Christophers particular research interests lie at the interface between marketing and logistics reflecting his belief that these two critical activities underpin superior supply chain performance. Logistics creates value for manufacturer and suppliers throughout the world The services in the sector of logistics are the key to in integrating manufacturers forecasting and supply chain management to its suppliers. It helps for the inventory forecast requirement in real time. It enables cost effective and robust supply chain. Reduces inventory and management investment cost. Improves delivery times. Co-ordinate multiple components more effectively. Provide visibility, reporting and control. Reduces high inventory investment. Dr. Yuan Xing The thesis analysed and compared physical distribution service quality (PDSQ) in the online retail market for non-food products between pure player retailers, those that only sell over the Internet and traditional retailers, those that use the Internet to supplement their stores and thus sell through multiple channels. The exploration of PDSQ differences and reasons which caused them from both demand- and supply- side perspectives using in-depth interviews. Logistics transforming business in todays world Logistics in the 21st century touches each and every aspect of the organisations daily operations, and today has grown into business speciality of its own. Logistics is not only about strategic planning and resource management but also how companies go about their day and what impact it has on us. As a business speciality the explosion of globalism has formulated the practice of logistics.