Planning and Enabling Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Planning and Enabling Learning - Essay Example The 9th and the 12th academic year are the two most significant life paths that a student can pass through. Generally those two years guide the students to their chosen careers. To a greater degree though what will bring success in his/her life depends on the choice of subjects during these stages. Both parents and teachers play an immense role in directing children towards what education route to choose that would lead them to successfully university and career development. BTEC was established in 1984 and stands for the Business Education Council (BEC) and the Technician Education Council (TEC). BTEC course is based on continuous assessment rather than on annual exams. The BTEC course incorporates opportunities for work experience and gaining real life skills through case studies. BTEC course is designed to enhance the demands of employers in modern society and to allow students to quickly progress to their university degree. BTEC has proved its operational success and effectivenes s in the last 25 years and is gaining popularity as students are mo focused on day to day abilities and the course's flexible nature. Statistically, more than 1 million students enrolled on BTEC course for the academic year 2006/2007 (Edexcel BTEC Course, 2009).Institutions and students all around the world value the BTEC brand because it delivers excellent vocational qualifications that signify global recognition to the chosen area of studies. Practically it does not matter whether the programme is taught in London, Beijing or Dubai, since the quality assurance procedures assure that the candidates are awarded with standardized and internationally recognized qualifications. BTEC diplomas are organized to provide specialist work-related abilities in a wide range of sectors. BTEC courses equip students with valuable and lifelong skills and knowledge required for their career progress, and/or for the continuation of their vocational studies at higher academic level. During the BTEC course learners meet with professionals from the preferred industry in order to receive adequate consultation and the specialists to supervise the programme and progressive activities of the students. All BTEC seminars cover core and expert units, thus they have standard format and clear guidance about the requirements of the qualifications assessed. There is assessment criteria applied. The learners get Pass, Merit, or Distinction for each module of the programme. This means that the learners have to collect a number of points to obtain the overall Pass Grade for the programme. No external examinations apply in BTEC programmes (Edexcel BTEC course, 2009). When designing the cou rses providers work closely with employers from different sectors to create an inspiring atmosphere where students gain the skills they need to either start employment immediately after graduation or continue to a higher education. The subject areas that BTEC cover are: Applied Sciences Children's Care, Learning and Development Engineering Hospitality Languages Public Services and Security Art and Design Construction Hairdressing, Beauty and Related Therapies IT and Computing Media Sport, Leisure and Recreation Business, Management and Services Education and Training Health, Care and Counselling Land and the Environment Performing Arts and Music Travel, Tourism and Transport Services - Decide on the envisaged group and identify the barriers The envisaged focused group is 12 graders. The barriers that learners at BTEC course can face while planning and organizing his ideas are several. First of all, when one is attempting to clarify and comprehend the functions or operations of the studied course, students can rarely imagine properly the object itself. For example, it will be difficult to communicate how to use a computer for the first time if this is not visually demonstrated. In order for learners to study the subject, they have to get the object related to it. In this way they will experience it in various directions and will build

Is South African fiscal and monetary policy complementary Essay

Is South African fiscal and monetary policy complementary - Essay Example The fiscal components that fiscal policies aim to control include physical properties and capital flow. On the other hand, monetary policy is action or decision by a monetary authority to influence the interest rate and exchange rate in an effort to foster economic growth (Mbwoweni 2003). This paper undertakes an analysis of whether the fiscal policies in South Africa have complementary effects. In the analysis, the paper uses the actual monetary and fiscal policy that has been in this country from 2002 to date. Fiscal policy South African fiscal policy Government of South Africa has undertaken several fiscal policy adjustments since the end of apartheid. This is because of changes in economic situations in the country and the need of the country to foster economic development. ... South Africa has been affected greatly by globalization. Since the end of Apartheid, its trade with other countries has been increasing almost annually. The political and economic environments of the trading partners of South Africa differ significantly from those of South Africa. This difference has been affecting this country’s economy greatly in the past ten years. As a result, the fiscal policy of this country has been influenced by both domestic and international factors in the period after 2002. The domestic factors that affect the fiscal policy of this country include the economic problems that this country experiences. International factors that affect this country are both the economic situation in other countries and the economic problem experienced in the world market. In the adjustment of fiscal policy, the government of this country has to consider these two categories of factors. South Africa’s fiscal policy has several dimensions. The dimensions are ident ified as very essential components of the policy. This is because they are the ones that dictate the kind action taken by the policy in its effort to achieve economic growth and sustainability. Major dimensions of the fiscal policy of this country include taxation levels, individual and government spending, fiscal relations, and debt and interest costs (Jooste, Liu, & Naraidoo 2012). These dimensions control the fiscal components of an economy either directly or indirectly. As a result, they influence the economic activities that relate to the fiscal components of this country’s economy. This plays a very significant role on controlling the economy and enhancing sustainability of economic growth. Roles

Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets

Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets Emerging markets are nations with social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Facing pressures to cut costs, especially labor and materials, companies have been turning to emerging markets for facility locations. As a result, the supply chains have become increasingly global and complex, creating risk at every level of product development, manufacturing, and distribution. The problem lies not with capacity, but with protection of intellectual property rights, maintaining component quality and compliance with international trade regulations. Emerging markets can bring a company closer to suppliers and raw materials, cutting transit time but breaking into new markets in countries with little experience of manufacturing the components required is the ultimate challenge for a supply chain manager. The International Financial Corporation coined the emerging market term (more specifically: Emerging Financial Markets) in 1981, to describe certain countries. The term has expanded in meaning to reflect business opportunities in countries with social or business activity in the process of: Rapid growth Industrialization In pursuit of new opportunities and lower cost operations, companies are creating complex global networks. Impact on supply chain planning and management has been significant. Increased volatility and uncertainty of supply chains require: Greater flexibility and forecasting capability Sophisticated understanding of emerging markets Ability to assess and manage both risks and opportunities A number of universities and business schools have undertaken research to study and understand various aspects of Emerging Markets. It is difficult to make a list of emerging, developing and developed markets; the best guides tend to be investment information like The Economist or market index makers (such as Morgan Stanley Capital International). FTSE Group, a provider of economic and financial data, distinguishes between various markets on the basis of their national income and the development of their market infrastructure and assigns the market status of countries on the basis of their economic size, wealth, quality of markets, depth of markets and breadth of markets. Many companies want to benefit from emerging markets sourcing but often neglect to build integrated business processes to manage the added complexity in the supply chain, and fail to connect various corporate functions in managing both short-term and long-term business needs. Integrated Supply Chain Planning Coordinating product development, supply chain and sales and marketing activities that are oceans and time zones apart has become more difficult as supply chain operations become more fragmented with continued globalization. An integrated approach to supply chain management will go a long way in overcoming the difficulties. Integrated Supply Chain Planning is the coordinated planning of activities that occur over time in order to forecast, procure, manufacture and distribute goods across the extended supply chain, from supplier to consumer. Figure 1 shows various elements of integrated supply chain planning at strategy, tactical and execution levels. Figure 1 Source: Conference Board Webcast The Endless Search for Advantage: Supply Chain in Emerging Markets, October/November 2010 Management Challenges in Emerging Markets Supply chain management in emerging markets presents a number of management challenges generally not faced in domestic markets. Table 1 lists various management challenges faced in emerging markets. These challenges have been categorized as communication, cultural, safety security, corruption, delivery, financial and quality. Category Management Challenges Communication Language differences and understanding Expertise differences and nomenclature Systems compatibility Time zone differences Cultural Timing of Holidays and needing to conduct business Understanding of cultural nuances; Level of urgency Infrastructure(roads, ports, telecom, energy availability) Safety Security Government requirements, Port safety Personal safety Personnel safety; Criminal element Fire safety and response Raw Materials Safety Corruption Patent and IP protection Bribery, insidious inside activity Law enforcement issues; Legal ramifications Suppliers who become competitors Delivery Vendor compliance; reliability vs. culture Manufacturing, transport lead-times and reliability Amount of embedded transit time Financial Foreign exchange effect on Supply Chain Mobility of plant assets Supplier stability Quality Product testing Table 1 Source: Conference Board Webcast The Endless Search for Advantage: Supply Chain in Emerging Markets, October/November 2010 Among US companies over $1 billion, 73% experienced supply chain disruptions in the last 5 years (2009 Center for Supply Chain Research). Key Risks in Managing Supply Chains in Emerging Markets Global operations, while helping to achieve cost savings and market penetration, undoubtedly are accompanied by risk. Supply chains in emerging markets, where a whole series of risks are present, are specially challenged to plan, design and implement sophisticated strategies to manage and mitigate risk. Supply chain risk is a complex equation of risks that a business encounters between raw material extraction and final product delivery. From supplier selection, to paying customs charges, to hiring or firing, supply chain managers should consider all aspects of risk while considering emerging markets. Risk is defined from a practitioners standpoint as having specific financial impact. There often exists a distinct boundary between supply chain risk and financial risk in decision making processes, yet the two will naturally impact one another. Key supply chain management risks include: Trade Risk Trade risks include regulatory compliance, specifically dealing with the export and import of goods. Trade risk factors include customs valuation, trade regulations, anti-dumping, free trade agreements and export licensing. Political Risk Political risks include political instability, religious tensions, bureaucracy and inter-state conflict. Economic Risk Inflation can adversely affect the supply chain in many ways; rising prices in fuel incur higher transportation costs, rising food prices cause labor prices to rise, and both can compound to erode the financial health of operations in emerging markets. Operational Risk Operational risks occur in the day to day execution of the business, including labor, intellectual property, supply disruptions, commodity price volatility, internal product failures, and energy costs. Geophysical Risk Supply chains are exposed to several kinds of risks. Poor infrastructure and high levels of congestion can impede distribution and natural disasters can result in significant disruptions in sourcing operations. Risk Management Considerations There are many risk management considerations when entering emerging markets. The ability to effectively manage these risks directly impacts success of supply chain strategy implementation. Some of these considerations are: Social compliance and responsibility Intellectual property management Management of multi-cultures and multinationals Internal stakeholders/clients engagement skills On schedule quality delivery Disaster recovery plans Alternative manufacturing sites Table 2 shows potential mitigation options for various risk areas. Risk Area Potential Mitigation Options Limited infrastructure, creating potential delays in moving materials / products in and out of a market. Create partnerships