Typical Art Funds Swot Analysis - 1715 Words

5. Typical Art Funds—SWOT Analysis and Discussion â€Å"Typical art funds† here are defined as those diversified funds that modeled on mutual funds and private-equity funds. The subject of art funds has seen about as much enthusiasm as it has criticism from both the art and financial industry. Art funds have been mostly criticizing for the illiquidity and high transaction costs. In spite of the market inefficiencies that characterize the art world, art funds have growing appeal when they come to portfolio diversification, asset protection, economies of scale, and financial long-term solvency. This SWOT analysis identifies the internal and external factors that affect the performance of art funds, giving directions for future development.†¦show more content†¦Although this statement is controversial, art can indeed offer an opportunity to reduce risks of an investment portfolio in a market that underperformed with financial crisis and the subsequent recession. At worst, art is able to hold its value better than conven tional assets such as stocks and bonds, especially in an inflationary environment. Company shares might become worthless, but the value of artworks will never fall to zero. According to the Deloitte ArtTactic Art Finance Report 2014, 67% of collectors stated that the most important motivation for including art and collectibles in their portfolios was for diversification and capital protection rather than returns. Even though holding artworks in their portfolio does not increase the chances that the portfolio will outperform, investors will continually take into account for portfolio diversification. For individual art buyers, especially those with smaller amounts of capital to invest, investing in art funds enable them to achieve a diversified portfolio of art. The main strength of art funds is that they allow investors to pool their money together in order to purchase a wider selection of high quality works of art, removing the risk of investing solely in one medium or artist an d being at the mercy of current buying trends. This based on

Celiac Disease Free Essays

Celiac Disease Celiac disease is a disease found in the small bowel. This disease does not have a cure. It can only be treated with a strict diet. We will write a custom essay sample on Celiac Disease or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are four types of celiac, and all but one can be treated. The disease is a genetically inherited associated with the HL4 locus found on the arm of the chromosome six (schaffner,small-bowel and bacterial overgrowth 2006 pg. 99). This disease can cause a lot of problems with a patient if not treated properly. The proper treatment for most individuals is to go on a gluten free diet. A gluten free diet avoids wheat, rye, barley, and sometimes oats. Some symptoms are excessive diarrhea, smelly stools, cramps, and weight loss. The most accurate way to diagnose celiac disease is to do an upper endoscopy on the patient. An endoscopy is a procedure with a tube called a scope and a small camera on the end. The scope goes down the patient’s throat to look at their upper gastric region. A biopsy of jejunal mucosa would be done in the small intestine to send to pathology and determine if the patient has celiac disease. When a patient is on a gluten free diet and their body has not responded to it within two years they call this non-responders. Only five percent of individuals are non-responders. There is also called a refractory sprue this is when someone does not respond to the gluten free diet or has responded and over some time has slipped back and stopped working so the patient has the same symptoms as they did before. There are two types of refractory sprue. Type one is a normal population of intraepithelial lymphocytes. Type two is an premalignant population of intraepithelial lymphocytes based upon clonality analysis of t-cell receptors and immunophenotyping. Type one can never lead to type two, a patient either has one or the other. Type one also has a higher survival rate of a five year study. This disease is a slowly growing disease. Now we find in some areas in the populations that it can be higher than one in two hundred and fifty people. Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten. Many individuals will experience an immune reaction to the gluten that is digested. These proteins are mainly found in bread, pasta, and many different foods that contain wheat, barley and rye. Some foods that contain gluten that are over looked are brown rice syrup, energy bars, mitation seafood, processed luncheon meats and many more. When we experience a patient that doesn’t obey the gluten free diet they could do cause damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and not have the ability to absorb certain proteins that the body needs. There are four types of celiac disease. Type one has an increase in T- cell receptor intraepithelial lymphocytes. The symptoms of this typ e are malnutrition and weight loss with no symptoms of gastrointestinal symptoms. Type two has enlarged crypts along with the intraepithelial lymphocytes. Type one and two are the only types that can be treated. Type three is present in all symptomatic patients, but many patients with this lesion are asymptomatic. Type four is irreversible and is found in patients who do not respond to gluten withdrawal and in patients with lymphoma (schaffner,small-bowel and bacterial overgrowth 2006 pg. 100). The one way to diagnose a patient with celiac is to do an upper endoscopy and take a biopsy. To get the most accurate diagnosis is to biopsy the jejunal mucosa in the small intestine. They can also do serologic testing. It tests the IgA antigliadin antibody levels. They mostly use this test to see if the gluten free diet is working. Patients with celiac disease have a higher chance of lymphoproliferative disease and gastrointestinal then the average person. Studies have proven that a person with celiac is more likely to develop other autoimmune disorders like type one diabetes mellitus, and connective tissue disease. Mothers that have not been diagnosed with the disease could have low birth weight newborns and preterm birth compared to the mothers that have already been diagnosed with the disease. The treatment for celiac disease is gluten free diet. Gluten is a protein in a variety of foods. Oats have no gluten, but often cause problems for patients. They should limit the amount of oats they consume a day about fifty to sixty grams. The number one rule in this diet is to avoid wheat, rye, and barley completely. Always make sure the label is read on items carefully, they find ways to put gluten in different places. The safe things to eat are fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, and eggs. Almost all foods in grocery stores have foods that have been mixed with gluten containing grains, additives, and preservatives. This makes it hard to find things in grocery stores. Now that this disease has become more noticeable in the communities, patients can find gluten free items in selected grocery stores. With our economy today some patients are unfortunate and cannot afford this gluten free food. For example a loaf of bread with gluten cost no more than three dollars, for a gluten free loaf of bread it cost six. This is doubling the prices on food. So I am sure there are organizations out there that will help someone provide food for themselves or for their children. Everyone has to watch out for cross contamination if our bread was cooked in the same baking pan as the gluten free bread was the patient with celiac disease would probably have a reaction to this. This is a very hard diet and it takes a lot of getting use too. If the patient looks at this diet in a positive way it will come easier to them. Approximately seventy percent of patients have noticeable clinical improvement within two weeks (Ciclitira, MD, PhD, FRCPJ; Lamont, MD; Grover, MD MPH; Up to date, 2012 www. uptodate. com). Once a patient reaches remission stage in the diet, some patients are able to consume little amounts of gluten and tolerate it and some have to stay on the diet from then on. A patient should be evaluated four to six weeks after starting the gluten free diet to have a complete blood count, folate, B12, iron studies, liver chemistries, and serologic testing to see how they are doing and making sure nothing else is wrong. A gluten free diet is the only treatment for celiac disease. So when a patient is a non-responder to the gluten free diet they could be in some danger. This is a rare thing that happens only in five percent are non-responders. Patients who do not respond fall in five categories. * Patients with poor compliance or inadvertent gluten ingestion * Patients with clinical or histologic features that overlap with celiac disease but are caused by other disorders * Patients with concurrent disorders * Patients with refractory sprue * Patients with ulcerative jejunitis or intestinal lymphoma The most common reason for non-responders is poor compliance or inadvertent gluten ingestion. These patients need to go to a specificity trained dietitian. Patients with concurrent disorders should be considered in patient who despite apparent compliance, continue to have symptoms or do not have histologic improvements. Refractory sprue has two types. Type one is when there is a normal population of intraepithelial lymphocytes. Type two is when there is an aberrant or premalignant population of intraepithelial lymphocytes base upon conality analysis of t-cell receptors. Patients with type one have less severe presentation and a more better prognosis than patients with type two disease. Ciclitira, MD, PhD, FRCPJ; Lamont, MD; Grover, MD MPH; Up to date, 2012 www. uptodate. com ) On a five year study survival was higher in the type one group. In type two most deaths were due to the development of t-cell lymphoma. No patients with type one developed type two, so it doesn’t progress into one another. Refractory sprue can be severe and associate with progressive malabsorption and death (Ciclitira, MD, PhD, FRCPJ; Lamont, MD; Grover, MD MPH; Up to date, 2012 www. uptodate. com). The cause of this is unknown. Ulcerative jejunitis and lymphoma should be considered in patients with refractory sprue unresponsive to glucocorticoids (Ciclitira, MD, PhD, FRCPJ; Lamont, MD; Grover, MD MPH; Up to date, 2012 www. uptodate. com). Patient with ulcerative jejunitis have multiple chronic benign appearing ulcers, most frequently in the jejunum. Patients could have recurrent symptoms of malabsorption, lassitude, anorexia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever despite being on a gluten free diet this disease is found in middle aged patients with underlying celiac disease. Celiac disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten. There is not a cure for this disease but there is a treatment. A gluten free diet is the treatment for this disease. It is a hard and intense diet to stick to. There are many complications that happen to the body when on a gluten free diet. The body doesn’t get enough vitamins and minerals. Gluten is any wheat, rye or barley. Ninety percent of the food that is eaten today has gluten in it at some degree. Very rare does a person not respond to a gluten free diet, they call this non-responders. The disease is a genetically inherited disease associated with the HL4 locus found on the arm of the chromosome six. schaffner,small-bowel and bacterial overgrowth 2006 pg. 99). We should have all of our family checked for this disease if someone in the family has had it. This is a disease this country is starting to see more and more. References Ciclitira, MD, PhD, FRCPJ; Lamont, MD; Grover, MD MPH; Up to date, 2012 www. uptodate. com Greenberger; Blumberg; Burakoff; current diagnosis t reatment;2009; McGraw Hill companies Hauser, MD; pardi, MD; Poterucha MD; mayo clinic gastroenterology and hepatology board review, second edition;2006 How to cite Celiac Disease, Papers

