Project Management and Leadership Essay

Leadership is a set of profound practical approaches that determine the success of various change projects within any organizational context. Leadership has already turned into the instrument of guidance and direction for the majority of international and local companies. The close conjunction of leadership and management guarantees that the company will take stable position on the market in the long-term period. Leadership helps determine the basic priorities of the company’s development and lead the organizational process towards predetermined goals and objectives. Innovation and change remain the two key components of the successful leadership; the ability to implement innovative decisions and strategic changes determines the success of any leadership strategy that is implemented within specific company. The development of shared vision, communication strategies, and commitment determines the success of management projects in the constantly evolving organizational environment. Successful leadership: innovation and change Change is the key to successful management. The ability to implement changes determines whether the company is able to stay afloat in the constantly changing competitive environment. Change is intensely personal. For change to occur in any organization, each individual must think, feel, or do something different† (Duck, 1993). That is why leadership skills require understanding the significance of change. Leadership cannot exist without change; without leadership, the change cannot become real. For the change to become relevant and useful, the leader should guarantee that all followers have their experience and thinking conversed to end up in the â€Å"at a predetermined place at approximately the same time† (Duck, 1993). Such approach to leadership will ensure that the leader and the followers follow the same leadership line, clearly understand their performance goals, and possess sufficient and effective tools for achieving these goals. These leadership approaches will also insure the sharedness of thinking, and the leader’s realization of possible problems and obstacles on the way towards organizational and performance highs. Change requires innovative thinking; change means developing new thinking; change implies meeting the challenges which leaders and followers have never confronted before. The combination of innovation and change in leadership serves the instrument for addressing the major challenges and tasks within any organizational framework. However, how do we shape the required leadership framework that allows implementing changes and affecting the process of organizational performance? Several key factors determine perfect leadership. Leadership is the critical element that guarantees appropriate balance between leaders, managers, and employers from all company’s divisions. To be a leader and to manage changes means to be able to stabilize the relationships between the leader and the group of followers, who further carry the leader’s vision of organizational change across all organizational levels. Duck (1993) writes that managing change means managing the conversation between the people leading the change effort and those who are expected to implement the new strategies, managing the organizational context in which change can occur, and managing the emotional connections that are essential for any transformation. Thus, leadership is the source, the initial stage, and the ruling force of transformations within any organizational context, but it becomes irrelevant if the leader is not able to deliver the message, the mission, and to develop emotional connections between the separate elements of the organizational structure. Leadership is impossible without conversation; leadership is also impossible without the already mentioned emotional connections. Leadership cannot turn into management, and cannot bring any positive results if is does not turn into the tangible set of organizational goals. Such transformation is impossible if the leader fails to speak his ideas to the followers in a way that makes them comprehensible and achievable. The leader’s ability to speak the goals and methods of organizational change implies that the leader is able to move the employees out of their control zones, and to establish the sense of urgency in terms of any organizational change and any organizational objective. Overestimation of leader’s abilities to move people ahead is one of the major mistakes a leader makes at the first stage of implementing change. Most successful change efforts begin when some individuals or some groups start to look hard at a company’s competitive situation, market position, technological trends, and financial performance† (Kotter, 1995). However, it is not enough for a good leader to realize the scope of the needed changes, and the need to change the current organizational context; successful leadership has a clear vision of how the minds of the followers should be changed to make them follow the leader and to realize the critical need for a change. Followers should be moved; they should be pushed towards changes. Followers require motivation, and a successful leader is the source of this motivation. To see the need for change may be easy, but it is a deceptive impression. In reality, the first stage of change management is the most difficult of all: employees should be motivated and driven. As soon as the employees and followers are motivated and driven towards change, the next stages of change implementation will be faster, easier, and more goal-oriented. A good leader will never quit if change efforts fail at the initial stage of change initiative. A good leader is able to distinguish the major problems, to facilitate the frank discussion of these problems with the followers, and to further promote the importance of change championships across all company’s departments. Here, ideal leadership combines the sense of urgency with the ability to persuade the followers that the first failure does not indicate the need to give up the whole change management process. The sense of urgency is always reasonable and important: â€Å"when the urgency rate is not pumped enough, the transformation process cannot success and the long-term future of the organization is put in jeopardy† (Kotter, 1995). A successful leader will never be too safe; a successful leader will not be too cautious, but will constantly move towards the predetermined goal, overcoming obstacles, meeting challenges, and inspiring the followers. The urgency rate is high enough to transfer to the next stage of change management, when the three quarters of the company management are convinced that change is inevitable. â€Å"People in the organization may need to hear a message over and over before they believe that this time, the call for changes is not just a whim or a passing fancy. It takes time for people to hear, understand, and believe the message† (Duck, 1993). A successful leader is not only able to deliver the message, but can objectively evaluate the responses from team members. Duck (1993) says that â€Å"what counts is the point of view of everyone else in the organization†, and the success of change management depends on whether the leader is able to interpret, reinterpret, and reevaluate the way followers see the ultimate goals of organizational changes. Communication and balance requires understanding whether followers believe in the success of change, and whether they know what this change means for them and for the organization in general. The leader’s role is to understand whether employees require leadership assistance to better understand the ultimate goals of the implemented change, and whether they are able to communicate their concerns to the leader. When the leader is able to pass the first stage of change management and to incorporate his vision into the minds and souls of employees, the next stage is to make the followers communicate their opinions. A perfect leader will never compel his followers to deliver â€Å"a winning love vision† as soon as employees are involved into change management process (Davenport, 2005). To expect this type of response means to put the whole change management process under the threat of failure. The need to communicate is justified by the need to create different systems of employees’ opinions and thoughts; these subsequently form cohesive working teams that further lead the organization to a new changed position. For a good leader, the followers’ viewpoints are the keys to creating an integrated and well guided coalition of thinkers who realize the need for the change and are ready to act. A good leader understands that a good team is not created overnight; â€Å"the leadership coalition grows and grows over time† (Kotter, 1995). A good leader understands that it is not necessary to involve all senior managers into change management process; on the contrary, a careful analysis of the team members is required before they enter the change process altogether. â€Å"In both small and large organizations, a successful guiding team may consist of only three to five people during the first year of a renewal effort. But in big companies, the coalition needs to grow to the 20 to 50 range before much progress can be made in phase three and beyond† (Kotter, 1995). A good leader realizes that the number of team members is not critical; content is more important when it comes to guiding change initiatives. Leadership implies the importance of team integrity and performance integrity (Sirkin, Keenan & Jackson, 2005). â€Å"By performance integrity, we mean the extent to which companies can rely on teams of managers, supervisors, and staff to execute change projects successfully† (Sirkin, Keenan & Jackson, 2005). The integrity between the leader, managers, supervisors and the staff determines the stability and success of leadership. Senior managers are frequently reluctant to invite key performers into the team, but a successful leader realizes the value and importance of these performers for the whole process of change management. That is why the company should make everything possible to free these performers from their routine work and to provide them with sufficient â€Å"change freedom† within the change team. With the key performers being involved, the project team will be able to handle a wide range of pressures, challenges, and obstacles.

Sleep Deprivation of College Students

Sleep Deprivation of college students It is 11:30 in the morning and the lecture started half an hour ago. The classroom is still half empty. Although half of the class is here, they don’t look like awake. Most of them look like zombies. The above scenario is a common condition taken place in colleges. A research done by Tsui,YY, et al (2009) shows that two thirds of the participating students reported sleep deprivation. The poor sleep quality results in their zombie looks and poor attendants in lectures. Causes of Sleep deprivationDeprival of sleep strongly affects college students’ studies and personal life. Why would students have sleep deprivation? There are two main causes. Change in lifestyle First of all, the change in lifestyle strongly deranges one’s sleeping pattern. When students in Hong Kong transit from secondary school to college, they are happy about not being controlled by their parents anymore. Since in secondary school, students have a lot of pr essure from public exams and their worried parents. The parents force them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.However, after they become college students, especially for those who are living in residence halls, they would be excited to get rid of the healthy lifestyle and doing whatever they like at night time. They can hang out with friends at midnight and have parties all night long. However, before the deadlines of assignments, students would burn the midnight oil, spending several nights to finish the assignments. When their work is done, they would use the whole day for sleeping to remedy the seized sleeping hours. The upsetting schedule of sleep would induce a strong negative influence in students’ sleep-wake pattern.Once the pattern is disrupted, it will cause varies of problems towards one’s life. Pressure Another main cause of this issue is pressure. With no doubt, stress can easily keep students awake at night. College students in Hong Kong are engaged with sort s of activities, including competitions, extra-curriculum activities and part-time jobs. They want to make everything prefect, which would definitely elicit stress. It would undoubtedly make them awake at night, or even worse, they may suddenly wake up in the midnight for several times.Some of my university friends are suffering from sleep deprivation because of stress. Sometimes, they are afraid of cannot wake up on time in the morning for examinations, resulting in them cannot fall asleep even after two hours of staying on bed. Effects of sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation affects college students in many aspects. Two main effects are health problems and poor work performance. Health problem Sleep deprived has a strong influence in health. Some of the students would try to take drugs or use alcohol to help them inducing sleep. It would be likely to have a risk of addiction.Moreover, this sleeping problem will easily drive to have increasing blood pressure tremors, aching muscles, headaches, memory loss and the like. Furthermore, Melnick (2010) stated that â€Å"Researchers found that for each hour of lost sleep, levels of psychological distress rose by 5% in nearly 3,000 17-to-24-year-olds who were followed for 12 to 18 months. Overall, short sleepers were 14% more likely to report symptoms of psychological distress on a standard test, compared with people who got adequate sleep. â€Å"Most of the students would use coffee to help them stay awake at night so that they can study hard. However, it is not a wise choice.Although caffeine could be helpful for keeping people energetic during days and nights, it would cause long term impacts to their health. Poor work performance Withholding of sleep also leads to a poor work performance, it will seriously affect the performance of tests and part-time work. During sleeping, brain would review and organize the memories, it also allows body to take a rest. However, if students deprive their sleeping, it would not allow their brain to have proper re-organizing, which would conduct poor performance. What is more, a sleep deprived student will easily have delay in reaction and tendencies to make mistakes.On the contrary, according to Dean, Lowry and Manders (2010),† College students mindful of the importance of healthy sleep patterns may be able to improve their GPAs. † (P. 16). Students would definitely feel better and maximum your brain functions if they had a nice quality of sleep. Way to reduce sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation brings college students dozens of severe negative impacts. How can we get rid of it? The method is easy, change your lifestyle! It is suggested that adults should have seven to nine hours of sleep for a day. Students should avoid staying up all the night and have better planning for their time.Time management is vital for everyone, not only students. It is understood that going to college probably is the first time students will be in charge of their sl eep habits. According to Sheehan, Unseth and Xiong (2010), â€Å"Try to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time every day. A regular sleep pattern increases your alertness during the day. † (P. 3). Going to college would be a very good chance for students to learn to control their life and time. Apart from this, some students may have trouble sleeping. Nonetheless, this is not an excuse to become an all-nighter.The suggestion for them to have a nice night sleep is relax! If there is a lot in their mind, including school works, relationships, jobs and the like, it is hard to fall asleep. Students can jot down the things on their mind and then forget about it! If there is a noise problem, students may try to use a white-noise machine to block the noise from the resident hall. â€Å"Sleep helps repair your body, reduce stress, improve memory, and keep you healthy. Lack of sleep can literally affect every aspect of your life. â€Å" (Sheehan, Unseth and Xiong, 2010 , P. 2) After knowing all those bad impacts f sleep deprivation, students should get away your bad habit of staying up late and oversleeping considering having a better health. Let’s change the lifestyle and maintain a healthy life! References Dean, K. , Lowry, M. , Manders, K. (2010). The link between sleep quantity and academic performance for the college student. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota. Retrieved from https://www. psych. umn. edu/sentience/files/Lowry_2010. pdf Melnick, M. (2010, September 2). Lack of sleep linked with depression, weight gain and even  death. Times. Retrieved from http://healthland. ime. com/2010/09/02/lack-of-sleep-can-cause-depression-weight-gain-and-even-death/ Sheehan, E. , Unseth, T. , Xiong, M. (2010). Sleep deprivation of college students in western. Retrieved from http://www. westerntc. edu/writingcenter/pdf/samples/Business%20and%20Technical/SheehanEtAl. pdf Song, S. (2011). Sleeping your way to the top. College Writin g Skills with Readings, 8, 729-731. Tsui, YY. , Et al. (2009). A study on the sleep patterns and problems of university business students in Hong Kong. Pubmed gov. Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/m/pubmed/198926541

