Australia Pre-Primary Education Industry Essay Example for Free

Australia Pre-Primary Education Industry Essay Rising Traction of Private Players to Foster Growth of Australia Pre-primary Education Industry: Ken Research The pre-primary education and childcare markets in Australia have showcased separate growth trajectory over the years. The pre-primary market in Australia is an emerging market characterized by the rising awareness about the quality early childhood education and care amongst parents. Although the public spending on the pre-primary education in Australia is amongst the lowest spending countries in the OECD, the government has taken substantial steps to promote the access and the importance of the pre-primary education amongst the masses. The regional pre-primary markets in each of the state or territory differ from another as the governing system is decentralized. Henceforth while the market-run kindergartens account for a dominant share in the states such as New South Wales, Victoria and Queens land, in states including Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory, a vast majority of preschools are government funded and run. Subsequently, the format of education and age-group of the children varies accordingly. The childcare market in Australia is a developed and matured market and is marked by a high degree of fragmentation. The childcare market caters to children aged up to twelve and has experienced a steady growth in the last six years, propelled by high demand prevailing in the market. In the last few years, childcare market has been increasingly recognized by the government as a means of increasing womens employability in the workforce. Henceforth, various provisions such as Child Care Rebates, Child Care Benefit have been provided, which has encouraged increasing enrollments in this sector. The market revenues of the childcare market have increased from USD 7,081. 6 million in FY’2008 at a CAGR of 5. 6% during FY’2008-FY’2012. The marketplace of pre-primary education and childcare industry in Australia has witnessed a growing number of market players after the fall of the market leader ABC Learning in FY’2008. A majority of the ABC centers was taken over by Goodstart Learning, a nonprofit organization, which accounted for ~% of the market share of the childcare market in FY’2012. Other major players include G8 education and KU children services. The market has showcased an increasing number of profit-making players over the years, owing to the growing attractiveness of the market. With the increasing number of Long-day care centers providing preschool education, the pre-primary education market of Australia has been reflecting signs of growing integration with the childcare market. As the number of nuclear families and women workers has grown in the Australian economy, the dependency on child care has also consequently increased, leading to many preschools providing child care services as well. The report â€Å"Australia Pre-primary Education and Childcare Industry Outlook to FY’2017† provides detailed overview on the pre-primary education and childcare industry from various perspectives. The report encloses a comprehensive analysis of the various segments of the market reflecting the present scenario and future growth affected by changing industry dynamics in coming years. Additionally, the report also entails information about the public and private sector initiatives, rational analysis of the macroeconomic factors, along with the profiles of the major market players of the pre-primary education and childcare industry. The report will help industry consultants, companies and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in future. For more information on the industry research report please refer to the below mentioned link: http://www. kenresearch. com/education/pre-school-education/australia-pre-primary-educationresearch-report/398-99. html The report titled â€Å"Australia Pre-Primary Education and Childcare Industry Outlook to FY’2017Increasing Influx of Private Players to Foster Industry Revenues† provides a detailed analysis of the preprimary education and childcare industry covering various aspects including market size of pre-primary education and childcare markets in terms of revenues, enrollments, establishments and number of teachers, and market segmentation on the basis of gender and region-wise enrollments and type of funding institutions along with ongoing trends in the industry. The report also includes competitive landscape and profiles of the major players operating in the industry. The future projections are included to provide an insight on the prospects in the Australia childcare market. The pre-primary and childcare industry of Australia is a diverse market which has undergone significant changes over the years. The pre-primary education and childcare markets in Australia are distinguished by the age-group of the target population and the mode of education. The childcare market of Australia is a matured market serving to children aged up to twelve. The type of services provided in the Australian market is quite diverse catering to the various needs and requirement of the families. The revenues of the child care market have grown strongly over the years, with supply largely keeping in pace with demand. Over the past years, child care in Australia has evolved from a form of early learning and education to a key mechanism to support labor force participation. The market for the childcare is competed by private businesses, communities and government run centres. The pre-primary education market of Australia is an emerging market marked by low penetration of the services. The enrollment rates for the children aged 3 and above are still very low. The formats and settings for preschool education in Australia vary from one state or territory to another with departments of education responsible for governing the preschool sector each state. Consequently, the market setting of pre-primary education sector is assorted, with Queensland being one of states which has mandated the admission in the pre-primary education for young kids. Preschool programs in Australia are run by both government and non-government services, including community preschools and child care providers. The competitive landscape of the Australia pre-primary and childcare industry is quite fragmented which has witnessed increasing market entries over the years after the fall of ABC Learning in FY’2008, the market leader the industry. Presently, the childcare market of the industry features a number of players which operate on non-profit basis. However, the increasing influx of the profit-making players has been driving the revenues of the market in recent years. Goodstart Learning, G8 education and KU children services constitute some of the major players of the industry. The pre-primary education and childcare industry in Australia has been witnessing growing integration of the pre-primary and childcare markets with the increasing number of Long day care centers with preschool programs in the country. Preschools with childcare facilities are increasingly becoming a common phenomenon, with increasing trend of customized services being offered by the providers. Computer-based education has also entered into the preschool segment, reflecting the increasing quality of the education imparted.

Cross Culture Affects The Global Fast Foods

Cross Culture Affects The Global Fast Foods Michel Camdessus, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that: Globalization is simply the continuation of the trend toward greater international economic integration that has been under way for the last fifty years. The difference is that todays markets are larger, more complex, and more closely integrated than ever before. And now capital moves at a speed and in volumes that would have been inconceivable a few decades ago. (Walker, Walker, Schmitz, 2003, p.2). One could surely argue that, globalisation as defined by our contemporary experience, is a continuation of a historical evolution that has been underway for at least the past five hundred years, with European colonialisation and imperialism leading to a dynamic between parochial tribalism and global commerce that frames the modern state of affairs- a dialectical dynamic that Benjamin Barber (1996) fittingly calls Jihad vs. McWorld. As stated by Elmer (2003), Stepping out and fitting in around the world is what multinationals brand of companies are doing to conquer new markets and to be sustainable on the long run. The challenge of crossing the border to step out and fit in each and every culture worldwide (Elmer, 2003), and be both a global and a local company is the effort of Fast Food brands like KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. Downs (1993) stated that One of the greatest stumbling blocks to understanding other peoples within or without a particular culture is the tendency to judge others behavior by our own standards. As per Criag Storti (1989. P. 32-34): The more we retreat from the culture and the people the less we learn about them; the less we know about them the more uncomfortable we feel among them; the more uncomfortable we fell among them the more inclined we are to withdraw. Therefore to survive a multinational has to learn about the people of the country they are operating in. Hofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that culture is based on languages, economy, religion, policies, social institutions, class, values, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. The ability of Hofstedes framework to capture more than the individualism-collectivism dimension of culture contributed to its popularity (Sivakuma and Nakata, 2001). According to Hofstede (1980), the uncertainty avoidance dimension deals with the national cultures ability to tolerate ambiguity. Individuals in these high uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to be rigid and dogmatic. They are threatened by unknown situations. Life is perceived to have many risks, and the resultant stress needs to be lessened. So the cultures may rely upon such mechanisms as rules, customs, laws, and religion in pursuit of security. 