Evaluation Sustainable Enterprise Characteristic

Question: Discuss about the Evaluation Sustainable Enterprise Characteristic. Answer: Introduction The aim of the present paper is to accomplish a fruitful evaluation of the key characteristic features of the monitoring systems and the criterions those establish efficient indicators. This initial attempt would be followed by an in-depth elaboration of the sustainability dimensions attained by the considered organization in this present assignment. Most importantly, the assignment would successfully enlist and assess the indicators for monitoring, which will be accompanied by a detailed development plan. In this context, it is to state that the entire paper will concentrate on the dunphy phase in which the chosen company is currently at along with figuring out in which convenient dunphy extent, the company could elevate itself. It is to convey in the respect that, for the mentioned attempt the paper have considered the global organization Nike. Prior to evaluate the prime characteristics of an effective monitoring system, it is significant to add that in a business organization monitoring system is necessary for preventing circumstances of adverse consequences. More specifically, in case of achieving any particular project or business program, an organization requires maintaining observation and taking records of each of the activities included in the program or project. The reason behind this importance is to see whether the designed activities are working as per the expectation to accomplish the organizational aim (Bell Morse, 2013). Among the fundamental characteristic features of an effective monitoring system, probably the most significant one is an efficient monitoring system make measurement and produce reports based on the results that are reflected through the particular strategic objectives of an individual organization. Furthermore, this characteristic feature is followed by the attribute of identifying key exis ting issues. However, most importantly, in case of evaluating the roles of monitoring system, it is necessary to give an eye upon the rudimentary types of monitoring and indicators frequent among the business organizations. It has been found that the most common kinds are physical and financial monitoring, process monitoring, impact monitoring, project and decision making monitoring. The specific roles of each of this monitoring system are as follow Different kinds Characteristics Physical and financial monitoring Making measurement of the rate of progress of activities of a particular project against the procured indicators and schemes of success Process monitoring Recognizing the distinct factors, which accounts for the advancement of the activities designed for acquiring proper output production (Aoki, 2013) Impact monitoring The chief role of impact monitoring is to measure the actions and reactions regarding the project activities and the initial short term effects of them Project on sustainability monitoring To monitor the assigned or adopted models of corporate social responsibilities Table 1: Characteristics of various monitoring system (Source: As created by the author) In this context of evaluating the role or rudimentary traits of monitoring any project of an organization, it has been found out that the every projects are monitored based on several significance, which are Assessing the understanding of the stakeholders who are related with a project Reducing the risk factors of the projects Promoting a management which is systematic as well as professional Analyzing the progress regarding any implementation Most significant aspect to be identified in this respect is the particular standards, which potentially contribute to establish an effective indicator. Predominantly, there are seven particular aspects which cumulatively give birth to an efficient indicator are Essential characteristics Elaboration Simple To acquire a convenient indicator, the indicator essentially needs to stay simple. There are two individual ways for this, one is it has to be easily comprehended and the other is, it should be easily measurable Aligned It has been identified from the existing literatures that to become an effective indicator, it needs to stay aligned. More specifically, indicating objects should attempt to trickle down through the strategic goals and the regular operations, which have direct influence upon the activities of the employees (Aoki, 2013). Relevant It is considered that to become effective, an indicator needs to maintain its relevance. It means that indicating tools or measurement strategies should be applicable according to designed activities. Moreover, in terms of being relevant, indicating or measurement options should stay relevantly aligned with the organizational aims. Measurable An indicator needs to become measurable to assess both the positive and negative outcomes obtained from a goal. To become measurable in terms of being effective, an indicator should rely on potential and prioritized organizational goals. Achievable To become effective, an indicator needs to become easily accessible or achievable. It has been identified that according to NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) unachievable goals are synonymous with de-motivating factors. It is to say in this context that an indicator prove unattainable only when the established aims are unachievable (Bell Morse, 2013). Timely An effective indicator needs to be timely. More precisely, an indicator should have the time management quality, for producing report on time and make an in-depth analysis of the report timely. Visible Another essential characteristic of an effective indicator is visibility. It means that the analysis of the outcomes by an indicator needs to be visible for every employee of an organization. Table 2: Characteristics for developing a relevant indicator (Source: As created by the author) The enterprise The organization chosen for description of the sustainable approaches along with sustainability dimension and indicators for monitoring the activities of sustainability is Nike, Inc. Nike is an American multinational giant that is focused into designing, developing, manufacturing, sales and marketing of the apparel, footwear, accessories, equipment and services to the global market. Nike is considered as one of the largest manufacturers of equipments of sports and suppliers of apparel and athletic shoes. Worldwide Nike has a huge market and it employs more than 44,000 employees as of 2012. However, in the year of 2014, Nike valued $19 billion. It makes Nike the most valuable brand in the perspective of sports businesses. Nike is also popular in most of the countries of the world. The brand slogan Just do it and the swoosh logo are the most popular things of the brand that reinforces the minds of the people about the brand Nike (Goswami Ha-Brookshire, 2015). The trademark phrase is r esponsible for counteracting different types of effects in terms of change of climate in by developing different approaches of sustainability in the community. It can be said that Nike is considered as one of the top companies of the world in terms of environment friendly. There are many types of sustainability approaches initiated by the company in order to maintain environmental sustainability. The vision statement of the company usually focuses on the situation of the businesses i.e. it will speculate the scarcity of different types of information that is aligned to the corporate values. The sustainability approaches of Nike is embedded the approaches of sustainability across different kinds of signals and businesses. Organizational commitment of Nike is committed into setting aggressive sustainability targets while investing in different types of disruptive innovation. These approaches are responsible for driving the growth of the company. It will deliver the performance of the innovation that the company is focused into i.e. boosting up the athletes by developing different types of accessories such as footwear, apparels, etc. The sustainability approaches acts as a catalyst in order to create an innovative effect and difference to the world especially to the community as a whole. Nike is committed in expanding its business almost to double while creating a challenge for them in attaining the number one position in its sector of industry. The bold ambition of the company is to take as much as possible more than that of its incremental efficiency. The innovation of N ike is an important aspect that is famous across the world. The company follows various aspects in different business operations including formulating sustainability approaches (Borland Lindgreen, 2013). The sustainability department of the company focuses on different dimensions of social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions. The dimensions are important in terms of developing a developmental plan while monitoring its aspects in the field of work. The sustainability goals of the company are reducing carbon emissions, delivering reduction of substantial water, working with better and fewer contract factories, driving down waste and improved product sustainability in a period of continuous growth. Sustainability dimension Prior to evaluate the dimensions of sustainability incorporated by Nike, it is essential to state that predominant dimensions related with the acts of sustainability are social, environmental and economic. It has been identified that through the global sustainability report of the considered organization Nike preferably prioritize the need to maintain all its operations sustainable. It is evident based on the facts that Nike in the present year, Nike intends to make near about 10% decrease in its average rate of environmental footprint by its nature-friendly production of shoes. Moreover, it has been identified that Nike is impressively using less amount of energy for reducing the carbon emission and has already decided that Nike in its operated facilities, the company targets to use near about 100% renewable energies (Ciegis et al. 2015). Therefore, considering Nikes existing contribution through its sustainable activity, it is understandable that the organization needs to prioriti ze the social and economical dimension with more significance along with the environmental one. Therefore, numerous relevant strategies could be given regarding two of these sustainable dimensions. As part of the economic dimension that could be applied to the organization Nike, it could be said that the in terms of the dimension, the company can be said that the company should give importance to become more profitable, have low-cost or cost effective production and provide affordable price for their products. Moreover, in terms of economic dimension of sustainability, Nike should keep in mind the need to produce products, which have high demand and should give significance in paying tax and using local resources (Wood Hertwich, 2013). Considering this dimensions, Nike should consider recruiting the local individuals with high talent in each of its regional front. Moreover, in their production, the company should consider using materials, which are available from the local territory. Most significantly, the company could consider building a separate decision making council or a consultation team, which will help in formulating and implementing the required strategies. Further more, as per Hawkins et al. (2014), an advisory group of stakeholders composed of both public and private alongside civic stake holding entities who will be able to support the strategies for sustainable economic advancement. Possibly, under the title of economic dimension, Nike should maintain four individual objectives, which are green savings, green opportunities, green talents and green places. Through the objectives of green savings and green opportunities, the company could encourage community, governments and other companies to use renewable energies and assist market and economical growth of the companies through business development and increasing the rate of income (Winter Knemeyer, (2013). On the other hand, through the objectives of green talent and green places, Nike can invest in the advancement of technical and educational research and innovation as well as can promote the eco-smart development. Nevertheless, on the part of social dimension, Nike should give priority to produce products, which can improve the community lives, to maintain the resource materials with responsibility and to support communities to acquire a better living. Moreover, it would be required for to concentrate on to improving the quality of the environment of the neighboring society (Missimer, 2013). Henceforth, to maintain these dimensions, Nike should give priority to numerous aspects, such as social equity, health equity, cultural competence, social capital and labor rights. In terms of social equity, Nike should consider providing equal job opportunities to the local inhabitants and in terms health equity, Nike should think about providing health benefits to the exiting employees along with supporting the community to occupy convenient and accessible health benefits. On the other hand, in terms of cultural competence, Nike can promote the cultural activities of the neighborhood globally through imp ressive investment. It would be relevant for maintaining a successful brand image alongside would increase cultural competencies (Montiel Delgado-Ceballos, 2014). However, for labor rights, which are regarded as one of the major facets of social dimension of sustainability, Nike should increase the empowerment among its employees and should provide equal opportunities and an impressive scale of payment to them. Moreover, it would be relevant to include the employees in time of taking major decisions in terms of maximizing labor rights. Moreover, in terms of social capital, Nike should focus on maximizing the communication between the employees, peers and seniors within the organization. It would be relevant as per the significance of implementing strong social networking, which leads to strengthen the position of social capital (Kharrazi et al. 2013). List and Assessment of indicators for monitoring In the above section, the sustainability dimensions of Nike are explained in a detailed manner. The dimensions are categorized into three categories socio-cultural, economic and environmental dimensions. However, the indicators are chosen in order to control the strategies, activities and other policies regarding the dimensions of sustainability. There are many regulatory requirements that that are prevalent in choosing indicators which are more relevant to the sustainability approaches of Nike. However, the indicators chosen for the three dimensions of sustainability are discussed in the form of a table. Environmental sustainability Indicator Name Definition Measurement Limitations Resource consumption rates Resource consumption rates in terms of environmental aspects of Nike are defined as the consumption of different types of sustainable approaches of Nike. It can be said that Nike will use its resources to its fullest in order to create successful strategies in the environmental aspect of the sustainability dimensions (Egels-Zandn, 2016). Rates of resource consumption are measured by the supervisors that are kept for checking the optimum use of different types of available resources. Limitations of this indicator is sometimes actual measurement of resources are not calculated in an exact amount. Embodied or embedded carbon This dimension of embedded carbon is related to the emission of carbon by Nike in their manufacturing sites and other departments of operations (Epstein Buhovac, 2014). Carbon footprint or the amount of carbon emitted by Nike can be measured scientifically using various devices. Limitation of this indicator includes that if the rate is high, then government will control the emissions of carbon by introducing many regulations regarding environmental protection act. Changes in flora, fauna and local ecosystems In terms of flora and fauna in the ecosystems, changes in terms of flora and fauna are responsible for creation of change in the sustainable approaches. It can be said that there are no particular ways of measuring flora and fauna in terms of using this aspect in the sustainable approach of Nike. There are many limitations to the changes in fauna and flora because it might affects the different strategies of the sustainable approaches of Nike. Loss of materials Loss of materials and energy is the most important aspect in terms of measuring the different approaches of the sustainability of Nike. Loss of energy and other materials can be measured by scientific instruments and other devices. Limitations of this indicator are almost nil. Social sustainability indicators Indicators Definition Measurement Limitations Human rights commitment It is defined as the total number of suppliers who are selected for the criteria of the human rights. It can be measured directly by any instruments. Manual head count of the persons involved in it and the level of commitment can be gained by collecting feedback from the persons associated with the strategies of sustainability. Indicators of social factors must have some limitations. Sustainability is a sensitive issue that has a connection with the cultural element. Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a vital indicator while measuring the effectiveness of the sustainable strategies adopted by Nike in the socio-cultural aspect. Customer satisfaction can be measured by the loyalty programs set by Nike for customer engagement. From this aspect, feedback of the customers can be known from these types of technologies (Werbach, 2013). Limitations of customer satisfaction include vivid nature of customers and their preferences into it. Number of outcomes in the community engagement initiatives It is the indicator that is used by Nike in order to practice the different initiatives of sustainability in order to engage the community as a whole. The number of outcomes will be measured in order to measure the effectiveness of the implemented strategies. Limitations of this indicator are related to the decreased number of outcomes to the expected outcomes. Economic sustainability factors Indicators Definition Measurement Limitation Business efficiency It is the most important indicator that is related to the applicability of the different types of sustainable strategies adopted by Nike in their different branches of operations. Efficiency of a business vertical can be measured in different ways while improving the profitability. Limitations of business efficiency will definitely hamper the economic aspects of the company. Waste Waste management is a major aspect which is a major concern that is related to the actual outcomes of the strategy implemented by Nike (Galpin, Whitttington Bell, 2015). Waste can be measured in many terms using scientific devices along with other modern technologies. A limitation of waste is that the company must recycle the maximum amount of waste in the manufacturing process. Development plan Following the importance of the dimensions prescribed under the title of sustainability dimension, it is understandable that the concerned company Nike would have to elevate itself in the social and economical dimension. It is because of the fact that the company has been found to give more attention upon the environmental dimension of sustainability, henceforth the organization required to develop relevant strategic steps to perform well upon the social and economical dimensions of sustainability. Therefore, an appropriate plan to develop operations for the two mentioned dimensions of sustainability will be Development objectives Actions Resources Responsible authority Time To develop a separate decision making council Enlist name of the significant authorities Hold a face to face meeting with them Chief executives from production team, finance, marketing and quality control The present CEO of the organization Within two months To develop a team whose responsibility will be to promote the importance of using renewable energies Hire individuals for this specific goal Include a responsible authority from the production management department Organize public events and broadcast over the topic, which will be covered during the event New employees, one responsible manager from the manufacturing department Human resource department Three months To develop a team whose responsibility will be only to make thorough market research and keeps records regarding the current needs of development among the community Hire individuals who have experience in thorough market research New employee with impressive amount of experience in market and community research Human resource department Four months To introduce health programs for the employees and a specific monitoring team Design several health packages Make thorough enquiry about the present need for medical facilities upon the existing employees Health check up team, first aid kits for each and every employee and health insurance A group of individuals to monitor whether employees are acquiring enough medical help or not Management from each division, Human resource management Three months Table 3: Development plan (Source: As created by the author) Conclusion The entire paper initially indicates that the chief features of an effective monitoring system are it makes appropriate measurement of the activities undertaken for accomplishing success of an organization. Moreover, the paper has indicated that an efficient indicator should be relevant, simple, attainable, timely and visible. However, considering the considered company Nikes existing sustainability activities, the assignment has indicated the fact that the organization chiefly concentrates upon the environmental dimension of sustainability. The assignment indicates that the organization should elevate itself to accomplish the other two major dimensions of sustainability, which are social and economic. Furthermore, based on this particular realization, the paper has discussed that in terms of economic sustainability, the organization should have objectives like green savings, green opportunities, green talents and green places, whereas for social sustainability, the enterprise should focus upon aspects like social equity, health equity, cultural competence, social capital and labor rights. Finally, considering the existing requirements for sustainability, the paper has designed a detailed development plan, that highlights that the organization should develop separate groups for decision making, community research and monitoring along with medical facilities for accomplishing an appraisable global sustainability. References Aoki, M. (2013). Monitoring characteristics of the main bank system: An analytical and development view.Chapters, 342-374. Bell, S., Morse, S. (2013).Measuring sustainability: Learning from doing. Routledge. Borland, H., Lindgreen, A. (2013). Sustainability, epistemology, ecocentric business, and marketing strategy: ideology, reality, and vision.Journal of Business Ethics,117(1), 173-187. Ciegis, R., Ramanauskiene, J., Martinkus, B. (2015). The concept of sustainable development and its use for sustainability scenarios.Engineering Economics,62(2). Egels-Zandn, N. (2016). Not made in China: Integration of social sustainability into strategy at Nudie Jeans Co.Scandinavian Journal of Management,32(1), 45-51. Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. (2014).Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Galpin, T., Whitttington, J. L., Bell, G. (2015). Is your sustainability strategy sustainable? Creating a culture of sustainability.Corporate Governance,15(1), 1-17. Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Kuklinski, M. R. (2014). Communities that care. InEncyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice(pp. 393-408). Springer New York. Kharrazi, A., Rovenskaya, E., Fath, B. D., Yarime, M., Kraines, S. (2013). Quantifying the sustainability of economic resource networks: An ecological information-based approach.Ecological Economics,90, 177-186. Missimer, M. (2013). The social dimension of strategic sustainable development. Montiel, I., Delgado-Ceballos, J. (2014). Defining and measuring corporate sustainability are we there yet?.Organization Environment,27(2), 113-139. Werbach, A. (2013).Strategy for sustainability: A business manifesto. Harvard Business Press. Winter, M., Knemeyer, A. M. (2013). Exploring the integration of sustainability and supply chain management: Current state and opportunities for future inquiry.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management,43(1), 18-38. Wood, R., Hertwich, E. G. (2013). Economic modelling and indicators in life cycle sustainability assessment.The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,18(9), 1710-1721.

