Which learning style the teachers should use to teach language

Knowing pupils manner is really of import. That because it helps pupils to be active scholars. This survey purpose is to hold a deep expression in pupils ‘ manner in ADU and which manner they prefer much. Besides, which larning manner the instructors should utilize to learn linguistic communication and is at that place a different between the three manners of larning. Study was conducted in 20 respondents from Abu Dhabi University. The perusing of consequences indicated that pupils prefer to utilize ocular manner much more than others manner.IntroductionLearners have different manners, attitudes, behaviours, ideas, and positions. Everyone acts harmonizing to his ain character. Besides, every scholar has his ain manner to stand for or derive information. There are three manners that scholars use to derive information ; they are ocular, audile and tactile. Learners have different ways to derive information, some scholars prefer to analyze entirely and others prefer to analyze in groups. Otherwise, instructors need to be familiar with pupils ‘ manners because cognizing pupils ‘ manners will do occupation of the instructor more comfy. Besides, it will raise the pupils ‘ public presentation inside the category room.Statement of jobWhich manner is the best 1 for ADU pupils?Statement of intentDetermine pupils ‘ manners and happen suited ways to do pupils derive information easy and profit from their teachers.2Leaning manners definitionEveryone has his ain manner to show or get informations. Learning manners can be defined as several attacks or ways of acquisition. Besides, it can be described as an single behaviour, activities and qualities that appear on the scholar character when procedure of acquisition is happening. Actually, it is a sort of techniques that enables the scholar to larn in a best manner. ( Wikipedi a, 2009 ) Peoples have different manners of thought and different ways of stand foring information. The word manner is used in linguistic communication to depict differences between people. Style can be described as single qualities, activities and behaviour that appear on the scholar character during larning procedure. Style has a major influence in different parts on human character such as personality, behaviour, knowledge, perceptual experience, larning and motive. I think that the scholar himself can determine his ain manner. For illustration, if the scholar has a weak personality ; he will non pull off to show his thoughts and take part with the other scholars. However, if the scholar has a strong personality ; he will be successful in his acquisition trip. Students with strong personality show high attending to linguistic communication. ( Robert, 2000 ) When I move to the college, I see different sorts of pupils ; they are from India, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Oman etc. Each one has his ain manners ; some of them like to analyze in groups and other like to analyze entirely. Otherwise ; larning manners can be different from individual to individual.Types of acquisition mannersIn this life, there are a batch of differences ; people have different attitudes, behaviour, intelligence and different manners. In larning, we have different types of acquisition manners. There are three types of acquisition manners, ocular, audile, and tactile or kinaesthetic.Ocular mannerLearners who use this sort of manner ; they normally learn information or information through seeing things. They prefer teacher who uses the chalkboard or the projector to3present the chief points or the one who gives an lineation about the talk. Besides, they prefer to analyze entirely by themselves in a quite room. These scholars frequently see information in their heads when they are seeking to retrieve something. Besides, they need to see the organic structure linguistic communication of the instructor and follow facial looks. In add-on, they prefer to put at the forepart of the category and avoid obstructors ( e.g. pupils head ) . Al thought, these scholars tend to utilize images more and depend on ocular show such as diagrams, picture, chart, and press release. Besides, these scholars use their ain imaginativeness to show their feeling like picture and other humanistic disciplines. In add-on, to be able to get information ; they draw symbols and images on cards to remember information when they need it. Besides, they use colour pens to foreground chief thoughts. Furthermore, ocular scholars use diagrams and graphs to ease callback. ( Suzanne, 2000 )Auditory mannerLearners who use this type of manner ; they normally depe nd on hearing to get information. They learn best through listening to others, treatment, and verbal talks. Auditory scholars realize or gain significance of address through listening to tone of voice, pitch and velocity of the talker. Sometimes written information may hold small intending if they hear it. Besides, these scholars may get or profit from reading texts aloud and utilizing tape recording equipment. In add-on, audile scholars prefer to take part and interact with other scholars ; they normally pay more attending for the talker whether the instructor or a spouse. When analyzing, seek to happen for yourself an stray room where you wo n't trouble oneselfing anyone and read your notes or text edition aloud. Besides, you can utilize tape recording equipment to enter your talks. Al though, holding talks on a tape record enable you to fix for tests in a nice and easy manner. ( Shannon, 2006-2010 )Tactile or kinaesthetic mannerTactile scholars learn information or information if they are physically engaged. These scholars learn best by following the teacher motion inside the schoolroom. Tactile learners seem more active to follow the instructor organic structure linguistic communication. Besides, these scholars seem more active in they classroom, they set at the forepart seats and they take note4without taking attention to grammatical errors. When analyzing, set at the forepart seats and take notes without taking attention of grammatical errors or composing uncomplete sentences. Besides you can pull images or charts to assist you retrieve information. ( corina,1999-2010 )Taxonomy of acquisition mannersLearners use different ways to larn about any topic. Harmonizing to several psychologists, there are seven specific types of acquisition manners. In instruction, instructors should find type of scholars that they have and select the best manner which suite their scholars demands. Linguistic: in this type, the scholars prefer to read, compose and state narratives. They show a high degree of memorising topographic points, informations, and names, and are ever surprising you in their ways of happening the information. Besides, they have a strong ability to remember information you have told them, word by word. These pupils learn best through visual perception, stating and hearing. Otherwise teacher should courage them to be more originative by assisting them to compose down words, phrases and promoting them to portion their thoughts with other spouses. ( Stacy, 2001 ) Logical: scholars are obsessed of mathematical jobs. They like to work out jobs particularly if they are related to math. These pupils develop logical thought. Their chief issues are how things work, why things relate to one another and why things are here. This type of pupils learn best by analysing, differentiate and happening relationships between things. ( Stacy, 2001 ) Teacher should courage and assist them by demoing them how to happen relationships between things. For illustration, what is the consequence of pollution? Some pupils may happen that it has a negative consequence on human being wellness and other may state it has a negative consequence on animate beings etc. By demoing them how to happen relationships between things ; they will catch linguistic communication and they will be originative. Spatial: these are the imaginers. They spend their clip in woolgathering, watching others and remaining off from existent life. This type of pupils likes to work with colourss, images and usage head oculus.5If you feel that they are less motivated, you can inquire them to pull a image and so inquire them to speak about it. You will recognize that they are more take parting with you, because image for them is everything. Teacher should courage their artistic abilities and allows them to show their feels, ideas, and thoughts by demoing them how to make that. ( Stacy, 2001 ) Musical: if you notice that you have a pupil, who likes to sing all the clip, so this pupil is a musical scholar. This type of scholar love everything relates to music, they prefer to hear music while walking, analyzing and eating etc†¦ Besides, this type of scholars is good in detecting pitches, beat, and inside informations. ( Stacy, 2001 ) As I said before, they like to larn best through beat so teacher should accommodate his method of learning with their manner. For illustration, while reading any transition, he can set a vocal for them. This type of pupils needs the instructor to utilize techniques which are related to music. For illustration, to trip their memories, he can inquire them to compose a vocal about the lesson. However, music should non be devouring clip talk or that will convey bad effects. Bodily: this type of scholars depends on organic structure to catch the linguistic communication. They like to walk around the category, analyze everything and they use body linguistic communication to show their thoughts, ideas and feelings. They prefer to play any sort of athletics instead than sit down and read a book. ( Stacy, 2001 ) Teacher should maintain them active all the clip by playing with them word games, have spelling lesson during football. Besides, he can take them to nature to larn about geographics. Interpersonal: we can depict these scholars as a group of custodies that work together to finish a given undertaking. These scholars have ability to run in any societal state of affairs. They are more tended to hold a batch of friends and conveying them place. Besides, they prefer to work in group inside the category room and have unlimited patient for the others. ( Stacy, 2001 ) Teachers should courage their love for people and assist them to be with different types of people. However, parents should follow them carefully because they may6face people that have different civilizations, attitudes, behaviours and thoughts. And conflict civilizations may do some jobs for these scholars. Intrapersonal: are those pupils who prefer to work entirely and like rather topographic points to analyze in. They prefer to work on their ain involvement and normally they have a deeper apprehension for themselves. Besides, intrapersonal scholars tend to remain a manner from groups and wish do their best entirely. Teachers should follow them and support because they may perpetrate errors in any clip. ( Stacy, 2001 )Kolb acquisition mannerKolb divided procedure of tilting into four stairss ; the first procedure is cyclical procedure. It begins with concrete experience ; the whole procedure is based on experience. The 2nd measure is brooding observation, seeing experience from different positions. The 3rd measure is abstract conceptualisation, planing generalisations that submergence observations into sound theories. The concluding 1 is active experimentation where scholar uses these generalisations as theories to prove new state of affairss. Kolb believes that larning procedure is ba sed through experiment. He says that the whole acquisition procedure consist of four phases: experiencing, reflecting, believing and moving. The scholar receives information and attempts to prove every individual portion. Then, think about the information and eventually seek to move on the information. ( scott,2000 )Literature reappraisalSeveral surveies have been conducted on groups of kids. These kids groups include Native American, Alaskan Eskimo and Mexican- American kids. Surveies showed that certain groups have strong ocular perceptual experience in comparing to auditory, tactile or kinaesthetic manners. ( Swanson, 1995 ) Another survey was conducted on kids from different civilizations to find their acquisition manners ; these kids are from African- American, Mexican- American and Greek- American. Study showed that Grecian American kids like to utilize audile manner and both African American and Mexican- American kids like to utilize haptic manner. ( Swanson, 1995 )7Methodology:In this undertaking I made questionnaire, in order to cognize sentiments ‘ of pupils and about my inquiries or jobs. Then, I distributed those inquiries on 20 pupils from Abu Dhabi University ; they are taking different classs such as Muslim civilization, professional moralss and others. Their ages are from 18 to twenty six. After that, I collected them and started to analyse them. Finally, I compare between informations which I found in articles and informations in inquiries.Finding consequencesAs you know my research negotiations about the three types of acquisition manners which are ocular, audile and haptic. I am certain that now you are known about these three types and what are the significances of these types. Some pupils have their ain manners to larn. They may concentrate on ocular instead than auditory which I observed on my study. Other pupils have abilities to larn by audile manner instead than ocular manner when they learn. Some pupils get these types and they use ocular, audile and haptic to larn better. They normally like to alter their manners of larning. They use all these three types to larn better and do learning procedure more utile and apprehensible. I distributed study for 15 male and 5 female pupils in ADU. This study includes 15 inquiries that let me cognize their acquisition manners. These inquiries have four picks and each pupils select one or two. Before I collected their replies to analysis, I noticed that most of pupils in ADU use ocular manners of acquisition. This chart clarifies the consequence that I collected from my study8From this chart, you can see that larning manners of pupils at ADU divide into three types of larning manners as followers: Ocular manner: Auditory manner: Haptic manner: First, most of pupils at ADU use ocular manners of larning. I collected 181 points that 16 pupils selected from the different picks. In ocular manner, when pupils spell the word, they try to see it. When they talk, they dislike listening for long clip because they feel board. So they like to see images, waies, postings, diagrams etc to cognize thoughts, topographic points, etc. Besides, when they meet person once more, they merely retrieve faces instead than names. I found most of pupils at ADU like to larn through visual perception, pulling, utilizing graphs, and reading written direction that came with the plan. In add-on, they like to larn from books that has real-life narratives, experiences and illustrations. Besides, these pupils like to seek in web sites that have interesting written descriptions, lists, accounts, design and ocular characteristics. When they do something new at work, they like to see presentations, slides, or postings. Second, some pupils use audile manner to larn at ADU. I collected 86 points that 4 pupils selected. These pupils like to hold feedback from person who talks it through with them if they have finished a competition or trial and would wish some feedback. Besides, they would speak about, or set up a talk for them about for illustration,9Parkss or wildlife militias, when a group of tourers want to larn about the Parkss in their countries. In add-on, if the pupils want to larn a new plan, accomplishment or game on a computing machine, they would speak with people who know about the plan. These pupils prefer a instructor or a presenter who uses inquiry and reply, talk, group treatment, or guest talkers. Besides, if they are utilizing a book, Cadmium or web site to larn how to take exposures with your new digital camera, they would wish to hold a opportunity to inquire inquiries and speak about the camera and its characteristics. In add-on, they like web sites that have audio channels where I can hear music, wireless plans or interviews. When pupils do something new, they prefer verbal instructions or speaking about it with person else. Third, the survey shows that most pupils do non utilize haptic manner to larn at ADU. I did non roll up any point for this manner ; this shows that pupils do non like to seek or touch things that would assist them to larn. These pupils do non like to utilize the controls or keyboard when they want to larn a new plan, accomplishment or game on a computing machine. Besides, if they find person who want to travel to airport, town centre or railroad station ; they do non wish to travel with him. In add-on, if they have a job with their articulatio genus ; they would non prefer that the physician usage a fictile theoretical account of a articulatio genus to demo what was incorrect. In add-on, the ground of disfavor tactile manner is non known. There are several grounds that show why pupils do non like haptic manner in ADU ; one of the chief grounds is their ages. Adults do non like to play or touch things because they show a polite character. Besides, clip can deter pupils to utilize tactile ; as we know grownups do non hold clip for these little issues. Table of the consequences:Types of acquisition manners.ocularAuditoryTactileNumber of pupils16 4 0Percentage84.2 % 15.8 % 0 % 10DiscussionThe pervious surveies showed that pupils prefer to utilize ocular manner. Otherwise, do we hold to concentrate on ocular manner more? Each manner has its ain features ; we can non divide the three manners. Other surveies showed that larning manners are different from one civilization to another. Otherwise, these differences are natural but we can give some tips to raise pupils ‘ public presentation. I think we have to do a balance between the three manners. We should do the pupils love to utilize the other two manners by demoing them tips and bids.DecisionLearning manner is the manner of thought of a individual to derive information from environing. Each scholar has its ain manner to derive information. There are three types of larning manner ocular, audile and haptic. In ocular acquisition manner a scholar learns through sing the graph, notes, diagram, and image to derive information. In audile learning manner a scholar learns through listening to other people. Las t in haptic larning manner a scholar learns through touching things. The survey shows that most of the scholars use ocular acquisition manner to derive information, nevertheless we can non divide the other two acquisition manners because the three acquisition manners are related to each other. In decision, I would wish to state that all the three acquisition manner are of import for larning procedure, instructor or teacher should cognize every single scholar manner.RecommendationsTeachersProvide online study for the pupils, in order to cognize pupils larning manners Design activities to promote the usage of auditory and tactile manners Supply one talk at least in every class for pupils to give them tips for analyzing11Course of study interior decoratorsDesign course of studies with more focal point to images, graphs, diagrams etc†¦ Design course of studies that focus on ocular, audile and haptic mannersStudentsDesign box suggestions Design postings which show the importance of larning manners. Corporate with teachers to find acquisition manners12

