Busi 650-ILP Final Essay

Table of Contents I. Abstract II. Organizational Setting III. Key Concepts a. Quality b. Total Quality Management c. Innovation d. Strategy Map e. Balanced Scorecard f. Six Sigma g. Bench Marking h. Inventory Management IV. Conclusion V. References Abstract The main purpose of the Integrative Learning Project (ILP) is to introduce an authentic or fabricated company/industry to research. The company’s organizational setting includes the mission statement of the company, who the internal/external customers are, what aspects can be contributed to achieve the organizations mission, and what role Christianity has with the organization. The research includes using eight different concepts learned throughout the course, explaining in detail how these concepts relate to the organization and the benefits the concepts offer to the organization, and what needs to be done to implement these concepts into the organization  successfully. This ILP will prove that a successful business can be run effectively and efficiently when implementing the key concepts. Organizational Setting Dover Saddlery, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer in the English-style horseback riding industry in the United States. The company offers a large selection of quality and premium equestrian products to care for, ride, train, and compete a horse. Founded in 1975 by Jim and David Powers, the company has grown to be the largest multi-channel marketer of premier equestrian products by selling through direct and retail sales. The company serves the English rider through Dover Saddlery and the western rider through Smith Brothers. The company sells their products using catalogs, the internet, and retail stores. The product line includes a variety of items such as tack, horse clothing, horse health, footwear, and specialized apparel. Dover Saddlery, Inc. is headquartered in Littleton, MA, including a warehouse and call center facility. The company has 18 retail locations in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolin a, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia. The company’s third quarter 2013 total revenues were $63.6 million, a 6.4% increase from the $59.7 million achieved in the corresponding period. Dover Saddlery, Inc. stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol DOVR. The company’s mission is to grow the business by providing a broad variety of quality and most advanced equestrian apparel, equipment, stable, and horse care products to all equestrians, while operating efficiently and being profitable. The company carries 5,800 items comprising of approximately 28,000 different SKU’s. The company carries entry-level price points to the premium high-end price points to meet the wide range of customer needs and expectations. The company carries a distinctive and broad selection of need-based and high quality products at competitive prices with prompt order fulfillment ability. The company differentiates itself from competitors by their large inventory consisting of non-branded products, private label products, and premium brands. The current equestrian products market is  estimated by the American Horse Council at $7.6 billion with an estimated 9.2 millions horses in the United States. American Sports Data estimates that over 16.8 mill ion people ride horses. The equestrian industry has many indicators that the equestrian products industry will continue to grow. The company is known for their excellence in customer service and large comprehensive selection. The company promotes a culture of courteous, knowledgeable, and prompt customer service representatives. 90% of the sales and customer service representatives are horse enthusiast. The company offers customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The company has one of the largest detailed customer databases. The database consists of customers that have purchased items with the last 12 months and their demographic information. The use of the catalog, internet, and retail stores has enabled the company to capture customer information, cross-market products, and provide a convenient shopping experience for customers. The company’s customers are primarily females with a passion for the riding sport. The customers are affluent and luxury oriented who tend to choose to buy from the company for the high quality and premier products. The customer base shows high repurchase rates and has been ve ry loyal customers. The role Christianity has in this organization is customer service is essential and Matthew 10:31 states, â€Å"Fear not, therefore; you are more value than many sparrows† (ESV). In the service industry, customer satisfaction is key and the company has to recruit the right people and reward them for there expertise. Colossians 3:23-24 states, â€Å"23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving† (New International Version). Another verse that can be applied in this organization is 1 Peter 4:10, â€Å"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace†. The company uses the gifts God gives us and pass them on to consumers to benefit from. The role of Christianity plays a great role in this company. Key Concepts The first key concept that is applicable to Dover Saddlery is Quality. Quality has a huge impact on the quality of products and the success of the organization. According to Dinh, Igel, & Laosirihongthong (2010), â€Å"quality, considered a key strategic factor in achieving business success, is more than ever required for competing successfully in today’s global marketplace and it has become the key slogan as organizations strive for a competitive advantage in markets characterized by liberalization, globalization, and knowledgeable customers† (p. 931). The design and performance of the product are two very important concepts of quality. Quality should start with the customer, the experience the customer has with the product or service will impact the customer’s satisfaction with the total experience. The management and control of the quality of the products and services is very important to the success of the organization. It is very important for organizations to implement a quality assurance program (QAP) to ensure the