Aqualisa Quartz Essay

What is the quartz value proposition to the plumbers? To consumers? The value propositions to the plumbers are †¢Due to Quartz easy installation plumber’s work is reduced to 25% of original time. †¢Plumbers find the installation is straightforward and hence they are ready to send their young apprentices †¢Plumbers said it’s just â€Å"Push-fit-connect’’ and it’s not in the wall and it’s very easy to use †¢On an average plumbers can do more jobs thereby increasing their profit The Value propositions to the consumers are †¢One of the major issues for the customer is to get conistent water pressure which is solved in Quartz †¢Customers can have their required temperature by Thermostatic control rather than checking it for the required temperature †¢Before quartz the survey says that 44% of shower needs replacement. By using Quartz there is less chance of breakdown and hence maintenance is much easy for the customer †¢The product had aesthetic look and elegant design †¢It’s good for the home with the children †¢Suitable for all types of water systems †¢One touch control system and ability to control remotely Aqualisa launched the most significant shower innovation in recent British history: the Quartz shower. The shower provides significant improvements in terms of quality, cost, and ease of installation. In product testing, the Quartz shower received rave reviews. However, early sales of the Quartz have been disappointing. The company is faced with some key issues about whether to change the channel strategy, promotional strategy, and the overall positioning of the product (niche or a mainstream product) in the context of their existing product line. This case shows that despite the fact Aqualisa had a great product it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is going to manifest in great sales of the product. Innovation needs managing in an integrated way; it is not enough  just to manage abilities in a technological superior product. Aqualisa had the generation of a technological innovation but lacked the ability to relate this to end users. The challenge for Aqualisa is in effectively communicating to its customers and making them aware of the fact that they have developed such a product, before their competitors catch up. In order, for Aqualisa to succeed they need to synergise the components of their marketing mix through an effective communication, positioning, and distribution strategies. In the case in states that only about 60% of U.K homes, consumers are only probably going to buy at most two showers in their lifetime and because key influencers in the decision making process like plumbers where apprehensive of adopting the new technology it also led to the company’s low sales because the majority of the UK shower market is made of replacement showers and plumbers tend to remain loyal to their selected brand as it is the most comfortable for them in using when installing because of their previous experiences. Quartz Value Proposition – Plumbers What Plumbers wanted †¢ Ease of installation †¢ Quality product with minimal breakdowns †¢ Service free (minimal service requirement) Product Benefits †¢ Flexible location of the controller unit requires minimal remodeling of the bathroom making shower installation simple, cutting the installation time to half a day Value Proposition Quick and easy installation requiring only basic skills (more installations per plumber per day resulting in higher income) Quartz Value Proposition – Customers What Customers wanted †¢ Aesthetic design (great looks) †¢ Good water pressure without temperature fluctuations †¢ Ease of use †¢ Quality product with minimal breakdowns Product Benefits †¢ Controller unit can be concealed in the ceiling or closet; leading to a sleeker look in the shower stall †¢ In-built pump provides more than adequate water pressure †¢ Electronic thermostat allows for easy controls and steady temperatures †¢ One touch control Value Proposition Clean and sleek looking shower which is easy to use and provides efficient and reliable water pressure and temperature Why is Quartz not selling? Sales Plumber’s Influence †¢Plumbers distrust electronic controls / new technical innovations †¢ Plumbers influence over 50% of shower purchases; In 25% of the cases the purchasing decision is at his sole discretion Limited Distribution Channel Product Price †¢ Priced at a premium and hence unappealing to D-I-Y buyers as well as developers which are both price sensitive segments †¢ Trade Shops account for 80% of mixer showers sales †¢ Staff in trade shops not high on product knowledge, driven by market demand †¢ Showrooms have be the best sales potential but Aqualisa is available in only 25% of all showrooms

Leadership styles and its applicability in India

   In a large organisation there motivations are likely to be as varied as human needs can be – not only for security, higher income and better working conditions but for affection, recognition, deference, esteem, and for both autonomy towards and dependence on the executive leader, for both conformity and individuality – traits that can exist in the same person. Other things being equal, the stronger the motivational base the leader taps, the greater control over that person the leader can exercise. † Thus, leaders are persons who use different methods to ensure that the right work gets done. Hence, not only do leaders need to know how to deal with persons but also must know what the right things are. Leadership is defined in a dictionary as: the position or function of a leader; the ability to lead; or an act or instance of leading. In a business environment real leadership is the act of pulling your employees forward to a desired level of performance. A distinction can be made between a leader who gets people to achieve specific goals and a leader who gets people to achieve specific goals and develops a self actualisation belief system or culture. Both are exercising leadership. However, one is dealing with â€Å"transactions† and the other is â€Å"transforming† the character of the organisation. Thus, transactional leadership is when leaders determine what subordinates need to do to achieve objectives, classify the requirements to achieve the objectives and help subordinates become confident they can reach their objectives. On the other hand transformational leadership works on the vision for the organisational as a whole and prepares the employees of the organisation to meet the challenges of the future and deal with all of them. Further, the key to understanding real leadership lies in understanding that your employees have different personalities and attitudes; each one has different job responsibilities; each one has a different view of what is important in the operations of the organisation. Therefore, a leader has to cater to all types of employees and use different styles of leadership to bind them together and achieve the objectives of the organisation. Further, there are many ways in which a leader can lead. However, certain common elements such as a vision of purpose, gaining organisational commitment to this vision of purpose and providing the wherewithall to carry it out, are some of the common elements a leader has to have, irrespective of his style of leadership. Thus, even though leadership styles are not given much importance, especially where there are successful leaders, the style adopted by a leader is an integral part to being a successful leader in the long run. As mentioned earlier persons can perform the vital functions of leadership in many different ways. The style of leadership a leader adopts depends on the situation and on his or her personality traits. The interplay between these two factors is complex. Some situations may favour one style; other situations may favour another style. Some leaders may vary their styles, whereas other leaders may not be able to vary their styles. As mentioned above, leadership styles are complex and varied as they depend on many behavioural traits. One may look at leadership styles depending on how a person influences others. Leaders may rely on charisma; leaders may use their positional authority; leaders may lead by example, etc. However, this delineation of leadership approaches or styles, is only a matter of emphasis. In practice leaders normally resort to a multiple of leadership styles. Thus, there are many classification of leadership styles and a lot of research has been undertaken on them. This article looks at the broad transitions through which leadership styles have passed. Today, leaders have moved from authoritative to benevolent to consultative and democratic. These styles also reflect the changes in attitudes of employees, earlier they were completely under the control of the employer, today they are more enlightened and demand dignity and equality. Thus, if a leader does not recognise this he/she will not be successful. Before one discuses the leadership styles in India, one needs to look at the business environment in India. India has today seen a lot of transformation from an unexciting mix of government owned companies and private family owned companies, many of which survived on government licenses to the inflow of multinational companies and lot of Indian companies being run as professional companies. Further, today there is talk of privatizing public sector companies, however, there are some public sector companies earning profits. All these changes in the business environment has led to a change in the leadership styles, in certain cases leadership styles have changed business. In the public sector the leadership style has been formal authority, wherein the employees do not have the freedom to express themselves. Under such situation the employee will not work to his/her utmost ability, but will only carry out those tasks, which are required of them. There is no scope of being innovative, as mistakes are not accepted. Further, even the leaders of public sector undertakings do have the power to be creative. In order to change the above-mentioned situation, there is a need for the leaders of the public sector companies to change their style of leadership. They should adopt more democratic and participate styles of leadership and such leadership styles should not be adopted just to show to the employees that they being included in the decision making, but should be introduced in its true spirit. The public sector leaders need to adopt â€Å"transformation† leadership, where the employees of an organisation are moved towards achieving objectives, not for the sake of keeping their jobs but because they believe in the objectives of the organisation. As mentioned earlier, in the private sector in India there is a lot of change taking place. With the coming in of foreign investment, Indian enterprises have to be competitive and change with the times. In the past, India's private sectors comprised of family owned business and the employers did not care much for their employees, as they had the power of money. The leadership style of adopted by them was authoritative. Employees were treated like servants and could be called upon do to tasks that were not part of their job description. Even though the above style of leadership still exists in many private sector companies, there has been a change in the style of leadership in many of the professional run Indian companies. It has become more democratic. However, in order to change the way India companies function, there is a lot of work still to be done. Change of leadership style is an important area in which Indian companies should invest time and energy. In a labour abundant country, people's satisfaction is an easy thing to forget, however, it is important that their needs are fulfilled, if the organisation is to be successful. People are the greatest asset an organisation has and if leaders of organisation adopt leadership styles that are democratic and transforming, then the organisation would well be on its way to achieving its objectives. As the CEO of GE, Jack Welch has said, â€Å"we cannot afford management styles that suppress and intimidate. † Leadership behaviour is moving in many directions. Transformational and charismatic leadership are gaining in importance. There is even talk of whether self-managed groups are better than having leaders. In the world over, authoritative forms of leadership have collapsed. In India we are at a stage where maybe a totally democratic style of leadership may not succeed. This is because employees at large are not use to being taken into confidence and therefore, if a leader tries to use the democratic style of leadership he may not succeed, however, an enlightened leader must realise that, if the democratic style of leadership is not eventually followed, he may only be successful for a short period. Thus, a leader will need to resort to maybe all the styles of leadership in the course of his interaction with other, however, at the end he/she should make sure that the democratic style of leadership is used most.