Aquarius Advertising Agency Essay Example

Aquarius Advertising Agency Essay Structural Design for Organizations The consultants also believed that the proposed structure could be expanded to accommodate non-grocery lines and gourmet units if these were included in Cos future plans. Within each store, a new department manager could be added for pharmacy;, gourmet/specialty items, or other major departments. The district team could be expanded to include specialists in these lines, as well as an information technology coordinator to act as liaison for stores in the district. EXHIBIT 2. 23 Aquarius Advertising Agency Organization Chart Board of Directors President Aquarius Advertising Agency The Aquarius Advertising Agency is a medium-sized firm that offered two basic services or IRS clients: customized plans for the content of an advertising campaign (for example, slogans and layouts) and complete plans for media (such as radio, TV, newspapers, billboards, and Internet). Additional services included a id in marketing and distribution of products and marketing research to test advertising effectiveness. Its activities were organ sized in a traditional manner. The organization chart is shown in Exhibit 2. . Each department included similar functions. Each client account was coordinated by an account executive who acted as a liaison between the client and the various specialists on the professional staff of the operations and marketing divisions. The number of direct communications and contacts between clients and Aquarius specialists, clients and account executives, and Aquarius special lists and account executives is indicated in Exhibit 2. 24. These econometric data were gathered by a consultant who conducted a study of the patterns of formal and informal communication. We will write a custom essay sample on Aquarius Advertising Agency specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Aquarius Advertising Agency specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Aquarius Advertising Agency specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Each intersecting cell of Aquarius personnel and the clients contains an index of the direct contacts between them. Although an account executive was designated to be the liaison between the client and specialists with in the agency, communications free nearly occurred directly between clients and specialists and bypassed the account executive. These direct contacts involved a wide range of interactions, such as meetings, telephone calls, e-mail messages, and so on. A large number of direct communications occurred between agency specialists and their counterparts n the client organization. For example, an art specialist working as one member of a team on a particular client account would often be contacted directly by the clients in-house art specialist, and agency research personnel had direct communication with research personnel of the client firm. Also, some of the unstructured contacts often led to more formal meetings with clients in which agency personnel made presentations, interpreted and defended agency policy, and committed the agency to certain courses of action. Both hierarchical and professional systems operated thin the departments of the operations and marketing divisions.

Hamiltons Plan essays

Hamilton's Plan essays Alexander Hamilton is considering by many to be the father of U.S. banking and financial system. Hamilton believed that what the United States needed was order and stability. Hamilton was tasked with establishing a financial system for the new government and dealing with domestic and foreign monetary policy, specifically repayment of the Revolutionary War debt and trade relations among the states and with European countries. In my opinion Hamilton's plan was better for our country for several reasons. Hamilton suggested a method of payment which is known as funding, that was a fair exchange. The method was based on getting money by borrowing it. He thought that it is the best way to pay public debts (the money owed by the national and state government). Hamilton believed that what the United States needed was order and stability, but if you have inflation, you can not have a stability so he thought that in order to have a stability, it was necessary to end the inflation. When the government did not have enough money, Hamilton did not print more money. Instead, he went to rich people to borrow money at a high rate of interest. Of course, the money had to be paid back, but he got money to pay them back by having Congress put a big tax on whiskey. Hamilton also got money by taking land from the Indians and selling it to farmers. Hamilton also wanted the government to get money by putting a high tariff on goods brought from England. At that time, British goods had a much higher quality than American goods. Hamilton liked American businessmen and wanted them to become rich. People were buying British goods because of their high quality. Hamilton wanted a high tariff so that British goods would be expensive and people would buy American goods. In addition, he knew that if Americans bought American goods, then American factory owners would become richer. In his view, the best way to make new federal governemnt succeed was to get...

