Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 120

Essay Example He also helps the composers connect their creative and innovative ideas with the need of the audience for musical freshness and beauty. The various types of classical music are played free of charge with the major goal of building talents. The article made me reflect on and think about a number of things as far as talent development is concerned. Firstly, it gave me a picture of the university as a place that is not only meant for academic excellence but also a place to nurture talents in other fields. This is contrary to the misconception held by many that the university involves serious study with no play. It is quite interesting that the Music Today Festival is organized and coordinated by one of the university’s senior professors, Kyr Robert. It also made me reflect on the importance of music, especially for professional means. Considering that the professor heads the music department in the university, it seems that there are institutions that value music not only as a way of entertainment but also as a profession. I also came to understand that there are students studying music as a course, just for professional purpose. This made me remember one question that is very common, especially among journalists, when interviewing musicians; â€Å"apart from music, what else do you do?† many people have taken music not as a career but as a way of entertainment. The article is a good source to teach the society on the importance of music not only as a means of entertainment but also as a profession. In other words, the article mainly triggers thoughts about the importance of music in the society as well as the role of music as a way of relaxation to enable students study better. One thing that surprised me is that the festival is not only unique in the University of Oregon alone. Several other institutions place a high value on music and use it as a way of nurturing talents and enhancing

AmeriCares Association, Strengths and Weakness Assignment

AmeriCares Association, Strengths and Weakness - Assignment Example The organization has strength associated with the ability to assemble product donations from the private sector, thereby determining the urgent needs and requesting financial support for sending aid through airlift or ocean cargo. The organization has health and welfare professionals who are deployed in impecunious areas faced by a need for medical support. Moreover, Americares applies a model, which is tested, cost-effective and driven by experience (AmeriCares, 2013). On the other hand, they have high accessibility to donated medicines and medical supplies offered by corporate partners, through an established and trusted network. In this case, they use locally based hospitals and healthcare providers in different places of the world. Contributions made by supporters of the organization around the world have a led to a positive influence on their operations in different parts of the world. The only weakness identified in the organization relates to the inability to access people suffering in some counties due to lack of information, high level of insecurity or lack of necessary capacity (AmeriCares, 2013). Most of the time, the organization is not able to access some these location due to lack of the necessary information that can assist in accessing these areas. Opportunities of Americare can be associated with long-standing commitment of fiscal responsibility that is always attributed to high rankings from the Charity Navigator for their success (AmeriCares, 2013). This provides a platform that facilitates recognition by different parties from different places of the world with the same interest in assisting people in needs. Therefore, the organization is able to acquire trust in terms of management of funds donated by corporate partners. In fact, the organization has used the donations as an opportunity to reflect their commitment towards support programs, whereby ninety-eight of their expenses are directly channeled to relief for people in need, while two percent is consumed through administrative costs.        Ã‚  