1.2 Problem Definition With the effect of globalization, it has been noted that many multinational fast food brands are establishing in the Mauritius. After nearly 30 years that KFC implemented itself in Mauritius, we now have an influx of different famous brands of fast foods. Another phenomenon leading to this increase of fast food on the market is the opening of retail outlets like Bagatelle and Cascavelle. Mauritius is known for its history of different ethnic groups and with a diversity of food culture, the question arising is how these companies are able to gain share of the market and how they have adapted themselves to the Mauritian culture. 1.3 The industry understudy This study will be conducted for the Fast Food industry with reference to the following multinational brands: KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. This will enable us to analyse how they are operating and how the importation of American and Portuguese food culture are adapting to our famous Mauritian cuisine:Bryani, Dal puri, Gateaux Piment, Mine Bouille and other typical Mauritian food. 1.4 Aim of research The aim of this research is to investigate how these multinationals are facing the cross cultural barriers and how they have been able to overcome them. 1.5 Objective of Research To identify cross cultural barriers existing in the Mauritian Market and the fast food sector. To analyse how cross culture barriers affects the Marketing strategies of Fast Food Companies To analyse the impact of cross culture on the brand equity of these Multinationals To analyse the impact of the anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory faced by Fast Food Multinational on the Market. To evaluate how Mauritians has accepted these Multinationals in their culture. 1.6 Research Structure and hypotheses Companies who extend their business abroad have to face a challenge of cross-cultural communication. Bennis and Nanus (1985) refer to Erez (1992) and claim that communication is the only approach by which group members can cooperate with each other toward the goal of organization. In line with this a possible hypothesis is as follows: HYPOTHESIS 1 Ho: Cross cultural barriers have no impact on fast food multinational marketing strategies H1: cross cultural barriers have impact on fast food multinational marketing strategies Steenkamp et al. (2003) found that perceived brand globalness was positively related to perceived quality and prestige. Another hypothesis can be: HYPOTHESIS 2 H3: Cross cultural barriers have no impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategies H4: Cross cultural barriers have impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategies Hofstede (1991, p. 116) points out that uncertainty avoidance should not be confused with risk avoidance even more than reducing risk, uncertainty avoidance leads to a reduction of ambiguity. One of hypothesis will show this from the study HYPOTHESIS 3 H5: The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have no impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market. H6: The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market. Levitt (1983, p. 87) argues that well-managed companies have moved from emphasis on customizing items to offering globally standardized products that are advanced, functional, reliable and low priced. The following hypothesis will try to this point. HYPOTHESIS 4 H7: Mauritian has adopted these Multinational Fast Foods. H8: Mauritian has not adopted these Multinational Fast Foods. 1.7 Structure of the Study The dissertation will comprise of different chapters as outlined below. Chapter 1: Introduction defines the background of the research and outlines the aim and research objectives. It also gives an overview of the structure of the study to be carried out. Chapter 2: Literature Review -presents a detailed account of relevant materials in relation to the subject matter including theories and principles relating to cross-cultural barriers, also in relation to the food and fast foods multinationals. It also emphasizes on Individualism versus collectivism and uncertainty avoidance in relation to Hofstedes cultural framework. Chapter 3: Situation Analysis It provides a brief of the Mauritian Fast food Multinationals and the problem they have encounter to be present on the Market Chapter 4: Methodology defines the basic methods used to carry out this study along with the procedures that are used to analyse and prepare the collected data. It also identifies the problems and limitations during the research. Chapter 5: Analysis Findings Presents an analysis of the data collected together with a discussion. Chapter 6: Recommendations Conclusion provides recommendations to provide a smoother adjustment for the Fast Food Multinationals in view with cross cultural issues. Chapter 2 Literature review Since the very beginning of human history, food has assembled peoples in the way that no any other things have been able to do. No matter whether it was the ancient agora or todays modern day supermarket or restaurant, the market of food has always played a central role in humans lives, communities, communication, and culture (Huddleston et al., 2009; DeJesus and Tian, 2004). Culture is often defined as a system of values as well as a determinant of consumer behavior. Members of a particular culture transform their experiences with their physical and social environments to an abstract level of belief about what is desirable and what is not (Lillis and Tian 2010). Such encoded beliefs, called values, act as a general guide for everyday behaviors, including those pertaining to buying and consumption. Cultural values differ among nations along Hofstedes four dimensions of national character (Emery and Tian, 2003; Hofstede, 1984; Tian, 2002). The growing amount of international business has increased the need to understand consumer behavior from a cross-cultural perspective (Mooij, 2004; Senguder, 2001; Sunderland and Denny, 2007; Tian 2002 a). With the globalisation of markets, marketing research has assumed a truly international character and this trend is likely to continue (Malhotra et al., 1994). Todays Consumers have greater knowledge of the value of various competing offerings. Effective communications may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse consumer needs on a global basis. According to Edmondson (2000), two-thirds of all industries either already operate globally or are in the process of doing so, McDonaldss earns over 62% of its income outside the U.S. For cross-cultural acceptance, Altering and adjusting the marketing mix determinants are essential and vital to suit local tastes, meet special needs and consumers non-identical requirements (Czinkota and Ronnenken, 1995). Growing internationalization of tastes and buying patterns has made the development of global and regional brands more feasible (Doyle, 1994). 2.1 Fast Food Industry and Food culture The fast food revolution essentially had its origins in the US in the mid 1950s and this style of catering has continued to grow there and to spread to most of the rest of the world in the decades since then (Jones et al, 2002, p.41). Schlosser (2001) has suggested that within the US the impact of this revolution has been seen to be particularly pervasive. He argues, for example, that during a relatively brief period of time the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet but also our landscapes, economy, workforce and popular culture. More generally fast food can be seen as a powerful symbol of globalisation and of post-modern society and few countries of the world seem immune to its apparent attractions. McDonaldss, for example, claim to serve 45 million customers every day in 30,000 restaurants in 121 countries around the world (Jones et al, 2002, p.41). Fast food have been defined by Bender and Bender (1995) as a general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques; suppliers tend to specialize in products such as hamburgers, pizzas, chicken, or sandwiches. Fast food is one which gained acceptance of Indian palate after the multinational fast food players adapted the basic Indian food requirements with vegetarian meals and selected non-vegetarian options excluding beef and pork totally from their menu (Goyal, and Singh, 2007). Carmouche and Kelly (1995) suggested a list of factors that shape the food consumption behavior: social class, gender, age, culture, race, and religion (also considered a cultural factor). Food is one important factor that influences the choice to visit a particular place and affects tourists attitudes, decisions, and behavior (Henderson 2009; Hjalanger and Corigliano 2000). Ample evidence has been found that religion can influence consumer attitude and behavior in general and food purchasing decisions and eating habits in particular (Bonne and Verbeke 2008b). In many societies, religion plays one of the most influential roles in shaping food choices and consumption behavior: the types of food that can be consumed, who should prepare and cook the food at what times, and how and when to eat it. However, different religions have different rules and teachings about food consumption behavior. Followers of religions also differ in observance of these rules: some follow the rules strictly, while others behave with more flexibility, and few may not care at all. Hence, in order to investigate the relationship between food consumption behavior and religion, it is important to give ample consideration to this religious diversity both within and among the followers of each religion. (Maedeh Bon, Mazhar Hussain, 2010) All restaurants of KFC, an American fast-food chain, in France are Halal certified and KFC also serves such food in eight of its British restaurants on a trial basis (The Economist 2009). 