Creativity or Conformity? Building Cultures of Creativity in Higher Education Essay

Permission is granted to reproduce copies of these works for purposes relevant to the above conference, provided that the author(s), source and copyright notice are included on each copy. For other uses, including extended quotation, please contact the author(s). Abstract Whatever else it may be, creativity is intriguing; this view appears to be shared by the literature on the subject and by popular culture. While there is little agreement about the exact nature, processes and products of creativity, there seems to be a fascination both with its complexity and the sheer impossibility of providing clear explanations for it. This paper does not attempt to generate yet another explanation, but instead offers a framework for exploring creativity in the context of teaching and teacher education. The nature of creativity in teaching is usually evidenced by its products: innovative curriculum design or original students’ work. The focus of this paper, however, is on developing opportunities for teachers to understand, explore and express their identities as creative practitioners. These opportunities are offered in the form of â€Å"creative reflection†, a framework of creative methodologies for engaging teachers individually and collectively in identifying and expanding their creativity practices. The notion of creative reflection challenges the action-reflection dichotomy of reflective practice and extends reflection beyond cognitive, retrospective models to encompass the exploration of possibility through play, image-making, writing, action methods and storytelling. The paper offers examples of and reflections on these methods from the author’s use of creative methodologies in a teacher education programme at Queen’s University Belfast. Creative Reflection, Creative Practice: Expressing the Inexpressible The concept and practices of creative reflection have been developed in a teacher education programme at Queen’s University Belfast to enhance the model of reflective practice on which the programme is based. Creative reflection is a framework of creative methodologies whereby teachers explore their practice and the liminal spaces between action and reflection. This work is a response to the need in teacher education for â€Å"the development of more complex models of reflection, related to purpose, which take greater cognisance of existing knowledge from other disciplines, particularly those aspects of psychology concerned with cognitive processes including problem-finding, insight, wisdom, creativity† Leitch and Day (2000: 186-187). Creativity itself is an elusive concept; the literature on the subject incorporates a range of perspectives and dichotomies, raising a number of questions. Those pertinent to this paper include: – is creativity a cognitive process, or is it socially constructed? – is creativity to do with outcomes, or with processes and qualities such as fluency, imagination and originality? – what are the conditions which support the development of creativity? – what is the nature of creativity in education, and does it have a place in teacher education? One of the assumptions on which this paper is based is that teachers are creative; by extension, teacher education should therefore provide them with opportunities to identify themselves as creative and to enhance their creativity. Craft (2001: 48) suggests that teachers are highly creative: Certainly some of the characteristics of high creators (childlike qualities, feeling under siege, being on the edge, high energy and productivity) which Gardner identifies in Creating Minds (1993), also emerged as a characteristic of ‘ordinary’ educators in one of my research projects (Craft, 1996a; Craft and Lyons, 1996). Craft’s allusion to productivity is complemented by Eisner’s exploration of the processes, the â€Å"artistry† and the â€Å"craft† involved in teaching (2002). Both facets of creativity, product and process, are incorporated into the framework for creative reflection. Details follow as to how participants engage in process activities as well as in deliberation on the outcomes of these processes. The process of creativity, mysterious as it is, has long been a source of fascination and speculation. Helmholtz’s classical model, developed in 1826, includes the stages of saturation, exploration and incubation; Poincare added to these the aspect of verification (Balzac, 2006). The four-phase model developed for this study incorporates and elaborates on these stages: Model for Creative Reflection Phase 1: Preparation This aspect of creative reflection recognises that the creative process involves uncertainty and possibility and that participants need preparation to access that state of receptivity, or Keatsian Negative Capability, which Keats defines as â€Å"when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason† (Buxton Foreman, 1895). In this phase of creative reflection, threshold activities are offered to enhance possibility and to free the imagination. One of the most successful of these threshold activities has been the invitation to participants to select images and quotations on a relevant theme: teaching, learning or creativity itself. This activity is based on the notion of â€Å"stepping stones† into a liminal world of exploration, as in Progoff’s system for entering the â€Å"twilight world† of process meditation (Progoff, 1980). While participants are in the process of choosing images and quotations which engage them, music is played in the background to enhance relaxation and stimulate intuitive rather than rational decision-making. The activity is conducted without discussion to encourage focus and a connection with the unconscious. Another threshold activity is that of visualisation: for example, individuals are asked to imagine their learning about their practice as a journey and to articulate this in the form of images or writing. The sharing of the results is part of the process of synthesis described in the final phase of this model. Threshold activities are directed at the group as a whole as well as at individuals: for example, participants are asked to imagine an ideal space for teaching and learning and to suggest in turn something which they might like to include in this space. Offerings range from comfortable chairs to the location of this space at the seaside and the presence of flowers and music centres. This activity generates ideas about inclusiveness and introduces into the discussion metaphors and symbols which enhance the learning process. The idea of bringing an ideal situation or world into the realms of possibility through group visualisation is based on the process of reflective meditation in psychosynthesis (Ferrucci, 1982; Assagioli, 1999). Phase 2: Play This phase is based on the assumptions that a good deal of learning happens through play, that play is an essential aspect of cultural development (Huizinga, 1970), and that a group can create meaning, possibility and new insights through the processes of play. Play is also important because it has the potential to free participants from external concerns so that they may enter the state of â€Å"flow†. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1991, 1997) this is an optimum state in which the person is fully focused and immersed in what he or she is doing, usually with a successful outcome. The activities in this phase are conducted quickly; their purpose is to generate energy, enjoyment of the group process and a range of new ideas. The processes involved provide opportunities for divergent thinking; they include mind mapping, creative thinking and brainstorming. The brainstorming methods in this model of the creative reflection are informed by Kelley and Littmann’s (2002) methods for enhancing fluency of ideas and innovation within the context of team-building. Phase 3: Exploration This aspect of creative reflection is active, with the purpose of creating a product. The processes involved may include creative writing, storytelling, or the use of art materials, or action methods based on psychodrama to concretize the experience (Moreno, 1994). The exploration phase may be individual or collective: it may take place in pairs or small groups. In one particular activity, an individual selects one of his or her identities as a teacher from a list; this list includes the more obvious identities such as mentor, helper and instructor, as well as more metaphorical ones as foot soldier, sower or bridge. The individual then elaborates this identity through writing and art, imagining in detail, for example, what this identity might look like, its voice, its tools and how it engages in relationship. The image below depicts the process of exploration on both individual and group levels. Participants, given the task of expressing their understandings of themselves as reflective practitioners, arranged together the quotations, images and artefacts which they had chosen as individuals to express this notion. The circle of people made from tissue paper was created as a collective piece for the final image; this suggests that the group product extended beyond that of a loose arrangement of individual ideas to a creative collaboration of knowledge and understanding. [pic] Phase 4 Synthesis In the final phase of creative reflection, which is akin to the verification tage of the Helmholtz/Poincare model, participants present and reflect on their ideas, stories and collective images. In this phase, which is adapted from McNiff’s process of â€Å"dialoguing with the image†, participants engage with and reflect on the artefact engendered by the creative process (McNiff, 1992). Through this process, the experience and learning are synthesised into new understandin gs, or the identification of new questions which might be raised about professional practice. The image below represents the world of reflective practice as created by a group of practitioners through the use of props. pic] Discussion about this image revealed that each of the scarves, which are circumscribing and containing the world of reflective practice, represents a strength owned by one of the practitioners, while the Russian dolls and the teddy bear on the edge of the circle symbolise those learners who exclude themselves from learning. The act of dialoguing with the image engendered ideas amongst the participants for engaging those who are currently on the outside and who have not yet found a satisfactory means of expression. In many ways, the process of writing this paper has been a struggle to express that which is inexpressible; it is challenging to articulate the complexity of the spaces between reflection and practice, as well as the complexity of creativity itself. It is hoped that further research will indicate whether the processes of creative reflection can take sufficient cognisance of these complexities to support teachers in recognising and expressing their creativity. References Assagioli, R. (1999) The Act of Will: A Guide to Self-Actualization and Self-Realization, Knaphill, David Platts Publishing Company Balzac, F. (2006) ‘Exploring the Brain’s Role in Creativity’,Neuropsychiatry Reviews, Vol. 7, no. 5, May 2006. http://www. neuropsychiatryreviews. com/may06/einstein. html Accessed 14/11/2006 Buxton Foreman, H. (1895, Complete revised edition) The Letters of John Keats, London : Reeves & Turner Craft, A. (2001)’ â€Å"Little c Creativity†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Craft, A. Jeffrey, B, and Leibling, M. (eds. ), Creativity in Education, London and New York, Continuum, pp 45-61 Craft, A. (1996a) ‘Nourishing educator creativity: a holistic approach to CPD’, British Journal of In-Service Education, 22 (3), 309-322. Craft, A. and Lyons, T. (1996) Nourishing the Educator, Milton Keynes: The Open University Seminar Network Occasional Paper Series Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997) Creativity. Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York, HarperPerennial. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991) Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York : HarperPerennial Eisner (2002) ’From episteme to phronesis to artistry in the study and improvement of teaching’, Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 18,  Number 4, May 2002, pp. 375-385 Ferrucci, P. 1982) What we may be: techniques for psychological and spiritual growth. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam Gardner, H. (1997) Extraordinary minds: portraits of exceptional individuals and an examination of our extraordinariness New York : BasicBooks Huizinga, J. (1970) Homo Ludens: a study of the play element in culture, London : Maurice Temple Smith Kelley, T and Littman, J. (2002) The Ten Faces of Innovation: Ideo’s Strategies for Be ating the Devil’s Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization London: Profile Leitch, R. and Day, C. (2000) ‘Action research and reflective practice: towards a holistic view’, Educational Action Research, Vol 8, 1 pp179-193. McNiff, S. (1992) Art as medicine: creating a therapy of the imagination Boston, MA. : London: Shambhala Moreno, J. L. (1994, Fourth Edition) Psychodrama and Group Psychotherapy, Mental Health Resources. Progoff, I (1980) The Practice of Process Meditation: The Intensive Journal Way to Spiritual Experience, New York: Dialogue House Library.