Construction Project for Denver International Airport

Construction Project for Denver International Airport 1. Project Concept and Strategy 1.1 Is the decision to build a new airport at Denver a strategically sound decision? Give Reasons for your opinion. Yes, the decision to build a new airport at Denver is a strategically sound one. This is because Denvers Stapleton Airport was experiencing brisk growth prior to deregulations. Deregulation meant open market competition that would bring air travel within the reach of average person thereby increasing air traffic at the Stapleton Airport. Moreover, the regional council of governments predicted that the airport would not be able to handle the necessary traffic by 2000. Stapleton could have been modernized giving it a lease of life for another five years but Denvers remote location meant that the insufficient capacity problem would still persest and could cause city to lose valuable business. Denver Stapleton airport was also one of the major connecting airports and was ranked in top ten worst air traffic bottlenecks in United States. These bottlenecks at Denver affected other airports as it had only two runways located very closely to each other which in bad weather were considered one. The new airport was meant to solve this bottleneck problem for Denver city. Stapleton airport was affected by high velocity winds which resulted in operations being shifted from one direction to the other, this procedure wasted 45 minutes. The new airport would bring this time to 4 minutes thereby saving cost and time for the airport. 1.2 Using the Gray and Larsons model, write a simple project scope statement for DIA project. Project Objective: Constructing a world class international airport that would serve the needs of the city for at least fifty to sixty years with an estimated cost of $1.7 billon. Deliverables:- Building a world class international airport for Denver City. Ten 12,000 runways and two 16,000 foot runway. 327 foot FAA air traffic control and a base building structure. Runway/taxiway lighting system. Creation of a buffer zone to protect surrounding residents. Building three concourses with 72 airline gates and 18 commuter gates. DCV baggage handling system for the entire airport. Milestones:- Passing of Airport Referendum. Land Selection and other legal clearance Airport Design Project Management teams selection Construction of the runways Construction of airport facilities Opening Day Technical Requirements:- Continuos noise monitoring and limits on business which are in direct competition with the existing business in Adams County. Prohibiting residential development within 60 LDN noise level. Translucent tent-like roof for the Airport. Runway/taxiway lighting system. All three concourses to provide 70 airline gates and 18 commuter gates. Fully automated baggage handling system. Limits and exclusions:- BAE would design and build the automated baggage handling system. U.S. West Communication Services was responsible for Airports telephone services. The City of Denver, Greiner Engineering and Morrison-Kundse Engineering will comprise the project management team and will be responsible for information management, managing costs, scheduled coordination and administration of the contractors. New Orleans Architectural firm responsible for creating standards that would unify the whole airport and to do the schematics and design development of the main terminal. Review with customer:- Review is to be done with the Denver City Council. 2. Project define and planning 2.1 Did the project plan explain how risk management, and any changes in the project would be controlled? Should this be part of the plan? Give reasons. DIA project plan did not explain how risk management or any other changes in the project would be controlled. Project Management teams often use Statement of work (SWO) or Project Charter to establish risk limits (Larson Gray, 2011). DIA case study does not provide any evidence as to the use of these documents to establish risk and to manage them. Risk are always perceived to have negative impact but they can also be positive (Turbit, 2011). Therefore, Risk management is very crucial part in project planing as the future is uncertain and what risk management can do is to identify all the potential risk and assign contingence plan for the same. Turbit (2011), has given the basic steps for risk management, these are:- Risk Identification Risks Quantification Risk Response Risk Monitoring and control By following these simple steps, risks can be identified and appropriate contingencies plans for them same can be made. These steps if followed correctly justify the importance of risk management in project management. 2.2 How many times has the DIA project changed the scope and what are the effects of scope changes on project management? Project Scope is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, Service, or result with the specified features and functions.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Going by this definition the scope of DIA has been changed seven times thereby extending the deadline of the project. These are as follows:- In March 1993:- Denver Mayor announced that opening would be postponed to December of 1993. The effect of this is the rise in cost form $1.7 billion to $2.7 billion. In October 1993:- Opening date pushed to March 1994. Delay associated with problems in Baggage handling system and fire- security system. The effect of this was the projects cost rising to $3.1 billion and upset cargo carriers. In December 1993:- Due to incomplete baggage handling system another delay announced. In February 1994:- Opening rescheduled to May 1994 due to the incomplete baggage handling system. In May 1994:- Another delay in opening and Hiring of two German experts who had worked on a similar baggage handling system at Frankfurt airport. In August 1994:- Indefinite delay in opening announced, manual backup baggage handling system. The effect is, rising costs now estimated at over $4 billion. The effect of scope changes on project management is scope creep and rising costs. DIA project managers have incorporate so many small changes giving rise to so much additional work that the budget in hand and the time needed to accomplish the project is now insufficient resulting in seven delays in project completion. 2.3 Recommend a suitable project organisation structure for DIA project and justify your choice. The project organisation structure that I would recommend for DIA project is Organising projects as dedicated teams. Following are the reasons for my choice:- Simple: As the project teams comprise of specialists the functional organisations working is not affected by the formation of such project organisational structures (Larson Gray, 2011). If this structure was adopted the City of Denver would have been kept out of Project management and only the specialist team would have been responsible for the project Fast: It has been observed that dedicates teams accomplish the projects much more quickly as every team members effort is dedicated to one common goal (Larson Gray, 2011). In DIA this was not the case as three Project Management teams were coordinating there effort. Staff adhesion and high motivation: Team members show high degree of motivation, adhesion and responsibility as everyone in the team is working for a common goals (Larson Gray, 2011). If DIA had followed this structure the responsibility and ownership of task would have been much easier. Cross Functional Integration: People with different skill set work towards the optimisation of project even if it is not there area of expertise (Larson Gray, 2011). Freedom to project manager: compared to other to form of project organisation structure the project manager has comparatively more freedom to control their team resulting in better and quicker decision making (Larson Gray, 2011). 3. Communication and Stakeholder Management 3.1 Project communications were apparently poor. Give examples of two communication mishaps and justify your answer. According to Larson Gray (2011) Communication is one of the main components in project management. However, in DIAs case the communication was rather poor. Examples of two communication mishaps are as follows:- No inputs from the two major Airlines in the design phase: 80% of the flights at Stapleton airport were controlled by United and Continental yet no inputs or their involvement in design face was never sought. This was a major communication mishap, because these two would be the major controllers of flights at the new Denver International Airport. Failure to get their vital input in the design phase was a failure on the part of PMT. DCV system: Good project communication plan would have told the team member about the issues and risks associated with this complex baggage handling system. But communication in regards to DCA system was a diaster in project management perspective. The terminal construction had already begun and no one knew what the design of DCV system was. No one was aware of the risks and complexity associated with such system. This is an instance of a major failure of communication in the DIA project. 3.2 Why was Unites Airline opposed to expansion of Front Range Airport? UPS wanted to build a regional hub at the Front Range Airport. This required federal funds. If FAA granted funds for UPS regional hub then a commercial airlines could not be prohibited from setting up shops in the Front Range Airport. As costs were already fixed the threat to United Airlines was from the low cost carriers who would have operated at Front Range Airport. If this happened it would reduce the passenger traffic at DIA which equated to less profit for United Airlines. To curb UPS ambitions United filed a lawsuit. Moreover, it also secured the passenger number at the new DIA airport. 3.3 Why is Stakeholder involvement so critical? Briefly explain four main stakeholders interests or objectives? Stakeholders includes everyone whose interest the project affects negatively or positively (Larson Gray, 2011). This definition of the stakeholder makes it very clear how important stakeholders are to a project. If the Project Manager does not understand how different stakeholders affect the project it can de detrimental for the projects completion. Therefore, it is important to manage their dependency on the project. Four main stakeholders and their interest / objectives Adams County: Adam County is interested in DIA because it is being constructed in their area. Their objective is to ensure the interests and safety of people living in its area. This is being done by creating buffer zones, keeping the noise pollution down and the limits on new business opening as a consequence of DIAs construction. New Orleans-based architectural firm:- One of the contractors of DIA. Their objectives are:- Creating standards for the unification of the airport and taking the design of main terminal through design development and schematics. BAE:- One of the contractors for DIA. Their objectives are to design and build the baggage handling system within two years. U.S. West Communication Services: Is one of the contractors in the DIA project. They are responsible for the telephone services of DIA. 4. Risk Management 4.1 What appears to be the single greatest risk in the decision to build DIA-discuss? The single greatest risk in the decision to building DIA is that the construction of the Airport began 1989 without a signal contract being signed between DIA and the two major airlines, Continental and United. These two airlines were the main stakeholder in the project and were likely to control 80% of the flights at DIA as they did in Stapleton airport, they convinced DIA to make some substantial changes and addition to the originally plans. DIA did oblige to their request but without any agreement between them. If the two later on decided not to operate at DIA they could not be forced to do so as they were not legally bound by any contracts. 4.2 How did DIA project handle risk? Was this effective? What might they have done? DIA only did the preliminary risk analysis which involved only three areas, these were weather, cost and human resources. Apart form this no risks analysis were done. These risks analysis were not that effective as it was seen in cost risk analysis where the bids for construction were received below citys own estimates. DIA project did not have a proper risk management programme. After Mr Waddles left DIA to join State of Colorado the project was without a full-time risk manager for several months and eventually a replacement was found in Molly Austin Flaherty. To sum up whatever endeavours DIA undertook in regards to risk management were unsuccessful. To manage risks more effectively DIA should have undertaken the risk management process. This process includes four steps, these are (Larson Gray, 2011):- Risk Identification Risk Assessment Risk Response Development Risk Response Control If DIA had diligently followed these steps it would have been in a far better position to identify all the risk involved with the project and develop appropriate responses for them. 5. Contracting Services 5.1 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Construction began without a signed agreement from Continental and United Airlinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?- why is a formal signed agreement necessary in this project? Continental and United were the main stakeholders in the DIA project; together both controlled 80% of the flights at the Stapleton airport. Given their existing presence in the Denver air space it was given that they would be the major users of the new DIA airport. Denver City Council should have formally involved Continental and United in the DIA project as they could have given vital inputs at the design phase and should have sign an agreement with them. Instead, DIA project planners made important changes to the original design on suggestions made by the two airlines. Moreover, these changes were made to the original plan without any contract being signed between them and the two airlines. DIA should have signed agreement with both of them as this would have lead to the sharing of risk that would have risen through the changes proposed by the two airlines (Larson Gray, 2011). The commitment would also have assured a commitment of maintaining a certain number of flights at the new DIA airport. However, DIA opted for not having any agreement with the two airlines. This left DIA venerable, as both could reduce their operations at the new DIA airport or withdraw from the new venture altogether. This meant that the very companies on whose base the billion dollar investment was planned and constructed could walk out at will as they were not binded by any formal agreements. 5.2 What contractors were involved in the DIA project and briefly explain two main contractors performances. The Contractors that were involved in the DIA project are:- Morrision-Knudseb Engineering (MKE):- Contracted for Project Management Team. Greiner Engineering: Contracted for Project Management Team. New Orleans Based Architecture firm: Contracted for creating unified standards for airport and taking the design of main terminal through schematics and design developments. BAE: Contracted for the design and building of baggage handling system. US West Communication Services: Contracted for DIAs telephone services. Union Pacific: Contracting for designing track for the train that would connect Denver to DIA. Bechtel Corporation: Responsible for transferring of airport facilities from Stapleton airport to DIA, this has to be done over night. Two Main Contractors Performance:- BAE: They were responsible for designing and building the automated baggage handing system. BAE was brought into the project after 3 years of construction and still BAE miscalculated the time it needed to complete the project and committed to do the entire work in two years which otherwise would have taken eight years. BAE miscalculated the work involved which resulted in the baggage handling system not being delivered at the required time. To sum up BAEs performance was unsatisfactory for this project. Greiner Engineering: Was one of the firms in the project management team (PMT). The PMT did not perform satisfactorily. Things such as risk management, project communication biding, to name few, were not performed satisfactorily by the PMT. 5.3 Did the project follow a systematic bid process? What might they have done? No, the project did not follow a systematic bid process. Case litterateur does give some evidence in regards to the biding process but it is not strong enough to classify the biding process as systematic. There is an instance in case where the New Orleans based architecture firm was selected on their past experience with Denver city council thereby providing further evidence that a systematic biding process was not followed. DIA should have followed the RFP process. The first step the Project manager should have done was to develop the Request of Proposal (RFP) for the project or for parts of it (Larson Gray, 2011). Then the RFP/s should have been announced to the outside contractors with adequate capabilities and expertise (Larson Gray, 2011). The next step would have sees the interested contractors submitting written bids which would have been followed by DIA project mangers selecting the bid that best meet the requirements of RFP/s (Larson Gray, 2011). This process would have ended by providing explanations to contractors as to why they were not selected (Larson Gray, 2011). 6. Progress Monitoring and Control 6.1 Identify the main causes of schedule variation in DIA project. Numbers of causes were associated with the scheduled variation of the DIA project but the main ones are listed as follows:- DCV baggage handling system: according to case literature the baggage handling system delayed the DIA project four times. Two specialists were hired from Germany to iron out the problems with the baggage handling system at the DIA airport. Ultimately a back manual system was financed by DIA authorities as the reliability and completion of the automated system could not be guaranteed by the contactors. Frequent Scope Changes: The scope of project was changed on a number of occasions, though the changes were minor but their aggregated effects on the project cost and its completion were immense. Communication Plan: The project did not have an effective communication plan. There was no communication between the different stakeholders resulting in scheduled variation of DIA project. Risk Management planning: The project managers of DIA did not evaluate the risks involved with the project nor did they develop an effective communication plan to tackle the identified risks. This also led to the scheduled variation of the project. 6.2 What would you have done when you saw that the project would not meet its schedule? If I saw that the project would not meet its deadline I would have done the following things:- Conducted an in-process Audit: In-process audit would have been used by me if I saw the project would not meet its deadline. This is because it allows for corrective actions if the situation changes keeping a strong focus on project advancement and performance (Larson Gray, 2011). This would also help to identify constraints in the project. Implementing Integrated Cost/schedule system: The major problems that the builders of DIA had were the costs, time and communication in the project which were beyond their control. According to Larson Gray (2011), as time passes the ability to influence a particular cost decreases. Therefore, a well integrated cost/schedule system will be able to keep the costs and schedule in check through timely reporting of the same. This will also aid in better decision making as all the stakeholders will be provided with the same facts and figures. Resource levelling: DIA is a time constraint project. I can use resource levelling technique to delay non-critical activities and concentrate on critical ones (Larson Gray, 2011). 7. Project Closeout 7.1 Highlight the major areas of strength in the management of this project. DIA project did not have much to speak about, but a couple of things do deserve to be mentioned, these are:- Even though DIA failed to involved all the stakeholders effectively into the project. They however, did work efficiently with stakeholders, whom they were involved with, to resolve their queries and objections. The original Airport design had four concourses but DIA project planners had efficient WBS to build only three concourses in order to keep the budget down. 7.2 The DIA project was evidently not well run. Why? Give reasons for your opinion. Yes, the DIA project was evidently not well run. The reasons are as follows:- Inadequate Risk Management: Though DIA project managers did under take risk management it was not sufficient for the project. The risk management process failed to identify critical risks which resulted in waste of time and money to cope up with such risks. Moreover, the project was without a full time Risk Manger for several months. Lack of effective communication plan: DIA did not have a well executed communication plan. Consistent and timely information about the project was not given to various stakeholders. This effected the decision making process as everyone was not on the same wave length. Scope creep: DIA project managers kept on including small tasks without realising the impact it was having on the scope of the project resulting in increased costs. 7.3 Overall, What lessons have you learnt from DIA project? The lessons learnt from the DIA project are as follows:- Involvement of main stakeholders: It is very important and crucial for a projects success to involve the main stakeholders in the project. DIA made a blunder by not involving the Continental and United in the design phase ad these two could have given vital inputs in the design phase. Moreover, their involvement in the inception stage would have meant that the later changes made by each of them to the design would not have happened. Importance of Risk Management Process:- A proper well execute risk management process is very important for an project as it prepares and makes the management about all the risk that may arise and equips them with options to tackle the risks as and when they may arise. Importance of communication plan: A well executed communication plan delivers consistent information to the various stakeholders thereby increasing the speed of decision making process. Setting realistic goals: Management should take into account the budget and the time before setting up any goals. Prime example in the case is of the automated baggage handling system. The system involved eight years of work but the contractor committed to complete it in two years which was not a realistic goal. Proper biding process should be followed: A proper RFP process should be followed. This given equal chance for all the external contractors to participate in the biding process and ensures that deserving contractors will be selected which ultimately will be beneficial for the project.