2.2 Culture and Cross Culture 2.2.1 Definition of Culture According to Ferraro (1994), the only requirement for culture is to be human is that the people in the world belong to a culture. Marzheuser (1995) stated that culture consists primarily of the symbols and stories people use to communicate their history and values. For Hall (1976), culture is a word which stands for the sum of earned behavior, patterns, attitudes and material things. Culture has been defined as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another (Hofstede, 1980). Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989). Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). Much insight has been gained from the GLOBE research project (House et al., 2004), where culture was measured both as values of the respondents and in terms of their perceptions of how people deal with collective challenges within their culture. 2.2.2 Cross Culture Okazaki et al (2011) defined global consumer culture positioning as: a brand is associated with a widely understood and recognized set of symbols believed to constitute emerging global consumer cultures. As Simon and Dolan (1997) illustrate; McDonaldss has been very successful with package offers in the USA and in Germany, where a hamburger and fries offered together with a beverage. While Local consumer culture positioning is defined as a strategy that associates the brand with local cultural meanings, reflects the local cultures norms and identities, is portrayed as consumed by local people in the national culture, and/or is depicted as locally produced for local people (e.g., McDonaldss chicken teriyaki ads in Japan). In contrast, foreign consumer culture positioning positions the brand as symbolic of a specific foreign consumer culture (e.g. KFC slogan Finger-lickin good was translated as Eat your fingers off in China). Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989). Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). Cultural differences have significant impact on our intercultural communication. They are the source of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, anxiety, and uncertainty, which ultimately result in miscommunication (Stephan and Stephan, (2002); Gudykunst (2002); Gudykunst and Lee, (2002). Generally, culture is conceptualised as a shared way of life collectively developed and shared by a group of people and transmitted from generation to generation (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). Culture embodies many complex elements such as beliefs, values, language, political systems, and tools which together give a group its code or characteristics (Griffin (2000); Tubbs and Moss (1994). This code is not impos ed by one individual or an external body. Rather, it is socially constructed (by members that make up the group) and historically transmitted (Philipsen, (1992) and Griffin (2000)). Intercultural communication is thus the exchange of information between well-defined groups of people with significantly different cultures (Barnett and Lee (2002). The process is quite complex in the sense that this exchange of information takes place in a context which is a fusion of significantly different systems. The process also requires conscious attempts by each party at reducing uncertainty about the future behaviour of the other party through an increase in understanding of the other group (Barnett and Lee (2002); Gudykunst, (2002)). For Gudykunst and Lee (2002) and Griffin, (2000) Cultural variability (the extent to which cultures differ) is key to any conceptualisation of intercultural communication. Various studies have examined cultural variability at the level of power distribution (or power distance), uncertainty avoidance, gender roles, face negotiation, individualism-collectivism, and others. Mazneski (1994) opines that cross-cultural awareness facilitates to perform a set task successfully. Berthon (1993) views culture as the results of the human actions and shows the link between the ideas of mental programming and the consequence of behaviour derived from this. Therefore, cross-verging across culture has different aspects such as attitude, communication, conflict and negotiation, performance and compensation, which explain the ethical issues and how to appraise them. Bond and Forgas (1984) concluded that different perceptions, attitudes and biases in different cultures ultimately mould the ethical monochromes across-culture, have a distinct presence ubiquitously. In that light, McFarlin and Sweeney (1998) observe that once you perceive and interpret the behaviour of another person, you often must communicate your feelings or reactions to what took place which is an extension of the ethical base to appraise performance and preference. Ambos and Schlegelmilch (2008) argu e that one culture may support certain type (or types) of organizations rather than other types, and culture differences will eventually influence on the performance of company. International marketers have long realized that products and services frequently must be adapted to the varying needs and preferences of consumers in different countries (Cateora and Graham 2002). As McDonaldss adapted its products in India and has made changes to its menu to cater to local tastes elsewhere in the world. In 1996 McDonaldss launches its first restaurants in India and to respect local custom the menu there did not include beef. Instead, there was a novel item the Maharaja Mac, made with mutton but served in the McDonaldss sesame-seed bun (Rugimbana and Nwankwo, (2003). The goal of marketing management is to create positive identity impressions in the local consumers minds, even if this entails some alteration to the companys global identity expressions. As reported in The Economist (2001), in the fast-food industry, menu offerings are influenced by the prevailing cultural values Maharaja Macs at McDonaldss India, Teriyaki McBurgers at McDonaldss Japan, and Kosher and non-Kosher restaurants in McDonaldss Israel and advertising, outdoor signage, and in-store ephemera need to be in the native language. Restaurant architecture frequently incorporates native motifs and global trade characters can take on a local flavor. A Starbucks in Shanghai has a Ming Dynasty faà §ade and the entrances of some Chinese KFC restaurants are guarded by full-size, fiberglass models of Colonel Sanders who, in his Asian reincarnation, looks a little portly like a Buddha. According to former CEO, Jack Greenberg, localization has contributed to McDonaldss worldwide success (Foreign Policy 2001), although some analysts warn that decentralization has become so pervasive that it threatens to undermine the main pillars of the brand service, quality and cleanliness (The Economist 2001). 2.3 Cross Culture Barriers Hofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), and Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that culture is based on languages, economy, religion, policies, social institutions, class, values, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. Witkowski and Wolfinbarger (2002) found that the relationship between the different components of service quality reliability, empathy, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibles and perceptions of overall service quality varied across both cultures and across service settings. 2.3.1 Language Language is the key to the heart of a culture, so related are language and culture that language holds the power to maintain national or cultural identity. Victor (1992) noted that there are at least 2, 796 languages spoken on planet earth. According to Rubin (1992), language is a set of characters or elements and rules for their use in relation to one another and as described by Nanda and Warms (1998) language does more than just reflect culture: it is the way in which an individual is introduce to the order of the physical and social environment. As the definition of Dawson (1967), language lies at the root of culture, and that culture and language are inseparable aspects of the same process. According to Edwards (1985), language is important in ethnic and nationalist sentiment because of its power and visible symbolism (reason why the Mauritian government as implemented Mauritian Creoles in schools). For Bolch (1996) language and culture are so firmly intertwined that optional cro ss-cultural international business cannot be attained without substantial foreign-language capabilities. Reasonable cultural awareness without foreign-language capabilities is common, especially among English speaking business people, but such a lack of skills set very definite limits on the efficacy of cross-cultural performance. Intercultural communication gained prominence after efforts by anthropologists and linguists like Hall and Lado to link language, culture, and communication (Kramsch, 2001). 2.3.2 Norms, Roles, Beliefs and Values Norms are culturally defined rules for determining acceptable and appropriate behaviour (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). They include those that govern social situations and conversational routines such as greetings, making requests, and expressing various emotions. Roles are also sources of cultural variability. Roles are sets of norms applicable to specific groups of people in society. As culture relates to norms, values and customs of people it generates behavioural differentiation. Culture as a set of norms, rules and customs, as a result people from different cultures have differences in their norms and customs. Culture is a pattern of spiritual, emotional, mental and physical realities, all of which interact in the life of society and individuals. It involves the way we think, dress and speak, the words we use, our beliefs, the food we eat, the style of our clothes and our homes, the relationship between relatives, our music and our art, and much more. Higher education levels expose ind ividuals to different cultural perspectives and make them less likely to follow local behavioral norms and more global as consumers (Keillor et al., 2001). Cultural syndromes are cognitive structures that help one organize and interpret the world by focusing attention on certain patterns or themes in the subjective elements of the environment, such as values, norms, beliefs, and assumptions (Triandis, 1994a) 2.3.3 Status Homer and Kahle (1988), the value attitude behavior hierarchy would support the contention that cultural values do correlate with attitudes. Orientation toward status is another cultural dimension identified as affecting human behavior and refers to how people are judged in society (Trompanaars Hampdon-Turner, 1997). Achievement is a cultural orientation where people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions (e.g., subject matter expertise) and on what they have accomplished. Ascription is a cultural orientation where status is attributed based on who or what a person is (i.e., based on age, gender, or social connections). 