Fluoride in tea samples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fluoride in tea samples - Essay Example A laboratory experiment was conducted that used plastic labware bottles instead of glassware because the fluoride ions have a tendency to interact with the glass especially when at lower concentrations. Its main objective was to determine the fluoride levels in various tea samples that were obtained at random. For this experiment, a stock solution of fluoride containing 2000 mg F-/L was used and prepared using a reagent grade of sodium fluoride (NaF), then diluted in a volumetric flask and stored in a clean plastic bottle. A silver chloride (Ag-AgCL) electrode was then combined with the fluoride electrode into a single unit. Both electrodes were rinsed properly and dried for use. Next step was preparation of six (6) 50-mL fluoride standards containing the 5.0 mL of TISAB concentrate and 0.1, 0.316, 1.0, 3.16 and 100.0 mg F-/L and diluted with distilled water up to 50 mL total and stored in plastic bottles. Readings were taken and recorded by immersing electrodes in each solution with re-calibration each day for the temperature. Data obtained was plotted and shown in a graph in the method and results section of this report. The tea bags sampled were boiled in 100 mL of RODI water and then cooled to room temperature and analyzed. Sampling procedure was to mix 10.0 mL of tea sample with 10.0 mL of distilled water together with an additional 5.0 mL of TISB for a total volume of 25.0 mL per sample. The last step was adding a 0.50 mL of the standard F- solution in four increments to each mixture for a total of 2.0 mL of the solution and readings were taken at each incremental addition. The sample tea bags used in the experiment were of different brands and bought at random from a supermarket. This is in line with the objective of determining the level of fluoride in tea available from commercial sources as fluoride today is a growing serious health concern. The method used is

Work with the Solid Waste Management department to provide them with Assignment

Work with the Solid Waste Management department to provide them with an analysis of their trash collection practice - Assignment Example The City is likely to collect 163138.7 tons of solid waste in the next six months. The mean, 8.6, means that every trip carries about 8.6 tons of solid waste and that a total of 163,138.7 tons of solid waste was disposed in the six months. The value can then be used as an estimate for the next six months’ quantity of disposed waste. Cost of waste disposal can be derived from quantity of waste disposed and unit cost of disposal. Based on the number tons for each truck and landfill used for the six months, the City spent $3,895,594 in the first six months and this value is predicted for the next six months. The City will therefore spend a total of $7,791,188 on solid waste disposal. Analysis of the total cost of waste disposal suggests that the City spends about $ 205.323 per day, $ 3,895,594 in six months, and $ 649,265.7 per month on solid waste disposal. The City however disposes about 27,189.8 tons per month and this can be used to compute possible cost under WMI’s proposal. The proposal will therefore lead to a monthly expense of about $492,244.5, which is lower than the current monthly expenditure of $649,265.7. Based on the data, WMI’s proposal is recommended. Before making a decision, however, factors such as reliability and quality of service that WMI delivers should be considered. The City should ensure that WMI can match quality of the other service providers. The City should verify ability of WMI to collect waste at the expected times and whether the service provider has required resources and potentials to offer the service. Terms of the company’s service delivery, its future stability, and its adherence to environmental regulations are other factors that the City should consider before deciding to work with WMI (Johansson, Lunberg, and Ryberk, 2012). This is because the factors are important to utility among involved stakeholders such as

CCEI1220P4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CCEI1220P4 - Essay Example This was a cognitive test, which Jacob failed. He never made any effort to think and search where the rattle was hidden, but instead he chose to cry. It was also an emotional test for Jacob to look for toys beyond his tracking area, which he also failed. As a baby, we would expect things to come easy for him, but he should have also endeavoured to find the toys at least. Based on the findings I made in activity 1, some of the actions that I will take when planning activities for Jacob are enhancing the classroom to ease movements, improve the kinds of toys that Jacob plays with and also establish games that could improve the cognitive development of Jacob. When enhancing the classroom, I will install things such as maps or directions on the floor to indicate where I have hidden the objects to make it easier for Jacob to find them. I will also introduce Jacob to toys such as building blocks. Cognitive games such as stacking blocks or emptying and filling objects can enhance motor learning, spatial awareness and effect, as well as cause. Through such games, infants, such a Jacob, can learn to be deliberate with their movement actions. Finally, I will incorporate games such as hide-and-seek, which can help Jacob learn analytic skills. I will ask Jacob to hide something in the trashcan or in another site away from where they are and ask other students t o find it. Also, this can teach language, as well as direction-following skills. Writing summaries of narratives is perhaps the most flexible ways or techniques of presenting a story. Summaries of narratives do not essentially tie the teacher down to chronological order, the way dramatisation and dialog do, nor do they need a focus on one specific feature of the tale, as descriptions normally do. This makes summaries of narratives one of the most prominent tools in an author’s toolbox, as well as one of the trickiest. Narrative summaries aid in coming up action plans in that they

Discussion- Economics-Topic Choice-How managerial economics affect a Assignment

Discussion- Economics-Topic Choice-How managerial economics affect a publicly traded firm - Assignment Example HP is one of the leading companies that provide products, technologies, software and services in the computer industry. The company offers a many products such as computers, printers, storage devices, networking devices and software. HP also offers personal computing services and enterprise information technology to its customers worldwide. Some of the crucial managerial issues include dealing with competition, and ensuring development in technology and innovation. Managers at the company have to deal with other risk factors in the computer industry for instance, cost and revenue issues, research and development. Abbott laboratories provide pharmaceutical and medical products for its customers. Abbott offers a wide range of products in diagnostic, medical services, nutrition and other established pharmaceuticals. The main managerial issues facing Abbott laboratories is the successful integration of the company with other sister companies and still make it to the top of the pharmaceutical sector. In order for publicly traded firms to be successful in their markets, managers must understand some of the most important economic concepts affecting their firms. This includes competitive strategies that eliminate other companies in the market, pricing strategies that establish customer base, marginal analysis, shareholder wealth maximization and market structure decisions. Most of these economic concepts ensure a firm remains in its market position thus success (McGuigan, Moyer, & Harris,

Difference between Mac and PC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Difference between Mac and PC - Essay Example PC, however, was made more for businesses outside of artistic fields, with many people favoring the word processing programs that PC has to offer (Pegoraro, 2006). The other physical aspect is the designs - Macs have only a handful of designs, each based on which model you buy, while PC has dozens of different models and customization options. The real differences can be found within the different computer models. Within a Mac, every component, wire, and chip is manufactured from the same company ("What is", 2009). Within a PC, everything comes from a different company. Less problems are had with Mac, including a substantial lack of viruses, due to the fact that everything is created and programmed by the same people. If something goes wrong with any piece, it just needs to be sent and repaired by one company. With a PC, unfortunately, while the computer can be sent back to the computers brand name company, it will still need repaired by the proper company depending on the damaged component. Due to the fact that Mac is created by one company and PC is created by many, Mac has less software to offer, as it needs to be manufactured by their name company. PC can accept just about any software, given the fact that it is more versatile. This is perhaps one of the reasons why more people do prefer a PC, with the exception of those that are using Mac solely for artistic purposes. As aforementioned, one of the perks about Mac only being capable of using Mac/Apple products is that the computer has a less chance of contracting viruses. Even when it does obtain a virus, it causes less harm than it would to a PC (Pogue, 2005). Furthermore, there are very few programs that are dual-compatible, meaning they work on both systems. These programs are few and far between, and have proven to be damaging to whichever system it is being used on, especially if it had been on the other operating system prior to its second

Olde good thing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Olde good thing - Essay Example However, the extreme contrast of the peaceful Emma’s voice and the third world neighborhood surroundings created melancholy emotion. Similar to the title of the song I was listening to, once upon a time, the town had its Renaissance period; Things like street lights and big buildings were old, but they didn’t look cheap. I could not find the antique shop I was looking for, so I made a couple of detours, and I finally found it. However, since there was no parking lot, I had to go to public parking across the street. Then, I had to walk a hundred yards to get to the shop. Walking a street like that was truly fearful in Detroit even in daytime, but there was something that told me it was okay to take a walk with an expensive camera on my neck. Anyway, my instinct made me keep looking at my back as an African meerkat. There were a few homeless people with grocery carts, but no hazardous elements. The building I was walking to was a simple rectangular shape with antique detailed ornaments around its windows. I guess it was once a fancy condominium. A fenced vacant lot in front of the building made the hood seem even more desolate. One corner of the building wall was filled with ugly graffiti. The building was combined with two different buildings connected together; the big one was white-painted brick building, and the smaller one was a red brick building. The red one had faded soot around its windows. I thought there had been a serious fire long ago. There were many traffic signs around the building with scribbled notes on some of them. Above the main entrance, it said, ‘Architectural Treasure’ in black paint on white background. Next to the main entrance, an eerie clown face about five feet tall was laughing at me. As tall as the scary face, a big yellow pencil that had red eraser on the other side diagonally stood next to the clown. The store was based on a foundation of