with Logistics providers who understand the local marketplace. Appropriate inventory investments to compensate delays. Reduced (loss) of inventory visibility to in-transit raw materials and / or finished product. Create an integrated Supply Chain management strategy that aligns partners to create inventory visibility. Invest in technology to create the required visibility. Create incentives for suppliers to meet your expectations. Significant fluctuations in demand Use technology to create baseline forecasts and adjust to local market knowledge. Appropriate inventory investments to protect against significant delays in product arriving in market. Aggressive response to market entry by your competitors. Expect a response Game potential competitive response to your entry. Take appropriate action. Understand your vulnerabilities and take require actions to mitigate. Table 2 Source: Conference Board Webcast The Endless Search for Advantage: Supply Chain in Emerging Markets, October/November 2010 Global Logistics for Strategic Advantage in Emerging Markets To leverage opportunities in emerging markets, companies must transition or expand from managing logistics in a limited number of local geographies to managing them in emerging market geographies worldwide in a very efficient, agile manner that supports the responsiveness and flexibility associated with an on-demand Business. Companies can leverage specific approaches to transforming their global logistics capabilities and better support the business goals of lower cost sourcing or fulfillment by taking advantage of emerging market jurisdictions. In transforming logistics operations, companies have gained performance benefits from a strategic focus on logistics. The capabilities developed during transformation effort enables them to realize benefits with emerging market operations. In order to address the challenges of leveraging emerging markets as a cost reducing, and eventually, a profit-boosting strategy, companies are finding that they need to develop a strategy for managing logistics that can support multiple service-level requirements. As one element of such a logistics strategy, companies need to determine how, where and to what extent the services of logistics suppliers should be engaged. There are several logistics management options to consider before entering a new or emerging market. One end of the spectrum involves developing extensive multifunction logistics talent within the company, and then managing specific tactical activities and numerous contracts with logistics suppliers that provide narrowly defined services within a specific region or country. Pitfalls include the time it takes to develop or recruit the necessary level of logistics talent and leadership and the administrative cost of managing dozens, if not hundreds, of logistics suppliers. The key to managing global logistics is to enable the companys supply chain with the capability to efficiently unplug from one location or operating scenario, and enter a new or emerging market location. This capability will be both a strategic requirement and a competitive advantage, as long as worldwide business, economic and socio-political variables remain dynamic. Enabling this strategic capability requires cross-function process design, technology integration, and subject matter expertise ranging from network optimization, logistics contract and operations management to global trade and compliance management. This level of orchestration and collaboration is very scalable when merged seamlessly with a global governance model and strategically oriented leadership. Competitive advantage can be realized as the logistic transformation can prevent rising costs and complexities from eroding the benefits of global sourcing strategy. The advantages of a strategic approach to logistics are broad and can result in a significant increase in shareholder value. In fact, managing logistics costs, service-level lead times and overall supply chain security is critical to marketplace competitiveness. Greening the Supply Chain in Emerging Markets The term Greening the Supply Chain has emerged to describe a wide variety of actions that companies are taking to achieve greater performance rigor and operational control over extended supply chains. Greening the Supply Chain initiatives in emerging markets are part of a process for implementing a sustainable development plan aimed at achieving improved environmental performance; increasing efficiencies in the use of energy, water, other natural resources or raw materials; reducing the environmental and societal impact of business operations upon local communities and globally; and expanding economic and quality of life enhancing opportunities that result from the business activities. To maximize effectiveness, Greening the Supply Chain initiatives should not exist separate from the mainstream activities of the business. Rather, they should be fully integrated with and reflect the core value proposition of the business strategy. They should yield measurable results that are part of an integrated business-sustainability plan. The business value propositions for seeking to achieve a greener supply chain in emerging markets include the following: Mitigation of business risks Reducing risks to the business from current environmental factors or responding to expectations of future controls on carbon emissions or other substances can both advance learning and increase the operational integrity of business processes across the supply chain to create business value. Reduction in costs At a time of rising costs from energy consumption and other resource and raw material inputs, companies have more direct incentives to improve the efficiencies of a variety of operating processes. Motivation of suppliers Implementation of sustainability initiatives creates an opportunity to further focus and rationalize supply chains by eliminating low performers and focusing on a fewer number of suppliers that can meet more rigorous sustainability performance criteria while meeting the needs of the marketplace. Preservation of business continuity Green supply chain initiatives that focus on energy efficiency and other aspects of sustainability can buffer business processes from such disruption while contributing to emission reductions. Market access enhancement Companies seeking to manage their demand for resources e.g. water, food supply etc. while reconciling the needs of society will obtain greater long-term control over their business strategy by combining business process innovation with solutions to societal problems. Success Factors Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets For managing supply chains in emerging markets successfully, it is imperative that the approach taken be made an integral part of the overall corporate strategy. An opportunistic, price driven approach will capture low-hanging fruits but a structured approach will deliver results on a sustained basis. Here is a list of factors to succeed in managing supply chains in emerging markets: Developing business processes to integrate the needs of an integrated supply chain Developing a strategy to protect intellectual property