quality of the products and services. According to Rouse (2007): In developing products and services, quality assurance is any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements. Many companies have a separate department devoted to quality assurance. A quality assurance system is said to increase customer confidence and a company’s credibility, to improve work processes and efficiency, and to enable a company to better compete with others. Quality assurance was initially introduced in World War II when munitions were inspected and tested for defects after they were made. Today’s quality assurance systems emphasize catching defects before they get into the final product (Quality Assurance). There are many advantages for the company to have a QAP in place, include a competitive advantage, increase in sales and market share, increased customer sat isfaction, better management control, clearly defined organizational tasks, structure, and responsibilities, more effective recalls, and price premium (Aramyan, Meuwissen, Oude Lansink, van der Vorst, van Kooten, & van der Lans, 2009, p. 624). According to Yang (2006) â€Å"several studies on quality management have demonstrated that delivering superior service quality enhances productivity, reduces costs, increases customer loyalty, improves market share, and brings other general benefits to a service organization (p.1129). The QAP helps fulfill the needs  and expectations of the customers and improves the quality of the products and services. The second key concept that is applicable to the company is total quality management (TQM). According to Richards (2012), TQM can be defined as an integrative approach to management that supports the attainment of customer satisfaction through a wide variety of tools and techniques that the end result is higher quality of goods and services (p. 37). TQM is an organizational-wide concept of continuous improvement to ensure the products and services exceed their customers’ expectations. According to Richards (2012), â€Å"this kind of quality management requires the company to always check to make sure that product or service is at the standard that both the company and customer wants is maintained† (p. 37). Exceeding the internal and external customers satisfaction is a key focus of TQM. According to Talib, et al. (2011), TQM â€Å"has received a great attention due to its effectiveness in achieving sustainable competitive advantage and enhanced business performanceâ₠¬  (p. 1331). TQM is â€Å"a total look at the quality of the organization† (Richards, 2012, p. 41). â€Å"All service industries should seek to adopt and implement TQM so that proactive identification and response to needed changes can lead to continuous improvement† (Talib, et al. 2011). â€Å"Quality-conscious companies normally have a strong quality culture, which is helpful for achieving customer satisfaction† (Delgado-Hernandez & Aspinwall, 2008, p.1016). The practice of TQM can grow a company to have a sustainable advantage in local and international markets (Richards, 2012, p. 36). The third key concept that is applicable to the company is innovation. â€Å"In the modern business world, innovation is just as important as quality, so they must go hand and hand and one complements each other† (Perodomo-Ortiz, et al. 2009, p.5088). Innovation is one if the driving forces of a successful business and allows an organization to introduce new and improve products in the market place. According to Bigliardi (2013), innovation is a complex phenomenon that involves the production, diffusion and translation of knowledge in new or modified products or services, or the development of new production processing techniques. Innovation is very important to the  success of an organization, it creates jobs and promotes the growth of organizations. The fourth key concept that is applicable to the company is the strategy map. As a strategic part of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a strategy map provides an organization â€Å"with a tool that helps them better monitor important details about their strategic business processes, thereby enhancing their employees’ understanding of the strategy interactions, which in turn facilitates implementing the business strategy† (Meredith and Shafer, 2013, pg. 99). According to Kaplan and Norton (2004), â€Å"the strategy map provides the visual framework for integrating the organization’s objectives in the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard† (pg.45). According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map is a tool integrating the developed strategy with operating activities of various organizational units operating in an organization. A specific feature of strategy map is that it describes in a clear manner the process of creating values in organization by indicating a number of cause and effect relationships between four perspectives (learning and growth, intemal-business-processes, customer, financial) and goals adopted within these perspectives. (pg. 161-162) The four perspectives a strategy map addresses include the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal business process perspective, and the learning and growing perspective. According to Markiewicz (2013), a strategy map â€Å"enables illustration of cause-and-effect relationship between the processes in all four perspectives and performance indicators at the organizational level. Strategy map and performance indicators at the organizational level constitute the basis for different departments when preparing their individual effectiveness indicators† (pg. 160). The top of a strategy map is the goal that has been specified by management, the next step is how the goal be accomplished, and the remainder of the map shows the cause-and-effect relationships that manag ement has developed on how the goal can be accomplished. The strategy map is used very frequently by all organizations as a simple strategy development tool by management to report the progress of the strategy implemented in their organization to achieve its vision or mission.  