Huckleberry Finn ( Huck Finn ) :: Essays Papers

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn is a loveable timeless classic written by one of the great American authors, Mark Twain. A companion to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn offers fans a closer look into the life of Huck Finn. Although the novel has similar characters and settings, the theme and moral dilemmas are much stronger than those we saw in Tom Sawyer. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn holds a darker side that Tom Sawyer did. In this piece we see an abused Huck try to figure out where he belongs in the world. He sets off on a journey to see if he can find peace and happiness away from the bonds of society. He is tested many times and in the end Huck ends up back where he started and he gives into the social norms of his time. Huck is a good person, unfortunately society has many different views than him and this difference in opinions pushed Huck away from society. Although Huck has the right views on many things such as Jim, he can not stand up to the pressure of society at this young age. Mark Twain uses the native southern dialect once again to enhance the quality of the setting for his readers. His use of dialogue is frequent and allows the reader to forget that they are in fact reading rather than sitting in on someone’s conversation. Twains’ use of vivid detail and wit amuse and delight readers. Mark Twain used the novel Huckleberry Finn to express a person’s own perceptions in the regards to rejection from civilization. Twain also uses Huckleberry to portray how society might not always be the best way for a person to live, rather choosing their own beliefs and ideas to live by. For example, Huckleberry doesn’t see the use of money and is satisfied with life with out money. Therefore the life of a drifter suits him just fine. There are also many other themes carried out through out the novel.

Australian initial public offers

Australia has been characterized by a varying trend in its initial public offerings between the years 2003-2007.  Ã‚   There has been continued initial under-pricing in the daily capital market and high under performance of the initial public offers.Broadly, Australian IPO’s have greatly been influenced by the government activities with its intention to promote public policy. Through out the time, the government has been in strict control of the IPO’s in an attempt streamline the economic activities.Australia has gone under rapid changes in the IPO’s of companies which were initially owned by the state. Over the years since 2003 the government has restructured the IPO’s to focus a more economic growth. In nearly all the cases, firms owned by the government have been inefficient in comparison with those of the private sector.(Prasad, Vozikis) Since 2003, Australia has been faced with the problem of under pricing, which has been using the two-tiered pricin g system allowing, retail investor to only pay a set fixed price as they leave investors from other institutions to form the price through bidding. This is an attempt to allow small sized investors with varied investment inefficiencies to have a chance of a probable investment in the capital. Over the years, since 2003, small retail investors are let to have their IPO order first before the bigger institutional investors.For both of the public and state companies, IPO’s have generally being under priced. There two basic reasons behind this, majority been market asymmetry and any possible government regulation to attain political interests.The variability of the under pricing is highly determined by the size of the issue, in which case high issues may imply lower under pricing statements due possible lower rates of subscription.   (Suchard, Woo, 2003) However, to the government, under pricing of IPO’s is a strategy geared toward immediate increase in the value to the gains from offer.   The IPO’s under pricing are structured towards achieving various economic policies.For every IPO, the domestic investors are mostly favored than private investors. This is an attribute that the government uses to minimize the cash outflow by the foreign investors. This is through the recognition attached to the capital outflows from economies. Through under pricing, investors are normally able to buy many shares which in turn give relatively high returns after the offer high returns.Market asymmetry is the major reason behind under pricing of IPO’s, where investors with large investment schemes are more informed about the market information to the new market share issue than small marginalized investors.To cater for this, the government regulation is to ensure that these marginalized investors are given the first favor.   In the purchase of the shares, huge investor would really buy them in bulk form at their under price situation.To the small i nvestors, they will always benefit from receiving the new shares at a desirable chance. (O’Flynn, 2004)   Other investment entities like bankers may be in fear of possible litigation that may be accompanied by significant decline of the government to developed credibility in polices concerning market orientations.   Therefore, under pricing is a silent attempt by the government to control the prevailing status of the economy through adjustments in the capital markets.From the manner in which the IPO’s are released, they actually help to safeguard the weak and less developed investor from the activity of big investors who are well informed about the market system.Basically, timing of IPO’s Australia is normally scheduled when the government wants to release some of its ownership it has in its public owned companies.   Its basic intention is to create income to finance different government structures.   Either, IPO’s by the privately owned companies is done when the companies want to acquire income from the public for further expansion of its activities.   For both cases, initial public offers have showed almost the same characteristic in their under pricing characteristics. (Gharghori, Chen, Robert, 2006)In its use of two-tiered pricing system, the government helps to keep the low informed investors from any exploitation from the big markets.The subject of finance has struck the activities of many scholar who have been extensively been under the study of the influence of corporate finance and any market blocks that affect sourcing of this finance by different sized incomes in the investment concept by firms. It has been seen that, this concept is determined by the liquidity value of these forms in Australia.Such liquidity is basically determined by different firm’s context that pertains their cash flows.   Investment depends on this ratio, where firms subject to a high liquidity a faced with higher investment than those with low liquidities whose investment is relatively low. (Prasad, Vozikis, Ariff, 2006)However, under pricing in Australia has been a vote to the subject of asymmetry and possible imperfections that exists in the market system. On understanding the rigidities that exists in the market system, the Australian government has undertaken to ensure under pricing to safe guard the interest of the low investor in the understanding of the market structures that work in favor of the big investors. (O’Flynn, 2005)Therefore, for the Australian government, it’s rational to undertake such activity since it basically leads capital development for the low income investors.ReferenceSuchard, J& Woo, L (2003) Are Hot Markets Driven by Hot Resource Shares or    Hot Commodities? Australian Journal of Management, Vol. 28Prasad, D, Vozikis, G & Ariff, M (2006) Government Public Policy, Regulatory Intervention and Their Impact on IPO Under pricing. Journal of small Business Management , Vol. 44O’Flynn, J (2004) Australian Capital Territory: January to June 2004. The Australian   Journal of Politics and History, Vol. 50