Which Extracurricular Activities Should You Consider in College

Which Extracurricular Activities Should You Consider in College SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you a college student or starting college soon and wondering which extracurricular activities you should be involved in?Extracurriculars are an important part of college, and they are a great way to meet new people and try new activities. Read this guide to learn how to choose the best extracurricular activities to help you meet new people, learn about future careers, and explore new interests in college. What Are Extracurricular Activities? How Can You Find Your School's? An extracurricular activity is any activity not included in the normal curriculum of a school.Extracurricular activities can vary from official school sports teams to chapters of national organizations, to independent clubs.They cover a wide range of topics and interests, from politics to rock climbing to helping out the homeless and more. My own alma mater, Michigan State University, hasmore than 700 student organizations, and when I was a student, I found participating in them to be a great way to make new friends and spend more time participating in activities I enjoyed and cared about. Many colleges have a list of all the school’s clubs and organizations on their school website.Look atthe Student Resources page, search â€Å"clubs† â€Å"organizations† or â€Å"extracurriculars† on the school’s site, or do a simple Google search, for example, "UCLA clubs". Also, in the beginning of the year, many schoolsoffer a fair or open house when clubs and organizations set up booths for interested students to learn more about each extracurricular, sign up to receive more information on ones they are interested in, and ask current club members questions.These are a great way to learn about different extracurricular activities, and they are often a lot of fun to attend, with many groups offering free games and food. Which Extracurricular Activities Should You Consider? Most colleges offer a large number of extracurriculars, so the easiest way to start thinking about which ones to join is to separate them into categories.Below are four categories that cover almost all extracurriculars. Read through each category, and if somethingsounds interesting to you, see if your school offers some of those types of extracurriculars. Extracurriculars That Relate to Your Future Career It’s not just your classes that will help prepare you for your future career; there are many extracurriculars in college that give you job experience and help you make connections in your field.These extracurriculars are sometimes referred to as academic and pre-professional clubs.Some examples of professional organizations include the Academy of Law and Criminal Justice, Future Pharmacists Club, Nursing Students Association, Society of Women Engineers, and the Entrepreneurship Club. This category also includesextracurriculars that aren’t professional organizations but can help you develop skills needed for your future career. For example, if you want to be a journalist, you may consider joining the school newspaper, if you want a career in the medical field you could volunteer at a hospital, or if you want to improve your language skills you might join your school's French Club. Some of theseextracurriculars offer hands-on activities for specific career fields that you can include on your resume, and they can also offer field trips and job shadows for you to see what a typical day in the life is for certain jobs.Being involved in one of these extracurriculars can involve attending networking events, visiting potential places of employment, engaging in hands-on activities related to the career field, meeting socially with other members, andmore. How to Choose One of These Extracurriculars: First, think about what you plan to major in and what type of career you’d like to have, and see if your school has any extracurriculars that relate to it. These can be professional organizations or just clubs that let you do hands-on work in your field. Then, thinkabout skills you’d like to gain to increase your employability. This can include computer skills, knowing a second language, improving public speaking, or another skill, then look to see what extracurriculars would help you get those skills. Benefits of These Extracurriculars: Help you gain more professional experience. Provide a way to make connections in your field. Offer a way to test the water and see if you actually enjoy your envisioned career. Can include membership in a well-known professional organization that you can put on your resume. They can make you more employable by showing that you: Have interests and passions Are social and can interact well with others Are good at balancing your time and managing different priorities Have a strong work ethic Professional organizations offer a great way to network and meet other students interested in the same career field Extracurriculars That Introduce You to New Interests and People College is one of the absolute best times in your life to meet new people, and extracurriculars can expose you all sorts of other students. Collegeis also a great time for activism, and there are manyextracurriculars devoted to improving all kinds of issues in the world. Some examples of this includeclubs that promote recycling, reducing poverty, improving education or providing better medical care. Extracurriculars are a great, low-risk way to get involved in new activities or support new causes.Many colleges offer at least a few very unique clubs that let members try something they probably would never have come across before. A few examples of some of the unique extracurriculars that colleges offer are ablacksmith club, stargazing club, and beekeeping club. Some of my own college classmates joined the esteemed MSU Squirrel Watching Club. How to Choose One of These Extracurriculars: This can be as simple as reading through a list of your school’s extracurriculars and seeing which ones jump out at you.Choose your favorites among these and attend a meeting to see if you are still interested.Also, think about what skills you’d like to acquire or what movements you’d like to be a part of, and see if any extracurriculars match those interests. You should also consider trying out a club or activity you may not feel you'd enjoy right away, as a way to push your boundaries. Who knows, you may end up with a new interest! Benefits of These Extracurriculars: Meeting new people gives you the chance to start new friendships, and having a large group of acquaintances can also help you in the future when you’re looking for jobs. Joining clubs that expose you to different types of people can help improve your ability to consider different opinions and see things from a new perspective. Sometimes participating in an extracurricular is all it takes to develop a new passion. When I was in college, I joined the Outdoors Club on a whim, and even years after graduating I still regularly camp and kayak, using the skills I learned in that club. Extracurriculars That Allow You to Continue Current Hobbies and Interests You will probably come to college with some hobbies and interests already in place, and college is a great way to continue with them.You may also already belong to certain groups or communities, such as a religious group or cultural group, and wish to continue being a part of them. How to Choose One of These Extracurriculars: Think about your current activities and interests. These can be activities you were a part of in school, such as a sport or band, or they can be something you took part in outside of school or own your own.If there are any you'd like to continue with, check and see if your school offers any related clubs or groups. Benefits of These Extracurriculars: Give you a way to meet similar minded people who share your interests. Allow you to be part of a community you feel comfortable in. Give you the opportunity to continue to develop current skills and interests. Extracurriculars That Keep You Active In addition to helping you avoid the Freshman 15, joining a sports-related extracurricular can provide a way for you to meet new people, gain or improve athletic skills, and may even involve some travel if your team goes to conferences.These extracurriculars can be part of an official school team, such as hockey or basketball, or they can be a club sport, like ultimate frisbee. If you participated in sports in high school, this is a great way to stay active, but even if you don’t have any experience in the sport you want to join, many clubs are happy to take beginners.These extracurriculars range from traditional school sports like soccer and football, to less common ones like rugby and skiing.Some of the sports teams you school offers may even be very unusual: my college had both a Quidditch team and an underwater hockey team. You don’t always have to join a team either. There are lots of extracurriculars that keep you active in others ways as well, such as hiking or rock climbing clubs.These extracurriculars are often offered at a variety of competitiveness and skill levels, so you can choose a team or club based how experienced you are and how much free time you have. How to Choose One of These Extracurriculars: If you participated in sports in high school, consider whether you’d like to continue playing them in college. You should alsolook through your school’s extracurricular list and see if there are any new sports you’d like to try. Next, decide how much time you are willing and able to devote to your extracurriculars; many school teams, even some club and intramural sports, require a significant time commitment.If you are unable to devote a lot of time to a sport, consider less competitive extracurriculars. Remember to payattention to sign-up deadlines and try out dates because these often occur early in the school year. Benefits of These Extracurriculars: They give you a way to stay active. Being active increases endorphins which make you happier, and being active also helps take your mind off school which can help keep you from feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Being part of a team is a great way to foster friendships. They offer a way for you to improve or acquire new athletic skills. Final Thoughts If you signed up for an extracurricular but no longer enjoy it and don’t feel like it’s helping you, don’t feel the need to stick with it. It will just make you unhappy and likely won’t do much for you career-wise or social-wise if you hate it. You don’t need to join extracurriculars in every one of these groups. Choose a few based on your interests and time, and see how well you are able to manage them. You can always join or drop extracurriculars. If a club or organization sounds interesting, but you’re not sure if you want to join it, just drop by a meeting. You’ll get a taste ofwhat it’s like, without needing to commit immediately. Try to join an extracurricular you wouldn’t normally participate in, even if you only attend one meeting. College is maybe the best time in your life to try new things, and you could end up with new skills, a new passion, and new friends! What's Next? Do you want to see more examples of extracurriculars activities? You're in luck because we have a complete list of extracurriculars, with hundreds of examples! For a complete overview of the college search process, read our comprehensive guide on how to choose a college. Worried about paying for college? Read our step-by-step guide to getting a student loan. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Class Action Lawsuit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Class Action Lawsuit - Research Paper Example Player safety has long been a highly controversial issue in American football and traumatic injuries have been in the center of the causes. Prevention of injuries in this support has caught media attention and has been on public service messages and being dealt with on different training levels. Unfortunately, this has not been enough. The number of players suffering is large enough this time again to make a joinder impracticable; hence the class action lawsuit was filed, while others still continue to sue the league individually. The lawsuits accuse the National Football League of fraudulent concealment, material misrepresentation, conspiracy, negligence, obfuscation and negligent misrepresentation. The players claim that, whether or not they had played differently, if they were fully informed, the league’s failures would not get an excuse. They allege that the league failed to take proper precaution for the protection of its players from repeated hits on the head which resulted in brain injuries later in life. Players cite short term memory loss, depression, mood swings, long term brain injuries, dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy being suffered by many of them as a result of what was the National Football League’s responsibility. A master complaint has been filed, consisting of over 100 lawsuits at the moment involving over a 1000 ex-players, while the league vehemently denies the accusations. Being the plaintiffs’ attorney, it is natural to make the first move and make use of the tactical advantage and build the lawsuit based on the inherent advantage of acting first. Keeping the timing in control and handling the sequence of discovery accordingly, it is most appropriate to keep the defendant in a defensive position for the entire lawsuit and keep the players’ perspective dominating. The best course of action would be to take the steps to schedule the discovery and keep the defendant’s hands on to producing discovery which they cannot lawfully resist; a step further on requiring full details and a full paper discovery in depositions would enhance the chance for a favorable settlement or verdict (Coffee 677-678). A case filed when everything is set and ready is to be good enough to challenge the defendant's sufficiency in each of the answers to make it possible for a move to strike as an insufficient defense under US Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f). The next step would be to keep the defendants on a firm deadline, be it the scheduling of discovery or trial dates, and get what you require in waves or groups of interrogatories and requests starting from the documents relating to the league’s information on head injuries and prevention followed by a wave of depositions of the league’s current and former employees and designates. The essential part in this approach would be to wait till completely making your case before producing the players in the court for testimony or deposition, not only keeping the defense lawyers anxious to get at the plaintiffs by raising comparative faults and judgment errors on behalf of players but also not giving them the opportunity to have a re-deposition. Producing the experts for opinion and fact verification and then questioning the defendant’s experts would maintain the initial advantage on the case, giving you the chance to question the defendant's documents and experts after they have had to question yours. Keeping a systematic approach towards the case

Management and Organisations in a Global Environment Essay

Management and Organisations in a Global Environment - Essay Example at carrying out relevant research and applying the interpretation of the data emanating from the same in order to transform the company and render exponential growth to its operational effectiveness. Systems and technology consultancy: this includes working with private as well as public companies and corporations to source and provide information regarding financial services, energy, government and public services, manufacturing and telecommunications, among many others, so as to promote the scope for strategic partnerships between the public and private corporations. Kuwait is a country with a rich culture and strong ties with tradition. This has led the entrepreneurs in Kuwait to regard tradition and culture in all their activities. There strong presence of culture in business negotiations has become a standard in today’s world of commerce. (Stokes, 2001) The preparation for negotiations in a certain country involves a strong focus on learning more about the traditions as well as culture of the country. This helps the negotiator get comfortable with the business climate that is followed in the country so as to have a better grasp over what is happening around him or her. (Furusten, 1999) This has been seen in KCS as well. (Kuwait Computer Services – Official Website) In the Middle East, there are a plethora of customs as well as traditions that are a part and parcel of their activities in every walk of life. For example, a major part of this involves food habits. The Kuwaitis, as a people, focus on the food at every occasion. They have a wide variety of dishes that are prepared and savoured according to the occasion. The scope for stability as well as innovation and risk in this case is in the fact that the Middle Eastern culture needs to be studied in order to come up with a fool proof structure on which the knowledge management criteria may be arrived at and finally evolved. (Hofer et al, 2002) The function of culture helps employees in gaining wider