The strategy map is a powerful technique that can be applied to any type of business from a public sector organization to a non-profit organization. It is very important to organizations because it encourages its managers to think logically about the elements of their strategy and how the strategic elements interact. This effective tool ensures the managers understand the role of the strategy and how the effective strategy embraces all of the organization’s activities. According to Umayal Karpagam and Suganthi (2012), the strategy map describes â€Å"how the four perspectives: financial, customer, internal process, learning and growth are linked and how they create a balance between the more tangible outcomes through intangible resources† (pg. 7). The fifth key concept that is applicable to the company is the balanced scorecard. Kaskey (2013) says the balanced scorecard â€Å"provides an organization with ways to develop and evaluate strategic objectives and goals† (pg. 22). The balanced scorecard uses financial and nonfinancial strategic information and is â€Å"an accounting report that includes the firm’s critical success factors in four areas: financial performance, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth† (Blocher, Stout, Juras, & Cokins, 2013, pg. 11). The benefits of the scorecard include ability to implement strategy, ability to track the process of the organization in their achievement of the strategic goals, the organization’s ability to determine manager’s compensation, achieving organizational change, and the ability to achieve the critical success factors. According to Werner and Fuyuan (2012), â€Å"when the score card is adopted, employees become awa re that their performance will be judged based on these measures and targets. Accordingly, employees will act to achieve the established performance targets† (pg. 92). The balanced scorecard is a critical tool for organizations in todays challenging and competitive business environment. It is very important for organizations to achieve its critical success factors to help the overall performance of the organization and to stay competitive. The sixth key concept that is applicable to the company is Six Sigma. This concept is a strategy to increase employee engagement that will then increase customer satisfaction. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), six  sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes. (Page 129) This method is an inspiring factor for employees and employees have to be completely engaged in the program for it to be successful and impact employee satisfaction. Six Sigma has been embraced by many organizations, that drive’s improvements in processes, products, and services. When implementing the Six Sigma approach, first provide necessary leadership and resources, implement a reward system, provide ingoing training, select early p rojects, break up difficult projects, and avoid employee layoffs. â€Å"Six sigma’s popularity and success is catching fire throughout the service industry across the globe as no other process improvement (PI) movement before (Sunder, 2013, pg. 34). The seventh key concept that is applicable to the company is benchmarking. According to Cruceru (2013), benchmarking is â€Å"viewed as a continuous process of evaluation of products, services, processes and performance of competitors in order to obtain competitive advantage, benchmarking involves knowledge of all elements occurring when implementing in practice† (pg. 6). Benchmarking is a strategy where the desire to be competitive is a challenge for managers to become knowledgeable and analyze their competitors in the industry and implement competitive strategies to be successful. According to Meredith and Shafer (2013), benchmarking is used for a variety of purposes, including the following: Comparing an organization’s processes with the best organization’s processes. Comparing an organization’s product and services with those of other organizations. Identifying the best practices to emulate. Projecting trends in order to be able to respond proactively to future challenges and opportunities. (pg.133) Benchmarking involves three steps: the first step is concerned with preparing the study, the second step is collecting the data, and the third and final step is what was learned to improve the organization. This process has become one of the most valuable processes to identify performance improvement areas. Benchmarking allows an organization to analyze and improve performance, profitability, business  processes, and market share. There are many types of benchmarking including: process benchmarking-compares business processes and operations, product benchmarking-compares products and services, strategic benchmarking-compares organizational structures, internal benchmarking-internal comparison, competitive benchmarking-comparison of direct competitors, functional benchmarking- comparison of organizations in the same field, and generic benchmarking- comparison of the best com petitor in other fields. According to Cruceru (2013), â€Å"those competitors who will know to focus on benchmarking implementation in management and marketing activities of the organization will achieve increased performance and competitiveness in terms comparable to the best competitors of the time† (pg. 9). Appendix A In order to implement benchmarking in Dover Saddlery the following steps are needed: 1. Understand the company’s current process performance gaps. 2. Obtain support and approval from the executive leadership team 3. Document benchmarking objectives and scope; document the original process. 4. Agree on the primary metrics and put them in writing. 5. Agree on what to benchmark. 6. Develop a data collection plan. 7. Identify research sources and initiate data gathering. 8. Determine how to contact and screen companies. 9. Design a detailed survey to gather information. 10. Decide if gathered information meets original objectives. 11. Conduct a site visit. 12. Apply the learning to performance gaps. 13. Communicate to the executive leadership to ensure continued support. 14. Develop a recommended implementation plan with process owner. 