Journalists Code of Ethics

Journalists' Code of Ethics 1. I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly. 1. I shall not violate confidential information on material given me in the exercise of my calling. 1. I shall resort only to fair and honest methods in my effort to obtain news, photographs and/or documents, and shall properly identify myself as a representative of the press when obtaining any personal interview intended for publication. . I shall refrain from writing reports which will adversely affect a private reputation unless the public interests justifies it. At the same time, I shall write vigorously for public access to information, as provided for in the constitution. 3. I shall not let personal motives or interests influence me in the performance of my duties; nor shall I accept or offer any pres ent, gift or other consideration of a nature which may cast doubt on my professional integrity. 4. I shall not commit any act of plagiarism. . I shall not in any manner ridicule, cast aspersions on or degrade any person by reason of sex, creed, religious belief, political conviction, cultural and ethnic origin. 6. I shall presume persons accused of crime of being innocent until proven otherwise. I shall exercise caution in publishing names of minors, and women involved in criminal cases so that they may not unjustly lose their standing in society. 7. I shall not take unfair advantage of a fellow journalist. 8. I shall accept only such tasks as are compatible with the integrity and dignity of my profession, invoking the â€Å"conscience clause† when duties imposed on me conflict with the voice of my conscience. 9. I shall comport myself in public or while performing my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency should be my watchword. Approved by the Philippines Press Institute and the National Press Club in 1988. code of ethics Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct I. Covering elections A. Pay your way. 1. The newspaper must cover the cost of coverage during the election campaign and count, including dining out sources for stories, the airfare, hotel accommodation, per diem and operations expenses of staff members assigned to political parties and candidates. This prohibition excludes transport services and common rooming accommodations arranged by the political parties for all members of the media. 2. Staff members shall clear with their supervising editors invitations from the candidates or political parties to join out-of-town or overseas coverage events, so the newspaper may appropriate the necessary budget, if these are newsworthy events. B. Do not accept cash or gifts in kind from politicians and political parties. 1. All editors, reporters, photographers, columnists, artists and other staff members must resist all attempts of candidates or political parties to bribe the newspaper in cash or in kind. Newspapers are encouraged to expose such attempts, whether consummated or aborted, to identify the culpable parties and to promptly return the bribe or donate it to charity with the appropriate documentation. C. Do not moonlight with political parties. 1. No staff member shall be allowed to work on a part-time, full-time or contractual basis with any political party or candidate. . Staff members shall be discouraged from inviting candidates to stand as godparents in baptisms, weddings and other church rites, or as padrinos in the employment of relatives or friends. D. Beware of surveys. Statistical data derived from polling and surveying is especially susceptible to misunderstanding, misinterpretation and misuse. Newspap ers should clearly distinguish between scientific polls and non-scientific surveys such as readers' call-ins or write-ins and person-in-the-street interviews that are reported in statistical terms. This must be done in a way that is likely to be understood by the average reader, including the headlines and graphics. * In using scientific polls, the sample size and the margin of error should be disclosed. * In using non-scientific surveys, the manner in which they were taken and their limitations should be clearly explained in print. Merely labeling a survey as â€Å"non-scientific† is not sufficient. * Surveys that do not meet minimal scientific standards of validity and reliability should not be identified as polls, nor should they be portrayed in language suitable to scientific polls. Great caution should be used in employing non-scientific polls to address substantial questions of public policy or to describe the popularity or approval rating of public officials or public actions. II. Conflicts of interest Individual journalists (publishers, editors, desk persons, reporters, photographers, artists, columnists) must weigh their obligations against the impact of: * Invo lvement in particular activities * Affiliation with causes or organizations * Acceptance of favors or preferential treatment * Financial investments * Outside employment Friendships In the end, individual journalists might do well to ask themselves: * Am I being independent? * Could my action harm my integrity or my organization's integrity? * Is the mere appearance of conflict enough to diminish my credibility? Am I willing to publicly disclose any potential conflicts? A. Be careful with secondary jobs you take. 1. â€Å"Outside work,† secondary jobs or moonlighting presents per se a potential conflict of interest, especially with individuals, firms or entities: * that are the subject of news, past or future; that are competitors of the primary source of income of the journalist (another broadsheet or magazine circulating in the same market); * that requires the journalist to render more than just editorial services (writing, editing, art design), additional services that wo uld compromise the integrity of his/her profession and news agency (pushing press releases, organizing press conferences, acting as press agent, etc. ) 1. Individual journalists who do outside work or acquire secondary jobs must properly inform their immediate superiors. A secondary job is one which gives the journalist income less than what he/she gets from his/her newspaper. ) 2. Professional work as stringers or free-lance writers for newspapers, magazines, book publishers, news services, photo agencies and similar organizations headquartered outside their circulation area is usually acceptable. So is part-time teaching in local colleges and other professional or para-newspaper duties. All arrangements of this kind are discussed in advance with management. 3. Journalists must avoid paid or unpaid work for a politician or political organization, and should not hold public office or accept appointment to any political position for which there is remuneration other than expenses. B. Don't use your paper/job to make money. Draw the line between journalism and your own money ventures. 1. Financial investment by staff members or other outside business interests that could conflict with the newspaper's ability to report the news or that would create the impression of such a conflict should be avoided. . A staff member may not enter into a business relationship with a news source. A staff member may not make investments which could come into conflict with the staff member's duties. A staff member with investments or stockholdings in corporations should avoid making news decisions that involve those corporations. 3. Similarly, staff members' employment by news sources or potential news sources should be avoided, and staffers should refrain from le nding their names to commercial enterprises with no promotional value to their papers. Business interests that could conflict with a staff member's ability to report the news, or that would create the impression of such a conflict, must be avoided. C. You are entitled to advocate causes and join organizations but don't impose this on your readers. Disclose your advocacies and organizational involvements. 1. Staff members should avoid any involvement in any activity which could compromise, or appear to compromise, the staff member's role or the newspaper's capacity, ability or disposition to gather, report, write or edit, faithfully, factually, impartially or fairly. Such activity must be cleared in advance with the editor(s) whenever any possibility of interference or conflict exists. 2. Journalists exercise discretion in all relationships with causes and organizations. Staff members are encouraged to join and to perform voluntary services for local religious, cultural, social and civic organizations. Newspapers have the same community responsibility as other businesses in donating editors' and employees' time to civic undertakings. Staff members should let supervisors know what groups they're involved with. 3. Journalists should avoid political involvement beyond voting. In no circumstances may a staff member seek political office or work, for pay as a volunteer, in a political campaign or organization. D. Don't misuse and abuse your privileges as a journalist. 1. Journalists must take care not to use newspaper property, i. e. its name, its stationery, or press card, for personal gain or advantage. However, we recognize that our involvement as citizens may sometimes compromise or inhibit our professional responsibilities, and we judge each situation with that in mind. We are particularly conscious of the necessity to avoid personal involvement in either side of an issue about which we would be writing or editing stories for the newspaper. 1. Unpublished information gathered by the newspaper may not be used by staff members for investment decisions. Staff members should try to ensure the confidentiality of information gathered by the newspaper by making every effort to keep such information from reaching anyone who might attempt to use it for personal gain before it is published. Staff members should be careful in dealings with news sources-particularly those in the investment community-not to disclose before publication the nature of the story that has the potential to affect the price of any stock. And because the timing of an investment is often crucial, no one outside the newspaper should know in advance the publication date of a story. When there is doubt about the appropriateness of a business investment, or about any possible conflict of interest, the staff member should discuss the situation with the supervising editor. . No staff member should write about, report on, photograph or make a news judgment about any individual related to him or her by blood or marriage or with whom the staff member has a close personal relationship. Writing or editing a story about a friend's business, for example, presents a conflict and should be avoided. A staff member who finds himself or herself in a situation where a conflict of interest (or the perception of such) becomes likely should consult with the supervising editor about the circumstances. 1. Employees shall not use their positions with the newspaper to get any benefit or advantage in commercial transactions or personal business for themselves, their families or acquaintances. For example, they shall not use company connections: * To get information or a photograph for purposes other than those of the newspaper. * To expedite personal business with, or seek special consideration from, public officials or agencies, such as the police. * To seek for personal use information not available to the general public. To get free or at a reduced rate not available to the public, things like tickets, memberships, hotel rooms or transportation. 1. Employees shall not use the company name, reputation, phone number or stationery to imply a threat or retaliation or pressure, to curry favor, or to seek personal gain. III. Writing the story 1. All efforts must be exerted to make stories fair, accurate and balanced. Getting the other side is a must, especially for the most sensitive and cr itical stories. The other side must run on the first take of the story and not any day later. . Single-source stories must be avoided as a rule. There is always the imperative to get a second, third or more sources, the contending parties to an issue, the expert source, the affected party, the prominent and the obscure, in the story. We must strive at all times to ascertain the truth of our sources' assertions. 3. Documents are required, particularly for stories alleging corruption or wrongdoing by public officials or agencies, or private individuals and corporations and groups. 4. As a rule, anonymous sources shall be discouraged, especially if they are coming from the public sector or publicly accountable agencies. But when we have to shield the identity of our source. -because revealing it would put his/her job or life in danger-we must: First ascertain the truth of his/her assertions; Determine if he/she is not a polluted source or an interested or beneficial party; Describe him/her in a manner that would establish his/her expertise or right to speak on the subject. 5. We shall avoid at all times language, photographs, visuals and graphics that are racist, sexist, insensitive and disrespectful of men, women and children; the religious denominations, cultural communities, and gender and political preferences. 6. The identities and photographs of children and women who figure in the news as victims of sexual abuse (i. e. rape, incest, sexual harassment, prostitution, battering, etc. ) must not be printed, and details about their personal circumstances and identities must be withheld. In the case of incest victims, the identities of the accused and immediate family members must also be protected. Disclosure of the identities of victims of sexual abuse-but not their photographs-may be allowed only in cases when the adult victim (above 18 years old) has decided to file a case in court. 1. Suspects in criminal cases must be properly described as suspects, Photographs of a police lineup of suspects must be avoided, except in cases of large public interest, and when prima facie evidence has been established against suspects who are publicly accountable officials. . Documents that had been leaked by sources, especially those from the government, must be properly described as leaked documents, when used in a story. As much as possible, the source must identified. 3. We shall accord equal prominence to rejoinders, rebuttals and clarification from persons or agencies criticized in our stories. These should run without any delays, or as promptly as possible, and should be e dited only for grammar. 4. When we commit errors of fact or impression, we must acknowledge this on print, and promptly issue a clarification. . Misleading practices such as misrepresentation, trickery, impersonation, and the use of hidden tape recorders in newsgathering can seriously undermine a newspaper's credibility and trustworthiness and should be avoided. An editor confronted with a decision to employ such methods should meet the following conditions: * Public importance. The expected news story should be of such public interest that its news value clearly outweighs the damage to trust and credibility that might result from the use of deception. * Alternatives. The story cannot reasonably be recast to avoid the need to misrepresent. * Last resort. All other means of getting the story must have been exhausted. * Disclosure. The deceptive practices and the reasons why they were used should be disclosed on print at the time the story is published. Advisory: No code of ethics can prejudge every situation. Common sense and good judgment are required in applying ethical principles to newspaper realities. Individual newspapers are encouraged to augment these guidelines with locally produced codes that apply more specifically to their own situations.

Patriot Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Patriot Act - Research Paper Example Though there is some opposition to this act, with the opponents arguing that it has some abuse on the civil liberty and discourages free speech (Mascaro, W06). The opponents also argue that the act jeopardizes the privacy and the freedom of the American citizens, by legalizing the surveillance of their private life activities by the government. However, this notwithstanding, the act has gone a long way in ensuring the safety of the American people against terrorist attacks. Through the ability to intercept telephone lines and internet messages, the act allows the government to spy all the activities of the terror groups and individuals, and serve to apprehend those involved in such plans, just before the attack is full-blown (Mac Donald, 23). The act has many other provision all meant to guard against the planning and execution of criminal and terror attacks within the US and its other areas of Jurisdiction. Under this section 215 of the Act, the director of Federal Bureau of Investi gations (FBI) or a designee of the director may make an application for an order requiring the suspected individuals to produce anything tangible may it be books, papers, documents, for use in investigation against international terrorism (Mac Donald, 11). Such applications are to be made to a judge, who then grants the director such orders authorizing the suspect to produce such tangibles. However, such orders shall not disclose that they are issued for such investigations (Steranko, 36). The information that the FBI has sought such tangibles is not to be disclosed by any one, the person from whom they are sought inclusive. This section has served to protect the lives of the American people against terrorism. This is because, it allows the intelligence agencies to investigate suspected terrorists well in advance and that guard against a likelihood of them organizing and perpetrating terrorist attacks (Keller, A2). For example, this section allows the FBI to wiretap communication or obtain an order to search a home of an individual they suspect is an agent of foreign power, or a member of a terror network, without prior notice of search a search to the individual. The only concern the opponents raises is that there is no adequate protection against such violations occurring in the future. The section has effectively eliminated the limitations associated with specific target people and group from whom the materials and information is to be sought, since it is not possible to predict who the terrorist and the criminals are. By providing for the acquisition of such information from any one and any place, the provision ensures a complete coverage of all areas that are likely to be sources of terrorist threats, even when such sources are disguised. This is important, since libraries and bookstores can be a vital source of information for the terrorists and criminals. Section 805 of the Patriot Act makes provisions, which makes any offer of material support to terro rist or terrorist organizations in the US illegal (Mascaro, W06). The definition of crime under this section is broadened to illegalize the provision of support to include monetary instruments, financial securities, and any form of expertise advice or assistance (Steranko, 38). This section has served to protect the American people from terrorist attack, through ensuring that no support is obtained domestically by the terrorist from their terror networks or

National bank regulation of commercial bank Term Paper

National bank regulation of commercial bank - Term Paper Example Nevertheless, every banking institution come under the regulatory fold either under a state government of federal body. The regulations are enforced in many respects and cover many aspects. The Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve, the Fed, can be called as banker's bank and a regulator of majority of commercial banks and financial institutions and also country's money manager. The Federal Reserve is the United States central bank. This is the biggest regulatory body of the nation. All national and commercial banks take cue from the Fed in their day to day activities. The Fed's mandates aims at promoting sustainable growth, stability of prices, high levels of employment, and maintain the purchasing power of the dollar keeping moderate long-term interest rates. In the U.S, the term ‘National bank’ has a clear definition: those who come under the purview of the National Bank Act. They are supervised by the Office of Comptroller of the currency (OCC), under US Treasury Depar tment. Banks forms under this act are required to follow the designation â€Å"National Association† or in short â€Å"N.A.† in their title so as to indicate their affiliation with the governing body. Many banks however are regulated by the state governments under respective state laws. Deposits of National and State banks are insured by the FDIC, known as Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It should be noted that banking regulations in US are not governed by a single body unlike UK or Japan. The U.S banking sector works under the highly-regulated environments in the world. Some of them can be listed as anti-money laundering, anti-usury lending, fraud prevention, promotion of lending to lower-income population, disclosures and many more. It will be worthwhile to have a look at some of the regulations that are in force to regulate the various aspects of national or commercial banks. Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-terrorism Certain acts are promulgated to control mon ey laundering activities which are stated as per the following. (Regulations) The Bank Secrecy Act This act has been formulated keeping in mind money laundering aspects where in all national or commercial establishments are required to assist government agencies. Banks under this act keep necessary records that are necessary to detect the suspicious activities of the transactions exceeding $10,000 on aggregate daily basis. (Regulations) USA Patriot Act This act necessitates banks to place limits on new accounts until the identity of account holder is verified. (Regulations) Deposit Account Insurance Regulation It was Glass–Steagall Act who paved the way for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for insuring deposits at commercial banks. In 1933, U.S was the first country to implement insurance for deposit holders to protect the depositors from bankruptcy of the banks. (Regulations) Regulation D or Withdrawal Limits Federal Reserve has put a limit on number of withdrawa ls and transfers from any saving or money market account. This regulation is applicable to all U.S banking institutions who offer such accounts. The limit is placed at six for all outgoing transactions through any method. Lending Regulations Regulation Z or the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) of 1968 is meant for consumer credits that informs the standard interest rate

