BPR - What does it means to organization who are underperforming Assignment

BPR - What does it means to organization who are underperforming - Assignment Example These are the key issues to be dealt with when doing BPR for an underperforming firm. IT is one of the means through which BPR can be achieved ; it is not an end itself. (Guy Doumeingts) The ERP package is there to help the BPR process. Many firms equate BPR with the implementation of the ERP software. This is where IT becomes a hurdle rather than a support for BPR. The software should be molded to suit the business processes. The processes and their outcomes are the important thing which needs to be re-organized by the firm; the software is not the important thing. When the latter assumes more importance and technical experts rather than functional people are made in charge of the BPR process IT becomes a hurdle and BPR fails. Misfit of the ERP package selected with the business processes – Vicro’s business processes were highly customer specific. The ERP package was a misfit to these processes and thus further denigrated performance. BPR equated with the software – Vicro made no efforts to actually focus on the business processes and re-engineer them. Its entire focus was on the software implementation. The implementation of this software was accepted to improve the processes as well which never happened. Make Business people owner of the change – Instead of the ERP package being forced by vendors from outside, functional people of the company who run the business should have been made owner of the processes and the vendor responsible to them. Get Universal Buy in – In order to reduce employee’s resistance to change proper education should have been provided to them regarding the implementation and the benefits from it. Their suggestions and feedback should have been taken. Proper Requirement Definition – ERP implementation was made as the major aim by Vicro. This was an improper requirement. The main aim should have been to improve the

A brief history of Capitalism, from antiquity to the present Essay

A brief history of Capitalism, from antiquity to the present - Essay Example re the history of capitalism from antiquity to the present; in doing so the paper deals separately with the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern forms of capitalism. Ancient forms of capitalism had its roots in the agrarian societies; the ancient form of capitalism was prevalent in ancient Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and in the ancient Roman empire. Weber is of the opinion that capitalism was at work in antiquity; he purports that the ancient societies were marked by â€Å"dramatic increases in wealth and these were often followed by decline† and therefore he argues that the existence of ‘apparent economic prosperity and expansion’ during this period show the evidence of capitalistic economic structure. Weber views capitalism as an economic system where â€Å"property is an object of trade, and is used by individuals for profit-making in a market economy†; following this definition Weber considers the slave-based agriculture (comprised of slaves and lands) as an ancient manifestation of capitalism (Love 35-36). The landlords and nobles used to levy rents from their dependants and the estates (plantations based o n slave labour) they owned contributed to the economic surplus. The ancient cities were more natural economies which were centres of consumption than production and therefore the economic surplus had a crucial role to play in the prosperity of the economy. Most of the ancient cities depended on grain imports; however, in cities like Rome and Athens private trade was replaced by state intervention which is against the principles of capitalism. However, organized labour and organized division of labour was absent in the ancient societies even though some crude forms of grouping of slave labour was prevalent in certain plantations and factories. Weber’s list of capitalist pursuits in ancient societies include â€Å"government contracts (tax farming and public works), mining, sea trade (maritime loans), overland trade, the leasing of slaves, and the

People Attitude Towards Work Essay Example for Free

People Attitude Towards Work Essay Peoples attitude to work varies a lot i.e. in relation to the individuals personal experience and their overall perception of others (employers, colleagues) and how they are actually perceived by other people. As emphasized by various key theorists (e.g. Frederick Taylor, Maslow, Douglas McGregor etc.) discussed in Behaviour At Work element 11.1, we (people) make assumption about other people based on our own experience in that, it is a way of making sense of relating to others. We each set ourselves certain standards and expect other people to adhere to them, even though they may not share our views and have different standards for themselves. Motivation is both individual and complex and there is a difference between what motivates people to perform above average and what leads to below average performance. Douglas McGregor emphasized that managers make either theory X or Y assumptions about the way others behave. Theory X assumption includes; * an average human being inherently dislikes work and will avoid it if possible hence, these types of people must be coerced, controlled, directed or even threatened with punishment to get them to put in adequate effort at work. * an average person prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above any other thing. Theory Y assumptions on the other hand stresses that; * people do not inherently dislike work and that the conditions of work reflects peoples satisfaction * people will generally exercise self direction and self control in pursuit of the objective to which they are committed * people mostly learn under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility * people are not being used by organisations to their full potential * in order to obtain commitment from employees rewards should fulfill an individuals self actualization needs Choosing either Theory X or Y has an overall effect on people, be it positive or negative i.e. there will be a tendency within an organisation for people to respond to the way they are managed thus, if employees feel that they are not being trusted, this may result in them behaving in a less trustworthy way. PEOPLES ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK (CONT.) Conclusion: Due to the fact that there is a range of reasons why people behave differently in work situations, hence, it is unrealistic to make generalized assumption about individuals attitude to work i.e. reasons for performing better or worse than average. Behaviour of each group is most likely to be unpredictable e.g. in the case of our Young business enterprise, GNVQ group A unlike group B spent a lot of time meeting despite the fact that there was conflict between individuals, thus we all had to put personal problems aside in order to achieve the same common goal which