15. Know when to update and recalibrate. The eighth key concept that is applicable to the company is inventory management. Inventory management is extremely important for the success of a organization and having the correct number of items in inventory that is necessary for operation is vital for inventory management. According to Chen (2011), â€Å"the inventory in an organization may contain a large amount of items. A logical inventory classification is necessary for managers to have efficient plan and control of the items† (pg. 1702). Inventory management can be a challenge for any business, but can be even more important for businesses with changing product life cycles or product needs. The development of information systems, has eased some challenges faced with inventory management. The introduction of advanced information system, which aim at better performance than manual product identification and inventory data-keeping procedures, hold much promise for the reduction of inventory inaccuracies. Inventories include work-in-process, raw materials, finished goods, component parts, and so on. By eliminating storage space to business is not only saving on space but also removing defective parts from being hidden until no one knows who had made them (Meredith & Shafer, 2013, p. 176). Appendix B Inventory An additional way that we differentiate ourselves from our competition is through our breadth and depth of inventory. We believe our inventory is deeper than our competitors with $10.1 million in on-hand inventory as of December 31, 2005 and more than 5,800 items comprising approximately 28,000 different SKUs. With our extensive inventory position and rapid fulfillment capability, we have historically been able to fill approximately 95% of the items ordered within an average of 1.5 business days. Based on our inventory management systems, continuous monitoring of the products we carry and the fact that we carry very few fashion products, we have historically had very little obsolete inventory. Despite the high level of inventory we have historically maintained, we have turned inventory approximately four times per year and we historically have had no material inventory write-downs. All of the products that are presented in our catalogs are available online and customers can use our websites to enter orders, shop online and check order status and inventory availability. On average, our retail stores stock inventory items represent over 70% of the merchandise  sales we make available through our direct sales channel. All items are available to customers entering our stores by either direct shipment to a customer’s home or for in-store pickup. Conclusion Dover Saddlery is a company that prides on their success and always providing 100% customer service to their customers. Utilizing these eight key concepts, along with successful implementation into the company’s initiatives, they will produce overall success and a winning organization. References Aramyan, L. H., Meuwissen, M. M., Oude Lansink, A. M., van der Vorst, J. J., van Kooten, O., & van der Lans, I. A. (2009). The perceived impacts of quality assurance systems on tomato supply chain performance. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 20(6), 633-653. Bigliardi, B. (2013). The effect of innovation on financial performance: A research study involving SMEs. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 15(2): 245-256. Blocher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., and Cokins, G. (2013) Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis (6th Ed). McGraw Hill: New York, NY. Chen, J. (2012). Multiple criteria ABC inventory classification using two virtual items. International Journal Of Production Research, 50(6), 1702-1713. Cruceru, A. (2013). Benchmarking – a method of improving organizational competitiveness. Romanian Journal Of Marketing, (1), 6-9. Delgado-Hernandez, D., & Aspinwall, E. (2008). A framework for building quality into construction projects – Part I. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 19(10), 1013-1028. Dinh Thai, H., Igel, B., & Laosirihongthong, T. (2010). Total quality management (TQM) strategy and organizational characteristics: Evidence from a recent WTO member. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 21(9), 931-951. Inventory. (2011). Appendix B of Dover Saddlery, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.hotstocked.com/companies/d/dover-saddlery-inc-DOVR-description-52723.html Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2004). How Strategy Maps Frame an Organization’s Objectives. Financial Executive, 20(2), 40-45. Kaskey, V. L. (2013). The Balanced Scorecard: A Comparative Study of Accounting Education and Experience on Common Measure Bias. Advances In Management, 6(7), 22-25. Markiewicz, P. (2013). Methodical Aspects of Applying Strategy Map in an Organization. Business, Management & Education / Verslas, Vadyba Ir Studijos, 11(1), 153-167. Meredith, J. R., & Shafer , S. M. (2013). Operations management for MBAs (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Perdomo-Ortiz, J., Gonzalez-Benito, J., & Galende, J. (2009). The intervening effect of business innovation capability on the relationship between Total Quality Management and technological innovation. International Journal Of Production Research, 47(18), 5087-5107. Richards, J. (2012). Total Quality Management. Business Management & Strategy, 3(2), 36-42. Rouse, M. (2007, Feb). Quality Assurance (QA). Retrieved from http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/quality-assurance. Sunder, V. (2013). Six Sigma— A Strategy for Increasing Employee Engagement. Journal for Quality & Participation, 36(2), 34-38. Talib, F., Rahman, Z., & Qureshi, M. N. (2011). Prioritising the practices of total quality management: An analytic hierarchy process analysis for the service industries. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 22(12), 1331-1351. Umayal Karpagam, P. L., & Suganthi, L. L. (2012). A Strategy Map of Balanced Scorecard in Academic Institutions for Performance Improvement. IUP Journal Of Business Strategy, 9(3), 7-16. Werner, M. L., & Fuyuan, X. (2012). Executing Strategy with the Balanced Scorecard. International Journal Of Financial Research, 3(1), 88-94. Yang, C. (2006). Establishment of a Quality-Management System for Service Industries. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 17(9), 1129-1154.