Rational Choice Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rational Choice Theory - Term Paper Example In criminology, it is employed to explain the criminal behavior. It assumes that the state is responsible for the maintenance of order and for preserving the common good through legislation. The laws control human behavior through swiftness, severity, and certainty of punishments (Phillips, 2011,7). The theory consists of 3 core elements: a reasoning criminal, crime-specific focus and separate analysis of criminal involvement and criminal event (Phillips, 2011, 4). The reasoning criminal element postulates that criminals commit crimes in order to benefit themselves. The element proposes that criminals have specific goals and alternative ways to achieve these goals. In addition, they hold information that assists them in choosing the best alternative to implement their goals. The element on crime specific focus assumes that decision making differs with the nature of a crime, that is, decision making is different for each crime. For instance, the decision making to commit a robbery differs with the decision making to commit burglaries, while the decision making by a burglar to target wealthy neighborhood, differs with the one to target middle class and public housing. The last element addresses three issues: deciding to get involved in a crime, continuing to get involved once one has decided to get involved, and the decision to withdraw from the commission of the crime. On the other hand, criminal event implies the decision to get involved with a specific crime.  

Geology cpr essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geology cpr - Essay Example The banded iron deposited in these areas are said to have the biggest economic values and hence mining is quite economical, (Kesler, Stephen 443) During the formation of the banded iron, the earth was covered with acidic medium that to a large extent facilitated the formation of the banded iron. In addition, the great oxygenation that took place facilitated the formation of the hard mineral. This oxygen was fixated by primitive microorganisms that existed during the formation. Photosynthetic bacteria were largely attributed to the formation of banded iron. These bacteria synthesized their food in chemical processes that released oxygen gas. It is important to note that iron is highly reactive with oxygen and hence, it readily formed iron oxide that settled at the bottom of ancient oceans, (Kesler, Stephen 473). This is the most relevant theory that explains the large existence of iron oxide in several iron ores. Before the formation of the banded iron, oxygen gas did not exist, (Trendall 1). The gas only became existence as result of chemical reactions in the photosynthetic bacteria. Geologists agree that as the cyanobacteria became numerous in the earth, the oxygen emanating from the photosynthesis accumulated in the atmosphere and hence that is the reason why we have the precious oxygen. In the earth’s ocean, dissolved iron combined with oxygen forming insoluble oxides of iron. The iron oxides then precipitated out leading to a formation of a thin coat on the ocean floor. The thin layer formed into cherts and shale resulting into a complete cover all over the ocean floor. This brought about the stratification of the oceans and hence the ocean waters is "stratified" Over millions of years ago, iron oxide and silica were precipitated repeatedly over a long period. This resulted in the deposition of alternating layers of hematite (which is red),

Hemp economic impact and legalization Research Paper

Hemp economic impact and legalization - Research Paper Example Hemp is a relatively important crop and basing on its different uses it could replace a larger variety of environmental unfriendly crops to enhance economical productions. The forces behind the keeping of hemp illegalization are rather political not environmental in nature. The ability of this product and the byproducts of it are rather scary to many industries especially the petrochemical, liquor and tobacco industries. The fact is that the legalization of hemp would put money in the hands of the farmers and hence totally restructuring our national economy. An article published in 1937 titled â€Å"Hemp: The New Bilion-Dolar crop† named over twenty five thousand possible uses of the hemp plant. This is because it is; a type of Marijuana which cannot get one high could be the reason as to why its popularity still lags behind. Many efforts by different scholars and business people to prove the viability of the product to the economies of the world have been enhanced through var ious ideas. However, there exists some controls over the whole idea since it is described under drugs whose consumption needs control. Despite the fact that this product remained illegal did not deter it from becoming one of the most affecting in the economy of the States in a positive way. This remained so until its legalization through an announcement made by the U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. This came in form of a memorandum that specified that the federal government would not consider it a priority any longer to prosecute the users or traders of the product that broke federal law but complied with State laws concerning this product (Kayla 6). That was so and publicized on the October 19, 2009. This came, as a relief to the people that put the product to different uses inclusive is those that use it for medical purposes. This did not go well with everybody. Some people looked at it as a wrong shot to the U.S. since it was encouraging the breech of Federal laws especial ly those affecting the drug. This simply relates that hemp is a legal item on one hand and yet still illegal on the other. Its legalization has had both positive effects and negative effects to the economy based on the consumption and need that drives one to it. Recent developments show the highly developing and revolving relationship between hemp and humanity. This movement has seen the development of the modern industrial hemp industry that depicts by the presence of hemp clothing, paper, seed-oil products and building materials (Rowan, 2). These developments have had a positive impact to the economies of the world generally specifically in Santa Barbra. The industries surrounding the development of these products that evolve form hemp have had a positive impact on the economies since their development and hence developing trade in the regions from which they hail. A healthy hemp rally circuit gave entrepreneurs in this product the impetus to go deep in investing in this product. This backed by their literature distribution and wears that accompanied the rallies to ensure that they spread the word about their product all over (Rowan, 4).this further bolstered by the formation of the hemp council started in the Los Angeles in 1991. In 1992, a vast number of companies were already in place and hence the success of the plant. The success, quality and economic advantages of the product

Risk assessment and Epidemiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Risk assessment and Epidemiology - Essay Example Our discussion will be related to India where Tuberculosis or TB is a massive health problem. Here in this module we will examine the pathogen that is the cause of such a massive health disaster, and also make an epidemiological risk assessment for the same . Tuberculosis is caused by the pathogenic species Mycobacterium Tuberculosis as well as Mycobacterium Bovis. TB is spread generally through aerosols, when a person sneezes, or through cough and cold. Among the total cases in the world India caters 1/5th of the total cases with a whooping 2 million of patients .An approximately 0.3-0.4 million people die from TB in India each year .Tuberculosis affects the central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory system .Here the pathogen takes the most simplified route for the disease to spread i.e. through air .In 1990 The World Health Organization had declared TB to be the 7th most deadliest disease in the world. It also points out to a bare fact that TB shall continue to remain in that position till 2020 .Three years later in 1993 WHO declared TB as a global emergency. Such statistics acts as a pointer to India's position which remains grin . Exposure to the disease can take place from various fonts, these are i) nature of the contact that take place ii) the frequency of the contact iii) Frequency of the infected person in a certain region. Here the frequency may vary from villages to towns and cities .The hygiene and the healthcare habits of individuals , their lifestyle system , values also plays an important factor for the rapid spread of the disease .O'Grady and Riley in 1963 had experimentally demonstrated that Tubercle Bacilli was the causative agent that help in the transmission of the pathogenic

Management Accounting Assesssment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Accounting Assesssment - Coursework Example On the basis of such information, management formulates the future strategy to be followed to retain its competitiveness in the industry. In the contemporary environment, organisations are paying special attention to two main factors. The first one is associated with incorporation of continuous improvement in the operations of the organisation and the second one is monitoring the cost with help of an advanced and flexible accounting system. In this given project, both these factors will be discussed, drawing examples from Corus. At the beginning, a brief introduction about Corus will be given and later on issues associated with continues improvement and flexible costing system will be discussed. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn to summarise the information gathered in the project. About Corus Corus is the second largest steel producer in Europe with its main operations in UK and Netherlands. It is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one among the world’s top ten steel manufacturers . ... The company pays special attention towards the changing needs of its international customer base. Tata is an Indian conglomerate that operates in chemical, telecommunication, consumers goods, automotive and leisure industry. The Corus exclusively consumes 6.5 million tonnes of iron ore and 2 million tonnes of coal each year to produce 4.3 million tonnes of steels. Its principle production site is at Scunthorpe that alone employees 5,500 people who work in 2,000 acres of area. The steel produced by Corus is used for production of rail, steel products, steel rods and steel plates. The production units of Corus are highly conscious about sustainable development; hence the company is making investments to minimise emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases. With time, demand for steel in developing nations like China and India will grow further. On the other hand, international organisations are constantly increasing pressure on the steel producers to minimise the negative impact on t he environment. Therefore, while formulating the future strategy for the Corus, its management is likely to pay special attention to these vital issues. Benefit of continuous improvement in Corus What is Continuous Improvement- The term ‘continuous improvement’ is derived from the Japanese word â€Å"Kaizen† which means making changes that bring about betterment in the overall processes in an organisation. This comprises of IT, engineering, financial, commercial, customer services and manufacturing related processes. It essentially involves making small changes in the process instead of making big changes intermittently. This calls for a close supervision of the overall business processes and exercising a tight control. Parties

Monster making too close to home Essay Example for Free

Monster making too close to home Essay Since Martha was killed with Tony Penna golf clubs, Biema connects the suspects to the crime by stating how Tony Penna golf clubs where rare, but Tommy and Michaels mother, who had recently died of cancer, had left behind a set (47). Clearly, Biema believes that Michael and Thomas Skakel were guilty by the association he creates with the murder weapon and the suspect. Ingebretsen establishes that by definition, a story or narrative establishes conditions in which random or contingent events are given necessary and seemingly universal existence by the disarming and then' (para. 14). Although both pieces of evidence, the golf clubs their mother left behind and the ones found at the crime scene, had no real connection with each other than the brand of golf clubs, the author adds his own translation of the story to build suspense and, in the end, to entertain. To further trap the reader into his creation of the Skakel monster, Biema uses strong words to categories Skakel as a killer. Strong and powerful words are used categorize the suspect and tell us how we must feel about the criminal even if we dare to form our own opinions. Biema further condemns this Kennedy cousin by using an extract of a proposed book about Skakels confinement in the drug and alcohol clinic for the rich: Skakel describes being made to wear a sign around his neck it read: I AM AN ARROGANT RICH BRAT. CONFRONT ME ON WHY I KILLED MY FRIEND MARTHA (46). Not only does the sign validate Skakels guiltiness towards the crime, but it also categorizes him as an arrogant rich brat. Biemas target audience seems to be the middle and lower class people. He separates Skakel from the norm by classifying him as different than us. The same idea is maintained by Ingebretsen when he points out how the most oppressive chains are those spells words by which we nominate and transfix people in categories of likeness and deviancy (para. 28). He uses the word deviancy to emphasize how these words place the monster into a category that give him a different behavior and state when compared to that of the common folk. Generally, Biemas entire article separates Skakel from the norm, but what finalizes Ingebretsens formula for monster making is the expiation of the monster. The article in Time magazine comes to a conclusion just as the typical monster would reach its end in death. Although Skakel does not literally die, Biema has used the beginnings of classic story-telling techniques leaving the capturing of the monster as the only closure to this dramatic novella. As Ingebretsen proposes, Monsters provide variety to the civic repertoire titillation, condemnation, and expiation (para. 7). So far, Biema has mesmerized us with narratives that appeal to our senses and also pronounced Skakel as guilty regardless if proven innocent. The final blow is expiation where the monster reaches its final steps before being sacrificed in public view. In the case of the Time article, Biema ends with a testimony from the mother of Martha Moxley, the 15-year-old murder victim: For years, she says, she thought Thomas Skakel killed her daughter She has learned how to wait (48). Using this as the final thoughts of the article shows how Biema has easily convinces us, using Ingebretsens formula on monster making, that Thomas Skakel was the monster that Killed Martha Moxley. He makes us think of sayings such as good things come to those who wait to show how justice will finally be served for the unforgiving death of this young girl. So in the end we find that monsters come from our imaginations. If the media dresses up the suspect with enough pulp narrative and classic movie monster horror thrills, anybody can become a monster in the publics eye. Even if the media is to blame, we accept what they tell us and in fact help some of us to succeed in life by showing us where the line between right and wrong stands. If we see how bad our lives can become, we feel better about ourselves. Monsters are created to discourage us from doing what they do because in time, monsters will always get caught. Works Cited Biema, David V. A crime in the clan. TIME Vol. 155 No. 4, January 31, 2000: 46-48. Ingebretsen, Edward J. Monster-Making: A Politics of Persuasion. Journal of American Culture 21. 2 (1998): 25-35. http://www. u. arizona. edu/ic/polis/ courses021/ENGL_101-20/MonsterMaking. html Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

How Toyota Achieve Its Objectives By Implementing Tqm Marketing Essay

How Toyota Achieve Its Objectives By Implementing Tqm Marketing Essay The Toyota motor company of Japan has taken this challenge seriously and has proved its ability to compete with the once emperors of the industry such as Ford, Volvo, Chevrolet et al. Buy careful adoption of cutting edge technologies such as Total quality management, Toyota has turned itself into a game changer in the industry. This assignment focuses on how Toyota achieved its objectives using TQM. It unfolds in three stages starting with TQM and its scope. Secondly competitive environment analysis with SWOT and PESTLE analyses and finally it arrives at conclusion based on a thorough evaluation of the organization. Company Overview Toyota Motor Company (TMC) is the crown of Japanese auto industry. Started as a small car manufacturer on August 28, 1937 it gifted many quality innovations to the world throughout its history. In the early 1980s Toyota won its first quality control award in Japan. The company launched its luxury brand Lexus in 1989 which became a massive success. It also manufactures Scion an economical automobile brand that targets young adults. Toyota also conquered the hybrid car market with the launch of its iconic car Prius in 17. Today with a work force of 71,116 and an annual sale of US$228+ billion, Toyota is as profitable as all the other car companies combined. In 2007 it became the worlds largest auto manufacturer beating General Motors. (Info http://www.toyota-global.com/) Literature Review Total Quality management Total quality management can be defined as A management psychology that seeks to integrate all organizational functions such as marketing, finance, design, engineering, production, customers satisfaction et al. to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives. [Abstract Besterfield D, Michna Besterfield C, Besterfield Glen and Besterfield-Sacre Mary Total Quality Management (3rd Edition) (2002)] The team of the organization that the TQM is implementing tries to take part in improving processes, products, services as well as the culture which they work. This approach is inspired by quality leaders such as Philip B Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Kaonru Ishikawa and Joshep M. Juran. According to Deming TQM involves 14 principles. 1. Create constancy of purpose 2. Adopt a new philosophy of cooperation 3. Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality 4. End the practice of awarding business 5. Improve constantly, and forever 6. Institute training 7. Adopt and institute leadership for the management of people, 8. Drive out fear and build trust 9. Break down barriers between departments. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets asking for zero defects or new levels of productivity 11. Eliminate numerical goals, numerical quotas and management by objectives 12. Remove barriers that rob people of joy in their work 13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement. 14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. Today The concept of quality is significant more than ever before. The history of quality goes as far as 1920s to the times of gurus such as F.W. Taylor who is the father of scientific management. It erupted in 1950s in Japan in a time where the Japanese were searching ways to boost their economy that was ruined by World War 2. By 70s high quality Japanese goods had flooded the US and European markets. It took 20 years for the west to catch up the Japanese quality system. By today the growing global competition the quality has become a decisive factor and is inspired by changing customer needs. Today the customer is the person who defines the quality of a product. Quality management is important because achieving a higher quality is ever changing. Also failing to meet the quality standards continuously would result in losing customers. An organization can take many initiatives to assure quality of its products. Standardization is one such initiative that assures quality. Standardization can be carried out by round interchangeability, variety reduction; improved communication of technical criteria, commonly agreed safety and performance parameters. Standardization applies to raw materials, testing, sampling methods as well as processes Institutional learning is another way of ensuring quality. Here the training process for workers are recorded and will be used in the learning process. The learning forms such as lessons as well as good practices are the primary sources of the knowledge working process. The institutional learning process can be further enhanced through training workshops, evaluation material as well as electronic training media. Also by way of knowledge management an organization can assure the quality of its products. Under knowledge management the capacity to retain knowledge, educational capacity, design and training methods, the training programs as well as qualified trainers are the majors concerns under knowledge management. The fruits of knowledge management can only be picked when The learnt knowledge puts in to practice. The knowledge is material in innovation. Turning tacit knowledge in to explicit knowledge Gathering and preserving knowledge from every possible source such as information, experience etc. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a method used to analyze the internal and external environment of an organization. Following is a comprehensive SWOT analysis of Toyota Motor Company. Strengths Toyota operates factories in US and China that led to increase in company profits since 2005. The organization through careful segmentation, Targeting and positioning offers the right product mix to the market. Toyota is highly efficient in its manufacturing which uses total quality management. Toyota has a strong brand name which is a house hold brand name all around the world. Weaknesses Toyota is excessively focused on US and Japanese markets. Thus suffers from fluctuating economic and political conditions of these countries. Toyota has few layers in its hierarchy and as a result there are few opportunities for promotions. Heavy emphasize on techniques such as kaizen has led to higher level of stress among workers. Opportunities Toyota and Lexus has pioneered the environmentally friendly technologies. The world needs vehicles inspired by such technologies more than ever. The company is targeting the urban youth market which has a huge potential. The European Union is emerging as a world of opportunities for auto manufacturers. Toyota already has a large market share in countries such as Denmark, Finland, Ireland et al. Threats Global recession has drastically affected the performance of the global auto industry. Rising gas prices due to the OPEC decision of price hike is a severe damage. In 200, 2010 the product recall of Toyota was estimated to be million units. This can have adverse effects the organizations reputation. Toyota faces strong competition from rivals. New entrants from China, South Korea and India are growing rapidly. (Info http://www.marketingteacher.com/swot/toyota-swot.html) PESTLE Analysis The PESTLE stands for P Political E Economical S Social T Technological L Legal E Environmental Political Since it is a global organization Toyota needs to observe the global political situation. For the past few years Toyota has been enjoying from some of the governments key decisions. The governments decision to limit vehicle imports to Japan and the US governments introduction of quota system in vehicle importing eases the pressure of heavy competition from the outsiders. The Japanese government has provided stimulus packages and tax reliefs to deal with the recent economic down turn. Economical The global recession has hit the global auto industry severely. With inevitable losses companies tend to cut jobs. The same is applicable to Toyota. Due to sky rocketing cost of living people might be prioritizing the fulfillment of their needs at primitive levels. In such a background the industry might get a serious blow. Also during the past 5 consecutive years the global auto mobile sales in major markets have sharply dropped. Social Social factors are vital in deciding the demand for a certain good. Throughout the past decade Japan is experiencing a growing adult population. It is estimated that by 2030 the 65 year old population will be 25.6% of the total population of Japan. Some critical changes in the age structure of the country can be observed. Also the countrys negative population growth rates provide serious implications for the business organizations. Because the shrinking population implies that the business organizations will have to face a shortage in skilled labor in the near future. [Source Matsumoto Yoshiko Faces of Aging: The Lived Experiences of the Elderly in Japan ] Technology With the introduction of cutting edge production technologies adoption of such technologies in the auto industry can be widely seen. Use of robotics for production in Japan has become a major trend. In this information age people have more ways to know about products which makes the present consumer a highly aware one compared to some decades back. The development in World Wide Web led to many organizations going online. The organization will have to adapt to the new ground realities of online marketing to stay ahead of the curve. Legal Today although the free trade is been heavily promoted some key player in the global economy are following protectionism. Countries such as India, Brazil et al are imposing legal restrictions on foreign auto manufacturers in order to promote indigenous manufacturing. With its recall of some of the car models in 2010 Toyota had to face several court cases over accidents occurred due to defect Toyota cars. It was reported that Toyota has paid $ 1.2 million in settlement of a case that was filed against the company. (Info http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2010/12/28/toyota-pays-10m-crash-compensation/) Environment The global warming and climate change has become a burning problem in todays world. The changes in this regard have a major influence on the global auto mobile industry. The global warming has insisted the global auto manufacturing firms to come up with less emission solutions. Governments all around the world are raising the standards and tightening the environmental laws on this matter. In addition to the global warming problem the dwindling oil reserves in Middle Eastern countries which are expected to come to an end as soon as 2040s has urged the auto manufacturers to seek more sustainable and energy efficient solutions for the future. The green marketing has become a major weapon for any organization competing in todays auto industry. Today the green products as well as green production methods has become a threshold in many cases. Thus any organization lagging behind its counterparts in green marketing is in the path to destruction. Analysis Although the total quality management is widely adopted in todays highly dynamic business environment Toyota motor company has its own version of quality management called the Toyota production system or TPS. The TPS includes just in time production which means manufacturing products in required amounts avoiding excess inventories Kanban and Jidoko or automation. According to the field research done and published by Harvards Steven J. Spear it leads to the conclusion that Toyota has achieved a dynamic capability by following the Rules-in-Use for Organizational design, improvement, and adaptation. [Source Spear J Steven Just-in-Time in practice at Toyota: Rules-in-Use for building self-diagnostic, adaptive work-systems Harvard Business Review Oct 2002] The paper identifies that in TPS managed organizations every operation is performed by carrying out hypothesis testing experiments that makes accelerated generation and accumulation of individual and organizational learning about coordinating delegating, and performing work done collaboratively. This also includes work which is done repeatedly few times. The findings adds literature by explaining the most tools that got lot of attention in the operations research process were trustworthy and were giving uninterrupted service without any malfunctioning. lean_cs_toyota.gif [Source http://www.icsti.su/rus_ten3/1000ventures_e/presentations/production_systems.html] Just in time The idea behind just in time is manufacturing the required amounts in required numbers at the required time. For instance the assembly line of a car arrives all the sub assembly lines should reach the main assembly line in right quantities. This will eliminate the need for inventories thus removing the requirement for warehouses and storage facilities. As a result the inventory cost will be drastically reduced giving a higher capital turn out to the company. The JIT manufactures quality products in an efficient manner by completely eliminating waste, inconsistencies and unwanted use of production lines. According to the JIT the Toyota by adhering to the following guidelines can manufacture a car which was ordered by a customer in a soonest possible manner. No sooner an order is received for a vehicle the instructions as well as specifications of the vehicle reach the start of the production line. The assembly line is stored with sufficient parts and components to enable the plant to assemble any kind of vehicle model without any delays. The assembly line must replace the parts used by retrieving the same number of parts from the parts-producing process. The preceding process should store a small number of all types of parts to manufacture only the numbers of parts that were retrieved by an operator from the next process. Although it proves to be a success of following JIT method it is a complicated exercise at Toyota as its business involves hundreds of spare parts and components. Kanban system Although many believe that kanban is TPS, the kanban method exist to manage the just in time method. Simply it is an information system which controls the quantities in every process. In kanban the required amount of units and types are written in a card called kanban. It is send to the people in preceding process to the subsequent process which connects many processes in a Toyota plant. This method is supported by followings. Smoothing of process Reduction of machine set up time Autonomation Standardization of jobs Improvement activities Kanban uses two cards. One a withdrawal card and the other a production order card. jit.gif (Source http://www.toyota-global.com/) According to the above figure there are two operational flows as production instruction kanban and the operational flow of parts retrieval kanban. In the production instruction kanban it involves 3 distinctive steps. Firstly a production instruction kanban A is removed when an operator retrieves parts. Then the numbers of parts that are indicated in the kanban card are only manufactured. Thirdly the kanban is attached to the newly manufacture parts ready for the next process. Then the next process starts on the operational flow of parts retrieval kanban. The parts are transferred to this process from the preceding process. Then as the first step the parts retrieval kanban is removed when an operator uses parts. Secondly the operator carries the kanban to retrieve replacement parts. As the third step the operator removes the production instruction kanban and replaces it with a parts retrieval kanban. Finally the parts that are displaying the parts retrieval kanban are transported to the next process. Autonomation To gain maximum of just in time 100% good units must reach the prior process. And this process should continue without any interruptions. This means quality control must co-exist with JIT to get the best out of kanban. The idea behind autonomation is built in a mechanism means to avoid mass production of defective items in product lines. It involves autonomous inspections for abnormalities in the process. At Toyota all machines are autonomous where every machine is attached with automatic stopping device. This avoids mass production of defective items and also alarms machine break downs if there are any. The above theory also applies to the manual works at Toyota where an employee pushes the stop button if something abnormal happens in the production line. This would eventually cease the operations of his whole lines. In order to detect discrepancies in the process a device called andon, an electric light board is hung very high in the factory that it is visible to everyone this is called Toyotas visual control system. Conclusion The Toyota production system is a practical and effective as it popped out from the real life experience of the organization. This system is enriched with practical effects, actual practices and implications over the analysis. This system has a vital role in developing the quality of operations of the companies all around the world. Even to this date hundreds of western companies are using the Toyota quality management methods which are a clear indication of Toyotas success. Since Toyotas founding we have adhered to the core principal of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high quality products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this core principal created values, beliefs and business methods that over the years have become a source of competitive advantage. these are the managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as the Toyota way. Fujio Cho, president Toyota [Source Liker Jeffery, The Toyota Way, McGraw-hill, 2003]

