Advantages of Brands

A strong brand offers many advantages for marketers including: Brands provide multiple sensory stimuli to enhance customer recognition. For example, a brand can be visually recognizable from its packaging, logo, shape, etc. It can also be recognizable via sound, such as hearing the name on a radio advertisement or talking with someone who mentions the product. Customers who are frequent and enthusiastic purchasers of a particular brand are likely to become Brand Loyal. Cultivating brand loyalty among customers is the ultimate reward for successful marketers since these customers are far less likely to be enticed to switch to other brands compared to non-loyal customers. Well-developed and promoted brands make product positioning efforts more effective. The result is that upon exposure to a brand (e. g. , hearing it, seeing it) customers conjure up mental images or feelings of the benefits they receive from using that brand. The reverse is even better. When customers associate benefits with a particular brand, the brand may have attained a significant competitive advantage. In these situations the customer who recognizes he needs a solution to a problem (e. g. , needs to bleach clothes) may automatically think of one brand that offers the solution to the problem (e. g. , Clorox). This â€Å"benefit = brand† association provides a significant advantage for the brand that the customer associates with the benefit sought. Firms that establish a successful brand can extend the brand by adding new products under the same â€Å"family† brand. Such branding may allow companies to introduce new products more easily since the brand is already recognized within the market. Strong brands can lead to financial advantages through the concept of Brand Equity in which the brand itself becomes valuable. Such gains can be realized through the out-right sale of a brand or through licensing arrangements. For example, Company A may have a well-recognized brand (Brand X) within a market but for some reason they are looking to concentrate their efforts in other markets. Company B is looking to enter the same market as Brand X. If circumstances are right Company A could sell to Company B the rights to use the Brand X name without selling any other part of the company. That is, Company A simply sells the legal rights to the Brand X name but retains all other parts of Brand X, such as the production facilities and employees. In cases of well developed brands such a transaction may carry a very large price tag. Thus, through strong branding efforts Company A achieves a large financial gain by simply signing over the rights to the name. But why would Company B seek to purchase a brand for such a high price tag? Because by buying the brand Company B has already achieved an important marketing goal – building awareness within the target market. The fact the market is already be familiar with the brand allows the Company B to concentrate on other marketing decisions. We provide more detail on branding in the Managing Products tutorial with a special emphasis on the strategies marketers follow in order to build a strong brand.

International Marketing Management Essay

According to Glossary of Marketing (2010, p. 1), self reference criterion refers to â€Å"the assumption that a product can successfully be sold abroad on the basis of its success in the home market. † cultural diversity is experienced in the global markets such that different people interact in the global markets. Marketers should recognize the fact that customers from different backgrounds have different cultural aspects. It is very important for marketers operating in the global markets to understand the cultural differences of their customers. Self reference criterion is an aspect which does not allow marketers to incorporate the culture of other people. As such, people believe that other people will accept their cultural believes and that there are no cultural conflicts between different cultural groups (Noth, Bishara, 2007). Businesses in the modern era are experiencing a lot of changes in terms of social, economic, technological, political and cultural aspects. Emerging trends in business indicate that cultural diversity is affecting many organizations since managers lack the ability to adopt strategies which match the cultural needs of their customers. Jackson, Loehr and Azman (n. d. ) explain that changes in technology have led to changes in economic conditions and organizations should come up with policies which reduce costs and maximize profits. There is need for managers operating in multicultural environments to develop proper policies to satisfy needs of customers located in different regions (Mueller, 2008). Obstacles to international marketing Decision making is a very important aspect in the organization and managers should attempt to integrate the needs of all stakeholders. Decisions which affect all stakeholders should be made by combing ideas from different people. Imposing decisions is a very dangerous activity that managers can engage in since people have different perceptions about how things should be done. Self reference criterion in decision making leads to conflicts in an organization since all stakeholders do not own the decisions made by the management. Communication is a very important factor to consider when making decisions since misunderstanding between people may lead to poor decisions being made. Diversity in culture requires people to understand the needs of each other and to create a link between all people involved in the activities of the organization. Different countries have different culture and marketers in the global scene need to understand the cultural aspects of the people they work with. The culture of the people determines their perception towards the products in the market and they will attach a particular image to a brand according to their cultural perspective. The brand image of a product is the perception that people have towards a certain product in the market. The marketing programs should aim at improving the brand image of a product in the market. Customers create meaning about a product depending on the general market perception of the product and managers should identify the specific cultural aspect of their customers in order to improve brand image. The culture of the consumers shapes the brand image of a product (Gupta, 2003). Self Reference Criterion impedes the ability to assess a foreign market Organizations working in global markets tend to incorporate cultures of different people. Foreign markets have different aspects from local markets and cultural diversity is an important aspect that managers operating in such environments need to note. In the modern business environment, global marketing has become a very important aspect since competition has intensified. Globalization has a great impact on the marketing strategies adopted by companies and managers must use modern technologies in their marketing process to maintain a high customer profile. International markets require integrating and understanding the cultural diversity of different customers in the global markets. The branding strategies of a company must integrate the cultural needs of the people in different countries. The marketing mix, that is, the price, product, promotion and the place must be aligned to the cultural diversity of the people involved in the global markets (Batra, V Ramaswamy, Alden, Steenkamp, and Ramachander, 2000). Managers tend to use their cultural concepts when solving problems at a multicultural environment. This creates misunderstanding especially when solutions do problems to not favor some cultural groups. Culture is defined as the set of believes, values, attitudes and behavior that people in a given region share in common. People tend to use their own experiences in life to interpret things. Culture is a strong factor which determines the decisions made by individuals. The purchasing behavior of the consumers will be shaped by the brand image of the product in the market. The marketing mix strategies will be determined by the purchasing habit of the consumers and hence; is a factor of cultural perception of the consumers in the market. To establish a competitive advantage in the market, the marketers need to identify the perception of the customers towards the products in the market. Culture determines the brand image since it affects the attitudes, behavior, and lifestyle of the customers. Satisfaction of the consumers depends on the experiences they have with the products and the emotional connectivity derived from the use of a variety of brands (Gupta, 2003). Possible impact of the SRC to marketing strategies in different cultures Self reference criterion causes poor communication between people in an organization. Communication is a process where people exchange understanding with each other. Communication is more efficient when the parties are able to understand each other. The sender of the message must encode the message in a manner that the receiver will be able to understand it. The receiver must decode the message to reveal the information contained in it. Misunderstandings occur when people fail to communicate effectively. Gupta (2003, pg 71) suggests that â€Å"culture works by generating a sequence of paraconscious vibrations in human life, which reverberate through the mental attitudes, psychological beliefs, physical behaviors and social breeding of individuals in the system. † Culture affects the overall marketing strategies of an organization; it influences product awareness, trial and repeat purchase by the consumers. It also affects the relationship and communication between the marketers and their customers. The customers select, scan, interpret, validate and prioritize the information they receive from the marketers. There is a positive relationship between the effectiveness of communication and the cultural understanding by the marketers in the survey conducted. The international marketing strategies require the management of global businesses match the cultural aspects of the societies they operate in with the brand image of their products (Jain, 1989). Ethnocentrism and self reference criterion The product features should match the culture of the consumers. Companies operating in the global markets should study the culture of their customers and design products which have cultural attachment. Prices in different markets will be determined by the culture of the customers. Some people believe that high prices represent good quality in products and as such, the marketers should provide suitable prices according to believe of the consumers. When the lifestyle of people changes, new products are demanded. Marketers with the ability to provide products which match new lifestyles charge high prices since they are able to satisfy the needs of a particular niche. Promotional strategies should be matched to the cultural needs of the consumers. Customers respond positively to adverts which capture their culture. The place element of a marketing model requires marketers to introduce their products at the right place. Since different countries have different cultures, marketers should not place certain products in places where the culture does not accept such products. For example, Muslims do not consume pork. A marketer who delivers such products to Muslim countries might not sell anything. When introducing products in a new market; marketers should collaborate will all stakeholders in the market to identify the best strategy to forecast the market demand for the new products (Lindgreen & Hingley, 2009). Cross cultural analysis International marketing refers to the trade of products in many countries. The marketers should research about the most viable markets before establishing their products in those markets. Strategic planning is required to establish the relevance of the marketing strategies to the cultural aspects of the international consumers. The international markets are composed of people with different cultures and this affects the strategies to be adopted by the marketers. Some companies operating in the international markets have failed in some countries due to poor cultural analysis of the consumers in the global market. Wal-Mart is a U. S. company which has opened stores in many countries. The company operates departmental stores and is ranked among the largest organizations of its kind in the country. The company established strategies to open stores in different countries to expand its operations. However, the strategy of opening subsidiaries in Germany, South Korea and other countries failed due to poor cultural analysis of consumers in these markets (Gupta, 2003). PART (B) Market differentiation according to sub-cultures There are different subcultures in the world and marketers must recognize that global markets are not homogenous. There are different groups of customers with different needs. Establishing a uniform marketing strategy for a multicultural market may not be profitable since different consumers have different needs. Marketing policies should be differentiated to ensure adequate coverage of consumer needs. In some cases, marketers are required to differentiate their markets according to regions since within a country, there are cultural differences. Gupta (2003, pg 71) suggests that â€Å"culture works by generating a sequence of paraconscious vibrations in human life, which reverberate through the mental attitudes, psychological beliefs, physical behaviors and social breeding of individuals in the system. † Culture affects the overall marketing strategies of an organization; it influences product awareness, trial and repeat purchase by the consumers. It also affects the relationship and communication between the marketers and their customers. The customers select, scan, interpret, validate and prioritize the information they receive from the marketers. In order to succeed in global marketing process, a marketer should be able to identify the needs of different customers and design marketing strategies which match their needs. Cultural diversity within geo-political boundaries Within a country, there are different cultures since different groups exist and marketers should assume that domestic markets are homogenous. However, cultural diversity in domestic markets is lower compared to international markets. Multinational companies operate in different cultures and the marketing strategies to be adopted should match the cultural aspects of different customers from different regions. There is need to understand cultures of different countries when working with a multinational company since multicultural aspects determine the success of the company (Rao, 2003). Subcultures in marketing It is important for marketers to subdivide their markets according to sub-cultures in order to use the best marketing mix strategies which satisfy specific needs of their consumers. Traditional theories of management assumed that people and cultures are homogenous. Managers should understand that cultural diversity affects the activities of an organization and that they should integrate cultural aspects in their marketing strategies to avoid conflicts. Productivity in an organization requires developing ideas which create understanding in cross-cultural environments. The behavior pattern of people is determined by the culture of the place they work, live and interact. Culture gives people a sense of belonging since human beings like identifying themselves with certain social groups. Culture is dynamic and changes as time goes by. The competitiveness of the organization in the global markets depends on the ability to understand the different cultures and integrating the culture in the products manufactured by the company. The management should do market research about the different cultures of the people they are working with. Products which match the culture of the people develop high demand in the global markets. Therefore, culture should be understood from internal and external systems of the organization (Krueger & Nandan, 2008).