Hannah Essay Example

Hannah Essay Example Hannah Essay Hannah Essay This autobiography is called butterflies and was written by an author called Roger Dean Kisser. Roger Dean was raised up in an orphanage with kids Just like him, at that age he was between 6 and 7 years old not old but very young, every morning they would get up early and march to breakfast. This orphanage was full of beautiful creatures, butterflies, everywhere watching the anonymous house parents pinning them onto the heavy cardboard sheet, how cruel it was to kill something of such beauty, something so small can mean something special to him. In this critical essay I will be explaining how Rogers Dean uses significant language in this event, by collecting quotes throughout the biography, and proving the point, and answer the essay question which is, how Roger Dean felt being kept in an Orphanage. Ever since when he was a little boy of 6 years old, growing up in an orphanage with kids Just like him must have been trouble, One Saturday morning returning from the dormitory and witnessing the house parents pinning butterflies to a cardboard, after the phone rang which had to be answered he quickly went to check the board sheet where all he beautiful butterflies pined causing one innocent butterfly to fall over and leaving the other wing unattached, without touching anything. : A few minutes later the house parent arrived back to think he did something but he didnt, but wouldnt get believed. Roger Dean felt guilty picking up the torn wing spitting on its wing and trying to get it sick back together so it could fly away and escape this nasty place Just wasnt working, I guess. Being yelled at for absolutely nothing wasnt the best. Getting smacked with the cardboard paper across his head, pieces everywhere, throwing the roadbed on the ground telling him to pick it up and put it in the garbage. At this point roger dean was getting in trouble for things he didnt do though he was telling the truth but yet again the house parents didnt believe him at all. l sat there in the dirt by that big old tree, for the longest time trying to fit all the butterfly pieces together so I could bury them whole but was too hard to do In this quotation it explains that he was Broken and how he wanted to treat the butterfly with at least some respect by gathering all the pieces and trying to put them into place so that he an bury them whole, but was finding it really difficult. Every year when butterflies decides to enter this orphanage and try land on me I shoo them away because they did not know that the orphanage was a bad place to live and a bad place to die For Roger Dean Kisser growing up being looked after up into that orphanage, until he was older to look after himself taking half of his childhood away from him, leaving him forever with the thought of, orphanage was a bad place to live and certainly not a good place to die.

Disposing Nuclear Waste in Ocean Trenches

Disposing Nuclear Waste in Ocean Trenches It seems to be a perennial suggestion: lets put our most hazardous wastes into the deepest sea trenches. There, they will be drawn down into the Earths mantle well away from children and other living things. Usually, people are referring to high-level nuclear waste, which can be dangerous for thousands of years. This is why the design for the proposed waste facility at Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, is so incredibly stringent. The concept is relatively sound. Just put your barrels of waste in a trench - well dig a hole first, just to be tidy about it - and down they inexorably go, never to bring harm to humanity again. At 1600 degrees Fahrenheit, the upper mantle isnt hot enough to alter the uranium and make it nonradioactive. In fact, its not even hot enough to melt the zirconium coating that surrounds the uranium. But the purpose isnt to destroy the uranium, its to use plate tectonics to take the uranium hundreds of kilometers into the Earths depths where it can naturally decay.   Its an interesting idea, but is it plausible?   Ocean Trenches and Subduction Deep-sea trenches are areas where one plate dives beneath another (the process of subduction) to be swallowed up by the Earths hot mantle. The descending plates extend down hundreds of kilometers where they are not the least bit of a threat. It isnt completely clear whether the plates disappear by being thoroughly mixed with mantle rocks. They may persist there and become recycled through the plate-tectonic mill, but that wouldnt happen for many millions of years.   A geologist might point out that subduction is not really secure. At relatively shallow levels, subducting plates become chemically altered, releasing a slurry of serpentine minerals that eventually erupt in large mud volcanoes on the seafloor. Imagine those spewing plutonium into the sea! Fortunately, by that time, the plutonium would have long since decayed away. Why It Wont Work Even the fastest subduction is very slow - geologically slow. The fastest-subducting location in the world today is the Peru-Chile Trench, running along the west side of South America. There, the Nazca plate is plunging beneath the South America plate at around 7-8 centimeters (or approximately 3 inches) per year. It goes down at about a 30-degree angle. So if we put a barrel of nuclear waste in the Peru-Chile Trench (never mind that its in Chilean national waters), in a hundred years it will move 8 meters - as far away as your next-door neighbor. Not exactly an efficient means of transport.   High-level uranium decays to its normal, pre-mined radioactive state within  1,000-10,000 years.  In 10,000 years, those waste barrels would have moved, at maximum, just .8 kilometers (half a mile). They would also lie only a few hundred meters deep - remember that every other subduction zone is slower than this. After all of that time, they could still be easily dug up by whatever future civilization cares to retrieve them. After all, have we left the Pyramids alone? Even if future generations left the waste alone, the seawater and seafloor life would not, and the odds are good that the barrels would corrode and be breached. Ignoring geology, lets consider the logistics of containing, transporting and disposing of thousands of barrels each year. Multiply the amount of waste (which will surely grow) by the odds of shipwreck, human accidents, piracy and people cutting corners. Then estimate the costs of doing everything right, every time. A few decades ago, when the space program was new, people often speculated that we could launch nuclear waste into space, maybe into the sun. After a few rocket explosions, nobody says that any more: the cosmic incineration model is infeasible. The tectonic burial model, unfortunately, isnt any better. Edited by Brooks Mitchell