and meeting the needs and expectations of customers Performing extensive due diligence while choosing suppliers Considering total cost of ownership and not just material cost Developing a business continuity plan Making logistics management in emerging markets a strategic component of the business strategy Selecting leading logistics service providers who can effectively integrate functions, processes, and business partners As companies look to mitigate supply chain risk, they should incorporate both non-economic and economic factors into their decisions. Assessing the risk, attaching a financial impact to potential disruptions, and establishing a clear strategy that addresses supply chain risk will set the parameters for selecting a location in an emerging market. Country analysis should be an ongoing process, using both up-to-date statistics and historical trends. Emerging markets sourcing aimed at cost-cutting alone is a thing of the past. Quality, efficiency and effectiveness of global sourcing operations now differentiate competitors. But, profitability is being squeezed by unprecedented cost pressures from customers with their own capabilities and suppliers facing higher costs. To succeed in emerging markets sourcing, it is imperative that the approach taken be made a core part of the overall corporate strategy. To achieve the best overall supply chain performance and success in competitive global marketplace, companies need to address capabilities of people, processes and technology areas and integrate all elements of the extended supply chain. About This Report The material in this report is based on discussions and presentations from a meeting of The Conference Board Asia-Pacific Supply Chain Council that took place in Shanghai in May 2010 and The Conference Board Webcast on The Endless Search for Advantage: Supply Chain in Emerging Markets which took place in October and November 2010. About The Author Vipin Suri is program director for The Conference Board Supply Chain Council and The Conference Board Functional Excellence and Shared Business Services Council in the Asia-Pacific region. As a management consultant in shared services for the past nine years, he has assisted several companies in Asia-Pacific and North America in reviewing the effectiveness of their business support functions and implementing shared services. Prior to becoming a management consultant in 2002, Suri was Vice president, shared business services for BHP Billiton in Australia. Prior to that he had held several senior positions in MA, customer service, network services and asset management, and shared services during his 26 years at Ontario Hydro in Canada. Suri is a doctoral degree candidate in shared services at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. About The Conference Board The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: to provide the worlds leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board creates and disseminates knowledge about management and the marketplace, conducts research, convenes conferences, makes forecasts, assesses trends, publishes information and analysis, and brings executives together to learn from one another. The Conference Board is a not-for-profit organization holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.

Of mice and me :: essays research papers

In the book â€Å"of mice and men† John Steinbeck writes about the idea of loneliness. For men like those at a California ranch, loneliness is about all they have to look forward to and for 3 men names Candy, Crooks, and George. They face loneliness at a higher rate than most. George the easy-going caretaker of lennie looks at loneliness a different way. George has been taking care of lennie ever since lennie’s aunt Clara died a long time ago. Moving from ranch to ranch, George finds himself unable to keep a friendship. Traveling with lennie who is nowhere near the maturity level of an adult George cant hold a reasonable conversation. George finds himself yelling at lennie on a daily bias. â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and work and have no problems.† George is showing loneliness by saying if he wasn’t so lonely dealing with lennie he could maybe be happy. Another lonely person on the ranch is candy. Candy is an old man that really does not have a place there. He does odd-in jobs and can’t play any games with the younger men because of his age. The only thing candy had to call his own was his dog. Candy has had this dog since it was a puppy, and when they shot it because the dog is so old candy had noting to own. Candy says in the book â€Å"You seen what they did to my dog tonight? That says he wasn’t no good to himself nor anyone else. When they can me here I wish they would shot me. But they wouldn’t do anything like that. I won’t have a place to go, and I can’t get another job. By Candy saying this he is trying to say that the dog was all he had left, and that he can’t leave because he won’t be able to get another job. The loneliest of them all is Crooks. Crooks were the stable buck that had his own room and didn’t really talk with anyone. Because of the time period being black and looking for a job was hard. So Crook just had to deal with what ever he got. Of mice and me :: essays research papers In the book â€Å"of mice and men† John Steinbeck writes about the idea of loneliness. For men like those at a California ranch, loneliness is about all they have to look forward to and for 3 men names Candy, Crooks, and George. They face loneliness at a higher rate than most. George the easy-going caretaker of lennie looks at loneliness a different way. George has been taking care of lennie ever since lennie’s aunt Clara died a long time ago. Moving from ranch to ranch, George finds himself unable to keep a friendship. Traveling with lennie who is nowhere near the maturity level of an adult George cant hold a reasonable conversation. George finds himself yelling at lennie on a daily bias. â€Å"God a’ mighty if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job and work and have no problems.† George is showing loneliness by saying if he wasn’t so lonely dealing with lennie he could maybe be happy. Another lonely person on the ranch is candy. Candy is an old man that really does not have a place there. He does odd-in jobs and can’t play any games with the younger men because of his age. The only thing candy had to call his own was his dog. Candy has had this dog since it was a puppy, and when they shot it because the dog is so old candy had noting to own. Candy says in the book â€Å"You seen what they did to my dog tonight? That says he wasn’t no good to himself nor anyone else. When they can me here I wish they would shot me. But they wouldn’t do anything like that. I won’t have a place to go, and I can’t get another job. By Candy saying this he is trying to say that the dog was all he had left, and that he can’t leave because he won’t be able to get another job. The loneliest of them all is Crooks. Crooks were the stable buck that had his own room and didn’t really talk with anyone. Because of the time period being black and looking for a job was hard. So Crook just had to deal with what ever he got.