Focault- Discipline and Punish

Table of Contents Introduction2 Brief Overview2 Main arguments of discipline and Punish4 †¢Power4 †¢Prisons as part of civilisation4 †¢Punishment5 †¢The Body and Soul5 Evaluation of Discipline and Punish6 Conclusion7 ? Introduction: M. Foucault. 1975. Discipline and Punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Random House Inc. Below is an in depth book review of Discipline and Punish, The Birth of the Prison. The author who compiled the analysis on this is Michel Foucault, whom provided enlightenment on many different aspects of sociology and philosophy- many which are still immensely relevant to societies today.I will be using this book review to channel an outline of Foucault’s work, viewpoints and purposes as such. Along with this I will include my personal critique of my literary experience of the book. I will consider important factors of logic, coherence, evidence, expertise and originality. These specified fields are all crucial to useful and meaningf ul sociological theories. In brief, my aim is to clarify the argument presented by Foucault and provide my account of its validity. Brief Overview:Michel Foucault’s, Discipline and Punish, provides the reader of the historical timeline which ends at the institution of imprisonment that most modern societies have adopted today. The just of his intentions for the book are presented in the first section. Much of this includes his aim which is to trace the penal system back to its roots in order to define and identify its significance in the present. These roots begin in the seventeenth century. Here public torture and execution prevailed as the form of punishment.As aspects of society changed, especially power structures, so did this system of punishment- much like in an evolutionary manner. At this point it is probably important to highlight that a better alternative to the concept of the penal timeline, is rather a cycle- thus making visible the state it was in at birth and pl otting its journey to maturity. The model of the prison is not yet a comprehendible result or solution in the beginning sections. Punishments were rather inhumane and gruesome methods of torture and execution which were â€Å"public spectacles†. The point of this was the solidification of the power figures amongst their people.This notion of power stirred amongst people who were ultimately discontent with the inefficiency of these structures. Whilst attempting to resolve this, a â€Å"reform† was created. Sadly, the preoccupation of the reform blinded people to the inhumanity, suffering and pain being brought upon these so-called criminals. Following this we see the transition to private and secret forms of punishment which was cut-off from public visibility. Coercive practices resulted in submissive criminals, with credit given to new techniques established by adapting and altering out-dated methods.The separation and the shift of focus from the body to the soul were early defining factors of the modern system. These also form an immensely important theme that is recurrent throughout the book. Foucault’s theoretical cycle of the penal system then moves on to preparation of criminals for their lives after incarceration and attempts to reintroduce these people back into society as respectable civilians. Considering noted critiques on this section, it remains unclear as to whether this was successful at its time of occurrence.An issue arising along with this stage is that of judgement- who is qualified to pass judgement and what standards are used for comparison? Finally, in the closing sections of the book we reach the heart of the book where we see the introduction of the first prison- highly influenced by the panoptic, and the penultimate stage which Foucault dates February 22, 1840. This date marks the success of the first carceral system which â€Å"perfected† the failures and short-comings of all the previous phases. Currently t his institution has embedded itself in society and is the back-bone of order, laws and norms.The fact that at the moment there is no better alternatives to this, offers the assumption that the modern penal system has succeeded or human sciences are still advancing in order to further evolve current organisation- hence my prior labelling of this phase the â€Å"penultimate†. I feel that the purpose of the book is to inform the reader on a long list of various facets relating to sociology. These include the carceral system, the classical period, discipline, norms, power and penalty- to mention only a few. These all have significant importance in human sciences.My reaction or evaluation will conclude that Foucault has cleverly addressed establishments in sociology whilst using the penal system as a commonality to provide a practical sample- which in turn favours the readers understanding of sociology in general. The audience for this theoretical work is most likely to target sch olars of human sciences and philosophy. It may also spark interests of inquiries into the classical period given its historical flair. Main arguments of Discipline and Punish: Power: Foucault uses power as a central point of reference for punishing.All or most aspects of the book revolve around this, or come back to it at a point. According to him, as power structures change, so does the penal system. It adapts to requirements. In the section of the book titled â€Å"Body of the condemned†, we see how torture and punishment was used to reinforce the power of the sovereign. Knowledge is also important to power, because it is seen as the support for power. Those with greater knowledge, tend to yield or accumulate greater power. â€Å"Power produces knowledge . . . power and knowledge directly imply one another . . . here is no power relation without the correlative constitution of a field of knowledge, nor any knowledge that does not presuppose and constitute at the same time power relations. † Foucault describes that power can range from modifying ones self-control to complete coercion. It is embedded in society and all relations. As long as power relations exist, there will always be inherent authority and control. Here we see the effects of the â€Å"power to judge†. Those possessing power and knowledge use their controls on society to establish norms whereby they evaluate the actions of people.Post-judgement and examination incarceration is determined by how far the perpetrator strays from â€Å"normal†. In Foucault’s opinion, society has allowed sceptic officials to take the power to judge- people such as medical professionals, psychologists, etc. In essence, it is argued that power controls society, yet it cannot be controlled. Prison as a part of civilisation: It is emphasised time and time again throughout the book that the prison is part of society and the two cannot be separated. Prison is based on the judicial system (laws and rules governing our daily lives), which is embedded and weaved into society.Often Foucault mentions prisons along with institutions such as schools, hospitals and armies etc. They are all organised using the same framework of control and judgement- which emphasizes his stance that it is a part of society. The penal system of prison is too far incorporated into our lives to deny the connection which exists. Punishment: â€Å"The art of punishing must rest on a whole technology of representation† Foucault argues that each punishment should teach a lesson. It should not only take away a delinquents liberty and freedom, it should make them work, keep them active, enforce good habits.Prior to this, the penalty should correlate with the crime committed in order to create relevance. It need not be an attempt to control the body, but rather install regulation directed at achieving a goal- such as reintegration into community after incarceration. Discipline must be continuo us and must take the role of coercion. This we see from Foucault that it can be done using timetables and ranks- here differentiation of various series is important. The Body and Soul: Punishment was initially assigned to the physical body using methods of torture for example.In addition to this, the body could be used to stir fear amongst people during public executions. The body and the visible are reinforcing factors. However, with the changes in power, the body is no longer a target of direct punishment. The body now, as Foucault says, is supervised, controlled and organised. Although the body is replaced with the soul, it will still share an adjacent bond with punishment. Foucault argues that he produces a â€Å"genealogical account for the modern soul†- meaning that he intends to identify where the soul originated. There are two factors to this process in Discipline and Punish.First it is what is revised above- is the soul takes over from the body as the directive for p unishment. Secondly, the shift from body to soul and the new methods of discipline have ultimately generated or created the soul. Unlike the body, there are no limits to how you can penalize the soul. Evaluation of Discipline and Punish: Firstly, I will start by commenting on the extent to which the book achieves its desired goal. Foucault initially wanted to provide a power of speech for those confined to a discourse. This includes those who do not have the knowledge required to accumulate power.I feel that their issues have been brought to light, however the reasons exceeding this is for the purpose of gaining insight into the functioning of society in sociological terms. This does not give attention to their possibly ambiguous labelling of being â€Å"abnormal†. They have purely become a vessel to greater knowledge. Foucault rejected norms as positive determinants. It was seen by him as negative and oppressive. The unusual phenomenon is not a natural process instinctually followed by humans. Foucault strived to highlight this irregularity through his book.However, when commenting on individuality (which opposes norms) there is an inherent negative notion towards the concept. What then, if against norms and individuality, does Foucault conceptualise as an alternative? This is a possible indication of an argument which is incoherent and conflicting. Ultimately, as we see towards Foucault’s final sections, that his intention was not to ignite conspiracy and doubt in the minds if the reader regarding the prison, but rather to create understanding of its operation and the factors contributing to its processes.This was done with the utmost success. The historical context and actual case studies used provide valid and convincing confirmation. His views at this point are adequately supported. In terms of possibilities suggested by the book Foucault leaves us with the premise that the carceral system is very destructive in more ways than one. He also p rovides a new way for us to think of this system- as strong and highly powerful. We see that Foucault is optimistic toward change- thus highlighting prospective opportunities for the carceral system as well as the human sciences as a whole.The subject matter of the book has to this day not received further research- nothing of such extensive significance. Foucault has successfully provided us with a realistic account into the historical penal system and at the same time addressed common topics in sociology- much like his section on individualism. The material available to us regarding the penitentiary system tends to focus on specific regions or prisons-commonly those in the United States. A book which is well versed on the issue at hand is Situational Prison Control by Richard Hartley. However, it still does not divulge into the history and â€Å"birth† of the phenomenon.Foucault successfully identified a research topic which was in need of attention and enlightenment. I fee l an aspect Foucault neglected to focus on was future summations for the penal system and all it entails. We do not see any of his suggestions for possible ways forward or resolutions to the problems that exist. He has a tendency throughout the book, to highlight many downfalls yet no solutions. A few of personal proposals would have stimulated the readers thinking, ultimately opening doors for advancement for progress. Along with the above, I feel there is a lot that needs to be said on social divides amongst society.Foucault briefly touches on classes and social and economic situation but almost immediately redirected the train of thought. There is more to various demographics which influence all institutions throughout societies. Foucault failed to report on this and the way that their changes affect power relations and ultimately the penal system. Some of these demographics may include gender, age, race and ethnicity. Conclusion: I constantly referred back to specific criteria w hen considering the main arguments or theories of Discipline and Punish. This was helpful in concluding my opinion on whether Foucault has successfully argued his theory.My review concludes that a good research problem was identified and stated. The causes of this were also made apparent to the reader. Foucault carefully planned the way he would take-on this topic by testifying clear and concise points of view. At times it felt as though the argument was not coherent in that it would jump from one context to another. However, the main arguments and themes- such as the body and the soul were constantly referred to. This redeemed coherence with a well tied together and relevant argument- especially in the last section where everything is positioned into place.The evidence Foucault uses to elaborate his views and arguments are sufficient to enhance the validity of his study and specific arguments. He often provides actual occurrences in history- much like his introduction reporting on Damien’s execution in 1757 and referring to the opening of Mettray prison colony. Extensive referencing has been made available allowing further validation of facts. This in turn contributes to his ability to convince and persuade. Michel Foucault most definitely possessed the right attributes and expertise to work on this research problem.He had extensive training and experience in human sciences, from which he created his career. His direct encounters with the penal systems and prisons also granted him access to knowledge not readily available to others- thus making his expertise relative to the issue at hand. Keeping the short-comings I have mentioned in mind, I feel that Foucault’s arguments are valid and they all have been researched to the point where its concrete significance cannot be denied. Their continued relevance over the years supports my conclusion and it has in general been presented in a clear and concise manner.

What Does it Mean to be Well Educated by Alfie Kohn essays

What Does it Mean to be Well Educated by Alfie Kohn essays What Does it Mean to be Well Educated by Alfie Kohn is a book designed to open ones eyes to some of the pitfalls and wonders of becoming a teacher. In the book Kohn blueprints his understanding of the system of education in America. Kohn, who is well known for his disregard for the standardized school test revisits that testing system in the book, however he also deal with many other issues that have recently been faced by the educational system of the country. How educators dealt with the weeks and months following 9/11 as well as school violence are two of the recent school issues that he takes on. According to Kohn the corporate business world has turned education of the nations children into a multi billion dollar enterprise. The companies that have jumped on the band wagon sell standardized test instruments, materials to prepare for them and millions off dollars in sales for books on how to teach to the test. He constructs a road map for the reader in which the link between such businesses and more global social concerns can be clearly illuminated. Kohn illustrates throughout the book his belief that the return to student focus in education is the way to improve the countrys public school setting. Kohn believes that using student interest, using more subjective methods to assess progress and not depending on a single standardized testing system are all steps that will improve the quality of education and ultimately the outcome of American society. Kohn does not offer any exacting alternatives which is the point of the whole book. As much as he rails against being forced to measure a students progress through the use of a standardized test, he puts his money where his mouth is by refusing to outline an alternative. He instead, challenges the readers to come up with alternative and pleasing methods by which to measure a students progress. Kohns dislike of all narrowly confined ways ...