2.4. High context-communication and low context communication. High context or Low context communication theory is one of the most important theories in cross-cultural research, which can be viewed as a culture based on the messages that people within the culture prefer to use (Richardson and Smith, 2007). It properly links management style and staff behaviour to discuss the issue of cross-cultural management in communication. According to Richardson and Smith (2007) refer to Hall (1976) and argue that cultures cannot be easily classified into High Context or Low Context, but to some extent, some cultures tend to be at the higher end while others are at the lower end of the continuum. In a high-context culture, people interdepend on each other. Information is widely shared through the word with potential meaning. In a low-context cutlure, people tend to be individualized, kind of alienated and fragmented, people do not involve with each other too much. High context communication tends to engage an indirect way to express while low context commun ication prefers direct information exchange (Kim, Pan and Park, 1998, Richardson and Smith, 2007). In a low-context culture, people coming from other culture can easily match these machinations, but in a high-context culture, these high-context machinations cannot be easily matched by people coming from low-context culture (Holden, 2002). The characteristic of high-context communication is economical, fast, efficient, and satisfying, however, programming is time-consumed (Kim, Pan and Park, 1998). Contrarily, low-context massages are more context-free than high-context communication, information about the character and background and values of the participants are less influencing on people to make deals, however, the reliance to make deal is upon the explicit communication. In high context cultures communication involves messages in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message While low context the mass of the information is vested i n explicit code (Hall Hall, 1990). Cultural dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance, high-low context, field dependence-independence, and analytic-holistic reasoning are all cultural dimensions that may impact the leaders search (Salas e t al., 2004). 2.5 Hofstede cultural dimension Framework The human relations theme contains cultural dimensions that address how members of cultures react, interact, and develop relationships with others. Specifically, this theme includes dimensions that describe the identification of in- versus out-groups and corresponding expectations (Hofstede, 1980), preferences for individualistic tendencies versus group consensus and corresponding behavioral consequences (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, 1998), and the maintenance of the status quo (Schwartz, 1999). The power relations theme contains cultural dimensions that revolve around peoples beliefs, values, and subsequent behaviors resulting from perceptions of power. Cultural dimensions within this theme guide rules and regulations regarding peoples reaction to power as well as the perception, acceptance, and adherence of power being distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1980). Hofstedes classification was originally related to work values rather than consumer behavior and other micro phenomena; it mi ght be less relevant in more culture specific studies on more micro phenomena in consumer behaviors (Yau et al. 1999). However, his work appears to be heavily relied upon because of its extensiveness across cultures and its intuitive appeal. While the first four themes deal primarily with direct social interactions, the next several themes pertain to differences in cultures orientation to more inanimate objects (i.e., rules, times, nature). Dimensions, which pertain to a cultures orientation to rules, include those that describe the adherence to, application of, and comfort with rules for members of a certain culture. Specifically, this theme refers to attitudes and preferences for ambiguity, rules guiding actions, and the amount of rules that govern behaviour for a particular society (Hofstede, 1980). National cultures also have different preferences with regard to perception of time and how those perceptions guide behavior. The time orientation theme refers to dimensions that explain how time perceptions of members relate to rewards, how time is viewed, and whether or not members pay attention to time (Hofstede, 2001; Hall Hall, 1990). The following provides a brief outline of the six dimensions of national cultures (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede et al., 2010). (1) Power distance refers to the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. It is shown as much by the behavioural values of superiors, who display their power and exercise it, as by the behavioural values of subordinates who wait for their superiors to show their status and power, and are uncomfortable if they do not personally experience it. (2) Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which members of a society feel uncomfortable in ambiguous and uncertain situations and take actions to avoid them. The dimension of uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which people in a society tend to feel threatened by uncertain, ambiguous or unde ¬Ã‚ ned situations. Where uncertainty avoidance is high, organizations promote stable careers, produce rules and procedures, etc. Nevertheless societies in which uncertainty avoidance is strong are also characterized by a higher level of anxiety and aggressiveness that creates, among other things, a strong inner urge to work hard (Hofstede, 1980a). (3) Individualism versus collectivism refers to the extent to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups. Hofstede (2001) defines it as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. According to this definition, national culture is a set of collective beliefs and values that distinguish people of one nation from those of another. (4) Masculinity versus femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders. It contrasts tough masculine with tender feminine societies. A society is masculine when the dominant values favour assertiveness, earning money, showing off possessions and caring little for others. Conversely, feminine societies favour nurturing roles, interdependence between people and caring for others (who are seen as worth caring for, because they are temporarily weak). The masculinity/femininity dimension has been so called because, on average, men tended to score high on one extreme and women on the other, across societies. (5) Long-term versus short-term orientation refers to the extent to which a culture programs its members to accept delayed satisfaction of their material, social and emotional needs. Long-term orientation is future-focused and has long-term goals whereas short-term orientations focus on respect for tradition and are oriented toward the past and the present. Long Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole, Short Term O

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation

Guide to performing a Job Evaluation What are the main issues faced by the residents in Portugal? Click on the play button to watch the video. Highlight the issues and look for the solutions. Share your opinions in the LMS Forum. [MMP: Create video screen and embed video as shown in link] Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vKDyPJmQD0 Job evaluation is the process of determining the worth of jobs assigned to employees.The worth of a job is determined by the demand for it in relation to its job description, job specification and the expected outcomes from that job. In some cases, it is found that an employee who holds a similar position as his colleague may hold a different role, and have different responsibilities and accountability. In such cases, he/she should receive different pay. This chapter discusses the importance of job evaluation, basic job evaluation methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. Job Evaluation and Its Importance Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. The job evaluation process is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation can also be defined as a practical technique for trained and experienced employees to judge the size of one job relative to others. It does not directly determine the pay levels but establishes the basis for an internal ranking of jobs. Among other definitions are as follows: Job evaluation is concerned with assessing the relative demands of different jobs within the organisation. Its usual purpose is to provide a basis for relating differences in rates of pay to different in-job requirements. It is therefore a tool which can be used to help determine a pay structure. (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), London 1984) A job evaluation