alternatively reflects on the successful trading carried out via high level of cooperation. Peoples attitude in a particular organisation can be measured by implementing techniques such as; * Preparation of questionnaires which is distributed to a certain number of selected individuals in a particular organisation. (Ref. example of questionnaire which may be used by organisations appendix 1) * Face-to-face interviews this refers to actually forming a one to one communication strategy which deals specifically with obtaining necessary information on employees general attitude towards their work and what motivates them to work harder and effectively. Face-to-face interviews are mainly used to obtain a direct response from the people affected by each policy thus, generating a more realistic subjective view of the employees involved as opposed to making an assumption. Some of the questions which can be included while carrying out an interview are as follows; (1) Can you describe any job you have held where you were faced with problems and pressures which tested your ability to cope? (2) Can you give me an example of a time when you had to conform to a policy with which you did not agree? (3) What stimulates you in your work and how does this motivate you? (4) Would you be willing to work in a position where you are expected to make decisions and how will you conduct yourself? (5) How do you feel about the way you are managed by your superior and what will contribute to you working even better? * Surveys surveys takes different forms depending on the level of workers which are being examined. It can also be seen as a combination of the methods mentioned above i.e. in generating more response so as to obtain an overall result i.e. a more factual information regarding employees, which can obviously be relied on. (Ref. Example of a personnel performance indicator which can be used in highlighting peoples attitude to work appendix 2) (Appendix 1) Questionnaire (1) Would you consider yourself satisfied with the level of responsibility your job involves? Yes[] No[] (2) What motivates you to work? Money[] Promotion[] Job security[] Other . (3) How would you describe you working condition? V. good[] Good[] Average[] Below average[] (4) Do you like working as a group[] ; individually[] ; or both [] (5) Would you like to be included in decision making or quality circle? Yes[] No[] Dont know[] (6) What do you enjoy most in doing your job? .. (7) Have you had any complaint in relation to your level of participation in your job? Yes[] No[] If yes, how do you view this .. (8) How well do you deal with criticism? V. well[] Average [] Below average[] (9) Does criticism affect your overall performance? Yes[] No[] (10) Would you consider yourself Highly motivated[] Easily motivated[] Not easily motivated[] Dont know[] FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION Peoples level of motivation is affected by certain issues, which may lead to an extensive breakdown in communication within an organisation due to lack of cooperation between employees and employees or employees and employers. These factors includes; * Hierarchy of needs this inter relates to Maslows theory of human behaviour i.e. that individuals have five level of needs which they sought to satisfy. The human needs as established by Maslow states that the lowest of our needs include the basic physiological need for food, drink and shelter, once it is satisfied, individuals then needs to protect himself/herself against danger, threat and deprivation thereafter the levels of needs rise through social needs, need for self esteem and status to the need for self actualization. This affects motivation on an individual basis i.e. an individual may focus on each step before actually moving towards self actualization thus, if he/she is not completely satisfy on any of the stages the person tends to struggle a lot in working to his/her best ability this may not be the case for lots of other people. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Self actualization (the need to do the work we like) Esteem (the need to feel worthy and respected) Social needs (the need to be liked/loved and to be a member of a given group) Security (the need to feel safe and secure) Survival (the need to stay alive, to eat, to drink, sleep and reproduce) FACTORS AFFECTING MOTIVATION (CONT.) * Job Satisfaction this affects the way in which people feel about their work in terms of achievement or recognition from others, the work involved, level of responsibility, opportunities for advancement, company policy and administration, supervisions, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. In the case where these are not dealt with in a constructive manner, it may give rise to a high level of dissatisfaction at work which may in turn lead to persistent lateness or absenteeism, below average performance and real or imagined illness on the part of workers i.e. due to a downfall in level of motivation. * Challenge if the work involved is not challenging enough for certain employees, it may lead to low staff morale that is, workers may not feel the need to give the job their absolute best. On the other hand, if the job is too broad compared to a relatively low number of employees, it may also have the same negative effect in motivating the workers. * Motivators such as: reward, training, promotion etc. If these motivators lacks in an organisation, workers tend to feel that their needs are not being catered for, hence, developing a negative attitude towards employers which alternatively affect the level of work which is put into the organisation i.e. workers in this situation will only work because they feel the need to work not because they want to work. However, in order to get employees fully involved, various kinds of motivators e.g. shared ownership, cash bonuses etc. should be introduced to commend hard working employees thus, serving as a source of motivation in that people actually perform better when they are willing to work so as to meet a certain target rather than employers forcing work on them because they have to. * Career Development this proves vital in maintaining or improving the level of staff motivation in that, people like to think that their hard work will pay off well as opposed to go unrecognized thus, if there is an opportunity for career development, workers tend to perform well so as to develop their individual skills and at the same time climb up the management ladder. In a situation where it is the opposite, it may lead to a wide spread low morale amongst employees. * Level of Expectancy this may have an overall effect on an individuals attitude towards work i.e. in relation to the expectancy theory developed by Victor Vroom, for example, an individual may respond in a positive way to a high level of expectancy from employers while another employee of the same calibre breakdown under pressure thus, it all boils down to an individuals desire for something in relation to the persons estimation of how likely it can be