Art Review on Piece of Art Work by Ber Vasques Essay

Art Review on Piece of Art Work by Ber Vasques - Essay Example With these stencils he sprayed dark pink paint, which fell onto the sewed pink lines. Regarding the face, the artist used pieces of men’s underwear. He sews the face using this underwear, which had been dyed using different intensities of pink color. This sewing created a great interaction between the external and the internal contours (Cuff & Mattson, 1982). The Spanish adjectives used here had a significant meaning. These adjectives are words that cam up as a result of the subject being portrayed, in other words, the portrait’s subject. These portraits include Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County in Arizona. The artist also had a consideration for those audiences who were not Spanish, for instance the English audience. This consideration can be reflected by the fact that the artist used Spanish words, which are understandable to English speakers. These words used are cognates to English. For instance, facista, segregacionista and racista are the different Spanish wor ds, which may mean face, segregation and racist. The portrait was a prison warden. The artist had noticed something about the warden that was a matter of concern. In order to blow the whistle, he applied his artistic capacities to express his point. In the portrait, the artist was capturing the features that were associated with the warden. His portrait was made using pink dye since he was fond of making the prisoners under his responsibility wear pink underwear. Therefore, this was an art of stereotypical and comical stripped uniforms (Grant, 2010). The person portrayed by the artist is famous for his support for Arizona’s Act, The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhood Act. The law enforcement officers used this act in determining the immigration status of an individual especially when the suspicion is reasonable enough that the person is illegitimate immigrant who is only after perpetration of racial profiling. The jail that the portrait is in charge is in bad b ooks since it is accused of violating inmate’s constitutional rights. They for instance, endanger the health of the inmates by denying them medical attention even when they have serious mental and medical issues (Huxley, 1982). The portrait, therefore, reveals the bad side of the prison warden. The department of justice is looking for him so that he can cooperate in the investigations accusing him of unconstitutional seizures and searches as well as discrimination. Therefore, the artist accomplished his goal by beating him in is own game. He used his techniques to hit back at him. He stripped him, compromising his masculinity and then went ahead to dishonor or disrespects him in his own official portrait. What is challenging regarding him is the idea of understanding his hate. It is also harder for his violence, pride and denigration of human beings to be understood since he is an officer, who is expected to be far away from this (Reyner, 2007). The examination of the Ber Vas quez’s image also brings into focus a couple of ideas and messages that were meant to be communicated during the creation of this particular work of art. Consequently, it is very possible to break the image into smaller parts in order to obtain a vivid understanding the whole image. By this deconstruction, it is clear that the interpretation of the ideas conveyed by the image would come not from the actual meaning of the image, but from the different roles played by the different components

Dining Plan Proposal Essay Example for Free

Dining Plan Proposal Essay And at first though, most non-vegetarians may not take this into consideration due to a plentiful amount of non-vegetarian food available, but I can tell you from personal experience, food is one of the main factors contributing to homesickness. The day -to-day food available on Drexel’s campus is not varied or appetizing enough for vegetarians, especially international vegetarian students. Each student who purchases the meal plan can dine at certain designated locations on campus. The available dining options on the Drexel University campus consist of the following: a mini cafe in the main building, Ross Commons Take 3, Creese Cafe, Chick-fil-a, Currito, Subway, Kelly Deli, Southern Tsunami Sushi, and Starbucks. This may sounds like many options, but that does not overlook quality, or the fact that vegetarians may not have as many options as those who eat meat. As Drexel has ascended in its rankings, so have the number of students from different states and different countries. This year itself, the percentage of international students at Drexel University went up about twenty-eight percent and is expected to grow next year. (Facts and Figures) A student that purchases any meal plans spends an average amount of around five thousand amp; two hundred dollars throughout his or her university education. A relatively large percentage of these students, whether from the states or international students, are vegetarian as one of the most frequently asked questions on Drexel’s dining website. Drexel Campus Dining) I myself know up to ten vegetarians in the freshmen year itself. The number one complaint I tend to hear, or coincidentally eavesdrop on, in the dining center is about the food. According to my survey these complaints are usually voiced by international students and sometimes by vegetarian, American citizens. I also concluded from my survey that those who dislike the food and live nearby do not feel the need to complain as homemade food and favorit e restaurant visits with the parents are just a train ride away. I summarized my issues with the available dining service at Drexel by carrying out confidential surveys of a sample of students who eat at the Handschumacher Dining Center. Of course my survey was favorably given out to international students and it consisted of open-ended questions that cover a few valid issues I personally wanted to know more about. On an average, the survey revealed international students dissatisfaction with the amount of vegetarian or vegan food available at the Drexel dining locations. Although the survey revealed complaints students had about the staff, quality of food, and such, I chose to concentrate on the vegetarian food options. Students explicitly expressed their concern with the fact that vegan food was often confused with vegetarian food. A few students stated their issue with days where more of a variety of vegetarian food was made and other days where more vegan food was made, always more options of one over the other. Of course, non-vegetarian food always seems to be plentifully available. One student wrote on her survey, â€Å" although there is a pasta station that is vegetarian on the whole, the options are very limited. Vegetarians at the dining center can only eat pasta, on certain days very bland vegan wraps are available, and French fries, and the same vegetarian fried rice. â€Å" Another student said, â€Å" the passport section hardly ever has vegetarian or vegan food, which is sad because so many international students are vegetarian and we have to make do with salad and pasta every single day. To this I would like to add an observation I made at the Dining Center and Subway: most of the times, the staff uses the same gloves to touch vegetarian food as they do meat. This is very disturbing to me as I am vegetarian for religious reasons and cannot technically even have meat touched to my food. When I asked students about the other Dining options, Starbucks and the cafe in the main building were immediately opted out of consideration as â€Å"dining. † This leaves the unhealthy options of Ross Commons cheese Pizza and Chick-Fil-A fries. Two other options are Creese and Subway. The two of these are relatively healthier options, but again Subway has only one veggie patty. And Creese Cafe serves only two to three options for vegetarian paninis. But out of all the times I have been to Creese, they are out of one ingredient or the other, which limits the vegetarian options further. For example, when I asked for the Capri panini at Creese, I was told they were out of basil and hence, could not make that panini for me. Out of all the dining options Currito landed up being a favorite for vegetarians on my survey because of its many vegetarian varieties. Even though Currito is one stall that serves good vegetarian options, what about the rest? Vegetarian students I surveyed unanimously agree upon the conclusion that there is not enough variety out of the entire dining service on campus for vegetarian students. It think it is safe to say that a certain percentage of Drexel University students is dissatisfied with the vegetarian dining options on campus. I know I am. Yet, these students are paying for the dining services the same price as any non-vegetarian student. I propose a solution, or many solutions. Firstly, I think the staff should be educated on how to handle food for vegetarian or vegan students. For example, they should start with using different gloves and utensils for meat. Second, I believe the dining hall would be a good start for more vegetarian options as hundreds of students dine here each day. For example, the staff can make sure they do not compromise on the food for vegans or vegetarians. Both these categories should have a plentiful amount. Also, the passport section that serves international food can make sure they have one vegetarian alternative to each non-vegetarian dish they make. And the Asian food section can start searching into more feasible Asian recipes for both vegans and vegetarians. Coming to the options besides the dining center, it may be difficult to open more dining options on campus, so instead each service can find ways to increase its creativity and variety with vegetarian food. Currito can find more than just tofu to substitute meat, or they can cook the tofu in different ways and serve it. Chick-fil-A can look into making breakfast sandwiches. Subway can create more than just the veggie patty, or it can give more vegetable options to choose from. Ross Commons can start serving pizza with diverse vegetarian toppings. Such minor changes may go a long way. This idea may seem new, but it has been done before. Every time a fast food chain opens in different countries, it is altered to cater to the taste and customers of that country. I feel like Drexel should look into doing the same with its chains opened on campus as Drexel is an international University and the vegetarian population deserves first-rate food. (Vegetarian Subs amp; Different Countries, Different McDonalds) (A Picture of other Asian recipes that can be made)