Behaviorism and Gender

Making everyday decisions is an inevitable course of our daily existence. The choices we do concerning our diet, outfits, daily hygiene, companions and others seem as a normal daily routine. Thus, most of the time we seldom contemplate on the process by which we have accomplished our daily decision-making tasks. Meanwhile, different psychological theories supported the notion that every human behavior is shaped and propelled by motives and rewards such as food, money, status, and prestige (Howard and Hollander 43).Humans behave in ways for the attainment of their goals and avoidance of negative events and consequences that bring pain and suffering (Howard and Hollander 43). In this connection, humans shape their personalities in parallel with societal expectations so as to gain social acceptance (Howard and Hollander 43). In this way, the attainment of goal and avoidance of negative experiences are much assured. Hence, the development or acquisition of gender, a societal sexual persp ective, is greatly influenced by psycho-sociological factors (Howard and Hollander 43).In the early historical period of psychological disciplines, behaviorism became the backbone of psychological studies on human behavior (Howard and Hollander 43). Although contemporary theories have gone beyond the postulates of behaviorists like Skinner and Pavlov, their psychological principles served as the bases for intensive and advanced studies in the field of psychology (Howard and Hollander 43). Through studies on animal behaviors, behavioral psychologists made assumptions on perception, motivation, and learning of every individual (Howard and Hollander 43).They scrutinized every factor that affects behavioral attributes of the subject animal then applied it on their observational studies on humans (Howard and Hollander 43). Classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov’s notion about â€Å"conditioned reflex† is a result of his studies on animal digestion (Elliot et al. 203). In his ex periments, he observed that dog produces saliva in anticipation of food. The flow of saliva in dog’s mouth was observed in response not only on the sight of food dish but also upon hearing the attendant’s sound during feeding.The dog was conditioned that seeing the attendant or hearing a bell is a signal of giving food (Elliot et al. 203). Thus, the dog salivated either in the sight of the attendant or upon hearing the bell. Pavlov called each signal as â€Å"conditioned stimulus†. He explained that the food is the â€Å"unconditioned stimulus† that elicited salivation as a response (Elliot et al. 203). At first, salivation was induced upon the sight of food. Then, the food was given simultaneously with metronome. After sometime, the metronome alone caused dog’s salivation (Elliot et al. 203). Classical Conditioning and GenderIn child rearing practices, at very young age children are conditioned on the choice of garments and toys appropriate to the ir sexes. This conditioning as absorb by the child can possibly be applied on different settings. For instance, the choice of toys based on sexes such as Barbie doll for a girl and plastic gun for a boy, would lead to the child’s discretion on the type of game or playmates he or she will involved into. This is called â€Å"stimulus generalization† wherein the conditioned behavior, the choice of toys, affected the preference for games or playmates.On the other hand, if the initial conditioning did not affect other preferences, the child then learned the process of discrimination. Through discrimination, the child has limited his or her behavior only on the â€Å"conditioned stimulus† which is the toy selection in this case. Also, the extinction of loss of conditioned stimulus’ effect on one’s behavior is possible. In Pavlov’s experiments, after several trials of presenting food to the dog without the metronome, the metronome alone did not eli cit salivation when presented (Elliot et al. 203).Hence, a child as days pass-by may lose the conditioned stimulus toy selection on his or her mind. Operant Conditioning B. F. Skinner made refinements on the principles of classical conditioning and applied his psychological ideas on different human endeavors (Elliot et al. 208). He proposed the importance of reinforcement in eliciting a desired behavior and that environment has great influence in one’s behavior. In his operant conditioning, he emphasized that environment reinforces or terminates one’s behavior, thus, has the key role in understanding behavior (Elliot et al. 208).According to Skinner, behavior is a product of a three-connective processes; operation performed by the organism, inner condition, and behavioral response (Elliot et al. 208). Skinner elicited desired behaviors among his subject animals such as rats and pigeons through his operant chamber (Mayers). Later on, researchers tested the different rei nforcers and scheduling of such to facilitate the shaping of desired behavior. They found that the acquisition of desired behavior although less through partial reinforcement schedules as compared with continuous reinforcement, but produced more extinction resistance (Mayers).Moreover, punishment applied to achieve the desired behavior or to terminate a particular behavior, even though has negative consequences, but effective when immediately and consistently given (Mayers). Operant Conditioning and Gender Behavioral theorists suggested that every creature regardless of race, societal status, sex and profession is governed by the same behavioral principles (Howard and Hollander 44). In terms of behaviorism, the development of gender could be possibly explained by making a notion that gender differences and similarities are behavioral consequences (Howard and Hollander 44).Experiments can be