system consists of compensable factors and a weighting scheme based on the importance of each compensable factor to the organisation. Compensable factors are the characteristics of jobs that an organisation values and chooses to pay for. These characteristics may include job complexity, working conditions, required education, required experience and responsibility. (Noe et. al. 2003) Job evaluation is a systematic procedure to determine the relative worth or value of jobs. Although there are several different approaches, each one considers the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the job. The objective of job evaluation is to identify which jobs should be paid more than others. (Schwind et. al. 1999) The objectives of a job evaluation process in an organisation are as follows: Establishes the relative value or size of jobs, i.e. internal relatives. Produces the information required to design and maintain equitable and defensible grade and pay structures, critical in any organisation. Provides as a basis for grading jobs within a grade structure, thus enabling consistent decisions to be made about job grading. Ensures that the organisation meets ethical and legal equal pay for work of equal value obligtions. More recently the use of job evaluation is the hinge of most equal pay cases. Despite its popularity, it is often misunderstood. So, the following facts about job evaluation must be made clear: SELF-CHECK What is job evaluation and why is it important? What are the four facts about job evaluation? Job Evaluation Methods The human resource management is usually responsible for administering the job evaluation programme. However, actual job evaluation is typically done by a committee. The committee might include the human resource director as the chairperson and the finance, marketing and production heads. Job Evaluation Committee Chairperson (Human Resource Director) Head of Finance Head of Marketing Head of Production Figure 8.1: The job evaluation programme is typically performed by a committee within the organisation Small and medium sized organisations may elect to use outside consultants as they often lack job evaluation experience. When employing a qualified consultant, management should require the consultant to develop an internal job evaluation programme and train company employees to administer it correctly. This can be done by reviewing information obtained through job analysis regarding the duties, responsibilities and working conditions of the organisation. With this knowledge, the relative worth of jobs is determined and the consultant will be able to shape a job evaluation programme suitable to the company by selecting an appropriate job evaluation method. Figure 8.2: The 10 basic steps in conducting an effective job evaluation There are four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations. They are job ranking, job classification (or job grading), factor comparison and the point system. Job ranking and job classification are categorised as non quantitative methods while factor comparison and the point system are classified as quantitative methods. A job evaluation committee or an outside consultant needs to choose one method and modify the method to suit the organisations particular need. Figure 8.3: Job evaluation methods Job Ranking Method In the ranking method, jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. The worth of a job is usually based on judgements of skill, effort (physical and mental), responsibility (supervisory and fiscal), and working conditions. The steps involved in ranking jobs are Rank Jobs Make an overall comparison between jobs, by focusing on certain factors such as, responsibility, skills, effort, and working conditions. It is possible that elements of some jobs may be overlooked or weighed too heavily. Rank jobs from the highest to the lowest. The highest and lowest are ranked first, followed by the next highest to the next lowest, until all jobs are ranked. Conduct job analysis and write job descriptions. Pay scales are established based on the rankings, where more important jobs are paid more. However, as the ranking of jobs are subjective and lack precision, the pay levels may be inaccurate. The job ranking method is perhaps the simplest method of job evaluation but it is also known to be the least precise among the four evaluation methods. WEB-SITE Find out the ten worst jobs in the US of 2010. Go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/06/worst-jobs-2010-careercas_n_413511.html Job Classification Job classification is a form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. First, job grades or categories are established and each is given a standard description, as shown in Table 8.1. Table 8.1: A Job Classification schedule for use with Job Grading Method Job Grade Standard Description I Work is simple and highly repetitive; done under close supervision; requires minimal training and little responsibility, or initiative. II Work is simple and repetitive; done under close supervision; requires some training or skill. Employee is only rarely expected to assume responsibility or exhibit initiative. III Work is simple, with little variation; done under general supervision; training or skill is required. Employee has minimum responsibility and must take some initiative to perform satisfactorily. IV Work is moderately complex, with some variation; done under general supervision; requires high level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must exhibit initiative regularly. V Work is complex and varied; done under general supervision; requires advanced level skills. Employee is responsible for equipment and safety, and must show a high degree of initiative. Next, the standard description that most nearly matches a job description determines the grade of that job. Job classification or job grading is slightly more sophisticated than job ranking, but it too is not very precise. Factor Comparison In the factor comparison method, each job is ranked according to a series of factors. This method includes five major steps. Under this method, instead of ranking complete jobs, each job is ranked according to a series of factors (as shown in Figure 8.3). Figure 8.4: The five universal job factors Job evaluators must then identify factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs as shown in Table 8.2. A numerical point value is assigned to each job factor. The weights might be different for different job positions. Some organisations use different factors for managerial, professional, sales and other positions. Table 8.2: Factors relevant and common in a broad range of jobs Job Mental Skill Physical Responsibility Working Condition System Analyst 1 4 2 1 3 Data Entry Clerk 4 1 1 4 1 Programmer 2 3 3 2 4 Operator 3 2 4 3 2 Note: In the mental requirement, systems analyst ranked highest (1), followed by programmer (2), operator (3) and clerk (4). The evaluation allows the committee to determine the relative importance of each job. In this method, pay will be assigned by comparing the weights of the factors required for each job. This method of job evaluation is more systematic. Point System This method evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Under the point rating system, a number of factors such as skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions are identified as being common to all jobs being evaluated. Each factor is then given a weighting indicating its values relative to the others and for each factor there are varying degrees (as shown in Table 8.3). Table 8.3: Point system matrix No. Critical Factors Levels or Degrees Minimum I Low II Moderate III High IV 1 Responsibility Safety of others 25 50 75 100 Equipment and materials 20 40 60 80 Assisting trainees 5 20 60 50 Product/ Service Quality 20 40 60 80 2 Skill Experience 45 90 135 180 Education / Training 25 50 75 100 3 Effort Physical 25 50 75 100 Mental 25 70 105 150 4 Working Condition Unpleasant condition 20 20 60 80 Hazards 20 40 60 80 Total Points 100 A job description is prepared for each job and a committee then considers each description in turn, comparing it factor by factor, with the degree definitions. Points are allocated for each factor and the total point value determines the relative worth of each job. A point system is more precise than the factor comparison method because it can handle critical factors in more detail. This method is also used more than the other methods. Some 95% of the major corporations in the US are thought to use some variation of this method to evaluate jobs. Accountability Accuracy Analysis and judgment Complexity Contact and diplomacy Creativity Decision-making Dexterity (clever, skilful, neatness) Education Effects of errors Effort Initiative Judgment Know-how Knowledge and skill Mental effort Mental Fatigue Physical demands Physical skills Planning and coordination Problem-solving Responsibility for cash/material/confidential Information equipment, process, record and reports Social skills Supervision given/received Task completion Training and experience Work condition Work pressure Figure 8.5: A list of factors used most frequently in the point rating method as prepared by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) SELF-CHECK Describe how each of the four job evaluation methods below determine the worth of a job to an organisation. a) Job ranking b) Job classification c) Factor comparison d) Point system Hay Guide Chart The job evaluation process is enormously time consuming, complex and often a frustrating task as it is subjected to political pressures and biases that is natural among committee members who represent different functional areas. It has been proven that the job evaluation process is easier to do if the committee compares factors common to all jobs (compensable factors). For evaluating management jobs, the Hay Guide Chart Profile Method is the most popular method. This method provides a common language, an organised