Input Prices and R&D Allocations Analysis for Tablet Development Corp Research Paper

Input Prices and R&D Allocations Analysis for Tablet Development Corp - Research Paper Example However, there are major drawbacks in the existing price and R&D budget allocation strategies that have undermined the new product development cycle in the organization. In order to bring a revolution in the existing business practices of the company, it is important that a new pricing strategy is devised that is based on the strategic objectives of each product individually. Furthermore, the decisions for the allocation of funds for the Research & Development (R&D) of each product should be taken individually and on annual basis to achieve the desired objectives of the product and the company. 1.1 Aim The aim of this report is to discuss the new pricing and R&D allocation strategy for the core products X5, X6 and X7 and to reflect on the subsequent performance of each product in response. 1.2 Objectives To study the new pricing decisions and R&D budget allocations for each core product, namely: X5, X6 and X7 taken in 4 years (i.e. from 2012-2015). To analyse the subsequent performan ce and life cycles of each product due to the difference in the decisions. To review the financial performance of each product and their impact on the market factor like consumers and market saturation. To conclude with the explicit difference in performance and the rationale behind the total score achieved. 2 Development of Pricing and R&D Allocation Strategy 2.1 Pricing Strategy The pricing strategy is largely used as the competitive force for the companies to achieve maximum market share in a particular marketplace. For instance, Apple Inc. uses the low-pricing strategy along with its innovative product catalogue to attract largest customer share of the global marketplace. In the study conducted in 2010, Blevins, Cunningham, Ivanova, Koke and Sullivan (2010) found that Apple Inc. has adopted an international price distribution strategy to achieve competitive advantage over its competitors; mainly the Microsoft. In this regard, it has a separate price strategy for each region whic h is consolidated and central in nature. Likewise, Tablet Development Corp.’s largest competitors are Acer, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft that are involved in the production and manufacturing of tablet computers and applications. In order to enter into the established marketplace, Tablet Development Corp. has to undertake the penetration pricing strategy. A penetration pricing strategy is used when the company has to enter into an established marketplace and to attract the market in a substantial manner through low-pricing techniques. After a while, the prices of the product are gradually increased with a strong focus on the product performance that is measured through the customer base and sales volume of each year. In the year 2012, the price of product X5 was set at the lowest possible price of $180 and it was increased by $5 every year. Similarly, the price of X6 was set at $300 only and was increased by $10 each year. The price of X7 was kept at $50 and is increased by $1 0 each year (See Annex 1). 2.2 R&D Budget Allocation Strategy Wind (1990) postulated that there are four purposes of R&D investment, namely: (1) Support and enhancement of existing products and services, (2) Line extension of existing products and services, (3) Discover new products and markets, and (4) Develop new products and services and market portfolios. The first two R&D activities are integral to keep the existing product catalogue of the company operational and thriving. This is a compulsory investment which varies

Engineering Materials, Manufacturing and Electrical Machines Essay

Engineering Materials, Manufacturing and Electrical Machines - Essay Example This conversion is carried out by deforming the metal permanently by the application of forces on it. The desired form or final shape of the metal defines which type of deformation process has to be applied. Physical and mechanical properties of metal such as strength, hardness, brittleness, elasticity, plasticity, malleability, toughness, grain structure, isotropic behavior etc. also play an important role in deciding which kind of manufacturing process is to be used. Metals are generally ductile materials with a large plastic range on stress strain curve. This is due to the metallic bond present in them (Askeland, 2009: 33). The stress strain curve of mild steel is shown here, (although it will be different for each metal, it will follow more or less the same pattern): The area after the yield point is the plastic range of mild steel. Clearly, it can undergo significant amount of plastic deformation before it finally fractures. Same is true for other materials. Hence, to form a material in to desired shapes, plastic deformation is a desirable process. There are many different yield criteria which tell us the stress required to cause permanent yielding in a material. Out of these Tresca criterion is considered suitable for ductile materials (Marciniak et al., 2002: 20). It suggests that yielding occurs (or plastic deformation starts) at a point when shear stress crosses a certain limit. Formability of a metal is its ability to deform in to desired shape or form without failure. Failure can be due to different physical phenomenon like shearing or necking etc. (Kalpakjian and Schmid, 2001: 424). One of the earlier developed tests is Cupping Test. In this test, a steel ball or any circular profile made of steel is pressed against the sheet with uniform increment of stress. The depth to which the sheet can be deformed is a measure of its formability. This method however has its own limitations as the results obtained are specific to the test conditions. The

Causes of childhood obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Causes of childhood obesity - Research Paper Example The US government has estimated that only in New York out of 4 children’s under age of 18 one is affected with obesity as a result of which approximately 1.1 million children’s are obese. Major problem is not with the lack of understanding of the causes but with the high number of cases coming up with obesity among children’s it is difficult to decide which policy and program is the best to fight this problem. Some of the factors like changes in life style and also changes in culture has made kids not so healthy and have increased the cases of obesity in the last few decades. As per Ebbelung et al, currently across the globe 18000000 childhood obese cases are been seen which is a very crucial matter to be looked upon by all the countries to reduce the affects arising from obesity. According to Lissauet al. 2004, the countries with less obesity in the earlier years have shown signs for higher childhood cases from the last few decades because of the change in culture and their living standards (kalies, Jacksonville and Kries 112-120). Klein in 2008 stated that America is the fastest developed nation and also richest country in world, but the cases of obese has always hindered the name of the country in different countries. Robert Burton has said that to speak over the remedies and cures for fighting obesity is a waste until the perfect cause for the problem is been found and searched. In an international review Silventoinen et al. explained that genetics played a strong on variation of body mass index (BMI) among various ages and this factor is far stronger than the environmental influence of the country over the children’s. Even in 2004 Baur and O’Connor said that the rise in obesity among children’s is due to the changes in physical and social environment (Paxon 234-240). This particular research over the causes for the rise in obesity in US is been done using secondary data. The secondary

Personnel Planning And Recruitment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personnel Planning And Recruitment - Essay Example This method enables the better use of internal talent since an employee can be moved to a job at which he/she performs better. The downside is that appropriate candidates might just not be available for some vacancies internally therefore leading to placement of unsuitable individuals. Another is Promotions which involve an employee being moved to a higher ranking position. They are a source of motivation and encouragement to the workers. However, they may lead to conflict among the employees seeking for promotion to the vacancies available. External sources on the other hand have to be acquired from outside the organization. One example is placement agencies which are private firms conducting recruitment activities on behalf of organizations at a fee, the advantage of this is it assists organizations to acquire necessary competencies. They however increase the cost of recruitment. Another is press advertisement of vacancies in journals and newspapers. The main advantage of this meth od is its wide reach. It is however time consuming as well as costly (Tellis, 2004). Evaluation of Job Ads The jobs ads evaluated were posted on the internet. They all follow the principal of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action).

GENENTECH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

GENENTECH - Essay Example The leadership style establishes the success and morale of the personnel as well. The leadership style at the Genentech is that of a transformational leader. When the employees of a company bear a direct influence upon the achievement of that company transformational leadership is the greatest resource. A transformational manager is a leader who has the capacity to inspire (Aarti, 2012). Predictably, the description of leader is somebody who is capable of inspiring or motivate folks to execute duties. A transformational manager is a leader who exhibits this aptitude in addition with other skills. Transformational managers are supervisors that regularly ask many questions when speaking with their personnel. Transformational leaders make firm eye contact as well as stop everything to ensure the personnel understand that they are the focus of attention (Aarti, 2012). This style of leadership takes extra precaution to guarantee that the personnel are catered for as well as their wishes are met. A transformational manager is a leader who cares heeds their employees’ feelings. A successful transformational manager takes extra exertion to find out how the subordinates feel concerning changes, which are being fabricated, enquire for their judgment upon a range of matters, as well as attempt to inspire them to enhance their own state(AAAS, 2013). For this style of lead ership, its essence is to empower each specific worker to push tougher for their individual motives and not predictably because the firm says so. Genentech leaders endeavor to be leaders within their fields via their creative methodologies to scientific research, product development, commercialization and manufacturing (AAAS, 2013).To fulfill Genentech’s mission as well as remain within the forefront of its industry, leaders at Genentech continue to develop an atmosphere of full involvement, which allows the leaders to exploit the skills and knowledge of every employee. Managers at Genentech claim they gain irreplaceable resources from the personnel, partners and the clients by channeling their miscellany of thought, culture, style, perspective and skill set. These resources enable the leaders at Genentech to re-envision incessantly who they are and how the managers execute their work. According to the leaders at Genentech, those invaluable resources aid them to make new disc overies, resolve problems, develop high performing teams as well as develop their leadership. Therefore, the people they oversee set the leaders apart at Genentech (Hughes, 2011). At Genentech, leaders acknowledge that ultimately, miscellany means variances in the manner in which people act and think a cognitive miscellany, which is fashioned by the way people are (Hughes, 2011). Therefore, managers at Genentech are developing an environment whereby they are actively utilizing miscellany of experience and thought to enhance their team’s performance as well as innovation. Genentech’s diversity approaches focus upon the enrollment, development as well as retention of personnel of each background. Genentech afford a wide range of external and internal proficient development opportunities, personnel resource groups and mentoring programs (AAAS, 2013). Lino Gonzalez, a Scientist for Protein Chemistry at Genentech, asserts that he joined Genentech in 2001 because it is among the few finest places in the globe to do execute science. Gonzalez claims that the infrastructure, the people and infrastructure at Genentech are unparalleled, creating a productive field for quickly progressing a project plan from a notion to reality. Gonzalez asserts that it was evident that Genentech