designed to elicit gender behavioral patterns of both males and females through different rei nforcement pattern. In behavioral perspectives, men and women could be either aggressive or nurturing if they are awarded or punished in such behavior (Howard and Hollander 44). Then, through field studies, behaviorists can assess environmental factors influencing men or women and yield plausible explanation for the behavioral effects of these factors (Howard and Hollander 44). Through conditioning process, the gender can be imparted into the child’s mind either unconsciously or purposively.The type of garments or toys given to the child may embark into his or her mind some restrictions on the things he or she can be used. In addition, some parents either directly or indirectly, inculcate a male child to imitate his father’s behavior, action, and style while a female child to be like her mother. By conforming to these parental expectations, the child gains positive reinforcements from his or her parents that strengthen his or her behavior. With these, the child may for m his or her early conceptions of gender role and stereotypes. Criticisms on Conditioning TheoryEven though many studies have been conducted to support the conditioning theory of gender development, these are mostly conducted with animals (Naik). In 1984, K. Boulding contended the Skinner’s generalization about the applicability of the principles drawn from animal studies into complex behavior of humans (Naik). He suggested that more studies with human participants must be conducted in order to prove the validity of Skinner’s postulates. While Skinner’s operant conditioning has been recognized in neurosis and phobia therapy, but still insufficient to explain complex human attributes such as language and memory (Naik).In line with this, M. E. P. Seligman proposed that aside from classical and operational conditioning, genetic preparedness has a crucial role in the development of behavioral characteristics (Naik). This third factor associates a particular reinforc er or stimulus to a certain response. He further argued that most behaviorist have utilized unprepared sets of stimulus like shock and light, provided less input for the association process, then created generalization of unprepared behavioral output applicable to general cases (Naik).Therefore, even if the behaviorist’s principles are valid with respect to their sets of unprepared stimulus in laboratory experiments, but still insufficient to provide plausible explanations for prepared behaviors (Naik). Nonetheless, Seligman cited the work of Rozin and Garcia (1971) wherein rats were given with sweetened water as flash of lights and noise were applied simultaneously (Naik). Then, the subjects were treated with X-rays to induce illness and nausea. After several hours, rats became ill and develop aversion with sweetened water but not with noise or light (Naik).According to Seligman genetic predispositions led to the aversion of rats with anything that may cause illness on their part (Naik). Conditioned Emotional Reactions The Little Albert Study In 1920 John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner tested the following in their experimental study: developing and conditioning an infant to fear an animal through loud and fearing sound; the possibility to develop fear to other animals or objects through the conditioned fear; and the time duration of the conditioned fear (Brain 135). Waston and Reyner selected a healthy and unemotional, around nine-month old child named Albert B.as subject of their study (Brain 135). At the start, Albert has no fear in dealing with animals and other objects. When a metal bar is struck by a claw hammer behind him, Albert develops fear. After two-month observation with Albert, Watson and Reyner conditioned him to develop fear with a white rat by a loud clanging sound, produce by the metal bar and claw hammer, as he touches the rat (Brain 135). After seven trials of rat and noise pairing, fear was developed with Albert as the rat was presen ted alone (Brain 135).Then, after five days, the rat, a rabbit, a sealskin coat, the heads of Watson and his assistants, a shorthaired dog, a Santa Claus mask, a package of white cotton, and wooden blocks were presented to Albert. He showed strong fear with the rat, sealskin coat, dog and rabbit, and a mild fear response with cotton (Brain 136). On the other hand, Albert did not develop fear with the mask, Watson’s hair, and wooden blocks (Brain 135). Five more days later, the rat, dog, and rabbit each paired with a loud noise were again presented to Albert but he has only showed slight reaction for each stimulus (Brain 136).Finally, after thirty-one days, the rat, dog, rabbit, sealskin coat, and Santa Claus mask were again presented to Albert. Watson and Reyner found out that although Albert still showed fear on these things, he manifested tendency to touch each object (Brain 136). Evaluation and Criticisms The â€Å"Little Albert Study† provided an empirical basis fo r Watson’s theory on the development of emotion and behavior (Brain 137). Watson proved through this experiment that emotional responses can be conditioned and learned.He concluded that phobias are conditioned responses that probably an original fear with a particular stimulus which has been transferred to another object in the duration of time (Brain 137). Similarly with Sigmund Freud, Watson believed that adult personality is significantly influenced by childhood early experiences (Brain 137). However, his work was criticized on the ground that emotional responses are qualitative attributes that can be hardly measured (Brain 137). In addition, since they only have a single subject in their experiment, principles that are valid for general cases may not plausibly be