achieved. MOTIVATORS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE As established by Frederick Taylor (1947) what the workforce want from their employers beyond anything else is high wages and what employers want from their workforce most of all is low labour costs the existence or absence of these two elements forms the basis for either a good or bad management. The major factors which makes people feel satisfied with their job and motivates individuals to work effectively includes; high level of achievement, recognition, opportunities for advancement and responsibility as well as the actual content of the work which is being carried out. On the other hand, factors which affects employees adversely and which lead to high level of dissatisfaction with their individual tasks include negative company policy, low level of salary and benefits, interpersonal relations and the overall working conditions (as described earlier). The following motivators are required so as to encourage individuals to work harder thus, enhancing the workers individual performance; * Autonomy this refers to the amount of freedom and discretion an individual can exercise over a certain job, this gives the worker a higher level of responsibility providing that the person wants and can cope with the responsibility. This will boost an individuals self-reliance thus, being able to meet target more effectively. Although some people prefer jobs with low level of responsibility, this is often common when people have a highly complex and demanding life outside work. However they are not likely to be high achievers. * Praise workers generally feel the need to be praised for hard work hence, serving as a motivator in encouraging the particular worker to keep doing a specific task to his/her best ability. Praise actually has an overall effect on the quality and quantity of goods and services produced, so therefore it is vital for employers to recognize and commend a high quality work. MOTIVATORS APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE (CONT.) Delegating this motivates people to work harder in that, it also involves giving workers more responsibility for the tasks they carry out. Delegating is used in a situation where by the particular job holds certain responsibilities, but additional responsibility is giving through delegation, this may help in providing more time for more important tasks, thus, helping in increasing an individuals job satisfaction. Reluctant or poor delegation can be worse than no delegation at all, hence, this is why most employers tend to delegate trustworthy employees to carry out certain tasks. Delegation also helps in meeting target, improving cooperation between staff and employer, and improving the quality and quantity of work carried out. * Shared Ownership shared ownership schemes proves to be very successful in motivating workers in that, employees handle tasks more efficiently due to the fact that they also have a stake in the company hence, people tend to work very well if there is some kind of benefit to derive from their hard work on the long run. The introduction of shared ownership enhances general individual performance i.e. people tend to be self reliance thus, meeting targets, encouraging and maintaining good relationship with co-workers and employers which in turn helps in developing and delivering good quality of work (high standard) as well as improving the quantity of work achieved. * Quality Circle the implementation of quality circle serves as a motivator because it makes employees feel more involved in all the aspects of product development. Quality circle is usually set up to tackle a particular project where quality improvement is necessary therefore, making it easy to recognize each teams ability and alternatively rewarding individual teams for the level of work they put in improving the quality and the amount of goods actually produced. EFFECTS OF MOTIVATORS ON INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE In an event whereby employees needs are catered for promptly and effectively, organisations can benefit a great deal. For instance, in order for quality circles to be successful, quality improvement programmes needs full commitment from employees. The motivators discussed earlier helps in; * enhancing employees commitment to a particular organisation thus, being more reliable in performing tasks individually as well as part of a team. * boost loyalty the level of employees loyalty will be improved if they are being treated with respect they deserve e.g. if employees are offered shared ownership of an organisation as a reward for hard work, the employee will be willing to stay loyal for a long period in that, the employee will be obliged to support the particular organisations internal and external activities i.e. outside and within the organisation. On the whole, these motivators helps in providing opportunities for increased skills, flexible working and individual development. Motivators also provide social companionship and a sense of pride in the overall working relationship in regards to achievements derived from motivating workers in the correct manner. Further Analysis: GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION It is essential that the reward strategy adopted by employers fulfills employees needs i.e. if motivation to work is to be maintained or increased, it is necessary that an individual is convinced that by putting in extra effort at work, his/her performance will be improved and that the reward he/she values will be forthcoming. In order to gain employee cooperation, employers focus on motivating employees in various ways depending on the organisation involved, some of the methods used in achieving this are as follows; * Job Security by providing a secure job opportunity, workers will have the opportunity for career progression, therefore, they will feel motivated to work hard so as to get on. A major example of this relates to the Japanese economy that is, because employers often offer a job for life to potential individuals thus, they tend to expect a high degree of loyalty from their workers as well as commitment to work to the very best of their ability. * Merit Rating this refers to recognizing an individuals performance and selecting personal qualities which an organisation believes to be important and assessing these qualities hence, giving the organisation an overall idea on how to reward individual performance effectively. (Ref. Merit rating form appendix 3) * Appraisal this is also used to pin point performance, appraisal is needed for assessing the performance of an individual in discharging specific responsibilities and/or the potential performance of the individual in other roles. Appraisal often involves assessing both job performance and personality characteristics relevant to the particular job. Performance appraisal is an extension and development of merit rating, it may or may not be used as a basis for increase in salary (performance related pay). GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION (CONT.) An example of appraisal of an employee may take the form below; Job Knowledge and Technical Ability Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Energy and Application Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Organizing Ability Comments Exceptional Good Satisfactory Marginal Inadequate Overall Assessment 1. Reserved for employees whose distinguished performance is clearly obvious to all. 2. Seasoned employees whose performance is noticeable better than satisfactory. 