Integrating Ict In Mathematics Teaching Education Essay

Integrating Ict In Mathematics Teaching Education Essay The purpose of this study is to study the barriers preventing the integration and adoption of information and communication technology in teaching mathematics in Bhubaneswar, India. The data were collected by means of questionnaires from secondary school mathematics teachers. Major barriers were identified: lack of time in the school schedule for projects involving ICT, insufficient teacher training opportunities for ICT projects, inadequate technical support for these projects, lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT to enhance the curriculum, difficulty in integrating and using different ICT tools in a single lesson and unavailability of resources at home for the students to access the necessary educational materials. To overcome some of these barriers, this paper proposes an e-portal which is a collection of mathematical tools, a question bank and other resources in digital form that can be used for teaching and learning mathematics. Based on these findings, I propose the us e of several strategies that should enhance successful ICT integration. INTRODUCTION Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has changed our daily activities in many ways. One of the goals for integrating ICTs in education is to enhance teaching and learning practices thereby improving quality of education (Higgins, 2003). However, in most developing countries like India, the potential of ICT to support pedagogy is yet to be fully realised. Since these changes are evident amongst younger members of our society, they are evident on primary and secondary schools students. Considering that ICT plays an increasingly important role in society, especially if we take into account social, economic and cultural role of computers and the Internet, it is clear that the time has come for the actual entry of ICT in the field of education. The combination of ICT and the Internet certainly opens not only many opportunities for creativity and innovation, but also for approaching the teaching material to current generation of students. Researchers argued that with the introduc tion of technology, it is possible to de-emphasize algorithmic skills; the resulting void may be filled by an increased emphasis on the development of mathematical concepts. Technology saves time and gives students access to powerful new ways to explore concepts at a depth that has not been possible in the past. ICT enhances efficiency of mathematical thought, enables learners to make conjectures and immediately test them in non-threatening environment (Laborde, 2001). Abramovich (1999)s use of spreadsheets in generalizing Pythagorean Theorem demonstrates how computers may be used to learn concepts in geometry and algebra. Meanwhile researchers (Balacheff Kaput, 1996; Kilpatrick Davis, 1993) have discussed the impact of technological forces on learning and teaching mathematics. Internet is increasingly being used to enhance collaborative and interactive learning (Cazes, Gueudet,Hersant and Vandebrouck, 2006; Cress and Kimmerle, 2008; Resta and Rafferriere, 2007) also (Lavy andLero n, 2004). As the study and practice of facilitating learning and improving performance (Januszewski Molenda, 2008), the field of educational technology attempts to overcome challenges by developing new approaches and frameworks. In this context, information and communication technologies (ICTs) represent a new approach for enhancing the dissemination of information and helping to meet these challenges. For a successful integration of ICT into the mathematics curriculum, it is essential to have knowledge of the existing software that is used by mathematics teachers. A survey carried out by Forgasz Prince (2002) found that 61% of the respondents (teachers) used spreadsheets, 45% used word processing and 30% used Internet browsers. In a separate study, Jones (2004) found that seven barriers existed while integrating ICT into lessons. These barriers were (i) lack of confidence among teachers during integration(21.2% responses), (ii) lack of access to resources (20.8%), (iii) lack of t ime for the integration(16.4%), (iv) lack of effective training (15.0%), (v) facing technical problems while the software is in use (13.3%), (vi) lack of personal access during lesson preparation (4.9%) and (vii) the age of the teachers (1.8%). METHODOLOGY This research deployed a survey method to investigate the barriers of integrating ICT into the teaching of mathematics. A total of 50 responses were received and they were analysed using the SPSS statistical package. A questionnaire was adapted from the Teacher Technology Survey by the American Institute for Research (AIR, 1998). The questionnaire was divided into five areas, i.e., (A) the teachers profile, (B) how teachers use ICT, (C) the teachers ICT experience, (D) the barriers faced by teachers and (E) the proposed solution. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ICT applications in general In general, a total of 74.3% of the respondents used computers on a regular basis. Table 1 depicts the percentage of usage by teachers in the various ICT applications: word processing packages (76.8%), spreadsheets (50.3%), Internet activity (67.2%), search engines (56.5%) and multimedia (11.2%). These percentages show that the computer literacy rate among secondary school mathematics teachers has been high. TABLE 1: Common ICT Applications by Teachers Application Daily (%) Weekly (%) Monthly (%) 1 or 2 times a year (%) Never (%) NA (%) NR (%) Computers in general 22.3 25.2 26.8 12.5 6.2 4.2 2.8 Word processing packages 20.4 26.3 30.1 13.6 5.8 1.3 2.5 Spreadsheets 9.6 15.4 25.3 22.5 6.3 12.5 8.4 Any Internet activity 20.8 22.5 23.9 28.6 1.2 1.3 1.7 Search engines for Internet 14.4 19.8 22.3 26.9 11.5 3.6 1.5 Multimedia 2.5 3.6 5.1 15.8 40.1 19.5 13.4 NA Not Available NR No Response Uses of Internet The Internet was used for various purposes. 65.5% respondents used it for browsing, 42.3% used the e-mail facility, 5.5% used IRC, 6.3% used chat rooms, and 8.6% used it in discussion forums and4.5% for other purposes. 6.9% respondents did not use the Internet. Table 2: Use of Internet by Teachers Activity Browsing e-mail IRC Discussion forums Chat rooms Others None Response (%) 65.5 42.3 5.5 8.6 6.3 4.5 6.9 Professional development and training needs A total of 40.3% respondents indicated that they had received ICT training.60.2% of the respondents demonstrated that they had found the training to be generally useful while 64.9% said that they had not received training on how to integrate ICT into mathematics teaching. According to 46.3% of the respondents, mathematics teachers require training on how to integrate ICT into their teaching while 59.5% of them stated that they needed a combination of various types of training.. Table 3: ICT Training Needs ICT training needs General use Integrate ICT into Teaching Use of Internet Combination of needs Response (%) 10.1 64.9 5.5 59.5 Barriers faced by teachers during integration The six major barriers identified were lack of time in the school schedule for projects involving ICT (50.3%), lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT to enhance the curriculum (49.5%), lack of adequate technical support for ICT projects (41.9%), inadequate teacher training opportunities for ICT projects (41.2%), integrating and using different ICT tools in a single lesson (34.8%) and the absence of access to the necessary technology at the homes of students (31.0%). Perception of mathematics teachers toward the proposed solution There is a very strong positive response to the proposed solution to develop a mathematics portal for teaching mathematics, wherein a collection of mathematical tools, a question bank and other resources in digital form that can be used for teaching and learning mathematics. 70.2% of the respondents considered it to be very useful and helpful and 27.3% viewed it as useful and helpful. Only 2.5% of the respondents considered that the portal would not be very useful and helpful. Table 4: Barriers Faced by Teachers Barriers % Response as not a barrier minor major Not enough or limited access to computer hardware 30.2 50.6 19.2 Availability of computer software 23.8 54.6 21.6 Lack of time in school schedule for projects involving ICT 11.3 38.4 50.3 Lack of adequate technical support for ICT projects 15.3 42.8 41.9 Not enough teacher training opportunities for ICT Projects 18.7 40.1 41.2 Lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT to enhance curriculum 10.2 40.3 49.5 ICT integration is not a school priority 31.4 45.2 23.4 Students do not have access to the necessary technology at home 22.8 46.2 31.0 Teachers do not have access to the necessary technology at home 24.9 55.2 19.9 Integrating and using different ICT tools in a single Lesson 16.5 48.7 34.8 Table 5: Perceptions towards the proposed solution % response as very useful and helpful % response as useful and helpful % response as not so useful and helpful % response as not at all Proposed solution to develop a mathematics portal for teaching 70.2 27.3 2.5 0 From this study, the following findings were found: The most popular application packages used by mathematics teachers were word processing packages (76.8%), spreadsheets (50.3%), internet activity (67.2%), and search engines (56.5%). However, it must be noted that the packages that have not been positively considered by the respondents may not be necessarily useless. . Mathematics teachers need more time to learn to use them -programmes like specific Java applets, Flash presentations, graphical applications and simulation programmes have great potential for the teaching of mathematics because they encourage explorations and higher order thinking. It is encouraging to learn that 65.5% of the respondents used the browser to gather information. It is timely that educators encourage mathematics teachers to use the Internet for online demonstrations like using Java applets on mathematics that are only available online. A large proportion (64.9%) did not have any training on how to integrate ICT into mathematics teaching. Such training should be an integral part of professional training. Moreover, 46.3% of the respondents requested to have training on how to integrate ICT into teaching. Some major barriers hindering the implementation of ICT in mathematics teaching were found to be lack of time in school schedule for projects involving ICT, insufficient teacher training opportunities for ICT projects, inadequate technical support for these projects, lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT to enhance the curriculum, difficulty in integrating and using different ICT tools in a single lesson and unavailability of resources at home for the students to access the necessary educational materials. Therefore, funding for new ICT resources should be increased in order to provide adequate ICT equipment and resources. It is also recommended that the contents of the subject be reduced so as to integrate ICT. teachers consider that inadequate time is a factor against teaching and learning effectiveness Therefore to encourage more teachers to integrate ICT into mathematics lessons, the devised programme must be user friendly. The e-portal proposed for this purpose is geared towards fulfilling such needs. This e-portal will be a collection of mathematical tools, a question bank and other resources in digital form that can be used for teaching and learning mathematics. CONCLUSION To create an environment of effective ICT integration, hence improving the quality of education for the youth in the province teacher education programs must focus on eliminating barriers. Based on the findings and discussions presented here, the several recommendations are suggested for practitioners. Technology plans for implementing ICT should be prepared and implemented. Training in ICTs for teacher educators should be improved in both quantity and quality. Every classroom should have at least one computer with Internet access and an LCD projector. Course content should be redesigned to acquire more benefit from ICT. More ICT-related courses for prospective teachers should be offered. Teacher educators and prospective teachers should be aware of the benefits of ICTs An e-portal, collection of mathematical tools, a question bank and other resources in digital form that can be used for teaching and learning mathematics should be constructed.

Seven Essay -- Film Movie Movies

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For this report I choose the movie Seven. This movie was released back in 1995 and stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gweneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey, John McGinley, and Kevin Spacy. Seven was directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew K. Walker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie begins with the usual old cop, who is about to retire, and teams up with a young, ready to take on the world cop. The first act begins promisingly, with two cops being assigned to their first case together. One is white and the other is black and they have vastly different investigative styles. Each murder, being investigated by Lieutenant William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt), is based on one of the Seven Deadly Sins, which are Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride and Lust. The detectives find an enormously fat man who is forced to eat himself to death-Gluttony. The detectives discover a high profile lawyer who is made to cut off a pound of flesh for Greed. They find hooker who has been killed by having sex with a man that we will just say?s wearing an apparatus on his body for Lust. A runway model is forced to choose death or disfigurement for Pride. Sloth was a man that had been tortured for a whole year. He had been barely kept alive and his hand had been cut off for his fingerprints. He is the only victim that does not die but is a complete vegetable in such a fragile state that he would be better off dead. For envy and wrath we will come back to in a bit. The kil...

Outsourcing in Intercollegiate Athletics Essay -- Sports, Athletes, FB

Division I intercollegiate athletic departments, especially those that are home to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams, increasingly resemble front offices of professional sport organizations in regard to their mission and business operations. With huge operating budgets, state-of-the-art facilities, world-class athletes, and multinational corporate sponsors, these sport businesses strive to produce winning teams and profitable events every season. The outsourcing of marketing operations and rights is common practice in American college athletics today. According to Li and Burden (2002), more than one half of all NCAA Division I-A athletic programs have outsourced some or all of their marketing operations and rights to a growing number of nationally prominent outsourcing agencies. Among the operations commonly outsourced are the production of radio game broadcasts, production of radio call-in shows, coaches' television shows, sales of media and venue advertising, sales of "official sponsorship" rights to corporations, and production and management of Internet websites, etc. (Li & Burden, 2002). Outsourcing simply means acquiring services from an external organization instead of using internal resources (Butler, 2000). By using outsourced resources, organizations can gain a competitive advantage by utilizing contingent staff to accomplish strategic goals without incurring the fixed overhead. By focusing on the leading edge and highly specialized skill sets, outsourcing providers can often offer higher quality services, or at a lower price than the client organization. Typical reasons for outsourcing go beyond simple contingent staffing. Outsourcing providers are able to maintain economies of scale with regard to specialization (... ... bring the anticipated benefits, and in some instances can be a risky proposition (Chin, 2003). Villcocks and Lacity (1998) stated that among the possible disadvantages are the potential loss of control over critical functions such as timeliness and quality of service, difficulty in monitoring vendor performance, difficulty in explaining the business needs to vendors, the potential for loss of company secrets as well as intellectual property, and the high cost of outsourcing contracts. Schools also risk developing a dependency on outside agencies, lowering employee morale, loss of development skills for employees, and having to face the prospect of managing relationships that go wrong (Kakabadse & Kakabadse, 2000; Hayes, 2001). By outsourcing, not only do schools lose some of the personal touch in servicing their employees but their clients as well (Rombel, 2002).