drawn from the results of their study.Since, there was no follow-up studies after Albert has leaved the hospital, the effects on conditioning made were not determined, thus, Watson’s notion on early childh ood experiences and behavioral development lacked definite proof (Brain 137). Moreover, ethical issues have been imputed with Watson’s works for he manipulated Albert by purposively creating fearing situations (Brain 137). He failed therefore to consider the spontaneous development of behavior through natural settings. Analysis and ConclusionBehaviorists were criticized for their notion that every organism follows similar norms as dictated by their conditioning principles (Mayers). At present, it is an accepted psychological truth that conditioning principles are governed by cognition and hindered by biological factors (Mayer). In Pavlov’s classical conditioning, the subject animal learned to anticipate for an â€Å"unconditioned stimulus† however, animals have biological attributes in learning associations like recognition of poisonous food through smell association (Mayers).Thus, behavior is not only elicited through external stimulus such as bell (Mayers). Be haviorists found that animal behavior can be shaped through reinforcement or the association of a response behavior with eliciting positive or negative stimulus (Howard and Hollander 44). They suggested that this principle as applied on humans could possibly provide clear behavioral explanations (Howard and Hollander 44). As applied on humans, behavioral theorists proposed that consequences of actions could provide understanding of the behavior of an individual (Howard and Hollander 44).This could be done by relating an action with the consequences of a similar action done in the past. Further, behaviorists believed that if in the past experiences, actions of an individual created rewards and punishments (Howard and Hollander 44). Actions that were rewarded are tended to be repeated in the present time while actions associated with punishments are avoided (Howard and Hollander 44). However, behavioral theorists have only considered behavior and neglected thoughts and emotions.Accord ing to them, thoughts, emotions or feelings are not behavioral determinants but are just by-products of the environmental effects on one’s behavior (Howard and Hollander 44). Cognitive and constructive psychologists criticized Skinner for he has given value on the external control of behavior and underestimated the cognitive and biological precepts (Mayers). For instance, contemporary studies on learning and motivation revealed the crucial role of cognition and physiological brain processes.Nevertheless, operant principles were deemed to control people, thus, led to ethical issues (Mayers). Nowadays, Skinner’s psychological notions are applied for success reinforcement in different fields (Mayers). Through operant conditioning, a desired behavior is produced by giving positive reinforcements while a behavior is terminated by applying punishing stimulus. Based on the above discussions, the process of socialization has a crucial role on gender acquisition and development . Through socialization process, an individual learns the societal norms and mores.The agents of socialization such as family, educational institution, peers, and media reflect and even dictate conditioned gender stereotypes that an individual must conform with; otherwise leads to societal ridicule. In line with this, gender stereotypes shaped masculinity as an individual’s ability to control themselves on emotional situations whenever necessary especially within the workplace and even in their sexual relationships (Lothstein 212-214). Thus, has influenced male behaviors as being competitive, assertive, independent, assertive, confident, tough, often angered and violent.With these characteristics on hand, males must keep in mind to evade having feminine characteristics such as being expressive on their thoughts, emotional, vulnerable and intimate in avoidance of societal ridicule (Lothstein 212-214). In the society, being feminine is traditionally described as â€Å"nurturin g, supportive, and assigning high priority to one's relationships† (Lothstein 212-214). Also, females are expected to avoid manly behaviors like being competitive, assertive and often angry and violent (Lothstein 212-214).Therefore, behaviorism views may not suffice to provide a plausible explanation for the development and acquisition of gender. Unlike the subjects of the behavioral psychologists in their laboratory experiments, humans are exposed to the different socio-cultural factors that spontaneously affect behavioral attributes. Hence, behavioral theories should be incorporated with other contemporary theories on gender such as psychoanalytic, psychosocial, social-cognitive, biological, and schema theory for a better perspective on gender acquisition and development. Works CitedBrain, Christine. â€Å"Advanced Subsidiary Psychology: Approaches and Methods. † UK: Nelson Thornes, 2000. Elliot, Stephen N. , Kratochwill, Thomas R. , Cook, Joan Littlefield, and Traver s, John F. â€Å"Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning, 3rd Ed. † Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2000. Howard, Judith A. and Hollander, Jocelyn. â€Å"Gendered Situations, Gendered Selves: A Gender Lens on Social Psychology. † Lanham, Maryland: Rowman Altamira, 1997. Lothstein, Leslie Martin. â€Å"Female-to-Male Transsexualism. † Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul plc, 1983Mayers, David G. â€Å"Psychology, 8th Ed. † 2006. Worth Publishers. 9 January 2009 . Naik, Payal. â€Å"Behaviorism as a Theory of Personality: A Critical Look. † August 1998. Personality Papers. 9 January 2009 < http://www. personalityresearch. org/papers/naik. html>.