3. Satisfactory 4. Performance close to being satisfactory but needs further development. 5. Performance clearly below the accountability level required for a certain task or set of tasks (this may include newcomers). 6. Totally unsatisfactory (Ref. Performance Appraisal by: T.L . Whisler and S.F . Harper, research and practice by: Holt, Rinehart and Winston) GAINING EMPLOYEE COOPERATION THROUGH MOTIVATION (CONT.) * Incentive Schemes this may be used to gain cooperation due to the fact that it is a valuable motivator. Incentive schemes means the payment to employees of a regular bonus related to productivity, this is designed to encourage employees to cooperate with management in raising productivity and the overall performance of the organisation. This emphasizes the relationship between performance and payment, in that money remains a major motivator in enhancing growth in the level of work performed. * Management By Objectives this focuses on increasing workers performance by agreeing individual objectives with managers and measuring progress by the degree of attainment of the objectives i.e. management by objectives involves setting specific organizational objectives for a future time period. This is a mutual setting of objectives between each position holder and his/her supervisor and the use of the objectives as standards for evaluating the employees performance. MBOs are used in gaining cooperation in regards to employee and employer relationship that is, employees will respond a lot better to discussions rather than orders/commands. POTENTIAL BENEFITS REGARDING GOOD COOPERATION As established by Frank Herzberg (1968), increased job satisfaction will not always result in increased performance but nevertheless increasing the level of job satisfaction within an organisation has lots of advantages i.e. in relation to the organisation, the managers and each individual employee. Potential benefits Potential benefits to employees to management * more interesting work Through better Through increased * scope for development working methods motivation * more autonomy * companionship and team pride * share in any benefits to employers * better quality * reduced absence * lower turnover * more flexibility * higher productivity Potential organizational benefits * high level of commitment to the organisation * improved industrial relations climate * organisation growth This table lays emphasis on improving job design and work organisation to meet individual needs. (Ref. The effective manager, book 4, open university, 1990) POTENTIAL BENEFITS REGARDING GOOD COOPERATION (CONT.) Benefits which are derived from successful communication between employers and employees includes; Organizational Benefits: * In a situation whereby employees are satisfied with the work they perform as well as their working environment, employees tend to identify more closely with the actual organisation. * Employees who are committed to the organisation are likely to work harder towards organizational goals, seize opportunities, contribute new ideas and act as good public relations officers for their employer. * Effective communication within an organisation will also give rise to less chance of industrial disputes in that, employees will have little or no dissatisfaction and the organisation as a whole can therefore expect to survive competition and prosper. Management Benefits: * If workers are highly motivated, managers will be able to expect better quality performance. * The symptoms of dissatisfaction i.e. absenteeism and illness will be minimal or not present hence, the management will be able to discover that staff are willing and able to perform a range of tasks if their individual skills and abilities are fully developed. On the long run, this benefit will lead to improved productivity and better quality service. Individual Benefits: * If a person with certain skills and abilities finds his/her job suited to the qualities he/she possess, the work the individual participate in, will become more interesting and therefore less likely to produce stress or dissatisfaction. * A job which involves various source of motivation i.e. providing an individual with a scope for development, this will be encouraging to the individual, hence, the particular person will then be able to focus on opportunities for improvement and advancement. On the whole, the level of advantages of job satisfaction outweighs its disadvantages hence, in a situation whereby everybody works hand in hand with a view of a common interest i.e. putting aside personal differences, the organisation tend to survive on the long run the young business enterprise group A is a perfect example to qualify this statement. CONCLUSION: Motivation in Regards to Group Development In order for people to get along well enough as a group so as to be able to benefit the business as a whole, motivators such as praise, autonomy, giving ideas, feedback and so on was implemented in that, for us to achieve each group development stage effectively before moving to the next important stage, it is vital for each group member to deal with the tasks given to the best of his/her ability. * Praise this was used indirectly at regular intervals, so as to show an appreciation for a good level of effort put in by each group member. * Autonomy enough opportunity was given to each group member to work on certain tasks as an individual thus, giving the person overall responsibility without too much questioning. * Giving Ideas each group member was involved in the initial brainstorm for the product ideas as well as designs to be produced and each and every idea brought forward was welcomed and discussed in further depth hence, making each group member feel as part of the business which alternatively led to intense commitment. * Feedback people need to know whether they are performing their jobs satisfactorily, they need praise for doing things well and they need help and advice if they are not performing up to standard, this is achieved through feedback during business meetings. This is used to the advantage of the business venture, in that, people who are not pulling their weight (contributing) were told directly by group members to do so, thus, giving rise to people actually performing much better in some cases and no apparent change in other cases. On the whole, the level of motivational skills applied to the business venture proves to be effective for the individuals within the group as well as in the general group development.

Abortion: Common Ground Must Be Found Essay -- abortion, argumentativ

Consider for a moment a society in which there are no rules or laws. A society in which everyone is allowed to do what they please whenever they feel like it without any consequences. The world would be in a state of chaos. In order to maintain order and implement laws we use a set of morals to judge what actions are permissible and which are not. Through evaluating their actions and the outcomes of these actions, humans begin to develop morals. However, to fully understand the consequences one must first claim responsibility for her actions. The moral validity of abortion does not depend on the status of the unborn as a person, when life begins-whether it is conception, birth, or sometime between-or religious beliefs. The permission of abortion contradicts the very definition and purpose of morality and the right to privacy. The United States International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994, recognized unsafe abortion as a major public health concern. The World Health Organization estimates that about 75,000 women die each year from unskilled abortions. Damage to women’s health and the burden of care that falls on often scarce hospital resources also add to the costly impact of poorly performed abortions on public health systems. Abortions are usually performed without adequate skill because of laws that make safe, medically performed abortion services unlawful. Within the last two centuries, and particularly during the twentieth century, abortion has been criminalized. It was only in the closing decades of the last century that laws have recognized women’s needs and rights to have access to safe abortion services. Historically many customary laws condemned the interruption of pregnancy, wheth... ...that it’s not easy. Instead I think that there should be more awareness brought about to young woman that consider it, maybe classes be completed before the procedure is done informing them on the risks that are being taken and the other alternatives that are available out there. I feel that if God can forgive than the people should too. Human rights laws are increasingly giving priority to women’s health, dignity, and capacity as the principal decision makers over their own reproduction. Countries whose laws criminalize abortion and compromise women’s health and welfare are facing louder calls for reform. To counter this, conservative governments and religious authorities support restrictive laws and urge more prohibitions against abortions. I just hope that one day that both sides can come to an agreement upon this issue that divides the American people into two.

Evaluate Learning Activities Essay

After any learning activity it is important to evaluate how the activity went. This is because it gives both the children and staff members a chance to reflect on the learning which has taken place and establish whether or not the learning objective was achieved. To evaluate effectively you should refer to the original learning objective to see what you set out to achieve and then reflect on the outcome and whether or not this outcome was satisfactory and that the targets you set have been met. In order to evaluate accurately you must be sure to make learning objectives very clear at the planning stage. This must be done in a way that ensures learners fully understand what the outcomes mean and the outcomes must be achievable for everyone in the group regardless of ability and within the time that you have available. The learning objective should be set out in a way which makes it easy for you to assess pupils against it. A good knowledge of the success criteria is also important when evaluating learning as children may not necessarily achieve the learning objective despite fully involving themselves in the lesson and showing real enthusiasm. Where this is the case you should record how hard the child worked and take a look at the reasons they did not meet the objective and see how you can help them the next time. The resources you have used also play an important part in how successful an activity is so you should evaluate the resources you used and whether or not they were used correctly and decide if there were other things you could have used that may have been more relevant and beneficial to that particular task. Continual assessment is important to monitor a Childs progress and while you should share the information with other teaching staff it is also important to share it with the child. This allows the child to share with you any concerns they have, things that they find difficult and things they enjoy which allows you to plan activities accordingly. It also gives you the chance to give them praise and encouragement by telling them which things they are doing really well at, how proud you are of what they have achieved and offer reassurance that they should not worry about things they find hard because you can do extra work on these areas and help them to understand. While it can sometimes be difficult to find time during the school day to give feedback to the teacher you must find a way to do this whether it is in a written report brief discussion or phone call. Not only do you need to report on the pupils progress and weaknesses you should also inform them of any difficulties you experience during an activity, such as disruptive pupils so that the problem can be addressed and resolved. It is important to be careful when giving feedback that while you are honest you are also tactful and do not lay blame for the activity on the teachers inadequate planning or the fact that the activity was not stimulating enough. The better the relationship you have with the teacher the easier it will be for you to put your point of view across and work well together to improve the learning environment and achieve better results. Always be positive when making your suggestions or giving feedback. Providing the teacher with feedback on the learner’s progress and participation can be done in various ways. If a child has not been participating you may just need to briefly mention it to the teacher and try and come up with strategies to help them get more involved in future activities. When a child is disruptive you can either discuss this with the teacher or make a written record of how the child was behaving, if you think there was anything that caused the behaviour, the effect it had on the rest of the group, how you tried to resolve the issue and manage the behaviour, whether you were successful in disciplining the child and what you think you could do to avoid the problem arising again. Hopefully the teacher will then respond and give you feedback on whether they have experienced similar problems with that child and how they dealt with it. Keeping records on how a child is progressing is also essential as it allows all staff involved to see which areas the child is ma king progress in and where they need to improve, it also lets everyone know the level that the child is at so that the appropriate level of work can be set. In order to support learning activities effectively it is important to reflect on what you have done and consider how you managed different activities. When an activity is finished you may feel disappointed with the outcome. Activities don’t always go to plan or achieve what you wanted them to and this can be for a variety of reasons When you feel that things didn’t work out the way you expected you have to reflect on the session and ask yourself how it went? Which aspects were you pleased with? What did not go as well as you planned? What would you change if you had to do the activity again? By doing this you can improve the way you plan activities which will benefit yourself and the children. To be able to effectively teach various areas of the curriculum you must ensure that your own knowledge of the subject is of a high standard and if you are out of practice and unsure of some subjects ask for help or update your qualifications. Many establishments provide refresher courses to bring Maths, English and ICT up to an acceptable level for working in a school setting. If you are unsure of a subject or a teaching method your uncertainty will be apparent to the children and your lack of knowledge will confuse them. You cannot possibly teach a child something you know nothing about so you should find out about the subject matter ahead of the lesson by doing some research. You should make sure you communicate with other members of staff to find out the strategies they use and information they pass on to the children so that they do not receive conflicting advice or information and become unsure of what they are supposed to be learning. While I feel that my basic English, Maths and ICT skills are at an acceptable level I realise that it has been quite some time since I studied them and intend to familiarise myself with the curriculum and strategies that schools at the present time use to educate the children so that I feel more confident in helping and advising the pupils that I work with. I intend to do this by accessing the resources the school uses and familiarising myself with them while also asking for advice from other teaching assistants.

Roles, Aims and Objectives of Two Sports Organizations Essay

Roles, Aims and Objectives of Two Sports Organizations I have chosen two sports organisations involved in development schemes and I will look at their roles, aims and objectives. The two organsations I have chose to focus on are The National Association for Sports Development (NASD) and The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS). I chose these two organisations as I thought they would be interesting organisations to concentrate on and I found a fair bit of research on each of the two organisations. Roles of organisations [IMAGE]The National Association for Sports Development (NASD) Ensuring access to quality sporting opportunities throughout the community For all ages†¦show more content†¦An aim is like a vision for the project, an overview and it is by nature broad in scope. For example ‘to promote sport’ is a very broad aim, and there is no indication to how this would be done or how it will be measured. An objective is much more concrete and measurable. For example ‘to attract 50 children to a basketball summer camp’ is a measurable objective. [IMAGE]The National Association for Sports Development (NASD) The aim of NASD is to provide support, advocacy and professional development for those involved in the development of sport and the following objectives have been set: To raise the profile of sports development and sports development practitioners. The identification and dissemination of good practice in sports development at all levels (national, regional, local and international), encouraging recognised professional standards. The provision of a nationally recognised professional development programme that offers quality assured training opportunities as part of a qualification for those involved in sports development. To represent the views of those involved in sports development to relevant external agencies. 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Political Essay Example for College Students - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2182 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Politics Essay Type Essay any type Tags: Political Essay Did you like this example? Theatre academic and cultural commentator Christopher Bigsby makes the point that theatre, as opposed to, say, the novel, is essentially a public experience (2000, p. 9). Where a novel may make comment on political issues, it does do in private, in a one-to-one relationship between author and reader. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Political Essay Example for College Students" essay for you Create order A play, on the other hand, is written for the public: it is experienced live and with a live audience of others who are experiencing the same production as you are in the same moment. This, for Bigsby, is what makes theatre uniquely poised to draw parallels between the specifics of the drama on stage, and the generalities of the social and political contexts of the plays writing, its original and its revival productions. This essay will examine this in relationship to twentieth century American politics and society. It will do this by drawing on two preeminent examples of US theatre from different generations of writing: The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet. The political contexts of both plays will be considered, and thematic and textual aspects will be considered, alongside critical and wider reactions and responses to the plays, both at the time of their first presentations, and over time. Two different approaches to using drama as commentary will be introduced and explored: allegory and specific example. The Crucible was Arthur Millers third major play, coming after 1947s All My Sons and 1952s Death of a Salesman. Miller was by then established as a major playwright, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Salesman (Pfister 2005). Miller later commented that: the prime business of a play is to arouse the passions of its audience so that by the route of passion may be opened up a new relationship between a man and men, and between men and Man. Drama is akin to the other inventions of man in that it ought to help us know more, and not merely to spend our feelings (Miller, in Pfister 2005). It was in The Crucible that Miller would explore these connections, by writing a play that would make allegorical comment on contemporary American politics and society. The use of the Massachusetts witch trials as a device for theatrical comment on contemporary America was not one unique to Miller. Welland (1979, pp. 74-5) notes that t hree other plays had done so in the previous decade. Marion Starkey, author of 1949s The Devil in Massachusetts, comments thusly in her introduction to her play: [o]ne would like to hope that leaders of the modern world can in the end deal with delusion as sanely and courageously as the men of old Massachusetts dealt with theirs (in Welland, 1979, pp. 74-5). The issue by 1952, the year prior to The Crucibles first performance, was that of the congressional investigation into un-American activities headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy (Bigsby, 2000, p. 87-8). The McCarthy hearings, seeking to unmask Communist sympathisers in the contexts of a United States that was wary of the world order post-1945, the fresh superpower dynamic between the States and the USSR, and the emerging superpower antipathy between those two nations, were seen by Miller and many other liberals as a threat to the nation (Bigsby 2000, 88). Miller said (quoted in Bigsby, 2000, p. 88) that there was a new religi osity in the air à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ conscience was no longer a private matter but one of state administration. I saw men handing conscience to other men and thanking other men for the opportunity of doing so. The Crucible tells the story of the witch trials, focusing on the character of John Proctor.Proctor first seeks to query the burgeoning fear gripping the Salem community when the witchcraft allegations are first made, and then is drawn in as the charges widen to include his household; he is forced to defend himself and his conscience. The inquisitorial manner of the legalistic Puritans who pursue the truth behind the allegations soon becomes overtaken by a zeal to find all who are accused guilty by whatever means possible. Welland (1979, p. 84-5) states the experience of watching the play is to be overwhelmed by the simple impotence of honest common sense against fanaticism that is getting out of control, and provides a reminder that sheer goodness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is just not e nough to counter such deviousness. The language of the powerful overwhelms: it establish[es] the grammar of human relationships, who determine the vocabulary in which the social debate is conducted (Bigsby, 2000, p. 90). Proctor in the play and by extension those in the 1950s theatre audience who are subject to McCarthyite inquisition, or who have sympathies with them finds himself caught in their rhetoric and in their discourse, and is entrapped in their language. Though to some extent The Crucible is indelibly linked to the contexts of its writing and first performance, it has proved to not be limited to its time (Bigsby, 2000, p. 93). The play is frequently revived and is given fresh vitality and currency by its allegoric nature: a play of the 1950s set in that time and which approached the McCarthy-led hearings head-on might well have less of the universality of Millers piece, which has since been staged and restaged widely, from the 2014 London Old Vic revival to a success ful production in the 1980s in the Peoples Republic of China (Bigsby, 2000, p. 93). Whereas Arthur Miller tackled a specific political reality in the context of the Cold War, in his 1983 play Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet examined something more nebulous, though still a political reality of its time: that of capitalism and of corporate greed in the Reagan era. Ronald Reagan was US president from 1980 to 1988 and in many ways the American counterpart of the UKs Margaret Thatcher (prime minister from 1979 to 1991) in pursuing a free market-oriented and commercial-focused agenda within a wider brief of opposing what turned out to be the latter day of the Cold War (Kopkind, 2004). Both administrations promised to to implement parallel monetarist, free market, and incentive-based economic policies (Cooper, 2013). For Bigsby (2000, p. 213) Glengarry Glen Ross is, like earlier Mamet stage productions, is a play set deeply in the milieu of capitalism, an idea which [Mamet] suggests has exhausted itself. The play concerns a group of real-estate salesmen led by Richard Ricky Roma, and their office manager Williamson; they are locked together in conflict for sales and for the security of their jobs. The play takes place over an evening and the following morning, in a Chinese restaurant near their offices, and the following day in the office. Central to the plot of the play are sales leads: the current leads are weak and sales are suffering, but the new leads will only be given out to proven sellers. The rest of the sales force will be dismissed. Bigsby (2000, p. 219) sees this set-up as a neat paradigm of a competitive capitalist society. As only the successful are prioritised by the keeping of their jobs and the access to the new leads, then success is seen to lead to success: the rest must fall by the wayside. So pressure is applied to succeed; this leads to sharp practice and to criminality in order to secure that competitive edge. In the play this is illu strated by the theft of the leads, and the conversations the salesmen have where the leads potential   is discussed. Failing salesman Shelley Levene pleads, with mounting hysteria, about his need to sell; he is desperate for access to the new leads, which Williamson is unwilling to give. Salesmen Aaronow and Moss discuss the potential theft of the leads; Moss works to sell the concept of stealing them to Aaronow. Third is a conversation between two men who, we come to learn, are Roma and a   client, James Lingk. Roma works to seduce   Lingk into making a buy by appealing to both their manufactured friendship and   to Lingkss masculinity. Each of these conversations is marked by power relationships; these are all unequal exchanges.   The second act focuses on the aftermath of the theft. Levene is ecstatic because of   a much-needed commission sale overnight; Roma likewise has sold to Lingk, but   becomes distressed when Williamson u ndoes his work; Aaronow and Moss react with confusion and frustration respectively when accused of the crime and when called in for police questioning. It is revealed that we have been misdirected: Levene is the one whos been manipulated by Moss into taking and selling the leads to a competitor. Furthermore, Levene has been outwitted and outmanoeuvred again, this time by the people he made the sale to overnight, as they are revealed to be cranks with no money. The second act relationships mirror those of the first act; the same characters are involved in the exchanges, but their positions are altered by shifts in power. Levene glories at fist in his power over Williamson, Moss has his crime unpicked, Roma finds the limits of his seductive sales technique. Mamets salesmen are desperate men, forever living on their wits on their ability to use and to manipulate language to own ends. Bigsby (2000, p. 221) notes that each relationship they have or enter in is a negotiation: human interaction becomes capitalist in this context. A competitive edge is always sought. Furthermore, the possibility of duplicity or betrayal is always possible, not least because these characters are all trying to do that to others. Their whole society is predicated on social engineering and on corruption of language towards venal ends; to that extent, they and their society are corrupt also. Bigsby (2000, p. 222) sees that if Mamets characters pervert language, distort values and divert profound psychological needs into temporary social objectives, this is no more than do those who direct national policy or construct the fantasies of commercial and political life. The link between the specifics of the drama on stage and its correlation to the national and cultural dynamic of Reagans America are clearly drawn here. Nightingale (in Bigsby, 2004, p. 102) sees Glengarry Glen Ross as a play virtually unequalled in the quantitative and qualitative evidence it provides for moral dismay and grim social reà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ection. For Nightingale (in Bigsby, 2004, p. 96), the play is not solely an expose and a rebuttal of business ethics but also of an America that, as Mamet has said, is a very violent society full of a lot of hate: you cant put a band-aid on a suppurating wound'. This is drama as a political critique: an examination of the ethics of a worldview (that of Reaganism) through the filter of a contemporary case study intended to be seen as emblematic of a greater, and similarly problematic, whole. This essay has sought to outline and examine the ways in which American theatre in the twentieth century has been applied to wider political conversations. Millers The Crucible takes a seventeenth century cause celebre and a foundational story of pre-Constitution America and draws parallels between Puritan religious hysteria and anti-Communist searches as spearheaded by the Senate Committee on Un-American Activities under Joseph McCarthy. This is drama as alleg ory, and as such, not only were contemporary audiences able to make that link for themselves the play has demonstrated over time that its messages have resonance for other times and geographies, even though that link to the 1950s remains dominant. David Mamets Glengarry Glen Ross takes another approach: that of didactic example. Reagans 1980s are held to account through a case study of capitalism in action. Mamets salesmen are in turns aggressive, hectoring, pleading, desperate, seductive, criminal , manipulative, and self-serving. The society in which they operate, and the political system that not merely sustains but which actively supports this; is thus critiqued. Murphy (2006, pp 411-29) sketches the ways in which American theatre developed through the twentieth century. From being almost wholly mass entertainment and spectacle-based with little original writing to a theatre that was able to, as Murphy (2006, p. 429) puts it, confront audiences with the issues of the day, the c entury has seen the American stage become a mechanism by which US playwrights might hold the countrys politics to account. Bibliography Bigsby, C. W. E. (2000)Modern American Drama, 1945-2000. 2nd edn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Cooper, J. (2013)History Policy. Available at: https://www.historyandpolicy.org/opinion-articles/articles/reagan-vs.-thatcher-unpicking-the-special-relationship (Accessed: 7 October 2015). Kopkind, A. (2004)The Age of Reaganism. Available at: https://www.thenation.com/article/age-reaganism/ (Accessed: 7 October 2015). Mamet, D. (2004)Glengarry Glen Ross. London: Methuen Drama. Miller, A. (2000)The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts (Penguin Modern Classics). London: Penguin Classics. Murphy, B. (2006)The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture (Cambridge Companions to Culture). Edited by Christopher Bigsby. 1st edn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Nightingale, J. (2004)Cambridge Companion to David Mamet (Cambridge Companions to Literature Series). Edited by Christopher Bigsby. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pfister, J. (2005)The Cru cible. Available at: https://www.ibiblio.org/miller/crucibleteachnotes.html (Accessed: 6 October 2015). Saddik, A. J. (2007)Contemporary American Drama (Edinburgh Critical Guides to Literature). Edited by Martin Halliwell and Andy Mousley. 1st edn. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. The Crucible The Old Vic(no date) Available at: https://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2014/the-crucible/ (Accessed: 7 October 2015). Welland, D. S. R. and Well, D. (1979)Miller: A Study Of His Plays. London: Eyre Methuen.