Why the Causes of Terrorism Are so Hard to Identify

Why the Causes of Terrorism Are so Hard to Identify The causes of terrorism seem almost impossible for anyone to define. Heres why: they change over time. Listen to terrorists in different periods and youll hear different explanations. Then, listen to scholars who explain terrorism. Their ideas change over time too, as new trends in academic thinking take hold. Many writers begin statements about the causes of terrorism as if terrorism were a scientific phenomenon whose characteristics are fixed for all time, like the causes of a disease, or the causes of rock formations. Terrorism isnt a natural phenomenon though. It is the name given by people about other peoples actions in the social world. Both terrorists and terrorisms explainers are influenced by dominant trends in political and scholarly thought. Terrorists- people who threaten or use violence against civilians with the hope of changing the status quo- perceive the status quo in ways that accord with the era they live in. People who explain terrorism are also influenced by prominent trends in their professions. These trends change over time. Viewing Trends in Terrorism Will Help Solve It Viewing terrorism as the extreme edge of mainstream trends helps us understand, and thus seek solutions, to it. When we view terrorists as evil or beyond explanation, we are inaccurate and unhelpful. We cannot solve an evil. We can only live fearfully in its shadow. Even if it is uncomfortable to think of people who do terrible things to innocent people as part of our same world, I believe it is important to try. You will see in the list below that people who have chosen terrorism in the last century have been influenced by the same broad trends that we all have. The difference is, they chose violence as a response. 1920s - 1930s: Socialism In the early 20th century, terrorists justified violence in the name of anarchism, socialism, and communism. Socialism was becoming a dominant way for many people to explain the political and economic injustice they saw developing in capitalist societies, and for defining a solution. Millions of people expressed their commitment to a socialist future without violence, but a small number of people in the world thought violence was necessary. 1950s - 1980s: Nationalism In the 1950s through 1980s, terrorist violence tended to have a nationalist component. Terrorist violence in these years reflected the post-World War II trend in which previously suppressed populations committed violence against states that had not given them a voice in the political process. Algerian terrorism against French rule; Basque violence against the Spanish state; Kurdish actions against Turkey; the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican militants in the United States all sought a version of independence from oppressive rule. Scholars in this period began seeking to understand terrorism in psychological terms. They wanted to understand what motivated individual terrorists. This related to the rise of psychology and psychiatry in other related realms, such as criminal justice. The 1980s - Today: Religious Justifications In the 1980s and 1990s, terrorism began to appear in the repertoire of right-wing, neo-Nazi or neo-fascist, racist groups. Like the terrorist actors that preceded them, these violent groups reflected the extreme edge of a broader and not-necessarily-violent backlash against developments during the civil rights era. White, Western European or American men, in particular, grew fearful of a world beginning to grant recognition, political rights, economic franchise and freedom of movement (in the form of immigration) to ethnic minorities and women, who might seem to be taking their jobs and position. In Europe and the United States, as well as elsewhere, the 1980s represented a time when the welfare state had expanded in the United States and Europe, the agitation of the civil rights movement had produced results, and globalization, in the form of multi-national corporations, had gotten underway, producing economic dislocation among many who depended on manufacturing for a living. Timothy McVeighs bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, the most lethal terrorist attack in the U.S. until the 9/11 attacks, exemplified this trend. In the Middle East, a similar swing toward conservatism was taking hold in the 1980s and 1990s, although it had a different face than it did in Western democracies. The secular, socialist framework that had been dominant the world over- -from Cuba to Chicago to Cairo-- faded after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the death in 1970 of Egyptian President Gamal Abd-Al Nasser. The failure in the 1967 war was a big blow- it disillusioned Arabs about the entire era of Arab socialism. Economic dislocations because of the Gulf War in the 1990s caused many Palestinian, Egyptian and other men working in the Persian Gulf to lose their jobs. When they returned home, they found women had assumed their roles in households and jobs. Religious conservatism, including the idea that women should be modest and not work, took hold in this atmosphere. In this way, both West and East saw a rise in fundamentalism in the 1990s. Terrorism scholars began to notice this rise in religious language and sensibility in terrorism as well. The Japanese Aum Shinrikyo, Islamic Jihad in Egypt, and groups such as the Army of God in the United States were willing to use religion to justify violence. Religion is the primary way that terrorism is explained today. Future: Environment New terrorism forms and new explanations are underway, however. Special interest terrorism is used to describe people and groups who commit violence on behalf of a very specific cause. These are often environmental in nature. Some predict the rise of green terrorism in Europeviolent sabotage on behalf of environmental policy.  Animal rights  activists have also revealed a fringe violent edge. Just as in earlier eras, these forms of violence mimic the dominant concerns of our time across the political spectrum.

How Important Are AP Scores for College Admissions?

As college admissions become increasingly competitive, any possible edge can seem like it might be the difference between a coveted acceptance or a dreaded rejection. Grades, standardized test scores, extracurriculars, and more may all seem to be the highest of stakes. When it comes to AP classes, you might wonder if this is the factor that might tip the college admissions game in your favor. In this post, we’ll outline just how important your AP classes are in college admissions, and the answer may surprise you. Do admissions committees even look at your scores? How much do they actually matter? To learn more, keep reading. Typically, AP scores don’t go on your college application. Because they don’t count towards your GPA or become a part of your transcript, there isn’t actually any place on the application where they are required. There is, however, a place on most college applications where you have the option to report these scores yourself. This process is called self-reporting. In this section, you can self-report any scores from standardized testing, including AP scores. To learn more about this section of your college application, see our post Do I Have to Self-Report My Test Scores? . Since this section of your application is optional, you do not have to report AP scores. In fact, if you choose to do so, you can also choose specifically which scores you submit. If you want to report AP scores, you should definitely report tests on which you received a five. While a single score of five on an AP exam isn’t necessarily impressive, a string of fives might help to set you apart from other candidates. A score of four is less impressive, but it still shows a relatively strong understanding of the material. Fours are usually neither favorable nor unfavorable when you report them on an application. At less selective schools, a variety of fours and fives will set you apart. Scores of three or lower aren’t usually enough to give you any edge in admissions and might even have an negative impact on your application. These are best left off when you self-report your scores. Ultimately, you should be prepared for the admissions committee to review everything on your college application, including self-reported scores. While they may not be as important as other required portions of the application, they may sometimes serve to set you apart when admissions committees need to choose between two or more applicants. The weight given to your AP scores will vary depending on a number of different factors. In general though, you should not consider AP scores as a make it or break it factor in your admissions process. That being said, at very selective schools, admissions committees always receive applicants from far more qualified students than they have places for in the incoming class. Due to this high level of competition, successful applicants will need to distinguish themselves in highly recognizable ways. A series of perfect AP scores can be one example of your academic prowess. If you are applying to a general studies program, you can show your ability to achieve across multiple subject areas by scoring well on a variety of AP exams. Likewise, if you’re applying to a specialized program or under a specific major, you can demonstrate your level of knowledge in that field by submitting the corresponding AP scores. On the other hand, if you choose to report scores that are unimpressive, they could just as easily count against you in a competitive admissions process. Given the choice between two similar candidates, an admissions committee is probably more likely to select those who submit high scores or no scores at all, rather than students who submit dismal ones. Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. AP test scores are not generally a highly weighted component of your college application, but if you choose to submit them, they will generally be reviewed by the admissions committee. The amount of weight they are given will vary by school, and in general the more competitive the admissions process is, the more these smaller factors might play a role in distinguishing between similar candidates. Just because AP scores are not necessarily a primary factor on college applications does not mean that AP classes are unimportant. In fact, at many selective colleges, you need to take the most challenging courses available at your high school in order to be considered a serious applicant. In many cases this means taking AP classes if they are available at your school. While your score on the AP exam might not be reported, your grade in these classes definitely is, and your GPA is generally a primary factor on your college application. Remember, AP classes are designed to be college level work, so your performance in them is indicative of your ability to perform at the college level. Furthermore, if you score well on your AP exams, you may be able to earn college credit or place out of lower level prerequisites when you start college. These policies vary from school to school but in general you can them available on the school website. Specific regulations can be found here . To learn more about AP classes and course selection in general, see these posts: If you want to ensure that you’re on track for college admissions success or would like some help with class selection, consider the benefits of the Near Peer Mentorship Program , which provides access to practical advice on topics from college admissions to career aspirations, all from successful college students.

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example The study happens at three levels; individual level, group level and organization level. At these levels, we are able to deduct the individual differences, perceptions, and behaviors on how workers relate and how the organization is run (Bauer & Erdogan 40). This brings about role clarity, information passage and performance feedback amongst the workforce. Organizational behavior can be spilt and studied under three different concepts, the organizational culture, diversity and communication. Organizational culture is a set of given assumptions, values, norms, beliefs and work language habits that lead the employees on appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in the organization. It strongly influences how employees conduct themselves, dress, work, behave and also the organization’s performance. Hence, it controls and manages employees’ behaviors while working. Often, it acts as a competitive advantage indicator; therefore, it gauges the competition between two different organizations. According to the different policies, set firms will perform differently and hence the difference in productivity, which brings different outputs and feedbacks. Organizational diversity is the understanding of similarities and differences in the workforce of the organization at its different departments with regard to gender, race, age, education, functional background and other characteristics. It mainly aims at enhancing the effectiveness of employees’ work regardless of whether male or female, the race, young or old, and field of work. Diversity brings about high creativity in decision making, service to customer, better understanding, satisfied workforce and high performance in marketing of the products (Bauer & Erdogan 44). As a result, this leads to high company performance, more creative and satisfied workforce that may also lead to the globalization of the business through widening of the business to different parts of the world despite the people who live

Materials management processes in Boeing PowerPoint Presentation

Materials management processes in Boeing - PowerPoint Presentation Example Since the suppliers are scattered internationally, they bring the materials from all over the world. Some of Boeing’s major suppliers are found in the following countries; Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Middle East, South Korea, Spain and Turkey. The company uses over  $60 billion  to buy goods and services from its suppliers and partners (Boeing Web). Boeing schedules over 4,000 deliveries to clients daily (Dale Web). The company sorts problems arising from natural disasters by delivering the daily services and support in a manner that satisfies the expectations of its customers. Accidents and damages due to bad weather or delays are compensated duly as per the company’s policies. Operations are never stopped until the situation is declared a disaster. Material and financial damages are compensated duly as outlined in the company’s policies. Boeing’s supply chain is structured to offer solutions that enable customers maximize the value of their fleet. The company operates more efficiently while lowering costs. The company’s material management services comprise integrated materials management and a future supply chain service (Dale Web). Through these, clients can change materials manage ­ment responsibility to Boeing. Boeing then manages the combined supply chain. It gives a better service level for parts and more reliability to maintenance oper ­ations. Clients only purchase parts when they are given to maintenance or on a flight per hour. Integrated Materials Management also provides a method to measure and share benefits among airlines, suppliers, and Boeing. In 2013, the suppliers of Boeing from all over the globe generated over 60 % of the value of its products. The company’s global supply chain is dedicated to high quality and reliability and consistently offering high performance (Dale W eb). They help in the creation of a long-term competitive advantage, leading to

Is Online Education Good or Bad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Is Online Education Good or Bad - Essay Example As the essay stresses learning is a basic constituent in a person’s general personal as well as working life. In the past, students would attend ‘bricks and mortar’ classes to attain an education before entering the workforce. While this is still the main trend in the acquisition of education, the latter part of the 20th century has seen more students take advantage of courses that are offered online. There are many universities today that offer lectures online for students who may be unable to attend classes for one reason or another. There are also online based colleges that promise degrees for a much less price than traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions.  This discussion highlights that  the online courses offered by bricks-and-mortar institutions are, for the most part, genuine because they identify with the recognized universities that offer them. Moreover, there are the online-based universities that offer all their lectures online. Many of such ins titutions are not usually accredited. The online environment provides numerous opportunities for people situated in different parts of the world to be able to benefit from various educational courses. Indeed, its original objective was to provide a more cost-effective way for people without the financial resources required by traditional colleges to be able to benefit from a college education. Moreover, there are people who have established universities online that claim to offer courses to all people at cheaper prices than those of bricks-and-mortar universities. For most such institutions, the delivery of high quality education is not an important objective. There are different factors that illustrate concerns about such institutions. Some of these include: The Role of Commercialization in Online Education. Lectures from online-based institutions are not appropriate for students because these institutions are mainly concerned with benefiting from commercialization, and are, thus, quite self-serving (Anderson, 45). Even though it is not a fact that is admitted often by the chief academic officers of online-based universities, most officials of such institutions are mainly concerned with the bottom line. This is because they get rewarded for creating policies that result in higher enrollments, greater retention of registered students, and higher levels of success. According to Noble, â€Å"universities are aware that they can get and keep more students by offering online courses which are cheap in comparison to traditional classes†, (Noble, 26). This is why they charge more for the introduction of newer courses which they then add to the curriculum. So far, online education from online-based institutions is the fastest growing industry in the for-profit sector (Donaldson, Agra, Alshammari, Bailey, Bowdoin, Kendle, Nixon, and Wressell, 49). It has also been aggressively promoted by for-profit universities and colleges. It is marketed because it saves cos ts by delivering lessons to thousands of students simultaneously, thus decreasing instructional costs.