Reflective statement for previous case study Nestle Essay

Reflective statement for previous case study Nestle - Essay Example This has raised a debate on the aptness of this concept in the modern era of education. Critiques have often challenged the role of the students and have undermined the thought which reduces creativity and innovation among the students (Vita & Bernard, n.d.). Aspects like learning and reputation as well as memorising are largely outcomes of reflective studies. Competitive forces play a major role in the shaping the profitability of an organization. The analysis of the competitive forces pertaining to Nestle was done by using the Porter’s five forces model. This model analyses the competitive framework of an organization on the basis of five forces namely, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, competition among the existing players and threat of substitutes (Hill & Jones, 2009, p.42-43). Figure 1: Tangram Analogy (Source: Vita & Bernard, n.d., p.18) The case study focussed on a lot of marketing issues, the nature of the case study an d its questions helped in analysing each of the components separately and finally generating a conclusive argument which is analogous with the tangram analogy shown in the figure above. The analysis of Ansoff’s matrix helped in predicting the possible strategies with regards to the business strategy adopted by an organization. This was helpful in analysing the case of Nestle particularly since the organization has its business units spread across diverse geographical areas of the world (Beamish & Ashford, 2007, p.59-60). During the course of analysis of the case study tools like PESTEL and SWOT were also used. These tools helped in analysing the external and internal environment of the organization (Nestle). The use of SWOT helped in analysing the strengths, weakness, opportunities and the threats being faced by the organization (Nijssen & Frambach, 2000, p.87).. PESTEL is one such tool that helped in understanding the external factors influencing the organization on one hand and also to analyse the political, economical, sociological, technological, environmental and legal factors in a particular nation (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2009, p.65). Finally the process of strategy formulation does not end with framing and implementing policies but to evaluate and review the effectiveness of the strategies. The use of the balanced scorecard model helped in understanding how to evaluate a firm’s strategy based on financial as well as non financial aspects (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2011). Question 2: In what ways, if any, did the module enhance your learning, professional and/or transferable skills? Various studies have concluded that improvement in practice or revision is largely the outcomes of a good reflective analysis which is quite contrary to the traditional school of thought (Vita & Bernard, n.d., p.5) The building synopsis which is an outcome of the American school of thought largely states that reflective studies enhance the manner in which students can apply the lessons learnt in professional life. The present module helped in generating abstract frameworks which helped in improving the writing skills (Vita & Bernard, n.d., and p.5). The module dealt with analysing the different strategic perspectives of Nestle. The large scale of operation in the organization helped in analysi

Relatioship with smart phones; Mass communication Essay

Relatioship with smart phones; Mass communication - Essay Example Furthermore, it can do most of the things a computer can do such as browsing the internet; one can access social networking sites like Facebook and Tweeter, download music and even watch TV (Kroski 2008, p.18). They are also used to determine to what social class a person belongs – the better and the more recent one’s iPhone is, the higher this person’s social class is, in people’s judgment. Despite their advantages, iPhones have negatively contributed to physical social interaction and created dependency and unhealthy addiction in users, which appears to portend the decline of some of humanities’ basic skills such as hand printing. Thanks to iPhones, people can communicate with others without being physically present, and this has led to them relegating the importance of face-to-face conversation in interpersonal communication. This often happens when someone has bad news to deliver and may opt to avoid sharing it face-to-face, so that he/she does not have to deal with another person’s reactions. Therefore, people with communication phobias and those who are nervous during conversations will find solace in the use of iPhones, may never overcome them, and may be easily falling into internet addiction (Shepherd & Edelmann 2001, p. 520). Hence, communication is stunted in that unless one is using video conferencing, which is not common, one is not able to receive immediate nonverbal feedback, and this makes communication incomplete. Unfortunately, this also makes lying easier since the recipient of the information is not privy to the cues that will allow him/her to detect deceit. Taking into consideration the use of emails and texts in communication, our writing skills will keep deteriorating, especially with technology such as iPads being introduced to young children in school. The majority of youths, especially in developed countries, rarely use a pen since they can send a text or email, which one can type on their iPhones. In addition, there is

