K+12 Program in the Philippines : Necessary or Not?

K+12 Program in the Philippines : Necessary or Not? â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. †(Mandela,2010). This quote states that education develops our world to more powerful. This is one of a reason why others want the K+12 program on the Philippines. Some are not in favor of this because they say that it is not the longer education is the solution and it is the improving of quality of education. Some say that K+12 in the Philippines is not necessary while I as a student agree for this program.There are many reasons why I agree to have a K+12 Program in our country but there are three things that I think the most significant. First is to elevate the quality of education. This important because we all know that we have poor quality of education compared to the other countries. According to Isagani Cruz(2010)â€Å"The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. One reason is that students do not get adequate instructional time or time on task. He said that our current number of years in school are not enough to fulfill the main objective of the lessons in school. We can see that some are graduated in high school but they still not ready to take their college life. Longer years of education can increase the preparedness of students on their career. Second is to inspire the students to study harder. â€Å"International test results consistently show Filipino students lagging way behind practically everybody else in the world.In the 2008 mathematics exam, for example, we came in dead last. â€Å"(Cruz,2010). Some students graduated easily forgets what they have learned from their teachers. When they are ask by their younger family member or friend they fail to recall what the answer or if its a mathematical problem they already forgot how to solve it. Longer years in school can help us to not to be embarrassed when someone is asking things that we have studi ed. Third is according to Joe Padre â€Å"Most graduates are too young to enter the labor force. He said that most of our graduates is not on their right age to work. Some cannot find a job suited for him. If we will have a K+12 Program the problem about age will be disappeared and it can be easy for them to find a good job. These reasons why K+3 program in the Philppines is necessary can be a great help in improving our knowledge about it. For me it is necessary in the philippines even though we will spend much more money for this.Money is not a reason to refuse this program, time will come after I graduated from college I know that I will have a good life. Many people refuse this program, most of them tell that it is the quality of education not the longer years in school but how can we have good quality of education if the years in school are not enough for what they want to have. K+12 program is necesary in our country because it is the only way to improve the quality of educat ion in our country. Now, we will have a more productive people in the Philipppines.

Man’s Innate Evil †“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding Essay

The Savage inside us all, when certain situations are brought up the primitive human nature is unleashed. Aspects of human nature in the world alert us to our potential to descend from law and order to chaos, good to evil and civilization to savagery. The break down of civilization towards savagery dramatizes the struggle between the ruling element of society which include law, morality, culture and the chaotic element of humanity’s savage instincts which include anarchy, amorality, and a desire for power. Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding explicitly articulates that circumstances creates decay in moral value, innocence of human being and deteriorates the democratic system. Ralph the leader is the symbols for morality and leadership, while their enemy Jack is the symbol for the desire for power, selfishness and amorality. Simon the intellect who was the only boy who realizes fear is innate and the beast is within the boys. Lord of the Flies reveals how people ca n descend into barbarism in an atmosphere of chaos. The protagonist, Ralph, who personifies order, pragmatism, and everyman’s natural weakness, displays power and influence in the beginning but is almost tempted into savagery in the end; his use of the conch in the beginning of the book exhibits his characteristics and his civilized nature. He at first is presented as an activist individual, but also possesses an innate savage nature like everyone else and this is displayed when he partakes in the killing of Simon. Dont you understand, Piggy? The things we did He may still be. Although Ralph commits murder, he is still not completely submerged into savagery since he is able to realize what they have done, and this is clearly allegorized when he says he is afraid of them and wants to return home. These examples of Ralph show that when humans are not under the right circumstance, or away from civilized world they are most likely to unleash their inner selves their evil side. They also show how Ralph descended from Civilization to Savagery. In spite of Ralph’s display of civility, wisdom and the confident view for man’s fate, Jack on the other hand reveals the credence of man’s fall into savagery. Jack, who personifies savagery, bloodlust, and the hunger for power, shows the unavoidable fate of man. When Jack painted his mask, he had liberated  from shame and self consciousness. This is one of the major turning points for the alteration of Jack’s character is his relevance of the mask. Jack’s hiding behind the mask is a way for him to unleash his savage nature without feeling repentance. He also desires power from the beginning of the novel to the point when he declares himself the new leader. Jack persuades the boys to join him by using fear about the beast, and he does so until they all come to believe in its existence. After Jack diffuse this fear and belief in the boys’ minds, all aspects of civilization, culture and dissolve quickly. Absurdity emphasizes Jack’s bloodlust when he kills the sow and when he attempts to kill Ralph also. Jack hunts not with the sole intention to get meat, but he particularly enjoy exercising power over living creatures while hunting. Though it is not accomplished, Ralph’s potential murder also illustrates Jack’s ridiculous and savage nature. Jack is completely descended from good to evil in an atmosphere of chaos. On the opposite side Simon is the only boy on the island who really knows who the beast is. Simon was the only boy who did not descend into savagery. He is really the only one on the island who realizes that the fear is innate and that there is no beast. What I mean is†¦ maybe it’s only us. Simon’s delirious confrontation with the Lord of the Flies confirms his theory of evil being instinctive to man and actually within all of us There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the beast†¦ fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! †¦ You knew didn’t you? I’m a part of you. These examples validates that savagery was always there in mankind but need a proper circumstance to come out. So when Simon climbs the mountain and sees the parachutist and comes back to tell everyone that there is no beast, the inner beast of the boys made them kill Simon thinking that it is the beast. As Jack had implanted that there is a beast in real into their brains. Even after Simons death Jack and his tribe did not stop hunting and did not think about the murder they did the night before. The inner beast led to the loss of religion, and turned Jack and his tribe into complete savages. These are examples of the events that happened away from the civilized world. Simon the only boy to know the original beast mans innate evil. Jack turning completely savage; and Ralph the leader who was often tempted by the  savagery of the others. All the above examples conclude that aspects of human nature in the world alter us to our possibility to descend from law and order to chaos, good to evil and civilization to savagery. Lord of the Flies showed that the evil residing within everyone could be unleashed. It proved the dark side of human nature could be really brutal and even the most innocent of us are vulnerable to it. Bibliography â€Å"Lord of the Flies†, William Golding, The Berkley Publishing Group, New York, 1954

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Planning, assessment and evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Planning, assessment and evaluation - Essay Example The course unit may be done on the lines of a teacher-structured unit or on teacher/student collaborative planning. The model units that prepared here are teacher-structured units. Lesson planning follows from the unit planning process. During unit planning, activities are selected, analyzed, and modified. An initial sequence of lessons is outlined. In essence, lesson planning involves an enhancement of the unit plan to make the day-to-day activities of the class flow more smoothly and produce maximum success. It is necessary to read the Unit overview and the Concept of development sections. Develop an idea about the nature and scope of the unit, and how it fits into the Level. It should be determined that how the unit focus relates to other subjects and how joint learning opportunities may be used to enhance students' experiences. Before moving further create an outline or a web that summarizes the unit. It should show the major concepts to be considered during the unit as well as associated sub concepts and links to other areas of study. In light of what you understand about the unit and the nature of the students in the class, choose learning objectives that you feel are appropriate. Following steps should be considered for teacher-student planning. A lesson plan is a comprehensive and pre... Identifying and sequencing activities. Lesson Plan A lesson plan is a comprehensive and predetermined schedule of every activity of teacher in classroom for achieving optimal results. A lesson plan can be of many forms and types. It usually depends on time span, style of educator and type of subject to be taught. But the basic and main objective of any type of lesson plan is to provide teacher a pre-planned line of action for presenting materials and interacting with learners. The lesson plan should not be merely an action plan but it should provide a useful link between objectives of curriculum and material to be taught. It is important to keep in mind the learning objectives before planning a lesson. Unit & Lesson Plan for English Topic Verb Usage: Tense and Conjugation Objectives: By the end of this lesson the student will be able to: 1. Identify different tenses of verbs - present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect and future perfect. 2. Use the correct verb tense in a given sentence. 3. Conjugate regular verbs into first, second, or third person tenses. Outline: In many achievement tests, there is an entire section of the test devoted to verb tense. Use the following little "trick" to determine which verb tense is the correct one to use in each tense. For present tense, use this sentence, putting your verb in the blank: I ____________ today. For past tense, use this sentence, putting the same verb in the blank: I _____________ yesterday. For future tense, add will plus your verb: I will ____________ tomorrow. For present perfect, add have plus the past participle: I have _____________ many times before. For past perfect, add had plus the past participle: I