Masculine and Feminine Norms and Gender Identity Essay examples -- Gen

Throughout today’s society, almost every aspect of someone’s day is based whether or not he or she fits into the â€Å"norm† that has been created. Specifically, masculine and feminine norms have a great impact that force people to question â€Å"am I a true man or woman?† After doing substantial research on the basis of masculine or feminine norms, it is clear that society focuses on the males being the dominant figures. If males are not fulfilling the masculine role, and females aren’t playing their role, then their gender identity becomes foggy, according to their personal judgment, as well as society’s. Norms in society do not just come about randomly in one’s life, they start once a child is born. To emphasize, directly from infancy, children are being guided to norms due to their parents’ preferences and choices they create for them, whether it is playing with legos, or a doll house; gender classification begins in the womb. A prime example comes from a female author, Ev’Yan, of the book â€Å"Sex, love,Liberation,† who strongly expresses her feelings for feminism and the constant pressure to conform to gender. She stated that â€Å"From a very young age, I was taught consistently & subliminally about what it means to be a girl, to the point where it became second nature. The Disney films, fairy tales, & depictions of women in the media gave me a good definition of what femininity was. It also showed me what femininity wasn’t (Ev’Yan).She felt that society puts so much pressure on ourselves to be as close to our gender identities as possi ble, with no confusion; to prevent confusion, her mother always forced her to wear dresses. In her book, she expressed her opinion that her parents already knew her gender before she was born, allowing them t... ... Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 10 Dec. 2011. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. . Lever, Janet, David A. Frederick, and Letitia Anne Peplau. "Does Size Matter? Men's and Women's Views on Penis Size across the Lifespan." APAPsychNET 7.3 (2006). Google Scholar. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Myabaker. "SEX RULES OF A MAN." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 18 Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. . Myerson, Marilyn, and Steven Walfish. "Sex Role Identity and Attitudes toward Sexuality." Springerlink 9.3 (1980): 199-203. Google Scholar. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. Pool, G., A. Schwegler, B. Theodore, and P. Fuchs. "Role of Gender Norms and Group Identification on Hypothetical and Experimental Pain Tolerance." Pain 129.1-2 (2007): 122-29. University of Florida Libraries. Science Direct. EBSCOhost. Web. 26 Jan. 2012.

Free College Essays - Symbolism in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Symbolism      Ã‚  The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism.   People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts.   Throughout the course of the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies.   Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery.   For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.   However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs.   She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven.   Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong.   Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece.   Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed.   The reader more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly at all, places Pearl above the rest.   She wears colorful clothes, is extremely smart, pretty, and nice.   More often than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics.   One of Pearl's favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees.   (The reader will recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans.   To Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.)   "And she was gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage.   The flowers appeared to know it" (194) Pearl fit in with natural things.   Also, Pearl is always effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans.   Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways.   To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no exception.

Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as Anglo-Saxon Hero :: Epic Beowulf herobeo

Beowulf - An Anglo-Saxon Hero A hero is a person of distinguished courage who has outstanding qualities and abilities, who is admired for these having these aspects of their character and also admired for brave and noble acts. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who has good leadership qualities, is able and willing to provide people with a sense of security, and is willing to go into danger despite possible harm to themselves. These Anglo-Saxon heroes usually were kings or thanes because they distinguished themselves above others by doing a good for the greater of everyone. This person has to be willing to put their own lives on the line for the benefit of others. There are several heroic characteristics, all of which Beowulf possesses. First of these characteristics is honor. Honor is showing a sense of integrity in one’s actions. When Beowulf went to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel, he did it not because he wanted money, but because he wanted to help out the Geats. Beowulf felt as if it was the right thing to do since he had been successful in past deeds which he proudly says in lines 321-322, where he says â€Å"They had in remembrance my courage and might. Many had seen me come safe from the conflict,†. Beowulf expected no reward for his action, but rather just being able to â€Å"put another notch in his belt.† Another heroic characteristic, which Beowulf possesses, is bravery. Bravery is being able to go against the odds and possibly risk your life in the process. An example of Beowulf showing bravery is when he goes to slay the dragon even though all his men abandon him. He realizes that the dragon is more powerful than he is, but he will still not back down. In line 1493, he says â€Å"Not one foot’s space will I flee from the monster,† thus showing his true bravery by not giving up to the more powerful foe. One more heroic characteristic of Beowulf is his strong sense of duty. This means that he is always devoted to his people, his king, and their security. An example of this is again when he goes to slay the dragon. He has no help, he realizes that the dragon is more powerful, and most importantly, he realizes that he will probably not be returning victorious from this battle.