Toward a Moral Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Toward a Moral Economy - Essay Example Moral norms as used here refer to the general statements or rules, such as always being truthful, while moral values are expressed as statements that describe features or objects as having worth (Velasquez, 2013). The focus of a moral economy, therefore, deals with achieving understanding of these practices and institutions, as well as on desirable and feasible possibilities for change. Judgments concerning the justice in society have their basis on moral principles that come up with fair ways for the distribution of economic burdens and benefits among all members of a specific society (Velasquez, 2013). In the same society, judgments concerning the violations of rights of its members revolve around moral principles that identify the aspects on which the individuals’ wellbeing and rights to freedom and liberty are respected by the authorities. The moral, economic society should also be guided by the utilitarian morality standard, which is a moral principle contending that various acts are right only to the extent that they increase the economic benefits to society, while also decreasing the economic costs to society. In addition, this moral economy must also possess an ethic of virtue, which refers to the ethic that places emphasis of ensuring the concrete wellbeing of other individuals in society, rather than only oneself (Velasquez, 2013). To evaluate the moral character of individuals in this moral economy, the ethic of virtue is used. Capitalist justice is based on the contribution of individuals in society and acts as a possible starting point for a moral economy. In this case, the benefits are distributed according to the individual’s contribution to society, raising the question about how distributive justice’s contributive principle can allow for the measurement of each individual’s contribution on the basis of work effort (Velasquez,

Observations to Identify Child Needs

Observations to Identify Child Needs Planning, observation and assessment all contribute to supporting the learning and development of children. Careful observation can identify a child’s individual needs and interests and ensure that resources and activities are suitable for promoting further development. The early years recommends that practitioners follow a three-step cycle to effectively meet the needs of individual children. Planning Observation and Assessment. Write only what you see-this ensures accuracy. Write the date and time you’re observing, name and age of child, setting where the observation is being done. Avoid opinions, don’t say that the child is/ is not enjoying something, if they have not told you that. Continue with regular observations-this provides an overall consistent picture of the child’s development, and identify any areas of a child’s development that might need additional support or be delayed. You can learn a lot about the children you are working with by observing them, and you are more likely to be able to meet their individual needs effectively from observation. Formal observations can be used to observe a child’s development of a particular skill or knowledge and understanding. The practitioner can use adult-led activities to provide an opportunity for the child to practice this particular skill and observe their participation. Observations which are spontaneous, help gather information as children will be able to explore naturally without any added pressure. Formal observations can be used to observe a child’s development of a particular skill or knowledge and understanding. This is especially useful for development checklist for the child. There are factors to consider when observing a child and that it is regularly collected to produce a true picture of the child’s knowledge and abilities and ensure consistency in the evidence you collect. Many things can affect the validity of observation; tired or hungry or hungry children may not demonstrate skills to the best of their ability and might get different results in completing an observation on a child at different times of the day, illness can affect the child’s demonstrating skill if they are ill, or might not want to partake so won’t be demonstrating their true abilities. Practitioners should schedule a repeat observation whe n the child is well to gather the true picture of the child’s ability. It is important to see when a child has achieved a particular skill when you carried out the observations at the same time accurate results and consistency. There are many methods of observing and recording observations. Practitioners in early year settings often use a note taking method carrying with them a note pad, to write spontaneous occurrences in what a child’s interests and achievements are when they are engaged in an activity with them. This way of taking notes can then be written up after the events in more detail. Time sample is another way of recording information; this is a way of looking at a child’s activity over a period of time, observing the child at regular intervals for example every ten minutes for one hour. A summative assessment is when the evidence is gained through a formative assessment over a period of time and these are helpful when the practitioner needs to review a child’s developing progress. A formative assessment is an on-going assessment of the child, and carried out on a regular basis. The early years requires two formal summative assessments, at aged two and at the end of completion of the Early Year setting. Assessments after observations are the way in which the practitioner can make decisions about what the child can do. For example a practitioner is observing a child and note the child has spent ten minutes building bricks. It shows the practitioner that the child appears happily content doing this activity, it also shows the child can concentrate for a period of time and play independently. They are able to observe if the child is using favourably their left hand or right hand and their eye- to hand coordination is well developed.The practitioner can say if the child had any facial expressions i.e. smiling or frowning whilst doing the activity to show enjoyment or concentration. An observation like this helps the practitioner plan future activities well suited to the child to meet individual needs and abilities of the child, and encourage future development adding other construction activities