Business Studies - Marketing Mix Essay Example for Free

Business Studies Marketing Mix Essay All businesses offer some form of service as part of the product that they supply to customers. This is true of businesses supplying manufactured goods, as well as those that only supply services. By meeting (or exceeding) customers expectations, businesses can improve their image and establish a reputation for supplying products with high -quality characteristics. The features of quality service include: * Making sure the customer is safe This is crucial for a high profile business like IKEA otherwise the media will be straight on to them issuing bad press against them, potentially giving IKEA a bad name, furthermore the customer may wish to take legal action if he/she feels mistreated by IKEA. Again causing problems for IKEA. * Delivering good customer service Decisive for IKEA to maintain the good name they have, customers in this day and age will not accept poor service, otherwise its likely they will look elsewhere. * Improving the quality of the product Its important IKEA continue improving the quality of there products otherwise customers will begin to lose interest in the company due to its lack of creation and continued progress; customers want to see new/improved products on each visit they make to IKEA. * Making sure the customer is not kept waiting If IKEA let customers wait for there service, its likely they will simply leave the store and go else where, so its important there staff are motivated and wanting to give IKEA a good name. * Demonstrating good after sales care Once the sale is done its easy to take the money and thats it, but with IKEA if a problem arises they will want to help the customer in any way possible. Its vital for them to retain customers and not lose them to a competitor, and clearly IKEA are doing a good job at this as there profits continue to increase meaning the customers are happy with how they are treated both before and after sales. To see how business offer service in practice, lets look at some real examples. IKEA sells their products ready to be fitted, meaning the products they sell have to match customers precise requirements and also come with good instructions to help them build it at home. Otherwise people will see it as a hassle, meaning they re less likely to purchase from IKEA again. IKEA has bought it self a good name due to fact they offer good after sale services so if needed to contact a member of staff its possible, they give you a good instructional manual, if thats not enough you can phone them, email them or even talk 1 to 1 with a member of staff on their website via their web chat facility. It is this combination of products together with a range of services that is important in shaping and determining Ikeas reputation, the distinct characteristics of its products and the companys competitiveness. IKEAs website is also a key part in generating sales for there products, its important they describe the product clearly, and give the customer as much information about the product as possible, its less likely that someone will make a visit to IKEA for a product they arent given much information about on their website. The above picture is the basic layout for all IKEA products on there website, it has a clear picture of the product, price, special features, measurements, whether it requires assembly, care instructions, material made out of. It also gives the customer the option to see whether they have that product in stock at your local IKEA store, which from personal experience is very useful and practical. IKEA do give a lot of information which reassures the customer that this is the product they want, giving them a buzz and actually wanting to get down to IKEA as soon as possible to purchase the product. B) Price is the amount charged by a business for its products. The factors determining the price of a product can be summarised as the three Cs: Cost, Competition and Customer value. * The cost of producing the product: If a business is to make a profit, then it clearly needs to charge a price that covers the cost of making and selling the product. * The price charged by competitors: A business might want to charge a price at or below that of its competitors. However, if the product is sufficiently unique and superior, then the business might feel it is acceptable to charge a price above that of its competitors. IKEA excels here, in the sense that it offers prices cheaper then its competitors, putting them ahead of the game. * The price customers are willing to pay: This is determined by the value of the product to the target market. If consumers in the target market believe that they can gain significant benefits from the product, then they will be willing to pay a high price. However, if the product provides few benefits, consumers will only be prepared to pay a low price, for example, the price someone is willing to pay for a house will depend on its location, the number of rooms and other factors such as the size of the garden. A business will consider all these factors before deciding on a price for each of its products. In certain situations, it may be appropriate to set a relatively high price. For example, Ikea may set a premium price on a high quality piece of furniture that is widely recognised as being superior to other similar products made by competitors. In other situations a business may opt to set relatively low prices. For example, a new company operating in a very competitive market may set low prices relative to its competitors in an attempt to win business and build a customer base. IKEA are renowned for their cheap prices and high quality products. This has helped them build a huge reputation, and ultimately there cheap prices are a unique selling point, when people think, where can I get good, yet cheap furniture from? Instantly in most cases they think IKEA. IKEA is renowned for being value for money. c) Promotion is a series of marketing activated designed to make consumers aware of products. The ultimate aim, of course, is to persuade them to buy those products. Promotion is an important part of the marketing mix, and business can use a variety of different types of promotion. One of the methods is advertising, advertising is a means by which businesses pay for communication with actual and potential customers through newspapers, television, radio, the internet and other media. It can be expensive, but advertising is often highly successful in influencing consumers purchasing decisions. Advertising can be informative, by setting out to increase consumer awareness of a product. This type of advertising is based on facts rather then images. On the other hand, persuasive advertising attempts to convince consumers to purchase a certain product. Persuasive advertising aims to persuade that the advertised product is better than the competition. Sales promotion is any activity that provides a financial incentive to purchase a product. For instance Ikea may hand out free samples of food in their newly built restaurant or perhaps have demonstrations of how to put together some of their products to show customers thats its easy, and can be done by anyone. IKEA advertising in the UK is intended to raise awareness of the IKEA brand and drive traffic to the stores. Some people love IKEAs unique style of retail advertising, some hate it, but everyone who sees there advertising has a strong opinion and subsequently it provokes conversation and debate. Despite having some of the most controversial television advertising campaigns in the UK this includes criticising the taste of the British public, invisible furniture, an exaggerated homosexual man advertising for IKEA. IKEA have raised awareness of there brand, let people know they are different to other home furnishing companies and most importantly increased sales. The advertising department includes all aspects of advertising and brand communication from television advertising and sponsorship to magazine and radio promotions. Advertising is used to support many different areas of the business including brand awareness, store themes, catalogue drops and store openings. The term merchandising covers a range of tactics used by businesses at the point of sale (the location at which the products are actually purchased) to achieve higher sales figures. For example, a business might offer retailers special display stands or point-of-sale adverts to encourage them to place the businesss products in a more favourable and prominent position withen stores. Merchandising can be important when: * Consumers make decisions at the point of sale. This includes a lot of information about the product, making it bright, clear and attractive. * Competitors make extensive use of merchandising. * A variety of rival products are on display in stores. * Rival products have only minor differences. Businesses seek good publicity, and public relations (PR) is designed to improve businesses standings in the eyes of consumers and other interested groups,. Larger organisations have their own PR staff. Ikea engage in a variety of PR activity including: * Making donations to charities IKEA support unicef to help young children in less fortunate countries around the world. * Sponsoring sporting and cultural activates, and IKEA support the local community by donating products to schools which dont sell in stores, this is very popular in the community, and keeps the public happy, which creates good press for IKEA. * Allowing the public to visit the business Makes the customer feel more welcome, and at home with IKEA if they feel involved by learning more about the company. Public relations can be a very expensive form of promotion, and it can be difficult for businesses to assess the effect of public relations on sales. Catalogues are a huge part of advertisement for IKEA, its relatively cheap when compared to TV adverts, and its fairly easy to get to the customer, IKEA print 131 million copies of there catalogue making it the most widely distributed commercial publication in the world. Having picked up a couple of the latest IKEA catalogues and handbooks, its clear that IKEA thrive on simplicity. The IKEA text is the same font on all brochures, with the traditional blue and yellow logo on the bottom hand side of the page this creates continuity which means people recognise it straight away when they see it again, the traditional yellow and blue logo is based on the colours of there home country Sweden. The background images are warm, cosy, family pictures, one containing a large sofa with numerous pillows, the other an aqua blue kitchen. This gets the message across to the reader that there is a large range of products available, furthermore on the front cover they get the message about there prices, Pay less, enjoy more and your 100 page guide to making an affordable, inspired choice. This encourages the public to go through the IKEA catalogue. Furthermore the catalogue brings the IKEA store into your home, its the best way to prepare for a visit to IKEA. d)Place is another term for distribution. It covers the range of activities necessary to ensure that goods and services are available to customers. Deciding on the right place involves a range of decisions. A business needs to consider the most cost-effective way of getting its products and service to the customers. It needs to look at the implications for its profit margins of each means of distribution. The growth in use of the internet has encouraged even small businesses to use websites to sell their products to what can be a global market. This can be highly cost effective means of reaching a wide target audience, but is not suitable for all business and all products. Businesses seek to design marketing mixes that are complementary and work together to benefit the business and to maximise sales. For example, Ikea promotes itself to its target audience on the basis that it offers the lowest possible prices. Place is important to Ikea, and the company locates stores in areas where it costs less to set up, eg on the outskirts of major cities. Which targets both high income earners and low. IKEAs transport methods are highly effective, large volumes in combination with flat packages are important in helping IKEA to transport products economically from the supplier via the stores to the customers. Flat packs mean that IKEA do not have to pay for transporting or storing unnecessary air and that not only means lower warehousing and distribution costs, but also less impact on the environment. At present 20 % of all IKEA goods are transported by rail. 6) It makes sense for Ikea to target a wide range of customers. This is referred to as mass marketing. But theres the other side of it where in some situations they will target small sections of the market. Taken to the limit, this might involve catering for a small select group of customers a target market that has very specific needs. I.E childrens section. In mass marketing, Ikea would aim their products at most of the available market and normally try to sell a range of similar products to all customers. Mass marketing is possible if the products are popular and purchased by many different types of people. For example Ikeas furniture products are well suited to being sold in mass markets. Businesses must be able to produce on a large scale if they are to sell successfully in a mass market. A company may have to invest heavily in resources such as buildings, machinery and vehicles. Usually, firms also have to be very price competitive to flourish in mass markets. By contrast, niche marketing involves companies identifying and meeting the needs of relatively small areas of the market. The aim is to cater for the needs of customers that have not been met sufficiently by other business, and niche marketing is one way in which small businesses can operate profitably in markets that are dominated by large firms. An example would be Ikea and their play pen for younger children. Market research helps businesses to identify whether they should adopt a mass or niche marketing strategy. In general, this would depend on: * Whether the needs of customers within all parts of the market are being met. * The extent to which a business can provide specialist products capable of meeting the needs of select groups of customers. This gives IKEA good idea whether there is a need for a unique product on the market, or a product aimed at a special selection of customers, doing this research could potentially uncover new opportunities for them. * The degree to which competitors are currently meeting the needs of all customers within the market. 7) Market research is the systematic collection and analysis of data to enable a business to take better quality marketing decisions. In simple terms, market research allows businesses to find out what customers want. There are a number of reasons why businesses invest in market research. To determine whether IKEA should focus on mass marketing or niche marketing, they can use market research. Most products are only likely to be mainly purchased by particular groups of customers: the market of young working-class males, for example, is very different to that of middle aged wealthy couples. Market research can assist a firm in identifying which parts of the market are most likely to buy its products. It is vital for a business to know who its customers are. This allows the business to: * Design products to best meet the needs of these customers This makes it more efficient at what it does as it specifically meets the needs of IKEAs customers, meaning its something which grabs there attention, or they can relate to and want to purchase. * Target advertising, promotions and special offers at these groups People like a bargain, once they see a discount on a product they are looking for they are likely to purchase it from IKEA. * Conduct further in-depth research with specific groups of customers to uncover their needs as fully as possible. 5) Businesses need to know whats happening in the market. To be able to plan its product and marketing effectively, a business like Ikea needs to address three important questions. What is the size of the market? A way of measuring the size of the market is to consider the volume of sales made by all businesses selling furniture. What is the structure of the market? This means discovering the number and size of businesses that make up a market. Are there, for example a few large firms, or many small firms? Or a mixture of large and small firms? If a business is in competition with large firms, it may decide to avoid competing on price terms as larger firms may be able to produce their products more cheaply. Is the market growing or shrinking? Market research can reveal what is happening to sales in market over a period of time. A business may feel more confident about entering a market which is growing, as it should be easier to win sales when some customers are not yet loyal to particular brands or manufactures. The market for DIY furniture has kept growing recently mainly due to Ikeas success. If IKEA are planning on releasing a new product, its likely they will do research into other products in a similar field to see whether the market for them specific products are increasing or decreasing. This will give them a good idea whether it is worth a full-scale launch of the product they have in mind. 9) Total Quality Control is the most necessary inspection control of all in cases where, despite statistical quality control techniques or quality improvements implemented, sales decrease.The major problem which leads to a decrease in sales was that the specifications did not include the most important factor, What the customer required. To maintain their quality and standards is vital to IKEA, the quality and reliability and workmanship of their products is crucial to there brand. Both to keep their customers and to be legally correct. * Marketing had to carry out their work properly and define the customers specifications. * Management had to confirm all operators are equal to the work imposed on them and holidays, celebrations and disputes did not affect any of the quality levels. * Inspections and tests were carried out, and all components and materials, bought in or otherwise, conformed to the specifications, and the measuring equipment was accurate, this is the responsibility of the QA/QC department. * Any complaints received from the customers were timorously and satisfactorily dealt with. This will help keep IKEA a favourites with the customers. To conclude, the above forms the basis from which the philosophy of Quality Assurance has evolved, and the achievement of quality or the fitness-for-purpose is Quality Awareness throughout the company. IKEA hire highly trained quality control workmen, to check that the products in the warehouse are looked after sensiblely and that they are delivered to the customer effeciantly. Quality control is to check that there product meets customer demands and possibly look for ways to improve it. Its important for a business like IKEA to have regulary quality control checks to make sure that the products they sell are always up to standards, making sure the high IKEA standards dont drop without them being aware. To make sure of this IKEA have a test lab in Almhult which tests both textiles and furniture, around 50,000 tests are carried out in accordance with current standards each year. For several years in succession the IKEA Test Lab has been accredited for it quality system and test methods in accordance with the international standards. All these tests have been developed to correspond to many years of regular use in a domestic enviroment in the areas for which the product is intended. IKEA not only test products during development, but also selects random samples from among the products on sale in the stores. As IKEA say It is our customers that we want to come back not our products This makes sure that IKEAs customers get there full value for money and a long lasting product.

Personal Narrative - Driving Test :: Personal Narrative Essays

Personal Narrative- Driving Test As I walked out of the courthouse and down the ramp, I looked at my mom in disappointment and embarrassment. Never wanting to return to that dreadful place, I slowly drug my feet back to the car. I wanted to curl up in a little ball and I didn't want anyone else to know what I had done. Gaining my composure, I finally got into the car. I didn't even want to hear what my mom had to say. My face was beat red and I was trying to hide my face in the palms of my hands because I knew what was about to come; she was going to start asking me questions, all of the questions I had been asking myself. Sure enough, after a short period of being in the car, the questions began. "Honey, how could we have miscalculated six months? My frustrated reply to every question was, "I don't know!" Maybe this was a sign I was going to fail. I could only imagine how my brother and sister were going to make me feel. They had teased me about studying so hard for the permit test. Now here I was, not actual failing the drivers test, but failing to go on the correct day. Exactly one month later, all of the fears that happened in the past were returning. Was I going to fail? Was I going to get the same, strict instructor? As I slide out of the car and slowly shut the door, I could only hope that the same person wouldn't be there when I attempted to take my driving test last time. With that thought running through my head, my brain was in overdrive. All the wheels were turning as fast as they possibly could. I tried to zone out the negative stories I heard by telling myself, "I can do this. I just drove through town on a practice run and I did perfectly fine." Of course, the fear of failure kept popping in my head and I couldn't get rid of it.Sluggishly, I made my way to the entrance of the courthouse. As I reached for the door, I let out a sigh of worry. I moseyed down the stairs trying to stall as long as possible. All that I could picture was the instructor with dark, slanted eyebrows that made a wrinkle between his two critical eyes.