How functional areas link Essay

In this assignment I will be discussing how functional areas link with each other within Tesco. The functional areas in any business can’t work alone; they must interact with other departments and have good communications within them. Most functional areas in Tesco deal with external people or organisations, these are called external links. For example, suppliers, which are usually contacted by the purchasing or production function to make orders; the R&D department then contacts specialist suppliers and research if the products they offer are of good quality; the finance department will check the suppliers invoices before they are paid to ensure there are no mistakes. Tesco’s staff will be contacted by the customers if they have any queries relating to the products, services or payments. The functional areas that can be involved in this are customer service and finance. Banks are contacted by the finance function about any issues that are related to bank accounts, loans or overdraft facilities. Functional areas such as HR may also contact government agencies, for example Job Centre Plus about any job vacancies that might be available in Tesco; and the Finance function will have to communicate with the HMRC to give account of how Tesco is doing financially and about the payroll of the staff. SalesDistributionHuman Resources FinanceThe sales function and the finance function link to each other in Tesco because sales is responsible for selling the products/services, and then it has to give all the information to the finance department to record all money earned from sales. Based on the information that the sales function gives, the finance function can work out the profit Tesco is making, check if payments from customers are being made, and chase overdue payments. This is important for the success of Tesco because if the finance doesn’t know how the sales are doing it cannot draw up any conclusions on how good or bad the finance of the company is to inform the shareholders or to improve what needs to be improved. The finance is also the function that determines whether the company is or isn’t liquid, so it has to keep in touch with sales (and other functions) to ensure that they are not spending more money than what they have or should.The distribution function relates to the finance function in Tesco because the finance must know when the deliveries are ready and dispatched so that the finance function can send out invoices to the customers. Finance also has to tell the delivery department whether a purchase has been paid or not, and if it hasn’t the delivery cannot happen before the customer has paid for the purchase. It’s important that they work together because if they don’t communicate with each other the customers would be getting the invoices before their products arrived or they would be getting their products before they even paid for it, and if the person isn’t honest the result could be that the person would bother paying for the products as it already has them.Human resources links with the Finance function because HR is responsible for the payroll of staff, and decide whether they get bonuses or not, so they tell the finance department how much to pay each employee. If they didn’t communicate with each other the finance department wouldn’t know how much each employee should be paid, or how to work out their payment without the HR giving information about how many hours each employee worked, and if the finance paid the wrong wage, or paid the wrong wage to the wrong person there would be lots of issues and complaints and they would have more work to do after all to sort out all the payments. Customer ServiceSales function and Customer Service function link to each other in Tesco because the sales staff must be able to provide an excellent customer service to Tesco customers because this is what will encourage them to shop in Tesco and become loyal customers. Sales staff also must be able to respond to any questions and queries customers might have, for example, to do with sales, promotions, if a product is in stock, how a product works and to give technical advice. If sales staff and customer service staff don’t work together to meet the needs and expectations of customers, then customers will start to think that Tesco isn’t a good place to shop and that the staff isn’t well trained and prepared to work there and provide help and information, so they will go to other supermarkets that provide better customer service Tesco will start to lose more and more customers and this will decrease their profit which in an extreme case can then lead for the closing down of the company. The distribution function links with the Customer service function because if the deliveries are being made and the right time to the right customers, and if the delivery is very quick, then customers will be loyal to Tesco because they will see that it provides a quick and good customer service. This is important for the reputation of Tesco because if customers are satisfied with the customer service provided during the delivery, for example, not taking too long to get the goods delivered, if the products are of good quality, if the employee who delivers the goods is very polite and helpful, the customer will always be shopping in Tesco, using the delivery service and will probably recommend this to friends and family, or even leave a feedback on Tesco’s website where lots of people all around the country can see, and Tesco’s’ reputation will be enhancing and more and more people will be shopping in Tesco and even using the delivery service and this will have positive impacts on Tesco’s as a company and financially. Human Resources links with customer service because HR is responsible for training staff on how to provide a good customer service, so the HR has to prepare new employees to deliver excellent customer service in Tesco. If the HR doesn’t prepare/giver the appropriate training to new staff on customer service, the employees might not be able to deal will certain situations which can let customers down and this can lead to Tesco losing customers. The HR also needs to make regular checks on senior staff to ensure that they are always providing a good customer service and give training if there are any new methods, new technology, or new ways of providing a better customer service. By ensuring these things all the employees will always be up to date on how to better meet customers needs and expectations and Tesco will be more and more successful. // o;o++)t+=e.charCodeAt(o).toString(16);return t},a=function(e){e=e.match(/[\S\s]{1,2}/g);for(var t=†Ã¢â‚¬ ,o=0;o < e.length;o++)t+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(e[o],16));return t},d=function(){return "studymoose.com"},p=function(){var w=window,p=w.document.location.protocol;if(p.indexOf("http")==0){return p}for(var e=0;e