Role of Central Banks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Role of Central Banks - Essay Example Low inflation is not an end in itself. It is however an important factor in helping to encourage long-term stability in the economy. Price stability is a precondition for achieving a wider economic goal of sustainable growth and employment. High inflation can be damaging to the functioning of the economy. Low inflation can help to foster sustainable long-term economic growth 2. The central bank ensures that the money supply in the economy is exogenous and determines the monetary base accordingly for the actual values of the currency and reserve ratios etc. using the appropriate money supply formula. 3. The money supply is endogenous to the economy but is determined by the central bank according to a money supply rule, and the monetary base is changed to achieve the money supply determined according to this rule. The last assumption given above is the most commonly used operational technique, even where the central bank's intention is to focus on the monetary base or the money supply as the main determinant of aggregate demand. Under this procedure, the central bank sets the discount rate to achieve a certain level of aggregate demand in the economy and lets the financial sector determine the monetary base through borrowing or discounting bonds with it. ... rational technique, even where the central bank's intention is to focus on the monetary base or the money supply as the main determinant of aggregate demand. Under this procedure, the central bank sets the discount rate to achieve a certain level of aggregate demand in the economy and lets the financial sector determine the monetary base through borrowing or discounting bonds with it. In any case, the central bank's behaviour is captured through the specification of the monetary base, no matter which of the above procedures is used. The measures that are taken by a central bank typically involve altering the interest rate in order to control the rate of growth of aggregate demand, the money supply and ultimately price inflation. It also involves changing the exchange rates as fluctuations in the value of currency also have an impact on macroeconomic activity. All in all, these measures come under the banner of monetary policy of a country. The key result is that monetary policy governed by society's preferences produces an inefficient outcome featuring an undesired, high level of price instability. Society can improve on this suboptimal outcome in a number of ways. One way to achieve price stability without distorting the stabilization of shocks is to set new incentives for the central bank by picking a progressive central bank which cares a lot about income, making it independent of the government, and adding an inflation target to its environment.1 Monetary Policy Many economists believe that monetary policy is a more powerful tool than fiscal policy in controlling inflation. The circular flow of income and spending is kept in motion through changes in short term interest rates that in turn affect the spending and savings patterns of households and businesses

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment - Essay Example The country is vulnerable to various natural calamities that upset the people’s lives in the nation following calamities like floods, cyclone and landslides that affect the entire environment and human beings together with their livelihoods. The country’s location makes the nation vulnerable to natural calamities since three quarters of the nation and the Bay of Bengal make the nation the center of life-giving monsoon rains, making the nation prone to catastrophic destruction of natural disasters. The worst catastrophes in the globe tend to arise between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, a region which coincidentally contains the poor nations, which is the case with Bangladesh (Natural Disasters 94). Q.3 The fundamental reason is that the region contributes 3% of earth’s surface while it is population contributes to 47.9% of the world population moreover the region lacks deserts, permanent ice and other conservation landscapes; therefore the protection of enda ngered wildlife is less feasible in the region. The region also has high rate of deforestation compared to other regions of the world like sub-Saharan Africa and the heavy hunting in the region make it difficult to protect endangered wildlife. Moreover, the region faces the problematic issue of wildlife trade like the rest of the world; however certain factors make it especially problematic in region like the high economic growth and improvement of transport infrastructure that improve access to wildlife areas. Some of the endangered species include three species of Asian pangolins that include Malayan of Sunda pangolin, Indian pangolin and Palawan pangolin. Q.4 Between 40% and 60% of the population in South Asian cities do not have access to piped water moreover, nearly 60% of urban households lack sanitary facilities with 42.9% of urban population in the region living in slums. Slum dwellers in various countries in the region differ for instance in Bangladesh (69%), Nepal (69%) an d Pakistan (47%) reporting significant proportion of urban inhabitants living in slums. Q.5 Green revolution began in 1960’s and 70’s and involved the introduction of high yielding varieties of food products with the aim of increasing food production and promoting self-sufficiency. After the introduction of high yielding seeds for food crops there have been clear significant benefits like increased food production in developing nations. However, since the program began some farmers have recently begun disregarding the use of modified seeds and pesticides in favor of organic farming propelled by the rising cost of fertilizer and pesticides. Q.6 Various factors influence the decline of fertility in India like the government policy for reducing to 2.1 from the previous 5.1 in early 1970s. Other factors include rising levels of education and the rising levels of aspirations for well being in the society. Even though India has had family planning programs for a long period of time; however, the average fertility has declined slowly. The relative slow decline of fertility has led a built up of large population in India that will enter reproductive age in the near future thus, the country’ population growth will continue in next few decade despite the decline of f

The Calvin Coolidge Administration Research Paper

The Calvin Coolidge Administration - Research Paper Example As the report discussesin 1912, people elected him to the Massachusetts State Senate. From 1916-1918 he served as the lieutenant governor before moving to the executive's chair. Coolidge as governor supported the pay increment for public workers and reduced working hours for women and children. He also limited outdoor advertising. In the 1920 presidential nominations, he was voted in as Warren Harding’s running mate. As a vice president, he kept a low profile but dedicated a lot of time towards public speaking. In august 2nd 1983, President Harding died because of a heart attack. Coolidge was administered the oath of office by his father, as his father was a justice of peace. He then became the 30th president of the US.From this research it is clear that  Coolidge was one of the U.S presidents who put the interest of their country at heart. He was not willing to let the state get involved in any international relationships that did not address its interests. This was congrue nt with his pledge of ensuring that his country would not be in a position entangled with any other state. It was with this respect that he was reluctant for his country to join the League of Nations.  Coolidge did not agree with the notion that legislation may uplift all problems. He saw it as a pernicious doctrine. As governor and eventually being a president, Coolidge favored no legislative agenda in the broad sense because he generally did not believe in any legislation.

Sleeps Relationship to Learning and Memory Essay

Sleeps Relationship to Learning and Memory - Essay Example On the other hand, during REM, EEG waveforms change associated with increased frequencies. This is where memorable dreams occur. Sleep in mammals is described mainly by inactivity of behavior in conjunction with different electrophysiological changes in the motion of the brain.ii Factors like stress, shifting schedules, and longer work contribute to lack of sleeping time. This results to inefficient performance to workers so companies have allotted rooms for quick naps and other businesses have installed apparatus that will improve the results short-term sleeps. Sara Mednick et al. (2002) describe naps to be short periods of sleep which lasts for one hour maximum and likely to enhance one's attentiveness, efficiency and disposition. These brief periods of rest are suitable for people, who are experiencing sleep deprivations, nightshift schedules, and prolonged periods of driving. Daytime naps also improve psychomotor speed and attainment of short-term memory. However, their relation on previously learned information is not yet established although they are common among people with daily information overload. Mednick et al. (2002) suggest the psychological feeling of 'burnout', which is an amplified irritation and frustration brought by decreasing effectivene ss after a lengthened cognitive effort, is not merely a reflection of mental exhaustion but a need for a worn-out mind to experience restoration during sleep.iii Sleep is the only 2. Sleep to Human beings Especially Sleep is the only way by which one can rejuvenate oneself; a mere rest will not be any good as far as the revitalizing factor of sleep is concerned. In relation with that, studies also show the need for the brain to experience the restorative benefits of sleep, and also restore positive attitude emotionally. Matthew Walker (2009) identifies several roles of sleep in cognitive and emotional brain processes.iv 3. Sleep and Human Memory Firstly, Walker observes the role of sleep in memory processing which focused on the declarative memory. Secondly, he relates the ordered structure of sleep and memory stage evolution with the sleep-dependent plasticity models. Thirdly, he discusses the role of sleep in associate memory processing. Fourth, he touches on the emerging advantage of sleep in emotional brain reactivity. Lastly, he proposes a framework of sleep-dependent affective brain processing which will further explain the implications of mood disorders. Neurological studies have shown stimulating role of sleep in the control of brain function and emotional experience. Walker identifies that modulation of affective networks overnight and emotional experiences happened in the past are capable of affecting the restoration and maintenance of the appropriate connectivity for the next-day reactivity. Lisa Marshall and Jan Born mention the role of short wave sleep or the NREM, in benefiting the hippocampus-dependent declara tive memory, and also the valuable for the procedural aspects of memory. 4. Sleep and creativityCreativity has been defined by Mednik as the forming of associative elements into new combinations which either meet specified requirements or are in some way useful. Many studies also have explained the roll of sleep in the creative problem solving process. Denise Cai et al. find REM to be beneficial in terms of improving the associative network construction. It has also enhanced the incorporation of unassociated information,

Global News Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global News Agenda - Essay Example News usually construct ‘them’ to show a fairer representation of those who are far in terms of culture or space and they include the neighbors abroad and the strangers living amongst them (Ginneken 1998). The news reports usually produce meanings which construct ideological representations of the different groups of people from different countries. Media usually report distant suffering in their news which brings about the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. The language used in the news reports brings different meanings within the social context as to some the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ brings about negative values (Kamalipour and Snow 2004). Unprecedented censorship is also evident with how news is constructed. In most cases, the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is created whenever there is suffering in the country or culture to be aired. The media creates ‘us’ versus ‘them’ in order to c reate specific subject position for both the spectators and suffers. The spectators ‘us’ may take the position of activists, philanthropists or even voyeurs while suffers ‘them’ take the position of a human being or abstract number. Theoretical perspectives will be used in the analysis and evaluation of how the news constructs a sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ between different nations. Agenda setting theory Agenda setting theory shows how the media highly affects the order of presentation in the news reports about events and issues in the minds of the public (Dearing and Roger 1996). Global news agenda is based on the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. This theory also shows how the media had a high influence on the public by their ability to tell us on the important issues. The main aim of this theory is to create a public awareness and to show the salient issues created by the news media. Different aspects of the media are encompassed in this theory which shows different ways on how news is constructed. 1. Freedom of press and expression world wide Freedom of press helps the media in constructing ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Freedom of speech in Middle East is enshrined in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR). It is also based on the UN treaty which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Magee 2002). Social solidarity is part of cosmopolitanism and it includes the bonds of mutual commitments based on more than similarities of pre-established identities. Social solidarity puts it clearly that all citizens are engaged in the making of a better future for everyone. Cosmopolitan explains how global media institutions have the power to create publics around the world as non-communitarian publics. Cosmopolitan is the willingness to relate with other people. The way media constructs news about distant suffering rarel y does it cultivate a cosmopolitan sensibility or a global public (Ginneken 1998). For example, airing news on how people are being maimed killed or burned or even tortured is the creation of cosmopolitan through the TV news where it creates a spectatorship of suffering to ‘us’ the viewers. Global news does not also overcome the