Role of stake holders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Role of stake holders - Essay Example The first stage was introduced by the philanthropy, then social activism that focused on the protection of the environment. Then again, enactments with respect to the rights of consumers were created that resultantly compelled the change of the corporate practices and humored them to engage in conducts that would make them more agreeable in social, legal and client fulfillment setups(Williams, Siegel and Wright, 2006). The phase that followed in the development of CSR, in the corporate world, rested with the retention of social role which was to be aligned with the profit-taking practices of organizations’ owners. It is important to note that over the years organizational stakeholders, both internal and external, have played a critical role when it comes to the development as well as implementation of CSR. Stakeholders may have a negative or positive influence in CSR. Therefore, in order to understand the role of stakeholders within CSR this paper will look at the influence that both secondary and primary stakeholders of Barclays’ Bank in the U.K have in relation to the bank’s CSR approach. As a way of undertaking stakeholder role, the paper will look at the stakeholder’s theory of CSR with an aim of understanding the role that stakeholders are supposed to play in the bank’s CSR strategy development and implementation. Finally, the paper will look at the role that different stakeholders of the bank play in its CSR. Barclay is a multinational bank that is British-owned. It provides financial and banking services to its clients. The organization’s headquarter is in London. It is an all-inclusive bank with operations in retail, investment and wholesale banking. The bank is also involved in wealth administration, home loan provision and offers Master card services. It has operations in excess of 50 nations and regions and has customers approximated at about 48 million customers.

The Ambition and Idealism of Benito Mussolini Essay Example for Free

The Ambition and Idealism of Benito Mussolini Essay The rise and fall of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Italy during the early half of the twentieth century demonstrate the story of a man’s vision pursued, but eventually doomed. The reign of Mussolini in Italy is one remembered in history as a violent suppression of human rights in name of a ruthless ambition to revive the past glory of Italy and ultimately (re)create an Italian empire (Smith). Born in a small Italian village in the district of Predappio, his beginnings were humble (Roberts, 2006). However, his educated parents gave him an education which broadened his view of the world and led him to be dissatisfied and restless about the opportunities a man like him could have in Predappio. His father, who was a blacksmith, actively participated in Socialist concerns and voiced out his opinion against dubious policies that affected their labor (Roberts, 2006). His mother, who worked as a schoolteacher in a small village for a meager salary, taught the young Benito discipline and focus. He was educated in a strict Catholic school which proved to be unsuitable for him because of his restlessness, inclination to rebellion and uncontrolled and violent temper (Haugen, 2007). After transferring to a different school, Mussolini blossomed into his adolescence with a great aptitude and flair for writing and oration. He became interested in politics, poetry and literature. Around 1902, he attempted to work as a schoolteacher but failed miserably at it, so he decided to migrate to Switzerland to find opportunity and also to escape the military draft during that time in Italy (Roberts, 2006). Upon his return to Italy in 1904 and the subsequent pardon of all draft dodgers in exchange for their enlistment in the army, Mussolini realized that his future was in the country of his birth (Roberts, 2006). His appetite for adventure, socialism, journalism and politics landed him an editorial job in Trent near the Italian-Austrian border where he asserted and promoted his Socialist beliefs. He also trumpeted the pride of being Italian and spoke about the â€Å"Latin genius and courage† (Roberts, 2006, 19). After being evicted from that district because of its anti-socialists sentiments, he moved to Forli near his birthplace to work for a socialist newspaper and engaged himself in more political work (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). It was in Forli where he was elected as the secretary for the Socialists. His popularity grew as he became more voracious in his writings and speeches. He drew support from his radical decisions such as the strike he organized in Forli which resulted to his imprisonment (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). When World Ward I broke out, Mussolini opposed the participation of Italy claiming that he would only support class war and threatened a proletariat revolution if Italy continued their support (Smith). But, he retracted soon after and encouraged young men to enlist; this decision resulted in his expulsion from the Socialist party (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). He formed the Fascist party through the establishment of a pro-war group called Fasci dAzione Rivoluzionaria (Smith). However, Mussolini failed to secure the seats he needed in senate to gain power and control. After the breakdown of a weak alliance with the dominant party Popolare, Mussolini decided that he won’t win the seats democratically, so he staged a siege in Rome which ended in the invitation of the king for him to build a new government (Smith). It was at this point as the head of the National Fascist Party that he established himself as dictator, Il Duce (â€Å"Mussolini†). From that point on he would demand blind trust from the people after insisting through propaganda that he was after all their â€Å"infallible, irreplaceable duce† (Griffin, 2000, 31). As a dictator, Mussolini knew that absolute control was key in ensuring the attainment of his goals. He formed a powerful military force and a secret police to vanquish insubordination (â€Å"Mussolini†). He converted the state economy into â€Å"corporate state† wherein all Italians in professional organizations were put in corporations controlled by the central government (â€Å"Mussolini,† Smith). Propaganda was crucial in Mussolini’s career as dictator. He spent considerable time in planning and propagating his ideas through the press, films and school books (Smith). His training as a journalist and orator helped him broadcast his imperial ideas. To proselytize younger generation, he banned history books in school and indoctrinated them with the tenets of fascism (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). Under his rule, he abolished the parliament and rewrote the laws to ensure the loyalty of every citizen to the Fascist party (Smith). He tempered his ruthlessness with popular decisions such as the approval of Vatican’s independence. However, the people’s support to him started to wane as he made erratic, unplanned and senseless military and political decisions. In an effort to expand Italy’s territory, he waged war in Ethiopia; this was met with worldwide protest (â€Å"Mussolini†). After the League of Nations condemned his imperialist decisions, he forged allegiance with the Nazi party although he previously opposed Hitler because of Mussolini’s fear of losing Austria to the Germans. His allegiance to the Nazi marked the beginning of his gradual downfall as he supported the World War waged by Hitler (â€Å"Benito Mussolini†). Further, he spread anti-semitism in Italy which Lindemann (2007, 1) pertains to as an â€Å"opportunistic, unsystematic and unprincipled† decision. As the Allied powers encroached German territories, Italy’s weak military force gave in to the pressure of defeat. Mussolini sought refuge under the German forces and attempted to escape to Switzerland. However, anti-Fascist rebels seized their vehicle and got custody of Mussolini and twelve other Fascist party officials (Smith). They were summarily executed and their corpses were hung in public where the people ridiculed and mocked their dead bodies. The ambition for power and control and its inevitable disintegration ended the twenty year reign of Mussolini in Italy. Some historians claim that with the way Mussolini ruled Italy, it is doubtful whether he has as much idealism in him as his speech and propaganda portrayed (Griffin 2000). Whether it his idealism or his ambition which motivated his decisions, the scars of his dictatorial rule in Italy will remain in history as one of the deplorable outcomes of fascist dictatorial rule. References â€Å"Benito Mussolini. † (2008). ThinkQuest Library. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://library. thinkquest. org/17120/data/bios/mussolini/ Griffin, R. (2000). How fascist was Mussolini. New Perspective 9. 1 pp. 31-35. Haugen, B. (2007). Benito Mussolini: Fascist italian dictator. Minneapolis, Minn. : Compass Point Books Lindemann, A. (2007) Benito Mussolini. UCSB History Department. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. history. ucsb. edu/syllabi/spring07/Lindemann/Mussolini2. pdf â€Å"Mussolini, Benito Amicare Andrea† (1999). Who’s Who in the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. oxfordreference. com/views/ENTRY. html? subview=Mainentry=t47. e1187 Roberts, J. (2006). Benito Mussolini. Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing. Smith, D. M. Benito Mussolini. Groiler Online. Retrieved 30 January 2009 from http://www. grolier. com/wwii/wwii_mussolini. html