Case Analysis - Schindler India

Case Analysis Schindler India Essay MGT 554: International Business and Law Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) – A Case Analysis ____________________________________________________________ __________________ CASE ANALYSIS – SCHINDLER INDIA Schindler Holding Ltd, a respected Swiss elevator company, was established in 1874 by Robert Schindler and the first Schindler elevator was installed in India in 1925. After technical and sales collaborations with Indian companies, ECE and Bharat Bijlee Ltd. (BBL) in 1958 and 1985, Schindler Ltd decided to setup a wholly owned company in India in 1998. The Indian economy had been liberalized in 1991 and the economy was growing at a rapid clip with many commercial buildings, hotels etc, being setup. Sensing the growing opportunity, Alfred Schindler, Chairman and 4th generation founder family member, decided to invest in India. But he also knew that Indian elevator market was very demanding requiring customization even at the lowest elevator product range and very price sensitive. The market was also competitive and he was also aware that almost 50% of the market was captured by their worldwide competitors, Otis, and the remaining 24% by other well known brands like Finland based Kone etc. It was clear to him that entering this competitive yet potentially lucrative and profitable market would require services of a person with qualities of having a long term vision, foresight, be able to take high risks, be decisive, require thorough understanding of the local elevator market and to be able to adapt to the ever-changing local market conditions. Mr. Silvio Napoli seemed to have the right qualities for the job. Graduating with MBA from Harvard Business School, Silvio was appointed as head of corporate planning and was involved in strategic review processes, benchmarking and competitor analysis etc. hereby gaining good understanding of the global elevator market. He also gained good MGT 554: International Business and Law Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) – A Case Analysis ____________________________________________________________ __________________ experience managing a project that developed a standardized, low cost elevator for the highly saturated western e levator markets of France, Spain etc. , an experience that could also be leveraged for the Indian market. Silvio was also assigned with the task of evaluating the Indian elevator market for potential joint ventures, understand prevailing legal systems, estimate market size etc. and with this knowledge Silvio presented a India specific business plan to the corporate headquarters, which was quickly approved. So, Silvio should have been the right person for the job, but after reviewing his progress after 7 months, it became clear that he lacked essential qualities of having a long term vision, foresight, inflexibility and patience. Yes it is true that Silvio did a research about India and could get all the necessary information to start the wholly owned subsidiary of Schindler in India, but he lacked in understanding the cultural preferences and local preference to customizations. Silvio was strong headed and single minded, impatient and short tempered and also over communicative. He was not open to ideas communicated by his senior management, including managing director, Mehar Karan Singh, who emphasized on the need to have patience in the Indian market and develop relationships with customers. All these qualities of Silvio are not exactly appropriate in the Indian elevator market and could also lead to ineffective management control and dissatisfied subordinates. Given that Schindler was expecting large growth in a short period of time (sell 50 units in first year and have 20% of the market share within 5 years), it is clear Silvio also lacked execution capabilities. In the 7 months since Schindler established a dedicated presence in India, not a single elevator was installed in the country. Future prospects also looked bleak with no new concrete orders and escalated cost of elevators. READ: Essay on Junk Food By Judith Warner EssayMr. Luc Bonnard, Vice Chairman of the MGT 554: International Business and Law Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) – A Case Analysis ____________________________________________________________ __________________ company, naturally was not pleased with Silvio’s performance. From Luc Bonnard’s perspective, Silvio had managed to setup the entity in India in a very cost effective manner, without incurring major investments. The company had no dedicated elevator manufacturing facilities, no elaborate logistics or distribution investments and infact office space and furniture were also rented. Silvio had also hired some of the best local talent in key managerial and technical positions in the country. But these measures per se will not lead to profitability and it is recommended that for Silvio to succeed, he would have to first increase product offering in the country, showcase latest technology though it may be expensive in the price conscious market, start setting up a manufacturing facility and not overly depend on outsourcing every aspect right from assembly, be updated with the latest pricing from corporate headquarters and establish tighter communication and rapport between the local and corporate facilities of the company. Silvio formed new management team, which seemed to have a better grasp of the local elevator market conditions, was not comfortable with Silvio’s rigidity in concentrating on standardized elevators without much customization and seriously doubted if the company could be successful with only one low end, standardized elevator, S001. So, when there was a sales opportunity for some elevators, even though they required customization, the management team grabbed this opportunity without Silvio’s knowledge. But Silvio seemed to disagree or unhappy with this order since it went against his policy of minimizing elevator customizations and using only standardarized product offerings. There was no adaptability in Silvio’s business plan and he rigidly believed in global standardization strategy to focus on increasing profitability and profit MGT 554: International Business and Law Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) – A Case Analysis ____________________________________________________________ __________________ growth. Napoli’s plan called for Schindler India to sell 50 units in first year and to win 20% market share. The company has a strong pressure to reduce cost and limited pressure to adapt to the Indian market. It is recommended that for Silvio to succeed in the Indian market, he must immediately alter his plan and introduce elevator customizations. In the short term, his technical staff must be sent to the corporate headquarters for training on existing standardized elevator design, understand the technical specifications and explore possible customization options in the current range of elevators. In case if the existing team was still felt to be too inexperienced to handle this new range of elevators, then Silvio must also have options to bring in technically qualified personnel from the headquarters. For a long term strategy, it is recommended there are flexible technology transfer agreement between the Indian subsidiary and the corporate headquarters for multiple elevator product ranges that allows high degree of elevator customization. It is also highly recommended to set up a Greenfield manufacturing facility in the country to leverage on the cost and labor arbitrage, instead of extensively outsourcing and depending on external vendors for elevator assembly and spare parts. In addition to the problems faced in executing elevator orders due to elevator customization issues, Silvio also erred in formulating appropriate pricing strategy for India. His business plan did not consider important financial related factors like effect of Government policies on elevator industry, fluctuations in the currency exchange rate, effect of changes in the new transfer policy introduced by the corporate headquarters etc. As it is known, transfer pricing is determined various factors but primarily on profit earned by the subsidiary and also takes into account difference in the currency exchange READ: Changing Use Of Language EssayMGT 554: International Business and Law Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A) – A Case Analysis By Satish Krishnamoorthy, Ramya Narayanaswamy, Karthik Chittatoor, Kamalendra Velendra ____________________________________________________________ __________________ rates. To handle the current pricing crisis, in the short term, it is recommended for Silvio to immediately negotiate with the corporate headquarters to revert back on the old transfer pricing method hat he had used to calculate pricing. For the long term, Silvio should enter into a mutual agreement with corporate headquarters that there will be no changes in transfer pricing methodology and changes in prices of essential imported elevator spare parts, without adequate prior intimation. Alternately, Silvio can also mutually agree on the transfer prices of some of the models transfer prices in his yearly budget and thereby shielding from sudden changes in the pricing.

The Communication Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Communication Process - Essay Example In this paper, I will explain the model of the communication process and describe its development and related variables that affect it. The Communication Process There are numerous definitions to the communication process. But one of the most excellent descriptions that capture its essence is that one provided by Reddy (2004). He explained that the process â€Å"involves the sender, the transmission of a message through a selected channel and the receiver† (14). The definition can be illustrated in the following figure: Fig. 1: The Communication Process What this means is that the process may involved the exchange of messages through speaking, signals, writing or behavior and may occur either as verbal or nonverbal (Marquis and Huston 2009, 443). According to Steinberg, there are three basic models of the communication process, emphasizing different aspects of communication and these are: linear, circular and transactional (Steinberg 2006, 17). Fundamentally, there are four el ements involved, which must play their respective parts and interact in order for the process to be completed and become successful. These are the sender, the message, the channel or medium and the receiver. The sender initiates the process by encoding or expressing his or her thoughts or ideas in such a way that they will be understood by the intended receiver of the message. The codified or expressed thought is now the message, which, for its part, is conveyed or transmitted through a channel. This variable is the platform used for the message and effectively links the sender and the receiver in the process. For example, if the message is written, the channel may be a letter through the post or through the email using a computer. The receiver then receives the message and decodes it into his or her thoughts. After which, a message would then be conveyed in response, which is identified in the process as the feedback. Noise Noise is an element in the communication process. But unli ke the other four, it is not an integral component, required to make the process complete or effective. This is because noise hampers communication. It affects the process negatively and could muddle a message so that it is not interpreted correctly or never understood at all. Noise can literally be sound interference but it generally refers to the variables that disrupt the exchange of messages. For example, it can be the faulty encoding or decoding, personal biases of the people involved or their focus in the process, strong emotions such as fear and a host of other tangible and intangible variables. Feedback The significance of feedback, which is the final step in the process, rests on the fact that it is the only barometer to determine whether the process has been completed and effective. It tells the sender of the message that the conveyed information was successfully received and decoded. Feedbacks assume many forms and may not resemble the nature of the message received. For example, a girl giggles after I told her that she is beautiful. The giggle is the feedback. Feedback also provides the mechanism to determine the nature of the noise involved and to correct the faulty process. Also, feedback may also suffer from the same noise by which a