Breakthrough career aspiration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Breakthrough career aspiration - Research Paper Example This is by first being able to identify existing barriers to the medical practitioners of not being 100% compliant with the VAP bundle. Contrary to numerous researchers who normally concentrate on the patients by alleviating their pain first, my first step would be to deal with the practitioners’ case (Fitzpatrick & Kazer, 2012). This is because the patients’ relief in this research would only be realized if only the healthcare providers are able to comply effectively or 100% to VAP bundle. This is because my core aim in this pathfinding research will entail seeking absolute solution towards healthcare providers being able to comply 100% with VAP bundle (Koenig & Truwit, 2006). Hence, being able to decrease incidences of VAP complications and attain zero rate occurrences as per the medical theory (Koenig & Truwit, 2006). This will shun increasing of both the morbidity and mortality rates that are evident presently in the ICU, which I have witnessed all through my career . In addition, my research’s breakthrough will also aid in lessening days that an individual normally stays in the ICU. Consequently, this has prompted both the healthcare and caregivers incur substantial expenses during the patients’ prolonged hospitalization (Doyle, Fletcher, Carter, Blunt & Young, 2011). 2. The uniqueness of my pathfinding research The success of my pathfinding research will yield to numerous benefits especially in achieving zero VAP rate targets, which the  hospital organization has always anticipated to achieve (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). This is because Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) cases have always prompted to both the hospital facility and patients’ caregivers to incur untold expenses owing to prolonged stay in ICU. For example, statistics have confirmed that Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) mortality rates range between 24% and 76% despite the efficiency of medical practitioners (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). This is an alarming rate, which might trigger fear to patients or their caregivers especially when an ailing person develops VAP complications. Since studies reveal a higher mortality rate of 46% of VAP complications compared to 32% of the ventilated patients (Pneumatikos, Dragoumanis & Bouros, 2009). Therefore, this breakthrough will be remarkable in the medical field where besides decreasing mortality and morbidity rates, it will also relive patient’s pain. Besides, it will also lessen healthcare’s high expenses that are evident currently due to extended hospitalization. 3. Theoretical path that I took Behavior change theory In improving compliance to VAP bundle, the application of behavior change theory proved to be of significant importance where I utilized Prochaska and DiClementes’s change theory (Kritsonis, 2005). This theory offered the theoretical framework required to execute this change though it contends that people usually undergo di verse stages in realization of any transformational transition. According to Prochaska and DiClementes’ theory, intervention is essential in all its five stages to effect the required or anticipated change (Kritsonis, 2005). The initial stage entailed shifting people’s perception from precontemplation to contemplation via organizing educational programs. Precontemplation is where the people owing to their ignorance are

Othello, the Moor of Venice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Othello, the Moor of Venice - Essay Example Due to his complete trust of Iago, he failed to examine the situation and preferred to be moved by the intensity of his emotions, assuming a full thought of betrayal he didn’t attempt to seek basis on. On this note, one may find having momentary empathy over Othello’s condition in which he finds it truly painful to discover infidelity which he supposed had come so abruptly from the side of Desdemona. His ardent love for her brings to revelation the weakness of a character who has had so much to prove in terms of his skills as a Moorish general in the Venetian army and several other aspects which rightfully place him as a novel’s protagonist. Iago has been capable of executing his cunning, manipulative strategies to get into power without getting caught due to his intelligence and expertise as a high-ranking soldier that he managed to hold in secret the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. This makes Othello keep a considerable amount of confidence with Iago along with the other incidences in which the former was aided by him so it could never be in Othello’s mind to suspect Iago of deception turned against him. On the other hand, Othello instantly lacks trust and faith with his relationship with his love and has allowed desperation to ruin any wisdom in his reservation. He could have acted and moved with thought, considering his position and character, that there are sides to be heard, justice, and faith of a loved one who, by him, was unjustly fated. His unjustified reaction could have been suspended had he employed a meditative trait of a wise

Work is a theatre and every business is a stage. Discuss Outline

Work is a theatre and every business is a stage. Discuss - Outline Example e the reader with a discussion and analysis of this particular quote and the impacts and ramifications that it has with regards to the business world and the individual employee. Moreover, marketing theory and social psychological theory will be used a means of helping the reader to come to the understanding that even though certain processes and decisions may seem as second nature, there are theories and powerful matrices of â€Å"choice†/†behavior† that effect the way in which a person behaves within any given business engagement. Through understanding these â€Å"roles†, the reader can come to a more informed understanding with regards to the fact that theory plays a defining role in helping to shape these interactions and define these engagements. Whereas all of the theories that have been put forward area useful with regards to understanding human action, they must also be understood in terms of motivating roles that constrain and nearly require individuals to behave in certain predisposed manner. Although it is most certainly true that people have a free will and can exercise their own rational choice with regards to what roles they fulfill and what level of engagement they offer, the theories and approaches that have thus far been put forward provide help to underscore the fact that even decisions that are seemingly made â€Å"independently† are in fact constrained by powerful choice mechanisms that lie nearly outside the control of the individual within the business environment. By engaging with such a reality and understanding these dynamics more closely, the business leader can more effectively target their approach to appeal to these core determinants. Smith, W. K., Gonin, M., & Besharov, M. L. (2013). Managing Social-Business Tensions: A Review and Research Agenda for Social Enterprise.  Business Ethics Quarterly,  23(3), 407-442.

Othello, the Moor of Venice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Othello, the Moor of Venice - Essay Example Due to his complete trust of Iago, he failed to examine the situation and preferred to be moved by the intensity of his emotions, assuming a full thought of betrayal he didn’t attempt to seek basis on. On this note, one may find having momentary empathy over Othello’s condition in which he finds it truly painful to discover infidelity which he supposed had come so abruptly from the side of Desdemona. His ardent love for her brings to revelation the weakness of a character who has had so much to prove in terms of his skills as a Moorish general in the Venetian army and several other aspects which rightfully place him as a novel’s protagonist. Iago has been capable of executing his cunning, manipulative strategies to get into power without getting caught due to his intelligence and expertise as a high-ranking soldier that he managed to hold in secret the marriage between Othello and Desdemona. This makes Othello keep a considerable amount of confidence with Iago along with the other incidences in which the former was aided by him so it could never be in Othello’s mind to suspect Iago of deception turned against him. On the other hand, Othello instantly lacks trust and faith with his relationship with his love and has allowed desperation to ruin any wisdom in his reservation. He could have acted and moved with thought, considering his position and character, that there are sides to be heard, justice, and faith of a loved one who, by him, was unjustly fated. His unjustified reaction could have been suspended had he employed a meditative trait of a wise