The National Power In International Relations Politics Essay

The National Power In International Relations Politics Essay Power in international relations is defined in several different ways. Political scientists, historians, and practitioners of international relations (diplomats) have used the following concepts of political power: Power as a goal of states or leaders. Power as a measure of influence or control over outcomes, events, actors and issues. Power as reflecting victory in conflict and the attainment of security Power as control over resources and capabilities. Modern discourse generally speaks in terms of state power, indicating both economic and military power. Those states that have significant amounts of power within the international system are referred to as middle powers, regional powers, great powers, superpowers, or hyperpowers. Entities other than states can also acquire and wield power in international relations. Such entities can include multilateral international organizations, military alliance organizations (e.g. NATO), multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, or other institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church, Wal-Mart[1], or the Hanseatic League. Power as a goal Primary usage of power as a goal in international relations belongs to political theorists, such as Niccolà ² Machiavelli and Hans Morgenthau. Especially among Classical Realist thinkers, power is an inherent goal of mankind and of states. Economic growth, military growth, cultural spread etc can all be considered as working towards the ultimate goal of international Power as influence. Political scientists principally use power in terms of an actors ability to exercise influence over other actors within the international system. This influence can be coercive, attractive, cooperative, or competitive. Mechanisms of influence can include the threat or use of force, economic interaction or pressure, diplomacy, and cultural exchange. Spheres, blocs, and alliances Under certain circumstances, states can organize a sphere of influence or a bloc within which they exercise predominant influence. Historical examples include the spheres of influence recognized under the Concert of Europe, or the recognition of spheres during the Cold War following the Yalta Conference. The Warsaw Pact, the Free World, and the Non-Aligned Movement were the blocs that arose out of the Cold War contest. Military alliances like NATO and the Warsaw Pact are another forum through which influence is exercised. However, Realist theory often attempts to stay away from the creation of powerful blocs/spheres that can create a hegemon within the region. British foreign policy, for example, has always sided against the hegemonic forces on the continent, i.e. Nazi Germany, Napoleonic France or Habsburg Austria. Power as security Power is also used when describing states or actors that have achieved military victories or security for their state in the international system. This general usage is most commonly found among the writings of historians or popular writers. For instance, a state that has achieved a string of combat victories in a military campaign against other states can be described as powerful. An actor that has succeeded in protecting its security, sovereignty, or strategic interests from repeated or significant challenge can also be described as powerful. Power as capability Power is the capacity to direct the decisions and actions of others. Power derives from strength and will. Strength comes from the transformation of resources into capabilities. Will infuses objectives with resolve. Strategy marshals capabilities and brings them to bear with precision. Statecraft seeks through strategy to magnify the mass, relevance, impact, and irresistibility of power. It guides the ways the state deploys and applies its power abroad. These ways embrace the arts of war, espionage, and diplomacy. The practitioners of these three arts are the paladins of statecraft. Charles W. Freeman, Jr. Power is also used to describe the resources and capabilities of a state. This definition is quantitative and is most often used by geopoliticians and the military. Capabilities are thought of in tangible terms-they are measurable, weighable, quantifiable assets. Thomas Hobbes spoke of power as present means to obtain some future apparent good. Hard Power can be treated as a potential and is not often enforced on the international stage. Chinese strategists have such a concept of national power that can be measured quantitatively using an index known as comprehensive national power. Soft versus hard power Some political scientists distinguish between two types of power: soft and hard. The former is attractive while the latter is coercive. Joseph Nye is the leading proponent and theorist of soft power. Instruments of soft power include debates on cultural values, dialogues on ideology, the attempt to influence through good example, and the appeal to commonly accepted human values. Means of exercising soft power include diplomacy, dissemination of information, analysis, propaganda, and cultural programming to achieve political ends. Hard power refers to coercive tactics: the threat or use of armed forces, economic pressure or sanctions, assassination and subterfuge, or other forms of intimidation. Hard power is generally associated to the stronger of nations, as the ability to change the domestic affairs of other nations through military threats. CORE CONCEPT Why is power important to international relations ? Undoubtedly power acts as a major theme within the study of international relations, yet as a concept it is highly contested and difficult if not impossible to define. The oxford concise dictionary of politics attempts to define power as the ability to make people (or things) do what they would not otherwise have done. However power can be seen in many different forms be it that of economic, political, military or psychological. Within the many different theories of international relations the concept of power features widely yet its interpretation and significance differs throughout. As there are so many theories within the study of international relations is impossible to focus on them all and so I have decided to predominantly look at the ideas within realism. In post war scholarship the starting point for most theorizing about international politics has been power and national interest, with power understood ultimately as a military capability and interest as an egotistic desire for power, security or wealth. The proposition that the nature of international politics is shaped by power relations is noted as a defining characteristic of realism. However this is not only a realist claim, neoliberals to see power as important along with Marxists, feminists and post modernists. Yet first by looking at the concept of power in a broad sense, free of persific theoretical judgement in order to get a preliminary understanding of the term itself. International politics clearly occurs between all states through which administrative transactions occur involving the use of power. It can therefore be argued that all international politics are in a sense power politics Within the contemporary international system the majority of nations collective domestic and external goals cannot be defended or achieved without influencing the behaviour of other states. Consequently goal attainment is dependent upon the reactions and actions of others. This is where the importance of power as a concept comes into the study of international politics because power includes the means by which all states influence the behaviour of others in order to protect and extend their own interests. This probability is able to exist because states pursue various interests and can agree or disagree on any one of them pursuing them individually. Categories of power In the modern geopolitical landscape, a number of terms are used to describe powers of various types, these include: Hyperpower coined to describe the post-Cold War United States or the British Empire shortly after the Napoleonic wars. Superpower Fox (1944) defined the Superpower as great power plus great mobility of power and identified 3 states, the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. Great power in historical mentions, the term Great power refers to any nations that have strong political, cultural and economic influence over nations around it and across the world. (Examples: China, France, India, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.) Middle power a subjective description of second-tier influential states that could not be described as Great powers. (Examples: Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, and Israel.) The term Regional power is also used to describe a nation that exercises influence and power within a region. Being a regional power is not mutually exclusive with any of the above categories. The term Energy superpower describes a country that has immense influence or even direct control over much of the worlds energy supplies. Russia and Saudi Arabia are generally acknowledged as the worlds two current energy superpowers, given their abilities to globally influence or even directly control prices to certain countries. The term entertainment superpower or culture superpower describes a country in which has immense influence or even direct control over much of the worlds entertainment or has an immense large cultural influence on much of the world. Although this is debated on who meets such criteria, many agree that the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan are generally acknowledged as the entertainment and cultural superpowers, given their abilities to distribute their entertainment and cultural innovations worldwide. Categories of power (Diagramatic representation) C:Documents and SettingsDellMy DocumentsMy PicturesPowers_in_international_relations.png Map reflecting the categories of power in international relations.   Ã‚  countries most often considered to be Superpowersà  Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ¼   Ã‚  countries most often considered to be Great powers   Ã‚  countries most often considered to be Regional power   Ã‚  countries most often considered to be Middle powers ELEMENTS OF POWER The elements of a countrys power can be roughly categorized as those that constitute: Its national core Its national infrastructure Its national economy Its military The core and infrastructure form the basis for economic and military power. The national core consists of a countrys technological sophistication , its transportation system and its information and communication capabilities. CONCLUSION Power is the foundation of diplomacy in a conflictual world. National power is the sum of a countrys assets that enhance its ability to get its way even when opposed by others with different interests and goals. Measuring power is especially difficult as the efforts to do so have not been very successful but it helps us to see many of the complexities of analyzing the characters of power . These characteristics include the facts that power is dynamic , both objective and subjective, relative, situational and multidimensional.