BaBar Experiment :: Chemistry Science Scientific Essays

BaBar Experiment Abstract I investigated the L = 1 mesons D*2(2460)0 and D1(2420)0 using data gathered by the BaBar detector at Pep-II. The decay process of these particles is interesting because it could serve to confirm or deny certain predictions made by HQET models. Thus far, the data gathered rougly conforms with measurements made by the CLEO and ARGUS collaborations. The data is still preliminary, however, and as such this paper should be considered merely a summary of the work done thus far. 1 Introduction 1.1 The BaBar experiment The BaBar detector at Pep-II was designed to study B mesons produced in asymmetric e+e- collisions. \Asymmetric" refers to the fact that the colliding electrons and positrons have different energies. This gives the resulting particles momentum in the laboratory reference frame, allowing their lifetimes to be measured even if they carry away most of the collision energy. In the current run at Pep-II, electrons are stored in one ring at 9 GeV and positrons in the other at 3.1 GeV. This sets the collision energy right at the T(4S) resonance, a short-lived combination of a bottom quark and its antiquark. This decays preferentially into a pair of mesons B and B|hence the name of the detector. Mesons are short-lived systems made up of a quark and an anti-quark; Bs are mesons in which one quark is a bottom (or an anti-bottom) and the other is a light quark (up, down, strange, or their corresponding antiquarks). The BaBar detector is optimized to measure the decay process of these B's as precisely as possible. It is hoped that differences between the B and the B decay processes will be uncovered and measured, which will lead to a better understanding of CP symmetry violation. \CP violation" describes an event that breaks the so-called Charge{ Parity symmetry. For a time, it was believed that if matter and antimatter were interchanged (hence, Charge) and if right and left were reversed (Parity), systems would behave in an identical manner. This symmetry has since been found to be broken in certain kaon decays, and it is suspected that further violations will be discovered in B decays. Note that if time is reversed as well as charge and parity, then the system will behave in an indentical manner; this is known as CPT symmetry, and is required for Lorentz transformations. It is hoped that learning more about events that violate the \broken" CP symmetry will shed some light on the relative scarcity of antimatter in the universe.

Management Informational System

Answer Review questions 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, & 22 in your own words. First, write the questions, and then answer with proper explanation. 1. Define the term database. How is it different from a database management system? Database is simply a collection of data. A database helps and provides managers and decision making people with timely and relevant information that leads the company to organizational success. A database management system is totally different than regular database. A (DBMS) is a group of programs that manipulates the database. . What is the hierarchy of data in a database? The hierarchy of data in a database is bits, records, files, database, fields, and characters. 3. What is the purpose of a primary key? How is it useful in controlling data redundancy? The purpose of a primary key is identifying records and make sure they can be accessed and organized. It makes sure that each record in a file is unique; therefore, no two files can have the same informat ion. 4. What are the advantages of the database approach over the traditional approach to database management?Most companies use database approach more over the traditional approach because it allows them the ability to share data and information. It allows them to share a pool of data with multiple different types of information systems. 5. What is data modeling? What is its purpose? Briefly describe three commonly used data models. Data modeling is an approach to modeling organizational objects and associations that employ both text and graphics. To come up with a solution to a problem after the company has gathered and analyzed information. Enterprise data modeling investigate data and information needs of the organization * Entity-relationship diagrams uses graphical symbols to show the organization of and relationship between data * Data model diagram of entities and their relationships 6. What is a database schema, and what is its purpose? A database schema is a description in cluding the logical and physical structure of the data and the relationship among the data. The purpose of database schema is to define the tables and other database associated with a user. 7.What is the difference between a data definition language (DDL) and a data manipulation language (DML)? DDL is a set of instructions and commands used to define and describe data and relationships in a specific database. DML is a language that allows user to access and modify the data, to make queries, and to generate reports. 8. What is a data warehouse, and how is it different from a traditional database used to support OLTP? A data warehouse holds all of the business information such as the processes, products, and customers of a company.It was designed to help with decision making for management and also stores historical data from operational systems and external sources. Data warehouse is more advanced and complex compared to using a traditional database. 9. What is the relationship betwe en the Internet and database? The Internet transmits data from one computer to another and database is a collection of organized data. 10. What is predictive analysis, and how does it assist businesses in gaining competitive advantage?Predictive analysis is a form of data mining that combines historical data with assumptions about future conditions to predict outcomes of events. It helps them find new market segments that could be profitable for their businesses. PART II Fill in the Blanks with appropriate words: 1. A(n) Database Administrator is a skilled and trained IS professional who directs all activities related to an organization’s database, including providing security from intruders. 2. A(n) Character is a basic building block of information, consisting of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numeric digits, or special symbols. . A(n) Entity is a generalized class of people, places, or things for which data is collected, stored, and maintained. 4. A(n) Primary Key i s a field or set of fields that uniquely identifies the record. 5. A(n) Data Model is a diagram of entities and their relationships. 6. A(n) Relational Model database model that describes data in which all data elements are placed in two-dimensional tables, called relations, which are the logical equivalent of files. 7. A(n) Flat file is a simple database program whose records have no relationship to one another. 8.A(n) Data Definition Language (DDL) is a collection of instructions and commands used to define and describe data and relationships in a specific database. 9. A(n) Data Administrator is responsible for defining and implementing consistent principles for a variety of data issues, including setting data standards and data definitions that apply across all the databases in an organization. 10. A(n) Data Warehouse is a database that holds business information from many sources in the enterprise, covering all aspects of the company’s processes, products, and customers. 1. A(n) Data Mart is a subset of a data warehouse. 12. Data Mining is an information-analysis tool that involves the automated discovery of patterns and relationships in a data warehouse. 13. Predictive Analysis is a form of data mining that combines historical data with assumptions about future conditions to predict outcomes of events, such as future product sales or the probability that a customer will default on a loan. PART III Case #1 Managing International Trades with Powerful Database Systems Discussions questions 1.What unique challenges do databases that deal with financial markets face? They use the database to fuel business intelligence tools to allow it to process data. The company maintains a data warehouse on which it runs queries. 2. How does Internaxx separate data in its database for annual reports from the data that fuels real-time analytics? Inernaxx data warehouse provides data that gives out the annual reports that are updated frequently. Whereas, the functional databases that feed into the warehouse provides it with the real-time information.Critical thinking questions 1. In what ways does Internaxx use its database to provide the company with a competitive advantage? The Internaxx database fuels both wise investment decision-making for Intenaxx customers and wise business decision-making for Internaxx executives. It uses it database to fuel business intelligence and the company maintains the data in the warehouse. This insight helps to make a competitive advantage. Their database allows consumers to watch the rise and fall stock prices and market conditions. . What unique capabilities must the Internaxx database have in order to support trading in 15 stock exchanges around the world? They must deal with a numerous amount of data and the data collected by Internaxx originates from the many trading operations carried out by its customers. The company needs to make sure they have reliable network connection to make sure the exchanges are ef ficient and happen. Internaxx must have both a e-commerce and m-commerce to accomplish all of these exchanges around the world.

George Balanchine for The Ballet Society

– In 1946 Balanchine and Kirstein collaborated again to form Ballet Society, a company which introduced New York subscription only audiences over the next two years to such new Balanchine works as The Four Temperaments (1946) and Stravinsky’s Renard (1947) and Orpheus (1948). – On October 11, 1948, Morton Baum, chairman of the City Center finance committee, saw Ballet Society in a City Center Theater program that included Orpheus, Serenade, and Symphony in C (a ballet which Balanchine had created for the Paris Opera Ballet under the title Le Palais de Crystal the previous year) George Balanchine for New York City Ballet – Baum was so highly impressed, that he initiated negotiations that led to the company's being invited to join the City Centre municipal complex (of which at the time the New York City Drama Company and the New York City Opera were a part) as the â€Å"New York City Ballet.† – On October 11, 1948, the New York City Ballet was born, dancing a program consisting of Concerto Barocco, Orpheus and Symphony In C (a ballet which Balanchine had created for the Paris Opera Ballet under the title Le Palais de Cristal the previous year). – From that time until his death, Balanchine served as artistic director for the New York City Ballet, choreographing (either wholly or in part) the majority of the productions the company has introduced since its inception – Among them were Firebird (1949; restaged with Jerome Robbins, 1970); Bouree Fantasque (1949); La Valse (1951); The Nutcracker (his first full-length work for the Company), Ivesiana and Western Symphony, (1954) – In June 1972, Balanchine staged the New York City Ballet's first festival, an intensive one-week celebration of the music of his longtime friend and collaborator, Igor Stravinsky. – Of the 20 works that received their world premieres during the Festival, he choreographed eight: Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Duo Concertant, Choral Variations (on Bach's â€Å"Vom Himmel Hoch,† Scherzo A La Russe, Symphony in Three Movements, Divertimento from â€Å"Le Baiser De La Fee,† and new versions of Pulcinella (with Robbins) and Danses Concertantes. – Till today his company, the New York City Ballet, is the leading dance group of the United States and one of the greatest companies in the world