Promotion and advertising strategies Essay Example for Free

Promotion and advertising strategies Essay In 1966, while sitting in a small diner, Rollin King, a Texas businessman presented his attorney, Herb Kelleher with an idea. The idea entailed creating a new airline, one that would offer low fares to passengers and would fly quickly between three cities: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Together, they formed Southwest Airlines. Initially, the airline battled a number of obstacles from various competitors of that time, as the other airlines did not want to see a new competitor in the market who offered low cost flights to local areas. Despite various attempts made to keep Southwest a mere vision, they legally won the right to fly through the Supreme Court and began offering air service in 1971. AirTran Airways, formerly known as ValuJet Airlines, first began operating October 26, 1993. The Airline was renamed after the 1996 crash of ValuJet into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 passengers and crew members on board. Since that time, AirTran has grown to be one of the most profitable airlines in the industry, offering service to more than 60 destinations across the United States, as well as to Mexico and the Caribbean. On September 27, 2010, AirTran Airways made a public announcement that they entered into agreement allowing Southwest Airlines to acquire them. Numerous entities report the reasons behind the acquisition are: to make Southwest a dominant competitor in the airline industry, â€Å"Southwest is following the trend in the industry: merge or acquire in order to stay alive and competitive† (Mouawad, 2010). In addition, the acquisition would allow Southwest to mark its presence in markets they were previously unable to penetrate, â€Å"The deal would expand Southwest’s network by 25 percent and give it its first international  destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico† (Mouawad, 2010). As relayed in a statement made by Bob Fornaro, AirTran Chairman, President and CEO on AirTran’s official website, â€Å"Joining Southwest Airlines will give us opportunities to grow, both professionally as individuals and as a group, in ways that simply would not be possible with out this agreement. Together with Southwest, the world’s largest passenger airline, their financial resources, tremendous brand, legendary customer service, corporate culture and decades-long record of success, we will have the opportunity to go places neither company could have gone alone.† As a result of the acquisition, which was completed on May 2, 2011, Southwest has experienced several unexpected glitches during the transitioning stages. One major issue has been with the ticketing and reservations systems, â€Å"Southwest Airlines agents struggle with AirTran Airways tickets and vice versa, sometimes leaving passengers who have been delayed and need rebooking in the lurch† (McCartney, 2013). It is reported that prices and seat availability are inconsistent on both websites when attempting to book a ticket online. Customers, who purchase early boarding passes for their itineraries, are limited to using them only for the Southwest leg of the trip, as it is not recognized by AirTr an. This has caused numerous complaints with customers who pay full price for early boarding, but are only able to use it for half of the itinerary. Southwest has been diligently working to combine both airline systems, but has not successfully completed the project to date. â€Å"Southwest, for now, have agents of both airlines trying to work two reservation systems on different windows of their computer screens so one airline can check in customers from the other. Southwest says it will have a unified system, new to both airlines, in place by the end of the year† (McCartney, 2013). A prominent issue that has resulted in the acquisition is that once AirTran has been fully integrated into the Southwest Brand, upgraded seating will no longer be available, as Southwest only offers coach class with unassigned seating. In addition, Southwest has been in the works to transition all aircraft from AirTran’s 717 aircraft, which it inherited, to its existing 737 model. â€Å"AirTran had first class, they had assigned seats, and Southwest has no first class, no assigned seats, doesn’t sell through global distribution systems-a very different product than what AirTran offered in the market. It is very distinguishable† (Boehmer, 2010). Delta Airlines and other major competitors feel they will be able to capture former AirTran customers, who find the elimination of upgraded seating unacceptable. Prior to the acquisition, Southwest Airlines had an organizational structure which was instrumental in the company becoming a leading competitor in the airline industry. Founder Herb Kelleher’s leadership style allowed for everyone, including front line employees to play a major role in business planning and operational budgeting. Herb believed that â€Å"management decisions are made by everyone in the organization, not just the head executives† (Advance Business Consulting Website, 2013). As a part of their organizational structure, Southwest maintained over 35,000 employees, had 568 Boeing 737 model aircraft, and operated in 67 domestic cities coast-to-coast. Whereas AirTran, who operated with a similar organizational model, listed assets of 8,500 employees, 86 Boeing 717’s and 52 Boeing 737’s, operating in approximately 37 markets. Southwest Airlines has not made major changes to their organizational structure as a result of the merger. The new Southwest airlines assets contain: â€Å"43,000 plus employees, over 700 aircraft, operating in over 100 markets, serving 100 million customers†, (Bomkamp, 2010). Southwest continues to function with three primary levels of management: Executive Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, and Vice Presidents, all positions subordinate to Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO, Gary Kelly. Since the acquisition, Southwest has taken a slow approach to integrating AirTran systems, procedures, and employees into the Southwest family. Southwest appears to believe they will be able to seamlessly integrate 8,500 AirTran employees into the body of Southwest’s existing 35,000 employees. However, industry analysts feel Southwest’s expectations are risky at best, â€Å"It will be tricky for Southwest. Southwest’s whole business model is built on a particular approach to managing employees. It’s a big bet they are making that they can swallow AirTran† (Cappelli, 2010). According to Southwest Airlines Announcements for Reporting Structure of AirTran and Leadership Changes, Human Resources Practices were modified in effort to embrace the leadership team coming from AirTran. Almost all AirTran leaders were placed in positions with Southwest that were commensurate to positions previously held. The other leaders who were not placed in commensurate positions were hired on as full time consultants to ensure the integration of the two  airlines went well. Southwest airlines have maintained a precedent that was established in 1971, when the company first began conducting business. Southwest Airlines began with four planes and less than 70 employees. During its first year of operation, the company experienced financial trouble, forcing the executives to make the decision to sell one of its planes or lay off employees. In effort to maintain the relationship with its employees, Southwest opted to sell the plane. In return, the employees were asked to cut gate turn-around from 55 minutes to 15 minutes. The employees obliged, helping to establish one of the friendliest management/labor relationships in the airline industry, as reported by PBS.org. According to Atlanta Business Chronicles, the following statement was issued to AirTran employees in the form of a Question and Answer sheet in effort to address their concerns regarding job security, â€Å"The combination of the two airlines will result in additional employment opportunities as the combined airline continues to grow and expand the Southwest network. In its nearly 40 year history, even during the most recent financial crisis, Southwest has remained profitable and has never had layoffs.† This statement was in attempt to calm fears that the acquisition would bring surrounding job stability. As in any industry, when employees are facing major changes in the workplace, especially as it relates to mergers and acquisitions, it is important to communicate plans for the direction of the company and the employees involved. This strategy allows time for the employees to process the information they have been given and adjust to the changes to come. It is imperative that companies model this practice as non-communication results in insecurity, chaos, and hostile work environments where uncertainty is present. References Advance Business Consulting Website (2013). Retrieved from http://www.advancebusinessconsulting.com/advance!/strategic-alignment/strategic-alignment-business-cases/the-rise-of-southwest-airlines.aspx AirTran Airways Official Website, (2014). Retrieved from http://www.airtranairways.com/about-us/history.aspx Atlanta Business Chronicle, (2010). QA on the Southwest-AirTran merger. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2010/09/27/daily2.html Boehmer, Jay (2010, November 08). Delta Sees Opportunity In Southwest, AirTran Merger. Business Travel News, (15), 4. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com Bomkamp, S., (2010). Huff Post Travel: Southwest Airlines Buys AirTran for $1.4 Billion. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/southwest-airlines-airtran_n_739975.html?view=printcomm_ref=false Cappelli, P. (2010). Strategic Management North America: By Acquiring AirTran, Will Southwest Continue to Spread the LUV? Retrieved from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/by-acquiring-airtran-will-southwest-continue-to-spread-the-luv/ McCartney, S., (2013). The Wall Street Journal: Southwest and AirTran Airlines: Mergers and Aggravations. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324448104578611980670019710 Mouawad, J., (2010). The New York Times: Southwest, Determined to Expand, Buys AirTran. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/business/28air.html?_r=0pagewanted=print PBS.Org (date not available). Chasing the Sun: The History of Commercial Aviation Seen Through the Eyes of Its Innovators. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/innovators/hkelleher.html Southwest Airlines Official Website. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/html/about-southwest/index.html?int=GFOOTER-ABOUT-ABOUT