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art SYNOPSIS FOR DISSERTATION Exploration of selected water colour techniques to motivate students in painting. An action Research at Form IV level. INTRODUCTION Learning is an ongoing process that occurs every minute in the field of education. Learning means to gain knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something. As teacher, our goal is to encourage learning in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to carry out an action research through selected watercolour techniques to improve pupil’s performance. A student comes in class with a certain degree of motivation. But, teacher’s behavior and the way of his teaching, the structure of the course, and interactions with the students all have a broad effect on the student motivation. There are three things to remember about education as per Maher and Meyer’s concept (1997, p 377), â€Å"the first is motivation, the second is motivation and the third is motivation.† Teaching effectively involves not only the use of tools, techniques, and strategies to optimize student learning but an understanding of context, in particular how your students learn, how they process information, what motivates them to learn more, and what impedes the learning process. Its not easy keeping children interested and motivated in classroom instruction. However, several tips and selected techniques can help teachers actively engage students and encourage them to learn and interact positively with others. THE RATIONALE In the course of my teaching of Art and Design at form four level in my college, I have noticed that there are some topics where students meet difficulties. The subject has been introduced since more than 35 years at Hamilton College Girls department, at Mahebourg, students have adopted the teacher centred approach and depend entirely on what the teacher gave them as instructions. Since, the majority of the students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and they are mostly low achievers, they should be boost up in creating their own learning environment whereby they know what and how they are doing it. At form four levels, students will be having enough time to adapt to the new teaching and learning techniques which will be implemented. Enough time will be given to them for active learning during their practical classes.. Purpose and justification of the study I have been working as a practicing teacher for almost 15 years in a private secondary school, located in a coastal area. I have been teaching art and design both in lower and upper classes. When I started working with Form IV students this year I noticed that pupils at this level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media. They lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. When these pupils undergo the examinations, they come with poor results. These are some of the reason for me to use some selected watercolour techniques to boost up their level, thus ensuring better examination results. Students Profile Usually students who pass the CPE (Standard VI) with C, D, and E are admitted in the school. Very rarely a student is seen to have been admitted with B’s and least often with A’s. Apart from their low intellectual baggage, pupils from this school come from coastal regions like Grand Port, Bois des Amourettes, Grand Sable and other neighboring villages. Their social background is quite poor as there are many girls who have only one parent or who live with grandmothers or aunts- the result of broken homes due to alcoholic parents. The pupils do not have art materials most of the time. The absenteeism rate is quite high. Low ability pupils Low ability pupils are those pupils whose pace of learning is very slow and they exist in all schools. They should be provided more time than the average and high achievers so that it will be easy for them to grasp the basic of the learning activities. These students need special help over a lengthy period from the teachers. Some causes of low achievers are poverty, broken family, emotional or personal factors. Aims of the study To apply selected water colour techniques in the class in order to promote learning among students in practical classes. This research has objectives as: To create an interest in painting using watercolour among the pupils and encourage participation in class. To make students aware of different water colour techniques in painting. To promote self-learning. Implement the selected strategies in the class. Analyse and reflect critically whether the use of the strategies have been effective. Improve pupil’s performance Effectively use elements and principles of design while painting with water based paint. Problem statement Aproblem statementis a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem. The primary purpose of aproblem statementis to focus the attention of the problem solving team. As I have mentioned above that pupils at Form IV level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media and they lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. So certain questions should be put forward to remedy the situation in art and design classes. Research Questions: What are pupils’ overall perception in painting with watercolour? Why do pupils perform poorly while using watercolour techniques? Can selected watercolour techniques boost up pupil’s performance while painting? LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter highlights the theoretical and empirical literature of this study on the exploration of selected water colour techniques and motivation of students. Many college teachers today want to move from passive learning to active learning, to find better ways of engaging students in the learning process. I have gone through the book â€Å"WATERCOLOUR† by the author Milind Mulick where it is mentioned that watercolour as an independent genre was brought in vogue by Joseph Turner and John Constable, two British painters of the 18th century. John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, William Russell Flint took the art of watercolours to new heights. In this book Milind has mentioned the important features of water colour, techniques and about the materials to be used, such as paper brushes and paints. He has also written about the practice, composition and sketching which is the beginning of drawing. The demonstration part of the book will greatly help students understand the application of water colour throughout the painting of landscape. Exploring Watercoloris to discover new ways to get expressive with colourideas for using natures patterns to inspire enticing designshow to expand your repertoire and unleash your creativity by experimenting with freeform collages, found imagery, and other innovative techniques. Wherever you are as an artist, this hands-on guide (Exploring watercolour Techniques by Elizabeth Grove)will help you master the watercolor medium and develop your individual style, and move beyond a literal rendering of your subject matter. MOTIVATION Motivationis a  psychological  feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired  goal  and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. Motivation involves a constellation of beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions that are all closely related. Motivation is an important factor in learning. Type of motivations Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from within. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that is animated by personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure. Extrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from outside. In other words, our desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source. Motivation refers to â€Å"the reasons underlying behaviour† (Guay et al., 2010, p. 712). â€Å"Motivation in school learning involves arousing, sustaining and desirable conduct† (Woolfolk, 1988). It depends upon how well a teacher can arouse the interests and motives of student. â€Å"The ultimate goal of schools is to transform its students by providing knowledge and skills and by building character and instilling virtue† (Sergiovanni, 1991). Motivation has been defined as the level of effort an individual is willing to expend toward the achievement of a certain goal. Biehler and Snowman (1993) state that â€Å"motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior†. responsibility is to create the conditions that will enhance students’ motivation to pursue academic goals actively over a long period of time. MASLOW THEORY OF MOTIVATION â€Å"If you have a hammer, you tend to see any problem as a nail,† meaning, the more tools you have in your toolbox, the better prepared you are to face any challenge that awaits you.† â€Å"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.† â€Å"In you lies something, a passion that makes you truly happy. Find it and don’t let go.† (www.youmotivation.com/-By Abhaham Maslow) Water COLOUR PAINTS Paint is an ideal medium for developing the child’s sensitivity to colour, because it is fluid and its effects are immediate. It is important to explore the expressive and descriptive effects of a variety of colour media and to encourage adventurous use. Colour awareness promotes sensitivity to and enjoyment of colour in the child’s surroundings and is further enhanced when the child has opportunities to look at the work of artists. Watercolor paint is made by mixing pigments with a binder, usually gum Arabic, and then applying it with water to a support such as vellum (fine animal skin) or paper. It also contain glycerin, ox gall and preservative for the durability of the pigment. The water evaporates and the binder fixes the pigment to the support. Watercolor was used long before Prehistoric humans in the Paleolithic ages painted the walls of their caves with mixtures of ochre, charcoal, and other natural pigments. Watercolors were also painted on papyrus and used in Egyptian art forms. In Asia, traditional Chinese painting with watercolors developed around 4,000 B.C., primarily as a decorative medium, and by the 1st century A.D., the art of painting religious murals had taken hold. By the 4th century landscape watercolor painting in Asia had established itself as an independent art form. While early European artists prepared their own watercolor mixtures for fresco wall painting, this was soon applied to paper. Some of the 20th-century artists who produced important works in watercolor are Wassily Kandinsky,  Emil Nolde,  Paul Klee,  Egon Schiele and  Raoul Dufy. Watercolor painting emerged in Europe during the Renaissance period with advancements in papermaking. Modern watercolor paints are now as durable and colorful as oil or acrylic paints, and the interest in drawing and multimedia art has also encouraged demand for fine works in watercolor. Watercolor has been around since painting began, but didn’t really take off until the Renaissance. The German printmaker Albrecht Durer was an early practitioner, and found the medium ideal for small, detailed studies. Many beautiful landscapes, portraits, and other scenes have derived from watercolor paintings. Some of the famous authors of these paintings are Marina Abramoviac, Yaacov Agam, Constantin Alajalov, Henri Matisse, Rene Magritte, and Alfred Maurer. These painters are known for having created some of the most remarkable works of watercolor art.. Clapp’s opinion about water colour,†I would suggest a student just work with one colour, monochromatically, for a while. This will allow seeing more clearly the effects of different brushes and amount of water you are using.† â€Å"If I were to teach a water colour class, there are really only a couple of things I would do that are different from how I would teach any painting in any media. Both of these ideas address the heart of the problem people face when trying to paint in water colour.’ â€Å"Since the amount of water in the brush controls your values, edges, and the kind of marks you can make, you cannot paint well in the medium, until you understand how to control the amount of water in your brush.† THE SELECTED STRATEGIES It is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing. The selected ones are: Demonstration Pair and share Guided lecture Class Discussion Peer teaching SELECTED TECHNIQUES I will choose three technique from the following: Wet on wet Wet on dry Sponge wash Splatter Resist Salt texture METHODOLOGY The study necessitate an action research. Action research in classrooms involves the teacher directly. Peer teachers, the Rector, teachers, students and classroom researchers are part of the process. An action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully used techniques of research and it is based on the following assumptions: It involves: a specific problem within a particular classroom Planned action elements of the formal research improvement of classroom practice. Contributes to the self evaluation process I am going to do an action research for the actual problem(difficulty in using watercolour techniques) of the Form IV students. I will look for some new methods to motivate students and to enhance their performance. Sample The study will be targeted at students of form four studying Art and design at Hamilton College Girls Department. A class sample of 10 students will be taken from two different classes. For group work the students will be selected randomly as the class is considered to be a mixed ability one but the number of low achievers is quite high. Interview and observation Interviews will be carried out with the students during the class or after and the feedback of students will be noted. Students will be observed by the teacher during their practical classes and their approaches towards the lesson on a particular topic will be noted. Use of assessment both summative, formative and diagnosis and the use of mark sheets. (ii) Method to be used during class Observation Checklists Formulated questions Cycle 1 Direct teaching – teacher centered – chalk and talk Cycle 2 2 Lesson plans use of selected watercolour techniques Expectation of results above 60% Comparison between cycle 1 and cycle 2 Cycle 3 More lessons on watercolour techniques. (iii)Analysis and Interpretation of data Data will be represented as: Bar chart Pie chart Conclusion I will investigate through the research and come to a conclusion and I hope that this study will be useful to teachers in better creating the conditions that will foster students participation. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barry K King L, (1998), Beginning Teaching and Beyond, 3rd Edition. http://barrycoombs.wordpress.com/tag/watercolor-demonstration/ http://voices.yahoo.com/21-ways-motivate-students-art-class-guide-5440335.html?cat=4 http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/categ.html http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5 http://www.bing.com/search?q=exploring+watercolour+techniquesgo=qs=nform=QBREpq=exploring+watercolour+techniquessc=0-0sp=-1sk=

India vs. Imperialism :: essays research papers fc

Safeguards Against Imperialism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a country attains independence, it begins the long road to stability. Economic stability is a very important aspect of a nation’s independence. New countries are very vulnerable to the greedy hands of the more developed industrialized nations, so their leaders must devise means to strengthen their nation’s economy and keep the money within its own borders. India is such a developing country that has needed to protect its economy from the imperialism of other nations. This protection was generally attempted with the implementation of government-sponsored programs, which altered certain taxes and tariffs, regulated private businesses, and also created government owned businesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One project that attempted to strengthen India’s economy was started by P.C. Mahalanobis. His idea was the second five-year plan. Lasting from 1956 to 1961, this plan implemented British socialism combined with Mahatma Gandhi’s tenets. The second five-year plan tried to eliminate the importation of consumer goods with high tariffs and low quotas. This caused seventeen industries to become nationalized. Licenses were also required for starting new businesses or producing new products. Bureaucratic control was tightened with these licenses, which were also required for shutting down or canceling workings. If a business would begin shutting down, the government would intervene and provide subsidies and assistance for as long as possible. Containing India’s consumer market within the country’s borders protected against Imperialist powers by making products produced locally much less expensive than imports, appealing to local citizens and en couraging internal growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another leader who formed plans to strengthen India’s market was Indira Gandhi. Attempting to capitalize on Mahalanobis’ relative success, Indira began a program to promote small businesses by funding them with money formerly used for agriculture. This would lead to the loss of India’s agricultural market, but the plan included programs that would help agriculture, and small labor intensive businesses of the countryside. India’s output began to grow, but slower than other countries. The programs were created with the intent of creating enough output to eliminate poverty, and become stable enough to generate revenue from exports. Government programs do not always work, however, and these programs turned out to have more of a negative impact on India’s potential growth, as over-regulation soon followed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to the over-regulation of private industries, India created direct socialist enterprises. The government of India nationalized its heavy industry and created new SOE’s, or state-owned enterprises. These SOE’s were more expensive to build and operate than private industries, and their inefficiencies quickly became apparent. India vs. Imperialism :: essays research papers fc Safeguards Against Imperialism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After a country attains independence, it begins the long road to stability. Economic stability is a very important aspect of a nation’s independence. New countries are very vulnerable to the greedy hands of the more developed industrialized nations, so their leaders must devise means to strengthen their nation’s economy and keep the money within its own borders. India is such a developing country that has needed to protect its economy from the imperialism of other nations. This protection was generally attempted with the implementation of government-sponsored programs, which altered certain taxes and tariffs, regulated private businesses, and also created government owned businesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One project that attempted to strengthen India’s economy was started by P.C. Mahalanobis. His idea was the second five-year plan. Lasting from 1956 to 1961, this plan implemented British socialism combined with Mahatma Gandhi’s tenets. The second five-year plan tried to eliminate the importation of consumer goods with high tariffs and low quotas. This caused seventeen industries to become nationalized. Licenses were also required for starting new businesses or producing new products. Bureaucratic control was tightened with these licenses, which were also required for shutting down or canceling workings. If a business would begin shutting down, the government would intervene and provide subsidies and assistance for as long as possible. Containing India’s consumer market within the country’s borders protected against Imperialist powers by making products produced locally much less expensive than imports, appealing to local citizens and en couraging internal growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another leader who formed plans to strengthen India’s market was Indira Gandhi. Attempting to capitalize on Mahalanobis’ relative success, Indira began a program to promote small businesses by funding them with money formerly used for agriculture. This would lead to the loss of India’s agricultural market, but the plan included programs that would help agriculture, and small labor intensive businesses of the countryside. India’s output began to grow, but slower than other countries. The programs were created with the intent of creating enough output to eliminate poverty, and become stable enough to generate revenue from exports. Government programs do not always work, however, and these programs turned out to have more of a negative impact on India’s potential growth, as over-regulation soon followed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to the over-regulation of private industries, India created direct socialist enterprises. The government of India nationalized its heavy industry and created new SOE’s, or state-owned enterprises. These SOE’s were more expensive to build and operate than private industries, and their inefficiencies quickly became apparent.