Strategic Alliance Essay Example for Free

Strategic Alliance Essay The collaborations between companies have been one of the most critical changes in industrial field during the last three decades. Through outsourcing and taking off ‘non-core’ activities, corporate borders have been pulled back and large companies are increasingly cooperated with other companies to access resources and devote themselves to activities outside their own boundaries. Business cooperative relationship between companies is regarded as ‘hybrid’ organizational forms (Borys and Jemison, 1989; Powell. 987; Thorelli. 1986). In order to access more international market and reduce risks, the hybrid organizational forms are mainly realized by contractual agreement, strategic alliance and joint venture. Compared to some casual cooperative arrangements between companies, strategic alliance is refer to a long-term, substantial collaboration, which is ‘an agreement characterized by the commitment of two or more firms to achieve a shared goal entailing the pooling of their resources and activities’ (Teece. 1992, p. 19). It can be put on a continuum, where contractual agreement is on one end, characterizing low control and resource commitment, whilst the other end is joint venture, representing a high control and high resource commitment (Hill et al. 1990). Variety types of strategic alliances include shared new product development, supply chain partnerships, technical collaboration, outsourcing agreements, joint research projects, etc. In these days, strategic alliances are more and more important for firms to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the international market. Through cooperation rather than competition, firms can access knowledge and market resources over both firms, instead or acquiring them. It is not just costs and time saving, but also increasing the efficiency with which knowledge is utilized. Firms are entering into strategic alliances because of numerous factors. The rapid change in technology with high expenditures on RD, intensifying competitions, globalization and so on. Different companies have their own competitive advantages, which can be beneficial to other parties. Resources, especially technology and market information, can be shared by parties under strategic alliance. For example, Starbucks entered an alliance with Barnes and Nobles Bookstores in 1990s, to provide their in-house coffee service in their stores. Barnes and Nobles’ market resources has been utilized, resulting in Starbucks coffee being marketed into bookstores. As well as that, more customers were gained by Barnes and Nobles, thanks to the outstanding Starbucks coffee offered in store. Although theoretically, forming strategic alliances can bring immense benefits to companies and reduce the risks in projects, it is not rare to see problems in practice. Differences in cultural and language, control related problems, even the differences in cognizance can lead to failures. In this article, we will focus on not only on the increasing importance of strategic alliance in international market, but also the motives, benefits, related costs and limitations. Our group work is done in three parts. Part (A) Introduction and Literature Review is done by Jiaxing and Lily. Jiaxing gives the definition of strategic alliance, while Lily is responsible for literature research and critical review. Followed by the literature review, a case study will be given in part (B) by Xinrui, to demonstrate how the literature is confirm or disconfirmed by practice. In part (C), a brief conclusion of this topic will be given by Mehedi and come up with the forecast of trend and new topics in this area, based on Part (A), Part (B) and the further information collected by Kazi. Literature Review There are abundant studies trying to address the definition of strategic alliance. Based on resource-dependence theory (Pfeffer. 978) and the resource-based view of the firm (Penrose, 1957), some scholars (Van De Van and Walker, 1984; Rothaermel, 2001) have identified strategic alliances as a quest for resources. Also, a majority of researchers view the alliances’ priority objectivity as sharing of knowledge (Inkpen and Crosssan, 1995; Khanna et al. ,1998; Kale et al. , 2000), which is the organization learning perspective. As a result, alliance member seek to learn faster than other parties, trying to achieve a positive balance in the trade of knowledge, which is so called ‘Competition for Learning’ (Hamel, 1991). The number of strategic alliance has been increasing rapidly since late 1980s (Vissi, 1997). The following is an integration of our findings in literature. Motives of Alliance Formation In the article of Varadarajan and Cunningham (1995), motives for firms entering a strategic alliance is analysed: Globalization and intensified international competition: With the development of telecommunication and traffic, there is a major trend of globalization in the last few decades. More and more corporations are trying to break into foreign markets to widen their market. Strategic alliance is an efficient and effective way in gaining complementary resources from a foreign party and reduces risks. Remove barriers to enter new markets: In certain international markets, especially the developing ones, firms often have difficulties due to some domestic factors, such as government regulation and local parties’ resistance. By forming an alliance with local firms, the expansion can be realized more smoothly and the risk is reduced. Broaden product lines/ narrowing product line gap: Firms can be especially interested in finding another partner, when they are in lack of technology or not able to bear the high RD costs. Existing technology of partner can be utilized in a short timeframe and also costs-saving. In this way, their product lines can be broaden and the gap between product line can be narrowed. Enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing resources: each partner in strategic alliance should have their own competitive advantages, such as technology, market resources, local experiences, logistic systems, etc. y forming the alliances, these advantages can be shared by parties and making all of them more competitive than before. Extension and acquire new resources: Resource acquisition is an essential motive in formulation of strategic alliance. Manufacturing firms often enter into alliance to acquire RD resources; whilst technology companies is seeking to gain the market resources as much as possible. There are two forms of strategic alliances: market related and technology related (Vyas et al. 1995). In a mature market, it is often the case in which the market related alliances are more profitable. However technology, related alliance tend to be more beneficial for high-tech firms compared to others (Rai et al. 1996). Researches of Vyas et al (1995) show that synergy between the partners is the key factors to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. In order to know the synergy, a comprehensive understanding of the value that partners can bring to the alliance has to be acquired before entry. Also, a balance of control and contribution to the alliance need to be agreed to ensure the success and avoid conflict as much as possible. Limitations of Strategic Alliances When the needs of each partner are fulfilled, each party can benefit from the formation of strategic alliances. However, alliances are not without its problems. Due to numerous reasons, such as differences in cognizance, aims and resources, changes can be triggered. In some cases, projects with imbalanced benefits or control between parties can end up damaging the relationship of trust. In some cases strategic alliances broke up as a result. Usually the factors driving to a failure can be imbalanced control, unequal gains, differences in cultural values and antitrust charges. According to Day (1995), the liquidation cost of a strategic alliance can be one of the most expensive costs to a corporation. Even if the partnership remains, there are many factors thwarting the normal operations of the combined entity. One of the most important factors is the extensive time managers have to spend on communication, trust-building, and coordination. As it takes time for parties in a partnership to consolidate their internal network, both in terms of communication and interests groups, there always comes with the strategic alliances very time-consuming consolidation process. A manager has to first know the personnel he is supervising as well as his own supervisors, who are possibly from a totally different business culture. It takes time for managers to know whom they can trust and who trust them. Only based on trust can further coordination be performed. Another factor that affects the long-term value of the firms participating in the partnership is the clash of egos and company cultures. Say if Google once form a strategic alliance with Goldman Sachs, the investment bankers cannot easily forgo their perfectionism to Google’s relaxing and creative culture fostered for their wired-in programmers. While there is a possibility for two different business culture to combine and generate an even more unique and efficient business culture, in most cases the history and the effort invested to build the current corporate culture may be wasted; traditions are inferior in strategic alliances. Part B: There are many successful market related and technology related alliances taking place in contemporary market. From the successful examples contributed by Apple, Helett Packard and Disney, and Eli Lilly, we can see the sharing of sources in alliances facilitate breakthroughs in technology and revenue maximization in marketing. While most strategic alliances play a propelling role in pushing the business of parties in the partnership further, there are some offsets implicitly caused by the alliance strategy. The notorious WorldComs, Global Crossings, and Enron scandals offer us convenient examples in showing the unconfirmed part of strategic alliances. This part will first discuss the cases provided by Apple, Helett Packard and Disney, and Eli Lilly that show the confirmed side of the theories enclosed in the literature in this essay. Following the confirmed side is the unconfirmed side contributed by the scandals originated from WorldComs, Global Corssings, and Enron. White the iPad redefined personal computers and created and captured the tablet market, it the strategic alliance behind the scene that makes the popularity of iPad possible. Apple’s technology alliance with Clearwell makes the development of iPad much more efficient when these two firms jointly developed the eDiscovery Platform. The eDiscovery Platform is the electronic discovery software solution that enables enterprises, governments and law firms to manage legal, regulatory and investigative matters using a single application. Such platform makes it easy for orgaizations to cost effectively and defensibly solve real-world chanlleges from legal hold and collections through analysis, review and production. Such technological largely helped Apple to capture the market in large legal entities. Hewlett Packard and Disney exemplified their alliance as a long-standing partnership. Starting back in 1938, the alliance enabled Disney to rely on HP’s RD capability, which helped Disney out from the eight oscillators for sound design sold to Disney over 70 years ago to the most recent digital film making techniques offered by HP engineers to Disney’s Imagineers. Undoubtedly, the technology support to Disney makes it a dominant mass media firm. Furthermore, the business generated fruitful RD products and cash inflow for HP to march farther. As a pharmaceutical tycoon, Eli Lilly features as a powerful research partner for nearly a century. Its enormous contribution to Diabetes medicine saved multimillions people. Similar to most pharmaceutical companies, the multi-phases RD process outsources the firm’s research capability, legal resources, and capital. Eli Lilly was able to save the costs by seeking international partners, such as the Belgium-based company Galapagos, Canada’s BioMS medical group, and the Japanese Kyowa Hakko Kogyo. Its alliance with Galapagos fasten the development of treatments for osteoporosis; its cooperation with the Japanese firm determines that Lilly will have the exclusive license to sell the targeted cancer treatment in Japan; and the partnership with BioMS in a licensing and development agreement for a novel treatment for multiple sclerosis saved overall costs. These real world examples confirmed that strategic alliances provide an efficient way to research and develop new products, to save legal cost, and to capture the international market at faster speed. While the classical strategic alliances examples confirmed with the literature, there are notable failures caused by the shortcoming of strategic alliances. As the most notorious business scandals in this century, Enron and its alliance with Arthur Andersen bring a vivid example of how alliance help them avoid legitimately report their financial standings and gain illegal benefit from forfeiting financial statements. When the scandal was exposed to the media, both firms bankrupted in an instant, making the largest bankruptcy in the US history. Other the Enron scandal was the WorldCom forfeit their income statement when trying to incorporate Verizon and evolve to the largest telecommunications provider. When the US government launched an anti-trust suit, WorldCom collapsed immediately. The shared resources play a beneficial role in lower the fixed cost for parties in the strategic alliances. However, joint effort and resources also mean joint benefit, which can propel the corporations as well as ruin it. When there is a conflict of interests, the advantages brought by strategic alliances are harmful.

Adolescents Influence In Family Decision Making Social Work Essay

Adolescents Influence In Family Decision Making Social Work Essay Abstract This study examines the perceptions and behaviour of Adolescents influence in family decision making in different family circumstances and what products are more influenced through the child more than the adults. The research findings are based on different journal articles that show how much power children have in the decision making process based on different members of the family perceptions and how they get their message across on what they want through coalitions or solely on their own. In terms of family types; single-parent and step-families are increasing in todays society compared to intact families. Its now not unusual for parents to divorce and move on with someone else. This will make an impact on the childs role in family purchase decision making. Being a child in a single-parent family suggests that they have more power in the household whereas being a member of an intact family can cause disruption as there are many people to please in that household. However, in many circumstances the parents perceptions do not always agree with the childs opinion. A number of explanations and examples for this are given. Introduction For a long time, Adolescents have played an important role throughout family purchase decisions, with their capability to have an impact to directly and indirectly influence the decisions families make when purchasing products. (Thomson, Laing, McKee, 2007). This is put into practice throughout all different types of families, whether it is an intact family of 4, a family triad, a single parent family of 1 or a mix matched family making it a step-family. This means the perceptions on adolescent influence in decision making depend on what family the child belongs to. Adolescent behaviour is also important when the child makes an input into the decisions of purchase making. Coalition being the behaviour type authors focused on as children recognized a frequent need for a purchase between more than one family member and in the end created a coalition (Thomson, Laing, McKee, 2007). These include different members of the family working together with the child in order to make a stronger influence on family decisions whether it is a parent or a sibling. Children therefore play a part in family decision making no matter how big or small and the products in question can vary from groceries to holidays. Junk foods, toys, kids clothes and accessories for school are a few of the main products that children have been known to have a strong influence on. (Mangleburg T. F., 1990). Research on how much influence children have on certain products will also be explored. Childrens Behaviour -When and how do they influence buying? Children constitute a huge secondary market by influencing family purchases (McNeal, 2008). As soon as children have established the concept of using communication skills to make demands, they are then more involved in making an influence in family decision making. (Furnham, 1998), showing that from the moment they can talk, they will automatically have an influence on buying highlighting the fact that children are becoming a significant part to the family decision making process on purchases at an early age. The most important behaviour for a child when they influence decision making is the use of knowledge and information. When contemplating child purchase power, research shows that this is known as a uniting topic (Thomson, Laing, McKee, 2007). To get a child to participate in the decision stage of buying, knowledge is a great source as it points out the cleverness or experiences that the children have when a purchase is carried out by a family (Thomson, Laing, McKee, 2007). Inf ormation is also important as it shows whether the child knows about the products in question or not. Knowledge and Information is a significant role in justifying the childs choice of products and is the main factor on how they influence on the buying stage. Parents can decide whether the childs reasons are enough to buy the product in question through their knowledge and information. Studies show that lots of parents encourage the use of knowledge and information and are foreseen characteristic of some family decision making (Thomson, Laing, McKee, 2007). How do coalitions affect adolescents decision on purchasing? Coalition behaviour involves at least two members of a family to get together to form an alliance to influence the end decision of a purchase within a family. This process is often termed majority rule (Pearson, 1989). Majority rule may have a bigger impact than just the childs influence; therefore a child may form a coalition with another family member to make their influence have more of an impact on the final decision of the purchase. However, there have been authors that convey this as lousy behaviour. (Sheth, 1974) and (Belch et al. 1980) felt that coalition would be few and far in between. Coalitions can come in different forms: Mother and child, Father and child or if there is more than one child, siblings could get together. This can benefit the child as one parent might be easily persuaded into giving the child what they want and more understanding of the childs needs. It was distinguished that a significant number of coalitions occurred between mothers and daughters than mo thers and sons concluding that when the same-sex members of a family unite to influence a decision on a product that they have more power than what different-sex members would (Beatty Talpade 1994). This would suggest that daughters had more chance of having a stronger influence in the family household compared to sons when they both wanted to convince their mother of purchasing a product. Family Triads Should the child have an input? Before buying products for any family, there is a decision making process that they must think about in order to come to a concluding decision on what to purchase if they have children. This involves three stages of decision making; gathering information, negotiating within the family and the overall decision on what to buy. Family triads are found to disagree in their perceptions of adolescent influence on both a wide selection of products and general influence in family decision processes. Mothers, fathers and children all, however agree that children have some influence in purchase decisions for a variety of products. Previous research has put forward the fact that two family members can disagree in evaluating purchase decision influence (Burns Hopper 1985). Each member of the family triad had different opinions on how much power the child actually has when deciding on purchasing a product in studies shown in the Journal of Consumer Research. Out of 161 families from North Wester n Towns, The children themselves agreed that they have influence when shopping with parents, suggesting stores, brands and products, paying attention to new products and learning the best buy. Mothers and Fathers also agreed to some extent that the child had general influence on these factors when buying products. However, suggesting the price was one of the factors that all three members of the family agreed that the child does not have influence on the price of products (Foxman, Tansuhaj, Ekstrom, 1989). This concludes that not only does the children themselves think they have influence throughout the decision making process on products but the other members of the family also agree that children should have their say. Overall, family members regarding adolescent purchase decision influence came to the conclusion that: Families that agreed on the same level of childrens influence had older fathers, a concept-oriented family communication style, less children, and a mother who was a housewife. This would suggest that a family triad let their child have more influence than a family with more children would. Other family types does the child have more power in a single-parent family? There are different types of families where a child can influence on family decision making when buying products. Family triads are one but there are also single-parent and step families. Intact families can also have more than one child meaning there are more children to have an influence on the decision making. There has been a growth in rapid social change over the years where parents are divorcing, children are living with only one of their parents or living with people that are from another family due to one of the parents falling in love with someone else. The more a family has differences, the more likely they will have to face difficulties when making important decisions as consumers (cf. Rindfleisch, Burroughs, and Denton 1997). Children gain their knowledge and information through events such as going to school, eating out and technology. However, their family members are one of the most important sources a child could possibly have through their period of consumer learning (Moschis and Churchill 1978; Moschis and Moore 1979; Ward 174). This contributes to the fact that children grow up surrounded by their family; therefore they learn from their mothers, fathers or an older sibling. Depending on what family type the child belongs to, there will be a different level of how much influence they have. Studies (Darley and Lim 1986) show that children in single-parent families had greater influence in a family outing decision than did children in dual-parent families, but did not ascertain between intact and step-families. If a child has to convince two parents, it may be difficult as they will both have different opinions on products or will have the same opinion which will overrule the child, therefore a childs influence in a single-parent household will be much stronger as there are less people to convince and the bond between the child and parent will be stronger as they have went through certain circumstances to end up on their own. Two parents can joi n forces to back up each other when they dont agree with the childs influence when purchasing a product (Mangleburg, Grewal, Bristol, 1999). This will make the childrens influence weaker compared to the single-parent household which appears to be much stronger. A single-parent household is seen as the family type to let the child have a stronger influence on decision making when purchasing products as the child only has one parent to do their parental duties which means the parent will have weaknesses in parental control and find it difficult to be the boss all the time meaning the child will have more independence and equal rights to influence to balance out the family (Dornbusch et al. 1985; Hetherington 1988; Thomson, McLanahan, and Curtin 1992). Family type does have an impact on adolescents influence on decision making and specifically, children in single-parent families had greater influence in both types of decisions as compared with children in step families and intact fami lies (Mangleburg, Grewal, Bristol, 1999). Products children have more influence on Junk foods, toys, kids clothes and accessories for school are a few of the main products that children have been known to have a strong influence on (Mangleburg T. F., 1990). This information suggests that children have more power over products and services that they will be experiencing themselves as children tend to have more of an influence in product sections that are most significant to the children themselves (Beatty and Talpade, 1994). Contrasting, children dont have much of an influence on decision making for products that are expensive and not used only by the child (Foxman et al.,1989a, 1989b). Expensive items such as cars, TVs and furniture are not influenced as much by children as these as more expensive buys. The adults of the household feel they have more influence on bigger products that will affect the whole of the family. Studies from the Journal of Consumer Research (Foxman, Tansuhaj, Ekstrom, 1989) back this up as out of 161 families from North Western Towns, Both the parents and children feel that the parents should have more say overall on products such as Home computers, cars, furniture and cable TV. It appears that children do have a strong influence when it comes to decision making in the family based on purchasing products. However, the childs influence on certain products is weaker than the parents due to the price and who uses the product. Although some research has found next to nothing child influence for bigger, family buys, others have found higher levels of influence than was foreseen by earlier research ( Foxman Tansuhaj 1988; Lee and Beatty 2002). Family holidays and events that see the family come together to have fun are other purchase decisions that children can play a part in influencing (Mangleburg T. F., 1990). These products are seen as expensive and a treat for all the family, this shows that some authors may find that children dont have much influence on expensive products whereas others will find children do have in fluence on products more expensive than clothes and food. Grocery shopping within different families It has been proven that children have more influence on food shopping than expensive buys in the last section of this review. It has also been proven that children have different levels of influence in different family types whether it is a single-parent or dual-parent family. Studies show even though children have a strong influence on purchasing food, the level of influence differs depending on what family the child belongs to. Children in single-parent families are more likely to take part in family tasks, such as going shopping than other children do in bigger families with their parents relationship still intact. (Weiss 1979; Taylor, Glynn, and Taylor 1985; Peters 1985). This would suggest that the child in the single-parent family will participate more in influencing what is bought for the grocery shop compared to the dual-parent family where there are more people to influence what is bought. Summary and conclusion Adolescents influence the decision making process in the family when purchasing products. However, there are different levels of influence and this depends on what family type the child belongs to as this has an effect on how the parents relationship with the child helps or hinders on how much influence the child has when the decision making process is being done when buying new products differing from groceries, clothes and holidays. The review helped come to the conclusion that the most important behaviour for a child when they influence decision making is the use of knowledge and information. Knowledge and Information is a significant role in justifying the childs choice of products and is the main factor on how they influence on the buying stage. It has been discovered that a childs influence solely on their own against both parents can sometimes be overruled by the parents. This is when the child forms a coalition to get more support to gain a stronger influence on the decision making process It was distinguished that a significant number of coalitions occurred between mothers and daughters than mothers and sons concluding that when the same-sex members of a family unite to influence a decision on a product that they have more power than what different-sex members would (Beatty Talpade 1994). This review suggested that different family types determined the level of influence the child had, this included single-parent families, triad families and step families. However, mothers, fathers and children all agreed that children play a part in influencing a number of products in purchase decisions (Foxman, Tansuhaj, Ekstrom, 1989). Products that children have more influence on were also researched. Findings suggest that products that are actually used by the child themselves and not expensive were found to be the products children had more influence on whereas children have been found to have less influence on decisions making for products that are more expens ive and are not just used by the child themselves (Foxman et al.,1989a, 1989b). Grocery shopping is another group of products that children have influence on and the level of influence depends on what family type they belong to. It was found that children belonging to the single-parent family have more influence than children in a dual-parent family. Overall there are different levels of influence a child has when the family are making decisions and it all depends on family types, children behaviour and the products in question.