Educational Measurement and Evaluation Essay

Educational evaluation started off as a branch of psychology in the late 50s, as a result of curriculum innovations. It was then referred to as Educational Measurement, Measurement and Evaluation or Test and Measurement. Within the last few decades, educational evaluation has grown into a separate, independent discipline, though with some leanings on the ideas of psychologists, psychometricians and statisticians. Efforts of educational evaluators have been directed specifically towards using precision, objectivity and mathematical vigour of psychological measurement in ways directly related to educational institutions, educational processes and purposes. Educational evaluation involves the systematic assessment of educational activities. Objects of evaluation include instructional programs, school initiatives and education goals. The growth in federal funding for education and policy-makers’ increased calls for school accountability have contributed to the growth of educational evaluation. Many large school districts have personnel responsible for evaluation activities. Definitions of Educational Evaluation Various ideas and definitions of educational evaluation are given by different people/researchers. According to Tuckman (1975) evaluation is a process wherein the parts, processes, or outcomes of a programme are examined to see whether they are satisfactory, particularly with reference to the stated objectives of the programme, our own expectations, or our own standards of excellence. According to Cronbach et al (1980) evaluation means the systematic examination of events occurring in and consequent on a contemporary programme. It is an examination conducted to assist in improving this programme and other programmes having the same general purpose. For Thorpe (1993) evaluation is the collection analysis and interpretation of information about training as part of a recognized process of judging its effectiveness, its efficiency and any other outcomes it may have. Measurement This is a broad term that refers to the systematic determination of outcomes or characteristics by means of some sort of assessment device. It is a systematic process of obtaining the quantified degree to which a trait or an attribute is present in an individual or object. In other words it is a systematic assignment of numerical values or figures to a trait or an attribute in a person or object. For instance what is the height of Uche? What is the weight of the meat? What is the length of the classroom? In education, the numerical value of scholastics ability, aptitude, achievement etc can be measured and obtained using instruments such as paper and pencil test. It means that the values of the attribute are translated into numbers by measurement. Principles of Educational Evaluation There are important factors to note which can serve as guides to educational evaluators in seeing to the effective planning and implementation of educational programmes, to yield the desired positive results. The classroom teacher or evaluator should always be perfectly clear in bis mind about what he is aiming to achieve i.e. what to evaluate and how to evaluate. Evaluation of educational programmes should be comprehensive i.e. assess pupils’ progress in all areas. Educational evaluation, apart from testing knowledge (Memorization), should also bring about pupils originality and use of ideas, and their ability to think and apply the knowledge and skills already learnt. It is noted here that evaluation as an integral part of the instructional process involves three steps. These are i. Identifying and defining the intended outcomes. ii. Constructing or selecting tests and other evaluation tools relevant to the specified outcomes, and iii. Using the evaluation results to improve learning and teaching. More so, evaluation is a continuous process. It is essential in all fields of teaching and learning activity where judgment needs to be made. All evaluation devices/instruments should be valid and reliable. They are valid when they measure what they aim to measure, and they are reliable when they produce consistent results over time. The teacher as an evaluator should be impartial as much as possible. He should try to avoid personal prejudices. All evaluation instruments should take into account the practical problems of administering and marking of the responses i.e. the instruments should be convenient to administer and clear to the pupils. The pupils’ responses should be easy to mark. Educational evaluation should be well planned in advance and should be carried out continuously, periodically and at least each term. Innovations Brought About in the Evaluation Technique of the Nigerian Educational System There are some faults that can be identified in the evaluation techniques used before, which through the efforts of the educational evaluators, have been corrected or perfected. The evaluation technique used before was the one-shot or final, end-of-term or year or session examination. This technique had served as a great ‘threat’ to the students, resulting in students’ cheating, memorizing notes and carrying out premature search for question papers in a bid to pass. Students who passed the end of the year examination through memorization are tagged brilliant while those who failed either as a result of initial problems or due to lack of proper guide are regarded as being dull. Efforts have greatly been made to see that students’ progress in school which has been neglected before is adequately monitored. The problems of the student in specific intellectual task which are not detected until late before are now easily detected. The one shot end-of-term examination technique which has been given undue publicity in schools, leading to tension in the students, have been greatly de-emphasized due to progressive monitoring of students’ achievement, during the term or session and the introduction of continuous assessment method. Great efforts are now been made by evaluators to de-emphasize consideration tor certificate only in job placement but to consider also the skill and interest of individuals in the job. In the previous evaluation technique used, the students’ assessment is usually not conducted in a systematic way. Assignments given to students are not always marked or graded. Students are given class test to keep them busy when the teacher is not around or when the lesson is not prepared for. The introduction of continuous assessment in all schools has had a tremendous impact in the gradual if not total elimination of these lapses. The use of diagnostic evaluation in determining the entry level or educational background of the pupils has helped considerably in checking various problems associated with mass admission of students. Previously, undue emphasis had been given to the cognitive achievement of the students at the expense of the affective and psychomotor domains. Now intensive efforts are in progress to evaluate the students in both. The educational evaluators are making tireless efforts to see to the complete eradication of all problems hi students’ assessment that can lead to examination malpractices. The Purpose of Measurement and Evaluation The main purposes of measurement and evaluation are: i. Placement of student, which involves bringing students appropriately in the learning sequence and classification or streaming of students according to ability or subjects. ii. Selecting the students for courses – general, professional, technical, commercial etc. iii. Certification: This helps to certify that a student has achieved a particular level of performance. iv. Stimulating learning: this can be motivation of the student or teacher, providing feedback, suggesting suitable practice etc. v. Improving teaching: by helping to review the effectiveness of teaching arrangements. vi. For research purposes. vii. For guidance and counseling services. viii. For modification of the curriculum purposes. ix. For the purpose of selecting students for employment x. For modification of teaching methods. xi. For the purposes of promotions to the student. xii. For reporting students progress to their parents. xiii. For the awards of scholarship and merit awards. xiv. For the admission of students into educational institutions. xv. For the maintenance of students. Educational evaluation provides adequate and effective feedback on students’ achievement not only in the cognitive area, but also hi the areas of interest and manipulative skill. It provides feed-back from students to the teacher about the effect of the teacher’s teaching method. It also provides feedback from the teachers to the parents about their ward’s performance. It provides feed-back from school administrators to the policy makers to determine the success of the programme. Continual educational evaluation provides valuable information about the pupils’ progress and comparison with other pupils in the class. Adequate educational evaluation also acts as an incentive to pupils’ studies. The test, examination and evaluation devices stimulate pupils’ interest and enable them to make, greater efforts. Without the use of evaluation devices, most pupils will not take their learning seriously. The use of such evaluation devices as observational techniques, assignments, continuous assessment and projects prevents one-short examinations which can lead to excessive memorization, cramming, unhealthy competition, and the complete neglect of other non-measurable aims of education. Educational evaluation provides pupils record of attainment which can be used for selection for further education, for placement into class or job, and for guidance and counselling purposes. Evaluation of pupils’ progress provides a valuable source material for educational research. Data on pupils’ achievements can help research workers and teachers to identify important educational problems in schools and provide solutions which will help in the improvement of the quality of education. Role of Agencies of Evaluation In Educational Development. Some of the agencies of educational evaluation in Nigeria are: West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Teachers Institute (NTI), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEM), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Colleges of Education, Technical Colleges, Polytechnics and Universities. The government, through the Nigerian Educational Research Council (NERC) reforms the national educational policy and objectives, with the aim of designing new curricula for the various levels of the educational system. The West African Examination Council controls all forms of educational development and evaluation of the school certificate or general certificate ordinary and advance levels. WAEC is the curriculum planner, developer and evaluator. The teachers are the implementors. WAEC designs the syllabus for the various subjects offered at various levels of secondary education each year. It is on the syllabus that the teachers based their scheme of work, their specific objectives and their lesson plans. At the end of duration of the course WAEC organizes assessment examinations for school certificate and general certificate (OIL & A/L). It prepares a general time-table, appoint supervisors for the conduct of the examinations, and appoint experienced markers to mark the answer scripts, collate the marks, carry out the analysis of the results to determine the grade to which each student’s mark falls, In Nigeria, the WAEC result is the standard eligibility result, qualifying each candidate for further studies or for job selection and placement. National Teachers Institute: Â  Carries out similar functions as WAEC but is concerned with Teachers Grade II certificate only. Recently it has got involved in the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) Sandwich programme. National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEM): The board conducts, assesses and controls all forms of examinations involving technical colleges and institutes of education throughout the nation. It has its headquarters in Benin. The function of the board is similar to that of WAEC. In addition to basic sciences, they also examine all subjects in technical education, social studies and English language. The result obtained here can be used for further studies or job placements. Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB): It represents the transitional agency from the secondary to the tertiary institutions such as the colleges of Education, Polytechnics and Universities. Its role is to set common entrance examination questions in all subjects, for all candidates seeking admission into higher institutions. Candidates with good passes in advance level papers or NCE are offered direct admission to the Universities of their choice. Conclusion and Recommendations In general, those practitioners in the educational system are most of the times interested in ascertaining the outputs of the educational programme. Output is counted in terms of test results which are naturally expressed in quantitative indices such as scores or marks. Test, which is a device, an instrument or a tool consisting of a set of tasks or questions, is used to obtain the results. Test can be in the form of pen and paper examination, assignments, practical etc. The process of administering this test is called testing. But an act of measurement is done when we award marks to an answer paper or assignment. So measurement gives the individual’s ability in numerical indices of scores i.e. measurement is quantitative. Assessment can be seen as the engine that drives and shapes learning, rather than simply an end of term examination that grades and reports performance. Evaluation is expressed in qualitative indices such as good, excellent pass or fail. Value judgment is therefore attached to the measurement. Evaluation can be placement, formative, diagnostic or summative REFERENCES Cronbach, L. J. (1960); Essentials of psychological testing (2nd edition), New York: Harper. Obimba, F.U. (1989); Fundamental of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology. Owerri, Totan Pub. Ltd. Paul, L. D. (1976); Handbook of Academic Evaluation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Ohuche, R.O. and Akeju, S.A. (1977); Testing and Evaluation in Education. Lagos: African Educational Resources (AER) STRAIDE Handbook (2002); Assessment and Evaluation in Distance Education. New Delhi: A Publication of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Tuchman, B.W. (1975); Measuring Educational Outcomes Fundamental of Testing. Atlanta: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich inc.