How Birth Order Affects One’s Personality Essay -- Personality Psychol

How Birth Order Affects One’s Personality Everyone in the world is born with a special and unique character. Some of their personality is shaped by their surroundings as they grow up as well as the factor of genetics. It is believed by some psychologists/researchers that birth order has a tendency to influence parts of the personality. Birth order isn’t a simplistic 1-2-3 system that says all first borns are equally one way, all second children are another and last-born kids are always just like this or that. These are simply tendencies and general characteristics that often apply. There are dynamics with families that can change relationships. Through your position in the family you develop your behavior pattern, way of thinking and emotional response. Your birth order helps determine your expectations, your strategies for dealing with people and your weaknesses. Reasons for being interested in Birth order is because it is one way to gain an understanding of friends, family members, boy friends, really anyone you wanted to try to scope out. Unfortunately there aren’t any fortune cards or magic spells to understand family and friends. Knowing and understanding birth order can not only help you understand other people but yourself included. The only- child develops characteristics from having to cope with playing alone and with having to fend off adult intrusion. Only children tend to feel frustrated and throw tantrums when not pleased. They love to say â€Å"Leave me alone, I’d rather do it myself!† They tend to have imaginary companions and feel as if the child within was smothered because they had to grow up so quickly. Therefore in turn allow their own children time and space. As well as always being an emotional and considerate friend that loves to listen. First borns tend to be goal setters and high achievers. Along with being perfectionists who are very responsible, organized and determined people. They are rule keepers and follow all the details. The first born is an only child until the second child comes to take away the mother’s attention. The only child becomes a first born feeling there is no love for him or her. In school, first-borns tend to work harder for grades than do later-borns. They often grow to be more competitive and to have higher educational and career aspirations. Any enumeration of prominent people, em... ...e effects all of the children’s personalities. Not everyone’s personalities match that of their birth order. Variables can affect each family situation. These variables include spacing, the sex of the child (there are actually 12 different types of personalities due to sex coinsiding with birth- order.), the sex of the child, physical differences, disabilities, the birth order position of parents, any blending of two or more families due to death or divorce and the relationship between parents. There are many different studies that have been made dealing with birth order. Each one differs slightly from the next. Some of the studies are completely opposing each other. I have tried to compile ones that are relatively similar. sources: www.rayid.com/main/sibling.htm Joman,(1993)Family Constellation: It’s effects on Personality and Social Behavior. New York: Springer Pub.Co. Leman,(1998) The New Birth Order Book: Why you are the way you are,Grand Rapids, Mich. : F.H. Revell Lederman, Sherri Phd.(2000)Birth Order, New York, New York:Whole Family Center, Inc. Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2ed. Gale Group,2001.in association with th Gale Group and Looksmart