for the child to try if naturally this is where the child is getting enjoyment. Planning for a child to help their development in their not as strong areas is very important also. And from observations you can assess where the child needs extra encouragement or additional help in certain areas, for example when a group of children asked to put their coats on ready to go outside. You can observe the children who are very capable of doing the task without aid and the children who take longer and need extra time or help. You can plan for this by dividing the children into two groups; group 1 and group 2. Group 1 being the slower children less able to p ut on their coats are to start getting ready first with extra time allocated than group 2.Planning should be built upon the observation and assessment findings of individual children in order to identify the best steps to take to further their learnings and development. The Early Years development matters document suggests that planning should include looking at what is next for the child including: experiences and opportunities, the learning environment, resources, routines and the practitioners’ role. A carer can observe an individual child during outdoor play and recognise that the individual child aged two years is climbing confidently and is beginning to pull themselves up on nursery play climbing equipment outdoors. So the carer can help the individual child by talking to the child about their movements and help them to explore new ways of moving, such as squirming slithering and twisting along the ground like a snake, and moving quickly, slowly or on tiptoe. Plan opportunities for children to tackle a range of levels and surfaces including flat and hilly ground, grass, pebbles, smooth floors and carpets. Provide a range of large play equipment both indoors and outdoors that can be used in different ways such as boxes, ladders –frames and barrels. Provide safe spaces and explain safety to the child and parents. These will help encourage their physical development even further. The Statutory assessments focus on three prime areas of development ages two and three progress check. The assessment review and identify the child’s strengths and any areas of where the child’s progress is less than expected. The progress check helps identify the child’s natural interests and plan effectively for the individual child. It is a good idea to show the parents how to understand effectively to support the child’s learning which can be encouraged at the home environment for the child. The assessment it helps identify any additional special educational need or identify any disability. The practitioners should develop a targeted plan to support the child’s future learning and development involving the parents and careers and other professionals which may be needed. The report shows reflecting development levels and needs of the child, it shows the areas where the child is progressing well, the areas where additional support may be needed, and focus particularly on where there is a concern that the individual child may have developmental delay, which may indicate a special educational need or disability. It must include any activities and strategies the provider must intend to adopt and address any issues or concerns. Parents must receive a written record of each of the child’s prime areas of development. It is of interest to the individual child to encourage the parents to share the information from the progress check with other relevant professionals, including their health visitor and the staff of any new provision the child may transfer to. The progress check and the Healthy Child Programme health and development review at age two, when the Health visitor gathers information on a child’s health and development, allowing them to identify any developmental delay and any particular support from which they think the child and family might benefit, should inform each other and support integrated work together. This also helps health and education professionals to identify any strengths as well as any developmental delay. The providers must have parental consent and careers to share information directly with other relevant professionals. The assessment at the end of early years foundation stage profile must be completed when the individual reaches age five in the final term no later than June 30 in that term. It provides a well-rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, their progress against expected levels and their readiness for starting year 1. It provides information to the parents, careers practitioners and teachers; the profile reflects ongoing observations, all the relevant records held by the setting, discussions with parents and careers and any other adult professionals relevant. The child’s development must be assessed against the Early learning goals, practitioners indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are exceeding expected levels and if not yet reaching expected levels. Year 1 teachers are given the Profile; this will help the teacher acknowledge the child’s stage of development and learning needs and help assist w ith the planning of activities. The Profile must be completed for all children, including with special educational needs or disabilities, with reasonable adjustments to the assessment process for children with special educational needs and disabilities are made appropriately. It is important to know that all children will have differing level of skills and abilities across the profile and it is important that there is a full assessment of all the areas of the child’s development to form plans for future activities and to help identify any additional support. Schools must share the results of the Profile with the parents and careers. The profile must be completed for all children, including of those with special educational needs or disabilities. Adjustments to the assessment process for the children with special educational needs and disabilities must be made as appropriate. Children will have differing levels of skill and abilities across the profile and it is important that there is a full assessment of all areas of their development to inform any future activities and to identify any additional support needs.