framework and the criteria to ensure that judgements applied can be tested and defended in an objective, consistent and equitable manner. This method is based on assessing three main factors, which are: know how problem solving accountability INPUT PROCESS CONTRIBUTION KNOW-HOW PROBLEM SOLVING ACCOUNTABILITY Figure 8.6: The Hay Guide Chart Method (a) Know How Knowledge, skills and experience needed for acceptable job performance. It consists of three dimensions which are: Scientific disciplines, specialised techniques, and practical procedures The depth and range of specialised knowledge required to perform the job. It requires a deep authoritative knowledge in areas of considerable significance to the organisation disciplines or general knowledge required to deal with strategic issues at the most senior level within the organisation. Managerial know-how Requirements needed in the job to plan, supervise, coordinate and integrate different activities, resources or parts of the organisation. Human relation skills Skills needed to communicate with and influence individuals and groups within and outside the organisation to achieve the necessary results. (b) Problem Solving The span, complexity and level of analytical, evaluative and innovative thought required in the job. The problem solving factor has two components. They are: Thinking environment The environment in which thinking takes place. Identifies and addresses problems that arise. Depends on the absence or presence of policy, procedure, supervision as well as other guidance. Thinking challenge Thinking done to assess the complexity of problems encountered, ranging from simple to complex situations. Also involves the extent of original thinking needed to arrive at conclusions. (c) Accountability Discretion given to the job holder to influence or determine the course of events and his/her answerability for the consequences of his/her decisions and actions. Accountability has three dimensions which are: Freedom to Act Assesses the degree of freedom of action given to a job by the organisation. Magnitude Gauges how much of the organisation is effected by the job holders accomplishment of the job. Job impact on end results Concerned with how directly the job affects end results in that area. SELF-CHECK Explain the three factors that the Hay Guide Chart method considers in evaluating the worth of a job to the organisation. Pricing Jobs Pricing jobs are divided into two activities: Establishing the appropriate pay level for each job. Grouping the different pay levels into a structure that can be managed effectively. It would not be unusual, for instance, for the personnel manager of Motorola to regularly share wage data on key positions. Firms in the community like Hewlett Packard identify job positions such as maintenance engineer, electrical engineer, key punch operators or clerk-typists and give comprehensive descriptions of these jobs. During the wage survey, various information can be requested (as shown in Figure 8.7). Figure 8.7: Information that can be requested when conducting a wage survey (a) Pay Level The appropriate pay level for any job reflects its relative and absolute worth. A jobs relative internal worth is determined by its ranking through the job evaluation process. The absolute worth of the job is controlled by what the labour market pays for similar jobs. Figure 8.8: Pay level Source: http://www.nursingtimes.net/whats-new-in-nursing/acute-care/pay-levels-confirm-lower-status-of-nurses/5008226.article (b) Scattergram In order to set the right pay level, the job evaluation ranking and the survey wage rates (the going rates in the industry) are combined through the use of a graph called the scattergram. [GD: Insert image of scattergram] Figure 8.9: Scattergram (c) Wage-trend line Through the dots that represent key jobs, a wage-trend line is drawn as close to as many points as possible (the line can be drawn freehand). Most importantly, this method can be used to identify jobs whose pay is out of the trend line. When a jobs pay rate is too high, it should be identified as a red circle rate. Undervalued rates (wage rate is too low) carry a green circle and attempts should be made to grant these jobs an average pay increase. Figure 8.10: Wage-trend line (d) Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. For instance, pay grade 1 may cover 0-100 points, pay grade 2 from 1-200 points, and so on. The result is a hierarchy of wages. The more important jobs are paid more, and as individuals assume jobs of greater importance, they rise within the wages structure. Figure 8.11: Pay structure Source: http://skorcareer.com.my/images/salary-survey-asia.jpg Rate ranges are simply pay ranges for each job class. For example, the wage-trend line indicates that $8.00 is the average hourly rate for a particular job class. With a rate range of $1 for each class, a marginal performer is placed at a midpoint or $8.00. When performer appraisals indicate above-average performance, the employee may be given a merit rise of, say 25 cents per hour. Once the employee reaches the top of the wage range, no more wage increase will be forthcoming. Either a promotion or a general across-the-board pay raise needs to occur for this worker to exceed $8.50 an across-the-board increase moves the entire wage trend line upward. As new jobs are created, the wage and salary section of the personnel department performs a job evaluation. For this evaluation, the new job is assigned to an appropriate job class. If rate ranges are used, the new incumbent will start at the bottom of the range and receive raises, where appropriate, to the top of the rate range. SELF-CHECK What are the inputs that can be requested when conducting a wage survey to price jobs? Case Study The Thai Silk Company, Ltd. Source: http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/ThaiSilk.html (a) Thai Silk Industry The production of Thai silk involves a number of stages. The earliest fiber production, was carried out by approximately 500,000 individual peasant families primarily in the economically-depressed northern portion of the country. Several hundred family firms located in the larger provincial towns and in Bangkok undertook intermediate stages dyeing, spinning and weaving. The final stages printing, converting and retailing were dominated by fewer than 100 enterprises located in Bangkok. (b) Finishing and Converting Thai silk moved directly from weavers into retail channels to be sold as fabric. However, a portion was finished (e.g. printed with a design) and/or converted (e.g. made into a pillow case, garment, window drape, etc.) before reaching retail. There were seven finishing establishments in the country, all located in Bangkok. The largest of these was a 51%-owned joint venture of Thai Silk Company Ltd. (TSC). It contained 16 hand painting tables compared to only 10 by its next largest competitor. It was the only finisher in the country specialising in silk to own an automatic printing machine. (c) Proposed New Weaving Mill On top of these changes, an important new development is currently under consideration. It involves a proposed 51-owned weaving joint venture, the Thai Silk Handweaving Co. Ltd. (TSHC). The plant was to be located at Pakthongchai in Korat Province about 100 miles northeast of Bangkok. It would initially contain 120 hand looms of the tradiational variety with capacity to supply about 20% of TSCs fabric needs. Currently, there are plans for an increase in the number of looms to 600 over a 6 year period. TSCs share of initial capitalisation would amount to 2.4 million Baht. SELF-CHECK The silk production involves many processes and stages, from dyeing to printing and retailing. As the Human Resource manager, how would you price the pay for employees working in the different stages of the silk production? Summary This chapter introduced you to job evaluation, its methods, the hay guide chart method, and inputs to refer to when pricing jobs. We have learned that: Job evaluation is the process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. It is the most common method used to provide a rationale for a pay structure and to assign a job to a pay grade. Job evaluation is usually administered by the human resource manager. However, it is typically performed by either a committee within the organisation or by outside consultants. The four basic job evaluation methods commonly used by organisations are: Job ranking Job classification (or job grading) Factor comparison The point system The hay guide chart method of evaluating jobs assesses three main factors: Know-how Problem solving Accountability When performing a job survey to price jobs, the following information can be requested: Pay level Scattergram Wage-trend line Pay structure Glossary Terms Definition Factor comparison Each job is ranked according to a series of factors, namely mental requirement, skill, physical requirement, responsibilities and working conditions. Hay guide chart method A job evaluation method that considers know-how, problem solving and accountability. Job classification/Job grading A form of evaluation that assigns jobs to an existing grade/category structure according to their relative worth to the organisation. Job evaluation The process of determining the value of one job in comparison to the other jobs within the organisation so a fair salary system can be established. Job ranking Jobs are compared to each other and arranged in order according to their worth to the organisation. Pay level What the labour market pays for similar jobs. Pay structure Jobs that are similar, in terms of class grades and points, are grouped together. Point system method Evaluates the critical factors of each job. But instead of using wages, as the factor comparison method does, it uses points. Scattergram A graph that uses plotted points to represent a set of data. Wage-trend line A line drawn as closely as possible to as many points representing key jobs in a graph.

Access Project :: essays research papers

MS ACCESS PROJECT The MS Access project is group oriented to allow individuals to exchange ideas and learn from each other. You will build an Access database to store stock, student, and investment information with data downloaded from the Internet and copied from other sources. Each group member starts with $10,000 in imaginary money which will be invested after the closing of the market on Friday 2/18/05, and will be sold at the closing bell on Friday 3/11/05. Each group member must invest all the group money in 2 different S&P 100 stocks. You cannot invest less than $1,000 per stock. The group that has earned the most money (or lost the least) at the end of the period will receive an extra 5 points for each group member. Group Composition Each group will consist of 4 to 5 members of same responsibilities that will equally share the workload. You will create your own groups in class. Each member of the group will be assigned the same grade unless otherwise shown in peer-evaluation. When it comes to peer-evaluation, the total group points will be divided among the members in your group, in which case you will be assigned a grade that will reflect your evaluation. This grade can be higher or lower than the group grade. Table Definitions and Table Data †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Build a new database named MIS175G000.MDB, where 000 is your assigned group number. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Import all data from SP100Stocks worksheet in the SP100Stocks.xls Excel workbook into a new table in your database. The new table will be named Stocks. The primary key for this table is the Symbol field. After the Stocks table has been created, change the size of the Symbol field to 6 Text characters, the Stock Name field to 40 characters, and the EPS (Earnings Per Share) field to a currency with 3 decimal places. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Build a new table named Groups with the following specifications: Field Name   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data Type   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key GroupNumber  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text (4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yes GroupName   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text (50)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   GroupMeetings  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Memo   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Create a new record in the Groups table with your assigned group number, a group name of your choice and, in the GroupMeetings field, type the days and hours you have decided to meet. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Build a new table named Members with the following specifications: Field Name   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Data Type   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Key GroupNumber  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text (4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   MemberID  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  AutoNumber   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yes FirstName   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text(15)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   LastName  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text(18)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   EmailAddress  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hyperlink  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Picture  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  OLE Object  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Major  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text (5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   PhoneNumber  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Text  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You must define a mask for the Phone Number field.

John Dalton :: Essays Papers

John Dallton John Dalton was born in September 5,1766 in Eaglesfield in Cumberland, England. Dalton and his family lived in a small country house. His family had been Quakers since 1690. Quakers where members of a society of friends. John had a brother named Mary and A brother named Charles, when he was born his brother was twelve years old and his sister was two years old. Dalton's birth was not recorded, so when he grew up older he asked one of his relatives and got and answer which was his birthday. His parents were honest people and good workers. His dad Joseph had land he had inherited were Dalton and his brother Charles help out with the crop. His mother Deborah Greenup homespun textile Dalton's sister help her too. John Dalton's family were poor but "although they were never hungry they were poor" Dalton was lucky he was a Quaker , other boys received little or no education, but as Quakers Dalton received a fair education at the closest Quaker school . For Dalton it was an achievement going to school since in those times only one out of two-hundred and fifteen people could read. John Dalton went to the Quaker school at Pardshow Hall. Dalton was quick when it came to studies and in mathematical problems he was good and seem to be tireless of them. John Fletcher was Dalton's teacher, he was a smart man who didn't use a rod to hammer in learning to Dalton, he was to provide Dalton with a excellent back-round and lifelong quest for knowledge. Then came Elihu Robinson a rich Quaker gentlemen. who become Dalton's mentor, and was another person to lead Dalton to mathematics , science, and specially meteorology. John Dalton had an intense fascination for meteorology he even in fact kept careful daily weather records for forty six straight years. When Dalton was twelve he opened his school in Eaglesfield. He was smaller than some boys so he was threatened by the older boys who wanted to fight with the young teacher. He managed to control the kids for two years, but eventually due to poor salary Dalton return to work the land for his rich uncle. In 1785 Dalton and his brother opened another school this time at Kendall where Dalton had recently moved in. The school offered English, Latin, Greek, French, along with twenty one mathematics and science subjects.

Dickens thought what meant to be a gentleman Essay

I am going to base my coursework on question 14 on what Dickens thought what meant to be a gentleman. I am going to do this because I too found this interest to what it actually means to be a gentleman. Throughout the novel of Great Expectations, Dickens is interested in what it means to be a gentleman. He tries to show us by telling us a story about a young boy Pip in which he grows up trying to become a gentleman, through Joe who is Pip’s brother in law who is a poor but a decent, hardworking man and also Magwitch the convict, who changes through the story but Pip especially changes. Great Expectations was narrated by Pip which he talks about his childhood and he growing up. This is called Bildungstoman. There was only really one reason why Pip wanted to become a gentleman, and that was to impress Estella, the girl he loved ever since he first gazed into her beautiful eyes. I thought that this was a bad choice to do because he tried to become something which he really that he wasn’t was by changing class systems. â€Å"Biddy† [†¦ ], â€Å"I want to be a gentleman†. Even Biddy thought that this was not a good idea and tried to warn him not to. â€Å"Oh, I wouldn’t if I was you†, [†¦ ] â€Å"I don’t think it would answer†. He thinks that by being a gentleman, he can win over Estella’s heart, but he thinks that by becoming a gentleman, he and Estella would be equal. I think this because back in the Victorian Times, class was very important of a person’s status and place in society and still is nowadays but some people now don’t like to think about it and think of each other as equals. Dickens tells us this by when Pip says that he wants to become a gentleman. It’s not really him wanting to become a gentleman; I think Dickens replaces â€Å"need† with â€Å"want†. I say this because Pip needs to become a gentleman to win over Estella’s heart otherwise he can’t. The word â€Å"Expectations† is repeated time to time in the novel. Dickens uses this word because I think it has something to do with Pip becoming a gentleman. I think that the word Expectation means something that someone or something has to live up to or they know what they have to do. It’s like a duty to fulfil. When Pip was young, he was expected to be Joe’s apprentice and work in the Blacksmith all his life but because his desire to win Estella, he wants to become a gentleman so he has new expectations but he is preoccupied of finding Estella. When Pip was a child, he was quite poor and lived with his sister who was married to Joe Gargery who is a blacksmith. His parents had died and so did his other young brother and sisters when they were very young who were beside their tombs aswell. This told me how poor people die earlier in life because they cannot afford medical care and live hygienically. But when he was asked to visit Ms. Havisham, it all changed there. He found out that some people have better lives than him because they are richer. I think this may have influenced him, making him want to be that aswell. These people were high in societies who were educated, so he thought that if he was to become a gentleman, he would be in a high society enabling him to marry Estella. Pip only had 1 sister and lived with her alongside Joe Gargery. His best was Biddy, his childhood friend. We never saw Pip hardly talking to his sister that much but he did talk to her politely and helped along in the house. Maybe this was because her sister always bragged that she raised him and she spent her life on him only making him feel rather guilty. This must of persuaded him to be like this to her. His behaviour didn’t change that much around Mrs Joe Gargery but later on she did die on illness which must of made Pip really upset by this. Pip and Joe got on very well with each other. They would often speak freely with each other. Before, Pip was thrilled to be Joe’s apprentice, but I think Satis House really affected his mind and what and how he spoke to others. â€Å"that I shall never forget you†. Joe really means something to Pip at the beginning. I think the politeness of Joe was a good influence for Pip to have around him. But when he left for London, things changed. Pip receives a letter from Biddy, telling him that Joe is coming to visit him. Pip was not happy by this. â€Å"Let me confess [†¦ ], not with great pleasure†. The word â€Å"confess† feels as if he is hiding his feelings from even himself and feels guilty about this. You can see the changes the class system has made into his mind, making him think bad things. Pip even began to think negative things about a person who he spent most of his life with. â€Å"I knew it was Joe by his clumsy manner of coming up the stairs†. Pip knows that it’s Joe approaching his door but instead of pointing out a normal thing which he would of normally of said before, he has disputably said a negative thing which again I blame the class system. Another thing was that before Pip left, he hugged Joe and left but when they met they only shook hands which even Joe thought he changed a bit proving again the class system changing a person especially a youthful mind. Pip treated Biddy very nicely and talked to her politely. These 2 were best friends since their childhood. We don’t see Biddy and Pip talk until Pip changes a bit and tells her about him wanting to become a gentleman. This was an important part because Biddy realises that Pip is changing and warns him not to go ahead of what he is planning. He takes into his head but then is overpowered by his will of Estella’s love. Pip gets a little angry at her too. â€Å"(I don’t know), I moodily answered†. The word moodily suggests he doesn’t like what she is suggesting to him and gets a little eager at her. â€Å"I am very sorry to see this in you. You are envious [†¦ ], dissatisfied on the account of my rise in fortune and you cant help showing it†. He thinks that she is saying all this because she is jealous of him becoming richer but she is not and just wants the wellness of her dear friend. I think this changed the relationship between these 2 because Pip kept failing on the wrong side of what Biddy actually went. I think that Pip should of atleast been more emotional when he left because I think that he was too over excited in leaving. Too me, he was forgetting what was more important in life than status. The only closest person around Pip who was the perfect and suited role model of a gentleman was dear Joe Gargery. He had the characteristics of what a gentleman would have without status though. I felt sorry for him from time to time because he deserved better but he was happy the way everything was. â€Å"I’m sorry to say, I’ve eaten your pie†. The convict admitted that he ate his pie and Joe replied, â€Å"god knows you’re welcome to it, [†¦], we wouldn’t have you starved to death†. He was so sweet and kind to the convict that he thought of the positive thing which was not to let a human being as himself starve. The word â€Å"welcome† tells me that he is a kind, decent and acts like a gentleman would without boasting. Dickens creates a character like Pip that treats people this way because I think that even Dickens wasn’t sure of what a gentleman was so to go through this change would make him see the audiences response of what they thought a gentleman was. I think this is quite an effective technique using the audience to see how they respond to these changes because it gives him an idea of what a gentleman is so then he can add it to his novel. To me, Joe is a gentleman. The way he acts and the words he says to people is a way a gentleman would speak: politely, caring, sharing, and hard working especially when he wasn’t upset when the convict took his pie but was actually thankful for not letting himself starve which most people in this world would not do. He never really says anything bad to anyone that offends them or makes them upset. A gentleman is a person who stands out and to me; Joe stands out as a character. Dickens portrays Joe to how Pip should be I think. I say this because when Pip becomes a gentleman, Joe was already one to everyone so I think he was setting an example. I think he’s just a good person because he just lives a simple, easy and nice life. It also could be by the fact that he was raised like this by his parents but I don’t know because the novel does not mention his background, just that he is married to Pip’s elder sister.

Action Potential Essay

What opens first in response to a threshold stimulus? Voltage Gated (activation gates) Na+ channels open and Na+ diffuses in the cytoplasm What characterizes depolarization, 1st phase of action potential? Membrane changes from a negative value to a positive value What characterizes repolarization, 2nd phase of action potential? Once the membrane depolarizes to a peak value of 30+, it repolarizes to to its negative resting value of -70 What event triggers the generation of an action potential? The membrane potential must depolarize from the resting voltage of -70 mV to a threshold value of -55 mV. ( This is the minimum value required to open enough voltage-gated Na+ channels so that depolarization is irreversible.) What is the first change to occur in response to a threshold stimulus? Voltage-gated Na+ channels change shape, and their activation gates open Resting State All gated Na+ and K+ channels are closed Step 2 Depolarization; Na+ Channels Open During the depolarization phase of the action potential, open Na+ channels allow Na+ ions to diffuse into the cell. This inward movement of positive charge makes the membrane potential more positive (less negative). The depolarization phase is a positive feedback cycle where open Na+ channels cause depolarization, which in turn causes more voltage-gated Na+ channels to open. Step 3 Repolarization; Na+ channels are inactivating and K+ Channels Open Step 4 Hyperpolarization; Some K+ channels remain open and Na+ channels reset How many gates/states do voltage gated Na+ channels have? two gates and three states Closed Na+ at the resting state, no Na+ enters the cell through them Opened Na+ opened by depolariztion, allowing Na+ to enter the cell Inactivated channels automatically blocked by inactivation gates soon after they open How many gates/states do voltage gated K+ channels have? one gate, two states Closed K+ at the resting state, no K+ leaves Opened K+ at depolarization, after delay, allowing K+ to leave Why is an action potential self-generating? depolarizing currents established by the influx of Na+ flow down the axon and trigger an action potential at the next segment The Na+ diffusing into the axon during the first phase of the action potential creates a depolarizing current that brings the next segment, or node, of the axon to threshold. Why does regeneration of the action potential occur in one direction, rather than in two directions? The inactivation gates of voltage-gated Na+ channels close in the node, or segment, that has just fired an action potential At the peak of the depolarization phase of the action potential, the inactivation gates close. Thus, the voltage-gated Na+ channels become absolutely refractory to another depolarizing stimulus. What changes occur to voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels at the peak of depolarization? Inactivation gates of voltage-gated Na+ channels close, while activation gates of voltage-gated K+ channels open Closing of voltage-gated channels is time dependent. Typically, the inactivation gates of voltage-gated Na+ channels close about a millisecond after the activation gates open. At the same time, the activation gates of voltage-gated K+ channels open. What marks the end of the depolarization phase? As voltage-gated Na+ channels begin to inactivate, the membrane potential stops becoming more positive This marks the end of the depolarization phase of the action potential. Then, as voltage-gated K+ channels open, K+ ions rush out of the neuron, following their electrochemical gradient. This exit of positively-charged ions causes the interior of the cell to become more negative, repolarizing the membrane. The repolarization phase of the action potential, where voltage becomes more negative after the +30mV peak, is caused primarily by __________. The opening of voltage-gated K+ channels allows K+ ions to exit the cell, repolarizing the membrane. In other words, the exit of K+ ions makes the membrane potential more negative. K+ also exits through leakage channels during this phase because leakage channels are always active. However, most of the membrane permeability to K+ during this phase is due to voltage-gated channels. Voltage-gated K+ channels make the action potential more brief than it would otherwise be if only leakage channels were available to repolarize the membrane. During an action potential, hyperpolarization beyond (more negative to) the resting membrane potential is primarily due to __________. The large number of voltage-gated K+ channels opening during the repolarization phase quickly makes the membrane potential more negative as positively-charged K+ ions leave the cell. K+ ions continue to leave through open channels as the membrane potential passes (becomes more negative than) the resting potential. This hyperpolarization phase of the action potential is therefore due to K+ ions diffusing through voltage-gated K+ channels. The membrane potential remains more negative than the resting potential until voltage-gated K+ channels close. This period of hyperpolarization is important in relieving voltage-gated Na+ channels from inactivation, readying them for another action potential. During the hyperpolarization phase of the action potential, when the membrane potential is more negative than the resting membrane potential, what happens to voltage-gated ion channels? Voltage-gated K+ channels are opened by depolarization. This means that as the membrane potential repolarizes and then hyperpolarizes, these K+ channels close. With the closing of voltage-gated K+ channels, the membrane potential returns to the resting membrane potential via leakage channel activity. Resetting voltage-gated Na+ channels to the closed (but not inactivated) state prepares them for the next action potential. During the hyperpolarization phase of the action potential, voltage eventually returns to the resting membrane potential. What processes are primarily responsible for this return to the resting membrane potential? Voltage-gated K+ channels close. K+ and Na+ diffuse through leakage channels.