HP Case Study †Strategy Essay

Hewlett-Packard’s personal computer (PC) division operates in a hyper-competitive, highly-commoditized industry subject to dynamic shifts. The PC industry is driven by technological advancements requiring continuing commitment to research and development to capture the ever-changing PC market. For most of the past five years, Hewlett-Packard led the PC industry in terms of market share. However, Hewlett-Packard’s market share is currently declining and recent industry reports indicate that a Chinese low cost PC manufacturer, Lenovo, is now the market share leader. Over four primary sections, we performed an analysis of Hewlett-Packard’s strategy in the PC industry. First, we performed an external industry examination to obtain information on the current conditions of the market, including industry trends, buyer and supplier marketplace power, and emerging market concerns, such as the threat of PC substitutes. Second, we conducted an internal analysis to determine Hewlett-Packard’s top resources, assets and liabilities, and potential capabilities from its value chain. Third, we documented Hewlett-Packard’s current strategic position within the PC industry. Fourth, we examined and scrutinize Hewlett-Packard’s current industry strategy of returning to its core competencies while consolidating aspects of its PC manufacturing and sales. From the information in these sections, we conclude that if Hewlett-Packard is to sustain (or regain) its place as the market leader in the PC industry, it must leverage its brand recognition, economies of scale advantages, and product integration features to capture market value while producing technologically competitive products. Introduction This analysis is focused on the personal computer (PC) segment of Hewlett-Packard (HP). For clarification, HP’s PCs segment includes desktop, laptop, and notebook / netbook computers. Hardware devices falling outside of the PC category are mobile personal computing devices, such as tablets and cellular phones. HP’s PC sales for fiscal year 2012 were $41. 5 billion, which represents 26. 5% of HP’s $120 billion total revenue from all products and services. HP’s PC sales captured a 16% share of the total PC market (Trefis, 2012). From an analytical standpoint, HP has made many significant moves over the past three to four years, including numerous changes in company leadership and distinct shifts in business strategy. As a result, the ultimate effectiveness and success of HP’s strategies discussed has yet to be seen. Therefore, some of the conclusions we draw regarding HP’s forward strategy will be measured by whether HP’s strategic decisions align with its competitive advantages and obligations to stakeholders. External Analysis The global PC industry is led by a small number of large scale manufacturers who are homogenizing products and looking to capitalize on low cost labor resources. Industry demand is driven by technological developments, disposable consumer spending, and corporate spending cycles (First Research, 2012). Although global demand for PCs has increased, profit margins are decreasing, creating an industry focused on price rivalry and little differentiation (MarketLine, 2012). In addition, PC substitutes are a major threat to the PC industry (Indigo, 2012). The traditional PC industry, with its focus on desktops and laptops, is in the mature or declining stage of its life cycle. Our external analysis examines the significant factors influencing the current PC environment, including potential market threats and opportunities during the next five years, and how HP is performing relative to its industry competitors. Exhibit One illustrates the forces currently affecting the PC industry. Threat of New Entrants Overall, the threat of new entrants is low because any new entrants face numerous competitive obstacles in order to obtain industry relevance. The PC industry has significant fixed entry costs and the challenges to compete with the economies of scale of major companies would be exceedingly difficult for potential entrants to overcome. Brand recognition creates another distinct entry barrier because PC consumers have high brand awareness (MarketLine, 2012). With that mentioned, Microsoft and Intel are powerful industry suppliers so the threat for forward integration is reasonable. In addition, the oversaturation of basic PC component suppliers in Southeast Asia poses an additional concern for potential entrants to the industry. New firms could originate in Southeast Asia by leveraging the low cost labor force and avoiding expensive supply chain expenditures. Buyer Power Differentiation: The industry trend is to move manufacturing abroad in order to capture low cost labor efficiencies. There also has been a trend to homogenize products across the industry (Krabeepetcharat, 2012). In order to drive manufacturing costs down, most basic components used in the PC industry are standardized and lack significant differentiation (MarketLine, 2012). The exception differentiators are memory size, processor speed, and product form features (Bradley, 2012). Overall the industry has moved toward commoditization, which strengthens buyer power. Network Effect / Brand Recognition: Regardless of particular PC brand, consumer brand awareness is high in this focal industry. Apple has carved out a unique and loyal customer following largely because its users have higher switching costs than other PC users due to Apple’s specific computer operating system. If Apple consumers were to change to a non-Apple computer, they would be required to learn a new operating system. Apart from Apple computers, the majority of the other PCs run on Microsoft Windows-based operating systems. Consumers of PCs operating on Windows have lower switching costs overall, allowing more independence in switching brands. Despite this, brand awareness is still high among consumers of Windows-based PCs, thus contributing to an overall moderate buyer power rating. Supplier Power Microsoft and Intel are two powerful suppliers to the PC industry. Intel is the leading manufacturer of the processors inside all PCs. Intel’s brand name carries significant brand recognition to end-level consumers providing Intel with a powerful industry position. Similarly, Microsoft’s widely-used Windows operating system provides Microsoft a powerful industry position as well. As mentioned earlier, the manufacture of most basic component PC parts is being outsourced to Southeast Asia to capitalize on low cost labor. Since Southeast Asia is replete with component suppliers competing with one another, major PC manufacturers face low switching costs when deciding on basic component suppliers. Therefore, supplier power in the PC industry is divided between powerful suppliers, such as Microsoft and Intel, and basic component suppliers with relatively little power. However, any examination of supplier power must acknowledge a growing socio-cultural concern regarding working conditions in low-cost labor regions that may factor into business decisions. Substitutes The PC industry has been significantly impacted by the threat of substitutes in recent years. Emerging mobile technologies, such as smart phones and tablets, now account for 61% of total PC market volume (MarketLine, 2012). While smart phones and tablets are strong substitutes for consumer PC purchasers, up to this point mobile devices have not had the same impact on business-end users, who generally chose the robust functionality of traditional PCs over less powerful smart phones and tablets. It is important for PC manufacturers to leverage these capabilities to diminish the functionality gap between PCs and PC substitutes. Degree of Rivalry Market Value Forecast: Future PC sales are projected to generate slimmer profit margins than the current 3. 8% industry average (Krabeepetcharat, 2012). As major manufacturers leverage manufacturing efficiencies abroad, product costs are lowering, creating a degree of rivalry and a focus on end-level costs. Manufacturers are essentially looking to cut costs and offer cheaper products to gain market share (First Research, 2012). Since products within the industry lack differentiation, price competition becomes the default battleground, resulting in ever-shrinking profit margins (Porter, 2007). This is very apparent in the PC industry market forecast (exhibit two), which projects a 10% decrease between 2011 and 2016 (MarketLine, 2012). Apple’s position in this analysis is noteworthy. Apple is the only pure hardware/software integrator, which has allowed Apple to create an incredibly strong position that is unique to the PC industry. Apple’s five-year rolling profit margin average is approximately 23%, significantly higher than the PC industry (exhibit two) at large (YCharts, 2012). Large Scale Manufacturers: Computer manufacturing is labor intensive. Major industry participants have moved manufacturing abroad to take advantage of low cost labor and geographic proximity to electronic component manufacturers (ECMs) in Southeast Asia. This close proximity to ECMs contributes to low switching costs for PC manufacturers (Krabeepetcharat, 2012). Shifting production of PC manufacturing to low cost labor regions and having access to numerous component suppliers creates economies of scale advantages for these large PC manufacturers. HP’s Performance Relative to PC Manufacturing Competitors Since 2007, Hewlett-Packard held the market share leader position (MarketLine, 2012). However, in the fourth quarter 2012, Lenovo, Chinese PC manufacturing firm (formerly IBM’s PC division), overtook the market share leader position (Gaudin, 2012). HP’s brand still carries superior brand integrity in the PC industry. The integration of multiple HP products, such as laptops seamlessly linking to HP printers, help differentiate an HP consumer’s experience. Additionally, HP’s ancillary products and services are still a strong differentiator (Bradley, 2012), and HP was able to capture a 5. 6% profit margin in 2011 (Hughes, 2011), a margin higher than the industry average of 3. 8% (MarketLine, 2012). Exhibit two captures HP’s competitive advantage over top rivals in regards to profit margins. In the United States, HP remains the largest domestic PC manufacturer (MarketLine, 2012). With the high degree of rivalry in the industry, the maturing/declining PC industry is shifting manufacturing to low cost regions abroad. Since the United States is the second-largest PC consuming country in the world, HP must continue to delicately balance its outsourcing activities (Krabeepetcharat, 2012). Once considered a technological leader in the PC industry, HP now struggles with competition from PC substitutes such as tablets and phones. Looking forward, it is critical that HP retains market share and re-establishes profitable growth in the PC industry by being first-to-market with new technologies or higher performing capabilities (First Research, 2012). Internal Analysis As a whole, the PC industry is currently in the mature or declining stage of its life cycle. During the six-year period spanning 2005 to 2011, HP’s unfavorable strategic decisions caused a refocusing and restructuring of its PC division. Listed below are HP’s top resources from its VRIST and top capabilities from its value chain. Comparing these resources and capabilities against HP’s past and current weaknesses allows an analysis of whether HP is propitiously positioned to regain its former status as the world’s leading PC manufacturer. HP’s PC Resources and Capabilities R&D / Intellectual Property Trusted Brand / Profit Margin Interoperability Market Share HP’s PC Weaknesses Acquisitions Substitutions Market Share Trends PC Revenue Trend Value Chain In the Technology section of HP’s Value Chain, HP is returning to one of its long standing core competencies by increasing investments in its Research & Development department (R&D). According to exhibit three, prior to 2004, HP’s R&D budget was more than $3. 7 billion. But after Mark Hurd became CEO in 2005, the R&D budget was reduced to as little as $2. 8 billion in 2009 (Y-charts, 2012). As shown in the lag metrics for new products over the past two years, this significant decrease in R&D correlates directly to the middling success of HP’s recent product launches. HP’s initial launch into the smart phone and tablet market offers tangible evidence of mediocre product development as both the Palm webOS and touchpad were subsequently discontinued. In 2010, HP started to increase its R&D budget again and the reporting for calendar year 2012 shows the R&D budget is over $3. 