Education and Auditory Work Hand

My learning style involves all three visual, auditory, and tactile. Using combinations of all three of these learning styles increases my chances of learning and remembering. I find that reading and studying before a test helps me a lot, as well as taking notes and listening to my teachers during class's. It is also every important to me to reduce stress before I learn. Being a visual learner I learn by reading questions and answers, watching demonstrations and presentations. I find that underlining in a different color test information I am ble to retain more information visually, also using tools improves the ability to recall more information complete. I can benefit from being an auditory learner by watching videos and participating in group discussions, using word association to remember facts and lines. I also sometimes need to hear information and read out loud to learn, it is sometimes easier for me to listen to somebody talk then for me to read it myself. Also being a tactile learner i find that sometimes it is easier to learn by drawing pictures nd brainstorming using mind maps, it helps to study with others and take field trips. Hands on experience is a good way of learning and remembering. Visual and auditory work hand in hand, you can hear something and with a picture or a diagram you can also see it, giving you a better chance of understanding it. Being visual and tactile watching someone else do it and explaining it such as a teacher is also very effective. Using auditory and tactile hands on experience has always helped me, if I have done it once with y hands, talked about it I will be able to do it again. So when learning I find it easier to use more than just one style at a time. In combination any two styles make it more understandable and easier to remember. When learning and all three styles are used I have the best chance for remembering it because if I can recall one of the things such as what a teacher said or what a teacher was doing, or what I was doing I should be able to remember the rest of the answers to the questions.

Why are non-English Speaking students mistakenly being placed in Assignment

Why are non-English Speaking students mistakenly being placed in special eduction classes - Assignment Example ciation, most linguists now believe that the greatest contributor to second language acquisition is the social environment and pressures this encompasses. As a result, children will experience language acquisition at varying degrees of proficiency according to family circumstances. Things such as use of language in the home environment, access to television and the internet, and the level of outside classroom speaking practice the students partake in are all factors that contribute to their success in school. Perhaps too much emphasis has been placed on sequential acquisition of language, viewing it in the same regards as math or science skills, with the result the student’s second-language deficiencies being mistakenly labeled learning disabilities. Another possible instance is that of the student’s academic ability being obscured by their language ability. As sociolinguistic studies will attest, there is a connection between grammatical usage and the perception of competence and intelligence. What educators are interpreting as incompetence are actually higher forms of cognitive functioning. For instance, a student may display poor grammatical formulations in an essay, but exhibit exceptional analytic, research, or communicative competence. Teacher’s with an untrained eye for these traits are mistakenly labeling these students as learning disabled, because of their language mishaps, when higher level cognitive functioning is taking place. This is a form of linguistic imperialism that should be resisted in

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

Essay - Assignment Example The decision by the New Plymouth District Council to bring to an end the water fluoridation is seen as thetermination of the practice in New Zealand. According to Mary Byrne of the anti-fluoride group, the Fluoride Action Network New Zealand, the New Plymouth District Council decision could bring a domino effect to other councils leading to the chemicals rejection (Stare, 1990). Fluoride, an ionic compound, contains the fluorine components. Fluoride, naturally found component in most of the rocks in New Zealand and worldwide, is the single most reactive element in water. Approximately 90 percent of the fluoride components added to the municipal water supplies come from the chemicals known as silicofluorides. The silicofluorides chemicals production is from the by-products of the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers. In most of New Zealand’s District Councils, fluoride is added to the municipal water supplies at the concentration of about one part per million or even slightly below. Fluoride concentrations occurring in surface waters depend on location, but concentrations are low, and in most cases do not exceed 0.3 ppm. Groundwater can however contain much higher concentration levels. Fluoride should not be included to the water supplied by district councils to the residents of cities and towns in New Zealand. A move by New Plymouth District Council is welcome and should act as a precedent to other district councils in New Zealand. Proponents of fluoridation argue that the fluoride helps by binding to tooth enamel. Enamel is primarily composed of hydroxylapatite; a crystal made up of phosphorus, calcium, oxygen and hydrogen. By replacement of hydroxyl molecule on hydroxylapatite, the resistance of the tooth to acidity attacks from bacteria will increase because of the fluoride components (Wagner, 1993). The proponents have however been

Buyer Behaviour Analysis - The Psychology of Buying Coursework

Buyer Behaviour Analysis - The Psychology of Buying - Coursework Example It is therefore important to understand how they arrive at a decision to purchase in order for a marketer to build an offering that would attract them. This paper focuses on how psychological factors; motivation, perception, learning and attitude could influence purchasing decision of luxury cars. A motive can be defined as the internal energizing force that directs individual’s activities towards achieving a goal or satisfying a need. Actions are however affected by several motives thus marketers’ ability to identify these motives forms the basis of developing a successful marketing mix. Motivation is the internal force that reorients our behaviour towards the decision making process and purchasing behaviour. According toYalch& Brand (1996, p.406), once an individual recognizes that they have a need, there is normal a state of tension existing that drives the consumer to achieving the goal by eliminating the need and reducing the tension. In this regard, it is important to note that only unmet needs motivates an individual and once they are eliminated there could only be another motivation emanating from another need. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs identifies five levels of needs that are likely to determine the level of hierarchy the consumers are and determine what motivates their purchases. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, purchasing behaviour is mainly driven by the lowest need that has not been met by a buyer. The five primary areas of needs identified by Maslow model are physiological, safety and security, love and belongingness, self esteem and finally self actualization. This model postulates that as the needs of consumers are met in the first level say physiological, they move towards the next and so on (Lester, 2013 p.15). In this model, consumer buyer decisions are motivated by one of the 5 needs level in their hierarchy. In this regard, ability of a marketer to appeal to one of five motivational

Student debt management and student budgeting Research Paper

Student debt management and student budgeting - Research Paper Example Rising inflationary pressure and skyrocketing tuition fees are expected to make the situation worse. There is an overwhelming need to allow students to deal with debt management and budgeting in order to make the most out of an educational career. This memo delineates various online sources to help students with their debt and budget management. Online sources analyzed for this task have been assessed under three different suitability criteria – ease of understanding, ease of navigation and relevance to fiscal management. Ease of understanding is included the primary criteria since all students may not be able to comprehend fiscal language well. Ease of navigation is the secondary criteria since finding the right resource at the right time to deal with a fiscal management problem is essential to student debt and budget management. Relevance to fiscal management is the tertiary criteria since myriad material is available online but only some websites offer true fiscal management techniques. CanLearn covers all aspects of educational financing including secondary and post-secondary education. The information presented on CanLearn is specific to the Canadian educational scenario. Information included covers various methods of educational financing including financial aid, scholarships and student loans. CanLearn covers various aspects of student loan financing and repayment in detail though the language is a little advanced. In contrast, Debt 101 presents a simple interface coupled with direct and to the point articles. The information covered on Debt 101 uses simplified language that covers basic as well as advanced student fiscal management topics. This ensures that the information presented on Debt 101 appeals to simple as well as advanced student debt managers. In addition to student loans, Debt 101 offers budgeting tips and techniques that are arranged in a simple interface. This adds to

Reincarnation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reincarnation - Essay Example Reincarnation appears to have caught the thoughts of many and the notion receives frequent mentions in popular books, feature films and popular music.( Stevenson, 37) Discussion Written by Doctor Jim B. Tucker the book ‘Life before life’ is a scientific analysis of kids’ memories of former lives. The book brings forth an overview of over forty years of reincarnation investigation which was done at the â€Å"University of Virginia division of personality studies†. in addition the book also deliberates over birth defects and birthmarks that look like those of a departed person who is recognized in a child. Doctor Jim is an apprentice of the late Doctor Ian Stevenson who back in the 1960’s started printing case studies of kids who remembered alleged previous life memoirs. From then on Dr. Tucker, Dr. Stevenson and their associates have put together an incomparable number of study cases in which young kids usually between age 2 and 8 spontaneously analyz ed experiences and memoirs of a post presence. The kids often delivered an extensive amount of evidence which included places and specific names from an alleged past life, birthmarks and facts of certain events from that life to back up the idea that a part of their awareness have somehow remained intact and have been passed on from a previous life to another. The cases became more captivating when a certain personality of a supposed past incarnation is successfully discovered normally by the child, family or neighbors. Dr. Tucker brings forth his findings clearly and systematically all the way through the book, for example in a specific chapter he would begin by summarizing a specific sequence of kid s’ cases with a similar character, e.g. occurrence of a birthmark on the kid that resemble to injuries of the kids’ previous character or even existence of printed records describing a kids reports that are dated earlier than the kids’ supposed previous character i s recognized after thoroughly outlining the cases, he goes further to discuss the possible substitute explanations to reincarnation for those cases (ordinary explanations which include faulty memory, fraud, coincidence or paranormal explanation e.g. possession) and then he further goes to conclude if reincarnation offers the most convincing explanation for each individual case. He takes the reader on a universal voyage into regions of the globe with hugely differing views on reincarnation, into homes infiltrated by widely-differing socio-economic conditions and into the lives of kids with very diverse stories. Nevertheless, his assumption that reincarnation as he describes is the most conceivable explanation for most of precise cases and definitely in the frame of cases as a whole, remains unwavering all through the book. Of tuckers In most of Doctor Tuckers cases, the amount of material supposedly recalled by the kid in question is quite amazing. in one certain case, Doctor Tucker tells of a kid from whom even before he was three years old began telling her life as a vendor of incense in a community approximately a hundred and forty five miles away. For 4 years she stated specific details about the life she had led as this gentleman including the exact type of incense he had sold (a type unavailable to and somewhat unknown in the township where that girl lived), the exact location where he lived, the identity of his mother, names of his wife and the

Intro to film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intro to film - Essay Example The film has massive usage of heroic characters. The film producer used such characters for thematic and interest purpose. The film technique or usage of heroic lead characters, demonstrates the change from communist ideology to multiculturalism. A significant memory-image in the film â€Å"How Green Was My Valley Says That† occurs in the last scene of the film. In this scene, Morgan’s family is having supper as they reflect the happy moments that they spent together. The scene is also crowned by a crescendo of the film’s theme song and voices of the Morgan’s family members. A scene whereby, Angharad watch Huw and Gruffyd as they disappear into the blooming flowers on the hillside follows. The battleship Potemkin belongs to the Montage movement. This movement began in 1924 and lasted until 1930. The explicit explanation of Russian history was the main characteristic of films produced under this movement. The strong political message and soviet philosophy in the film is the main characteristic that identifies it as a montage movement’s

Sears Goes Swingy for Tweens and Teens Term Paper

Sears Goes Swingy for Tweens and Teens - Term Paper Example A balanced market price was formed as a result of the implementation of the various strategies into use. Sears has invented diverse strategies to control shopping tendencies. It included rewards and grants into its system. It created a self image through various strategies, like the use of social net, leading to dynamic relationships within the society through partnership with other companies. Sears is an example of the firm that incorporates successful marketing activities into its operation. The company is working towards becoming an investment boulevard because of the high level of retail target it makes compared to other retail stores. Introduction Consumer behavior is an issue of concern amongst consumers and relevant authorities. Sears is the company that is constantly changing its advertising techniques to gratify the requirements of clients. The company targeted markets are teens, and the promotion systems the company uses are online and social network scenes. These technique s create awareness of the needed products that the firm offers to its targeted clients. This unit examines the images, commodities, and the marketing strategies used by Sears in the achievement of its objectives. 1 The image of the company immensely determines how a business is perceived amongst various concerned stakeholders. Stakeholders of a company comprise of individuals contributing the start-up capital, the purchasers of end products, and individuals affected by the company’s actions. Company’s image is what attracts clients to choose a business over other existing businesses providing the same products or services. â€Å"Do not Just Go Back. Arrive,† Arrive Lounge is an attractive site commonly associated with the teens. Sears had noticed a decrease in the purchasing trends of the products it produces, therefore, having invented the strategy â€Å"Don’t just Go Back. Arrive, â€Å"to help in augmenting the sales of its products by enticing the c lients to purchase from their departmental stores (Nickels, 1980). The partnership between Sears and social networking cites was aimed at improving the company’s image and increasing product sales of the company. Social network scenes serve as effective channels for reaching targeted markets in scenarios where the targeted market is composed of teens and tweens. The scenes also serve as interactive forums where a significant number of teenagers spend their time searching for new information or interacting with friends online. The choice by Sears to reach its targeted market via the social network scenes is of immense benefit to the company because it easily identifies with the client’s needs. The identification with the clients creates for the company an upstanding image leading to the development of brand loyalty by consumers (Hadden & Luce, 1923). 2 Sears offers diverse fashionable clothes to clients and to the wider targeted market. Consumer behavior in the purchase of the clothes is different amongst clients because of demographic features present in the society. Families prefer shopping for Sears’ clothes to other clothes produced by other companies. This because it offers descent clothes like maternity clothes that are relatively affordable and are designed according to an individual’s taste. Secondly, the company presents a range of clothes to Christmas shoppers. Families round the globe highly uphold festivities period, and Sears provides clothing solutions during these periods. The designs for

The process a person has to undergo to open a bank account Essay Example for Free

The process a person has to undergo to open a bank account Essay The bank will have in place a process that customers must have to follow to enable them open an account. This process involves various activities that the application must have to go through before a decision can be made to open an account. The initial process starts once the customer enters the Bank and speaks to a Customer Service Adviser about opening a new bank account. The adviser will asks the customer various questions in order to establish the customers banking needs. This enables the adviser to clarify what kind of account is more suitable for the customer. Since the customer does not know what kinds of bank accounts are available, the Customer Service Adviser enables this process to take place. Without the support of the adviser, the process of opening the account might have been more difficult and time consuming. The customer is also advised on the time duration it might take in the process of opening the account. The customer then has to fill in an application form which enables the process to move to the next stage. The customer can call on the adviser for assistance in filling out the form at any point in time. Once the form has been properly filled in, it is processed by the bank staff (using processing software on the computer by sending the information to a referencing agent to check if the applicant details are correct and for a credit check to find out if the customer has any adverse credit history. These are guides used by the bank to determine whether the information given by the applicant is true and to decide on credit facilities that might come with certain bank accounts). The information sent off is then verified and sent back to the bank. All the information sent are assigned scores using guides (software) that the bank has installed to make the process more efficient. Depending on the customers score, a suitable account would be recommended. A decision will then be taken in regards to the opening of the account and details of the account are entered into the computer. At this point of processing the account, some delays would be experienced while the adviser inputs the details of the new account into the computer. While this is being facilitated, the customer then receives details of his/her account. The customer leaves now as their input into the process of opening the bank account has been completed. The account details and customer information relevant to operating the account is then sent for printing to the card manufacturing company. The machinery, plastic and paper used in the process of manufacturing the relevant items for the bank enables the process of opening the account to be completed. The cheque book, card and pin number for use with the account are then mailed by the printing company to the banks customer or sent to their local branch for collection. Once the cheque book, card and pin are received by the customer, it enables the use of the bank account and without this, the operation of the account would be made more problematic. Volume looks at how many different jobs one person performs in the business. In a supermarket, each person works one station on a shift and rarely swaps during it unless it is extremely necessary. In some cases, there are enough people employed in the supermarket so that they only ever have to perform one duty during their time employed there. In the supermarket, there are sometimes 20 people working on the tills during the busy periods but often there are not this many people working in a bank at any one time. By having this high Volume, you will find that the each person will find their job extremely repetitive as it is all they perform all day long. In some cases, people will work behind a till for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for several years. This high repeatability often isnt appealing to a lot of people though. However, since people are performing the same tasks day in and day out, they become an expert in their area. This leads to highly specialized people in the supermarket which is good for the business. In a bank, there are normally two or three people who deal with the individuals bank accounts, and processing cash transactions, and then there is one person who deals with opening bank accounts, another working on loans, and someone possibly dealing with mortgages. This low volume of staff means that if anyone is sick, then the other staff will be required to cover the area for the duration. If you work in a bank, your position is often changed to where you are required most so you need to be multi-skilled and have good knowledge of the job. Variety looks at the degree in which the business responds to different customer requirements. A supermarket would have high variety as they order in a wide variety of products, made by different brands and sometimes of different ethnic origin to appeal to a wide variety of tastes. This means that the supermarket is flexible about what it orders, in order to meet the needs of the customer. A bank has very low variety in terms of the accounts they offer. They have their standard set of accounts such as Flex account Savings and ISA but there are few variations off the standard model. 90% of people who go into the bank to open up a savings account will leave with the same account. These standardised accounts make the whole process of opening up a bank account very routine and so the staff working there could do it with their eyes closed. Variation In Demand is how much demand changes over a period of time. In a bank, the accounts very rarely change. The main changes to them are the interest rates but this is usually determined by the government and so changes are infrequent. This keeps the bank in a routine, and also proves them to be very predictable in what they offer to the customer. This means that it doesnt matter when an individual opens a bank account as it will almost always be the same. In a supermarket however, there are seasonal changes constantly. They cater for all of the holidays that occur over the year, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, Summer Holidays and Halloween. They need to order in the seasonal goods in advance to the holiday so that it entices people to buy them early. They can also adjust their ordering to meet customer demand, i. e. if the store holds a Buy One Get One Free offer on a particular popular product, then they know that they are going to sell a lot of it therefore they will adjust their ordering accordingly. After the promotion finishes, it is highly unlikely that they will continue to sell the same numbers so they will reduce the amount ordered. Visibility relates to where the process is carried out. In a bank, you see very little of the processes being carried out in front of you therefore there is low visibility. Credit Checks are done online by an independent company, cards and chequebooks are manufactured in another place altogether, Money is taken from you and put into a till and your account credited electronically. Sometimes, especially if you are paying in a cheque, there is a time lag between processing your transaction and seeing the results. It can take up to a week to send out new cards, new chequebooks, or new PIN numbers if you lose them and so this could be problematic for the consumer, as they may not have access to any money during that period of time. In a supermarket though, you see quite a few processes occurring in front of you. You can see people continuously stacking up shelves to ensure there is food available for the customer and you see your food being processed through the tills. This leads to low waiting tolerance however, and the consumer always wants their product immediately and often voices their dissatisfaction if they are unable to get exactly what they want. On the Deli counter, you can see your choice of meat being cut exactly how you want it to be and wrapped for you, and in some supermarkets, you can even choose for someone to make your own personal pizza for you. In order to offer these services, there needs to be good customer service skills in place so that any questions regarding anything in the store can be answered if needed. Company success relies heavily on consumer satisfaction and so the store must ensure that the shelves are full, that there are a wide range of products on offer, and that customer service skills are excellent. By offering all of these things, the supermarket can ensure good satisfaction and repeat business.