Business Plan To Achieve Funding And Growth Goals Marketing Essay

Business Plan To Achieve Funding And Growth Goals Marketing Essay Business plans can help perform a number of tasks for those who write and read them. Theyre used by investment-seeking entrepreneurs to convey their vision to potential investors. They may also be used by firms that are trying to attract key employees, prospect for new business, deal with suppliers or simply to understand how to manage their companies better. Putting you goals and ideas down on paper helps you organize your thinking. Your employees and other stakeholders understand what you plan for the business and it helps keep the organization focused on the big picture. Simply stated, a business plan conveys your business goals, the strategies youll use to meet them, potential problems that may confront your business and ways to solve them, the organizational structure of your business (including titles and responsibilities), and finally, the amount of capital required to finance your venture. Preparing a business plan can be a time-consuming and daunting task. However, the impor tance of a business plan to achieve funding and growth goals cannot be ignored. So one should get down to it and start composing a business plan. Planning is important to managers within an organization due to following reasons: 1) It will provide the future direction and path to the managers 2) It will help in optimal utilization of the resources 3) It will help in controlling the action  Ã‚  and thereby helps to take the corrective action. 4) It helps in coordination between different departments 5) It acts as a training to the managers 6) It compels managers to think ahead There can be some limitations of planning: 1)  Ã‚  It may lead to rigidity in the organization 2) It may be too costly and time consuming Hence planning provides a blueprint to the organization telling about the actions to be taken in future. Business Plan and strategy Strategy provides long term direction to the organization. It helps the organization in achieving the competitive advantage to the organization. It also tells about the organization about its market, values and the way to handle the resources in order to meet the objectives of the organization. As per tutor2u.net Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations. In other words, strategy is about: * Where is the business trying to get to in the long-term (direction) * Which markets should a business compete in and what kind of activities are involved in such markets? (markets; scope) * How can the business perform better than the competition in those markets? (advantage)? * What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, facilities) are required in order to be able to compete? (resources)? * What external, environmental factors affect the businesses ability to compete? (environment)? * What are the values and expectations of those who have power in and around the business? (stakeholders) Process of strategic management is as follows: 1) Screening of Ideas 2) Development of Mission and Setting of Objectives 3) SWOT analysis 4) Selection of Best alternative 5) Strategy Formulation 6) Implementation 7) Control Example of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is one of the top most companies in this globe dealing in consumer electronics and computer software products. It has got popular products such as Macintosh computers, the iPod and the iPhone, Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, the iWork suite of productivity software, and Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products. Apple has about 35,000 employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of US$32.48 billion in its fiscal year ending September 29, 2008. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world in 2009. (Wikipedia, 2009) Successful Business strategy- Good Business model iTunes Music Store is a good source of revenue, especially with the iPod, iPhone and its availability on Windows platform. Apples success is built on its product offerings such as: iTunes Music Store, iTunes, I Phone and the iPod. (Sampublishing) Apples strategy has been two fold skimming and discriminatory with respect to Ipod and Itunes. The skimming pricing strategy is presented at two levels. First, the price of the same model is diminishing with time, especially when Apple is issuing the newest version of theiPod. Second, the price of every next generation model launched on the market is less expensive than its predecessor. (christophe.benavent) Apple seems to reduce its prices in order to make it affordable and popular among other competitive products.  Ã‚  Apples iPhone and iPod prices change according to its customers as well as geographical locations.  Ã‚  Also Apple has been reducing price of iTunes, As its  decision to offer a new pricing strategy is welcome news by the record labels, who are trying everything to boost revenues.  Ã‚  CD sales were down dramatically again in 2007, and the sale of online music was much slower in 2008 than in 2007.  Ã‚  Three new price levels were announced, ranging from .69 to .99 to $1.29 in 2009 . (GlgGroup) Moreover Apple has continuously launched superior products to remain ahead in the market. Recently it introduced Apple iPad and yesterday it has launched Apple iPhone 4. Response to i-Pad has been excellent and has led to increase its sales and profits.  Ã‚  Its Pricing has been reasonable as the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad costs $499. (Review,cnet.com) This is done to capture higher market share and to beat high priced competitors like Plastic Logic Que proReader, which starts at $649 and to take on the big competitors like Amazon and Sony. . Components of Planning Strategic plan is the blueprint for an organizations work: Mission: A mission statement answers the questions: Why does our organization exist? What business are we in? What values will guide us? A Mission statement tells you the fundamental purpose of the organization. It defines the customer and the critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance. (Answers Corporation, 2010).Hence Factors influencing Mission statement are: Stakeholders Internal resources and Power Values of top management Past development of firm Mission statement should clearly define the organizations products, markets and function (Technology and Processes. ) A Vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria. (Answers Corporation, 2010). A vision is more encompassing. It answers the question, What will success look like? It is the pursuit of this image of success that really motivates people to work together. Values are hypothetical thought of what we think is good or important. They direct the way we feel and act about certain ideas, things, situations, and people. They are principles which lead us decisions and actions. Organizational values define the acceptable standards which govern the behavior of individuals within the organization. (Teal, 2010) Vision answers this question: What aspirations does the organization have for the world in which it operates and has some influence over. Mision answers this question What can (and /or does) the organization do or contribute to fulfill those aspirations?. Values help in aligning the behavior of individuals with organization. Without values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value systems, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesnt wish to encourage. Example of Star Bucks: Starbucks Mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. Starbucks Values: Here are the principles of how we live that every day: Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality. Were passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners Were called partners, because its not just a job, its our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers- even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. Its really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. Its about enjoyment at the speed of life-sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business. We can be a force for positive action- bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility-and our potential for good-is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Starbucks Vision According to the companys profile, (2006) its vision is to make Starbucks coffee the most recognized and respected brand in the world by using high quality roast beans to make coffee beverages along with other products. The company wants to develop enthusiastically satisfied customers at all times. They want to make positive contributions to their communities and their environment. Vision, Mission and Values has helped the Starbucks to formulate its Strategy and also give it a clear road map. Objectives: These refine the mission and address key issues like market standing, innovation, productivity, physical and financial resources, profitability, management and work force performance and efficiency. Goals: are defined as statements that are formulated and lack of specificity while objectives are likely to appear in exact form (Strategic Planning). Goals statements compose of five elements: task, what, who, timeframe and deadline (Lukaszewski, 1990)These are rational estimates of anticipated results. The goals are usually Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding, and Timed (SMART). Planning as a Process As per tutor2u.net, Planning is the process of * Setting objectives * Determining what should be done to accomplish them * Implementing the plan * Evaluating A plan is a statement of intended means to accomplish a goal. Hence planning provides a blueprint to the organization telling about the actions to be taken in future. Organizing helps in allocating the resources, power and responsibilities in the organization. It creates organization structure, span of control and organization culture. Leading is about motivating the employees to work for the organizational objectives. Leadership is the process by which one person provides direction, implements the plans or strategies and motivates people. Strategic control is concerned with the monitoring progress in accomplishing the strategic goals of the organization. It is very critical to any organization, because without it the results could be chaotic. Organization have to improve their operational performance by proper evaluation and control mechanisms. http://www.2gc.co.uk/pdf/2GC-FAQP02.pdf Organizing Organizing focuses on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information within the organization Organizational structure is the formal decision-making framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. Organizational structure determines the role and responsibilities within the organization. Organizational structure depends on the product to be developed. Wheelwright and Clark define a continuum of organizational structures between two extremes, functional organizations and project organizations. Functional organizations are organized according to technological disciplines. Directing Leadership is defined as the ability to lead and inspire people towards a common goal.  This quality is very important because it can determine the success or failure of an organization.  If the objectives and goals of the people are not aligned with the companys mission and vision, this will have detrimental impact on the financial bottom-line and eventual survivability of the company.  Ã‚   There are various leadership styles, each stemming out from the leaders personality and the culture of the organization.  It is also dependent on the circumstances relating to the people and the organizations goals.  Here is a description of each leadership style: Authoritarian (autocratic) here, the leader uses his authority and power position to direct people in doing the right things, regardless of their opinions.  This style is useful when there is urgency and the people are not really motivated to participate.   Participative (democratic) when the leader asks for input from his subordinates, he recognizes the fact that each one has something special to contribute for the task on hand.  The traditional view of a leader is someone who can think and do better than others.  However, the specialization of skills allow for the possibility that some people may actually be better than him.  Thus, its important to allow each staff to participate in the decision-making process. Delegative (free reign) when the leaders subordinates have very specialized skills, he may allow them to assume full control and responsibility of certain tasks.  This doesnt mean that the leader is shunning his own responsibilities, but rather delegating specialized tasks to experts within his group.  