4 billion through November. This increased financing and refocus into technology development is a promising indicator, but any resulting intellectual property will take time to build back up. VRIST Analysis HP continues to be a trusted PC brand name (FTSE, 2012). Next to its intellectual property, HP’s brand name is its most valuable extraordinary resource. HP manages to earn higher profit margins than the rest of the leading hardware PC manufacturers based in part on this brand awareness (MarketLine, 2012). HP’s trusted brand image is a competitive advantage that it must sustain. Through brand recognition and interoperability with other products across its platform, HP is able to charge consumers a slightly higher premium over other leading PC manufacturers. Interoperability HP expects the interoperability of its Ultrabooks, ElitePad, and smart phones with other HP products and solutions, such as ePrint Cloud Services, to be its distinguishing competitive advantage (video link). HP’s next generation Ultrabooks boast stylish form features, low power consumption, world-class security features, and preserve mainstream price points. HP and its partners anticipate that these features will differentiate its PCs from its competitors (Bradley, 2012) and could one day be an extraordinary resource much like it is for the Apple brand. Since the PC market is facing continued encroachment from tablets and other PC substitutes, HP is marketing its enterprise tablet (ElitePad 900) in early 2013. Additionally, HP’s managers feel its enterprise tablet has the opportunity to differentiate with other products HP offers by providing interplay between the physical and digital worlds (Bradley, 2012). Overall, the size, scale, and connection that HP products have will enable customers to create, store, consume, and share information safer than before (Bradley, 2012). Market Share Since 2007, HP was the leading global PC manufacturer (MarketLine, 2007). But in the fourth quarter of 2012, Lenovo, a Chinese PC manufacturing firm overtook HP and now leads all manufacturers in global PC sales (Gaudin, 2012). Furthermore, China is now the largest global PC consumer market (Dauod, 12). HP faces substantial difficulty regaining its prior spot as market leader because Lenovo’s is a Chinese company with greater access to the China’s PC market; the largest and quickest growing PC market in the world. HP currently manufactures 16% of all PCs shipped worldwide, however that market share has declined since 2010 (MarketLine, 2012). Once a technological leader, HP is now an industry laggard and must develop new marketable technology to maintain its market share position in this hyper-competitive market. Acquisitions HP recently made some costly acquisitions with the goal of reaching product segments with higher profit margins (Krabeepetcharat 2012). Autonomy, a British software firm which specializes in â€Å"unstructured data† or human information, was purchased for nearly $11 billion dollars. HP is now accusing Autonomy of overvaluing its financial records and has taken an $8. 8 billion write-off against its balance sheet for this acquisition (Rushe, 2012). HP also purchased Palm in 2010 for $1. 2 billion with the hope of capitalizing on the emerging tablet market. But consumer sales of HP’s new tablet, the TouchPad, failed to support the product line, and the TouchPad was discontinued less than a year after product launch (Panzarino, 2012). Beyond these noted questionable acquisitions, HP made numerous other eyebrow-raising acquisitions under past CEOs that were not in line with HP’s core competencies. Internal Analysis Conclusion In August 2011, HP’s last CEO announced that HP planned to divest of its PC division (Krabeepetcharat, 2012). However, HP’s current CEO, Meg Whitman, has stated a renewed commitment to the PC segment. Part of HP’s internal strategy is to rebuild the balance sheet through the newly formed Printer and Personal Services (PPS) division in order to accommodate acquisition-related charges (Thacker, 2012). This is part of the CEO’s five-year plan to rebuild HP (Whitman, 2012). While multi-billion dollar write-offs are staggering hurdles for any company to survive, if HP can return to its core competencies and re-brand itself as the company of innovation (as it was once known), then HP can remain a dominant participant in the PC industry. Current HP Strategic Position Our strategy diamond analysis, shown in Exhibit five, determines that HP plans on implementing the following five strategies in the PC industry: (1) Focus on R&D (vehicles) (2) Pursue emerging markets (staging) (3) Reduce SKU’s offered (arenas) (4) Integrated products & services (differentiators) (5) Economies of scale & Consolidation (Economic Logic) Vehicles HP’s primary strategy vehicle is a commitment to R&D in order to re-establish HP as a technologically focused hardware company (Times, 2012). Exhibit 2 illustrates HP’s changing strategy regarding R&D investment. Starting in 2005, HP’s investments in R&D steadily decreased. After reaching its lowest figure in 2010, the R&D budget was increased. In 2011, HP invested $3. 25 billion on R&D, a significant improvement from 2009, when HP invested just $2. 77 billion in R&D (Yarrow, 2012). Interestingly, the bottom chart on Exhibit 2 shows that Apple spent less on R&D than HP but delivered technologically superior products. This exemplifies how R&D spending does not always equate cleanly with results. R&D is critical to generating a pipeline of intellectual property. Intellectual property is critical to HP’s growth because it is one of HP’s extraordinary resources. Strong R&D investments are often a good leading indicator of well-received future products. On the other hand, the lag metrics arising from HP’s previous R&D slashing indicate numerous problems. Of most concern is the failed WebOS that affected both HP’s initial smart phone and tablet touch pad releases (Davis, 2011). After the poor reception of HP’s WebOS, it became open-source software available to the general public to freely use and modify. HP is currently working on developing its own WebOS but is opening the system to the free market to encourage outside development of mobile applications. Staging Pursuing emerging markets such as China will enable HP to produce and distribute PCs more cost effectively. In fact, China is the future hub of both HP’s manufacturing and distribution plan (Bradley, China, 2012). HP’s executive team is aware of China’s increasingly vital role in consumer PC sales. China currently accounts for 20% of the market and is expected to double the United States’ PC consumption by 2016 (Bradley, Shanghi summit, 2012). HP is acting early by building PC manufacturing facilities in China, both to act as a distribution hub for other Asian suppliers and to distribute PCs directly to the Chinese market. Since HP began this strategy two years ago, HP seems to have been correctly following leading indicators and should see a beneficial pay-off over the coming years as China’s market surpasses the United States’ PC market. Arenas HP intends to reduce the number of its PC and printer stock-keeping units (SKUs) by 25% and 30% respectively by 2015 (Bradley, Newsroom, 2012). The maintenance cost of servicing over 2,100 types of laser printers is neither sustainable nor conducive to continued growth and profitability. Instead of divesting the PC division, as considered in 2011, HP now intends to re-invent its existing product line by focusing on quality innovation over quantity of product offerings. Geographically, HP will also be building a Chinese-based manufacturing facility which will help them operate more cost effectively in that emerging market. Differentiators HP expects to differentiate itself from other PC manufacturers by integrating products with services solutions, a process HP has already begun. In March 2012, HP combined its Personal Systems Group (PSG) with its Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) to form a new segment named Printing & Personal Systems (PPS) (Bradley, 2012). According to a HP director, merging the two groups into PPS â€Å"was a key strategy to provide consumers and business customers with better products and solutions that are seamlessly integrated with each other. † For example, upon purchasing a HP laptop, a consumer can expect his or her new laptop to wirelessly find and automatically connect with any of the consumer’s HP printers or other products. In addition, by integrating internal supply chain processes between the old PSG and IPG, and having a single HP sales person selling both PCs and printers, HP can keep the prices of its products and services competitive. It is business strategies such as these that show HP is still forward-thinking and seeking innovative or cost effective technologies. Refer to Exhibit 3 to view one of HP’s marketing videos (HP marketing, 2012). Another example of how the newly-formed PPS group integrates products can be seen in their â€Å"Exstream† product, which has been put to use by Humana and saved millions Humana millions by integrating static and dynamic content for easier communication with clients (HP marketing, Humana, 2012). Economic Logic Economies of Scale: As HP seeks to differentiate its PPS group to drive product innovation, there will be significant cost-saving effects due to increased economies of scale. Essentially, HP will save money by manufacturing more products directly in emerging markets like China. With China’s consumer PC market expected to double that of the United States, HP is ideally situated to take advantageous benefit of China’s emerging market through manufacturing plants and distribution channels located within China. Consolidation: By consolidating its PC and Printing groups, HP strengthened its position in many ways, including lowering costs in the supply chain. In addition to consolidating its supply chain functions, HP is also streamlining its sales teams and reducing its functional support organizations (Bradley, 2012). HP’s current PC strategy of consolidation is a direct byproduct of both a planned decrease in SKUs and the PC manufacturing and consumer sales reaching the ending stage of their lifecycles. If HP can successfully set new standards for PC and printing synergies through consolidation, then HP can create a viable path to maintaining its history of premium pricing via product features. HP Strategic Implementation Based on our analysis, the facets of HP’s strategy diamond are internally consistent. HP’s analyzed strategies are both interconnected and overlapping. For example, being focused on China provides HP with a strong arena given China’s anticipated growth in the consumer PC market. But a presence in China also validates HP’s economic logic by producing lowered costs. Overall, HP’s PC strategy is sound because HP is returning to its core competencies, such as hardware innovation. On a larger scale, HP’s renewed focus on R&D coupled with the creation of the PSG division supports HP’s current desire to grow organically rather than through mergers and acquisitions. One weakness that continues to hamper HP is operating with over $20 billion in debt derived almost entirely from acquisition costs related to fruitless assets. Looking back, HP could have benefited from smarter business plans, including a balanced scorecard, prior to some of these acquisitions. With such information, HP would have had a more realistic chance to make each acquisition profitable, or perhaps it would have had enough qualitative metrics to realize that the acquisition may not integrate with its core processes. Since change in the PC industry is highly iterative, HP must continually adjust the implementation of its forward strategy. Fortunately, HP appears to be taking the necessary steps to address its past failures and to capitalize on future opportunities. Since HP still has industry-wide brand name recognition, its return to market dominance is entirely feasible. But as technology progresses and markets shift, HP’s ability to maintain sustainable growth will depend largely on whether HP’s new PC business strategy can capture value while simultaneously producing competitive, cutting edge products.