Changes in Gender Inequality in Canada in Sports Essay

Society expects males and females to fulfill specific gender roles – â€Å"attitudes and activities that society links to each sex†. Males are expected to be ambitious, strong, independent and competitive, which â€Å"encourages males to seek out positions of leadership and play team sports†. And females are expected to be deferential, emotional, attractive, quiet and obedient, â€Å"supportive helpers and quick to show their feelings† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:300). These traditional stereotypes have been challenged and confronted by many women and feminists, and in this paper we are going to look specifically in sports and physical activities. My thesis statement will be that gender inequality has been decreasing over the last 100 years. Women were slowly starting to participate in all sports which were considered to be masculine, and were only available for men to enjoy. One of the first factors which could be linked to the emancipation of women in sport in late 1800 – early 1900s is the safety bicycle. It not only caused a revolution in women’s fashions: women’s sportswear was finally being designed to accommodate more vigorous activity, but â€Å"was also a â€Å"vehicle† through which women broke with traditions and asserted their independence† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 32-33). Slowly more organizations, sports clubs and tournaments were opening up for women. In the early 1900s, women started to participate in most forms of sport, but were still prohibited from activities there body contact was possible. Period after the World War I and throughout the 1920s was really exciting for sportswomen in Canada and their fans. â€Å"This often called the â€Å"golden age† of women’s sports, it was time when popular team sports like basketball, ice hockey, and softball became sufficiently organized to hold provincial and Dominion championships; when the best athletes, especially in track in field, began to complete internationally and eventually at the Olympic Games; and when women leaders and administrators took control of women’s sports, claiming they knew what was the best for girls and women, although the advice of the man was still needed† (Hall, 2002: 42). In the 1928 Canadian women have joined Olympics in Amsterdam for the first time for the track and field competition. In the mid 1930s â€Å"depression tightened its grip on Canada and the were signs that the Golden Age was over. Reactionary attitudes towards athletic competition for females was taking hold; commercialized professional sport for men was on the rise, meaning that men’s sports were given priority of access to public facilities. Spectators were drawn away from the women’s games to the exclusively male professional sports like ice hockey, football, baseball; it became increasingly difficult to find sponsors for women’s amateur sport† (Hall and Richardson, 1982: 36). World War II took its toll on both men’s and women’s sports. Although many of leagues continued to exist, nobody took athletics seriously. Olympic Games did not start again till 1948. † Post war conservatism has been described by Betty Friedan: women should desire â€Å"no great destiny than to glory in their own femininity†. Careers or commitments outside of their home were unnecessary for their personal fulfillment and undesirable for the satisfactory performance of the housewife role† (Lenskyj, 1986: 83) For the duration of war women were occupying men’s jobs and were laid off as soon as men returned home to resume the rightful place. It was still alright for women to participate in â€Å"beauty producing† sports like figure skating, synchronized swimming, or gymnastics and as long as they looked pretty and feminine on the tennis, badminton courts, golf courses, and ski hills, they were not criticized. But women athletes which were â€Å"sweating on the basketball courts, softball pitches, ice hockey rinks, and the cinder tracks were suspect, their femininity continually questioned† (Hall, 2002: 109). Participation in school, university and community sporting programs however, was hardly likely to pose a threat to femininity. Basketball continued for the most part to be played by girl’s rules. Softball, an already simplified version of baseball, was in some cases was modified further for girls and women. In the 1960s not only women’s femininity was being questions but also their sexuality. In the 1966 the first official â€Å"sex tests† were introduced, with three gynecologists visual examination to confirm that athletes genital sex was, in fact female. â€Å"The introduction of sex tests coincided with significant advances for women in terms of their participation at the Olympic Games, with number of them increasing dramatically throughout the 1960s and 1970s.† For example at the summer Olympics, the 800 meter running was reintroduced in the 1960s. Women’s volleyball, the first team event for women was introduced in1964, along with pentathlon and 400 meter individual medley, swimming event. The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City six more swimming events were introduced and in the 1972 at Munich, the 1500 – meter run, 4Ãâ€"400 meter track relay, and kayak slalom were introduced. So the number of women on Canada’s Olympic team has increased from 11.30 to 22.6 per cent for the Summer Olympic between 1960 and 1972, and from 21.4 to 38.3 per cent for the Winter Olympic Games during the same period. Sex testing at the Olympics originally was called â€Å"femininity control† and was trying to determine who was genetically female, because prior to that where has been a lot of men who were trying to pose as women, which was only found out after the fact and also women athletes were becoming more â€Å"masculine†, therefore it had to be proved that they were actually females (Hall, 2002: 153 -159).The sex testing did not stop until the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano. By the mid-1970 all across Canada parents started noticing that their daughters were not being treated the same way as their sons when it came to recreational and sporting opportunities by the late 1970s there has been a lot of sports related complaints of sex discrimination. The majority of these cases were involving young girls who wished to play on all male sports teams. The main value of these human rights cases was to bring public interest, concern and â€Å"pressure to bear on eliminating unequal, sex discriminatory sport and recreation programs† (Hall, 2002: 163) In March 1981 Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport(CAAWS) was established. It started providing women athletes with funding and support. And finally â€Å"in 1982 women were granted equal protection and equal benefit of the law in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011: 305). Beginning of the 1990s in the most areas of organizational life including sports, has been a subtle shift from â€Å"equality† to â€Å"equity†. â€Å"Gender equity is the principle and practice of fair and equitable allocation of resources and opportunities for both females and males. This eliminates discriminatory practices that prevent the full participation of either gender† (Larkin and Baxter, 1993: 4) In the past decade Canadian women are participating almost in all sports on competitive levels. â€Å" In 1998, in Nagano, Japan, women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time, and world of Canadian women’s hockey changed forever. The game that originated in Canada had become part of our collective identity, continues to be our most popular sport and it is now played by women – legitimately!† (Macionis and Gerber, 2011:320) Canadian women Hockey team has won Olympic gold medal 3 times in a row: 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, 2006 Olympics in Turin, and 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Their achievements have been absolutely amazing. They have showed that they force to be reckoned with. They actually have done better than Canadian male Olympic team. In this 2012 Olympics Games in London, England for the first time women’s boxing is going to be introduced. And there has been controversy of women should wear shorts or skirts. The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) requested that female boxers wear skirts so that would make them more elegant – on the trial basis – at the European Championships and for permanent use in the Olympics. One of Canadian boxers Elizabeth Plank, told Teddy Katz of CBC radio sports news this January: â€Å"Forcing women to wear skirts, I think, it’s sexism†. Eventually AIBA have decided to have optional for female athletes to decide if they want to wear skirts or shorts. (CBC Sports) As we are able to see gender stereotypes and discrimination in sports still exists. Women still do not get as much Media coverage as men do. They are still making smaller salaries than their male counterparts. Women athletes still have to look beautiful and attractive or they might be stereotyped as being lesbian, butch or masculine, if there are not. What about the future? It seems that future for Canadian women athletes seems bright. There are much more opportunities that are coming up for women in sports, for example in the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014, Russia – the addition of women’s ski jumping has been approved. Women are going to keep fighting for the equal rights to participate in sports events without being criticized to be unfeminine. Daniels (2009) argues that femininity –masculinity divide still prevents women athletes to be taken seriously in their sports. And the best would be to embrace the polygendered way of being, which emphasizes the similarities between women and men, and that way female athletes will be given the chance to achieve their full sporting potential and be judged for performance, rather than their appearance. References 1. Baxter, Betty and Larkin, Jackie.1993. Towards Gender Equity for Women in Sport. ON: CAAWS. 2. CBC Sports, Feb 19, 2002 (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2012/02/19/sp-aiba-boxing-skirts.html) 3. Daniels, Dayna B. 2009. Polygendered and Ponytailed. Toronto: Women’s Press. 4. Hall, Ann M. 2002. The Girl and the Game†. ON: Broadview Press Ltd. 5. Hall, Ann M and Richardson, Dorothy A. 1982. Fair Ball. Ottawa: The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. 6. Lenskyj, Helen.1986. Women, Sport and Sexuality. Toronto: Women’s Press. 7. Macionis, John J and Gerber, Linda, M. 2011. Sociology.7th ed. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.