The Trial of Aaron Burr Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Trial of Aaron Burr - Essay Example It chronicles not only the alleged attempt to suborn the sovereignty of the U.S. government in the western territories, but also a titanic power struggle between the judicial and executive branches of government. On a deeper level, it offers an early example of the predisposition for interpretation inherent in the Constitution – and its potential vulnerability to political conflict. The point upon which the prosecution’s case turned in Aaron Burr’s treason trial, whether or not levying war constituted an overt act, was contested during a period in which the fledgling American Democracy was testing the very nature of the Constitution and how the law of the land Name 2 was to be interpreted. In The Trial of Col. Aaron Burr, Chief Justice John Marshall renders an opinion on a motion to arrest evidence, in which he quotes from a preliminary opinion regarding the meaning of â€Å"levying.† The judge here accords with the argument put by George Hay, chief prosec utor in the Burr trial, by stating that â€Å"levying war is a fact in the Constitution of which force is an indispensable ingredient† (Carpenter, 444). ... ‘Real life’ interpretation Justice Felix Frankfurter would speak to the issue of interpretation nearly 200 years after the Burr trial: â€Å"The words of the Constitution are so unrestricted by their intrinsic meaning or by their history or by tradition or by prior decisions that they leave the individual justice free, if indeed they do not compel him, to gather meaning not from reading the Constitution but from reading life† (Frankfurter, 1941). In the opinion referred to by Justice Marshall (mentioned above), a pragmatic appraisal of the situation is an attempt to apply the precepts of logic and common sense. â€Å"To constitute the fact of levying war, it is not necessary that hostilities shall have actually commenced, by engaging the military force of the United States; or that measures of violence against the government shall have been carried into execution† (Carpenter, 444). Name 3 It is perhaps surprising that Chief Justice Marshall should have adhe red to such a strict rendering of the Constitution in light of the unstable political climate in 1807. With the new Republic in a fragile and unsettled state, battles over Federalism vs. States Rights, the geographic destiny of the new nation and which foreign powers should be sought as allies (and which to avoid) created a turbulent, even dangerous political situation. As such, one might expect a far more in-depth interpretation of the law, which, after all, must be dynamic enough to address (without being determined by) existing need and current circumstance. As well, one must bear in mind that Constitutional interpretation was as yet a largely unplowed field. Should the document’s language be interpreted according to the framers’ intent? Should the Constitution be regarded as

What is the Role of Ethnicity in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is the Role of Ethnicity in Africa - Essay Example 138). In a simple way, ethnicity refers to a group of people who share same ancestral background, language, lifestyles and culture. From the above definition, enmity among Hutu, Tutsi and Twa relates to the above definition. Ethnicity led to a political divide in Rwanda (Scott, 2007). By 1959, the Tutsis were keen to liberate Rwanda from colonial oppression. This however led to massive killings for the sake of finding this freedom. This liberation made Tutsis dominant thus the forming of the one party state, which was powerful enough to penetrate the whole Rwandan society. To ensure dominance, they came up with ideologies that were against education and the press. To define ethnic boundaries, they came up with a system that involves the use of identity cards to show where individuals belonged. Between 1958 and 1962, there was massive campaign against the Tutsis, which claimed close to 200,000 Hutus as revenge from the Tutsi. Due to the indirect rule, Rwandans came to define their identities due to the idea that a society that everyone must belong to an ethnic group. This led to political divide in that they believed power was a key item in ethnic identity. This evident when in 1990, there emerged real enmity between supporters of then the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana who was a Hutu and the Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Paul Kagame who was a Tutsi. Due to this rivalry, Juvenal’s plane was shot while in the air and none of the people on board survived. This led to a blame game with the Tutsis being blamed for the assassination. The blame game left women and children at risk since they were the easiest to attack and kill in the name of revenge. Ethnicity played a key role in control of resources during and before genocide. Since independence, the Tutsis enjoyed the monopoly of being the only ones with the power to control the country’s natural

Micro Economics Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Micro Economics Report - Essay Example It can be said that the economic problem necessarily follows from the valuation of goods bought by the consumers. It again can be argued that the valuation of the consumers goods do not depend solely on the factors of production but also on the supply conditions of the factors of production. The problem cannot be solved is it can be shown that the knowledge were accrued only to a single mind. Instead economists need to show how interaction between persons who possess partial knowledge can lead to a solution. If it is assumed that all knowledge is given of a single mind then all important and significant things on the real world are disregarded. The explanation of the article Analysis made by Professor Schumpeter suggests that there are some problems with the approach used by some researchers which disregards some of the crucial phenomenon with which people have to deal with like unavoidable imperfection in common man’s knowledge as well as consequent requirements for a process by which knowledge is constantly communicated and acquired. It cannot be denied that the equilibrium analysis has some useful function which it can perform. The problem with which the author of the journal wants to deal with is of rational economic organization. Many of the points that the author has tried to discuss in the article revolves around the diverse paths of reasoning that have emerged unexpectedly. The author is of the opinion that that there exists current disputes between economic theory and economic policy. The dispute arises from the misconception about the nature of economic problem that accrues to the society. The reason for the emergence of misconception is the error prone transfer of the habits of thought to social phenomena that were developed with the view to deal with the phenomena of nature. The allocation of the available resources is regarded by the word planning. The economic activities can be treated to be as planning as in any society where many people c ollaborate it will be based upon knowledge which through some means must be conveyed to the planner. The crucial problem in explaining the economic process for any theory is the various means of communication on which people base their plans. The design of an efficient economic system is the finest method of utilizing the knowledge originally dispersed amongst all people. Hayek questions the argument of how to solve the rational economic order. The author began the article by wondering the possible ways of constructing an economic order. A problem would not arise if there is full transparency and information in the economy. But the author notes that there is no full transparency and information within the society. It is impossible to correctly justify the desires of the neighbours. The problem stated in the article is utilization of knowledge that is partially accrued by persons and they are devoid of gaining the full knowledge. All forms of economic activity which can either be dec entralized or centralized involve the term planning. According to Hayek, the system that will lead to optimum utilization of the available knowledge will depend on the expected situation where the knowledge is to be applied. Choosing the right expert is a complicated problem if someone is looking for the experts who might have the capability to use the knowledge. However Hayek

The Smartphone Industry Analysis 2012 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Smartphone Industry Analysis 2012 - Essay Example (Cromar, 2010) The smartphone market is characterized by perpetual innovation and constant new product development. No one company has considerable market share so all the companies are constantly evolving technology in order to remain competitive and not to be driven out. (Brownlow, 2012) Smartphones and tablets have very short product life-cycle due to constant improvement in technology, aggressive pricing and rapid imitation. The barriers to entry in this industry are very high due to patents, high start-up cost, regulations and economies of scale. In the smartphone industry there are many drivers which deliver success and in order to stay in business and maximize value for the company it is important to know what factors guide the company towards excellence. The smartphone industry is very fleeting, therefore companies need to be on their feet and constant research and development is needed to come up with the most innovative features that would appeal to consumers. This should b e in line with the market demand, but innovation is a key competitive force in the smart phone industry. Secondly, the product needs to be reliable and should deliver on its promises. Having a reasonable battery life is important along with good reception. This would make the consumer brand loyal if their expectations are met. Also, good customer support service is mandatory to be competitive. Thirdly, the product created needs to expandable such that it allows third party applications to run and is not very restrictive in nature. Timely software updates also reinforce a brand’s image. Another competitive force would be that the product should be user friendly, and the interface should be designed in order to facilitate consumers and should not be time consuming. Lastly for a company to remain competitive they should have great financial capability in order to respond to the fleeting market demand and have the finance for product development shifts, marketing and acquisitions as well. (Gartner, 2010) One of the best ways of evaluating the attractiveness of an industry and gauging its performance is through the Michael Porter's five force model. This model ensures that a holistic analysis is performed which considers all the possible threats and provides a true picture of the external environment of an industry. The industry according to this model is quite profitable as only two threats are strong and can be removed via good coordination. The smartphone industry is marked with the threat of rival sellers. All the major competitors have pretty much the same strategy and use innovation to excel and make promising products. Also, these companies are financially strong and stable and have immense budgets for promotional campaigns and intense research and development. Another common feature of this industry is the greater ability for acquisitions which dirty dig the share quickly off the android. Because the industry is progressing at a fast rate, some shift ing in market share without long term results can exist. (Analysys Mason, 2012) The threat of new entrants is moderate because the barriers to entry are many. The global distribution of technology is limited to the leading technology companies and they have patented their hall of fame products. The only

Summary on Asian Security Class Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary on Asian Security Class - Article Example However, this was not to remain so as it was being adversely affected by the 1969 tearing of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the USSR; that is, the Soviet Union. This meant that it was no longer receiving the support of both the USSR and China as it used to. Also, its boycott on the 1988 Seoul Olympics became a set back as it boosted South Korea by bringing it to limelight. Thus, North Korea’s previous supporters such as Russia and china started giving more attention to South Korea and opened up diplomatic relations with it. In addition, its economical downfall was accelerated by its adamancy in letting go of its juche (self-reliance) economic system Chalmers 120). In an attempt to stabilize its economy, the North Korea government in the early 1990s decided to build up relations with its neighboring nations like Japan. This is evidenced by the 1990 Pyongyang visit of the then Japanese vice president Kanemeru. However, his visit was never acknowledged by the Japanese government (Chalmers 121). One of the major crisis that faced North Korea was the shortage of fuel oil since china its leading supplier had increased its oil prices. Hence, North Korea resorted to establishing nuclear facilities on the basis that it needed them to generate the much needed electricity to curb its fuel shortages. The Unites States of America has had severe ties with North Korea. In fact, the U.S. refers it as a rogue state whereas its late leader Kim Jong-il was referred to as a mad prince. However, unlike in the case of communist Cuba where the U.S. employed severe boycott and embargo on the Cuban government, it still opened up to North Korea. This interest in North Korea is ascribed to the fact that North Korea posses as a threat because it has a nuclear weapon program. Owing to this, the U.S. has continually monitored North Korean’s actions and has even deployed land forces from East Asia in the Korean

Qualities of a nurse with a BSN as a Mentor Essay Example for Free

Qualities of a nurse with a BSN as a Mentor Essay Qualities of a nurse with a BSN as a Mentor The nurse I chose as a mentor has wonderful qualities that I hope to have after I also obtain a BSN. She shows great communication between nurses, doctors, and families. She is able to explain any situation in a professional manor. Her confidence is shown through her professionalism, for example, when she addresses information of medication and disease process to a family, she explains thoroughly, which builds trust with the family, shows her confidence and accountability, and she takes the time shows care. I know that being a nurse is a stressful job but nurses are able to find emotional stability and this nurse does just that by finding the balance of being happy in one room of a patient who was just extubated and doing well, then she will go to her next patient who isn’t doing as well and have empathy for the family, she says the right things, keeps her own emotions stable and nonjudgmental, and changes her whole thought process room to room. She pays attention to detail by noticing the wrong medication dose before giving to a patient. She has great problem-solving skills by helping residents and doctors come up with solutions in critical situations, she has quick responses with traumas. For example, she noticed something not right with her patient after a certain IV medication was given. She shows respect to all medical staff and families by staying professional, culture sensitive, and always shows a positive attitude. I have observed nurses with ADN and nurses with BSN’s, and I have noticed that BSN nurse show more professionalism in the hospital setting. She believes that nursing is a commitment of service and the desire to help those in need. It is more than treating an illness, she is focused on delivering quality patient care to each patient. Her philosophy of nursing combines the knowledge of medicine with compassion and respect. She has leadership skills that were learned through her education, patients are her number one priority, collaborates with the healthcare team, gives support, sensitive to patient’s needs, and shows praises to other colleagues. She works for the best interest for the patient, such as when she does not agree with an order written for a patient she will question the order and take action when needed. She also shows her leadership skills through forming  leadership meetings on ways to improve employee and patient satisfaction for our unit. She strives to improve areas on our unit that lack strength and finds solutions to make it better. Her attributes are what I am striving for my life long goals as I become a nurse with a BSN. The qualities that I have observed and the influence instilled through this nurse added with the education South University will be teaching me, will help me succeed as a professional nurse with a BSN. Not only will this add to my personal philosophy but also my own personal experiences as a current nurse and my willingness to continually learn, listen, accept advice, respect others beliefs, and work with others in any environment given (adaptability). I look forward to advancing my skill and succeeding as a professional nurse and continuing my education. Chitty, Black, K. (2007). Professional Nursing: Concepts Challenges (5th ed). W.B. Saunders Company.

Development of the Boeing-797

Development of the Boeing-797 Boeing-797 1.0 Introduction: Boeing is the worlds largest manufacturer of commercial airplanes and military aircraft and worlds leading aerospace company. Boeing operates the space shuttle and international space station for his major client National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Customers of Boeing spread around the world more than in 90 countries. Its head quarter is in Chicago, it employs more than 157000 employees across the United States and in 70 countries. Boeing has made a commercial plane like 767, 777, and his recent successful plane 787 which create history in getting the maximum orders from the customer. Since the late 1990s, the rivalry between The Boeing Company (Boeing) and the European consortium Airbus Industries (Airbus) has been intense. Recently Airbus mounted a direct challenge to Boeings dominance in the large aircraft category (the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet) with the development of the Airbus A380, unveiled in January 2005. Boeing has only one competitive model in the form of the 787 when compared to Airbus A 380.But after 10-12 years again the need of new plane will emerge which will compete with the rivalrys modern Aircrafts. So for the future perspective Boeing has planned to go for a plane which will start a new era of Aircrafts with its latest blended wing technology, body of composite fiber material and 1000 passengers capacity and create a bench line in the aviation industry for the next generation future aircraft. The Boeing-797 is the double Decker plane which will help the Boeing to make their position much stronger in the aviation industry and capture the largest mar ket share for Boeing. 2.0 Project Roles and Responsibilities: Ø Stakeholders: Stakeholders are those persons who directly-indirectly influence the design of the project. They will provide project requirements and after completions they are the one who will reap the benefits of the project. Primary Stakeholders: Airlines around the world Secondary Stakeholders: Passengers, Crew of Airplane, Employees of Boeing, Government, and NASA (for its blended wing technology). Ø Contractors and Suppliers: Supplier: The organization which supplies parts or services to another organization known as supplier Contractor: People who provide his/her services to another entity according to the term and conditions prescribed in the contract. He/She is not a permanent employee of the organization and doesnt work regularly for the company. This project would require more than 100 contractors including major contractors and sub contractors. For detailed List of suppliers and contractors please see appendix no.2 Some Major Sub contractors: Rolls-Royce or GE aircraft engines which was hired to develop engines for the plane. Green Hills Software of Santa Barbara to write the operating system for the on-board flight-control computers. Astronautics Corp. of America to built instrumentation system. LMI AEROSPACE St. Charles, Mo. LMI supplies sheet-metal parts used on the wings, fuselage, and interior. KREISLER INDUSTRIAL Elmwood Park, N.J. to make fuel lines WESTERN FILTER GROUP Valencia, Calif supplies filtration equipment for the hydraulic-control lines. Honeywell for Navigation Package, Health Management System, and Flight control electronics. Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Main Landing Gear Wheel well. Liebherr Aerospace Toulouse for Environmental Control Systems Kaiser Electro precision (Rockwell Collins) for the pilot controls (i.e. wheel, column) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a Japanese company for the wings manufacturing Ø Project Team: The project team is the combination of resources like analyst, designer, engineers etc. They can be part time or full time resources. Responsibility: Understand the allocated task Complete the allocated task within assigned budget, time and quality. Ø Project Manager The Project manager is the person who is responsible for the management of the project on the day-to-day basis. He/She ensures that resources are effectively allocated to the tasks through out the life cycle of project. He/she has to manage and monitor the progress of the project against the baseline of the project. According to the PMBOK, the project manager has four major areas of responsibilities: Identify the need for the project Establish achievable objectives Maintain the balance between Scope, Time and Cost. Understand and satisfy the persons involved in a project Ø Designer: Designer understands the business need and designs a solution which will meet the business need. His responsibility is to design model and framework with the help of required technology to achieve the optimum solution of the business need to the client. Customer: People who actually use the deliverable of the project. They help to define the business requirements. 3.0 Communication Plan: A communication plan is a document that defines: Information of what tasks need to finish. The ways in which those task can be finished. To whom the associated information will be addressed. Please see communication plan for Boeing-797 project in appendix no.5 4.0 Project Schedule: Project schedule shows the timing allocate to the work packages in the WBS and it shows the position and timing of milestones and specific events of the project (Lock, 2007) Schedule: Initiation phase 1.5 years Planning Phase 2.5 years Execution Phase 3 years Closeout Phase 1 year Total duration of the project 8 Years Milestones: Milestone is a schedule event which shows the completion of major activity in the project. There are seven major milestones establishes during the scheduling of execution phase: Ø Milestone 1: Concept Approval. Ø Milestone 2: Distribution of work packages. Ø Milestone 3: Completion of Major Assembly Ø Milestone 4: Completion of Power-On stage of aircraft. Ø Milestone 5: Completion of Wing-break test. Ø Milestone 6: Completion of Gauntlet test. Ø Milestone 7: Market Launch of Aircraft. Resource Loading: Resource loading is the process to assign a task to each employee of the working on the project by project manager. For the definition of the Power-On stage, Wing Break test, Gauntlet Test please refers Appendix no. 11 and for the dependencies of activities, resource loading please refers the Gantt chart of Boeing-797 in Appendix no. 4 5.0 Budget: Budget estimation is very important measure to control the cost through out the project life cycle against the estimated cost of the project (Turner, 1999). The estimated budget for the project is 8 billion pound. Approximate 50% of the total budget around  £4 billion is allocated for the research and development of the project. The estimated budget for the Planning and Execution phase is  £2.8 billion  £1 billion respectively. And estimated budget for the closeout phase is  £.2 billon. For the allocation of the budget during execution phase please refer Appendix no.8 6.0 Issues and Challenges at each phase of the project: Issues Challenges in Initiation Phase: Concept Approval: The concept approval is a big challenge for this kind of aircraft. It involves lots of research and development and so many changes in design until the concept get approval. Financial Aid: As this project involves lots of research and development it will need a continuous flow of money for the smooth and uninterrupted completion of this phase. Copyright issues: During RD stage due to the use of highly advanced technology there is chances of copyright issues of technology imposes by another competitor organization. Issues Challenges in Planning Phase: Resource Allocation: This is one of the major tasks involved in planning stage. Allocation of resources to the task need to be very accurate and prices because project cost and speed is depend on the efficiency of the resources used in the project. Efficient Project plan: Development of an effective project plan is a major challenge for the project manager. This is the document on which project success depend. The bad project plan can cause an overrun of the project schedule and cost. Issues Challenges in Execution phase: Supply Chain: Managing a supply chain is a major challenge of this project because delay in one sub assembly or important component from supplier could cause a delay of whole project. Major Assembly: completion of major assembly on time for the first prototype is challenge. Issues Challenges in Close out phase: Market Launch: Market launch of prototype on schedule is major challenge for an organization. As the orders of the product would have already received and the customer is waiting for the product the delay in launch of product could cause a cancellation of orders and damage to the image of the organization. Decommission: Successful decommission of such a big project is a challenge for project manager because decommission of project is very important task of this phase as it involves creation of important documents like closeout reports. These reports will help in same kind of future projects for referencing. If source of referencing is not correct or accurate then it may affect the future projects. 7.0 Project Environmental Appraisal: It is the systematic and comprehensive method to review the project in terms of environment, technical, social, and economic aspect to find out whether project will meet its objectives or not. SWOT Analysis: The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is the analysis of factors that will the impact the effectiveness of the organization. Ø Strengths: Highly skilled trained engineers: Boeing has highly skilled and trained engineers to work on this project. The certified and highly experienced engineers and scientist are the strength of Boeing. Strong and efficient RD teams have been delivered many big and complicated projects in the past. Employees are enthusiastic about this project: The enthusiasm of employees toward this project is big strength of this project. This project provides a platform to the engineers and scientist to learn the new technologies. Specialized Crew Training: Boeing has the highly advanced training rooms and highly skilled trainers to train the teams of this project with the latest tool and technologies. A comparatively large scale use of composites material: The uses of composite materials make this plane lighter in weight, and help in less fuel consumption. Boeing has already used composite material in its recent aircraft so they have experience of using the composite material. Advanced Design and technologies: The expertise of Boeing in latest technology like fly by wire technology and blended wing technology ensure the success of the project. Boeing has already used fly by wire technology in its recent plane 787 successfully. This plane unique design accommodates 1000passengers without much increase in shape as compared to Airbus A380. Up front involvement with airlines and engineering: This project needs strong relations with the stakeholders and customers, which Boeing already has. The Boeing understands the requirements of each airline very well and regular communication with the airlines regarding their requirements help Boeing to plan their future planes. The regular updating in engineering field is one of the strength of Boeing which helps this project to become successful. Foundation for the future aircraft designed for long journeys: With the help of this plane the Boeing will start a new era of planes in the aviation field. The designed of this plane used as a milestone for the next generation future aircrafts which travel the long journey with the less fuel consumptions at higher speed. Ø Weakness: †¢ Big capital expenditures on manufacturing facilities and Training: To train the employees on specific high end technologies for this project requires a high class infrastructure training rooms. Also require a expensive tools and machinery help in manufacturing the plane. †¢ If the 797 failed, Boeing may have difficulty in obtaining money for future aircraft development: This project involves a large amount of money and the failure of this project could cause a big financial damage to the Boeing. In future project stakeholders might not get ready to invest on this kind of big projects. †¢ Extensive outsourcing strategy led to major delays: The use of innovative supply chain strategy of â€Å"buying more, make less† increase a dependency on the suppliers. The delay of major sub assembly could lead to a delay in major assembly. These delays affect the planned schedule and could incur an extra cost. †¢ RD prices are high: The RD cost of this project is very high. Approximate 65%-70% of the total project cost is going to use in RD phase. The research and development of new technologies and materials for this plane require large amount of time and money. †¢ Matching with defined Timescale, deadlines and pressure: Delays in supply chain or any other department can cause a delay in production of plane which increases the pressure of completing the project within the specified timescale. Ø Opportunities: †¢ Projecting the airline and passengers needs: This project is the opportunity to project the airline and passengers need and filling the holes of requirement in market not met by existing planes. This project attracts the customer due to its capability of meeting the requirements or needs of the user. †¢ Acquiring a long range market: By launch of this plane Boeing will able to acquire the aviation market for a long time as there is no another plane in the market which can compete with Boeings 797 plane. †¢ Market poised for growth: This project boost the market growth by strengthens the place of Boeing in market. †¢ Fulfill the need of change in aircraft market and get large market shares to Boeing: From a long time the need of change in aircrafts is emerging, this plane not only showing changes in its shape also in its design too. The changes can be seen in the use of technology and process used in the manufacturing of the plane. All these changes results into a unique plane which fulfill the need of customer and as there is no such kind of plane is available in the market it helps the boeing to get market shares. †¢ Global influences: Influence the world with the capability of Boeing in aircraft manufacturing. This project provides a platform where Boeing has an opportunity to show his capability to build such a unique plane with the use of high end technology. Ø Threat: Reaction of passengers of plane: Not sure how passengers would react on a plane which looks completely differently what they used to travel. It may time to adjust them with this design and understand the benefit of this design. Restriction of use at old airports: This plane face a problem of parking due to small size aircraft stands at old airports. Due to its size and requirement of modern tool and techniques for maintenance and repair this plane face problem at the old airports. Legal threat: The Legal threat from the competitors over technology or information issues is very common in such kind of big project. As sometime competitors try to slow down the speed of project or stop the project so that they can make they ready for the competition and speed up and modified their projects to compete with Boeing plane. Changes of Government policies: The changes in regulation and policies imposed by government like new environmental act, noise standards etc could lead to a delay or stop the project. Sometime change in policies and regulation also cause the change in design of the plane which incur the extra cost and time to the project. Lose of Key Staff to the competitive organization: There is a risk of lose of key staff working on the project to the competitive organization. This may slow down the project speed and progress, risk of leakage of sensitive and important information to the competitors. 8.0 Investment Appraisal for Boeing-797 NPV of this project is positive and IRR of this project is more than the standard Rate of interest or Weighted Average Capital Cost (WACC) of company. Suggestion: As the value of calculated IRR is more than the standard Rate of interest, NPV is positive and early returns of the investment shows that project is favorable and organization must take for a organizations future growth and benefit. 9.0 Procurement Plan: Procurement Plan is the document which provides information regarding the purchasing of goods and services, criteria to choose the supplier, type of contract, procedure to manage the suppliers. The Boeing procurement plan governs the purchase of the material in right quantity of right quality at right time and at right price from the right sources. All procurement actions follow the all applicable laws, regulations and contractual obligations. All suppliers and their representatives are treated fairly and impartially. For faster and effective procurement Boeing used an e-procurement technique known as Exostar. This website provides a platform for Boeing to share the information, the technology and help to maintain an effective communication with contractors and suppliers. Exostar is a online aerospace and defense trading exchange and its co-founded by Boeing with other aerospace and defense equipments leading manufacturers like BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co. and Rolls Royce. Following are the important procurement steps followed by Boeing during different phase of the project life cycle: I) Initiation Phase: Requirement Step Requirement Step: In this step Boeing conducts a â€Å"make vs. buy† analysis, if company decides product (equipment, services, project resources, etc.) will be purchased, then company go to the Requisition Step. Company creates a statement of work, define the product specifications (e.g. design, performance, functional), and identifies major project milestones. II) Planning Phase: Solicitation Step Solicitation Step: This step includes receipt of proposals, negotiation with vendors, evaluation of the proposals and award of contract. III) Execution Phase: Contract Administration Contract Administration: In this step company manages the contract by working closely with vendors and by regular reviews to ensure that terms, conditions and requirement of the contract are met. IV) Closeout Phase: Closeout Closeout: In this step company receive the product and verify it with the contract requirements, if it is met the requirements then accept the product or service. And company makes final payment after ensuring that there are not any outstanding invoices. 10.0 Contract Strategy: The contract strategy determines the level of integration and complexity of design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the project, and it should support the prime objectives of the project in terms of risk allocation, delivery, incentives etc. There are a number of different contract strategies, but each company has its own specified contract strategies for the specific projects because one contract and its strategy will not be able to meet with the requirement of each project. The Boeing contract strategy emphasizes on the importance of competitive bidding as they believe its a very effective business practice. Before awarding a contract they consider the ability, capability, financial status, integrity, reliability, geographical conditions and performance, quality of product offered, delivery and overall relations with the customers of the potential supplier. 11.0 Administration of Contract: The purpose of the contract administration is to ensure that supplier/contractor delivering the product or services met with the requirement of contract. There are some important steps of contract administration: Interpret the specifications. Ensure the quality of the product or service. Manage the Administrative, Budget changes and contract modification if needed. Resolve the contract disputes. Terminate the contract if supplier or contractor failed to met the requirement of the contract. Manage the risk associated with the contract. The Boeing Company administers the contract with the help of different kind of forms, which contains all the conditions and regulations help to administer the contract successfully. For e.g.: To administer the purchase contract the Boeing has a Form D1 4305 1500 (Rev. 2/96). This form consist 46 terms and condition to review and administer the purchase contract. For further information of this form please refer Appendix no. 10 II) Boeings Contract Administration Form 12.0 Supply Chain Strategy Issues: Supply chain is the entire network of different entities like organization, resources, People etc to supply the end product to the final customer. Strategy: Design and Efficiency are not the only things about this new aircraft this project contains a production supply chain strategies which make it possible for Boeing to complete this aircraft in a record time. This kind of projects requires a very effective and efficient supply chain because the slightest delay at any point in supply chain can paralyze the production of the aircraft. For Boeing this new aircraft means the revamped supply chain. Traditionally Boeing used a strategy in which it is a main manufacturer and contracting with the thousand of suppliers for individual parts and systems later when parts and supplier reached to Boeing they labouredly assemble them into finished product. But for the 787 project they had used new supply chain strategies which includes major suppliers will design build the entire sections of the aircraft and later shipped them to the Boeing for the final assembly and testing i.e. â€Å"Making less, buying more†. In this way major portion of the aircraft will actually be built by Boeings global partners. To speed up the assembly Boeing need to achieve a whole new level of collaboration with key suppliers around the word. For effective Supply chain process Boeing used a internet trading exchange tool known as Exostar. All the suppliers need to register on the Exostar and direct procurement of design and part can be done on Exostar. Exostar is an e-tool which ensures that all the partners and suppliers of the project were in close communication about every aspect of Production, logistics, and design. For effective supply chain process the visibility of updated and latest data from Boeing to the required suppliers is very important. It helps suppliers to ensure that they are adhered to the production plan. On the Exostar the supplier can view the information regarding the engineering changes, production delays, part orders and the like. Whenever there is a specific major changes in the process or design suppliers came to know about it and do the changes within specified time without incurring extra cost to the project. With the help of Exostar the Boeing can have a better control of the whole supply chain. Exostar allows a Boeing to control and limit the flow of information to the tier1 or tier 2 suppliers. The Exostar work as an â€Å"Early warning system† it warns any disruption and error in a supply chain so that Boeing knows about the potential problem in advance to head off the impacts of those problems further along the chain. E.g.: If the supplier delivered an invoice through the Exostar with wrong unit price then Exostar identify the discrepancy between invoice and purchase order and send it back to the supplier. Issues and Challenges: The supply of the major sub assemblies from the different suppliers for the major assembly of the aircraft need to arrive on time and in precise order so that plane can roll out the assembly line on the schedule. Major risk involved in the supply chain is Schedule risk. The issues like delay in one major subassembly could cause delay in the production of the aircraft and increase and change in defined schedule. Some of the major issues are as follows: Design changes of the aircraft leads to the supply chain delays. Limited engineering resources inside the Boeing. Improper communication leads ambiguity between supplier and client. It could cause delay in supply of sub assemblies or parts. Some of the major challenges are as follows: Synchronizing thousand of suppliers and deliveries to build an aircraft. Assuring safe and on time deliveries of the sub assemblies from the supplier. Benefit of this strategy: Strategy focuses on making less buying more, driving the supply-chain complexity and supplier dependency. But with this strategy Boeing set out to do something revolutionary by tapping suppliers not only for parts, components and material but also innovation. And this helps Boeing to set out the new platform to market as soon as possible. It also help to reduced the business risk by reducing its dependence on its own operations like organized the labor in the production process. Some other benefits of this strategy are as follows: Control on spending the money. Performance Incentives and Delivery reliability. Focus on partnerships- Best practices, data exchange etc. Early problem detection, to implement control measure in advance. 13.0 Type of Contract: Boeing used a FFP (Firm Fixed Price) contract and they have their own specified designed contract forms based on FFP contract type. A firm-fixed-priced contract is a type of contract which made for a price that is not subject to pay any extra cost on the basis of contractors cost experience during performing the contract. This contract type places maximum risk to the contractor and full responsibility for all costs resulting profit or loss. It provides maximum incentive for the contractor to control the costs and perform the task effectively and imposes a minimum administrative burden upon contracting parties. 14.0 Type of Contract Form: Boeing does not have any traditional contract form. Boeing has different specified contract form, each contract form especially designed according to the product or goods. For procurement of goods or services for defense helicopter or for commercial plane they have different contract forms. Each contract form varies according to their product or services but all the contract forms are based on the prime contract i.e. â€Å"FFP Contract†. There is a sample contract form of Boeing is attached in Appendix no. 10, I) Boeings Procurement Contract Form for further information. 15.0 Legal Issues: Following Legal issues might arise during this project:  · Financial: The financial laws of any business are many in number and they varied from location to location. There are always new rules, regulation and taxes are imposes by government and they are changing regularly so its necessary for us to keep update with the latest tax laws and other financial regulation. This project involves large amount of money so its necessary for the Boeing to follow all the financial laws to protect themselves from any financial laws infringement which can cause an extra cost to the project.  · Contractual: This is the most common legal issue in any business. In this project where the suppliers and contractors are more than hundred in numbers the legal issues are very common. To minimize these issues it is necessary for both the parties involved in contract should read and understand the contract properly. * Advertising: Advertisings legal issues arise when a company says pretty much anything they want to in advertising to sell their product. These legal issues arise generally in small business where the product is small and cheap, and then it is easy to fool the public. But its not easy to do in the big projects like making of aircraft for the world renowned company because the big product like aircraft is not going to advertise on the television for the general consumers.  · Operations: The way company runs his business is one of the most important legal aspect need to be consider. Company must make sure that his business operations are governed by federal, state and local laws. In the organization there are so many laws of different department need to be considered during operation of the company or project like laws regarding human resources, tax reporting deadlines, and required insurance. The common saying â€Å"better safe than sorry† definitely applies to laws that govern the business of the organization because company needs to be extra careful as competitors are always ready to pick this kind of mistake or error so that they can highlight this issue and damage the brand image of company and fail the project. 16.0 Disputes between Stake holders and Competitors: Disputes: The dispute between stake holders will arise when there is disagreement between the stakeholders regarding their personal interest or when interest of one stakeholder is opposite to another stakeholder. If the dispute between stakeholders will not solve early then it may lead to the change in projects definition, scope and objectives. Mostly dispute between stakeholders resolved by any one of the form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method i.e. Arbitration, Mediation and Negotiation. Usage of ADR form depends on the complexity of the dispute. â€Å"Litigation† is the last option for the company to solve the dispute as it involves lots of money and time. Disputes between stakeholders can be reduced and solved by following methods: Improved communication: More attention need to be given to dispute management in the organization so that it helps to increase more open relationship with the stakeholders. Stronger relationships: The relationship between stakeholders will improve with the help of effective communication between the stakeholders. The stronger relationship helps to build a better understanding between the stakeholders. Encouragement of appropriate solution: Problem and issues should identify at early stage and dealt with appropriate and most satisfactory outcome for the stakeholders. Corporate culture: The culture of the organization should be flexible and solution oriented. And the management and the employees take the responsibility to solve the problem or issue at their level. Early ide

San Francisco and Influenza :: Journalism Spanish Flu Health Essays

San Francisco and the Spanish Flu SAN FRANCISCO--No one can deny the amount of patriotism San Franciscans have for their country especially during the Great War. Rallying, Parading, and marching down the streets of San Francisco are where these civilians choose to be, whether they like wearing gauze masks or not. Such undertakings, however, are exactly the kinds of activities a community seeking to protect itself from Spanish Influenza should definitely avoid. With the commotion of World War I many San Franciscans fail to notice the rapid rate at which people are falling victim to the epidemic influenza. Origins at this time are not specifically known although it was dubbed the name, Spanish Flu, for its early affliction and large mortality rates in Spain. The influenza, also known as the Spanish Flu, is affecting roughly all of northern California economically and socially whether San Franciscans notice it or not. Several schools, churches, and buildings are closed due to preventive orders by authorities. Insurance companies and the Government are spiraling downwards financially as they become responsible for the victims of this deadly influenza. Moreover, ordinances mandated the wearing of gauze masks in public places. Such laws are outraging civilians as well as important politicians. Individuals against the mandatory wearing of gauze masks appealed the law while others chose to be arrested rather than wear the masks. Governor Stephens attempted to set an example for all Californians by wearing a gauze mask to a meeting at the Capitol. Even state senators are ordered to wear masks when attending meetings in the senate. On January 12, the public health committee of the Alameda County Medical Society suggested and presented codes of conduct to combat the influenza epidemic. The Medical Society advise civilians to wear gauze masks when congregating with two or more people. Military reservations and forts are being quarantined to halt the spread of the influenza epidemic. Agreements cannot be made between local authorities and civilians nor can they accept the safety precautions local authorities are trying to apply. While newspapers such as The San Francisco Chronicle have explosive front page headlines of the war, the deadly influenza epidemic seems miniscule in comparison. There are far too many articles on insignificant stories of divorces, crimes, and debutantes of San Francisco. Of what was actually mentioned in between the pages of war talk were the repeals over the laws requiring civilians to wear gauze masks.

The Importance of Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations :: Great Expectations Essays

The Importance of Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations    The importance of Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations has two major parts: the significance of the character, and the symbolism of the character. The significance of Mrs. Joe is to complete the figure of Joe.   The symbolism of Mrs. Joe is the physical manifestation of Joe's fears, in combination with his desire for a commanding father figure. Mrs. Joe's reign of terror is obviously necessary for Joe's existence. In the beginning of Great Expectations, Joe requires identification as a major character. Without the weakness that Mrs. Joe instills in Joe trough her reign of terror, Joe is never able to develop his own character. Joe is identified as a compassionate, sensitive character; the most direct way to display this feature is to have the character appear vulnerable. Mrs. Joe serves as the tyrant for which Joe is made helpless. Joe, unless he is a scared character, does not recognize the friend he has in Pip. Without Joe as a major role in Pip's life, Pip also seems very incomplete.   Mrs. Joe also serves as the comical interlude for an otherwise somber story. When she had exhausted a torrent of such inquiries, she threw a candlestick at Joe, burst into a loud sobbing, got out the dustpan -- which was always a very bad sign -- put on her coarse apron, and began cleaning up to a terrible extent. Not satisfied with a dry cleaning, she took to a pail and scrubbing-brush, and cleaned us out of house and home, (author’s last name and page #) Truly, a frightening creature is that which may destroy a household, by cleaning when anger besets her. The comedy also has a serious side, though, as we remember our mothers exerting their great frustrations upon the household tasks of cleanliness.   So Mrs. Joe serves well as a mother to Pip. Besides the age difference and the motherly duties of housekeeping for Pip and Joe, the attitude of a scornful mother is also apparent. This, of course, draws Joe even closer to Pip, by relation. Mrs. Joe serves as a link to make it possible for Joe to appear the father of Pip. In addition, Joe, although terrified of Mrs. Joe, is a very honorable man and would never consider divorcing her. Joe chooses to preserve the sacred marriage rather than seek his comfort.

Employee Organisations & Unions Essay -- Business and Management Studi

Employee Organisations & Unions If employers and employees have a history of good working relationship and mutual trust, reaching decisions, which are fair under the circumstances, would be achievable. For example, if the business is poor and redundancies are possible, it would be impossible to find a solution to suit everyone so the employer would have to make a difficult decision. Good relations between employers and employees are only possible if both feel that they can discuss major problems and anticipated changes, if there can be discussion and consultation about key issues and if they genuinely want to work together to find a solution. After employees have been involved in a consultative process they are usually more likely to accept a negotiated outcome. A trade union is a voluntary organisation which employees are free to join if they wish. There may be a subscription charge depending on size; it varies from a very large association to a small association. Trade unions offer a range benefits and advisory services to members, represent their members during disciplinary or grievance procedures and aim to protect and improve pay and conditions of employment. They approach the government about introducing laws, which will benefit employees. Staff associations do not automatically have the same legal rights as independent trade unions, although many do. They may just provide an informal meeting ground for employers and employees and often have ...

Mental Models Essay

Mental models are how the mind stores memories and ideas relating to reality. These include opinions, attitudes, prejudices, and approaches to different objects, events, and situations. The manner in which one’s mental models work can limit one’s ability to succeed or improve his or her environment. Sometimes managers’ mental models limit a business because they choose to ignore certain factors. Sometimes people only see what they desire to perceive or deliberately ignore pertinent data (Crook & Wind, 2006). For large, vast, and fast-paced companies like Verizon Wireless, mental models and mindsets, especially in management, do more than shape the company culture; they drive the company to success or failure. The company’s rapid growth and enormous shares of the wireless communications market are evidence of beneficial mental models and positive mindsets, but there are a few weaknesses. Mental Models that Enable Verizon Wireless’ Decision Making Pro cess Verizon Wireless employs several strategies survive and maintain a competitive advantage over its competitors. One of the company’s most influential mental models is that scrutinizing data to gain insights into the most potentially successful business models is key to thriving in a competitive market. Verizon Wireless collects information about various wireless providers, individual clients, and client businesses to glean important insights. This mental model helps the company envision many important improvements, like programs to help grow small businesses into corporate enterprises and where to put the next set of communication towers (Verizon Wireless, 2013). This mental model helps Verizon Wireless to attract customers and maintain its client base (Bouncken & Sungspoo, 2002). Mental models are important in the understanding of various aspects of topics. Verizon wireless uses mental models to strategize and process, hence their success in business. Verizon Wirelessâ⠂¬â„¢ Mental Model of Employment One of the strategies that Verizon Wireless uses is a mental model of attractive employment conditions in the company, as a key to success. The belief is that happy employees help keep customers happy (Dean, 2013). For instance, the company provides support for working mothers and supports them in their endeavors to advance their careers, with offerings like tuition assistance. The mental model emphasizes positive inter-office interrelations, thus building trust within the workplace. Verizon Wireless is listed as one of the best companies for workers to seek employment because of this strong model of positive interrelations with its employees, flexible working schedules, and incentives for employees to further their careers (â€Å"Working Mothers names Verizon Wireless among 100 best firms,† 2008). By appreciating and encouraging individual interests within the company, Verizon Wireless builds a collective mental model of every worker’s success is a company achievement and, vice-versa, the company’s success contributes to the success of every individual (Computerworld, 2011). Mental Models Adopted From Mergers Verizon wireless is regularly involved in mergers with other companies within the communications industry. The mental model that drives this desire to purchase other successful enterprises is a vision of a company that grows ever-stronger by combining the best characteristics of each company into a better Verizon Wireless. In fact, the company started from the merger of two former Bell spin-offs, Bell Atlantic and GTE, along with a British company, Vodafone, deciding to merge Vodafone Wireless and GTE Wireless into a separate entity. The profitability and market leverage provided through the merger made Verizon Wireless a formidable contender, from its very beginning (Verizon Communications, 2013). Later, the company merged with Alltel Wireless to form the nation’s largest and strongest wireless communications provider (Verizon Wireless, 2009). Future mergers with established companies in foreign markets are likely to replicate the company’s successful â€Å"bigger is better† philosophy (FierceBroadbandWireless, 2012). The role of mental models is to aid in reasoning and problem solving, within the organization. Mental models provide imagery that aids in constructing and interpreting of issues (Rickheit, 1999). Mental models are how people’s minds represent reality and guide people’s decision-making processes, along with logical reasoning. The ideals and vision that Verizon Wireless embraces, in terms of latest technology as well merging with others, shapes strategy formulation and implementation. Mental Models that Disable Verizon Wireless’ Decision Making Process Every wireless phone company provides mental models and mindsets that disable the organization’s decision-making progress. One common mindset that hinders wireless providers and angers customers is the notion that a company must put attracting new customers before keeping current subscribers happy. Negative side effects of this mindset include reductions in renewal perks and adding charges without prior notification, as well as the addition of a $30 upgrade fee for each time the client switches to a new device. Already disgruntled customers are further enraged, when they call the customer service lines and discover the company’s unwillingness to compromise over fees and price hikes. Such a negative mindset encourages customers to look elsewhere for service; and, those whom terminate their business with Verizon Wireless are customers that the company must replace by enticing a new client with benefits and discounts. Furthermore, angry customers are not shy to tell their friends and acquaintances about their terrible experiences with Verizon Wireless, thus scaring off potential customers (Delsoft, 2012). Based upon revenues, Verizon Wireless is the most profitable wireless communications carrier in the United States, and poised to be the most profitable in the world. The company provides high-quality service and works endlessly to expand and improve upon its infrastructure. The model is very successful and creates the mindset that an ever-improving network is the only way to succeed. The limitation this mental model poses is that the company does not use the advantages of economies of scale to pass savings onto customers. Most customers would be happier to know that their bills were reduced than to know th at their phones will receive full 3G service on nearly every square foot of the North American continent. Five Forces Influencing Mental Models at Verizon Wireless Similar to other wireless companies, Verizon has five forces to conduct success against its competitors. The five forces illustrate a representation of the five powers to rise in a low economic environment. These forces, also known as Michael Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, consist of buyer power, supplier power, threat of substitute product and services, threats of new entrants, and finally, rivalry of existing competitors such as T-Mobile, AT&T, etc. Following Michael Porter’s analysis may give the company big accomplishment, there is also other forces that impose limitations to the decision-making process. Imposed forces obligate a company to switch gages from success to immediate failure, such as the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services. A CRM service is a strategy that reduces any negative interactions that the customers pertain. Exploiting is a major discomfort for Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless does not like to bring undependable service upon its customers. One of the five forces that impose limitation to administrative decision process is threats of entrants. Threats of new entrants become an imposition because it conveys hard places to expand access of new entrants, creating threat of competition of which wireless company is highe r quality. Creative Intelligence at Verizon Wireless Verizon Wireless has become the leading cellular provider by creating a leadership team that allows integration within the company’s decision making process. Verizon Wireless recognizes that not all good ideas will be created within the company or marketed successfully internally. In the business community, network- related issues such as call quality and performance reliability, particularly among small and midsize companies, are important elements that impact the daily decision-making process. Verizon Wireless adapted a strategy known as crowd sourcing. Crowd sourcing became the decision making process for everything from product development to engaging customers in marketing decisions. As crowd sourcing succeeds and grows in popularity, innovators and businesses are taking more provocative and bold steps to drive innovation. The company’s most creative development for decisions is its open innovation strategy. According to Nine Sigma (2013), open Innovation, also kno wn as external or networked innovation, is focused on uncovering new ideas, reducing risk, increasing speed and leveraging scarce resources. With a better understanding of collaboration, a company is able to lower risk by combining external capabilities with internal innovation resources. Verizon Wireless created a program to collaborate with entrepreneurs and established companies. Through open innovation, Verizon Wireless will be able to form partnerships and generate the creative ideas that will keep them competitive in the future. Conclusion Mental models manipulate the mind to have imagery on several issues. Knowledge is crucial in creating a mental model in a business. When the mental model is one that promotes interrelations such as new ideas through support of advancement and education, new ideas then emerge that enable a company such as Verizon wireless to thrive. The management implements the ideas as the new ideas of the mental picture resonates with their personal goal. Thus, the importance of mental models in Verizon wireless decision making processes as it facilitates fast reasoning towards shared goals. References AT&T. (2013). Investor relations. Retrieved from http://www.att.com Bouncken, R. B., & Sungspoo, P. (2002). Knowledge management in hospitality and tourism. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Hospitality Press. Computerworld. (2011). 100 best places to work in it 2012: Employer profile NO. 6: Verizon Wireless. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com/ Consumerist.com. (2007, October 15). Verizon’s Plan to Share Your Call Data Generates Blog Scrutiny. Consumerist. Retrieved from http://consumerist.com Crook C., Wind J., (2006, March 1). Changing Mental Models in an uncontrollable world. Retrieved from The Financial Times 2012 Dean, J. (2013, April 29). 10 of the Happiest Big Companies to work for. Career Alley. Retrieved from http://www.careeralley.com Delsoft. (2012, October 3). Why does Verizon not value loyal long term customers? Verizon Wireless Services. Retrieved from https://community.verizonwireless.com FierceBroadbandWireless. (2012). Global LTE: Verizon dominates today, but which operators will lead in 2016? Retrieved from http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com

Pepcid Ac Analysis

The problem Pepcid AC faced in its initial entry into the market was direct competition from competing products that, together, took almost all market share. Pepcid AC positioned itself as three important things: providing lasting relief from GERD and gastrointestinal upset by means of the fewest pills possible and providing not only relief but prevention. Tegamet already had an established marketing base that consisted of customers who knew the brand name and were weary to switch to another product.The main point of entry for Pepcid AC would be educating the public on the H2-receptor antagonist prescription drugs, the reduced number of pills needed, and the difference between market-standard Tegamet and new Pepcid AC. My recommendation would be to consider TV advertising as a main means of communicating the product offering of Pepcid AC and essentially â€Å"spreading the word† on how the product differentiates itself.Product endorsement from a physician would be beneficial t o push the product into the hands of weary consumers. Finding a series of doctors who would be able to push the product is the largest problem. Doctors were finding that traditional antacids were easier to sell because they already had an established reputation in the household. By finding a few key doctors who have a lot of influence in the community such as a â€Å"Dr. Phill† or a â€Å"Dr.Oz,† and offering the product as free samples to the doctors and their patients, it would help get the brand name into the mouths of mothers around the country. Endorsement for the product by a few key doctors who are respected in the community, combined with the doctors using and recommending the product to some of their own personal patients, would increase the strength of the brand name and help foster word-of-mouth, an essentially low-cost form of marketing.

Elizabethan era architecture and interior design outline

Elizabethan era architecture and interior design outline BY Stucco 5 Architecture and Interior Design Outline Introduction The houses of the 19th century were considered as out nodded and poorly decorated. 1 . The main idea for a family home in the 19th century was an opened floor plan. 2. The main floor of a Victorian house included the porch, living room, and a dining kitchen. 3. Before the 19th century each room served its own purpose, such as a parlor, library, and 4. The number of sitting rooms. Bedrooms upstairs decreased because it was the new trend to have smaller families. The more smaller rooms you had in your house the warmer it would stay. B. During the 19th century rooms were decorated and painted in bold colors with wooden floors. 1 . Windows no longer carried long drapes that came down to the floor. 2. Bookshelves and wardrobes were then being built in. 3. This left the floor nice and clear for rearrangement of furniture and to hold various activities. 4. In Mission St yle homes wood furniture was suited best by complimenting the home. 5. The wooden furniture was also most affordable to the middle class and less fortunate. 6.The furniture lacked in comfort so people had to add throw pillows to the seats, and backs of the chairs, but the furniture did make up in durability. 7. This furniture was also used in schools, because of their durability. B. -continued- The art Nouveau Style of decoration was much more expensive so it was often found in the homes of the wealthy. 1. The designer of the furniture was the son of the most popular American Jeweler and silversmith. 2. The designers name was Louis Comfort Tiffany. 3. The decorative age â€Å"American Renaissance† took over in 1875, Louis C. Tiffany was a large factor in this takeover, with expensive taste. 5. Tiffany studied at New York City's National Academy of Arts and design. 6. Tiffany became an interior designer, who specialized in tiles, wall hangings, murals, and stained glass. 7. Hi s Job was to give character and personality to Victorian mansions, theaters, and churches. 8. Tiffany was very well paid. 9. His name soon became known as the biggest name in design and decoration. 10. The Tiffany were a father and son group. 11. The father (Charles Lewis Tiffany) owned Tiffany . C.For building the buildings during this time period they made the transition from iron frame to steel frame in 1880. 1 . During this time architects wanted to expand their creations so they started making the buildings taller. 2. In Chicago the first skyscraper was built. 3. The definition off skyscraper to an architect is † a metal frame building at least one-hundred feet tall. † 4. The home insurance building was the worlds first skyscraper, with only 12 stories. 5. Compared to the buildings now this nothing. 6. The Home Insurance Building was demolished in 1884.

Assessments for Early Childhood Programs Essay

William J. Wilson once said, â€Å"The person who scored well on an SAT will not necessarily be the best doctor or the best lawyer or the best businessman. These tests do not measure character, leadership, creativity, or perseverance†. Why do we test students? What is the purpose of assessments? Do these tests and assessments benefit the students? These are questions educators have been asking for years. It is impossible for one to determine a child’s academic abilities based solely on a test. Yet there still needs to be some form of assessments performed in order to evaluate the academic level each student has reached. But how much assessing is too much? How heavily do educators rely on the results of these assessments? The main issues, when it comes to assessing early childhood students, are the consequences of the assessment results and how they affect the child. According to The National Academies of Sciences, there are two key principles that support the success of assessment. The first is that the purpose of an assessment should be a guide for assessment decisions. â€Å"The purpose for any assessment must be determined and clearly communicated to all stake- holders before the assessment is designed or implemented. Most important, assessment designed for programs should not be used to assess individual children. Because different purposes require different kinds of assessments, the purpose should drive assessment design and implementation decisions† (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). The second principle is that any assessment performed should be completed in a â€Å"coherent system of health, educational, and family support services that promote optimal development for all children. Assessment should be an integral part of a coherent system of early childhood care and education that includes a range of services and resources† (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These two principles explain the main purpose of why assessing is important and how assessments should be conducted. After having an understanding of the purpose of assessments, why is it so important to begin evaluations at such a young age? What is the purpose of evaluating infants and toddlers? Author Sue Wortham explains evaluating toddlers and infants determine whether the child is developing normally or if they show any signs of delay and need assistance. All in all, the main purpose of assessment is to benefit the child (Wortham, p. 32). The NAEYC believes that during a child’s early years, evaluating and assessing their development should be the primary focus. They want to study how young children grown and learn. All the â€Å"results of assessment are used to inform the planning and implementation of experiences, to communicate with the child’s family, and to evaluate and improve teachers’ and program’s effectiveness† (Wortham, p.34). Teachers also use assessment results to in order to plan their curriculum accordingly. So exactly do assessments search for? Assessments look not only for what the child is already capable of doing independently but also what they can do with the help of a teacher or another student (Wortham, p. 35). So how are they assessed exactly? There are many different assessments given to children across the U. S. everyday. These may be administered orally or as written works, such as questionnaires, surveys, or tests. These may include: standardized tests, observations, checklists, rating scales, rubrics, interviews, or portfolios. Each of these serve a different purpose in order to give different pieces of information needed to evaluate the child in question. Standardized tests, though many disagree with them, are meant to measure individual characteristics. Observations, on the other hand, are one of the most effective ways to measure students’ characteristics. When children are young, it can be hard at times to determine if there are any developmental delays (Wortham, p. 39). Developmental checklists, or scopes, are mainly used at all levels of education. These checklists are lists of the learning objectives that have been established by the teacher in order to keep track of their learning and development. Items on a checklist are rated with a negative or positive response from the teacher. Rating scales, unlike checklists, provide measurement on a continuum and are used when a collection of criteria is needed to attain specific information. Another form of assessment teachers commonly use is Rubrics. Rubrics were created to â€Å"evaluate authentic and performance assessments† (Wortham, p. 41). Rubrics, like rating scales, have a range of criteria that must be met. However, unlike rating scales, rubrics can be used to not only determine the quality of performance required, but are also used to assign grades. Rubrics make it easy for students to understand what is expected and is makes it easier for teachers to grade assignments. The final types of assessments that are most frequently used are performance and portfolio assessments. These evaluations might be administered through interviews given directly by the teacher in order to understand the child’s thinking and understanding (Wortham, p. 41). Teachers may present these evaluations through directed assignments, activities, or games. The performance results are typically kept in a student or teacher portfolio. These portfolios contain samples of student’s work and are used as a sort of progress report card. Keeping detailed reports of student’s work in the portfolios help teachers keep track of their student’s progress and help determine which areas of learning are lacking attention (Wortham, p. 41). Overall, according to Wortham, these tests, whether administered to an individual child or a group of students, are meant to determine a student’s â€Å"abilities, achievements, aptitudes, interests, attitudes, values, and personality characteristics† (Wortham, p.39). Now having an understanding of the different types of assessments used to evaluate students and the purpose, let us turn to the negative and positive effects of these evaluations. It is crucial for educators to administer tests and evaluations carefully, because it they are poorly articulated, it can lead to decisions that are unfair or unclear, and they may do harm to programs, teachers, and, most importantly, children (Snow, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 341-342). Evaluations and assessments are not meant to punish a child, and therefore, should never be overseen lightly. It is important that the information gathered outweighs any negative effects. Editors of Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, and How, Catherine E. Snow and Susan B. Van Hemel, explain that â€Å"although the same measure may be used for more than one purpose, prior consideration of all potential purposes is essential, as is careful analysis of the actual content of the assessment instrument. Direct examination of the assessment items is important because the title of a measure does not always reflect the content† (Snow, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. , p. 346). So what are some negative effects? Negative consequences of assessment findings may include program de-funding, closing a center, firing a teacher, mislabeling a child, or a reduction in program resources (The National Academies of Sciences, 2008). These effects, such as mislabeling a student, can follow students for the rest of their education career. Once a child is entered into a program, it can be difficult at time for teachers to look past that label. Children all develop at different his or her own pace. No one child will develop and learn the same way as another child. They all grow up and develop at different stages. Yet educational theorists have been able to observed and gather enough information to conclude that children, if divided in age groups, do tend to follow a certain development pattern. The problem is, it is hard to determine which children are the outliers in these results without carefully administering proper assessments. Assessments are not used to necessarily judge student or punish them. Their main purpose is to help students, teachers, and parents. So what are some positive effects of assessment and evaluations? Students that benefit from assessments and evaluations are those that are properly observed and tested. Teachers also benefit from the use of assessments because it helps them create an appropriate curriculum for their students. Evaluating children at a young age can have a positive effect if a delay or disability is in fact found, and because it was caught early, the student has a better chance of exceeding their potential in school. Catching developmental delays or disabilities at a young age is the same as finding cancer at an early stage in the sense that the earlier the cancer is found; the chances of survival are greater. Assessment results are used to plan for instruction, evaluate instructional programs, and report student progress. These are all positive results of assessments. Without the results of assessments and test, how can educators determine what to teach their students? Evaluations, if planned and administered properly, can be more beneficial than harmful. Unfortunately, not all teachers evaluate children fairly or appropriately. So it is important for parents to stay involved in their children’s education in the event that the results of an evaluation do not match the potential of their child. Parents should know the norms and abnormalities of their child’s behavior. Therefore, it is always beneficial to the child for parents and teachers to communicate. This way if a child is acting up in class, and the teacher notifies the parent, the parent may confirm any fears right away by simply saying, â€Å"that isn’t like him† or â€Å"he’s just nervous†. Avoiding drastic measures and not jumping to conclusions is the proper way to evaluate a child fairly. What are the predicted long-term benefits to Early Childhood Assessments? Are assessments and student evaluations accurate? Should teachers be required to assess and evaluate students as much as they already do? These are just a few of the questions that plagued educators for years. Too much assessing has placed so much pressure on students and teachers, inevitably taking away a child’s desire to learn for the sake of learning. The purpose of assessments and evaluations is a great concept, but placing too much pressure and emphasis on the test results is tainting the original purpose of learning. References Bers, T. H. & Mittler, M. L. (1994). New Directions for Community Colleges. Assessment & Testing Myths and Realities: A Critical Review of Student Assessment Options, 69-83. Brink, M. (2002). Involving Parents in Early Childhood Assessment: Perspectives from an Early Intervention Instructor. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(4), 251-7. Retrieved from Education Full Text database Early, D. M. , McKenna, M. , & Slentz, K. L. (2008). A Guide to Assessment in Early Childhood; Infancy to Age Eight. Washington State: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The National Academies of Sciences (2008). Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, And How. Retrieved October 19, 2011 from http://www. bocyf. org/head_start_brief. pdf. Early Learning Standards Task Force and Kindergarten Assessment Work Group. (2005). Early Childhood Assessment For Children From Birth To Age 8 (Grade 3). Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania’s Departments of Education and Public Welfare. Snow, C. E. & Van Hemel, S. B. (2008). Early Childhood Assessment: Why, What, And How. Washington, D. C. : The National Research Council Of The National Academies Wortham, S. (2012). Assessment in Early Childhood Education, (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.