This leadership style is used when the leader has a high level of trust of his staff, or if delegation is really needed in order for him to do other important things. This perhaps is the most important function of all management functions. It has been said that the nature of a man is to avoid work. A manager influences the behavior of an employee through motivation, communication, education, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. Thus we will have participative leadership and we will guide the employees accordingly. Good communication between leaders and workers to ensure that everyone interprets their intent the same and every one works together in harmony can be the basis for a very successful endeavor. The purpose of direction is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the mission while helping them accomplish personal goal as well prepare them to take your position. Controlling It is a process of comparing the standards with the actual results to find out variation and then to take corrective action. control programs are critical to any organization, because without it the results could be chaotic. It helps: In maximizing efficiency and minimize waste. To facilitate management and control. In Effectiveness and efficiency of operations include the use of the entitys resources. Help in strategy implementation Control activities occur at all levels and functions of the entity. We will include a wide range of diverse activities . Top level reviews of actual performance, Reviews by management at the functional or activity level, Management of human capital, Controls over information processing, Physical control over vulnerable assets, Establishment and review of performance measures and indicators, Segregation of duties, Proper execution of transactions and events, Accurate and timely recording of transactions and events, Access restrictions to and accountability for resources and records, and CONTENT OF BUSINESS PLAN 1. Executive summary 2. Business description 3. Environmental analysis 4. Marketing Plan 5. Design and Operational plan 6. Management plan 7. Financial factors Common Pitfalls of a Business Plan Only a summary of a project and its potential Wait for all analysis to be completed Become a prisoner of the plans and the contents therein Difficulty in deviating from the plan Push with the plan, hiding weaknesses under the carpet Make unrealistic assumptions Quality of a strategy is as good as its implementation Typical mental attitude of promoters I have a good product / service; others will buy Everybody is waiting to help me Their priorities are same as mine Others (all stakeholders) will stick to their promises Customer will pay and give me feedback for me to improve the product / service Environment / government policies will remain the same (blinkers of an entrepreneur) Lack of contingency plans for time and cost overrun Blind faith in consultants Not clearly understanding regulatory requirements Optimistic assessment of project cost and funding Lack of budgeting of trial production trial production expenses, incidental and invisible expenses Not taking fully into account the cost implications of the business activities and operating plans Not including cost implications of regulatory compliance Improper assessment of components of working capital The gap between sanction and disbursement Lack of efforts in confidence building with investors Lack of contingency plans for time and cost overruns Business Plan- Risk Evaluation Prepare best-case and worst-case scenarios with key parameters of the business to help assess Market risks Competition risks Technology risks Regulatory risks Financial risks Management risks What measures are proposed to counter these risks Sensitivity analysis of key factors to simulate the impact of changes Exercise 1 Business Planning Review the following business plan: Anywhere Remodeling Corporation http://www.bplans.com/residential_remodeling_business_plan/executive_s ummary_fc.cfm After carefully reviewing this business plan discuss following issues: 1. The industry that this venture is in 2. The riskiness of this venture 3. The potential for growths 4. Your long-term plan for this company Exercise 2 Shahnaz Husain Contributed by: Rajeev Roy, Professor of Entrepreneurship XIM B, India (Adapted from NEN) Shahnaz Husain is acknowledged as one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. Her company, Shahnaz Husain Herbals, is one of the leading manufacturers of herbal products in the world. The company sells over 350 herbal products and operates over 200 salons in more than 130 countries. The brand, Shahnaz Husain, was valued at over $100 million in 1996 and now it is likely to be worth much more. Shehnaz is from an aristocratic Muslim family and her father was a Chief Justice. Her upbringing was both traditional and modern. At the age of 15, she was married and she became a mother at the age of 16. When her husband was posted in Tehran, she became interested in beauty treatments and she decided to formally study cosmetology. After an introduction to the subject in Tehran, she wanted to know more and over the next ten years, she studied the subject extensively in London, Paris and other parts of Europe. On returning to India in 1977, she started her first salon in Delhi with a capital investment of Rs.35,000. She had also studied Ayurveda and her interest in that field has kept growing. She started formulating her own products and these were very successful. The company was able to grow systematically and currently operates three major complementary businesses Herbal products: Shehnaz Husain has an extensive range of over 350 herbal cosmetic products. These are divided into 15 distinct categories for skin, hair and body care. The distribution of these products is carried out in a fashion similar to that of other consumer goods. The products are available in all leading stores around the world like Harrods (London), Bloomingdale (New Yory) and Galleries Lafayette (Paris). Recently, the company has decided to launch four skin care products in partnership with Elder Pharma. Beauty Salons: Mostly operated on a franchise basis, there are over 200 Shehnaz Husain spas and salons worldwide. The company provides support in setting up and training and provides ongoing support too. The franchisee pays an initial fee but there are no ongoing royalty payments. The company is able to get a revenue stream from sale of their products through the salon. Training: Shahnaz Husain also operates training institutes where students can obtain professional qualifications in beauty therapy. The institutes also operate a number of short term vocational courses. The institutes provide a steady flow of people trained in the use of Shehnaz Husain products, in addition to contributing to profits of the group. Shehnaz Husain Herbals is still a privately held company even after 30 years of its formation but that has not hampered its growth. Shehnaz Husain continues to look ahead and her story is an inspiration for many others. For her contribution to business and in promoting Ayurveda, Shahnaz Husain was conferred the Padmashree. She has also won numerous other awards from all over the world. Q- What are the critical success factors of Shahnaz Husain. Give reasons. References: All year 2011 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-importance-of-strategic-planning-in-business.html. http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/what_is_strategy.htm. http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ http://www.answers.com/topic/strategic-planning James E. Lukaszewski, APR. Focus on Success: Choosing Corporate Goals You Can Actually Achieve. http://www.e911.com/exacts/EA021.htmls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc. http://www.glgroup.com/News/New-Pricing-Strategy-by-Apple-a-Hope-to-Boost-Sales-31248.html http://www.samspublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=602978seqNum=1rl=1 christophe.benavent.free.fr//AINI_2008_Apple_s_Pricing_Strategy.pdf http://www.answers.com/topic/strategic-planning   http://www.teal.org.uk/mat/page6.htm. http://www.starbucks.com/mission/default.asp . Business Plan Template Important: Select file then Save As to first save this document to your desktop. If you make edits to this document without doing this you may not be able to save your changes. Business Plan Enter your business name Enter your name May 6, 2013 Section 1: The Business Profile Description of My Business (Session 1): Describe your product or service. Targeted Market and Customers (Session 1): Describe your customer profile and why customers want or need your product or service. Growth Trends In This Business (Session 1): Is the market for your product or service growing or shrinking? Pricing Power (Session 1): Explain the unique qualities or circumstances concerning your product or service that will enable you to maintain profitable pricing. Section 2: The Vision and the People (Session 2): Describe convincingly that you are passionately committed to your new business and have the realism to make inevitable hard choices. The People Work Experience Related to My Intended Business (Session 2): Describe your work experience in the business you plan to start including a list of your skills and knowledge, which will be required in your business. Personal Background and Education Credentials (Session 2): Describe yourself, including your education. Section 3: Communications Computer and Communications Tools (Session 3): Furnish a tabulation of each piece of equipment you intend to use including a description and the budget for each. You can use the following as a guide. Resource Requirements: Communications Enter a description and budget of all communications equipment. Telephones Enter a description and budget for all telephone equipment. Pagers Enter a description and budget for pagers. Facsimile Enter a description and budget for all fax equipment. Computers Enter a description and budget for all computer equipment. Internet Enter a description and budget for necessary Internet access and providers. Section 4: Organization Business Organization (Session 4): Explain the form of business organization you intend to use and why it is best for your business. Professional Consultants (Session 4): List the names of your lawyer, accountant, insurance agent and any other professionals. Licenses (Session 4): List what licenses you will require to go into business. Section 5: Licenses, Permits and Business Names Due Diligence Procedures for Licenses, Permits and Business Names (Session 14): List the following: DBA: List the name you intend to do business as. Zoning: Indicate if the zoning if appropriate for your intended office location. Licenses: List the appropriate licenses you will need at the local, state, and federal level. Local: State: Central: Trademark: Indicate your trademark intentions if any exist. Sellers Permit: List any sellers permits that you may need. EIN: Indicate if you will obtain an employers identification number. Section 6: Insurance Insurance (Session 6): List the forms of insurance coverage including costs are anticipated. Section 7: Premises Location Criteria (Session 7): Outline your location criteria. space requirements. future requirements. site analysis study if needed (attach). demographic study if needed (attach). lease check-off list (attach). estimated occupancy cost as a % of sales. zoning and use approvals. Section 8: Accounting and Cash Flow Accounting (Session 8): Furnish, as a separate exhibit of your starting balance sheet and projected income statements for the first six months to one year. Cash Flow Planning (Session 8): Provide a separate exhibit of your one year cash flow analysis including estimated sales, all costs and capital investments. Provide a checklist of all expense items for input into your cash flow projection. Analysis of Costs (Session 8): What are all of my costs: fixed, variable, product, delivery, etc. Internal Controls (Session 8): Explain your: Intended internal controls and cash controls, check signing policy, strategy for controlling shrinkage and dishonesty and control of incoming merchandise. Section 9: Financing Financing Strategy (Session 9): Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital. Explain any government assistance or loan guarantee programs you intend to apply for. If your business is for use with potential lenders, include a cash flow projection and projected income statements to show sources of repayment of loans. Be conservative in your forecasts. List your sources of referrals to lending institutions. (Your accountant, etc.) Section 10: E-Commerce E-Commerce Plans (Session 10): Describe in detail how you plan to use the Internet in marketing your product or service. E-Commerce Budgeting (Session 10): Provide a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in creating, operating and maintaining your e-commerce activities. E-Commerce Competition (Session 10): Describe how your best competitors utilize e-commerce and your strategy to improve on their practices. Section 11: Acquisitions Due Diligence Procedures for Acquisitions (Session 11): List the following: Your consulting team: Attorney, accountant, banker, broker, etc. Verification of sellers revenues: how you plan to authenticate. Sellers records to be inspected: Financial statements, income tax returns, sales backlog, cash deposit records, utility bills, accounts payable and receivable, backlog, financial comparisons of similar businesses, etc. Inspections and approval of leases and contracts. Appraisals, as appropriate. If a franchise, interview with randomly selected franchisees. Finance plan for acquisitions: include sources including seller financing. Market conditions. Value of goodwill. Method of purchase: stock, assets, etc. Section 12: Marketing Marketing Plan (Session 12): Describe your overall marketing and sales strategy including how you plan to get and retain customers. Advertising and Promotion Plans (Session 12): Describe your plans and budgets for advertising and promotions. Purchasing and Inventory Control (Session 12): See how to buy checklist. Training Policies (Session 12): Describe your plans for hiring and training your sales associates. The Competition (Session 12): Describe your strongest competitors and how you intend to compete. How I Plan to Take Advantage of Competitors Weak Points (Session 12): List your competitors shortcomings and how you can capitalize on them. Section 13: Growth Program Expansion (Session 13): Describe your growth: You might include

Reggae music on Rastafarians

Reggae music on Rastafarians The origins and significance of reggae music on Rastafarians Regarded as the core of Rastafarian culture, reggae music is also the heart and soul of Jamaica. Rastafarianism emerged in the 20th century along with reggae music in the 1960s. The latter has been a way of revealing Rastafarianism to individuals while Rastafarianism has contributed to the growth of the reggae genre, illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the two. One of the major promoters of both Rastafarianism and its music has been Bob Marley who, via globally famous tracks, has helped the two proliferate. I wish to look at the influence of reggae and rastafari beyond the West Indies because I feel that Reggae is unique, joyful and does something to people, different to other music. This is mostly due to the ideas behind it, and I want to show that its not just about marijuana and the usual stereotypes of Rastafarians but to show the beauty and significance of listening to Reggae and being a Rastafarian. During the 1930s Jamaica was an island where depression, discrimination and racism dominated, especially in the poorest areas. This is where Rastafarianism came in to help out the community. The Rastas claim that Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was the re incarnation of Jesus Christ and their religion worships a single God, known as Jah. Rastafarianism therefore originated in Jamaica around this time as a result of the strong oppression by Western nations. Its basic principles include the desire to defy Babylon (a common term used to define Western culture) as well as using non-violence as a method to achieve this. Furthermore their principles consist of a peaceful autonomous and independent society together with a symbiotic relationship with nature and their surrounding environment illustrated by the fact that often Rastafarians are vegetarians and prefer avoiding foodstuffs such as alcohol, meat, pork and shellfish instead basing their diets on alternative nu trients such as those in mango and coconut. Another extremely important aspect of the Rastafarian culture is dreadlocks; in fact these are a way to repudiate Babylon and its artificiality inspiring dread in its inhabitants. Furthermore Rastafarians believe that by shaking their dreadlocks a connection is created between God and themselves. Another method of completing this divine connection is by smoking ganja which also counteracts the daily oppression. The Rastafarian method of non-violence has therefore allowed the survival of Jamaicas population along with other colonies of the West Indies providing survival against the influence of Babylon as well as pride in the African culture. Originally serving as a method of restoring self awareness as well as their African roots reggae music today plays a major role in teaching the Rastafarian people about the oppressive, deceptive and divisive nature of the system under which they live and, as written above, serves as the primary way to annihilate Babylon, with Nyabinghi music being the most integral form of it. Reggae developed from several other musical styles including ska, rocksteady, mento as well as American RB. Furthermore, although the majority of radio stations were situated in Florida or Louisiana, some were powerful enough to transmit their music as far as Jamaica therefore influencing the development of this genre. Only in the 1960s did Reggae become an officially distinct genre. Reggae is based on a musical approach characterized by accents on the off-beat which is identified as the skank. It also contains a heavy backbeated rhythm which means there is an emphasis on specific beats in a bar, an example of this in beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time. This backbeat differs greatly from the usual strong African-based sounds and is not found in typical European or Asian music. The music is also frequently very straightforward, and occasionally it will be constructed and based upon no more than one or two chords. These simple recurring chord structures therefore add to the hypnotic effects of reggae. Reggae music consists of several instruments which include drums and other percussion, bass guitars and guitars, keyboards, horns and vocals. Furthermore the reggae drumbeats are usually selected from three major categories: One drop, Rockers and Steppers. In the first, the stress is fully on the third beat of the bar (typically on the snare, or joint with the bass drum). With Rockers beat, the stress is on the third beat as well as an accent on beat one (usually on bass drum) while in the last, the bass drum plays four solid beats to the bar, giving the beat an persistent force. There is also extensive variety of additional percussion instruments that are used in Reggae music. Bongos are often used in improvised patterns with African style rhythms but cowbells, shakers and claves also have fundamental roles in reggae music. Also, the bass guitar regularly plays a leading position in reggae and, united, the drum and bass are typically referred to as the riddim (Rhythm). The sound of bass in reggae is thick and heavy and the bass line is often an uncomplicated two-bar riff that is focused around its thickest and heaviest note. Another fundamental instrument in reggae music is the rhythm guitar which plays chords mainly on the second and fourth beats of a bar which, as written on the previous page, is a sequence of beat known as skank upon which reggae is largely based. Furthermore this instrument is played to produce a very short and scratchy chop sound which causes it to sound similar to a percussion instrument. From the late 1960s to the early eighties the piano was also a main feature in reggae music doubling the guitars skank rhythm, playing chords in a staccato style or occasional extra beats or riffs. From the 1980s onwards synthesizers were used to replace the piano, adopting organ-style sounds in order to achieve the choppy feel typical to this style of music. Another family of instruments utilized in reggae is the brass section, including saxophones, tr umpets and trombones. These often play introductions or counter-melodies but, in more recent times, are being replaced, along with the piano part, by synthesizers. In comparison to the other instruments and rhythm of reggae, the vocals are a more of crucial aspect of the genre. In fact they are distinct from other genres as they directly deliver specific messages to the audience, the nature of which will be discussed in the following paragraph. Many reggae singers use embellishments of various kinds such as tremolos (volume oscillation) or vibrato (pitch oscillation). Possibly the most fundamental part of Reggae is its lyrics, known for their tradition to cover various subjects including love, peace, religion, sexuality, relationships and socializing. Some of the messages sent to the audience via the lyrics are optimistic and upbeat, but they may also be of political significance as the singer attempts to increase the awareness of the audience to such matters. This is achieved by criticizing materialism or enlightening the listener with lyrics concerning controversial issues such as the Apartheid or human rights. Reggae song-writers mainly sing about one love and one world, unity and brotherhood of all mankind, the coming together regardless of diverse beliefs, and the hope of a new tomorrow. In addition Reggae lyrics are, as written in above pages, religion oriented, often discussing religious subject matter such as paying tribute to the Rastafari God, Jah. Other common lyrics are based on socio-political issues, for example the embrace of black nationalism, anti capitalism, criticism of political systems and Babylon which, as previously discussed, is the idiom used for the white political authority organization that has held back the black race for centuries. The lyrics in Reggae music remind the audience of the singers demand to gain freedom which in turn addresses the quest for freedom of all people who are oppressed globally. Robert Nesta Marley or more likely known, Bob Marley was born in a little countryside town in Jamaica on 6th of February 1945. He was a vocalist, performer, songwriter, and a pioneer to many because of his way of introducing reggae music to the world, and he still remains to be one of the most adored musicians to this date. Bob was the child of a black adolescent mother and a much older, soon after not present white father. His earlier years in the countryside village were spent in the community of St. Ann. This is where Marley meets one of his child-hood friends, and future collaborator in music, called Neville â€Å"Bunny Wailer† ORiley Livingston. They both attended the same school, and they mutually shared a love called music. Bob was encouraged to begin playing guitar thanks to Bunny. Nevilles father and Bob Marleys mother afterward had an affair together which resulted in all of them living together for some time in Kingston; this is according to Christopher John Farleys Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley. Marley in the late 1950s lived in Trench Town; this is one of Kingstons poorest neighborhoods. Even though the poverty influenced him a lot he still found motivation in the music that surrounded him. This is because there were a couple of successful musicians which were from Trench Town as well. Also as I mentioned before, many other sounds and music was broadcasted from America which many artists such as Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, influenced Marleys love for music. Bob and Bunny dedicated most of their time to music and under the supervision of Joe Higgs, a famous reggae musician in Jamaica, Marley tried to develop on his singing skills. Under the tutoring of Higgs Marley met another student, Peter McIntosh which later became Peter Tosh, who would play with Marley and Livingston later on, to be known as The Wailers. Approximately in 1962 a local record producer, named Leslie Kong, liked Bobs singing and produced a small number of singles for Marley, one of them being â€Å"Judge Not†. His small success as a solo artist, made Marley join and create a band with his two friends, Bunny and Tosh, to form the ‘Wailing Wailers in 1963. In January 1964 the first single that they all made called â€Å"Simmer Down† rose up to the top of Jamaican charts, at this point of the bands status 3 other members had joined the Wailing Wailers. These new band members included Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith. Even though the bands popularity was rising in Jamaica, they still had financial problems and this caused for 3 of the members to leave, these were Junior, Beverly and Cherry. The 3 original members went through a rough patch for a period of time and Marley moved to the United States where he married Rita Anderson on 1966. After some time Bob returned to his home, Jamaica and reunited with bunny and Tosh now form ‘The Wailers. At this point in Marleys life he started to develop and explore his spiritual side and his interest grew for the Rastafarian movement. At this point the Rastafarian movement had been in Jamaica over 30 years. In the late 1960s some of the songs that the wailers produced where â€Å"Trench Town Rock†, â€Å"Soul Rebel†, and â€Å"Four Hundred Years†. In the 1970s the wailers added two new members, Aston â€Å"Family Man† Barret and his brother Carlton†Carlie† Barret. They later got a contract with Island Records which resulted in the recording their first full album, Catch a Fire, and tour Britain and the United States in 1973. Burnin, their next album was released that same year and this album featured songs like â€Å"I Shot the Sheriff†. Their next album in 1975, Natty Dread, reflected some of the political problems that Jamaica was facing between the Peoples National Party and the Jamaica Labor Party. Some of the conflicts between these two parties can be seen in one of their songs â€Å"Rebels†, this song was inspired because of Marleys own firsthand experience of these conflicts. One sad fact about this album was that two if the original members left to pursue their own solo careers, these were Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. The bands and reggaes popularity was increased abroad when the band toured extensively now called Bob Marley the Wailers. They were joined by I-Threes which consisted of a group of 3 female vocalists, Marleys wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Marley was starting to be on his way to becoming an international music icon and was already a much admired star in Jamaica. He entered the U.S music charts in 1976 with the album ‘Rastaman Vibration. His devotion to his faith and his interest in political change was reflected in one of his songs, â€Å"War†. The lyrics to this song where taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the song discusses a new Africa, freedom, and racism. In 1976 there was an attempt of assassination on Marley because of his popularity and support of the Peoples National Party from the rivals. The night of December 3, 1976, a group of armed men broke into Marleys and the Wailers rehearsal before a concert. Marley and his wife were lucky and were just injured from gun shots but Don Taylor was shot 5 times and had to have surgery in order to save him. Even though the attempt of assassination had occurred, Marley still played at the show that night. The following day the Marleys escaped the country. The next year, 1977, Bob moved to London where he began to work on ‘Exodus. This song speaks about biblical stories of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile and comparing this to his own situation. This theme also links to another topic discussed in the song being returning to Africa, to the roots of Africans. This track was very popular in Britain and this song was followed with other successful songs like ‘Waiting in Vain and ‘Jammin. The whole album was very popular and stayed in the British charts for more than a year and is considered one of the best albums ever made. During 1977, Marley wanted treatment on a toe he had injured earlier that year, then discovering it to be cancerous cells on his toe. Bob required surgery for it to be removed in Miami, Florida. Even thought Marley and the Wailers were making Exodus they all recorded what would be released on another album, Kaya, which came out the following year, 1978. The two main records in this album were ‘Is This Love and ‘Satisfy My Soul, this record theme was love. Even after his last experience in Jamaica with an attempt of assassination he returned to Jamaica and in his One Love Peace Concert he made the two parties PNP and JLP leaders shake hands on stage, I think this shows the determination of Bob towards unity and love. That same year Bob visited Africa for the first time in his life. He visited places like Kenya and Ethiopia and obviously Ethiopia being more significant to him because of the relations with Rastafarianism. His next album portrayed a lot the unity of Africa and the end of the oppression there. Survival, the album, was mostly inspired from his visit to Africa. The next album which was release in 1980 was a huge success. Songs in this album like ‘Could you be loved and ‘Redemption Song, the latter song spoke about Marleys talents of how he combined poetical lyrics with social and political importance. One of the lines of the songs quotes ‘emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds this is a clear example of the play of words and how he directs the message directly at the audience. The cancer that had been discovered earlier in his toe had unfortunately spread across all of Bobs body while they were in touring around Europe and the united states to promote their album. During his tour in Europe Bob underwent treatment in Germany where we was able to fight the cancer for a couple months, but it then was shown that he did not have much to live. When this was known Bob Marley wanted to return to his homeland but unfortunately passed away before he could make it to Jamaica. He died on the 11 of May 1981 in Miami, Florida. In part of his memorial service his wife, Rita Marley, and the Wailers played one last time for him. Figures of more than 30,000 people paid their respects to the Jamaican hero whish had received a Medal of Peace from the United States that earlier year. Marley will always be remembered till the end of times as one of the first international singer to have come from the Third World. His music is still and will be popular and fortunately his inheritance is continued by his wife and children. Also many of his children have continued in the family business and have as well succeeded in the music industry. His fight for the oppression and poverty still continues thanks to an organization created by the Marley family called the Bob Marley Foundation. This organization helps in education, health, food, and development of countries which need help.

Our Town Needs a Youth Center :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Our Town Needs a Youth Center Smallville Elementary was built in 1919 in order to enrich the lives of the youth in Smallville. It served as a school until 1977, when it was closed and changed to a community center. The purpose of the building, however, remained the same: to enrich the lives of Smallville' youth (Ellis 67). Many years ago, my grandmother took painting lessons in the old Smallville building while I had daycare. It was a perfect blend of young and old. Recently, however, the building has not been used as it was intended. It is now used strictly as a senior center, leaving no place for the young to gather. Now, as a result of youths'being shut out of the only public recreation building, the city can no longer attract new families and the young are turning to crime as their only pastime. The best solution to remedy these problems is to build a youth center for the children and teens of Smallville. What would this much needed facility provide for Smallville? The Bigtown Recreation Center is a great model for Smallville, housing several basketball courts, tennis courts, a weight room, and a swimming pool. The programs conducted at the center include athletic clinics in the summer, swimming, basketball, and tennis lessons, and even fitness training and aerobics. These are all activities nearly every citizen can enjoy. So, if Smallville had a similar recreation center it would benefit the young and old alike. However, our recreation center should provide programs specifically for children and teenagers. Aside from just providing athletic and sports recreation for the youth, we should also provide them with tutoring services, a game room and a lounge were they can just "hang out." The programs that would be provided by our youth center would improve our town in many ways. Smallville is failing as a city because it cannot attract new residents. The town is dying because most of its citizens are elderly; they will soon pass away. The population is decreasing as older citizens die or are sent to nursing homes and no new residents replace them. According to the 1990 Census, the population of Smallville has decreased by nearly 3,000 people in the last ten years. Of the 11,194 people that are left, nearly forty percent are over the age of fifty-five.

Comparative Souls, Contrasting Beings: Frankenstein and His Creature Es

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a story about a man named Frankenstein who wants to understand the creation of life. He does not fail in understanding it and actually applies what he knows into making his own creature. However, the catch is that his creature is not anything as he imagines, he is far too physically deformed to be accepted as a good creature. Frankenstein abandons him and the creature takes on a life and mind of his own, but finds that no man will ever want to be around him. As the story separates the characters, the two come together and that is when one can compare and contrast them to each other. Thus, this story putting such opposite beings alongside each other makes room for ways they may be similar but also heightens how their natures influence their differences. Frankenstein has a weak mind for disaster; when the creature comes to life and later kills his friends and family, these disasters impair his mind. He falls into a â€Å"nervous fever† (38) when he first sees his creation and his shock debilitates his mind. Yet, his friend Clerval â€Å"called forth the better feelings† (45) he had possessed before making his creation, such as mental clarity and inclusion into the human world, not isolated in his mind. While Frankenstein does have â€Å"frequent relapses,† showing the profound horror he experienced was in looking at the deformed creature, he recovers and becomes normal again. However, as the very creature takes away his loved ones, Frankenstein’s situational mental dysfunction manifests and begins to show on his body as well: â€Å"[Elizabeth] welcomed me with warm affection; yet tears were in her eyes, as she beheld my emaciated frame and feverish cheeks...The tranquility which I now enjoyed did not endure.... ...ars. But his revenge can not nearly hold the same power as the creature’s, who prepares himself for an eternal battle between himself and his creator. The creature seeks to be human but cannot escape that he not only looks different but his capacities for rage and his mental acuteness are very much inhuman while Frankenstein is human and appears that way his mental weakness and large need for understanding the physical secrets of the world pull him away from men. He truly does not yearn as the creature does for men, and the creature does not yearn to understand anything beside men, the two are opposite because Frankenstein is so human and the creature is so inhuman. How they feel is important to compare, but what it all comes down to is how mentally, physically, and emotionally strong these two are, the creature ends up on top of it all. Comparative Souls, Contrasting Beings: Frankenstein and His Creature Es Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a story about a man named Frankenstein who wants to understand the creation of life. He does not fail in understanding it and actually applies what he knows into making his own creature. However, the catch is that his creature is not anything as he imagines, he is far too physically deformed to be accepted as a good creature. Frankenstein abandons him and the creature takes on a life and mind of his own, but finds that no man will ever want to be around him. As the story separates the characters, the two come together and that is when one can compare and contrast them to each other. Thus, this story putting such opposite beings alongside each other makes room for ways they may be similar but also heightens how their natures influence their differences. Frankenstein has a weak mind for disaster; when the creature comes to life and later kills his friends and family, these disasters impair his mind. He falls into a â€Å"nervous fever† (38) when he first sees his creation and his shock debilitates his mind. Yet, his friend Clerval â€Å"called forth the better feelings† (45) he had possessed before making his creation, such as mental clarity and inclusion into the human world, not isolated in his mind. While Frankenstein does have â€Å"frequent relapses,† showing the profound horror he experienced was in looking at the deformed creature, he recovers and becomes normal again. However, as the very creature takes away his loved ones, Frankenstein’s situational mental dysfunction manifests and begins to show on his body as well: â€Å"[Elizabeth] welcomed me with warm affection; yet tears were in her eyes, as she beheld my emaciated frame and feverish cheeks...The tranquility which I now enjoyed did not endure.... ...ars. But his revenge can not nearly hold the same power as the creature’s, who prepares himself for an eternal battle between himself and his creator. The creature seeks to be human but cannot escape that he not only looks different but his capacities for rage and his mental acuteness are very much inhuman while Frankenstein is human and appears that way his mental weakness and large need for understanding the physical secrets of the world pull him away from men. He truly does not yearn as the creature does for men, and the creature does not yearn to understand anything beside men, the two are opposite because Frankenstein is so human and the creature is so inhuman. How they feel is important to compare, but what it all comes down to is how mentally, physically, and emotionally strong these two are, the creature ends up on top of it all.

Parenting Styles in the Family Crucible

The Family Crucible: The Intense Experience of Family Therapy In The Family Crucible, a unique way of looking at family therapy is used. This approach probably would not be something that would be done by therapist now. The more that we study systemic approaches the less I believe that there are any individual problems. With that being said there is a long reach that effects of parenting has on a child. * . Describe how Carolyn and David fit in terms of authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive forms of parenting. * Authoritative parents set clear and consistent limits for children.They are flexible but firm, whichs leads to children who are responsible, cooperative, and self reliant. * There are almost as many parenting â€Å"styles† in the world as there are parents. However, most experts have classified parenting styles into three main categories: authoritarian, permissive and authoritative. If you are aiming to raise a self-reliant, pleasant, well-behaved child, the aut horitative parent will generally have the most success. * What is Authoritative Parenting? * Authoritative parents exercise control over their children, without being controlling.They set rules and guidelines that they expect children to follow. But they also recognize that sometimes flexibility is called for. Authoritative parents often express love and affection to their children, without fear that such expressions of emotion may affect their ability to discipline. As their children get older, authoritative parents encourage more responsibility and freedom, within well-outlined rules. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other children's health organizations state that children of authoritative parents usually grow up to be independent, socially successful, and respectful of authority. This style is sometimes also referred to as an indulgent or non-directive parenting style.* The inconsistency of the permissive parenting style often leaves devoted parents grieving for their pare nting mistakes. * Permissive parents have the belief that really showing their child love and feeling their love, in return, is their ultimate goal in parenting. * They do love their children and are highly bonded to them. But their relationship is one of equals rather than as parents to children. * To gain compliance from their children they will often resort to gift giving and even out right ribery, rather than setting boundaries and expecting obedience. * Permissive means to be lenient, liberal, lax and hands-off. During the 1960s, developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind described three different types of parenting styles based on her researcher with preschool-age children. One of the main parenting styles identified by Baumrind is known as the authoritarian parenting style. Authoritarian parents have high expectations of their children and have very strict rules that they expect to be followed unconditionally.According to Baumrind, these parents â€Å"are obedience- and statu s-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation. † People with this parenting style often utilize punishment rather than discipline, but are not willing or able to explain the reasoning behind their rules. Characteristics of the Authoritarian Parenting Style Authoritarian parents: * Have strict rules and expectations. * Very demanding, but not responsive. * Don't express much warmth or nurturing. * Utilize punishments with little or no explanation. Don't give children choices or options. The Effects of Authoritarian Parenting Parenting styles have been associated with a variety of child outcomes including social skills and academic performance. The children of authoritarian parents: * Tend to associate obedience and success with love. * Some children display more aggressive behavior outside the home. * Others may act fearful or overly shy around others. * Often have lower self-esteem. * Have difficulty in social situations. Understanding Authoritarian Pare ntingBecause authoritarian parents expect absolute obedience, children raised in such settings are typically very good at following rules. However, they may lack self-discipline. Unlike children raised by authoritative parents, children raised by authoritarian parents are not encouraged to explore and act independently, so they never really learn how to set their own limits and personal standards. While developmental experts agree that rules and boundaries are important for children to have, most believe that authoritarian parenting is too punitive and lacks the warmth, unconditional love and nurturing that children need.References Baumrind, D. (1967). Child-care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75, 43-88. Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95. Maccoby, E. E. (1992). The role of parents in the socialization of children: An hi storical overview. Developmental Psychology, 28, 1006-1017. Santrock, J. W. (2007). A topical approach to life-span development, third Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. I believe the authors’ were instrumental in providing a clear example of what the family really needed and searched for. The family needed to realize that in order for the family to make a real change they need to utilize a structure that included the entire family. They also needed to know that the therapists were completely serious and in control. Their stance was something I could completely agree upon. However, I do not agree that the family was trying to question their authority or provide a strategy to defeat the new system in which they were beginning to enter.Barring this, the authors’ posed a series of questions that they strongly believed the family was thinking. Did Don really wonder â€Å"will the family undertake changing the whole family without me? † Therefore, I did not agree with the as pect of â€Å"we know what you’re thinking†. I felt that this was too deep of an approach. The basic underlining problem of the family was that they did not know how to communicate and could not establish their own structure to allow their family system to operate in harmony.Another aspect of the text that I thought was fundamental and provided me with a different outlook on approaching a perceived problem was the way in which the two therapists began the therapy. The family entered into therapy by believing that Claudia was their entire problem and that her actions alone were the root of their dilemma. However, she was just the perceived problem. And in order for the parents to see that Claudia was only the perceived problem the therapists reversed the blame that the parents had projected on to their daughter.I believe this technique was most attractive. Through the art of helping the family to view their situation differently, the therapists initiated a second-order change allowing the family to step outside their norm and see that their failure in marriage was affecting their parenting. Thus, the therapists gave Claudia meaning while reducing her feeling of failure and at the same time proposed the more serious problem that the parents had slowly began drifting away from each other and suffered the impasse of a deadening marriage.In my view, once the fundamental problem of the marriage was introduced and the family began to realize that each had a role in a family system that was failing, many changes began to take place. Most importantly, I saw the problems associated with scapegoating the children fall by the wayside that allowed the parents to confront the hard issues they had so skillfully avoided through the dynamics they developed among themselves. It was good to see that confronting the parents with their underlining problem helped to reduce the polarization effect they were projecting on the family members around them.Now, this is not to say that all the issues disappeared instantly. There was still the fact that the parents triangulated the children in order to get reacquainted with their true feeling about one another. Likewise, a considerable amount of blame lingered throughout the entire therapy. And when the therapists tried to work the issues of blame, I had to disagree with there methods. It seemed as if they were constantly trying to evoke a confrontation between the two blaming individuals in order to get the family to surface their real feelings and issues.Consequently, when the confrontations turned into physical fights the therapists seemed surprised that such emotional distress took place. What more did they expect. I completely understood what they were trying to accomplish, however, I had a hard time understanding their methodology. As I look back through my notes, I noticed many of the same underlining factors that seemed to keep surfacing. First, both parents were consumed in the self. The father was constantly consumed with his work and the mother seemed completely bored with her life and wanted a change.Here is where I had difficulty in understanding the authors’ point of view. They thought that the parents were not consumed in the self, but just had difficulty showing affection toward the other. Now, I believe the there was a lack of affection, however, if they were any more consumed in doing what the self wanted this may lead to more difficulty when confronting the Other's’ wishes and the Self’s wants. I really got lost with this aspect. Another difficulty I have with the authors’ view on family therapy is the fact that they seemed to think that every issue was rooted in past family issues.This is a great aspect to try and tackle. However, trying to find out which issues in the past are the cause of the present problems can be very time consuming and expensive. I agree that this type of therapy can be revolutionary, but I do not believe that family therapy would be for everyone. Subsequently, I would also agree that this book did a great job illustrating why sometimes family therapy and not individual therapy can be the right solution. Maybe, this mixed message is why I still have opposing emotions about this very intriguing approach.Developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents impact child development. However, finding actual cause-and-effect links between specific actions of parents and later behavior of children is very difficult. Some children raised in dramatically different environments can later grow up to have remarkably similar personalities. Conversely, children who share a home and are raised in the same environment can grow up to have astonishingly different personalities than one another. Despite these challenges, researchers have uncovered convincing links between parenting styles and the effects these styles have on children.During the early 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrind condu cted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children (Baumrind, 1967). Using naturalistic observation, parental interviews and other research methods, she identified four important dimensions of parenting: * Disciplinary strategies * Warmth and nurturance * Communication styles * Expectations of maturity and control Based on these dimensions, Baumrind suggested that the majority of parents display one of three different parenting styles. Further research by also suggested the addition of a fourth parenting style (Maccoby & Martin, 1983).The Four Parenting Styles 1. Authoritarian Parenting In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind these rules. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply, â€Å"Because I said so. † These parents have high demands, but are not responsive to their children. According to Baumrind, these parents â€Å"are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation† (1991). 2. Authoritative ParentingLike authoritarian parents, those with an authoritative parenting style establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. However, this parenting style is much more democratic. Authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions. When children fail to meet the expectations, these parents are more nurturing and forgiving rather than punishing. Baumrind suggests that these parents â€Å"monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive.They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative† (1991). 3. Permissive Parenting Permissive parents, sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, have very few demands to make of their children. These parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control. According to Baumrind, permissive parents â€Å"are more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation† (1991).Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than that of a parent. 4. Uninvolved Parenting An uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness and little communication. While these parents fulfill the child's basic needs, they are generally detached from their child's life. In extreme cases, these parents may even reject or neglect the needs of their children. The Impact of Parenting Styles What effect do these parenting styles have on child development outcomes?In addition to Baumrind's initial study of 100 preschool children, researchers have conducted numerous other studies than have led to a number of conclusions about the impact of parenting styles on children. * Authoritarian parenting styles generally lead to children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence and self-esteem. * Authoritive parenting styles tend to result in children who are happy, capable and successful (Maccoby, 1992). * Permissive parenting often results in children who rank low in happiness and self-regulation.These children are more likely to experience problems with authority and tend to perform poorly in school. * Uninvolved parenting styles rank lowest across all life domains. These children tend to lack self-control, have low self-esteem and are less competent than their peers. Why Do Parenting Styles Differ? After learning about the impact of parenting styles on child development, you may wonder why all parents simply don't utilize an authoritative parenting style. After all, this parenting style is the most likely to produce happy, confident and capable children.What are some reasons why parenting styles might vary? Some potential causes of these differences include culture, personality, family size, parental background, socioeconomic status, educational level and religion. Of course, the parenting styles of individual parents also combine to create a unique blend in each and every family. For example, the mother may display an authoritative style while the father favors a more permissive approach. In order to create a cohesive approach to parenting, it is essential that parents learn to cooperate as they combine various elements of their unique parenting styles.