An Investigation of the Gender Gap of Boys’ Underachieving in Literacy Essay

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gender gap, especially of boys’ underachievement in literacy, and discover if there are particular strategies that schools can implement in order to raise the attainment levels of boys. As the issue of the gender gap is so wide I selected literature to review which covered a wide range of theorists and existing studies. Specifically I wanted to identify some of the suggested causes for the underachievement of boys and any already proposed effective strategies which I could execute in my own study. The data I collected from the study was both qualitative and quantitative in order to give a more valid outcome; these included an open-ended, semi-structured interview, which I felt would enable the respondent to provide a wider range of ideas; questionnaires, observation and existing data. The results showed that there is in fact a close correlation between boys who do not read for pleasure/enjoyment and boys who underachieve. However it also showed that there are specific strategies that can be applied to meet the learning needs of boys in order to raise their achievements. However due to the scale of the topic this small study cannot provide a definitive outcome for the causes and solutions of boys literacy, it has merely suggested some probable reasons for and some possible remedies. HYPOTHESIS During the past twenty years there have been rising concerns over the achievement gap between boys and girls, particularly with boys underachieving in literacy. The aim of this investigation is to identify if reading is the main factor for the achievements of boys in literacy, or if there are other strategies that can be implemented to raise the attainment levels of boys and therefore close the gap. To complete this study, I will undertake the investigation at an all boys’ school (for ethical reasons of anonymity, the school will be known as School A) located in a leafy suburban area in the North West of England. School A is a high achieving school compared to other mixed and same sex schools in the Local Area. The current Head of English (HoD) is driven, ambitious and highly motivated towards pupils’ achieving the best results possible. During the research I expect outcomes to show that there is a correlation between high achieving boys and enjoyment of reading for pleasure. I also expect to find that particular classroom strategies can effectively impact the attainment levels of boys, particularly in those who do not read for pleasure. LITERATURE REVIEW In 1993 Ofsted reported that boys do not perform as well in English as girls (cited in Bearne, 2004), and more recently the National Assessment of Education Progress (2009) has found that ‘female students consistently score higher than boys on average in both reading and writing’ (Watson et al., 2010: 356). However this concept is not a new one; researchers for the Gender and Education Association noted that in the 1950s and 1960s the pass rate for the eleven plus examinations, taken by almost all eleven year olds at this time, were different for boys and girls; Epstein et al. (1998 cited in Watson et al., 2010) claims that the pass rate for boys was lower than girls because girls supposedly matured earlier than boys. Gareth Malone, writing for the Telegraph in September 2010 stated that nationally ‘boys lag behind girls in reading by 6 percentage points and in writing by 15 percentage points’ (Malone, 2010). Despite this, Gorard (2001, cited in Malacova, 20 07) believes that, the panic about the gender achievement gap is exaggerated; he blames the concept on lack of sufficient data, which until recently had not been available, and believes that a lot of the assumptions regarding boys underachievement is based on statistical misinterpretation. Gorard (2001, cited in Malacova, 2007) conducted the first UK analysis of national data set over a six year period; he found that the gap only appeared amongst high-ability pupils and that the number of boys and girls failing exams was similar. His conclusions found that the gender gap was, if anything, decreasing. Regardless of Gorard’s (2001) analysis, there are many who still feel that the performance gap is a concern. In 1993 the Ofsted report offered some insight into differing perspectives and explanations for boys’ underachievement, including the lack of male literacy role models, classroom strategies, curriculum literacy content, perceptions of behaviour, social class and ethnicity (cited in Bearne, 2004). Solsken (1995, cited in Bearne, 2004) added to this list claiming that literacy is associated more with females and femininity and believes that this possibly has a negative effect on boys and their attitudes towards reading. Solken’s (1995) argument links very closely with Watson et al.(2007) who proposed that popular explanations often focus on boys’ ‘biological make-up’. They claim that evidence shows that ‘hegemonic masculinity is central to †¦ the struggles boys face as literacy learners’ (Watson et al. 2010: 357). Rowan et al (2002) also believes that ‘boys are biologically different to girls and that this biologically difference is the cause of behavioural differences’ (Rowan et al. 2002, cited in Watson et al. 2010:357). He believes that due to these biological differences, boys and girls are defined by inherent masculinity and femininity characteristics and in order for educational success this must be acknowledged and accommodated for. This is an important assertion to consider for this particular case study; due to the domination of boys in School A it is important to understand how masculine characteristics are catered for in an all boy s’ school. One of the suggestions to improve literacy for boys is to make education more ‘boy friendly’ by including more reading materials that boys enjoy, such as action and graphic novels, which will motivate boys to read. Hornton (2005) believes that adolescent boys could rediscover the magic of books by using texts that appeal to their interests. Young and Brozo (2000, cited in Brozo, 2010) deem that encouraging boys and actively helping them to find access points into literacy and reading should be made priority by teachers. During this particular study the idea and notion of actively promoting literacy through any route possible is addressed by School A’s English department head in the interview, and shows that it is essential for boys be aware that reading does not have to be confined to specific genres and authors. Furthermore Cole & Hall (2001, cited in Taylor, 2004) claim that boys read less fiction than girls, preferring to opt for texts that contain more facts and less narrative, such as magazines or texts that are analytical. Similarly Millard (1997) claims that boys tend to opt for genres such as action and science fiction whilst reading as little as possible in school that they think they can get away with. Due to these preferences, boys’ are at a disadvantage in academic literacy as their motivation towards school texts and curriculum texts is affected. Probst (2003, cited in Taylor, 2004) believes that if boys are to engage with reading, the texts that they are asked to study need to be significant to them. In other words it seems that in current literacy education, there is not enough stimulating material which addresses the needs or interests of boys. Millard (1997) relates the findings of boys’ apparent lack of interest in reading as significant to low achievement in English, while Holland (1998) attributes lesson style and strategies as some of the other causes for underachievement. Both of these arguments are valid for this particular study and will be investigated further by studying the reading habits and the predicted GCSE grades of boys in a high set and a low set, and by exploring particular teaching styles implemented in School A. Holland’s study (1998) showed that boys can spend any amount of the day, stemming from 25 percent up to 75 percent, passively listening to the teacher rather than actively engaging. When trying to reason why boys had a tendency for this she found that the boys preferred lessons which were practical, had a range of different activities (such as personal research, groups work or discussions), or involved competition. If boys are passive during English lessons they are not learning the essential literacy skills required to help them achieve results. Taking this into consideration it seems then that pedagogical practice needs to be addressed. Taylor (2004) suggests that teachers contemplating their own practice could reflect on whether they are meeting the individual learning needs for each boy through learning pace and style, and innovative strategies which build on boys’ existing interests to maximise their potential, development and emotional needs. Pollack (1998, cited in Taylor, 2004) agrees with this theory suggesting that numerous opportunities should be presented to boys for hands on, interactive learning. METHODOLOGY My approach to research was identified by the nature and context of the question. After considering the purpose and desired outcomes for the investigation I decided that the research would take the form of a case study, incorporating a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data to ensure validity and reliability; ‘qualitative methods may supplement the findings by identifying gaps from the quantitative study’ (Bryman & Bell 2007:650). The decision was made to collect evidence using a multi-method approach including interviews, questionnaires and analysis of existing recorded data. According to Gillham (2000) ‘different methods have different strengths and different weaknesses’ (Gillham 2002:13), and so ‘triangulation†¦ to strengthen your findings’ (Greetham 2009:184) was implemented to strengthen the validity of the study. To form part of the qualitative data I arranged an interview with the head of the English department. The purpose of the interview was to gain a deeper understanding of the context of the department and of the strategies which have raised attainment and achievement within the subject. Jones (1985) claims that ‘In order to understand other persons’ constructions of reality, we would do well to ask them†¦ and to ask them in such a way that they can tell us in their terms (rather than those imposed rigidly and a priori by ourselves)’ (Jones cited in Punch 2009:144). Taking this into consideration I decided that the interview should be open-ended and semi-structured for flexibility; Cohen et al. (2007) claim that semi-structured interviews gather ‘more intangible aspects of the school’s culture, e.g. values, assumptions, beliefs, wishes, problems.’ (Cohen et al., 2007:97). A semi-structured interview then would enable me to gather more in-depth information regarding the Head of Department’s ideas and beliefs surrounding School A’ s successes. To understand boys and literacy, and whether reading habits have an impact on GCSE results, a questionnaire was compiled to collect primary data and distributed to a top set and a bottom set year 11 English class. According to Gillham (2002), questionnaires are not typical of case study research; however they can be used to obtain simple, factual information. For the purpose of this part of the study I felt that a questionnaire was a practicable way to acquire important facts regarding the reading habits of a group of high ability boys and a group of low ability boys. These would then be compared to analyse and identify any correlation between reading habits and English predicted exam results using samples from the furthest range on the ability spectrum. During the research I also decided to collect additional data through participant observation. The aim of this was to gain an ontological perspective of the pupils enabling me to observe interaction, relationship and actions performe d by pupils. I felt that this would help me to make sense of the data collected in both the interview and the questionnaire. In regards to validity and obtaining accurate results from my observations, I first needed to develop a relationship with the classes I intended to observe to ensure that my presence was unobtrusive and did not affect their normal behaviours and create a bias observation. To achieve this I regularly participated in classroom observation at the back of the room in attempt to become a participant in the classroom context. Trochim (2001) claims that ‘the researcher needs to become accepted as a natural part of the culture to ensure that the observations are of the natural phenomenon’ (Trochim, 2001: 161), therefore I attended certain classes as an observer over a series of months to ensure that the pupils were comfortable with my presence and so acted within normal behaviours. The final set of data collected was secondary data compiled of the school’s GCSE results since the Head of English was appointed, including results form 2008, 2009 and 2010. The data also provided average GCSE results for the rest of the Local Authority enabling me to compare the school’s results against average achievements in the LA. The purpose of this data was to compare the information obtained from the interview with the head of department, about strategies implemented to raise attainment, against the GCSE results. ANALYSIS The Interview: The aim of the interview with the English Head of Department (HoD) was to discover if GCSE results had improved since being appointed Head of English at School A, and if so to discuss the strategies and provisions which had been implemented to raise the achievement levels in literacy at School A. The current HoD had taken over the English department in April 2008; the English GCSE in the Local Authority that year was 64.5 percent of students achieving A*- C; School A achieved 58 percent, more than 6 percent less than the LA average and 2.1 percent less than the national average. However in 2009 the following year, after just one year as the department head, School A had improved their results by 20.7 percent. The LA’s average results in English in 2009 was 66.7 percent achieving A*-C, the national average was 62.7 percent, while School A’s results were up to 78.7 percent. In 2010 the GCSE results at school A dipped slightly to 76.8 percent due to the school’s wea ker cohort for that particular year; however the results were still higher than the Local Authority’s average of 70.4 percent and the national average of 64.8 percent. Due to the weaker cohort that year the HoD considered this result to be an excellent achievement. Strategies implemented in the department were a crucial factor for the improved attainment levels across the Key Stages at School A. In September 2009 a centralised, uniformed English curriculum was introduced to Key Stage 3 aiming to â€Å"drip-feed† appropriate skills and assessments to pupils that prepares them with relevant GCSE experience before they enter Key Stage 4. Pupils in Key Stage 3 are assessed each half term (part of Assessing Pupils’ Progress) and are assessed in relatively the same way as the new Specification GCSE, ensuring the identification of weakness areas for improvement. Despite the success of raised attainment across the Key Stages, these strategies cannot be considered as part of School A’s GCSE progression; the first year group from Key Stage 3 in September 2009 are due to sit their GCSE exams in the summer of 2011, only then will it be pos sible to determine if this strategy attributes to the departments achievements. There are, however, specific strategies in place which can be measured against the department’s raised achievement results. These are those that have already been applied at Key Stage 4, including a uniformed teaching curriculum incorporating, for example, all of the same poets and clusters in the GCSE specification; personalised revision packages which identify individual’s weakest areas combined with personalised intervention to improve these weaker areas and ensure pupils’ achieve highest marks possible; ceased timetables for year 11 pupils close to exams and new timetables put in place to prioritise learning for the nearest exam. The Head of Department believes that all of these are essential contributing factors for the departments improved results. Other elements, which the Head of English believes help pupils at School A to maximise their achievements, are more innovative and practical activities for example the employment of production companies to perfor m GCSE texts such as Of Mice and Men; and school trips to events such as Poetry Live, an event hosted by poets from the GCSE anthology. Pollack (1998) argues that ‘we need to develop and implement innovative teaching approaches†¦ this may mean providing numerous opportunities for hands-on†¦ as well as interactive teaching’ (cited in Taylor, 2004:294). The English Head felt that these opportunities expanded the boys learning and understanding by developing them outside of the classroom context. Bearne (2003) claims that ‘There is a tendency for boys to draw on visual sources for their writing’ (Bearne, 2003:3) and so visual performances such as Of Mice and Men help the pupils to draw on their experiences through vision and memory. In addition to those already mentioned, the Head of Department also felt that the ethos created in the department combined with class room methods were an essential factor in the development and attainment of the pupils at School A. The department has a strong focus on literacy which is promoted broadly amongst all pupils, including reading groups and book clubs, as well as spelling and reading lessons delivered to pupils on a weekly basis. Pupils are encouraged to read regularly, regardless of material, to ensure positive enjoyment of reading. In contrast, Brozo (2002, cited in Taylor, 2004) felt that teachers were more likely to choose texts with narratives that did not appeal to boys. The HoD however regularly promoted the reading of any materials, whether it was comics, newspapers, information books or autobiographies; she felt that if pupils were to enjoy reading and increase their confidence with literacy, they should feel that any text that they enjoy to be suitably considered. In terms of classroom strategies the department endorses well paced positive learning in an environment of mutual respect between pupil and teacher; clear personal targets which are monitored explicitly; strong Assessment for Learning to test and extend pupils’ understanding and learning through challenge, feedback and routes to improve; short, sharp activities; a strong focus on reading; regular homework; and clear learning objectives which are reviewed during the plenary to ensure all pupils know the direction of learning. These techniques are consistent to that of a survey which was conducted of fourteen schools in 1997. The survey was performed by former HMI Graham Frater; he concluded that the most successful schools in regards to boys and literacy were the ones that paid a lot of focus towards teaching methods. Particular methods that he felt where important for success included: prompt starts to lessons with clear learning objectives shared; a challenging pace sustained throughout the lesson; lesson endings which reflected on the learning objectives and achievements within the lesson; a variety of activities; high expectations of the pupils combined with a non-confrontational attitude towards discipline; and