Five Years Strategic Plan Essay

Executive summary You are employed by a Swiss subsidiary of a transnational company in the processed food business whose products are sold via retailers and direct to the food service industry in a number of countries. Recently in Swiss subsidiary has been allocated responsibility for the Asia-Pacific Region and you have been assigned the task of spearheading the firm’s push into china and adjacent countries. In the light of opportunities and constraints to be awaited on the chinese market, the evaluation of alternative entry options showed that our best opportunity was on health food products related to the dairy products actual massive trend. We also decided to adress chinese cultural sensitivity issues by entering in long term close relationship with customers instead of being too focused on quick deals and to adapt our networking strategy to chosen entry strategy. We also examined how we should select a strategic partner, should the Chinese government advise us to do so, and how we should be adapting our global marketing processes to the issues raised by national sovereignty in China. Finally, we decided to include as adjacent market either Thailand or Vietnam in order to benefit from the existing trade relationship between them and China, even if countertrade obligations are to be met. INTRODUCTION The overall purpose of this paper is to present our five years strategic plan which objective is to enable our firm to become a major player in the processed food market adressed to retailers and food service industry. Among our very wide range of products, we will examine alternative market entry options in the light of potential opportunity and constraints, then examine the question of the influence of cultural sensitivity on negociations and on introduction of our product to chineses market. The next step of our analysis will be to examine the impact of adhesion of China to WTO on market environment and the consequences of cultural sensitivity to network and relationships. Our next field of investigation will be to examine the threat represented by a potential obligation to enter a strategic alliance with a local player and by our global company culture regarding national sovereignty issues. And we will finally include perspective of developping an adjacent market with eventually compulsory countertrade involved. Section 1 Alternative chinese market entry option for breakfast cereals and cereal bars in the light of potential opportunities and constraints. The recent huge success of dairy products in China, although a majority of the population is lactose intolerant and milk was never part of the traditional chinese food is showing that chinese market has become increasingly open to adopting foreign fooding habits. This is even reinforced by the success encoutered by Mc Donald’s and Starbucks. But one very interesting element of dairy products success is that its main reason and marketing idea is to value its good impact on health. This is what makes us think that the best way to introduce our firm’s product range is to be highly positionned on health benefits to be awaited from consuming our products, their total safety through high level controls. In terms of politics, China is a stable country, which has invested huge efforts into modernisation of its institutions and legal framework in order to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. Contract enforcement and business matters involving foreigners are to be brought before high courts specifically trained. Intellectual property protection is still a broad problem through counterfaiting and brands like Starbucks are now facing parasite competitors who sell similar products to much lower prices. Chinese market is a huge opportunity but the country still lacks infrastructure and geographic entry has to be limited to main big cities, with a view of extending to the ever increasing number of middle sized cities growing all around the country. The idea of staying in urban areas is linked to two factors: our products are distributed through retailers networks, and food service industry which can only be found in big cities in China at the moment. As we work with retailers and food service industry, indirect market entry strategy through intermediary could prove worthy, at least at the beginning, as long as our products are not known. We could benefit from the intermediary’s network and his expertise on selling foreign products to chinese market. However, using and intermediary is not the prefered solution as it would increase our costs, and as chinese market is very price sensitive due to copycats, keeping good price/value ratio is a key strategic point. With direct market entry methods, we would have more control on market reactions and be able to lower our export costs. Alternative solutions to enter market range from specialised trade fairs (on dairy products, health products, breakfast and snacking products, etc†¦) to a campain of trial gifts to be organised with either yoghurt or milk distributors, or by giving free samples in school, university and working areas cafeterias. We could also reach agreements with already installed foreign companies who would be interested in distributing our products on their shelves. Considering our objective of becoming a major player on processed food within the next 5 years, it would probably be worth it to make a large upfront investment to develop internal expertise in chinese market, in order to maintain our own relationships in the target market, which could be later used in order to introduce other product range on the same market. Therefore, and in the context of a long term investment, prefered market entry would be on health safe products targeting families and young working singles. SWOT Analysis Opportunities: Economic climate : a double digit economic development favourable to high quality trendy foreign food processed products with an attraction to health promising food. Demographic changes turning a rural population into city office working people whose life standards have increased dramatically over the last few years. Market opening through China’s entering WTO system and making legal and administrative environment more import friendly Threats: Competitive activity: other global firms are already on the market and Mc Donald’s, Vuitton and Starbucks experience of the market show that any brand valuation generates its army of copycat making it difficult to keep up with very low prices in a very price sensitive market. Culture: Reluctance to adopt new foreign fooding habits in a very traditional culture Pricing: chinese market is very sensitive to pricing and client segment will have to be chosen carefully and matched to pricing range. Strength: Health food image connected to dairy products Processed food in a booming ever increasing market Product adaptability: Cereals can be flavoured according to Chinese market tastes Networking: Company’s excellent ethic reputation Large target: Product attractive to kids and adult alike Weaknesses Not enough differentiation in products Need high advertising budget to gain trendy attracting image Section 2 How culture might impact on (i) negotiating in china and (ii) introducing your firm’s product into china. The usual tip when you prepare a business trip to China is to carry business cards, bring an interpreter, wear a conservative suit. These advice are easy to follow and have proven usefull, but they are too superficial to get you into the kind of association with chinese you need to be able to negociate agreements and introducing on a long term perspective the firm’s products in China. Graham and Lam (2003) have described the roots of chinese culture which have bound chinese people for 5,000 years and show through chinese business negociation: agrarism which superseedes business(survival depends on group cooperation and harmony, loyalty and obdience to familly hierarchy), confucianist morality (relations of ruler and ruled between husband and wife, parents and children, older and younger, and of equal between friends), being more concerned by means than by end in negociations, the fact that chinese tend to see easily the big picture, and finally that chinese people are very cynical about rule of law and rules in general, only trusting their families and their bank account. The elements that are important in chinese negociation are: have personal connections (friends, relatives and close associates), use an intermediary in order to avoid suspicion and distrust, be formal in order to show social status, pay attention to interpersonal harmony (smile, be nice and friendly), see the big picture and leave the detail to a later stage, be patient in order to get concessions on prices, never embarrass or provoque a lost of composure to a chinese (equivalent to loosing face), value endurant work more than talent. As a result of the above, introducing our products into China will probably require either a very long time necessary to build a trusted network, or the use of an intermediary. It is of first importance to try to establish close contact with significant actors of the retail and food service industry. The pricing of the products will probably also be of concern, as, if too low, it might not have the value effect, but, too high, it might repell consumers more tempted by a local copycat.    Impact of recent access of China to the WTO on other environmental variables which can be encountered when doing business in China and how it might benefit to our ability to establish worthwhile business in China. When China joined WTO in 2001, it made a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market driven economy. The institutional framework for foreign trade was inexistent, the information transparency culture still to be invented, existing judicial and administrative system inadapted. A tremendous amount of work was requested before China could integrate WTO system. China agreed with its major trading partners to open chinese market within 3 to 4 years to foreign companies in various sectors, including telecommunications, distribution and wholesaling, financial services, and banking and insurance. The change in laws included codifying existing administrative practices into written laws and regulations, therefore increasing transparency and predictability, covering around 200. Foreign trade law had to be modifyed. Regulations on international trade of goods and rules of origins were created. Regulations on transnational mergers and acquisitions and franchising were developped according to their new objectives. Anti-dumping, subsidy, countervailing and safeguard measures were prepared, and altogether, the capacity of the Government to provide legal information to the public was strengthened. Under the China’s central planning system, foreign trade was administered with both tariff and nontariff controls, including quantitative controls which WTO rules require to eliminate. To ensure that the WTO’s nondiscrimination principle is met in the judicial process, China issued an order that took effect on 1 March 2002 to elevate the jurisdiction over commercial cases involving foreigners from the primary courts to the higher level of courts, the question of training the judges to the appropriate regulation still being an issue at the moment. (Mitchell:2004). Altogether, when entering WTO system China had the tools to a market economy. These modifications created a foreign investment friendly framework, but the cultural reluctance to rules and the natural reliance to human bonds are still to be watched when doing business in China (Usunier & Lee:2005). It had a great impact on having major competitors entering the chinese market with success and provides market with the stability and rules needed to establish worthwhile invesment. Section 3 Significance of the focus in China on relationship and network on our chosen entry strategy. As, in China, all business is subject to relationship and network, and as we have chosen to invest into a direct market entry strategy, we will have to rely on building our network with key players. Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong relationships with customers and other stakeholders. This type of marketing is moving away from focusing on individual transactions and moving towards to focusing on on building value-laden relationships and marketing networks. This type of marketing is long term oriented, very demanding as it is aimed at delivering long term value and satisfaction to customer (Kotler &al:2005) It also involves building relationships at different levels: economics, social, technical and legal resulting in high consumer loyalty. Kotler (2005:476), distinguishes five different relationships that can be formed with customers: basic (sale is made but no follow up on satisfaction) Reactive (salesman encourages customer to come back if any question arises) Accountable (salesperson contacts customer shortly after the sale to check that product meets expectations) Proactive (salesperson or company person phones customer from time to time to suggest other products) Partnership (company works with its customers to discover ways to deliver better value) Considering that we intend to sell our product to a large number of customers with medium profit margin, the adapted relationship level would be â€Å"accountable†. Therefore, salesperson would phone retailer or food service company shortly after the sale to check if product meets expectations. Of course, identifying key customers and being more proactive with them would also enhance efficiency of such relationship marketing. Company would probably take advantage to using other marketing tools as giving special treatment and reward to good customers, or inviting them to special events. Chosen strategy network map and discussion on focal and subsidiary relationship involved. First step is to identify key player in retail networking and food service industry, like main wholesalers to be met at trade fair, mass retailers like supermarkets, trendsetters to be identified on TV or sports like football. Next step is to initiate contact with them with a focus on long term relationship and not on result. These relationship, due to their weight on market and the advantage that can be gained from being referenced with them have to be favoured at a first stage. Then, once this network is established, and in order to continue expansion, identify other distribution channels than wholesalers or mass retailers and initiate subsidiary relationship with them, as smaller restaurants, or hotels. Section 4 Adressing the issues related to rumour that Chinese government might request that we enter into a strategic alliance with a Chinese owned firm: selecting and managing strategic alliance partners in china. As in many asian country there is a rumour that we may have to enter a strategic alliance with a chinese partner in order to be allowed to market processed food in China. As Charles Revson, founder of Revlon cosmetics said once â€Å" I don’t meet competition, I crush it† and this should be remembered when entering a strategic partnership with a chinese partner. In fact, as cultural analysis hereabove showed, chinese only trust their family and their bank account, so, in order to enter a sound alliance, a few criterias must be met. Criterias for selecting strategic partner in China should be: good reputation of loyalty and integrity on the market, but also of product quality for reputation purposes natural feeling and common values, understanding of what our goals are and willingness to collaborate extensive network on our targeted customers, on the areas where we have the greatest growth or the most profitable areas proven synergy opportunity between our two companies instead of competition long term relationship seems possible through mutual cooperation (strategic alliance must be a win-win situation in order to be sustainable on the long term) Impact of the issues of national sovereignty in China on application of our standard marketing approaches in order to enhance global image and additional profits through economy of scale. China is very sensitive on the issue raised by separatist claims by   Taiwanese nationalists, Tibet and Xinjiang separatists. Our standard marketing approaches, designed to enhance global image and enable additional profits through economy of scale, mustn’t be a threat to our main objective which is to become a major player in dairy products in China. Therefore, our standard marketing approaches should be amended in order to avoid any differenciation between the average product sold within China and the ones sold in these three areas. The main market should be priviledged against the particularism of the three separatists areas. No marketing argument that our product would be specifically adressed to the separatists areas should be set forth and it should under no circumstances become a selling argument or even be mentioned, because it would probably cause us to loose main market. Section 5 Criteria to select an adjacent market between Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam The first criteria to take into account is capacity to use both markets to enhance presence on each other. Creating synergies in a market entry phase might be vital and the level of trade relationship already existing between China and that country is the right measurment. The second one is to choose a market which might be governed by the same cultural trends in order to be able to adopt the same marketing approach to both. A third criteria, maybe more operational, is distance and accessibility (custom tariffs, roads, etc†¦) between both territories. This might enable to base product in one country and ship to the other from thereof. Fourth criteria might be existing trade relations with Switzerland which might make it easier for us to start networking, as the swiss image would already be a commercial advantage. Myanmar being subject to economic sanction from China due to compulsory labor is not a valid adjacent market, though it has entered the asian liberalisation trend and was even acknowledged by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in 2001 as a member that performed ‘well to better’ in the trade liberalisation process under the WTO’s principles It also does not have the right development stage to be interesting and human rights issues might be damaging our image. It has very little commercial bonds with Switzerland. Thailand had rather recent diplomatic relations with China (dating 1975) but shows since then a real will to become a partner of choice of China. Both nations have common roots and share common ancestors. The commercial agreement between the two countries (Sino Thai Free Trade Agreement) only covers fruits and vegetables at the moment but could possibly be extended. Thailand is also member of the WTO. Its main advantage is to already have strong network trade connections with Switzerland (on machinery, watches, etc†¦), where we are based, which could be a decisive advantage for us in terms of network. Taiwan is actually administrated by China which makes it a priviledged area to invest in. It also has a long tradition of trade with China which makes it a good candidate due to the need for trade network to enhance each others, and as a little dragon, it also has the wealth to be interesting, but choosing it would probably not be the best in terms of advantage on chinese market as it does not really add anything different to being only present in China. Also it does not have any specific links with Swiss market. Vietnam has a common frontier with China and is following more or less the same path towards becoming a market economy and entered WTO in january 2007. Though it does not have the same laws, it has a similar development trend, close traditions and the close commercial links with China in all sectors that makes it a suitable adjacent market. It is also a so called little dragon, a booming economy that could be a very profitable market. The trading network between Vietnam and Switzerland is not too developped though Switzerland is present in Vietnam with a swiss embassy in Hanoi. Finally, in order to develop a global brand image in asia, it might be a good choice to choose between Thailand and Vietnam. How to turn the risk of being obliged to countertrade into a profitable trade More than 80 countries nowadays use or require countertrade exchanges. A concensus of experts opinions (Okaroafo, 1989) has put the percentage of the value of world trade volumes related to countertrade at between 20 to 25%. Counter trade usually occurs when countries lack sufficient hard currency. There are five main variants of countertrade which could be of different value to our firm. Entering a barter (exchange of goods or services directly for other goods or services without the use of money as means of purchase or payment) could eventually be interesting if we manage to find good quality bulk products that could be integrated in our products, like fruits or packaging. Using the switch trading practice (in which the country would exchange allowing our importations against an obligation to make a purchase on the domestic market) could also be of interest to us for the same reasons. A buyback (buying machinery necessary to our production in exchange for products) agreement is not a really interesting deal for us as it involves very heavy transportation. Finally, entering an offset agreement (offsetting a hard-currency purchase of an unspecified product) would be a very dangerous operation as we would have to cover currency exchange variations. Proactive strategy to trade profitably with the selected country In order to be ready when the ban on import occurs, we will implement a proactive strategy by identifying products that could be of use in our production process. Then we will start making contacts with producers of these products and gain market knowledge of prices and quality available, identify suitable suppliers that meet our quality requirements and are able to supply us with the adequate quantities. Therefore, when we will be forced to countertrade, we will already have our network in place. Conclusion: As stated in this document, our five year strategic plan on entering Chinese market involves: entering market with health food linked to dairy products mass trendiness with direct marketing tools Always keep in mind the cultural sensitivity of China in order to use it as a competitive advantage instead of a falling trap. Utilise the huge work done by China to be able to keep up with WTO entering necessary standards in terms of transparency and legal framework to our profit in developping our business Invest in developping extended network and long term relationship marketing in order to open the route to introducing our other products on the market later If needed, choose carefully strategic partners Amend global marketing policy in order to avoid sovereignty issues Choose between Thailand and Vietnam as adjacent market, even if countertrade is involved. Reference Table SunfaithChina Ltd,September 2006,†Market Analysis report on China Yoghourt industry†, http://www.mindbranch.com/listing/product/R521-158.html Chen, C, February 2003, â€Å"Got Milk?†, Wall Street Journal http://www.mindfully.org/Food/2003/China-Dairy-Drinks28feb03.htm John L. Graham and N. Mark Lam, 13 october 2003, â€Å"Negotiating in China†, Havard Business School, Excerpted with permission from â€Å"The Chinese Negotiation,† Harvard Business Review, Vol. 81, No. 10, October 2003 Mitchell, A â€Å"Implementing WTO rules: The Importance of Law Reform, Remarks of Arthur M. Mitchell, General Counsel Asian Development Bank, February 2004, apeC Workshop on Best Practices in WTO Capacity Building, http://www.adb.org/Documents/Speeches/2004/sp2004050.asp Vertariu, P., (1992), â€Å"Trends and Developments in International Countertrade,† Business America, (November 2), 2-6. Okaroafo, S., (1989) â€Å"Determinants of LDC Mandated Countertrade,† International Management Review, (Winter), 1624 â€Å"Interview: Thailand aims to further enhance Thailand-China strategic partnership† People’s Daily, Beijing, 28 June 2005, http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=2180 Swiss Federal State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, 2005, â€Å"Report on Swiss Economic Development Cooperation with Vietnam† Kotler,P, and al: (2005), â€Å"Principles of Marketing†, Pearson Education Ltd Usunier, J-C and Lee, J (2005) â€Å"Marketing across cultures†, Pearson Education Ltd Buksbaum, L (1999), â€Å"Choosing strategic partner that really partner†, press release on Inc.com, (http://www.inc.com/articles/1999/11/19511.html)