effective modelling. It seems quite clear then that pupils’ achievements at School A can be attributed to the methods and strategies implemented consistently across the department. The pupils are suitably challenged with pace and activities, they know what the aims of their lessons are and how they have achieved these aims, they regularly assess their strengths and weaknesses and so understand what they need to do in order to raise their achievement levels. On the contrary, however, it is difficult to determine whether classroom and reading strategies are the most influential factor for raising attainment in boys and literacy. From observation of quiet reading lessons I discovered that many of the high ability pupils in the top set classes within Key Stage 3 welcomed the lesson as a chance to read an engaging book; however the lower ability groups were often much more difficult to set on task. Indecision over which books to read, reluctance to read quietly, and regular disruption amongst the pupils seemed a frequent occurrence in the low ability classes. When addressing reading, the HoD spoke about the issues regarding boys and reading, specifically in respect of boys’ loss of motivation of reading in their teenage years. She believed that possible causes in lack of motivation in boys and reading was due to their increased socialisation as they grew older, the introduction of more complex reading materials in preparation for GCSE, peer pressure from others that could overshadow pupils’ personal preferences, and she also felt that a lot of teenage boys only read to obtain information and not for pleasure. Taking these factors in to consideration she claimed that it is important to understand the reasons why boys do not enjoy reading but it is more productive to motivate and encourage them to read. The HoD considers the best way to encourage reluctant readers is by getting to know individual pupils and then gauge their interest levels and preferences as a starting point. Some of the suggested strategies, she felt were particularly useful, are to provide a variety of books, both fiction and non-fiction with appropriate reading levels; to keep in touch with boys current interests and provide books that reflect them; respect reading interests of young people and don’t expect them to only enjoy books suggested by the teacher; allow pupils to self-select their own books; encourage an interest in short stories, graphic novels and magazines, working up to full-length books; and to give academic recognition and credit for books read. These ideas meet the suggestions put forth by Hornton (2005), who stated that boys’ motivation should be encouraged with texts that appeal to their interests, and Young and Brozo (2000, cited in Brozo, 2010) who find it important to aid boys to seek access points into literacy and reading. The Questionnaire: The questionnaire was distributed to a high ability top-set year 11class and a low ability bottom set year 11 class. There were 32 pupils in the high set and 13 in the low set. The aim of the questionnaire was to compare the reading habits and attitude towards reading from a range of pupils of different abilities. According to Hornton (2005) there is a correlation between individuals with low level literacy skills and those who dislike reading for pleasure, and so I predicted that an individual’s attitude toward reading would correlate with their predicted GCSE grade; the more pupils enjoy reading and feel that it is important, the higher I expected their grade to be. The predicted GCSE grades in the set one class ranged from A* – C while the set five classes’ grades ranged from B – G. The questionnaires revealed that in the top set group 84.38 percent of pupils enjoyed reading and 90.63 percent felt that reading was important for reasons such as expanding vocabulary, increasing knowledge and learning new things. There was a vast difference in comparison with the lower set where only 23.8 percent of pupils enjoyed reading and just 53.85 percent felt that reading was important. It appears then that there is indeed a correlation between literacy skills with enjoyment of reading, however other elements surveyed in the questionnaire aimed to establish whether boys and literacy could have a direct link to their parents’ relationship with reading. The survey asked pupils if their parents enjoyed reading and if they had been encouraged to read as a child. Sadowski (2010) analysed the literacy gap between working and upper class boys, he found that the gap for more affluent boys was not as large as those from working class backgrounds and attributed this to richer boys growing up with father’s who were readers. This suggests that pupils whose parents enjoy reading and encouraged them to read from a young age would achieve higher results than those whose parents either did not enjoy reading or did not encourage them. Surprisingly the results did not reflect this to an extent that one would have expected. In regards to pupils’ parents who enjoy reading, 76.92 percent of pupils in the lower ability set agreed that their parents enjoyed to read while 81.25 percent of pupils’ in the high ability group confirmed the same. Of parents who encouraged their sons to read as a child, 61.54 percent from the low ability agreed and 78.31 from the higher ability group. Despite a difference between the percentages for both groups’ parents who read and encouraged them to read when they were younger, the gap is not a remarkable one and does not qualify a distinct correlation between pupils’ ability in literacy and the relationship their own parents have with reading. The questionnaires revealed that in spite of 76.92 percent of their parents having an enjoyment of reading, only 23.08 percent of pupils in that class enjoy reading, which suggests that perhaps even if a higher percentage of parents had encouraged their son to read this would not necessarily have affected their attitude towards reading for pleasure and therefore would not affect their achievements in literacy. EVALUATION The outcomes and findings from this case study have, to some extent, complemented a lot of the existing research addressed in the literature review. For example Holland (1998) discovered that boys tend to spend a lot of time listening passively to teachers because they prefer lessons that are practical and involve a range of activities. From my observations in the classroom and confirmation from the Head of English in the interview, the boys at School A also learned best when lessons involved a series of different activities such as discussions, group work or practical tasks such as drama-based role plays. This outcome also corresponded with Malone (2010) who, in a venture to discover why boys where underperforming in literature, stated that he aimed to perform short, achievable tasks with the boys, he also suggested that giving explicit time frames focused the boys into completing their work. During the interview the HoD explained that by giving the boys at School A short time frame s to complete specific task, it kept the pace of the lessons challenging and rigorous and therefore engaged them in learning more effectively. However the problematic outcome for this particular study is that only one school has been investigated and so it is difficult to determine whether the observations, questionnaires and interview conclusions, pertaining to strategies and the improved GCSE literacy results for School A, are a true reflection of causes and solutions of underachievement. The English GCSE results were really poor at School A in 2008, just as the current Head of Department took over, and from the interview questions and answers it would seem that the department and classroom strategies implemented since then have helped to improve the pupils’ achievements. Nevertheless it is certainly impossible to verify whether these are the sole reason for improvement; one particular reason is that it was never established what mode of departmental and classroom strategies were in place before the current HoD took over from the previous. Another reason is that School A’s GCSE results prior to 2008 were not obtained for this study and so results before this year have simply been generalised based on the last available statistics. It could be assumed that the 2008 result may have been an isolated case and so accessing results prior to 2008 would have endorsed whether or not the results had improved substantially. Gorard et al (2001, cited in Malacova, 2007) believes that the gender gap is exaggerated and to some extent it is possible from this research to argue in favour of this. Over the past three years School A has achieved excellent GCSE results, especially in English and particularly in comparison to local and national results. School A is an all boys’ school and so advocates that boys in this particular context are not underachieving as are others in other contexts. This suggests that if School A can produce results above the average mark, particularly in a year when the cohort was extremely weak, i t should be possible for other schools to raise the achievement levels of literacy in boys just the same. However it would be possible to prove or disprove Gorard’s theory of the gender gap, if the strategies implemented at School A could be put into action in a school of a different context. If successful this would validate the outcomes from this case study, it would also give rise to further research based on boys and literacy and whether these strategies could be used in a co-educational school or if they are too specific to the needs of boys’ learning and therefore not beneficial to girls’ learning. I felt that the findings made regarding boys reading habits and their attainment levels were significant. From the sample of questionnaires taken there seemed to be a direct correlation between predicted grades A*-C and boys who enjoyed reading or felt that it was important; 100 percent of the boys in the high ability group were predicted a grade A*-C (although three pupils were unaware what their predicted grade is, the school setting procedures ensured that only bo ys predicted A*-C would be allocated to set one). Of this a high 90.63 percent felt that reading was important and 84.38 percent enjoyed reading for pleasure. There were however exceptions to this; one pupil in the higher ability group stated that he did not think reading was important because ‘I do not read and I am predicted A’s at GCSE’. Another boy from the high ability group, who has been predicted a C grade, also felt that reading was not important because it ‘doesn’t do anything’, however this boy also claimed that he enjoyed reading and so regardless of whether he felt that it was important or not, reading is part of his literacy development. Despite the boys who did not feel that reading was important, the majority of the boys in the class felt that reading was important; this suggests that the highest achieving literacy pupils in School A were ones that enjoyed reading and so this would also be an essential contributing factor to the success of their achievements. It is difficult here to state whether the reasons for the boys’ enjoyment of reading is owing to the strategies for motivating reading encouraged by the HoD and so part of the questions on the questionnaire should have been more open ended to allow pupils to explain perhaps what motivates their enjoyment of reading. The lower ability results from the questionnaire were also significant for showing a correlation between literacy achievements and reading habits. Only 23.08 percent read for pleasure and only half the class felt that reading was important, this suggests that the reason for low ability achievers is possibly due to the lack of enjoyment in reading. Once again the problematic issue with these results is that the number of pupils in the low ability class was considerably less than the number of pupils in the high ability class. To gain a perhaps more informed result from the questionnaires a larger sample from low ability classes should have been obtained to match the number of pupils in the high ability class. This may or may not have produced different results, but, whatever the outcome, they certainly would have been more valid. One final evaluation to consider, in regards to the low ability group, is how effective the suggested motivation strategies have been in engaging boys in reading. With only 23.08 percent of pupils in this class finding an enjoyment in reading it would seem that the strategies have been ineffective in increasing motivation and achievement in these particular pupils. What would have been an interesting study if had been possible, would be to assess pupils attitude towards reading and predicted grades before the HoD had taken over and implemented strategies, and then to compare them to the results that have been found during in this study. CONCLUSION Returning to the hypothesis, my aim was to find out if reading for pleasure impacted on boys’ attainment levels; whether the achievement of boys who did not enjoy reading was affected. I also wanted to identify successful teaching strategies and whether these would raise the levels of those boys who again did not enjoy reading. The study has shown that there is a correlation between boys reading habits and their achievement levels’; it has also identified some strategies that can be used to raise their attainment levels. However from this study alone it is difficult to say if those strategies implemented in an all boys’ classroom would be equally effective in a mixed sex classroom. Due to this it would be interesting to expand the research on a larger scale to investigate the impact of those strategies, which are effective for boys learning, on a) girls learning in a mixed classroom and b) boys learning in a mixed classroom. The gender gap issue is such a broad topic that research can be extended to a greater degree of investigation. For example I have covered some possible causes of boys’ underachievement in this study; however on a wider scale other possible causes could be explored such as masculinity and identity, class or ethnicity. I feel that the most important route to take continuing from this particular investigation would be a focus on masculinity stereotypes in the single sex classroom and the mixed classroom. Holland (1998) states that: Boys do appear to be locked inside a stereotype which appears to make them succumb to peer pressure and which inevitably impacts on their attitude to work’ (Holland, 1998: 177). Therefore researching ways that can reduce or even prevent these macho stereotypes in the classroom would be an important factor for understanding boys and underachievement. Despite that there is no definitive outcome from this study; I feel that it is something that I will take forward into my professional development; whether it is through consideration of differentiation in boys learning style in a mixed classroom, or through a focus of raising attainment levels in my classes. Whichever way I incorporate consideration of gender into my teaching, it is certainly something that needs to be addressed. Gorard (2001) believes that concern over the gender gap is exaggerated; however it is clear through GCSE tables that boys tend to achieve lower than girls. In relation to this then, it is important for both newly qualified teachers and established teachers to consistently strive to meet the learning needs of their pupils. It seems the most important way is by adapting their style and approach to learning styles to ensure that both girls and boys have equal opportunities to work and achieve their highest potential. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Bleach, K. (1998). Raising Boys’ Achievement in Schools. Staffordshire: Trentham Books Ltd. Brozo, W. G. (2002). To Be A Boy, To Be A Reader: Engaging Teen and Preteen Boys In Active Literacy. US: International Reading Association. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007) Business Research Methods 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press Cohen, L. , Manion, L. & Morrison, K (2007). Research Methods In Education. London and New York: Routledge. Cox, T. (2000). Combating Educational Disadvantage: Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Children. London and New York: Falmer Press. Frances, B. (2000). Boys, Girls and Achievement: Addressing the Classroom Issues. London and New York: Routledge. Frater, G. (1997). Improving Boys’ Literacy. London: The Basic Skills Agency. Gillham, B. (2000). Case Study Research Methods. London and New York: Continuum. Greetham, B. (2009) How to Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation. Palgrave Macmillan. Mason, J. (1996). Qualitative Researching. London, Thousand Oaks, N ew Delhi: Sage. Millard, E. (1997). Differently Literate. London, Washington DC: The Falmer press. Punch, K. F. (2009). Introduction to Research Methods in Education. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage. Rae, T., & Pederson, L. (2007). Developing Emotional Literacy With Teenage Boys. London, California and New Delhi: Paul Chapman Publishing. Trochim, W. M. (2001). The Research Mothods Knowledge Base. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Publishing. Weeks, A. (1999). The Underachievement of Boys. Northants: First and Best Education. JOURNALS Holland, V. (1998). Underachieving Boys: Problems and Solutions. Support for Learning , 13(04), pp.174-178. Hornton, R. (2005). ‘Boys Are People Too: Boys and Reading, Truth and Misconceptions’. Teacher Librarian ,.33(2), pp 30-32. Malacova, E. (2004). ‘Effects of Single-sex Education on Progress in GCSE’. Cambridge Assessments UK , 33, pp233-259. Mills M. & Keddie, A. (2007). ‘Teaching Boys and Gender Justice’. International Journal of Inclusive Education ,11 (03), pp.335-354. Myhill, D. (2002). ‘Bad Boys and Good Girls? Patterns of Interaction and Response in Whole School Teaching’. British Education Research Journal , 28 (03), pp.339-352. Reichert, M. & Hawley, R.(2010). ‘Reaching Boys An International Study of Effective Teaching Practices’. Phi Delta Kappan ,91 (04), pp35-40. Sadowski, M. (2010, August). ‘Putting The Boy Crisis in Context’. Education Digest , pp 4-6. Taylor, D. L. (2004, December). â₠¬ËœNot Just Boring Stories: Reconsidering the Gender Gap for Boys’. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy , pp290-298. Watson, A., Kehler, M. & Martino, W. (2010, February). ‘The Problem of Boys’ Literacy Underachievement: Raising Some Questions’. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 53(5) , pp356-361. WEBSITES Bearne, E. (2004, September). Raising Boys’ Achievement in Literacy. Retrieved March 2011, from RBA: www-rba.educ.com.ac.uk/PaperEB.Paf Boys’ Underachievement. (2005, November). Retrieved December 2010, from Teaching Expertise: www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/boys-underachievements-101 Gender and Achievement. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2010, from National Strategies: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/46121?uc%20=%20force_uj Malone, G. (2010, September 2nd). Extraordinary School For Boys: helping boys love literacy. Retrieved April 11th, 2011, from Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/education/7976044/Extraordinary-School-for-Boys-helping-boys-love-literacy.html Mendick, H. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2011, from Gender and Education: